Cao Cao

Cao Cao had several wives and concubines including Lady Ding, Lady Wang, Lady Yin, Lady Huan, Consort Zhou, and Consort Liu. He also had numerous children through his relationships with many women.

Some historical records state that he suffered from a brain tumor because of which he experienced excruciating headaches. He died of an illness in 220.

Cao Cao was the son of Cao Song. His father was the foster son of Cao Teng, the chief eunuch of Emperor Huan.

He was taught hunting and music as a young boy. Even as a teenager he was known for his cunningness in deceiving people to get what he wanted.

A character evaluator by the name of Xu Shao once told him that he would be a “capable minister in peaceful times and an unscrupulous hero in chaotic times”.

He became the district captain of Luoyang when he was 20 years old. The Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in 184 and he was appointed the Captain of cavalry and sent to Yu Province. He successfully suppressed the rebels and went to Ji’nan to prevent the spread of the rebellion.

He adopted aggressive methods of controlling the rebels in Ji’nan. He banned unorthodox cults and supported Confucianism because of which local leading families were offended. He resigned in 187.

During this time he refused to accept the post of Administrator of Dong Commandery and also declined to join Wang Fen in his coup to replace Emperor Ling with the Marquis of Hefei.

He was made “Colonel Who Arranges the Army” in Luoyang in 188. He was one of the eight heads of a newly established imperial army, the Army of the Western Garden. This new army was however disbanded the very next year.

The Emperor Ling died in 189 and his son came to rule as Emperor Shao; however most of the power was primarily in the hands of Empress Dowager He. Her brother, He Jin, hatched a plot to eliminate the Ten Attendents—a group of eunuchs in the imperial court.

This famous Chinese warlord appears as a character in the video game series, Koei's Romance of the Three Kingdoms.