- 01 -
Whoever came
Black clouds pressed the city, and Luoyang City stood alone in the wind and rain between the wind and rain; the moon was as cold as a sword, and the only glimmer of light in this darkness also emitted a chilling chill.
At this time, during the reign of the Eastern Han Ling Emperor, land annexation was in full swing, and the revolt of displaced people was even more massive.
The emperor's act of "pro-villain and distant virtuous subjects" made the power of the eunuch clique grow in the sky, and the most powerful of them was Zhang Rang, one of the "Ten Permanent Attendants".
Zhang Rang, as the most trusted close subject of the Han Ling Emperor, not only held the power of life and death in the imperial court, but even the garrison in his palace was of the highest rank, not to mention the inner courtyard of the imperial palace.
However, even when the security was so tight, some people still broke in.
Surrounded by several sword rays, two strands of cold light rushing left and right, this night's Zhang Mansion lost its former majesty and solemnity due to the sudden intrusion of assassins.
Only to see dozens of guards, struggling to besiege a man in black with a double halberd.
This man was short in stature and agile, and although he was masked, he could not hide his piercing eyes.
But when he saw him wielding his sword and retreating, he finally grabbed the door and came out, and soon disappeared into the misty night.
The moon is dark and the wind is high, when the killing is more than the goods.
This chivalrous warrior who came to assassinate Zhang Rang in the night was none other than Cao Mengde, the "generation of adulterous males".
- 02 -
Accounts differ and opinions vary
Cao Cao, a legendary figure who has been debated by the world for a thousand years and will continue to be debated.
In him, we see two diametrically opposed evaluations, and we see a perfect blend of sincerity and hypocrisy, loyalty and treachery.
Historically, there have been many people who have praised his exploits.
Historian Chen Shou praised him: "Extraordinary man, supernatural masterpiece." ”
Lu Ji praised him: "Jianyuan is credited to Kyushu, so it is recommended by the world." ”
Lu Xun also praised: "Cao Cao is a very capable person, at least a hero. Although I am not a party of Cao Cao, in any case, I always admire him very much. ”
But more voices in history have cursed him than they have praised him.
"Similarities and Differences" scolded him as "the adulterous male of the chaotic world", "The New Language of the World" scolded him for "killing people in good dreams", Liu Zhiji said that he was "comparable to Wang Mang", and Li Shimin said that he had "limited level".
However, the one who scolded him the most was Luo Guanzhong, who borrowed the words of the novel, so black that Cao Cao's body was skinless and infamous.
As the number one villain in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao has been scolded for hundreds of years, so is he deserved it or is he "prejudiced by the world"?
- 03 -
After the eunuchs
In 155 AD, Cao Cao, who had just been born, followed his father Cao Song to the family of Cao Teng, a very powerful eunuch at that time.
For this "grandfather" who was not related by blood, the young Cao Cao, instead of feeling disgusted, was quite respectful of him.
Because Cao Teng, a eunuch, was somewhat different, he was not a bad person with many evil deeds, but an old official fritter who was smart and wise and could recommend talents.
In the political changes from Emperor An of Han to Emperor Huan of Han for more than 30 years, Cao Teng has always stood firm in the political arena, and his grace and trust have not diminished.
During this period, he not only participated in the selection of officials, but also personally supported two emperors.
Suddenly, the limelight was the same.
In 146 AD, Cao Teng was promoted to the rank of Grand Changqiu for his merits as Emperor Huan and given the title of "Marquis of Feiting".
Since then, the Han Dynasty has gradually embarked on the road of no return, while the Cao family has slowly prospered.
Due to the fainting of the Second Emperor Huanling, the expenses of the imperial court were increasing day by day.
Seeing that the national treasury was empty and the granary had reached the bottom, the Han Ling Emperor slapped his head on the door and came up with a good method -- selling the official Lord.
It was good that the official positions of the imperial court were actually like the cabbage in the market, and they became the commodities for sale and purchase.
