Cao Mo was the most successful Assassin of the Spring and Autumn Period.
Cao Mo, year of birth and death unknown, a native of Qufu (now Qufu City, Shandong), was a general during the reign of Duke Luzhuang.
When it comes to the assassins of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the first thing that comes to everyone's mind may be famous assassins such as Jing Ke, Zhuan Zhu, Yao Li, Yu Rang, and Nie Zheng. Because of their loyalty and single-mindedness to the Lord, although they had the intention to kill the thief, they were unable to return to heaven, and finally died tragically, leaving infinite regrets and thoughts for future generations.
However, there are still many assassins who have completed their missions, and they are often selectively ignored by everyone!This may have something to do with the fact that everyone has compassion, after all, the world prefers to pay attention to which tragic stories, and it is not so cold to successful cases!
That's how Cao Mo is!
He caused a sensation because he hijacked the Duke of Qi Huan by force and returned the land of Lu, but he was rarely mentioned by later generations!
It is said that after the Duke of Qi Huan ascended the throne, he reused Guan Zhong and others, and made great efforts to govern the country, and the state of Qi soon became strong, and because of the banner of respecting the king, he won the commendation of Zhou Tianzi and named him the leader of the vassal states.
Once, the Duke of Qi Huan organized an alliance of princes, and half of the eight major countries in the Central Plains had not yet arrived, including the neighbor Lu State.
So the Duke of Qi Huan sent troops to attack the vassal state of the Lu State first, and the Lu State saw this, and sent the general Cao Mo to lead the troops to fight with the Qi army. However, the strength was not enough, and the Lu army was defeated three times in three battles, so that part of the country was occupied by the Qi State.
Faced with the dilemma of soldiers approaching the city, Lu Zhuanggong had to promise the two sides to make up an alliance and sign an agreement with Qi to lose power and humiliate the country.
At the alliance meeting where the monarchs of Qi and Lu met, the two sides came and went, acting in accordance with diplomatic etiquette, and no one noticed that Cao Mo was quietly approaching Duke Qi Huan.
After getting close enough to Qi Huangong, Cao Mo pulled out his sword, suddenly rushed forward, dropped the guards in front of Qi Huangong, and went straight to Qi Huangong, putting the knife on his neck. Due to the suddenness of the incident, the whole audience stood dumbfounded, looking at Cao Mo and Qi Huangong in a daze.
When everyone was relieved, Guan Zhong stepped forward and asked Cao Mo why he did thisCao Mo said that it was only necessary to return the land occupied by the Qi State to the Lu State. After Guan Zhong asked Qi Huan Gong, he agreed to Cao Mo's request.
Then Cao Mo let go of Qi Huan Gong casually and returned to his seat.
Afterwards, Qi Huan wanted to repent. However, Guan Zhong believes that the loss of the land is a small matter, and the loss of trust is a big matter in the world, and suggested that Qi Huan keep his promise. Duke Qi Huan heeded the advice and thus consolidated his position as the overlord of the Spring and Autumn Period.
Cao Mo used his martial arts and courage to maintain the territorial integrity of the Lu State, and was unanimously praised by the top and bottom of the Lu State. At the same time, because the Duke of Qi Huan took this opportunity to establish his own image of trustworthiness, his personal prestige in the vassal states has increased greatly, and he himself is quite complacent!This incident was written by Sima Qian in the "Historical Records".
In addition, some experts and scholars believe that the protagonist of Cao Di's polemic recorded in "Zuo Biography" may be the same person as Cao Mo in "Historical Records". While there is some truth to this claim, there is not enough evidence. Therefore, it can only be regarded as a guess!
Cao Mo's actions unexpectedly contributed to the happy results of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, which was much more clever than Zhuan Zhu, Jing Ke and others, and had to be admired and should be remembered by future generations.