Cao Cao's court was careful, all because of the strong power of the scholars
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Cao Cao's popularity in China can be said to be known to everyone, and everyone knows it. His image is mostly "domineering" and "unstoppable", and he is known as "a capable minister who governs the world and a hero in troubled times".
Although "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" has made his image deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, we know very little about his real life. In fact, even a "hero" like Cao Cao had to be careful in the imperial court to avoid being blamed by the noble forces.
Today, let's take a look at Cao Cao and his influence on the power of the Shi clan. Cao Cao's character Mengde was born in a favored eunuch family in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.
Although his father Cao Song was adopted to the Cao family, this did not affect his development. Due to his special background, he was recommended by the local state and county at the age of 20 and began his career.
Since then, he has been promoted with the support of the eunuch group. In 184 AD, the Yellow Turban Army revolted, and at this time the Eastern Han Dynasty was on the verge of collapse.
* At the same time as the army was dispatched, it also called on the county guards to organize their own troops to quell the rebellion. This laid the groundwork for the rise of local power and the subsequent situation of local power.
It was in this context that Cao Cao came to prominence.
During the Yellow Turban Army uprising, Cao Cao performed well and rose to prominence in officialdom, serving as the minister of state of Jinan at a young age. Cao Cao realized that the eunuch power was about to perish, so he helped the court to eradicate the eunuch group, and then raised troops to crusade against the traitor Dong Zhuo.
During the war, Cao Cao's power continued to grow, and he successively defeated Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu Brothers, Lü Bu and other forces, and finally achieved the feat of unifying the north.
Second, the Han and Wei dynasties of the familyWe often say that the imperial examination system in the Sui and Tang dynasties gave the children of the Han family the opportunity to change their destiny through study, although this praised the imperial examination system, but also reflected a practical problem, that is, before the Sui and Tang dynasties, China's talent selection system actually limited the development of the children of the Han family, and their promotion opportunities were very limited.
Whether it is the filial piety and honesty system in the Western Han Dynasty or the Jiupin Zhongzheng system that began in the Three Kingdoms period, it is through the promotion of "talents". This kind of election is not a real democratic election, nor is it a respect for the will of the people, but is related to blood and family.
If a person comes from a wealthy family, as long as he is not too bad, he can enjoy wealth and wealth for the rest of his life. Yuan Shao was born in a family of "four generations and three dukes", which means that the children of the Yuan family can be hereditary and wealthy.
During the war period in Chinese history, due to the weakness of the people and the independence of the noble clans in various places, the "manor system" appeared. The clans owned large tracts of land and estates and were self-sufficient, and the peasants cultivated and toiled for them on the estates to avoid paying taxes to the imperial court.
These families controlled the government through the electoral system and influence, and obtained a large amount of free labor and economic resources through the estates. In order to protect themselves, many families also build up their own armed forces.
As a result, the family has a lot of resources in politics, economics and military, and is becoming more and more independent and having more and more power.
In the long course of history, Cao Cao was able to dominate the north and become a generation of heroes, not only because of his resourcefulness and heroic soldiers, but also because of the support of the family and scholars.
Cao Cao was born in a wealthy family, entered the officialdom at the age of 20, and his promotion speed was as fast as a rocket. He knew that in order to defeat a better-born and stronger opponent, it was not enough to rely on force alone, and he had to get the support of the nobles.
Therefore, after Cao Cao raised his army, he paid special attention to winning over the scholars from all over the country. He married his cousin to Ren Jun, who was born in the Ren family, and the two became the best friends, and the Ren family has since become an important pillar of the Cao Cao Group.
In his youth, Cao Cao was recognized by Qiao Xuan, Xu Shao and other celebrities with his outstanding talent, all of whom were from famous families and had important influence in society.
Later, Cao Cao received Yuan Shao's support, which made the Yuan family's strength even stronger. In order to establish contact with the Yingchuan Xun clan, Cao Cao made a bridge through Xun Yu. The strength of the Xun family can be compared to that of the Yuan family.
It is precisely because of Xun Yu's relationship that the Xun family has sent a large number of talents to Cao Cao Group, such as Xun You, Sima Yi, etc. In general, the reason why Cao Cao was able to successfully defeat many powerful people in the north was not only his personal talent, but also because he deeply understood the importance of the family and actively won over and formed alliances.
With the support of the family, Cao Cao succeeded in pacifying the north.
Ni Dahong's version of Sima Yiwen Shijun talks about Cao Cao's success: Cao Cao's success was not achieved overnight, and he did not rely on the protagonist's aura. Cao Cao's ability to defeat many power groups is inseparable from his deep understanding of society.
As Cao Cao, who was born in a big family, he understood the importance of cooperating with a big family more than anyone else, but Yuan Shao, who was also from a wealthy family, ignored this. As a result, Cao Cao was able to deal flexibly with the great clans, won the trust of many parties, and eventually dominated the northern world.
References: Cao Cao, Shanghai People's Publishing House, 1956; Xu Yangjie, History of Chinese Family System, Wuhan University Press, 2012.
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