Although the idea was rotten to the extreme, the Han Ling Emperor was complacent, because he saw: a large amount of silver flowed into his pocket.
The day after the emperor issued the announcement of selling officials, Cao Cao's father Cao Song gritted his teeth and took out "one hundred million dollars" and bought a lieutenant who was one of the three dukes to come back and enjoy it.
Cao Song's "big move" not only won a place in history for himself, but also indirectly laid the foundation for Cao Cao's future development, because Cao Cao at this time was not only after the eunuch, he was also the son of a famous prince.
- 04 -
Young and crazy
After becoming the son of a famous duke, Cao Cao began his idle and wandering life as a clumsy disciple.
Not only was he bold, but he also disobeyed discipline, so he was often scolded by his uncle.
In order to deal with this uncle who is "ignorant of current affairs", Cao Cao directed himself and performed a bitter love drama.
Once, when Cao Cao saw his uncle coming from a distance at the door of his home, he immediately took action, only to see that he deliberately crooked his mouth and squinted his eyes, and his face twitched very ugly.
When the uncle saw this strange look of him, he quickly cared: "Meng De, what is wrong with you?" ”
Cao Cao pretended to be having a hard time speaking, and said with difficulty: "Uncle, uncle, I, I seem to have suffered a stroke." ”
This frightened his uncle, and he trotted up and hurried to tell Cao Song.
At this time, Cao Song was seriously thinking about "how to earn back the money for buying officials" in the study, and after listening to his brother's words, he was also surprised and immediately ran to the gate.
When Cao Song rushed to the gate, he found that Cao Cao was holding Erlang's legs and was leisurely looking up at the sky.
Cao Song asked, "Your uncle said you had a stroke, but it frightened me, is it all right?" ”
Cao Cao held his mouth and said with a look of grievance: "What is the matter, it is that my uncle does not like me, which is why he came to you to slander me." ”
The cunning Cao Cao successfully sued his uncle in front of his father, and from then on Cao Song ignored his brother's complaint, while Cao Cao became even more lawless, and even engaged in the business of robbing people's brides on other people's wedding nights.
- 05 -
Fame rises
Due to the cao family's solid family, Cao Cao lived a long period of life as a teenager. But the origin of the eunuch family also has a great drawback, that is, the problem of reputation.
When the disciples of the warrior clan all over the world disagreed, they would point at your nose and scold: "Ru, after the eunuch, there is no virtue left behind." ”
Although the Cao family did not lack money and power, they lacked a good reputation.
For the sake of fame, Cao Cao changed his playful attitude of flying eagles and lackeys in the past, and began to study seriously and actively contact the celebrities of the shi clan, and Taiwei Qiaoxuan was the first celebrity he came into contact with in his life.
Once, Cao Cao was preparing to visit Qiao Xuan.
Qiao Xuan had long heard that Cao Cao was a prodigal prince who did not do his job, so as soon as they met, he asked in the tone of an elder, "Stinky boy, what do you usually learn at home?" ”
When Cao Cao heard this, he thought in his heart, "It turns out that he was going to take the exam for me, and I have to deal with it well." ”
Thinking of this, Cao Cao responded: "All the sons and hundreds of families have been involved, but they like the Art of War of Sun Tzu the most." ”
Qiao Xuan then asked: "People who can only talk about soldiers on paper, the old man can see a lot, you can read it, but will it be used?" At that time, Sun Bin could make King Hui of Wei demote him, and if you could make the old man leave the seat, even if it was your skill. ”
Cao Cao frowned, counted his heart, turned around and walked outside the door.
Qiao Xuan smiled: "Meng De walks slowly, the old man will not send!" ”
When Cao Cao reached the threshold, he suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground.
Qiao Xuan was horrified, and quickly got up to help, only to see Cao Cao jump up from the ground, touch his red and swollen forehead, and smile: "Gong Jin left his seat!" ”
Qiao Xuan was stunned, and immediately looked at Cao Cao and laughed.
