Cao Cao: The traitor and hero in history
Cao Cao, a controversial figure in Chinese history. Many people believe that he is an unscrupulous traitor who will do anything to usurp the Han family. But others praised him as a hero who lifted Daehan to ashes. The debate over Cao Cao's evaluation has been going on for thousands of years.
One of the controversial events was his killing of Lu Boyu's family. "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" describes this incident as manslaughter, which led to Cao Cao gaining the stigma of "traitorous male". However, we should not use the novel as a historical reference, but should read the history books to find the truth.
In fact, the historical record of Lu Boyu's family is completely different from the manslaughter statement in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Cao Cao did not kill Lu Bofu's family by mistake, and the death of Lu Bofu's family was not unjust. So, what really happened at that time? What kind of person is Cao Cao? Today we will explore the truth of Cao Cao and this ancient mystery.
Cao Cao came from a prominent family and was very superior to other princes. However, his family status also put him in an awkward position. Cao Cao's original surname was Xiahou, and the ancestor of the Xiahou family was Xiahou Ying, the founding father of the Western Han Dynasty. Therefore, the entire Han Dynasty had great respect for the Xiahou family. However, at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Xiahou family began to decline and lost its influence in the imperial court. Cao Cao's father, Xiahou Song, was forced to recognize the then great eunuch Cao Teng as his godfather in order to make a living, and changed his surname to Cao Song. As a result, Cao Cao became Cao Teng's godson.
Cao Teng was very powerful in the imperial court and should have given Cao Cao a chance to rise to prominence. However, Cao Cao's identity made people look down on him, even contempt. Cao Cao's childhood playmate, Yuan Shao, who enjoyed the reputation of "the fourth and third princes" in the family, once angrily rebuked Cao Cao: "The grandson of a eunuch is not a talent!" Despite this, the Cao family was still a famous family at the time, and Cao Cao also received a good education. Cao Cao's godfather Cao Teng was a great eunuch who was favored by the emperor and had a high status and power. Therefore, people only dared to talk about Cao Cao behind his back, but did not dare to criticize him in person.
Although Cao Cao was successful in his studies at a young age, due to his family's prominent status, he also became a second ancestor, who liked to be debauched and hedonistic. Cao Cao's naughtiness can be said to be very high. He once stole a couple of brides with Yuan Shao, an incident that shows Cao Cao's mischievous and mischievous behavior as a teenager.
However, Cao Cao grew up behaving completely differently than he did as a teenager. He began to befriend the heroes of the world, and met Liu Bei, who was also a young man, and the two met each other. This also explains why Cao Cao would take a fancy to Liu Bei, who had no territory and strength at that time, in the future. In later maturity, Cao Cao became humble and studious, keen to read and learn the art of war extensively. This is in stark contrast to his early behavior, which attracted great attention and appreciation from many.
At that time, Situ Qiaoxuan had a close relationship with Cao Cao's father Cao Song. When visiting Cao Cao's house, the two talked in private, and Qiao Xuan warned Cao Cao with serious words: "The world will be chaotic, and the talent of the world cannot be saved, and the one who can calm the world is you!" Xiangguo Changshi He Qi also spoke highly of Cao Cao: "If the Han family wants to perish, it must be Cao Cao who can stabilize the world!" The famous critic Xu Shao commented that Cao Cao's words have become a famous sentence through the ages: "Cao Cao is a capable courtier when he rules the world, and a traitor in troubled times!" These evaluations show Cao Cao's ingenuity and ruling ability.
The bravery and political ambition that Cao Cao showed as an adult led him to rise to prominence in politics. During his tenure as Prime Minister of Jinan, he intensified his efforts to crack down on corrupt officials, causing corrupt officials in Shandong to flee. The whole of Shandong was politically clear, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, creating a situation in which "politics and religion are in a big way, and one county is clean". During this period, Cao Cao was highly praised and evaluated.
However, at that time, two important events occurred that changed the course of history and also changed Cao Cao's fate. In 184 AD, the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out, and the rule of the Han Dynasty became increasingly corrupt, and the people were oppressed. In order to quell the uprising, the imperial court began to recruit troops in various places. Cao Cao also responded to the call for conscription and was appointed as a cavalry lieutenant, accompanying Huangfu Song in his crusade against the Yellow Turban Uprising. During the battle, Cao Cao repeatedly made battle merits, so he was appointed by the imperial court and became the chancellor of Jinan.
However, the events that followed were key to changing the landscape of history. Emperor Ling of Han died, and the young Liu Wei succeeded to the throne, but was unable to govern personally, and power fell into the hands of Empress Dowager He and the general He Jin. He Jin attempted to take advantage of the death of Emperor Ling and the loss of eunuchs to eliminate them, so he followed Yuan Shao's advice and summoned Dong Zhuo to Beijing and kill the eunuchs.
However, He Jin was killed by eunuchs before Dong Zhuo could reach the capital, and Dong Zhuo took advantage of the situation to enter the capital to control the imperial government. To the surprise of the officials in the capital, the newly arrived Dong Zhuo was even more indulgent and promiscuous than the previous eunuchs. He not only controlled the imperial government and caused chaos in the harem, but also frequently killed ministers for no reason to show his majesty.
Cao Cao was full of hatred for Dong Zhuo, so he decided to take action personally and assassinate Dong Zhuo. However, his assassination failed and led to the famous "Meng De Sacrifice the Sword" incident. Cao Cao had to flee out of Beijing, and on the way met the famous scholar Chen Gong. During the flight, Cao Cao and Chen Gong passed by Lü Bofu's house, and Lü Boyao was not at home at this time. Lü Boyu's son and servants saw Cao Cao fleeing with his belongings and became evil and wanted to rob Cao Cao. Cao Cao killed several people in self-defense and repelled the gang of looters.
From the historical records, it can be found that the description of this event in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" has many unreasonable points. Cao Cao was originally on the run, and time was urgent, how could he let Lu Boyao go out to buy wine because of drinking? In addition, the statement that Lu Boyu's son slaughtered pigs and sheep with great fanfare is even more unreasonable. Lu Boyu's family lived in the village, and this behavior was bound to arouse the suspicion of the neighbors. All this makes us suspect that the description of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is to discredit Cao Cao.
The historical records of this event are completely different. Cao Cao did not kill the Lu Boyao family by mistake, and the death of the Lu Boyao family was caused by their own delusion. They saw the fleeing Cao Cao carrying his belongings, and moved his heart to rob Cao Cao. And Cao Cao, in order to protect himself, personally killed several people. This historical record is more reasonable and credible.
To sum up, Cao Cao's image is shaped by "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" in most people's minds. However, remember that "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is only a novel, and artistic and literary images do not represent the truth of history. We should understand history more fully by reading history books. Through a detailed study of historical events, we can find that Cao Cao is not a pure adulterer, but a complex and multifaceted figure. Only by drawing the truth from the history books can we better understand history and learn from it.
