但是曹操却是很大度，曹操一看，觉得这个时候还不能够和袁绍公开翻脸。于是曹操上表，辞去大将军职务，让给袁绍，你不就想当大将军吗？我让给你。最后，皇帝说，好，那就让袁绍当大将军，老实说这时候皇帝也实在是一个做不了什么主的人。袁绍当了大将军他才不闹了，其实袁绍得了一个什么？得了一个面子，一点实惠都没有得到，他现在虽然官位在曹操之上，他谁也指挥不了，包括曹操。袁绍是想指挥一下曹操的，他给曹操写了一封信说，你现在不是在朝廷当中吗，你不是大权在握吗，你给我把两个人杀了，一个叫杨彪，一个叫孔融，给我杀了。袁绍和杨彪、孔融有过节，他想借刀杀人，曹操怎么会听他的。第一曹操很明白现在是收拾人心的时候，不是滥杀无辜的时候，曹操不是王允，曹操也不是袁绍，他绝对不会扩大打击面，根本现在就不是杀人的时候，何况还是杀名人。即便曹操要杀杨彪和孔融，坦率地说曹操也是不喜欢杨彪和孔融的，孔融最后也是被曹操杀掉的，但是要杀第一不是现在杀，第二也不是你袁绍让我杀我就杀，我什么时候想杀再杀。于是曹操一本正经地跟袁绍回一封信，袁兄啊，现在天下大乱，所有的人都是不安的，所有人都觉得自己是朝不保夕的，人人自危啊，“此上下相疑之秋也”，在这个时候我们执政，哪怕我们用最坦诚的心来对待大家恐怕大家还不相信我们呢，如果我们还随随便便地杀几个人，那人家不是更不相信我们了吗！不能这样做。袁绍碰一鼻子灰，浑身气都不打一出来，没话说。
However, Cao Cao was very generous. Upon seeing it, Cao Cao felt that at this time he could not openly quarrel with Yuan Shao. So Cao Cao went to the table and resigned from his position as a general to Yuan Shao. Don’t you just want to be a general? I’ll give it to you. Finally, the emperor said, “Okay, let Yuan Shao be the chief general. To be honest, the emperor was really a person who couldn’t do much at this time.”. Yuan Shao became a general before he stopped making trouble. In fact, what did Yuan Shao get? “I won a face, but I didn’t get any tangible benefits. Although he now ranks above Cao Cao, he can’t command anyone, including Cao Cao.”. Yuan Shao wanted to command Cao Cao. He wrote a letter to Cao Cao, saying, “Aren’t you in the court now? Aren’t you in power? You killed two people for me, one named Yang Biao and the other named Kong Rong. Kill them for me.”. Yuan Shao has a relationship with Yang Biao and Kong Rong. He wants to use a knife to kill people. How could Cao Cao listen to him. First, Cao Cao clearly understands that this is the time to clean up the hearts of the people, not to indiscriminately kill innocent people. Cao Cao is not Wang Yun, nor is Cao Cao Yuan Shao. He will definitely not expand the scope of attack, and this is not the time to kill people, let alone celebrities. Even if Cao Cao wanted to kill Yang Biao and Kong Rong, frankly speaking, Cao Cao didn’t like Yang Biao and Kong Rong, and Kong Rong was also killed by Cao Cao in the end. However, to kill the first is not to kill now, and the second is not to kill me if Yuan Shao asked me to. When I want to kill me, I will kill again. So Cao Cao solemnly replied to Yuan Shao with a letter, “Brother Yuan, now there is great chaos in the world, and everyone is uneasy. Everyone feels insecure, and everyone is in danger.” This is the autumn of mutual suspicion. “At this time, we are in power, and even if we treat everyone with the most candid heart, I’m afraid everyone will not believe us. If we casually kill a few people, Isn’t that even more distrustful of us! This cannot be done. Yuan Shao’s nose turned gray and his whole body didn’t breathe a word.
