(1) Cao Cao's positive role in unifying the north.

As mentioned earlier, at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, due to political darkness, social production was seriously damaged, and people could not live, and finally a vigorous Yellow Scarf Uprising broke out. However, under the historical conditions at that time, the peasant uprising could not achieve the final victory, which was followed by the disintegration of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the warlord scuffle. In the scuffle, not only Dong Zhuo, Li Jue and other Liangzhou warlords slaughtered people and robbed property everywhere, but also the eastern generals under the banner of diligent king. Therefore, there is a bleak scene of "people eat people and the state is depressed". Apart from the reactionary rule in the Eastern Han Dynasty, it is unforgivable to suppress the peasant uprising and the warlords who destroyed social production. But relatively speaking, there are still differences between warlords. Take Cao Cao as an example. Although he suppressed the peasant uprising and killed innocent people, from his political, military and economic performance, he was better than the warlord he eliminated. For example, he reclaimed land, built water conservancy projects and implemented the system of selling salt and iron by officials, which played a positive role in social and economic recovery and economic rectification. These will be introduced when talking about the economy.

As soon as Cao Cao embarked on his official career, he tried to use stricter laws to change the rampant situation of extravagance of powerful people at that time. However, because the curse lies in the central government, Cao did not dare to show his intentions. It was not until he came to power himself that the policy of restraining arrogance was fully implemented. He said: "the punishment of the husband is also the life of the people"; The policy of bringing order out of chaos should put punishment first. He used Wang Xiu, Sima Zhi, Yang Pei, Lv Qian, Man Chong, Jia Kui and other local officials to curb the lawless strongmen. If we compare Yuan Shao's and Cao Cao's political skills in Jizhou, we can see two different situations: "At the end of the Han Dynasty, politics was lenient and salt was lenient, so we didn't take it." Under Yuan Shao's lenient policy, "it is not enough to make the powerful and powerful arrogant, annex their relatives, make the people poor and weak, pay taxes on their behalf, and show off their wealth." As a result, it is naturally impossible to be "people-friendly to Qiang Bing". So Yuan Shao was defeated by Cao Cao, although he was big, with many soldiers and food. After the war in Jizhou, he immediately "emphasized the method of merging powerful countries" and thus received the effect of "making the people happy". As long as we look at Wei Zhi's reflection, we can see that under Cao Cao's rule, the political outlook and social atmosphere from the central to the local are different from before. Few ministers in North Korea engage in graft; Unscrupulous local officials and strongmen have also been restrained to some extent. Sima Guang said that Cao Cao's "turning chaos into governance" was not groundless. Moreover, the officials he elected should be "sensible" and be able to govern the country according to law. Cao Cao also advocates honesty. He used Cui Yan and Mao Jie for the election. "Everyone he uses is honest and upright. Although he was famous at that time, he didn't do what he should do, and he was finally admitted. " Thrift guides people, so people all over the world are inspired by honesty and thrift. Although your minister, dare not cross. "So the social atmosphere has improved.

Complementing the implementation of the rule of law policy is to concentrate on yourself as much as possible and not let the princes form a party. He ordered: "In this Qing Dynasty, even though personal relationships were better than others, it was useless to serve the country and the king." Fuck, in order to supervise the governors, the establishment of "school affairs" was opposed by the minister, who thought it was an "untrustworthy purpose" Cao Cao explained it this way: "If you want to stab, you can do a lot of things, but you can't." The so-called "sages and gentlemen" mainly refers to noble ministers, who have been officials all their lives, have branches and leaves attached, and have great fame and influence. On the one hand, we should win over the Rightists and make them occupy the upper position without real power; On the one hand, they also use ordinary school affairs to check their behavior. Is it necessary to do this? You can use Sun Quan's words to answer later. Sun Quan said: "The disciples of Chang Wen (Chen Qunzi) used to be able to keep good deeds and try their best to behave themselves, but they were afraid of being strict and did not dare to do anything wrong." Sun Quan followed suit and set up a school post, which showed that it was reasonable to set up a school supervisor in order to prevent the recurrence of the ministers' group at the end of the Han Dynasty and the small group of Yuan Shao Group. From the internal structure of Cao Wei regime, there are the most noble ministers, and the potential danger is heavier. Cao Cao planned for himself and future generations, and set up school affairs to wait on the ministers. Although it is harsh and political, it is difficult to subdue them without it. The history book says: "Cao Gong is strict and an official, so he often adds a stick." . Cao Cao also let the general's family live in his home to prevent them from fleeing from themselves, which is a reflection of the estrangement and contradiction between Cao Cao and his subordinates.

