Generally speaking, loyal subjects and traitors are inseparable, one side represents the good side represents evil. Those who are stubbornly loyal to the emperor are called loyal and righteous, and vice versa are treacherous ministers. However, in different historical periods, the measure of loyalty and adultery is inconsistent, which leads to some problems in people's judgment. Therefore, loyal subjects and traitors in different periods cannot be compared. As soon as we mention the words of the traitor, we immediately think of a figure like Zhao Gao or Qin Jun, who is really hated. But the character we are going to talk about today is a fierce general, and Cao Cao is very fond of him, but Cao Cao calls him a traitor. So what's going on here? Why do you call it that if you like it?
This person is called "Evil Lai", and from the literal meaning, it can be seen that the name is too bad, even a good person is called bad. In some official historical materials or novels, evil is a representative of evil, and bad things are done. In the mythological novel, Jiang Ziya believes that this evil man is a treacherous minister, so instead of sealing him as a god, he also kills him. Of course, this is all said in some literary works. In fact, his name is the same as his person, really a vicious person. So why did he get the name of a traitor? For the king he assisted was the King of Lu, a tyrant who had escaped alive and was hated by the world. Everyone knows that if the monarch is like this, there will be a traitor at his side. And evil lai is also the favor of the king of Qiu, so naturally this pot is carried by him.
After Shang was overthrown, Evil Lai was also cruelly punished and finally executed. And king Wu of Zhou, who executed him, was regarded as a saint at that time, and since he was the one executed by the saint, how could he not be an evil person? Therefore, after the Zhou Dynasty, the idea that evil people are traitors and evil people has been passed down from generation to generation. There was once a saying that the king of Qiu's favor for such a courtier would inevitably lead to the destruction of the world. This statement seems to blame all the fault on the evil. This statement is a bit excessive, although he is also wrong, but he should not have given this name to cover all the faults. This is somewhat unfair to him. However, some people do not think so, but are very fond of him, this person is Cao Cao, he has a unique view.
In Cao Cao's mind, his favorite general was Dianwei, who fought very bravely. After Dianwei transferred to his account, Cao Cao was very happy and trusted him. Coupled with the fact that Dianwei had helped Cao Cao through the difficulties many times, Cao Cao liked him more and more. During the Battle of Wancheng, Zhang Xiu rebelled. He was aware of Dianwei's bravery and was afraid of him. During the siege of the city, he also ordered people to steal Dianwei's weapons. Even if this is the case, it cannot stop Dianwei's bravery, even if there is no weapon to fight, it is very powerful. After Dianwei died, his prestige still survived, and the army led by Zhang Xiu still did not dare to approach him. Dianwei died in battle to protect Cao Cao's safety, and was bound to receive high praise from Cao Cao. Unexpectedly, Cao Cao gave him such an evaluation, that is, the evil of the ancients. Comparing the dianwei and the evil, is this a real compliment?
In Cao Cao's view, this is a high evaluation of Dianwei. From the actual action, it can be seen that every time he passes through the tomb of Dianwei, he will offer the best sacrifices, such as cattle and sheep. Only a very few people were able to receive such treatment from Cao Cao, and the last person to receive such a courtesy was Confucius. It can be seen that Cao Cao really likes Dianwei, otherwise he would not have done so. Therefore, we can infer that in his heart, evil lai is not only not a traitor, but a loyal and courageous loyal subject. When this question came to an issue, how could Cao Cao have such an idea? In fact, for the King of Qiu, Evil Lai was indeed a loyal minister. According to the historical records, the evil force is very large, and the war is also a good hand. Later, when the country was in a moment of crisis, evil lai still insisted on fighting for the country and did not surrender, which is worthy of praise. Therefore, in Cao Cao's eyes, he was a great loyal subject.
And that person, known as the loyal vassal, was suspected of collaborating with the enemy. Therefore, it is impossible to identify who is the most loyal until the emergency. Cao Cao was a person with a unique vision, he abandoned the thinking and vision of ordinary people, and used his own unique perspective to look at evil. If evil is not assisted by a tyrant like King Gong, but by a wise king, perhaps the world's evaluation of evil will change again. Therefore, in Cao Cao's eyes, he relied only on evil deeds, and his loyalty to the king and the country was something he liked. Therefore, this is why he compares his love to Dianwei as a "traitor", which is actually a loyal act of praising Dianwei.
Now everyone should know why Cao Cao compared Dianwei to the evil of the ancients, right? I don't need to say more about Cao Cao's vision, he is unique in his use of people, and he is good at discovering the characteristics of capable people. In his eyes, this evil came as if he were a loyal and righteous soldier, and the culprit was the king of Lu, not him. In addition, Cao Cao did not follow the trend and did not look at evil with the eyes of everyone, which we should all admire and learn.
Article author: Dahui
The whole graphic was originally produced by the team of the big coffee storytelling studio!