那么我的看法是这样，这个曹操当不当皇帝的事情，我总结了“四有”，就是“有想法，有资格，有条件，有障碍”。当然说曹操有这个想法是我的主观推测，讲清楚，因为他有没有这个想法，天知道呢，又不能找他来问，也没记载。但是，你说这个人做到那个份上了以后都不想，好像总是不太说得过去吧，对不对。第二，有资格，这个也不用讨论了。有条件，那更不用讨论了。那么有什么障碍呢？张作耀先生的《曹操评传》里面讲了四个障碍。
So my view is that this matter of Cao Cao not being the emperor, I summarized the “Four Haves”, which means “having ideas, qualifications, conditions, and obstacles.”. Of course, to say that Cao Cao had this idea is my subjective speculation, and to make it clear, because if he had this idea, who knows, he couldn’t be asked, and there was no record. However, if you say that this person doesn’t even want to do his part, it doesn’t seem to make sense, does it. Secondly, being qualified, there is no need to discuss this. There are conditions, let alone discussions. So what are the obstacles? Mr. Zhang Zuoyao’s “Commentary on Cao Cao” talks about four obstacles.
第一，曹操青年的时候说过一句话，说这个“废立之事，天下之至不祥也”。我们回顾一下我们这个节目前面讲过的《一错再错》，我们讲到董卓废立、袁绍另立、袁术自立，都在皇帝问题上犯了一个严重的政治错误。而且这三件事情曹操都是不以为然的，而且曹操认为随随便便换皇帝是件非常不吉利的事情。这个观点可能到他晚年他还有。第二点，就是曹操世受汉恩，他们这个家族世世代代都受到大汉王朝的恩宠的，他报恩的思想可能还是有的，至少不忍心下手。第三点，就是曹操一直信誓旦旦，说我曹某人就是想做个齐桓公、晋文公，我绝不会篡汉的。赌咒发誓那么多次，最后他不能自己打自己耳光啊，这是第三点。第四点，就是曹操盘算了一下，发现他称皇帝不合算，为什么呢？他太清楚刘备、孙权是什么人了，他非常清楚只要我曹某人一称帝，刘备、孙权马上跟进，最后篡汉的罪名我曹某人背上，他们安安全全地去当皇帝，这不能便宜这两个小子，对吧。第二点，我曹操虽然现在不是皇帝，但我代表中央啊，刘备、孙权这些人，他再怎么说他只能算是地方。如果我当了皇帝，他们也跟着当皇帝，那他们地方变中央了，我跟他们的关系就不是中央和地方的关系，是对方的关系，是国与国的关系，是对等的关系，这也不合算。
First, when Cao Cao was young, he said, “The matter of abolishing legislation is the most ominous thing in the world.”. “Let’s review the” One Mistake, Another Mistake “mentioned earlier in our program. We talked about Dong Zhuo’s abolishment, Yuan Shao’s independence, and Yuan Shu’s self-reliance, all of which made a serious political mistake on the issue of the emperor.”. Moreover, Cao Cao disapproved of these three matters, and Cao Cao believed that it was very unlucky to change emperors casually. This view may still exist in his later years. The second point is that Cao Cao’s family was favored by the Han Dynasty from generation to generation, and he may still have the thought of repaying the favor, at least not the heart to do it. The third point is that Cao Cao has always vowed that he wants to be Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin, and I will never usurp the Han Dynasty. After swearing and swearing so many times, he couldn’t slap himself in the face. This is the third point. The fourth point is that Cao Cao calculated and found that he called the emperor uneconomical. Why? “He knows too well who Liu Bei and Sun Quan are, and he knows very well that as soon as someone Cao becomes emperor, Liu Bei and Sun Quan will follow up immediately. Finally, the charge of usurping the Han Dynasty will be borne by someone Cao, and they will go to be emperor safely. This cannot be a cheap way for these two boys, right?”. Secondly, although Cao Cao is not an emperor now, I represent the Central Committee, such as Liu Bei and Sun Quan. No matter what he says, he can only be regarded as a place. If I become an emperor and they follow suit, their place will become the central government. My relationship with them is not a relationship between the central government and the local government, but a relationship between each other, a relationship between countries, and a relationship of reciprocity, which is not cost-effective.
