The Complete Biography of Cao Cao
Chapter 16 I would rather blame others: Don't teach the world to blame me
Chapter 16 I would rather blame others: Don't teach the world to blame me
A traitorous hero becomes suspicious and kills Boshe by mistake
In Cao Cao's eyes, all self-deceiving slogans are illusory. In a war-torn era, it is better to openly reveal one's own thoughts and ambitions and have a hearty struggle. This is the real Cao Cao without pretense.
Cao Cao's personal creed is also his famous saying: I would rather teach me to blame the world than to teach the world to blame me.His opinions couldn't be clearer, everything is self-centered, others are the conditions he can use to succeed, how simple the world is!
In such an era that respected Confucian loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and fraternity, Cao Cao was able to put forward such an arrogant point of view nakedly. Even now, it is difficult for people to understand. It is precisely in this way that he has achieved his role as a traitor.
Dong Zhuo controls the government, and everyone knows his intention to usurp.Cao Cao was so angry that he failed to assassinate Dong Zhuo, so he fled Luoyang and planned to flee back to his hometown.On the way, he fell into the hands of Chen Gong, the magistrate of Zhongmou County. Chen Gong was moved by his righteousness of saving the country and eliminating thieves, so he abandoned his official and joined him in conspiracy.
When we reached Chenggao, it was getting late.Cao Cao said to Chen Gong: "There is a man named Lu and Boshe here, who is my father's sworn brother. How about we rest at his house tonight?" Chen Guan agreed.The two then went to see Boshe.Bo She said: "I heard that the imperial court is arresting you everywhere, why are you here?" Cao Cao told Bo She: "If it weren't for the county magistrate Chen, I would have died without a place to bury me."
Boshe thanked Chen Gong and said: "If my nephew is not the envoy, the Cao family will be wiped out. Envoy, please sit here with peace of mind, and you can stay in the thatched cottage tonight." After speaking, he got up and entered the inner hall.After a while, he came out and said to Chen Gong: "My husband's family has no good wine, so let me go to the West Village and buy a bottle to treat you." After speaking, he hurried on his donkey and left.
Cao Cao sat opposite Chen Guan, and suddenly heard the sound of Zhuang Hou sharpening a knife.Cao Cao said: "Lu Boshe and I are not close relatives. It's suspicious to go here, so we should go and eavesdrop." So he quietly sneaked into the thatched cottage, and heard someone say, "Tie him up and kill him, how about it?" Cao Cao said to Chen Gong. Said: "If we don't strike first, we will be captured." So he broke in with Chen Gong and killed them all indiscriminately.When I got to the kitchen, I saw a pig tied up and ready to be killed.Chen Gong said: "Meng De, we killed a good man by mistake!" The two hurried out of the village overnight.
On the road, I happened to meet Boshe riding a donkey back to buy wine. Seeing them hurrying, he said, "Why do you want to leave?" I have ordered my family to slaughter a pig to treat you two, you should go back with me." Cao Cao ignored it and rode his horse.After walking not far, he suddenly drew his sword and turned back, pretending to call Boshe and say, "Who is coming from behind?" When Boshe looked back, Cao Cao swung his sword and chopped Lu Boshe to death.Chen Gong was shocked and said: "Just now he was killed by mistake, but now he is killed again. Why?" Cao Cao said: "Bo She returned home and saw that he had killed so many people, how would he give up? If he leads people to chase him down We will suffer from it." Chen Gongdao: "Killing him after knowing it is a great injustice!" But Cao Cao said the famous saying that has been passed down through the ages and reflects his true colors: "Ning teach me to bear the people of the world, Stop teaching people in the world to bear me."
Cao Cao was at a loss at first, and wanted to beg for a room and board from his friends. Unexpectedly, a misunderstanding occurred. Cao Cao killed this family by mistake. It was killed, no wonder Chen Gong felt creepy when he saw it.
Cao Cao's behavior is puzzling, but in terms of character, Cao Cao is a utilitarian and will do anything to achieve his goal.In fact, Cao Cao just wanted to get a full meal at first, but after killing people, it has become to ensure personal safety.Therefore, he must kill Lu Boshe again, which is also in line with his characteristics as a traitor.
Subjective for oneself, objective for others.This is a very pragmatic statement. In life, each of us has to face pressure and challenges.From this point of view, "subjectivity for oneself" seems understandable, but Cao Cao went one step further: both subjective and objective must be for oneself!
Rather teach me to bear the world, don't teach the world to bear me, this is Cao Cao's principle of conduct.For Cao Cao, as long as the purpose is sacred, it doesn't matter whether the means are noble or despicable. In order to achieve the purpose, any means are used at all costs.Therefore, he never allows anyone to cause harm to himself. Whether it is from the perspective of preserving his reputation or his life, he has a reason to kill the Boshe family, which corresponds to the ancient "non-toxic". Not a husband" statement.
The way of thinking of ordinary people is mostly based on human nature, which is generally good; while Cao Cao's thinking is based on needs.It is such a stubborn thought that made Cao Cao an image of a traitor.
In Cao Cao's life, notoriety and reputation were always inseparable and integrated.The notoriety of treacherous ministers and the reputation of benevolent government are concentrated in Cao Cao's life, but Cao Cao was not fettered by the vanity of the world, but put aside his false name to do practical things, even though he was burdened with two diametrically opposed "traitors" and "heroes". different identities.
Ruthless and bloodbathed Xuzhou for revenge
Yanzhou is in the middle of Nanyang occupied by Yuan Shu and Jizhou occupied by Yuan Shao, and it is a place where all the heroes must contend.Cao Cao planned to use Yuan Shao as his base as early as when he was under Yuan Shao's tent, but he has been suffering from no chance.
Yuan Shu must first occupy Yanzhou if he wants to develop his power northward.In the winter of the third year of Chuping (AD 192), shortly after Jin Shang fled to Nanyang, Yuan Shu and Gongsun Zan cooperated from the north to the south and launched an attack on Cao Cao and Yuan Shao at the same time.Gongsun Zan also sent his general Liu Bei as Prime Minister of Pingyuan to help Tian Kai, governor of Qingzhou, and Tao Qian, shepherd of Xuzhou, to contain and threaten Yanzhou from the east.At this time, Cao Cao still maintained a relationship of dependence on Yuan Shao on the surface, and cooperated with him in combat.Yuan Shaoxian defeated Gongsun Zan's main force at Longcou (near present-day Pingyuan County, Shandong), forcing him to flee north back to Youzhou.
At the beginning of the second year (AD 193), Cao Cao stationed troops in Juancheng (north of today's Juancheng County, Shandong) and moved the state government from Changyi to here.After Yuan Shu marched to Chenliu, he enlisted the remnants of the Black Mountain Army defeated by Cao Cao and the remnants of the Southern Huns in Yufuluo to deal with Cao Cao.
Yuan Shu stationed in Fengqiu (now southwest of Fengqiu County, Henan Province), and sent his general Liu Xiang to lead the attack.When Liu Xiang arrived at Kuangting on the south bank of the Pushui River (now southwest of Changyuan County, Henan Province), he set up camp and began to stand firm.
Cao Cao personally led troops to assault Liu Xiang's army in Kuangting, defeated him, marched into Fengqiu, defeated Yuan Shu's army, and pursued the victory.Just at this time, Liu Biao, the shepherd of Jingzhou, cut off Yuan Shu's grain road again, forcing Yuan Shu to abandon Nanyang and flee to Jiujiang (Shouchun, the county government, now Shouxian County, Anhui Province).
After Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shu and relieved the threat from the south, he prepared to conquer Xuzhou eastward in order to develop and strengthen his own power.Xuzhou Mu Taoqian, courtesy name Gongzu, was born in Danyang County, Danyang County (now northeast of Dangtu County, Anhui).Straightforward temperament, few but eager to learn.After entering the official career, he was promoted quickly, and successively served as Shu county magistrate, Youzhou governor, Sikong Zhang Wen and military affairs.After the Yellow Turban Uprising, he was appointed governor of Xuzhou and ordered to conquer the Yellow Turban Army.When Dong Zhuo was in power, he was moved to General Anton, Xuzhou Mu, and Liyang Marquis.
Tao Qian's political ability is average, and his achievements in the governance of Xuzhou, which is rich in products and rich in household registration, are not outstanding.To the outside world, they only want to expand their territory and make some money, but they have no big ambitions.
In May of the same year, Quexuan of Xiapi gathered a crowd to rebel. Tao Qian joined forces with him and sent troops to attack Yanzhou, occupying Hua County and Fei County, and plundering Rencheng County.For this reason, Cao Cao wanted to show color to Tao Qian.
But at this time, Cao Cao's rule over Yanzhou was not solid, and he had not yet done a good job of appeasing the people, and the army needed major revisions and supplements.Therefore, he did not want to send troops to the East on a large scale, but one incident accelerated the process.