On the whole, under Cao Cao's rule, the Yellow River Basin has a certain degree of political clarity, the economy has gradually recovered, the class oppression has been slightly alleviated, and the social atmosphere has improved. Therefore, we say that the unification of the north and some corresponding measures still have positive effects.

(2) Cao Cao is an outstanding strategist.

First of all, Cao Cao is good at commanding generals; For example, in the 19th year of Jian 'an (2 14), Cao Cao left three generals, Zhang Liao, Lejin and Li Dian, and Xue Mian, the defender, to guard the battle. The following year, before Cao Cao led his army to the west to explore Zhang Lu, he sent someone to send Fatwa to Xue Mian. The cover said, "A thief is a thief." . Soon, Sun Quan personally led 100,000 troops to attack Hefei, and Xue Biao and others wrote a letter, saying, "If Sun Quan arrives, General Zhang and General Li will go out, General Le will defend himself, and the army will not have to fight." At this time, the total number of defenders in Hefei was only 7000. Being outnumbered, you will wonder whether it is the best policy to divide your troops and go out. Zhang Liao said, "Grandpa will go on an expedition, but if you save him, you will be defeated. Therefore, we should attack the religion and its failure, break its prosperity, reassure the public, and then defend it. The chance of success or failure, in this battle, why do you doubt! " Li Dian smell speech, immediately agreed. So Liao and the pawn night recruited 800 people who dared to follow, killing cattle. At dawn the next day, Liao, who held a halberd, took the lead, killed dozens of people, beheaded two generals, shouted his name and went straight to Sun Quan's headquarters. Seeing Liao's ferocity, Quan was at a loss and frightened, so he had to climb up the mound and defend himself with a halberd. Liao told Quan to fight, but Quan did not dare to move. When he saw Liao Serenade, he gathered around Liao. Liao broke through again and again, and those in power were invincible. No one dares to be that person. From the early wars to Japan and China, the Wu people seized the air superiority. Liao and others are still on the defensive, and everyone is at ease. After World War I, the whole army lost its momentum and stayed in Hefei for more than ten days, that is, withdrew its troops. With the departure of the public, the power and number of people will remain in the north of xiaoyaojin. When Zhang Liao saw it from a height, he rode his horse to act quickly and captured Quan alive. He fought to the death with Gan Ning, Ling Tong, and Quan began to flee on a fine horse, and several of them were captured alive. Historians are full of praise for Cao Cao's killing order. Hu Sansheng thinks that Cao Cao is brave and sharp in Liao and Yunnan, which makes him fight. Cheer up. Keep it. "Sun Sheng believes that Cao Cao's original intention is to be brave and afraid of deployment," in cahoots ". I think: Zhang Liao is brave and good at fighting, and Le Jin is also famous for his "small fruit". He always takes the lead in the battle, "struggling to break through and be invincible." I am afraid it is wrong to describe Le Jin as a "timid" person or a person who can only be "cautious". Cao Cao meant to know that when Sun Quan came, he would rely on a large number of troops, and Hefei would be arrogant and underestimate his enemy. We can take this opportunity to give an inaudible surprise attack. That is, as Zhang Liao said, "If you don't accept it, you will be arrogant", that's all. Cover your troops quickly, cover them unprepared, and know how to anticipate the enemy. This is extremely clear.

Because Sun Quan often invaded Hefei, Cao Wei and the secretariat of some States near Hefei also led troops to station troops here. In the 24th year of Jian 'an (2 19), Cao Cao ordered Pei Qian, the Yanzhou secretariat stationed in Hefei, to prepare for the March. Because there was no military atmosphere in Hefei at this time, Pei Qian and others did not act quickly. Wen Hui, the secretariat of Yangzhou, secretly said to Pei Qian, "This is an urgent matter in Xiangyang. I want to go there. So don't worry, don't want to disturb people far away. In a day or two, there will be a secret book to promote the Qing and Jin Dynasties, and Zhang Liao and others will be called again. Liao will know the king's will at the same speed, and then call first, and you will blame it! " So Pei Qian quickly prepared for an urgent March. Sure enough, the order to March quickly was received. Then Zhang Liao and others also received letters. It shows that Cao Cao has strict constraints on generals, and there is no room for slow-motion letters.

