In the seventh year (332) of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Emperor Shi Le of Later Zhao held a grand banquet.
He asked the chancellor Xu Guang, "What kind of monarch is comparable to Shuo?" ”
Xu Guang said, "Your Majesty Shenwu is clever, more powerful than Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gao. No one else compares. ”
Shi Le smiled and said, "You're overstating." He is not wise that is not wise for himself. If he encountered Han Gaozu, he would be like Han Xin and Peng Yue, and he would be in the north; if he met Liu Xiu, the Guangwu Emperor, he could still compete, and it was still unclear whose hand the deer had killed. A manly husband should do things and be bright and upright. We must not learn from Cao Mengde and Sima Zhongda, bully orphans and widows, and use tricks to win the world. ”
At the same time, the group of courtiers were all convinced, and they all prostrated themselves on the ground and shouted long live in unison.
This section of the thesis, written into the annals of history, has become the standard for later generations to evaluate the emperor.
Shi le
Since ancient times, the emperor with the lowest birth, except for Zhu Yuanzhang, is Shi Le. Shi Le went from a slave to a struggle to become a generation of founding emperors, and he was naturally very proud. His evaluation of himself involved Cao Cao.
From Shi Le's words, it can be seen that he despises Cao Cao. So, Shi Le and Cao Cao, who is more cattle? Nature that likes the Three Kingdoms is dismissive of Shi Le, but everything is afraid to find the root cause, if we ask more, you say Cao Cao Niu, then where is he stronger than Shi Le? Most people can't say why.
This article will tell you why Cao Cao is better than Shi Le cattle, where the cattle are. After reading this article, you know,
Shi Le was a younger brother in front of Cao Cao.
First, how to destroy strong enemies surrounded by wolves?
Everyone knows Wang Yangming's
"Unity of knowledge and action", he also has a very important mantra, called "grinding on things". To compare the advantages and disadvantages of Cao Cao and Shi Le, a few small examples can be clearly seen.
Both Cao Cao and Shi Le fought against ethnic minorities in Youzhou and even the north. Let's take this as an example.
1. Shi Le secretly attacked Youzhou to destroy Wang Jun
At that time, it occupied Youzhou
Wang Jun was very proud and extravagantly indulged in sexual abuse. Shi Le accepted Zhang Bin's plan,
First of all, the paralyzing method was adopted,
A generous gift was presented to Wang Jun, expressing his support for his title of emperor. Wang Jun was very happy and relaxed his vigilance against Shi Le. In the second year of Yongjia (314), Shi Le planned to start the operation, so he first hid his elite troops, and then pretended that he would personally go to Youzhou in mid-March to persuade Wang Jun to become emperor. As a result, Wang Jun was even more proud and no longer guarded Against Shi Le.
Wang Jun
In February, Shi Le began a plan to sneak into Youzhou. When the army arrived in Bairen County, it was afraid that Liu Kun, Xianbei and WuHuan would raise troops to attack each other, and the garrison would not advance.
Here Shi Le reveals a weakness in his life: hesitation and lack of decisiveness. You see, his plan has long been made. Halfway through implementation. The sneak attack troops were all pulled out, and suddenly remembered Liu Kun,
Xianbei and Wuhuan came. What did you do earlier? In the process of action, he began to hesitate again, which was manifested in the action of stopping the advance and stationing on the spot.
Since ancient times, those who have achieved great things have not conformed to two laws:
One is determined and then moves, and the other is quiet like a virgin moving like a rabbit.
Think clearly before making a decision and make a good plan. The decision-making process is slow, but after the decision, the execution is faster. The most taboo process is hesitant.
Shi Le did not think of the possible interference of other forces when he was planning, and remembered it halfway through the operation. Both taboos were committed.
So why did Shi Le finally succeed? He has his own killer skill, zhang bin, a think tank.
Zhang Bin is very powerful, in the process of Shi Le's starting, things that do not listen to him have failed, so Zhang Bin has a decisive role in Shi Le.' Zhang Bin, on the other hand, is best at making decisions. He saw Shi Le's mind and took the initiative to offer advice, and his words were very classic:
Wang Jun occupied Youzhou, relying only on the three departments of the Duan clan. Now all three have betrayed him and become enemies, and he has no foreign aid to resist us.
Youzhou is famine, people can only eat vegetarian food, the crowd is rebellious, the troops are very weak, and There are no strong soldiers in Youzhou to defend us. If our army is outside the city, the enemy army will inevitably collapse.
