The timeline of Cao Cao's life story

Cao Cao was born in a bureaucratic family. After the reflection, he was called Cao Can, and Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, was the adopted son of eunuch Cao Teng. Cao Teng served four generations of emperors and had a certain reputation. When Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty paid a fee, The History of the Three Kingdoms and the History of Emperor Wu said that Cao Song "could not judge his background", while The History of the Three Kingdoms of Pei Songzhi quoted the biography of Cao Zang written by Wu people during the Three Kingdoms period. Cao Song inherited Cao Tenghou, and when Emperor Ling of Han Dynasty was Qiu.

When Cao Cao was young, he was resourceful, alert, willful, chivalrous, unruly and unlearned. Therefore, people at that time did not think that he had any special talents. Only Qiao Xuan and others in the beam think he is different. Qiao Xuan said to Cao Cao, "There will be chaos in the world, and people who are doomed can't help it. Who can be safe? " He Qing of Nanyang said to him: "The Han Dynasty will die, and the person who lives in the world must be this person!" Xu Shao of Nanyang is famous for his knowledge of people. He once said to Cao Cao: "A traitor of Pingzhi is a hero in troubled times" (according to the biography of Xu Shao in the Later Han Dynasty, the History of the Three Kingdoms is "a hero in troubled times". In Sun Sheng's novels "Similarities and Differences" and "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", it is said that "Zi can rule the world and traitors in troubled times." )

Cao Cao showed his love and talent for martial arts in his early years. He once sneaked into Zhang Rang's house. After being discovered by Zhang Rang, he fled over the wall with a halberd in his hand. He also reads widely, especially Sun Tzu's The Art of War. He copied the strategies of various ancient art of war, and Wei Wu's works on The Art of War were handed down from generation to generation. These activities laid a solid foundation for his later military career.

catch sb's attention

In the third year of Xiping (174), at the age of 20, Cao Cao was promoted to Xiaozong and became the A Lang of Luoyang. Soon, he was appointed as the northern commander of Luoyang. Luoyang, the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty, was a place where the royal family lived in compact communities, and it was difficult to govern. As soon as Cao Cao arrived at his post, he announced that it was forbidden to strictly observe the law and discipline, and made more than ten colored sticks to hang around the yamen. "Anyone who violates the ban will be beaten to death with a stick." The emperor's favorite eunuch's uncle Jian Shuo was forbidden to go at night. Cao Cao showed no mercy and executed him with a five-color stick. As a result, "the capital is gone, and no one dares to commit crimes." But Cao Cao also offended some powerful people in the dynasty, such as Jian Shuo. Because of his father Cao Song, Cao Cao was transferred to Dunqiu (now Qingfeng, Henan) far away from Luoyang. Ren Dun Qiu Ling this year, Cao Cao was twenty-three years old. Many years later, Cao Cao wrote a letter to his son Cao Zhi, "I used to be in Dunqiu, when I was 23 years old. At this time, I think about what I have done, and I have no regrets today. " You are 23 years old now, don't be reluctant! "

In the first year of Guanghe (178), Cao Cao was punished by eunuchs because his cousin and brother-in-law urged Hou, and was implicated and dismissed. After having nothing to do in Luoyang, I went back to my hometown Qiao County.

In the third year of Guanghe (180), Cao Cao was recruited by the court and appointed as Yi Lang. Previously, General Dou Wu and Chen Fan, a teacher, plotted to kill eunuchs, only to be harmed by eunuchs. Cao Cao wrote a letter, saying that Dou Wu and others were framed for their official virtue, which led to the situation that treacherous court officials were full, but loyal officials were not reused. His words were sincere, but they were not adopted by Emperor Han Ling. Later, Cao Cao wrote to remonstrate many times, although occasionally effective, but the politics of the Eastern Han Dynasty became increasingly corrupt, and Cao Cao knew that he could not correct it.

In the first year of Zhong Ping (184), the Yellow Scarf Uprising broke out, and Cao Cao was worshipped as the riding captain, and was ordered to join forces with Huang Fusong and others to attack the Yellow Scarf Army in Yingchuan. As a result, the Yellow Scarf Army was defeated and tens of thousands of people were beheaded. Then moved to Jinan. During his tenure in Jinan, Cao Cao managed things as always. In more than ten counties in Jinan (now Jinan, Shandong), county officials are attached to your power, taking bribes and perverting the law, and have no scruples. Before Cao Cao, all countries ignored it. After Cao Cao took office, he made great efforts to rectify, and eight out of ten officers were exempted. Jinan shakes, corrupt officials flee. "The politics and religion are big, and one county is bright." At that time, it was extremely dark in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and there was even a system of buying officials. The court confiscated him as the prefect of the East County and worshipped him as a negotiator. Cao Cao refused to cater to the dignitaries as their agents, returned to the village on the pretext of illness, studied in spring and summer, hunted in autumn and winter, and temporarily lived in seclusion.

