The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 113 Speculators

"To rule the world as a virtuous ruler, one must be diligent and frugal. If the emperor is diligent and frugal, how can virtuous ministers not follow his example? How dare a villain talk about extravagance?"

"The three great Wei emperors all took diligence and thrift as their fundamental principles."

Wang Xiang continued to talk about profound principles as usual.

However, Cao Mao had to pretend to be learning, sitting obediently opposite him and listening to his story.

When it comes to diligence and thrift, who can be more diligent and frugal than the rulers of the Jin Dynasty?

The emperor took the lead in promoting diligence and thrift, and his ministers competed with each other in diligence and thrift. They became so frugal that there were no poor people in the world.

They know the principles of diligence, thrift and simplicity better than anyone else, but putting them into practice is not that easy.

After Wang Xiang finished his lecture, Cao Mao approached him and asked with a smile, "Teacher, how are you doing with the selection of talented people?"

"Ah? What's the matter?"

Wang Xiang looked a little confused.

Cao Mao cursed in his heart, "Didn't you say before that you would recruit more talented people for me? Have you forgotten, Master?"

Wang Xiang suddenly realized and said with a smile, "So that's what it is."

"Your Majesty, don't worry. I was just about to submit a petition, but unexpectedly, the Minister Lu mentioned this matter before me, so I didn't think about it anymore."

Wang Xiang said this, and his face quickly turned stern again.

"Your Majesty, what did I teach you yesterday?"

"The teacher said that a wise ruler who governs the world should not be impatient for quick success and instant benefits."

"Indeed, Your Majesty is still young, and the great affairs of the world are under the care of wise ministers. Your Majesty has good intentions in wanting to govern the world, but if you rush into it, it will only bring about bad results."

The old man scolded Cao Mao.

The meaning is very clear, this matter has nothing to do with you or me, so don't ask or mention it again.

Cao Mao had already gotten what he wanted.

As expected, the old man did not do it himself. It seemed that he had reached some kind of cooperation with Shangshu Lu Yu and asked Lu Yu to do it.

This is also normal. Although the Wang family will be a powerful family sharing the world with the Sima family in the future, there are too many powerful families than them now. Wang Xiang's family does not even have a person close to the core of power, not even in name.

He could use his reputation to gain appropriate benefits, but if he was too reckless and wanted to eat such a big pie alone, he would probably choke to death. Even if he didn't choke to death, the other big families would strangle him to death.

The best way, of course, is to find a big shot, who will eat the meat while he drinks the soup.

Wang Xiang's success was by no means accidental. After personally experiencing the situation inside the palace, Cao Mao had a new understanding of his ability to climb up.

Before Cao Mao ascended the throne, this person was the Minister of Agriculture.

It sounds powerful, and it is indeed very powerful. He is one of the Nine Ministers.

However, during the Cao Wei period, officials such as the Minister of Taicang, the Minister of Revenue, and the Minister of Households divided the power of the Grand Minister of Agriculture. In fact, the Grand Minister of Agriculture could not interfere in financial, accounting and other matters, and became a minister of the granary.

This position became a retirement home for many ministers. It was very difficult to climb up. If it was an ordinary minister, he would be content with being the Minister of Agriculture and would just stay in this position until he retired and then get an honorary title of Three Dukes or something like that.

But Wang Xiang was obviously not an ordinary minister.

During the matter of dethroning and enthroning, all the ministers avoided it, but he actively participated in it, stood on the side of the Queen Mother and the Guo family many times, and acted very tough.

Empress Dowager Guo was very happy and made him Guanglu Xun after he achieved his goal.

Guanglu Xun is also one of the Nine Ministers, but he is in charge of the palace affairs. In the Western Han Dynasty, this official was called Langzhongling!
Naturally, he accepted the empress dowager's reward and served as Guanglu Xun, acting very close to the empress dowager, and in disguise forcing the general to actively win over himself as a moral role model. The general certainly did not want a moral role model who was close to the imperial power to be Guanglu Xun, but he could not get rid of him for this. Therefore, less than a month after he served as Guanglu Xun, the general appointed him as Sili Xiaowei.

How high was the status of the Inspector of the Imperial Guards in Cao Wei?

During court meetings, ministers sat outside the south gate of the palace. At this time, the Inspector of the Imperial Capital sat above the heads of various departments, sitting alone, which was more prominent than the "three sitting alone" in the Eastern Han Dynasty. The Inspector of the Imperial Capital during the Cao Wei period received a wave of major reinforcements. His status was not high, but his power was extremely great.

After serving as the Inspector of the Imperial Guards, he immediately changed his attitude towards the empress dowager and began to take the initiative to get close to Sima Zhao. So two years later, he was transferred to the Minister of Rites and became the head of the Nine Ministers.

