Cao Cao is one of the outstanding politicians and military officers in the late Eastern Han and Three Kingdoms dynasties. He was also the one who laid the basis for the great power in the North, establishing the Cao Wei government in the Three Kingdoms period.
Compared to Liu Bei, Sun Quan, Cao Cao had a more favorable starting point and quickly achieved many achievements during the chaotic period. Cao Cao is famous for being braver and wiser than other people, having great talent and strategy, focusing on talents, … but also a suspicious person and sometimes cruel.
Cao Cao is one of the most outstanding characters of the Three Kingdoms period.
According to Wei, before his death, Cao Cao said that his whole life he did not feel sorry for anyone, but actually felt guilty towards a woman. This woman is Lady Ding, Cao Cao’s first wife and Cao Ang’s mother.
Cao Cao sighed: “If after death, really have a soul and return to the golden stream, if it meets Ang’er, it asks me, ‘Where is your mother?’, I know how to answer?”.
Cao Cao spent his whole life wandering horizontally and vertically, fighting on the political chessboard, the fiery changes between the three forces of Cao – Shu – Ngo, but before his death, he did not say anything about the great things of the world. This monarch again remembered and tormented about the mistake he made with Lady Dinh, the wife he loved the most.
The only wife that Cao Cao both respects and loves
Lady Ding is a wife loved and respected by Cao Cao.
Lady Ding is the official residence of Cao Cao. It is not clear where her hometown is, and Cao Cao’s love affair with Lady Ding before he took her home as his first wife, is not well documented. However, later stories about Cao Cao’s love for this beauty made many people admire and move.
Although Lady Ding is Cao Cao’s eldest wife, she received a lot of love and favor from her husband, but she was infertile. According to Wei, one of Cao Cao’s concubines, Lady Liu, gave birth to a son named Cao Ang. However, later Madam Liu fell ill and died. Before she closed her eyes, she gave her son Cao Ngang to Lady Ding and asked her to raise her son to become a human.
Cao Cao also gave Cao Ngang to Lady Ding to raise. Since then, this lady has always considered Cao Ngang as her own son, wholeheartedly caring.
When growing up, Cao Ngang became a handsome man, martial arts but at the same time famous as a filial son. At the age of 19, Cao Ngang was promoted to Hieu Liem and became a brave young general on the battlefield.
In addition, Lady Dinh is also a resourceful and responsible woman when taking care of the family and everything in the house. This makes Cao Cao always trust, admire and love this wife.
The mistake that made Cao Cao torment his whole life
Cao Ngang is the eldest son, and is also a good candidate to become Cao Cao’s successor. Unfortunately, Cao Ngang was short-lived when he unfortunately died in battle when Cao Cao went to conquer Truong Tu in the South.
Anyone who has read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms knows that Cao Cao once almost died from a momentary lust for a woman. Specifically, in the 2nd year of Kien An (197), Cao Cao brought his army to conquer Truong Tu in Uyen Thanh in Kinh Chau. As a result, Truong Tu quickly surrendered and surrendered.
Cao Cao made an irreparable mistake in the battle of Wancheng.
However, it was because of his style and love that Cao Cao almost lost his life. Specifically, because he was fascinated by the beauty of Truong Tu’s aunt-in-law, Cao Cao blatantly submitted as a concubine. Therefore, Truong Tu suddenly led troops in the middle of the night to raid the barracks, making Cao Cao unable to turn back and had to rush to flee.
This incident is also recorded in history. After this battle, although Cao Cao kept his life, he suffered a great loss. He lost his eldest son Cao Ngang, grandson Cao An Dan and Dien Vi, the bodyguard general whom he loved very much.
Having lived together for many years, Lady Ding has always been patient with Cao Cao’s lifestyle. However, after hearing that Cao Ngang’s son died in battle, she was like crazy.
Moreover, after the defeat in this battle, Cao Cao ordered people to build a temple, set up an altar for sacrifices, and at the same time told the generals: “I have lost an eldest son and a grandson without mercy. few, only weep for Dien Vi”.
Cao Cao lost Dien Vi, his loyal guard general, in this battle.
Lady Ding felt sorry for her son, crying bitterly and said: “You killed my son, didn’t you think?”.
Lady Ding was probably also the first woman who dared to scold Cao Cao in front of the three armies.
Cao Cao is a man of great majesty, marshal of three armies, over ten thousand people, now subject to the scolding of his wife, it is too shameful. Moreover, Lady Ding all day mourned bitterly because of excessive grief after the death of her son, making Cao Cao a little frustrated, so in the end, she had to send Lady Ding to her mother’s house.
Cao Cao thought that after returning to his mother’s house for a few days, his anger would calm down. But surprisingly, Lady Ding did not give in, although many times Cao Cao sent people to pick her up.
In the end, Cao Cao had to personally drive his car back to his hometown to pick up Lady Ding. Now, with Cao Cao’s position and assertive character, it is not an easy decision to go to the water to pick up his wife by himself. Cao Cao’s actions are enough to prove how deeply he has feelings for this beautiful wife.
When Cao Cao arrived, the family members of the Dinh family came out to greet them one by one, only Lady Ding still calmly weaved cloth in the room. Realizing that his beloved wife was not interested or moved in the slightest, Cao Cao was not surprised. He went straight into the room, dropped all pride, and begged his wife in a low voice: “Please look back at me, let’s go back together, okay?”.
However, Lady Ding did not turn around, still focused on weaving and replied: “Being benevolent, unresponsive”. With the tough character of his wife, Cao Cao gradually understood that things could not go back to the way they were before.
Even though Cao Cao personally came to pick him up, Lady Ding still refused to return, determined to break off the relationship between husband and wife. After asking many questions to convince his wife, Cao Cao brought with him the torment of the mistake he made and the feeling of regret that he could not leave, so he walked out of the room and returned to the car. Later, he did not forget to tell his wife’s family to allow Lady Dinh to remarry at will.
Although Cao Cao said so, the Ding family did not dare to marry Lady Ding. Moreover, at that time, no one dared to take Cao Cao’s wife home.
After Lady Ding returned to her mother’s house and was determined not to return, Cao Cao established a new government house, Madame Bian, who was also Cao Phi’s mother.
Many years have passed, Lady Dinh has no intention of getting married and living quietly for the rest of her life at her mother’s house.
Later, Lady Ding fell ill and died. The wife asked Cao Cao to take care of the funeral for his eldest wife. He chose a place to bury her in the south of Xuchang.
Cao Cao felt tormented for his whole life because of Lady Ding.
Throughout his life, there were many concubines, but Cao Cao still had special feelings for Lady Dinh, the wife who had been with him since childhood. She was also the first woman who was not afraid of majesty, but dared to loudly scold and resent him.
He roamed everywhere with great political ambition, but when he needed to be close to death, Cao Cao revealed the feelings from the bottom of his heart that he had buried for so long. That is to think back in his life, the person he couldn’t bear to leave the most was Lady Ding.
“I never cheated on her, I just did the wrong thing, so everything can’t be the same …”, Cao Cao said (according to Wei comb).
Towards the end of his life, Cao Cao not only felt regretful and tormented because of the mistake he made for Lady Dinh, but also pity for Cao Ngang, a filial son who died for him. Cao Cao realized that the biggest mistake in his life was to hurt Lady Ding, the wife of the beginning of her life.