Chapter 251 Liu Yan's Suspicion Liu Xie's death was very sudden. For unknown reasons, Li Jue and Guo Si started a riot in early winter, and the loyal officials of the Han Dynasty in the court took advantage of the chaos and fled eastward to Luoyang with Liu Xie. However, the military discipline of the Western Liang Army under the rule of Li Jue and Guo Si was worrying, and there were various small gangs and many bandits. When Liu Xie arrived in Hedong, he summoned the princes from Guandong to come to his rescue, and the first to come were Cao Cao, Yuan Shao and Liu Bei. Cao Cao, who was closest to the emperor, naturally assembled thousands of soldiers without hesitation and marched west to welcome the emperor. As a result, as soon as Cao Cao arrived in Hedong, he learned that Liu Xie and all the officials had been attacked by bandits and were nowhere to be found. An anxious Cao Cao quickly dispersed to search for Liu Xie. After gathering all the officials, he found Liu Xie frozen to death just a few miles away from Wenxi County. "Zhicai, who do you think did this?" After questioning all the officials one by one and finding no clue, Cao Cao asked with a gloomy face. Although he had already developed the heart of a hero at this time, he was still grateful to the Han Dynasty. In addition to his anger at losing the opportunity to hold the emperor hostage, he also felt sad as a Han minister about the death of the emperor.
"Yuan Shu just proclaimed himself emperor." Xi Zhicai said in a deep voice: "However, the most likely possibility is still Tian Ze." Upon hearing this, Cao Cao looked towards the north solemnly and nodded. He thought so too. Although Yuan Shu was the biggest beneficiary on the surface, based on his understanding of him, Yuan Shu did not have the ability or intention to do so. If Liu Xie was killed, he would still be unjustified as the emperor. In the long run, the real beneficiary of Liu Xie's death was Tian Ze. "We have no evidence." Cao Cao said in a low voice. "There is evidence." Xi Zhicai said. "In the current situation, it must be Tian Ze who kills the emperor." In Xi Zhicai's opinion, it doesn't matter who killed the emperor. What matters most is how to make a fuss about it. The righteousness of the emperor was the most important trump card in his and Xun Yu's plan. Now that this trump card is useless, they must change their strategy as soon as possible to make up for this loss. "I'll leave this matter to you to arrange," said Cao Cao. "Besides, the emperor has passed away and the throne is vacant. What should be done?" After hearing this, Xi Zhicai thought for a moment and said, "Grand Tutor Liu Yu is a kind and benevolent person who is deeply loved by the people and supported by many officials in the court. He can be made emperor." Although not many officials escaped with Liu Xie this time, Liu Yu was among them and is now in Cao Cao's camp. The only one in the Han Dynasty who was qualified to be emperor and could be used by Cao Cao was Liu Yu. "I'm afraid he is unwilling, and Liu Yu's ability..." Cao Cao said hesitantly. Although Liu Yu was not good at fighting, he was able to win people's hearts and had a high prestige. He was much more difficult to deal with than Liu Xie, who seemed smart but had little scheming. Cao Cao was worried that worshipping such a huge Buddha might cause trouble in the future. You know, since ancient times, powerful officials have never had a good ending.