It turned out that Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, sought refuge in Langya (now north of Linyi County, Shandong) because of the war, and Langya was under the jurisdiction of Xuzhou. Cao Cao considered his father's safety, and he also had a firm foothold in Yanzhou.So he sent someone to Langya to deliver a letter, telling Cao Song to come to Yanzhou, and sent Ying Shao, the prefect of Mount Tai, to meet him.
After Cao Song read the letter, he took care of it a bit, and then he led his relatives and servants, carrying a large amount of gold, silver and jewels, and set out on the road.When Cao Song and his party walked between Hua County and Fei County, they were attacked by Tao Qian's general Zhang Kai's troops.At this time, Ying Shao had not yet arrived, and Cao Song and his party ransacked the north.Cao Song's youngest son, Cao De, was also killed. Cao Song led his concubine to escape, trying to escape through a crack in the wall.But this concubine was too fat to get out. Cao Song and her were quickly found and killed together.The rest of the servants fled, and those who were killed were killed.A large amount of gold and silver property was all robbed.When Ying Shao arrived after hearing the news, Zhang Kai had already run away.Ying Shao was afraid that it would be difficult for Cao Cao to blame him, so he switched to Yuan Shao.
In this way, Cao Cao hated Tao Qian even more, and also found a good reason for himself to go east-to avenge his father.With this kind of thinking, Cao Cao insisted on seeking revenge from Tao Qian regardless of whether his father's killing was instigated by Tao Qian.
In the autumn of this year, Cao Cao stayed in Chengong to guard Dongjun, Xiahou Dun stationed in Puyang, and arranged for Xun Yu and Cheng Yu to guard Juancheng, the seat of the state government.After arranging everything in the rear, I personally led the army to conquer Tao Qian. The army was invincible, and went to more than a dozen cities in Xuzhou, and soon arrived in Pengcheng (now Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province).
Tao Qian led the main force to fight.Although the two sides fought fiercely, Cao Jun was still better.Tao Qian had to retreat to Tanxian County (now southwest of Tancheng County, Shandong Province), the Xuzhou government.Then send some troops to Wuyuan in the southwest of Tan County to meet Cao Jun.Cao Cao defeated this army and came to the city of Tan County, but Tao Qian could not hold out.
Cao Cao was unable to attack Tan, so he led his troops to the south to capture Qulu (now southwest of Suining County, Jiangsu Province), Xiaqiu (now Sixian County, Anhui Province) and other places.During this Eastern Expedition, the discipline of Cao Cao's army was very poor, and Cao Cao's revenge mentality was very strong. He indulged the army to kill and plunder, even the common people, and killed a total of 10 men and women.Many corpses fell in Surabaya, the situation was horrible.Such a massacre can be said to be unprecedented in Cao Cao's life.
Why did Cao Cao carry out the massacre?In fact, apart from that high-sounding reason, the more important thing is to subdue the people of the world and establish one's own prestige.At the same time, give a warning to other princes, don't hit his attention casually.He didn't even forget to avenge his father with political intentions, and he deserved the name of a traitor.
Sanping Jinan Cao Cao used a trick to kill Liu Kang
In order to achieve his goal, Cao Cao often resorted to all sorts of schemes, making it hard to guard against.He quelled a rebellion without bloodshed, and dealt with the leader Jinan Wang Liu Kang cleanly, which reflects his adept strategy.
When Cao Cao was Prime Minister of Jinan, Liu Kang, the King of Jinan, was secretly amassing and training troops in the mountains to the south, preparing to betray the imperial court and rebel.And Liu Kang, the king of Jinan, was also trapped in the streets by Cao Cao's soldiers and horses, unable to escape.Liu Kang's personal soldiers also died one by one, and only he, the "lonely man" was left struggling in the city, and his situation was very critical.
Suddenly, King Liu Kang of Jinan heard the shouts of killing outside the city and gradually calmed down, thinking that the soldiers hidden in Nanshan had killed the officers and soldiers, restored the situation, and he was about to win the victory.So he just waited for the two generals Zhao Hu and Zhang Bao to come to rescue him.
After a while, I saw a soldier and horse galloping far away from the direction of Xicheng.When I came to the front and took a closer look, I was shocked. It turned out that it was the soldiers of the government who came here with a murderous look.Zhao Hu was tied to the horse, his head bowed, motionless; Zhang Bao's head was picked up with the point of a knife by the officers and soldiers, and it was already bloody.
Seeing this, Liu Kang was furious, shouted "Oops", and fell to the ground.Seeing this, all the soldiers rushed forward, scrambling to grab him, but at this moment Cao Cao waved his hands and shook his head, so the soldiers didn't dare to move.At this time Liu Kang raised his head listlessly, and looked at Cao Cao with pleading eyes, as if he wanted to ask Cao Cao to let him go.
Cao Cao patted his horse and came to Liu Kang, and shouted sharply: "Bold Jinan King Liu Kang! How dare you conspire to rebel. Fortunately, the imperial court has already known that it sent me here to wait for the opportunity to attack you. Now your plot has been exposed and the army was defeated. Prisoner, what else do you have to say? Even if you are not killed today, how will you face the emperor in the future? What face do you have to live?"
The more Cao Cao spoke, the more excited he became. His harsh and mean words made people feel ashamed and wished they could die right now.Why is his export so vicious?It turned out that this was Cao Cao's aggressive method.Cao Cao believes that in any case Liu Kang is a royal family member, a famous vassal king of a generation, and a relative of the emperor.If only he was escorted to the court.In case the emperor felt sympathetic, he couldn't bear to kill him for the sake of his relatives, but just cut off his title, which was perfunctory.Didn't Cao Cao make a big enemy instead?A skinny camel is bigger than a horse!Once Jinan Wang Xianyu is turned over, he will inevitably suffer from it.But if he was executed on the spot, the emperor would probably blame him if he knew about it.Besides, Liu Kang's family is also very powerful, and there are countless gangsters. If anyone wants to seek revenge from me, wouldn't I be in fear every day?In addition, Liu Kang did not resist him and had already fallen from his horse. If he killed him with his own hands, he would be infamous as a bloodthirsty man.
Only now did Cao Cao say these high-sounding words, clearly intending to force Liu Kang to end it on his own.In this way, it is easy to do things with ease, up and down, left and right, and it is easy to get rid of the serious troubles in your heart.This is where Cao Cao's scheming is extraordinary. In a flash, he sacrificed his ultimate move, which not only achieved his goal, but also freed himself.
Of course, Liu Kang couldn't figure out this mystery. After hearing these words, he really looked up to the sky and sighed. He felt ashamed to face the court and said, "God didn't bless me and let me end up like this. What shame is there for me to see the world?" Ancestors!" After saying that, he drew out the sword at his waist and swung it across his neck, killing him on the spot.
Poor Liu Kang, he didn't want to be a ready-made vassal king, but he had evil thoughts in his heart, so he had to look forward to Shu and wanted to fight for the throne.Now that he is decapitated and infamous for thousands of years, why bother thinking about it?
Cao Cao used a very effective contingency technique. When the cause of the crisis is closely related to himself, he can use this method to get rid of the crisis.
The most distinctive use is to retreat bravely in the torrent of officialdom, so as to avoid the end of the dead dog.Fan Li of the Yue State in the Spring and Autumn Period, and Zhang Liang, the main counselor of Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, are the best examples.They are very familiar with and understand the essence of Huang Lao's art in ancient Chinese culture, and practice Laozi's thought of "success, retreat, and the way of nature". After the country's foundation is solid, they retire in time to express their success The unrealistic philosophy of life also uses this as an excuse to protect oneself wisely.
The active relief technique can also be used to remedy the crisis caused by inadvertent promises.
[-]. Forcing others to take the place of sin
Cao Cao's actions have always been very purposeful, and sometimes he will use unscrupulous means to achieve a certain purpose.Even at the expense of other people's interests and lives, this also reflects his strong character.
In order to develop and strengthen himself, Sun Ce of Jiangdong borrowed 3000 soldiers from Yuan Shu to expand the territory with the Jade Seal of Chuanguo as collateral, and Yuan Shu wanted to proclaim himself emperor because of the Jade Seal of Chuanguo.Therefore, in the second year of Jian'an (197 AD), Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor in Shouchun.Cao Cao was furious when he heard this, and he just "coerced the emperor to make him not a minister" and led his troops to attack Yuan Shu.He personally led 17 troops to crusade, but Yuan Shu was outnumbered and was eventually besieged in Shouchun City.Relying on the thickness of the city and the depth of the trenches, the abundance of supplies and the strength of the soldiers, Yuan Shu closed the gates of the city tightly and refused to fight.
Cao Cao was unable to attack Shouchun City for a long time, and the daily consumption of food and grass for 17 soldiers was very huge. However, due to his own expedition, the food and grass were unsustainable. It happened that there were years of drought at that time, and the warlords fought for many years, so the people could not farm normally. There is no guarantee of food production, so it is very difficult to collect food.
