"Having a son should be like Sun Zhongmou" was Cao Cao's praise for Sun Quan, but this saying has also been widely circulated. Cao Cao can give Sun Quan such a high evaluation because Sun Quan is indeed worthy of this title. Jiangdong's foundation began with Sun Jian, developed with Sun Ce, and reached its peak in the hands of Sun Quan. Sun Quan's talents are indeed admired by many people. . But what many people may not know is that there is a second half to Cao Cao's famous saying.

Expedition to the East to Conquer Wu

First of all, let’s talk about the first half of Cao Cao’s sentence. In 213 AD, Cao Cao led hundreds of thousands of troops to conquer Wu in the east. However, Soochow relied on the natural danger of the Yangtze River to defeat Cao’s army. Looking across the river, although Cao Cao's northern cavalry had more troops and generals, they were completely inferior to Soochow in water battles. Therefore, after several failures, Cao Cao ordered his men to stick to their positions and avoid fighting to rest. Soochow, on the other hand, turned from defense to offense and took the initiative to attack Cao Jun. However, several active attacks did not achieve very good results. They neither drove Cao Jun back to Xuchang nor obtained hostages, baggage and other trophies.

Suspicious by nature

So the two armies can only maintain a state of confrontation on both sides of the Yangtze River. As Cao Cao's army did not leave for a day, Sun Quan had to keep it in his heart and did not dare to let it go. After some anxiety, he decided to personally explore the reality of Cao Cao's camp. However, Cao Cao was suspicious by nature, even if Sun Quan only had a Jia Pian army around him. , and he did not send troops rashly because he was afraid that there would be an ambush on Sun Quan's side. Since Sun Quan could see the situation in Cao Cao's camp, Cao Cao could also see the neat warships in Sun Quan's hands, so he left that ancient saying that praised Sun Quan.

Dolphin Dog

Let’s talk about the second half of the sentence, "If Liu Jing gives birth to a son, the Dolphin Dog has ears." Liu Jingsheng is the former Lord of Jingzhou, Liu Biao, and the Dolphin Dog is a pig. It means dog, so this sentence is a curse word, and it is Liu Biao's son who is scolded, which is no different from a pig or a dog.

Summary

Why did Cao Cao scold Liu Biao’s son? Liu Biaogui was a prince of one side. Although he did not have the ambition of the four directions, he still managed his territory in an orderly manner while sitting in Jingzhou. But what about his two sons, the eldest son Liu Qi and the second son Liu Cong. Liu Qi was extremely cowardly, and Liu Cong had no political opinions of his own. There was a large family in Jingzhou called the Cai family, and Liu Cong was the son of the Cai family. As soon as Liu Biao died, Liu Cong handed over Jingzhou to Cao Cao. Even though Liu Biao died, Jingzhou still had 100,000 soldiers at that time. The land of Jingxiang was rich in talents and the city walls were strong, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. And Liu Cong changed hands and handed over his father's decades-old inheritance to others. How could Cao Cao not laugh at this son who was like a pig or a dog? A comparison between Liu Cong and Sun Quan, one deserves to be criticized and the other deserves to be praised.

References:

"The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms"