The Complete Biography of Cao Cao

Chapter 14 Knowing People and Doing Good Jobs

Chapter 14 Knowing People and Doing Good Jobs

Properly delegate authority to win the initiative

No matter how energetic a person is, his time and energy are always limited, and it is impossible to do everything by himself.This requires that in the process of employing personnel, appropriate authorization must be adopted.Especially for the leaders at the top, their main function is no longer to do things, but to accomplish them. Authorization is the avatar technique of employing people to accomplish things.

Authorization, specifically speaking, is to grant certain powers and responsibilities to the user by the employer, so that the exercise of power has considerable flexibility.The more intelligent the leader is, the more willing he is to empower his subordinates.Especially for the person in charge who is far away from the command center and stands alone, he should use the means of authorization to give full play to his independent and responsible role.This is the truth of the old saying "the general is outside, and the king's order is not accepted".

However, delegation is not the surrender of power, the loss of control over power.Cao Cao is very measured about this point, and he is very good at it.It is very beneficial for us to deepen our understanding of this issue by taking a look at the authorization process of Cao Cao's use of talents.

Zhang He, originally a general under Yuan Shao, could not bear the slander and persecution of his courtiers during the Battle of Guandu, so he defected to Cao Cao before the battle, and was appointed by Cao Cao as a partial general and entrusted with the capital Tinghou.Following Cao Cao's expeditions to the north and south, he made outstanding achievements many times, which won Cao Cao's respect.

In the 20th year of Jian'an (AD 215), Zhang He followed Cao Cao to Hanzhong to conquer Zhang Lu.When Cao Cao led his troops through Chencang (Baoji, Shaanxi), he did not go directly south to Hanzhong, but went west out of Sanguan, and defeated Dou Mao, the king of the Di people in Hechi (Hui County) and the leader of the rebels in Liangzhou in May. Han Sui.Then he turned his head and went to Hanzhong to attack Zhang Lu.

Zhang Lu knew that Cao Cao's style of recruiting surrenders and accepting rebels throughout his life might not only not punish him, but promote him to the official position.Therefore, Zhang Lu had long planned to surrender Cao.However, his younger brother Zhang Wei firmly opposed it.Zhang Lu couldn't resist Zhang Wei's intention, so he allowed Zhang Wei to resist for a while.

Zhang Wei chose Yangping Pass as a defensive position, and Cao Cao attacked it for three days, but he couldn't attack it.Later, Cao Jun's forward troops went the wrong way and walked into Zhang Wei's barracks.Gao Zuo, a mid-level officer of the Cao army, wanted to gather his troops together so that they would not be wiped out in the enemy camp in pieces, so he beat his drum and blew his "horn" made of horns.This caused Zhang Wei to panic, thinking that Cao Jun had a large number of people rushing in.As a result, Zhang Wei was defeated.

When Zhang Lu heard the news of Zhang Wei's defeat, he immediately wanted to surrender.His subordinate Yan Pu advised him not to be so impatient.Surrendering at this time must be looked down upon by Cao Cao.Yan Pu suggested that Zhang Lu might as well make a gesture of resistance to the end, and then send someone to talk to Cao Cao about the conditions for a peaceful settlement.

Sure enough, after Zhang Lu surrendered, he worshiped Zhang Lu as General Zhennan and still had the power to command the army.He was also granted the title of Marquis of Langzhong, with [-] households in Shiyi.Zhang Lu's five sons and Yan Pu were also named "Liehou".

After Zhang Lu surrendered, he guarded Hanzhong together with Xia Houyuan.Zhang Lu surrendered to Cao Cao, which was not good for Liu Bei, so Liu Bei led his elite troops to fight for Hanzhong.In this battle, Liu Bei's general Zhao Yun killed Cao Jun commander Xia Houyuan in Dingjun Mountain, and the morale of Liu Bei's army was greatly boosted.When the commander-in-chief died, Cao Jun's soldiers were very panicked, lest Liu Bei would take the opportunity to kill him.At this critical juncture, Xia Houyuan's Sima Guo Huai stood up and said: "General Zhang He is a well-known general in our Wei State, and even Liu Bei is afraid of him three points. Today is urgent, and it is General Zhang who cannot be stable."So he and all the soldiers pushed Zhang He to be the commander-in-chief.

