In 220 AD, Cao Cao died. Although Cao Cao did not claim the title of emperor, it was not long after his death. Cao Pi, who succeeded him, immediately forced Emperor Xian of Han to cede to him, and the Eastern Han Dynasty perished and Cao Wei was formally established. After the establishment of Cao Wei, Cao Pi gave his father Cao Cao the title taizu and emperor Wu. Cao Cao, who did not enjoy the treatment of an emperor during his lifetime, became an emperor after his death. The temple number that Cao Pi gave to Cao Cao Taizu can be said to be very high, which is also the greatest affirmation of Cao Cao.
Of course, Cao Cao's Taimiao Temple doesn't just have itself. In addition to him, there were 26 ministers who had followed him. These ministers also made a great contribution to the establishment of Cao Wei, otherwise they would not have been eligible to enter the Taimiao Temple. However, among these 26 people, not all of them were eligible to enter Cao Cao's Taimiao Temple, some of them had very little merit, and some even disgusted Cao Cao.
The temple number originated in the Shang Dynasty and was given to them by the monarch after his death. Before the Sui and Tang dynasties, only those monarchs who had made significant contributions to the dynasty were eligible to enter the Taimiao Temple and have their own temple number. In the same way, only those ministers who have made great merit can enter the Emperor's Taimiao. These ministers who entered the Temple of Taimiao also decided whether to let them enter the Temple after their own death, and the future generations decided whether to let them enter the Temple based on their merits. Since it was decided by later generations, the standard of entry must be what later generations said. However, the standards set by later generations may not be the real ideas of predecessors. It is also in this way that some of the 26 people in Cao Cao's Taimiao Temple can be said to be ineligible.
First, let's take a look at the situation of the 26 ministers in Cao Cao's Taimiao Temple. The ministers in Cao Cao's Taimiao Temple entered in five batches. The first group consisted of three people, namely Xiahou Huan, Cao Ren, and Cheng Yu, who were decided by the Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rui in 233 AD; the second group consisted of 20 people, namely Cao Zhen, Cao Xiu, Zhong Xuan, Hua Xin, Wang Lang, Chen Qun, Huan Jie, Xiahou Shang, Zhang Gao, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Le Jin, Cao Hong, Xiahou Yuan, Zhu Ling, Wen Ping, Zang Ba, Li Dian, Pang De, and Dianwei. In 243 AD, Cao Shuang and others decided; the third batch of one person, Xun You, decided by Cao Shuang in 244 AD; the fourth batch of one person, Sima Yi, decided by Sima Shi in 251 AD; the fifth batch of one person, Guo Jia, decided by Sima Zhao in 262 AD.
Seeing this, we can find that these five groups of people who entered Cao Cao's Taimiao Temple have a very large time span. The reason why they were able to enter the Taimiao Temple was determined by those in power at that time. The reason why those in power let them enter the Temple is not necessarily based on their merits, but according to their own needs. After all, history is written by later generations. Let's take a look at which of these 26 people are not eligible to enter Cao Cao's Taimiao Temple if we only look at their personal merits.
Cao Xiu. Cao Xiu was a descendant of Cao Cao, the son of Cao Cao, who was very important to him and once said that he was his family's thousand-mile colt. However, in the era of Cao Cao, Cao Xiu's credit was not very much. Although he had been following Cao Cao in his conquests, his merits were not great. During the Battle of Hanzhong, Cao Xiu defeated Wu Lan, which was Cao Xiu's greatest credit in Cao Cao's time. Although Cao Xiu later defeated the Wu army several times, this happened after the establishment of Cao Wei, not in the era of Cao Cao. According to the merits, it is more appropriate for him to deserve Cao Pi's Taimiao Temple. After all, many of his credits were established after Cao Pi was proclaimed empress.
Wang Lang. This is more familiar to everyone, that is, the one who was scolded to death by Zhuge Liang. After Wang Lang followed Cao Cao, he served as a counselor and counselor. It can be said that during the Cao Cao period, Wang Lang's position was not high. It can be said that Wang Lang did not have any military merits, nor did he have much merit in internal affairs. If he only looked at his personal merits, he was completely unqualified to enter cao cao's taimiao. The reason why Cao Shuang let him enter the Cao Cao Tai Temple was entirely to win over his family.
