The Complete Biography of Cao Cao

Chapter 1 Born in Troubled Times: Xiaolu's Wisdom Begins
Looking for outstanding people in Bozhou on the banks of Lingwo River

Cao Cao's name is Mengde, his name is Jili, and his small character is Aman.Emperor Huan was born in the first year of Yongshou (AD 155) in Qiao County, Peiguo, which is now Bozhou City in northern Anhui.

Qiao is an ancient land. "Historical Records·Yin Benji" records: "Tang first lived in Bo." That is to say, Shang Tang once established his capital here.Qiao County controls the east and west, and controls the north and south. The geographical location is very important, and it has been a battleground for military strategists in history.It is said in history: "In times of crisis, it is the place where the heroes compete, and when the peace is peaceful, it is the place where the characters converge. Wherever the land and water go, it is a metropolis in Huaixi. The realm is four-dimensional, and heroes come out." Chen Sheng and Wu Guang revolted, and Qiao was the first to be captured. one of the places.During the Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, it has always been regarded as an important place.At the end of Tang Dynasty, Huang Chao rebelled and once captured Bozhou.Both the Jin and Yuan dynasties were important festival towns.At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Liu Futong rebelled and made Han Lin'er the emperor. He once built his capital here.Li Zicheng's Uprising Army in the late Ming Dynasty, the Nian Army in the late Qing Dynasty, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Army all fought in this area, and it became the place where countless powerful historical figures used their skills.

There is a Wo River in Qiao County, which flows from northwest to southeast, and finally flows into Huaihe River in Huaiyuan, Anhui today.Cao Cao's home is located on the bank of the Guo River in the east of Qiao County.Li Daoyuan's "Shui Jing Zhu" volume two and three "Yingou Shui Zhu" said: "There is the old house of Cao Taizu in the east of the city, where the negative Guo is opposite the house, and the side God is facing the water." Near Ganjiawan on the river bank, the buildings have long since disappeared, but there is still a plateau at the site, which is called Miaotaizi by the local people, and fragments of Han tiles can be found or excavated from the soil from time to time.Now there is a sign of "the hometown of Wei Wu" at the site for tourists to remember the past.According to Li Daoyuan's records, behind the site is the city wall, next to it is the city moat, and in front are the shops with people coming and going and the endlessly flowing Guohe River. It can also be called a place with convenient transportation, wide vision and beautiful scenery.

Cao Cao spent his childhood and youth in his hometown.After embarking on the journey of official career and the transition from north to south, he returned to live in Qiao County many times.It can be said that Qiao County is closely related to Cao Cao's life activities, and there are still many relics of that year in Bozhou.There are:

Guanjiatai.There are one mile to the northeast of the city and one mile to the northwest of the city, which are called Dongtai and Xitai respectively, and there are still tall earthen platforms.It was built by Cao Cao when he was promoting farming in the county. Cao Cao once personally supervised the farming and planting here.

Cao Cao's garrison was divided into two types: military tun and civilian tun. There were both military tun and civilian tun in Qiaoxian County. The area from the county seat to the west to Wuping (now west of Anliuji, [-] miles away from the city) was the military tun. East to Qiaoling Temple area is Mintun.At that time, there were quite a lot of savings here, and it was one of the rear bases for Cao Cao to fight north and south.In addition to supervising farming and watching farming here, Cao Cao also trained the navy here before the Hefei battle, and returned here to train the army after the Hefei battle.

Qiaoling Temple.In the sandy soil area thirty miles east of Haozhou City.In the second year of Zhongping (AD 185), Cao Cao was excluded in the court. He returned to Qiao County from Luoyang and built a Buddhist temple fifty miles east of the city. He studied in autumn and summer, and shot and hunted in winter and spring.According to "Bozhou Chronicles", there is a stone tablet on the original tree in front of the temple, which is called "Qiaoling".

Nancao Temple, Beicao Temple.Nancao Temple is 32 miles north of the city, and Beicao Temple is two miles north of Nancao Temple.It was rebuilt in the fourth year of Mingqi (1624 A.D.), and the inscription says that it was once the place where Cao Cao stationed troops.There are pavilions, flowers and trees, and it was once a tourist attraction.

Horse blocking wall, drinking horse pit.At the north end of the urban racecourse.The horse-blocking wall is a low wall several feet long. It is said that Cao Cao used it to block horses when he trained army horses here.There is a horse drinking pit nearby, which is said to be the place where Cao Cao drank horses.

Underground guide way.In the urban area of ​​Bozhou, the north and south are vertical and horizontal, and more than 2000 meters have been excavated one after another.It is a brick underground passage, about two meters high and more than one meter wide.Cao Cao used troops to emphasize victory by surprise, or deliberately exposed his troops to show his strength to the enemy, or deliberately concealed his troops to show his weakness to the enemy, confuse the enemy army with falsehoods.The legend of the underground way of leading soldiers was used by Cao Cao to practice flexible strategies and tactics.

Octagonal platform.In the southern suburbs of the city.According to "Bozhou Chronicles", this was built when Cao Cao captured and killed Lu Bu and defeated Yuan Shao and returned to Qiao County to reward soldiers and inspect the army.There are still raised earth platforms.

In addition, there are also buildings such as the Temple of Emperor Wu of Wei and the Huaxi Building built by later generations. "Bozhou Chronicle" contains: "The temple of Emperor Wu of Wei is located seven miles east of the city. It was repaired by Emperor Zhenzong of Song Dynasty and restored in the first year of Qianxing (1022). It is said that Cao Cao has "magnificence and incomparable power", and in the era of "the emperor's plan is turbulent, the sea is turbulent, and the heroes are all known together". Heroes of "Three Parties" and "killing Yuan and blocking power, and each being strong". Cao Cao stationed troops in Qiao County in the first month of the seventh year of Jian'an (AD 202), and issued a "Military Qiao Order", requiring the local area "to build temples for the survivors, to make worship his ancestors". After Cao Cao's death, people in his hometown built a temple for him, which can be regarded as a kind of inheritance of his legacy. The Huaxi Building is a building in the early Qing Dynasty. It was originally the Shanshan Guild Hall. Between the gate tower and On a stage in the temple, there are brick carvings and painted flowers, plants, animals and other openwork carvings.

The tombs of Cao Cao's family are also in the southern suburbs of Bozhou. "Shui Jing Zhu Yingou Shui Zhu" has detailed records about this. In the north of the temple there are two stone ques and double stands, one zhang six feet high, and the cypresses and pillars are all carved with cloud columns, and the upper 罘罳 has been broken."In addition, the tombs of Cao Teng and others were described.There are still more than ten miles of tomb sites around Cao Sigudui and so on in this area. After 1970, these tombs were successively excavated. Among them, Tomb No. 15.3 of Dong Yuan is entirely of stone structure. The inside of the tomb is 10.2 meters long, 3 meters wide, and [-] meters high. It consists of north-south ear rooms and east-west side rooms, and has a considerable scale.A large number of character bricks were unearthed from the tomb, and the character bricks were engraved with words such as "Building a wall for Cao Hou", "Comparing the ratio of beautiful poems", "Cao Teng's character Ji Xing".In addition, jade clothes with silver strands, copper knives, iron halberds, iron coins, pearls, gold ornaments, jade ornaments, etc. were also unearthed.

The relics left by Cao Cao in Bozhou and other places have left extremely valuable first-hand information for countless descendants to remember Cao Cao's achievements and study Cao Cao's life and thoughts.The people of Bozhou cherish these relics very much, maintain and repair them carefully, and believe that these relics will last forever with Cao Cao's reputation and achievements, and play an enduring role in spreading historical knowledge and promoting national culture.

The second hero is dissolute since he was a child, witty and scheming

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, political corruption, eunuch monopoly, deepening social crisis, sharper class conflicts, and social turmoil... This is a turbulent era, and it is also an era in which the times make heroes.

The regime of the Eastern Han Dynasty was basically the continuation and development of the landlord regime of the Western Han Dynasty, and the powerful landlords still enjoyed political and economic privileges.In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the power of powerful landlords developed further, and land annexation became more intense.Under the cruel oppression and exploitation of the landlord class and the powerful and responsible clans, the broad masses of peasants lived a life that was not as good as that of cattle and horses.At the same time, the struggle among the ruling class's relatives and eunuch groups was very fierce.Especially after Emperor Hanhe (89 AD) and Emperor Han'an (107 AD), politics became darker.In order to compete for the power to control the central government, the two groups of foreign relatives and eunuchs crowded out and killed each other, making the whole court a mess.Regardless of relatives or eunuchs, once they gain power, they will ruthlessly exploit and squeeze the people, causing the people to suffer even more serious disasters.

