Cao Cao’s leadership skills in the Battle of Chibi

The Three Kingdoms at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty was an era of great turmoil. The three families of Wei, Shu, and Wu, represented by Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan, fought for the dominance of the country and launched life-and-death battles one after another. "If you do extraordinary things, you must treat extraordinary people." The founders of the Three Kingdoms all knew how important talents were to their achievements. They compete for talents in the world, and they compete for talents in the world. Therefore, in a certain sense, the vertical and horizontal manipulation and military competition between the three countries is a battle for talents. "The principle of rise and fall, although it is called destiny, is not a human matter!"

"I appoint the intelligence of the world and control it with Tao, and I can do anything." - "Three Kingdoms: Chronicle of Emperor Wu"

Cao Cao selected and appointed talents in the reform of the official system, and only by using them properly did he lay the foundation for future generations.

After Cao Cao recruited 300,000 Qingzhou troops, he had a powerful army with combat effectiveness. Having troops is not enough, he also needs generals who can dispatch and manage these soldiers. At this time, Cao Cao recruited recruits in Gunzhou. After having a conversation, he praised Ziliang, "This is my ovary." It is Zhang Liang, who will be one of the main counselors of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty in the future. He is ranked first among the "Three Heroes of the Early Han Dynasty", which shows how high people think of him. Zhang Liang recommended many talents to Cao Cao, and these people formed the backbone of Cao Cao's expedition to the east and west, pacified the Central Plains, and made suggestions. Often at critical moments in the war, these people gave Cao Cao strong support, allowing Cao Cao to persevere and win the final victory.

These counselors made great contributions to Cao Cao, so naturally they were treated well.

Cao Cao has no sense of talent, but when there is a surplus, it is easy to be good with more. Knowing that Sima Yi was talented, he asked him to become an official. But Sima Yi claimed that he was ill and could not come out, so Cao Cao threatened to imprison him if he could not speak out, so Sima Yi had no choice but to come out.

Cao Cao has no prejudice against talents due to experience or family background.

At the same time, the importance of talents to Cao Cao can also be seen from history:

In the thirteenth year of Jian'an, Cao's army went south and captured Jingzhou where Liu Biao's son Liu Cong was based. Liu Bei, relying on Jingzhou, fled south. Lu Su in Jiangdong was ordered by Sun Quan to meet with Liu Bei to discuss countermeasures. Zhuge Liang was ordered by Liu Bei to form an alliance with Sun Quan in Chaisang (now southwest of Jiujiang, Jiangxi) to resist Cao's army. The combined forces of Sun and Liu defeated the larger forces with less, and defeated Cao Jun's navy in Chibi (generally believed to be northwest of Puqi, Hubei Province, on the south bank of the Yangtze River), forcing Cao Jun to retreat to the Central Plains. This was the Battle of Chibi that led to the formation of the Three Kingdoms. After Cao Cao returned to the north, he used troops in Guanzhong and Longxi to expand the unified scope to the entire north. In the first month of the first year of Yankang in the Han Dynasty (220), Cao Cao died; in October, his son Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor (ie Cao Pi, Emperor Wen of Wei), the country was named Wei, and the capital was Luoyang. It was founded at the beginning of Huangchu. Not long after the founding of Wei State, the regime began to become corrupt. During the reign of King Fang of Qi, a power struggle broke out between Cao Shuang, the auxiliary clan member, and Sima Yi, the Taiwei. After all the resistance forces were eliminated, the Sima family took advantage of the opportunity to make meritorious deeds and sent troops to destroy Shu in the fourth year of Wei Jingyuan (263). Two years later, Sima Yan replaced Wei as Jin in the name of accepting abdication. The Five Emperors of the Wei Kingdom lasted forty-six years.

The Three Kingdoms were an era of panic and chaos. It is an era when heroes emerge in large numbers, and "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is a story about troubled times; in troubled times, people are the smartest, have the most tricks, the most brilliant strategies, and the most colorful characters. But these strategies, strategies, and characters are all enlightening us today on how to cope with an increasingly complex society and remain invincible, so they are useful for reference.

