There have always been two voices in the evaluation of Cao Cao in history. One said that Cao Cao was a famous politician and military strategist with outstanding political talents and literary attainments. At the same time, he recruited talents extensively and showed his talent. Broad-minded, this is a statement that is biased towards official history; the other is similar to what is described in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". He is jealous of talents, cruel and murderous. He is a complete villain. The death of Yang Xiu is a typical example of Cao Cao's jealousy of talent. case.
There are many stories about Cao Cao in "Shishuoxinyu". From three of them, we can see Cao Cao's attitude towards talents. The first is the second story in "Fang Zheng Wu", "Nanyang Zong Shilin, Wei Wu was at the same time, but he was very considerate of his character and did not have any friendship with him. When Wei Wu was Sikong, in charge of the government, he calmly asked Zong: " Can you submit it? "The answer is: "The ambition of pines and cypresses still exists. "Since Shi Lin disobeyed the imperial edict, he was unworthy of his position. Every time Emperor Wen and Emperor Wen's brother built a gate, they worshiped under the bed alone. This is how they behave."
Zong Cheng in the story looked down upon Cao Cao's conduct and did not Be willing to make friends with him. When Cao Cao became Sikong and took charge of the government, he confidently asked Zong Cheng: "Can you make friends with me?" Zong Cheng replied: "My ambition of pine and cypress is still there!" So he was alienated by Cao Cao, but he was alienated. Although Cao Cao was estranged, he did not kill Zong Cheng in anger. On the contrary, his sons Cao Pi and Cao Zhi were respectful every time they visited Zong Cheng's house and fell on his couch, which gave Zong Cheng enough face. Compared with Sima Zhao who killed the rebellious Ji Kang at the slightest disagreement, Cao Cao seemed much more grand.
The second one is the first story in "The Thirty-one Angry", "There was a prostitute in Wei Wu who had the most noble voice, but her temperament was cruel. If she wanted to kill, she would love her talents, if she wanted to kill them, she would love them. It was unbearable. So he selected a hundred people to teach him at once. If there was one person who was young, he would kill the evil one. "
Cao Cao had a singer with a particularly clear and high-pitched voice, but a particularly bad temper. Cao Cao wanted to kill her but cherished her talents, and wanted to keep her but couldn't stand her bad temper. So a hundred people were selected to train together. Soon there was a person who could sing better than her, so Cao Cao killed the bad-tempered singer. Cao Cao loves talents, but his tolerance has limits. His love for talents must be those that are irreplaceable by others. People who are blindly pampered and arrogant and overestimate themselves will eventually die miserably.
The third one is about Yang Xiu, the third story in "Ji Wu Eleven", "Wei Wu tasted Cao'e's stele, Yang Xiu followed, and the inscription on the back of the stele is "Yellow silk young woman, grandson Huijiu", Wei Wu said to Xiu: "Do you understand? "The answer is: "Explanation". Wei Wu said: "You have nothing to say, let me think about it. After traveling thirty miles, Wei Wu Nai said: "I have got it." Xiu said: "Yellow silk is a colored silk, which is perfect for characters; a young woman is a girl, and it is wonderful for characters; a grandson is a woman, and it is good for characters; a mortar and a mortar are hard to bear." Also, the words are words: the so-called wonderful words. Wei Wu also remembered it, and he sighed like Xiu: "I am not as talented as you, but I feel thirty miles away." "
In the story, Cao Cao and Yang Xiu passed by the monument of Cao E and started a discussion about the "young woman with yellow silk, grandson Huijiu" engraved on the monument. Yang Xiu already had the answer, and Cao Cao asked him Don't say it, think about it yourself. After Cao Cao figured it out, he asked Yang Xiu to express his understanding. Unexpectedly, it was exactly the same as Cao Cao's understanding. Yang Xiu understood the meaning earlier than Cao Cao, so Cao Cao sighed. He said: "My talents are not as good as yours, there is a gap of thirty miles. ”
Here Cao Cao frankly admitted that his talents were not as good as Yang Xiu’s, and he did not have any jealousy. This shows that he was not jealous of Yang Xiu’s talents and killed him. In fact, Yang Xiu initially When he served as the Prime Minister's Registrar, he was still relatively trusted by Cao Cao. According to later analysis, there are two real reasons for Yang Xiu's death: First, although Yang Xiu was "talented", he was also Yuan Shu's nephew, and his inner feelings were different. Cao Cao's political views are different. There are countless capable advisers under Cao Cao. He is not an intolerant person. It doesn't matter whether Yang Xiu is Yuan Shu's nephew, but he and his leader cannot be of the same mind. It is easy to trigger the leader's explosive point; secondly, in the battle between Cao Pi and Cao Zhi, Yang Xiu joined Cao Zhi's camp, and a minister participated in the battle between his master and his master. This in itself committed a major mistake in the ancient royal power struggle. At the same time, he supports the losing side. It is not surprising that the so-called "tree falls and the monkey scatters"
It can be seen from the three stories in "Shishuoxinyu" that as a leader. A person with great political ambitions, Cao Cao knew how to recruit and appoint talents, and he also loved talents and cherished them. However, if a tiger does not show its power, don't treat him like a sick cat. The master is always the master. If you don't know how to make decisions and advance and retreat in front of him, If so, his ruthlessness and methods will leave unforgettable painful lessons for those subordinates who violate his bottom line.