After Cao Cao persisted outside the city for more than a month, seeing that the food and grass were about to run out, he had no choice but to write a letter to Sun Ce to borrow food. At any rate, he borrowed 10 hu of grain and rice, but this was still a drop in the bucket, and it was still difficult to satisfy the army. long-term needs.
The grain and grass in Shouchun City can be used for a year, but it is difficult for him to capture it for a while. In addition, the grain and grass are not enough, and the grain transfer from Xu County is far away from the water and the thirst is not quenched. Cao Cao is so anxious that he does not think about eating and drinking.
At this time, the grain and fodder officer Wang Hao came to Cao Cao's account and reported: "Prime Minister, there are too many soldiers and little food, and there is no rice to cook. What should we do? Please decide!" Think about it and make a plan.
So he pretended to be mysterious and whispered to Wang Hou: "You can replace the large dendrobium with small dendrobium to distribute the military rations. Let's use it for emergency. There is no other way." Wang Hou said quickly: "In this case, the soldiers will complain. Yes, it will lead to chaos if it is not handled properly, and I am afraid that it will not be cleaned up, so I ask the prime minister to think twice." Cao Cao said firmly: "You just follow my orders, and I have my own way of other things."
Wang Hou took the order to go out, and when it was time to cook, he followed Cao Cao's order to use Xiaohu to distribute the army rations, which made the soldiers complain one after another.Cao Cao took the opportunity to send people to the camps to find out the news, and sure enough, all the camps complained about this practice.Within a few days, the soldiers became more and more resentful and angry, and they were about to mutiny.
Seeing that the situation was about to be difficult to maintain, Cao Cao secretly summoned Wang Hou to his tent and said to him, "I want to borrow something from the general to appease the anger of the soldiers. Please don't be reluctant." Wang Hou said "What does the prime minister want to borrow? I will do my best." Cao Cao said, "I want to borrow your head to show the public and appease the public's anger." After hearing this, Wang Hou quickly apologized and said, "Prime Minister, I did it in accordance with the law." I am really not guilty of following your orders!" Cao Cao said: "I know you are not guilty, but in this situation, if you don't kill you, the morale of the army will be difficult to stabilize. You can go at ease, you die In the end, I will properly arrange for your wife and children, so you don’t have to worry about it.” Before Wang Hou could continue to defend himself, Cao Cao had already called out the knife and axe, pushed Wang Hou out of the door, and beheaded Wang Hou; Hang it on a high pole, and post a notice to inform the whole army: "Wang Hou deliberately used Xiaohu to distribute grain and steal official grain. According to the military law, he beheaded to show the public." rations, and has been dealt with by military law, and gradually dissipated the grievances.
Cao Cao took the opportunity to give the sergeant a full meal to show that there was enough food and grass.Then ordered to attack the enemy army, the soldiers defeated the enemy in one go, and won a large amount of food and grass from the enemy army, and survived the food crisis safely.
Cao Cao's morale was frustrated due to the shortage of food and grass, and he was unable to attack the city for a long time.In order to take the overall situation into consideration, the scapegoat Wang Ji, the grain and fodder officer, was used as a scapegoat to quell public grievances and survive the food crisis safely.In Cao Cao's eyes, Wang Hou's death certainly cannot be based on common sense. This is the need of the war and a well-deserved death.It can be seen from this that Cao Cao is indeed incomprehensible.However, Cao Cao, as the leader of an army, was able to win military victory by killing Wang Hou, which is also an expedient measure.
From this story, we can see that Cao Cao is very resourceful and has the quality of not being surprised when things happen, but at the same time he also shows his treacherous nature.
Cao Cao found Wang Hou as a scapegoat. In fact, in the fierce competition, anyone can be someone else's scapegoat. Of course, you can also pull others to be your scapegoat.This is the rule of the game and has nothing to do with human nature.
Cao Cao's wisdom and strategy made him the most outstanding statesman and military strategist in the Three Kingdoms era, but Cao Cao was also the one who used treacherous and fraudulent techniques to the pinnacle in that era. This may be a historical necessity.
Five authority is paramount to establish authority and kill people
Cao Cao's eagerness to seek talents can be seen from the three "seeking talents orders" he issued.Cao Cao is also very good at gathering people, especially talented people. No matter what they are, as long as they can be drawn together, they will be drawn together.This practice of recruiting wise men from all over the world won him a lot of reputation.But with so many celebrities and sages gathered under the tent, how can we make them behave and do things for themselves honestly?
At first, Cao Cao could still listen to good words, but in the later period, Cao Cao became moody and killed people indiscriminately. He could neither listen to advice that contradicted him nor listen to criticism from loyal officials. The vigor of admitting mistakes is just to establish one's absolute authority.
Even Xun Yuye, whom Cao Cao called "my son's house", died unjustly.Xun Yu resolutely opposed Cao Cao being the king of Wei, so Cao Cao held a grudge against him.Later, Cao Cao presented food to Xun Yu. Xun Yu opened the box and saw that it was empty. He knew that he was useless, so he was forced to take poison and kill himself.
The No. [-] counselor under Cao Cao, with his loyalty to Cao Cao, he has made great contributions to Cao Cao's establishment of his foundation.What is intriguing is that Xun Yu's reason for persuading Cao Cao not to become the Duke of the Duke was precisely for Cao Cao's honor.In view of the fact that the world has not yet been unified, he hopes that Cao Cao will "uphold loyalty and sincerity, and keep the truth of retreat" and not let his political opponents take advantage of it.Can such a legitimate reason offend Cao Cao?Obviously, it wasn't just a suggestion that made Cao Cao so angry.It's just that Cao Cao at this time believed that what he decided to do must be done. Even if he didn't think twice, he would never allow anyone to offend his authority.
Cui Yan has assisted Cao Cao for more than ten years, and has done a lot of work in the selection of "civil and military talents".According to history books, Cui Yan was "clear, loyal and bright", and said that he was "hired according to his ability", and he never talked about affection, so he enjoyed a high reputation.
Later, Cao Cao killed him because someone said he was "slandering the world". How could Cao Cao believe that others said bad things about Cui Yan at will?In fact, Cui Yan's "high prestige and reputation" was the root cause of his murder.
Cao Cao not only dealt with Cui Yan, but also implicated Mao Jie.This Mao Jie was engaged in the governance of Cao Cao who put forward the two fundamental principles of "following the emperor's orders and not ministers, and cultivating farming to accumulate military resources".When Cui Yan died, Shangshu servant shot Mao Jie because he felt sorry for Cui Yan's "innocence" and died, and was informed.Fortunately, the officials interceded for her, and Cao Cao just dismissed Mao Jie and returned home to take care of him.In comparison, it is still a good start and a good end, which is worth celebrating.
Cao Cao often lamented Lou Zibo and said: "I can't compare with Zibo's strategy." And as his reputation grew, Cao Cao gradually felt that his authority was threatened, so he ordered him to be killed.From this point of view, anyone who wants to surpass Cao Cao's prestige and touch his authority will be strangled mercilessly by Cao Cao. The death of Yang Xiu is also an obvious example.Yang Xiu can often figure out Cao Cao's thoughts, and Yang Xiu can also figure out some of Cao Cao's actions.That's okay, you know what's on my mind, where is my majesty?In the end, he was killed on the charge of disturbing the morale of the army.
Cao Cao not only maintains his absolute authority in military and politics, but also in daily life.Once, when he was taking a nap in broad daylight, he told his concubine to wake him up after a while.But when the time came, the concubine saw that he was sleeping soundly, so she couldn't bear to wake him up and let him sleep for a while.Unexpectedly, this time, Cao Cao's natural beauty was violated.This favored concubine was self-defeating and caused a catastrophe.After Cao Cao woke up by himself, he beat her to death with sticks without asking indiscriminately.This matter is related to the fact that Cao Zhi's wife was given to death because she violated his family rules and wore beautiful and gorgeous clothes. It is really a consistent style.
Of course we oppose Cao Cao's murderous behavior, but as a leader, it is still necessary to maintain our authority.Leaders should not be too weak, otherwise it will easily cause discord between superiors and subordinates.There are times when you have to stand firm and maintain your authority.
As a leader, Cao Cao's amiability and majesty are always in place, without losing his voice.Don't think it feels a bit awkward at ordinary times, but the usefulness of authority is usually manifested in giving orders and assigning tasks.As a leader, you must have the courage to say "no", find a problem, and make a decisive decision, which is not only conducive to solving the problem, but also establishes your own authority.
If you think that there is no problem at all with an instruction, then someone needs to execute it to the letter, and you cannot change it easily.This is directly related to the influence of power and the weight of prestige.If once it is changed, the effect will be greatly worse if it is implemented again.With a word from a gentleman, four horses are hard to chase, and the king's order is more important than Mount Tai.Doing what you say is a wonderful way to establish power and prestige.
