It was not until Cao Song was deposed that Cao Cao began to grow bigger step by step by his own ability. Cao Song left Luoyang, Kyoto, and returned to his hometown in Qiaoxian County. After being dismissed from office by Emperor Han Ling for five years, he completely left the officialdom.
Unlike Cao Cao's incorruptibility in officialdom in his early years, Cao Song was a smooth official, buttering him up everywhere and making a lot of money in his official career, so even when he returned to his hometown in Qiaoxian County, he was also a rich man.
After Dong Zhuo's chaos, Cao Cao left the army in Chen, and Cao Song took his family and the money he collected to Langya to avoid disaster. Later, after Cao Cao gained a foothold in Yanzhou, he also wanted to take over his old father. During this period, Cao Song was hurt. As for who killed him, there are two versions One is the reflection, that is, Tao Qian, the secretariat of Xuzhou, sent someone to kill him, the other is Wu Shu (the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is the same), and Zhang Qian of the Ministry.
Whoever killed him, Tao Qian must have something to do with it. "It is shameful to kill my father." Cao Cao immediately ordered his troops to attack Xuzhou and vowed to retaliate against Tao Qian.
In the Battle of Wancheng, Zhang Xiu, who had already surrendered to Cao Cao, learned that Cao Cao had taken his widowed aunt as his concubine. He could bear it no longer and turned against Cao Cao under the counsel of the strategist Jia Xu.
Cao Jun was unprepared for the sudden rebellion. Cao Jun suffered heavy losses in this battle. Cao Ang, Cao Cao's eldest son Cao An and his lover Dian Wei were all killed by Zhang Xiu. Unlike the revenge of killing his father, Cao Cao was in no hurry to avenge the killing of his son.
In the fourth year of Jian 'an, Zhang Xiu surrendered to Cao Cao, but Cao Cao accepted it gladly. He also joined Zhang Xiu as his children's in-laws. Why is the contrast before and after Cao Cao so great? Is the son really less important than Lao zi?
Sometimes, Cao Cao is not the kind of introverted person. In his early years, he vowed to avenge his father. Another purpose is to seize Xuzhou. At that time, the world was in dispute, and Cao Cao was ambitious. He could never rest in a corner of Yanzhou. However, when he went to war, Cao Cao was worried that he could not find an excuse. Revenge for my father is undoubtedly a very good reason to send troops.
On the other hand, the situation in Zhang Xiu is different. Although Zhang Xiu was once attached to Liu Biao and occupied only one county in Nanyang, it was also a force to be reckoned with. Cao Cao had fought many wars, and there was a losing and winning situation, so Zhang Xiu was not weak. In the early years of Jian 'an, Cao Cao's greatest enemy was Yuan Shao. At the beginning, Cao Cao fought in Nanyang many times to stabilize the rear, so as to destroy Yuan Shao wholeheartedly.
At this point, Cao Cao was confronting Yuan Shao, and Zhang Xiu, as the nail behind Cao Cao, became the object of both sides. Long before Cao Cao, Yuan Shao sent someone to woo him, but Jia Xu, the strategist, thought Yuan Shao was unreliable and only gave up Cao Cao.
At this juncture, Cao Cao has such a great talent, how could he not know to put aside the past and win over Zhang Xiu? What's more, when Zhang Xiu turned against him, he was also at fault first.