Actually, the reason why many people have such doubts is because they simply do not understand the true purpose of Cao Cao and Liu Bei making wine with green plums.

At that time, the background of the time when Green Plum Brewing took place was that Cao Cao and Liu Bei teamed up to kill Lu Bu. Later, Liu Bei followed Cao Cao to the imperial capital and was named Yuzhou Mu and Zuo General by Cao Cao. ?

At this time, Cao Cao had basically unified the four states of Si, Xu, Yan, and Yu south of the Yellow River, while Yuan Shao basically occupied the four states of Qing, You, Bing, and Ji north of the Yellow River. The Battle of Guandu is about to begin. In this context, various forces within Cao Cao's group that opposed him began to move around. ?

For example, at this time, Dong Cheng had secretly gathered people with the belt edict of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty. After Cao Cao and Yuan Shao officially fought, he could take the opportunity to stab Cao Cao in the back. There are many similar behaviors, because for Cao Cao's opposition forces, this is a golden opportunity for them. ?

At that time, Liu Bei was already famous all over the world and had a very deep influence in Xuzhou and other places. Moreover, he was also the only military and political force in Cao Cao's territory at that time that had not officially surrendered to Cao Cao. group. For Cao Cao's opposition forces, military and political strongmen like Liu Bei are naturally their priority to win over. ?

Similarly, for Cao Cao, if he wanted to defeat Yuan Shao and ensure the stability of the rear, he also needed to win over more forces to join him and work for him, so Liu Bei also became his target. .

In this context, Dong Cheng first invited Liu Bei to join him with the belt edict of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty. ?

But the problem is that Liu Bei has been cautious all his life. He will never take risks easily before he is absolutely sure, let alone be someone else's cannon fodder. Therefore, he rejected Dong Cheng's invitation, just to stabilize Dong Cheng. Admittedly, he still chose to sign the belt edict to express his attitude. All in all, I support the Han Dynasty and oppose Cao Cao. ?

After Dong Cheng’s win over, Cao Cao also began to win over Liu Bei. Of course, as a political figure, especially before Cao Cao is sure of Liu Bei's true thoughts, he will definitely not openly recruit Liu Bei to join him, because this will put both Cao Cao and Liu Bei into an embarrassing situation. ?

For example, if Cao Cao directly offered conditions for Liu Bei to join him, but Liu Bei refused, then Cao Cao would lose face. More importantly, what should Cao Cao do next? What should Liu Bei do? This can easily create a rift between the two sides quickly, forcing both sides to become hostile forces, so this kind of thing can only be expressed tactfully.

In this context, there is the later story of "Green Plum Boiled Wine and Discussing Heroes". During the conversation between Cao Cao and Liu Bei, Cao Cao asked Liu Bei, who can be called a hero in the world today? Liu Bei gave Cao Cao examples of Yuan Shao, Sun Ce, Liu Biao and others, but they were rejected by Cao Cao one after another.

It seems that Cao Cao looks down on them, or that they and Cao Cao are indeed not heroes. But in fact, Cao Cao vetoed them at that time because he did not take them seriously. Of course, how could a man like Cao Cao, who was determined to conquer the world, really take anyone seriously? Even the later Liu Bei was often ridiculed by Cao Cao for being a mat weaver and shoe seller.

Similarly, people like Liu Bei, Sun Ce, and Yuan Shao would not take Cao Cao seriously. Therefore, in the context of that time, behind Cao Cao's words was just to lead to his next sentence: Today's heroes are only your envoy and Cao Er! In other words, only I, Cao Cao, and you, Liu Bei, can be called heroes.

Cao Cao's words seemed to be praising Liu Bei's abilities, but in fact, they were more about wooing Liu Bei. Because, if Cao Cao's words are put on the table, it means that although there are many heroes in the world today, only you, Liu Bei, can be ranked alongside me, Cao Cao. In other words, none of my men are as good as you, Liu Bei.

The subtext of this sentence is that as long as you, Liu Bei, are willing to submit to me, you can directly take the second place in our group. In fact, both you, Liu Bei, and I, Cao Cao, can maintain a certain level of influence. degree of equality. In this sense, the conditions that Cao Cao offered Liu Bei for surrender were definitely generous.

Although Cao Cao's words to win over were very subtle, anyone in the officialdom could hear it, and Liu Bei could naturally understand it. But the problem is, Liu Bei is also a man who aspires to dominate the world, so how can he be someone else's younger brother, so he uses the sound of thunder to show that he is timid. In short, his abilities are limited and he cannot bear this heavy responsibility! It was a polite refusal.

Of course, after Cao Cao failed to win over Yuan Shu this time, he quickly tried to win over Yuan Shu for the second time. When he attacked Yuan Shu, he faced Liu Bei’s offer to join him. Although both Xun Yu and Guo Jia objected, Cao Cao refused. Still readily agreed, on the one hand because of Liu Bei's outstanding ability; but on the other hand, could it be that Cao Cao wanted to give Liu Bei another chance? All in all, I don't trust Liu Bei when he uses someone else, but he doesn't trust Liu Bei when he hires someone!

But it is a pity that Liu Bei would rather die than be the eldest brother, so he turned around and stabbed Cao Cao in the back.