As can be seen from the above, Cao Cao is good at using generals and strict with them, but he can get their support. Even Sun Quan said that Cao Cao "emperors and princes are rare since ancient times". Prove that Cao Cao is good at commanding generals.

Cao Cao is also resourceful and always improvises in strategy and tactics. When fighting, Cao often makes decisions according to the situation of the enemy and ourselves, which is changeable. As mentioned earlier. In a series of wars with Lu Bu, Zhang Xiu, Yuan Shao, Ma Chao, Han Sui and other drug farmers, Cao Cao often used the methods of introducing from the east, evading reality, ambushing, circuitous, raiding, alienating, robbing food, attacking them unprepared, and abandoning things to lure the enemy in order to win and turn weakness into strength. Strategically, Cao concentrated the wisdom of his subordinates, chose good and followed, and rarely made mistakes. For example, when Cao Cao and Lu Bu fought for Yanzhou, Tao Qian, a herdsman in Xuzhou, died of illness. Cao Cao wanted to take the opportunity to attack Xuzhou and then attack Lu Bu. Yu Xun dissuaded it. Cao Cao changed his mind and defeated Lu Bu with all his strength to pacify Yanzhou. Then Xuzhou joined the party. In the sixth year of Jian 'an (20 1), that is, the second year after the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao decided to settle Hebei slightly because of lack of food, and wanted to find another way because of salt, so as to attack Liu Biao during this period. Yu Xun said, "Shao has been defeated, and all his men are indifferent. It is advisable to take advantage of its difficulties; And carry Yan, Yu, away from Shijiang and Han. If you collect its embers, it will be business. " Cao Cao followed, and finally settled Jizhou.

As can be seen from the above, Yu Xun corrected Cao Cao's wrong ideas in strategic decision-making many times, which played a key role in Cao Cao's success or failure. Other counselors, such as Xun You and Guo Jia, had similar feats and were praised by Cao Cao. It proved that Cao Cao attached great importance to strategic deployment and had a thorough discussion with the group members in advance. His ability to adopt other people's correct strategies shows that he has strong judgment.

When Cao Cao and Yuan Shao confronted Dong Zhuo, Shao asked Cao Cao, "Why don't you make things up?" Cao Cao said, "What does the first step mean?" Shao said, "My south is near the river, and my north is against Yan and Dai. I am also a member of the army. How can I help the southern world? " Cao Cao said, "I am the wisdom of the world, and I can resist it with Tao." Cao Cao said to others, "Is Tang and King Wu the same as the earth?" With insurance as capital, we can't change according to opportunities. "One of the main reasons why Cao Cao Can defeated the enemy is, as he himself said," to gain the wisdom of the world ",that is, to give full play to the wisdom of his deputies and the fighting enthusiasm of the soldiers. The so-called "sages don't love their plans, and the group of scholars spare no effort." "

No matter how well Cao Cao does in strategy and tactics, his army can't do without strong fighting capacity. Lu Bu's army claimed to be brave; Yuan Shao's army has the largest number, and after many contests, it was defeated by Cao Cao, which shows that Cao Cao's fighting capacity is very strong. The reason why Cao Cao has strong fighting capacity is that Cao Cao has always taken measures such as streamlining troops and simplifying administration, and attaching importance to grain production and transportation. Cao Cao once said: "Lonely people can always defeat the enemy with fewer soldiers, but they always want to increase the number of soldiers and ignore the rest. It is because of the advocacy of the former dynasties that they love horses for soldiers. " I'm not satisfied with many officials. I love to send meals to soldiers. "Cao Cao said that during the battle of Guandu, Yuan Shaoyou had ten thousand armor collars, and he only had twenty. Yuan Shao has three hundred armour, but he doesn't even have ten armour. Although Cao Cao's army is small in number and poorly equipped, Cao Cao pays more attention to discipline and rewards and punishments strictly. As a result, Yuan Jun was defeated. On one March, Cao Cao ordered that horses should not trample on wheat fields. Any violation will be beheaded. So the soldiers all dismounted and walked to avoid trampling on the wheat. But Cao Cao's horse was surprised and stepped on the wheat field. So Cao Cao drew his sword and cut off a lock of his hair as punishment. Although this is just a show, it can also show that Cao Cao is more serious in maintaining the law in the army. In the early days, there were many defeats and wars, but the army never collapsed, because it was well managed and had good cooperation and support politically and economically. Therefore, we can finally turn the corner and turn the weak into the strong. Other warlords, such as Yuan Shaoze, "the imperial army is lenient and the law is not established"; Lyu3 bu4 "brave but not scheming" and "light and cunning"; Liu Biao "does not study military affairs" and only "protects the environment and defends himself"; Yuan Shu is "extravagant" and "good without fiber". "So fucking can finally break them one by one.

