Cao Cao, a generation of tyrants, came from a humble background but had great ambitions, and with his clever use of power and wisdom, he rose up in the rebellion of Dong Zhuo at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the first year of Jian'an, Cao Cao welcomed Emperor Xian of Han to Xuchang and blackmailed the Son of Heaven to order the princes. Relying on such advantages, the tyrants rose up, unified the Yellow River Valley, worshiped the officials, and sealed the king of Wei, achieved a grand plan of hegemony, and created a situation in which the Three Kingdoms were established.
Cao Cao, who was once regarded as "the capable minister of ruling the world and the adulterous male of the chaotic world", reached the peak of his career in the year of knowing the mandate of heaven. However, in the end, he did not take over the "Mandate of Heaven" to ascend to the throne of God, leaving the world with a mystery that has been lost for eternity.
As for why Cao Cao did not want the title of emperor, there are three theories here:
First, at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty declined and the world was in chaos, but the ethics of gangchang and the etiquette of loyalty and filial piety were still there. Although Cao Cao had great talent, he could not escape the influence of Confucian culture. In the bloody storm of the struggle for power and profit, internal conquest and foreign wars, he has always been in the name of the Son of Heaven and carried out in the name of defending the imperial court. Cao Cao knew very well that if he deposed the emperor and ascended the throne, then he would become a sinner referred to by thousands of people, and it would be difficult to escape the scorn and scolding of thousands of generations in this life and the next, and he repeatedly showed that he had no intention of becoming an emperor, and he was by no means a villain who usurped power and seized the throne, but a "virtuous general" who concentrated on assisting the government. This shows that he is deeply influenced by the orthodox culture of Confucianism, and he does not dare to risk the great discord of the world and bear the name of a thief who is a thief.
Second, although Cao Cao had gained absolute control over the Han Dynasty, his power was still limited to the north, and Sun Quan in the southeast and Liu Bei in the southwest were not idle people. If he hastily claimed the title of emperor, he would surely become the target of everyone, so that Sun Quan, Liu Bei, and others would have an excuse to fight against the thieves of the rebellious courtiers, and then lead the world to rise up and attack them. This will be a great disadvantage to his treatment, and in this way, he will also fall into passivity.
Third, he may not look at the false name and value real power. Pragmatic, he can come all the way from the chaotic world, relying not only on ambition, but also on the pragmatic style of unscrupulous means to achieve the goal. Calling himself emperor is just a title, and the edict of the Son of Heaven is dictated by him, and the affairs of the imperial court are decided by him, so calling himself emperor is no longer important to him. The name of the emperor, at this time, not only can not be added to the icing on the cake, but may be therefore the sin of falling into the well, what is the use of him?
These three points are enough to know the reason why he is not called emperor. And the sentence "If the destiny of heaven is in me, I am the king of Zhou Wen" He also seems to have expressed the wish of The Owl Xiong, breaking his determination to pave the way for his son rather than claim the title of emperor himself!