When the poster said "proclaiming himself emperor", does he mainly refer to the early stage or the later stage?

In the early stage, there was only one Yuan Shu who proclaimed himself emperor, but he was destroyed by Cao Cao. After Cao Cao died, Cao Pi, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan came forward to proclaim themselves emperor. This is the later period.

1. Let’s talk about the three in the later period first

Yuan Shu in the early period was obsessed and made political mistakes, which we will talk about later;

The later Cao Pi, Liu Bei and Sun Quan, on the other hand, "registered" their regimes when the political conditions were mature, which was just a formal crowning of a fait accompli. There is no talk of "causing resentment and hostility from other princes", because at that time a tripartite situation had already been formed, the relationship between them was relatively stable, and it was the same whether he was proclaimed emperor or not. ——After Sun Quan proclaimed himself emperor, didn’t Zhuge Liang still ally with this “pseudo-emperor”?

2. Early stage

In the early stage, when the heroes are divided and have equal power, whoever takes the lead will become the target of public criticism. Yuan Shao and the others understood this, so even though they felt itchy, they had no choice but to hold it back. Only Yuan Shu jumped out to show his shame. So, these people are indeed not idiots.

For example, Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao actually wanted to be the emperor. According to the main text of "Three Kingdoms? Biography of Yuan Shao" and "Dianlue" cited by Pei Songzhi, in the first year of Jian'an (AD 196), Yuan Shao defeated Gongsun Zan in Yijing (today's northwest of Xiong County, Hebei Province), "merged with them all", and his power increased greatly. . As a result, Yuan Shao's ambitions began to expand. Not only did he "pay tribute to the emperor and be slow" to the emperor (the offerings were both small and rude), but he also privately ordered a chief clerk named Geng Bao to report to him that Chi De It's over, Huang Tian should stand up, and he should comply with God's will. The so-called "Chide" refers to Liu Han; the so-called "Huang Tian" refers to the Yuan family. Yuan Shao handed Geng Bao's secret report to everyone. Unexpectedly, public opinion was in an uproar, saying that Geng Bao was deceiving the public with his evil words. Yuan Shao had no choice but to kill Geng Bao "to relieve himself". But others are still obsessed with it, and he still wants to be the emperor. Therefore, when Yuan Shu later decided to "return the imperial title to Shao" and gave up the imperial seal and imperial title to Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao was happy in his heart. "Three Kingdoms" said that "it was a secret plan."

However, no one except Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor. Because they know it won't work. ——As the poster said, if you can reach the position of a prince, at least you will not be stupider than ordinary people. What's more, they occupy a place on the land of China in such a changing era, how can they be ordinary people?

3. Yuan Shu

Yuan Shu was the only one who jumped out and proclaimed himself emperor in the early stage. Here we focus on Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shu wanted to be an emperor, and he had always dreamed of being an emperor. Yuan Shu's logic is as follows: First, the Han Dynasty is on the verge of death, Liu's surname is on the decline, and others will surely replace him. Second, the person most qualified to replace the Liu family is Yuan, because no one can compare with the old Yuan family's "four generations and three nobles". Third, among the Yuan family, the most qualified one is Yuan Shu, because Yuan Shu is a direct descendant, while Yuan Shao is a concubine. How can the son of a concubine become the emperor? However, Yuan Shao is powerful and popular, so he should not be underestimated. Therefore, Yuan Shu has always regarded Yuan Shao as a competitor and must quickly eliminate him.

Yuan Shu’s idea is not without any basis. In his hand was a piece of imperial jade seal, which was lost when the eunuch Zhang Rang and others caused a rebellion in the sixth year of Emperor Zhongping of the Han Dynasty (AD 189). It was later obtained by Sun Jian, and was forcibly taken away from Sun Jian's wife by Yuan Shu. This matter is recorded in "Book of the Later Han? Biography of Yuan Shu". The mouse had a gun in his waist, and he wanted to shoot the cat. After Yuan Shu had this treasure and misunderstood some folk rumors, he felt that he must be the next emperor of China. In the spring of the second year of Jian'an (AD 197) of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, Yuan Shu finally couldn't hold himself back and officially proclaimed himself emperor.

Of course, Yuan Shu's failure was not entirely his personal responsibility. Yuan Shu still has some advantages and abilities. "The Book of the Later Han Dynasty" said that he was "little known for his chivalry", and "The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms" said that he "promoted filial piety and integrity, except for being a doctor, and held all positions inside and outside". When Dong Zhuo was under the dictatorship, he was a post general, how could he be an idiot? In fact, it was the emperor's supreme status and supreme power that fascinated him.

He was a victim of the imperial system.

This way, things become much clearer. From a political point of view, the most stupid thing about Yuan Shu was that he couldn't wait to become the leader when everyone wanted to be the emperor but did not dare to take the lead. You know, the first rafters will rot first. Especially when the heroes are divided and have equal power, whoever takes the lead will become the target of public criticism. Yuan Shao and the others understood this, so even though they felt itchy, they had no choice but to hold it back. Cao Cao was even more enlightened. Sun Quan persuaded him to proclaim himself emperor. He saw through Sun Quan's evil intentions at a glance and said that the doll wanted to put me on the fire to roast. Yuan Shu didn't understand. He thought that as long as he took the lead, he would have the upper hand and others would not dare to do anything. Unexpectedly, the title of Emperor is not a trademark, and the result of rushing to register it can only be to play with fire and burn yourself.

The answer is more than 1,500 words. I wonder if the poster is satisfied? If you have any ideas, you can ask a question and we can discuss it.