Cao Cao, as a generation of heroes, has many sonsThe most famous are Cao Pi and Cao Zhi.
But it was originally cultivated as a ** person,is indeed a genius son named Cao Chong,But this extremely clever son,He only lived to be 13 years old and died youngLet the world sigh.
However, the strategist Sima Yi commented that Cao Chong was not really smart, and his death was completely the inevitable outcome of being smart but being mistaken by cleverness.
What's going on?
Cao Chong was born in 196 ADHis mother was just a concubine of Cao CaoSo at birth,Cao Chong was not valued by Cao Cao.
Cao Cao's initial fancy to the ** person was his eldest son Cao Ang,But Cao Ang was protected by Cao CaoKilled by Zhang Xiu, so that Cao Cao had to re-select the heir.
But the sons I value the most are still youngCao Cao was also in no hurry to make a choice.
After that, Cao Cao slowly discovered that Cao Chong was a prodigy, according to the records of the historical booksCao Chong showed wisdom beyond ordinary people when he was two or three years oldThis also made Cao Cao notice Cao Chong.
The thing that best reflects Cao Chong's cleverness,It is the most famous story of Cao Chong's elephant.
At that time, Sun Quan of Wu sent an elephant to Cao Cao, and when Cao Cao saw the elephant, he asked the ministersHow much does this elephant weigh.
When the ministers heard this question, they all thought anxiouslySomeone proposed to unload the elephant into eight pieces, and weigh one piece at a time.
Others say to build giant scales to weigh elephantsIn short, they are some impractical methodsNo one came up with a perfect idea.
At this time, Cao Cao's son Cao Chong ran overSay you have a way of weighing an elephantThe ministers saw a little child and said thisI think it's just a child's nonsense.
But Cao Cao believed in his son very much, so he asked Cao Chong:"What can you do? ”
Cao Chong pointed to the cargo ship not far away and saidLead the elephant to the boat and the boat will sink, just record the height of the boat sinking and then lead the elephant away.
After that, the cargo is carried to the ship until it reaches the height of the sinking just nowThe cargo on board is then weighed in batches to get the total weight, which is the weight of the elephant.
This method successfully calculated the weight of the elephant, and the ministers also praised Cao Chong as a prodigy.
In addition to weighing the elephant, Cao Chong also showed his intelligence many times later, if he was just smart, there was nothingBut Cao Chong still has a strategy, which is exactly what Cao Cao values the most.
Once Cao Cao's cherished saddle was placed in the storeroombut was bitten by a rat with a big holeThis frightened the people who guarded the barn, Cao Cao, as the overlord of one sideHe had to run the affairs of the state every day, and he had to deal with all kinds of onerous punishments.
And Cao Cao was mostly busy fighting,War horses are very important, and the right saddle is extremely important for people who ride horses for a long timeTherefore, Cao Cao loves his saddle very much.
So the treasurer is likely to lose his life as a resultEven without losing a life,They are not exempt from severe punishments.
So he was about to ask Cao Cao for guilt, but Cao Chong saw that the treasurer was so flusteredI came and asked him what had happenedAfter learning what had happened, Cao Chong told himYou just have to wait a few days and then go and be fine.
Cao Chong cut his shirt with scissors to make his clothes look like they had been bitten by mice
Then pretending to be unhappy, he went to find Cao Cao.
Cao Cao saw that his son was sullenI asked why I was so unhappy.
Cao Chong said: "Everyone has said that they were bitten by rats and their clothes were tornIt's bad luck for the owner of the clothes, so I'm worried. ”
After Cao Cao heard this, he comforted Cao Chong and said:"These are just nonsense rumors, don't worry about it. ”
Then the treasurer, who was guarding the storehouse, came and saidThe saddle was bitten by a rat, Cao Cao said after hearing this:"My son's clothes were all bitten right next to him, not to mention the saddle hanging in the warehouse. ”
After all that was said,He did not think much about it, nor did he reproach the treasurerThis also made Cao Chong respected in front of many people, and ministers often praised Cao ChongCao Cao has always wanted to train Cao Chong as the heir to the great cause.
But when Cao Chong was thirteen years old, an accident happened.
In 208 AD, when Cao Chong was thirteen years oldSome people say that he was poisoned by a poisonous snake bite, while others say that he died of a serious illness.
In short, Cao Cao lost his most beloved son, and the unfortunate early death of his son cultivated as a ** person made Cao Cao grief-stricken, and when Cao Pi comforted Cao Cao, Cao Cao said to Cao Pi:"Chong'er's death is my misfortune, but it is your luck. ”
What Cao Cao meant by this was that Cao Chong diedSeveral of his sons had a chance to succeed to the throne, and perhaps Cao Cao also knew that Cao Chong's death was not so simpleAfter all, from ancient times to the present, in order to compete for the throne,There are many examples of brothers killing each other.
Although many people evaluate Cao Chong as very smart, Cao Chong's teacher Sima Yi is different from ordinary people's evaluationSima Yi instead said that Cao Chong was very stupid.
