Time, only time, is the universal glue that bridges the gap between history!
- Anon
There can be "the journey of the sun and the moon, if out of it." The stars are brilliant, if cao Cao, who "swallows the heart of the universe", has both "the mountain is not tired of height, and the sea is not tired of deep." Zhou Gong spits and feeds, and the world returns to the heart". At the same time, he also has the domineering spirit of "preferring to teach me to bear the people of the world, and to teach the people of the world to bear me" and "to make the world have no orphans, I don't know when several people are called emperors, and several people are called kings", and all this stems from "Zhou Xi Bochang, with this holy virtue." Three parts of the world, and two. Cultivate contributions, and the subjects will not fall. Qi Huan's work is the way of hegemony. Nine princes, one world. A world of war, not a military vehicle. Righteous and not righteous, its virtue is called. Jin Wen was also hegemonic and bowed to the Heavenly King. Be blessed with the selflessness of Gui Zhen, The Bow of the Beard.
This is Cao Cao's philosophy of establishing the world, which is in line with the "Tao Te Ching" that "the heavens and the earth can be long and long, because they do not give birth to themselves, so they can live forever, they are preceded by the saints, they exist outside their bodies, and they are selfless, so they can become selfish". In the face of the persuasion of the emperor and even Sun Quan, Cao Cao said: "If the mandate of heaven is in me, I am the king of Zhou Wen."
Throughout his life, Cao Cao did not claim the title of emperor, so why was he repeatedly stabbed and insulted as a traitor?
Cao Cao and Dong Zhuo
Although the Cao Cao family was not as prominent as Yuan Shao, it was also a Hao family and was subject to Han En. Therefore, Cao Cao, who was born of filial piety, had a patriotic enthusiasm. After Dong Zhuo deposed the emperor, he had the idea of assassinating Dong. After receiving the support of Situ Wang Yun, Cao Cao, who was armed with the Seven Star Sword, went alone to assassinate Dong Zhuo. Although he failed, his courage and feats were supported by courtiers and people.
Later, Cao Cao was also honored as a chancellor and the king of Wei, and was also assassinated. Doesn't this mean that there is no difference between Cao Cao and Dong Zhuo?
Dong Zhuo, as the representative of the warlords of Western Liang, deposed the emperor without authorization, did not have any moral government and good deeds, but only blindly satisfied his own selfish desires, and entered the position of "ya father" and prepared to usurp Han to stand on his own. Cao Cao was different, he "appointed the Son of Heaven to order the princes" and married his daughter to the emperor. During Cao Cao's lifetime, he basically unified the north and gave the people a stable life, and had no intention of standing on behalf of the Han Dynasty.
However, the essential difference could not be understood by everyone, resulting in Cao Cao being assassinated by the emperor's "secret edict", the state abbot Dong Cheng, the Tai doctor Ji Ping, the Shaofu Geng Ji, the Western Liang Ma Teng, and others, which can be described as nine deaths!
Cao Cao and Liu Bei
Liu Bei held the "Secret Belt Commandment" and firmly believed that Cao Cao was a "national thief", because this was a document officially issued by the emperor. It can be seen that Cao Cao was also an out-and-out warlord, and the emperor was nothing more than a puppet. In other words, Cao Cao also "wants to be a bitch and set up a torii arch", that is, he refuses to tear off the fig leaf of the "emperor".
Because the cost of tearing off this fig leaf is too great, as Cao Cao said, "Let the world be alone, and I don't know when a few people are called emperors and several people are called kings." It was precisely because of the banner of the emperor, and the rest of the non-vassals were all traitors and thieves, that Cao Cao could justifiably suppress the rebellion.
And Liu Bei became the orthodox ruler who held the edict, which was a very embarrassing thing for Cao Cao, who held the Son of Heaven, and this is why he was regarded as a traitor. People like Dong Cheng, Tai Yi Ji Ping, and Shaofu Geng Ji can all be counted as "imperial parties", they all regard Cao Cao as Dong Zhuo's people, and they also want to get rid of Cao Cao like Situ Wang Yun to get rid of Dong Zhuo, but what will happen to the country after getting rid of them? Not only did Wang Yun not think about it, but they also didn't think about it.
This is the value of Cao Cao's existence, which can not only retain the banner of the Great Han, but also maintain political stability, and continue to suppress rebellion. Liu Bei did not think so, he thought that Cao Cao was a traitor. Cao Cao said: "Heroes of the world, only the king and Cao Er"! Both of them are heroes.
Therefore, Cao Cao also saw that the number of Great Han Qi was not exhausted, and he was only willing to be the King of Zhou Wen all his life, and left the role of King Wu of Zhou to Cao Pi, which is also Cao Cao's affection for the Great Han and his wisdom - let time dilute everything! After the emperor's death, Liu Bei directly proclaimed himself emperor and continued to continue the orthodox banner of the Han Dynasty, because he was a descendant of the Liu clan who held the "secret belt edict", and his name was justified.
Cao Cao and Ma Teng
Ma Teng's assassination of Cao Cao was a struggle between warlords. Although Ma Teng also scolded Cao Cao as a Han thief, who dared to guarantee that he was not the second Dong Zhuo?
After cao cao adopted Xun Yu's strategy of "driving away the tiger and swallowing the wolf", he wanted to provoke civil unrest in the Ma Teng clique, but ma Teng saw through it, so he planned to assassinate Cao Cao, but the result was still unsuccessful.
Whether it is the struggle between orthodoxy, the imperial party, or the warlords, it is a struggle for power, and in the end it is a struggle for strength. The Han Imperial Chamber was in decline, the qi was exhausted, the warlords were in a scuffle, and Cao Cao and Liu Bei were bent on supporting the Han Chamber, but they just had the same destination! It can be seen that Cao Cao was a politician, military man, and poet with strength, courage, and certain virtues.