Historically, the relationship between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao was more complicated, they were friends, they also had a superior-subordinate relationship, they were allies, and they were also enemies of fate.

【Yuan Shao and Cao Cao】

Cao Cao and Yuan Shao are young, they grew up together since childhood, and they have known each other very early. When Yuan Shao was in seclusion in Luoyang and plotting against the eunuchs, Cao Cao may have been one of his like-minded comrades. Then Dong Zhuo rebelled, Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and Yuan Shu and others all fled from Luoyang and gathered forces to fight against Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao was the first righteous person, and Yuan Shao became the leader of the anti-Dong coalition army.

Cao Cao was defeated by Xu Rong and came out of the sour jujube camp to take refuge with his old friend Yuan Shao, which was also the beginning of the relationship between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao. After the incident was over, Cao Cao also separated from Yuan Shao and returned to his hometown Yanzhou to develop.

Then Yuan Shao seized Jizhou, and with his support, Cao Cao became the Taishou of Dongjun and got his first piece of territory. At this time, Cao Cao was not so much an ally of Yuan Shao as a subordinate of Yuan Shao. This situation has continued until Cao Cao became the pastor of Yanzhou, Cao Cao because of the unstable foothold in the position just now, but also had to rely on Yuan Shao, in the face of Yuan Shu and others to Yanzhou's invasion, Cao Cao even put the base camp to Juancheng, which is closer to Jizhou, and later because of Zhang Miao, Chen Gong's rebellion, Lu Bu's invasion, Cao Cao encountered the biggest crisis in the prince's career, and finally relied on Yuan Shao's support to ease up.

During this time, their relationship was similar to that of a half-ally and half-affiliate. And Cao Cao can really have equal qualifications with Yuan Shao or after he welcomed the Son of Heaven, Cao Cao took advantage of this opportunity to gain great prestige and became a decisive prince at that time.

And this was also the beginning of their transformation from allies to enemies, after which Cao Cao, who had greatly increased in strength, began to ignore Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shao, who originally regarded Cao Cao as a southern barrier, also turned to Cao Cao as a threat to himself.

So the former friends and former allies finally met each other, and the curtain ended with Yuan Shao's defeat. After Yuan Shao's death, the four northern states he had worked so hard to conquer were finally captured by Cao Cao.

[The so-called "true love"]

Although Yuan Shao eventually became Cao Cao's enemy, on the whole, Yuan Shao was still very good to Cao Cao, and it can be said that he was "true love" for Cao Cao.

Before Cao Cao was in Jian'an, he did not have a very smooth life and faced many difficulties and setbacks, and Yuan Shao's support for Cao Cao during this period was very crucial. When the coalition army crusaded against Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao was defeated by Xu Rong in Xingyang Bianshui, and he couldn't stay in the sour jujube camp, and then went to Yangzhou to collect troops and buy horses It was not very smooth, at this time it was Yuan Shao who took Cao Cao in.

Later, Cao Cao returned to Yanzhou, and Yuan Shao recommended him as the Taishou of Dongjun, so that Cao Cao had his own starting place; Later, Yuan Shu invaded Yanzhou, and Cao Cao also drove him out with his back to Yuan Shao; During the Battle of Cao Lu Yanzhou, Cao Cao was once suppressed by Lu Bu, but it was Yuan Shao who gave support, and Cao Cao reversed the situation; After Cao Cao surrounded Yongqiu, Zang Hong prepared to rescue, but Yuan Shao did not allow it, and even finally because Cao Cao sent troops to attack Dongwuyang.

Cao Cao also didn't give Yuan Shao face several times in history, but Yuan Shao didn't pay much attention to it at first. Earlier, Yuan Shao sought Cao Cao's support three times and twice on the matter of establishing another matter, Cao Cao categorically refused, and then Yuan Shao did not care but elected Cao Cao as the Taishou of Dongjun, and then Yuan Shao asked Cao Cao to remove Chen Liutaishou Zhang Miao, Cao Cao did not agree, and then Zhang Miao and his brother Zhang Chao made trouble, Yuan Shao also helped Cao Cao fight against Lu Bu, and also crusaded against Zang Hong, who was ready to rescue Zhang Chao.

Yuan Shao is really good to Cao Cao.

[Enlarged version of the white-eyed wolf? 】

However, how did Cao Cao treat Yuan Shao? Cao Cao didn't give Yuan Shao face in the matter of setting up another and Zhang Miao, and then Cao Cao won the emperor of Han Xian, the son of heaven, and the first thing he did was to move the capital to Xuchang, and moved his base camp from Juancheng, which was very close to Yuan Shao, to Xuchang, Yuzhou, which was separated from Jizhou.

After Cao Cao coerced the Son of Heaven and ordered the princes, Yuan Shao was also the first victim, when Yuan Shao was still dealing with Zang Hong for Cao Cao, Cao Cao criticized Yuan Shao in the name of the Son of Heaven, Yuan Shao was angry, and then Cao Cao made himself a general, left the Taiwei to Yuan Shao, and openly put himself above Yuan Shao.

Therefore, from Yuan Shao's point of view, it is not an exaggeration to say that Cao Cao is a strengthened version of Zang Hong.

[All of them are benefits]

But fundamentally, the change in the relationship between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao still revolves around their own interests. Why did Yuan Shao support Cao Cao in the early stage, in addition to the good brothers, it was because Yuan Shao's goal at that time was to unify the north, so he needed a relatively stable rear to allow him to concentrate his strength, so Yuan Shao didn't mind some small problems with Cao Cao at that time. And after Cao Cao coerced the Son of Heaven, his power increased greatly, and his attitude was also very unfriendly, so at this time, Yuan Shao had no way to calm down, because Cao Cao had become a threat to himself.

Similarly for Cao Cao, he himself actually didn't like Yuan Shao very much, Yuan Shao led the wolf into the house, recruited Dong Zhuo, and then prepared to set up another one, and also seized Jizhou of his ally Han Fu, and had a conflict with his younger brother Yuan Shu to hinder Sun Jian's crusade against Dong Zhuo, it can be said that Cao Cao is disgusted with Yuan Shao and it is normal.

Cao Cao would unite with Yuan Shao in the early stage because of his weak strength and had to rely on Yuan Shao's support, but after welcoming the Son of Heaven, Cao Cao's prestige increased greatly, and Cao Cao didn't need Yuan Shao's help much at this time, so Cao Cao naturally didn't take Yuan Shao in his eyes. And Cao Cao himself also has great ambitions, he has never been prepared to be Yuan Shao's younger brother willingly, so Cao Cao dumped Yuan Shao immediately after he developed.

But Cao Cao still couldn't afford to offend Yuan Shao at that time, so in the end, Cao Cao suffered a small loss and had to give up the position of general to Yuan Shao. As for Yuan Shao, although he has interests in Cao Cao's help, it can be seen that Yuan Shao really regards Cao Cao as his good friend.

It's just that compared with Yuan Shao, Cao Cao is closer to a cold-blooded politician in treating this friendship, and perhaps Cao Cao has not cherished this friendship between him and Yuan Shao from the beginning.

Yuan Shao has "true love" for Cao Cao, but Cao Gong doesn't appreciate it.

Note: Although Yuan Shao's three sons Yuan Tan, Yuan Xi, and Yuan Shang all died because of Cao Cao, there is no record that Cao Cao pursued other descendants of the Yuan family, and Yuan Shao's grandchildren and wife Liu did not record being hunted down by Cao Cao, so it is incorrect to say that Cao Cao killed Yuan Shao.