flstandardbreds Chapter 120 Married Woman Lover - Cao Cao
Chapter 120 Married Woman Lover - Cao Cao
[Is Cao Cao a hero or a traitor? Is he a loyal minister or a treacherous minister? Understand Cao Cao's life in one breath. Cao Cao's history of the Three Kingdoms and the Han Dynasty]
[What kind of person was Cao Cao in real history? 】
【People know that he was a suspicious and cruel traitor who would rather betray the world than be betrayed by the world. But they don't know that he was once full of pure heart and wholeheartedly supported the Han Dynasty. However, the world is like a knife, which only cuts off the calm sea. The dragon slayer eventually becomes a dragon.】
[It was not until Cao Cao was 40 years old that this overlord who had dominated the world for more than years and worked all his life for the unification and stability of China was able to return to his true nature and issue the last order of his life.]
Cao Cao wished his family to learn how to make shoes and weave cloth, so that if their lives were not satisfactory in the future, they could sell them to earn money to be self-sufficient. He also gave his family clothes and spices that they were reluctant to use to rest to his brothers, and asked that his funeral be kept simple. Only great heroes can be true to themselves, and true celebrities can be elegant. 】
——"Making shoes? Liu Bei: I'm familiar with this."
——"It's so funny, Boss Liu is really good at making straw sandals. Wearing them feels like flying!"
[In this video, let us follow the chronological order and understand Cao Cao's legendary life in one go. 】
[From his birth in 155 AD to his death in Luoyang in 220 AD, Cao Cao was 66 years old. He was born into a family of eunuchs. According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao was the descendant of Cao Shen, the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, and his father Cao Song was the adopted son of the eunuch Cao Teng.]
——"I'm a little confused. Isn't Cao Cao a Xiahou by nature? He is also related to Xiahou Dun and the others."
——"Isn't it written here? His father is a eunuch. His surname used to be Xiahou, but he was later adopted by the Cao family, so his surname was changed to Cao."
[Cao Teng had served four generations of Han emperors and was quite famous. Later, Cao Song inherited Cao Teng's title of marquis. By the time of Emperor Ling of Han, he had risen to the position of Grand Marshal. It can be said that Cao Cao was a true second-generation official.]
[Cao Cao showed his love and talent for martial arts when he was young. He read widely and was particularly fond of studying the art of war. He was also willful and chivalrous, and had a strong ability to adapt to changing circumstances. All of these laid a solid foundation for his later military career.]
[At that time, the Han Dynasty established a subject for appointing officials, called Ju Xiaolian. Anyone who was filial to his parents, virtuous and upright could be nominated as an official.]
[When Cao Cao was 20 years old, he was selected as a filial and honest official and came to the capital Luoyang to serve as a Lang. Soon after, he was appointed as Luoyang Beiduwei. In simple terms, he was a security guard in the place where a group of royal relatives lived. ]
[After Cao Cao, who was full of vigor and vitality, took office, he immediately issued a ban, enforced the law, and made more than 10 five-colored sticks, which he hung around the government office, declaring that anyone who dared to break the ban would be beaten to death.]
——"Boss Cao is still a passionate young man at this time."
[At this time, Cao Cao simply wanted to be a good official in the Han Dynasty, but these royal relatives didn't care about any taboos, and soon someone took the lead. The emperor had a very favored eunuch named Jian Shuo. His uncle violated the ban on traveling at night, and Cao Cao executed him with a five-colored stick. ]
——"It seems that Yuan Shao had a new respect for Cao Cao because of this incident, and Cao Cao later became his younger brother for a period of time."
——"With Yuan Shao's family background, who wouldn't want to be his younger brother? In addition, Yuan Shao was indeed a great man in the early days. It was not until he escaped from Luoyang that Cao Cao realized that he was unreliable."
[At this point, no one dared to offend the capital, but Cao Cao also offended some of the powerful officials of the time. Due to the relationship with his father Cao Song, Cao Cao was demoted to the position of Dunqiu Ling.]
[In 178 AD, Cao Cao was implicated in the murder of his cousin's husband by eunuchs and was dismissed from his post. He had no choice but to return to his hometown, Qiao County.]
[Two years later, Cao Cao was summoned by the court and appointed as a counselor. At that time, the court of the Eastern Han Dynasty was in chaos, and General Dou Wu and others planned to kill the eunuchs, but unexpectedly the plan failed, and he was killed by the eunuchs instead. Cao]
Cao Cao wrote to Emperor Ling of Han several times, explaining that Dou Wu and others were upright officials but were framed, which led to the court being full of treacherous people and loyal people not being given important positions. Although his words were sincere, they were not accepted by Emperor Ling of Han.
