The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 14 The Most Powerful Force

When Guo De arrived at the General's Mansion, an elegant and simple middle-aged man came out to greet him with a smile on his face.

This man was tall and handsome, with a short beard, bright eyes, and a particularly friendly smile.

But when he saw this person, Guo De was horrified and hurriedly bowed to greet him.

The man who came was Sima Zhao, the General of the Western Expedition of the Wei Dynasty and the Marquis of Xincheng Township.

"How dare you let the general come to greet you."

Sima Zhao helped Guo De up and said happily, "I woke up early this morning and heard the birds singing. The wise men in the palace said that a virtuous guest would come. Aren't they talking about you?"

Guo De immediately relaxed a lot and was no longer as alert as before.

Sima Zhao took his hand affectionately and led him towards the inner courtyard.

"You are one of us, there is no need to be so polite. From now on, just call me uncle!"

Guo De was dragged all the way into the study, and Sima Zhao asked him to sit next to him.

Then he said to the clerk, "Go and let Yan come in to meet his brother!"

Guo De hurriedly dissuaded him.

"General, this is not necessary."

"Don't worry about it! It should be like this!"

Sima Zhao held Guo De down, and not long after, he saw a young man with a sad face walk in.

This young man was very similar to Sima Zhao, both in body shape and appearance, except that his hair was very long, longer than that of an ordinary person, and so were his hands, reaching past his knees.

Well, the young man is Sima Yan. His appearance often reminds people of an old friend who once lived far away in Western Shu.
Sima Yan walked into the inner room and bowed to Guo Dexing reluctantly.

Sima Zhao was immediately furious. "What did I teach you every day? How could you treat a virtuous person, a close relative, so indifferent?!"

Sima Yan was horrified and hurried to see Guo De again, asking for forgiveness.

Guo De hurriedly persuaded Sima Zhao, and Sima Zhao calmed down and drove his son out.

Sima Zhao sighed deeply and said, "This boy is truly useless. Please don't blame me. I've been busy with state affairs these years and neglected his teaching."

"An Shi's reputation as a wise man is known throughout Luoyang. You are a good teacher and you shouldn't be so modest."

The two of them were polite to each other for a while.

Only then did Guo De get to the point.

"I wonder if my father-in-law is here?"

"Oh, he's still busy. If you have anything to say, just tell me."

"It's the new king's business."

Sima Zhao laughed. "Wang Su sent someone to deliver a letter. I roughly know everything. Gao Guixiang Gong is indeed not suitable to inherit the throne. I think it would be better to choose another person. As for Gao Guixiang Gong, let him stay in Yuancheng and be his Xianggong!"

Guo De stood up in a panic, looked at Sima Zhao who was smiling in front of him, and then sat down again.

"General, Lord Gaogui is a humble man, like Emperor Wen. This is a good thing. The more he refuses, the more suitable he is to inherit the throne. How can we replace him?"

"Oh, but I heard that this person has a long history of evil deeds and is definitely not a good person."

Guo De became alert because Guo Ze did not say this in the letter he wrote to him. Could it be that the Sima family was really planning to interfere in the affairs of the palace?
He quickly said, "Gonggui's reputation for benevolence and love for the people has spread throughout the court. The ministers all say that his modesty makes him suitable for the emperor. Moreover, the emperor is still young. Even if there are any evil deeds in the local areas, when he returns to the palace, he will naturally have nothing to worry about with a loyal and honest man like the general."

Sima Zhao shook his head. "You don't have to worry about my brother. He doesn't have the energy to deal with such trivial matters."

Guo De's face twitched. Deposing and enthroning an emperor is a trivial matter?

Sima Zhao continued, "I'm not suggesting that Cao Ju be made emperor. We can choose another suitable member of the imperial clan. It doesn't have to be the noble Duke. What do you think?"

Guo De said seriously, "General, the matter of supporting the emperor is decided by the court, not by me."

Sima Zhao was silent for a moment. Is the Guo family determined to support Cao Mao?
Is Cao Mao really what you, the Guo family, like?
He tapped the wooden table in front of him lightly with his hand.

"Mr. Guo, do you want my brother to go to Yuancheng in person and kneel down to welcome the new emperor?"

Sima Zhao's voice became low, his eyes narrowed, with a hint of murderous intent. Guo De felt a chill rising from his back, and his hair stood on end.

"General, the Queen Mother said: You were originally an average man with no talent, but because you married a virtuous wife, you have learned a lot of truth. The current emperor is young and may have done some bad things, but if you betrothed him to a virtuous wife as queen, he will surely be able to correct his mistakes."

"The Queen Mother believes that all the virtuous women in the world come from the Sima family."

"If you feel the Duke lacks the virtue to govern the country, you can naturally choose a good daughter from your family and marry her to the Emperor, so that she can teach him."

Sima Zhao was stunned for a moment, and the coldness on his face disappeared immediately, and the gentle smile just now appeared on his face again.

"I see. Please wait a moment, I'll be back soon."

