The videos I watched became popular in ancient times

Cao Shen served as the prime minister of the Han Dynasty for three years. After his death, the people praised Cao Shen's deeds.

Xiao He made laws, which were as clear as a line; Cao Shen succeeded him, and he kept them without losing them. He kept them pure and the people were at peace.

Cao Shen's cleverness lies in his knowledge of what to do and what not to do, and his insistence on tranquility and inaction, so that the people who had experienced the war at the end of the Qin Dynasty could live and work in peace.

Therefore, he became a great contributor despite doing nothing in political affairs, and his story of Xiao Gui Cao Sui has been passed down through the ages.

"Cao Shen was from Pei County, Sishui Prefecture, and served as the Pei County Hell Official during the Qin Dynasty."

"He had a certain prestige and status in the county. He and the chief clerk Xiao He all had good relations with Liu Bang, who was the head of the pavilion."

"In the first year of the reign of Qin II, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang started an uprising in Daze Township, and people in many places killed their local officials in response to the uprising."

"The magistrate of Pei County wanted to take the initiative to lead the people of Pei County to respond to Chen Sheng in order to avoid being killed by the people of the county."

"Cao Shen and Xiao He took the opportunity to persuade the county magistrate to call back Liu Bang and others who had been exiled because of their poor performance in escorting prisoners."

"Let them help force the people to obey the county magistrate's command, so the county magistrate sent someone to recall Liu Bang."

"But then the county magistrate changed his mind and refused to let Liu Bang enter the city. He also wanted to kill Xiao He and Cao Shen, who had come up with the idea, so the two climbed over the city wall and joined Liu Bang."

"After that, Liu Bang called on the people in the city to revolt, so the people in the city killed the county magistrate and welcomed Liu Bang into the city."

"When selecting the leaders of the uprising army, Cao Shen and Xiao He were worried that if they became leaders, the uprising would fail and their entire clan would be exterminated."

"They recommended Liu Bang as their leader and recruited young men from Pei County for him, a total of two to three thousand people."

"After Liu Bang started his army, Cao Shen followed him as a Zhongjuan to fight against Qin, and led his army to attack north of Pei County first."

"He conquered many cities and recovered those that had rebelled against the King of Wei, so Liu Bang gave him the title of Seventh Great Officer."

"Later, Cao Shen went west and defeated the Qin general Sima Ren's army near Dang County, and seized part of Dang County."

"After that, Cao Shen continued to fight in Dang County and attacked the army of Qin general Zhang Han."

"When the Han army attacked Yuanqi and Kangfu in the north, Cao Shen was the first to climb the city, and Liu Bang promoted him to the rank of Fifth Great Officer."

"Later, Cao Shen led his army northward to attack Zhang Han's army, pursued them all the way to Linji, and then led his army southward to defeat the Qin general Li You's army, beheaded Li You and captured a Qin military marquis."

"In the third year of the reign of Qin II, King Huai of Chu appointed Liu Bang as the governor of Dang County and ordered him to attack the army of the Dang County lieutenant."

"At this time, Cao Shen's title was promoted to Zhibo, and his title was Jiancheng Jun, and later promoted to Qi Gong."

"Later, Cao Shen followed Liu Bang to attack the army of the commander of Dangjun, defeated the enemy in Dongjun, pursued the enemy to Kaifeng, and besieged the Qin general Zhao Ben in the city."

"Then Cao Shen led his army westward to attack the Qin general Yang Xiong and defeated him. He also captured the Qin Sima and Yushi. As a result, his title was promoted to Zhigui."

"When Liu Bang attacked westward along the Yellow River, Cao Shen also followed Liu Bang, blocked the Yellow River crossing, and then returned to defeat Zhao Ben."

"Afterwards, Cao Shen followed Liu Bang to the south to recruit the governor of Nanyang County and pacify Nanyang County."

"Cao Shen then followed the Han army westward to break through Wuguan, and then captured several cities east of Xianyang, defeating the Qin army and making a huge contribution to the demise of the Qin Dynasty."

"Then the Han army entered Xianyang and the Qin Dynasty fell."

"Cao Shen conquered cities and quelled rebellions during the anti-Qin campaign, and made many military achievements."

"It enabled Liu Bang to continue to develop his power and made an important contribution to the demise of the Qin Dynasty."

