My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 795: Poor people should be arrogant, rich people should be stable, if you don't live in a good place, you will die in a good place

Cao Cao's retreat in the direction of Yingchuan more or less slowed down Liu Bei's advancement on the Heluo battlefield.

But Liu Bei didn't mind it; instead he was happy to see it happen.

After all, Yingchuan, especially the area around Xu County, is a good place that Cao Cao has built for so many years. Now the local Cao army is forced to retreat in an organized and orderly manner.

Zhang Fei didn't have to put in much effort. He could push forward steadily with just a little force. He could achieve a result that would have otherwise required the risk of life at a very low cost. Why not do it?

In comparison, it is acceptable if other directions are slowed down by one or two months and some troops are diverted.

As Cao Ren gradually retreated into the territory of Henan Yin, the entire Yingchuan was lost, and more small chain reactions continued to occur.

For example, Cao Cao originally controlled most of Chenliu County to the east of Hulao Pass, between Yingchuan and Hulao Pass. Although places such as Suanzao in Chenliu had long been captured by Guan Yu and turned into a springboard for attacking Hulao Pass, at least the area around Chenliu County, the county seat, had always been in Cao Cao's hands.

Now with the retreat in the direction of Yingchuan, Chenliu was surrounded on three sides and was located on a large plain, so naturally it had to be abandoned.

Naturally, the counties of Zhongmu, Guandu, Xinzheng and others between Chenliu and Xu County had to be abandoned one after another.

At this point, Cao Cao had completely lost all the counties and prefectures in the plains east and south of the Heluo Basin, leaving nothing behind.

There was basically no hard fighting during the whole process, and it only took Liu Bei one or two months.

This is nothing surprising, because this is the normal bonus effect of the notoriety of "Cao Cao is suspected of regicide."

It is very likely that the emperor died at the hands of Cao Cao, so it is only natural that several surrounding counties wavered and surrendered to Liu Bei.

……

Cao Cao himself stayed in Luoyang and spent a month or two trying to stabilize the situation, but he accomplished nothing except losing more and more territory and his subordinates fleeing more and more.

Especially after the middle of July, the situation worsened. Some officials in the Luoyang court began to abandon their posts and flee secretly, crossing the Yellow River to Henei to join Liu Bei.

The mentality of this kind of people is perhaps similar to that of the high-ranking officials such as Xu Jing who jumped over the wall to escape from the city when Liu Bei besieged Liu Zhang's Chengdu in history.

The central government of the imperial court controlled by Cao Cao had truly reached the point where everyone was pushing down the wall when it fell.

In the days just after the Zhongyuan Festival, only two or three court officials fled sporadically, but Cao Cao also sent out cavalry patrols along the south bank of the Yellow River from Mengjin to Chenggao to search for and kill fugitives.

But within just half a month, by the end of July, the escape of court officials had become a regular occurrence, with some escaping every day. This trend also spread to the middle and lower level officials, who were fleeing in groups.

Perhaps it was this scene of being deserted by his friends and relatives that stimulated Cao Cao. It also made Cao Cao realize the reality and knew that with the support of the Zhuge brothers, Liu Bei and he would have absolutely no hope in fighting a war of public opinion.

No matter how Cao Cao defended himself, saying that "Geng Ji and Wei Huang kidnapped the emperor and killed him," fewer and fewer people believed this statement, while more and more people believed Liu Bei's "edict of repentance."

Liu Bei reduced his own fiefdom, and also reduced some of the fiefdoms of Zhuge Jin, Zhao Yun, and Zhou Yu, and took the responsibility for the delay in rescuing the emperor. This gesture won the trust of the people of the world, and Cao Cao could not pull it back no matter how he followed up.

Finally, at the end of July in the 18th year of Jian'an, about a month and a half after the death of Emperor Liu Xie, Cao Cao finally made up his mind.

He decided not to act anymore and just start a new business.