After this incident, Qiao Xuan saw Cao Cao's potential, and he not only regarded him as a "talent of destiny", but also recommended him to xu Shao, a famous scholar at that time.
The famous sentence "The capable minister who governs the world, the adulterous male who is in the chaotic world" is Xu Shao's comment to Cao Cao.
With the praise and appraisal of many celebrities, Cao Cao transformed from "after the eunuchs" to "Qingliu celebrities", and from then on began his own road of ruling the world.
- 06 -
Rulers of the world
Cao Cao, who has reached the age of 20, after having the label of "famous scholar", officially debuted in the C position through the assessment system of "filial piety and honesty".
"Raising filial piety" is an important assessment subject proposed by the great Confucian Dong Zhongshu to select officials, and its role is to select some officials who understand both the "way of filial piety" and "honesty" for the imperial court.
This system attracted many talents for the imperial court at the beginning of its establishment, but unfortunately, it slowly changed its taste later.
The power of recommendation fell into the hands of the family clan, who used their power for personal gain and nepotism, so that by the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a ridiculous phenomenon of "juxiu only not knowing the book, and checking filial piety and honesty and father's residence".
Cao Cao's "filial piety" is just a pretense, and with the power of the Cao family, it is not easy to become an official.
It is easy to be an official, but it is difficult to be a good official.
Cao Cao, who was full of ideals of saving the country and the people, during his tenure, with the thunderous wrist of not being afraid of arrogance and doing things according to law, supported the stormy edifice with "his own strength" and saved this decadent dynasty.
When he first entered the Gate of the Northern Lieutenant of Luoyang, he asked the craftsmen to make dozens of five-colored sticks (similar to the killing sticks of later generations), and all those who violated the prohibition, regardless of their status, would be treated with "big sticks to serve".
In the eyes of many people, Cao Cao's actions are just a show, and no one thinks that he will really act according to the law.
The magnates of Luoyang naturally did not take a small northern lieutenant in their eyes, they still went their own way and committed adultery, until the moment when Cao Cao's big stick smashed down Xiao Huangmen's uncle, the magnates finally realized a terrible fact: it turned out that this boy was playing with real character!
This move of Cao Cao dealt a heavy blow to the arrogance of the eunuch forces, and at the same time won the respect and praise of the world.
Suddenly, when the famous Jingshi mentioned the "eunuch hero Cao Mengde", the people would give a thumbs up and praise: "Good man! ”
As the saying goes: the eunuch is cool for a while, and the heart is cold afterwards. Although Cao Cao's momentary arrogance won the hearts and minds of the people, he couldn't help but sweat in hindsight, because what he offended was not a small person, but the entire eunuch group.
It didn't take long for the revenge to come.
Under the counterattack of the powerful nobles, Cao Cao's career eventually ended in the dismissal of officials.
Although he was hit by evil forces one after another, Cao Cao did not lose his original intention to join the army, and when the country needed him, he still stood up and contributed to the elimination of eunuchs and the elimination of the Yellow Turban.
However, the decay of the imperial court once again struck a blow to Cao Cao's determination to save the mansion, and he resigned from the official position of "Jinan Xiang" and chose to "return to his hometown".
Although these two rounds of going around ended with abandoning the official, he proved his loyalty to the whole world.
- 07 -
Be loyal and courageous
In 189 AD, when Cao Cao, who had the ambition to return to seclusion, came to Chen Liu, a shocking news came from Luoyang, Kyoto: Dong Zhuo was chaotic, brutal and lawless, han dynasty, and storms.
Cao Cao had already seen that Dong Zhuo was not a good thing, but he did not expect that this person was so bold and arrogant, not only killing innocents indiscriminately, but also intending to subvert the Han family world.
At this time, Cao Cao resolutely gave up his plan to return to hiding, and he set up the first army in his life and the first one to erect the "Banner of Seeking Dong" in chenliu.