There was chaos in the world. First of all, Wang Fen, the secretariat of Jizhou, combined with Nanyang Xu You, Guo Pei Zhou Jing and other local strongmen to plan the event of abolishing the mausoleum emperor and Lihe Huihou. Wang Fen and others had hoped that Cao Cao would join them, but Cao Cao refused. Later, Wang Fen committed suicide. Then, there was a frontier fortress chapter in Jincheng County (now Lanzhou) in the northwest. Han Sui killed the secretariat and the satrap and led more than 100,000 soldiers to rebel against the court. [ 10]?

In the fifth year of Zhong Ping (188), Emperor Han Ling set up eight viceroy in Xiyuan in order to consolidate his rule, and Cao Cao was appointed as the imperial army viceroy among the eight viceroy because of his family background.

Liu Chen formed his army.

In the sixth year of Zhong Ping (189), Emperor Han Ling died, Bian acceded to the throne, and He Taihou was in Korea. General blades wanted to take advantage of the death of the spirit emperor and the eunuch's downfall, but he didn't get He Taihou's support. So blades called Dong Zhuo (then Zhou Mu) to Peking and forced He Taihou to agree. But this move frightened Dong Zhuo, who had not yet arrived in Beijing. Blade had been murdered by eunuchs. In September of the same year, Dong Zhuo entered Beijing and took charge of state affairs. He abolished the Emperor Shaohan as the King of Hongnong and changed his younger brother to Emperor Xianhan. He also sent people to poison the mother and son of Hongnong Wang, claiming to be a teacher and specializing in state affairs. Cao Cao saw Dong Zhuo's perverse behavior and refused to cooperate with him, so he changed his name and surname and escaped from Luoyang (now Luoyang East). When Cao Cao arrived at Liu Chen, he "scattered his wealth into the righteous soldiers" and sent an uprising soldier to call on the heroes of the world to crusade against Dong Zhuo.

In the first month of the first year of Chuping (190), Yuan Shu and others * * * elected Yuan Shao, the satrap of Bohai Sea, as the leader, and Cao Cao, as the acting general, participated in soliciting Dong Jun. In February, Dong Zhuo, defeated by the allied forces, coerced Xian Di to move to Chang 'an (now northwest of Shaanxi), and personally burned the palace, dug graves and plundered the people, leaving Luoyang and Fiona Fang two hundred miles desolate. The Kanto Coalition forces were afraid of the strength of Dong Zhuo's elite Liangzhou army, and no one dared to advance to Kansai. They were all stationed in Ziziphus jujuba (now north of Yanjin, Henan). Cao Cao thought that Dong Zhuo "burned the palace and robbed the emperor, and the sea shook and the earth shook", so he should take the opportunity to fight a decisive battle with it and lead the army to the west alone. Cao Cao went to Xingyang Bianshui (now southwest of Xingyang, Henan Province) and confronted Xu Rong, the general of Dong Zhuo. Due to the disparity in strength, Cao Cao was defeated and most of the foot soldiers were killed or injured. He was also injured by the flow vector. Fortunately, my cousin Cao Hong saved him and survived. Back in Zizyphus jujuba, Cao Cao suggested that all armies should take their positions, and then divide their troops to Wuguan (now southeast of Fengdan, Shaanxi) to besiege Dong Zhuo, but the generals in Kanto refused to follow. The Kwantung Army named after Dong Zhuo actually has ulterior motives and intends to wait for an opportunity to develop its own power. Soon, there was friction between the troops, and they fought each other. The United army was dissolved.

In the second year of Chuping (19 1), Cao Cao was defeated by poison, white collaterals, self-defense and Yu Fuluo. In Dong Jun, Yuan Shao indicated that he was the governor of Dong Jun.

In the third year of Chuping (192), Qingzhou Yellow Scarf Army made great progress, even breaking Yanzhou counties (governing Changyi, now southeast of Juye, Shandong Province) and attacking Yanzhou secretariat Liu Dai. Hebei Beixin and others welcomed Cao Cao as Yanzhou shepherd. Cao Cao and Bao Xin joined forces to attack the Yellow Scarf. Bao Xin died in battle. Cao Cao "set up an Indiana Jones and fought day and night" and finally defeated the Yellow Scarf. That winter, more than 300,000 soldiers were killed, with a population of more than one million. Cao Cao accepted his elite and set up an army, Qingzhou soldiers. He also helped Yuan Shao defeat the armies of Liu Bei, Shan Jing and Tao Qian.

