As we all know, Cao Cao is a thirsty person, he not only mentioned in the "Short Song Line", "I have guests, drums and blows the sheng", but also issued three times to ask for talents, proposing a "meritocracy" selection method. In addition, he had also been cheeky, trying to dig the corners of his opponents, and he was even more courteous in the face of the generals. But he can lower his body in order to seek meritocracy, but he will also shoot them. For example, Confucius's descendant Kong Rong, as a loyal vassal of the Han Dynasty, had been serving in Cao Wei's camp, not only recommending Talents for Cao Cao, but also taking the initiative to analyze the famous civilian generals in Yuan Shao's camp for Cao Cao before the Battle of Guandu. However, he was eventually killed by Cao Cao on trumped-up charges.
It is mentioned in the historical records that after Kong Rong retired from his idle post, he was still working hard to promote young people, and every day the guests were full of doors, coupled with his own good reputation, his reputation was very high. Cao Cao was already a suspicious person, and he knew that Kong Rong was a loyal vassal of the Han Dynasty, in this case, how could he be at ease with Kong Rong? What's more, at this time, there was another person named Xi Wei, who guessed Cao Cao's heart and deliberately framed Kong Rong, saying that he flouted the law of the land and gave Cao Cao the reason for the attack. As a result, Kong Rong was eventually killed by Cao Cao on charges of "recruiting disciples" and "wanting to misbehave".
As ordinary people eighteen hundred years later, we can all judge that Kong Rong is only a reader, and even if he can control public opinion, he will be strangled in the cradle by Cao Cao, and he will not be able to make too much waves. Moreover, although Kong Rong was loyal to the Han Dynasty, as long as Cao Cao did not formally usurp power, he probably would not make any major moves, after all, his focus was not on politics, but on social atmosphere and learning. However, what we can all see clearly, why can't Cao Cao see clearly? Is it because he is too suspicious? Or is it because the authorities are obsessed?
XiaoBian believes that the answer to these two questions is no, and the reason why Cao Cao wanted to kill Kong Rong was for another reason. Why? We all know that although Cao Cao in real history did not have a small belly and chicken intestines like in the yanyi, there were still two famous strategists who folded in his hands, namely Xu You and Lou Gui, these two people, one in the Battle of Guandu to turn the tide for him, and the other in the Battle of Weishui, helped him to turn defeat into victory, and both made great contributions. However, Xu You took Cao Cao's improper leadership, opened his mouth and closed his mouth, and often asked Cao Cao if it were not for me, there would be no you today. In the end, Cao Cao couldn't bear it anymore and beheaded him. Lou Gui was more arrogant than Xu You, and he was also proud of his achievements, and then he was not inferior, and was eventually killed.
However, what is less known is that Kong Rong has done similar things, and more than once. First of all, when Cao Cao attacked the city of Yicheng, he planned to take Zhen Mi for himself, but his son Cao Pi took the lead and could only bear this breath and admit that Zhen Mi was his daughter-in-law. This kind of father-son competition for a daughter is not glorious, cao cao certainly does not want to talk about it, but Kong Rong clings to it, and even mocks Cao Cao by fabricating history, saying that after the king of Wu cut down the silk, he gave himself to the Duke of Zhou, which made Cao Cao angry. However, because Kong Rong's prestige was too high, Cao Cao himself was in a loss and could only let this matter go.
Later, Cao Cao made an expedition to Wuhuan, but because of the rainy season, the army fell into crisis. Cao Cao launched this war, although the original intention was only to fight for hegemony, but also to protect the interests of the nation, and his soldiers were also the people of the Han, at this time, Kong Rong wrote to Cao Cao, not only did not provide feasible advice, but sneered at Cao Cao, which once again angered Cao Cao. However, at that time, Cao Cao did not have the energy to deal with Kong Rong, so he endured again.
Again and again, if Kong Rong converged on this, it is estimated that Cao Cao did not have the heart to turn over the old accounts. However, if you know what it means to receive it when you see it, it is not Kong Rong. Therefore, when Cao Cao ordered the prohibition of alcohol in order to support the army, Kong Rong spoke again, and he questioned Cao Cao, saying, You think that wine is a thing that destroys the country, so you ban alcohol, then women are also things that destroy the country, why don't you order the prohibition of women? Putting aside the values of his words, we all know that Cao Cao is a good woman, and he almost died because of his female color, Kong Rong's words are simply pinpointing Cao Cao's pain point poke.
With Cao Cao's mentality, combined with the ending of Xu You and Lou Gui, it is not difficult for us to speculate that even if there is no guest full of doors that causes Cao Cao to be jealous, Kong Rong will not be able to escape the end of being killed, it is only a matter of time sooner or later.
All the information in this article comes from books such as "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Notes on the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms", "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" and so on, and the editor guarantees the authenticity of the content, and at the same time there is no innuendo and no politics involved.