Of course Cao Cao knew his identity and the importance of authority, so he usually pays attention to giving people a sense of majesty. This is a realistic requirement, and it is also a habit formed by Cao Cao's long-term high position.
Maintaining his majesty, invisibly caused everyone's fear and power of Cao Cao, and created favorable conditions for his work.
Behavior is sometimes more important than words.The status and authority of a leader is often expressed not by words, but by actions, especially for smart leaders, so it is not surprising that Cao Cao has many surprising actions.
Six interests are the most important, the enemy and the friend are against Liu Bei
"Friends are the stepping stones to success." In Cao Cao's eyes, others are the ladder for him to realize his dreams.That is to say, whether it is an enemy or a friend is completely based on its own interests.He will treat you warmly, but only when it is useful to him.Once it is useless to him or even detrimental to him, he will break with it without hesitation.
Cao Cao and Liu Bei are the same age. During the Three Kingdoms period, one was called a "hero" and the other was called a "traitor".Cao Cao has a great ambition to unify the world, and Liu Bei also wants to help the Han Dynasty.The two competed for both talents and the world, and launched a decades-long contest.In Cao Cao's view, Liu Bei has outstanding political talents and lofty political ambitions. He is indeed a great hero with broad appeal.So for a while, Cao Cao kept him in the army.Cao Cao considered that keeping him would be attractive to recruit talents, so he didn't kill him.
When Cao Cao marched east to Xuzhou, Liu Bei went to the rescue with Tian Kai, the governor of Qingzhou, and was recommended by Tao Qian as the governor of Yuzhou.After Tao Qian's death, Liu Bei succeeded Tao Qian as Xuzhou Shepherd without any effort.
Yuan Shu, who occupied Huainan, also wanted to expand his territory. He was very dissatisfied with Liu Bei's easy acquisition of Xuzhou and attacked him many times.In order to stabilize the situation on the eastern border of Yanzhou, his base, and to use Liu Bei to contain Yuan Shu and Lu Bu, Cao Cao adopted a strategy of wooing Liu Bei.In the first year of Jian'an (196 A.D.), Cao Cao recommended Liu Bei as General Zhendong and granted him the title of Tinghou of Yicheng.And took the opportunity to gradually disintegrate Liu Bei's group and integrate it into his own army.After Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty made the capital, Cao Cao specially wrote the article "Biao Mi Zhu Leading Ying County":
Taishan County has a vast boundary, and it is so old and light.When the time is right, the five counties can be divided into Yingjun, and Qingqing can be selected as the guard.The generals Mi Zhu and Su Lu were loyal, civil and military.Please use Zhu to lead the prefect of Yingjun to comfort the officials and the people.
Mi Zhu, styled Zizhong, was born in Donghai. His ancestors were engaged in business, employing tens of thousands of workers, and his assets were quite rich.It was originally worked by Tao Qian, but later Tao Qian welcomed Liu Bei as the state shepherd.In the first year of Jian'an (AD 196), Liu Bei was defeated by Lu Bu and his family was captured.At this time, Mi Zhu not only strongly supported Liu Bei in terms of manpower, material and financial resources, so that he could revive the army, but also married his sister to Liu Bei.
Cao Cao recommended Mi Zhu as the prefect of Yingjun.Ying County, the county seat of Ying County, is the five counties of Ying, Wuyang, Nancheng, Zhongmu and Pingyang drawn from Taishan County.Mi Zhu did not accept Cao Cao's recommendation, but still followed Liu Bei.Cao Cao also recommended Mi Fang, Mi Zhu's younger brother, to be Prime Minister of Pengcheng, but Mi Fang did not take the post either, which shows that Liu Bei is very popular.
Although Yuan Shu had sent troops to attack Liu Bei many times, it had no effect.Later, he colluded with Lu Bu who had defected to Liu Bei, and Lu Bu sent troops to defeat Liu Bei.Liu Bei lost his foothold and had no choice but to lead his troops to join Cao Cao.
Cao Cao treated Liu Bei well, not only recommending him as Yuzhou Shepherd, but also supplementing him with soldiers and allocating military rations, allowing him to stay in Xiaopei to deal with Lu Bu. The two temporarily formed an alliance of interest groups.But this kind of temporary alliance is very fragile. Liu Bei has great ambitions and will leave Cao Cao at any time to develop independently.Of course Cao Cao knew this, and he also understood that once Liu Bei became powerful in the future, he must be a big threat to him.However, Cao Cao considered that he was in the stage of development and growth, and only by treating influential figures like Liu Bei favorably would the talents of the world gather and not block the way of speech.Therefore, although some counselors suggested killing Liu Bei, he did not do it.
In the fourth year of Jian'an (199 A.D.), Yuan Shu wanted to go north from Xiapi to Qingzhou, and Cao Cao was going to send troops to stop him.Liu Bei took the opportunity to request to undertake this task and escaped from Cao Cao's control, so Cao Cao sent Zhu Ling and others to lead troops eastward with him.
After Liu Bei left Xudu, Cheng Yu, Xun Yu and others heard the news and rushed to dissuade Cao Cao.Cheng Yu said: "You didn't want to kill Liu Bei before, and you really thought more far-reaching than us. But if you hand over the military power to Liu Bei today, he will definitely have a different heart! Don't let Liu Bei go! Let Liu Bei go now, and you will be killed later." You will definitely regret it!"
Dong Zhao also came to persuade Cao Cao, saying: "Liu Bei has great ambitions, and with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei as his helpers, he will definitely conquer the world in the future."
After listening to the opinions of all the counselors, Cao Cao regretted it a little, but firstly, the order was already in place and it was inconvenient to change it, and secondly, Liu Bei had already gone far, and he could not catch up, so he had to give up.
After Liu Bei arrived at Xiapi, Yuan Shu fled back to Shouchun and died of illness soon after.Therefore, Cao Cao took the opportunity to order Liu Bei to lead his army back to Xudu.Liu Bei had long wanted to get out of Cao Cao's control, and let Zhu Ling and others return first to reduce the strength of Cao's army in Xiapi, and then launched a surprise attack, killing Che Zhou, the governor of Xuzhou, and openly betrayed Cao Cao.
Liu Bei took up the banner of crusade against Cao Cao's rebels and openly confronted Cao Cao.His action set off a chain reaction.Chang Xi, who was attached to Cao Cao, also took the opportunity to leave Cao Cao.Because Cao Cao had no favors for the people, many counties and counties left Cao Cao one after another and joined Liu Bei, which increased Liu Bei's army to tens of thousands.Liu Bei sent Sun Qian to Jizhou to join forces with Yuan Shao to deal with Cao Cao.
In this way, Liu Bei and Cao Cao immediately transformed from the original dependent relationship into sworn enemies.
Cao Cao's different attitudes towards Liu Bei in specific periods and situations fully demonstrate that there are no eternal enemies and friends, only eternal interests.When Liu Bei came to vote for Cao Cao, Cao Cao followed Guo Jia's advice, and without Liu Bei, he maintained or even further established his image of cherishing talents and accepting heroes.He even recommended Liu Bei as the shepherd of Yuzhou, let Liu Bei go out to guard Xiaopei, and effectively used Liu Bei's power to deal with Lu Bu. In the battle of besieging Xiapi and capturing and killing Lu Bu, he directly let Liu Bei consume his troops, which objectively contained Liu Bei's forces. development of.After capturing and killing Lu Bu, bringing Liu Bei back to Xudu was a good move to control Liu Bei.
Cao Cao accidentally let Liu Bei go, but he quickly recovered from his mistake and took immediate action.Taking advantage of Yuan Shao's unpredictable and indecisive character and Liu Bei's miscalculation of the situation and the opportunity to relax his guard, he attacked decisively and defeated Liu Bei.Not only saved himself from danger, but also further consolidated his rule in Xuzhou.Eliminating Liu Bei, a potentially powerful enemy, avoided the possible two-line combat situation in the decisive battle with Yuan Shao in the future, and created favorable conditions for the victory of the Battle of Guandu.
It can be seen from this that whether to form an alliance is based on self-interest considerations, and this kind of alliance relationship linked by interests is very unstable.In the above example, it is reflected in the comparison of interests and allies, whoever is more important will tend to whom.Cao Cao experienced quite a lot of separation and reunion in his life. In the process of communicating with Lu Bu, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Zhang Xiu, and Zhang Miao, most of them also experienced the process of changing from separation to reunion, from enemy to friend.But no matter how it changes, everything revolves around its own interests. This is also the key to Cao Cao's continuous development-I can let anyone go, but I can't let go of any interests.
In reality, there are intricate stakes in separation and reunification.The division and combination of individuals, groups and even countries are all based on the relationship of interest.Cao Cao always takes this as the criterion.
