The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 137 Good idea
The ministers gathered outside the palace gate.

Another court meeting.

"The traitorous general Chen Zhi flatters the eunuchs and wreaks havoc in Bashu"

This time, the ministers of Cao Wei started to eat the melons of Shu Han.

The news about Shu Han was also very explosive. Chen Zhi was the grandson of the elder brother of Grand Tutor Xu Jing. He was appreciated and recommended by Fei Yi in his early years. After Dong Yun's death, he served as the Minister of the Interior and was deeply loved by Liu Chan.

After that, he began to make rapid progress, and was promoted from Shizhong to Shangshu Ling, and was given the title of General of Zhenjun, with great power.

Although Jiang Wei was a general, he was away from home most of the year, and the internal affairs of the court were decided by the Shangshu Ling. Therefore, this person's control over the Shu Han court even exceeded that of Jiang Wei, the general.

Unlike previous important officials, Chen Zhi maintained a very good relationship with the eunuch group in the Shu Han Palace and was on good terms with the eunuch Huang Hao.

When the officials of Cao Wei learned that the Chancellor openly made friends with eunuchs, they couldn't help laughing out loud.

Various internal problems have emerged in the three countries today.

Both Cao Wei and Eastern Wu learned the lesson of the Zhong Chang Shi system and established Sanqi to divide the power of the eunuchs. However, Shu Han retained the political system of the Eastern Han Dynasty in its entirety, including the Zhong Chang Shi system.

Regardless of the country, eunuchs have a very bad reputation. How dare this Shu Han Shangshu Ling make friends with a eunuch?
They immediately made new arrangements. Jiang Wei has always hated eunuchs, so they had to see if they could cause a conflict between Jiang Wei and Chen Zhi, making the conflict within Shu Han more intense!
After a normal discussion of the internal and external situations, Sima Zhao stood up and left many ministers behind.

"Gentlemen."

Sima Zhao looked at his ministers, and remembering the conspiracy he had just made with his brother, he said loudly: "The Great Wei is now prosperous, and the people live and work in peace and contentment."

Sima Zhao just kept praising the current situation. It seemed that in his opinion, Shu and Wu would be defeated soon, and Wei would soon be able to unify the world and form a powerful regime far superior to the Han Dynasty.

The ministers did not feel embarrassed. They listened to Sima Zhao's lies and cooperated with him wholeheartedly, nodding and agreeing from time to time.

Sima Zhao spoke for a long time before he got down to business.

"Therefore, we should restore the Zhou rituals. I have heard that governing the world with rituals and laws will enable great achievements."

Sima Zhao started to talk again, but this time he was talking about etiquette.

For a moment, the ministers did not understand Sima Zhao's thoughts. It's okay to praise the Wei Dynasty, it's politically correct. Even if you bring up some topics that shouldn't be mentioned later, it's not our fault.

But forget about talking about rituals. There is too much uncertainty about this. After all, everything can be related to the Zhou rituals. We follow you now, but if you say the next moment that you want to use the Zhou rituals to abdicate, what should we do?

This time, the ministers pretended to be stupid and pretended not to hear anything. Some even started to criticize the words Sima Zhao used.

Confucianism lost its dominance for a time during the Wei and Jin dynasties, and metaphysics rose. These people looked down on everything. Even if Confucius came, they would dare to take off their clothes and drag the old man to run naked.

It is hard to say how good these people are at governing the country, but their ability to act crazy and stupid is definitely better than that of the Han people.

For some things that are difficult to participate in, if Sima Zhao forces them to make a decision, they will just take off their clothes and run naked.

No matter whether they have taken the powder or not, according to their professional terminology, this is called "Ru Fu".

Sima Zhao ignored the indifference of his ministers. He changed the subject and said, "I plan to write a letter to Your Majesty, proposing a five-rank nobility system, adopting the titles of Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, and Baron from the Zhou Li. Each rank will be further divided into two levels, namely, Great and Secondary. There will be five ranks and ten levels, with boundaries and households allocated in an orderly manner."

This time, the ministers immediately lost their composure.

Sima Zhao had promised them many great things, the most common of which was the title. Sima Zhao always said that he would increase the system of titles, confer titles on ministers, and ensure that talented people would be present in the countryside.

Today, is Sima Zhao finally going to start realizing his big pie?
At this time, the ministers could no longer remain silent. They began to echo Sima Zhao's words and praised Zhou Li to the sky.

The ministers were very excited. Looking at Sima Zhao in the distance, they became more and more satisfied.

Sima Zhao did not continue speaking. He was just an initiator, not an executor. Looking at the excited ministers in front of him, Sima Zhao was very pleased.

Just now, he took Gao Guang to find his brother.

After hearing Cao Mao's decision, his brother did not ask any questions and directly asked him to announce the new nobility system.

This matter had always been discussed between Sima Shi and Zhong Hui, but in the end it was Sima Zhao who brought it up. After all, Sima Shi no longer needed to win over the ministers.

Sima Zhao was secretly delighted. With the support of his ministers, what more could Guanqiu Jian stir up?
Wang Xiang sat alone opposite, looking at the excited ministers in front of him, and remained unmoved.

If I had not heard His Majesty's ideas, I might be as excited as they are at this moment. Unfortunately, compared with His Majesty's promise, the big pie offered by the Sima family is really not worth mentioning.

