Chen Gong played a crucial role in Cao Cao’s early rise to power. When Liu Dai, the Inspector of Yan Province(Yanzhou), was killed in battle against the Yellow Turban rebels in 192 AD, a power vacuum emerged. Chen Gong, a native scholar-official of Yan Province and a man of high moral standing, took decisive action.
Recognizing Cao Cao’s potential as a capable warlord during the chaotic final years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Chen Gong used his political influence and diplomatic skill to secure Cao Cao’s appointment as the new Governor of Yan Province. He successfully rallied key local leaders, most notably Bao Xin, the Chancellor of Jinan, to support Cao Cao’s takeover. This is how Cao Cao seized Yanzhou, his first major territorial base—a critical foundation for his future empire.
At this time, Cao Cao deeply trusted Chen Gong, viewing him not merely as an advisor but as a close confidant and loyal ally.
The turning point
However, Cao Cao’s rule in Yan Province quickly soured. Rather than integrating with the local elite, Cao Cao favored his own loyalists from his home region and began to suppress and marginalize the powerful gentry families and scholar-officials of Yan Province.
The most significant catalyst for Chen Gong’s disillusionment was the execution of Bian Rang, a renowned scholar and close personal friend of Chen Gong. Bian Rang had openly criticized Cao Cao, possibly mocking his low-born origins (Cao Cao’s father was adopted into the Cao family from the eunuch Cao Teng). In response, Cao Cao ordered Bian Rang’s execution—an act that sent shockwaves through the intellectual and aristocratic circles of Yan Province.
Chen Gong, himself a proud member of the scholar-gentry class known for his integrity, principled nature, and deep respect for Confucian values, was horrified. This act was not just a personal loss; it symbolized Cao Cao’s contempt for the traditional elite and his willingness to use terror to consolidate power.
The final straw: The atrocities in Xuzhou
The breaking point came when Cao Cao launched a campaign against Tao Qian, the Governor of Xuzhou, in retaliation for the murder of his father. Historical records, including Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms, document that Cao Cao’s forces committed widespread massacres of civilians during this campaign.
For Chen Gong, Tao Qian was another respected scholar-official and regional governor. Witnessing Cao Cao’s brutal slaughter of innocent people—an act that violated both moral and military norms—deepened his moral outrage. The combination of Bian Rang’s unjust execution and the Xuzhou massacres convinced Chen Gong that Cao Cao was not a righteous leader restoring order, but a ruthless warlord driven by vengeance and ambition.
Allying with Lü Bu
By 194 AD, Chen Gong had fully turned against Cao Cao. He persuaded Zhang Miao, Zhang Chao, and Wang Kai—fellow officials who also resented Cao Cao’s authoritarian rule—to join a rebellion while Cao Cao was campaigning in Xuzhou.
At this critical moment, Lü Bu, the famed warrior, had been expelled by both Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao and was wandering without a base. Chen Gong and Zhang Liao saw an opportunity. Despite Lü Bu’s reputation for treachery and lack of strategic depth, his military prowess was unmatched. Chen Gong believed that Lü Bu’s strength could be harnessed to expel Cao Cao from Yan Province.
Thus, Chen Gong extended an invitation to Lü Bu, who swiftly entered Yan Province and was proclaimed its new leader by the rebels. The province erupted into war, with Cao Cao forced to abandon his Xuzhou campaign and rush back to defend his heartland.
Debunking the legend: The Romance of the Three Kingdoms myth
Popular perception, heavily influenced by Luo Guanzhong’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms, often cites a different reason for Chen Gong’s betrayal: the fictional episode of Cao Cao murdering the family of Lü Boshe.
In the novel, Cao Cao, while fleeing after assassinating Dong Zhuo, takes refuge with Lü Boshe, a kind nobleman. Mistakenly believing the family is plotting against him, Cao Cao kills them all. When he later discovers his error, he coldly declares,
“I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me.”
Chen Gong, horrified by this act, abandons Cao Cao.
However, this event is entirely fictional. No historical evidence supports it. In reality, Chen Gong remained loyal to Cao Cao for years after this supposed incident would have occurred. The true reasons for his betrayal—Cao Cao’s execution of scholar-officials like Bian Rang and the massacre in Xuzhou—are rooted in political conflict and moral opposition, not a single dramatic moment of betrayal.
A tragic idealist in a time of tyrants
Chen Gong’s rebellion was not born of personal ambition, but of principled resistance. He had initially supported Cao Cao as a potential restorer of Han order. But Cao Cao’s tyrannical methods, disdain for the gentry, and brutal violence turned Chen Gong into his most dangerous internal enemy.
Though the rebellion ultimately failed—Cao Cao reclaimed Yan Province after a grueling war, and Chen Gong was later captured and executed in 199 AD—his story remains a powerful cautionary tale about the clash between idealism and realpolitik.
Chen Gong chose loyalty to justice and his class over loyalty to a rising tyrant. In doing so, he sealed his fate—but also earned a place in history as a man who dared to stand against the darkness.
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