Cao Chong was born smart, and when he was five or six years old, his intelligence was almost the same as that of an adult. At that time, Sun Quan gave Cao Cao an elephant. Cao Cao wanted to know the weight of the elephant and asked everyone, but he didn't know how to weigh it. Cao Chong said that as long as you put the elephant in the boat, record where the watermark arrives, and then weigh the same weight in the boat, you can know the weight of the elephant. Cao Cao was very happy and weighed the elephant according to his method.
Cao Chong is kind and reasonable. At that time, due to frequent wars, Wei adopted severe punishment to restrain the people. Once, Cao Cao's saddle was bitten by a mouse in the warehouse. The official guarding the warehouse thought that he would die, and negotiated to tie himself up and surrender, but he was still afraid of death. Cao Chong knew about it and told them to wait for a few days. Cao Chong cut his clothes with a knife. He looked as if he had been bitten by a mouse, pretending to be depressed. His face looks anxious. Cao Cao met him and asked him, "secular people think that clothes have been bitten by rats, which is unlucky for the owner of the clothes." Now that my clothes have been bitten, I am very worried. " Cao Cao said, "This is nonsense. Don't worry. " When Cao Cao heard that the saddle was bitten soon, he smiled and said that my son's clothes were bitten by him, not to mention the saddle hanging on the post. So I didn't pursue this matter. Many people have committed crimes and should be put to death according to the criminal law, but they are treated leniently by Cao Chong. Cao Cao told these things to his minister, indicating that he intended to tell Cao Chong about them.
In the 13th year of Jian 'an, Cao Chong was seriously ill and died at the age of 13. He was buried with Zhen Shiyin's dead daughter and was named Commander Qi after his death. Huang Chu in the second year, posthumous title "Deng Ai Hou", plus "Gong".
I remember when I was in primary school, there was a text called "Elephant in Cao Chong". I was a little jealous when I was a child, because he was so smart at an early age. Why is he so stupid that I can't figure it out? When I am old, I regard it as a textbook for children's enlightenment education, thinking that it is all fiction. It was not until I saw The Biography of Wargo and Chong Wang in Shu Wei that I felt it necessary to know Cao Chong again.
Now, it seems that Cao Chong's talent is far from staying in the natural sciences. Otherwise, how could Cao Cao repeatedly mention to inherit him? Pray for him when he is ill. Cao Cao, who fought in the front all the year round, should not be a figure like Li Jue, but also rely on the help of witches. So praying for Cao Chong can be interpreted as Cao Cao's inner panic. If it is suspected that Shu Wei is a fictional work under the pressure of the imperial court, there should not be so much beautification for those who praise beautiful women and threaten Cao Pi's position.
So what kind of genius is Cao Chong who makes a generation of heroes short of breath? According to "Biography of Shu Wei Wargo and Chong Wang", Cao Chong showed amazing talent and strong understanding ability since he was a child. By the age of five or six, his intelligence had reached the level of an adult. There is no doubt that he is a genius and deserves special care today. But he was actually born to Cao Cao's concubine, Mrs. Huan, and there should be no advantage in inheritance (I have also read some Chinese and foreign articles expressing doubts about the unshakable legitimacy of the eldest son's inheritance at that time). At this time, Mrs. Bian won the respect of Cao Cao himself and others. Cao Chong loves Cao Cao as the apple of his eye, and it is unlikely that it is because Mrs. Huan is favored. By the way, Liu Chan's mother was also a concubine. She died and had no chance to be promoted to the main palace. So there seems to be room for discussion about the abolition of the law at that time. I won't say it here). After his death, Cao Cao told Xelloss that Cao Chong's death was unfortunate for himself, but it was a great luck for Xelloss and others. This record should be more authentic, because for this matter, an official (Sun Sheng, I can't remember) once criticized Cao Cao very seriously. Indeed, in that case, it will be a strong blow to other heirs to the throne. Closer to home, The Biography of Shu Wei Wargo and Chong Wang also recorded one thing, saying that Cao Cao was conquering the world with an army at that time, and the criminal law was very strict, which led to frequent unjust cases. Once, a saddle in the warehouse was bitten by a mouse, which happened to be Cao Cao's. The storekeeper was frightened and thought that he must be doomed and dead. When Cao Chong found out, he cut a small hole in his clothes with a knife and pretended to be bitten by a mouse, with a sad face. Cao Cao saw it and asked him what was wrong. He replied, "Everyone says that clothes are bitten by rats, and the owner of the clothes will suffer misfortune." Cao Cao smiled and said, "That's all nonsense. There will be no happiness or misfortune at all. " I don't know if Cao Cao is a materialist, but from here we can see that Cao Cao is a very realistic person. Later, he prayed for Cao Chong, showing his worries. The storekeeper still truthfully reported that the mouse was going to break the saddle. Cao Cao understood Cao Chong's intention, smiled and didn't pursue it.