In 190 AD, encouraged by Cao Cao's initiative, forces from all sides raised the banner of "crusading against Dong Zhuo", and for a while a wave of "begging thieves and hoeing traitors" was formed throughout the country.
In this way, an alliance of princes headed by Yuan Shao and with Yuan Shu, Sun Jian, Cao Cao and others as the backbone was formed.
Shandong Haojie gathered in response, the princes pointed directly at Luoyang, and the brutal and murderous Dong Zhuo was finally afraid.
In order to avoid the soldiers of the princes, he decided to move all the people in Luoyang to his hometown of Chang'an.
"Step by step, more like a family, hungry, full of corpses."
When the army of princes arrived at Luoyang City, there was only a desolate scene of "within two hundred miles, there is no return", and Luoyang City has become a dead city!
In that year, a fire in Xiang Yu burned the Afang Palace for three months; now a fire by Dong Zhuo has reduced this thousand-year-old capital to ashes.
Cao Cao stood in front of the dilapidated palace, looking at the desolate scene of white bones everywhere, and without tears staining his clothes, he angrily raised his pen and wrote down this painful "Xue Lu Xing":
However, Han XxII was not sincere.
Mu monkey and crown belt, know small and strong.
Hesitate to break, because hunting the king.
Bai Hong is the first to suffer.
The thief holds the power of the country and kills the lord and destroys Yukyo.
The emperor's foundation was overthrown, and the Jongmyo temple was burned to death.
Spread the west to migrate, crying and doing.
Jupiro City Guo, the micro child for grief.
In the poem, He Jin is used as a metaphor for Mu Monkey and Dong Zhuo as a thief, expressing Cao Cao's hatred for these two people.
Faced with Dong Zhuo's heinous crimes, Cao Cao advocated immediately pursuing and eradicating the national thieves.
Unfortunately, among the more than ten princes of the road, except for Cao Cao and Sun Jian, everyone was "private more than public", and they wanted to take advantage of the national turmoil to share a "piece of the pie", not to settle the country.
Therefore, the army of princes who should have taken advantage of the victory to pursue them disintegrated by attacking each other, the strong intended to spy on the artifact, and the small one wanted to seize the territory, as for the emperor and the country, in their eyes, it became insignificant.
Cao Cao, who hated iron and steel, was extremely disappointed and said, "North of the kings, I am from the west", and then left in anger.
- 08 -
Turn the tide
Watching the self-disintegration of the princes' armies, Dong Zhuo's Coke, who was sitting in Chang'an, was broken.
After moving the capital to Chang'an, he placed Emperor Xian of Han in Weiyang Palace, and he built a fortress in the east of Chang'an City, named "Long Live Wu".
The walls of Banzaiwu are thick and high, comparable to the walls of Chang'an City.
He hid a lot of grain and jewelry in the dock, and threatened: "Success, I can dominate the world; failure, I am enough to live here safely for a lifetime." ”
Although Dong Zhuo's abacus was loud, he did not expect that his confidant Lü Bu would rebel against the water.
It is ironic that Dong Zhuo, who was unable to kill hundreds of thousands of princes, died at the hands of his close associate Lü Bu.
Although Dong Zhuo died, his remnants were still not weak, and the city of Chang'an was also turbulent and restless, and the most bitter of them was the son of heaven at that time, Emperor Xian of Han.
Whoever is in power is a puppet, and he is a puppet who cannot even guarantee food, clothing, shelter and transportation.
For him, the dignity of the emperor had long been as low as dung, and the persecution of the powerful ministers made him feel precarious.
Just as Emperor Xiandi of Han was living a life of deep water and life was worse than death, a helping hand slowly reached out to him.
Like a person who had lost his footing and fell into the water, he firmly grasped the nearest straw to him, and this straw was Cao Cao.
At this time, Yuan Shao was busy fighting with Gongsun Zhan for territory, Liu Biao was bragging about the lupine scarf in Jingxiang, and Lü Bu and Yuan Shu were also fighting happily.
