Text/Comrade Guevara
Cao Cao's personality is wide on the outside and jealous on the inside, and it is inevitable that he will be jealous of people with outstanding talents and outstanding abilities, and if these people intentionally or unintentionally offend Cao Cao and touch Cao Cao's tolerance bottom line, they will generally encounter the disaster of killing. There were not a few celebrities who died at the hands of Cao Cao, and in terms of fame alone, especially the sensational effect caused by the killing of the following five people.
1. Side Jean (?) -193)
Bian Rang was a famous scholar at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, who was famous for his erudition and eloquence, and was on a par with Kong Rong and Tao Qiuhong. Bian Rang's reputation was not only great, so he was recruited by the general He Jin as Lingshi, and later served as the Taishou of Jiujiang, returning to his hometown with the chaos of the world war and abandoning the official, and living idly in his hometown of Chenliu County, Yanzhou. Cao Cao, who was serving as the pastor of Yanzhou at this time, was very despised by Bian Rang because he was the adopted grandson of a eunuch, and repeatedly despised and belittled Cao Cao, which made the latter extremely angry. Around 193 AD, Cao Cao ordered bian rang to be killed.
In Cao Cao's eyes, killing Bian Rang was probably no different from crushing an ant, but it caused a big change, and Cao Cao almost lost his place. The following year, during Cao Cao's eastern expedition against Tao Qian in Xuzhou, Chen Gong, Zhang Mi, and others who remained in Yanzhou were dissatisfied with Cao Cao's arbitrariness and turned to Lü Bu as Yanzhou Pastor, and the counties responded one after another, but Fan County and Dong'a insisted on Cao Cao under the control of Xun Yu and Xiahou Huan. Cao Cao fought with Lü Bu for 2 years before he struggled to regain Yanzhou.
As for the relationship between the killing of Bian Rang and Cao Cao's almost loss of Yanzhou, Chen Lin, one of the "Seven Sons of Jian'an", explained in the text on behalf of Yuan Shao: "Therefore, Jiujiang is too defensive of Bian Rang, brilliant and handsome, with a straight face, not to be a slander, and his head is suspended, and his wife and widow are blamed for the destruction of ashes." Since ShiLin was indignant, the people were angry, and they fought with one husband and one arm, and raised the same voice in the state, so they broke through Xu Fang, seized lü Bu, and wandered as if they were of eastern descent, and had nothing to do. ”
2. Kong Rong (153-208)
Kong Rong was the twentieth grandson of Confucius, young and intelligent, gifted with a different person. After growing up, he was erudite and eloquent, good at words, and was on a par with Bian Rang and Tao Qiuhong, and was a famous celebrity in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Kong Rongneng poetry shanwen, together with Chen Lin, Wang Cang and others, known as the "Seven Sons of Jian'an", enjoyed a high reputation in the literary world. Kong Rong, who has a deep family history, is also "smooth sailing" in the political arena with various auras, and has successively served as the Middle Waiter of the Northern Army, the General of the Tiger Ben, the Beihai Xiang, the Assassin of Qingzhou, the General of the Great Master, the Shaofu, and the Taizhong Doctor, and his status and reputation are extremely high.
Cao Cao, because he liked Kong Rongzhi's talent, extended him to the imperial court as an official, intending to take him for his own use, but encountered a series of "soft nails". Kong Rong, believing that he was born into a famous family and was a loyal subject of the Han Dynasty, not only looked down on Cao Cao's origins, but was even more dissatisfied with his behavior of "blackmailing the Son of Heaven to make the princes", often attacking the current politics and ridiculed Cao Cao, which caused the latter to be greatly dissatisfied. Before the southern conquest of Jingzhou, Cao Cao, in order to stabilize the hearts and minds of the people in the rear, instructed his close associate Lu Pu to falsely accuse Kong Rong, and executed him on charges of "recruiting disciples", "attempting to misbehave", "slandering the imperial court", and "disobeying Chao Yi", and killing his entire family.