In the spring of the fourth year of Chuping (193), Cao Cao pursued in Kuangting for six hundred miles, defeating Yuan Shu, Heishan Army and South Xiongnu. Tao Qian led an army to attack Rencheng in the south of Yanzhou, and Cao Cao led an army to conquer more than ten cities in Xuzhou by Tao Qian.

Fight for control of the country

In the autumn of the fourth year of Chuping (193), Cao Cao's father Cao Song came to Cao Cao's residence and was killed by Tao Qian? Cao Cao then invaded Xuzhou (now Tancheng, Shandong Province) and expanded his power to the southeast. Back to Tan County. Soon Cao Cao's provisions will be exhausted, and he will retreat to the army.

The following summer, Cao Cao levied Xuzhou again, just to the East China Sea. During Cao Cao's expedition to Xuzhou, he was repeatedly killed, and along the way, "chickens and dogs were scattered and there were no pedestrians in the market." Chen Gong, who was stationed in Dongjun, was dissatisfied with Cao Cao, so he conspired with Zhang Miao, Zhang Miao's younger brother Juck Zhang and others to rebel, and welcomed Lu Bu as Yanzhou shepherd. Lu Bu was a famous soldier at that time. First, he served as Dong Zhuo's ministry, and then together with Wang Yun, he planned to kill Dong Zhuo.

At that time, only Juancheng (now Juancheng, Shandong Province), Fan (now Fanxian, Henan Province) and Dong 'e (now Yanggu, Shandong Province) in the East County were still under Cao Cao's control, and Sima, Shou, Cheng Yu and Dong 'jun, respectively, held fast, and the situation was extremely critical. Cao Cao rushed back from Xuzhou and heard that Lu Bu was in Puyang, so he marched into Puyang and besieged it. After more than one hundred days of stalemate between the two armies, the plague of locusts rose sharply, the two sides stopped fighting, and Cao Cao Jun returned to Juancheng. At this time, Cao Cao lost Yanzhou (now northwest of Yuncheng, Shandong Province), and his rations were exhausted. Yuan Shao sent someone to persuade him to take refuge in him and let Cao Cao's family move to Ye County as hostages. Cao Cao intended to promise Yuan Shao, but because of Cheng Yu's dissuasion, Cao Cao gave up the idea.

In the second year of Xingping (195), Cao Cao's whole army fought against Lu Bu again, and suffered three defeats, defeating Dingtao (now Dingtao in Shandong) and Xu Qiu (now northwest of Yuncheng in Shandong) and pacifying Yanzhou. Lu Bu fled to Xuzhou to take refuge in Liu Bei. In July, due to the struggle with Guo Si, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty returned from Chang 'an East, and made a letter to various governors to be diligent.

In the first year of Jian 'an (196), in August, Cao Cao greeted the Han Emperor. 19 1 1 year, Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty appointed Cao Cao as Qiu, which recorded this history. Geng Shen moved the capital to Xuchang. In November, Xu Bing, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, made Cao Cao a common person, and all officials listened to him.

In the second year of Jian 'an (197), in the first month, Cao Cao crusaded against Zhang Xiu, and the army was stationed in Ganshui. Zhang Xiu surrendered to everyone and immediately rebelled. Cao Ang, the eldest son, Cao, the nephew, and Dian Wei, the veteran, were killed. After that, Cao Cao attacked Zhang Xiu twice, but neither was completely defeated. In September, Cao Cao Dong conquered Yuan Shu, Yuan Shu abandoned the army and fled to the Huaihe River, and Xiao Yuan Shu stayed behind for four generals.

In April of the third year of Jian 'an (198), Cao Cao sent the corps commander Pei Mao to discuss with the Yi Ministry. In September, Cao Cao moved eastward to Xuzhou and attacked his old enemy Lu Bu. Under the offensive of Cao Jun, Lu Bu's army went up and down. In December, Lu Bu took Xu Wei and Song Xian with him. But they captured Chen Gong and surrendered to Cao Cao. When Lu Bu saw that the tide was gone, he surrendered to the lower city. Cao Cao executed Lu Bu, Chen Gong, Seibel and others, took over Taishan heroes Zhang Liao, Cang Ba and Sun Guan from Lu Bu, and initially took control of Xuzhou.

In the fourth year of Jian 'an (199), Cao Cao sent Shi Huan and Coss to break through their own headquarters in JASON ZHANG, gain Hanoi County, and expand their sphere of influence to the north of the Yellow River.