【As the government of the Eastern Han Dynasty became increasingly corrupt, Cao Cao knew that the Han Dynasty could no longer be rectified. In 184 AD, the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out. Cao Cao was appointed as the Commandant of Qi and was ordered to join forces with Huangfu Song and others to attack the Yellow Turban Army in Yingchuan. Cao Cao defeated the Yellow Turban Army with his outstanding command ability and beheaded tens of thousands of people.】
[Because of his military merits, he was promoted to the position of Nanji Xiang. In his position as Nanji Xiang, Cao Cao remained true to his original intention and did things just like he did in Luoyang. He faced the county officials in more than 10 counties under his jurisdiction who were dependent on the powerful, corrupt, and unscrupulous. 】
【Cao Cao vigorously rectified the administration of officials, which shocked the entire Nanji County. Corrupt officials fled one after another. Finally, under Cao Cao's governance, Nanji County's politics and education flourished, and the administration of officials was clean and peaceful.】
[I thought I could rely on my political achievements to serve the court step by step, but unfortunately, it was the darkest time in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and there was even a system of buying and selling official positions. Cao Cao refused to cater to the powerful, so he returned to his hometown on the pretext of illness and lived in seclusion temporarily. ]
[In 188 AD, in order to consolidate his rule and weaken the military power of the foreign relative General He Jin, Emperor Ling of Han recruited able-bodied men in Xiyuan, Luoyang, and established the Eight Colonels of Xiyuan. The 34-year-old Cao Cao was appointed as the Colonel of the Army because of his family background.]
[One year later, Emperor Ling of Han died, and Crown Prince Liu Bian ascended the throne. Empress Dowager He took charge of government affairs. General He Jin wanted to take the opportunity to kill the Ten Attendants, but he did not get the support of Empress Dowager He.]
[He Jin ignored the dissuasion of Cao Cao and others and insisted on summoning Dong Zhuo, who was staying in the Hedong area, to lead his troops to the capital, hoping to force Empress Dowager He to agree to kill the eunuchs.]
Unexpectedly, before Dong Zhuo entered the capital, He Jin was murdered by the eunuch's subordinates. Dong Zhuo took the opportunity to enter the capital and disrupt the government. He deposed Emperor Shao of Han as King of Hongnong and replaced him with his brother, King of Chenliu, as Emperor Xian of Han. He called himself the Grand Master and took charge of the government.
Cao Cao saw that Dong Zhuo was committing atrocities and was unwilling to cooperate with him, so he changed his name and fled Luoyang. He returned to Chenliu, spent all his wealth, recruited volunteers, and called on heroes from all over the world to fight against Dong Zhuo together. 】
[In 190 AD, Yuan Shu and others jointly nominated Yuan Shao, the governor of Bohai, as the leader of the alliance and raised an army to fight against Dong Zhuo. After being defeated by the coalition forces, Dong Zhuo forced Emperor Xian to move the capital to Chang'an. He burned down the palace, dug up the royal tombs, and looted the people, causing the area of 200 miles around Luoyang to become desolate and uninhabited.]
【As the Guandong coalition forces were afraid of the fighting power of Dong Zhuo's Liangzhou troops, no one dared to advance to Guanxi. They all stationed their troops in the Suanzao area and watched each other. Only Cao Cao believed that Dong Zhuo's burning of the palace and looting of the emperor were unforgivable crimes.】
[So when he led his army westward to Xingyang alone, he was defeated by Xu Rong, a general under Dong Zhuo. He suffered heavy casualties and Cao Cao himself was wounded by an arrow. Fortunately, his cousin Cao Hong saved him from death. The armies in Guandong were nominally fighting against Dong Zhuo, but in fact, they had their own ulterior motives and were looking for an opportunity to develop their own power.]
【Soon after, frictions arose between the armies, and fighting broke out, and the coalition was disbanded. Two years later, the Yellow Turban Army in Jingzhou grew stronger, successively conquered the counties of Yanzhou, and killed the governor of Yanzhou. The 38-year-old Cao Cao was elected as the governor of Yanzhou by the people. Cao Cao "set up strange ambushes and fought day and night" to defeat the Yellow Turban Army, and captured more than 30 surrendered soldiers and more than one million people. 】
——"These people are too important to Cao Cao. They are Cao Cao's base."
——"If it weren't for the Yellow Turban Army, Cao Cao would have most likely exited the stage of history."