Sima Zhao had left, and Guo De naturally knew in his heart that he must go to his father-in-law to make the decision.

Guo De didn't wait too long. After a moment, Sima Zhao came back, but he looked a little embarrassed.

He sat in front of Guo De and cleared his throat.

"The general has already issued an order on this matter." Guo De quickly lowered his head to accept the order.

"The General's Order: On October 5th, the Emperor will ascend the throne."

Guo De finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Sure enough, after their family made concessions and was willing to make room for the Sima family in the harem, the Sima family was happy to accept it.

"Thank you, General! Thank you, General Zhengxi!"

Sima Zhao smiled and helped him up. "We are all family, there is no need to be like this. Go and get ready!"

"only!!"

Sima Zhao watched Guo De leave with a smile on his face. After Guo De left, a thin young scholar flashed out from the side, stood beside Sima Zhao, and also stared in the direction of Guo De.

The young scholar was tall and thin, with fair skin and a handsome appearance.

"General. Something is wrong."

"Oh? Yuan Kai, what's wrong?"

Sima Zhao looked at his confidant, Du Yu, the grandson of Cao Wei minister Du Ji, the son of Du Shu, and the Shangshu Lang of the Great Wei.

Although Du Yu grew up in a family of officials, he was not a playboy. He read widely and wrote diligently since he was a child, and was proficient in almost all fields.

His father Du Shu was at odds with Sima Yi and was very disgusted with powerful officials. He was exiled after the Gaopingling Incident, and as a result, he was unable to serve in the government.

Three years ago, Sima Zhao discovered this young man and was amazed by his talent. He quickly promoted him to be his confidant and recommended him to his brother.

After talking with him, Sima Shi married his sister to him on the spot, completely ignoring his family's pro-Wei stance.

Du Yu said seriously, "Guo De is extremely panicked today. He seems to be afraid that the general will go back on his word. He is extremely wary of you and is anxious to make Xiang Gong the emperor. He has even reached the point where Xiang Gong is indispensable."

"I think someone must have instigated this discord."

"General, you can send someone to investigate and see if anyone has contacted the Guo family recently."

Sima Zhao stroked his beard and said with a smile, "It's okay. Even if Cao Mao is enthroned, my family won't suffer any loss. I can still get the title of Empress and enter the palace legitimately."

"General, don't be careless."

"Okay, okay, then let's follow Yuan Kai's advice and send someone to investigate!"

Guo De hurried back to the palace and went to pay a visit to the empress dowager. Not long after, General Guo Jian, the garrison commander, led more than 20 riders out of the palace, left Luoyang, and rushed towards Yuancheng.

At this moment, Yuancheng has returned to its original tranquility.

Nothing seems to happen.

"Mr. Cao, please look at these, they are all the good deeds I have done in recent days!"

"Ever since your teachings, I have completely changed my ways, devoted myself to doing good, and practiced more righteousness. I have even donated almost all of my family property!"

A man placed the bill in front of Cao Mao and spoke with great righteousness.

Cao Mao glanced at her and said, "Your silk business practically monopolizes half of Jizhou. This alone won't bankrupt you, right?"

The man smiled awkwardly and said quickly: "The business is big, but the profit is small. You don't know how difficult it is to make a living nowadays."

Cao Mao knew very well that the merchants were in a very bad situation at the moment.

Wars, the collapse of the monetary system, and the annexation of powerful people were among the reasons that led to a major economic collapse in the late Han Dynasty. Later, Cao Pi stabilized the economy in the north, and merchants emerged again. Unfortunately, this did not last long.

After compromising with the aristocratic families, Cao Wei began to re-establish the system. For example, the salt and iron monopoly could only be operated by the government and private operation was prohibited.

On the issue of alcohol, Cao Rui later abolished the prohibition on alcohol and allowed people to drink alcohol, but at the same time stipulated that it could only be operated by the government.

This so-called official management is different from the temple management during the Western Han Dynasty. It can be understood as being managed by aristocratic families.

The aristocratic families were becoming more and more unruly. Not only did they take over the government's monopoly, they even led people to openly rob and kill merchants and steal their goods.

At this point, they were no longer willing to mention any nonsense like not competing with the people for profit.

Nowadays, these merchants, in addition to paying various taxes to the government, also have to make gifts to the wealthy families in various places. Generally, they take a direct commission from the profits, which is equivalent to protection fees or tolls.

They also face the risk of being robbed by powerful people and swallowed up by wealthy families at any time.

The status of merchants became even lower, and the literati said they were smelly and worse than the untouchables.

This is also one of the reasons why they responded to Cao Mao so quickly, they also needed to be protected.

What's more, Cao Mao can create more profits for them.

After receiving Cao Mao's hint, the merchants in Yuancheng took action and began to "seek fame" for Cao Mao at all costs.

Cao Mao originally had a very high reputation among the knights-errant in Hebei, and now, the "low-class rabble" in Hebei had also heard of this benevolent and wise lord.

These ants, looked down upon by the aristocratic families, are the power that Cao Mao wants most.

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(End of this chapter)