After Cao Mao's death, he cried bitterly, saying it was all his fault, and then he was directly promoted to Sikong, becoming one of the Three Dukes. At this point, he had become a highly respected official among the ministers, a true moral role model for the world. Four years later, he was promoted to Taiwei. When Sima Yan came to power, he was given the title of Taibao, ranking above the Three Dukes. The whole world looked up to him, which laid an indestructible foundation for the rise of the clan and directly took off.

Cao Mao did not use him. He also knew that such a cunning old man would not be used by him. Cao Mao only provided opportunities for this daring old man.

Since Wang Xiang doesn't allow him to interfere, then he won't interfere. It's great that Lu Yu can take the initiative to cause trouble.

Historically, Lu Yu and Wang Xiang were also very close. After Lu Yu took the position of Sikong, he took the initiative to resign and wanted to give the position to several people including Wang Xiang.

By doing things together, Cao Mao had already achieved his goal. His purpose was to find something for the general to do, and the rest of the things were not important.

Wang Xiang finished the course, said goodbye to Cao Mao, and left.

Not long after Wang Xiang returned to his mansion, he changed his clothes and took a carriage to visit Lu Yu.

Lu Yu was very busy, as he always was. In fact, all the affairs of the world were managed by Lu Yu.

Wang Xiang waited quietly for a long time.

After Lu Yu finished his work, he sent someone to pick him up and bring him to the study.

Wang Xiang met Lu Yu with great respect, and his attitude was even more respectful than that towards Sima Shi and Cao Mao.

Lu Yu nodded and asked him to sit next to him.

"Hold the troops! Most of the ministers in the court support the Ministry of Personnel. Minister Gao has also sent people, expressing his full support."

Wang Xiang laughed, "Master Situ is so eager to make amends."

"I informed Wang Weitai, Cui Changhe, Yuan Gongran, and Fu Lanshi one by one. Except for Lanshi, the other three agreed."

Lu Yu said again.

The four people he just mentioned were important figures in the Secretariat. Wang Weitai refers to Wang Guan, who served as Shangshu You Pushe, Cui Changhe refers to Cui Zan, who served as the Minister of Personnel, and the last two are Shangshu Yuan Kan and Shangshu Fu Gu.

Among these people, Wang Guan is the most low-key, but he is a first-class ruthless person.

This man came from a poor family and was promoted by Cao Cao. He served as a county magistrate in many places and later fought against the Xianbei at the border. He was a strong-willed person, so he offended Cao Shuang and was won over by Sima Yi. Later, when Sima Yi launched a rebellion, this man served as the commander of the central army and was listed as one of the two major allies of the Sima family along with Gao Rou.

However, unlike Gao Rou, Wang Guan was a frugal person. He did not make many friends and did not like to promote juniors. He only did his own thing and did not get involved in any disputes. This character made Sima Shi value him very much, so he appointed him as the Shangshu You Pushe and took charge of the Shangshu Tai together with Lu Yu.

Cui Zan was born into the Cui family of Boling and was the great-grandson of Cui Shi. He was a quiet man of few words and always relied on Lu Yu for all matters.

Yuan Kan was born into the Yuan family of Chen County and was the son of Yuan Huan.

Wang Xiang was not surprised to hear Lu Yu's words. Fu Gu was Sima Shi's close confidant, so it was normal for him not to agree.

"It seems that this matter has been accomplished."

Wang Xiang said with a smile.

Lu Yu gently stroked his beard with a smile on his face.

The aristocratic families of the Wei Dynasty wanted to unite to do something, and the Sima family could not suppress them. This was not something that could be solved by killing people. The previous killings had already caused dissatisfaction among the ministers, and the Sima family's promise had not been fulfilled. If they continued to kill people at this time, the temple would collapse, and there would be no need to wait for Guanqiu Jian to attack.

"Your Majesty's suggestion is really good."

Lu Yu couldn't help but praise him, but Wang Xiang smiled and explained, "Your Majesty is trying to disrupt the situation and make the Sima family exhausted. Today, Your Majesty deliberately brought up the Queen Mother's affairs."

"I think he wants to use the Queen Mother's name to recruit officials to serve him."

Lu Yu praised him again, "You have great talent and strategy, but unfortunately, you were born at the wrong time."

Lu Yu glanced at him and warned, "Xiu Zheng, please don't dwell on it too much. Your Majesty, no matter how strategic you are, you can't leave the West Hall. The Queen Mother, no matter how prestigious you are, is still an ignorant woman. The General is someone who listens to advice, but he's also a ruthless person."

Wang Xiang laughed. He understood what Lu Yu meant. They could compete with the Sima family for the order of eating the prey, but they could not treat the Sima family as prey.

"Please rest assured, it won't happen."

Wang Xiang spoke calmly, but there was a gleam in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)