The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

Worrying and feeling unhappy.

Wei Commandery and Pingyuan Kingdom were won by Cao Cao personally leading his main force in a bloody battle; in contrast, Liu Bei easily seized Bohai Commandery and Hejian Kingdom with just two letters and one messenger.

People do not suffer from scarcity but from inequality.

The stark contrast between effort and reward made Cao Cao resentful of Liu Bei's theft of the two commanderies.

If it weren't for the need to secure a great victory and avoid undermining morale, Cao Cao would have almost slammed his fist on the table and angrily rebuked, "Who is Liu Bei? How dare he do this!"

However, the reality is not optimistic.

From Liyang to Yecheng and then to Pingyuan, Cao Cao's troops fought a series of fierce battles, and Xiahou Yuan's main force also suffered considerable losses when he fought Guan Yu.

Although they had already controlled key locations on the north bank of the Yellow River, bordering Wei Commandery and Pingyuan State, their troops were exhausted and unable to march north to fight Liu Bei.

Cao Cao had no choice but to suppress his anger.

The most urgent task is not to seek a decisive battle with Liu Bei, but to seize the heart of Hebei and quickly dispatch capable officials to take over the various prefectures.

After pondering for a long time, Cao Cao picked up his pen and wrote down the appointment:

He appointed Xiahou Dun as the governor of Wei Commandery and stationed him in Ye City.

He appointed Lü Qian as the Chancellor of Pingyuan and stationed him in Pingyuan.

Cao Ren was appointed as the governor of Julu, and the city was to be attacked and captured immediately.

He appointed Han Hao as the prime minister of Zhao and ordered him to lead troops to conquer Zhao.

Li Dian was appointed as the Chancellor of Anping, responsible for capturing Anping.

Dong Zhao was appointed to act as the governor of Ji Province, with his capital at Ye City.

Cheng Yu was appointed to act as the governor of Qingzhou, and his administrative office was located in Linzi.

As territory expands, the need for talented individuals increases dramatically.

Even though he left Dong Zhao, Xiahou Dun, Cao Ren, Han Hao, and Li Dian to govern Ji Province, and Cheng Yu and Lü Qian to govern Qing Province, Cao Cao was still uneasy.

After a moment's thought, Cao Cao picked up his pen again and summoned Man Chong to Ye City to assist in handling the affairs.

At the same time, Cao Chun was ordered to stay in Linzi after successfully persuading Kong Zhang to surrender, and to assist Cheng Yu in conquering the unsubdued territories of Qingzhou.

Compared to the threats from the west and south, Liu Bei posed a far greater threat.

Cao Cao had to leave behind elite troops and capable administrators in Qing and Ji provinces to prevent Liu Bei from taking advantage of the situation to move south and gradually seize the counties.

Because Liu Bei focused his main efforts on protecting the people migrating north, Cao Ren, Han Hao, and Li Dian's offensive progressed smoothly.

Although Cao Cao's attacks on Julu, Zhao, and Anping did cause some people in the counties and villages to flee north, overall, only a minority chose to escape north.

For the many powerful clans and gentry who occupied Hebei, not all of them were willing to give up their ancestral businesses passed down through generations. Most of them preferred to seek reconciliation with Cao Cao in order to achieve some form of "co-governance".

To prevent these forces from siding with Liu Bei, Cao Cao also tightened military discipline and reduced the slaughter. Instead, he used the emperor's name to appease the people of various counties and offered official positions to powerful local families in an attempt to win them over.

By August of the seventh year of Jian'an (202 AD), Cao Cao had basically taken control of the Zhao, Anping, Julu, and Wei commanderies in Ji Province, as well as the Pingyuan, Jinan, Le'an, Qi, Beihai, and Donglai commanderies in Qing Province. Including his original Henei and Hedong commanderies, a large area of ​​territory along the Yellow River, both north and south, was now under Cao Cao's control.

At the same time, Liu Bei controlled Zhuojun, Daijun, Shanggujun, Guangyangjun, Yuyangjun, Youbeipingjun, and Liaoxijun in Youzhou, as well as Changshan Kingdom, Zhongshan Kingdom, Hejian Kingdom, and Bohai Kingdom in Jizhou, and also occupied Shangdangjun in Bingzhou.

Judging from the core areas of the four provinces of Qing, Ji, You, and Bing alone, Liu Bei's territory was almost on par with Cao Cao's.

However, Cao Cao's power extended far beyond Hebei, also firmly controlling fertile and densely populated areas such as Yuzhou, Xuzhou, Yanzhou, and Huainan.

In contrast, Liu Bei, though possessing a vast territory encompassing nine commanderies and three kingdoms, had many of these regions as remote, harsh, and sparsely populated border areas.

Even after the organization moved north, adding more than 100,000 people, the total number of households under its jurisdiction was still less than 200,000, and the total population was estimated to be only around one million.

Cao Cao's original base already had more than 200,000 households. After conquering Qingzhou and the Wei, Zhao, Anping and Julu counties of Jizhou, the population increased by more than 100,000.

