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

Chapter 87, Guo Jia's Heartfelt Words
Cao Cao brought two top bodyguards to see the emperor, but unexpectedly, Liu Xie was all alone, which made Cao Cao lose face!

Dian Wei and Xu Chu walked out of the palace, both of them completely bewildered, so they could only stand guard outside the door.

Liu Xie looked at him, puzzled, and asked, "Lord Cao, is there something you need?"

Cao Cao said, "Your Majesty, I dealt with Cheng Yu immediately after I returned. He has now been imprisoned in the Northern Temple Prison."

"it is good!"

Liu Xie nodded and praised, "Lord Cao, I believe you will handle this matter impartially. From now on, if anyone dares to sow discord between us, the sovereign and his subject, I will not let them off lightly, let alone you!"

Cao Cao hurriedly advised, "Your Majesty has not attended court for half a month, and the ministers are eagerly anticipating seeing Your Majesty day and night."

Liu Xie shook his head. "Let's talk about it in a few days. I've caught a bit of a cold recently."

"Ok?"

Cao Cao frowned in displeasure, thinking to himself: Did I give you face?
Cao Cao understood that simply imprisoning Cheng Yu was far from enough; Liu Xie was waiting for a result.

If the ruler and his minister reconcile now, Cao Cao will downplay the matter and release Cheng Yu.

This is not what Liu Xie wanted!

After all that trouble, nothing was achieved. Cao Cao said he would punish Cheng Yu severely, but a couple of days later Cheng Yu was back to normal, which meant Liu Xie had suffered a huge loss.

Since the emperor was feigning illness, there was no need for Cao Cao to kneel. Cao Cao suppressed his anger and said, "Then Your Majesty should rest well. I will take my leave now."

Liu Xie nodded. "Lord Cao, take care!"

Cao Cao stood up and glanced at the painting casually. He found that the painting was very lifelike and the person in the painting looked a lot like him.

"Your Majesty, could it be a portrait of your humble servant?" Cao Cao asked curiously.

Liu Xun nodded. “Indeed, the Han Dynasty is facing imminent collapse. To save the world, I urgently need more loyal and righteous men like Cao Cao by my side. I plan to build a Lingyan Pavilion in Xuchang to enshrine portraits of loyal ministers who have made great contributions to the Han Dynasty. Each person’s life and achievements will be recorded and inscribed to spread throughout the world.”

Cao Cao nodded, wondering to himself where he would be ranked in the Lingyan Pavilion.
Cao Cao would naturally not object to publicizing his merits in order to better establish his reputation; in fact, he had a strong desire for it.

After all, he has no intention of usurping the throne yet. Although he wants to usurp the emperor's power, Cao Cao's desire to be a loyal subject is still very strong!

After leaving the palace, Cao Cao once again summoned Guo Jia, Xun Yu, and others together.

After recounting what had happened, Guo Jia frowned immediately. "My lord, just as I said, it seems that this time, we can't fool them. His Majesty trusts you and has always praised you as the most loyal minister of the Han Dynasty. Now that we are facing a choice of stance, we must not make a wrong step!"

Xun Yu was silent for a while, then said, "My lord, Chen Deng is still waiting at the inn. Just now, news came from outside the city that Lu Kang's clansmen are on their way. Once they enter the city, they will surely be eager to see His Majesty. Many of the virtuous men we have recruited are also hoping to see His Majesty as soon as possible."

Cao Cao nodded, somewhat conflicted, and naturally harbored resentment towards Cheng Yu.

You said it was nothing, that everything was fine, so why did you have to provoke the emperor?
Finally, Cao Cao waved his hand and said, "You may all leave now."

Everyone got up to leave, but Cao Cao called Guo Jia back, "Fengxiao, stay for a moment."

After everyone had completely left, Guo Jia closed the door behind him and returned to his seat. "My lord, it's time for you to make a decision."

Cao Cao sighed deeply, "Fengxiao, you understand me best. His Majesty has been refusing to attend court, and I have no other choice. Tell me, what should we do with Cheng Yu?"

Guo Jia looked up at Cao Cao and said, "Then it depends on how ambitious you are, my lord!"

Cao Cao said in a consultative tone, "I intend to dismiss Cheng Yu from his position as Minister and temporarily appoint him as an advisor to stay by my side. I will re-employ him when the opportunity arises. What do you think?"

Guo Jia shook his head, a hint of disappointment flashing in his eyes.

"Then let him be dismissed from his post completely, or how about sending him back to his hometown for a while?"

Guo Jia sighed again.

Cao Cao frowned and grimaced, feeling a pang of pity. "Isn't that enough? Then punish him for sowing discord between the emperor and his ministers, and have him tortured. Surely that will appease His Majesty?"

Guo Jia shook his head again.

Cao Cao grew anxious and asked, "Fengxiao, Zhongde has followed me for many years, made great contributions, and has always been loyal. Do you really want me to kill him?"

Guo Jia faced Cao Cao directly and said with a firm gaze, "If you, my lord, aspire to rule the world, you must be able to take it and let it go. Compared to the world, nothing is irreplaceable. Forgive my bluntness, but this time, you can only choose one: Cheng Yu or His Majesty. His Majesty wants an attitude, while you, my lord, want the world. May I ask you, my lord, in your heart, which is more important, Cheng Yu or His Majesty?"

Cao Cao rolled his eyes at him. "Is that even a question?"

Guo Jia said righteously, "Indeed, Cheng Yu has made great contributions and is loyal enough, but in my opinion, let alone ten, even a hundred Cheng Yus would be no match for the Emperor." At this moment, Guo Jia's tone had changed, and he addressed Cheng Yu by his given name instead of his courtesy name.