Battle of guandu

After the destruction, in order to cope with the war with Yuan Shao, Cao Cao made arrangements in advance and ordered people with potential influence in Qingzhou to invade Qingzhou and occupy Qi (now Linzi, Shandong Province) and Beihai (now southeast of Shouguang, Shandong Province) to consolidate the right wing. He also ordered a general to guard Yuan Jun on the south bank of the Yellow River. Soon, Zhang Xiu obeyed Jia Xu, the counselor, and surrendered to Cao Cao. Cao Cao was overjoyed and worshipped Zhang Xiu as General Yang Wu, which relieved his worries. In December of the fourth year of Jian 'an (199), Cao Cao led an army to Guandu (now Zhongmou North, Henan Province) to meet Yuan Shao.

Battle of guandu

After Tao Qian's death, Liu Bei once worked as a shepherd in Xuzhou, and later Xuzhou was captured by Lu Bu, and Liu Bei defected to Cao Cao. Cao Cao thought Liu Bei was a hero, and successively named him a shepherd and a left general. Shortly after Cao Cao captured Xuzhou, Yuan Shu of Huainan was ready to flee to Qingzhou to defect to Yuan Shao. Cao Cao sent Liu Bei to intercept, but Yuan Shu could not go north and vomited blood and died.

In the first month of the fifth year of Jian 'an (200), Dong Cheng and others plotted against Cao Cao and were killed by Cao Cao. Liu Bei then attacked, killed Che Zhou, the secretariat of Xuzhou, and occupied Xuzhou.

In order to avoid being attacked before and after fighting Yuan Shao in the future, Cao Cao decided to destroy Liu Bei, who was unstable in Xuzhou. At that time, people were afraid that Yuan Shao would take the opportunity to attack Xu Du. Cao Cao was very thoughtful about this and said, "Liu Bei is an outstanding man. If we don't attack him today, there will be endless trouble. Although Yuan Shao is ambitious, he is too late to be moved. " Then, he marched straight in, breaking Liu Bei with lightning speed, and Liu Bei fled to Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao was the most powerful force in the north at that time and the most powerful enemy for Cao Cao to unify the north. Since Yuan An, Yuan Shao's great grandfather, the Yuan Yuan family has been "three terms and four generations" and "one's intimate party followers and students are all over the world", and its influence has been great. After Yuan Shao acquired the land of Hebei, Hebei, Youqing and Qinghai, his strength increased greatly, with hundreds of thousands of people. Yuan Shao, his eldest son Yuan Tan, his second son Yuan, and his nephew are divided into three states: young, secluded and peaceful. The rear area is impregnable and there are plenty of soldiers and food, so they don't care about Cao Cao at all. He selected 100,000 elite soldiers and 10,000 war horses in order to wipe out Cao Cao in one fell swoop.

In the fifth year of Jian 'an (200 years), Yuan Shao ordered general Yan Liang and others to invade Baima (now hua county, Henan Province) and led the army into Liyang (now Xunxian East, Henan Province) to crusade against Cao Cao. Cao Cao's strength is much weaker than Yuan Shao's (less than 10,000 in The Three Kingdoms). The area south of the big river occupied by Cao Cao is very small, and it is the land of four wars. Broken, not fully recovered, and the materials are not as rich as Yuan Shao's. Cao Cao's troops are far less than Yuan Shao's, and the total strength is only tens of thousands. According to the "Emperor Wu Ji", "there are less than 10,000 soldiers and 12 wounded people." Pei Songzhi thought this figure was inaccurate, and Cao Cao's troops would not be so small, but there is no doubt that Cao Cao's troops are far less than Yuan Shao's.

When Yuan Shao's army attacked, many people were shocked. Cao Cao comforted the generals and said, "I know Shao as a man, who is ambitious but wise, strong in color but weak in courage, evasive and weak in strength, with many soldiers and unclear plans, and arrogant and different." Although the land is vast and abundant, it is enough to serve me. "

In February, General Yuan Shao Yan Liang and others besieged Baima, and the war started. In April, Cao Cao personally led the troops north to solve the siege of the White Horse. He adopted the plan of Xun You, an adviser, and pushed the army to Yanjin (now the northern part of Yanjin, Henan Province), making a gesture of crossing the river to attack Yuan Jun, attracting Yuan Jun to divide his troops westward, then suddenly turned and pounced on Baima. Cao was suddenly killed and caught off guard. Yan Liang was beheaded by Guan Yu and was defeated. The siege of the White Horse was broken. Cao Cao rescued the white horse soldiers and civilians and retreated westward along the Yellow River. Hearing this, Yuan Shao immediately ordered Wen Chou and Liu Bei to cross the river in pursuit of Cao Cao. Seeing the pursuers approaching, Cao Cao ordered the sergeant to release his saddle and put the trench on the road. Yuan Jun chased his troops, fought for trenches, and created chaos. Cao Cao led the only cavalry to fight out suddenly, and defeated the pursuer to cut Wen Chou. Yuan Jun was shocked. Cao Cao won the first battle, took the initiative to retreat and continued to guard Guandu.

