The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 200 As long as Ma Long comes, everything will be fine

"Come, Ping, meet your great mother!"

"aunt!!"

Guo Ping happily rushed to the Queen Mother's side and threw himself directly into her arms.

The Queen Mother looked at the little guy in her arms, then raised her head and looked at Cao Mao.

"How did you come?"

"Aunt, it was my father who brought me here!"

At this moment, Empress Dowager Guo felt a little confused.

Cao Mao didn't care. These were trivial matters and everyone could discuss them in the future. If people really wanted to be serious about seniority, there would be many incredible situations in the world today. For example, Cao Mao's wife was Sima Li, her mother was Xiahou Hui, Xiahou Hui's father was Xiahou Shang, Xiahou Shang was Xiahou Yuan's nephew, and Xiahou Yuan also had a niece who married Zhang Fei, and their daughter married Liu Chan. From this point of view, Cao Mao and Liu Chan were still distant relatives!

Even if we put this angle aside, there are still many angles from which we can establish a relationship with these people.

Over the years, the major families have intermarried with each other, and the relationships have become so complicated that they are difficult to understand.

Empress Dowager Guo looked at Guo Ping with complicated feelings. Seeing his happy face, she thought of her cousin who died young, and there was some sadness in her eyes.

Her tone became much gentler, "Have you eaten anything?"

"What do you want to eat?"

"Aunt, I ate before I came here. I'm not hungry."

Empress Dowager Guo entertained the child for a while before looking at Cao Mao, asking him to explain the situation to her.

Cao Mao looked at Sima Yi and said, "Take the child back to the palace first. I have something important to discuss with my mother."

Sima Yi was like a virtuous wife at this moment, and left with her child.

"Mother, I have found out the truth about the Sima family."

"Oh?"

"When I arrived at the Sima family, they were very polite to me and didn't neglect me. I went to see Sima Shi. I saw that Sima Shi was seriously ill and bedridden, unable to move. I thought that he would have to leave in the next few days."

"In order to test their sincerity, I deliberately said that I would take the child away."

"Mother may not know that Sima Li originally did not want to come to the palace. She was forced to come because her son was in the General's Mansion. Therefore, I wanted to use this incident to determine their attitude."

"As soon as I opened my mouth, Sima Zhao agreed without hesitation."

"The Sima family is no longer a threat!"

"Congratulations, mother! We've finally defeated this powerful enemy!"

Cao Mao bowed deeply to her again.

Empress Dowager Guo couldn't help but ask, "Then why did Sima Zhao station his troops at the gates of Luoyang?"

"This is to deal with the ministers in the court."

"Mother, although you now have the support of the ministers in the court, we do not have an army that is truly loyal to us."

"The ministers in the court are too closely connected to each other to be entrusted with important tasks."

"Sima Zhao and his ministers are currently vying for military power. Has Lu Yu submitted a letter to you?"

The Queen Mother nodded and said seriously, "He submitted a petition, saying that he wanted Wang Guan and others to lead the army."

"But the Minister of State said that these people were originally close to the Sima family and could not be used, so they were not promoted."

Cao Mao narrowed his eyes and said, "This Gao Situ also wants to arrange his own people to lead the army."

Empress Dowager Guo was also a little upset at this moment.

She thought that if she defeated Sima Shi, she would be able to accomplish great things, control her ministers, live a life of dominance, and no longer have any worries.

Unexpectedly, after Sima Shi became seriously ill, things in the court became increasingly chaotic.

She felt that things seemed to be out of control and she didn't know how to continue her plans.

She looked at Cao Mao helplessly and said, "My son, what should we do next?"

"Mother, the ministers in the court each have their own ideas, so why don't we promote some people of humble origins to serve us?"

"We should have our own direct forces!"

"He who will not be surrounded by ministers will come to command our army!"

Cao Mao said firmly.

"Look at the current situation. Gao Rou, Lu Yu, and Sima Shi are all vying for military power. As the most respected person in the world, you cannot do without military power."

"As long as I can control the central army, the ministers won't dare to say anything more to my mother!"

Empress Dowager Guo nodded and asked, "Then how should we do it?"

Cao Mao said seriously, "I want to recommend a few people to you, mother!"

"Lu Ruo Ling Jiao Bo and the Central Army Captain Li Zhao, who once served by my side but was later dismissed for refusing to serve the Sima family, are both men you can trust!" "Mother, you can order Jiao Bo to lead a battalion in the Central Army!"

"There is also Ji Kang in Luoyang. He is a marriage alliance of my Cao family and a famous scholar in the country. We can let him lead a battalion of the central army."

"There is also the famous scholar Lu An. He is the son of the former Jizhou governor Lu Zhao. He is a brave man and has always been determined to serve the government. He can also lead a battalion."

"If you include Li Zhao, of the ten battalions in the central army, mother has four!"

