During the Three Kingdoms period, the herds competed for deer. Among them, Dong Zhuo was the first to plot rebellion, capturing Liu Xie, the emperor of Han Xian, to threaten a number of ministers. After the Battle of Tiger Prison Pass, Dong Zhuo's strength gradually declined, and Emperor Xian of later Han was transferred to Cao Cao's command, where he was used by Cao Cao to blackmail Tianzi to order the princes. And such a practice made the crowd vaguely led by Cao Cao. But it is precisely because of this that Cao Cao's identity as a "Han thief" has always been criticized. But personally, I think this is not unrelated to Cao Cao's own personality.
Although his poem once wrote, "Zhou Gong spits out his heart, and the world returns to his heart." "He has also always been courteous to the noble lords and has shown a strong desire for talents, but this does not mean that his treacherous, cunning, suspicious and conceited personality will be curbed." This is not difficult to see in the case of Cao Cao's killing of the Kong Rong tribe. Kong Rong's words were fierce, and he had repeatedly shown hostility and contempt for Cao Cao, even if Cao Cao had a heart of love for talents, over time, he was only bored with Kong Rong. But after Cao Cao killed the Kong Rong Three Clans, why did there still be the existence of the "Yan Sheng Gong" in the future?
First, first, analyze the origin of "Yan Sheng Gong".
The origin of the title of "Yan Sheng Gong" specifically dates back to the time of Confucius. After The Death of Confucius, in his eulogy in honor of Confucius, the Duke of Lu ai, in order to show respect for a generation of saints, called him "Ni Father" (Confucius's name Qiu Zi Zhongni). Subsequently, the Duke of Lu'ai built the Confucius Temple for Confucius, and from then on began the world's sacrifice to him. However, at that time, no special worship officer had been established. It was not until after Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gao, established the Han Dynasty that in the 10th year of Gao Zu, because he passed through Shandong to worship Confucius, he appointed the ninth grandson of Confucius as a worship prince and presided over Confucius's sacrifice affairs.
In the period of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Yuan enfeoffed confucius's thirteenth grandson as the Marquis of Baocheng, and his income was specially used for Confucius's sacrifices. Subsequently, the descendants of Confucius began the process of hereditary titles. The Hanping Emperor made Confucius's sixteenth grandson the Marquis of Baocheng, and promoted his title from Marquis of Guannei to Marquis of Che (with a feudal state), with 2,000 households. In the New Han Dynasty of Wang Mang, because Confucius's descendants did not recognize the orthodox nature of the imperial court and refused to accept the official position granted by Wang Mang, they lost their titles. It was not until the time of Liu Xiu, the Guangwu Emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, that the title was restored.
During the reign of Emperor Jing of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Confucius was again enfeoffed as the Duke of Zou, and Confucius's descendants also received this title. The Sui Dynasty also named the descendants of Confucius as the Marquis of Shaosheng, and in the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang made Confucius the King of Wenxuan, and the thirty-fifth grandson of Confucius as the Duke of Wenxuan. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, until the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the Later Tang restored the title of a descendant of Confucius and used the title of Duke Wenxuan until the Northern Song Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Renzong Zhao Zhen considered the hereditary title of Confucius to be a great disrespect, so he renamed Confucius's descendants as "Yan Sheng Gong". This is the origin of the "Anglican".
Second, analyze the relationship between the three ethnic groups of Kong Rong and the descendants of Confucius.
If we simply analyze Confucius's family tree, it is not difficult to understand the relationship between Kong Rong and Confucius's direct descendants. Confucius had only one son, the name Kong carp. Kong Carp also has only one son, named Kong Ling. At present, almost all the orthodox descendants of kong are descendants of Kong Ling. And Kong Rong Nature is no exception. However, from the parent-child Kong Carp to the seventh grandson Kong Qian, it is all a single transmission. By the time of the seventh grandson Kong Qian, he had three sons, namely Kong Qi, Kong Shu, and Kong Teng, and the ninth grandson Kong Zhong was the son of Kong Teng.
By analogy, the conclusion in the "Later Han Shu Kong Rong Lie Biography" is drawn: "Kong Rong, Zi Wenju, Lu Guoren, the twentieth grandson of Confucius." However, although Kong Rong is the twentieth grandson of Confucius according to historical records, this does not mean that Kong Rong is a descendant of Confucius. This involves the ancient concubine problem. In ancient times, where the etiquette was strict, the difference between concubines was undoubtedly very large, and the only one who was eligible to inherit the title was the concubine. Although the descendants of Shu out can also be called the descendants of Confucius, it is self-evident that they are close to each other.
Third, Kong Rong was not a descendant of Confucius, and even if the three clans were killed, it would not affect the inheritance of the "Yan Sheng Gong".
As mentioned above, Kong Rong is not a descendant of Confucius. In fact, this is not difficult to see from Cao Cao's attitude towards his killer. If Kong Rong became the twentieth grandson of Confucius's concubine lineage, for the sake of superficial peace, cao Cao would definitely put up with it if he could not offend the kong family with intricate roots. But unfortunately, this is not the case, although Kong Rong is a descendant of Confucius, his bloodline has been washed away by the years, and he has long since ceased to be affectionate, and naturally Cao Cao will not tolerate it too much.
However, Kong Rong was disgusted by Cao Cao for opposing Cao Cao's behavior of blackmailing Tianzi to order the princes, coupled with his obstruction of Cao Cao at every turn, demanding the strengthening of the real power of the Han Dynasty, which made Cao Cao resentful of him, and finally in the thirteenth year of Jian'an (208 AD), Kong Rong was killed by Cao Cao on the charge of "recruiting disciples, trying to misbehave", "slandering the imperial court, and disobeying the imperial court", and planted three tribes. But it is only three clans, which for the Kong clan, which already has a rich root system, will not hurt the bones, nor will it affect the inheritance of the "Yan Sheng Gong". This is the reason why Cao Cao killed the three clans of Kong Rong, but the "Yan Sheng Gong" was still inherited.