In August, Yuan Shao's army marched into Guandu from east to west for dozens of miles, relying on sand piles as chariots. Cao Cao divided his forces and held on, waiting for an opportunity. Yuan Jun attacked Cao Ying. First, he paddled a high paddle, put forward a mound, shot an arrow at Cao Ying from above, and then dug a tunnel to attack Cao Ying from underground, but Cao Cao cracked it by setting up a trebuchet and digging a gully. The two armies have been at war for nearly two months. After a long battle, Cao Cao fell into an extremely difficult situation.

In October, Yuan Shao brought more than 10,000 wagons of grain and hay from Hebei, and sent general Chunyu Qiong and others to guard the camp with more than 10,000 people, and camped in the Wu Dynasty four miles away from Yuan Shao's camp. At this time, Yuan Shao's counselor Xu You's plan to sneak attack on Xu Du failed, and his family in Hebei was arrested for breaking the law. He felt remorse and came to Cao Cao to offer him a plan to sneak attack on the Wu Dynasty. Cao Cao was overjoyed and rushed out to meet him. After that, he led an elite army of 5,000 people, who took the gold medal and put on Yuan Jun's uniform, and attacked Wu Chao from the alley at night. When he reached Wu's lair, he ordered people to set it on fire. Yuan Jun chaos, Chunyu Qiong refused to keep the camp. Hearing this, Yuan Shao quickly sent troops to help. Cao Cao saw that "the thief is riding a little closer, so please divide your forces and refuse." Cao Cao was furious and said, "The thief is behind his back, but it is white!" " "The foot soldiers fought to the death, broke Yuan Jun, beheaded Chunyu Qiong, etc. Burn their food and grass. When Yuan Shao heard that Cao Cao had attacked the Wu Dynasty, he thought it was a good opportunity to break through Cao Cao's camp, so he sent fewer reinforcements and besieged Cao Cao's camp heavily. Because Cao Cao's reserve troops are fine and numerous, Cao Cao's camp has not been broken, and the news of the defeat of the Wu Dynasty has come. General Zhang He, Gaolan and others led the troops to surrender, and Yuan Jun fled in all directions. Yuan Shao abandoned the army and fled back to the north of the Yellow River. Cao Jun won a great victory, cut more than 70,000 customs, and won the book treasure of Yuan Jun. Cao Cao counted Yuan Shao's letters, got the letters of his subordinates colluding with Yuan Shao, burned them, and said, "When Shao is strong, loneliness can't protect himself, and everyone is in danger!" "

Objectively speaking, Cao Cao is at a disadvantage, but because he can correctly analyze the objective conditions and listen to the correct opinions of others, he can foster strengths and avoid weaknesses, and adopt correct strategies and tactics to turn the war into a favorable situation for himself. Through his subjective efforts, he finally won the victory. In the battle of Guandu, Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao, the biggest enemy, and it was the general trend that he unified the north. The battle of Guandu is also a famous example in the history of China War, in which the few win the many and the weak win the strong.

Expedition Wu Huan

In the seventh year of Jian 'an (202), Yuan Shao died of illness, and Yuan Shao's two sons, Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang, were at odds, resulting in a bloodless battle. Yuan Tan was defeated by Yuan Shang and begged Cao Cao to surrender.

In February of the ninth year of Jian 'an (2004), Cao Cao took advantage of Yuan Shang's invasion of Yuan Tan to invade Yecheng (now the western area of Linzhang, Hebei). Yuan Shang led the army to Huiyuan, taking Qiushui (now Fuyang River) as the camp. Cao Cao pursued the victory and surrounded its camp. Yuan Shang was afraid and asked for surrender, but Cao Cao refused. Yuan Shang fled at night and failed. Yuan Shang fled to Zhongshan (now Dingxian County, Hebei Province). Cao Cao ordered people to surrender to the defenders of Yecheng with the seals and cymbals seized from Yuan Shang, and the fighting spirit in the city collapsed. Yecheng was attacked by Cao Cao. From this year on, Cao Cao moved his stronghold to Yecheng, Jizhou [23]? Since then, the imperial seal army has gone out, and there are only some officials left in Xu County, the capital of Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty.

In the first month of the tenth year of Jian 'an (205), Cao Cao conquered Yuan Tan and pacified Hebei and Qinghai in the name of breaking the contract. So, Cao Cao went to Yanzhou and became Jizhou. After Yuan Shang's defeat, he fled to Youzhou, where he served as the secretariat of Yuan Xi. Soon, Yuan Shang and Yuan fled to Wuhuan County. In the same year, Zhang Yan, the leader of the Black Mountain Army, led1000000 people to surrender to Cao Cao.