At this time, Cao Cao was far behind in Chang'an, and was shocked when he heard the news.I'm afraid something will happen if Zhang He is in power.But Cao Cao quickly calmed down and took emergency measures to control the situation: First, he immediately sent people to the front line in Hanzhong to formally acknowledge and approve the generals' support for Zhang He, and to grant him the power to kill.The second is to announce that he will go to Hanzhong in person to arrange the next military operation.

Here, someone may ask a question: Since Zhang Xi has been authorized, the front line will definitely settle down, so he can handle everything on the front line. Why does Cao Cao go to Hanzhong again?In fact, this is exactly where Cao Cao is good at using power.Because, first, judging from the support of Zhang Yun by the various armies at that time and Zhang Yun's talent, only by authorizing Zhang Yun can the situation be stabilized; second, without the commander Xia Houyuan, Cao Jun was defeated.Although the morale of the army has temporarily stabilized, it is difficult for Zhang Yun to make a major decision on whether to advance or retreat.If he does not go for a long time, the frontline army will inevitably be in a dilemma, and internal conflicts will also break out concentratedly, which will inevitably cause new chaos.

Sure enough, according to the above analysis, Cao Cao arrived at the front line when Zhang He was in a dilemma. He assessed the situation and quickly stabilized the situation.Then decisively issued an order to withdraw troops, and the whole army withdrew smoothly.

In this process, Cao Cao's authorization has three points worthy of praise: first, it was decisive (although there was a sense of last resort); Take it back in time (Cao Cao personally went to the front to command, of course the situation was under his control).These three points were grasped calmly, systematically and with follow-up, seeing that a great chaos was resolved invisible by Cao Cao's set of actions of delegating power and collecting power.

Obedience to two words and full trust in talents

What Cao Cao pursued when using talents was "don't use doubtful people, and don't doubt when employing people".Once identified as talents, they began to boldly appoint talents.Leaders who are courageous and effective can employ people boldly, often obey their words, and talents often succeed repeatedly.When Cao Cao appointed Du Ji as the governor of Hedong, he also obeyed Xun Yu and Du Ji, which fully proved his full trust in Du Ji.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Hedong was in chaos. Cao Cao followed the advice of his counselor Xun Yu and sent Du Ji to Hedong to take over as the prefect. Wei Gu, who was powerful in Hedong, heard the news and immediately led troops to block Du Ji's main road to Hedong.When Cao Cao found out, he was very angry and wanted to send Xiahou Dun to conquer.Du Ji hurriedly stopped and said: "Sending troops to conquer will bring disaster to the people of the whole county, and it will not benefit them from the kindness of Duke Ming. Now please let me go by myself. As long as I stay in Hedong for a month, the problem can be solved easily." Cao Cao trusted Du Ji's talent very much, so he suppressed his anger and sent Du Ji to Hedong.

Du Ji sneaked into Hedong by detour, and Fan Xian and Wei Gu killed more than 30 county officials, trying to threaten Du Ji with a blow to Du Ji.Du Ji moved freely and remained unmoved.He also said to the two of them: "You two are the real rulers of Hedong. I still need to rely on the power of the two of you to be the prefect. Therefore, the three of us need to discuss major issues in the county before we can decide."

Therefore, Du Ji pretended to appoint Wei Gu as the governor to manage the county administration, while Fan Xian still commanded the army to paralyze the opponent.But I let it go, pretending to be indifferent to political affairs, and just went to visit the counties.In fact, it is to win over contacts and develop their own power.

Not long after, Du Ji knew that all the counties in the county were under his control, so he took the opportunity to recruit troops to attack Weigu.Cao Cao also took the opportunity to send troops to cooperate with Du Ji's internal and external attacks, thus quickly lifting Wei Gu's power.It was only then that Du Ji began to truly control the real power of Hedong County, so that it could be reflected.

Du Ji governed Hedong with pragmatic policies and gentle actions.He encouraged farming and the development of animal husbandry, and the people lived a very prosperous life; he also paid attention to education and set up schools; he also paid attention to the selection of talents and strengthened martial arts training.A thriving scene in the city.Under his hard work, the Hedong area gradually stabilized.

Du Ji governed Hedong for more than ten years, making Hedong the most prosperous and stable county in Guanzhong.His reputation also reached a very high level. At that time, there was a popular saying: Du Ji is the only one who governs Hedong.