Yi Zhongtian made the following comments on Cao Cao's employment of personnel:

Cao Cao's five important counselors in the early period - Xun Yu, Xun You, Cheng Yu, Guo Jia, and Jia Xu, were all Four of those who took the initiative to defect to Cao Cao were from the camp of Cao Cao's opponents. Guo Jia and Xun Yu defected to Cao Cao from Yuan Shao. Before leaving, Guo Jia had a speech with Yuan Shao's counselors. These words were very important. Guo Jia said this. He said: "A wise man judges the master, so he can achieve success with every move, and his reputation can be established." Yuan Gong followed the example of Zhou Gong's subordinates, but he didn't know the opportunity of employing people. He had many tricks and few important points, and he was fond of schemes and no decisions.

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Guo Jia’s words have three meanings: The first meaning is that a wise person, especially a person who is preparing to be a counselor, must be good at choosing a good boss for himself. If you If you choose the wrong boss, then your knowledge, knowledge, and strategies will be of no use; if you choose the right boss, you will become famous. The second meaning is that Yuan Shao is not a good boss, why? What? Duke Yuan imitated Zhou Gong as a corporal, so how did Zhou Gong become a corporal? "One bath, three hairs, one meal, three vomits." That is to say, he was washing his hair when someone suddenly announced that a talent was coming. He immediately stopped washing his hair, grabbed his hair and went to meet him. When someone informed him that he wanted to see him, he immediately spat out the rice in his mouth and went out to meet him. He washed his hair three times and ate his meal three times. Tubu, he respects talents very much and is eager for talents. Guo Jia said that Yuan Shao has learned this, but he has not learned the essence of Zhou Gong, so Yuan Shao's courtesy corporal is unreliable, not to mention Yuan Shao himself has some problems, so Yuan Shao is not a good boss. There is a third meaning that Guo Jia did not say clearly, but we can guess that Cao Cao is a good boss.

We can see from this that in the eyes of counselor Guo Jia. , Cao Cao is a person who can achieve great things, so he resolutely left Yuan Shao and joined Cao Cao. In other words, talents choose to join him, because talents can only achieve their best under a good boss. The value of life. So what kind of person can be a good boss? Why does Mr. Yi Zhongtian think Cao Cao is a good boss?

So why is Cao Cao a good boss? :

The first is: know people well and appoint them according to their talents. Xun Yu and Guo Jia’s evaluation of Cao Cao’s approach to employing people is based on their talents. Or knowing people well and assigning them well is unified. What is knowing people well and assigning them well includes three contents: first, knowing who are talents; second, knowing what kind of talents these people are, or what type of talents they are; Third, know where to put these people in the most appropriate positions. This is called knowing people and assigning them well. The first thing to know people and assign them well is to know them well, and the second thing is to assign them well. For example, we have mentioned again and again that people should be appointed according to their talents. Cui Yan and Mao Jie arrived. What were their characteristics? They were upright and honest. Cao Cao asked them to take charge of the work of the Organization Department and the Cadre Department, and select officials. Sure enough, the two recommended by them were all of virtue. Another example is Zao Zhi and Ren Jun. What are the characteristics of these two people? Cao Cao let them work in farming. As a result, Cao Cao's farming system was implemented and Cao Cao received generous benefits. Food and economic foundation. This is the first characteristic of Cao Cao's employment, which is to know people well and appoint them according to their talents. Even the person who hates Cao Cao the most, such as Hong Mai, who wrote "Rong Zhai Essays", also admitted that, Hong Mai also had this evaluation of Cao Cao's employment: "The wisdom is as good as one official, and the power is divided into one county. No matter small or big, they are all qualified for their duties." That is to say, no matter who he arranges for, they are very suitable for whatever they do. Very competent, this is the first characteristic.

The second characteristic: sincerity and trustworthiness, and no doubt in employing people. This is the general principle of employing people. If you doubt people, don't use them. If you employ people, don't doubt them. This is what people who know how to employ people do. But there is something special about Cao Cao. What is special about it? The first thing is that Cao Cao is living in troubled times. What are the characteristics of troubled times? People's hearts are unstable, interpersonal relationships are tense, and there is a lack of trust and sincerity between people. In Cao Cao's words, this is called "the autumn of mutual suspicion". Everyone They don't trust each other. This is the first characteristic. The second feature is Cao Cao's dual role. In Zhou Yu's words, Cao Cao is "named the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, but he is actually a traitor of the Han Dynasty." Of course, we cannot say for sure whether Cao Cao is a traitor of the Han Dynasty or not. At least we can say with certainty that Cao Cao still wanted to maintain the Han Dynasty in the early stage. In the later stage, his personal ambition expanded and he became a traitor and wanted to replace him. But even in the early days, Cao Cao had his own little plans. In name, he was recruiting talents for the Han Dynasty, but in fact, he wanted these talents to be used by him.