Just like in a game of chess, Guo Jia understood very well that Cheng Yu, this piece, could be discarded.

Cao Cao was somewhat bewildered. Although he had considered killing Cheng Yu, the thought only flashed through his mind.

He didn't want to, and was unwilling to, do that!
"Do I really have to do this? Fengxiao, if I do this, many people will blame me!"

Cao Cao was heartbroken, his face contorted with anguish; he had never faced such hardship.

Cao Cao understood perfectly what it meant to kill someone who was loyal to him.

Guo Jia was silent for a while, then sighed and said, "You have promised His Majesty that you would severely punish Cheng Yu, but Cheng Yu has only been imprisoned. His Majesty is not stupid; he must feel that you have deceived him."

“If a rift develops between the ruler and his minister and cannot be repaired, then even if you manage to protect Cheng Yu this time, you will have to devote a lot of energy to dealing with His Majesty’s relationship in the future, and it will probably be difficult to regain His Majesty’s trust.”

"Once trust is lost, no amount of effort will help. Throughout history, those who achieve great things have never been soft-hearted. If anyone is to blame, it is Cheng Yu. He was too hostile to His Majesty!"

"Was Zhongde wrong?" Cao Cao asked unwillingly.

Guo Jia shook his head. "He is not wrong, but the timing was wrong. My Lordship can leave anyone now, but he cannot leave His Majesty!"

“Without His Majesty, you are merely a prefect or governor of a region. But with His Majesty, you can command the world and use it as a chessboard. When your strength is sufficient, His Majesty will become dispensable to you. At that time, you can do as you please. Cheng Yu, you are ultimately too impatient.”

Guo Jia let out a heavy sigh!

“Cheng Yu said that His Majesty’s activities make it easy for him to win over others, but I would like to say that even if His Majesty does these things, can he compare to you, Lord Ming? You are a man of great talent and ambition, and many people are loyal to you. Is there any need for you to be afraid of His Majesty? In the end, His Majesty can only win over a very limited number of people. If you don’t even have this much confidence and ability, how can you talk about controlling the world?”

Guo Jia pointed to himself and said to Cao Cao, “His Majesty has met me thirty-six times so far, and we have gotten along very well each time. But I have only met you once and have already shown my loyalty. Do you have any reason to be afraid of His Majesty? His Majesty lives in the deep palace, with only a small area to himself. He has no soldiers or generals. Even if he has the ability, he has no way to use it. What is there to fear?”

"Of course, I also admit that His Majesty is approachable and, as the Son of Heaven, there are indeed some people who approve of him. But as long as you remain vigilant and keep military power firmly in your hands, what is there to worry about?"

"Your Excellency's most pressing matter right now is to strengthen your power as quickly as possible, not to become enemies with His Majesty. The two of you, ruler and subject, will both benefit from cooperation and both suffer from conflict. I hope Your Excellency will reconsider!"

Guo Jia's words came from the bottom of his heart.

Cao Cao remained unsettled for a long time, muttering to himself, "Your Majesty insists on making the relationship so tense, forcing me to take action against Cheng Yu. Isn't he afraid of angering me?"

Guo Jia sighed, “My lord, you have been pressured and threatened by Dong Cheng and Zhao Yun, and His Majesty has also been pushed to the limit. However, we are all intelligent people. As long as this matter is handled well, I believe that you will consider the overall situation, and His Majesty will not make things difficult for you. Because His Majesty also knows that making things difficult for you is making things difficult for himself!”

Seeing that Cao Cao was still unable to make up his mind, Guo Jia knew that he needed to calm down by himself, so he got up and left.

After leaving the Sikong Mansion, Guo Jia sighed, "Cheng Yu, everyone has a bottom line, let alone the emperor. Why are you in such a hurry?"

As Guo Jia strolled past the palace gates, he saw Cao Ang and Cao Ying and walked over to them.

Cao Ang was somewhat anxious. Upon seeing Guo Jia, he hurriedly asked, "Strategist, I haven't seen His Majesty for many days. Could something have happened?"

Cao Ying stared with her watery eyes, "These days, Father has been very busy and has been too lazy to pay attention to us. His Majesty has also not left the palace. I heard that the ministers can't see him anymore. Is he sick?"

Seeing how much the two siblings cared for Liu Xie, Guo Jia couldn't help but look up and glance into the depths of the palace. "Your Majesty," he thought, "I must say, you really are someone people are eyeing."

"Don't worry, you'll see him soon. His Majesty just caught a cold and will be fine after a few days of rest."

After offering a word of comfort, Guo Jia waved his hand, signaling them to leave.

With too many worries lately, Guo Jia walked straight toward the Liuhe Bridge, and once again, that familiar figure surfaced in his mind.

"Alas, how easy is it to achieve harmony between ruler and subject!" Guo Jia sighed again when he thought of Liu Xie.

Having spent so much time together, Guo Jia had a fairly good understanding of both Cao Cao and Liu Xie. He knew that both of them would make concessions, but neither of them were the type to give in endlessly; they both had their bottom lines.

However, once the bottom line is crossed, tensions will rise and a confrontation will escalate.

Cao Cao possessed absolute power and could easily control the emperor through military force.

However, Liu Xie held the moral high ground and could nominally and completely suppress Cao Cao!
As long as Liu Xie is willing to go all out, he can easily make Cao Cao bear the infamy and be surrounded by enemies on all sides!

My free time is limited, so I can only update twice a day, with a minimum of 6,000 words. Please bear with me.

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(End of this chapter)