Cao Zhi, courtesy name Zijian, was a talented writer and a famous writer in the history of our country. Although Cao Pi's writing is also impressive, in terms of literary talent, he is better at writing letters, and his attainments in poetry are still far behind his younger brother Cao Zhi. Therefore, as a military strategist and statesman during the Three Kingdoms period who had excellent literary talent, Cao Cao, who has many names such as poet, poet, etc., may begin to be more inclined to Cao Zhi in his heart. Because Cao Cao had the wild and unruly temperament of a poet, Pei Songzhi quoted from "The Biography of Cao Man" and said: "Taizu was a man of no dignity. He was good at music and advocated excellence. He often used the sun to reach the evening. His clothes were light and silk. He wears a small bag to hold fine things in his handkerchief, and sometimes wears a hat to see guests. Every time he talks to others, teases and recites, he never hides anything, and laughs happily until his head is buried in the cup. The dishes and dishes are all stained, and the clothes are so easy." And Cao Zhi was quite like his father. "The Biography of Cao Zhi" said that he was "simple in nature, not dignified, and his horses and clothes were not gorgeous." It was also said that he had grown up since he was a child. He is good at composition. "When he was more than ten years old, he recited hundreds of thousands of poems, treatises and poems. He was good at writing. Taizu tasted his writing and said to Zhi: "You are evil? Zhi knelt down and said, "What you say is what you say, what you write is what you write, and you are just an interviewer. How can you be such a beautiful person?" "At that time, in the new city of Tongjuetai in Ye, Taizu put all his disciples on the stage and asked each of them to write a poem. The Zhiyuan pen was established, which was impressive. Taizu was very different. Whenever he came in and asked questions, he answered the question." Therefore, Cao Cao said to him " Special favor". This biography records that "(Cao) Zhi was distinguished by his talent, and Ding Yi, Ding Xian, Yang Xiu, etc. became his wings. Taizu was suspicious, and there were only a few who were almost princes." In other words, Cao Zhi almost became the prince several times. Among them, Ding Yi, Ding Xi, Yang Xiu and others, who were the backbone of Cao Zhi's think tank group, played a big role. However, Ding Yi, Ding Xi brothers and Cao Pi originally had The cause of the incident was that Cao Cao wanted to marry his daughter to Ding Yi because he felt that Ding Yi's father had persuaded him to welcome the Han Dynasty to the emperor. However, Cao Pi dissuaded him by saying that Ding Yi's eyesight was not good and the matter was stopped. Therefore, Ding Yi did not marry. After arriving at Princess Wei, the Ding brothers held a grudge and began to strongly support Cao Zhi in seizing the legitimate son (1). As a close confidant of Cao Cao, Yang Xiu must be the target of competition between Cao Zhi and Cao Pi. As a world-famous talent, Cao Zhi may have been more attracted to Yang Xiu. At this time, Cao Zhi was "specially favored" and took the initiative to show his favor, so Yang Xiu followed the trend and joined Cao Zhi's side to participate in this cruel battle for the throne (2 ).

However, between Cao Zhi and Cao Pi, although Cao Zhi is superior in literary talent, Cao Pi should be said to be superior in political and military talents. Moreover, the composition of the think tanks around the two men is also different. Cao Pi's think tanks are Sima Yi, Chen Qun, Wu Zhi, and Zhu Shuo. "Book of Jin" says that these four people are known as the Four Friends around Cao Pi. Among these four people, Sima Yi, Chen Qun's political talent and strategy should be recognized as the best choice among counselors and ministers of the Han and Wei dynasties. Wu Zhi was profound in scheming and talented in literature. There is no record of Zhu Shuo's affairs, but his official position was that of the central leader, which is equivalent to the current The position of political commissar should not be an easy one to get along with. However, Cao Zhi's think tanks were all scribes with little political or military experience. They were far inferior to the sophistication of Sima Yi, Chen Qun, Wu Zhi and others, so they were naturally inferior in the struggle. In the annotations of "Three Kingdoms" and "Cao Zhi's Biography", there are records that Yang Xiu, who was known as "talented", and Wu Zhi, who was only the leader of Chaoge at the time, were defeated in a battle of wits. This directly led to Cao Cao's disapproval of Cao Zhi's character. Suspicion: "In the twenty-fifth year of the year of Xiu, he was named a young master who was talented and was favored by Taizu. He and his brother Ding Yi all wanted to have Zhi as their heir. The prince suffered from it and used the chariot to carry the discarded jian. Wu Zhi, the chief singer of the inner dynasty, and Conspiracy. Xiu Yibai Taizu failed to test it. The prince was afraid and asked, "What's the problem?" Tomorrow, if you use the silk chariot to confuse it again, if you repair it, it will be white again, and if it is white again, it will be pushed back. If it is not tested, then he will suffer. "The prince followed him, and the results of his cultivation were white, but there was no one, so Taizu was doubtful." There is a saying in the art of war. If you know yourself and the enemy, you will not be in danger in a hundred battles. It can be said that Wu Zhi knew himself and his enemy, but Yang Xiu was not as talented as Wu Zhi. Unfortunately, he was not as cunning as Wu Zhi. His thoughts and deeds were predicted by him, so he was plotted against him, and his master Cao Zhi was also suspected. It was really hard to tell.