Cao Cao's grandfather, Cao Teng, entered the palace as an eunuch in his early years and served five emperors, Emperor An, Emperor Shun, Emperor Chong, Emperor Zhi and Emperor Huan, for more than [-] years.During the reign of Emperor An, he was an official of Huangmen.At that time, Emperor Shun was in the East Palace, and Empress Dowager Deng issued an edict to select young, gentle, obedient and prudent people from the Zhonghuangmen to accompany the crown prince. Cao Teng was chosen, and he was deeply loved by the crown prince. The food and rewards were all different. .After Emperor Shun ascended the throne, he became a Xiaohuangmen and moved to the middle of the country to serve as a regular servant.After the death of Emperor Zhi, Taiwei Li Gu wanted to make the "old and virtuous" King Suan of Qinghe the emperor, while the general Liang Ji wanted to make Liwu Hou Zhi. , Said: "The general is in charge of the government, and there are many guests under him. The fault is not small. Qinghe King Yanming, if he becomes the emperor, the general will soon be in disaster. It is better to establish Liwuhou, so that you can keep your wealth forever." These words It was exactly what Liang Ji wanted, and Liang Ji agreed immediately.The next day, Liang Ji went to the court, aggressive and fierce, and used high-handed means to subdue the crowd, and deposed Li Gu, and finally pushed Liwuhou to the throne of the emperor. This is Emperor Huan.After Emperor Huan ascended the throne, Cao Teng was granted the title of Marquis of Fei Ting because of his contribution to the decision-making of policies.

Li Gu is a representative of the hard-line bureaucrats. He opposed the monopoly of eunuchs and reprimanded all the eunuchs of the Huangmen in the court. Cao Teng opposed Li Gu's proposition, obviously to safeguard the interests of the eunuch group.However, Cao Teng was different from ordinary eunuchs. He did not reject all bureaucrats and scholars. On the contrary, he paid more attention to recommending virtuous scholars among them, such as Chen Liu Yufang, Bian Shao, Nanyang Yangu, Zhang Wen, Hongnong, Zhang Huan, Yingchuan Tangxidian and others were all recommended by him to become ministers.He helped others, but he didn't boast of it.The handling of some things also seems to be quite generous.For example, the prefect of Shu County wanted to build a relationship with him, so he took advantage of the opportunity of the county officials to go to Beijing and sent him a letter expressing his admiration.Zhong Hao, the governor of Yizhou, learned of the news, and sent someone to search for the letter at Hangu Pass, and wrote a letter to the prefect, and even related to Cao Teng. Official punishment.The emperor saved Cao Teng on the grounds that "the book came from outside, and it was not Teng's fault".Zhong Hao took Cao Teng's army, but Cao Teng didn't hold grudges against him. On the contrary, he often praised Zhong Chang, saying that he was a "capable official" and was quite "good at things."By doing so, Cao Teng also earned himself a reputation.Later, Zhongchang became a Situ, not forgetting the benefits of Cao Teng, and once said to others: "I can be a Sangong today, thanks to the kindness of Cao Changshi!"

The Eastern Han Dynasty was an era when eunuchs could marry concubines and adopted sons, and the adopted sons could inherit the title and inherit the title. Therefore, Cao Teng also adopted an adopted son, named Cao Song, with a huge character. This is Cao Cao's father.

Thanks to the adoptive father of a great eunuch like Cao Teng, Cao Song's official career went smoothly, and he easily achieved the official position of Sili Xiaowei.During the reign of Emperor Ling, he was transformed into Da Si Nong and Da Honglu.Coincidentally, Emperor Ling opened the West Garden to sell officials. Cao Song bribed the eunuchs in power and paid 187 million yuan to buy the official position of Taiwei in November of the fourth year of Zhongping (AD 193) recall).After Cao Teng died, he attacked Fei Tinghou again.After Cao Cao raised his army, Cao Song refused to accompany him, so he gave up his official position in the capital and returned to live in Qiao County.In the fourth year of Chuping ([-] A.D.), in order to avoid Dong Zhuo's rebellion, he was killed by the subordinates of Tao Qian, the governor of Xuzhou, in Langya.

Cao Song was able to pay 20 million yuan to buy an official job, which shows how rich his family is.During this period, more than one Cao family was a high-ranking official at the central and local levels. Teng's nephew Cao Ding (uncle Cao Hong) was an official to Shang Shuling, and another nephew (grandfather Cao Xiu) was an official of Wu County.There is not only one person who is rich in wealth. For example, Cao Chun (Cao Rendi), the son of Cao Chi, is "rich in wealth". There are hundreds of child servants in his family; The Cao family was quite powerful politically and economically at the time. In the 70s, archaeologists unearthed a large number of cultural relics from the tombs of the Cao clan in Bozhou. Among them, there are 145 character bricks in the No. 13 tomb of Yuanbaokeng, and the words "Cao Teng Zi Ji Xing" are engraved on the No. 16 character brick. 20. The word "Cao Chi" is engraved on the brick No.[-], the word "Cao Ding" is engraved on the brick No.[-], and the word "Cao Luan" is engraved on the brick No.[-]. These can be seen People were indeed prominent figures in the Cao family at that time.The silver-threaded jade garment unearthed from Tomb No. [-] in Tongyuan also shows that the owner of the tomb was a figure among the upper class of the feudal ruling class at that time.

Cao Cao was born in such a family, which had a complex and subtle influence on the path he took throughout his life and the policies he adopted after he came to power.His grandfather was a great eunuch, so his father was honored, and so was he. Otherwise, he would not have been able to successfully embark on an official career, and at the age of 20, he would have been appointed to the important post of the Northern Lieutenant of Luoyang, the capital city.However, eunuchs are just domestic slaves for the emperor, and most of them come from humble backgrounds. They are different from famous families and are often looked down upon by others. Therefore, Cao Cao also has a sense of inferiority. This is probably an important reason why Cao Cao will work hard to get rid of the label of birth Bar.

Cao Cao was very wise and brave when he was young, and the Cao family was not a prominent family, and he was not bound by the tradition of Confucian classics for many generations.Therefore, he was not bound by strict etiquette and customs since he was a child, and his behavior was dissolute.The special way of life has formed his very different personality traits: bold and alert, and always act rashly, do whatever he wants, behave unruly, like to be a hero and brave, but pay attention to world affairs, from all the things he comes into contact with In the film, witnessing the corruption of the ruling group, I feel aggrieved in my heart, and often express the feeling of "worrying about the world and dying".

Seeing the growing corruption and chaos within the ruling group, Cao Cao felt very worried.After he had a better understanding of the corrupt politics of the Eastern Han Dynasty, he felt that the era he lived in was an era in which he could be of great use.He knows very well that the use of force must be used to control chaos and conquest. Therefore, only by learning military tactics well can he undertake this great cause of saving troubled times.Therefore, on the basis of his familiarity with classics and extensive knowledge, he began to devote himself to the study of military works.In various military writings, he especially admired reform figures, such as Shang Yang who helped Qin Xiaogong reform the Qin system, Qin Shihuang who unified China, the talented and bold Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Sun Wu who performed battles against concubines, and Sun Bin who captured Pang Juan wisely.

The heavy traditional culture had a profound influence on Cao Cao, and at the same time, it also made him understand a lot of principles of governing the country and loving the people.For example, classics of poetry and books, history and law (legalist works), Chuci Yuefu, calligraphy and painting, all of which are widely absorbed and read widely.As well as classics, calligraphy, painting and Go, he is proficient in all aspects, and there are many subtleties. His hard work has brought amazing and fruitful harvests. Cao Cao in his youth soon became a man of knowledge, versatility and wisdom. people.

The reason why Cao Cao was frugal all his life and did not despise physical labor is that he has a lot to do with his life experience from childhood to adolescence.Although he was born in a powerful and powerful eunuch family, he was never proud of his wealth. He kept in contact with some lower-class people and learned some production knowledge such as blacksmithing and house building, which enriched his life experience and made him I have a deeper understanding of some folk sufferings.Later, in order to crusade against Dong Zhuo, when Cao Cao organized an army and made guns, he personally worked with blacksmiths to make guns and knives.Cao Cao, as an intellectual in feudal society, was able to practice in this way, not ashamed of manual labor, actively contacting the masses, and personally participating in physical labor. This is not only extremely valuable in the feudal era when manual labor was always underestimated, but even today Extremely commendable.

It is precisely because Cao Cao was diligent, studious, knowledgeable, unwilling to be resigned to the arrangement of fate, dared to challenge the world's vision, and able to study the art of war assiduously and be proficient in martial arts.Coupled with being able to be big or small, contacting the people, working tirelessly, and practicing in person, all these have laid a solid theoretical foundation and solid practical skills for him to compete in the crowd, start a business with hard work, and achieve the career of Wangba in the future.

While Cao Cao was diligently studying in order to obtain advanced knowledge, he also started extensive activities to contact celebrities and virtuous people.He expects to gain their appreciation through contact with celebrities and sages, and make necessary preparations for him to ascend to official career and fulfill his ambitions.

