Cao Cao 曹操

The warlord Cao Cao was the father of Wei's first emperor; Cao Pi. A central figure of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao laid the foundation for his sons empire and for this was posthumously titled Emperor Wu of Wei. Aside from being a warlord, Cao Cao was also an author of many war journals and was skilled in poetry.

Life
A man from Qiao in Peiguo. Cao Cao was born the son of Cao Song, the adopted son of Cao Teng, The ‘Great Prolonger of Autumn’ Regular Palace Attendant. Cao Cao is a descendant of Cao Can, former Han Chancellor of the State.

When Cao Cao was young, he was clever and ingenious and could adapt himself to any situation. Sometimes, however, he took the law into his own hand, and was casual or frivolous, and he paid little attention to his duties. Few people of that time saw anything remarkable about him, and only the Grand Commandant Qiao Xuan and He Yong of Nanyang thought him unusual. Once, Qiao Xuan said to Cao Cao the following:

"The empire will fall into disorder and only a man with ability to command the age will be able to deal with it. You are the man that will restore the peace."

An interesting ruling, that actually eventually saw some sort of truth.

When He Yong saw Cao Cao he sighed and said: "The house of Han is falling, and this is the man who will give peace to the empire."

Qiao Xuan said: "You have made no name for yourself yet. You should get in touch with Xu Zijiang."

Xu Zijiang, give name Xu Shao, was was fond of grading people and had an appreciative eye for others' good qualities. Cao Cao went to see Xu Shao and asked him: "What kind of person am I?" At first, Xu Shao refused to give Cao Cao an answer, because he despised the man. Cao Cao pressed again and Xu Shao replied: "You? A good servant in time of peace, a dangerous chieftain in time of trouble." Cao Cao left feeling very pleased.

Yellow Turban Rebellion and after
In 184 A.D. Cao Cao was summoned to reinforce the Han forces. As Chief Commandant of Cavalry, Cao Cao reinforced Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun in the fifth month. Cao Cao combined his force with Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun and the three officers returned to the attack. They completely defeated the rebels and cut off heads by the tens of thousands.

In the eigth month of the year 188 A.D., Cao Cao, who was Gentleman-Consultant at that time, became Colonel Who Arranges the Army.

In 189 A.D. the Regular Palace Attendants' influence in the Imperial Court was planned to be halted by He Jin and Yuan Shao. Cao Cao, however, predicted that their armed means of ending the eunuch influence would surely fail saying:

""There has always been a need for eunuchs, but the rulers of our time should never have granted them such authority and favour as to cause this trouble. To solve the problem, they need only punish the ringleaders; just one jailer would be enough for that. Why such a fuss, calling in soldiers from outside? If he plans to kill them all, the affair will certainly leak out. I can already foresee his failure.".

He Jin ended up being beheaded by eunuch ally Qu Mu, but his forces slaughtered the eunuchs and ended up as victorious.

Campaign Against Dong Zhuo
Despite protest, He Jin had summoned Dong Zhuo to aid him in subduing the eunuchs. After the eunuch massacre Dong Zhuo took power in the Imperial Court and set Emperor Xian on the throne, using him as his puppet.

Family

 * Grandparents
 * Cao Teng - grandfather
 * Parents
 * Cao Song - father
 * Wives/Relationships
 * Lady Bian
 * Lady Liu
 * Lady Huan
 * Lady Du
 * Lady Qin
 * Lady Yin
 * Sons with Lady Bian
 * Cao Pi
 * Cao Zhang
 * Cao Zhi
 * Cao Xiong
 * Sons with Lady Liu
 * Cao Ang
 * Cao Shuo
 * Sons with Lady Huan
 * Cao Chong
 * Cao Ju
 * Cao Yu
 * Sons with Lady Du
 * Cao Lin
 * Cao Gun
 * Sons with Lady Qin
 * Cao Xuan
 * Cao Jun
 * Son with Lady Yin
 * Cao Ju
 * Sons with other consorts
 * Cao Gan
 * Cao Shan
 * Cao Biao
 * Cao Qin
 * Cao Cheng
 * Cao Zheng
 * Cao Jing
 * Cao Jun
 * Cao Ji
 * Cao Hui
 * Cao Mao
 * Brother
 * Cao De
 * Cousins
 * Cao Ren
 * Cao Chun
 * Cao Hong
 * Nephews
 * Cao Anmin
 * Cao Xiu - distant nephew
 * Cao Zheng - distant nephew