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First of all, Zao Zhi, born and died unknown, is from Yangdi, Yingchuan (now Yuzhou City, Henan Province). Zao Zhi's ancestor was originally surnamed Ji, and he changed his name to Zao family to avoid it. In the sixth year of Zhongping (189), after Dong Zhuo controlled the capital Luoyang , he abolished Shaodi of Han and changed Liu Xie to the emperor. Facing Dong Zhuo's usurpation, Cao Cao could not bear it, so he came to Chenliu (now Xiangfu District, Henan Province) to organize a 5,000-man army to attack Dong Zhuo. After learning the news, Zaozhi defected to Cao Cao's command and raised a righteous army with Cao Cao to confront Dong Zhuo. At that time, Zao Zhi was already a little famous. After he joined Cao Cao, Yuan Shao also wanted to get Zao Zhi and sent people to swear to Zao Zhi many times, but he flatly refused. In my opinion, it is obviously commendable for Zao Zhi to reject Yuan Shao, because Yuan Shao, who came from the fourth generation and the third generation, was far stronger than Cao Cao at that time, that is, Zao Zhi followed Cao Cao, which was not a favorable choice. On this basis, Zao Zhi's loyalty moved Cao Cao very much, so he was highly valued by Cao Cao.
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In the third year of Chuping (192), after Yanzhou Mu Liu Dai was killed by Yellow Turban Army , Cao Cao took a big advantage, that is, he took charge of Yanzhou. Therefore, Cao Cao appointed Zao Zhi as the 4th order of Dong'a and guarded Dong'a (now Dong'a County, Shandong Province). Zaozhi is committed to promoting agriculture, sedimentary food, and storing grain; diligently cultivating military preparations, organizing training for soldiers, and strengthening the urban defense facilities of Dong'a City. In this regard, in my opinion, Zao Zhi's arrangement undoubtedly laid a good foundation for Cao Cao to repel Lu Bu . In the first year of Xingping (194), Lu Bu and Chen Gong took advantage of the opportunity of Cao Cao sending troops to Xuzhou and suddenly launched an attack and attacked Yanzhou, and all counties and counties rebelled one after another. Against this background, only the three cities of Dong'e, Juancheng, , and , Fanxian, are still loyal to Cao Cao, which is the most critical moment in Cao Cao's life.
In order not to give Cao Cao a chance to breathe, after Lu Bu and Chen Gong occupied Yanzhou, they sent troops to attack Dong'acheng. However, because the walls of Dong'a are very strong and Zao Zhi led the soldiers and the people to resist tenaciously, Dong'a City was never captured. In this regard, in the view of many historians, the persistence of Zao Zhi, Xun Yu, Cheng Yu and others won valuable time for Cao Cao to counterattack Lu Bu and regain Yanzhou. A year later, Lu Bu and Chen Gong retreated from Yanzhou.
In the first year of Jian'an (196), Cao Cao welcomed and embraced Emperor Xian of Han and moved the capital to Xuchang. Considering Zao Zhi's contribution, Cao Cao appointed him as the Yulin Prison to protect the palace. This undoubtedly highlights Cao Cao's trust in Zao Zhi. After wielding the emperor to command the princes, Cao Cao defeated the Yellow Turban Army in Runan, Yingchuan and captured a large number of plowing oxen and farm tools. In this regard, Zao Zhi suggested that Cao Cao use these agricultural tools to reclaim land in the Xuchang area and implement military farming to solve problems such as food and grass. Cao Cao not only adopted Zao Zhi's suggestion, but also appointed him as the military farming commander, who was fully responsible for military farming matters.
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After receiving Cao Cao's full support, Zao Zhi first took the barren fields to the court and recruited the people to cultivate and cultivate. The harvest obtained was divided by the court and the people in proportion. In the first year of the implementation of the military farm, millions of hu of rice were obtained. Because Zao Zhi's approach was successful, Cao Cao widely promoted the military farm system in the Central Plains, and even allowed many troops to cultivate and cultivate, which basically solved the problem of food and grass supply in Cao Cao's army, and also allowed the Central Plains agricultural production, which had been damaged by war for a long time, to be restored and stabilized in the short term.
With sufficient food supply, Cao Cao led a large army to conquer all directions and eliminated many princes. Therefore, it is very obvious that the implementation of the military farm system has accelerated the process of Cao Cao's unification of the north. Zao Zhi was therefore promoted to the prefect of Chenliu County . However, it is a pity that Zao Zhi has been the prefect of Chenliu County for not long and died of illness while in office. After many years, Cao Cao was still obsessed with Zao Zhi, and posthumously named Zao Zhi as a marquis, posthumously awarded him the prefect of Chenliu, and asked his son to inherit the marquis and sacrifice to Zao Zhi.
In addition, historian Cai Dongfan commented in "Romance of the Later Han Dynasty": "The heroes of the Cao family are the first to be ranked! Compared with the two Xuns and one Guo, they are not given up." In his opinion, Zao Zhi's contribution to the establishment of military farming can be compared with those of Xun Yu, Xun You, Guo Jia and other strategists. What do you think about this?
