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

Chapter 40, The Birth of Cao Chong

"Zhao Yun?"

Cao Cao vaguely remembered the name, and suddenly his eyes lit up. He laughed loudly, "I remember now. When I attacked Xuzhou, you were by Liu Bei's side and fought against my subordinates Cao Hong and Li Dian."

Zhao Yun was handsome and dignified, possessing both good looks and extraordinary skills.

Cao Cao always loved talent, and the more he looked at Zhao Yun, the more he liked him. When he thought that Zhao Yun had actually come to serve the emperor, he couldn't help but feel a little envious.

"I have offended you greatly before, but you are magnanimous and will naturally not hold it against me," Zhao Yun said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

Liu Xie laughed and said, "Zilong, you are overthinking it. Cao Cao is broad-minded and determined to help me pacify the world. How could he take such things to heart? Besides, now that Zilong has come to join us, we are of the same mind and will work together to support the Han Dynasty. The past can be wiped clean."

Fearing that Cao Cao might covet Zhao Yun and try to poach him, Liu Xie said to him, "I told Cao Cao before that I wanted to go on the expedition with him. Cao Cao was worried about my safety, and I have always kept that in mind. Now that I have Xu Huang and Zhao Yun by my side, plus the fierce warriors around Cao Cao, I will be fine."

Cao Cao, not wanting to compete with Liu Xie, simply nodded in agreement.

Liu Xie said in a consultative tone, "I intend to appoint Zhao Yun as General Who Assists the Han and Xu Huang as General of Loyalty and Righteousness. What does Cao Gong think?"

Cao Cao nodded, "Your Majesty, I have no objection. You may make the decision!"

However, upon returning to his residence, Cao Cao immediately frowned. "Well, one is a general who assists the Han, and the other is a general of loyalty and righteousness. Your Majesty is truly concerned about the state."

Although Cao Cao doesn't currently have any intention of usurping the Han throne, he still feels somewhat uncomfortable whenever he hears words like "loyal to the Han dynasty."

After all, Cao Cao now calls the shots in this world.

"Father, good news! Aunt Huan is about to give birth."

Eleven-year-old Cao Pi ran over excitedly, and now the backyard is in complete chaos.

Cao Cao's wives and the maids and servants in the mansion all became tense at once, and everyone was busy running around, making the mansion lively and chaotic.

Huan was from Pengcheng, Xuzhou. Cao Cao was not only a great warrior, but also had a remarkable record of marrying and having children, having many wives and children.

Cao Cao quickly put Zhao Yun's matter out of his mind and hurriedly went to the backyard.

With a loud cry, Huan Shi gave birth to a baby boy. Cao Cao was overjoyed and named the child Cao Chong.

The family was overjoyed and had a great time. When Liu Xie heard about this, he personally went to the mansion to offer his congratulations.

It is said that a ruler should not enter the house of his ministers, an official should not enter the house of a commoner, and a father should not enter the house of his son!
The emperor must maintain his supreme imperial dignity and cannot casually visit the homes of his ministers.

However, Liu Xie didn't care about any of that. As soon as Cao Chong was born, he arrived with Zhao Yun.

Cao Hong's brother-in-law, Bian Bing, was welcoming guests at the gate of the mansion. Ministers who had heard the news arrived in an endless stream, including Guo Jia, Cheng Yu, and others.

Upon seeing Liu Xie, everyone was stunned. Bian Bing hurriedly ran to deliver a message to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao was overjoyed and excitedly came out to greet him.

Cao Cao welcomed Liu Xie to the front hall and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, you are of noble birth. It is truly an honor for my humble abode to have you visit."

Liu Xie held Cao Cao's hand and praised him, "Lord Cao has worked diligently and shared my burdens. I have always been grateful to him. I heard that there is good news in your household. Lord Cao has been blessed with a son of great talent. How can I not be happy?"

Upon hearing the name of the son of a unicorn, Cao Cao was overjoyed.

Guo Jia and Xun Yu stood not far away. Xun Yu smiled sincerely and said, "Harmony between the ruler and his ministers is a blessing for the Han Dynasty!"