Cao Cao has real talents and real learning, and he does not wait or rely on him. In order to display his talents, he takes the initiative to build contacts.Through unremitting personal efforts, I really made the best use of my talents.

In order to get the guidance and help of celebrities, Cao Cao went to Juyang, Liang State (now south of Shangqiu City, Henan Province) to pay a visit to Qiao Xuan, the Taizhong doctor who resigned and stayed at home.Qiao Xuan, courtesy name Gongzu, was a famous and powerful bureaucrat at that time who served in the three gongs (Sikong, Situ, and Taiwei).Although Qiao Xuan is a big bureaucrat, he enforces the law strictly and does not follow private interests. He is an outstanding figure with political vision.It is precisely because of his actions throughout his life that he promoted the virtuous without avoiding enemies, and enforced the law without following sentiments, he was deeply respected by the people of the world, and he was a famous and influential person at that time.Cao Cao had long admired Qiao Xuan, so Cao Cao first went to see Qiao Xuan.He got acquainted with Qiao Xuan, and it did have a considerable influence on his own later development.

After Cao Cao met Qiao Xuan in Suiyang, he frankly expounded his views on the eunuch's monopoly and the darkness of the country's politics, and expressed his determination to make contributions to the country.When they met for the first time, although Qiao Xuan felt that Cao Cao was "short in appearance and appearance", he was "spirited and handsome", especially since he was a descendant of an eunuch, he was very dissatisfied with the eunuch's monopoly, and was very surprised.Then he felt that the Cao Cao in front of him was unusual, he was a very ambitious young man.So, he enthusiastically had a detailed conversation with Cao Cao.Through chatting, he found that Cao Cao not only had extensive knowledge, but also had unique insights.From the bottom of my heart, I admire this young man even more, thinking that he is a "talent for the world", and praised him greatly. "Today the world will be chaotic, and the people's livelihood will be at peace with the king?" After parting, he said earnestly and earnestly: "I see that there are many famous people in the world, and there is no one who is like a king! You are good at yourself. I am old, and I would like to use my wife, I am entrusted by my son." Since then, Qiao Xuan and Cao Cao have been in frequent contact, and they have become friends who have forgotten the years.The intimate and friendly relationship between them lasted a lifetime, which was extraordinary.

Qiao Xuan admired Cao Cao very much, and actively advocated and personally introduced Cao Cao to Runan to make friends with famous people at that time. Xu Shao, a famous "Yuedan commentator", said: "If you are not famous, you can hand it over to Xu Zijiang." General, from Nanyang.Because it was a popular fashion among scholar-bureaucrats at that time to judge people, he was famous for his ability to judge people.He and his elder brother Xu Jing jointly commented on the township party figures on the first day of each month, and their words were so sincere and loyal, it was called "Yue Dan Ping", which is well-known in the world.Those who are appraised and praised by Xu Shao will greatly increase their social status.According to Qiao Xuan's instructions, Cao Cao specially brought a generous gift, went to see Xu Shao, asked for his advice, and inquired about Xu Shao's comments on him.After Xu Shao looked Cao Cao up and down, he pondered for a long time, and then said firmly: "You are a capable minister who governs the world, and a traitor in troubled times."

Cao Cao, who was unknown, gradually attracted the attention of the aristocratic family due to the appreciation of Qiao Xuan and the praise of Xu Shao, a famous commentator.People began to communicate with him and get close to him. In addition, Cao Cao was brave and brave, and he was running around. Soon he was elected as Xiaolian.Thus, the young Cao Cao embarked on an official career and began his political career.

Three teenagers became officials and insisted on the principle of serving the country

In the third year of Xiping (AD 174), Cao Cao, who was just 20 years old, was elected Xiaolian by the local government.Soon, he was promoted to the captain of northern Luoyang. Luoyang has four divisions in the north, south, east, west, and each division has a captain who is responsible for the security of the northern part of the capital.Wei is a low-level official who maintains law and order.

Luoyang was the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty.At this time, it was the end of the dynasty, and the court was extremely corrupt.As a capital city, there are gatherings from all directions, mixed places from five directions, a lot of luxury, and social security is also very chaotic.Especially at night, some powerful children and local hooligans roamed the streets, blackmailed, oppressed the women of the people, and committed all kinds of crimes, making Luoyang city a mess.The captains who were sent to take charge of law and order generally only bullied the common people, and never dared to touch a single hair of the rich and nobles, and sometimes even colluded with them in collusion.

Cao Cao is young and vigorous, with great ambitions. After serving as the captain of Luoyang North, he really wanted to make reforms, eliminate harm for the people, make some achievements, and establish his own reputation; plus he had a backer at home, so he let go .On the first day he took office, he ordered craftsmen to repaint the Duwei Yamen, which had been in disrepair for a long time, and ordered to make five-color sticks (wooden stick torture tools painted in five colors: blue, red, yellow, white, and black) overnight. In ancient times, five colors represented five domains and four directions) more than ten roots were hung on both sides of the gate of Duwei’s Yamen, and a list was clearly stipulated that night travel was prohibited.

As soon as the night ban came out, there were a lot of discussions in the streets and alleys.Some said that everyone can sleep peacefully now; others said that this is just three fires for new officials to make money for themselves to show to the higher-ups.As for the villainous rich and noble relatives, they ignored Cao Cao's night ban at all, and the little captain was not considered an official at all in their eyes, and they still blatantly rampaged and ran amok on the street at night.

Cao Cao hated and hated this stubborn phenomenon very much, so he decided to patrol the night himself.One night when he was on patrol, he suddenly heard a report from a small official that the uncle of Jian Shuo, the little eunuch whom Wan Sui loved, violated the ban, went out in the middle of the night, and relied on his power to bully men and women.After Cao Cao heard this, he couldn't help being furious, and immediately ordered him to be beaten to death with random sticks.The little northern captain killed the uncle of the famous man who was next to the emperor with a stick. The news spread quickly throughout the city.The common people all clapped their hands and applauded, and the powerful landlords and playboys also had to rein in their behavior, at least not daring to violate the prohibition in the areas under Cao Cao's jurisdiction.

Cao Cao offended many aristocratic families in Luoyang, especially the eunuchs around Emperor Hanling, who gritted their teeth against him, and many people slandered and held grudges against him.Even so, because Cao Cao had orders first and did things in the clear, he was praised by the world, and opponents did not dare to publicly do anything to Cao Cao.However, Jian Shuo and his trusted eunuchs will never give up easily.Soon, they conspired to invite the emperor, and secretly used the method of promotion to transfer Cao Cao from Luoyang to Dunqiu Ling.

The smug Cao Cao went to Dunqiu (where the government is located in the southwest of Qingfeng County, Henan Province) to be the county magistrate with a feeling of indignation.Due to the activities of his father Cao Song and others, Cao Cao was conscripted back to Luoyang soon and worshiped as Yilang.Yilang's duty is to participate in the discussion of current affairs, put forward political opinions, and make up for the emperor. The young Cao Cao finally returned to the center of political activities.

In the second year, that is, the first year of Guanghe (AD 178), Emperor Ling's Empress Song was abolished and worried about her death. He was a brother of Empress Song. Song Qi was killed by eunuchs, and Cao Cao was implicated and removed from office.After Cao Cao was dismissed, he had nothing to do in Luoyang, so he returned to his hometown Qiao County to live idle.

In the second year of Guanghe (AD 179), 25-year-old Cao Cao married Bian, who was born as a singer.In the second year, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty ordered Gongqing to recommend one person who could understand "Shangshu", "Maoshi", "Zuoshi" and "Guliang Chunqiu" as Yilang.Cao Cao was recruited as Yilang because he was good at reading and knew a lot about ancient studies.Yilang was not in charge of actual government affairs, but was dedicated to providing advice to the emperor and commenting on the right and wrong of the government.At that time, the government was muddled and the way of speaking was not smooth. The emperor was deceived and fooled by eunuchs and noble relatives, and he didn't know what to do.

In the first year of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty Jianning (168 A.D.), Emperor Ling had just become emperor. At that time, the supreme commander (general) Dou Wu was the leader of the foreign relatives group.He and Chen Fan, the emperor's master (Taifu), a famous scholar, conspired to kill the eunuch, but the eunuch killed him first.In the fourth year of Guanghe (181 A.D.), more than 10 years later, Cao Cao, who became an eunuch, wrote to Emperor Ling with earnest words, appealing for Dou Wu and Chen Fan: Dou Wu and others are very upright, but they were framed .The court is filled with treacherous villains, and the way for virtuous officials to enter is blocked.

Although the letter was not accepted by Emperor Han Ling this time, it can be seen that Cao Cao has deviated from the most decadent eunuch group to which his ancestors belonged. Like his uncle, he showed Cao Cao's innovative political thinking when he was young.