In the 11th year of Jian 'an (206), Cao Cao conquered Gao Qian and pacified Bingzhou.

In the 12th year of Jian 'an (207), Cao Cao decided to go on an expedition to Wu Huan in order to eliminate the remnants of Yuan and completely solve the problem of three counties invading Wu Huan. At the end of the Han Dynasty, the three counties of western Liaoning, eastern Liaoning and right Beiping merged to form Wuhuan, and its leader was Tadun in western Liaoning. Wu Huan, the third county, has always made friends with Yuan, repeatedly invaded the border and plundered people and property.

In May of this year, Cao Cao led an army to Wuji (now Jixian). It was the rainy season and the road was flooded. "The horses and chariots are too shallow and the boat is too deep." Cao Cao has changed from endless discussion of land to a long-lost route, but there is still a path to be found. Cao Cao's army, led by Tian Chou, climbed up Xuwushan (now Yutian North, Hebei Province), went out of Lulongsai (now near xifengkou, Hebei Province) and "more than 500 miles in the ravine", pointing directly at Liucheng, the home of Wuhuan (now Chaoyang South, Liaoning Province).

Expedition Wu Huan

In August, when it was less than two hundred miles away from Liucheng, Wu Huan found that Ta Dun, Yuan Shang, Yuan and others led tens of thousands of cavalry to meet them. When the two armies met, when Cao Jun was behind the trench, "there were few armored people", and Wu Huan's army was very strong. Cao Cao looked up and saw that Wu Huan's army was numerous, but it was in poor shape. He appointed general Zhang Liao as the pioneer, and took advantage of the slight movement of the Wuhuan army to launch a fierce attack on the Wuhuan army. Wu Huan army chaos, jun array cut tower dun, a complete victory, Hu, Korea surrendered more than 20, Yuan Shang and others fled to Gongsun Kang, Pingzhou. At this time, Cao Cao was advised to attack Gongsun Kang. Cao Cao said, "You can send them to business and guard, and don't disturb the soldiers." Then he led the army back to the division. Soon, Gongsun Kang killed Yuan Shang and Yuan and presented their heads to Cao Cao. Unknown so and general Cao Cao said, "I'm afraid to wait. If I'm in a hurry, I'll work together. If I'm slow, I'll draw by myself." As a result, Cao Cao captured the three counties of Wuhuan and completely eliminated Yuan's power.

From November to Yishui, Dai Jun's 50,000-boat egg was on Pufu Road, and Shang Jun's 50,000-boat egg was in that building to congratulate his famous king. In the same year, Guo Jia died before Cao Caobei's return because of acclimatization, bad weather and overwork. On the way home, according to "Biography of Cao Zang", "It is freezing in the cold, and there is no water in a hundred miles. The army is short of food. Thousands of horses are killed for food, and water is obtained by digging more than 30 feet into the ground. Now that we have returned, everyone is afraid to ask the former exhorter. The public greatly praised it and said,' Go alone, take advantage of the danger and seek good luck. Although you get it, God will help you, and you can't be vulgar. The words of the kings and the plan of Wan 'an are mutual rewards, so don't say anything more in the future. ”"

Battle of red cliff

In the 13th year of Jian 'an (208), Xuanwu Pool was opened to train the water army. In June, Cao Cao abolished the three fairs, resumed the prime minister system, and became the prime minister of the Han Dynasty. After basically pacifying the north, the soldiers turned to the south.

In July, Liu Biao marched into Jingzhou. In August, Liu Biao died of illness, and his son Liu Cong took over as Jingzhou Pastoral. In September, Cao Cao's army entered Xinye (now Henan Province). Liu Cong thought it was unstoppable and surrendered to Cao Cao with all the people in Jingzhou.

At this time, Liu Beitun, who defected to Liu Biao after the Battle of Guandu, was stationed in Fancheng (now Xiangfan, Hubei). When he heard that Liu Cong had surrendered, he led his troops to retreat to Jiangling (now Hubei). Jiangling is an important town in Jingzhou, with a large number of military supplies. Cao Cao heard that fearing that Jiangling would fall into the hands of Liu Bei, he personally led 5,000 cavalry to gallop 300 miles from Xiangyang (now Xiangfan, Hubei Province) and chased Liu Bei in Changban, Dangyang (now northeast of Dangyang, Hubei Province), and defeated his army, thus occupying Jiangling.

Battle of red cliff

After defeating Liu Bei, Cao Cao wanted to annex Jiangdong in one fell swoop. Sun Quan and Liu Bei, with the efforts of Lu Su and Zhuge Liang, formed an alliance. Sun Quan ordered Zhou Yu, the commander-in-chief, to lead 30 thousand troops and unite with Liu Bei's 20 thousand army to resist Cao Cao. Cao Cao went from the east of Jiangling to Chibi (now West Chibi Mountain, Wuchang County, Hubei Province) to fight with Sun and Liu. Temporarily stationed in Wulin (now northeast of Honghu County, Hubei Province), facing each other across the river.

