※曹操一生可以说是既狡诈又老实，既温情又狠毒，既宽容又报复，易中天先生给他的评价是：可爱的奸雄。难道，曹操在刚出道时就想做奸雄吗？年轻时的曹操又有着怎样的理想和抱负呢？《易中天品三国之能臣之路》即将播出，敬请关注！
※ Cao Cao’s life can be said to be both cunning and honest, warm and vicious, tolerant and vindictive. Mr. Yi Zhongtian gave him the evaluation of being a cute traitor. Could it be that Cao Cao wanted to be a traitor when he first emerged? What ideals and ambitions did Cao Cao have when he was young? “Yi Zhong Tian Pin: The Road of the Three Kingdoms” will be broadcast soon, please pay attention!
※在汉朝，孝廉科是一项重要的用人制度，只有被推举为孝廉的人才会步入仕途。曹操因为被推举为孝廉，又有身为高官的的父亲做后台，所以在二十岁的时候就顺利进入官场。然而不久一件突发事件却令曹操陷入了进退两难的政治漩涡：进，则得罪当今权贵，失去大好的政治前途；退，则违背自己的政治理想，与权贵同流合污。那么，意气风发的曹操该何去何从呢？易中天先生将站在平民立场，通过现代视角为您精彩品三国之——能臣之路。
In the Han Dynasty, the Filial and Honest Department was an important employment system, and only those who were elected as Filial and Honest would enter the official career. Cao Cao, who was promoted as a filial and honest person and had his father as a senior official as the backstage, successfully entered the officialdom at the age of 20. However, a sudden incident soon plunged Cao Cao into a political dilemma: to advance would offend the current powerful and lose his great political future; To retreat violates one’s own political ideals and associates with powerful people. So, where should the spirited Cao Cao go? Mr. Yi Zhongtian will stand on the position of civilians and provide you with a wonderful taste of the road of the Three Kingdoms – Nengchen from a modern perspective.
易中天：
在上一集我们讲到当时的最有名的人物鉴赏家和品评家许劭，对曹操又一个评价，就说你是治世之能臣，乱世之奸雄。这句话可以有两种解释，一种是处在治世就是能臣，处在乱世就是奸雄；第二种解释，你治理天下就是能臣，扰乱天下就是奸雄。那么曹操到底是做能臣还是做奸雄呢？其实曹操原本是想做能臣的。
Yi Zhongtian:
In the previous episode, we talked about Xu Shao, the most famous character connoisseur and critic at that time. Another evaluation of Cao Cao was that you were a capable minister in governing the world and a traitor in troubled times. This sentence can be interpreted in two ways. One is that in a world of governance, one is capable of being a minister, and in a troubled world, one is a traitor; The second explanation is that if you govern the world, you are capable ministers, and if you disturb the world, you are traitors. So is Cao Cao a capable minister or a traitor? In fact, Cao Cao originally wanted to be a capable minister.
公元174年，二十岁的曹操被举为孝廉，担任郎官。孝就是孝子，廉就是廉士，一个人如果被举为孝廉，那么他就有了做官的资格，就好比现在你有了一个学历、有了一个文凭你就可以去考公务员。那么担任郎官是怎么回事呢？汉代的官制，皇帝要从亲贵子弟当中挑选一些大家认为道德品质、思想表现和外部形象都比较好的年轻人做郎。郎这个字有两个意思，一个是年轻人或者小伙子，还有一个意思就是侍卫，实际上到宫廷里面去做郎，也就是做皇帝的侍卫，因为这个皇帝的侍卫是要在皇宫的走廊里站岗的，所以他称之为郎，侍卫长就叫做郎中令。那么在皇帝的身边做了郎就参与了帝国的政治，耳濡目染可以得到锻炼，所以做了郎官以后很快就可以去担任别的官职，这是汉代培养干部的一种方式，在皇帝身边，它不过是走向仕途的一个资格和阅历。
In 174 AD, at the age of 20, Cao Cao was elected as a filial and honest official, serving as a Lang official. “Filial piety is filial piety, and honesty is integrity. If a person is promoted as filial piety and integrity, then he has the qualifications to become an official, just like now that you have a degree and a diploma, you can go to take the civil service exam.”. So what is it about being a Langguan? In the official system of the Han Dynasty, the emperor had to select young people from among his relatives who were considered to have good moral qualities, ideological performance, and external image. The word “Lang” has two meanings, one for a young person or a young man, and the other for a bodyguard. In fact, to be a Lang in the palace is to be the bodyguard of the emperor. Because the emperor’s bodyguard is to stand guard in the corridor of the palace, he calls it Lang, and the bodyguard chief is called Lang Zhongling. So being a Lang official by the emperor’s side was a way to participate in the politics of the empire, and one could gain training by being exposed to the influence of others. Therefore, being a Lang official would soon be able to assume other official positions. This was a way of cultivating cadres in the Han Dynasty. Being around the emperor, it was just a qualification and experience to move towards an official career.
