The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 186: Stay Marquis!

"Hey, why are you two leaving?"

Cao Mao looked at the two eunuchs in front of him with a look of reluctance in his eyes.

Sima Hui looked a little embarrassed.

Just today, the Queen Mother issued an edict to dismiss them from their official posts and told them to go back home.

Sima Hui and Sima Che also learned what was happening outside, and faced with the empress dowager's edict, they dared not disobey.

They looked into the distance anxiously.

At the entrance of Taiji Hall, an armored general was staring at them, his hand on the hilt of his sword, as if he was about to rush out and kill them at the next moment.

There were many soldiers standing around him, and they also looked eager to try.

Sima Hui took a deep breath.

He quickly bowed deeply to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I have no talent and was never qualified to serve you. It is only natural that I should give way to someone more capable than you. Your Majesty has been so kind to me these days, and I really don't know how to repay you."

Sima Hui immediately admitted his mistake.

Sima Che said nothing. Unlike Sima Hui's fear, he looked very dissatisfied. After all, in the past few years, the Sima family had been living a smooth life.

I have never been so wronged.

Sima Che was furious and had a bad attitude towards the emperor.

Cao Mao helped Sima Hui up and said with a smile, "Take care of yourself in the future."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Sima Hui saluted again. Although he was ordered to monitor the emperor, to be fair, the emperor had been very good to him during these days. Now that he was about to leave, the emperor personally saw him off. Sima Hui felt a little ashamed. He saluted, turned around and left.

Sima Che was very angry. He followed Sima Hui out of the Taiji Hall. When he reached the door, he looked at the man standing in front of the door with a very unhappy expression. He was about to leave him angrily.

"Bang~~~"

When Sima Che passed by, the man punched Sima Che in the face. Sima Che groaned and was then pressed to the ground by the surrounding soldiers.

Sima Che was stunned and kept struggling, but couldn't get up.

Sima Hui stood aside, looking at them in astonishment.

"Captain Gaokao! What are you doing?!"

"Your Majesty was talking to you just now, why didn't you respond?"

"Do you know what crime this is?"

The man ignored Sima Hui completely, squatted beside Sima Che and slapped him in the face several times.

Sima Che glared at him, and he suddenly pretended to poke Sima Che with his finger. Sima Che was so scared that he quickly closed his eyes.

"What? Are you scared?"

The man stood up with a smile and said, "Kick this guy out!"

The soldiers pulled him up, pushed him, and beat him. Sima Che didn't dare to fight back or look back, and was just driven out of the Taiji Hall by the soldiers.

The man then laughed and walked quickly towards Cao Mao.

"Captain Gao Dan of the Palace pays homage to His Majesty!"

This was the first time the two met. During this first meeting, Gao Dan left an indelible impression on Cao Mao and actually beat Sima Che up.

Of course Cao Mao knew this person.

He is the second son of Situ Gaorou. Unlike the timid and cautious Gao Guang, this one is a hot-tempered young man. He is unruly by nature and more decisive and strong-willed than ordinary people. To put it simply, he is a lawless second generation.

He had been restless since childhood, and he looked down on his younger brother Gao Guang, thinking that he was cowardly and incompetent. He always insulted him, and Gao Guang did not dare to fight back but could only treat him with more respect.

In history, this person had a conflict with Shi Chong while drinking, and they directly fought with each other, and then both of them were dismissed.

However, in the end, he was able to become the Grand Coachman thanks to his father's reputation.

Cao Mao looked at Gao Dan in front of him and nodded, "Captain Gao is indeed a man of extraordinary courage and insight."

"Hahaha, I've wanted to beat them up for a long time. Who are these people? They rely on being relatives of the general to provoke us repeatedly. Now that the general has lost power, they dare to be so arrogant. Who else should we beat?"

Gao Dan looked quite proud.

These second-generations probably had accumulated a lot of conflicts on a daily basis, but because of Sima Shi, they dared not vent them. Now that Sima Shi was seriously ill, they jumped out.

"The high school lieutenant is indeed brave!"

Cao Mao praised him a few words, and Gao Dan was immediately overjoyed. He was not as cunning as Gao Guang.

"Your Majesty, from now on I will be responsible for the safety of the palaces. Please rest assured, with me here, no one will dare to cause trouble!"

"If anyone dares to disrespect His Majesty again, I will chop off his head!"

"If Your Majesty has any important instructions, please feel free to come to me!"

Gao Dan acted very friendly.

Cao Mao laughed and did not reject the man's kindness.

Gao Dan spoke a lot to Cao Mao before leaving. He repeatedly stated that no matter what the matter was, he could be consulted and that he was very willing to serve the emperor. Cao Mao smiled and sent him away, but his heart was particularly calm.

Gao Dan must have come here to get close to him on purpose under his father's instructions.

Gao Rou and Lu Yu wanted to take two different routes.