这个就是张作耀先生总结出来的四个原因，我可以把它总结为十二个字，就是“不吉利，想报恩，难改口，不合算”。但是我私下里以为还有一个说不出口的原因，就是曹操自惭形秽，他形象不好，长得太差了，个子又矮，估计脸蛋也不怎么样。这个现在听起来很可笑，有人要攻击我说又信口开河了，其实要知道一点历史的人就知道，那个时候是确实很重形象的，如果一个人形象太差了当皇帝，下面就会议论，议论的话叫做“望之不似人君”，看上去不像，这恐怕也是个原因。
This is the four reasons that Mr. Zhang Zuoyao summarized. I can summarize it into twelve words, which are “unlucky, wanting to repay, difficult to change, and uneconomical.”. “But privately, I thought there was another reason I couldn’t say, which was that Cao Cao was ashamed of himself. He had a bad image, was too bad looking, was short, and probably had a bad face.”. “This sounds ridiculous now, and someone is going to attack me and say it out of hand. In fact, anyone who knows a bit about history knows that at that time it was really important to have an image. If a person’s image was too bad to be an emperor, the following discussion will be made. The discussion is called ‘looking like a human king,’ and it doesn’t look like a human king, which may also be a reason.”.
所以建安二十四年，据《三国志·武帝纪》裴松之引《魏略》这本书的记载，说这一年孙权上了一封劝进表，劝曹操当皇帝。那么曹操把孙权的这封信拿来给左右看了一下，说了这么一句话，说这小子是放肆地把我放在炉子上烤。
Therefore, in the 24th year of Jian’an, according to the records of Pei Songzhi’s book “Wei Lu” cited in “Records of the Three Kingdoms, Records of the Emperor Wu”, it was said that in that year, Sun Quan wrote a letter urging Cao Cao to become emperor. Then Cao Cao took Sun Quan’s letter and showed it to the left and right, saying that this boy was presumptuously baking me on the stove.
＊曹操已经是享受了皇帝的待遇，拥有了皇帝的权力，只是没有皇帝的名分，孙权的劝进表应该说并不是空穴来风。但曹操却认为孙权这是不怀好意，没安什么好心，是要把自己放在火炉上烤。曹操为什么要这么说？他真实的想法是什么？易中天先生又是怎样认为的呢？
“Cao Cao has already enjoyed the treatment and power of the emperor, but he does not have the status of the emperor. Sun Quan’s table of persuasion should not be groundless.”. However, Cao Cao believed that Sun Quan had no good intentions and wanted to roast himself on the stove. Why did Cao Cao say that? What is his real idea? What does Mr. Yi Zhongtian think?
所以我认为，曹操的真实的想法，恐怕最后是采取了这样的一个态度——“听天由命”。就是说，他说如果天命在我，我就做个周文王，这句话也未必就是确确实实地暗示他的儿子代汉自立；而是说如果真的天命在我这，那你就去代，如果天命不眷顾我，你就别代，你就继续做你的魏王，做你的丞相，我们只要掌握政权就行了。他是这样的一种两手的打算，是听天由命。但是，该做的事儿必须做，步子一步都不能停下来，所以才有了这样一系列的活动，或者说这一系列的得寸进尺。先是“如萧何故事”，然后是“封魏公”，然后“晋魏王”，然后享受皇帝的一切礼遇待遇，一步都不停。
Therefore, I believe that Cao Cao’s true idea may ultimately be to adopt such an attitude – “resigned to fate.”. In other words, he said that if the fate were mine, I would become King Wen of Zhou. This statement may not necessarily be a real indication that his son stands on his own behalf in Han Dynasty; “It means that if the real destiny lies with me, you should replace it. If the destiny does not favor me, you should not replace it. You should continue to be your King of Wei and your Prime Minister. We just need to control the political power.”. He is such a two-handed plan that he is resigned to fate. However, what should be done must be done, and no step can be stopped, so there is such a series of activities, or a series of gains and losses. First, “The Story of Ru Xiao He”, then “The Duke of Wei”, then “The King of Jin and Wei”, and then enjoy all the courtesy and treatment of the emperor, without stopping.
