One thing bears mentioning: when Yuan Tan's civil and military officers discussed their options, the messenger from Ye Capital had already withdrawn. They did not deliberate in front of him.
In the end, Yuan Tan accepted Guo Tu's advice. After entertaining the messenger, he wrote a letter and sent him back with all due courtesy.
In the letter, he offered an excuse for not going to Ye Capital to pay his respects just yet. He would wait for the Grand Marshal's imperial decree of appointment.
While Bai Xiaowen was busy stabilizing Hebei, Henan was in turmoil.
Cao Cao's head ached.
After returning to Xudu, he looked at the empty palace and ancestral temples and nearly wept.
Where was my emperor? Where were all the civil and military officials?
That whole crowd had been right there. How could they all just vanish?!
The Chancellor's Residence had been stripped bare. The lost treasures were the least of it; nearly all its talented people had fled as well.
Without the emperor, Cao Cao had fallen from chancellor of the Han Dynasty to an ordinary warlord overnight.
Worse, his position was weaker than an ordinary warlord's! The emperor had issued the Proclamation Against Cao. The other lords might not attack Cao Cao, but none would dare join forces with him. They might even take the chance to kick him while he was down.
Fortunately, he still controlled the army built around the officers of the Cao Clan and the Xiahou clan. Morale was wavering across Henan's provinces, but for now, there was no sign of collapse.
What gave Cao Cao an even worse headache was his four sons!
Cao Pi, Cao Zhi, Cao Zhang, and Cao Chong had all been struck by a strange poison. The army physicians he summoned to treat them