(End of this chapter)
A traitorous hero becomes suspicious and kills Boshe by mistake
In Cao Cao's eyes, all self-deceiving slogans are illusory. In a war-torn era, it is better to openly reveal one's own thoughts and ambitions and have a hearty struggle. This is the real Cao Cao without pretense.
Cao Cao's personal creed is also his famous saying: I would rather teach me to blame the world than to teach the world to blame me.His opinions couldn't be clearer, everything is self-centered, others are the conditions he can use to succeed, how simple the world is!
In such an era that respected Confucian loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and fraternity, Cao Cao was able to put forward such an arrogant point of view nakedly. Even now, it is difficult for people to understand. It is precisely in this way that he has achieved his role as a traitor.
Dong Zhuo controls the government, and everyone knows his intention to usurp.Cao Cao was so angry that he failed to assassinate Dong Zhuo, so he fled Luoyang and planned to flee back to his hometown.On the way, he fell into the hands of Chen Gong, the magistrate of Zhongmou County. Chen Gong was moved by his righteousness of saving the country and eliminating thieves, so he abandoned his official and joined him in conspiracy.
When we reached Chenggao, it was getting late.Cao Cao said to Chen Gong: "There is a man named Lu and Boshe here, who is my father's sworn brother. How about we rest at his house tonight?" Chen Guan agreed.The two then went to see Boshe.Bo She said: "I heard that the imperial court is arresting you everywhere, why are you here?" Cao Cao told Bo She: "If it weren't for the county magistrate Chen, I would have died without a place to bury me."
Boshe thanked Chen Gong and said: "If my nephew is not the envoy, the Cao family will be wiped out. Envoy, please sit here with peace of mind, and you can stay in the thatched cottage tonight." After speaking, he got up and entered the inner hall.After a while, he came out and said to Chen Gong: "My husband's family has no good wine, so let me go to the West Village and buy a bottle to treat you." After speaking, he hurried on his donkey and left.
Cao Cao sat opposite Chen Guan, and suddenly heard the sound of Zhuang Hou sharpening a knife.Cao Cao said: "Lu Boshe and I are not close relatives. It's suspicious to go here, so we should go and eavesdrop." So he quietly sneaked into the thatched cottage, and heard someone say, "Tie him up and kill him, how about it?" Cao Cao said to Chen Gong. Said: "If we don't strike first, we will be captured." So he broke in with Chen Gong and killed them all indiscriminately.When I got to the kitchen, I saw a pig tied up and ready to be killed.Chen Gong said: "Meng De, we killed a good man by mistake!" The two hurried out of the village overnight.
On the road, I happened to meet Boshe riding a donkey back to buy wine. Seeing them hurrying, he said, "Why do you want to leave?" I have ordered my family to slaughter a pig to treat you two, you should go back with me." Cao Cao ignored it and rode his horse.After walking not far, he suddenly drew his sword and turned back, pretending to call Boshe and say, "Who is coming from behind?" When Boshe looked back, Cao Cao swung his sword and chopped Lu Boshe to death.Chen Gong was shocked and said: "Just now he was killed by mistake, but now he is killed again. Why?" Cao Cao said: "Bo She returned home and saw that he had killed so many people, how would he give up? If he leads people to chase him down We will suffer from it." Chen Gongdao: "Killing him after knowing it is a great injustice!" But Cao Cao said the famous saying that has been passed down through the ages and reflects his true colors: "Ning teach me to bear the people of the world, Stop teaching people in the world to bear me."
Cao Cao was at a loss at first, and wanted to beg for a room and board from his friends. Unexpectedly, a misunderstanding occurred. Cao Cao killed this family by mistake. It was killed, no wonder Chen Gong felt creepy when he saw it.
Cao Cao's behavior is puzzling, but in terms of character, Cao Cao is a utilitarian and will do anything to achieve his goal.In fact, Cao Cao just wanted to get a full meal at first, but after killing people, it has become to ensure personal safety.Therefore, he must kill Lu Boshe again, which is also in line with his characteristics as a traitor.
Subjective for oneself, objective for others.This is a very pragmatic statement. In life, each of us has to face pressure and challenges.From this point of view, "subjectivity for oneself" seems understandable, but Cao Cao went one step further: both subjective and objective must be for oneself!
Rather teach me to bear the world, don't teach the world to bear me, this is Cao Cao's principle of conduct.For Cao Cao, as long as the purpose is sacred, it doesn't matter whether the means are noble or despicable. In order to achieve the purpose, any means are used at all costs.Therefore, he never allows anyone to cause harm to himself. Whether it is from the perspective of preserving his reputation or his life, he has a reason to kill the Boshe family, which corresponds to the ancient "non-toxic". Not a husband" statement.
The way of thinking of ordinary people is mostly based on human nature, which is generally good; while Cao Cao's thinking is based on needs.It is such a stubborn thought that made Cao Cao an image of a traitor.
In Cao Cao's life, notoriety and reputation were always inseparable and integrated.The notoriety of treacherous ministers and the reputation of benevolent government are concentrated in Cao Cao's life, but Cao Cao was not fettered by the vanity of the world, but put aside his false name to do practical things, even though he was burdened with two diametrically opposed "traitors" and "heroes". different identities.
Ruthless and bloodbathed Xuzhou for revenge
Yanzhou is in the middle of Nanyang occupied by Yuan Shu and Jizhou occupied by Yuan Shao, and it is a place where all the heroes must contend.Cao Cao planned to use Yuan Shao as his base as early as when he was under Yuan Shao's tent, but he has been suffering from no chance.
Yuan Shu must first occupy Yanzhou if he wants to develop his power northward.In the winter of the third year of Chuping (AD 192), shortly after Jin Shang fled to Nanyang, Yuan Shu and Gongsun Zan cooperated from the north to the south and launched an attack on Cao Cao and Yuan Shao at the same time.Gongsun Zan also sent his general Liu Bei as Prime Minister of Pingyuan to help Tian Kai, governor of Qingzhou, and Tao Qian, shepherd of Xuzhou, to contain and threaten Yanzhou from the east.At this time, Cao Cao still maintained a relationship of dependence on Yuan Shao on the surface, and cooperated with him in combat.Yuan Shaoxian defeated Gongsun Zan's main force at Longcou (near present-day Pingyuan County, Shandong), forcing him to flee north back to Youzhou.
At the beginning of the second year (AD 193), Cao Cao stationed troops in Juancheng (north of today's Juancheng County, Shandong) and moved the state government from Changyi to here.After Yuan Shu marched to Chenliu, he enlisted the remnants of the Black Mountain Army defeated by Cao Cao and the remnants of the Southern Huns in Yufuluo to deal with Cao Cao.
Yuan Shu stationed in Fengqiu (now southwest of Fengqiu County, Henan Province), and sent his general Liu Xiang to lead the attack.When Liu Xiang arrived at Kuangting on the south bank of the Pushui River (now southwest of Changyuan County, Henan Province), he set up camp and began to stand firm.
Cao Cao personally led troops to assault Liu Xiang's army in Kuangting, defeated him, marched into Fengqiu, defeated Yuan Shu's army, and pursued the victory.Just at this time, Liu Biao, the shepherd of Jingzhou, cut off Yuan Shu's grain road again, forcing Yuan Shu to abandon Nanyang and flee to Jiujiang (Shouchun, the county government, now Shouxian County, Anhui Province).
After Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shu and relieved the threat from the south, he prepared to conquer Xuzhou eastward in order to develop and strengthen his own power.Xuzhou Mu Taoqian, courtesy name Gongzu, was born in Danyang County, Danyang County (now northeast of Dangtu County, Anhui).Straightforward temperament, few but eager to learn.After entering the official career, he was promoted quickly, and successively served as Shu county magistrate, Youzhou governor, Sikong Zhang Wen and military affairs.After the Yellow Turban Uprising, he was appointed governor of Xuzhou and ordered to conquer the Yellow Turban Army.When Dong Zhuo was in power, he was moved to General Anton, Xuzhou Mu, and Liyang Marquis.
Tao Qian's political ability is average, and his achievements in the governance of Xuzhou, which is rich in products and rich in household registration, are not outstanding.To the outside world, they only want to expand their territory and make some money, but they have no big ambitions.
In May of the same year, Quexuan of Xiapi gathered a crowd to rebel. Tao Qian joined forces with him and sent troops to attack Yanzhou, occupying Hua County and Fei County, and plundering Rencheng County.For this reason, Cao Cao wanted to show color to Tao Qian.
But at this time, Cao Cao's rule over Yanzhou was not solid, and he had not yet done a good job of appeasing the people, and the army needed major revisions and supplements.Therefore, he did not want to send troops to the East on a large scale, but one incident accelerated the process.
