"Lord Wang, congratulations! I, Cao Cao, have come to offer my congratulations." Upon receiving the news, Cao Cao immediately brought gifts to find Wang Han.
Upon hearing this, Wang Han asked, "What is there to be happy about?"
"Naturally, it is a joyous occasion of promotion and ennoblement," Cao Cao said. "A few days ago, His Majesty personally conferred the title of Marquis of Dingshan upon Lord Wang. I have not yet congratulated Lord Wang. From now on, I shall address Lord Wang as Marquis of Dingshan."
"You're joking, it's just an empty title," Wang Han said, shaking his head without refuting it.
For Wang Han, whether he was a true feudal lord was irrelevant; his heart wasn't set on conquering the world. It was merely a title and a reputation. Even without this title, he could build a greater reputation through his future endeavors. He didn't refuse for two reasons: first, the title was bestowed by His Majesty himself, and it wouldn't be appropriate to refuse in front of officials and common people; second, having this title of "Han Dynasty's bestowal of the Wei River" would provide him with more convenience and a smoother path in the future.
“How can this be an empty title?” Cao Cao retorted. “His Majesty personally conferred upon Lord Wang the title of Marquis of Dingshan. It is by no means an empty title.”
Cao Cao asked casually, "I wonder what Lord Wang's plans are for the future?"
“I don’t have any plans.” Wang Han shook his head and said, “I’m not obsessed with power, nor do I want to fight for any power. In the future, I just want to travel around and see the sights, stop and appreciate the beautiful scenery when I encounter it, and do my part when I encounter injustice.”
Cao Cao was overjoyed upon hearing this. If Wang Han truly did not wish to vie for power, it would be excellent news for him. However, Cao Cao did not readily believe Wang Han's words. He said to Wang Han, "Lord Wang, you are mistaken. Since you possess such extraordinary abilities, why not strive to build a career and bring glory to your ancestors? Otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste of your talents?"
Wang Han smiled and shook his head upon hearing this, saying, "All things in this world will one day perish. Whether we are prepared or not, that day will eventually come. No matter how much power or wealth we have, after a lifetime of hard work, it will all vanish. We bring nothing into this world and take nothing with us when we die. Since that is the case, why not cherish the present moment, look more at all things in this world, and do what we truly want to do, do what we believe is meaningful? Power is too tiring, too dangerous, too ruthless; it is not suitable for me. I would rather live a simpler life. Otherwise, I would have already accepted when General He Jin personally invited me."
Wang Han knew that he would one day leave this world and be driven out of it, so he was speaking from the heart.
"Cherish the present moment, look more at the world around you, do what you truly want to do, what you believe is meaningful." Cao Cao pondered Wang Han's words, realizing that Wang Han truly had no interest in power. He felt somewhat relieved that Wang Han wouldn't become his enemy, yet also somewhat sorrowful—sorrowful that Wang Han, with such extraordinary abilities, had no desire to achieve great things, and also sorrowful for himself. He knew that no matter how high his own achievements became, he would likely never be able to win Wang Han's favor, and he felt a sense of resentment.
"Doesn't Lord Wang think about his descendants?" Cao Cao asked, still wanting to try and see if Wang Han would relent, and whether it would be possible to do so after he achieved greater success in the future.
As for trying to win over Wang Han now, Cao Cao didn't think that with his current status, which wasn't even that of a minor warlord, he would be qualified to win over Wang Han, a first-rate Marquis of Dingshan. Although Wang Han didn't have a fief, and even that was just a nominal fief, Wang Han was still a marquis of a commandery, nominally entitled to the title of a commandery's ruler. This was comparable to a commandery king granted to a member of the Han imperial family, whose status was higher than that of a governor or prefect. Even Yuan Shao, whose family had held high office for four generations, might not be qualified. The only ones qualified would probably be the Emperor of Han and the former Grand General He Jin, or even a true prince. However, none of them had managed to win over Wang Han.
“Children and grandchildren have their own blessings,” Wang Han said, shaking his head. “If their descendants want power in the future, let them earn it themselves.”
Upon hearing Wang Han's words, Cao Cao knew that he truly could not win Wang Han over. As for using righteousness to win Wang Han over, Cao Cao did not believe it would work. The world was already in chaos, and there had been the Yellow Turban Rebellion before. If righteousness were useful, Wang Han, with his abilities, would have already achieved great fame and success, and would not be here talking to him about these things.
Now he finally understood why Wang Han was still granted the title of Marquis of Dingshan despite the Han Dynasty's current precarious state. It was clear that Wang Han truly had no interest in power, and the ministers must have known this as well. Otherwise, they would never have granted him such a title. They elevated Wang Han's status to this level, likely to make him harder for others to recruit. Even so, Wang Han was merely a first-class marquis. Although nominally a prince ruling a prefecture with unparalleled prestige, he had no fiefdom, no stipend, and the prefecture itself was merely a nominal one. Moreover, he wasn't a king, just a marquis. Otherwise, with his abilities, Wang Han could potentially overthrow the Han Dynasty with a single call to arms.
Cao Cao was unaware that Wang Han's sense of righteousness was something he had never considered; perhaps only Xi Zhicai knew this at the moment.
Xiahou Yuan rushed over and said to Cao Cao, "My lord, Han Fu, the governor of Yi Province, has come with gifts, saying that he has come to visit Lord Wang Han, the Marquis of Dingshan."
'Han Fu, the governor of Yizhou, is that guy a dog?' Cao Cao cursed under his breath upon hearing this, but he also knew that the news of Wang Han's presence could not be kept secret, so he said to Wang Han, 'Lord Wang, Han Fu, the governor of Yizhou, has come to visit you. Should you see him or not?'
Wang Han said, "Let's meet. I'm here to meet with all the feudal lords. There are two things I need to discuss with them. Let's take this opportunity."
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