Chen Qun
In 216, Emperor Xian, the figurehead Han emperor, enfeoffed Cao Cao as a vassal king under the title "King of Wei". Cao Cao then sought Chen Qun's opinion on reestablishing an abolished system of corporal punishment within the Wei kingdom since he knew that Chen Qun's father, Chen Shi, supported capital punishment when he was still alive on the grounds that corporal punishment was more humane than bodily mutilation as a legal punishment. Chen Qun, however, favoured bodily mutilation because he thought that it provided more flexibility in the administration of justice, being more lenient than the death penalty yet less lenient than corporal punishment. Zhong Yao, another senior official, also shared the same view as Chen Qun, but others such as Wang Lang strongly objected to corporal punishment. Cao Cao ultimately did not reestablish the system of corporal punishment. Sometime between 216 and 220, Chen Qun urged Cao Cao to usurp the throne from Emperor Xian and become emperor himself, since Cao Cao was already the "de facto" ruler of the Han Empire at the time, but Cao Cao refused and remained as a nominal subject of Emperor Xian until his death.