It turned out that Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, sought refuge in Langya (now north of Linyi County, Shandong) because of the war, and Langya was under the jurisdiction of Xuzhou. Cao Cao considered his father's safety, and he also had a firm foothold in Yanzhou.So he sent someone to Langya to deliver a letter, telling Cao Song to come to Yanzhou, and sent Ying Shao, the prefect of Mount Tai, to meet him.
After Cao Song read the letter, he took care of it a bit, and then he led his relatives and servants, carrying a large amount of gold, silver and jewels, and set out on the road.When Cao Song and his party walked between Hua County and Fei County, they were attacked by Tao Qian's general Zhang Kai's troops.At this time, Ying Shao had not yet arrived, and Cao Song and his party ransacked the north.Cao Song's youngest son, Cao De, was also killed. Cao Song led his concubine to escape, trying to escape through a crack in the wall.But this concubine was too fat to get out. Cao Song and her were quickly found and killed together.The rest of the servants fled, and those who were killed were killed.A large amount of gold and silver property was all robbed.When Ying Shao arrived after hearing the news, Zhang Kai had already run away.Ying Shao was afraid that it would be difficult for Cao Cao to blame him, so he switched to Yuan Shao.
In this way, Cao Cao hated Tao Qian even more, and also found a good reason for himself to go east-to avenge his father.With this kind of thinking, Cao Cao insisted on seeking revenge from Tao Qian regardless of whether his father's killing was instigated by Tao Qian.
In the autumn of this year, Cao Cao stayed in Chengong to guard Dongjun, Xiahou Dun stationed in Puyang, and arranged for Xun Yu and Cheng Yu to guard Juancheng, the seat of the state government.After arranging everything in the rear, I personally led the army to conquer Tao Qian. The army was invincible, and went to more than a dozen cities in Xuzhou, and soon arrived in Pengcheng (now Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province).
Tao Qian led the main force to fight.Although the two sides fought fiercely, Cao Jun was still better.Tao Qian had to retreat to Tanxian County (now southwest of Tancheng County, Shandong Province), the Xuzhou government.Then send some troops to Wuyuan in the southwest of Tan County to meet Cao Jun.Cao Cao defeated this army and came to the city of Tan County, but Tao Qian could not hold out.
Cao Cao was unable to attack Tan, so he led his troops to the south to capture Qulu (now southwest of Suining County, Jiangsu Province), Xiaqiu (now Sixian County, Anhui Province) and other places.During this Eastern Expedition, the discipline of Cao Cao's army was very poor, and Cao Cao's revenge mentality was very strong. He indulged the army to kill and plunder, even the common people, and killed a total of 10 men and women.Many corpses fell in Surabaya, the situation was horrible.Such a massacre can be said to be unprecedented in Cao Cao's life.
Why did Cao Cao carry out the massacre?In fact, apart from that high-sounding reason, the more important thing is to subdue the people of the world and establish one's own prestige.At the same time, give a warning to other princes, don't hit his attention casually.He didn't even forget to avenge his father with political intentions, and he deserved the name of a traitor.
Sanping Jinan Cao Cao used a trick to kill Liu Kang
In order to achieve his goal, Cao Cao often resorted to all sorts of schemes, making it hard to guard against.He quelled a rebellion without bloodshed, and dealt with the leader Jinan Wang Liu Kang cleanly, which reflects his adept strategy.
When Cao Cao was Prime Minister of Jinan, Liu Kang, the King of Jinan, was secretly amassing and training troops in the mountains to the south, preparing to betray the imperial court and rebel.And Liu Kang, the king of Jinan, was also trapped in the streets by Cao Cao's soldiers and horses, unable to escape.Liu Kang's personal soldiers also died one by one, and only he, the "lonely man" was left struggling in the city, and his situation was very critical.
Suddenly, King Liu Kang of Jinan heard the shouts of killing outside the city and gradually calmed down, thinking that the soldiers hidden in Nanshan had killed the officers and soldiers, restored the situation, and he was about to win the victory.So he just waited for the two generals Zhao Hu and Zhang Bao to come to rescue him.
After a while, I saw a soldier and horse galloping far away from the direction of Xicheng.When I came to the front and took a closer look, I was shocked. It turned out that it was the soldiers of the government who came here with a murderous look.Zhao Hu was tied to the horse, his head bowed, motionless; Zhang Bao's head was picked up with the point of a knife by the officers and soldiers, and it was already bloody.
Seeing this, Liu Kang was furious, shouted "Oops", and fell to the ground.Seeing this, all the soldiers rushed forward, scrambling to grab him, but at this moment Cao Cao waved his hands and shook his head, so the soldiers didn't dare to move.At this time Liu Kang raised his head listlessly, and looked at Cao Cao with pleading eyes, as if he wanted to ask Cao Cao to let him go.
Cao Cao patted his horse and came to Liu Kang, and shouted sharply: "Bold Jinan King Liu Kang! How dare you conspire to rebel. Fortunately, the imperial court has already known that it sent me here to wait for the opportunity to attack you. Now your plot has been exposed and the army was defeated. Prisoner, what else do you have to say? Even if you are not killed today, how will you face the emperor in the future? What face do you have to live?"
The more Cao Cao spoke, the more excited he became. His harsh and mean words made people feel ashamed and wished they could die right now.Why is his export so vicious?It turned out that this was Cao Cao's aggressive method.Cao Cao believes that in any case Liu Kang is a royal family member, a famous vassal king of a generation, and a relative of the emperor.If only he was escorted to the court.In case the emperor felt sympathetic, he couldn't bear to kill him for the sake of his relatives, but just cut off his title, which was perfunctory.Didn't Cao Cao make a big enemy instead?A skinny camel is bigger than a horse!Once Jinan Wang Xianyu is turned over, he will inevitably suffer from it.But if he was executed on the spot, the emperor would probably blame him if he knew about it.Besides, Liu Kang's family is also very powerful, and there are countless gangsters. If anyone wants to seek revenge from me, wouldn't I be in fear every day?In addition, Liu Kang did not resist him and had already fallen from his horse. If he killed him with his own hands, he would be infamous as a bloodthirsty man.
Only now did Cao Cao say these high-sounding words, clearly intending to force Liu Kang to end it on his own.In this way, it is easy to do things with ease, up and down, left and right, and it is easy to get rid of the serious troubles in your heart.This is where Cao Cao's scheming is extraordinary. In a flash, he sacrificed his ultimate move, which not only achieved his goal, but also freed himself.
Of course, Liu Kang couldn't figure out this mystery. After hearing these words, he really looked up to the sky and sighed. He felt ashamed to face the court and said, "God didn't bless me and let me end up like this. What shame is there for me to see the world?" Ancestors!" After saying that, he drew out the sword at his waist and swung it across his neck, killing him on the spot.
Poor Liu Kang, he didn't want to be a ready-made vassal king, but he had evil thoughts in his heart, so he had to look forward to Shu and wanted to fight for the throne.Now that he is decapitated and infamous for thousands of years, why bother thinking about it?
Cao Cao used a very effective contingency technique. When the cause of the crisis is closely related to himself, he can use this method to get rid of the crisis.
The most distinctive use is to retreat bravely in the torrent of officialdom, so as to avoid the end of the dead dog.Fan Li of the Yue State in the Spring and Autumn Period, and Zhang Liang, the main counselor of Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, are the best examples.They are very familiar with and understand the essence of Huang Lao's art in ancient Chinese culture, and practice Laozi's thought of "success, retreat, and the way of nature". After the country's foundation is solid, they retire in time to express their success The unrealistic philosophy of life also uses this as an excuse to protect oneself wisely.
The active relief technique can also be used to remedy the crisis caused by inadvertent promises.
[-]. Forcing others to take the place of sin
Cao Cao's actions have always been very purposeful, and sometimes he will use unscrupulous means to achieve a certain purpose.Even at the expense of other people's interests and lives, this also reflects his strong character.
In order to develop and strengthen himself, Sun Ce of Jiangdong borrowed 3000 soldiers from Yuan Shu to expand the territory with the Jade Seal of Chuanguo as collateral, and Yuan Shu wanted to proclaim himself emperor because of the Jade Seal of Chuanguo.Therefore, in the second year of Jian'an (197 AD), Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor in Shouchun.Cao Cao was furious when he heard this, and he just "coerced the emperor to make him not a minister" and led his troops to attack Yuan Shu.He personally led 17 troops to crusade, but Yuan Shu was outnumbered and was eventually besieged in Shouchun City.Relying on the thickness of the city and the depth of the trenches, the abundance of supplies and the strength of the soldiers, Yuan Shu closed the gates of the city tightly and refused to fight.
Cao Cao was unable to attack Shouchun City for a long time, and the daily consumption of food and grass for 17 soldiers was very huge. However, due to his own expedition, the food and grass were unsustainable. It happened that there were years of drought at that time, and the warlords fought for many years, so the people could not farm normally. There is no guarantee of food production, so it is very difficult to collect food.
