Cao Cao, a monarch with little talent, is also a bloodthirsty tyrant. Once, he killed many virtuous people, such as You Heng, Yang Xiu, Kong Rong, Lou Gui, etc., even Xun Yu, whom he regarded as a close confidant, was not spared.
In history, there is a prodigy named Zhou Budo, who is quick and resourceful, and his talent is not inferior to Jia Xu and Sima Yi, however, in the end, he also became a victim of Cao Cao.
Zhou Budo is a prodigy in Jingzhou, who was already famous when he was a child, and his words flew like dragons and snakes, and he was known as a genius in the world. At first, he served as an alternate driver under Liu Biao.
After Cao Cao pacified Jingzhou, Zhou Budo took refuge in Cao Cao at the age of sixteen. Soon after, a white sparrow flew in the palace, heralding the arrival of good luck. Cao Cao ordered the Confucian scholars to write poems for the Han Dynasty.
After Zhou Budo received the task, he splashed ink and thought well. After Cao Cao read his article, he was full of praise, and even wanted to marry his daughter to him. However, Zhou Budo politely declined Cao Cao's kindness.
Cao Cao was well aware of Zhou Budo's talent, and decided to entrust him with an important task and let him serve as the staff of his beloved son Cao Chong, hoping that when Cao Chong took over as the unification in the future, Zhou Budo could become his right-hand man.
Cao Chong has been known as a prodigy since childhood, and has successfully planned "Cao Chong Calls the Elephant", and their common interests have made them close. Later, Cao Cao sent troops to attack Liucheng, intending to eliminate the remnants of Yuan Shao's forces, and Zhou Budo also went with the army.
Before the war, Zhou Budo offered ten strategies in a row, although Cao Cao only adopted one of them, but with this strategy, Cao Cao successfully defeated Yuan Shang and Wu Huan, broke through Liucheng, and captured hundreds of thousands of enemy troops.
Zhou Budo laid out what kind of miracle strategy, the pages of history have not been revealed. His resourcefulness, just like Xun You's ten brilliant plans, was sealed in the torrent of time, which is regrettable.
After this battle, Zhou Budo's reputation became even more prosperous. Although Cao Cao had just lost Guo Jia, he was convinced that Zhou Budo would one day be able to take over the position of this "ghost strategist".
However, a year later, Cao Cao made a change, as his son Cao Chong unfortunately passed away.
In May 208, Cao Chong died of illness at the age of 13, which made Cao Cao heartbroken. Prior to this, Cao Cao originally wanted to make Cao Chong his heir, but due to Cao Chong's early death, this plan had to be abandoned.
Soon after Cao Chong's death, Cao Cao began to distance himself from Zhou Budo and planned to kill him. Cao Pi saw Cao Cao's intentions and dissuaded him from doing so, but Cao Cao insisted that Zhou Budo was too clever to be controlled, and that leaving him would be a big problem.
Eventually, Cao Cao sent assassins to kill Zhou at his home one night.
Those who are not of my use are the enemy. Cao Cao finally killed the killer out of self-protection considerations, making Zhou Budo's tragic life even more regrettable.
Zhou's tragedy teaches us to be good at disguising our resourcefulness, otherwise we will become a threat to others. Like the colorful fur of a tiger and the towering antlers of a sika deer, it is beautiful but also dangerous.
Zhou Budo's lesson is worth pondering.