＊碰了一鼻子灰的袁绍是不了解曹操的真实想法，曹操迎奉天子到许县当然有自己的打算。小说《三国演义》中，提到曹操把皇帝迁到许县后，大权独揽，要“挟天子以令诸侯”。那么，历史上的曹操他的真实想法是这样吗？
我们现在也无法确切地知道曹操本人当时的想法，但是可以肯定一点，曹操的智囊团是主张奉天子的，其中最具有代表行的人物就是曹操的谋士荀彧。曹操前期五大谋士：荀彧、郭嘉、荀攸、贾诩、程昱，第一个就是荀彧。荀彧跟曹操也有一番对话，荀彧他谈到这样两个观点，他说第一点，当今之世，维护汉室、保卫皇帝就是一面正义的旗帜。第二点，将军您一贯正义，董卓造乱的时候，是将军您最先举起了正义的旗帜，叫首倡义兵；关东联军停滞不前的时候，是将军您最先出兵去攻打董卓；皇上颠沛流离的时候，是将军您派去了使节；皇帝回到洛阳的时候，是将军您把他接到了富庶的许县，这说明什么呢？说明将军您一贯就是维护王室、维护皇帝的，您的心无时无刻不在皇帝的身上。那么这个时候你应该趁这个机会赶紧把迎奉天子这件事情完成，如果等到将来我们这个国家真的四分五裂，天底下的人都有了诸侯割据一方的心思的时候，那就为时太晚了。
Yuan Shao, who met with a rebuff, did not understand Cao Cao’s true thoughts. Cao Cao certainly had his own plans to welcome the Emperor to Xu County. In the novel “The Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, it is mentioned that after Cao Cao moved the emperor to Xu County, he monopolized power and wanted to “coerce the emperor to order the princes.”. So, is this the true idea of Cao Cao in history?
“We cannot know exactly what Cao Cao thought at that time, but it is certain that Cao Cao’s think tank advocated the pursuit of the Son of Heaven, and the most representative figure among them was Cao Cao’s counselor, Xun Yu.”. In the early days of Cao Cao, there were five great advisers: Xun Yu, Guo Jia, Xun You, Jia Xu, and Cheng Yu. The first was Xun Yu. Xunyu also had a conversation with Cao Cao. Xunyu spoke of two views. He said, first, in today’s world, safeguarding the Han family and defending the emperor is a banner of justice. Second, General, you have always been just. When Dong Zhuo caused chaos, it was General, you first raised the banner of justice, calling for the initiative of a righteous soldier; When the Kanto Allied Army stagnated, it was General you who first sent troops to attack Dong Zhuo; When the emperor was in exile, it was General you who sent the envoy; When the emperor returned to Luoyang, it was the general you took him to the prosperous Xu County. What does this mean? General, you have always been defending the royal family and the emperor, and your heart is always on the emperor’s body. “At this time, you should take this opportunity to quickly complete the task of welcoming and worshipping the Son of Heaven. If in the future our country will truly fall apart, and everyone under the sun will have the desire for vassal rule, it will be too late.”.
因此，荀彧向曹操提出了三大纲领：奉主上以从民望，秉至公以服雄杰，扶弘义以至英俊。什么意思呢？就是尊奉天子以顺从民意，大公无私以降服诸侯，弘扬正义以招揽英雄。荀彧说，尊奉天子以顺从民意这是最大的趋势，他称之为大顺；大公无私以降服诸侯这是最大的策略，他称之为大略；弘扬正义以招揽英雄这是最大的道德，他称之为大德。大顺至尊，大略至公，大德至义，有此三大，将军您一定是所向披靡、战无不胜，即便有人出来跟您作对那也只能是螳臂当车、小丑跳梁，成不了气候。
Therefore, Xunyu proposed three major programs to Cao Cao: serving the Lord in order to conform to the people’s expectations, upholding the highest standards of justice in order to serve the heroes, and supporting the great righteousness in order to be handsome. What does it mean? It is to honor the Son of Heaven to obey public opinion, to be selfless to subdue princes, and to promote justice to attract heroes. Xun Yu said that worshipping the Son of Heaven to comply with public opinion is the biggest trend, which he called Da Shun; “Being selfless in order to subdue the princes is the greatest strategy, which he calls grand strategy;”; Promoting justice to attract heroes is the greatest morality, which he calls great virtue. With these three major forces, General, you must be invincible and invincible. Even if someone comes out against you, it can only be a praying mantis riding a chariot and a clown jumping over a bridge.