After Cao Cao persisted outside the city for more than a month, seeing that the food and grass were about to run out, he had no choice but to write a letter to Sun Ce to borrow food. At any rate, he borrowed 10 hu of grain and rice, but this was still a drop in the bucket, and it was still difficult to satisfy the army. long-term needs.
The grain and grass in Shouchun City can be used for a year, but it is difficult for him to capture it for a while. In addition, the grain and grass are not enough, and the grain transfer from Xu County is far away from the water and the thirst is not quenched. Cao Cao is so anxious that he does not think about eating and drinking.
At this time, the grain and fodder officer Wang Hao came to Cao Cao's account and reported: "Prime Minister, there are too many soldiers and little food, and there is no rice to cook. What should we do? Please decide!" Think about it and make a plan.
So he pretended to be mysterious and whispered to Wang Hou: "You can replace the large dendrobium with small dendrobium to distribute the military rations. Let's use it for emergency. There is no other way." Wang Hou said quickly: "In this case, the soldiers will complain. Yes, it will lead to chaos if it is not handled properly, and I am afraid that it will not be cleaned up, so I ask the prime minister to think twice." Cao Cao said firmly: "You just follow my orders, and I have my own way of other things."
Wang Hou took the order to go out, and when it was time to cook, he followed Cao Cao's order to use Xiaohu to distribute the army rations, which made the soldiers complain one after another.Cao Cao took the opportunity to send people to the camps to find out the news, and sure enough, all the camps complained about this practice.Within a few days, the soldiers became more and more resentful and angry, and they were about to mutiny.
Seeing that the situation was about to be difficult to maintain, Cao Cao secretly summoned Wang Hou to his tent and said to him, "I want to borrow something from the general to appease the anger of the soldiers. Please don't be reluctant." Wang Hou said "What does the prime minister want to borrow? I will do my best." Cao Cao said, "I want to borrow your head to show the public and appease the public's anger." After hearing this, Wang Hou quickly apologized and said, "Prime Minister, I did it in accordance with the law." I am really not guilty of following your orders!" Cao Cao said: "I know you are not guilty, but in this situation, if you don't kill you, the morale of the army will be difficult to stabilize. You can go at ease, you die In the end, I will properly arrange for your wife and children, so you don’t have to worry about it.” Before Wang Hou could continue to defend himself, Cao Cao had already called out the knife and axe, pushed Wang Hou out of the door, and beheaded Wang Hou; Hang it on a high pole, and post a notice to inform the whole army: "Wang Hou deliberately used Xiaohu to distribute grain and steal official grain. According to the military law, he beheaded to show the public." rations, and has been dealt with by military law, and gradually dissipated the grievances.
Cao Cao took the opportunity to give the sergeant a full meal to show that there was enough food and grass.Then ordered to attack the enemy army, the soldiers defeated the enemy in one go, and won a large amount of food and grass from the enemy army, and survived the food crisis safely.
Cao Cao's morale was frustrated due to the shortage of food and grass, and he was unable to attack the city for a long time.In order to take the overall situation into consideration, the scapegoat Wang Ji, the grain and fodder officer, was used as a scapegoat to quell public grievances and survive the food crisis safely.In Cao Cao's eyes, Wang Hou's death certainly cannot be based on common sense. This is the need of the war and a well-deserved death.It can be seen from this that Cao Cao is indeed incomprehensible.However, Cao Cao, as the leader of an army, was able to win military victory by killing Wang Hou, which is also an expedient measure.
From this story, we can see that Cao Cao is very resourceful and has the quality of not being surprised when things happen, but at the same time he also shows his treacherous nature.
Cao Cao found Wang Hou as a scapegoat. In fact, in the fierce competition, anyone can be someone else's scapegoat. Of course, you can also pull others to be your scapegoat.This is the rule of the game and has nothing to do with human nature.
Cao Cao's wisdom and strategy made him the most outstanding statesman and military strategist in the Three Kingdoms era, but Cao Cao was also the one who used treacherous and fraudulent techniques to the pinnacle in that era. This may be a historical necessity.
Five authority is paramount to establish authority and kill people
Cao Cao's eagerness to seek talents can be seen from the three "seeking talents orders" he issued.Cao Cao is also very good at gathering people, especially talented people. No matter what they are, as long as they can be drawn together, they will be drawn together.This practice of recruiting wise men from all over the world won him a lot of reputation.But with so many celebrities and sages gathered under the tent, how can we make them behave and do things for themselves honestly?
At first, Cao Cao could still listen to good words, but in the later period, Cao Cao became moody and killed people indiscriminately. He could neither listen to advice that contradicted him nor listen to criticism from loyal officials. The vigor of admitting mistakes is just to establish one's absolute authority.
Even Xun Yuye, whom Cao Cao called "my son's house", died unjustly.Xun Yu resolutely opposed Cao Cao being the king of Wei, so Cao Cao held a grudge against him.Later, Cao Cao presented food to Xun Yu. Xun Yu opened the box and saw that it was empty. He knew that he was useless, so he was forced to take poison and kill himself.
The No. [-] counselor under Cao Cao, with his loyalty to Cao Cao, he has made great contributions to Cao Cao's establishment of his foundation.What is intriguing is that Xun Yu's reason for persuading Cao Cao not to become the Duke of the Duke was precisely for Cao Cao's honor.In view of the fact that the world has not yet been unified, he hopes that Cao Cao will "uphold loyalty and sincerity, and keep the truth of retreat" and not let his political opponents take advantage of it.Can such a legitimate reason offend Cao Cao?Obviously, it wasn't just a suggestion that made Cao Cao so angry.It's just that Cao Cao at this time believed that what he decided to do must be done. Even if he didn't think twice, he would never allow anyone to offend his authority.
Cui Yan has assisted Cao Cao for more than ten years, and has done a lot of work in the selection of "civil and military talents".According to history books, Cui Yan was "clear, loyal and bright", and said that he was "hired according to his ability", and he never talked about affection, so he enjoyed a high reputation.
Later, Cao Cao killed him because someone said he was "slandering the world". How could Cao Cao believe that others said bad things about Cui Yan at will?In fact, Cui Yan's "high prestige and reputation" was the root cause of his murder.
Cao Cao not only dealt with Cui Yan, but also implicated Mao Jie.This Mao Jie was engaged in the governance of Cao Cao who put forward the two fundamental principles of "following the emperor's orders and not ministers, and cultivating farming to accumulate military resources".When Cui Yan died, Shangshu servant shot Mao Jie because he felt sorry for Cui Yan's "innocence" and died, and was informed.Fortunately, the officials interceded for her, and Cao Cao just dismissed Mao Jie and returned home to take care of him.In comparison, it is still a good start and a good end, which is worth celebrating.
Cao Cao often lamented Lou Zibo and said: "I can't compare with Zibo's strategy." And as his reputation grew, Cao Cao gradually felt that his authority was threatened, so he ordered him to be killed.From this point of view, anyone who wants to surpass Cao Cao's prestige and touch his authority will be strangled mercilessly by Cao Cao. The death of Yang Xiu is also an obvious example.Yang Xiu can often figure out Cao Cao's thoughts, and Yang Xiu can also figure out some of Cao Cao's actions.That's okay, you know what's on my mind, where is my majesty?In the end, he was killed on the charge of disturbing the morale of the army.
Cao Cao not only maintains his absolute authority in military and politics, but also in daily life.Once, when he was taking a nap in broad daylight, he told his concubine to wake him up after a while.But when the time came, the concubine saw that he was sleeping soundly, so she couldn't bear to wake him up and let him sleep for a while.Unexpectedly, this time, Cao Cao's natural beauty was violated.This favored concubine was self-defeating and caused a catastrophe.After Cao Cao woke up by himself, he beat her to death with sticks without asking indiscriminately.This matter is related to the fact that Cao Zhi's wife was given to death because she violated his family rules and wore beautiful and gorgeous clothes. It is really a consistent style.
Of course we oppose Cao Cao's murderous behavior, but as a leader, it is still necessary to maintain our authority.Leaders should not be too weak, otherwise it will easily cause discord between superiors and subordinates.There are times when you have to stand firm and maintain your authority.
As a leader, Cao Cao's amiability and majesty are always in place, without losing his voice.Don't think it feels a bit awkward at ordinary times, but the usefulness of authority is usually manifested in giving orders and assigning tasks.As a leader, you must have the courage to say "no", find a problem, and make a decisive decision, which is not only conducive to solving the problem, but also establishes your own authority.
If you think that there is no problem at all with an instruction, then someone needs to execute it to the letter, and you cannot change it easily.This is directly related to the influence of power and the weight of prestige.If once it is changed, the effect will be greatly worse if it is implemented again.With a word from a gentleman, four horses are hard to chase, and the king's order is more important than Mount Tai.Doing what you say is a wonderful way to establish power and prestige.
