Cao Cao slept soundly in the concubine's room, and when he woke up, he killed the concubine
In troubled times, life and death are often only a matter of time. Kindness can lead to death, and the slightest disobedience can lead to despair. When power reaches the point of madness, violence spirals out of control, trampling on reason and compassion. This is the cruelty and darkness in the story of Cao Cao's overcoming all odds to establish the Wei state.
i.The rise of Cao Cao, who unified the north at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
In 184 AD, Emperor Ling of the Eastern Han Dynasty died, and the Chinese dragon veins began to crumble. The dynasty was turbulent, external troubles arose, and the fall of the Eastern Han Dynasty was inevitable. In the midst of this turmoil, Cao Cao stood out as a shining star with his outstanding political and military talents.
Cao Cao was born into a prominent family of eunuchs, and his father, Cao Teng, served as the Taishou of Dongjun. He was bright and ambitious from an early age, and at the age of 20, Cao Cao began his career as a lieutenant.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the warlords were fighting, and Cao Cao took refuge with Yuan Shao and Lü Bu. Cao Cao's military prowess soon made him a warlord. In 191 AD, Emperor Xian of Han ordered Cao Cao to lead an army to the capital Luoyang to protect his son who had moved the capital to Xudu. Over the next decade, Cao Cao commanded elite troops and unified the north, defeating the armies of Lü Bu, Liu Bei, and Yuan Shao.
Cao Cao had become the de facto overlord of the north. With the prestige of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, he established himself as the prime minister and became the ruler. Cao Cao took all the major military affairs into his own hands. He established the Wei regime and laid the foundation for the creation of Cao Wei. Cao Cao's accession to the throne can be said to have temporarily alleviated the crisis caused by the fall of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Secondly, Cao Cao was short-tempered and paranoid.
Cao Cao is politically far-sighted and attaches great importance to talents. He recruited many talents, including Xun Yu and Guo Jia, and asked them to do their best. However, in stark contrast to his political prowess, Cao Cao's personal behavior was very problematic. He was full of blood and murderous, and many ministers and generals were killed.
The main reason is that Cao Cao has a suspicious personality. He sees all people as enemies and trusts no one. Cao Cao often tempted his cronies because he feared that they would betray him in secret. Xun You, Zhen Ji and Cheng Yu were killed because they offended the suspicious Cao Cao.
Cao Cao's paranoia may have been caused by his harsh upbringing. Cao Cao witnessed the troubled times when he was young and was deeply disappointed in people's hearts. His contemporaries once reproached Cao Teng for losing power, which made Cao Cao deeply disappointed in human nature. After ascending the throne, repeated rebellions made Cao Cao even more anxious. All these difficulties strengthened Cao Cao's strong and unyielding character, but also led to his extreme paranoia and irritable behavior.
Cao Cao's paranoia was very severe, bordering on madness. He often laughs or cries out loud and behaves elusively. When Cao Cao fell asleep, he didn't allow anyone to come near him, for fear that he would be **. He even deliberately claimed that he had killed someone in his dream to distract him from left and right. Obviously, the pain of paranoia brought great mental pressure to Cao Cao.
iii.The favorite concubine is disgusting and causes tragedy.
In the winter of the second year of Jian'an (197), Cao Cao led a large army into Xudu. At this time, his power was in full swing, controlling the palace and enjoying the glory and wealth brought by power.
Cao Cao has been warm and lustful since childhood. Today, Cao Cao's golden house is beautiful, and there are groups of wives and concubines. In order to win Cao Cao's favor and improve their status, these wives and concubines did everything they could to please Cao Cao.
Among his many wives and concubines, he had one of the most favored concubines. This concubine is intelligent, kind, and considerate, and knows Cao Cao's joys, sorrows, and sorrows well. She served Cao Cao like a shadow, Cao Cao couldn't put down her love, and the two were almost inseparable. The concubine sometimes conceived Cao Cao's child, which made Cao Cao love her even more.
One afternoon, Cao Cao was exhausted after a day of labor in the palace. He went to his wife's room and prepared to take a nap to relieve his fatigue. After Cao Cao lay down, he solemnly instructed his concubine:"I'm only sleeping for a while, and you must wake me up at the appointed time. The concubine respectfully obeyed the instructions, and Cao Cao fell asleep peacefully.
The concubine stood beside the bed and looked at Cao Cao's sleeping face. She knew that although Cao Cao was physically strong, he was busy with trivial tasks every day and had little time to rest. Since it was already such a rare moment, it would be a pity to disturb Cao Cao's sleep again. Thinking of this, the concubine decided to secretly curry favor with Cao Cao and let him sleep a little longer.
Fourth, the concubine's good wishes to curry favor with him caused Cao Cao's anger.