Cao Cao has always been bold and cautious in knowing and employing people. He has always used talents cautiously, but he will not let go of any useful talents.For example, after he captured Zhang Liao, he first asked him to surrender, but Zhang Liao refused to surrender.Cao Cao then ordered someone to push him out and behead him. Zhang Liao was not afraid of dying. Cao Cao judged that this man was definitely a very loyal general, so he immediately stopped, and personally swung his sword to cut off the ropes that bound Zhang Liao. Sitting next to him, pouring wine for him to calm his shock, and showing his righteousness, showing his sincere heart of cherishing talents.Zhang Liao was deeply moved, and finally surrendered to Cao Cao, and he really became a powerful general under Cao Cao in the future.It can be seen that Cao Cao not only treats talents with courtesy and tries his best to accept them, but also knows people well.

The disadvantage of being lenient and strict with others is that you can't treat people and things equally. This is the kind of person mentioned in Han Yu's article - strict with others and lenient with yourself.The result of this is that it is impossible to exert the correct influence on people, to be suspicious of people, and to make the relationship between people harmonious and peaceful.Therefore, as Cao Cao said, if any political group comes to power, if it wants to achieve long-term and stable development, it must first seek stability and reassure the people, and then implement gradual reform measures after the overall situation is consolidated.

Then, at the beginning of stability, we first need to have enlightened policies, a relaxed employment environment, and reliable integrity.In this way, the people will feel at ease in their hearts and feel that they have goals to run towards.Such a regime will of course win widespread support and advocacy.

Cao Cao successfully appointed Du Ji, which is not only a kind of trust in Du Ji, but also a commendation for Cao Cao himself, and a commendation for Xun Yu.One is to boldly recommend talents, the other is to dare to employ people in times of crisis, and the other is to win high expectations and respect for his wisdom, courage and ability.Why not do it?

The talent recommendation system is one of the main forms for the imperial court to obtain talents in ancient my country, especially before the Six Dynasties, the imperial court took it as the basic form of selecting talents.Many virtuous people became famous in the world through the recommendation of others.Here, recommendation is the premise of using talents, and being able to boldly appoint is fundamental.

Cao Cao is a person who encourages his subordinates to recommend talents boldly, and at the same time dares to entrust important responsibilities to talents.Most of the many talents under him are recommended by people, and those who are recommended recommend new people.In this way, a benign channel for the source of talents has been formed, so that talents can continuously gather from all directions. In addition, Cao Cao can choose boldly regardless of high or low, so that people can make the best use of their talents. A batch of heroic generals.

The three knowledges are good, let each one make the best use of them, and show their great wisdom

The reason why Cao Cao can dominate the world is that he has many talents, and the second is that he can use talents with their own strengths and cooperate with each other.To measure whether a leader is brilliant, it depends not only on how many people he has recruited, but also on how he uses them reasonably.Gathering talents is not the goal, making good use of talents is fundamental.No matter how many talents there are but not making good use of them, it will either cause complaints or cause internal friction.In this way, the more talents there are, the greater the reaction will be. Not only will it not help yourself, but it will damage major events.

Cao Cao's use of talents can be described as a lot of means, flexible and maneuverable.Some use it with confidence and boldness, while others control it; some let him stand alone, while others form a team with several people, just like a united whole.In this way, Cao Cao used talents in combination and took appropriate measures to enable different people to exert their respective effectiveness.

The strategy adopted by Cao Cao is "The benevolent use their benevolence, the wise use their wisdom, the generals are brave, the civil servants do their best, and the people are chosen."
affairs, and maximize the use of people's strengths." Cao Cao's careful arrangement of personnel for the Hefei Battle shows that he is indeed a leader who knows people and handles tasks well.

In the 20th year of Jian'an (AD 215), Cao Cao was preparing to conquer Zhanglu. He thought that Sun Quan might take advantage of him to attack Hefei. So before he left, he wrote a secret letter to Xue Ti, the guard of Hefei, in the It was specially marked on the envelope: Wait until the Wu soldiers come to attack and then open it for a look. When Cao Cao was far away, Sun Quan led his troops to attack Hefei.

