Cao Cao was a great tyrant in ancient history. That way maybe we won't have any objections. Although its means were not favored by people, it played a huge role in future generations, so it has always been called "adulterous male". Seriously, he is a rough-thinking person, who knows people and uses people. He had a large number of excellent strategists, all of whom were the best of the three kingdoms. It can be seen that Cao Cao is powerful, otherwise there would not be so many people who can follow.
Xun Yu was one of them, and after being appreciated by Cao Cao, Cao Cao was not satisfied with him and gave him a food box. After Xun Yu took it, he opened it and looked at it. He had suicidal thoughts and finally put them into action. So why did a food box make Xun Yu commit suicide? What exactly is in this box? It was hard to understand that Xun Yu would give up his life.
Cao Cao
Xun Yu was born into a famous family. His ancestor was the famous thinker Xun Zi during the Warring States period, and his grandfather Xun Shu was known as the "Divine King". Xun Yu's father Xun Yu (荀绲) served as chancellor of Jinan, and his uncle Xun Shuang (荀爽) served as Sikong, so he grew up in a formal family. When the famous scholar He Yong of Nanyang met Xun Yu when he was a teenager, he exclaimed, "This is Wang Zuo's talent!" In the first year of the Yonghan Dynasty (189), Xun Yu was promoted to a filial and honest official. Because Dong Zhuo went to the capital, his power belonged to the government and the public, so Xun Yu abandoned the official and returned to his hometown.
Xun Yu took his family to Jizhou for refuge. He originally took refuge in Jizhou Muhanfu, but by the time he fled with his family, Jizhou had become Yuan Shao's domain. Yuan Shao also admired Xun Yu and regarded him as a guest. However, Xun Yu believed that Yuan Shao could not achieve great things and soon defected to Cao Cao. Cao Cao was ecstatic about Xun Yu's rebellion and said excitedly, "This is my sub-room!" Cao Cao then appointed Xun Yu as Sima of the Other Department. At that time, Xun Yu was only 29 years old.
Xun Yu's importance to Cao Cao was actually equivalent to Zhang Liang's importance to Liu Bang. Many times, at critical moments of life and death, Xun Yu tried to turn the situation around. For example, during Cao Cao's eastern expedition to Xuzhou, Zhang Liao and Chen Gong took the opportunity to betray lü bu, secretly pandering to Lü Bu, and demanding that Yanzhou change its master. Xun Yu, who was guarding Juancheng at that time, saw the conspiracy of Lü Bu and others and did not let them capture Juancheng. After Cao Cao returned to the camp, only by relying on the three cities of Yanzhou preserved by Xun Yu could he overcome the danger. However, things in the world are like sailing against the current. If you don't move forward, you will go backwards. If Cao Cao wanted to ensure the prosperity of himself and his empire, he had to follow the path of replacing the Han Dynasty. Not only Cao Cao, but also his subordinates clearly saw this. Therefore, his subordinate Dong Zhao jumped out first and added Nine Tin to Cao Cao's Jin Dukedom.
Xun Yu
In addition, Guo Jia, Zhong Xuan, Chen Qun and other talents recommended to Cao Cao, as well as "Ying Tianzi" were all from Xun Yu's plan. He has made many achievements in architectural planning, planning, kuangbi, and educating people. How did Xun Yu and Cao Cao fall apart? This was mainly because Cao Cao wanted to enter the Duke of Jueguo and seal the Nine Xi. Xun Yu helped Cao Cao unify the north because Cao Cao had always considered himself a chancellor of the Han Dynasty. Although Xun Yu served as Shangshu, he was always an official of the Han Dynasty, not an official of the Cao family. Therefore, when Cao Cao put forward the idea of self-reliance, Xun Yu explicitly opposed it and made his position clear.
Xun Yu's opposition made Cao Cao very unhappy, so when Cao Cao recruited Sun Quan, he asked Xun Yu to work in Tan County, and took the opportunity to keep him in the army. When Cao Cao's army arrived in Ruzhou, Xun Yu remained in Shouchun due to illness and died soon after. Regarding xun yu's death, the Book of Later Han records: To the end of the beard, Yu sickness left Shouchun, the food, the sight, is an empty vessel, so drink medicine and die. The "Spring and Autumn of the Wei Dynasty" also records: "Taizu fed yu food, and the hair was an empty vessel, so he drank medicine and died." ”
Why did Cao Cao give Xun Yu an empty box, and Xun Yu committed suicide by taking medicine? In fact, it involves the issue of etiquette. Cao Cao gave Xun Yu a food box, but when opened, Xun Yu would have nothing. It was obvious that he wanted to humiliate Xun Yu. At the same time, this is also a test of Xun Yu's attitude. If Xun Yu was weak, Cao Cao would accept him again. However, Xun Yu was humiliated and took medicine and committed suicide.
Gou Jian wanted to contribute to the revival of the Han Dynasty and become a loyal vassal of Cao Cao's side, which could only be achieved through death. Later, Cao Cao was not saddened by the loss of such a capable strategist in the past. On the contrary, his attitude towards Guo Jia's death reflects the infinite sadness of his life