Some people say that Cao Cao did not proclaim himself emperor until his death because he wanted to have a good reputation. Is this true?

First of all, I think that the reason why Cao Cao was unwilling to proclaim himself emperor until his death was to gain a good reputation. The bigger reason was also to preserve the situation that he had been running for many years because the reputation of a rebellious minister and traitor was used. destroy. Because rebellious officials and traitors during the Three Kingdoms period can be said to be like rats crossing the street, everyone shouted to beat them.

At that time, Cao Cao, in order to make his actions justified, used the emperor to control the princes. All Cao Cao's actions were done in the name of the Han Dynasty. If he directly proclaimed himself emperor, it was possible to obtain It's a great benefit, but in the long run it will be a mouthpiece for others, which is not good for your own plans.

Although Cao Cao seemed to have won a big victory at the time, although he seemed to have mastered everything, the most important thing was that Cao Cao had complete control at the time and was given up. If he rashly proclaimed himself emperor, he would directly be watched by the outside world. Liu Bei, Sun Quan and others fell into the trap and might even directly defeat Cao Cao by attacking the rebellious ministers and traitors.

So Cao Cao still had his own ideas if he did not proclaim himself emperor. Although it seems that the benefits are not as great as those of proclaiming emperor, the most important thing is that long-term peace and stability can be achieved, which can also be understood as leaving it to himself. A good name.