Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Holding the entire court in his hands, why didn’t Cao Cao ascend to the throne?

Cao Cao is a controversial figure in Chinese history. He came from a humble background but was a driven and ambitious man. With his wisdom, he rose up in the chaos of Dong Trac.

After Dong Zhuo’s death, Cao Cao accepted the opinions of Xun Yu and Cheng Yu, welcomed Emperor Xian of Han to Xuchang in the first year of Jian’an (196 AD) and began the historical period of `borrowing the name of heaven`.

Relying on this trump card, the emperor, Cao Cao gained an absolute advantage in politics, from then on, he destroyed Yuan Shao, pacified Lu Bo, gradually unified the Yellow River basin, and restored his position as Prime Minister.

After the battle of Xich Bich, Cao Cao focused on building Yecheng as the old capital of Yuan Shao, often stationing large troops here, paying little attention to Hua Xuong as in the early period.

At the end of the article, he emphasized that those who suspected him of wanting to rob the Han Dynasty were thinking wrongly;

To show everyone that what he said was not a lie, he returned 20,000 conferred households to 3 districts, only keeping 10,000 households in Vu Binh district.

However, by personally deciding on court affairs, he encountered covert opposition from forces supporting Han Xian, but these forces were not strong enough and were severely suppressed by Cao Cao, including Cao Cao.

In 213, he forced Emperor Hien to appoint him the Duke of Wei, and gave him the Nine Treasures including: chariots, clothes, son’s house, musical ensemble, pedestal, bow and arrow, tiger bed, and gold.

In November 213, he established a separate Wei court apparatus, with a Minister, a Lieutenant, and 6 officials.

In 216, after returning from defeating Truong Lo, Cao Cao ordered Hoa Ham to prepare and forced Emperor Han Xian to issue an edict to appoint him King of Wei.

In January 220, Cao Cao died at the age of 66.

During the period when he held the pinnacle of power and controlled Emperor Han Hien, Cao Cao ignored all advice to depose the king and establish a new dynasty on his own. He was not blinded by fame.

Cao Cao in the Thuat Chi Chi e clearly stated: `The reason why Te Hoan and Tan Van Marquis claim to be the leader of Kim Nhat Gia, because of their great military prowess, is because they often serve Chu that da`, meaning to say, Duke Qi Huan and

From here we can see that although Cao Cao’s power at that time was very great, he was determined not to be merciful, he did not want to be a `hero` to rob Han, but wanted to be a `powerful mandarin` who was always loyal.

In the book Wei Thi Spring and Autumn by Ton Thanh (historian of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the dynasty immediately following the Wei Dynasty), Cao Cao once answered about claiming the title of emperor: `If by fate, heaven only allows me to be a King of Zhou Wen.`

King Wen of Zhou, also known as Co Xuong, was a general during the reign of King Tru (a king famous for his tyranny and cruelty and the last king of the Shang Dynasty).

Indeed, Cao Cao did not abolish Emperor Xian of Han, but his son Cao Pi usurped the Han dynasty and founded the Wei dynasty, with its capital in Luoyang.