"Soon after, Xiang Yu entered Xianyang and named Liu Bang the King of Han."

"At this time, Cao Shen was named Marquis Jiancheng by Liu Bang and followed Liu Bang into Hanzhong, where he was later promoted to general."

"In August of the first year of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Cao Shen followed Liu Bang to attack the army of the Three Qins."

"He guarded Jingling for more than 20 days and defeated the army of Zhang Ping, a general of the Three Qins. Liu Bang then rewarded him with Ningqin as a fiefdom."

"And Cao Shen also followed Liu Bang in the battles when the Han army moved eastward from Hanzhong and defeated the enemy many times, besieged Zhang Han, the Prince of Yong, and entered Xianyang."

"After that, Cao Shen served as a general to besiege Zhang Han in Feiqiu, and then as a lieutenant, he followed Liu Bang to march eastward from Linjin Pass."

"Later, when Wang Wu, Cheng Chu, and Zhu Tianhou successively rebelled against Liu Bang in their respective territories, he led his army to defeat them all."

"Then Cao Shen attacked Yuying in Kunyang, and then attacked all the way to Xingyang."

"In the second year of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang appointed Cao Shen as acting left prime minister and sent him to station troops in Guanzhong."

"More than a month later, the war in Xingyang became intense, and King Wei Bao rebelled. Cao Shen followed General Han Xin to attack Wei Bao."

"Finally, Cao Shen and Han Xin captured Wei Bao alive, and soon seized Pingyang, pacifying all of Wei's territory, gaining a total of 52 cities."

"So Liu Bang gave Pingyang to Cao Shen as his fief, and Cao Shen followed Han Xin to attack Zhao State."

"When Han Xin and Zhang Er, the King of Changshan, attacked Chen Yu, the Lord of Ancheng, at Jingxing Pass, Cao Shen was ordered to return to the army and besiege General Qi, the deputy general of Zhao, in the city of Wu County."

"General Qi fled out of the city, but Cao Shen pursued and killed him, and then Cao Shen led his troops to Liu Bang's camp in Ao Cang."

Du Fu: Cao Shen can be said to be an all-rounder. In times of war, he can serve as a general and lead troops to fight and capture cities and strongholds.

When the world is at peace, he can govern the country as prime minister.

But one thing is very strange, that is, although Cao Shen fought in countless battles, he never seemed to have any iconic battles;
Although he can govern the country well, he seems to have no unique political initiatives.

Although Cao Shen was not a person with distinct and outstanding characteristics, he was a person who did the right thing all his life.

When Liu Bang was still a rogue village head, Cao Shen was a minor official in the county, and he had a very good relationship with Liu Bang.

So after Liu Bang started the uprising, he followed Liu Bang.

Later, Liu Bang rose from a small leader to King of Han, and from King of Han to Emperor.

Cao Shen always followed him and made countless military achievements.

Cao Shen conquered two vassal states and 122 counties.

Two princes were captured, as well as three prime ministers, six generals, one county governor, one Sima, one military marquis, and one censor.

It was because of these contributions that Liu Bang, when rewarding his subjects, named Cao Shen the Marquis of Pingyang and awarded him a fief of 10,630 households in Pingyang, second only to Xiao He.

From a minor clerk in a county government office to one of the top founding heroes, Cao Shen made the right move.

Later, Liu Bang appointed his eldest son Liu Fei to the State of Qi, which was the largest vassal state in the Han Dynasty and had seventy cities under its jurisdiction.

To be on the safe side, Cao Shen was sent to Qi to serve as prime minister to assist Liu Fei in governing Qi.

Cao Shen was well aware of the heavy responsibility he had, but he had always led troops in battles and had no experience in governing a country.

He wanted to gather ideas and choose a reasonable policy for governing the country.

Cao Shen summoned many talented people from Qi State to a meeting. There were white-bearded old men and young scholars, a total of several hundred people.

But what made Cao Shen embarrassed was that almost everyone had his own set of ideas, making him not know what to choose.

Later I heard that there was a Mr. Gai in Jiaoxi who was well versed in Huang-Lao philosophy. However, because his ability was too high, he did not attend the meeting.

Cao Shen sent someone with a valuable gift to invite Gai Gong, who told Cao Shen.

