Cao Cao loves talents so much, why must he kill Yang Xiu? Is it because Yang Xiu is too smart?

The reason is that Yang Xiu is too smart and doesn't know how to avoid taboos. There are many counselors under Cao Cao, which is a manifestation of Cao Cao's personality charm. Cao Cao cherishes talents so much, but Yang Xiu was killed by Cao Cao, and Yang Xiu took the blame on himself. Yang Xiu was originally a disciple of Cao Zhi. Cao Cao once thought of making Cao Zhi the crown prince, but Cao Cao found that Cao Zhi was not suitable to be the leader of the country, so he made Cao Pi the crown prince. In order to remove obstacles for Cao Pi, Cao Cao pointed the finger at Yang Xiu. And Yang Xiu never acted in a low profile. As time went on, Yang Xiu's impression on Cao Cao became worse and worse. Finally, during the Battle of Hanzhong, Yang Xiu saw through Cao Cao's thoughts, and Cao Cao was furious and killed Yang Xiu.

I think Yang Xiu died because of his own character. He was unruly, showed off his abilities too much, and was easily jealous of others. If Cao Cao doesn't kill him, he will die under his comrades sooner or later. Yang Xiu's ability is obvious, but his emotional intelligence is too low. When Yang Xiu was at the Prime Minister's Mansion, Cao Cao wrote a movable type in his mansion. Yang Xiu immediately ordered his men to change the size of the door. Cao Cao also observed Yang Xiu privately. Cao Cao believed that Yang Xiu was not worthy of reuse.

People who are too smart will be counterproductive. Colleagues should respect each other, but Yang Xiu thinks that they cannot understand the prime minister's thoughts. In the eyes of others, Yang Xiu is a joke. Yang Xiu speculated on Cao Cao's thoughts many times and was already feared. In the Battle of Hanzhong, Cao Cao was defeated by Liu Bei. Just as he was preparing to return to the court, Cao Cao used "tasteless" as his slogan for action. At this time, Yang Xiu saw through Cao Cao's thoughts, so he went back to pack his bags. When Cao Cao saw this, he was very angry, so he killed Yang Xiu for leaking military orders.

Yang Xiu had a chance of survival, as long as he saw through it without telling anyone, and kept a low profile. But he did the opposite and eventually died because of his own cleverness.