With Cao Cao by my side, what do I have to fear from the world?

Chapter 267, Bestowing a Marriage upon Zhao Yun
Liu Xie nodded, and the two went out. Zhao Yun followed, maintaining a distance of a few meters out of politeness.

The night was deep, and the stars twinkled. Cao Cao went outside, looked up at the starry sky for a while, and then turned to Liu Xie and said, "Your Majesty, I wonder what your opinion is on the aristocratic families?"

Ok?
Upon hearing this, Liu Xie felt there was a chance; Cao Cao wouldn't be interested in this topic for no reason.

"Lord Cao, please share your opinion first. Perhaps our thoughts as ruler and subject are aligned."

Cao Cao said seriously, "Indeed, the aristocratic families have been of great help to the court. They are knowledgeable and capable, and their role in strategizing and governing internal affairs is indispensable."

Cao Cao first praised the powerful families, then sighed, his expression becoming much more serious.

"However, in many cases, powerful families are also a huge obstacle for us. For example, the candidates recommended by various localities are simply Zhang family recommending Li family, and Li family recommending Zhang family in turn. Regardless of the ability of the recommended candidates, these families are intricately connected and form a huge interest group, which makes people feel that they are controlling something invisibly."

"Besides, intermarriage between aristocratic families is commonplace. The Zhang family marries a daughter of the Li family, and the Li family marries a daughter of the Zhang family. These aristocratic families are closely linked, and as long as their interests are involved, they will work together. I have felt this very deeply over the years. For the time being, Your Majesty's implementation of the palace examination has allowed more people to participate and selected more talents useful to the court. However, if most of the talents Your Majesty selects in the future do not come from aristocratic families, I am afraid that the voices of opposition and dissatisfaction will increase day by day. I hope Your Majesty will pay attention to this and take precautions as soon as possible."

Liu Xie listened attentively, and after listening, he nodded vigorously. "Lord Cao's words today came from the bottom of his heart. To be honest, what I am worried about is the same as what you are worried about."

Cao Cao looked at Liu Xie and asked, "But I wonder, if the resistance grows stronger in the future, does Your Majesty have any countermeasures?"

Liu Xie's principle regarding the aristocratic families was to both utilize them and restrict them.

We must never allow powerful families to monopolize everything!
Liu Xie did not answer, and his expression became very serious. He did not have a better solution to this problem at the moment.

In addition, Liu Xie's situation has only just begun to improve, and he does not want to target the powerful families for the time being.

We must first pacify the world and wait until we have enough power before dealing with this matter.

Targeting powerful families when the world is in turmoil is tantamount to cutting off one's own arm and digging one's own grave.

Even if he were to take action against the powerful families in the future, Liu Xie would not want to personally wield the sword; there would always be some people who would do the dirty work and the hard work.

If the emperor were to deal with the powerful families personally, he would undoubtedly be inviting trouble and drawing their criticism back at him.

Just how powerful were the aristocratic families? The best evidence is that Cao Pi made complete concessions to them after ascending to the throne.

Even though Cao Pi compromised, his descendants were ultimately sidelined by powerful clans and eventually seized the throne.

The powerful families did not let the Cao family off the hook.

The Cao family's enemies were not just the Sima family, but the entire aristocratic class.

Cao Cao frowned and sighed repeatedly. His attitude towards the aristocratic families gave Liu Xie a glimmer of hope. Perhaps in the future, he could use Cao Cao as the weapon to strike against the aristocratic families.

"Lord Cao, how have you been lately? Have you had any headaches?"

Liu Xie took the initiative to change the subject, inquiring about Cao Cao's health with concern.

It would have been better if he hadn't asked that question. Although Liu Xie's intentions were clearly good, Cao Cao's heart immediately tightened and he became wary.

He hurriedly shook his head, "Your Majesty, I am perfectly healthy, everything is fine."

Liu Xie nodded: "Then I am relieved. Lord Cao has too many things to do, so you must pay close attention."

Cao Cao was quite puzzled. Why did the emperor always ask him if he had a headache?

He simply couldn't understand it. Would the emperor really do something to his own head?

Cao Cao had indeed been experiencing headaches from time to time for the past two years. Sometimes, when a headache came on, it felt like his head was splitting open, and the pain was excruciating.

Liu Xie inquired about some other matters and chatted with Cao Cao for a while. After a while, Liu Xie suddenly smiled and said, "There is also good news: Cao Ying is pregnant."

Cao Cao also became interested and asked in rapid succession, "Oh? Really? How many months?"

"It's been three months. Next summer, Lord Cao will have a grandson."

Liu Xie sincerely hoped that Cao Cao would stop causing trouble and stop opposing him.

I made you prime minister, a loyal subject of the Han Dynasty, and even your father-in-law. Isn't that enough?

