Cao Cao played an important role during the Three Kingdoms period, and although he failed to establish the Wei state, he laid the foundation for its rise. However, he also made some serious mistakes that had a devastating effect on him. So, what mistakes led to Cao Cao's defeat?Here are five major mistakes in his life. First of all, Cao Cao was wrong about Zhang Xiu's aunt. When Cao Cao is mentioned, people often think of his quirk - the domination of married women. Despite his illustrious background and talent, Cao Cao could marry many young and beautiful unmarried women, but he was fond of married women. Cao Cao once occupied Mrs. Zou and Mrs. Du, and even took them to live together in the mansion, even though they both had children.
However, after learning that her aunt had been insulted, Zhang Xiu decided to fight back. In 196 AD, Cao Cao led his troops to successfully defeat Zhang Xiu. At the celebration banquet, Cao Cao noticed a beauty, and then learned that she was Zhang Xiu's aunt. Because Zhang Xiu was only a defeated subordinate at that time, Cao Cao forcibly occupied her. However, Cao Cao, who was caught off guard, could only flee with his troops, and on the way to escape, his eldest son Cao Ang gave up his horse for him, which eventually led to Cao Ang's death by Zhang Xiu. Second, Cao Cao mistakenly left Sima Yi. Sima Yi and Cao Cao are both insidious and cunning. Cao Cao was wary of Sima Yi during his lifetime, but in the face of Kong Ming's challenge, only Sima Yi could lead the army to resist, so he had to reuse Sima Yi.
Although Cao Cao did not like Sima Yi, he praised his talent. During his tenure in Wei, Sima Yi secretly expanded his power. In the end, Cao Cao mistakenly killed Hua Tuo. Cao Cao suffered from severe migraines, and whenever the illness flare-up, he suffered. In order to cure the disease, Cao Cao once searched for famous doctors everywhere. When he heard about Hua Tuo's reputation, he specially invited him to come to Cao Ying**. After the end, Hua Tuo put forward two suggestions, one is to live in seclusion in the mountains and forests and no longer ask about political affairs, and the other is to perform craniotomy. However, how could Cao Cao easily relinquish the power in his hands?In addition, the risk of craniotomy was extremely high, and Cao Cao was never willing to entrust his life to Hua Tuo. In a fit of rage, Cao Cao ordered Hua Tuo to be executed.
Since then, no one has been able to compare with Hua Tuo's medical skills, and no one has been able to cure Cao Cao's illness. When Cao Chong died, Cao Cao felt deep remorse and regretted that he should not have killed Hua Tuo. During the reign of Sima Yan, the Sima family completely incorporated the Cao family, showing their far-reaching strategic vision. Although Cao Cao was wary of Sima Yi, Sima Yi always tried his best to protect himself in front of Cao Cao. Unfortunately, Cao Cao finally made the wrong decision to leave Sima Yi and let him support Cao Pi. If Cao Cao had killed Sima Yi in the first place, perhaps the Cao family's rule would have lasted longer. In the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao was originally overwhelmed, but he was finally defeated at the hands of the Sun-Liu coalition army.
Zhuge Liang skillfully used the grass boat to borrow arrows, and combined with Zhou Yu to surround the Cao army with iron locks, and finally broke the Cao army's camp with fire. However, to ensure the success of this ploy, Cao Cao's trust was needed. In the end, it was decided to let Huang Gai play the role of an intermediary, pretending to break with Zhou Yu, and then defect to Cao Cao. Cao Cao didn't believe it at first, but when he witnessed Huang Gai being beaten by Zhou Yu, he believed in the break between the two, but he didn't expect that this was actually the enemy's bitter ploy. Because Cao Cao believed Huang Gai's words, he eventually suffered a heavy defeat. Although Cao Cao was ruthless, he also showed kindness.
Liu Bei briefly took refuge with Cao Cao, but for Cao Cao, apart from the royal blood of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bei did not pose a threat, so he did not see him as a formidable opponent. However, while cooking wine and talking about heroes, Cao Cao was already aware of Liu Bei's talents, and although he was wary of him, he did not expect him to establish the Shu state. Cao Cao once asked Zhuge Liang to come out of the mountain to help, but failed. It wasn't until Liu Bei moved Zhuge Liang out of the mountain and assisted him in recovering the Han dynasty that Cao Cao realized Liu Bei's real threat. If Liu Bei had taken refuge in Cao Cao, Cao Cao would have eliminated him without hesitation, because at that time, the strength of Shu was definitely not to be underestimated. Unfortunately, there is no regret medicine to take.
In short, despite Cao Cao's treacherous nature, his abilities are undeniable. During his reign, Cao Cao was decisive and resolute, but he never ascended to the throne. In fact, Cao Cao at that time was fully capable of seizing the throne, but he chose the path of being a loyal retainer, which fully shows that he was indeed a loyal minister.