Cao Gan's qualifications are very deep in themselves, and he is one of the core elders of the Liu Bang Group, and he is both literate and martial. In the war against Xiang Yu, Cao San has always represented Liu Bang in fighting with Han Xin, which is also one of the important reasons why Han Xin did not dare to rebel after he had already occupied Qi Land, if Han Xin had any small moves, Cao Shen could obviously cut first and play later. Because the soldiers led by Han Xin were all given to him by Liu Bang, Han Xin could command them, but they could not be completely used by himself.
Therefore, when Han Gaozu evaluated the merits of the founding heroes, all the generals believed that Cao Shen should be ranked first. It was Liu Bangli who excluded the public opinion that xiao He was ranked first and let Xiao He be the prime minister. What does this mean? This means that Cao Gan is not only senior, but also the generals among the founding heroes are obedient to Cao Gan, but they are not so obedient to Xiao He, and they have opinions. Therefore, the relationship between Cao Shan and Xiao He was not harmonious later.
At the beginning of the founding of the Han Dynasty, Xiao He was in charge of government affairs in the imperial court, and Cao San was sent to Qidi as a xiang, that is, the xiang of the king of Qi. The feudal system of the early Han Dynasty was not a single system, but a mixture of feudal system and county system, so although Xiao He was nominally the xiangguo of the entire country, the independence of each feudal state was quite large, and the imperial court could not manage it, Xiao He could actually manage those places directly under the central government, and the State of Qi administered by Cao Gan was the most powerful of the countries at that time.
When Liu Bang was dying, Lü Hou asked Liu Bang, if Xiao He died, who could replace him? Liu Bang didn't even think about it, so he said Cao Ginseng. But because Liu Bang, Xiao He, and Cao San, these people are actually of the same generation, so the focus is not after Xiao He dies, but what to do after Cao Gan's death, who will take over? Liu Bang also proposed several candidates, namely Chen Ping, Zhou Bo and Wang Ling. Why is Cao San's sentence not the point? Because this is a question that does not need to be answered, everyone in the world knows it.
After Liu Bang's death, Xiao He continued to serve as a minister, and when Xiao He died, Cao San, hearing the news, immediately asked his men to pack their bags and prepare to enter Beijing. That is to say, if Xiao He died, Cao Gan would take his place, which was an arrangement recognized by everyone at that time, Lü Hou asked whether to ask, Liu Bang said or not, it was the same, this point Cao Gan knew, the whole country knew. Because at this time, the lord was suspicious of the country, except for Xiao He, only Cao San could suppress the founding heroes who were still alive.
After Cao San entered Beijing and became a minister, he drank wine and fished all day and did not work seriously. Emperor Hui of Han couldn't help but ask Cao Shan, why did he openly touch the fish like this, was the impact not good? Cao San gave Emperor Hui two soul questions: Do you think your ability is stronger than your father Gaozu? Do you think I'm better capable than Xiao He? Emperor Hui didn't even think about it, so he replied directly, of course not, or they were stronger. So Cao San said, since this is the case, we can continue to manage the country according to the regulations they have made, so why bother?
This story is the later famous idiom, Xiao Gui Cao Sui. Translated into the language that everyone is familiar with now, it is actually three words, not tossed. Because at this time, he had just experienced a nationwide war triggered by the peasant uprising at the end of qin, and the Chu-Han dispute lasted for four years, the population was greatly reduced, and the economy declined, so Xiao He's principle at the beginning of the founding of the country was that the system basically continued the Qin system and the Qin law, but in terms of policy, it was mainly to recuperate and restore development.
When Cao San was in the State of Qi, he actually learned the art of Huang Lao, mainly to be quiet and inactive, and the meaning was still those three words, not tossing. The reason is also that Qidi, as one of the main battlefields of long-term war and chaos since the end of Qin, has experienced a relatively large-scale war, although the territory is large, but the foundation is thin, and it is impossible to toss it, it is the need to rest and recuperate, so that the people can gradually resume production, when the population grows naturally, if it is too tossed, it will be boiling with resentment.
Another very important significance of Cao San's posture at this time was that he questioned in person, letting the young emperor know that his own ability was like that, Gao Zu's world was fought down, and he was just sitting and enjoying his success, and his ability was not at a level, so he didn't want to think about tossing anything big, just be a student first, first maintain these systems and policies left by Gao Zu and Xiao He, the country remained stable, and the economy continued to recover.