Of course Cao Cao knew his identity and the importance of authority, so he usually pays attention to giving people a sense of majesty. This is a realistic requirement, and it is also a habit formed by Cao Cao's long-term high position.
Maintaining his majesty, invisibly caused everyone's fear and power of Cao Cao, and created favorable conditions for his work.
Behavior is sometimes more important than words.The status and authority of a leader is often expressed not by words, but by actions, especially for smart leaders, so it is not surprising that Cao Cao has many surprising actions.
Six interests are the most important, the enemy and the friend are against Liu Bei
"Friends are the stepping stones to success." In Cao Cao's eyes, others are the ladder for him to realize his dreams.That is to say, whether it is an enemy or a friend is completely based on its own interests.He will treat you warmly, but only when it is useful to him.Once it is useless to him or even detrimental to him, he will break with it without hesitation.
Cao Cao and Liu Bei are the same age. During the Three Kingdoms period, one was called a "hero" and the other was called a "traitor".Cao Cao has a great ambition to unify the world, and Liu Bei also wants to help the Han Dynasty.The two competed for both talents and the world, and launched a decades-long contest.In Cao Cao's view, Liu Bei has outstanding political talents and lofty political ambitions. He is indeed a great hero with broad appeal.So for a while, Cao Cao kept him in the army.Cao Cao considered that keeping him would be attractive to recruit talents, so he didn't kill him.
When Cao Cao marched east to Xuzhou, Liu Bei went to the rescue with Tian Kai, the governor of Qingzhou, and was recommended by Tao Qian as the governor of Yuzhou.After Tao Qian's death, Liu Bei succeeded Tao Qian as Xuzhou Shepherd without any effort.
Yuan Shu, who occupied Huainan, also wanted to expand his territory. He was very dissatisfied with Liu Bei's easy acquisition of Xuzhou and attacked him many times.In order to stabilize the situation on the eastern border of Yanzhou, his base, and to use Liu Bei to contain Yuan Shu and Lu Bu, Cao Cao adopted a strategy of wooing Liu Bei.In the first year of Jian'an (196 A.D.), Cao Cao recommended Liu Bei as General Zhendong and granted him the title of Tinghou of Yicheng.And took the opportunity to gradually disintegrate Liu Bei's group and integrate it into his own army.After Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty made the capital, Cao Cao specially wrote the article "Biao Mi Zhu Leading Ying County":
Taishan County has a vast boundary, and it is so old and light.When the time is right, the five counties can be divided into Yingjun, and Qingqing can be selected as the guard.The generals Mi Zhu and Su Lu were loyal, civil and military.Please use Zhu to lead the prefect of Yingjun to comfort the officials and the people.
Mi Zhu, styled Zizhong, was born in Donghai. His ancestors were engaged in business, employing tens of thousands of workers, and his assets were quite rich.It was originally worked by Tao Qian, but later Tao Qian welcomed Liu Bei as the state shepherd.In the first year of Jian'an (AD 196), Liu Bei was defeated by Lu Bu and his family was captured.At this time, Mi Zhu not only strongly supported Liu Bei in terms of manpower, material and financial resources, so that he could revive the army, but also married his sister to Liu Bei.
Cao Cao recommended Mi Zhu as the prefect of Yingjun.Ying County, the county seat of Ying County, is the five counties of Ying, Wuyang, Nancheng, Zhongmu and Pingyang drawn from Taishan County.Mi Zhu did not accept Cao Cao's recommendation, but still followed Liu Bei.Cao Cao also recommended Mi Fang, Mi Zhu's younger brother, to be Prime Minister of Pengcheng, but Mi Fang did not take the post either, which shows that Liu Bei is very popular.
Although Yuan Shu had sent troops to attack Liu Bei many times, it had no effect.Later, he colluded with Lu Bu who had defected to Liu Bei, and Lu Bu sent troops to defeat Liu Bei.Liu Bei lost his foothold and had no choice but to lead his troops to join Cao Cao.
Cao Cao treated Liu Bei well, not only recommending him as Yuzhou Shepherd, but also supplementing him with soldiers and allocating military rations, allowing him to stay in Xiaopei to deal with Lu Bu. The two temporarily formed an alliance of interest groups.But this kind of temporary alliance is very fragile. Liu Bei has great ambitions and will leave Cao Cao at any time to develop independently.Of course Cao Cao knew this, and he also understood that once Liu Bei became powerful in the future, he must be a big threat to him.However, Cao Cao considered that he was in the stage of development and growth, and only by treating influential figures like Liu Bei favorably would the talents of the world gather and not block the way of speech.Therefore, although some counselors suggested killing Liu Bei, he did not do it.
In the fourth year of Jian'an (199 A.D.), Yuan Shu wanted to go north from Xiapi to Qingzhou, and Cao Cao was going to send troops to stop him.Liu Bei took the opportunity to request to undertake this task and escaped from Cao Cao's control, so Cao Cao sent Zhu Ling and others to lead troops eastward with him.
After Liu Bei left Xudu, Cheng Yu, Xun Yu and others heard the news and rushed to dissuade Cao Cao.Cheng Yu said: "You didn't want to kill Liu Bei before, and you really thought more far-reaching than us. But if you hand over the military power to Liu Bei today, he will definitely have a different heart! Don't let Liu Bei go! Let Liu Bei go now, and you will be killed later." You will definitely regret it!"
Dong Zhao also came to persuade Cao Cao, saying: "Liu Bei has great ambitions, and with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei as his helpers, he will definitely conquer the world in the future."
After listening to the opinions of all the counselors, Cao Cao regretted it a little, but firstly, the order was already in place and it was inconvenient to change it, and secondly, Liu Bei had already gone far, and he could not catch up, so he had to give up.
After Liu Bei arrived at Xiapi, Yuan Shu fled back to Shouchun and died of illness soon after.Therefore, Cao Cao took the opportunity to order Liu Bei to lead his army back to Xudu.Liu Bei had long wanted to get out of Cao Cao's control, and let Zhu Ling and others return first to reduce the strength of Cao's army in Xiapi, and then launched a surprise attack, killing Che Zhou, the governor of Xuzhou, and openly betrayed Cao Cao.
Liu Bei took up the banner of crusade against Cao Cao's rebels and openly confronted Cao Cao.His action set off a chain reaction.Chang Xi, who was attached to Cao Cao, also took the opportunity to leave Cao Cao.Because Cao Cao had no favors for the people, many counties and counties left Cao Cao one after another and joined Liu Bei, which increased Liu Bei's army to tens of thousands.Liu Bei sent Sun Qian to Jizhou to join forces with Yuan Shao to deal with Cao Cao.
In this way, Liu Bei and Cao Cao immediately transformed from the original dependent relationship into sworn enemies.
Cao Cao's different attitudes towards Liu Bei in specific periods and situations fully demonstrate that there are no eternal enemies and friends, only eternal interests.When Liu Bei came to vote for Cao Cao, Cao Cao followed Guo Jia's advice, and without Liu Bei, he maintained or even further established his image of cherishing talents and accepting heroes.He even recommended Liu Bei as the shepherd of Yuzhou, let Liu Bei go out to guard Xiaopei, and effectively used Liu Bei's power to deal with Lu Bu. In the battle of besieging Xiapi and capturing and killing Lu Bu, he directly let Liu Bei consume his troops, which objectively contained Liu Bei's forces. development of.After capturing and killing Lu Bu, bringing Liu Bei back to Xudu was a good move to control Liu Bei.
Cao Cao accidentally let Liu Bei go, but he quickly recovered from his mistake and took immediate action.Taking advantage of Yuan Shao's unpredictable and indecisive character and Liu Bei's miscalculation of the situation and the opportunity to relax his guard, he attacked decisively and defeated Liu Bei.Not only saved himself from danger, but also further consolidated his rule in Xuzhou.Eliminating Liu Bei, a potentially powerful enemy, avoided the possible two-line combat situation in the decisive battle with Yuan Shao in the future, and created favorable conditions for the victory of the Battle of Guandu.
It can be seen from this that whether to form an alliance is based on self-interest considerations, and this kind of alliance relationship linked by interests is very unstable.In the above example, it is reflected in the comparison of interests and allies, whoever is more important will tend to whom.Cao Cao experienced quite a lot of separation and reunion in his life. In the process of communicating with Lu Bu, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Zhang Xiu, and Zhang Miao, most of them also experienced the process of changing from separation to reunion, from enemy to friend.But no matter how it changes, everything revolves around its own interests. This is also the key to Cao Cao's continuous development-I can let anyone go, but I can't let go of any interests.
In reality, there are intricate stakes in separation and reunification.The division and combination of individuals, groups and even countries are all based on the relationship of interest.Cao Cao always takes this as the criterion.
(End of this chapter)
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