Dynasties of ChinaThree KingdomsCao Wei
155—220
He welcomed Emperor Xiandu Xu, defeated Yuan Dynasty in Guandu, and unified the north. He laid the foundation of the Wei state through farming and meritocracy. He was also the leader of Jian'an literature.
Cao Cao, whose courtesy name is Mengde, also known as A'mao, was born in Qiao County, Peiguo (now Bozhou, Anhui). His father, Cao Song, was the adopted son of the eunuch Cao Teng, who rose to the rank of Taiwei. At the age of 20, Cao Cao was promoted to be a filial and honest man and was appointed as the Northern Wei of Luoyang. He was famous for his strict law enforcement. In 184, he suppressed the Yingchuan Yellow Turbans as the Cavalry Commander and moved to Jinan to be the Prime Minister. After Dong Zhuo took power, he dispersed his family wealth in Chenliu and recruited troops. In 190, he joined the Kwantung Allied Forces to attack Dong Zhuo. In 192, he incorporated the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans and surrendered to Yanzhou.
In 196, he welcomed Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty and moved his capital to Xu County. From then on, he gave orders to all directions in the name of the imperial court. In the same year, he promoted farming under Xu. After that, he captured Lu Bu in the east, defeated Yuan Shao in Guandu in 200, and conquered Wuhuan in the north in 207 to unify the north. In 208, he became prime minister, went south to Jingzhou, and was defeated by the coalition forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei in Chibi. After that, he defeated Ma Chao and Han Sui in the west, and surrendered Zhang Lu, but Hanzhong was finally captured by Liu Bei, and the world was divided into three parts.
In 213, Cao Cao was granted the title of Duke of Wei, and the Wei State was established with ten counties in Jizhou, with its capital at Yecheng. In 216, he was promoted to the title of King of Wei, and the Wei State had already established a imperial court. He made three orders to seek talents, advocating "only those who are qualified", and together with Cao Pi and Cao Zhi, their father and son, presided over the Ye literary circle and created a generation of Jian'an literary style. In the first month of 220, he died of illness in Luoyang and was buried in Gaoling in the western suburbs of Yecheng. He never proclaimed himself emperor in his life. In the same year, Cao Pi succeeded the Han Dynasty and honored him as Emperor Wu.
Cao Cao cleaned up the mess in the north during the chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty, restored production through farming, and recruited talents with the "approach based on talent". He was good at politics, military and literature. Chen Shou called him "an extraordinary person and a transcendent hero." However, when he conquered Xuzhou, he killed the people indiscriminately, killed Kong Rong, forced Xun Yu to death, hijacked the Han emperor, and paved the way for the Han Dynasty. Later generations received mixed praise and criticism. The folk image of the "white-faced traitor" largely comes from the orthodox views of Liu and Cao and the rendering of "The Romance of Three Kingdoms".
PoliticsAppointed as the Northern Lieutenant of Luoyang
At the age of 20, he was promoted to Xiaolian and appointed as the Northern Wei of Luoyang. A five-color stick was hung in front of the county government office. Anyone who violated the prohibition, no matter how powerful he was, would be killed with the stick. According to "The Biography of Cao Man" quoted by Pei Zhuan, Quan Huan Jian Shuo's uncle violated the ban at night and was executed by him, and the capital gathered traces of him.
MilitaryRaise an army to attack Dong Zhuo
Dong Zhuo came to Beijing to take power, and Cao Cao changed his name and fled eastward, leaving Chen Liu to disperse his family wealth and recruit troops. After the Kwantung princes raised their troops, they mostly waited and waited. He led his army westward alone and was defeated by Dong Zhuo's general Xu Rong at Bianshui in Xingyang. He was almost killed.
MilitaryRecruit Qingzhou soldiers
Millions of people from Qingzhou Yellow Turbans flocked to Yanzhou. Cao Cao served as the herdsman of Yanzhou and pursued them to Jibei. He surrendered more than 300,000 soldiers and more than a million men and women, and selected the elite among them as "Qingzhou Soldiers", which became his basic force for hegemony in the world.
MilitaryConquest of Xuzhou
His father Cao Song was killed on the way to escape the rebellion. Cao Cao blamed Tao Qian, the Xuzhou herdsman. He went on two expeditions eastward and captured more than ten cities. "Three Kingdoms" said that "there were too many killings." Zhang Miao and Chen Gong from the rear welcomed Lu Bu into Yanzhou. He returned to his army and fought hard to regain it.