When the court meeting ended, the ministers were still reluctant to leave, as they all wanted to see the policy implemented sooner.

Such a benevolent policy should of course be implemented as soon as possible.

Wang Xiang followed the ministers and left. He looked around the crowd and slowly walked to a minister.

"Mr. Chen, could you please walk with me for a few steps?"

Standing in front of Wang Xiang was a minister with an unprepossessing appearance who looked rather honest.

This person was none other than Chen Qian, the Chief Censor of the Wei Dynasty.

Chen Qian was the son of Chen Jiao, a famous official of Cao Wei.

He was still "smart since childhood and a talented person at a young age". He was praised by others when he was young and gained great fame. Well, the person who praised him was the famous scholar Xiahou Xuan at that time.

This is an old trick used by the aristocratic families.

However, Chen Qian is indeed smart, and it is not entirely exaggerated.

After he entered the officialdom, he served as Shangshu Lang, and successively served as the prefect of Zhongshan and Anping. His political achievements were very outstanding. Later, he was valued by Sima Yi and promoted all the way. Now, Sima Yi has placed him in the position of Chief Censor.

Of course, Chen Qian was born into a prominent family, as his father had served as a prime minister. But the problem was that their family's history of success was too short.

His father's original surname was Liu, but he later changed it to Chen to live with his maternal grandfather. Their family had no heritage, so it was considered a new family founded by his father.

This is also the reason why Wang Xiang came to him now.

Chen Qian looked at Wang Xiang in surprise and smiled, "How dare I refuse your invitation?"

The two of them walked out together, with ministers in front and behind them. They were enthusiastically discussing the new nobility system.

Wang Xiang smiled and said, "Mr. Chen, what do you think of the new nobility system?"

"That's not bad."

Chen Qian gave his own evaluation.

He wasn't that excited.

Wang Xiang nodded and said with a smile, "The new nobility system recognizes the hereditary nature of titles and land wealth. Generations can inherit the title and become as noble as the state."

Sima Zhao's five-level nobility system actually provided a legal basis for the power and wealth of the powerful aristocratic families, and legally recognized that the powerful families could legally own land, population, and even the army. This was a huge concession made by the court to the powerful families.

Wang Xiang was praising himself when he suddenly changed his tone and said, "What can we do? The major families have started to divide their power. Once the division is solidified, it will be difficult for new families to fight their way out, unless there is a major change."

Chen Qian glanced at Wang Xiang and still said nothing.

Wang Xiang smiled and said, "I would like to hold a banquet in my mansion tonight to entertain Mr. Chen."

He did not ask whether Chen Qian could come, nor did he even tell him the date of the banquet.

After he said this, he saluted the other party and left quickly.

Chen Qian narrowed his eyes and looked at Wang Xiang who was leaving, as if thinking about something.

That night, Wang Xiang's mansion was very lively. Servants were coming in and out, slaughtering livestock and preparing for a banquet. He did not hide the news of the banquet at all.

Wang Xiang sat in the inner room, holding a book, and read attentively.

The servant came in several times to inform the situation.

The host's guests still hadn't arrived, and they didn't know whether they should continue preparing subsequent meals.

Wang Xiang waved his hand and told them not to worry.

Time passed slowly, but Wang Xiang's expression did not change at all. He seemed to have forgotten about the banquet and his mind was on the book in his hand.

At this moment, the servant came in again, "Master, a distinguished guest is here!"

Wang Xiang then put down the book in his hand, his face still calm. He straightened his clothes and went to greet him.

"Xiu Yuan! You are finally here!"

Wang Xiang changed his words, and Chen Qian bowed to him and followed him into the house.

The servants brought out the prepared delicacies one by one, and the banquet officially began.

Wang Xiang did not talk about the nobility system, but instead discussed classics with Chen Qian. Both of them were well-educated and had a very happy chat.

After eating and drinking, Wang Xiang slowly said, "Xiu Yuan, after hearing the general's decree today, I have a few ideas. Would you like to listen to them?"

"Well, please go ahead, my Lord."

"First of all, it is the Zhongzheng system."

Wang Xiang calmly stated the policies that Cao Mao had mentioned. His words were calm, but the content was truly shocking.

After he finished speaking, he looked at Chen Qian in front of him. Seeing that Chen Qian remained calm and unmoved, he was even more satisfied with him and asked, "What do you think of these policies?"

"The prince has a good idea."

Chen Qian replied.

His meaning is very clear and the idea is good, but forget about the specific execution.

Wang Xiang laughed. "This isn't my idea, it's the Queen Mother's. What do you think of these policies?"

A hint of surprise finally appeared on Chen Qian's face.

He stared at Wang Xiang in front of him and asked, "Isn't this what Your Majesty thinks?"

Wang Xiang did not feel embarrassed after being exposed. He grabbed Chen Qian's hand and laughed.

"I knew I couldn't hide it from you, hahahaha, this is a serious matter, I can't speak frankly, please forgive me!"

"You are right. This is His Majesty's idea, the Queen Mother's idea, and my idea. What do you think?"

"I don't need to say anything more to you, nor do I need to explain anything."

"I wonder what you think?"

Chen Qian narrowed his eyes and pondered for a moment.

“I think these are good ideas.”

(End of this chapter)