The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 150 Oh no, I’ve become Zhuge Liang!
"A tyrant! A tyrant!!"

Sima Zhao punched the table in front of him several times, gritting his teeth and shouting, his heart full of anger.

Du Yu and Zhong Hui sat in front of him respectively, with different expressions.

"This tyrant wants to destroy our Great Wei!"

"Doesn't he really care about this country?!"

"Look at what he did after he came to power."

"First, he vindicated Xiahou Xuan and wanted to remove the ropes that had been tied to the ministers. Then he openly claimed that the disaster would not affect the clan!"

"Later, he claimed to confer great titles upon his ministers, which aroused the greed of the villains and made them very impatient!"

"He's been close to eunuchs, hosting banquets and entertainment, colluding with foreign ministers, giving out lavish rewards, and alienating the Queen Mother's relatives. I don't want to say more about these things, but now he wants to stir up a dispute over classics!!"

"Does he hate that the Great Wei is not destroyed?!"

Sima Zhao finally stopped hiding his true feelings and criticized the emperor in front of his two confidants.

At first, when Sima Zhao discovered that the emperor was so absurd, he was somewhat happy and felt that he could achieve great things.

However, as the emperor continued to cause trouble, Sima Zhao suddenly discovered.

Oh no, I’ve become Zhuge Liang!

The emperor who was supposed to revive the Wei Dynasty has been constantly trampling on the interests of the Wei Dynasty, supporting the aristocratic families, getting close to villains, alienating the empress dowager, and rushing towards the path of becoming a tyrant, with no intention of turning back.

The two brothers of the Sima family, who were supposed to usurp the world and do some bad things, turned the tide at this moment, were loyal and courageous, took the initiative to safeguard the interests of the Wei Dynasty, and constantly covered up for the emperor.

At this moment, Sima Zhao suddenly resonated with Prime Minister Zhuge Liang who had beaten his father.

So this is what it feels like to be a loyal minister?
The emperor was constantly burdened with internal and external troubles. He had to worry about everything personally and did not dare to be negligent in the slightest.

What went wrong?

Sima Zhao suddenly missed Cao Fang. Although Cao Fang was not very obedient, he never thought of harming the Wei Dynasty. When facing the interests of the court, he would still stand on the side of the Sima family and use the power of the Sima family to deal with powerful enemies.

But the current ruler doesn’t take Wei seriously at all!

Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling were far inferior to him!
At least they still knew to use party bans to restrict the big families, unlike the current one, who just wants the world to be in chaos.

Du Yu lowered his head and said nothing.

Du Yu was willing to help Sima Zhao deal with Jiang Wei, the State of Wu, and Guanqiu Jian, but he was unwilling to deal with the emperor, even among the other officials in the court.

Zhong Hui was different. He narrowed his eyes at this moment, and no one knew what he was thinking about.

Sima Zhao looked at them, his gaze skipping over Du Yu and falling directly on Zhong Hui.

Sima Zhao also knew Du Yu's character. He was different from those crazy people who drank and took medicine all day long. He was well-versed in classics and had moral integrity. He was unwilling to deal with the emperor on his behalf, so Sima Zhao was not angry.

On the contrary, he really liked such a minister with integrity. If Du Yu was unwilling to take action against the emperor today, then he would certainly not take action against himself in the future. Who wouldn't like such a loyal minister? After all, he just didn't offer advice, not oppose his ascension to the throne.

He looked at Zhong Hui, "Shi Ji, what should we do now?"

"If this matter gets out, there's no need for any organization. All it takes is one person to start a verbal war, and the scholars will be thrown into chaos. Even the ministers in the court can't stay out of it. Now is the most critical moment."

Sima Zhao's face was full of worry, and Zhong Hui glanced at him.

"General, this is not the most important thing. What matters is not whether the court will be in chaos, but the classics themselves."

"Today, interpretations of classics vary. The content of the classics defines the fundamental principles of the world, and this is something that can fundamentally change the world."

"Your Majesty is doing this with such fanfare just to deceive foolish people and make outsiders think that Your Majesty wants to disrupt the court and the scholars through this matter."

"But this is merely an appearance. Your Majesty actually wants to control the right to interpret and discuss the classics, to make the world's views your own."

"Your Majesty's talent in studying the classics is truly exceptional. Moreover, as an emperor, he is not bound by any particular classic. He only needs to win over a few schools of thought that he desires, and then he can use his influence to achieve the desired effect."

"Due to the previous chaotic times, Confucianism had lost its ruling power. This classic does not refer to the classics of Confucianism alone. With the flourishing of metaphysics, many schools of thought have the opportunity to revive."

"General, perhaps you don't understand what I mean. Let me give you an example."

"In order to resolve the chaotic times, our Taizu Emperor Wu once absorbed the magic of Shen and Shang, and made use of the Legalists, which led to the reappearance of Legalists in the government. This trend was not only seen in Wei, but also in Shu and Wu."

"If Your Majesty were to base his teachings on metaphysics and supplement them with legal studies, and combine them to suppress Confucian classics, what kind of officials would be promoted and trained? Legalism is rooted in the monarchy and most abhors powerful officials."

Zhong Hui smiled, but said the most terrifying words.

Upon hearing this, Sima Zhao's face changed drastically.

