A generation of fierce Cao Cao
It can be said that "relying on the emperor to make the princes" is definitely one of the most successful strategic decisions in the Three Kingdoms period. However, which counselor under Cao Cao put forward such a powerful trick?
Speaking of Cao Cao's advisers, we usually think of Guo Jia, Yu Xun, Jia Xu, Cheng Yu and others first. But in fact, it is not they who put forward the strategy of "holding the emperor to make the princes" for Cao Cao, but a nobody we are not familiar with, even some humble people. This man's name is Mao Jie.
Mao Jie stills
Who's Mao Jie? For many people, this name may be a bit strange, even in the TV series Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he was photographed as a military commander. But in fact, Mao Jie is not a military commander at all, but an important counselor under Cao Cao. However, Cao Cao's counselors are like clouds and the stars are bright. In contrast, the presence of Mao Jie is relatively low.
Mao Jie, the word filial piety first, Chen Taiwei. As early as the third year of Chuping (192), Mao Jie followed Cao Cao. At that time, Cao Cao only occupied Yanzhou, and his official position was only a small Yanzhou shepherd. At this time, Mao Jie had a clear understanding of the development of the world situation, and proposed to Cao Cao the suggestion of "holding the emperor to make the princes".
This suggestion was included in the biography of the reflection of Mao Jie, and his exact words are as follows:
Today, when the country is falling apart, the country is moving, and the people have no ambition to settle down, it is difficult to last long ... We should serve Tian Zi, make him refuse to be a minister, cultivate crops, and accumulate military assets, so as to achieve the business of overlord.
The meaning of this passage is: now the world is divided, the emperor is fleeing everywhere and the people are displaced. This situation is difficult to maintain for long. If you want to start an army and find a job, you must welcome and support the son of heaven, and then order other princes who refuse to submit in the name of the son of heaven to hoard rations and preserve military assets. Only in this way can we establish a vassal for hegemony.
After listening to Mao Jie's suggestion, Cao Cao felt very happy and accepted it respectfully, and appointed Mao Jie as his shogunate.
However, careful people may find a problem. Mao Jie's sentence is "serve the son of heaven, not the vassal", which is not exactly the same as what we said. So, is there a difference between these two statements?
The so-called "service" is actually a sacrifice to welcome guests, to support the emperor, to stand on the moral high ground, and then to restrain the disobedient princes, and "relying on the emperor to make the princes" is essentially a concept. But the word "possession" means extortion and kidnapping, and it is actually a derogatory term. Mainly because Cao Cao later became a powerful minister of state affairs, people became more popular in order to belittle him.
Liu Xie, Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty
It can be seen that Mao Jie was the original maker of the strategy of "serving the son of heaven to make him not a minister", and later evolved the saying of "praising the son of heaven to make the princes". Mao Jie can see through the current situation so clearly and make such a far-sighted strategic judgment. I have to say that he is indeed a very talented counselor, and this strategy has become the greatest contribution of Cao Cao's life.
However, it should be noted that in the long history of China, Mao Jie was not the first person to put forward this idea. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, this strategic thought was implemented. He is Qi Huangong, one of the five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period.
As we all know, after Zhou Pingwang moved eastward to Luoyang, the Western Zhou Dynasty perished and the Eastern Zhou Dynasty was established. Since then, the status of the Zhou emperor has been getting lower and lower, and the power of the princes has been rising. They began to become arrogant and looked down on Zhou Tianzi. From then on, China entered a period of great turmoil in which the ceremony collapsed and the music broke down, and they attacked each other.
Maps of the Spring and Autumn Period
At this time, Qi Huangong, the monarch of Qi, at the suggestion of Guan Zhong, vigorously developed the economy while playing the slogan of "respecting the king and rejecting the foreign countries". The so-called "respecting the king" means respecting the Emperor of Zhou, and then standing on the moral high ground to restrain and control the princes of the world. If a vassal is unfaithful, he will be punished in the name of Zhou Tianzi. Under this strategy, the national strength of Qi became stronger and stronger, and it became the first overlord in the Spring and Autumn Period.
It can be seen that Mao Jie's "serving heaven and making ministers disobey" is actually similar to Qi Huangong's "respecting the king and rejecting foreign countries", all under the banner of the son of heaven, under the pretext of maintaining world order, and finally completing the expansion of his power. In other words, Mao Jie actually learned the historical experience of Qi Huangong and recommended it to Cao Cao.
Cao Cao
Cao Cao once said in his book "Syria Ling Zhi": "If the country is not alone, I wonder how many people will be emperors and how many will be kings." He often compares himself to Qi Huangong and his counselor to Guan Zhong. It can be seen that Cao Cao and Mao Jie really got inspiration from Qi Huangong, and finally brought the strategy of "holding the emperor to make the princes" to the extreme.