Cao Cao was indeed very pleased, and when he looked at Liu Xie, there was a clear increase in gratitude in his eyes.

"Your Majesty cares deeply for Zixiu and my daughter. Even when I am not in Xuchang, Your Majesty often visits Chong'er and the others at your residence." As he spoke, Cao Cao bowed slightly to Liu Xie.

Liu Xie waved his hand, "Lord Cao, we have been through thick and thin together for so many years, why be so formal?"

The phrase "through thick and thin" is used so well. Anyone who didn't know better would think that the two of them had weathered many storms together.
In reality, the storms described the repeated internal struggles and power struggles between the two.

Cao Cao naturally understood how many times the two had fought over the years. To outsiders, it appeared to be a harmonious relationship between ruler and subject, but in reality, bloodshed and violence would erupt from time to time, and people would actually die.

However, Cao Cao also genuinely admired the emperor's methods and courage; the emperor had been able to magnanimously forgive all the things he had done.

"Lord Cao, there is one more thing I would like to discuss with you."

"Your Majesty, please speak," Cao Cao asked.

"What does Cao Cao think of Cai Yong, Cai Bojie?"

Cao Cao was slightly taken aback, not understanding why His Majesty would suddenly mention this person.

Without hesitation, Cao Cao replied, "Lord Cai is a renowned Confucian scholar, well-versed in poetry and literature, and upright in character. Although he was recommended by Dong Zhuo in the past, he did not curry favor with those in power. He is a very righteous person and also has profound attainments in music."

Liu Xie nodded in agreement. "Cao Cao's assessment is fairly fair. I also admire Cai Yong. However, Cai Yong died at the hands of Wang Yun. What are your thoughts on this?"

Cao Cao sighed, "I also feel that Wang Yun acted unfairly in this matter. If it were me, I certainly wouldn't have done it this way."

"Yes, there was a time when I regarded Wang Yun as the pillar of the Han Dynasty. Dong Zhuo was arrogant and domineering, and although Wang Yun was a scholar, he never yielded to Dong Zhuo. He kept a low profile and tried his best to maneuver. Cao Cao once attended his birthday banquet and was even presented with a seven-jeweled sword, intending to assassinate Dong Zhuo to rid the country of the traitor." Although the assassination attempt on Dong Zhuo was unsuccessful, Cao Cao felt very proud of this event whenever he thought about it. It was a brilliant moment in his life.

"But Wang Yun changed after he got rid of Dong Zhuo."

Liu Xie sighed, “Wang Yun developed a strong desire for power. He wanted to seize power for himself and refused to listen to loyal advice. Cai Yong was killed, Li Jue and Guo Si rebelled, Chang’an fell, and Wang Yun eventually lost his life. The root of all this was his own actions.”

Cao Cao remained silent, listening attentively.

Liu Xie countered, "Do we really have to kill Cai Yong? Li Jue, Guo Si, and others have repeatedly petitioned to surrender. Can't we consider the bigger picture and spare them for now?"

Cao Cao agreed wholeheartedly and nodded, "Yes, now that I think about it, Wang Yun was indeed somewhat inconsiderate. Cai Yong should never have been killed. As for the remnants of the Xiliang forces, if it were me, I would spare Li Jue and Guo Si for now, and kill them after the situation has stabilized to eliminate any future troubles!"

Cao Cao's decisiveness and ruthlessness in that instant made Liu Xie nod in approval. From this point of view alone, Wang Yun was far inferior to Cao Cao.

“Wang Yun didn’t understand politics and only thought about consolidating power in his own hands. Although he eliminated Dong Zhuo, he gradually lost himself in power.”

Liu Xie stood with his hands behind his back, shook his head and sighed deeply, expressing his regret over Wang Yun's death.

"Even if he wasn't a second Dong Zhuo, his practice of monopolizing power aroused dissatisfaction among court officials both inside and outside the court."

"I'm afraid he wants to be like Huo Guang!" Cao Cao pointed out incisively.

Liu Xie nodded in approval, “Indeed, Wang Yun does want to be like Huo Guang. If he knew how to weigh the pros and cons and consider the overall situation, perhaps the Han Dynasty would have been stable long ago.”

When Liu Xie spoke, his eyes were always on Cao Cao.

Cao Cao understood that while the emperor seemed to be talking about Wang Yun, he was actually subtly hinting at something to him.

Liu Xie sighed, "In the end, Wang Yun died by his own hand. Throughout history, countless people have fallen into the trap of power. Even if they had become Huo Guang, what good would it have done? To achieve personal success by undermining the emperor, do they think the people are fools? Do they think the emperor is just a figurehead? When Dong Zhuo first entered Luoyang, he also wanted to be Huo Guang, to win over the aristocratic families and exonerate the partisans. Eight or nine out of ten of the warlords who opposed Dong Zhuo were promoted by him."

