Cao Cao: The art of ruling a country is to strengthen the army and provide enough food.

While other vassal states were coveting for pleasure, Cao Cao kept his army in good order. Cao Cao made his army into a strong team, which could fight when there was a war, but not when there was no war. You can also farm, so you can kill two birds with one stone. Other vassal states squandered food when they were wealthy and robbed the people of their property when they were famine. Later, many vassal states did not have Cao Cao's thoughtful vision and did not understand the importance of food storage, which eventually led to self-defeat.

Cao Cao: Assuming there are no orphans in the country, I don’t know how many people will be called emperors and how many will be called kings.

Cao Cao believed that only by devoting his life to his career could the country stabilize. If it weren't for the existence of such a capable minister as Cao Cao, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty would have been replaced by who knows who in the turbulent history. Or it may be robbed back and forth by others. Many people can't understand why Cao Cao didn't proclaim himself emperor. In fact, Cao Cao's ambitions were not big. He just wanted to be an able minister in governing the world. However, in that turbulent era, it was too difficult to be an able minister.

Cao Cao: I have lost the hope of the world and am ashamed to be the crown prince!

The Kwantung Army, which was originally gathering, was preparing to attack Dong Zhuo. Everyone had agreed to attack Dong Zhuo together in advance, but when they were about to attack Dong Zhuo at the last minute, everyone retreated. Only Cao Cao led his small army to attack Dong Zhuo. However, Cao Cao almost died on the battlefield. If his cousin Cao Hong hadn't borrowed his war horse to escape, Cao Cao would have been killed on the battlefield. When Cao Cao returned to the jujube base camp, he saw that the nobles were still singing happily every day, which really made Cao Cao very disappointed.

Cao Cao: What happened to Fei Li is very ominous for the world.

In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty was resented by many people because of political corruption. Some people began to spy on the rights of the throne and wanted to replace Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty. Among them was Wang Fen, the governor of Jizhou. He united with Xu You at that time to overthrow Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty and establish another Marquis of Hefei as emperor. Wang Fen and Xu You not only wanted to do big things themselves, but also wanted to win over Cao Cao, but Cao Cao felt that this was a big deal. The original Seven Kingdoms Rebellion did not overthrow the old regime, not to mention that this situation is simply impossible to achieve now. Then Cao Cao did not join Wang Fen and Xu You. In the end, it was revealed that Xu You fled and Wang Fen died.

Cao Cao: Don't cherish false fame, but deal with real disasters.

In addition to having some beauties in his life, Cao Cao felt that he was not a vain person, and he did not have any special requirements for food and clothing. When Cao Cao became famous, many people felt that Cao Cao should abdicate and make way for others to achieve his merits. However, Cao Cao felt that he had made too many enemies in his life. Once he handed over his military power, he would only be killed. Cao Cao could only keep his military power firmly in his hands to protect the safety of his wife and children.

Cao Cao: White bones are exposed in the wild, and there is no rooster crow for thousands of miles.

Cao Cao lived in an era of war, and Cao Cao often fought against hostile forces on the battlefield, so Cao Cao was used to the tragic scene of bones everywhere. Cao Cao felt that in this turbulent era, the sound of a rooster could not be heard for a thousand miles. At that time, heroes were vying for the throne, heroes from all walks of life emerged in large numbers, and everyone was thinking about Anbang's salvation. Because only when the sea is flowing can the true character of a hero be revealed.

Cao Cao: Having a son should be like Sun Zhongmou.

In the eyes of Cao Cao and Guo Jia, Liu Biao has always been a short-sighted and timid person. When Cao Cao and Yuan Shao faced each other in the Battle of Guandu, Liu Biao never expressed his stance or support for one of them. Later, Liu Biao died and his youngest son Liu Cong took over. Then Liu Biao's eldest son defected to Liu Bei, and finally Liu Cong directly defected to Cao Cao. In Cao Cao's eyes, Liu Biao's two sons were useless. Cao Cao, on the other hand, did not surrender to Sun Quan easily. When everyone advised Sun Quan to surrender to Cao Cao, Sun Quan boldly joined forces with Liu Bei to fight against Cao Cao. This kind of Sun Quan made Cao Cao feel that if he had a son, he should be like Sun Quan, not yielding to others easily and having his own opinions, instead of being like Liu Biao's two sons.