In the fifth year of Guanghe (182 A.D.), Liu Hong, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, issued an edict: Sangongs and ministers should, according to public opinion, report prefects and county governors and officials with more than 2000 shi who have no political achievements and harm the people. Sangongs (Situ, Sikong) , Taiwei), and ministers are afraid of getting burned, and dare not offend the state and county governors who are eunuchs' children and guests. Although they are notorious and notorious, they dare not send them down; The hapless officials, a total of 26, filed for impeachment.Officials and common people went to the gate of the imperial palace in Luoyang, the capital, to appeal.Cao Cao was very angry about this, and wrote a letter reprimanding the Sangong for avoiding the dignitaries, relatives and their children.Since then, the government and religion of the imperial court have been in chaos day by day, and the tyranny has become more and more fierce, and there have been many accusations.Cao Cao knew that the morals of the world could not be saved, so he no longer offered words to the emperor.

In the sixth year of Guanghe (AD 183), there was a severe drought throughout the country in summer.Zhang Jiao, a native of Julu (Pingxiang County, Hebei Province), believed in "Yellow Emperor" and "Lao Tzu", taught disciples with magic spells, and created "Taiping Sect" with tens of thousands of followers.He set up 10 military regions (36 parties) across the country, with more than 36 people in the large military region and 7000 in the small military region. Good luck to the world."

In the second year, Zhang Jiao revolted ahead of time because of his disciples' informant, ordering all parties to wear yellow scarves as a symbol, and [-] military regions revolted at the same time.As soon as the soldiers arrived, they burned the government and looted towns and villages. In less than a month, the whole country responded and the capital was shaken.

In March, the panic-stricken imperial court pardoned the party members and ordered Bei Zhonglang's general Lu Zhi, Zuo Zhonglang's general Huang Fusong, and You Zhonglang's general Zhu Jun to lead troops to suppress them.Cao Cao was also appointed as the commander of the cavalry (Captain Cavalry), leading 5000 cavalry to assist Huangfusong and Zhu Jun in suppressing the Yellow Turban Army in Yingchuan (Shaoyu County, Henan Province).

At the beginning, the two sides fought each other. Later, Huang Fusong and Zhu Jun led the army to confront the Yellow Turban Army led by Zhang Jiao's younger brothers Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao in Changshe (Changge County, Henan Province).The Yellow Turban army made a tent with grass, and just when a strong wind blew, Huang Fusong ordered the soldiers to gather a handful of grass and lie in ambush.Song and Jun each led troops into the Yellow Turban camp.In the camp of the Yellow Turban Army, the flames were raging, and the Yellow Turban soldiers were frightened and scattered.Cao Cao led troops to kill them again, so the combined army attacked the Yellow Turban Army again, killing tens of thousands of people for a while.Afterwards, the imperial court named Huangfu Song "Marquis of the Capital", and Cao Cao was promoted to be the Prime Minister of Jinan.

Jinan is a kingdom.In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the king was able to serve the people but not govern the people. The central government of the Han Dynasty appointed the prime minister to govern the people, and the prime minister was actually similar to the prefect.Jinan is the feudal state of Hou Wang, located on the coast of the East China Sea. It was originally the fiefdom of Liu Zhang, King Chengyangjing in the early Western Han Dynasty.After Cao Cao took office, although after nearly 10 years of official life, he has a deep understanding of the corruption and turmoil of the imperial court, but he still strives to manage the areas under his jurisdiction well and make some achievements in order to expand his influence in society .

There are more than 10 counties in Jinan. The county officials are corrupt and pervert the law. Not only do they collude with powerful landlords in the local area, but they also have backgrounds in the central government. Therefore, Cao Cao’s former prime ministers did not dare to touch them. them.After Cao Cao took office, he was determined to cut off this decadent force and select officials fairly.After some investigation and research, he verified the materials, reported and exposed them one by one, and decisively dismissed eight county-level officials who had behaved particularly badly.This action shocked the big and small tyrants in Jinan, and scared many bullies to go to other counties to hide. The whole Jinan country is much more peaceful than before.

At that time, local superstition was prevalent in Jinan, and there were more than 600 ancestral temples alone. Every year, there were sacrifices and divination.However, some landlords, tyrants, and wealthy businessmen took the opportunity to extort money and plunder money, and they did not know how many poor people were harmed.Cao Cao has never believed in the destiny, saying to himself: "Sex does not believe in the destiny", and opposes superstition; at the same time, the storm of peasant uprising also touched him a lot. He realized: To prevent peasant uprising and maintain the political power, we must reform the malpractice.

After he arrived in Jinan, he saw that there were many ancestral temples everywhere, superstitious activities were rampant, and the common people complained.Therefore, he ordered: immediately demolish all temples and prohibit all sacrificial activities.As a result, in less than a month, more than 600 large and small ancestral temples in Jinan were all razed to the ground; those who engaged in sacrificial activities without authorization were also punished.

Cao Cao's actions of cracking down on the powerful and removing the disabled and filthy were not only hated by the local powerful, but also opposed by the eunuch group in the central government who manipulated the real power. However, he was unwilling to change his views and cater to the powerful.After many conflicts with powerful forces, he finally felt weak and afraid of bringing disaster to the whole family. As soon as the three-year term of the Prime Minister of Jinan expired, he asked to be transferred back to the central government and resumed his position as an idle official. .

In the fourth year of Zhongping (AD 187), the imperial court appointed Cao Cao as the prefect of Dongjun (Puyang County, Henan Province). He refused to take office due to illness, so he returned to his hometown Qiao County and built a school 50 miles east of Qiao County. In the study room, guests are not allowed to come and go, study in summer and autumn, shoot and hunt in winter and spring, and entertain myself. I plan to live in seclusion for 20 years, gain the reputation of a "hermit", and come out to be an official after the world is peaceful.

Cao Cao's early entry into the official career, the course of his small test of talent and his own ideological trajectory can be seen in the "Rangxian Self-Ming Benzhi Order" published when he was 56 years old, that is, two years before he became Duke Wei.The first two verses of this decree read: "I started to be filial and honest. I was young. I thought I was not a man of cave knowledge. I was afraid that people in the country would see mediocrity. I wanted to be a county guard, so that I could establish a reputation as a political teacher. Let the world know it clearly; therefore, in Jinan, he began to remove the residual and filthy, elected with a fair heart, and disobeyed the regular servants.

After resigning from office, he was still young. Gu Shi was in the middle of his age. He was fifty years old. He was not called an old man. Returning to my hometown at four o'clock, I built a Buddhist house fifty miles east of Qiao. I wanted to study in autumn and summer, and shoot and hunt in winter and spring. ..."

As the saying goes: "The tree wants to be quiet but the wind doesn't stop." In this violently turbulent society, a person like Cao Cao can't sit down at all; besides changes in the current situation, he is not allowed to be a hermit leisurely, just as he said. Say to yourself: "Of course you can't get what you want."

This year, in a hut next to a small river called Nishui (Dayang River) in Qiaodong, his wife Bian gave birth to his eldest son Cao Pi.In October, his father Da Si Nong (Minister of Finance) Cao Song bought an official and became a Taiwei, but was dismissed in April of the following year.Cao Cao already had considerable prestige in the political circles at this time.

In the fifth year of Zhongping (AD 188), although he lived in seclusion in the village, when Wang Fen, the governor of Jizhou, and others planned to take advantage of Emperor Ling to patrol the north, they threatened with military force, punished eunuchs, and appointed Marquis of Hefei as emperor. When they came to ask for his opinion, He analyzed the situation and conditions at that time, and opposed it. He said: "Change the king is the greatest disaster in the world. In ancient times, people had the ability to weigh success or failure, and to do so, they were Yi Yin and Huo Guang. Yi Yin , Huo Guang, full of loyalty, as the prime minister, holding great power, and the unanimous wish of the people to achieve the goal, but now, you only see their ease at the beginning, and forget our current difficulties, and want to use extraordinary actions , I hope to be hit with one blow, wouldn't it be dangerous!" Soon, Wang Fen and others finally died because of the incident.

At that time, the powerful generals Han Sui and Ma Teng in Liangzhou (Wuwei, Gansu) rebelled, directly threatening Luoyang, the capital.In order to strengthen the defense, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty established a central guard army in Luoyang Xiyuan in August, and appointed eunuch Jian Shuo as the captain of the upper army, Yuan Shao as the captain of the Chinese army, and Cao Cao as the captain of the Dian army.Cao Cao received the appointment and came to Luoyang with his family. At this time, he was 34 years old, and his greatest wish was to be a general who conquered the West.

However, before his wish was realized, a major event happened in the capital, and Cao Cao was deeply involved in it. From then on, he officially stepped on the center stage of the ever-changing military and political affairs.

