Chapter 397: All the heroes have been destroyed, Cao Cao, only you and I are left! Please change the dynasty and ascend the throne to become the emperor!
Xun Yu dug his own grave?

"Why does Jinglue say that?"

There was a trace of confusion in Liu Bei's eyes.

"What a monarch fears most is the loss of military power to others, and the possibility that his subordinates will become more powerful than him, especially for a suspicious monarch like Cao Cao."

"At that time, Cao Cao was far away in Chengdu, and Xun Yu had no time to ask for instructions. He must have relied on his position and prestige to mobilize Cao Ren and the Tongguan garrison troops to the north to take over Bingzhou first."

"This move helped Cao Cao seize Bingzhou, but it also made Cao Cao see Xun Yu's prestige in the Qin army. In other words, he saw the threat Xun Yu posed to him."

"And Xun Yu has always considered himself a Han minister. When Cao Cao first proclaimed himself king, he did not support it. This must have created a rift between him and Cao Cao."

"Now that something like this has happened again, given Cao Cao's paranoia, how can he not worry that Xun Yu might use his prestige to mobilize the army and launch a mutiny?"

"Your Majesty, do you think that given Cao Cao's temperament, once he becomes suspicious and wary of someone, will he allow that person to live?"

Xiao Fang revealed the mystery.

Liu Bei suddenly understood, but said:

"But Xun Wenruo is different from others. When Lu Bu stole Yanzhou, he relied on Xun Wenruo's on-the-spot decision-making to save the three cities, which made it possible for him to return and retake Yanzhou later."

"It can be said that he and Xun Yu have been through thick and thin together. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are friends of life and death."

"Will Cao Cao really doubt the loyalty of such a man? Will he really put him to death because he is afraid of his reputation?"

Xiao Fang sighed in his heart.

This is the difference between Lao Liu and Cao Cao.

Throughout his life, Cao Cao only trusted people from his Cao family and the Xiahou family. As for the rest of the generals from other families, he was always wary of them and would never let them rule a region alone unless it was absolutely necessary.

Old Liu is different. As long as I recognize someone, I can trust him with my life and property, no matter if he or she has the same surname or not.

Historically, when Liu Bang became king, he only had two states, one of which was given to his sworn brother Guan Yu.

If this happened to Cao Cao, it would be a fantasy and absolutely impossible.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that Lao Liu has no clan to rely on, but it is enough to show that Lao Liu is far better than Cao Cao in trusting his subordinates.

Just like Xun Yu, if Cao Cao was replaced by Liu Bei, even if he was dissatisfied with Xun Yu, even if Xun Yu was really more capable than his master and really posed a threat to his power, Liu Bei would definitely not kill him.

The most they could do is to strip Xun Yu of his actual power, give him an honorary sinecure like Grand Tutor, and let him retire in peace.

Cao Cao was different. Anyone who aroused his suspicion would be put on his blacklist, and the rest would just have to wait in line for death.

In history, wasn't Xun Yu forced to commit suicide by being given an empty food box by Cao Cao because he opposed Cao Cao's claim to the throne?

"Cao Cao's motto is: I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me."

"Besides the fact that they are both heroes with great ambitions, he and the king are fundamentally two different types of people. It is understandable that the king sometimes cannot understand what he does."

"But I believe that whether Xun Yu is alive or dead will soon be known."

Xiao Fang did not explain further, and turned his thoughts back to the present:

"What we need to do now is to pacify the three states of Hebei, rest the soldiers, store food and grass, comfort the people, and prepare for the future westward advance to attack Qin and destroy Cao and unify the world."

Liu Bei also withdrew his thoughts, stood up, went down the stairs, and came out of the hall.

Standing with his hands behind his back, in the distant west, the mountains and rivers of the four states of Sizhou, Bingzhou, Liangzhou, and Yizhou seemed to be in full view.

A grand blueprint has emerged in my mind.

"All the heroes in the world have been destroyed, Cao Cao, now only you and I are left."

"It's time to put an end to our grievances over the years..."

A few days later, Liu Bei issued an imperial edict, officially announcing his return.