Chen Qun. Chen Qun began following Cao Cao in 198. From beginning to end, Chen Qun held a civilian position and could be said to be a politician. He successively held the positions of Situ Tuan, Cheng Xiang Jun, and Yu Shi Zhongcheng, mainly handling internal affairs. There are not many records in the history books about his handling of internal affairs, and it can be said that his ability is not very superior. After the establishment of Cao Wei, Chen Qun was heavily used by Cao Pi and began to control military power. But in the era of Cao Cao, Chen Qun was always a civilian and did not make any merits. Seriously, he was similar to Cao Xiu, and the Taimiao temple worthy of Cao Cao was indeed not qualified, and it was more suitable in Cao Pi's Taimiao.
Xiahou Shang. Xiahou Shang was the emperor of Cao Wei, and he was Xiahou Yuan's nephew. Although he followed Cao Cao relatively early, he did not hold many positions, and successively served as a military sima (兵司馬), a general of the Five Senses, and a yellow door attendant, which can be said to have been a very high position. Xiahou Shang had a relatively good relationship with Cao Pi, so after Cao Pi became emperor, he attached great importance to it, and his official position became higher and higher. Because of this, Xiahou Shang began to grasp military power and also made some military achievements. However, with his exploits in the Era of Cao Cao, he was not eligible to enter the Cao Cao Tai Temple. If it weren't for Cao Pi's reasons, he wouldn't even have the qualifications to enter the Cao Pi Taimiao Temple.
Zhu Ling. Zhu Ling was originally a general of Yuan Shao, and surrendered to Cao Cao before the Battle of Guandu. After Zhu Ling led his troops to submit to Cao Cao, he followed Cao Cao in the southern expedition to the north for many years, and it can be said that he also made great contributions. However, Cao Cao, because Zhu Ling was once a subordinate of Yuan Shao, did not treat Zhu Ling very well, and it can be said that he was very disgusted with him. Cao Cao tried everything he could to seize Zhu Ling's military power, but he never succeeded. Later, Cao Cao incorporated Zhu Ling into Yu Ban's forces and let Yu Ban restrain him. After that, Zhu Ling never had the opportunity to lead his troops to fight. Of course, Zhu Ling's ability was still relatively large, and the merit was also very high. However, judging from Cao Cao's attitude towards Zhu Ling, if Cao Cao knew, he would definitely not let Zhu Ling enter his temple.
Zang Ba. When Cao Cao attacked Lü Bu, Zang Ba led troops to help Cao Cao. After that, Zang Ba began to follow Cao Cao in the southern expedition to the north. In the fight against Sun Quan's army, Zang Ba made many contributions. However, although Zang Ba's military achievements were relatively large, because he was also a force before, Cao Cao was not very reassured about him. Because of this, he was not a close general during Cao Cao's time. The reason why Cao Shuang and others later added him to the Taimiao Temple is also an explanation to those who surrendered to Cao Cao, which is also to win people's hearts.
Bond. When Guan Yu flooded the Seventh Army, Pound de swore not to surrender, so he was executed by Guan Yu. Because of this, many people have great admiration for Pound. In fact, Pound did not have much credit in the era of Cao Cao. He was previously a subordinate of Ma Chao and has been following Ma Chao. It was not until 215, when Cao Cao pacified Hanzhong, that Pound followed Cao Cao. When Cao Cao first sent Pound and Yu Ban to support Fancheng, he did not have much hope for Pound. After all, Ma Chao, whom Pound had been following, had already followed Liu Bei, and even if Pound surrendered to Guan Yu, cao Cao expected it. What Cao Cao did not expect was that Pound actually swore to die, while Yu Ban surrendered. Although Pound's behavior is worthy of recognition, he really did not make any contribution to Cao Cao.
This is the person in Cao Cao's Taimiao Temple who is not eligible to enter, and it can be said that the merits of these people are average. If the credit is given, these people may not be able to enter the Temple. Some people may think that Sima Yi is not qualified to enter Cao Cao's Taimiao Temple, after all, he is Cao Wei's vassal, and his descendants have usurped Cao Wei's Jiangshan. In fact, in the era of Cao Cao, Sima Yi's later merits were still relatively large, and Cao Cao would take him with him every time he went out on a campaign. According to merit, he was eligible to enter Cao Cao's Taimiao Temple. However, judging by what he did later, he was really not eligible to enter. But who called his family Cao Wei Quanchen, whether he could enter Cao Cao's Taimiao Temple or not was not up to him.
Resources:
Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Book of The Three Kingdoms of Wei