First Dong Zhuo, then Wang Yun, both died from their greed for power. Cao Cao feigned composure, but inwardly he was astonished, thinking, "Your Majesty, you are truly remarkable. Is this a warning to me?"

"Lord Cao, people often only know how to move forward, but they don't know how to retreat. Many people only know how to fight for power and profit, wanting to get more. By the time they want to retreat, it is already too late."

Cao Cao forced a smile and nodded against his will, "Your Majesty is absolutely right."

Liu Xie left it at that, believing that Cao Cao had taken his words to heart.

Powerful ministers are destined for a bad end, no matter how well they do, they have crossed the line!
Next, Liu Xie changed the subject again, with Cai Yong mentioning Cai Zhaoji.

"Lord Cao, there is something I would like to ask you to do."

"Your Majesty, please give your orders." Cao Cao would never hesitate to do anything he could.

Liu Xie said, "Cai Yong, also known as Cai Bojie, had two daughters, one named Cai Zhaoji and the other Cai Zhenji. Cai Gong was murdered by Wang Yun, and even now, thinking about it still pains me. It's a pity that I couldn't prevent this tragedy. Cai Gong has passed away, and the man is gone. But I heard that his eldest daughter, Zhaoji, was kidnapped by the Southern Xiongnu. Now that Bingzhou has been recovered, I'll leave this matter to you."

"Your Majesty, is the news reliable? Is it really true that the Southern Xiongnu abducted Cai Zhaoji?" Cao Cao was both angry and regretful upon hearing this news.

Cao Cao had met Cai Yan (Cai Zhaoji) when he visited Cai Yong in his early years. She was not only beautiful and graceful, but also well-educated and polite. Her talent was also inherited from her father, and she was a famous talented woman in Luoyang.

"The news is absolutely true. Lord Cai is no longer alive. I hope to bring his daughter back as soon as possible. After all, she is a Han Chinese and the daughter of a great Confucian scholar. How can she be taken to the border by the Xiongnu? Isn't this a slap in the face of the Han Dynasty?"

Liu Xie was very angry about this. He was not only sympathizing with Cai Zhaoji's plight, but also wanted to defend the dignity of the Han Dynasty.

The Xiongnu could rob whomever they wanted and get away with it without any consequences. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Cao Cao had a good relationship with the Southern Xiongnu people, and he even considered paying them a ransom if all else failed.

However, seeing the emperor's stern expression, Cao Cao was also truly enraged. He knew he had to immediately send someone to warn the Southern Xiongnu and make them obediently send the people back. If that didn't work, he would teach them a lesson.

After things were settled, the two returned to the main hall. By then, the palace examination had ended, and many candidates had left.

Xun Yue collected the answer sheets, organized them, and placed them on the imperial desk, waiting for the emperor to review them one by one when he had time.

In addition, Xun Yue also made detailed records of each candidate's performance on the day.

As the banquet was drawing to a close, Liu Xie stood up again and said, "I would also like to announce a marriage."

Imperial decree of marriage was a very effective way to win people's hearts.

Everyone looked at Liu Xie with curiosity. Liu Xie's gaze swept across everyone's faces and finally landed on a beautiful figure behind Ma Teng.

"I wish to bestow the daughter of Shoucheng, Lady Ma Yunlu, upon Zilong in marriage," Liu Xie announced with a smile.

Throughout the past year, Zhao Yun had spent most of his time by Liu Xie's side, so Liu Xie gradually began to pay attention to Ma Yunlu, who would occasionally appear in his sight.

Moreover, Zhao Yun is indeed not young anymore, and should have settled down and started a family long ago.

Upon hearing the news, Ma Yunlu's eyes widened with excitement, her heart leaping with joy. But when she realized that many people were looking at her, she became slightly shy, blushing and lowering her head.

"Shoucheng, what do you think?" Liu Xie wasn't domineering; he always had to ask Ma Teng for his opinion.

Ma Teng stood up, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, "Your Majesty, I have no objection. Thank you for bestowing this marriage upon my daughter."

Ma Teng had long seen that both Zhao Yun and Lü Bu were highly valued by the emperor. Zhao Yun was always by the emperor's side. Despite his low-key demeanor, his abilities and the emperor's favor were unmatched by ordinary people.

Moreover, no one knows a daughter better than her father, and Ma Teng had long since noticed his daughter's thoughts.

Liu Xie then turned to Zhao Yun and said, "Zilong, you've been by my side for almost five years now. It's time for you to settle down and start a family. Don't tell me that the world is not yet at peace, so how can I have a family?"

Historically, after Zhao Yun refused Lady Fan's offer, Liu Bei asked him about it, and this is how he replied: "The world is not yet at peace, how can I think of a family?"

(End of this chapter)