The Four Beginnings Chen Liu Conquers Dong Zhuo Huai the World
In April of the sixth year of Zhongping (AD 189), Liu Hong, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, died of illness in the Jiade Hall of Nangong.On the third day after his death, the prince Liu Bian ascended to the throne at the age of 14, that is, Emperor Shaodi of the Han Dynasty, and respected his mother, Empress He, as the empress dowager.Empress Dowager He then came to the court to take charge of the government, amnesty the world, and changed her reign name to Guangxi.Liu Xie, the younger brother of the emperor, was named King of Bohai when Liu Xie was 9 years old.After being promoted, General Yuan Kui (Yuan Shao's uncle) became the Royal Master Taifu, and jointly took charge of the court affairs with Empress He's elder brother, General He Jin.When Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty was in a hurry, he entrusted important affairs in the palace and Liu Xie to the eunuch Shangjun Jianshuo.

Jian Shuo and He Jin have always had deep conflicts.Jian Shuo originally planned to kill He Jin first, and then support Liu Xie to ascend to the throne.I didn't want to leak the news, but it didn't work.After He Jin took over the military and political power, he hated Jian Shuo's conspiracy and secretly prepared to take revenge. He wanted to catch all the eunuchs and kill them all.Jian Shuo also expected that He Jin would not let it go, and panicked in his heart, so he contacted several eunuchs to plot to kill He Jin.As a result, these eunuchs instead informed He Jin, and Jian Shuo was finally arrested and executed by He Jin.

In July, Han Shaodi Liu Bian changed the title of his younger brother, Bohai King Liu Xie, to Chenliu King.Lieutenant Yuan Shao once again suggested to He Jin that all eunuchs should be killed. He Jin asked Queen Mother He for advice, but Queen Mother He didn't nod, and it was difficult for He Jin to make a decision for a while.Seeing that He Jin dared not take action, Yuan Shao suggested that He Jin recruit well-known military generals and heroes from all over the world to lead their troops to the capital, and at the same time threatened the Empress Dowager He to nod her consent.He Jin thought this suggestion was good, but Bo Chenlin objected, thinking it was a deception.

When Cao Cao heard about it, he said to He Jin: "Eunuchs have existed in ancient and modern times. The problem is that the king should not favor them too much, let alone let them hold real power. Since it is to punish criminals, it is enough to kill the culprits. This kind of thing It is enough to hand it over to a military judge, why bother to mobilize people and threaten the court? To wipe out all the eunuchs involves a wide range of people, and the news will definitely reach their ears. This kind of thing is doomed to fail!"

When He Jin heard this, he was furious, and said to Cao Cao viciously: "Could it be that Meng De also has evil intentions?" Cao Cao had no choice but to take the opportunity to retreat, and said to others: "The person who disturbs the world must be He Jin."

He Jin finally made up his mind and let Dong Zhuo lead his army to push the capital.Dong Zhuo's army was a mixed armed group of Han, Qiang, and Hu nationalities. The military discipline was very chaotic, and the officers and soldiers were barbaric and plundered everywhere.Dong Zhuo himself was cruel by nature, cunning, ruthless, and greedy.The ministers of the DPRK and China persuaded He Jin not to let Dong Zhuo enter the capital, otherwise he would lead the wolf into the house.He Jin refused to listen, and the news of Dong Zhuo's army entering the capital spread to the palace, causing panic among the eunuchs, and the eunuchs headed by Zhang Rang decided to act first.On August 25th, after He Jin went to Changle Palace to meet the Empress Dowager, Zhang Rang and others tricked him into re-entering the palace, beheaded He Jin in the Jiade Palace, and then closed the palace gates tightly.

When Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu got the news, they took the opportunity to lead their troops into the inner palace and beheaded more than 2000 eunuchs.Zhang Rang and other eunuchs were trapped in the bedroom, helpless.They had no choice but to coerce the emperor Liu Bian and his younger brother Liu Xie to escape from the valley gate (the north gate of Luoyang) on ​​foot and flee to the north for their lives.Dong Zhuo's army marched into Xianyang Garden (the western suburb of Luoyang), saw the fire in Luoyang from a distance, and knew that a coup d'etat had already taken place. Dong Zhuo then embraced the emperor and returned to Beijing.

After Dong Zhuo came to Beijing, by force, he abolished Emperor Shao, made Liu Xie, the king of Chenliu, as Emperor Xian, proclaimed himself prime minister, and monopolized military and political power.As soon as Dong Zhuo's Liangzhou army arrived in Luoyang, they plundered, slaughtered wantonly, plundered property, and had no military discipline.At this time, when Dong Zhuo first arrived in Luoyang, his infantry and cavalry were only 3000, which was weak.Moreover, Cao Cao was still in Luoyang at that time, holding part of the military power.In order to expand his power, Dong Zhuo tried his best to win over Cao Cao, and planned to appoint him as Xiaoqi Xiaowei.

Cao Cao saw Dong Zhuo's arrogance, domineering, barbaric cruelty, and knew that his power would not last long, so he did not want to cooperate with him at all.At this time, Yuan Shao had fled the capital and fled to Jizhou (central Hebei Province). Yuan Shu also abandoned his job and defected to Nanyang (Nanyang City, Henan Province) because of fear of Dong Zhuo.Cao Cao also took the opportunity to escape from Luoyang. When Dong Zhuo heard that Cao Cao had escaped, he was furious and anxious, and immediately sent troops to hunt him down.

After Cao Cao escaped from Luoyang, he kept his identity incognito and rushed towards his hometown along the small road.When Cao Cao passed through Zhongmu, a pavilion chief in the territory found that Cao Cao was acting suspiciously, so he detained him and sent him to the county government of Zhongmu County.At that time, the county government had received Dong Zhuo's order to arrest Cao Cao.But the county magistrate did not expect that the suspect sent by the pavilion chief was Cao Cao.Only the personnel officer (Gongcao) of Zhongmu County knew that it was Cao Cao who was escorted by the pavilion chief, but this Gongcao thought that the world was in chaos now and the heroes of the world should not be persecuted anymore.So he said to the county magistrate, "the world is in chaos, so it's not appropriate to restrain the heroes of the world." Say something for Cao Cao.The county magistrate was right after thinking about it, so he let Cao Cao go.Cao Cao escaped from Zhongmu by chance, and rushed all the way to his hometown Qiao County, and arrived in Chenliu County (in the area of ​​Chenliu County, Henan Province) not far from Qiao County in December of this year.

Chenliu is more than 500 miles away from Luoyang. In the heyday of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Chenliu County had more than 17 households and a population of more than 86. It was a large county at that time.Zhang Miao, the prefect of Chenliu County, used to be friends with Cao Cao and Yuan Shao.Chenliu County belonged to Yanzhou, and Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou at that time, was a more active figure in the scholar-bureaucrat group who opposed Dong Zhuo.Therefore, after Cao Cao arrived in Chenliu, he obtained their permission, and Cao Cao was able to recruit troops in Jiwu County (southwest of Ningling County, Henan Province) in Chenliu County to attack Dong Zhuo.

Some of the Cao family's property was originally in Yanzhou, and Cao Cao used the family property as the cost of recruiting and training the army.Chen Liu has a Xiaolian named Wei Zi, who has long admired Cao Cao and has a lot of property in his family.Cao Cao was afraid that his money was not enough, so he held a banquet at home and invited Wei Zi to discuss.

After exchanging greetings with Wei Zi, Cao Cao said straight to him: "Now the emperor in the court is weak, Dong Zhuo is in power, bullying the emperor and harming the people, and the people and gods in the world are all angry. I want to do my best to help the country, but power is contemptible. You are a loyal man. I take the liberty to invite you Help!" Wei Zi also said happily: "I also had this idea a long time ago, but I regret that I have never met Lord Kuang Shiying. Now that you have such a great ambition, I would like to help you with your family wealth." Cao Cao was overjoyed when he heard that.So he issued an edict first, reported it to nearby counties and counties, then recruited soldiers, set up a recruiting banner, and wrote the word "loyalty" on it.

Within a few days, applicants from all directions came one after another, as many as 3000. In the future, the generals Le Jin, Li Dian, Xiahou Dun, and Xiahouyuan brothers under Cao Cao's tent all joined Cao Cao at this time.Cao Cao's cousins ​​Cao Hong and Cao Ren also brought 2000 people from Qiao County and Jianghuai to join Cao Cao.With these 5000 troops, Cao Cao officially launched the banner of crusade against Dong Zhuo.

The first to advocate for the world, Cao Cao's actions against Dong Zhuo greatly encouraged and supported the anti-Dong Zhuo forces across the country, and objectively promoted the formation of the National Anti-Dong Zhuo Action Alliance.

Five heroes work together to seek development

Dong Zhuo wanted to win over Yuan Shao, who was relatively powerful, and appointed him as the prefect of Bohai (northeast of Nanpi County, Hebei Province).Yuan Shao took the opportunity to persuade Jizhou Mu Han Fu, and contacted the Guandong (east of Hangu Pass) prefectures to denounce Dong Zhuo together in the first month of the first year of Chuping (AD 190).Princes from all walks of life responded one after another, and there were as many as 17 places, large and small.Because Yuan Shao was the most powerful and most prestigious, everyone elected him as the leader of the alliance.Yuan Shao claimed to be General Cheqi, and other generals were conferred official positions by him in the name of the court. Cao Cao was awarded General Fenwu.

