Zhuge Liang was one of the Ten Sages of the Martial Arts Temple, but Cao Cao couldn't enter. Is it really because he lost too many battles?

During the Tang Dynasty, the imperial court set up a martial arts temple, with Lu Shang (Jiang Taigong) as the martial saint and Zhang Liang as the sub-sage. Zhuge Liang, together with Sun Wu, Wu Qi, Sima Ranju, Le Yi, Han Xin, Bai Qi, Li Jing, Li Ji and other nine people, together with Zhang Liang, are known as the Ten Philosophers of the Martial Temple. In addition, many famous generals from the Three Kingdoms such as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhang Liao, Deng Ai, Zhou Yu, Lu Xun, Lu Meng, and Lu Kang, as well as many famous generals from other historical periods, totaling 64 people, were selected for the Martial Arts Temple, the so-called Martial Temple. Sixty-four generals. On the other hand, as the military general with the most military achievements and the largest territory occupied by the Three Kingdoms in the late Han Dynasty when they unified the Central Plains, Cao Cao was not selected, which puzzled many people. And some people who disliked Cao Cao because of their personal likes and dislikes also spread rumors, saying that Cao Cao had too many failures in his life, which was exaggerated, so he was not worthy of being selected into the Martial Temple, alongside other famous historical generals... So, is this really the case? In fact, this is just a leaf that obscures the view and misses the mountain. The reason is very simple. In addition to the Martial Arts Temple, the Tang Dynasty officially established temples for emperors of all dynasties. In the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era, only Cao Cao was selected as the monarch, and he was accompanied by Zhong Yao and Xun Yu. The person who was sacrificed with him was: Xia Yu. Shangtang. King Wen of Zhou Jichang, King Wu of Zhou Jifa. Qin Shi Huang Yingzheng. Liu Bang, the great ancestor and emperor of Han Dynasty. Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty. Wei Taizu Wu Emperor Cao Cao. Sima Yan, Emperor Zuwu of the Jin Dynasty. Tuobajie, Emperor Daowu of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Yuwentai, Emperor Taizuwen of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Yang Jian, Emperor Gaozuwen of the Sui Dynasty. In other words, only these founders of the orthodox dynasty who were officially recognized by the Tang Dynasty were eligible to be sacrificed together. Therefore, as the majestic Emperor Taizu Wu of the Wei Dynasty, why did Cao Cao have to downgrade himself and compete with other ministers and generals for places in the martial arts temple? Yes, Cao Cao did have many failures and even disastrous defeats because he liked to take risks and use surprise troops: 1. In the Battle of Xingyang, Cao Cao met Dong Zhuo's general Xu Rong. The battle was unfavorable and his soldiers suffered many casualties. 2. In the Battle of Shouzhang, before the main force arrived, Cao Cao used a small group of surprise troops to fight against the majority of the Yellow Turban Army. He relied on his subordinate Bao Xin to fight to the death and was able to break through and escape. 3. In the battle for Puyang, Cao Cao was defeated by Lu Bu's cavalry and defeated the Qingzhou soldiers. The formation was in chaos and he was defeated and fell off his horse. 4. In the Battle of Wancheng, Zhang Xiu surrendered and then regretted it. Cao Cao rushed into the battle and was defeated. He was hit by an arrow and his guard Dian Wei was killed in battle. 5. In the battle of attacking Wancheng again, Cao Cao was unable to retreat for a long time. Zhang Xiu used Jia Xu's plan to pursue him, but he suffered another defeat. 6. In the battle of attacking Yecheng, Cao Cao was defeated by Yuan Shanglin and retreated. 7. In the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao was defeated by Zhou Yu's navy. He burned the remaining ships and retreated. His soldiers were hungry, and a plague broke out, killing most of them. 8. In the Battle of Ruxu, Cao Cao used an oil boat to carry his soldiers across the country at night, but was surrounded and killed by Sun Quan's navy. Three thousand people were captured, thousands died and drowned, and he was forced to hold on to the camp. 9. In the Battle of Hanzhong, Liu Bei occupied a dangerous pass and refused to defend it. Cao Cao continued to attack for several months. Many soldiers fled and he was forced to withdraw. In addition, Cao Cao also suffered tactical defeats many times during his confrontation with Yuan Shu, the early stage of the Battle of Guandu, and the early stage of the Battle of Tongguan. Yuan Shu's party attacked Taizu. Taizu went out and was chased by the bandits. He entered the Qin family and Bonan opened the door to accept him. Yuan Shao's company camp was slightly ahead, and the camp was based on the sand. The Duke also divided his camp to match it, so it would be unfavorable to fight together. At that time, there were less than ten thousand soldiers, and there were twelve or three injured. Ma Chao and others chased him and shot at him, his arrows falling like rain. When the generals see the army defeated and don't know where they are, they are all frightened. When they see it, they are filled with sadness and joy, or even shed tears. But looking at the final result of the battle, after all, Cao Cao defeated all the remaining troops of Lu Bu, Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao, Ma Chao, and Dong Zhuo. Zhang Xiu was forced to surrender, and finally defeated the heroes of the Central Plains: chasing the Yellow Turban to capture Yanzhou, defeating Yuan Shu to capture Yuzhou, and destroying Lv Bu to capture Xuzhou. Destroy Yuan Shu and get Yangzhou (north), recruit Zhang Xiu and Liu Qi to get Jingzhou (north), defeat Yuan Shao and defeat Yuan Shang and get Jizhou, destroy Yuan Tan and get Qingzhou, kill Gao Gan and get Bingzhou, drive out two Yuan and get Youzhou, defeat Ma Chao and destroy Han Sui. Sili and Liangzhou were obtained. Finally, Cao Cao captured the thirteen states of the Han Dynasty, Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Sili, Xuzhou, Jizhou, Qingzhou, Bingzhou, Youzhou, Liangzhou, as well as Jingzhou and the northern part of Yangzhou. There are two ways to divide the world. Compared with Sun Ce and Sun Quan, whose brothers worked together to win Jiaozhou, Jingzhou, and Yangzhou, and Liu Bei, who fought hard for only Yizhou in his life, Cao Cao was certainly the best in Mingluo during the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, an extraordinary person, and a transcendent hero.