Others include explaining that Cao Cao's addition of the word "Huo" in the newly built garden gate was too broad, Cao Cao's writing "Yihe Bi" as "one person bites the cake", and Cai Yong's inscription on Cao E's stele written by Handan Chun as "Yellow Silk Young Woman, Grandson" The horoscope of "齑鞴" means "excellent words" and so on (3), all of which can only show Yang Xiu's intelligence, but it can only be said to be a little cleverness. To put it bluntly, it can even be said that he is just good at guessing word riddles, and not I don't see him and the Ding brothers making any political or military achievements to speak of. After that, Cao Pi was so worried that he was no match for Cao Zhi because of his excellent literary talent, so that he "lost himself in despair". Wu Zhi once again reversed the situation, causing Cao Cao to have another opinion about Cao Zhi: "The king of Wei tried to go to war. The prince and Linshan Hou Zhi walked to the side of the road. Zhi praised his merits and made his speeches clear. The prince was delighted and lost his sight. Wu Zhi'er said: "The king should do it, but it's okay to shed tears." "When he said his words, the crown prince wept and bowed, and the king and his left and right officials were in awe, so they all used rhetoric that was too colorful, but not sincere." (4) Wu Zhi can be said to be empathetic and considerate. This skill is comparable to Yang Xiu's skill in solving crossword puzzles. Much more practical.

Under the planning of his four friends, Cao Pi gradually gained the upper hand in the battle to seize the direct descendants. At the same time, he launched a public relations offensive in a timely manner to shape his own image. "Emperor Wen used his skills to control him, pretended to be pretentious, and (Cao Cao's) palace officials controlled him and spoke for him" (5). At the same time, he won over Cao Cao's important adviser Jia Xu and others, coupled with the frequent outbursts of the poet's wild style in Cao Zhi, "Zhi acts willfully, does not encourage himself, and drinks alcohol without restraint" (6), Cao Zhi began to gradually fall out of favor. Another big event happened at this time, that is, Cao Zhi was running in the middle of the road in Yecheng, the capital of Wei State. Chi Dao was Cao Cao's exclusive road as the king of Wei. By doing this, Cao Zhi could be said to have regarded himself as the king of Wei. Therefore, Cao Cao was furious. The result was that he was ordered to sit on the bus and die. This was to impose restrictions on the feudal princes and favor Zhi. decline” (7). The most important role in Cao Pi becoming the crown prince was the words of Cao Cao's counselor Jia Xu. "Three Kingdoms" and "Jia Xu" say: "At that time, Emperor Wen was the general with five sense organs, and Linshan Hou Zhi was famous, and each had his own party and party. There was a proposal to seize the clan. Emperor Wen sent people to ask Xu about the art of self-improvement, and Xu said: "I hope the general will continue to respect virtue and devote himself to the work of a scholar, working hard day and night, and not going against the principles of his son. That's all. " Emperor Wen followed this and worked hard on himself. Taizu also tried to exclude the left and right and asked Xu, but it was wrong. Taizu said: "Why don't you answer your words? "Xu said: "I am suitable for thinking, so I am not right. Taizu said: "What do you think?" Xu said: "Thinking of Yuan Benchu, Liu Jingsheng and his son." "Taizu laughed, so the prince decided." From this we can know that although Cao Cao has the temperament of a poet, he is first and foremost a politician. Jia Xu allowed him to see the pros and cons and lessons learned in that era when it came to abolishing the elder and establishing the younger generation. For him, it was important to maintain his power after his death. Stability and longevity come first, and everything else can give way, including your own personal likes and dislikes. Among the evaluations of his strengths by Guo Jia, Xun Yu and others were the words "good judgment", so he immediately made a decision and made Cao Pi the Crown Prince of Wei in the 22nd year of Jian'an. After Cao Zhi fell out of favor, Yang Xiu deliberately alienated Cao Zhi. However, because Cao Zhi was Cao Cao's son after all, he did not dare to be too obvious and maintained a certain density of contacts. From this we can also see that he is relatively lacking in political adaptability.

However, after Cao Cao dealt with the issue of establishing an heir, he immediately started from a political perspective and considered that the consequences of Cao Zhi and Cao Pi's heir struggle should not be underestimated, because they were surrounded by a group of counselors, and Cao Cao knew very well that Because of his strength as a counselor, in the autumn of the 24th year of Jian'an, Lieutenant General Yang Xiu who was rescuing Cao Ren was probably beheaded on any charge. "Three Kingdoms" says this: "Taizu was concerned about the changes in the end and the beginning, and thought that Yang Xiu was quite talented, and he was also the nephew of the Yuan family, so he punished Xiu."

