曹嵩 / Cao Song
Hanji 971 introduces Cao Song as 曹操’s father and the central victim in 曹嵩遇害. In the episode, he has been avoiding disorder in Langya and is moving toward 兖州 after Cao Cao asks 应劭 to receive him.
The source makes Cao Song’s death a contested attribution problem. 《三国志》 is presented as blaming 陶谦 directly, while 《后汉书》 is presented as blaming 张闿’s greed during an escort mission. In both versions, Cao Song’s death becomes the trigger for 曹操’s attack on 徐州 and the later 徐州屠杀.