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

The ancients were quite superstitious; the more mysterious and mysterious something was, the more frantically people would worship and respect it.

In fact, by placing the naval training ground in Donglai County, Liu Xie already had the idea of ​​advancing into Liaodong.

Now that Gongsun Du is dead, Zhang Liao is in the north and Gan Ning is in the south, so they can attack Liaodong from both the north and south, catching them off guard.

Gongsun Du's life was too legendary. He originally went to escape from disaster, but he rose all the way up and met two benefactors who sent him directly to the pinnacle of his life.

As for Xu Rong, Liu Xie believed that Xu Rong himself probably never imagined that the person he recommended would become a powerful figure who seized power and became king.

Zhang Liao had Yan Rou and Chen Gong by his side, while Liu Xie considered Gan Ning's side and felt that they were still lacking a strategist, so he sent Lu Xun over.

Given the opportunity, Liu Xie was happy to give young people like Lu Xun a chance to train and develop.

Five days is a short time, but it can also feel long. What's meant to happen will happen.

When Liu Xie saw Zhong Yao and the others again, he was surprised to find that they had all lost a lot of weight. It seemed that they had been unable to eat or sleep well for the past few days.

Zhong Yao was the first to express his opinion: "This old minister is willing to follow Your Majesty and has absolutely no disloyal thoughts!"

After saying this, Liu Xie could clearly see that Zhong Yao's back seemed to collapse all of a sudden, bending much more over.

From the moment Cao Cao welcomed Liu Xie to Xuchang in Luoyang, Zhong Yao had already been won over by Cao Cao. Over the years, Cao Cao had valued him highly, so making this choice was very difficult for Zhong Yao.

Following closely behind, Xu Yi, Mao Jie, and others expressed their opinions, while Sima Lang appeared more relaxed compared to them.

Because he almost contracted the plague during the Battle of Red Cliffs, and it was Liu Xie who personally saved him, he was quite grateful to the emperor.

Liu Xie nodded and smiled, "Very good, I am very pleased. Next, I hope you can all write a letter to Cao Cao and persuade him for me. Over the years, Cao Cao and I have gotten along well. Why should we continue to fight over some things? There are only two or three months left until the end of the year. I hope Cao Cao can return to Xuchang and celebrate the festival with me!"

Zhong Yao noticed that when the emperor said the words "celebrate the festival," he paused intentionally and raised his voice considerably.

What does this mean?
This illustrates that only when there is genuine harmony between the ruler and his subjects can the festival be considered a joyous occasion.

If Cao Cao remains so stubborn, then it won't be a joyous festival, and he won't need to return to Xuchang this year.

Let's just stay in Jingzhou and go back to Xuchang when we've thought things through!
"Furthermore, Minister Zhong, after we return, I will entrust you with another matter."

Zhong Yao hurriedly bowed and said, "Please give your orders, Your Majesty."

"After you return, you shall begin to rebuild the palaces in Luoyang. I do not expect everything to be restored to its original state, but it cannot be too shabby either. This Xudu is not a place to stay for long, and I want to return it to the old capital as soon as possible!"

Zhong Yao was stunned for a moment. Seeing the emperor's very serious expression, Zhong Yao was secretly alarmed. Was this an announcement that Cao Cao's era was over?

Clearly, the era of Xuchang was the era in which Cao Cao held the reins.

Liu Xie's determination to move the capital was a complete declaration that Cao Cao's era was over, which was destined to usher in a new chapter for both Liu Xie and the Han Dynasty.

Liu Xie's initial move to Xuchang was a temporary measure, a choice made out of necessity. Now that more than half of the territory has returned to the court, and Liu Xie has become the emperor who truly has the final say, is it still necessary for him to remain in Xuchang?

Zhong Yao nodded vigorously, "This old minister obeys the order and will immediately begin making arrangements upon returning."

Sima Lang and the others were also shocked. Moving the capital was no small matter, but now, everything was up to the emperor.

After a while, Zhong Yao asked again, "Your Majesty, when do you intend to move the capital? This old minister will be able to prepare in advance."

Zhong Yao is the Commandant of the Capital Region, and the entire Luoyang area is now under his jurisdiction.

Liu Xie turned to look south. He did not answer, but Zhuge Liang understood his meaning: "When Your Majesty moves the capital depends entirely on Cao Cao."

Zhong Yao was taken aback again, but he quickly understood.

In other words, Liu Xie would move the capital only when Cao Cao truly submitted. Liu Xie moved the capital to Luoyang to mark a fresh start; if Cao Cao still refused to submit, there was no need for him to go to Luoyang.

Zhuge Liang smiled at Zhong Yao and said, "Zhong Gong, why don't you also tell the Prime Minister about His Majesty's idea of ​​moving the capital in the letter, so that he can be prepared?"

Zhong Yao nodded, thinking to himself that the Prime Minister was probably in a difficult position this time.

That noon, Liu Xie personally hosted a banquet to entertain Zhong Yao and his entourage. When they left Xudu, Liu Xie also personally saw them off.

Xuchang was not far from Xiangyang, and the message could be delivered in a day and a night at full speed. Cao Cao soon received the letter from Zhong Yao and the others.