In view of the fact that Hebei had just been settled and the pseudo-Wei had just been destroyed, the people in the three states of Hebei were not yet stable. So, at the suggestion of Xiao Fang, Liu Bei set Yecheng as a secondary capital and resided there permanently.

Former general Guan Yu led his troops back to Xuchang and took on the important task of guarding the capital and controlling the various states in Henan.

Zhang Fei stayed in Ji County, and with the assistance of Pang Tong, he pacified Youzhou, wiped out the remaining forces of the pseudo-Wei, and eradicated the remnants of the Wuhuan entrenched in the two counties of Liaoxi.

Tian Chou, Tian Yu, Xian Yu Fu and other heroes of Youzhou were rewarded by Liu Bei for their contributions in the rebellion against Wei. Some were transferred to Yecheng to obey his orders, while others stayed in Youzhou to assist Zhang Fei in pacifying the people of Youyan.

The smoke of war in Hebei finally settled with the fall of the Pseudo-Wei.

As for Yizhou, with Liu Zhang's surrender and Cao Cao's return to the north, the war smoke also dissipated.

There was a brief peace in the thirteen states of the empire. Both Chu and Qin were busy digesting the newly acquired states, and they "tacitly" chose to stop fighting, and no one provoked the other again.

During the winter of that year, the Han Dynasty experienced a rare period of peace and prosperity with no fighting.

...

Chang'an City, Qin Palace.

An undercurrent was surging silently, gradually gathering into a huge wave.

Inside the main hall, a court meeting was going on.

This is the first court meeting after the beginning of spring.

Cao Ren, who was stationed in Bingzhou, sent back news that all the counties in Bingzhou had appointed trustworthy officials to serve as prefects.

The Jingxing Pass and other passes were also guarded by elite soldiers and generals, and the Qin State had basically completed its digestion of Bingzhou.

In Yizhou, Xiahou Yuan also brought good news.

Under the strategy of combining kindness and force, the seven counties in Nanzhong have announced that they will respect Cao Cao as their leader and submit to the Qin State.

After several attacks by the Qin army, the southern barbarian tribes became obedient and announced that they would pay tribute to Qin.

Ma Chao, who was entrenched in Baidi City, was forced to abandon Baidi under the fierce attack of his tens of thousands of troops, and fled eastward through the Three Gorges and along the river to Jingzhou. At this point, the opposition forces in Yizhou had basically been eliminated.

Siliang Yi and the other four states were now all under the control of Qin.

Cao Cao informed his ministers of the two good news, and everyone in the hall was excited.

"Now that the two states of Bing and Yi have been secured, the national strength of Qin has greatly increased."

"Now that Liu Bei has swallowed up the three states of Hebei, I predict that sooner or later he will lead his troops westward to fight a decisive battle with our Great Qin."

"I am here today to discuss with you how we should deal with the invasion of the Pseudo-Chu!"

Cao Cao was very clear in his mind.

There is no two suns in the sky, and no country has two masters. Since Qin unified the six kingdoms, there can only be one master of the world.

It was either Cao Cao or Liu Bei.

Although he has now taken over Bingzhou and Yizhou, and Qin's national strength has become stronger, the gap between it and Chu's national strength is still obvious.

After all, Liu Bei occupied the states along the two rivers, which were the richest and most densely populated areas among the thirteen states in the world.

The two river states alone are enough to rival the entire world!

What's more, in addition to the two rivers, Liu Bei also occupied the three states of Xu, Jing and Yang.

Chu was strong and Qin was weak. Given Liu Bei's ambition, he would sooner or later rely on his strength to invade the weak and lead the Chu army westward to attack Qin.

As a weak country, all he could do was to defend these four states.

All the ministers started discussing the matter and offered their suggestions.

"Your Majesty, I think how to resist the invasion of the pseudo-Chu is not the top priority at the moment."

"There is one thing that is even more important. It concerns the survival of our Great Qin and the support of the people. I think Your Majesty must do it first."

A stern voice interrupted the discussion of the ministers.

The hall immediately fell silent, and everyone's eyes were focused on Guo Jia.