It is worthy of the praise of Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, that "with his majestic appearance, he endured difficult times, his role as a pillar was the same as in the past, and his rectification achievements were different from those of the past." Therefore, even Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of the Shu Han Dynasty who was hostile, had to admire Cao Cao's personal abilities: Cao Cao's intelligence was second to none, and his military use was like that of Sun Wu. The Tang Dynasty established martial arts temples in order to quell the An-Shi Rebellion. Firstly, they wanted to reward the soldiers who put down the rebellion. Secondly, they wanted to win over the vassal towns where the generals who had surrendered during the An-Shi Rebellion were entrenched. Therefore, they praised the loyalty of the famous generals in the past dynasties to show that the court valued the warriors and maintain their integrity. Dynastic rule. Therefore, the Martial Temple is a "list of kings and military ministers" rather than a "list of famous generals" as many people subconsciously think. It does not prioritize military achievements or military talents at all. Therefore, anyone who establishes himself as an emperor or a monarch will be judged by future generations. None of the famous generals who were posthumously named emperors were selected into the Martial Arts Temple, including Liu Yu, Ran Min, Tuoba Tao, Murong Chui, etc. Even Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, was no exception. Otherwise, wouldn't it encourage those vassal towns that were like wolves and tigers to follow suit? ? Therefore, looking at the list of "Ten Philosophers of the Martial Temple", there is not even Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, but they are just counselors and strategists. When leading the army alone, they were beaten by unknown Qin generals and could not defend the city. ? Zhang Liang, who was a guerrilla, took (Zhang) Liang as Han Shentu and led more than a thousand people to the west of Han. They captured several cities, and Qin went back and forth as guerrillas in Yingchuan. This kind of general who has never fought in a war has become one of the "Ten Philosophers of the Martial Arts Temple" due to the allusion of "subjugation without fighting" and a military book "Sima Fa", ranking alongside Han Xin and Bai Qi. Let’s take a look again: Sun Wu: Together with Wu Zixu, he was defeated by the Qin and Chu allied forces in the Battle of Huainan. He was also defeated by the Chu generals Ziqi and Zixi in the "Corpse Burning Battle". He fled in panic and was unable to even collect the corpses of his own soldiers. Zixu, Sun Wu, and Bai Xiliu were with the Chu army at Huaihe, and the Qin army defeated the Wu army. Chu Ziqi was about to burn the Wu army. Is it okay to burn it again? Ziqi said: "If the country is destroyed and the people are lost, and the place of survival is lost, how can we kill living things to love death?" If there is death, he will definitely ride on the smoke and rise to help me; if he is ignorant, why would he cherish the bones in the grass and perish the Wu Kingdom? " Then he burned and fought, and Wu's army was defeated. Le Yi: The five-nation coalition sent troops together and defeated Qi. Fighting alone, he couldn't take the last two cities for several years. In the end, he married Qin, which was a waste of time. After leaving Yan State, he was granted the title of Zhao State, but he also lost his fiefdom of Guanjin. He could only live in Handan as an idle guest. Next year, Ranghou (Wei Ran) and Bai Qi Keqing (Hu Yang) attacked Zhao again. , Han, Wei, broke Mangmao under Huayang, beheaded 100,000 people, captured Wei Zhijuan, Caiyang, Changshe, Zhao family Guanjin: Li Ji: The entire army was wiped out by Dou Jiande in the battle of Liyang, and he was forced to surrender for a time. ; In the Battle of Mingzhou, Liu Heita was beaten with only his own life. Therefore, if the so-called ten philosophers of the Wumiao Temple can actually represent the highest military level of ancient generals, it proves that each of them has a military record that is better than twenty. After years of fighting, Cao Cao is the only one in the world. Isn’t that a big joke? Moreover, regardless of Cao Cao, there are still two super talented people, Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, in the list of the sixty-four generals of the Martial Temple. It is Wu Qi, Han Xin, Bai Qi, and Li Jing. They may not dare to say that their achievements, abilities and historical contributions will definitely defeat Wei Huo, let alone the other "" battles"? Wei Qing: Changping Huanhuan, the Yuan of the General , thinly cut the enemy troops, restored our borders, marched seven battles with military chariots, surrounded Chanyu, and climbed north to Tianyan. Fenglang lives in the mountains, connects the rivers to the west, and connects the counties. In fact, no matter Wu Qi, Han Xin, Bai Qi, or Li Jing, they don't need the title of the Ten Philosophers of the Martial Temple to prove their great achievements in ancient Chinese military history. As for some modern keyboard warriors, instead of using Han Xin Bai Qi's extraordinary achievements to ridicule Cao Cao's military achievements, they can only say that they are always laughing at the eagle.