The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 16: Hoe

"Your Majesty, the Grand Master is ill and unable to come to greet you. Please don't blame me."

Huabiao had a bitter face and stood in front of the mansion door, looking at Cao Mao in front of him, feeling very sad and angry.

I shouldn't have taken this job if I had known.

I thought I could move up to the next level, but who could have imagined that this village lord would be such a troublemaker.

Wang Su was fine. He closed the door of the inner room and said he was not feeling well, waiting for the general's order. Zheng Mao even went into the inner room under the pretext of taking care of Wang Su, leaving the mess outside to him to deal with.

Cao Mao suddenly came to visit, saying that he came to pay a visit to some wise men in the court.

But the general's order had not yet been issued, so how could Wang Su dare to meet him?
What should I do if he causes trouble to me again?
Since ancient times, supporting the emperor has been a fast track to promotion. Welcoming the emperor to the capital city alone can earn you a title of nobility and additional fiefdoms just for this merit.

Therefore, Sima asked his staunch ally Wang Su to bring Zheng Mao, who was highly appreciated by Sima Shi, to welcome the new emperor.

As for the Huabiao, he asked to go there himself.

Sima Shi looked down on him, thinking that he had no talent and was just a name, but because he had a good father, he let him come with him.

However, none of the three people in this group had ever imagined that this enthronement would become so complicated.

Wang Su cherished his good reputation and did not want to get into trouble, so Zheng Mao was also well protected by him.

The last thing to be pushed out was the Huabiao.

Looking at the minister in front of him with a complicated expression, Cao Mao enthusiastically took his hand.

"No problem, no problem. It's wonderful to meet you! Among the angels, Lord Wang is virtuous and wise, Lord Zheng is talented, and you have both!"

"I've been in love with you for a long time!"

Huabiao suddenly became cautious, "Your Majesty, your praise is too great! How can a minister make friends with the emperor?"

"Haha, you don't know. I'm the Defense Assistant Commander in my palace. Since I was a child, I've admired the Marquis of Anle Township. I've always used him as my role model and vowed to emulate him. I studied under him, so after learning about your identity, I wanted to make friends with him."

Huabiao breathed a sigh of relief and quickly added, "Your Majesty is surrounded by so many virtuous people. It is truly a blessing for the Great Wei!"

Cao Mao grabbed him and said, "Since you won't let me into the mansion, let's find a restaurant and have a good chat. I'm a little confused, and I hope you can help me solve it!"

Cao Mao did not give the other party any chance to refuse and pulled him away.

The two soon arrived at a restaurant in the county.

The store owner was very polite and brought out all the signature dishes.

Huabiao's mind was not on the food at all.

Cao Mao then asked, "Lord Hua, I haven't even ascended the throne yet, so why do you all address me as Your Majesty?"

"The general has ordered us to come and greet His Majesty."

Huabiao answered truthfully.

This was also a disguised expression of their position. Whether to become emperor was not decided by Cao Mao, but by Sima Shi. Sima Shi asked them to come and pick up the emperor, so Cao Mao was their majesty.

This was not respect for Cao Mao, but obedience to Sima Shi.

Cao Mao nodded and began to ask again.

Contrary to what Hua Biao expected, Cao Mao did not ask any sensitive questions, but simply inquired about his father's life.

"I've heard that Marquis Jing was an honest man. Emperor Wen rewarded him with money, but he refused it all and lived a very poor life. Emperor Wen also rewarded him with beauties, but he accepted them and then released them to marry. Is this true?"

"of course it's true!"

When talking about his father, Huabiao immediately opened up and became more and more excited as he spoke.

Unlike the image of a flattering villain in the interpretation, Hua Xin in history was a very talented and wise minister. Together with Wang Lang, he assisted the king and made great contributions to the pacification and revitalization of the north.

Cao Mao invited him to drink again.

After just chatting for a while, Huabiao felt like he had met a soulmate.

Huabiao's life has not been easy over the years. When he was just coming of age at a young age, he became a Shizhong because of his father's reasons, and he has been in the position until now.

After his father passed away, those who usually respected him became indifferent.

Unlike Wang Su, he did not cling to the Sima clan in time. This made his position in the court very awkward. He himself had no talent. Hua Xin was known for his integrity and aversion to factionalism, and he did not leave any students or officials for his son.