Given the current situation in the world, the state should impose as few restrictions as possible on the people and allow them to develop freely, so that the world will be peaceful. In addition to the concept, Gai Gong also gave Cao Shen many practical examples.

From then on, Cao Shen implemented the policy of governing by doing nothing in Qi State.

Therefore, during the nine years that he served as prime minister, the State of Qi was very stable and the people lived well.

"After Han Xin defeated Zhao, Cao Shen followed him as the left prime minister and defeated the army of Qi, seizing most of Qi's territory."

"Soon after, Cao Shen followed Han Xin to defeat and kill the Chu general Long Ju and captured Zhou Lan."

"In the end, the Han army pacified more than 70 cities in Qi. Among them, Cao Shen captured Tian Guang, the prime minister of the former Qi King Tian Guang, Xu Zhang, who replaced the prime minister, and Tian Ji, the general of Jiaodong."

"Han Xin then led his army to attack Xiang Yu, while Cao Shen led his troops to pacify the remaining areas of Qi that had not yet surrendered to the Han army."

"At this point, Xiang Yu's power was weakened, and Cao Shen's contribution was largely responsible for this, laying the foundation for the Han army to defeat the Chu army."

"In the fifth year of Emperor Gaozu of Han, after Xiang Yu was defeated and killed, Liu Bang ascended the throne and became emperor."

"Cao Shen returned the seal of the Prime Minister of Han and was appointed Prime Minister of Qi to assist Liu Bang's eldest son, King of Qi Liu Fei."

"In the sixth year of Emperor Gaozu of Han, the princes were given fiefs and seals, and Cao Shen conquered two princely states and 122 counties."

"He also participated in the capture of two princes, three prime ministers of vassal states, six generals, and four high-ranking officials."

"The fief he obtained was Pingyang, which had 10,630 households. He was given the title of Marquis of Pingyang, and his previous fief was taken away."

"When it came to the ranking of ministers' contributions after the empire was stabilized, since Cao Shen had received more than 70 wounds in all the battles and had made the most contributions in conquering cities and territories, most people thought he should be ranked first."

"But Guannei Hou E Qianqiu thought Cao Shen should be second and Xiao He should be first."

"Finally, Liu Bang agreed with his point of view and ranked Xiao He first in terms of merit, while Cao Shen still ranked second based on his military merit."

"In August of the tenth year of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Chen Xi, the Marquis of Yangxia, rebelled. Cao Shen, as the Prime Minister of Qi, led his troops to attack the army of Zhang Chun, a general under Chen Xi, and defeated the enemy."

"In July of the eleventh year of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, Huainan King Ying Bu rebelled. Cao Shen followed Qi King Liu Fei and led 120,000 troops to attack Ying Bu's army together with Emperor Gaozu."

"He defeated the enemy forces, recovered many cities involved in the rebellion, and helped stabilize the situation in the early Han Dynasty."

"In the first year of Emperor Hui of Han, the vassal states abolished the system of prime ministers, and Cao Shen was appointed as the prime minister of Qi."

"At that time, the country had just been pacified, and King Liu Fei of Qi was very young. Cao Shen asked the elders and scholars from all over Qi for ways to pacify the people."

"But Qi had many scholars, and their theories were different."

"Finally, he adopted the advice of the elder Gai Gong and used the Huang-Lao philosophy to govern Qi, keeping quiet and doing nothing, and letting the people settle down on their own."

"So after he became prime minister of Qi for nine years, the people of Qi were able to live and work in peace and contentment, and people praised him as a wise prime minister."

"And Huang-Lao doctrine also became the policy basis for Cao Shen's governance of the Han Dynasty in the future."

"Liu Bang was injured during his campaign against Ying Bu and later became critically ill. When he was dying, Empress Lü asked him who would take over the position of prime minister after Xiao He died. Liu Bang's answer was Cao Shen."

"When Xiao He was seriously ill, Emperor Hui of Han asked him about the successor to the position of prime minister, and the only wise minister he recommended was Cao Shen."

"In July of the second year of Emperor Hui of Han, Prime Minister Xiao He passed away. When Cao Shen heard about it, he quickly asked his retainers to pack their bags."

"He determined that he would become the prime minister, and soon after, the imperial envoy came to summon Cao Shen to the court to serve as prime minister."