It can be said that Cao is an outstanding strategist in ancient times.

(3) Cao Cao's character and style.

Cao Cao is one of the famous figures in the history of China, and people have different views on him, with different opinions. The destroyer described him as a white-faced traitor, an ultra-egoist, who specializes in politics. "It is better to die than to die"; Those who respect him aim to be heroes, outstanding strategists, politicians and writers. According to relevant historical records, good and evil are wrong, and it is difficult to distinguish between true and false. If you rely on some accounts unilaterally and take them out of context, even if you publish more commentary articles, it will not help. When commenting on historical figures, we should sum up the mainstream things (such as virtue, talent, merit, excess, goodness, evil, function, influence, etc.). ) from the relevant reliable accounts, so as to draw a definite conclusion. It is not only necessary to compare this character with his contemporaries, but also with people of the same type in the long river of history, so it is not difficult to estimate its value in all aspects and determine its historical role. For example, we have analyzed Cao Cao's loyalty and treachery, and Cao Wei's regime was painstakingly managed by Cao Cao under the influence of the peasant uprising. At that time, there were no people in the Han Dynasty, so what power could Cao Cao usurp in the Han Dynasty? Cao Cao did play a trick of "holding the emperor to make the princes", but by doing so, the nominal national oak was extended to the Han Dynasty for more than 20 years. If Cao Cao is a traitor, who are the loyal ministers of Eryuan, Liu Biao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan? If you can't find a loyal minister who can safeguard the Han regime, can you still say that Cao Cao is a traitor?

As for whether Cao Cao is treacherous to people? Dedicated to self-interest Is it true that Cao Cao said in the legend that "it is better to die than to die"? According to the reflection (volume 1) and the Ji of Emperor Wudi, Wei was quoted in the book:

Mao was eventually defeated by Zhuo, so he didn't bow his head and fled to his hometown. He rode his old friend Gao Lv Boshe several times, but Boshe was not there. His son and guests robbed Mao, robbed horses and things, and Mao killed several people with a blade.

The annotation of Emperor Wudi Ji quoted again:

Mao lived in luxury and traveled in luxury. His five sons were there to prepare for the ceremony. Mao killed eight people with his sword in the night.

Liang Wudi's annotation of Ji quoted Miscellaneous Notes:

Mao heard the sound of his food container and thought it was for himself, so he killed it at night. Then he said sadly, "I'd rather be negative than negative!" " Go ahead.