Time passed minute by minute, and when it was the agreed wake-up time, although Cao Cao was still asleep, the concubine could no longer disturb him. She watched Cao Cao's forehead gradually relax, hoping that this sleep would take away Cao Cao's pain.
In the end, Cao Cao slept until sunset and woke up naturally. When he opened his eyes, he saw his concubine standing in front of the bed with her head down. Cao Cao immediately realized that the concubine had disobeyed his orders, and a wave of anger rose from the bottom of his heart.
The concubine pleaded:"His Majesty's palace has a lot of affairs. She saw that His Majesty was sleeping soundly and could not bear to disturb him, so she decided to let His Majesty sleep a little longer to relieve his fatigue. I also ask for your Majesty's understanding and forgiveness. "
Cao Cao scoffed at his concubine's failure to make a good impression on him. The concubine's actions clearly challenged his authority. If he allows the concubine to behave indiscriminately, there may be trouble in the future. She should be severely punished in order to set an example and maintain the absolute and sacred nature of imperial power.
Cao Cao's fifth aunt was severely punished to set an example.
No one dares to disobey my orders! "Cao Cao shouted angrily"As a concubine, you dare to disobey your master's orders, you deserve to die! "
Annoyed and angry, Cao Cao ordered the concubine to be taken out of the room and beaten severely in the courtyard as punishment. The concubine cried and said:"My lord, I know it's wrong! Please spare me this time! "
Cao Cao turned a deaf ear to this and coldly watched the concubines being beaten. He must let the concubine know about the serious consequences of disobeying orders. This is not only a punishment for concubines, but also a warning to other concubines.
After a severe beating, the concubine was dying, drenched in blood. Seeing this, Cao Cao was anxious and angry. He ordered the concubine to be dragged into the courtyard, picked up the whip and whipped it himself.
Concubine, you dare to disobey the king's order without limit, and you deserve death! "Cao Cao's face was expressionless, but the movements of his hands did not stop. Each whip was drawn mercilessly on the tender flesh of the concubine, leaving a terrifying blood mark. The concubine screamed in pain and begged for mercy, but Cao Cao ignored it.
In the end, the concubine was whipped to death by Cao Cao's whip. Cao Cao turned around coldly and said"Bury her"and walked away without looking back.
vi.Cao Cao's misconduct led to tragedy.
The main reason why Cao Cao killed his concubines so ruthlessly was that he was naturally suspicious. Cao Cao never trusted anyone, not even his favorite concubines.
Cao Cao wanted to test whether there was any treacherous intention. He also deliberately claimed to kill people in his sleep to warn him not to take advantage of people's danger. This shows Cao Cao's extreme suspicion and vigilance, he did not trust anyone, and did not allow anyone to disobey his orders.
In Cao Cao's view, the concubine's disobedience to his orders was tantamount to blatant defiance of imperial power and should be severely punished. He will not tolerate the slightest disobedience, and will draw his sword against him. This became an absolute principle that Cao Cao always adhered to in interpersonal communication.
In fact, the concubine didn't listen to Cao Cao's words because she didn't want to disturb Cao Cao's rare sleep. But in Cao Cao's skeptical eyes, any disobedience was an insult and betrayal of his authority. He will not sympathize with the concubine's kindness, but will only retaliate mercilessly.
This cruel method was also used during Cao Cao's reign. Cao Cao killed many loyal generals due to negligence or small mistakes. Cao Cao's paranoia cost many innocent people dearly.
7. The dark side of power behind the tragedy.
The suspicion of those in power often defeats good intentions. The tragic murder of Cao Cao's wife reflects the dark side of power. When power gets out of hand, those in power tend to be suspicious and see conspiracies and tricks in well-intentioned actions, leading to inhuman revenge.
Power makes people arrogant and unsympathetic. Cao Cao showed no mercy for his concubine's pleas, suggesting that he had lost empathy due to his power. He will only ignore the kindness of his concubine from the perspective of maintaining his power, and take revenge measures far more sinful than his own sin.
On the other hand, the suspicion and suspicion of those in power often make passers-by frightened and afraid to take a step beyond the thunder pool. Cao Cao used his blood to declare the inviolability of power, so that others did not dare to act rashly, and could only follow the trend and become slaves of power. This ruthless approach allows the weak to live in fear and the powerful lose their favor, leading to a vicious circle.
In this regard, the death of his wife also reveals the sinister nature of power. Power can easily trample on goodwill, making justice and mercy pale in the face of blood. We must be wary of the expansion and loss of control of power, lest we be swallowed up by power for goodness. Only with vigilance and courage can we keep the corners of our hearts.
Cao Cao's brutal murder of his wife is a reminder of the dark side of power and the tragic consequences of paranoia. To avoid tragedy, we must use morality and reason to restrain our thirst for power. It is only through mutual understanding and love that we can resolve violent conflicts and let the warm sunshine dispel the gloom in our hearts.