那么曹操举为孝廉，担任郎官，这就向仕途迈出了第一步。再加上曹操是朝中有人，曹操的祖父曹腾是皇上信任的宦官，曹操的父亲曹嵩也在朝中为高官，所以曹操没过多久就被任命为洛阳北部尉，洛阳北部尉是一个什么官职呢？洛阳当时是帝国的一个县，但是是首县，因为洛阳是东汉王朝的首都所在。汉代的这个制度，县一级的正印官，就是一把手，大的县叫县令，小的县叫县长，县令和县长有两个副手，一个叫丞，一个叫尉，丞负责的是民政、财政，尉负责的是军事、治安。但是洛阳是一个大县，它是首县，所以它的尉不是一个人，曹操是担任洛阳尉当中的一个，负责北部地区的治安，叫洛阳北部尉，他的级别是秩四百石，也就是说曹操担任的是一个副县级的公安局长。
So Cao Cao took the first step towards becoming a filial and honest official and serving as a doctor. In addition, Cao Cao was a member of the court, his grandfather Cao Teng was an eunuch trusted by the emperor, and his father Cao Song was also a senior official in the court. Therefore, it was not long before Cao Cao was appointed as a northern lieutenant in Luoyang. What official position was the northern lieutenant in Luoyang? Luoyang was then a county of the Empire, but it was the first county, because Luoyang was the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the Han Dynasty, the official seal at the county level was the first in command. The large county was called the county magistrate, while the small county was called the county magistrate. The county magistrate and the county magistrate had two deputies, one called Cheng and the other called Wei. The Cheng was responsible for civil affairs and finance, while the Wei was responsible for military affairs and public security. However, Luoyang is a large county, which is the first county, so its lieutenant is not a single person. Cao Cao is one of the lieutenants in Luoyang, responsible for public security in the northern region. His rank is Rank Four Hundred Stones, which means that Cao Cao served as a deputy county level public security chief.
这个官是曹操担任的第一个官职，所以曹操对于这件事记忆非常地深刻，后来曹操被汉献帝封为魏王，已经是王爵了，他还记得这件事，他还记得推荐他担任洛阳北部尉的这个人，这个人是谁呢？这个人叫司马防，是司马懿的父亲。曹操担任魏王以后，就把司马防请到了他魏王王国的都城邺城，摆开盛宴，款待司马防。酒过三巡以后曹操就想起这件事来了，就跟司马防说，司马公，你看看孤王今天还可不可以再去当一次洛阳北部尉啊？这里面是有一点小人得志的嘴脸啊。司马芳说什么呢，司马防说大王啊，当年老夫推荐你去做洛阳北部尉的时候，你做那个副县级的公安局长正合适啊！曹操听了以后哈哈哈哈，史书上的记载是曹操大笑。曹操为什么笑呢？那么一般的人认为这就是小人得志了，自鸣得意了。不完全是这样。因为曹操这个时候想起了他当年担任洛阳北部尉的那些往事。
This officer was the first official position held by Cao Cao, so Cao Cao had a very deep memory of this matter. Later, Cao Cao was granted the title of King of Wei by Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty, and he was already a king. He still remembers this matter. He still remembers the person who recommended him to serve as a northern lieutenant in Luoyang. Who was this person? This person is called Sima Fang and is the father of Sima Yi. After Cao Cao assumed the position of King of Wei, he invited Sima Fang to Ye City, the capital of his kingdom of Wei, and held a banquet to entertain Sima Fang. After three rounds of drinking, Cao Cao remembered this matter and told Sima Fang, “Sima Gong, can you see if the Lone King can go and be a Northern Lieutenant in Luoyang again today?”? There is a bit of a small person’s winning face inside. What did Sima Fang say? Sima Fang said, “King!” When I recommended you to be a northern lieutenant in Luoyang, you were just the right deputy county police chief! After hearing this, Cao Cao ha ha. According to historical records, Cao Cao laughed. Why did Cao Cao laugh? So the average person thinks that this is a small person who has achieved success and is complacent. Not exactly. Because at this time, Cao Cao remembered the past when he served as a northern lieutenant in Luoyang.
洛阳北部尉这个职务是不好担任的，为什么呢，洛阳是京都所在，是帝国的心脏啊，这个地方满城都是冠盖，都是权贵，这些权贵和他们的家属，和他们的子弟，和他们的仆人，从来都是横行霸道的，从来就是不把王法放在眼里的，从来就是要为非作歹的，也从来就是没有人惹的起的。可是首都地区的治安是不能不维护的，怎么办呢？所以非得有一个特殊的人，这个人得不信邪，这个人还得有很多鬼点子，能够治住这些权贵，必须有这样的人去担任那个副县级的公安局长才镇得住这个地方。而曹操恰恰是这样一个人，胆子又大，点子又多，谁都不怕，愣头青一个，所以说他去当这个副县级的公安局长那是非常的合适。司马防这个话还不完全是给自己打圆场，确实还是实事求是。
The position of Northern Lieutenant in Luoyang is not easy to hold. Why? Luoyang is the seat of Kyoto and the heart of the empire. This place is full of crowns and dignitaries. These dignitaries and their families, their children, and their servants have always been tyrants, never paying attention to the law of the king, never committing crimes, and never being provoked by anyone. However, public security in the capital region cannot be left unattended. What should we do? Therefore, there must be a special person, who must believe in evil or not, and who must have many evil ideas to be able to control these dignitaries. Only when such a person serves as the deputy county level police chief can he live in this place. And Cao Cao is precisely such a person, bold and resourceful, who is not afraid of anyone and has a blank head. Therefore, it is very suitable for him to become the deputy county level public security chief. Sima Fang’s words are not entirely a way to smooth things out for himself. They are indeed seeking truth from facts.