Zhang Bin analyzed Youzhou's foreign aid and his own situation here. Next, the solution is given:
1) Be fast and take the initiative: Now, although there is a threat from three sides, the general can still hang thousands of miles to conquer Youzhou. Going back and forth with light cavalry will not take more than two decades. Even if there is action in the three parties, we can come back soon. The time has come for an immediate strike without delay.
2) Appease Liu Kun: Although Liu Kun and Wang Jun were both Generals of the Jin Dynasty, they were actually enemies. If you write to Yu Liu Kun, send the hostage please and please. Liu Kun must be very happy to have our support, happy to see Wang Jun's demise, and certainly will not rescue Wang Jun to sneak up on us. ”
In a few words, he explained the internal and external assistance of the enemy and gave a targeted solution. You say Zhang Binli is not strong?
Right Hou Zhang Bin
Shi Le said, "I can't break it, right hou has already broken it for me, what else is there to doubt?" So Shi Le operated according to the plan, sending emissaries to send letters to Liu Kun, and Liu Kun did not only not help Wang Jun, but also gave Shi Le the convenience of marching. Shi Le then marched quickly, attacked Wang Jun by surprise, and defeated Wang Jun at a small cost.
In this battle, Shi Le's advantage was that he could use Zhang Bin well, and the disadvantage was that he was hesitant and did not consider the problem comprehensively before making decisions.
This is what a general like Peng Yue is okay with, and what is lacking when he is a founding emperor. I would like to ask, which founding emperor could not do the work of knowing people and doing good deeds? This was the basic operation of the founding emperor.
But if a founding emperor doesn't think it through, someone thinks for him, and that's not fatal. But hesitation is a fatal weakness. Why? Because leaders are all about making decisions. Subordinates can make suggestions, but they can't make decisions for you.
Shi Le's weakness was exposed after Zhang Bin's death.
2. Cao Cao attacked Wuhuan in the north
In the twelfth year of Jian'an (207), Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi fled into Wuhuan, the area around present-day Jinzhou, Liaoning. At the end of the Han Dynasty, the combination of the three counties of Western Liaoning, Liaodong, and Right Beiping, Wuhuan, was the three counties of Wuhuan, and its leader was Jiandun of western Liaoning. The three counties of Wuhuan and the Yuan clan have always had good relations, and have repeatedly invaded the border and plundered people and property.
In order to eliminate the remnants of the Yuan clan and to completely solve the problem of the three counties of Wuhuan entering the plug, Cao Cao considered whether to expedition to Wuhuan.
Before Cao Cao decided to go on the expedition, he convened a crowd of people to deliberate and consider in advance the interference of other forces that he might encounter:
1) Possible interference by Liu Bei Liu Biao.
At this time, after several years of recuperation, Liu Bei had accumulated considerable strength around Liu Biao in Jingzhou. With Cao Cao's knowledge of Liu Bei, he had reason to worry that when he went on a lone expedition, Liu Bei would attack behind his back.
The generals of the Cao Army also said, "Yuan Shang is like a dog that has lost his family, and the Hu people outside Guanwai will not support them." If he did another expedition, Liu Bei would inevitably provoke Liu Biao to attack Xuchang, what if there were any variables? ”
Liu Bei Liu Watch
2) Corresponding solutions:
Just as Shi Le had Zhang Bin to help him, Cao Cao also had his own adviser, Guo Jia. He put forward a different opinion from others: "Ming Gong, although you go on an expedition with confidence, it does not hurt to leave an empty Xu capital, I expect That Liu Bei will not be able to cause you trouble." It's not that Liu Bei doesn't want to add, but someone will stop him on your behalf, and this person is Liu Biao. ”
In the midst of the uproar, Guo Jia made a detailed analysis:
Liu Biao was a politician who only knew how to sit and talk, and he knew that his ability was not enough to control Liu Bei, so he was bound to be wary of Liu Bei. The two men held each other back, and in the short term, they could not form a joint force to attack the Central Plains. At this moment, it is time to make an expedition to the virtual country.
whereas
Why is Ping Wuhuan a must?
Guo Jia believes that Yuan Shao is kind to the Hu people, and if Yuan Shang is still alive, they will definitely help. If Yuan Shang and the Hu people were combined, our rear would be unstable and we would not be able to further attack the south.
Why did Ping Wuhuan do it right away?
"The Hu people are self-assured and remote, and now they must be defenseless, and if they suddenly launch an attack, they will certainly be able to eliminate them." Although it is a virtual expedition now, once and for all, there will be no further troubles. ”
Before taking action, Cao Cao had already considered and analyzed the problem clearly, and then acted decisively.