After his father passed away, it was the first time that he felt so respected and valued by a noble person.

Cao Mao listened to his words and asked in surprise, "How come Hua Jun, with his talent, was promoted to Huang Men at the age of twenty and later to Shizhong? He didn't inherit your father's legacy?"

A trace of anger suddenly appeared on Huabiao's face, "It's because I didn't give birth to a good daughter."

Huabiao was halfway through his words when he suddenly came to his senses and quickly shut his mouth.

Cao Mao immediately frowned and slammed the wooden table in front of him.

"This is all because the King of Qi is immoral!!"

"You are such a wise and talented person, but the King of Qi actually doesn't use you! The King of Qi is bringing disaster to the country and the people, and he doesn't know what is good for him. He has left talented people in the wild and is truly ruining our Great Wei Empire!"

Hua Biao was also stunned when he heard Cao Mao suddenly curse at Cao Fang. However, he naturally did not dare to curse at a member of the royal family like that.

"Your Majesty, please don't be angry. I don't have any talent."

Cao Mao took his hand again and said, "You can still speak well of a foolish king like the King of Qi. This shows that you are a true virtuous person! But don't worry!"

"In a few days, the most virtuous of the royal family, Prince Pengcheng, will inherit the throne!"

"The King of Pengcheng is different from the King of Qi. He is a virtuous man known throughout the world, with high moral standards and a sage king like Yao and Shun. When he becomes emperor, how could he not promote a virtuous man like you?!"

Cao Mao patted Huabiao's shoulder happily.

Huabiao's face was dull.

"Actually, if you ask me, there might be some issues with the government's policies."

"There are so many talented people nowadays! The talents of the entire world are no longer comparable to those of the Han Dynasty. The talents of Wei are as numerous as the stars in the sky, while our official positions are not much different from those of the Han Dynasty. This is why there are so many talented people left in the wild."

"When the wise King Pengcheng ascends the throne, I will certainly write to him to advise him to create more official positions and open up more paths for talented people so that all the wise men in the world can assist the emperor. If all the wise men in the world can gather in the court, why should we worry about the prosperity of the Great Wei?"

Huabiao's eyes lit up, "Your Majesty is right!"

"Yes, since ancient times, emperors who have achieved great things have always been assisted by countless talented people. The more talented people there are, the stronger the country will be. This is an unchanging truth!"

Cao Mao quickly nodded in agreement, "That's right. When Prince Pengcheng ascends the throne, perhaps we can jointly submit a petition to the new emperor, asking him to establish more official positions and recruit all the world's talented people into the government!"

"There are still too few Zhongzheng officials, and the number of talented people recommended each year is far too small. The number should be increased!"

"Yeah!"

The two of them chatted very happily, and until the end, when they were about to part, Huabiao looked very reluctant to leave.

After today's chat, Huabiao's impression of this young man has changed greatly.

Who says the emperor is incompetent? Look at his broad mind, wanting to utilize the world's talents. He's a wise ruler who only appears once in a thousand years!
If he could become the emperor, it would be a blessing for the Wei Dynasty!
Looking at Huabiao's reluctant eyes, Cao Mao just smiled and said goodbye.

Zheng Mao cannot be poached at the moment. Although he is not a die-hard Sima faction member, it is still too early to take action against him given Cao Mao's current strength.

There is no need to think about Wang Su, as he is a die-hard Sima family member. Unless the Sima family is wiped out, there is no way he can be shaken.

The one that can be tested is this Huabiao.

Huabiao has no talent and his status is not high, but he represents a large number of powerful families in the current government who are friendly with the Sima family but are not their iron allies.

They are only friendly with the Sima family for the sake of interests, and if they can get more benefits, they will easily abandon the Sima family.

Of course, conspiring with these parasites was only a temporary solution. Cao Mao hated these parasites from the bottom of his heart.

However, in order to overthrow the Sima family, which was as powerful as a mountain, Cao Mao had to unite all forces and utilize people of all identities.

He is not in a position to choose his followers.

However, these aristocratic families will have to be dealt with sooner or later. If one day they hold power, you dogs will suffer.

Cao Mao pondered these things and slowly returned to his mansion.

As soon as I reached the door, I heard noisy and abusive voices coming from inside the mansion, which sounded extremely chaotic.

Cao Mao was shocked and quickly drew his sword, leading the knights into the mansion.

(End of this chapter)