After Cao Cao returned to Chen Liu's hometown, he scattered all his family wealth, and then received great funding from Chen Liu's filial piety and Lian Weizi at that time, and was able to gather 5,000 righteous soldiers to raise troops against Dong, and Cao Cao was also the first person recorded in history to raise troops against Dong.

In the beginning, Cao Cao's followers were mainly his former relatives and friends, as well as some of his former subordinates and others. Like the Cao family is Cao Cao's own family, including Cao Ren, Cao Chun, Cao Hong and others are Cao Cao's brothers of the same generation, and the Cao family and the Xiahou family are in-laws, Xiahou Tang and Xiahou Yuan are Cao Cao's sworn friends, Le Jin and Shi Jian are Cao Cao's old departments, and Ren Jun and Zao Yi followed him when Cao Cao raised his army.

Cao Ren, the word Zixiao, Cao Cao's younger brother (from the ancestral brother). When he was young, he loved to ride and shoot, after Dong Zhuo's rebellion, all kinds of heroes rose together, Cao Ren also gathered thousands of young people in the Huai River and Surabaya, and later heard the news of Cao Cao and led the team to follow Cao Cao, and was appointed by Cao Cao as Sima of other departments, and served as the captain of the school.

Cao Chun, the word Zihe, is the younger brother of Cao Ren's mother. Cao Ren and Cao Chun lost their father at a young age, and the two separated, according to the "Heroes", it was Cao Chun who inherited his father Cao Chi's family business in history. Therefore, Cao Chun's family is quite wealthy, and there are hundreds of servants and guests in the family, but Cao Chun can run the family with discipline at a young age, supervise the servants, and manage the family's business without losing order, so the villagers think that he is very talented. Cao Chun admired learning and respected the learned Confucian scholars, so many Confucian scholars came to him, making Cao Chun's reputation praised far and near.

In the fourth year of Zhongping (187), Cao Chunnian entered the imperial court as a waiter of the Yellow Gate before he was weak, and he was only eighteen years old. Two years later, Dong Zhuo caused chaos in the world, so Cao Chun followed Cao Cao to Xiangyi to recruit troops, and began to follow Cao Cao's career as a horseman, and later Cao Chun served as the commander of Cao's elite tiger and leopard cavalry.

Cao Hong, the word is cheap, he is also Cao Cao's younger brother. Cao Hong is most famous in history is to let the horse save Cao, after Cao Cao was defeated by Xu Rong, Cao Cao's own war horses were lost, Cao Hong wanted to give his horse to Cao Cao, but Cao Cao did not accept, so Cao Hong said: "The world can be without Hong, not without a king." Cao Cao accepted it. After Cao Hong gave up his horse, he followed Cao Cao to the edge of the Bianshui on foot, the water was deep and rapid, and he could not wade across the river, Cao Hong searched along the river, and finally found a ferry, so he was able to cross the river with Cao Cao and returned to Qiaojun.

After Cao Cao was defeated by Xu Rong in Bianshui, he was squeezed out by the princes of Sour Zao, so he turned to Yangzhou to recruit troops. In history, Cao Hong's family was also very wealthy, and Cao Cao once said: "My family is as cheap as a son!" (My family's possessions are so much cheaper!) But Cao Hong is not generous, on the contrary, he is a little stingy.

Cao Xiu, whose name is Wenlie, is Cao Hong's nephew and Cao Cao's descendant. After the chaos in the world, major families left Beijing one after another and returned to their hometowns. Cao Xiu lost his father when he was more than ten years old, and he and a guest buried his father temporarily, and then he took his mother across the river to Wu County. Cao Xiu's grandfather Cao Ding once served as the Taishou of Wu County, Cao Xiu was in the official residence of the Taishou, and saw the portrait of the former Taishou that was his grandfather Cao Ding hanging on the wall, so he stayed and worshipped on the ground and wept, and the people who sat with him at that time felt praise and pity for Cao Xiu.