However, Cao Cao's Northern Expedition was much more arduous than Shi Le's, and in May, when Cao Cao personally led a large army to Jixian County, it was the rainy season, the roads were flooded, and "shallow did not open horses, and deep did not carry boats."
Expedition to Wuhuan
Cao Cao resolutely obeyed the advice of the local people and changed to a route that had been cut off for a long time, but "there were still micro-paths to be found". Under the guidance of Tian Yu, Cao Cao's army ascended Mount Xuwu (present-day North yutian, Hebei) and out of Lulongsai (near present-day Xifengkou, Hebei), "more than 500 miles from the Valley of the Mountains", pointing directly to Liucheng ,the old nest of Wuhuan (present-day southern Chaoyang, Liaoning).
In August, when Cao's army was less than 200 miles away from Liucheng, Wu Huan found out, so Jian Dun, Yuan Shang, Yuan Xi and others led tens of thousands of cavalry to attack. When the two armies met, the Wuhuan army was very strong, while the Cao army was "heavy in the rear, there were few armored people, and both left and right were afraid", but Zhang Liao urged Cao Cao to fight. Cao Cao ascended to the top and saw that although there were many Wuhuan troops, the position had not yet been laid out, so he ordered his own holding to be granted to Zhang Liao for temporary use. Zhang Liao commanded the vanguard troops and took advantage of the slight movement of the Wuhuan army to launch a fierce attack on the Wuhuan army. The Wuhuan army was defeated, and the dead were wilded. Wu Huandan was also killed by Linfeng. In the Battle of White Wolf Mountain, the Cao army won a complete victory, with more than 200,000 Hu and Han surrendered.
Cao Cao swept away Wu Huan in one fell swoop.
Everyone saw that in the whole course of the operation, Cao Cao encountered many more difficulties than Shi Le, but Cao Cao did not hesitate or question the strategic decisions made before the expedition. Because he knows that as a leader, if you hesitate, the people below will be confused. Instead of hesitating, he is more active in finding ways to overcome difficulties.
After Cao Cao returned from Wuhuan, he began to ask about the statistics of the people who advised him not to go out to wuhuan, and everyone thought that Boss Cao wanted to settle accounts after the autumn, and they were worried. As a result, Cao Cao said: I encountered many unexpected factors on this trip, although successful, but a large part of it is due to good luck. What everyone says is the perfect solution. Therefore, I want to reward everyone, and I hope that you will continue to advise me later.
Even if he asks the former counselors, everyone knows why, and everyone is afraid. The public rewards it with great rewards, saying: 'Go alone, take advantage of the danger to be lucky, although it is obtained, the heavens are also supportive, so it cannot be normal.' The advice of the kings, the plan of all peace, is to reward each other, and it is not difficult to say it later.
There is a plan in advance, the process is decisively handled abnormal, and there is an analysis and summary afterwards. This is Cao Cao, the consistent way of doing things by an excellent boss.
Why? Because in the previous Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao had to stabilize the situation in the DPRK and China on the one hand, fighting against those royalists (such as Dong Cheng, Ji Ping), and on the other hand, he also had to guard against Sun Ce, Liu Biao, and others in the south, especially Sun Ce, who secretly wanted to move, "it was difficult for the children to fight with the front". The frontal battlefield also had to face Yuan Shao's huge advantages in all aspects. Overall, Cao Cao was in an awkward situation of internal and external troubles, which was much more difficult than Ping Wuhuan. This dilemma actually made Cao Cao completely overturn, and his ability was beyond doubt.
Compared with Shi Le, the advance plan was not perfect, the process was hesitant, and there was no reflection and analysis afterwards.
The two are clear at a glance. If Shi Le met Cao Mengde, it is estimated that he could only be a good general of the five sons.
Second, how to choose the heir
After Shi Le and Cao Cao made a career, they had to face the problem of their own aging and how to choose their heirs.
1. The hesitant Shi Le failed to stop the rise of Shi Hu
Shi Le fell in love with his son, the gentle and humble Shi Hong
, and made him a prince. Let's not talk about why the world has not decided to establish a polite prince. This is Shi Le's own consideration. But after the selection of the prince. He should be given the way to clear the way. This is what every monarch must do.
Hiroshi Taishi
The later Zhu Yuanzhang, after the death of the crown prince Zhu Biao, decided to establish the emperor's grandson Zhu Yunjiao, and began a great purge plan, eliminating the characters he thought might endanger the emperor's grandson one by one, even a general like Lan Yu could kill them.