Zhou Yu used the trick of pretending to surrender, and ordered the general Huang Gai to lead ten small warships, loaded with firewood and filled with ointment. The bow of the warship was nailed, pretending to surrender and heading for the north shore. When it was two miles away from Cao Ying, the ships were ignited together, and then with the help of the wind, they went straight for Cao Jun. Cao Jun was defeated and the ship was burned. Cao Cao led the troops to retreat to Jiangling from Huarong Road (now northwest of Jianli, Hubei Province). Withdraw troops and return to the north.

Pingding Liangzhou

After Battle of Red Cliffs's failure, Cao Cao took some measures to stabilize the internal affairs. In the spring of the fifteenth year of Jian 'an, Cao Cao issued an order to seek talents, saying, "This matter is undecided, and it is urgent to seek talents ... Cao Cao put forward a policy of employing people with both ability and political integrity, aiming at recruiting talents."

In the sixteenth year of Jian 'an (2 1 1), Cao Cao began to fight against Guanzhong. In March, Cao Cao sent Zhong You, a corps commander, to lead General Xia to invade Guanzhong under the name of conquering Hanzhong (ruling Nanzheng, now Shaanxi Han Middle East) Zhang Lu. Ma Chao, Han Sui, Yang Qiu, etc. were suspicious and turned against each other for a time. Cao Cao immediately sent general Coss to attack Guanzhong, and Ma Chao and others were stationed in Tongguan.

In July, Cao Cao led an army to personally expedition to Guanzhong and defeated the Guanzhong Coalition forces. Ma Chao and others wanted to cede territory for peace, but Cao Cao refused. September, Ma, Han, etc. Once again, I asked for land division and sent a son to make peace. Cao Cao took Jia Xu's advice, faked it, and defeated Han and Ma Jun again. Han Sui and Ma Chao defeated Liangzhou, fled back to stability, were cut to pieces, and were pacified in Guanzhong. In October, Cao Cao marched into stability and Yang Qiu surrendered. Cao Cao led a great army to withdraw, and ordered Xia to supervise the people to continue the western expedition. Within two years, Ma Chao, Han Sui, Song Jian, Qiang and Bian were swept away, and Liangzhou was basically stable.

The monarch refers to the highest rank among ministers.

In the seventeenth year of Jian 'an (2 12), Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty allowed Cao Cao to "pay homage to the nameless and go to the temple with a sword", such as the story of Xiao He, the prime minister of the Han Dynasty.

In the 18th year of Jian 'an (2 13), Cao Cao rose to claim 400,000 yuan and personally conquered Sun Quan. In the first month of the following year, Cao Jun went to ruxu (now southeast of Chao County, Anhui Province), breached Sun Quan's camp in Jiangbei, and captured Sun Quan's general Gongsun Yang alive. Sun led 70,000 troops to ruxu to resist Cao Jun. The two armies were at loggerheads for more than a month, but each got nothing. Cao Cao saw that Sun Quan was strong and hard to win, so he withdrew his troops and returned to the north.

In May of the same year, Yugong was restored to Kyushu. Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty named Cao Cao the Duke of Wei, added nine tin, built the State of Wei, and named it Yecheng. Wei has ten counties in Jizhou, and there are hundreds of officials such as the Prime Minister, Qiu and General.

In April of the 21st year of Jian 'an (2 16), Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty named Cao Cao Wang Wei, with a city of 30,000 households. He is a vassal, he does not become a vassal, nor is he worshipped by imperial edict. He worships heaven and earth with the crown of the son of heaven, car clothes, signs, gifts and music, and calls the police when he goes in and out. Ancestral temples, ancestors and wax figures are all like Han. All princes are princes. He is still a Han minister in name, but actually an emperor. In July, the southern Xiongnu Khan came to Huqiu Spring to offer condolences and was detained in Yecheng. Cao Cao took the opportunity to divide the southern Xiongnu into five parts and chose the Han people as the supervision of Sima. [30]?

In October of the 22nd year of Jian 'an (2 17), Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty gave Cao Mian a twelve-year-old chariot, six horses and a five-hour auxiliary car. Cao Cao named Cao Pi, commander-in-chief with regular facial features, as Wang Wei.