"When Cao Shen left the post of prime minister of Qi, he told the next prime minister of Qi to first consider places such as prisons and markets where good and evil coexist."

“Be cautious with those who rely on prisons and markets, and do not interfere with them lightly.”

"During his tenure as prime minister, Cao Shen selected some people from various counties who were not good at writing but were loyal and honest."

"He was summoned and appointed as the prime minister's historian, and at the same time those who were very particular about words and literature and wanted to pursue reputation were dismissed."

"When his subordinates made mistakes, Cao Shen would try his best to help them get away with it, so that nothing serious ever happened in the Prime Minister's Mansion."

"During his reign, Cao Shen adopted the Huang-Lao philosophy to govern the country, and his administration of government affairs remained the same as during the reign of Xiao He."

"Everything should be done according to the laws of the Xiao He period, and the laws should be appropriately relaxed when implementing policies, and criminals should not be punished harshly."

"It stabilized the people, restored social economy, and strengthened the national strength of the Han Dynasty."

"After serving as prime minister for three years, Cao Shen died in August of the fifth year of Emperor Hui of Han, and was posthumously named Marquis Yi."

"When Cao Shen died, the people all praised him for not changing Xiao He's laws, governing in a quiet and peaceful manner, and making the people live in peace."

Li Bai: Cao Shen knew that he had just got off the horse and was not good at governing the country.

He found someone to teach him how to govern the country, and this was the right approach.

In the second year after Emperor Hui of Han ascended the throne, Prime Minister Xiao He passed away.

Before his death, he recommended Cao Shen to succeed him, and Cao Shen naturally became the second prime minister of the Han Dynasty.

After becoming the prime minister, Cao Shen began to look for talents from counties across the country to help him.

His selection criteria are that the candidate is steady, honest and not good at speaking.

He also dismissed and sent many officials who were particularly interested in superficial work and fame.

With an ideal person working for him, Cao Shen basically drank at home every day, and if someone came to give him advice, they would give him some.

He drank heavily and got the other person drunk, leaving him speechless.

Emperor Hui of Han was a little anxious when he saw how the new prime minister governed the country, but since the prime minister was a senior veteran, he was embarrassed to reprimand him in person.

At that time, Cao Shen's son Cao Qiu was working in the palace. Emperor Hui of Han told him to go home and ask his father.

Now Emperor Gao is gone and the new emperor is still young. As the prime minister, you spend all your time drinking. What are you thinking?

After saying that, he reminded Cao Qiu, "Don't say that I asked you to ask this."

After Cao Qiu accepted the task, he found an opportunity to ask Cao Shen the whole story.

As a result, Cao Shen overturned the wine table and had Cao Qiu beaten with 200 boards.

Finally, he told Cao Qiu that these things were none of his business and he should just do his job well.

The next day, Emperor Hui of Han saw Cao Qiu limping. When he learned of Cao Shen's attitude, he could no longer hold back.

I asked Cao Shen face to face, I was the one who asked him to ask Cao Qiu those questions, why were you so cruel!
After listening to this, Cao Shen bowed to Emperor Hui of Han and asked, "Your Majesty, who do you think is more powerful, you or Emperor Gaozu?"
Emperor Hui of Han was stunned. Isn't this nonsense? Of course I am not as good as Emperor Gaozu.

Cao Shen then asked, "Your Majesty, who do you think is more capable, me or Prime Minister Xiao?"
Emperor Hui of Han laughed, as if you are not as good as Prime Minister Xiao.

At this time Cao Shen also laughed. Emperor Gaozu pacified the world, and Prime Minister Xiao set rules for the country.

Since Your Majesty is not as good as Emperor Gaozu, and I am not as good as Prime Minister Xiao, can’t we just follow the path they have taken?
Emperor Hui of Han suddenly realized that you were waiting for me here.

Cao Shen served as prime minister for a total of three years. He firmly implemented the policies and guidelines formulated by Xiao He, so the world was peaceful and the people were stable.

Governing a big country is different from governing Qi State. Cao Shen chose to follow the path taken by Xiao He, and this time he did the right thing again.

It is not difficult for a person to do one thing right, but it is difficult to do the right thing all his life, and Cao Shen did it. (End of this chapter)