When Cao Cao was young, history records that a total of three people evaluated him.

The first person was Qiao Xuan, the former Taiwei. Qiao Xuan (i.e., Qiao Xuan) was upright and upright in history, and he once went out of the town to the frontier, repelled the invasion of Xianbei, the Southern Xiongnu, and Goguryeo, and protected the territory and the people. In the first year of Guanghe (178), Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty promoted him to the rank of Tai Lieutenant, Qiao Xuan saw that the country was weakening day by day, and he was unable to do anything, so he was dismissed from his post due to illness and appointed as a doctor in Taizhong. Now many people think that he is the stepfather of "Jiangdong Er Qiao", but unfortunately Qiao Xuan died during the Yellow Turban Uprising, and he really can't be the adoptive father of Big and Little Qiao.

In the seventh year of Jian'an (202), Cao Cao passed by and went to Qiao Xuan's tomb, felt sad and sacrificed to him. personally wrote: "The former Taiwei Qiao Gong is of noble character, benevolent and tolerant. The nation is grateful for your admonitions, and the scholars remember your teachings. Your soul in heaven, we will not stop remembering. I have been to your house since I was young, and I have received your meetings with a stubborn character. You praised me, just as Confucius praised himself for not being as good as Yan Yuan, and Li Sheng praised Jia Fu. The soldier dies for his confidant, and I have always remembered this sentence. And I remembered our oath: 'After I die, if you pass by here, if you do not bring a bucket of wine and a chicken to honor me, do not blame me if you have a stomachache after the chariot and horse have passed three steps.' Even though it was a joke at the time, if it wasn't for a close relationship, how could you say such a thing? I miss the old things, and I feel sad when I think about it. Now I am ordered to go eastward, stationed in the township, looking north at the land, and thinking about your mausoleum. So I will pay tribute to you with a thin gift, and may you enjoy it! ”

In the sixth year of the early Huang dynasty (225), Emperor Wen of Wei Cao Pi conquered Wu Huishi and sent an ether prison to worship Qiao Xuan.

The intersection between Cao Cao and Qiao Xuan is very deep, Cao Cao was not very famous at that time, and Qiao Xuan had already been a lieutenant of one of the three dukes, and was once the highest military commander in the country, it can be said that the identity gap between the two is very obvious, and the age gap between the two is also very large, Cao Cao is a young man about twenty years old, and Qiao Xuan is already in his prime.

But in the end, the two became old friends, Qiao Xuan admired Cao Cao very much, and even thought that Cao Cao was the savior of the Han Dynasty, and said to Cao Cao: "If there is going to be turmoil today, isn't it you who can stabilize the world?" Qiao Xuan also entrusted his family to Cao Cao before he died, and Cao Cao often lamented that Qiao Xuan was his confidant. It can be seen that Cao Cao was already recognized for his talent when he was young.

The second person is Xu Shao, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" said that Cao Cao is a capable minister who rules the world, and this is the traitor in troubled times.

Xu Shao's history is similar to what is depicted in the romance, and he is famous for his ability to inspect people's conduct.

Xu Shaozi is a native of Pingyu County, Runan County, he has a good reputation, pays great attention to ethics, and Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu are fellow countrymen. Once, Yuan Shao left his post from Puyang Ling and went home, the chariots and horses were crowded, very luxurious, and he was about to enter the county, but Yuan Shao sent all the guests away, and said to the servants: "Can I let Xu Zijiang see such a chariot and horse outfit?" I only took a car back home.

Xu Shao once went to Yingchuan, and the people who traveled with him were some moral and learned elders, only he did not visit the local celebrity Chen Yu. After Chen Fan's wife died, he returned to his hometown for burial, and everyone in the village went to attend the funeral, but Xu Shao did not go. Someone asked him what the reason was, and Xu Shao said: "Taiqiu (Chen Yu) Taoism is too wide, and if it is too wide, it will be difficult to be thoughtful; Zhongju (Chen Fan) has a severe temperament, and if it is severe, it cannot be reached. So I don't go. That's what he judged most of the people at the time.

Xu Shao's uncle and grandfather Xu Jing, Xu Jing's son Xu Xun, and Xunzi Xu Xiang are all ministers of the Three Princes. Because Xu Xiang flattered the eunuch, the official went to the Taiwan Division to seal the marquis, and sent people to invite Xu Shao many times, but Xu Shao thought that Xu Xiang was hateful and had no virtue, and never went to see him.

Xu Shao was famous at that time, and together with Xu Jing, he liked to comment on the township party figures, changing the topic every month, so Runan had the custom of "Yuedan Commentary".

As mentioned above, Cao Cao's reputation was not obvious at first, so he bought a generous gift and humbly begged Xu Shao to talk for him. Xu Shao looked down on him and refused to say, Cao Cao found a loophole to threaten Xu Shao, Xu Shao had no choice but to say: "Jun Qingping's traitor, the hero of troubled times." (Note 1) Cao Cao left with great joy.

What does this mean? And the ability to rule the world, the meaning of the traitor in the troubled times is just the opposite, Xu Shao thinks that Cao Cao is a traitor in the peaceful world and a hero in the troubled times.

The third person is He Hao, if everyone remembers well, they should still have a little impression of him.

Who is Ho Hao? Two words to answer "party people". After Dou Wu, Chen Fan, Li Ying and others failed in the second party battle, He Hao, who was kind to them, soon became the target of the eunuchs, but He Hao ran quickly, and he changed his name and hid in the Runan area.

Why did you hide in Runan? It's not because it's He Hao's hometown, He Hao is from Xiangxiang Township, Nanyang, because it's the territory of the old Yuan family, and the power of the gate valve is very strong, and the eunuch's hand can't reach anywhere.

He Hao was very prestigious in the Jingyu area, and Yuan Shao came here and interacted with each other in private. At that time, the eunuchs were autocratic, and the party was becoming more and more fierce, and with the help of Yuan Shao, many party members were able to escape. Later, He Hao was recruited by Dong Zhuo and put forward a lot of "good opinions" for Dong Zhuo, which also greatly helped Yuan Shao.

He Hao's evaluation of people is very accurate, and he once said "Yingchuan Xunyu, Wang Zuo's vessel". For Cao Cao, he couldn't help but sigh after seeing it: "The Han family is going to die, and those who are in the world must be this person." ”

It can be seen from Qiao Xuan, Xu Shao, and He Hao's evaluation of Cao Cao that at that time, after the reckless behavior of relatives and eunuchs for many years, coupled with the faint and incompetent of Emperor Heng and Emperor Ling, the Han Dynasty was already crumbling, and the building was about to collapse.

At this time, although Cao Cao's reputation was not obvious, he had already shown some of his talents, and was recognized by many people, and even thought that he would calm the troubled times, become a hero, and be a savior-like existence. This is completely different from the image of Cao Cao in our impression, after all, the image of historical figures and the image of characters in literary works are completely different things, and there are too many personal emotional factors mixed with literary works, of course, the image shown by a person in different periods may be completely different, and our evaluation of a person must at least objectively synthesize his life.

Throughout Cao Cao's life, whether he was a traitor or a hero, let's not talk about it. But if you don't look at anything else, what Cao Cao did when he was young can be called a young hero who is not afraid of power and serves the country and the people.

But by today's standards, it's the end of the teenage hero.

Note 1: In "Three Kingdoms", Pei Songzhi's note is that he is a capable minister who governs the world and a traitor in troubled times. Contradicting the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, although the latter is recorded in detail, the former is a first-hand material, so it is not possible to determine which one is more accurate.