PoliticsWelcome Emperor Xian Duxu
Emperor Xian returned east from Chang'an. Luoyang's palaces were in ruins and hundreds of officials were hungry. Cao Cao adopted the idea of Xun Yu, Mao Jie and others to "serve the emperor's orders but not his ministers". He welcomed the emperor and moved the capital to Xu County, and appointed himself as Sikong and general of riding and riding. Later generations called "holding the emperor's orders to order the princes" refers to this situation.
EconomyPromise to farm land
Adopting the suggestions of Zao Zhi and Han Hao, he recruited refugees to work in the fields and obtained millions of dendrobium grains that year. Later, he set up field officials in various states and counties to promote the harvest. The civilians in the fields used official cattle and the officials divided the cattle into four parts, so that Cao's army had no worries about food and the refugees could settle down.
PoliticsDisclosure of the Clothes and Belt Edict
The cavalry general Dong Cheng claimed to have received the secret edict from the Emperor Xian's belt, and contacted Liu Bei and others to plot Cao Cao's death. After the incident was revealed, Dong Cheng and other tribes were executed. Liu Bei raised troops to rebel against Cao Cao in Xuzhou, but was defeated by Cao Cao himself and defected to Yuan Shao.
MilitaryBattle of Guandu
Yuan Shao led an army of more than 100,000 people to go south. Cao Cao's soldiers were short of food and held Guandu for several months. Yuan Shao's counselor Xu You came to surrender. Cao Cao personally led five thousand infantry and cavalry to attack Wuchao at night and burned Yuan's army's food and grass. Yuan's generals Zhang He and Gao Lan immediately came to surrender, and Yuan's army was completely defeated.
EconomyIssue a tenancy transfer order
After the capture of Yecheng, an order was issued: the land rent could only be four liters of millet per mu, and each household should produce two bolts of silk and two pounds of cotton. In addition, no unauthorized expropriation was allowed, and powerful mergers and transfers of taxes and servitude were strictly prohibited. This method of levying taxes on a per-household basis was later inherited by the Western household-based transfer system.
MilitaryConquer Wuhuan in the North
Expeditioned to Wuhuan in western Liaoning, left Lulong fortress, defeated Wuhuan at Bailang Mountain, and beheaded its leader Tadun. Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi fled to Liaodong, where they were beheaded by Gongsun Kang and sent back. The north was basically unified. On the way back, I passed through Jieshi and wrote "Stepping out of Xiamen and looking at the sea".
Lasting legacyThe poem "Landing the Jieshi in the East to View the Sea" is now included in junior high school Chinese textbooks and is the most widely circulated of Cao Cao's poems.
MilitaryBattle of Red Cliff
After becoming prime minister, he went south to conquer Jingzhou, and Liu Cong surrendered the whole state. Cao's army moved eastward along the Yangtze River, but was attacked at Chibi by the allied forces of Sun and Liu led by Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu. Coupled with the epidemic among the army, they were forced to return north. "Borrowing the East Wind" and "Hua Rong Dao Yi Jie" are all plots of "The Romance of Three Kingdoms".
PeopleHua Tuo was killed
The famous doctor Hua Tuo excused his wife from being ill for a long time, so Cao Cao had her imprisoned and executed. Not long after his beloved son Cao Chong was critically ill, Cao Cao regretted and sighed: "I regret killing Hua Tuo and forcing this son to die." In the same year, the famous scholar Kong Rong was also killed for repeatedly ridiculing Cao Cao.
PoliticsIssue order seeking talents
The "Order for Seeking Talents" was promulgated, proposing that "only those who are qualified should be promoted"; in 214 and 217, two more orders for seeking talents were issued, stating that even those who were "unkind and unfilial but had the skills to govern the country and use military force" could be appointed, breaking the Han Dynasty's standard of selecting scholars based on reputation, integrity and virtue.
CultureBuild a Bronze Bird Tower
A Bronze Bird Terrace was built in the northwest of Ye City. After that, he went on the stage with other scholars and scribes to compose poems. The Ye literati were centered on "Three Cao" and the Seven Jian'an Sons such as Wang Can, Chen Lin, and Liu Zhen. Their poems were generous and sad, and later generations called them "Jian'an Style".
Lasting legacyThe Yecheng site is located in present-day Linzhang County, Hebei Province. The rammed earth foundations of Tongque Terrace and Jinfeng Terrace still exist today. The site is a national key cultural relic protection unit.
PoliticsAwarded the title of Duke of Wei
Emperor Xiance appointed Cao Cao as the Duke of Wei and Jiuxi, and established the Wei state with ten counties in Jizhou, with the capital at Yecheng, and appointed ministers, servants and other officials. In 216, he was crowned King of Wei, and the Wei Kingdom became a court parallel to the Han Dynasty, paving the way for Cao Pi to succeed the Han Dynasty.