Here, the "final change" is mentioned first, and Yang Xiu is "talented" and "Yuan's nephew", so he was killed. It can be seen that in addition to being killed because of his participation in the seizure of the legitimate son, Yang Xiu was also killed because he was "talented" and "nephew of the Yuan family".

But Cao Cao will not be beheaded just because he has talent.

Therefore, the second reason why Yang Xiu died was that he was a member of the political camp opposite to Cao Cao. He did not die just because he was talented and Yuan Shu's nephew.

At this point, the cause of Yang Xiu’s death is basically finished. Let’s talk about the two stories about Yang Xiu mentioned before.

One is about the interpretation of Cao E's stele "Yellow Silk Young Woman, Grandson Junjiu" written by Cai Yong and Handan Chun.

The investigation of this matter comes from Liu Yiqing's "Shishuo Xinyu". The original text reads: "Wei Wu tasted Cao E's under the stele, Yang Xiucong. The inscription on the back of the stele is 'Yellow Silk Young Woman, When his grandson Junjiu's eight characters were revealed, Wei Wu said to Xiu, "Can you understand it?" ’ The answer is: “Jie”. A few sentences, "Book of the Later Han Dynasty". "The Biography of Cao E": "In the first year of Yuanjia, the county chief minister buried E next to Jiangnan Road and erected a stele." The inscription on Cao E's stele is "composed by Shangyu County Magistrate Du Shangzi Boping's disciple Handan Chunzi Zili" The word (13), Shangyu, is the name of the county. It was established in the 25th year of the First Emperor of Qin Dynasty and was assigned to Kuaiji County in ancient times. Therefore, this stele is in Kuaiji, and according to the "Shangyu County Chronicle" written by Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty: "The Cao'e Temple is on the west bank of the Cao'e River in the Ten Capitals. It used to be in the east of the Yangtze River and belonged to Shangyu. Later, it was destroyed by a storm and moved to its current location, under the jurisdiction of Kuaiji." , so this monument is located in what is now Shangyu, Shaoxing. Cao Cao has never been to Jiangnan in his life. It can be clearly inferred that this matter is purely fictitious. Perhaps Luo Guanzhong also discovered this problem, so in his "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", he evolved this matter to Cai Wenji's home in Lantian, where Cao Cao passed by, and saw the rubbings of the inscription to cover up this obvious flaw, which can be considered a good intention. As an aside, the Cao E stele still exists, and I once visited it. However, the stele that was still erected in Shangyu County in the first year of Han Yuanjia (AD 151) has long been lost. Later, in the second year of Shengping in the East (AD 358), Wang Xizhi also went to the temple to write on the stele of Cao'e. The text was engraved by Wu Maoxian of Xin'an. The handwriting on the silk tablet of this stele is now in the Liaoning Museum. It is inscribed by Xu Sengquan, Manqian, Huaichong and others of the Liang Dynasty, as well as by Han Yu, Song Gaozong and others. The existing stele of Cao'e was written by Cai Bian, Wang Anshi's son-in-law, in the eighth year of Yuanyou's reign in the Song Dynasty (1093 AD). This stele is 2.3 meters high and 1 meter wide. It is written in regular regular script and has a powerful and smooth writing style. It has a high status in the history of Chinese calligraphy. Since it has been around for thousands of years, it can be said to be extremely precious.

The second one is about Yang Xiu’s interpretation of Cao Cao’s “Yihesu” as “one person, one bite”. I was asked to write this article by a friend who works in middle school, so I found that in the current junior high school text "The Death of Yang Xiu", there is a sentence: "Cao himself wrote the three words 'a box of cakes' on the box and placed it on the desk." . Here, I think the word "box" should be the word "合". Because according to "Hanshu·Lülizhi": "Ten liters are a liter, and ten liters are a bucket." The "one he" here should be a unit of measurement, not the "one bag" or "one bag" in our usual sense. The meaning of "a box"; also, the "Dictionary of Commonly Used Ancient Chinese Words" notes: "合" is also pronounced as gě, which is the unit of capacity; and the "Shuowen Jiezi" only contains the word "合" and does not include the word "box" "Shuowen Jiezi" was compiled by Xu Shen (about 54 AD - 149 AD), so the word "box" should not have existed during the Three Kingdoms period; moreover, the ancients wrote vertically, If it is the word "box", it should be pronounced as "one person, one cup of cake", which makes no sense. Only "he" can make sense; therefore, the word "box" may have come into being because later generations took the word "plate" The word's meaning of storage is derived from the combination of one of the meanings of the word "合". Perhaps the editor of the text only considered the standardization of the wording and did not consider that the word "box" did not exist in ancient times, so the word "box" was used. However, as a historical story, I think we should respect the historical usage of words, and the current usage cannot reasonably explain this story, so I still use the word "合" and add a note to explain it at the end. Better, otherwise, it will inevitably be misleading.