Guo Jia nodded, "Your Excellency's great cause has just begun, this is for the best. From now on, we can focus our energy on expanding our territory and vying for supremacy in the Central Plains." Cao Cao then introduced his children to Liu Xie one by one, and Liu Xie praised each of them sincerely.

Cao Ang, in particular, was handsome and had an extraordinary bearing, and Liu Xie glanced at the father and son a few more times.

It's hard to believe that Cao Cao could have such a handsome son.

However, Liu Xie thought about it again and realized that it was not surprising. Although Cao Cao was not particularly handsome, he had a good eye for women.

He was surrounded by beautiful wives and concubines.

There's a saying from later generations that Liu Xie (Emperor Liu Xie) agreed with: Everyone curses Cao Cao, but everyone wants to be Cao Cao!

Not long after, Bian Bing came running again, "My lord, Liu Bei has also come to congratulate you!"

Cao Cao hurriedly welcomed Liu Bei in.

Liu Bei also wanted to take this opportunity to get closer to Cao Cao and hoped to be transferred to a post outside the capital as soon as possible so that Cao Cao could give him a good place to settle down.

Staying in Xuchang all the time is not a long-term solution.

Liu Bei also brought gifts. Although he was now living under someone else's roof, Liu Bei still had a benefactor by his side. The Mi family of Xuzhou was wealthy and powerful. Not only did they never abandon him, but they also betrothed their sister to Liu Bei.

After presenting the gifts and exchanging a few polite words, Liu Bei, who did not usually enjoy crowds, noticed that the emperor was also present and hurriedly came over to pay his respects.

Liu Xie deliberately remained somewhat cold, but Cao Cao smiled and smoothed things over, saying, "Your Majesty, let's not dwell on the past. Lord Liu has shown great sincerity and has come to join us with genuine intentions. Your Majesty, please give him another chance."

Liu Xie sighed, "Very well, since Lord Cao has pleaded for leniency, I will not pursue the matter further."

Cao Cao then said, "I would like to recommend Liu Bei to serve as the Governor of Yu Province. What does Your Majesty think?"

Liu Bei's expression remained unchanged, but inwardly he sneered. "Good, Cao Cao seems to be praising me, but he has left me without troops or power, making me a mere decoration for you to win people's hearts."

Since Xuchang was located in Yuzhou, and Cao Cao's main base was also in Yuzhou, promoting Liu Bei to the position of Governor of Yuzhou was just a nice-sounding gesture.

The troops in Yu Province were firmly in Cao Cao's hands. Who could Liu Bei command? He couldn't command anyone.

Furthermore, Cao Cao would never allow Liu Bei to expand his power and pose a threat to him.

Historically, many people called Liu Bei "Liu Yuzhou," and that's where the title came from!

Liu Xie readily agreed and offered Liu Bei a few perfunctory words of comfort.

Liu Bei was unhappy, but he couldn't show it on his face. Now the emperor was dissatisfied with him, and Cao Cao was deliberately trying to control him. Seeing Zhao Yun standing closely behind Liu Xie, Liu Bei felt an indescribable bitterness in his heart.

You know, there was a time when Zhao Yun also stood right behind him, never leaving his side.

Liu Xie was the emperor and it was inconvenient for him to stay long, so he left after a while.

Liu Bei also didn't like such a lively scene, and after a while, he left as well.

On the way back to the inn, Liu Bei was expressionless and his face was quite gloomy, while Guan Yu also looked worried.

Zhang Fei couldn't contain himself and muttered loudly, "What a cunning Cao Cao! Humph, he made my brother the governor of Yu Province, but it's all in name only. What good is that? Even His Majesty doesn't distinguish right from wrong and is so fond of Cao Cao. He can't tell right from wrong, and he can't tell loyalty from treachery!"

As Liu Bei was deeply worried about the uncertain future, a middle-aged man approached from the opposite direction. He seemed to be drunk, staggering and even bumping into him as he got closer.

(End of this chapter)