Everyone knows that during the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao's men were full of talents, not only Xun Yu, who had wang Zuo's talent from the early days, followed Cao Cao, but also countless famous or ordinary strategists who served Cao Cao later. However, in the history books or the interpretation, we rarely hear a name: Dong Zhao. However, although such a strategist said that his fame was not very great, he had outstanding contributions and views in Cao Cao's life, and could be said to be one of the founders of Cao Weijiangshan. However, because of his character, he was despised by later historians.
According to the historical records, at that time, Dong Zhao had a person named Su Ze who worked together at the same time, but on the way, Dong Zhao accidentally leaned on his knee because of fatigue, and was directly pushed down by Su Ze, saying that his knee was not used for people who were flattered by rhetoric, which showed that in the hearts of people at that time, Dong Zhao was indeed not a good guy. But there was a reason why he could become Cao Wei's chancellor.
One: Help Cao Cao many times and be a bad person yourself
Originally, Dong Zhao was a subordinate of Yuan Shao, but as a strategist, it was obvious that Dong Zhao saw at a glance that Yuan Shao was useless, so he planned to find an opportunity to defect to Cao Cao, who was thirsty for talent at that time, but unfortunately, he went to Hanoi at that time, and was favored by the local Taishou Zhangyang and recruited him as his military division. After that, Cao Cao was ready to borrow a road from Zhang Yang's territory to visit Emperor Xian of Han in Chang'an District, but at this time Zhang Yang was worried that Cao Cao would take the opportunity to attack him, so he consulted with Dong Zhao, and when Dong Zhao saw it, he immediately told Zhang Yang that Cao Cao was a future hero, although he was still weak, but you sold other people's feelings, and he would definitely be very happy if you went to him in the future. It turned out to be exactly that.
After that, Emperor Xian of Han was held hostage by Dong Zhuo's men, and at this time Dong Zhao was even more advising Cao Cao to pretend that he didn't know anything, and he forged documents to please Li Dai, so that Cao Cao, while establishing a relationship with Tianzi, also preserved his reputation, and this disadvantage made him swallow but also sold Cao Cao's affection, and after that, Meng De also respected Dong Zhao more and gradually reused him.
Two: Greet the Son of Heaven and move the capital for Cao Cao
After that, the world changed greatly, and Yang Feng defeated Li Dai and others to bring Emperor Xian of Han back to his original Luoyang. At this time, although Yang Feng's army was very strong, the clever Dong Zhao saw at a glance that it was only the end of the strong crossbow, so he once again privately wrote a letter to Yang Feng in the name of Cao Cao, and the letter was extremely flattering, boasting that Yang Feng could not find the north, and the letter also expressed that he was willing to send grain to entertain Yang Feng and Emperor Xian of Han. When Yang Feng saw this, he felt very good, so he promoted Cao Cao to an official and planned to let Cao Cao come to Luoyang.
After Cao Cao came to Luoyang, he knew the cause and effect of the matter, and naturally knew that Dong Zhao helped him build a good relationship, so he was very happy, and even let Dong Zhao sit by his side and eat with him to discuss important matters. After the meal, Cao Cao asked him what to do next, and Dong Zhao thought that although Yang Feng was strong, he had no brains, so Cao Cao sent him some gifts again and then flattered him, and then proposed to him to welcome Emperor Xian of Han to your side, using the convenience of transporting grain as an excuse, Yang Feng must not doubt, then you will prepare everything in advance, Yang Feng even if it is too late. So Cao Cao gladly agreed, and Dong Zhao, in coordination with Cao Cao's internal and external cooperation, persuaded Yang Feng to send Emperor Xian of Han to Xu Du. After that, by the time Yang Feng found out that he had been deceived, Dong Zhao had already reached an agreement with Cao Cao.
Three: Leaking Sun Quan's secret letter caused Guan Yu to die and the alliance to break
After that, Cao Cao, with the support of his advisers, pacified the north and finally became the hegemon of the north and established a situation of three divisions of the world. However, Guan Yu launched the Battle of Xiangfan shortly afterwards, and Cao's army began to besiege Cao Ren, but Cao Cao listened to Sima Yi and Dong Zhao's plan and secretly joined forces with Sun Quan to prepare for a counterattack. After that, Sun Quan wrote to Cao Cao, saying that he was going to send troops to Jingzhou to attack Guan Yu, asking Cao Cao not to leak the news, so as to surprise Guan Yu. Cao Cao, on the other hand, invited his advisers to discuss the issue.
As a result, almost everyone thought that Sun Quan should be kept secret, and then let the front line hold out a little longer. Only Dong Zhao thought that Cao Cao should ostensibly agree to Sun Quan's request, and then wrote to Xu Huang asking him to send the contents of the letter to Guan Yu and Cao Ren. Because of this, General Cao Ren knew that there would be support coming soon, and Guan Yu would withdraw his troops, which would naturally stabilize the army and avoid surrender. After Guan Yu knew about this matter, presumably the military's heart would also be in chaos, so whether it was withdrawing or not withdrawing would affect him, and presumably he would also tell Liu Bei immediately. This would cause the alliance between Sun Quan and Liu Bei to break down, and when the Cao army was ready, it could reap the benefits of the fishermen and then seize the opportunity to take Jingzhou back. This view surprised Cao Cao, and the situation after that was just as Dong Zhao said, so he was also more liked by Cao Cao.