那么这一系列的行动或者说活动当中，最重要的一件事情是“封魏公”，这是个转折点。为什么是一个转折点呢？表面上看起来，封公和封侯只是在爵位上升了一级，因为诸侯的爵位是公、侯、伯、子、男。但是你要知道汉代这个时候，公爵和侯爵它有个本质的区别，就是侯爵它最多有封邑、有封地，而公爵可以独立建国，可以建立自己的国家，他可以建宗庙和社稷。事实上曹操封了魏公以后也建了宗庙和社稷，在魏郡。社稷是什么呢？社稷就是社坛和稷坛，社坛是祭祀土地神的，稷坛是祭祀五谷神的。中国是一个农业国家，所以我们先民认为谁掌握了土地和粮食，谁就掌握了一个国家，就掌握了国家的政权，所以社稷是国家政权的象征。一个家族如果能够建立一个国家的话，那么他要做的第一件事情就是建庙、建社稷坛，叫做建庙立国；如果要消灭一个国家的话，那么打进它的首都以后一定要把它的宗庙和社稷坛给它毁了，叫做毁庙灭国。那么曹操封了魏公以后，在邺城建立他魏国的宗庙和社稷，就表明他已经建立了一个独立公国。我们现在还不能叫它独立王国，因为曹操是公爵嘛，独立公国。
“The most important thing in this series of actions or activities is to” seal the Duke of Wei, “which is a turning point.”. Why is it a turning point? On the surface, it seems that the titles of Duke and Marquis have only risen by one level, because the titles of Marquis are Duke, Marquis, Uncle, Son, and Male. But you should know that at this time in the Han Dynasty, there was a fundamental difference between a duke and a marquis, that is, a marquis had at most fiefs and fiefs, while a duke could establish his own country independently, and he could build temples and communities. In fact, after Cao Cao granted the Duke of Wei, he also built a ancestral temple and a state in Wei County. What is a state? “Shu Ji” refers to the Altar of Society and the Altar of Ji. The Altar of Society worships the Land God, while the Altar of Ji worships the Five Grain God. China is an agricultural country, so our ancestors believed that whoever controls the land and food, who controls a country, controls the state power. Therefore, the state is a symbol of state power. If a family can establish a country, the first thing they need to do is build temples and altars of state, which is called building temples to establish the country; If you want to destroy a country, you must destroy its ancestral temples and altars after entering its capital, which is called destroying temples and destroying the country. After Cao Cao granted the Duke of Wei, he established his ancestral temple and state in Yecheng, indicating that he had established an independent principality. “We can’t call it an independent kingdom yet, because Cao Cao is a duke, an independent principality.”.
那么这样一个建议是谁提出来的呢？是董昭提出来的。那么这是董昭的创意，还是曹操的授意呢？我们现在搞不清楚。但是可以肯定，这是曹操想做的事情。曹操在此以前已经做了充分的准备，做了三件事情：一个是扩地，就是把他的封地由十五个城变成了三十个城；第二件事情叫做并州，就是把天下的十四州并成了九州，并成了九州以后，并州、幽州、司州的四个郡归了他冀州，就是曹操把地盘扩大了；第三个就是造舆论。那么造舆论呢，那当然用不着曹操自己动手，也用不着自己动口，有的是人帮他造，比方说董昭啊。那么董昭这个人其实也是一个很有意思的人，我们注意曹操迎奉天子到许县，就是董昭的主意。董昭在三国史上只算一个次要人物，但是每次都出现在关键时刻。那么董昭就大造舆论，然后群臣联名上书给皇帝，请求给曹操封为魏公。于是皇帝就派一个叫郗虑的人，郗虑当时官职是御史大夫，也就是副总理兼监察部部长这么一个职务，持节策命，封曹操为魏公，同时担任大汉王朝的丞相，同时还兼任冀州牧。就是他的面子越来越大，实惠全部都保留了，这当然是曹操想要的事情了。
So who put forward such a suggestion? It was proposed by Dong Zhao. Is this Dong Zhao’s creativity or Cao Cao’s inspiration? We are not clear now. But it’s certain that this is what Cao Cao wants to do. Before that, Cao Cao had made sufficient preparations and did three things: one was to expand the land, which was to transform his fiefdom from fifteen cities to thirty cities; The second thing was called “Bingzhou”, which was to merge the fourteen states into Jiuzhou. After merging into Jiuzhou, the four counties of Bingzhou, Youzhou, and Sizhou were transferred to Jizhou, which was the expansion of Cao Cao’s territory; The third is to create public opinion. “What about creating public opinion? Of course, there’s no need for Cao Cao to do it himself, nor for him to use his own words. Some people help him create it, such as Dong Zhao.”. So Dong Zhao is actually a very interesting person. We noticed that Cao Cao welcomed the Emperor to Xu County, which was Dong Zhao’s idea. Dong Zhao was only a minor figure in the history of the Three Kingdoms, but he always appeared at a critical moment. Then Dong Zhao created a great deal of public opinion, and then the ministers jointly wrote a letter to the emperor requesting that Cao Cao be crowned Duke of Wei. Therefore, the emperor appointed a person named Xi Si, who was then an imperial historian, also known as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Supervision. He held a position of integrity and ordered Cao Cao to be Duke of Wei, serving as the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, and concurrently serving as the herdsman of Jizhou. “It’s just that his face is getting bigger and bigger, and all the benefits have been preserved. Of course, this is what Cao Cao wants.”.