In the crisis, everyone opened the secret letter, only to see a few words in the letter: "If Sun Quan comes, generals Zhang and Li will go to battle; general Yue will guard the army, so don't fight." The generals were puzzled.Zhang Liao was the first to understand Cao Cao's intentions. He said: "Dr. Cao means that he is away on an expedition. If we wait for him to rescue us, we will have been defeated long ago. Now, we have to combine offense and defense to attack the enemy while the enemy's foothold is not stable. Only by being caught off guard can we have a chance of victory. Whether we win or lose, we will fight here!"

After listening to Zhang Liao's words, Li Dian suddenly realized.So he sent out troops immediately, and everyone in the south of the Yangtze River was terrified.Even children in Jiangnan did not dare to cry when they heard Zhang Liao's name.

Cao Cao's personnel arrangements for this battle fully demonstrated his ability to know people and do them well.The three main generals Cao Cao arranged for this battle, Zhang Liao, Le Jin, and Li Dian, are all generals under Cao Cao. No matter in terms of qualifications and abilities, the three of them are almost the same, and they all have made great contributions.Therefore, the three of them have always refused to accept each other, and the relationship has become very tense.It is indeed difficult to arrange such three people to defend the city.

The reason why Cao Cao's secret letter was arranged in this way was the careful arrangement after fully understanding the three people.As Cao Cao expected, Zhang Liao expressed his opinion first when he saw the letter, impassionedly expressing that he would fight to the death, followed by Li Dian. There is such a record in "Three Kingdoms: Li Dian Biography": "Liao was afraid that he would not follow, and Dian said with emotion: "This country's major affairs, how good is Gu Jun's plan, why do I forget justice because of my personal regrets! It is to lead the people to take power with Liao Po. "

A team can only have combat effectiveness if it is united.There will be a lot of civil wars in the Cao camp, some are like fire, and they regard death as home (such as Dian Wei, Pang De, etc.). , Zhang Yun, etc.), Cao Cao usually puts them in important positions, and in case of war, let them lead the army and take charge alone; some lack courage and indecision, Cao Cao will adjust according to individual conditions, and match them in the appropriate commander camp. , as a good supporting role.

After careful analysis, this is Cao Cao's extraordinary performance in employing people.The three carriages each have their own direction, so there is absolutely no combat power to speak of.If three people who are not in harmony with each other are screwed together, two people must first join hands.It can be seen from this that the purpose of using troops is to make the best use of their talents, and a general can only win a battle if he employs people who are eclectic.

In the world, there is no one with exactly the same personality.People with different personalities and temperaments are suitable for different jobs.As a leader, you must grasp the different personality characteristics of your subordinates to fully measure a person's talents, which vary from person to person.Use what you have.

For those with special talents, we must give them the best conditions and treatment as possible.Special talents, special treatment, this is the principle we should follow.

For those with strong abilities, a multi-faceted appointment method can be adopted, which can not only allow them to play a multi-faceted and greater role, but also mobilize their enthusiasm for contributing and making more achievements.

It is true that people's strengths are worth promoting, but digging out their strengths from their weaknesses and developing from making good use of their strengths to making good use of their weaknesses is also the essence of the art of employing people.Everyone has his strong and weak points.Long and short are not absolute. There is no long or short at any time.The key is to learn how to make the most of it.

It is in this way that Cao Cao flexibly masters and uses the characters and abilities of the three people, so that he can use his talents and achieve unexpected results. We have to admire his wisdom in employing people.

Four values ​​loyalty, relying on morality in exchange for loyalty

During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao had the strongest strength and was the best at attracting talents, but he failed to impress Guan Yu. Why?Because the loyalty with Liu Bei is more noble in Guan Yu's view.Therefore, from the hanging seal about gold, Cao Cao also understood that compared with those who come for morality, those who come for profit are more devoted and loyal.Therefore, Cao Cao paid more attention to morality when employing people.

Sometimes it is unavoidable that we put interests first in dealing with others, but the temptation of interests is not always effective, because there are many loyal people in the world, what they value is not only interests, but respect for themselves.

At that time, Yuan Shao sent General Yan Liang to attack Dongjun, Cao Cao transferred Dong Zhao to be the prefect of Weijun, and followed Cao Cao to conquer Yan Liang.After Yan Liang's death, Cao Cao besieged Yecheng.

