"The imperial court marched against Chang'an, and Lu Bu fled to Hanoi."
Cao Cao looked at the battle report in his hand and couldn't believe it.
Ever since Cao Cao escaped from Luoyang, he felt that the changes in the court seemed to be too fast.
A year ago, he was bullied by Dong Zhuo, but now he was able to conquer Chang'an and surrender to Lu Bu.
Lu Bu had an army of 100,000, but he was defeated so completely after only a few days.
This made Cao Cao feel that there seemed to be a glimmer of hope for the Han Dynasty.
But now he is asked to return to the court and become a captain, but Cao Cao can't do it.
At first he wanted to assassinate Dong Zhuo, but later he realized that he seemed to have been deceived by Yuan Wei.
It was only then that Cao Cao, a passionate middle-aged man, realized that those so-called courtiers did not care about the Han Dynasty at all.
What they worry about is only their own wealth. If everyone is like him and cares about the Han Dynasty, how could the Han Dynasty become like this?
Later, Yuan Shao summoned the eighteen princes and gave Cao Cao hope.
The fourth and third princes of Yuan Shao had such a prominent family background that they actually summoned eighteen princes.
This made Cao Cao very happy, and he thought that most people in the world really wanted the Han Dynasty.
After learning about Dong Zhuo's execution, they were supposed to enter Luoyang to see the emperor, but the other princes ran away.
Cao Cao couldn't figure it out at first. It wasn't until Yuan Shao returned to Jizhou that he occupied it.
The same is basically true for other princes. Their territories are almost adjacent to each other.
If one of them goes back and the other chooses to go to Luoyang to meet the emperor, he is afraid that after meeting the emperor and returning to his own territory, his territory will have been occupied by others.
Each of these so-called princes seems to be in harmony with their appearance, and the so-called "for the Han Dynasty" is just a talk.
If there are any benefits, they will naturally flock to it like swarms. If there are no benefits at all and they still face the risk of losing the territory, then who would be willing to do this?
It's like Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan. When the two of them formed an alliance, one of the alliance leaders screamed for affection, while the other general shouted enthusiastically.
After returning to Youzhou, Jizhou, I wanted to chop him into dumpling fillings.
After Yuan Shu returned to Huainan, he directly asked Sun Jian to attack Jingzhou, and he is still fighting until now.
Even as a member of the Han clan and the governor of Yanzhou, Liu Dai openly befriended Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan.
Marrying Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan in exchange for Gongsun Zan's military assistance and Yuan Shao's support.
And these were to prevent other princes who were greedy for Yanzhou at that time.
Because although Liu Dai was the governor of Yanzhou, he only controlled three counties.
This is true for the Han clan, not to mention other princes.
Beat or die, as for the court? Who cares?
As long as my territory is big enough, what if you are the emperor?
Only then did Cao Cao understand that these people were not for the Han Dynasty at all, they were for themselves.
After Cao Cao realized this, he began to plan for himself. Cao Cao set out from Zhang Miao and joined forces with relatives of Hu Muban who were killed by Wang Kuang, the prefect of Hanoi, to attack and kill Wang Kuang.
Cao Cao also became the actual controller of Hanoi County.
At this point, Cao Cao officially entered the process of competing for hegemony among the princes.
And once you step on this road, there is no turning back.
But when Cao Cao truly tasted the taste of power, he didn't care about anything else.
Power is the most corrosive poison in the world.
Even though Cao Cao once even risked his own life to assassinate Dong Zhuo for the sake of the Han Dynasty, he now ignored the Han Dynasty and only wanted to attack other princes and expand his territory.
"Now that the emperor has conquered Chang'an, do you have any opinions?"
Cao Cao handed the battle report in his hand to the person standing below.
Xiahou Dun took one look at the result and then handed it to others beside him.
After everyone finished watching, they were speechless. They didn't know which part Cao Cao was partial to. At this moment, a man stood up.
"General, this is the opportunity for the general to achieve great success!"
Cao Cao looked at this man in surprise. This man was Cheng Yu who had just joined Cao Cao's army.
"What's the explanation?"
"Although the emperor conquered Lu Bu, he seemed to be brave. However, the emperor was very wary of the aristocratic families. Last year, he actually ordered Jia Xu to massacre dozens of wealthy families in Sizhou. Now the aristocratic families are not following the wealthy families and have moved around, and they all have complaints against the emperor. This is not a long-term solution.”
After hearing this, Cao Cao looked at Cheng Yu in surprise. He had been busy occupying Dongjun for the past six months, but he did not expect that such a thing would happen.
To put it bluntly, the big man at this time was still the time when the aristocratic family ruled everything.
Even an emperor is nothing more than a useless person if his family does not support him.
If you want to rule a place, you must first establish a good relationship with the local aristocratic families. Even Lu Bu understands this truth, but unexpectedly the emperor does not understand it.
If you kill all the noble families, who will rule the world for you?
Cao Cao couldn't help laughing when he thought of this.
It's good to be stupid. Only when you are stupid can you have a chance.
…………
After Chang'an was captured, everything around Chang'an was in ruins, including people's livelihood and local government affairs.
Lin Mu did not let the officials on the court side go. After all, it was hard to say whether the officials on the court side and himself were of the same mind.
"Your Majesty, this person is Du Ji."
Jia Xu brought one person up and saluted Lin Mu.
"Oh? Are you Du Ji?"
Although Du Ji is a child of an aristocratic family, he is a little different from ordinary children of aristocratic families.
Du Ji lost his mother when he was young. Later, his father married another woman, and his stepmother never treated him well.
But even so, after his father's death, he remained filial to his stepmother.
There is a saying that in the Han Dynasty, if one was filial, one would have a good chance of becoming an official.
Du is so nice to a couple even if they are not their own mothers, so why wouldn't they be allowed to take off if they are their own mothers?
Such a filial son will naturally be greatly praised, which makes him a hero of Jingzhao.
Moreover, he was later promoted as filial and honest by Jing Zhaoyin and became an official official of the imperial court.
If history had not changed, Du Ji's position would later only be under Xun Yu's, and he would guard Hedong for Cao Wei. After his death, he would be posthumously named the Imperial Servant, one of the Nine Ministers.
But at this time Lu Bu came, which prevented him from taking office.
Although Du Ji's family background is also prominent, it is not so easy to become an official at this time.
Finally, the court called and forced Lu Bu to retreat, and Du Ji realized that his opportunity had come.
"The humble minister Du Ji pays his respects to Your Majesty."
Du Ji lifted up his robe and knelt in front of Lin Mu.
"I heard that you are extremely filial to your stepmother, but I wonder how you treat me?"
Du Ji understood what Lin Mu meant as soon as he heard this. He wanted to appoint him. Can the official position appointed by the emperor himself be small?
"I am completely sincere to Your Majesty! Your Majesty pointed out that even if I die, I will not dare to resign!"
Lin Mu nodded, stood up and left.
Just when Du Ji looked confused, Jia Xu, who had been silent until now, spoke.
"Have you ever killed a noble family?"