Cao Cao, on the other hand, was different, and he did a big thing that changed the direction of the world: the princes were obsessed with grabbing territory, while I Cao Cao wanted to grab fame, rob the emperor, and rob the name of loyalty and righteousness.
With the assistance of everyone inside and outside, Cao Cao successfully took Emperor Xian of Han out of the mouth of the tiger and wolf.
He took Emperor Xian of Han to Xu County (Xuchang, Henan) and made it the last capital of the Han Dynasty.
From the homeless wandering tianzi to the han emperor who was dressed in fine clothes and jade, the Han Xiandi finally found his dignity as an emperor.
After Cao Cao received Emperor Xian of Han to Xuchang, he began to get busy.
On the one hand, he built a new palace for the emperor, and on the other hand, he sorted out the imperial program, humble and courteous, and restored the emperor's former majesty. Even small things such as food, clothing, shelter and transportation, he personally inquired about it, meticulous and thoughtful.
When Emperor Xian of Han first arrived in Xuchang, Cao Cao put on a recital called "Shang Miscellaneous Things", indicating that the daily necessities he provided to the emperor were all the royal things given to his ancestors by the former emperor, and he did not dare to use them in vain, but could only offer them to show the emperor's grace, and now he just returned these items to the emperor.
Cao Cao's hand was very beautiful, just through a few words, it made cheap daily necessities into priceless treasures, and also made Emperor Xian of Han moved to tears.
In gratitude for Cao Cao's merits as king of Qin, Emperor Xian of Han issued the first edict since he succeeded to the throne that suited his will: to make Cao Cao a great general (commander-in-chief of the national army, above the three dukes).
Cao Cao's status rose sharply because of his support for the Son of Heaven, but some people were not happy, and even conveyed deep dissatisfaction.
- 09 -
Unify the North
When The Emperor's edict arrived in Hebei, Yuan Shao, the pastor of Jizhou, was so angry that he rose up and said fiercely: "Does Cao Cao still want to step on my head, don't forget, without my help, he would have been killed and fed to the dogs, and now he actually dares to take chicken feathers as an arrow to order me!" ”
Yuan Shao had always been arrogant and arrogant in his family lineage of "Four Emperors and Three Dukes", and now that he heard that Cao Cao had actually become a great general above the Three Dukes, how could he not be angry, if he had not been afraid of the direction of public opinion, I am afraid that he would have gathered a large army to fight Xuchang.
In order to appease Yuan Shao, Cao Cao selflessly ceded the position of general and humbly wrote a letter to ask for peace.
Cao Cao, who "held the Son of Heaven in his hand", did not rush to expand the territory, but instead tried to appease Yuan Shao as much as possible in exchange for time to recuperate and wait for opportunities.
With the continuous destruction of the Central Plains, the two major forces of Yuan Cao finally reached the moment of a duel between male and female.
In 199 AD, Yuan Cao formally broke up, and the two camps gathered their troops on the Guandu front, and at the same time launched a strategy to win over allies. The first object of the two sides to win over was Zhang Xiu, who was entrenched in Rangcheng.
Zhang Xiu and Cao Cao had a vendetta against their son, and when Zhang Xiu raised the crowd to surrender, Cao Cao did not care about the previous suspicions and warmly greeted each other. Not only did he make him a general of Yangwu, but he also formed a family with him.
Cao Cao's honesty and measurement have won the praise of the people of the world, whether it is Wang Yue in Jingzhou or Zhong Xuan in Guanzhong, they all believe that Cao Cao will win!
In August 200, Cao Cao's army of Liyang was dispatched to ban tun bing river. In September of the same year, the troops were divided to guard Guandu, and the "Battle of Guandu" was about to erupt!
Cao Cao, who seized the opportunity, Yuan Shao, who missed the opportunity, Liu Biao, who waited and watched the opportunity, the direction of the Central Plains pattern had a result under the joint "efforts" of the three people: Yuan Shao was defeated, and Cao Cao unified the north!