At that time, Chunqing, a member of Yuan Shao's family, was the prefect of Wei County. In Ye, his father Yuan Chang was in Yangzhou, and Cao Cao sent people to welcome him.Dong Zhao wrote to Chunqing and said: "I heard that those who are filial to their parents will not betray them for the sake of gaining utility; Successful, smart people don’t endanger themselves with false and treacherous ways. Your father used to escape the war and had to go to the Baiyue area in the south. This is not to alienate his children, but to be intoxicated by the landscape of Wuhui.

A wise man often has a deep sense and thinks it proper to do so.Cao Gong felt sorry for him sticking to his ambition and living in isolation, so he specially sent envoys to Jiangdong to welcome and see him off, and now he is almost here.Even if you are in a remote and peaceful place and rely on benevolent and moral people, your position will be as stable as Mount Tai, and your body will be as tall and strong as a pine tree.From a moral point of view, you should still leave, leave the people and serve your parents.Moreover, when Zhu Yifu began to form an alliance with Yin Gong, although the people of Lu praised him, he did not have a title.However, those who come to be ordered by the king should not be honored with titles. This is the righteousness explained in "Spring and Autumn".What's more, Zhu is now relying on a country in crisis, and accepting a pretense of fate?

If you are in the company of those who do not succeed, but you cannot be considerate of your father's safety, you cannot be called filial piety; if you forget that the Han Dynasty was honored by your ancestors, and you are content with false positions that are not righteous, you can hardly be called loyal.Loyalty and filial piety have been abolished, so it cannot be called wisdom.Besides, you were once summoned by Duke Cao with courtesy, you were close to your fellow clansmen but alienated from your parents, attached to Yuan Shao but kept away from the court, betrayed your confidant for improper salary, stayed away from happiness and approached peril, abandoned morality and suffered great shame, isn’t it a pity?If you can change quickly, assist the emperor.Serving his father, following Cao Gong, being loyal and filial, also has a prominent reputation.You should think about long-term plans and make up your mind early. "

This is a word of comfort that understands the righteousness and the general situation, and it makes people's heart beat when they read it.

Leaders since ancient times, their influence on people generally focuses on social morality, moral responsibility, and national security.All of his strategies for employing people are the great wisdom of the world.

In history, many capable men and sages came out to do things. Many times they were not bought with huge sums of money, but out of righteousness and a sense of historical responsibility.Because the realm of a virtuous person cannot be guessed by mediocre people, if you still treat him in a worldly way, it will seem hypocritical and ridiculous.Letting the intelligence of the world, fighting for the heart of the world, the most commendable thing is that Cao Cao treats those who oppose him correctly, and is good at condensing the hearts of the people who are not good for him into a force that is beneficial to him.

When Cao Cao raised his army, there were only a few brothers and nephews of the family as the backbone, and there were not many troops.He once wanted to keep Liu Bei. Although he was unsuccessful, he was indeed very correct in the way of appointment.It can only be said that Liu Bei, like Cao Cao, is a hero who looks at the world and refuses to condescend.The correct concept of employing people has enabled him to create a huge team of "counselors like clouds and warriors like forest" in just a few years.

Xun Yu and Guo Jia were well-known think tanks during the Three Kingdoms period. They were both Yuan Shao's aides. room also".Guo Jia saw through Yuan Shao's "unknown opportunity to employ people", and also ran to Cao Cao's camp. Cao Cao was delighted and praised: "It's my lord."

During the Guandu War, Yuan Shao's important advisers Tian Feng, Xu You, generals Zhang He, Gao Lan, etc., except Tian Feng who was killed by Yuan Shao in prison, all defected and defected to Cao Cao.

In addition, after Cao Cao got rid of Lu Bu, he also gained many useful talents, and Zang Ba surrendered at this time.Cao Cao also surrendered Xu Xi and Mao Hui through Zang Ba.Ji Xi and Mao Hui were former generals of Cao Cao, but they later betrayed Cao Cao and defected to Zang Ba.Cao Cao asked Liu Bei to send a message to Zang Ba, asking him to cut off the heads of the two men.Zang Ba disagreed, and said to Liu Bei: The reason why I can stand on my own is because I refuse to do such unrighteous things.I have received the kindness of Mr. Cao Shengquan, and I dare not disobey orders, but those who establish a king's career can be moved by righteousness. I hope the general can explain it for me.

