Many people think that the reasons for the betrayal of Cao Cao by Zhang Miao and Chen Gong in the history books are untrue, but it is not possible to determine what the real reason is for a while. This reason is indeed not easy to find, but if you want to look at it according to the logic of this article, it is just that the two of them made their own choice between following Cao Cao and Lu Bu.

However, what is the specific reason why Lu Bu and Cao Cao changed from the original same camp to the opposing camp at this time? It is estimated that to a large extent, it is due to the matter of welcoming Emperor Han Xian's return to the east, and the opinions of the two conflicted. When Cao Cao was on his eastern crusade, he also created some massacres, so they thought of usurping Yanzhou. In this way, first, Cao Cao could be prevented from continuing to carry forward that bad behavior, and second, he could develop his own power to welcome the return of Emperor Han Xian to the east as soon as possible. In addition, I can't think of any reason why Zhang Miao and Chen Gong could betray Cao Cao.

I remember that when Zang Hong, the Taishou of Dongjun, was besieged by Yuan Shao, his fellow villager Chen Lin wrote a letter to persuade Zang Hong to surrender. However, Zang Hong's reply contained such a key sentence: "When I was appointed, I thought I could accomplish great things and respect the royal family. When my state was attacked and the county governor was in danger, I asked for help, but I was refused, and I wanted to send troops alone, but I was detained when I left the country, and my family was killed. I have no words for the righteousness of the deceased, can I still take care of your friendship with me, and then damage the reputation of loyalty and filial piety? Therefore, I had to endure my grief, wipe away my tears, and resolutely break with you. After Kong Zhang (Chen Lin's words), you seek benefits abroad, and I will serve your relatives; You entrust yourself to serve the alliance leader Yuan Shao, and I will do my best for the court. If you say that I will die and be destroyed, I will laugh at you for being born and not heard. ”

It can be seen from what Zang Hong said that the previous speculation is still in line with the actual situation. However, looking at Cao Cao's previous actions, I think he is also a person who respects the Han family. In that case, why can't the two of them come to an agreement? I think the key reason for this is likely to lie with Yuan Shao.

Since Yuan Shao wanted to get rid of Lu Bu and let Cao Cao kill Zhang Miao, it was obvious that Yuan Shao did not want to welcome Emperor Han Xian's return to the east. And Cao Cao and Yuan Shao are allies, at this time his strength is not strong enough, most of them are subject to Yuan Shao, so Cao Cao temporarily chose to obey Yuan Shao's will. In other words, at this time, Cao Cao had already decided to take the road of traitor. To say so may have ruined his image in history, but it was indeed his choice. After all, he is not Lu Bu, and he looks at the problem from a different angle than Lu Bu, so he can only choose the path he wants to take according to his actual situation.

After Lü Bu and the others decided to seek Yanzhou, Zhang Miao sent a confidant named Liu Yi (pronounced "Yi") to Juancheng, saying: "General Lü has come to help Cao Envoy Jun attack Tao Qian, and it is advisable to provide him with military rations as soon as possible." In this regard, everyone was very puzzled, only Xun Yu knew that Zhang Miao was about to be in chaos, so he hurriedly arranged the army to prepare for defense, and sent people to summon Xiahou Dun, the Taishou of Dongjun stationed in Puyang, to lead troops to come to reinforcements.

From this information, it can be seen that Xun Yu knew about the conflict between Lü Bu and Cao Cao, so he could immediately judge the plan of Lü Bu and others to seize Yanzhou. Because Cao Cao's eastward expedition to Tao Qian only left a few soldiers and horses to garrison Yanzhou, and Cao Cao's family members were also in Juancheng at this time, Xun Yu had to quickly mobilize Xiahoudun to rush to reinforcements. As for Xun Yu, how did he know that they were going to rebel? It is estimated that most of the people who are plotting in the city are not secret, and Xun Yu heard some rumors, or someone directly went to tell the secret, so he could take precautions in time.

According to the narrative of the "Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms", Xiahoudun led a light army to Juancheng, but encountered Lu Bu's troops halfway. After a battle between the two armies, Lü Bu retreated, and then occupied Puyang. Later, Lu Bu sent the sergeant to surrender and took the opportunity to kidnap Xiahoudun, and the officers and men in the army were terrified. There was a man named Han Hao in Xiahoudun's army, who righteously reprimanded Xiahoudun's captors, and then regardless of Xiahoudun's safety, he ordered the sergeants to attack and kill him, and Xiahoudun was spared.

It's a kind of dramatic, but I don't think that's exactly what happened. Later, Cao Cao learned about Xiahoudun's abduction, so he said to Han Hao: "This can be the law of eternity." And made a military order, that whoever encounters such a situation in the future should do so, without fear of hostages. As a result, this kind of hostage threat ceased to occur. It seems ruthless to say that Cao Cao did this, but it also shows his spirit of never giving in to threats, which may be one of the reasons why he was able to turn defeat into victory in the end.

Speaking of turning defeat into victory, some people may wonder, when did Cao Cao lose? In fact, in the Battle of Yanzhou, Cao Cao was defeated by Lu Bu at the beginning. Because Yuan Shao was worried that Lu Bu would become a disaster for himself after he grew stronger, he allocated thousands of troops to Cao Cao and personally dispatched a large army to conquer Lu Bu. Originally, Lu Bu did not have many soldiers, and he fought with Cao Cao for more than three months, so under the joint offensive of the combined forces of Yuan and Cao, coupled with the continuous drought and locust plague in Yanzhou at that time, although Lu Bu held on for more than a year, he was finally defeated because of the lack of enough food. We all know that Lu Bu almost captured Cao Cao alive in Puyang, which is narrated in both history books and romances. That is, in this battle, Cao Cao was completely annihilated, so he had to run to Yuan Shao for help.

Just imagine, Cao Cao has been defeated to the point of annihilation, how can he turn defeat into victory without foreign aid? Therefore, it is not unreasonable to say that history books are not used to write real history.

People who like the "Three Kingdoms" have ever thought that they have been deceived by the "Three Kingdoms" all along, do you think this is sad? Some people may begin to have an epiphany, why are there always so few successful people and so many failed people in this world? It's just that those who fail always live in deception and refuse to wake up.