He originally didn't understand why this incident would irritate his brother and nearly make him break down. Now, he understood, this kid is vicious!!!
He did not care about the disdain in Zhong Hui's words towards him. He was able to show enough tolerance towards useful people.

His mind was now filled with Cao Mao's sinister and vicious face.

"No."

Sima Zhao finally spoke.

His face suddenly became solemn, "We can't keep him anymore." If this brat only made Sima Zhao angry in the past, then at this moment, he finally felt threatened by Cao Mao.

Du Yu's face turned a little ugly.

"You have to keep him."

Zhong Hui spoke first.

"If he could be killed, then you wouldn't have to give the order. The general would have given the order long ago."

Zhong Hui sneered and said, "If you want to touch the emperor now, whether you want to depose him or imprison him, I guarantee that he will commit suicide immediately."

"Not only can you not kill him now, you have to protect him."

"If he were dead, Guanqiu Jian would immediately raise the banner of revenge for the emperor. Generals from all over the country, like Zhuge Dan, are all very concerned about their reputations. The emperor died in Luoyang, so how dare they come to your aid? They would immediately send troops to aid Guanqiu Jian. Deposing and enthroning an emperor is fundamentally different from regicide. The former was committed by Huo Guang, the latter by Dong Zhuo."

"As soon as the emperor dies, you will become like Dong Zhuo, hated by the people of the world. Even the ministers in the court will look for opportunities to betray you. If you want to kill him, you can only do so after Guanqiu Jian, Zhuge Dan and others are eliminated or subdued."

Sima Zhao's face turned red.

His lips trembled.

That's too much! !
This is too much!!!
"Don't worry, General."

Zhong Hui said lightly.

Sima Zhao was stunned for a moment, then quickly put on a smile, his eyes filled with anticipation, "Could it be that Shi Ji has a way to get rid of him?"

Zhong Hui shook his head and said sternly, "As a minister, how can you think of getting rid of the emperor? Just because the emperor is unvirtuous, does that mean you, as a minister, have to get rid of him?!"

"Duke Xuanwen was targeted by the court and suffered all kinds of humiliation, but when the court was in danger, did he ever retreat? He fought everywhere to support the Wei Dynasty. This is the behavior of a wise minister! If you don't follow Duke Xuanwen's example, do you want to become a traitor like Cao Shuang?!"

Sima Zhao quickly lowered his head and said, "It's my fault. Please teach me, Shi Ji!"

Zhong Hui then said, "Although I cannot help you get rid of the emperor, I can foil his plan."

"oh???"

Sima Zhao became even more excited and asked sincerely again.

Zhong Hui said confidently, "General, whenever a tripod is erected, this classical justice is indispensable. Since Your Majesty is determined to do so, as a minister, you should assist Your Majesty."

"However, His Majesty is still young, so this important matter must be handled by the General."

"General, please personally take charge of this matter and seize the initiative. Once Guanqiu Jian is eliminated, whatever classics you choose as the foundation of the world will be the foundation of the world. What Your Majesty can do, You can certainly do better than him. General, far from being angry, you should thank Your Majesty for his kindness."

Sima Zhao's eyes widened and he immediately burst into laughter.

He quickly stood up, walked to Zhong Hui's side, and took his hand.

"Shi Ji! It's truly a blessing for the world to have you in the government!!"

Zhong Hui also laughed.

"When His Majesty learns that all his plans have been used by the general, his expression will surely be wonderful!"

Looking at the two people who had already started celebrating, Du Yu remained silent.

Zhong Hui's analysis was correct. The emperor might really have such an idea, but even if Zhong Hui broke his plan, he probably would not feel disappointed.

Faced with the emperor's many actions, Du Yu always had a very strange feeling.

Especially after the emperor personally taught Sima Yan, he became more and more shaken.

On the surface, the emperor was constantly making trouble and doing things that were detrimental to the Wei Dynasty.

He wanted to flood the Wei Dynasty with officials and titles, to make sure that the ropes of the law could not be put around the necks of the aristocratic families, he wanted to cause local rebellions, he wanted different schools of thought to fight each other, and he wanted to do many bad things.

But if you observe carefully, you will find that these things were not created by the emperor.

These are crises that already exist in the world. The aristocratic families are becoming more and more powerful, the local people are suffering, and there is chaos and confrontation. If there were no emperor, would these things not have broken out?
No, definitely.

With the rise of the aristocratic families, they will undoubtedly reintroduce the rule of "no punishment for officials." They will pressure the government to establish more official titles, and even force the government to recognize their ownership of land and wealth. The people will suffer enough and will inevitably rebel. With such chaos, war will inevitably break out in the end.
The emperor simply brought these potential dangers to the attention of the public in advance so that the Sima family could see the dangers clearly.

He didn't care about the Wei Dynasty at all, nor did he care about his own safety.

So why on earth did he do this?

There is only one explanation: he is sacrificing his life to save the world.

He wanted the Sima family to see these potential dangers clearly, and while the powerful general was still there, let them see clearly what might happen in the future and intercept them in time.

He even taught Sima Yan with all his might, just thinking that if he died, there would be a wise king in the world who could clean up the mess.

In that instant, Du Yu's face turned pale as paper and he was about to collapse.

(End of this chapter)