Liu Bei transferred Zang Ba's original letter to Cao Cao. Cao Cao sighed, summoned Zang Ba immediately, and said to him: "This is something that the ancient sages can do, but you have done it. This is exactly what I have done." What I wish for!" So not only did Xu Xi and Mao Hui not be held accountable for their crimes, but they were also appointed as prefects and put in good use.

In fact, many people with lofty aspirations can be inspired by morality.Morality has been the foundation of being a human being since ancient times, and it is also an indispensable virtue in any undertaking.Cao Cao just grasped the essence of morality-justice and truth, so he stood on the side of success.

"If the name is not right, the word is not right." Many wars are said to be a battle between justice and injustice, but in fact they are all fighting for the name.The reason why Cao Cao was able to "take the emperor to order the princes" was that he was honored to be righteous. He discounted the name of the court in everything he did, and naturally won the support of the people. This is also an important reason why talents have surrendered one after another.

The five sympathize with each other, Cao Cao treats heroes sincerely

People are divided into groups, and things of a feather flock together.For those heroes with similar interests and common ambitions, Cao Cao has always cherished each other and respected them very much.Although he often resorted to deceit and schemes against his enemies in politics and military affairs, he was always open-minded and sincere to his friends, righteous men, and respected people.

Cao Cao has always used two ties of interest and affection to maintain his team, and he especially attaches great importance to the intimacy established on the basis of affection.In Cao Cao's view, the quality of character can be judged from the integrity.Those who achieve success in the world rely on a sense of courage and loyalty, as well as a kind of righteousness that stands firm in the world.Therefore, heroes in the world must appreciate people with integrity.Cao Cao respected people with integrity, and he also created a heroic image of integrity for himself.

Chen Gong was originally under Cao Cao's tent, but later he was dissatisfied with Cao Cao's massacre of the city, so he took refuge in Lu Bu and became his adviser.Later, he was captured in Baimenlou together with Lu Bu, and he resolutely refused to surrender to Cao Cao, showing a heroic spirit of seeking death.Cao Cao valued his righteousness, but he still didn't give up, so he said: "What about your mother, wife and children?" Let's do it." Chen Gong asked for the death penalty.Cao Cao couldn't help crying, moved by Chen Gong's integrity.He sent people to support Chen Gong's mother, wife and children, and personally married Chen Gong's daughter in a grand manner to express his regret.

Ju Shou was Yuan Shao's counselor and a very loyal person.He was arrested after the Battle of Guandu and shouted: "I will surrender even if I die!" He died calmly without changing his face.Cao Cao admired his loyalty to the old master very much, built a tomb for him and wrote an inscription: "Tomb of the Loyal Jujun".

Although Cao Cao had no choice but to kill Chen Guan and Ju Shou, Cao Cao was full of admiration for them in his heart, and at the same time felt sad for their deaths, and treated their relatives generously.This expressed respect and pity for them, which moved all the soldiers around them.

Once, General Liu Xun of Pinglu was executed for breaking the law. When he ransacked his home, he found a letter from Du Ji, the prefect of Hedong.Liu Xun was originally favored by Cao Cao, and his power shocked the government and the public.He once asked Du Ji for the special products of Hedong, so Du Ji wrote this letter expressing his refusal.After Cao Cao learned of this, he greatly appreciated Gui Ji's practice of not flattering power and responsibility, and said: "Du Ji can be called a person who'doesn't flatter the stove." The sage who came out can be an example for everyone, and I hope everyone can learn from him.”

In November of the 18th year of Jian'an (213 AD), Cao Cao appointed Du Ji as Minister of the State of Wei.After Guanzhong was pacified, the next step was how to consolidate the rule. The military action to advance Hanzhong was also put on the agenda, and the status and role of Hedong still cannot be ignored.So Cao Cao decided to let Du Ji stay in Hedong, and issued a special order for this:
In the past, Xiao He Dingguanzhong, Kou Xun leveled Hanoi, and Qing had his merits.The general will give you the post of Nayan, Gu Nianhedong, I share the county.The place of enrichment is enough to control the world, so let's bother you to lie down and suppress it.

