During the Battle of Jingzhou, Cao Cao failed to successfully capture the entire territory of Jingzhou, which was disappointing. However, the good news was that the important officials and families in Jingzhou were all under his control.
The Cai family, the Kuai family, the Pang family, and the Huang family, all of which have a decisive influence in Jingzhou, are now all in the hands of Cao Cao.
Liu Biao was captured by Cao Cao and escorted to Xuchang. Although Liu Biao became a prisoner, he was still a relative of the emperor, and Cao Cao would not treat him harshly. After taking Liu Biao to Xuchang, Cao Cao even gave him a very grand ceremony.
He was given courteous treatment, allowed to live in the most gorgeous house in Xuchang, and sent the best servants to take care of him, which can be said to be the most preferential treatment. Of course, it is undeniable that although Liu Biao will have no worries about food and clothing and enjoy luxury in the future, from now on
I'm afraid I will never have freedom again.
The only major event that occurred in the ninth year of Jian'an was the division of Jingzhou between Cao Cao and Sun Jian, but the impact of this event was far-reaching.
Not long after returning to Xuchang from Jingzhou, Cao Cao began to plan another major event.
This time, it was not an attack on the territories of other princes, but an event that shocked the world.
On the 10th day of the first month of the 10th year of Jian'an, when the people in Xuchang City were still lingering in the atmosphere of the New Year, Hua Xin, Yilang, petitioned the Han Emperor during the court meeting and asked Cao Cao to be granted the title of Duke of Wei.
As soon as this table came out, the world was shocked!
Although Cao Cao has been holding the emperor hostage to command the princes, he has not shown any obvious signs of wanting to replace the Han. Although he is the prime minister and general, ranking at the top of civil and military affairs, these two official positions are not transcendent.
The scope of his ministers was not like that of Dong Zhuo, who was not only granted the title of Prime Minister, but also proclaimed himself Grand Master, showing his unabashed desire to usurp the throne.
However, now Cao Cao actually wants to be granted the title of Duke of Wei. Anyone with a discerning eye can see at a glance that his ambitions have further expanded. Perhaps he is no longer satisfied with being a powerful minister, but wants to obtain a higher status and power.
And this Duke of Wei was a stepping stone for him to reach the highest position.
If you become the Duke of Wei today, you may become the King of Wei tomorrow, and you may even become the Emperor of Wei the day after tomorrow!
This is by no means alarmist, but is indeed a fact that is very likely to happen in the future.
Although the suggestion to make Cao Cao the Duke of Wei was proposed by Hua Xin, no one would naively think that this was Hua Xin's own intention and that there would be no instructions from Cao Cao behind it.
After his ambitions grew more and more, Cao Cao finally couldn't stand it anymore. When he captured Jingzhou and captured Liu Biao, Cao Cao felt that the time was almost ripe for him to be granted the title of Duke of Wei. Although asking for the title of Duke would indeed make him a target of public criticism.
, but now it is no better than before. In the past, the heroes were divided and there were constant disputes. For example, Yuan Shao granted Ye Gong the title without authorization and immediately became the target of condemnation by all the princes in the world. However, the only princes left in the Han Dynasty now are Sun Jian and Han Sui.
, there are only a few people such as Liu Zhang and Zhang Lu, and among these few people, except Sun Jian, who is powerful, the others are not to be feared. Sun Jian and himself are mortal enemies. Whether he claims it or not, neither party can do it.
There is no room for adjustment.
Therefore, after Cao Cao detained Liu Biao in Xuchang and his ambitions grew, he no longer had the slightest scruples and signaled Hua Xin to go to the emperor and ask him to be granted the title of Duke of Wei.
After Hua Xin's trademark, countless people were shocked and even angry. The few remaining royalists could no longer bear it and jumped out to criticize Cao Cao.
After Kong Rong's death, the royalist ministers were finally frightened by Cao Cao's hegemony and ceased their activities. After all, no matter how much they hated Cao Cao, their lives were still very important. If they could not save their lives, why should they continue to loyal to the emperor? But
Now that things have come to a point where they have to step forward, even if the final outcome is death, they can no longer tolerate it.
Although they know that if they do this, the final result is likely to be a mantis mantis unable to change any situation. But no matter what, they must make the minimum effort. Everyone knows that if Cao Cao cannot be prevented from claiming the throne, the Han Dynasty will
I'm afraid my luck won't last for many more years.
Cao Cao chose to ignore all these objections. He didn't even bother to arrest or kill those royalists. In Cao Cao's view at this moment, these royalists had nothing to do. No matter how noisy they were, they would not do anything to him.
What kind of threat does the proclaiming of justice pose? Killing them might cause some troubles. In this case, let them continue barking.
No matter how loudly these royalists bark, the decision to call himself Duke of Wei will be decided within a few days, and there will be no changes.
However, just when Cao Cao felt that the dust had settled, there was one person who objected, and he had to take it more seriously.
Xun Yu and Xun Wenruo, the first counselors under Cao Cao, expressed their solemn and fierce opposition to Cao Cao's proposal to make him a prince in front of the emperor.