Compared with the talented Cao Zhi and the manipulative Cao Pi, Cao Chong's wisdom can be said to be amazing. Those two guys rely on a few smart guys for advice all day. It's disgusting. And Cao Chong, so young, is a genius, reasoning with his father and grasping the psychological accuracy of people. Moreover, wisdom is used to help the weak, and his heart must be very kind and compassionate. This may be because his mother is an ordinary concubine who understands the sufferings of the lower classes, so Cao Chong, who has heard about it, has been more upright since she was a child.
For a long time, many people thought that Cao Chong's immortality would be harmed by his younger brother Cao Pi. Actually, not necessarily. Cao Pi's position in Cao Cao's mind is not too high. According to the Biography of Wang Zhangzhuan in Ren Chengwei, Shu Wei, after the death of Cao Cao, Cao Zhang returned to Beijing to see Cao Zhi. He said to Cao Zhi, "I came back from Wang Zhao first, which means to let you be the successor." It can be seen that Xelloss poisoned Cao Zhang at that time. It can also be said that Cao Pi did not get overwhelming support at that time, but I was very interested in the movements of several clans guarding the Quartet at that time. Anyway, if Cao Chong were still here, Cao Cao would probably clean up other governors first in order to clear the obstacles to the succession. Because, Cao Cao hesitated until he died, and it is estimated that he will make arrangements after he dies, leaving a curse for his family.
In another Japanese document, I once saw the account of another genius at that time, which quoted the words in Shu Wei Liu Biao's Biography of the Sages. At that time, there was a man named Zhou Buyi, who was also a genius and very clever. Compared with Cao Chong, it's nothing, but Cao Chong died young and Cao Cao couldn't sit still. He wants to kill Zhou Buyi to avoid future trouble. Xelloss disagreed and went to remonstrate. As a result, Cao Cao scolded: "If Cao Chong arrives, it's just Zhou Buyi, not someone like you." . So they sent someone to assassinate Zhou Buyi. Here we can speculate that Cao Cao probably attached importance to Zhou Buyi as Cao Chong's assistant, so Cao Chong died, and Cao Cao was eager to kill him instead of leaving it to xelloss and others. It is said that there is also a record in Wei Lue (I have never seen it). Cao Pi once said with emotion: "If my brother Cao Chong were here, it is hard for me to say whether he can dominate the world like today." From then on, we can also see it.
I think Cao Chong should be here. He should be a good monarch. Moreover, with his wisdom, he would not have staged such a family tragedy as "Seven Steps Poetry". Later generations have always been impressed by the aura of Cao Zhi's poem, even ignoring the cruelty and ugliness behind it. The literary value of poetry should not cover up the ugliness of human selfishness behind the background of poetry.
It is worth mentioning that Cao Chong died in 2008, which happened to be the winter in Battle of Red Cliffs. You can make a chronology to see how Cao Cao's military career was spent in those more than ten years, and the war continued. It is estimated that his precious son fell ill just after he came back from the north and had not had time to seriously inspect Cao Chong. Melancholy, he is probably a little tired of the war, praying for Cao Chong day and night. Unfortunately, geniuses always return to heaven. Cao Cao probably rushed to Jingzhou before he could swallow his grief, which was the biggest failure in his life. So he told Cao Pi that Cao Chong's death was unfortunate for himself, but lucky for Cao Pi and others. This passage should not be groundless.
Western nations sent pheasants that could dance. Cao Cong tried to make pheasants dance, which strengthened the relationship between Han nationality and ethnic minorities. Maybe this is the only achievement.