但是曹操要作秀，三让。策命来了以后曹操马上上表，说这个待遇是只有周公才能享受的啊，我曹操怎么敢当呢？不敢当，不敢当。于是，以荀攸为首的三十多个人就写信给曹操说，曹公啊，你怎么不敢当呢？敢当，敢当！您老人家的功劳比周公大多了，我们都是熟读历史的人，我们知道历史上找不到比你功劳更大的人，请你一定要当魏公。曹操说，那这样的话，那不好意思我就接受这些封地，魏公这个称号我是绝对不敢当的。那么荀攸他们又写信去说了，说曹公这样做就不好了嘛，对不对，给你加封这个公爵，这是皇上的意思嘛，也是我们文武百官的意思嘛，你这样推三推四的，那就不够意思了嘛。为了给皇上面子，也给我们一点面子，委屈您老人家，就当个魏公吧！恶心啊，真是不爽，也不像曹操的为人，但是必须这么做，因为这是规矩，这是惯例，这是必须要走的程序。如果你不让三回，马上就接过来，你看吧，马上就有人骂他厚颜无耻，你都不让一让，你就当之无愧了？
But Cao Cao wants to show off and give way three times. After the arrival of Ce Ming, Cao Cao immediately went to the table and said that only Duke Zhou could enjoy this treatment. How dare I, Cao Cao, deserve it? I don’t deserve it, I don’t deserve it. So more than thirty people, led by Xun You, wrote to Cao Cao and said, ‘Duke Cao, why don’t you deserve it?’? Dare, dare! Your old man’s contribution is much greater than that of Duke Zhou. We are all familiar with history. We know that there can be no one who has made greater contributions than you in history. Please be Duke Wei. Cao Cao said, “If that’s the case, I’m sorry to accept these fiefdoms. I absolutely dare not take the title of Duke Wei.”. Then Xun You and his colleagues wrote again and said that it would be bad for Duke Cao to do so, right? It’s the emperor’s intention to confer the title of Duke Cao on you, and it’s also the intention of our civil and military officials. If you push three or four things like this, it won’t be enough. In order to save the emperor’s face and give us some face, and to grievance your old man, let’s be Duke Wei! “Disgusting, I’m really unhappy, and I’m not like Cao Cao, but I have to do this because it’s a rule, it’s a convention, and it’s a necessary procedure.”. If you don’t let it go back three times, take it over right away. Look, someone will scold him for being cheeky right away. If you don’t even let it go, you deserve it?
何况，曹操封魏公，他还有一条叫“加九锡”，九锡就是九种特殊的待遇，一般加了九锡以后就离篡位差不太多了。加九锡、建宗庙、建社稷，这件事情认真说起来，在当时是冒天下之大不韪，因为它就是篡位的一种征兆。事实上，除了荀攸、董昭这些人劝进以外，反对派也还是大有人在的。尤其是让曹操意想不到的是，有一个和他关系最密切，最受他尊重，而且一直跟着他，既为他出谋划策，又为他出生入死的人，就相当于曹操集团的诸葛亮的这样一个地位和作用的这个人，表示了反对。那么这个人是谁呢？他为什么要反对？他反对了以后的结局又是怎样的呢？请看下集——进退失据。
Moreover, Cao Cao granted the Duke of Wei, and he also had a rule called “adding nine tins”. Nine tins are nine special treatments. Generally, after adding nine tins, there is not much difference from usurping the throne. “To speak seriously about the addition of Jiuxi, the construction of Zongmiao, and the construction of the state was a flagrant violation of the world at that time, as it was a sign of usurpation.”. In fact, in addition to the persuasion of Xun You and Dong Zhao, there are still many people in the opposition. Especially to Cao Cao’s surprise, there was a person who had the closest relationship with him, was the most respected by him, and had been following him all the time, providing advice for him and risking life and death for him. This person, who was equivalent to the position and role of Zhuge Liang in the Cao Cao group, expressed opposition. So who is this person? Why did he object? What will happen when he objects? Please see the next episode, “Struggle and Fall.”.