Because Cao Cao knew very well that an undisciplined team cannot defeat the enemy. Moreover, Cao Cao was able to lead by example. There is a famous story that may be familiar to viewers. Once when he was marching, Cao Cao issued an order not to trample on farmland. He wanted to protect farmers. If any horse stepped on a wheat field, it would be a crime of beheading. So Cao Cao's cavalry all dismounted and walked, holding the horse with one hand, using a weapon with the other hand to protect the wheat with a gun or something, and walked carefully. Cao Cao himself did not dismount, but the horse was frightened and a guy jumped into the wheat field. Cao Cao's horse trampled the wheat field. Cao Cao immediately dismounted and called the military judge to ask, what crime should be committed? The military judge said, behead. Cao Cao said, "I'll ask you to execute me." Alas, how is that possible? Anyway, there was this tradition in ancient times. If the punishment is not good enough for the officials, the courtesy is not good enough for the common people, and the law is not imposed on the venerable, how can the commander-in-chief behead him? Cao Cao said that there was no way, so just cut off a piece of hair. He pulled out his sword, cut off a piece of hair and threw it on the ground to show that he had been punished. This story is recorded in a book that is very unfriendly to Cao Cao. The name of this book is "The Biography of Cao Cao". What is it used to illustrate? It shows that Cao Cao is hypocritical and treacherous. He said that if you give an order and step on a wheat field, you will be punished. If you want to behead your head, you will lose your hair. In fact, this is not the case. Cao Cao was also punished, which was called Kun Xing. Kun Xing meant shaving off his hair, because the ancients believed that the body, skin and hair were inherited from the parents and should not be given up, and Kun Xing was insulting. punishment, so he still received the punishment, which still showed Cao Cao's strict law enforcement.

Then Cao Cao’s punishment was severe, and his rewards were also unambiguous. One characteristic of Cao Cao's rewards for his subordinates is that they are not based on temporary whims like some powerful commanders. We know that when warlords fight, there will be many so-called heroes. After a battle is fought, and the battle is won, come, come, come, brothers, divide it up, this is for you, this is for you, this is for you, Taking it casually may seem generous, but it actually makes no sense. If Cao Cao wants to reward a person, there must be two things. First, this person must have made great achievements; second, Cao Cao's reward must be in place, that is, the reward Cao Cao gives you must exceed the share you hope for. He increases the stakes, and when he rewards you, he is thoughtful, maybe so thoughtful that even you can't think of it. Cao Cao is a person who is very good at doing favors. If he doesn't do it, he must do enough favors. As a commander-in-chief, one of Cao Cao's special features is that he never competes with his subordinates for limelight, face, or credit. All his achievements go to his subordinates. Secondly, his rewards are never formal and will definitely make you realize your achievements. They got real benefits. Cao Cao was a very, very real person. It was this real style that made everyone feel that following Cao Cao was indeed the right thing to do.

The fourth characteristic is: being open-minded and thinking of others. Cao Cao did not compete with his subordinates for limelight, face, or credit, not to mention that. Moreover, if his subordinates gave him suggestions, if he did not adopt them and made mistakes, he would definitely review them, and he would definitely take all the blame on himself. Of course, in many cases, Cao Cao accepted advice with an open mind, which is also a very important factor in attracting talents, because as a talent, he certainly hopes to get the rewards he deserves through his hard work and wisdom. This is his A hope, but what he hopes more is that he can display his talents and his suggestions and plans can be adopted. When we read history books, we can see that there are a large number of such records. Taizu listened to it, followed it, and acted kindly. Of course, there were times when Taizu did not listen, and there were also times when Taizu did not listen. If he did not listen and made wrong decisions, Cao Cao would definitely review them. Once when Cao Cao was attacking Sun Quan, Cao Cao made a decision to move all the people in Huainan to the north. At that time, a man named Jiang Ji disapproved. Cao Cao said, look at the last time I fought with Yuan Shao in the battle of Baima, I moved the people of Baima to Yanjin. Jiang Ji said, Mr. Cao, the situation now is different from when you fought Yuan Shao in the battle of Baima. They all love their country and their home. If anyone wants to move around, don’t move them. Cao Cao refused to listen. When these people heard that Cao Cao wanted to move them to the north, they all ran to Sun Quan.