Competing with Hanzhong

In March of the twentieth year of Jian 'an (2 15), Cao Cao saw that Liu Bei had left Yizhou and Hanzhong was the gateway to Yizhou. "Without Hanzhong, there would be no Shu State", and Liu Bei was bound to capture Hanzhong. So Cao Cao took the lead and led hundreds of troops to personally expedition Zhang Lu in Hanzhong. In May, he conquered Hechi and beheaded Wang Doumao; In July, Cao Cao's army entered Yangpingguan (now northwest of Mianxian County, Shaanxi Province). Zhang Lu heard that Yangpingguan fell and fled to Bazhong. Cao Cao marched into Nanzheng and won all the treasures in Zhang Lu. In November, Zhang Lu surrendered to Cao Cao and Hanzhong was owned by Cao Cao.

In the spring of the 22nd year of Jian 'an (2 17), Cao Cao went south again, led an army to storm the mouth of ruxu and defeated Sun Quan. Sun Quan sent a surname Xu Xiang to surrender, and Cao Cao agreed to marry again.

After Cao Cao's main force withdrew from Hanzhong, Liu Bei launched an attack on Hanzhong.

In the 23rd year of Jian 'an (2 18), Liu Bei led an army to Yangpingguan, and Xia and others confronted Liu Bei with Jiaguan. Cao Jun repeatedly repelled Liu Beijun's fierce offensive? . In July, Cao Cao personally led the army to Guanzhong, sitting in Chang 'an, so as to command the Hanzhong war situation at any time. At the same time, the frontier fortress was filled with smoke again, and Cao Cao ordered Cao Zhang and Tian Yu to make a northern expedition, which greatly broke the joint forces of Wuhuan and Xianbei. ?

In the 24th year of Jian 'an (2 19), in the first month, Liu Bei crossed Mianshui (now Hanshui) in Yangpingguan and entered the mountain. He once lived in Dingjun Mountain (now southeast of Mianxian County, Shaanxi Province). Xia School and Liu Bei fought for the terrain, and were killed by Huang Zhong, and suffered a great defeat. Later, Cao Cao led an army to capture Hanzhong, and Liu Bei couldn't get out. Cao Jun and Liu Beijun were separated for several months, and it was unprofitable, so he gave up Hanzhong.

Xiangfan campaign

In July of the 24th year of Jian 'an (2 19), just after Cao Cao withdrew from Hanzhong, Guan Yu, the general of Liu Bei, attacked his southeast defense line Xiang and Fan from Jingzhou. Hearing this, Cao Cao immediately sent a general Yu Jin to lead the troops to save Fan Cheng. In August, Guan Yu took advantage of the flood, escaped from the ban, attacked Pound, took advantage of the situation, and surrounded Fancheng. There were only a few thousand Cao troops in Fancheng at that time, and the city was flooded. The water was only a few feet away from the tower, and Coss led the army to defend. Cao Cao sent Huang Xu to save Fancheng. In October, Cao Cao rushed to Luoyang from Guanzhong and personally directed the rescue of Fancheng.

Sun Quan didn't want Guan Yu's influence to develop, because Guan Yu was in the upper reaches of the river, and he had long wanted to seize Jingzhou, so he joined forces with Cao Cao and prepared to attack Jiangling, the important place of Jingzhou, with General Lv Meng. After receiving the letter, Cao Cao informed Cao Ren of the news and ordered him to stick to it. He arrived in Mobei (now southeast of jia county, Henan), near the headquarters. He sent the 12th battalion to reinforce Huang Xu and ordered him to fight back against Guan Yu. After a fierce battle, Guan Yu was defeated and left. Soon, Lv Meng successfully captured Jiangling. Guan Yu retreated to Yizhou and was captured and killed by Sun Quanjun. Sun Quan sent Guan Yu's head to Xuchang, and Cao Cao was buried as a vassal. The battle of Xiangfan ended.

The twilight of a strong man

After Sun Quan captured Guan Yu and captured Jingzhou, Cao Cao named Sun Quan a general in title of generals in ancient times and a shepherd in Jingzhou. Sun Quan sent messengers to pay tribute to Cao Cao and advised him to call himself emperor on behalf of Han Dynasty. Cao Cao showed Sun Quan's book to ministers at home and abroad and said, "It is my son who wants to sit on the fire!" " "Cao cao's ministers took the opportunity to persuade cao cao. Cao Cao himself did not want to abolish Xian Di's independence. He said, "If fate belongs to me, I will be Zhou Wenwang. "

In the 25th year of Jian 'an (220), Cao Cao returned to Luoyang. That month, he died in Luoyang at the age of 66, known as King Wu. He left a legacy before he died. According to Cao Cao's will, he was buried in Gaoling in the western suburb of Yecheng on February 21st (1 1).

In October of this year, Wang Wei and Cao Pi took the place of Han, proclaimed himself emperor, and took the title of Wei. Cao Cao was honored as Emperor Wu, with the temple name Mao.