Chapter 313: Killing multiple birds with one stone
The news of Tian Ze's declaration of emperorship quickly spread throughout the world.
The country's name was "Qi" and the reign title was "Xinghua".
The timing was very coincidental, as the four princes were preparing to besiege Yuan Shu.
This move hit the weak spots of the five great princes.
"Tian Chengshou is so cunning that he actually proclaimed himself emperor at this time!" Cao Cao said angrily after receiving the news.
Tian Ze's declaration of emperorship was a good opportunity to unite with other princes to fight against the rebellion, and it was legitimate.
But now, the four princes have made preparations to attack Yuan Shu, and some troops are even on the way.
The arrow is on the string and must be shot. Even if we want to attack Tian Ze, it is too late. We can only wait until Yuan Shu is captured.
But now it is almost autumn.
Although Yuan Shu seemed weak, he was not made of clay. Now that he had no way to retreat, he occupied the land south of the Huai River and relied on the geographical advantage to defend the city. It should not be a problem for him to hold on for two months.
By the time they capture Yuan Shu and reorganize their troops, it might be too late.
And Tian Ze had at least half a year of peace.
This period of time is enough for many people in the world to slowly forget about this matter.
"My lord, the current situation seems chaotic, but in fact there are traces to follow." Mao Jie said in a deep voice.
"If Tian Chengshou takes Sili, the five princes will surely form an alliance. Yuan Shu will have no chance of survival. Tian Chengshou will take this opportunity to become emperor, and then, even..."
Hearing this, Cao Cao frowned.
"It is even possible that Yuan Benchu and Sun Bofu could become kings or emperors, recreating the situation of the Warring States period."
Although Mao Jie did not say it explicitly, he closed his eyes.
According to his speculation, this is a very likely situation.
Lü Bu and Gongsun Zan had already proclaimed themselves kings, and Tian Ze, Liu Yu, Liu Yan and Yuan Shu had already proclaimed themselves emperors.
The remaining power of the Han Dynasty has now almost disappeared.
Let’s not talk about Liu Bei for now. The reason why Yuan Shao, Sun Ce and others were willing to recognize Liu Yu was just to avoid internal conflicts and to deal with Tian Ze with more legitimacy.
Now, although Tian Ze proclaimed himself emperor as they had expected, he did not do so out of impatience and rashness like Yuan Shu and Liu Yan, but he chose the right time.
Even if they wanted to accuse Tian Ze of being a traitor to the Han Dynasty, they could only criticize him verbally and could not take any action in the short term.
In this way, the original purpose has completely lost its meaning.
Yuan Shao and Sun Ce will certainly have some strange ideas.
The five major alliances of princes are not much different in strength, so why should they be inferior?
Let’s not talk about becoming an emperor for now, but calling yourself a king is at least okay.
But the bottom line is being worn away little by little.
As long as they were crowned kings, they would inevitably take a step forward. In this way, the Han Emperor Liu Yu, who was not very stable in their hands, would be completely worthless.
The political advantages will be gone and may even turn into sharp blades to hurt oneself.
"My lord, it's time to make a decision." Xi Zhicai said in a deep voice, with a sharp light flashing in his eyes.
As counselors, they all think three steps ahead, and they can imagine what kind of crisis Cao Cao will face next.
Even if Liu Yu was sensible, there were always some radical people among his loyal officials, and the backlash from the emperor could break out at any time. Even if Cao Cao could suppress it, the bad consequences would be endless. Even if the war went smoothly, Cao Cao would not even be able to become king in the future, and once he died, his foundation would be used as a dowry for others.
Xi Zhicai and others joined Cao Cao not in order to make Cao Cao a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty.
The loyal ministers who have made great efforts to turn the tide will not have a good ending if their merits and demerits are not rewarded, and their followers will naturally not have a good ending either.
Cao Cao frowned, his hands even trembling a little, looking at the empty figure on the left: "Where is Wen Ruo?"
Xi Zhicai said calmly: "A disaster just happened in Yuzhou. Wen Ruo went to deal with it. It may take some time for him to come back."
Upon hearing this, Cao Cao looked at Xi Zhicai, Mao Jie and others meaningfully, then sat in his seat in silence for a long time.
Finally, under the eager gazes of Xi Zhicai and others, Cao Cao stood up and said, "Zhicai, Tian Chengshou has evil intentions. Now he has usurped the throne and may plot against the emperor."
"You must be extra careful during this period, 'protect' the emperor, and 'guard' against any unexpected events."
Hearing the emphasis in Cao Cao's words, Xi Zhicai smiled slightly: "My lord, don't worry. No one knows better than me how to 'protect' the emperor and 'guard against' accidents."
After saying this, Cao Cao nodded and left with his hands behind his back.
To be honest, Cao Cao admired Liu Yu very much. The two of them were very compatible in many aspects. If they were in a prosperous era, they might have been a model monarch and minister.
But unfortunately, this is a troubled time.
Cao Cao had no choice. Even if it was not for his own sake, Xi Zhicai and others would not let Liu Yu go.
When it was expected that Yuan Shao and Sun Ce would both take advantage of the situation to become kings, the subsequent outcome was already foreseeable.
People’s words are scary; they can melt gold.
What should Cao Cao do if Yuan Shao and Sun Ce secretly claim to be kings? What would Liu Yu think?
Even if it is temporarily suppressed, a rift is bound to appear between the two sides unless one side gives in completely.
The only party that gave in could be Cao Cao. But this retreat meant that he would have no chance of becoming an emperor or a king in the future, and could only be a loyal minister.
Xi Zhicai pointed out this matter at this time in order to take action in advance before the incident happened and most people were still unaware of the changes in the situation in the future, so as to cover up the situation.
At this moment, Cao Cao had completely given up the Han Dynasty and his dream of becoming the General who Conquers the West, and transformed himself into a true "hero in troubled times."
After watching Cao Cao leave, Mao Jie couldn't help feeling a little cold as he looked at Xi Zhicai, whose temperament became increasingly gloomy.
"Zhicai, what do you want to do?"
Xi Zhicai's mouth curled up into a faint smile: "Liu Xie's death should have been caused by Tian Chengshou, but Liu Yan took the blame."
"Now, it's time to pay back the debt."
"If Liu Yan and Liu Yu died at the same time, who do you think people in the world would suspect?"
Mao Jie heard this and sighed: "Killing multiple birds with one stone, you are indeed worthy of it. When you learned about the situation of Liu Yan's alliance before, did you already think of these things?"
Xi Zhicai did not deny it, but said in a deep voice: "Feng Tianzi is indeed a brilliant man, but after Tian Chengshou's previous calculations, it has completely failed, and the disadvantages outweigh the advantages."
"In order to avoid being caught between two opposing sides and to avoid being accused of a crime, we can only swallow this matter."
"But the emperor is still a problem, and he will explode one day. Rather than let that happen, it is better to make a heroic move now."
"I have been planning this for a long time. Even if the current situation has not happened, Liu Yu must die!"
"My lord, Xi Zhicai, has always been Cao Mengde, not the so-called emperor of the Han Dynasty!"
(End of this chapter)