On the night of July 25, he privately summoned important officials and held a small meeting in the Prime Minister's Mansion.

For big things, small meetings are held, and for small things, big meetings are held. For such a big thing that will decide the whole world, a few core confidants are enough to discuss it.

As for large occasions like court meetings, they are nothing more than supplementing the process and whitewashing procedural justice after a decision has been made.

The only people who attended the meeting were Xun Yu, Xi Lu, Sima Lang, Sima Yi and others. Even Hua Xin was not invited.

The discussion at the meeting was also very straightforward. Cao Cao asked right at the beginning:

"It's been almost two months since your Majesty was murdered. The world cannot be without a ruler, and your Majesty's sons are all young. In this time of chaos, can you let these young children inherit the throne? Which prince do you think can be made the heir?"

Cao Cao actually already had the answer in his mind, and this question was just a formality. At this point, he actually didn't want to establish anyone as the heir.

Because he knew that it was useless to establish it, and it would not win back people's hearts. It was just a meaningless deception to himself.

After hearing such an important question, no one dared to respond easily, not even Sima Yi, who had been highly valued in recent years.

Contrary to the impression of many later viewers, Liu Xie in the 18th year of Jian'an had already left behind several sons.

Historically, Liu Xie finally abdicated and became the Duke of Shanyang. The duchy of Shanyang was passed down until the end of the Western Jin Dynasty and the eve of the Yongjia Southern Migration. This shows that Liu Xie had quite a few descendants.

So now that the emperor has been killed, theoretically Cao Cao should of course choose one of Liu Xie's sons to be the heir.

Liu Xie's original eldest son was named Liu Feng, but he died before the Battle of Guandu in the fifth year of Jian'an. The history books do not say who his mother was, but it is estimated that he was not born to Empress Fu Shou.

Because the time was too sensitive, in the fifth year of Jian'an, before the Battle of Guandu, it was just when Dong Cheng was involved in the case and both Dong Cheng and Dong Guiren were killed. Dong Guiren was already pregnant with a child at the time, so the baby was naturally stillborn.

This Liu Feng was most likely the son of Concubine Dong. However, according to historical records, Liu Feng was not convicted and killed, but died of illness. So it is possible that Cao Cao had someone poison the child to cause his death.

After Liu Feng, Liu Xie had several more sons, two of whom were born to Empress Fu Shou. However, after Fu Shou was poisoned to death by Cao Cao a few months ago, Cao Cao also thought about poisoning these two children together.

Originally in history, Empress Fu Shou was imprisoned and died due to being interrogated, so her two children could also be implicated. Cao Cao openly killed the prince.

In this life, Fu Shou died without being punished, so the treatment of her son would naturally be delayed. If too many people were poisoned at once, it would easily arouse suspicion from the outside world.

Therefore, Cao Cao only had time to poison one of the two children born to the couple after Fu Shou died and before Liu Xie died. The other child was not poisoned until after Liu Xie died, in July.

The reason why Cao Cao did not dare to discuss the important matter of establishing a new emperor from mid-June to early July, and only dared to supervise all military and political affairs as the prime minister while arranging the funeral for the emperor, was to eliminate this child completely.

This child's biological parents both died at the hands of Cao Cao. How could Cao Cao dare to let such a person come to power?
After all of Fu Shou's biological children were poisoned to death, Liu Xie was left with only the younger sons born to his other four concubines, namely, Prince of Jiyin Liu Xi, Prince of Shanyang Liu Yi, Prince of Jibei Liu Miao, and Prince of Donghai Liu Dun.

These four children had just been crowned kings the previous year, in the 17th year of Jian'an (originally in history, they were crowned kings in that year). They were all born after the Battle of Guandu, and were younger than the two born to Fu Shou. Their mothers were all women found by Cao Cao for Liu Xie, but none of them were daughters of the Cao family.

Among these four children, the oldest was born in the eighth year of Jian'an and is now eleven years old. The youngest was born in the fourteenth year of Jian'an and is five years old.