3. Xun Yu (163-212)
Xun Yu was born into a family of Yingchuan Scholars, and after calling himself Xunzi, he was known for his talent at a young age, and was praised by the great master He Hao as Wang Zuozhicai. Xun Yu first returned to Yuan Shao, and seeing that his ambition was great and talented, and he could not achieve great things, he switched to Cao Cao, who was very weak at that time, and was made "my son's room" by Cao Cao. In the following 21 years, Xun Yu, as Cao Cao's confidant, chief strategist and strategic planner, made great achievements in construction, conspiracy, Kuang Bi, and talent recommendation, and could be described as the primary hero in Cao Cao's camp. Xun Yuguan to Shang Shu Ling, who held the center for more than ten years, handled military affairs, and was revered by the people of the time as "Xun Lingjun".
However, with the strength of Cao Cao's power, his intention to usurp the throne became more and more obvious, and thus there was an intractable gap with Xun Yu, who claimed to be a pure subject of the Great Han Dynasty. Before Cao Cao called himself Duke of Wei and Jia Jiuxi, Xun Yu tried to dissuade him, thus angering Cao Cao. In 212, Cao Cao transferred Xun Yu out of the center and asked him to assist him in the army, and soon forced him to commit suicide. After Xun Yu's death, Cao Cao recalled the process of the two men's acquaintance and friendship, and regretted himself, refusing to be called emperor in his lifetime, probably considering the fulfillment of Xun Yu's legacy.
4. Cui Yan (163-216)
Cui Yan was born in a Family of Qinghe Scholars, handsome in appearance, all-round in literature and martial arts, and was known for his discernment and dedication to love and righteousness very early on. Cui Yan initially returned to Yuan Shao, and later attached cao Cao, and successively served as another driver, a subordinate of Cao Cao, a shangshu, and a lieutenant. Cui Yan's majestic posture and dignified appearance, for the official gang and righteousness, the grand duke is selfless, often in awe of Cao Cao, saying that he has "the wind of Boyi, the straightness of Shiyu".
Cao Cao hesitated about the matter of Li Chu and sent a letter to ask for the opinions of the courtiers, and everyone replied in a secret way, except cui Yan resisted the bluntness and strongly demanded that Cao Pi be made crown prince in the form of an open letter. For Cui Yan's move, Cao Cao clearly praised it, but in his heart he was extremely jealous. Cao Cao claimed to be the Queen of Wei, and Cui Yan wrote in a letter to his subordinate Yang Xun that "when the time comes, there will be a change", and cao Cao learned of it and thought that he was not inferior, so he sent him to prison. In the same year, Cao Cao ordered Cui Yan to be killed, which was greatly deplored by the world.
5. Yang Xiu (175-219)
Yang Xiu was born into a Hao family of "Four Dynasties and Three Dukes", and his father Yang Biao had successively held the posts of Sikong, Situ, and Taiwei, and his status and reputation were extremely high. Yang Xiu was young and intelligent, and his knowledge was profound, and he was recruited by Cao Cao as the master book of the Chancellor, and was highly valued. Yang Xiu's talent is outstanding, his work ability is extremely strong, and the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms says that "when the time comes, the military and the country are troubled, and the general manager of the cultivation knows both outside and inside, and everything is satisfactory." Since the Prince of Wei has descended, and fought for good relations." Because of their similar interests, Yang Xiu and Cao Zhi became close friends and became the core figures who helped him compete for reserves.
Yang Xiu's status and reputation were both high, and he could not help but be arrogant and proud, and he was often hated by Cao Cao for playing "little cleverness", coupled with Yang Xiu's role in the Lichu incident, it was even more angry with Cao Cao, and finally made him make up his mind to kill. In 219, Yang Xiu was executed by Cao Cao for "leaking his words and teachings before and after, and handing over to the princes".