Lu Yu wanted to take the route of the ministers in the Secretariat and gain leadership by taking charge of the Secretariat. Gao Rou knew that he could not compete with Lu Yu in the Secretariat, so he took the route of the upper level, that is, the route of the empress dowager and the emperor, and determine his leadership position through their edicts.

Their fight will surely be very fierce.

But what does this have to do with Cao Mao?

I am just a puppet emperor.

Cao Mao shook his head and had no intention of getting involved. Of course, if their fight was not fierce enough, he could add fuel to the fire.

Just as Cao Mao was reading a book in the West Hall, Cheng Ji walked in.

"Your Majesty, it is said that there are two new Yellow Gate Ministers."

"what?!"

Cao Mao was overjoyed and ran out with the book in his hand, his clothes not even very neat.

When Cao Mao walked out of the West Hall, he saw two officials being stopped by guards not far away, quietly waiting for the imperial edict.

Cao Mao walked straight towards them.

"Hahahaha, Zhang Jun! Wei Jun!"

"You are finally here!"

Cao Mao grabbed one person with each hand.

These two officials were Zhang Hua and Wei Shu.

Zhang Hua looked a little surprised, wondering how Cao Mao could tell their identities at a glance, while Wei Shu just stared at the emperor blankly without saying a word.

Wei Shu was a very tall man, even taller than Man Changwu, with a handsome face and a strong physique. He was much older than Zhang Hua, had a nice beard, and was already in his forties.

However, he didn't look very smart, his reactions were a little slow, and his eyes were a little dull.

In fact, when the envoy went to the Secretariat to take this Shangshu Lang away, his colleagues were very surprised, wondering how this man could be favored by the empress dowager.

After much thought, I finally decided that it might be because he was a heavy drinker.

He had no friends in the court, and no one even took him seriously, as they all thought he was not smart enough.

But Cao Mao knew full well that this man, though seemingly untalented, was capable of anything. Historically, he had participated in court meetings and single-handedly overwhelmed the entire court, single-handedly solving problems that the assembled court officials couldn't fathom. This amazed even Sima Zhao, who even stood up and watched him leave after the meetings.

Sima Zhao said to his ministers: Wei Shu has a handsome appearance and is the leader of all the ministers.

Unfortunately, this talented man, whose talent was not obvious to himself, did not accomplish much under Sima Yan's leadership. He submitted several memorials, but none of them were approved. Later, he said that he was old and wanted to resign and leave, but Sima Yan disagreed. The two argued back and forth for a long time before Sima Yan reluctantly let him go.

Cao Mao took the hands of the two men and walked straight towards the West Hall.

The two did not dare to refuse, so Cao Mao led them all the way back to the house. Cao Mao asked them to sit next to him, and his eyes were particularly bright when he looked at them.

"I have waited so long, and finally I have invited you two to the Taiji Hall!"

Cao Mao smiled and asked, "You two don't know each other yet, right?"

Without giving them a chance to speak, he pointed at Zhang Hua and said to Wei Shu, "This man is my Marquis of Liu! Zhang Maoxian!"

Zhang Hua's eyes widened.

Cao Mao then pointed at Wei Shu and said to Zhang Hua, "This man is my Marquis of Ying! Wei Yangyuan!"

"Your Majesty, I don't dare to be a minister!"

Zhang Hua finally reacted and quickly spoke.

Cao Mao shook his head. "Why are you unaware of the title? I know that Maoxian is a descendant of the Marquis of Liu. Don't you have the ambition to restore your ancestor's reputation?"

"I am a humble and inexperienced minister."

"Maoxian, please don't be so modest. I know your talent. Your ability is no less than that of your ancestors!"

This is really not Cao Mao's flattery. This man is indeed a capable minister, the last capable minister of the Jin Dynasty, and can be called the paperhanger of the Jin Dynasty. This is still under the leadership of a king like Sima Yan and Sima Zhong. If it were in his own hands,
A light flashed in Cao Mao's eyes.

Zhang Hua was a little confused. He thought that His Majesty asked him to come because of his literary talent, but from what His Majesty said, it seemed something was not right?
Cao Mao looked at Wei Shu again. Wei Shu was stunned for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I am not a descendant of the Marquis of Ling."

"Hahaha, I know, but it doesn't matter. In time, you will be the Marquis of Wei!"

"Come on, prepare some wine and food! I want to entertain these two great sages!"

Neither of them had expected that the emperor would be so enthusiastic. Cao Mao did not talk to them about literary classics, nor did he drink heavily. While eating and drinking, Cao Mao talked about the ministers in the temple.

Cao Mao's comments were extremely sharp, and he had a deep understanding of each minister.

This doesn't look like a young emperor who is addicted to banquets and hanging out with celebrities all day long.

"I have always felt that there is no one around me who can be of use. Haha, I never expected that the most outstanding people in the civil and military affairs of the whole court are now by my side!"

(End of this chapter)