When Cao Cao led the army into Yuan Shao's old lair, Yicheng, he finally couldn't stop his inner excitement, and a line of hot tears oozed from the corners of his eyes, which were tears of joy and tears of pride. It seems to be announcing to the world that the war in the Central Plains, which is full of thorns and sorrows, has finally ended on my hands.
The Ming Dynasty writer Zhong Yi once wrote "The Song of YiZhong" to lament Cao Cao's efforts to pacify Hebei:
Yi Ze Yi City water zhangshui, there must be a stranger from here:
Male and female affairs and Wen Xin, brothers and sons of kings and subjects;
The hero is not in the chest, is it not in the eyes of the people?
The chief culprit is not two people, and the smell of the stink is one.
Although Cao Cao did a lot of things that were detrimental to reputation, no one could deny his loyalty and heroic instruments.
- 10 -
The original intention is not lost
The reunification of the north made Cao Cao see the hope of the unity of the world.
In 208 AD, Cao Cao, who was already the Chancellor of Han Dynasty, raised an army and slaughtered Ben Jingzhou in a mighty way.
Before leaving, he wrote down the "Turtle Although Shou" that has been sung for thousands of years:
Although the turtle lives long, it is still timely.
The snake rides the fog and eventually becomes earth ash.
The old Ji Futuo, determined to be in a thousand miles.
The martyrs are in their twilight years and their hearts are full of excitement.
The period of surplus and contraction, not only in the day;
The blessing of nourishment can be eternal.
Luckily, even Ya, the song is sung in Yongzhi.
Cao Cao, who was dying of old age but whose ambitions did not diminish, with the pride of galloping thousands of miles and the beautiful blueprint of unifying the world, went south to Jingzhou.
In his eyes, he seemed to have seen a beautiful scene of the unification of the world and the harmony of the people.
"Folding the sand iron is not sold, and the self-grinding and washing recognizes the front dynasty." The East Wind does not go with Zhou Lang, and the Copper Bird Spring Deep Lock Er Qiao".
Sun Liu's alliance, the sudden outbreak of disease, the sudden arrival of the east wind, the rise of flames, perhaps the heavens deliberately made a joke with him, in this "folding sand" chibi, Cao Cao's dream of dominating the world was completely shattered.
Since then, Cao Cao's forces have never been able to push further south, and the "Battle of Chibi" not only changed the direction of the world, but also changed Cao Cao's attitude towards life.
Before that, he: Kuang Chaoting, Saving the Heavenly Son, Fu Han Room, Fixing the World;
After this, he: worshiped the nameless, walked on the sword to the temple, entered the public title of king, and slaughtered the Han courtiers.
But even so, Cao Cao still retained a trace of Han Chen's feelings in his heart, and in the face of Sima Yi and even Sun Quan's persuasion, he stuck to the last bottom line of being a Han Chen—he was willing to be King Wen of Zhou and not be called emperor until his death.
From a lonely and courageous young man, to a chaotic hero in the eyes of the world.
Perhaps Cao Cao's lifelong loyalty and adultery are difficult to discern, but what he asked for in his life was nothing more than the four words "world peace".
The way of the world is infinite, the life of labor is limited, and I know that I sin against me, and I am a king.
In this way, Cao Cao took the taste of this inexhaustible word, leaving the world with a back of the east side of the jieshi, leaving it for posterity to like and dislike, to praise and scold.
"Wei Wu wielded a whip, and there was a posthumous chapter on the east side of jieshi."
Through the vast waves of history, washing complex merits and demerits:
Maybe Cao Cao is just a jianghu warrior wielding a double halberd to assassinate a traitor;
Maybe Cao Cao is just an ordinary father who can't release his hands and often teaches his son to study well.
Perhaps, this is the real Cao Mengde.
Author | Not rainy and xiaoxiao, a storyteller, a swordsman.
Image | Stills from Romance of the Three Kingdoms