A hint of excitement gradually emerged in the eyes of many ministers, as if they had foreseen what Guo Jia was going to do next.

"Fengxiao, what could be more important than how to resist that big-eared thief?"

Cao Cao frowned slightly and looked at his most trusted adviser with a puzzled look.

Guo Jia strode out of the hall, took a deep breath, and bowed respectfully to Cao Cao:
"Emperors Huan and Ling were incompetent and favored eunuchs. First there was the Party Imprisonment Disaster, then the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and finally the bitter fruit of Dong Zhuo's Rebellion, which caused the empire to fall apart and the people to be in chaos."

"Fortunately, the great king came out of nowhere and saved the people from disaster with his own ability."

"The Han Dynasty has run out of luck, but Your Majesty has taken possession of four states and has the power to rule Guanzhong. This can be said to be the will of heaven and the will of the people."

"Your Majesty's achievements have long surpassed those of the Qin and Han emperors, and you are the most wise ruler in ancient and modern times."

"I, your humble servant, on behalf of all the civil and military officials of the Great Qin, have been entrusted by the people of the world. I now beg Your Majesty to respond to the will of heaven and the will of the people, ascend the throne and become emperor, and establish the new dynasty of the Great Qin!"

Guo Jia was actually persuading him to ascend the throne!

Now all the heroes in the world have been destroyed, and only Cao Cao and Liu Bei are left.

Everyone in the world knows that the future ruler of the world will be decided between the two of them.

If Cao Cao had won, as a king of a foreign surname, would he have handed over power to the puppet emperor Liu Xie just to gain the false reputation of a loyal minister?
Since ancient times, which powerful official could have a good ending?

Huo Guang was loyal enough. He had absolute power and could depose and enthrone the emperor at will. After his death, he returned power to the Liu family emperor.

But in the end, the Huo family was still liquidated and the entire family was wiped out!
Even Huo Guang's family was liquidated before he became king, let alone Cao Cao, who became king. This violated the ancestral precept of Emperor Gaozu that anyone other than a member of the Liu family should be the king, so the whole world should attack him.

Therefore, you, Cao Cao, have no way out. The only way for you and your Cao family to survive is to change the dynasty, abolish the Han Dynasty and establish your own.

And in the current situation of confrontation between Qin and Chu, the appeal of the puppet emperor is almost zero.

On the contrary, Liu Bei, the King of Chu appointed by the emperor, could use the emperor's title to legitimately win the hearts of the people and fight against Cao Cao, the Han traitor who "held the emperor hostage."

As long as Liu Xie, the Emperor of Han, exists, Liu Bei will be justified.

He was essentially helping Liu Bei support the emperor!

If this is the case, why should we keep the emperor who has become a negative asset, and why should we keep the name of the Han Dynasty which is only in name?
Guo Jia weighed the pros and cons and realized that Cao Cao was determined to overthrow the Han Dynasty and become emperor. So he took the lead in persuading Cao Cao to ascend the throne at the first court meeting in the spring.

As he took the lead, there was a moment of silence in the hall, and then it exploded.

All the Qin ministers reacted, especially Xiahou Dun and Cao Hong, who were important members of the royal family, and were instantly excited and delighted.

"Your Majesty, I beg you to ascend to the throne as the Emperor!"

"Your Majesty, please follow the will of heaven and the people, change the dynasty, and ascend the throne to be the emperor!"

"Your Majesty, becoming emperor is the destiny of heaven!"

In the hall, ministers from the Cao and Xiahou families stood up and vied with each other to persuade him to ascend the throne.

Soon after, a group of ministers from other families also followed suit to persuade him to ascend the throne.

Looking at Guo Jia and the ministers who came together to persuade him to ascend the throne, Cao Cao was so shocked that his mouth opened wide, as if he was caught off guard.

After a while.

Cao Cao came back to his senses and complained with a bitter face:

"My sole ambition is to support the Han Dynasty, eliminate the traitors, and bring peace and prosperity to the people of the world!"

"Now you want to force me to abolish the Han Dynasty and proclaim myself emperor. You are roasting me on the fire and putting me in a position of disloyalty and injustice!"

(End of this chapter)