At the alliance meeting, all the generals swore impassionedly, determined to join the alliance to eradicate violence and help the Han Dynasty.At the end of the alliance, sacrifice animals and sacrifice, and feast for 3 days.Yuan Shao then arranged troops from all walks of life. Yuan Shao and Hanoi (Wuzhi County, Hanoi Province) County Governor Wang Kuang stationed troops in Hanoi; Jizhou Governor Han Fu stayed in Yecheng (Linzhang County, Hebei Province) to be responsible for the logistics and food supply; Tenants stationed in Yingzhou; Governor of Yanzhou Liu Dai, Governor of Chenliu Zhang Miao, Zhang Miao's younger brother Zhang Chao of Guangling (Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province), County Chief of Dongjun (Puyang County, Henan Province), Qiao Mao, Shanyang (Jinxiang, Shandong Province) Yuan Yi, county magistrate, and Bao Xin, prime minister of Jibei State (Changqing County, Shandong Province), were all stationed in Suanzao (Yanjin County, South Hanoi Province); later general Yuan Shu stationed troops in Luyang (Lushan County, Henan Province).Although Cao Cao had an army of about 5000, he had to be stationed in Suanzao with him under the restrictions of Zhang Miao, the governor of Chenliu, because he had no base of his own.

The news of the establishment of the Kwantung Allied Forces reached Luoyang, and Dong Zhuo was terrified. While mobilizing heavy troops to strengthen the defense, he prepared to move the capital to Chang'an (Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province) despite the opposition of the ministers of the DPRK and China.Dong Zhuo gathered all the wealthy people in Luoyang city together, charged them with a crime, executed them all, then confiscated their properties, and expelled the entire population of Luoyang city, totaling millions, to Chang'an.

Luoyang is more than 500 miles away from Chang'an, and the road is dangerous and far away.Dong Zhuo ordered his cavalry to chase after them. People pushed and trampled each other, and even plundered each other when they were hungry.Dong Zhuo stayed in Luoyang by himself and set fire to the palace, official houses, and private houses.The prosperous and luxurious Luoyang, the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty, instantly became a piece of scorched earth. All the houses within 300 miles around were destroyed, and no chickens or dogs were left behind.More than a month later, Han Xiandi Liu Xie finally arrived in Chang'an.

Dong Zhuo was stationed in Luoyang and blocked the Kwantung Army. Although the Kwantung Army had a large number at that time, most of the leaders of the various warlords were warlords who were keen on separatism and rule the roost. Everyone has different ideas about their own strength, and no one wants to take the lead in attacking.

Cao Cao saw the emperor going west, and after careful analysis, he believed that the opportunity must not be missed, and he demanded that the coalition forces send troops immediately.He said: "We mobilized righteous soldiers to kill the thugs. The army has already assembled, so why hesitate? If Dong Zhuo used the emperor's authority to trap Luoyang and march eastward, even though he was cruel and innocent, it would be enough to cause great harm to us. Today , burned the palace, hijacked the emperor, all around the world was shaken, I don’t know what to do next, the time for heaven to destroy Dong Zhuo has come, everyone can pacify the world with a single battle.” Cao Cao made a generous statement, with deep affection, but nothing people respond. "If you don't send troops, I will." Cao Cao left the meeting hall angrily.That night, they called Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Hong, Cao Ren and others to discuss and decided to send troops alone.

In the early morning of the next day, Cao Cao led his men and horses, left Suanzao and marched west.After receiving the report, Zhang Miao felt sympathy and admiration for Cao Cao, but it was limited to this. He just ordered Wei Zi to lead 1000 people to assist Cao Cao.Only Bao Xin brought 5000 men he had recruited to accompany Cao Cao to conquer Dong Zhuo.

When Cao Jun arrived at Bianshui in Xingyang (Xingyang County, Henan Province), he was blocked by Dong Zhuo's general Xu Rong.The first confrontation between the two armies lasted from morning to evening.Due to the small number of soldiers, the recruits who had not received strict training, and the lack of assistance, Cao's army was defeated, and the soldiers suffered heavy casualties.

Cao Cao fled back to Suanzao in embarrassment, and felt very angry and helpless when he saw that the leaders of the coalition forces only drank and ate meat and had noisy parties every day, and had no intention of fighting at all.He said to Zhang Miao and others: "If everyone can adopt my plan, great things will come true. Please Yuan Shao lead the troops in Hanoi, push Mengjin, and Suanzao's army will occupy Chenggao (Xingyang County, Henan Province) and control Aoshan, the location of grain and grass. Block Yuanshanling (south of Yanshi County, Henan Province) and Taigukou, and occupy the peripheral dangerous points, then ask Yuan Shu to lead Nanyang troops to attack Jingshui and Xixian County (north of Neixiang County, Henan Province), and go straight to Wuguan (inside Shang County, Shaanxi Province) ). The armies from all walks of life built tall and strong castles, defended them tightly, and did not engage in direct conflict with the Liangzhou Army, but only sent out guerrilla troops to show the superiority of the resistance force and wait for Dong Zhuo's internal changes. We justifiably crusade against usurpers, Victory and defeat are decisive. Now, the coalition forces have called on the world with justice, but hesitated to move forward, disappointing the world, and I am deeply ashamed!"

Zhang Miao and others did not accept this plan, so Cao Cao felt desperate for these coalition generals, and was very distressed because his own strength was too small. In addition, after the battle of Xingyang, Cao Cao's sergeants suffered too much damage and had to be replenished.So he and Cao Hong, Xiahou Dun and others went to Yangzhou (Anhui Province and Jiangxi Province), Xuzhou and other places to recruit recruits.With the support of Chen Wen, governor of Yangzhou, and Zhou Xin, governor of Danyang (Xuancheng, Anhui Province), more than 4000 people were recruited.Unexpectedly, when Long Kang (northwest of Huaiyuan County, Anhui Province) assembled, the recruits mutinied and burned Cao Cao's camp, almost burning Cao Cao to death.Cao Cao rushed out of the fire, but most of the recruits had fled, and there were only more than 500 people who were determined to follow Cao Cao.Later, more than 1000 soldiers were re-recruited in Zhi County (southwest of Suzhou, Anhui County) and Jianping (southwest of Xiayi, Henan Province), plus Cao Hong's family soldiers and soldiers left over from the Battle of Bianshui, a total of more than 3000 soldiers.Cao Cao was not discouraged, and led this army to the north again. He knew that the princes of Suanzao could not count on them, so he rushed to Hanoi and went to Yuan Shao.

Sure enough, as Cao Cao expected, before long, the jujube food and grass ran out, and all the troops broke up their camps and dispersed.Coupled with internal strife among the feudal lords, Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou, and Qiao Mao, the governor of Dongjun County, hated each other. Finally, Liu Dai annexed Qiaomao and sent Wang Gong to Dongjun County as the county governor.

Cao Cao led his army to station at Yuan Shao's place, and received Yuan Shao's hospitality, but Yuan Shao also did not mention the matter of soldiers.Cao Cao insisted that he send troops, but he asked back: "If the crusade against Dong Zhuo fails, where can we gain a foothold?"

"What are your plans?" Cao Cao asked back.

"What about me, I'm going to set up another one..." Yuan Shao thought that Cao Cao understood what he meant, so he talked in detail about his plan to make Liu Yu, the shepherd royal family of Youzhou, the emperor, and asked Cao Cao to support him.

Cao Cao firmly disapproved, and based on his own analysis, he knew his own interests and said: "If you all submit to Liu Yu in the north, I will attack Dong Zhuo in the west alone."

Yuan Shao couldn't get Cao Cao's support, so he asked his cousin Yuan Shu for help.Unexpectedly, Yuan Shu himself wanted to be emperor, and he was afraid that it would be bad for him to establish Liu Yu, so he tried his best to oppose it, and Liu Yu himself resolutely refused Yuan Shao and Han Fu's request to have him as emperor, Yuan Shao and others had no choice but to give up.

Han Fu, Mu of Jizhou, saw all the heroes in the world taking refuge in Yuan Shao, and was very jealous in his heart, so he secretly reduced the supply of food and grass, intending to make Yuan Shao's troops retreat due to insufficient food and grass.It happened that Ju Yi, a general of Han Fu's department, rebelled, and Han Fu went on a crusade, but was defeated.Yuan Shao united with Ju Yi, and contacted Gongsun Zan, the captain of Youzhou Jianglu, and went south to attack Jizhou. He took the opportunity to coerce Han Fu to give up Jizhou.