MilitarySurrender Zhang Lu
During the western expedition to Hanzhong, Zhang Lu, the leader of the Five Pecks of Rice Road, surrendered. Sima Yi and Liu Ye persuaded him to take advantage of the situation to attack Yizhou, which had just changed hands. Cao Cao refused because people were not suitable for greed, and left Xia Houyuan to guard Hanzhong before returning eastward.
DiplomacyDivide the Huns into five tribes
Chanyu Huchuquan of the Southern Xiongnu entered the dynasty and was left to live in Yecheng. Cao Cao divided the Xiongnu tribe in Bingzhou into five tribes, each with a commander and a Han Sima to supervise. Liu Yuan, who founded the Han Dynasty nearly ninety years later, came from the five tribes of Xiongnu.
PoliticsMake Cao Pi the Crown Prince
Cao Cao once fell in love with Cao Zhi, who was outstanding in literary talent. However, Cao Zhi acted willfully and drank immoderately. Cao Pi was good at showing off, and Jia Xu and others persuaded him to "establish him". Cao Cao finally made Cao Pi the Crown Prince of Wei.
MilitaryHanzhong fell
Liu Bei beheaded Xia Houyuan at Dingjun Mountain, and Cao Cao personally conquered Hanzhong and retreated without success. According to "Jiuzhou Spring and Autumn Period", he used "chicken ribs" as a metaphor. In the same year, Guan Yu besieged Fancheng and flooded seven armies. He once discussed moving to Xudu, but later adopted the strategy of Sima Yi and Jiang Ji and contacted Sun Quan to attack the rear.
PoliticsDied of illness in Luoyang
In the first month of the first month, he died of illness in Luoyang. He ordered "to keep the clothes of the time and not to hide any gold or jade treasures" and was buried in Gaoling in the western suburbs of Yecheng. In October of the same year, Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor on behalf of the Han Dynasty and honored him as Emperor Wu.
Lasting legacyThe large tomb excavated in Xigaoxue Village, Anyang, Henan Province in 2009 was identified by archaeology as Cao Cao Gaoling. The Cao Cao Gaoling Site Museum has now been built; there are still a few objections to the identification in the academic community.
A native of Yingyin, Yingchuan, Cao Cao praised him as "my son's wife". He has been in Xudu for a long time and presided over the government. He recommended a large number of talents such as Xun You, Guo Jia, Zhong Yao, etc., and urged Cao Cao to stick to it during the stalemate in Guandu. Because he opposed Cao Cao's entry into the Duke of Wei and Jiuxi, he was alienated. He died in Shouchun in 212.
Xun Yu's nephew, he had fought with Cao Cao for many years. He captured Lu Bu and Po Yuan Shaoduo for his tricks. In the Battle of Guandu, he advocated adopting Xu You's plan to surprise Wuchao. He was cautious and meticulous, and he served as a minister of Wei State.
A native of Yangdi in Yingchuan, he was recommended by Xun Yu to return to Cao Cao. With great foresight, he advocated the destruction of Lu Bu first and Tuyuan Shao later, and also proposed an expedition against Wuhuan. He died of illness on his way back from the northern expedition with the army. He was only thirty-eight years old. After the defeat in Chibi, Cao Cao sighed, "Guo Fengxiao is here, so I won't let him come here alone."
A native of Qiao County in the state of Pei, Cao Cao followed Lu Bu when he raised troops. When he was conquering Lu Bu, he was shot in the left eye by a stray arrow. He guarded the rear for a long time, once cut off water to build a fort, personally carried soil, and led the soldiers to plant rice, which was deeply trusted by Cao Cao. Cao Cao died of illness a few months later.
He was originally a general under Lu Bu. After Lu Bu's defeat, he returned to Cao Cao. In 215, Sun Quan led an army to besiege Hefei. Zhang Liao recruited 800 people who dared to die and broke into Wu's formation, which greatly defeated the Wu army's vigor. After that, he defeated Sun Quan in Xiaoyaojin and shocked Jiangdong.
The Yuan family of Runan, who was born in the "Four Generations and Three Dukes", fought against Dong's alliance leader, and later conquered Ji, Qing, You, and Bingzhou, becoming the strongest prince in the north. He was defeated miserably by Cao Cao in the Battle of Guandu in 200. He died of illness two years later. The princes fought, and Hebei was eventually annexed by Cao Cao.
A native of Gaoping, Shanyang, he is knowledgeable and knowledgeable. In his early years, he avoided chaos in Jingzhou and wrote "Ode to the Climbing Tower" and "Seven Sorrow Poems" to express the pain of separation. Later, he returned to Cao Cao and participated in the formulation of the canons of the Wei state. Liu Xie called it "the crown of the seven sons". He died of illness during the southern expedition with the army.