[Cao Cao organized the elite troops of the Yellow Turban Army into the Qingzhou Army, and started his own road to dominance. ]
[In 193 AD, Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shu, the Black Mountain Army and the Southern Xiongnu, and led his army to attack Tao Qian and marched into Xuzhou, beginning to expand his power to the southeast, but eventually had to withdraw his troops because his military rations were running out.]
[A year later, Cao Cao's father Cao Song and his brother Cao De were killed by Tao Qian's troops on their way to join Cao Cao. Cao Cao then sent troops to attack Xuzhou again.]
[According to the "Book of the Later Han", Cao Cao killed more than 10 men and women in Xuzhou, leaving no one alive, causing the Si River to stop flowing. However, at this time, Chen Gong, the garrison commander of Dongjun, was dissatisfied with Cao Cao, so he welcomed Lu Bu as the governor of Yanzhou and raided Cao Cao's base camp. Only two counties were left. Thanks to the perseverance of Xiahou Dun, Xun Yu and others, they were still under Cao Cao's control.]
[Cao's army immediately withdrew and fought with Lü Bu, who was stationed in Puyang, for more than a hundred days. Later, due to a locust plague, both sides stopped fighting. Cao Cao returned to the county city. At this point, not only did he run out of food and supplies, but he also lost Yanzhou. If it weren't for Cheng Yu's dissuasion, Cao Cao would have really surrendered to Yuan Shao.]
[In 195 AD, Cao Cao reorganized his army to fight Lü Bu again, defeated him three times, and pacified Yanzhou. Lü Bu was defeated and fled to Xuzhou, where he took refuge with Liu Bei.]
[Another major event happened this year. Due to the fight between Li Jue and Guo Si, Emperor Xian of Han fled from Chang'an and issued an edict to all the princes to come to the king's defense. Cao Cao saw the opportunity and established Emperor Xian of Han in Xuchang, and began to use the emperor to command the disobedient.]
[After that, he spent another four years to defeat Yuan Shu, destroy Lu Bu, subdue Zhang Xiu, and drive out Liu Bei. He expanded his power to the north of the Yellow River and gradually reached the peak of his life.]
[In 199 AD, the 45-year-old Cao Cong personally led his troops to station at Guandu in order to deal with the war with Yuan Shao, and sent Liu Bei, who had defected to him, to kill Yuan Shu who wanted to go north.]
[However, Liu Bei and Dong Cheng and others followed the imperial edict to plot the murder of Cao Cao, and attacked the governor of Xuzhou and occupied Xuzhou.]
【Cao Cao returned with lightning speed and defeated Liu Bei. However, Yuan Shao did not take the opportunity to attack Cao Cao, thus missing the best opportunity to defeat Cao Cao.】
[A year later, Yuan Shao ordered his general Yan Liang to advance to Bai Ma, while he himself led a large army to station troops in Liyang, marking the beginning of a major war. Logically speaking, Cao Cao was much weaker than Yuan Shao, with a total force of only a few tens of thousands. The territory occupied by Cao Cao was surrounded by wars, so Cao Cao had no chance of winning.]
【However, Cao Cao, who was good at listening to other people's opinions, eventually played to his strengths and avoided his weaknesses. He relied on the correct strategies and tactics to win the Battle of Guandu and defeated his greatest enemy. From then on, it was inevitable that Cao Cao would unify the north.】
[In 202 AD, Yuan Shao died of illness. His two sons, Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang, fought for power. After Yuan Tan was defeated, he asked Cao Cao for help. Cao Cao took the opportunity to lead his army to defeat Yuan Shang openly, moved his base camp to Yecheng, and obtained the Goddess of Luo River.]
【After that, he attacked Yuan Tan in the name of meeting with him. By then, Ji and Qing states were pacified. Starting from 205 AD, Cao Cao spent three years. He subdued the Black Mountain Army led by Zhangye, eliminated the forces of Yuan Shao's nephew Gao Gan, pacified Bingzhou, and went on an expedition to Wuhuan, beheaded Wuhuan Chanyu Tadun, captured more than 20 prisoners, and completely eliminated Yuan's forces.】
[After unifying the north, the 54-year-old Cao Cao began to open up the Xuanwu Pond, train the navy, abolish the three officials, restore the prime minister system, and consider himself the prime minister of the Han Dynasty. He turned his troops southward and marched towards Liu Biao in Jingzhou. ]
[But before Cao's army arrived, Liu Biao had already died of illness. His son Liu Cong led the people of Jingzhou and surrendered to Cao Cao. Cao Cao wanted to swallow up Jiangdong in one fell swoop, but with the efforts of Lu Su, Zhuge Liang and others, Liu Bei and Sun Quan formed an alliance. ]
[Sun Quan ordered Zhou Yu to lead an army of 30,000 to join forces with Liu Bei to resist Cao Cao. The two sides faced each other across the river. Zhou Yu used a false surrender strategy to defeat Cao's army. After the defeat at Chibi, Cao Cao had no choice but to withdraw his troops from Huarong Road to the north.]