From the first year of Chuping (190 AD) to the second year of Chuping (191 AD), the situation developed rapidly.The Kanto powerhouses quickly turned from a joint state to a state of melee.The generals from all walks of life fought each other and killed each other, and launched a protracted melee. In addition to the previous chaos of Dong Zhuo's relocation of the capital, it caused a large number of deaths of the people and great damage to production.The Yellow Turban Army of Qingzhou and the Heishan Army of Hebei, which had already grown to one million in Shandong and Hebei, even developed like a prairie fire.

In the autumn of the second year of Chuping (AD 191), the Black Mountain Peasant Army headed by Yu Du, Bai Rao, and Sui Gu advanced to Yecheng, the heart of Jizhou, with lightning speed, and had the intention of crossing the Yellow River to attack Yanzhou .At this time, the Yellow Turban Army in Qingzhou also had more than 100 million people. Due to the attack of Zang Hong, the governor of Qingzhou appointed by Yuan Shao, they were also moving to Hebei in two ways, and there was a tendency to join forces with the Black Mountain Army in Hebei.If the Heishan army in Hebei crossed the Yellow River to the south, or the Yellow Turban army in Qingzhou crossed the Yellow River to the north, and the two armies joined forces at one place, the situation in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River would take a turn for the worse.

Therefore, no matter how many internal conflicts there are, the state and county tyrants in various places must concentrate their efforts to smash the intention of the peasant army to meet.Yuan Shao not only wanted to block or cut off the plan of the peasant army's two-way join forces, but also used this opportunity to expand his influence to Yanzhou, linking the three prefectures of Qing, Yan and Hebei, so that the entire middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River under his control.To accomplish this strategic intention, we have to rely heavily on Cao Cao.

Yuan Shao sent Cao Cao to lead troops into Dongjun to encircle and suppress the Black Mountain Army under the pretext that Wang Gong, the governor of Dongjun County, could not resist the Black Mountain Army.At this time, Cao Cao took his troops to live in Hanoi without a fixed site.Bao Xin, the prime minister of the Jibei Kingdom, told Cao Cao: "Although Yuan Shao is the leader of the alliance, he used his power to seek personal gain, which will make the world more chaotic and become the second Dong Zhuo. We have no ability to stop him, so we will make enemies in vain. It depends on the situation. It is not advisable to stay in the north for a long time, and go to the south of the Yellow River to observe the changes." Cao Cao admired his analysis very much, so he led his army into Dongjun, and fought against the Black Mountain Army in Puyang, the seat of the Dongjun County Government, and defeated the Bairao army of the Black Mountain Army.Yuan Shao took the qualifications of the leader of the alliance and appointed Cao Cao as the governor of Dongjun County.Cao Cao took Dongwuyang (south of Shenxian County, Shandong Province) as the county seat, and finally owned his first piece of territory during the warlord melee and developed his own power.

Six Conquering the Yellow Turbans and Building a Team in Yanzhou

In the spring of the third year of Chuping (AD 192), Cao Cao stationed an army in Dunqiu (Qingfeng County, Henan Province).Yu Du, the leader of the Black Mountain Army, took the opportunity to attack Dongwuyang.Upon hearing this, Cao Cao was not in a hurry to return to the army to assist Dongwuyang, but led his army to point directly at Xishan, the base of the Black Mountain Army.The generals under him asked to save Dongwuyang first. Cao Cao had a unique insight, showing his wisdom as a famous military strategist. He said: "Yu Du heard that I attacked his base, and he will definitely return to the army to fight. Yang's siege will be lifted naturally. If he doesn't return to the army, we will attack his base, and the soldiers of Yu Du will be in a state of confusion when they know about it, and it will be impossible to shake Tobu Yang." Sure enough, Yu Du immediately abandoned Tobu when he got the information. Yang, back to rescue Xishan, was ambushed by Cao Cao on the way and was defeated.Cao Cao took the opportunity to enter Neihuang (Neihuang County, Henan Province), and then defeated the Suigu tribe of the Black Mountain Army and the exiled Chanyu Luanti of the Southern Huns Khanate in Fuluo. In this way, Dongjun was preserved.

In summer, the Yellow Turban Army in Qingzhou once again crossed the Yellow River North, was ambushed by Gongsun Zan's main force near Dongguang, lost more than 10 soldiers, and turned to advance towards Yanzhou in a mighty manner.Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou, was about to fight, but Bao Xin, the prime minister of Jibei Kingdom, dissuaded him, and analyzed: the Yellow Turban soldiers are too numerous to fight recklessly.Moreover, the Yellow Turban Army has never brought food and grass, relying entirely on defeating the enemy or robbing the people of food.Why don't we stick to the city, the Yellow Turban army can't fight, and they have no weapons to attack the city, so they will retreat in the end.Then we dispatched the elite to attack at dangerous places on the level, and we could win a big victory. "It's a pity that Liu Dai didn't listen to the advice of this genius strategist, and led the army to fight in person, but he was defeated and fled. On the way, he was captured alive by the Yellow Turban Army and showed his head to the public.

Chen Gong, a member of Cao Cao's subordinate Dongjun, said to Cao Cao: "Yanzhou has no owner, and the emperor's edict is cut off. I want to persuade the senior officials of the state government to let you be the governor. Use it as a qualification, and then develop outward. Seize the world, so you can achieve the great cause of overlord." Cao Cao was naturally very happy.Chen Gong then went to lobby and suggested to Biejia and Zhizhong: "The world is divided today. If we welcome Cao Cao to take over, it will definitely benefit the people." Come to serve as Yanzhou pastor.

Yanzhou is connected to Qingzhou and Xuzhou in the east, Yuzhou in the west, Youzhou in the north, and Jianghuai in the south. It is a strategic place connecting the four directions.After Cao Cao had Yanzhou, he and Bao Xin formed a coalition army to suppress the Yellow Turban Army in Qingzhou with all their strength.

The Yellow Turban Army is brave and capable, with a large number of people, but Cao Cao's Yanzhou army has few people and neglects drills, so it is difficult to achieve major events.Cao Cao rushed to make amends, strengthened training, strictly rewarded and punished, constantly used surprise tactics, attacked day and night, and gained every time.

Once, Cao Cao led thousands of cavalry to patrol the battlefield, but they strayed into the camp of the Qingzhou Army. They were defeated by the Qingzhou Army and lost hundreds of people. He was defeated again, and his loyal follower Bao Xin was also killed in this battle. Cao Cao cried bitterly when he heard about it.He offered a high reward to find Bao Xin's body, but after searching for a day, he still couldn't find it.I had to ask craftsmen to carve a portrait of Bao Xin out of wood, put on clothes and go to the burial. Cao Cao paid homage in person and wept loudly.

After half a year of hard work, Cao Cao gradually reversed the defeat.At this time, due to heavy casualties and famine, the Qingzhou Army's combat effectiveness was greatly weakened.Cao Cao saw the right time and began to persuade him to surrender, and promised generous treatment.This winter, under Cao Cao's soft and hard attacks, the Qingzhou army finally surrendered.Cao Cao began to reorganize the Qingzhou Army, selecting those who were strong and strong, and incorporated them into his own troops, known as "Qingzhou Soldiers". The number was said to be 30, and there were more than 100 million ordinary people who also stayed with the Yellow Turban Army.

In the winter of the third year of Chuping (AD 192), Yuan Shu cooperated with Gongsun Zan and began to attack Cao Cao and Yuan Shao not long after Cao Cao defeated Qingzhou Yellow Turban.In the battle of Longcou (Pingyuan County, Shandong Province), Yuan Shao defeated Gongsun Zan's main force.

In the first month of the second year, Yuan Shu marched into Chenliu and fought against Cao Cao.Just when the two sides were in a stalemate, Liu Biao, the shepherd of Jingzhou, took the opportunity to attack Yuan Shu's base Nanyang from the rear and cut off Yuan Shu's food road.So Yuan Shu's army was defeated without a fight, and retreated to Xiangyi (east of Suixian County, Henan Province) and Ningling (Ningling County, Henan Province).Cao Cao pursued and won consecutive battles. Yuan Shu retreated to Huaibei, captured Shouchun (Shouxian County, Anhui Province), and made himself the shepherd of Yangzhou.But he was threatened by Liu Biao of Jingzhou in the west, and it was impossible to develop in Xuzhou in the east, so he wanted to use Sun Ce, a general from Jiangdong, to manage the south of the river as a base, which directly led to Sun Ce's crossing of the south of the Yangtze River.I don't want to lay the foundation for the Soochow regime, but Yuan Shu has never recovered from it.

In the spring of the fourth year of Chuping (AD 193), Cao Cao had just repelled Yuan Shu, and in the autumn of the same year, he launched an offensive against Xuzhou.The superficial reason is good: to avenge the father.Before Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang, Cao Song, Cao Cao's father, had returned to his hometown to live in Qiao County. Later, due to continuous conquests in Qiao County, it was not a safe area, so he fled from Qiao County to Langye (north of Linyi County, Shandong Province).Later, Cao Cao occupied Yanzhou, because Langye belonged to Xuzhou, and Mu Taoqian of Xuzhou was an ally of Gongsun Zan of Youzhou at that time, it was not appropriate for his father to live there, so he wrote to invite his father to live in Yanzhou.