Cao Cao knew very well that in such a complicated political struggle, sometimes he had to pretend to be confused. Only by pretending to be confused can he be tolerant, and only by being tolerant can he win the hearts of the people. Only by winning the hearts of the people can the world be prosperous. Therefore, he is called Lao Bai. Being a grandpa” sometimes just means pretending to be deaf and dumb. It is no longer easy to gain insight into people's hearts and human nature. It is even more difficult to put oneself in others' shoes and compare one's own feelings with others. What is even more rare is that when Cao Cao did these things, for example, he destroyed the evidence, he rewarded his generals, and he punished his own shortcomings and mistakes. When doing self-criticism, he thanked those who gave him advice. When he did all these things, he did it honestly, generously, naturally, and realistically, without any pretense. This was too difficult.

Cao Cao was able to understand human nature and people's hearts, and he also mastered the method of employing people. Cao Cao has mastered the art of employing people, and he also knows what his talents need most. When Cao Cao knows what talents need, he also knows what he can give talents. So in the final analysis, Cao Cao's way of employing people is also his way of life. So what exactly is Cao Cao's way of life?

Why was Cao Cao able to do this? Several reasons. First, Cao Cao was smart. He knew that it was impossible for a person engaged in political struggle and a person fighting on the battlefield to tell all the truth. Telling all lies would not work. Such a person People must know when to tell the truth and when to tell lies, and to whom to tell the truth and to whom to tell lies. To the enemy, you must tell lies. Soldiers are not tired of deceit, so you cannot tell the truth; but to your own advisers, they are all smart people, so you have to tell the truth. Only by telling the truth can you gain trust. In exchange for trust, he will do his best to advise you, and you can defeat the enemy. Cao Cao was able to grasp the balance between true and false. This is called wisdom.

The second reason is that he is easy-going. One of the good things about Cao Cao's character is that he is a man of temperament. We all know that Cao Cao is a poet. He has the qualities of a military general and a poet. He has a very easy-going temperament, as long as he is not in official office or fighting, he will tell jokes, make jokes, and laugh with everyone, so that he has a kind of affinity. As a leader, it is not good to be too serious. If you are too serious, others will think you are not approachable. It is also not good to be too casual. If you are too casual, you will lose prestige. It is best to be like Cao Cao, who is not angry when he needs prestige. As for Wei, he was kind and easy-going at ordinary times, which made his subordinates both respect and love him. Cao Cao also grasped this balance well. So Cao Cao often said serious things in a joking tone. For example, he had a person on his enemy's side, and his father was imprisoned by Cao Cao. Cao Cao wrote him a letter saying, "Your Majesty is in my prison." Life is pretty good, but the country can't always spend money to support other people's fathers in old age. It's up to you to do what you want. It's very fun.

The third reason is his sincerity. Cao Cao sincerely and truly hopes that many people will help him. He really feels that he is alone and weak. This It's his truth. There is a poem by Cao Cao called "Dan Ge Xing", which contains the following sentence: "The green zijin is my heart. But for the sake of the king, I ponder it to this day." The translation is, the green is your robe, the long is me Your love is just because of you that makes me miss you till now. Who are you missing? Not a lover, not Xiaomi, but a friend who can help him achieve a career. This feeling is real, so the third reason is his sincerity.

The fourth reason is deepness. Cao Cao is a very deep person. Let’s take a look at the song "Dan Ge Xing". What is his opening sentence? "Singing to wine, how much life is like. Like morning dew, the past days are more bitter." Life is very short. We should use this short life to do a vigorous career, so we need a large number of talents and friends to help I. Therefore, his way of employing people is based on the height of philosophical thinking about the universe and life. It is by no means a way of employing people in the general sense. Therefore, Cao Cao is very easy-going and very profound.

Guo Jia had such an evaluation of Cao Cao, saying that he is "simple on the outside but clever on the inside", which means that on the surface he may seem casual, but in fact he is very deep inside. He can shake hands with you and have fun with you. He can talk and laugh with you, he can laugh with you, he can hug you, but please pay attention, when he shakes hands with you and laughs happily, he is observing you, and he looks at people deeply, and he will treat them The person opposite sees it in his eyes, remembers it in his heart, and rots in his stomach, and then he knows how to treat you, or how to deal with you.