Cao Song (? -193 AD [1] or 194 AD, courtesy name Jugao, born in Qiao County, Pei State (now Bozhou City, Anhui Province), was Cao Cao‘s father and the adopted son of Qiu Caoteng, a eunuch in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Cao Song has a kind and honest personality, and is loyal and filial. During the reign of Emperor Ling of Han, he was a prominent official in the court and one of the Three Dukes. The “Records of the Three Kingdoms” recorded that “one cannot judge the origin and end of his life.” When Pei Songzhi annotated the “Records of the Three Kingdoms,” he quoted the “Biography of Cao Meng” annotated by a Wu person from the Three Kingdoms period, mentioning that Cao Song was originally surnamed Xiahou and was the uncle of Xiahou Dun.
During the reign of Emperor Ling of Han, he was promoted to the rank of Grand Commandant by purchasing official positions, with Grand Commandant ranking first among the Three Excellencies.
In the first year of Yankang (220 AD), Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, succeeded as the Queen of Wei and posthumously honored Cao Song as the Crown Prince.
In the same year, Cao Pi ascended to the throne as emperor and posthumously honored Cao Song as the Grand Emperor.
Cao Song is the adopted son of Cao Teng. Relying on Cao Teng’s connections and proper interpersonal skills, Cao Song had already been appointed as a Colonel of the Ministry of Rites by the end of Emperor Huan’s reign. When Emperor Ling ascended the throne, he was promoted to the positions of Grand Minister of Agriculture and Grand Honglu, successively in charge of the country’s financial etiquette, ranking among the nine ministers and holding high positions of power. Cao Song was not like his adoptive father who was a clean and honest person. He had been an official for many years and due to his power leading to profits, the Cao family could be described as wealthy. In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a system of spending money to donate officials in the court. Cao Song was not satisfied with the position of Dahonglu and spent tens of thousands of gold to donate the position of Grand Commandant for himself. The Grand Commandant was second only to the Grand General, and Cao Song thus reached the pinnacle of his political career.
To have a child should be like Cao Cao, and to adopt a child should be like a towering figure. Cao Song gave birth to a son named Cao Cao in his middle age. At first, Cao Song did not like this son very much because Cao Cao was young and vigorous, without any achievements, but loved to dance guns and play with sticks, often causing trouble for Cao Song. But later on, when his friend Lv Boshe became an official in Shandong, he promoted Xiaolian to Cao Cao, and Cao Cao became the Northern Captain of Luoyang, responsible for the security of the capital city.
Cao Cao’s achievements will be rewarded and punished. He managed the security of the capital city in an orderly manner, demonstrating outstanding political talent. Cao Song began to look up to this son with new eyes and supported him from then on. Quickly, Cao Song arranged for Cao Cao to be appointed as the commander of Dunqiu, and later returned to the capital to serve as a magistrate and councilor. During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, with the help of Cao Song, Zhang Rang recommended Cao Cao to be appointed as the Cavalry Captain. Later, due to his military achievements, he was promoted to the position of Jinan Prime Minister and appointed as the Prefect of Dongjun. Later on, Cao Cao became the “Eight Commandants of the Western Garden” and the Colonel of the Imperial Army, playing a huge role behind the scenes in quelling the Han Sui and Bianzhang rebellions in Western Liang.
Cao Song’s career was smooth sailing due to the presence of Cao Teng, and during the reign of Emperor Ling of Han, he even achieved subversion and was appointed as a Grand Commandant, which could not be considered high. Cao Song did not have a son like Cao Cao until middle age, but early on, Cao Song did not like him because Cao Cao was inherently stubborn and always caused him trouble. Later, Cao Cao began to serve in the court, and Cao Song also took various measures to clear many obstacles for Cao Cao’s career.
However, Cao Song died tragically. Cao Song had resigned from his post in Luoyang when the Ten Regular Servants were in turmoil, but Luoyang had become a cholera place because of Dong Zhuo, Wang Yun and others. Cao Song took his wife and concubine and second son to Huaxian County, Mount Taishan to avoid disaster. It wasn’t much at first, but after a period of time, there was a dispute between Cao Cao and Tao Qian in Shandong, and Huaxian became the front line.
Huaxian is no longer safe. Cao Song led his wife, concubines, and second son to plan to go to Cao Cao’s headquarters, but their whereabouts were leaked and they were surrounded by Tao Qian’s subordinates. However, Cao Cao was unable to rescue them in time. As a result, Cao Song and his group became the dead under the knife. It can be said that the dispute between Cao Cao and Tao Qian accelerated Cao Song’s death.
However, there has always been controversy over the year of Cao Song’s death. Some say he died in 193 AD, based on the biography of Tao Qian in the Records of the Three Kingdoms. It is said that Cao Song died in 193 AD and was killed by Tao Qian. Cao Cao sought revenge in Xu and returned in 194 AD. Another theory is that he died in 194 AD, also at the hands of Tao Qian. There is still no clear answer as to which of these two theories is correct.
Who ultimately killed Cao Song
When the situation was turbulent and the Ten Eunuchs were in chaos, Cao Song resigned from his official position and settled in Luoyang. Because Dong Zhuo attacked the Han Palace, Wang Yun killed Dong Zhuo, and the Yellow Scarf rebels Li Xuan and Guo Si persecuted him. Luoyang has become a place of right and wrong. Cao Song took his family members to Huaxian County, Mount Taishan to avoid disaster.
I didn’t expect that what I was trying to avoid would actually get into trouble. In the fourth year of Chuping (193 AD), there was a dispute between Cao Cao, who had been living in Shandong, and Tao Qian from Xuzhou, and Huaxian was on the front line. The following year (the first year of Xingping), Cao Song, along with his second son Cao De and his wife and concubines, planned to leave the land of swords and go to Cao Cao’s headquarters in Yanzhou. Unexpectedly, their whereabouts were leaked and they were surrounded by troops sent by Tao Qian’s subordinates. The generals sent by Cao Cao were unable to receive them, and Cao Song, his second son Cao De, his wife (Cao Cao’s mother), and his concubine Zhao were all killed by the sword. Cao Song also died like this. But there has always been controversy over the theory of Cao Song’s death. Statement 1: Cao Song died in 193. According to the “Records of Emperor Wu of the Three Kingdoms”, “Biography of Tao Qian in the Records of the Three Kingdoms”, and “Biography of Tao Qian in the Book of Later Han”, Cao Song died in 193 and was killed by Tao Qian. Cao Cao avenged his father and went to Xu to massacre him. In 194, he launched a counterattack.
On the other hand, Cao Song died in 194. According to the Biography of Ying Shao in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Cao Song and Zi De entered Mount Taishan from Langxie in 194, and Ying Shao sent troops to greet them. However, Tao Qiansu blamed Cao Cao for attacking several times, so he sent light cavalry to chase after Song and De, and killed them at the county border. Shao feared punishment and abandoned his county to seek refuge with Yuan Shao. Surrounded by Tao Qian’s general Zhang Kai, Cao Cao’s troops were unable to respond, and Cao Song, his second son Cao De, his wife (Cao Cao’s mother), and his concubine Zhao were all killed by the sword. Which statement is more accurate remains to be verified.