"Given the current situation, my lord can at best be King Wen of Zhou." Xi Zhicai sighed. He also hoped to nominate a young boy who was easy to control as emperor, just like Dong Zhuo, so that he could abdicate in the future. But what can be done? All the princes in the world have to recognize it! The only choice that could barely convince the princes and powerful families in the world was Liu Yu. "Although Liu Yu is capable, he also knows the big picture and is old. We can use his abilities to help our lord, and after he dies of old age, we can make other plans." Xi Zhicai said. There are advantages and disadvantages to welcoming the emperor, and it needs to be decided at the right time. Cao Cao welcomed the emperor at this time because only by holding the emperor in his hands would he have a chance to turn the tables. With the help of the emperor's righteousness, you can consolidate the alliance with Yuan Shao and Liu Bei, influence other princes, and gather the power of the world to fight against Tian Ze. As for becoming an emperor in the future, it is too far away, so let’s get through the current difficulties first. Upon hearing this, Cao Cao nodded. He can naturally distinguish between priorities, and he does not have such big ambitions at the moment. "Let's follow your plan. Quickly welcome Liu Yu as the emperor, announce it to the world, and appease the people." "Also, prepare the evidence that Liu Xie was killed by Tian Ze's men, confirm the matter, and inform all the princes." Cao Cao said hatefully. "promise!" Xi Zhicai moved very quickly. Although Liu Yu was unwilling to do such a rebellious act, under the persuasion of Xi Zhicai and other officials, he had no choice but to become emperor in order to save the Han Dynasty. Cao Cao welcomed Liu Yu back to Xu County, and then began to announce the plan to the world and various princes. However, at this moment, another piece of news had already spread throughout the world. Liu Fan, the eldest son of Liu Yan, who was detained in Chang'an, escaped back to Yizhou for unknown reasons, and took away the Chixiao Sword that Emperor Gaozu used to kill the white snake and start an uprising. Subsequently, rumors that Liu Yan wanted to become emperor began to spread everywhere. And these rumors are quite true. Liu Yan heard from his attendant Dong Fu that Yizhou had the aura of an emperor, so he proposed to depose the governor and establish a governor, and he himself became the governor of Yizhou. After arriving in Yizhou, he immediately cut off contact with the court, built a carriage for the emperor, and pretended to be the supreme ruler. Previously, Liu Biao was assassinated by his men because he reported the matter to the court. Now he has used the same trick again, killing the emperor and taking away the Scarlet Sky Sword. It is clear that he is selfish and preparing to become emperor. There were even reports from refugees in Yizhou that they had seen Liu Yan privately riding in a carriage that only the emperor could ride, and making clothes for the emperor. When these rumors reached Cao Cao's ears, he realized that something was wrong. This must be Tian Ze muddying the waters. But the disgusting thing is that most of these rumors are true. Liu Yan did do a lot of things and acted presumptuously, and Liu Biao actually reported him. This kind of statement that is nine true and one false is simply unsolvable. Cao Cao didn't know how to clear Liu Yan's name. He was even worried that as soon as he said a few words in defense, Liu Yan would proclaim himself emperor, and he would be in trouble. After all, he was not sure about Liu Yan's character.
The legitimate emperor Liu Xie died suddenly. Although Liu Yan's reputation was not as high as Liu Yu's, he was also qualified to be emperor. Moreover, he occupied the land of Bashu where Emperor Gaozu started his career and held the Chixiao Sword. From Liu Yan's perspective, it seemed legitimate for him to become emperor, and he was even more qualified than Liu Yu. Having lost the initiative, it was too late for him to put the blame for Liu Xie's death on Tian Ze. With Yuan Shu in front and Liu Yan in the back, it was no longer completely convincing for Cao Cao to accuse Tian Ze again. Compared to these two people who are obviously suspicious, Tian Zeming's apparent motive does not seem to be strong. What's more, Cao Cao's so-called "evidence" was actually forged by himself and cannot withstand in-depth scrutiny. It was actually acceptable that Tian Ze could not be "framed" for the crime of murdering the emperor, but the fact that Liu Yan might become emperor was undoubtedly a time bomb for Cao Cao who was preparing to "use the emperor to command the disobedient." Cao Cao could ignore Yuan Shu's declaration of emperorship. After all, this guy would not last for many days, and his title was not legitimate. It was purely his own entertainment before his death. But if Liu Yan became emperor, it would completely shake Liu Yu's position as emperor. After all, Liu Yu's enthronement was actually very simple. There were no imperial crowns and robes, no ancestral temple sacrifices, no edicts of succession, and even the officials were just a few big cats and small cats, and there were not even a few nine ministers. The three distinctive symbols representing the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty, the imperial seal, the Chixiao sword, and Luoyang, were not found at all. The jade seal is in Yuan Shu's hands, the Chixiao sword is in Liu Yan's hands, and only Luoyang is in Cao Cao's hands. But how could Cao Cao dare to let Liu Yu proclaim himself emperor in Luoyang? Luoyang was too close to Bingzhou where Tian Ze was located. Zhang He could send troops from Shangdang and arrive at the city in less than ten days. Cao Cao had no other choice at this time. On the one hand, he sent envoys to Yizhou to appease Liu Yan, and on the other hand, he silently prayed that Liu Yan would not get too angry, or at least not do anything stupid before he took the imperial seal back from Yuan Shu, otherwise the overall situation in the world would be in chaos. However, how could Jia Xu and Li Ru, who were secretly leading this matter, fulfill his wish? (End of this chapter)