Under Shi Le, the greatest threat to the crown prince was Shi Le's nephew Shi Hu.
Shi Hu was a man who could fight but was cruel and easy to kill. His cruelty made the murderous Karma Hu boss Shi Le unable to look down. Shi Le kills to intimidate his opponent and achieve the goal of destroying or subduing his opponent, while Shi Hu kills, purely for entertainment, to satisfy his perverted desire to kill. Seeing that Shi Hu was such a person, Shi Le was very uneasy
Wanting to kill him, his mother Wang Said: "When the fast cow is a calf, it can break the car, and Ru is a little ninja." ”
Shi Hu
Shi Le hesitated again, and then decided to look again, Shi Hu was getting bigger and bigger under his hands, winning one battle after another, and in the end, Shi Hu climbed to the rank of Lieutenant
、
Shang Shuling's high position became second only to Shi Le's behemoth. At this time, Zhang Bin was dead, and no one could make Shi Le trust him so much and help Shi Le make up his mind.
A courtier of the late Shi Le
Xu Guanghe
Cheng
They all believed that once Shi Le died, Shi Hong would not be able to control Shi Hu. He repeatedly spoke to Shi Le, demanding that the power of the prince be strengthened, that the prince be close to the government, and that Shi Hu's power be weakened. Although Shi Le gave the prince more power, he never removed Shi Hu.
In the end, before Shi strangled to death, Shi Hu was already in full control
Shi Le is surrounded by close attendants. Shi Hu forbade his relatives and ministers to see Shi Le, so that no one knew about Shi Le's condition. Later, he summoned Shi Le to guard against Shi Hu from becoming the King of Qin, Shi Hong, and king of Pengcheng
Stone kan
Even if Shi Le knew about it and immediately ordered the two to return to the station, Shi Hu still would not let them go back, and even tricked Shi Le into saying that the two were already on their way home.
Shi Le had time and time again to get rid of Shi Hu, but he could not make a decision. This hesitation ultimately harmed himself and his own son. After Shi Le's death, Shi Hu quickly killed Shi Hong and made himself emperor, and then, he went around fighting and building palaces, killing each other and messing up the Zhao state.
It can be said that Shi Le's hesitation eventually led to the demise of Later Zhao.
2, Cao Cao also hesitated, but more decisive
The selection of a successor was a big deal, and Cao Cao also hesitated between Cao Pi and Cao Zhi. It was only after Cao Zhi made several mistakes that Cao Cao saw clearly that he could not take on the big responsibility, and Jia Xu's words made him make up his mind.
How did Cao Cao do it? He directly killed Yang Xiu, Cao Zhi's think tank.
It should be known that Yang Xiu is the top door valve, and Yang Xiu himself is also Cao Cao's great secret. But Yang Xiu was Cao Zhi's mastermind. If he didn't kill Yang Xiu, Cao Zhi wouldn't be dead hearted. Or that Cao Zhi is dead-hearted, and Yang Xiu will not be dead-hearted. Kill Yang Xiu, completely eliminate the possibility of Cao Zhi's recovery, and then tilt the resources to Cao Pi, thus establishing Cao Pi's position as the son of the world.
In the end, Cao Pi successfully succeeded cao cao as emperor under a series of arrangements.
3, the emperor is the two most important things
An emperor, the most important thing is two things:
How to become an emperor and how to pass the throne to the next generation.
Although Cao Cao did not have the name of an emperor, he did have the reality of an emperor. This aspect is no worse than Shile. As for the succession, Shi Le's hesitation once again opened the gap with Cao Cao.
Third, reflection and inspiration
Shi Le thinks too highly of himself, but he is more resourceful and less decisive. Zhu Yuanzhang, who later had the same experience as him, commented more objectively:
"Shi Le was in turmoil at the beginning of the Jin Dynasty, and he did not meet the enemy, so it was easy to succeed. Ran Le Cong had more than enough and was not decisive enough, so he tamed the scourge of Shi Jilong; he did not reborn and the race was destroyed, the so-called courage of the pifu, the benevolence of the woman. ”
On the other hand, Cao Cao, who planned and then moved, was more resourceful and more decisive. As for failing to sweep the world, in addition to encountering capable people such as Liu Bei Zhuge Liang Sun Quan Zhou Yu, it is also related that his ideals are too grand. (For details, see my Cao Cao article)
I've always thought:
Whether you read history or do things, you must pay attention to "grinding on things". From the details and specific events, we can see the real high and low between the characters of different eras, and can we learn from ourselves.