Whether measured by household registration, population, or the wealthy regions under his actual control, Cao Cao's overall strength on paper at this time far surpassed that of Liu Bei.

(Note: The specific figures for household registration and territory are only estimates and are used to reflect the balance of power.)
After Yuan Shao's power was almost entirely divided up by Cao Cao and Liu Bei, the two sides maintained a superficial harmony on the surface and strictly guarded their respective borders.

However, beneath the calm surface, undercurrents surged and danger lurked everywhere.

As soon as Cao Cao returned to Xuchang, he hurriedly submitted a memorial to the emperor, praising Liu Bei's "meritorious service" in suppressing Yuan Shao. He also requested the emperor to appoint Liu Bei as General of the Guards on the grounds that Liu Bei was a "relative of the Han imperial family".

This plan was extremely malicious: firstly, it implied to Yuan Shao's former officials and followers that Liu Bei was actually a "spy" planted by the court in the north, and that Yuan Shao's demise was inseparable from Liu Bei's "hypocrisy"; secondly, this seemingly promoted title of "General of the Guards" was actually a trap carefully set by Cao Cao. As long as Liu Bei could be lured to Xuchang, Cao Cao was willing to give up not only the title of General of the Guards, but even the position of Minister of Works, with the aim of placing him under house arrest and eliminating his supporters.

Faced with Cao Cao's open and covert attacks, Liu Bei resolutely retaliated.

He once again raised the imperial edict in the belt and denounced Cao Cao for deceiving the emperor, declaring that his alliance with General-in-Chief Yuan Shao, as the Left General, was precisely for the purpose of serving the emperor, eliminating the traitor, and returning power to the emperor!

Yuan Shao's resignation as governor and his deathbed recommendation of loyal officials like Tian Feng and Yan Liang to serve Liu Bei are the most compelling evidence of this.

To make his stance irrefutable, Liu Bei drew his sword and swore an oath in front of the emperor's envoy: "Heaven and earth bear witness! If I cannot purge the court of corrupt officials and save the emperor from his suffering, I, Liu Bei, will never accept the title of General of the Guards for the rest of my life! I swear to serve the country and bring peace to the people as General of the Left!"

Such a blood oath not only shattered Cao Cao's plot for "promotion," but also nailed Cao Cao to the position of traitor, fully demonstrating his loyalty.

When one plan failed, Cao Cao revealed his ruthless side again and adopted a two-pronged approach:
On the one hand, they forcibly appointed governors: carefully selecting candidates from the court and appointing them as governors of Youzhou and Bingzhou, intending to seize Liu Bei's territory.

On the one hand, officials were dispatched to investigate: spies were sent to infiltrate the nine commanderies and three kingdoms controlled by Liu Bei, ostensibly to "supervise official conduct," but in reality to gather material for framing and undermine Liu Bei's prestige.

Liu Bei's response to this was also extremely shrewd and experienced:

On the one hand, the court vindicated Gao Gan by presenting the original seals and documents from when the court appointed Gao Gan as the governor of Bingzhou and Yuan Xi as the governor of Youzhou, emphasizing that the two men "governed the state effectively, and the officials and people were all convinced of their abilities." This was a strong way to refuse the handover of the new officials sent by Cao Cao!
On one hand, Liu Bei turned against Cao Cao: at the same time, he publicly submitted a memorial to the court, but in reality, he was announcing to the world that he was angrily denouncing Cao Cao for "suppressing dissidents, making appointments and dismissals privately, and disrupting the system of governors of our Han Dynasty!" He shifted the blame back to Cao Cao.

Seeing that Liu Bei cleverly used Gao Gan and Yuan Xi as shields, Cao Cao then devised a strategy to undermine Liu Bei's efforts: he petitioned the emperor again, praising Gao Gan and Yuan Xi for their "outstanding achievements" and summoning them to the capital to serve as officials, "to show the emperor's boundless grace!"
Gao Gan and Yuan Xi naturally could not answer the summons to the capital.

Disobeying the imperial decree could not be stated openly, so Liu Bei had the two men play a game of "disappearance":
Gao Gan's subordinates said, "Governor Gao has personally gone to Yanmen to persuade the Wuhuan tribes to submit to the Han Dynasty. This is a matter of national importance and cannot be delayed!"

Yuan Xi's subordinates said, "Governor Yuan has rushed to Shanggu to urge the Xianbei tribes to be loyal to the court. This is a matter of great importance to the safety of the northern frontier, and he dares not leave for a moment!"

As long as the two officials, bearing the title of governor, were "running around on state affairs," even if the imperial edict summoning them arrived, it could be delayed under the pretext of "waiting for their return before announcing the edict."

Of course, the emperor's envoys could personally travel to Yanmen or Shanggu to deliver the imperial decree. However, in those harsh and cold borderlands, surrounded by powerful enemies, whether the envoys dared to "venture deep into the tiger's den" or whether they could "coincidentally" encounter these two reclusive governors was anyone's guess.

This drama of "official diplomacy" became a stalemate that Cao Cao found difficult to break for the time being. (End of this chapter)