Because he remembered an earlier report saying that Lü Bu had dispatched ten thousand troops to Ye City. Everyone knew Lü Bu was loyal to the Son of Heaven, so those ten thousand troops would naturally fall under the command of the Son of Heaven of Ye City.
Whoever controlled the army controlled the reins of power.
Even if Yuan Shao wanted to return, he could no longer do so!
Seen in this light, the earlier Ye City Incident, when Yuan Xi had committed Fratricide and imprisoned his father, was far from simple. In the end, Yuan Xi had gained nothing, while the Son of Heaven of Ye City had become the greatest beneficiary.
Connecting this with the recent heavenly phenomena and the Edict to Recruit the Worthy... Cao Cao's instincts told him that none of this could be coincidence. A hidden hand was manipulating everything behind the scenes.
"Was Yuan Shao plotting against the Son of Heaven of Ye City, or was the Son of Heaven of Ye City plotting against Yuan Shao? Am I plotting against them? Or are they plotting against me? Have I become another link in his scheme?"
Cao Cao clenched his teeth, his thoughts in turmoil.
He struggled to untangle the threads of it all, but however he tried, they remained a hopeless snarl. Finally, a dull pain began throbbing in his head, and he clutched it as he crouched on the ground.
"Illustrious Lord! Illustrious Lord, what is wrong?"
Alarmed, Xun You and Xun Yu hurried forward to ask.
"I... I am fine."
Cao Cao's face was pale, sweat pouring down him. He held his head for a long while before the pain slowly faded from his expression. Sounding somewhat weak, he said, "I am going to the Palace to see the Son