Knowing that Cao Cao raised volunteers to fight against the rebel Dong Zhuo, he went to Jingzhou incognito, and then went north from the small road to meet Cao Cao. Cao Cao learned that Cao Xiu could travel thousands of miles to return, so he said to his subordinates: "This is our family's thousand-mile horse!" So let him be with Cao Pi and treat him like flesh and blood. Later, Cao Xiu often accompanied Cao Cao everywhere on expeditions, and Cao Cao asked him to exercise the authority of the tiger and leopard to ride and guard.

Xiahou Dun, the character Yuan Rang, the descendant of Xiahou Ying, the founder of the Western Han Dynasty, was one of the earliest generals who followed Cao Cao, and had begun to follow Cao Cao when Cao Cao crusaded against the Yellow Turban Army and even earlier, brave and good at fighting, and his status in Cao Cao's army was basically second only to Cao Cao himself. After the formation of the Dong coalition army, Cao Cao exercised the general of Fenwu and took Xiahoudun as Sima.

Xiahou Yuan, whose name is Miaocai, is the younger brother of Xiahou Yuan, and his wife is the sister of Cao Cao's wife, Lady Ding. Before Cao Cao came out, he was convicted of a lawsuit, and Xiahou Yuan replaced Cao Cao for the felony, and Cao Cao later managed to rescue him, so he was spared punishment.

At the time of the chaos in Yanzhou and Yuzhou, Xiahou Yuan did not have enough food because his family was poor, so he could not bear to give up his young son to save his dead brother's daughter. When Cao Cao raised his army, he took Xiahou Yuan as the commander of the other departments and the commander of the cavalry.

Shi Lian, the word Gong Liu, Peiguo (now Suixi, Anhui) people. When he was a teenager, he already had the style of being a hero. When Cao Cao began to make his career, Shi Jian followed Cao Cao as a doorman and served as a lieutenant of the Central Military Academy. Since then, Shi Jian has been following Cao Cao to fight in the east and west, and has made many military exploits.

Le Jin, the word Wenqian, is a native of Yangping Weiguo (now Shen County, Shandong). He had already followed Cao Cao a long time ago, and although Le Jin was short-sighted, he himself was very bold. When serving under Cao Cao's account, he was sent back to his hometown to recruit troops, and more than 1,000 people were raised.

Zaoyi, a native of Yingchuan Yangzhai (now Yuzhou City, Henan Province) in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. He had a great reputation before he took refuge in Cao Cao, when Cao Cao raised troops to fight against Dong Zhuo in Chen Liu, Zao Yi and Cao Cao raised volunteers together, after he joined Cao Cao, Yuan Shao even sent people to refute him many times, and he was very appreciative of it, but Zao Yi categorically refused, Cao Cao was very moved.

Ren Jun, whose name is Boda, is a native of Zhongmu County, Henan County. At the end of the Han Dynasty, Dong Zhuo was in turmoil, the Quartet was in turmoil, and the Kwantung region was shaken, Zhongmu County made Yang Yuan sad and frightened, and planned to abandon the official and flee, Ren Jun persuaded him: "Dong Zhuo took the lead in the rebellion, and there is no one in the world who is not resentful." However, no one initiated a crusade against him, and it was not that people did not have the desire to crusade against him, but they were forced by the situation to dare not launch it. If you can make an initiative, it will definitely respond. ”

Yang Yuan asked, "What should I do?" Ren Jun said: "Now there are more than 10 counties in Kanto, and there are no less than 10,000 people who can fight. Yang Yuan listened to Ren Jun's strategy and appointed him as the chief secretary. Ren Jun issued a proclamation on behalf of Yang Yuan about acting for Henan Yin, so that the counties could stick to their territories, so he sent troops to recruit Dong Zhuo. Just in time for Cao Cao to raise troops from Guanzhong and enter the border of Zhongmu County, the locals did not know who to follow, only Ren Jun discussed with Zhang Fen in the same county, and led the whole county to submit to Cao Cao.

Ren Jun also gathered a total of hundreds of people from his clan, guests and family members, and was willing to follow Cao Cao. Cao Cao was very happy, and asked for Ren Jun to be appointed as a cavalry lieutenant, and to marry his cousin to him, who was very close to him.

Historically, Cao Cao received great help from his relatives after raising his army, and the initial backbone of his army were also some of his relatives and friends, which was ultimately the backbone of Cao Cao's army.