I Can Control My Ancestors-Chapter 221 - 16: Cao Cao Installs Liu Xie, Fails to Take Chang’an

Chapter 221: Chapter 16: Cao Cao Installs Liu Xie, Fails to Take Chang’an

The situation under heaven is constantly changing.

In fact, for Gu Chen, killing Liu Dai directly now wouldn’t bring him any benefit.

On the contrary, it would be the opposite.

If Liu Dai’s life could be spared, it would provide more help to him.

But Gu Chen never cared about these things.

If it were simply for profit, he could have directly taken Liu Bian and Liu Xie away when he left Luoyang initially.

With the Heirloom Seal of the Realm in hand, these two would be absolute trump cards.

But what difference would that make?

To Gu Chen,

from the moment he decided to kill Empress Dowager He, neither Liu Xie nor Liu Bian could become the monarchs he recognized.

This is Gu Chen’s character.

Compared to previous emperors, Emperor Liu Dai’s presence was indeed too weak.

——The Celestial Mandate was not with him, and he showed no grace to the people.

Who would care about his life or death?

His so-called throne was laughable from beginning to end.

But to Cao Cao, the meaning was different.

As the news gradually spread,

Cao Cao immediately prepared a grand enthronement ceremony for Liu Xie in Xuchang, announced the new era name as "Jian’an," and conferred titles on officials.

He appointed Gu Chen as Governor of Liang Province, Gu Wei as Governor of Bingzhou State, and Liu Bei as Governor of Qing Province.

Those meritorious generals under his command and the influential families of Youzhou State and Yan were also rewarded.

Even without the Heirloom Seal of the Realm,

for Liu Xie, his noble bloodline was his greatest weapon.

Of course, Cao Cao would never acknowledge Liu Dai’s throne, only this made Liu Xie’s bloodline the most legitimate.

He took advantage of this momentum,

and under the name of the court, formally defined Liu Dai as a traitor.

The same applied to the influential families who supported him.

Now these families were under his command, and naturally, the blame fell on the declining Yuan Clan.

Nowadays, the Yuan Clan truly realized what it meant to lose favor when one loses power.

With Yuan Shao defeated and Yuan Kui suddenly dead,

the once-glorious Yuan Clan had come to a complete end.

Even with Yuan Shu still alive, it couldn’t change anything.

Yuan Shu’s strength was severely damaged,

suffering consecutive defeats in the land of Henei, and with Sun Ce taking away Sun Jian’s fierce generals before departing,

Yuan Shu, though still holding Yangyu, was no different from defeated.

His personality never endeared him to the influential clans.

If the Yuan Clan’s power remained intact, this issue wouldn’t have erupted so quickly.

But under the current circumstances,

the families under his command only distanced themselves from him, choosing instead the now-powerful Cao Cao.

Cao Cao, disregarding old ties, labeled the entire Yuan Clan as traitors and summoned all the lords under heaven to crusade against Yuan Shu.

Naturally, some wished to curry favor with Cao Cao,

suggesting he assume the position of "Grand Tutor."

In the Great Han today, what "Grand Tutor" represents is self-evident.

Though not the Chancellor,

it surpassed the Chancellor.

But Cao Cao flatly refused, declaring publicly, "My merits do not qualify me for the position of Grand Tutor," merely managing official affairs and assuming the role of Minister of Works.

This is the exceptional nature of Cao Cao!

No matter how great the temptation, he could restrain himself well.

To him,

what good would it do to become the "Grand Tutor" now?

Why would he need this position when he’s already controlling the court?

Gu Xi’s position was earned by himself; before he benefitted the people and fully stabilized the situation, hastily taking the Grand Tutor position would definitely affect public sentiment.

This move clearly showed everyone what kind of person Cao Cao truly was.

Consequently, many talents from prominent clans came to seek refuge with him.

In a short time, Cao Cao’s fame resounded even louder throughout the land.

....

Gu Chen naturally understood Cao Cao’s intention.

He did not launch a direct attack on Yuan Shu.

For Gu Chen,

the most crucial thing now was to seize the entire Sii Province.

Once the entire Sii Province was captured, it would connect Hanzhong, Sii Province, Liangzhou State, and Bingzhou State without any risk.

He didn’t even accept the court’s imperial edict appointing him as Governor of Bingzhou State.

To coerce the Emperor to order the lords?

This would never succeed with him.

But what Gu Chen could disregard, Liu Bei could not.

——Liu Bei had now repelled Lu Bu.

Lu Bu was indeed strong, but Liu Bei also had generals of the caliber of Guan, Zhang, and Zhao under his command.

When Liu Bei led his elite forces back to Qing Province,

Lu Bu’s offensive naturally became insignificant.

Lu Bu had already retreated to Xuzhou State.

Liu Bei originally intended to seize the opportunity to ally with Tao Qian to eliminate the threat posed by Lu Bu.

But the court’s decree forced him to stop.

He could disregard Liu Dai’s edict.

But Liu Xie’s was different.

Liu Xie, after all, was Emperor Ling Liu Hong’s own son, legally entitled to inherit the throne.

Moreover, Cao Cao had never shown any signs of rebellion against the Han.

How could he, like Gu Chen, completely ignore the court’s edict?

This is why Cao Cao did not wish to assume the role of "Grand Tutor."

Some might not care about the edict, but there would always be those who do.

Liu Bei was one of them.

And perhaps because Cao Cao’s influence was now too great, even Xuzhou State’s Tao Qian was inclined to curry favor with Cao Cao.

Not only did he accept this edict, but he also agreed to let Liu Bei lead his forces into Xuzhou State, to first suppress Lu Bu and then attack Yuan Shu.

This move was beyond everyone’s expectations.

The great war under heaven reignited.

——In the first year of Jian’an, June,

Liu Bei had no choice but to lead his army out of Qing Province, heading towards Xuzhou State.

At the same time, Tao Qian also mobilized his troops.