"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" describes a lot of fools, such as Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu brothers, such as Liu Cousin's father and son, such as Liu Zhang of Shudi, they are either faint or cowardly, or they are blind. But among these fools, the most stupid one I think should be Jiang Gan.
Jiang Gan in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is really not a little stupid, it is simply stupid to smoke. He patted his chest in front of Cao Cao and said that he would definitely be able to persuade Zhou Yu to surrender, but as soon as he saw Zhou Yu, he was recognized for his true purpose.
Zhou Yu and Jiang Gan in the old Three Kingdoms (right)
Jiang Gan, with a thick skin, stayed in Zhou Yu's military camp and studied 007 as a spy, only to steal a letter about the Jingzhou water army generals Cai Mao, Zhang Yun, and Zhou Yu conspiring to cooperate with the outside world. Jiang Gan sneaked back to Cao Cao's side overnight to report, and Cao Cao, enraged, killed Cai Mao and Zhang Yun.
This story also has a name, called Jiang Gan stealing books. But the story is a story after all, and the untrustworthy thing about this story is that it writes Cao Cao as a fool.
Jiang Gan stole books
It should be known that Cai Mao is not only Liu Biao's brother-in-law, but also a rich family in Xiangyang, and when Liu Biao was in the Jingzhou region, he relied heavily on Cai Mao.
Not only did Liu Biao value Cai Mao, cao Cao also valued him. According to the "Old Records of Xiangyang Qi", after Cao Cao seized the territory of Jingzhou, he personally came to the door and asked Cai Mao to come out of the mountain.
Such an important figure, how could Cao Cao be easily killed because of an inexplicable letter without asking the reason. At that time, Cao Cao had just entered Jingzhou, and his ass was not yet stable, and he urgently needed to win over the local heroes, and easily killing Cai Mao, a figure who was important in Jingzhou, would only shake the foundation of his local rule.
Cao Cao's intelligence, strategy, and vision in the Three Kingdoms were first-rate, he would not do such a self-destructive Great Wall thing, he was not so stupid.
Cao Cao
So how did the story of Jiang Gan's book theft come about? We can find some clues in the history.
The "Zizhi Tongjian" records that Jiang Gan "has a good appearance, is known for his ability to argue, and walks alone between the Jiangsu and Huaihuai rivers, and is not only handsome, but also a first-class debater.
According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, citing the Biography of Jiang Biao, after Jiang Gan defected to Cao Cao, Cao Cao once told him that he wanted to recruit Zhou Yu into his command. Jiang Gan felt that his eloquence was first-class and volunteered to contract this task.
Zhou Yu
Who knows, as soon as Jiang Gan and Zhou Yu met, Zhou Yu teased Jiang Gan that he had come to be a lobbyist for Cao Cao. Jiang Gan tried his best to argue, and Zhou Yu only said that he smelled the strings and knew yayi, you don't have to be ridiculous.
In the next few days, Jiang Gan accompanied Zhou Yu to drink wine and eat meat, and Zhou Yu asked Jiang Gan to review his army, inspect the weapons and armor in the barracks, show him military prestige, and let Jiang Gan look at the servants and gold and silver jewelry that Sun Quan had given him, so as to show that Sun Quan and Zhou Yu junchen were all in one heart, and he would not mix with Cao Cao. Jiang Gan looked at it, but had no choice but to withdraw.
This is the real story of Jiang Gan in history, there is no theft of books, no counter-plot, and Cao Cao did not kill Cai Mao and Zhang Yun. However, based on such a simple story, the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" laid out a large section of jiang gan's plot of stealing books, which not only insulted Jiang Gan, but also insulted Cao Cao.
Cai Mao and Zhang Yun
This is not the end, the novel also let Jiang Gan as the introducer, and recommended Pang Tong to Cao Cao. Later, Pang Tong presented a series of plans to Cao Cao, tricking Cao Cao into linking all the warships together, so that Zhou Yu could set fire to it, which eventually led to the defeat of the Cao army in the Chibi War. It can be said that the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" also pinned the cauldron of the defeat of the Cao Army in the Chibi War on Jiang Gan's head. This is purely a shadowless thing.
There is one more thing that can prove Jiang Gan's grievances. In fact, Cai Mao and Zhang Yun did not die at the hands of Cao Cao at all. After the Battle of Chibi, Cai Mao's official position was not demoted but promoted, and he successively served as a lieutenant of Zhonglang, Sima and Changshui, and also made a marquis of Hanyangting, which was equal to Guan Yu's Marquis of Hanshouting. Another general, Zhang Yun, although not well documented in history, also served in Cao Cao's army until Cao Pi became emperor.
Alas, Jiang Gan, he died unjustly.