When Cao Song was about to set off, he packed the gold and silver treasures he had accumulated in his life into more than 100 vehicles and drove to Cao Cao's administration.As soon as they reached Taishan County, Neihua County, and Fei County in Yanzhou's counties, they were attacked by Tao Qian's subordinate Zhang Kai and others.Zhang Kai and others killed Cao Song's family, including Cao Cao's younger brother Cao De, and robbed more than 100 carts of property.

Cao Cao was very sad and angry when he heard the news. Although he later learned that Tao Qian had nothing to do with this matter, he still sent his counselors Xun Yu and Cheng Yu to stay in Yanzhou, and he personally led the army and came to Xuzhou.In fact, even if Cao Song hadn't been killed, Cao Cao would still attack Xuzhou sooner or later.

Cao Cao invaded the territory of Xuzhou, captured more than 10 cities one after another, and entered Pengcheng (Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province) to fight Tao Qian.Tao Qian was defeated and fled back to Tan County (Tancheng County, Shandong Province), the seat of Xuzhou Prefecture Government.

Cao Cao besieged Tan County, but could not capture it, so he had to retreat and captured Lu County (southwest of Huaiyang County, Henan Province), Suiling (Shaohuaiyang County, Henan Province), and Xiaqiu (Si County, Anhui Province).At that time, most of the people in Guanzhong and Luoyang fled to Xuzhou. Unexpectedly, wherever Cao Cao's soldiers went, they slaughtered wantonly.In the battle of Surabaya alone, tens of thousands of Tao Qian soldiers and Xuzhou people were killed, which was Cao Cao's most murderous time.Killed several cities without leaving chickens and dogs.

Cao Cao carried out a massacre in Xuzhou. Tao Qian was anxious and afraid, so he asked his ally Gongsun Zan for help.Gongsun Zan sent his subordinate Tian Kai, governor of Qingzhou, to send troops to rescue him. Tian Kai was also afraid, so he went to contact Liu Bei.

At this time, Liu Bei was helping Kong Rong fight against the Yellow Turban Army.After Liu Bei received Tian Kai's call for help, he went to rescue Tao Qian without stopping.Liu Bei had assembled several thousand men at this time, and Tao Qian assigned him another 4000 troops in Danyang, making the total number more than 10000.Later Liu Bei left Tian Kai and joined Tao Qian.Tao Qian recommended Liu Bei to the imperial court as the governor of Yuzhou (Henan Province) and stationed in Xiaopei (Pei County, Jiangsu Province).Liu Bei has a higher political status since then.

At this time, Cao Cao's army rations were exhausted, so he had to withdraw.In the first year of Xingping (AD 194), Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou again, all the way to Langya and Donghai counties.After two major wars, Tao Qian's power was greatly weakened.Cao Cao was about to march into Tancheng and wipe out Tao Qian completely. Unexpectedly, the backyard caught fire and a coup d'etat occurred in Yanzhou. Zhang Miao, the prefect of Chenliu, contacted Chen Gong, the general of Cao Cao's department stationed in Tunjun, and welcomed Lu Bu as the governor of Yanzhou to jointly resist Cao Cao.Helpless, Cao Cao had no choice but to withdraw his troops and return to rescue Yanzhou.

Lv Bu was originally Dong Zhuo's general, and he was extremely brave. Dong Zhuo often used Lv Bu as a bodyguard in his daily operations.In April of the third year of Chuping (AD 192), Situ Wangyun took advantage of the conflict between Lv Bu and Dong Zhuo to instigate Lv Bu to kill Dong Zhuo.Li Jue and Guo Si, Dong Zhuo's former subordinates, united to break through Chang'an City, killed Wang Yun, and hijacked Han Xiandi.Lu Bu was defeated and fled. He led hundreds of horses from Chang'an to Wuguan (east of Shang County, Shaanxi Province), and went to Nanyang to run to Yuan Shu but failed, and returned to Yuan Shao.After passing through Chen Liushi, he had a close relationship with Zhang Miao.This time, Chen Gong wanted to welcome Lu Bu as Yanzhou pastor, and Zhang Miao naturally agreed.

Zhang Miao was originally a good friend of Cao Cao. Cao Cao was actually Zhang Miao's subordinate when he raised troops in Chenliu.Now that Cao Cao is the shepherd of Yanzhou, Zhang Miao is subservient to Cao Cao. He is very dissatisfied. In addition, Zhang Miao and Yuan Shao are at odds. At that time, he wanted to seize Yanzhou.

After Xun Yu learned that Zhang Miao and Chen Gong had rebelled against Cao Cao and welcomed Lu Bu, Xun Yu hurriedly transferred Xiahou Dun, the governor of the Dongjun County stationed in Puyang, back to Juancheng (Juancheng County, Shandong Province), and executed Zhang and Zhang in the city that night. Dozens of people conspired by Miao and Chen Gong to stabilize Juancheng, the political center of Yanzhou; at the same time, Cheng Yu was sent to Fan County (Fan County, Henan Province) and Dong'e (Yanggu County, Shandong Province) to encourage local officials and people to guard the city. , Waiting for Cao Cao to come back.Cheng Yu also dispatched a mobile force to cut off Cangtingjin (the crossing of the Yellow River in Fan County), so that Chen Gong's army could not cross the river.Lü Bu failed to attack Juancheng, so he withdrew westward and stationed at Puyang.

Cao Cao drove his army back from Xuzhou, and as soon as they crossed Mount Tai, he was very happy to hear that Lu Bu had retreated to Puyang.Cao Cao's generals, officers and soldiers were a little worried, because at this time only Juancheng, Fan County, and Dong'e in Yanzhou were still guarded by Cao Cao, and the rest of the counties and counties all responded to Lu Bu.After a calm analysis, Cao Cao said to his subordinates: "Lu Bu suddenly won a state, did not defend Dongping, cut off the main roads of Kangfu and Mount Tai, and put pressure on me by relying on dangerous points, but returned to Puyang. Great work."

So immediately prepare to counterattack Puyang.In August, Cao Cao besieged Puyang, and the Tian family in Puyang responded in the city. Cao Cao personally led soldiers into the east gate of the city. As a result, the street fighting was unfavorable, and Cao Cao was defeated and fled.

After Cao Cao returned to the camp, he was afraid that his injury would make the army depressed, so he led the army in person enduring the pain, boosted morale, and ordered the soldiers to prepare the "attack tools" for attack as soon as possible.Cao Cao and Lu Bu had a stalemate for more than 100 days. The locust plague broke out, the army and the people were starved, and Lu Bu's food and grass were exhausted, so the two sides retreated separately.

In September, Cao Cao returned to Juancheng, and Lu Jun also retreated to Tun Shanyang (Jinxiang County, Shandong Province).In October, Cao Cao went to Dongyang.Jizhou Mu Yuan Shao sent someone to persuade Cao Cao, suggesting that he send his family members to Yecheng (Linzhang County, Hebei Province).Cao Cao is at a low point in his career, and his food will be in short supply, so he agrees.At this time, Cao Cao's advisers played a key role.Cheng Yu said to Cao Cao: "I have always believed that generals are fearless in the face of major changes. I didn't expect this to be the case. Why are you so careless? Although Yuan Shao has the ambition to annex the Quartet, it is a pity that he does not have the wisdom to conquer the Quartet. The General also He will not stay under the people for a long time. With the power of a general, he is like a dragon and a tiger. How can he follow in the footsteps of Han Xin and Peng Yue? Today, although Yanzhou is dilapidated, we still have three cities as bases, with an armed force of no less than 10000 people. With the martial arts of a general He Lue, Xun Yu, and me, together, we can achieve supremacy, please think again."

Cao Cao agreed with his analysis and rejected Yuan Shao's suggestion.After that, it took Cao Cao more than a year to recover the prefectures and counties of Yanzhou one after another.

In the summer of the second year of Xingping (AD 195), Cao Cao fought Lv Bu in Juye (south of Juye County, Shandong Province), and finally defeated Lv Bu. Lv Bu fled to Xuzhou, and Zhang Miao followed Lv Bu to Xuzhou.At this time Xuzhou Mu Taoqian was dead, and Liu Bei succeeded him.When Zhang Miao heard that Cao Cao was going to kill his family, he wanted to go to Yuan Shu in Yangzhou to ask for reinforcements, but was killed by his subordinates on the way.In this way, the local forces in Yanzhou were basically wiped out by Cao Cao. At this time, Cao Cao finally took the ruling power of Yanzhou into his own hands.

From then on, Cao Cao not only had the Yanzhou base, but also mastered a huge army.He expanded his political and military strength from the bloody suppression of the Yellow Turban Uprising, and laid a solid foundation for him to unify the north and become a "capable minister of governance".

(End of this chapter)