After reading the letter, he summoned Cao Ren, Xiahou Dun, Guo Jia, and others to discuss the matter frankly.

Cao Cao stood up and paced back and forth in the room, his face full of worry, sighing as he walked.

Cao Ren gritted his teeth and glared, furious. "I didn't expect His Majesty to act so quickly. Zhong Yao and Dong Zhao are traitors who dare to betray their lord. They are truly despicable."

Xiahou Dun added, "Over the years, our lord has treated them well. You kindly allowed them to return to their respective posts, but not long after, they betrayed us. These people should be killed, not spared. I wish I could kill them all."

Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren were both staunch supporters of Cao Cao, so they naturally had reason to be angry. However, Cao Cao waved his hand and said, "Zixiao and Yuanrang, you can't blame them. His Majesty summoned them to Xuchang. Anyone would have no reason to refuse. His Majesty wants to bring peace to the world as soon as possible and wants his subjects to follow him wholeheartedly. Is that wrong?"

Guo Jia said, “Your Majesty is benevolent and kind, and desires harmony between the ruler and his ministers and peace throughout the land. It is indeed impossible for anyone to refuse. Anyone who refuses would be a traitor to the Han Dynasty and would not want the world to be at peace as soon as possible. It can only be said that Your Majesty’s methods are too clever. I originally thought that Your Majesty would personally lead troops to subdue them one by one, first using force to intimidate them, and then appropriately persuading them. I did not expect that Your Majesty would save even more trouble. With just a single decree, you summoned Zhong Yao and the other four to Xuchang, and then easily made them show their loyalty.”

Despite the fact that this was indeed the case, Cao Cao still felt heartbroken and disappointed. He sighed, "I have worked with them for more than ten years, yet they are not as useful as a single word from Your Majesty. It seems that Heaven is not on my side."

Guo Jia countered, "My lord, let's not talk about them. If His Majesty asked you the same question, how would you answer?"

Cao Cao rolled his eyes and glared at Guo Jia with displeasure. He couldn't answer this question either.

"His Majesty is going to move the capital, and when that happens is of great concern to me. Fengxiao, am I really going to have to bow down and admit defeat this time?"

Cao Cao's voice suddenly sounded somewhat aged, but Cao Ren retorted defiantly, "My lord, we have soldiers and generals, why should we bow our heads and admit defeat? Even if Zhong Yao and the others have betrayed you, don't you still have us?"

Xiahou Dun also said, "Yes, at worst we can fight our way back to Xuchang and take back what we've lost."

Cao Cao didn't look at the two of them, but stared straight at Guo Jia.

Guo Jia sighed helplessly, "My lord, there's something I might not like to hear."

Cao Cao waved his hand, "At a time like this, why are you still keeping me in suspense? Just say what you have to say."

Guo Jia said, "Perhaps His Majesty no longer considers you, my lord, to be an opponent."

When Guo Jia said this, Cao Cao felt very angry, as if he had been ignored.

“My lord, please don’t be angry. I mean no harm in saying this, and His Majesty means no harm to you either. In the past, His Majesty considered you a rival. He wanted to compete with you for the right to speak and for control of the court. But in the last two years, His Majesty has stopped competing with you because he no longer needs to compete. Whatever His Majesty wants, he can achieve it with just one order.”

"He wanted you to come to Jingzhou, so you came to Jingzhou. He wanted you to give up the governorship of Jizhou, so you did. He wanted Zhong Yao and the others to submit, so they sided with His Majesty. My lord, I'm afraid our situation is truly hopeless."

Cao Ren was unwilling to give up and argued, "But we still have over 100,000 troops at our disposal. Doesn't Your Majesty fear?"

Guo Jia shook his head slightly. "To be honest, His Majesty might not actually be afraid. His Majesty hasn't been idle these past few years. He's been sending troops to Wuhuan, conquering Qingzhou, and pacifying Xuzhou. Not long ago, he even went to Donglai County and stayed for more than a month. Although we don't know what he was doing there, Gan Ning and Taishi Ci stayed there. His Majesty is different from other emperors. He always gets along very well with his soldiers. Based on this alone, it's not hard to imagine that if we turn against His Majesty, at least half of the soldiers will immediately stand on the opposite side."

"Turning against the court is merely a theoretical hypothetical scenario; His Majesty doesn't even believe that such a day will actually come. Even if it does occur, His Majesty will be able to handle it calmly."

Guo Jia walked to Cao Cao's side, mustered his courage, and advised, "His Majesty's methods have changed. In the past, he would be patient and make concessions, but now, His Majesty's methods are completely unmanageable. Because he is the emperor, Zhang Zhao, Xue Ti, Zhong Yao and others are living examples. No one dares to stand against the emperor. If things continue like this, and you continue to maintain your original attitude, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"This?" Cao Cao thought for a moment, and sure enough, it was just as Guo Jia had said.

Because Liu Xie was entirely on the side of the emperor, he could directly issue orders, and who would dare to disobey or go against the court?
Guo Jia further advised, "My lord, you have gone to great lengths to restore the old system of the prime minister, but what has been the result? The prime minister is now merely a figurehead. You are now only the governor of Jingzhou. All matters of state and all decrees originate from the court and are decided by His Majesty!" (End of this chapter)