In these turbulent times, with Liu Bei already at Hanoi, letting a child become emperor is a joke. Everyone was silent for a long time before Xun Yu gritted his teeth and said, "During this time of war, a young ruler ascending the throne will inevitably lead to uncertainty for the country. If we must appoint a successor, we can only base it on seniority. The late emperor's sons are all still children, and it's hard to tell which are virtuous and which are not."

After hearing Xun Yu's opinion, the rest of the people secretly looked at Cao Cao, wanting to see what kind of reaction Xun Yu's words of testing the waters would arouse.

The oldest person in the group was Liu Xi, who was eleven years old.

Cao Cao did not immediately comment on Xun Yu's words. He just shivered and touched his beard. The atmosphere in the room was deathly silent, making everyone feel depressed and dared not breathe.

After a long time, Cao Cao seemed to have found one or two points that he could use from Xun Yu's words, and he slowly said:

"Wen Ruo is right about one thing. He is a wise man who plans for the country. In this time of turmoil, if a boy suddenly gets a divine weapon, it would be like a child carrying gold through a busy market. It would harm them instead!"

Xi Lu, Sima Lang, Sima Yi and others were all shocked when they heard the prime minister's stern statement. They were keenly aware that there was a difference of opinion between the prime minister and the emperor on the fundamental issues of the world.

After Cao Cao finished speaking, he did not continue speaking immediately. He was obviously waiting for Xun Yu's reaction, wanting to see whether Xun Yu would immediately and fiercely refute him.

But Xun Yu remained silent again, obviously not intending to "actively defend" or "actively persuade" Cao Cao, but only wanted to wait for Cao Cao to make his words clear before he would persuade. If Cao Cao wanted to continue to smooth things over and let others take the lead, Xun Yu would continue to remain silent.

When Cao Cao saw Xun Yu like this, he felt quite unhappy.

Although Wen Ruo has the talent to assist the king, he lacks the courage to act and dares not risk everything.

Cao Cao thought for a moment and said, "The late emperor went through so many years of suffering, but in the end he was not able to recover and died at the hands of his captors. This shows that the destiny has changed and the Han Dynasty is coming to an end.

In such a time of war, even if a ten-year-old boy took that position, it would only bring disaster upon himself. There is no one with the virtue, talent and prestige to be appointed as the next emperor..."

Cao Cao's words were so clear that the hint was obvious enough. But he still had some dignity to keep, and hoped that someone would be able to do the final push for him.

He glanced at Sima Yi, who also understood a little, but was not very brave after all, so he spoke first to pave the way and agreed: "What the Prime Minister said is very true. How many people in the world are still enjoying the Han salary? How many people were promoted by the late emperor?
The prestige of the previous emperor had already been completely lost when Li Jue and Guo Si massacred Chang'an. In the following 18 years, the prime minister used his own strength to forcibly continue the Han Dynasty. The prime minister has made great contributions and deserves to be appointed..."

After saying the four words "worthy of the mission", Sima Yi could not continue speaking. The substantive content still needed to be said by a more straightforward white glove mascot.

Finally, Xi Lu, who had always done the dirty work nearby, was so overwhelmed by the double act of Cao Cao and Sima Yi that he realized it was time for him to do the work. He finally stood up and said the final finishing touch:
"I believe that the Prime Minister has great merits and is worthy of the mandate. I ask that the Prime Minister take the throne as soon as possible and rule the people on behalf of the Han Dynasty."

Cao Cao finally heard the words he wanted to hear most. His trembling body stopped shaking all of a sudden, and he let out a long sigh, but there was no sign of pride on his face.

Some just feel helpless and relieved.

He knew very well that at this point, even if he became emperor, he would not be able to defeat Liu Bei.

But if he doesn't do it, he can't defeat Liu Bei.

Those who were loyal to the Han Dynasty and betrayed him have almost all betrayed him.

