Cao Cao is a household name. Although he didn't become an emperor, he greeted Emperor Xu from 196 until his death in 220. He firmly controlled the Eastern Han regime and became an unknown emperor.
Cao Cao is an outstanding strategist. He is proficient in the art of war. In the war at the end of the Han Dynasty, he defeated others with his own tactics and won many victories. In particular, the battle of Guandu defeated the arrogant Yuan Shao and laid the foundation for unifying the North. Cao Cao is good at employing people and recruiting talents. Anyone who can govern the country and use troops will try their best to trap them. His men are "like clouds, like counselors" and are full of talents.
Cao Cao likes literature, and his poems are generous, sad and infectious, and many famous works have been passed down to this day. He and his sons Cao Pi, Cao Zhi, and "Seven Scholars of Jian 'an" made outstanding contributions to the development of literature.
Cao Cao became an outstanding figure in history because of his political foresight. When there was chaos in the world at the end of the Han Dynasty, he always called himself the Han Dynasty and insisted that he would not call himself the emperor. In his later years, Cao Cao occupied Kyushu, a thirteen-state city in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the time was ripe for him to claim the throne, but he still pursued the strategy of "serving the heavenly son to make the princes". Sun Quan wrote to persuade him to be emperor, and Cao Cao said, "It is my son who wants to get evil in my fire!" " "It means that this boy is going to put me on the fire! Cao Cao never proclaimed himself emperor, not because he didn't want to be emperor, but because he calmly analyzed the situation, took the world as his responsibility and overcame his personal desires with reason. Cao Cao has always pursued the new moon in the Han Dynasty to avoid the world falling into chaos again. He once said, "If there were no loneliness in the world, I don't know how many people would become kings. "
Cao Cao's refusal to proclaim himself emperor is a political strategy, but it is mainly due to his idealism. He said in "Let Counties Understand" that during the Spring and Autumn Period, Qi Huan and Jin Wen "could serve Zhou Shi with their vast military potential", which shows that "taking big things as small" can be described as the ultimate virtue. Cao Cao has a series of ideal figures in his mind, such as Duke Zhou and Guan Zhong. He praised Zhou Wenwang and said, "Governor Zhou Xibo has this great virtue. There are three points in the world and two points. If you contribute, you will not fall. " Cao Cao has a soft spot for Zhou Wenwang, but in a big way, gold alone is not enough, and no one is perfect. Of course, Cao Cao also has shortcomings, especially his ambition is that his achievements are more comparable to those of Zhou Wenwang. However, Zhou Wenwang was beautified as "King of Virtue" by later Confucianism, while Cao Cao was regarded as "Han thief". Zhou Yu said to Cao Cao, "Although he was entrusted by his name, he was actually a Han thief." Zhou Yu is Cao Cao's political enemy, and certainly won't speak well of Cao Cao.
From today's point of view, although Cao Cao has many stains, all his life, in order to pacify the world, he fought against the North. Spare no effort to attract talents; For the development of culture, elaborate creation.
He is determined to realize his ideal, which fully embodies the feelings of politicians. Cao Cao is always an idealist with a firm spirit of hard work.