The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 195 Go see my father-in-law

Not long after, the conversation between Gao Rou and the Queen Mother reached Cao Mao.

When Mr. Xu brought the message, Cao Mao had just woken up and had not yet washed.

While eating, Cao Mao listened to Mr. Xu telling him what happened in Zhaoyang Palace.

"Did Mr. Guo tell you personally?"

"exactly!"

Xu Sheng's face was full of flattering smiles.

Mr. Guo secretly told him what happened in Zhaoyang Palace and asked him to pass it on to Cao Mao.

Cao Mao was deeply supported by the eunuchs because he had proposed to restore the system of Ten Attendants, and Mr. Guo also had a good impression of him, but this was not the reason why Mr. Guo told him about this matter.

The main reason lies with Gao Rou.

In order to improve the Queen Mother's favor, Gao Rou has been advising people everywhere these days. The person he advised the most was the Queen Mother's trusted eunuchs and relied heavily on them. He asked the Queen Mother to get close to scholars and stay away from these eunuchs.

Mr. Guo had just started to gain prominence because of the Queen Mother's rise, and Gao Rou wanted to suppress him.

Of course, Gao Rou did not intentionally target Mr. Guo. This was just an excuse he used to gain favor. However, this casual excuse was enough to block the way forward for many people.

Mr. Guo also wanted Gao Rou to get out.

Cao Mao calmly finished the food in front of him and then touched his stomach.

"I was so excited when I saw Guanqiu Jun yesterday that I forgot to discuss the real business with him."

He was originally going to discuss future strategies with Guanqiu Dian, but there was no need to rush now.

The current situation is actually the most favorable to Cao Mao. Taking advantage of their internal strife, Cao Mao can safely win over his own forces.

After gaining a certain degree of freedom, Cao Mao still did not contact Yin Damu, Jiao Bo and others.

This is actually for the purpose of accumulating strength.

Cao Mao needed his own power, and during this period of time, he finally tasted the joy of having capable ministers under his command.

Cao Mao looked at the two capable ministers in front of him and couldn't help but smile.

"Mr. Zhang, it's just as you expected!"

Zhang Hua said calmly, "This is the Gao family's counterattack. They can't sit still anymore."

"Someone is watching you."

Cao Mao sighed.

Previously, Cao Mao wanted to use these two eunuchs to get in touch with his confidants, such as Jiao Bo and Li Zhao.

Zhang Hua suggested that he and Wei Shu could act in the open and in the dark.

Wei Shu is very conspicuous in appearance, clumsy on the outside but talented on the inside. No one knows his talents, which makes people relax their vigilance against him. He has many friends, which can attract everyone's attention openly and give them the illusion that the emperor is entrusting important matters to him.

In this way, Wei Shu could contact those people privately.

Of course, there is also the purpose of intensifying conflicts within the government.

Cao Mao naturally agreed quickly.

Sure enough, Gao Rou couldn't help it and launched an attack on Cao Mao.

Cao Mao looked at Zhang Hua in front of him and couldn't help but praise him, "As expected of my Marquis Liu! Hahaha, that Lu Qin thinks he's smart, but he's still nowhere near as good as my Marquis Liu!"

Zhang Hua said seriously, "If Lu Ziruo had treated me like a gentleman and believed my words, he wouldn't have fallen for this scheme. But if he didn't consider me a friend and thought I was deceiving him, then he would have fallen for this scheme. It's not that he's not smart, it's that he doesn't trust others, only himself."

Cao Mao agreed. He looked at Wei Shu again and asked, "Where are you?"

Wei Shu said seriously, "I have already met with Lord Jiao."

"Jiao Jun told me that he has already contacted everyone. He contacted several of his close friends, all low-level officials, but they all sincerely want to assist Your Majesty."

"He said that Li Jun had been promoted in the Central Army. His superior was sent back by the Sima family, and because Li Jun's family background wasn't strong enough, he was appointed as the Cavalry Captain."

Cao Mao chuckled.

The current central army includes the five new battalions of Wuwei, Zhonglei, Zhongjian, Xiaoqi and Youji, as well as the five old battalions of Tunqi, Bubing, Shesheng, Yueqi and Changshui.

The elite troops of the central army totaled ten battalions. During the reign of Cao Rui, the new five battalions became a behemoth, with each battalion having an armed force of nearly 10,000 people. The old five battalions were eliminated, with only dozens or hundreds of people left in one battalion, and it was already in name only.

After Sima Shi came to power, he carried out a crazy expansion of the Old Five Camps. In order to build his own armed forces, he actively arranged for his confidants to enter the Old Five Camps, and then expanded the army of the Old Five Camps, causing the Old Five Camps to grow rapidly. Now Li Zhao was arranged into the Old Five Camps.

Cao Mao said thoughtfully, "It seems that Sima Shi wants to turn the old five battalions into his own army, leaving his younger brother with the possibility of counterattack."

Zhang Hua nodded and said with a smile, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Mr. Li has been appointed Captain of the Cavalry. One of the five battalions is now under the command of Your Majesty!"

