Yang Xiu is a typical "second generation official", he came from the famous Door Valve clan - Hongnong Yang Clan, from the high ancestor Yang Zhen to his father Yang Biao, every generation has had someone served as the third duke, the so-called fourth three dukes.
It is reported that the Yang clan and the Runanyuan clan were the two most prominent families at that time.
Yang Xiu was born after the famous door, and since childhood was talented, he was famous in his youth, he and the famous scholar Kong Rong were good friends with Mo Rebellion, even in the Circle of Xu Dushi arrogant You Heng also expressed his admiration for him.
After Yang Xiu defected to Cao Cao's command, Cao Cao also looked at him differently, and appointed him to important positions such as filial piety and master bookkeeper.
And Yang Xiu did not disappoint Cao Cao, his advice was deeply pleasing to Cao Cao, according to the record, "When it was time, the military state was troubled, and the general knowledge was outside and inside, and everything was satisfactory." It can be seen that Cao Cao initially attached importance to Yang Xiu.
However, the honeymoon period of Yang Xiu and Cao Cao did not last long, and soon entered the "run-in period". The reason was that Yang Xiu was involved in the dispute over the throne of Cao Pi's brothers. Compared with the old strategist Sima Yi who followed Cao Pi, Yang Xiu followed Cao Zhi.
Cao Zhizhi was knowledgeable and talented, but his fatal weakness was debauchery, coupled with his political delicacy, and as a result, Cao Cao eventually established the more mature and sophisticated Cao Pi as his heir.
Political struggles have always only won the tears of the laughing losers, and as a result, Yang Xiu, who supported Cao Zhi, naturally entered a run-in period, and the relationship between the two deteriorated. In such a delicate period, Yang Xiu still did not know how to converge and hide, on the contrary, he was arrogant and open-minded, and finally pushed himself into the depths of the cliff.
This is embodied in three things.
First thing: change the door privately.
Once, Cao Cao overhauled the Xiang Mansion, and when it was completed, he personally went to check and accept it, and after reading it, he did not say a word, but just wrote a "living" word on the gate. When Yang Xiu heard about it, he immediately asked the construction workers to make the door one smaller. When the worker asked the reason, Yang Xiu explained: "The word "live" added to the "door" is the word "wide", and the beggar is a little too big. As a result, after Cao Cao heard about it, he hated Yang Xiu, who had made a clever change of his own.
Second case: I eat myself.
Once, someone "honored" Cao Cao with a box of crisp candy, and after he took a bite, he wrote a "he" character and walked away. Yang Xiu saw it and immediately asked everyone to come and eat together. When the crowd asked why, Yang Xiu said that Cheng Xiang had not written "one person and one bite"? As a result, after Cao Cao heard about it, he was even more evil to Yang Xiu.
Third case: Self-discharge.
When Cao Cao sent troops to Attack Liu Bei in Hanzhong, he ended up trapped at the mouth of the Xiegu Valley and wanted to enter the army, but was rejected by Ma Chao, who wanted to collect the troops and return to the Dynasty, and was afraid of being laughed at by the Shu soldiers, so he hesitated. As a result, the chef happened to get a bowl of chicken soup for him to eat that night. Cao Cao was very impressed when he saw the situation, and at this time Xiahou Huan entered the account and asked for the slogan of the night military order. Cao Cao replied casually, "Chicken ribs! Chicken ribs!" xiahou Huan ordered all the officials to call them "chicken ribs!" When Yang Xiu heard about it, he asked the accompanying soldiers to pack their bags and prepare for their return. Someone reported that Xiahou Huan was informed. Xiahou Huan was surprised and came to ask Yang Xiu, who said: "Tonight's order shows that the King of Wei will soon retire and return to China, chicken ribs, eat no meat, and it is a pity to lose it." Now, the advance of the army can not be victorious, the retreat is afraid of shame, there is no benefit here, it is better to go back as soon as possible, tomorrow the king of Wei will inevitably return to the dynasty. So pack your bags first, so as not to panic when you leave. So all the soldiers in the military village were making preparations to return home.
When Cao Cao found out, he summoned Yang Xiu. Yang Xiu replied with the meaning of chicken ribs. Cao Cao was furious when he heard this, and as a result, on the grounds of rumors and disturbances in the hearts of the army, he ordered the sword and axemen to behead Yang Xiu and hang his head outside the yuanmen.
Regarding the real reason why Cao Cao killed Yang Xiu, there are many paintings, some saying that Cao Cao is jealous of Xian's ability, and some saying that Yang Xiu was implicated by Yuan Shao's brother Yuan Shu, but the internal reason may be as Yang Xiu himself lamented, he is the shadow of the dispute between Cao Pi and Cao Zhi for the throne, and since the defeat of Cao Zhi, whose assistant Cao Zhi, his tragic fate has been doomed. It is said that before his death, Yang Xiu once said to people: "I insist that I will die late." "That is to say, I also know that I died too late, and I should have died a long time ago." Presumably, Yang Xiu already knew that Cao Cao would poison him sooner or later.
Cao Cao died within a few days of killing Yang Xiu, not knowing whether it was accidental or providential. At present, there is still a tomb of Yang Xiu on the side of the ruins of the Warring States Wei Great Wall in the south of Hewan Village in Huayin City, as if telling the tragic history of that year.