According to Shu Wei, killing people by whoring is after being robbed, and this kind of killing is not a villain, but an act of punishing gangsters. Miscellaneous Notes says that killing people at night is for fear that others will kill them. It is better to start first, or it can be said that it is an act of "it is better to die than to die". However, after the exercise, I soon felt sad and sad, indicating that killing was a misunderstanding, and I was not willing to be a naturally negative person. Moreover, the language of "Better to die than to die" is only found in this book, and the other two books have not mentioned it. This shows that this statement is not reliable. Judging from the actual situation at that time, if you run away from fear, you will be as busy as a bee, and Ann will easily do things that kill people and cause trouble. If he is afraid of others and wants to help himself, he should run away while others are unprepared. Why did he kill to increase his guilt? The records in the above three books are quite different, so Chen Shou is useless. Pei's note is quoted, but no comments are made, which is for record only. Therefore, we should not regard it as a real substance. Instead of obsessing over this question, we should look for the answer from many more concrete actions. Chen Gong, for example, was originally a hero who supported Cao Cao's struggle for state animal husbandry, and Cao Cao "treated him like a son". But then Chen Gong took advantage of Cao Cao's crusade against Xuzhou to graze Tao Qian, rebel against Cao Cao, and welcome Lu Bu as Yanzhou shepherd, which caused Cao Cao to fall several times. Later, Chen Gong and Lu Bu were captured. "Please castrate, Cao Cao will cry", which is quite an old friend's kindness. After the death of the palace, "it is thicker than raising his mother and marrying his daughter." Another example is the 19th year of Jian 'an (2 14). Before Kuai Yue died, Cao Cao was asked to take care of his family. Cao Cao reported that "the dead are reborn, the living are innocent, and there are a few tricks." You will hear this statement when you do so many things. " It can be seen that Cao Cao has no responsibility for the entrustment of the deceased. Wang Shen's son was punished by Cao Pi for participating in the satirical rebellion of Wei. Cao Cao sighed and said, "You alone will not let Zhong Xuan have no offspring." It is more widely known that Jinbi saved Cai Wenji from the southern Xiongnu. Cao Cao also said to himself: "I have never done anything wrong in my heart", which shows that he is afraid of being negative, and it seems impossible to say "I would rather be negative than negative". Lv Simian said, "Treat others with a gentle attitude." . This statement is in line with the facts. Most of the rumors and anecdotes about cheating are not historical truth. But where did this statement come from? First of all, Cao Cao is good at using troops. "Set a surprise attack according to the situation and envy the enemy to win the battle." Lu Bu once warned his subordinates: "Cao Cao is too arrogant." As a result, some people extended the "excessive criticism" when using troops to their own people and style; Secondly, Chen Shou said that Cao Cao was "less alert and more political". "Holding the emperor to make the princes" is his politics, and Zhao controls the people with politics. Political employment does have its place, but it is also partial to say that he relies entirely on political employment. How many feudal political leaders don't use politics? How many didn't kill anyone? Yuan Shao has asked Cao Cao to kill Yang Biao, Kong Rong and Liang Shao. Take Kong Rong for example, he didn't kill people at will! When he was appointed as Beihai Xiang, he killed five Du You for "underpaying rent tax". Kong Rong can't protect itself and refuses to cooperate with neighboring counties. Therefore, Zuo suggested that he "build a strong country by himself" and was killed by Kong Rong only because of this suggestion. As for the founding emperors of the past dynasties, it is unfair to blame others for indiscriminate killing.

Fuck this stain. First of all, he participated in suppressing the Yellow Scarf Uprising. Many places have already mentioned this matter, so I won't elaborate on it. Secondly, he committed the crime of killing Xuzhou people, which was also said before. There are always different opinions about why Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou to graze Tao Qian. Even if Cao's father was really killed, Cao should not kill innocent people. Chen Shou described Cao Cao's affairs in the History of the Three Kingdoms and never made excessive comments. He described Cao Cao's atrocities in attacking Xuzhou in a simpler way than his book, but he also had to admit that he had "destroyed too much". Cao Cao also has a decree that "those who surround and then fall will not be forgiven", and Cao Cao and his men often "slaughter the city" and cannot be forgiven. Others, for example, when Cao Cao attacked Lu Bu in Xiapi, Guan Yu repeatedly asked Cao Cao for Du Fu, the wife of General Qin, and Cao Cao "suspected his color and greeted him in advance because he had it for himself." Not long before this, when Cao Cao gave Wan the hand, he also accepted his aunt, which caused a rebellion. Things like this were not bad at that time, but they were always lacking. When commenting on Cao Cao, Chen Shou highly praised his achievements in strategy, contingency, magic, employment and entrepreneurship, and never praised his moral character. When talking about Liu Bei-shi, Chen Shou thought that "Wei Wu could not be arrested if the machine power was ignored". However, he strongly praised Liu Bei's "Hongyi is generous, knowing people and being a good teacher". It shows that Chen Shou is good at grasping the characteristics of Cao and Liu in virtue.

Many people think that Cao Cao was an outstanding strategist in ancient China, and I quite agree with him. Some people still think that Cao Cao is an outstanding politician in ancient China, which I think is a bit high. Because Cao Cao has atrocities of killing innocent people. An outstanding politician should not be like this. In addition, Cao Cao also has shortcomings in his personal moral style, which is despised by future generations. Since he is called a politician in history, he should set an example for future generations. Cao Cao is not up to standard in this respect.