Cao Mao pursed his lips and said, "Actually, Yin Damu is also my man."

Yin Damu hid the secret the most, and many people didn't know about it, so Cao Mao didn't spread it around.

After being betrayed by most of the aristocratic families, Sima Zhao must have recruited some people who were not of high birth and could not be integrated into the aristocratic families.

Yin Damu perfectly fits this description. He was a traitor, despised by everyone, and a slave. He would never be accepted by a noble family. Sima Shi couldn't have imagined that this man had already defected to him.

Cao Mao was very excited at this moment. He really hoped that Sima Zhao would make use of this person. It would be best if Yin Damu could be directly appointed as the general.

If that were the case, he would directly summon Guanqiu Jian to lead foreign troops into the capital, and then join forces with Yin Damu's army to launch a new version of "Burning Luoyang".

If we don't count Guanqiu Jian, the power in Cao Mao's hands has reached a level that cannot be underestimated. The two camps outside the city alone can do a lot of things.

Cao Mao looked at Wei Shu, smiled and praised him, "You are indeed worthy of being my Marquis of Ling!"

"I'm relieved to leave these things to you!"

Wei Shu's work is much more reassuring than Ji Kang's.

These two people were carefully selected by Cao Mao. They were not from top families. If Lu Yu and Gao Rou had implemented the system they talked about, they would be victims now.

The mature Nine-Rank System not only curbed the common people at the bottom of society, but also many powerful families and wealthy people at the middle and lower levels.

Therefore, they were Cao Mao's natural allies against these top families.

What's more, these two people have good personal morals and are reliable in their work.

Sometimes Cao Mao even felt that getting these two people was more important than getting the two battalions of the central army.

Cao Mao wanted to get more people.

Now there are three people Cao Mao really wants to contact.

The first one is Malone.

Cao Mao originally entrusted Chen Qian to promote this person, and this person will arrive in Luoyang soon.

This man was of humble origin and had once been a retainer of Linghu Yu. When Wang Ling launched the rebellion, Linghu Yu, who had been dead for two years, was considered an accomplice by the Sima family. His coffin was opened and his body was exposed for three days. No one in the entire Yanzhou dared to bury him. However, Ma Long took the initiative to take back Linghu Yu's remains, and later buried him with his private money. He planted pine and cypress trees on the side of the tomb and even mourned for him for three years.

This action made him a local celebrity, and he later served as a Wumeng official in Yanzhou.

This man's military ability was extremely outstanding. It can be said that he was among the best in the entire Western Jin Dynasty. The turbulent Liang Province was pacified by him. He defeated the Hu people in the entire Yongliang Province and ruled for more than ten years without anyone daring to rebel.

At this moment, Ma Long has not had the opportunity to be promoted and is an object that can be won over.

The second one was Wang Jing, the newly arrived Inspector of the Imperial Capital. Before he even arrived in Luoyang, he had already become a thorn in the eyes of the ministers.

This man is a loyal minister. Besides, he comes from a humble background and can be used.

The third one is Chen Qian in the temple.

Although Chen Qian's father was one of the Three Dukes, his brother was the General Zhenbei and commanded a large number of troops.

But he values himself more than his family, and he has no share of the benefits of the current situation. Such a person will be a good sharp knife in his hands.

Now, it is time to concentrate on accumulating strength, constantly win over these trusted factions, and then send them to the most important positions, let the aristocratic families fight with the Sima family, the fiercer the fight, the better. When one of the sides wins, it will be surprised to find that a behemoth has appeared in the temple again.

Of course, if you want to completely defeat these people, you still need great prestige, and this prestige can only be achieved through unification.

With such merits as destroying Shu and attacking Wu, he had the ability to show his strength even when facing the top families.

Cao Mao raised his head and said, "Mr. Zhang, go and call the queen over."

Zhang Hua agreed, and not long after, Sima Li appeared in front of Cao Mao.

After the chaos broke out in the court, the people around Sima Yi suddenly quieted down and dared not make any more noise. Sima Yi had always been like this, as if nothing could affect her.

At this moment, she stood in front of Cao Mao with a calm expression, neither happy nor angry.

Cao Mao stood up, straightened his clothes, and then said with a smile: "Queen, we have been married for a long time, and you have never returned to your parents' home."

"I want to take you back to your parents' home to see the children and visit my father-in-law along the way."

"What do you think, Queen?"

"what??"

A look of astonishment finally appeared on Sima Yi's ashen face.

She didn't quite understand what the emperor meant.

Cao Mao stared at her and asked suspiciously, "Don't you miss our child?"

“Miss you.”

"But."

"No buts. Since you miss him, let's go back together. I heard that my father-in-law is seriously ill. He loves me very much. As his son-in-law, how can I not go to see him?"

"How about this, you go back and pack up, put on some nice clothes, put on some makeup, and have someone prepare some gifts. Don't let your family think I've neglected you!"

"I must first go to Zhaoyang Palace and inform my mother."

Sima Yi was stunned for a long time before nodding.

"only."

(End of this chapter)