"Let's use these four battalions as a foundation and make them your absolute direct subordinates!"

Empress Dowager Guo nodded thoughtfully, then asked, "My son, even if you appoint a lieutenant, you said before that the officers under the lieutenant are all relatives of the ministers. What should we do then?"

Cao Mao replied, "It's very simple. Let the four of them organize the army, promote capable soldiers who have made meritorious contributions in the past, and find an excuse to eliminate the officers from aristocratic families."

Empress Dowager Guo's eyes widened. "Will the ministers allow us to do this?"

Cao Mao grinned.

"Mother, this was done by Lord Situ to curb Lord Lu. At the very least, it was done by Sima Zhao after he had won over his sons and ministers to curb the other ministers. What does this have to do with us?"

Empress Dowager Guo suddenly realized.

"But wouldn't this offend Lord Situ too much?"

"No, mother, you can tell him the truth and let him take care of it!"

Looking at Empress Dowager Guo's wise eyes, Cao Mao spoke again, "How about this? Leave this matter to me. How can I let you worry about these things? I will handle these kinds of troublesome matters for you! I will definitely not let you down!"

During these days, Cao Mao did contribute a lot, and many of the things he told the empress dowager developed as he predicted.

At present, Cao Mao is still very trustworthy in the eyes of Empress Dowager Guo.

It would take at least three or four times for Gao Rou to shake her trust in Cao Mao, while Cao Mao only needed one time to make up for it and shake her trust in Gao Rou at the same time.

It's just that Cao Mao's age holds him back. If Cao Mao were twenty years older, I'm afraid Empress Dowager Guo would trust him infinitely and leave all the things to him, as long as Cao Mao could show the same respect as he does now.

Empress Dowager Guo's greatest ambition was to be valued and respected by others.

She has no ambition to change the dynasty or establish a thousand-year clan. She is a person who lacks a serious sense of security and needs to be cared for and needed by others to prove her own value.

She is now involved in so many things, and the most extraordinary thing she has done is to show off in the palace and let those soldiers and officers salute her.

Compared with the vicious wolves and tigers in the court, he is just a harmless lamb.

Cao Mao loved this queen mother very much.

OK, great.

Cao Mao had no intention of getting rid of the empress dowager. For Cao Mao now, the empress dowager was still a very good backer. Although she was not that reliable, she would not take the initiative to cause trouble. If the ministers made trouble for her, Cao Mao would know it at the first time. How great was that.

Cao Mao didn't say anything more. He told the empress dowager some interesting stories. When the empress dowager felt a little tired, he took his leave.

After leaving Zhaoyang Palace, Cao Mao continued to think about his plan.

The current chaotic situation is the best time to enhance one's power.

The ten battalions in the central army are all fierce warriors of the Wei Dynasty.

If possible, Cao Mao did not want to start a civil war. These people were originally his own soldiers. Why should he shed blood for the personal conflicts among his ministers?
Cao Mao wanted to control the central army, and no matter whether it was the central commander, the central guard, or the central support army, these positions were too important and were being watched by countless people.

Even if Cao Mao wanted to take action, he didn't have anyone who could hold these positions.

If he wanted to seize this position, he could only meet with Zheng Mao, then release the pressure on the royal family and find a few people with sufficient reputation and qualifications to take over.

The position of the captain is also very important, but the impact it causes is not as great as the ones above.

The current central army is in extreme chaos.

Sima Zhao dismissed Guo Li and took on the title of General of the Western Expedition and concurrently the Commander-in-Chief of the Central Army, which was considered the highest commander of the Central Army. He also appointed his younger brother Sima Gan to take over as the Central Protector General, and submitted a petition to invite Deng Ai, the Governor of Yanzhou, to come to the capital to serve as the Central Pacification Army.

As for the selection of colonels, he placed his son Sima Yan, his confidant Yin Damu, Cheng Shi and other trusted people in many colonel positions in the central army.

But Lu Yu was also constantly seeking these positions, constantly submitting petitions and winning over many of the original captains.

The composition of the current Central Army Captains is very complicated, and because of their mutual kinship, it is difficult to figure out who belongs to whom.

Cao Mao could push forward some people and let them take over the positions of captains, and then slowly complete the purge of the central army, turning them into a true army of the emperor.

But what worries Cao Mao the most now is that his confidants know nothing about military affairs.

They had no experience in commanding an army. Although this did not prevent them from taking office, the subsequent purge of officers and training of the army required a certain level of skill. Except for Li Zhao, who came from a military background, the others might not be able to do these things well.

However, Cao Mao has an excellent candidate.

Malone.

At this time, Ma Long was feeling frustrated because he came from a low-class family and had no chance to advance. Cao Mao was willing to give him a chance.

As long as Ma Long comes to Luoyang, everything will be fine.

(End of this chapter)