In Sima Yi's theory,I always thought that Cao Chong's cleverness was fake cleverness and didn't know how to convergeIt should be after getting the father's approval,Converge your edge early and don't get too ahead, so that you can grow safely and have the opportunity to inherit the great cause.
And Cao Chong doesn't know how to hide his strength, and has always shown it to the outside worldis even recognized as Cao Cao's ** person, which must have touched the interests of many people.
Such an approach would certainly put your life at riskTherefore, Cao Chong's death has not been unexpected in Sima Yi's view.
For example, not long before Cao Chong's death, he once again showed his intelligence in front of Cao Cao's many sonsIt is likely that this incident indirectly led to his own death.
One year, Ma Teng suddenly launched an attack from Xiliang, and Cao Cao immediately led a large army back to XuduThe ministers and Cao Cao's sons all came to the east gate to greet them.
After waiting for several days, I finally saw Cao Cao come to the east gate with a large army, and at this moment, an assassin suddenly arrivedAssassinate Cao Cao in the carEveryone panicked instantly, and hurriedly went to see Cao Cao's condition.
I found out when I got to the front,This person is the stand-in that Cao Cao is looking forCao Cao didn't come in through the east gate at allOnly Cao Chong received the real Cao Cao at the West Gate.
This startled Cao Cao, and he hurriedly asked"Cao Chong, why did you come to the West Gate to greet you? ”
Cao Chong said that since his father claimed to enter at the east gate before, everyone knew about itThe enemy will definitely try to set up an ambush at the east gate, so it is assumed that my father will avoid the ambush and enter the city through the west gate.
After hearing this, Cao Cao immediately praised Cao ChongThe other sons looked very unpleasantThen Cao Cao asked his sonsWhat to do with the ambush soldiers in the city.
The other sons believed that the city gates should be closed and the ambush should be searchedCatch and kill to prevent future troublesCao Cao was not satisfied after hearing this.
Cao Chong said that the city gate should be opened and the ambush soldiers should be released, because the task of ambushing the soldiers has not been completedThere is no longer a chance to continue the assassinationWill definitely go out,This will ensure the safety of the fatherAnd Ma Teng, who was outside the city, learned the news of the failure of the operationwill not dare to act rashly because of this.
Cao Cao was very happy after hearing this, and he loved Cao Chong even moreBut the other sons were jealousEspecially Cao Pi,has regarded Cao Chong as a major threat to his future.
After Cao Chong's death, Cao Cao passed on the great cause to his son, Cao Pi, who usually seemed the least talentedThe main reason is that Cao Pi's city is deep and he is good at hiding his cleverness.
There is also a saying in the worldIt was Cao Chong who was killed by Cao Pi.
Although Cao Pi is Cao Cao's eldest son, he is indeed the least popular among Cao Cao's many sonsAfter the death of Cao Cao's eldest son, Cao Ang, Cao Pi became the boss.
But Cao Cao didn't like Cao Pi, his favorite was Cao Chong, followed by Cao ZhiAnd Cao Pi, who was left out in the cold, naturally wanted to get rid of his two younger brothers for the future.
And although Cao Zhi is talented,But he only knows how to drink and compose poetry every dayThere is no need to be an heir, over timeCao Zhi lost the possibility of inheriting Cao Wei's foundation.
Cao Chong has become Cao Pi's biggest threat, so many people speculate that Cao Chong was killed by Cao PiAnd many historians feel that Cao Chong's death is related to Cao Pi.
For example, after Cao Pi became the queen of Weishowed no mercy to his rival Cao ZhiIf Mrs. Bian hadn't intervened to stop it,Cao Zhi couldn't have survived.
After Cao Pi became emperor, he demoted Cao Zhi to other places and sent people to monitor Cao Zhi's every movemade Cao Zhi depressed and died at a young age.
treats his mother and brother so harshly, let alone Cao Chong.
Until now, there is still a lot of controversy about Cao Chong's deathIt can be said that the history of the Three Kingdoms will be rewrittenIf Cao Chong succeeds to the throne,Maybe Cao Wei's foundation will not be seized by the Sima family.
When Cao Pi was proclaimed emperor, he once said with emotion that if Cao Ang was still alive, this position should belong to himIf Cao Chong is still here, it will not be my turn to be the emperor.
This remark fully illustrates that Cao Cao's first consideration of the heirOne is Cao Ang, the other is Cao Chong, if Cao Chong hadn't diedCao Pi could not have become an heir.
Since ancient times, the sons of emperors have fought for the succession, and many bloody storms have broken outYour own wisdom will make you inherit the great cause, but it will also cost you your life.
If you don't know how to hide your intelligence, you're not smartHigh emotional intelligence and deep city government are sometimes more important than intelligence.
Therefore, Sima Yi's point of view is very correctEmpty intelligence has no scheming, not a smart person is a stupid personSuch a person can't even guarantee his own safety, how can he fight for the throneIt is even more impossible to laugh and be proud in troubled times.
Therefore, although Cao Chong is smart, he lacks the corresponding wisdom in dealing with the worldTherefore, this kind of cleverness is not really smart, it can be called fake smart, and it is worth pondering.