Those who are still on his side don't care at all whether they are from the Han Dynasty or not. As long as they have an official position, power and money, it's fine.

Cao Cao implemented the policy of selecting officials based on merit for so many years, and this did have its benefits. Many of the talents he recruited did not care about morality or whether they were Han Chinese or not.

In the month and a half after the emperor's death, the situation was turbulent and everyone fled as much as possible, which has purified this group of people.

In this case, he felt that satisfying the desire to be an emperor would not only leave a more significant mark in his life,
Secondly, he had actually seen through it and realized that if he became emperor, it would also be beneficial to the people of the world.

At least the whole world doesn't have to act so hypocritically anymore. He was freed, Liu Bei was freed, Zhuge Jin was freed, and Liu Xie's sons were also freed.

Perhaps Zhuge Jin will be able to see through his deeper meaning in the future, and realize that he has "played the role of a 'modern Xiang Yu' well, just as the oracles of Zhuge Jin and Lu Su predicted."

Xiang Yu also killed Emperor Yi in those days, but those members of Xiang Yu's family who defected to Liu Bang and drew a line with Xiang Yu were not all executed by Liu Bang. Some were forced to change their surnames to Liu and survived.

For example, a traitor like Xiang Bo.

Cao Cao couldn't discuss this matter with Liu Bei and Zhuge Jin, and they wouldn't pay attention to him. So he could only do his best and drink first to show respect.

This "gan" is not the "gan" that means "toast", but the "gan" that means "do things".

Some people may think that Cao Cao did not declare himself emperor even when the situation was so good in history. Why did he make up his mind to do so now that the situation is so bad?
But this is not surprising, because when a person has a large family and a great business, if he continues to be aggressive, he will not be able to make a significant leap, but the risk of aggressive failure may result in losing all his capital. At that time, the person will naturally choose a stable investment style.

Only those who don't have much capital and will only die slowly if they don't take a big chance would be willing to risk their lives for a chance.

Cao Cao already knew that he would die if he didn't fight, so why not do it in a big way?

Unconsciously, Cao Cao has become somewhat dwarfed, but also more real, to the point where he tends to be closer to Huan Wen.

It cannot leave a good reputation for generations to come, nor is it worthy of being infamous for eternity!
"Within ten days, make preparations to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, the late emperor, and accept the throne of Han. I will then be crowned emperor in the Northern Palace of Luoyang! You can figure out the specific reason yourself."

Everyone felt that this was a somewhat makeshift project, but they had no choice but to accept it.

Finally, Xi Lu, who was used to doing dirty work, said: "Why not let the four sons of the late emperor each submit a petition, claiming that they are too young to govern, and that the Han Dynasty has ended, so they dare not inherit the late emperor's throne, and take the initiative to persuade the prime minister."

Cao Cao thought about it and thought it was a good idea.

This is still different from the emperor's direct abdication, but the effect is also good.

It was like the previous emperor had died and a new emperor had not yet been appointed, but the previous emperor's sons all publicly stated that they were not qualified to succeed to the throne and that they were not worthy of the position, so they gave up the throne to Cao Cao.

There was no precedent for this kind of thing in history. But Cao Cao was a man who was not that averse to making history, so he just did it to shock the world.

Of course, Cao Cao quickly realized that Liu Xie’s sons’ refusal would actually help Liu Bei.

The reason they declined was that "there was no one among the descendants of the previous emperor who was worthy of being the king, so they had to decline." But just because there was no one among the descendants of the previous emperor did not mean there was no one among the royal family's side branches. At that time, Liu Bei could jump out and say, "They are not worthy of the position, but I am, so the Han Dynasty should continue, but I will be the one to continue it."

But Cao Cao could no longer care about these things now. He just wanted to satisfy himself. Even if he could help Liu Bei at the same time, then that would be good enough.

He has become very open-minded and doesn't care anymore.

(End of this chapter)