In that fierce era of the Three Kingdoms hegemony, Cao Cao relied on his strong military strength and outstanding strategy to unify the north and lay the foundation of the Cao Wei Dynasty. However, thirty or forty years after Cao Cao's death, Sima Yi actually launched a usurpation coup d'état and seized the Cao family. Thinking about it carefully, if Cao Cao's most trusted member was alive, how could Sima Yi dare to be so presumptuous?
When mentioning the generals of Cao Wei, famous generals such as Xiahoudun, Cao Ren, and Zhang Liao are always popular topics. However, among these famous generals, there is another existence with an extraordinary identity - Cao Zhen. He is not only Cao Cao's adopted son, but also the brother of Cao Pi and Cao Shuang, and can be said to be the purest bloodline in the Cao family.
As the leader of Cao Wei's second generation of generals, Cao Zhen's military might was famous. He was deeply cultivated by Cao Cao since he was a child, learned from ancient and modern, and excelled in martial arts, and was a veritable military wizard at that time. In 221 AD, when Cao Zhen was only in his early twenties, he made great achievements in war, put down the rebellion in the Hexi region in one fell swoop, and won a complete victory.
In the following years, Cao Zhen has made many miraculous achievements. In Cao Pi's campaign against Eastern Wu, Cao Zhen commanded the army in the middle and completely defeated the Wu generals Sun Sheng and Zhuge Jin, so that Sun Quan had to submit to Cao Wei again. What's even more eye-catching is that when Zhuge Liang launched a large-scale northern expedition with the heroes of Shu, it was Cao Zhen who commanded the opportunity to repel the Shu army again and again, so that Cao Wei's rivers and mountains would not be damaged.
Cao was really invincible, and it could be said that no one was invincible at that time. Even Zhuge Liang, a military wizard, suffered a lot under his men. Although Zhuge Liang made full preparations for the Northern Expedition to Cao Wei, he was repelled by Cao Zhen's famous generals every time and returned in vain.
For example, during the first Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang successfully occupied the three counties of Nan'an, Tianshui and Anding with a sudden attack. However, Cao Zhen reacted quickly and personally commanded the army to fight fiercely with the Shu army, not only repelling Ma Yan, Zhao Yun and other fierce generals of the Shu army, but also regaining the lost land. Even Zhuge Liang's second Northern Expedition ended halfway because of the stubborn resistance of Hao Zhao, who was selected by Cao Zhen.
In the face of such a difficult opponent, Zhuge Liang was also very troubled. Because as long as there is Cao Zhen, the big Buddha, guarding Cao Wei, his Northern Expedition will never have any hope of success. Just as he said helplessly to his cronies back then: "If it weren't for Cao Zhen's big shrimp there, the old man would have uprooted Cao Wei a long time ago!"
Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that Cao Zhen has rarely failed in his life. Even military wizards like Zhuge Liang sighed to themselves. If you have to single out his defeat from history, I am afraid that there is only that unsmooth battle of Shu. At that time, the roads were muddy and difficult to walk, and the rainy days were non-stop, so Cao Zhen had no choice but to give up.
However, judging by this standard, Zhuge Liang's own five Northern Expeditions can all be regarded as "defeats" of defeat. Therefore, Cao Zhen's battle to destroy Shu was at best a failure to achieve the expected goal, and it was not a defeat in the real sense.
Cao Zhen can be said to be the last pillar of the Cao Wei Dynasty, he is talented, strategic, fearless, and admirable. If such a person lived for a hundred years, how could Sima Yi dare to launch a coup d'état? Back then, Cao Wei's military power was in the hands of Cao Zhen, and Sima Yi didn't dare to be presumptuous at all. It's a pity that Cao Zhen also continued the short-lived fate of the Cao family and died young. It was precisely because of Cao Zhen's premature death that the military power fell into the hands of Cao Shuang, a mediocre person, that it was an opportunity for Sima Yi to spy on Cao Wei's foundation, which eventually led to a tragedy. #头条首发大赛#