The so-called "Nayan" is the name of the official responsible for conveying the emperor's order, later called Shangshu. "Waizhen" is to take advantage of Du Ji's prestige in Hedong to guard here.Here is a story: when Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty was the prefect of the East China Sea, Ji An was often sick in the bedroom, but the county was well managed.Later, he was called to be the prefect of Huaiyang, and he resigned due to illness. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty said, "I just want to take advantage of your prestige and let you govern Huaiyang lying down." He has made great achievements, so the important and wealthy Hedong County should be handed over to him to continue to govern.

Du Ji lived up to Cao Cao's high expectations, and managed Hedong so that the political affairs were smooth and the people were prosperous.Later, when Cao Cao conquered Hanzhong, Du Ji dispatched 5000 people to deliver military rations. Because of the meticulous work, the people who transported the rations encouraged each other, saying: "Life is mortal, so don't let me down." No one escaped, and the support was completed satisfactorily. The tasks on the front line show Du Ji's personal charm and high prestige.It is reasonable for such a person to be appreciated by Cao Cao.

In life, a person only speaks good things about others and never speaks ill of others; he only does good things to others and does not do evil to them, who would not be happy to associate with him?
Cao Cao has a benevolent and noble integrity, treats others with benevolence, respects and learns from people with integrity.When Cao Cao sees that others are better than himself or more capable than himself, he does not blindly cover up or suppress them to show his height, greatness, and completeness, but he can praise his strengths at any time.For those talented and wise men who are grateful to the old masters and refused to surrender, not only fully express their regret, but also care about their families as much as possible.In fact, this kind of action itself is the best proof to make those magi surrender.At the same time, let Cao Cao himself become more and more good and moral, why not do it?
Six catches, let go of small flaws, so it doesn't matter

Cao Cao saw that the talent selection and appointment system at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty was led by the so-called virtue, which made the scholars at that time pretentious and pretentious, which made the whole officialdom appear exaggerated, false, and flashy.He broke the convention and took "according to talent only" as his standard of employment. This is because he saw that in the turbulent period of the end of Han Dynasty, without a group of civil servants and generals with real talents, it was impossible to help him sweep the world and achieve hegemony. of.Instead of pursuing those so-called artificial talents, it is better to promote those who are really talented and inevitably violate the world.Cao Cao believes that as long as you have talent, you should use it boldly.Therefore, it is a major characteristic of Cao Cao's employment that "the big business does not care about the meticulousness, and the big gift does not hesitate to make small concessions."

According to statistics, there are hundreds of counselors in Cao Cao's life, and the core figures include Xun Yu, Xun You, Guo Jia, Jia Xu, Cheng Yu and others.These people have made great contributions to Cao Cao's expansion of territory and formulation of long-term plans, but they are not perfect. Some of them have many outrageous behaviors, but Cao Cao can tolerate them one by one.

During the Chuping period, Cheng Yu, the adviser, refused to be recruited by the separatist warlords such as Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou, Yuan Shao, the prefect of Bohai, and Sun Zan, the shepherd of Youzhou.Later, Liu Dai, governor of Yanzhou, was killed by the Yellow Turban Army.After Cao Cao was stationed in Yanzhou, he invited Cheng Yu, but Cheng Yu happily went there, which shows that he is good at knowing people.

Cao Cao attacked Tao Qian in Xuzhou, but Chen Gong, Zhang Miao and others took the opportunity to rebel against Cao. Almost all Yanzhou fell. ground, retaining the opportunity to counterattack.Cao Cao and Lu Bu were unfavorable in the battle, and Cao Cao wanted to retreat.At this time, Cheng Yu persuaded him: "Although we have lost a large area of ​​land, we still have three cities and tens of thousands of soldiers who can fight well. With your ingenuity and determination to conquer the Quartet, it is absolutely possible to regain the lost land and achieve success." Overlord." Cheng Yu's words helped Cao Cao make the right strategic choice at the critical moment.

Later, Cao Cao accepted Liu Bei, and it was Cheng Yu who advised Cao Cao to eradicate Liu Bei as soon as possible to avoid future troubles; Liu Bei wanted to take the opportunity to lead his troops south to attack Yuan Shu. He tried his best to persuade Cao Cao to get rid of Liu Bei when Liu Bei's foothold was not stable, but he was not adopted in the end, but his heartfelt and keen observation ability to Cao Cao still left a deep impression on Cao Cao.

