Cao Cao’s objective evaluation---The sea is open to all rivers, and tolerance is great.

Cao Cao is a figure who must be mentioned when talking about the Three Kingdoms.

In the eyes of everyone, nine out of ten people will think that he is a traitor, cunning and deceitful, and plotting to usurp the throne. The most outrageous thing is his famous saying: "I would rather bear the consequences of the world than the world." People fail me!" In fact, this is basically just the folk image and literary image of Cao Cao. When Luo Guanzhong wrote "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", he praised Liu and disparaged Cao, exaggerating the characters of Liu Bei and his generals. As a negative foil, Cao Cao naturally became a cunning person. generation. Folk art performances are basically based on "The Romance", so these characters are deeply ingrained in the hearts of ordinary people as the image of "The Romance".

In addition to understanding the above two kinds of characters, we should also understand another kind of historical image, that is, the historical image.

The words just now were spoken by Cao Cao after he killed Lu Boshe's family. First of all, the killing was indeed a killing, but it was a manslaughter. It is recorded in "Three Kingdoms" and "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", so it should be a historical fact. Secondly, the tone of Cao Cao's words when he said this in the two versions is different. In "The Romance", he is described as being confident and confident. Killing is killing. This is a hopeless traitor; but in "Three Kingdoms" Cao Cao sighed and said that the deal was done and could not be undone, so he could only comfort himself, because he was a general, and he needed to convince the public, so he had to find a reasonable reason for himself, not to mention the current situation at the time... At the same time, This also shows Cao Cao's honesty. He is a real villain. Imagine how many hypocrites there are in the world...

The above explanation cannot completely conceal Cao Cao's treacherous side, and I do not want to refute this. , he is a traitor, I agree. But objectively speaking, Cao Cao is not just a traitor, but a unified body of contradictions.

Cao Cao has a treacherous and ferocious side, which can be seen by killing Xu You and cutting off the sides... but he also has a sincere and open-minded side, letting Wei Zhong go and releasing Chen Lin... which is also very clear. question.

Sometimes Cao Cao has the temper of the King of Hell, and sometimes he behaves like a son and daughter. His last will and testament fully demonstrated this. He has done a lot of good and bad things in his life, and has done a lot of things that have affected the current situation and even history, but he has just brushed them off. He only talked about a lot of housework, not to mention sharing fragrances and selling shoes, and he also remembered his ex-wife, Mrs. Ding. Afraid of being shameless, he went to see his eldest son Cao Ang. Su Dongpo said: "A traitor will live a false life, but his true nature will be seen in death.". In fact, it reflects Cao Cao's grandeur, as the saying goes: "Only a great hero can show his true colors, and he is a true celebrity.

”

No more details, in short, from Cao Cao, we can see different personalities and different faces, which are both contradictory and unified. It can be said that:

Both smart Thoroughly stupid, but also cunning and treacherous

Both generous and suspicious

Both magnanimous and narrow-minded

Heroic spirit, children's feelings

The temper of the king of hell, the heart of a bodhisattva