The Romance of the Three Kingdoms describes the appearance of Cao Cao for the first time: the first general flashed out, seven feet long, with narrow eyes and a long beard. He was a captain, a native of Guo Peiqiao County, surnamed Cao, whose name was Cao Cao and whose word was Meng De.

Cao Cao was the founder of the Cao Wei regime in the Three Kingdoms period, first as the general and prime minister of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and then as Wang Wei. After his son Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor, he was respectfully called Wei Wudi.

He conquered the separatist regime in the name of general and prime minister of the Han Dynasty all his life, and made great contributions to the unification of northern China. At the same time, he reclaimed land in the north, which played a great role in the recovery of agricultural production.

Cao Cao's thought is influenced by Confucianism, and its foundation belongs to the category of Confucianism. Confucianism advocates benevolence and propriety, trying to teach people and politics with benevolence and propriety, that is, "rule by propriety first". On the other hand, Cao Cao attaches importance to law and art, and imposes severe penalties and strict laws. The well-documented history constitutes another important aspect of Cao Cao's thought. This is called "putting chaos into punishment first".

Therefore, Cao Cao's thought is a contradictory unity. Cao Cao in troubled times not only emphasized criminal law, but also remembered the use of ethics. He has always respected etiquette and law, used both hands, and showed his unique ability to cheat in both etiquette and law.

Cao Cao was skilled in the art of war and played an active role in unifying the North. After the Yellow turban insurrectionary uprising, the Eastern Han Dynasty disintegrated and warlords scuffled. In the melee, not only Dong Zhuo, Li Jue and other Liangzhou warlords slaughtered the people everywhere and robbed the property, so the bleak scene of "the people are in poverty and the country is depressed" generally appeared.

From the second year of Chuping (19 1) to the thirteenth year of Jian 'an (2008), Cao Cao eliminated the separatist forces north of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and unified most of northern China. Cao Cao's war to unify the north lasted 17 years, which was a battle for the founding of Cao Wei and laid a solid foundation for the later unification of China in the Western Jin Dynasty.

Baidu encyclopedia-Cao Cao