When Cao Cao fought Yuan Shao, Cheng Yu only led 10,000 soldiers to garrison Juancheng.Cao Cao thought it was too few and wanted to add more troops to him, but Cheng Yu thought it was impossible. He analyzed that Yuan Shao had [-]+ soldiers and horses. Seeing that he had few soldiers, he would definitely disdain to attack. If more troops were added, it would attract Yuan Shao's attack.It turned out to be the case.During the battle between Cao and Yuan, Cheng Yu not only did not ask Cao Cao to add troops, but also took the opportunity to train thousands of elite soldiers to help Cao Cao, so that Cao Cao finally defeated the Yuan family group that dominated Hebei.

It is such a resourceful and wise counselor who is deeply loved by Cao Cao, but he has a surly personality and finds it difficult to get along with other people.Therefore, many people spoke ill of Cao Cao in front of him, and some even falsely accused him of treason.Cao Cao was noncommittal and did not refute these, but the treatment he gave Cheng Yu became more and more generous every time.This method of Cao Cao not only quelled other people's grievances against Cheng Yu, but also made Cheng Yu put down his psychological burden, serve himself as always, and at the same time clearly express his attitude, which can be described as very clever.

Among Cao Cao's many advisers, only Guo Jia knew Cao Cao best, and the two were close, like friends.According to reports, the two walk in the same car and sit in the same seat, which shows their intimacy.In the camp of Cao Cao, who was strict in governing the army, Guo Jia had many unreasonable behaviors, but in the eyes of Cao Cao, who favored him, "this is an extraordinary person, and it is not appropriate to restrain him with common sense."

One of Cao Cao's discipline inspection officials, Chen Qun, once gave Guo Jia a book because of his lack of discipline.However, Cao Cao did not punish Guo Jia, let alone ask Guo Jia to correct his shortcomings of indiscretion in private life; at the same time, he praised Chen Qun for his strict demands on his officials.

Cao Cao's handling method is unavoidably a bit muddy, but in fact Cao Cao realized that "when the water is clear, there will be no fish, and when people observe it, there will be no disciples."Being too demanding on people will either distract the talents, or make the courtiers cover up their mistakes and deceive each other; at the same time, praising Chen Qun and fully affirming his enthusiasm for work is really the best way to deal with it.

If it is said that Cao Cao can tolerate their defects because he is reluctant to part with their wisdom, then he can treat some ordinary officials with shortcomings in the same way, which truly reflects Cao Cao's employment standard of "great work regardless of meticulousness".

Ding Pei, a fellow of Cao Cao, is quite talented in management.But he was greedy for petty gains, and even used his power to exchange his own lean cow for a fat cow from the public, and was dismissed from office.When Cao Cao saw him, he deliberately asked, "Wenhou, where is your official seal?" Ding Pei also said glibly, "Take it for a pancake and eat it." : "Mao Jie asked me to punish Ding Pei severely many times. I said that Ding Pei is like a cat that catches mice but steals food. It is still useful to keep him." So he was appointed as an official again.

Liu Ye, Cao Cao's counselor, was good at making intrigues, but he had a strange temper—he was never willing to put forward his suggestions in front of everyone.Cao Cao took care of special matters and often communicated with him in letters.Sometimes in order to discuss issues, the two even exchanged dozens of letters overnight.Cao Cao was able to tolerate the eccentricity of his counselors so much, and his sincerity and generosity in employing people had to be admirable.

Cao Cao was able to see the advantages of different types of talents through various phenomena, and appointed them one by one, so that their talents could be brought into full play.It is Cao Cao's relaxed employment environment that can not only gather a large number of talents, but also form a harmonious and cooperative atmosphere, and jointly make suggestions in the South and North Wars, so that the soldiers can attack the city.

Cao Cao recruited a group of capable men and sages, civil servants and military generals for his vast territory. His approach has never changed, so that he can be surrounded by talents, civil and military at all times, and there will be no gaps in talents. situation.We look at the Cao Cao Group. At any time, any loss of talent can be replenished in a timely manner.On the other hand, Liu Bei Group relies on Zhuge Liang for everything, and has not formed a continuous talent selection mechanism.As the years passed, talents gradually withered and disappeared, and the country of Shu also declined. This may be the root cause of Cao Wei's final annexation of Shu Han.

(End of this chapter)

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