[In 211 AD, Cao Cao was frustrated in his southward march, so he turned his sword to the northwest and issued an order to seek talents, proposing a policy of recruiting people based on their merits regardless of their character, and tried every means to gather talents around him.]
[He led a large army to conquer Guanzhong, defeated the Guanzhong coalition forces, eliminated Zhang Lu and other separatist forces in Guanxi, occupied Longxi, and basically pacified the Liangzhou area. Later, Emperor Xian of Han allowed Cao Cao to "pay homage without naming his name, and enter the palace with his sword and shoes", enjoying the same treatment as Xiao He, the former prime minister of the Han Dynasty.]
[In 213 AD, Cao Cao, 59, led an army of 40 men to march south again. Sun Quan led an army of 7 men to Ruxukou to resist Cao's army. The two armies fought for more than a month. Due to heavy spring rains, the river water rose. Cao Cao saw that it was difficult to win, so he led his army back north, leaving behind the famous saying "If you have a son, you should be like Sun Zhongmou."]
[At this time, Cao Cao was canonized as Duke of Wei by Emperor Xian of Han, and was given the Nine Gifts. He established the State of Wei and made Yecheng the capital of the state. He also appointed the prime minister, the general, and other officials.]
[In 216 AD, Emperor Xian of Han once again conferred the title of King of Wei on Cao Cao, placing him above all other princes. He could report matters without calling himself a vassal, receive imperial edicts without bowing, and travel in accordance with the Han system. All princes were marquises. Although Cao Cao was not the Son of Heaven in name, he was already the Son of Heaven in reality.]
[A year later, at the age of 63, Cao Cao led his army to the south again, attacked Ruxukou fiercely and defeated Sun Quan. Sun Quan summoned an envoy to surrender, Cao Cao agreed to Sun Quan's request and promised to re-establish a marriage alliance. After that, Cao Cao led his army to Guanzhong without stopping and took charge of Chang'an to deal with Liu Bei who launched an attack on Hanzhong.]
[At the same time, the smoke of war rose again on the border, and Cao Cao ordered Cao Zhang to march north and defeat the coalition forces of Wuhuan and Xianbei.]
[In 219 AD, Liu Bei crossed the Mian River from Yangping Pass to the south and stationed his troops at Dingjun Mountain. Xiahou Yuan sent troops to compete with Liu Bei for the advantageous terrain, but was killed by Huang Zhong. When Cao Cao learned of this, he led his army to capture Hanzhong.]
——"Dingjun Mountain! A true man is willing to sacrifice his life regardless of age!"
——"When I listened to Tu Honggang's song Dingjun Mountain, my blood boiled."
[However, Liu Bei held fast to his position and refused to come out. After months of fighting with Liu Bei, Cao Cao decided to abandon Hanzhong and retreat to Chang'an. But before he could even get a chance to retreat, Guan Yu took advantage of the lack of troops in Xiangfan and launched an attack on Cao Cao.]
[Yu Jin was captured, Pang De was beheaded, and Fancheng was surrounded. Cao Cao had no choice but to rush from Guanzhong to Luoyang and personally command the rescue of Fancheng. Finally, he joined forces with Sun Quan to launch a surprise attack on Jiangling, an important place in Jingzhou, thus ending the Battle of Xiangfan.]
——"Jerry Jiangdong deserves to die."
——"Why can't the second master understand? Cao Cao is obviously the biggest enemy, so why would he stab him in the back?"
[After the war, Sun Quan sent an envoy to the palace to pay tribute to Cao Cao. In 220 AD, Cao Cao, 66, died of illness after returning to Luoyang. He left the following will before his death.]
[Cao Cao initially implemented a series of policies to restore the economy and stabilize the situation of warlords fighting each other in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. He promoted military farming, built water conservancy projects, and implemented the official sale of salt and iron, which played a positive role in rectifying the society at that time.]
——"Cao Cao should be the most outstanding all-rounder during the Three Kingdoms period. He was proficient in civil administration, military affairs, economics and politics, and even his poetry."
——"Where did you put Prime Minister Zhuge? He is a tough guy who is in charge of both domestic affairs and military affairs. Prime Minister Zhuge is no less powerful than Prime Minister Cao."
——"It's hard to say about domestic affairs and military affairs, but in terms of literature, Prime Minister Cao should be the winner."