The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 208: Lord Situ, We Are Not Enemies
Looking at the young emperor in front of him, Gao Rou's eyes were very complicated.

When the emperor first came to Luoyang, Gao Rou thought he was whimsical and ambitious, and believed that he would kill him sooner or later, so he stayed away from him for fear of being splashed with blood by him.

But later, Gao Rou increasingly felt that this guy was extraordinary, and he gradually changed his opinion.

This guy is clearly a character like Sima Yi!
The more Gao Rou looked at the emperor, the more he felt that he looked like Sima Yi.

Even his appearance is a bit like Sima Yi.

Speaking of which, the reason why Gao Rou was so impulsive was also because of Cao Mao. Seeing someone younger than his grandson doing such a big thing, how could Gao Rou bear it?
He wanted to do something big and show these young people the shock brought by the strong men of the previous era.

Today, his son Gao Dan suddenly sent someone to tell him that the emperor wanted to see him. Gao Rou didn't know why the emperor wanted to see him, but under the current situation, he decided to meet with the emperor first to see what nonsense he had to say.

"Mr. Gao!!"

Cao Mao was the first to salute Gao Rou to show his respect for the old minister.

At Gao Rou's age, Cao Mao would have to pay his respects to him even if he was a commoner, let alone one of the Three Dukes. After all, the Great Wei relies on morality to govern the country, and respecting the elderly is one of the traditional morals, a rule inherited from the Han Dynasty.

Of course, this presupposes that ordinary people can live to this age. In this kind of living environment, under so much oppression, living to fifty is considered an extremely long life for ordinary people. As for eighty? Well, forget it.

In this era, life expectancy is truly amazing. The life expectancy of ordinary people is shockingly low, but many of these wealthy families live long lives as long as they refuse to disperse.

Old man Gao Rou lived to be over ninety years old. He could have lived at least another ten years. Even his eldest son was outlived by him.

Sima Fu also lived to be over eighty years old.

Maybe in the future we can follow the example of a certain "holy king" and hold a banquet for a thousand elders?

In order to demonstrate the national strength of our Great Wei, we summoned old men over 80 years old with good family backgrounds and "high moral standards" from all over the country to come to Luoyang for a banquet. This way, half of his people can be sent away in one go.

Gao Rou didn't know what Cao Mao was thinking at the moment. He slowly stood up and returned the greeting to Cao Mao.

Cao Mao sat in front of Gao Rou, looked at him, and suddenly sighed.

"Lord Situ, when did I offend you?"

Gao Rou was stunned. "How dare I have such thoughts? Your Majesty, why do you say that?"

"Lord Situ, I have admired you for a long time. When I first came to the court, I wanted to use your power to pacify the world. However, I had just ascended the throne at that time and did not dare to disturb you rashly."

"Now the general is seriously ill, and the ministers are fighting for power. I have been waiting for Situ Gong to come to me, but why has Situ Gong never come to see me?"

"Did I do something wrong and offend Lord Situ?"

Cao Mao looked very aggrieved.

Gao Rou was speechless for a moment. In order to monopolize the empress dowager, he had always treated Cao Mao as an imaginary enemy these days, thinking that Cao Mao would help outsiders to seize "control" of the empress dowager.

But when Cao Mao said this, he suddenly realized that it seemed that the two of them had never had any disagreements.
Cao Mao said helplessly, "Situ Gong, why do you treat me like this?"

"Your Majesty, I never intended to be disrespectful to you. It's just that I was busy with my duties at the court, so I didn't come to see you. I hope Your Majesty won't blame me."

Gao Rou quickly smoothed things over.

Cao Mao nodded and said seriously, "Situ Gong, today we are alone. I treat you as my elder, so I won't tell you any lies."

"Your Majesty, please speak frankly."

"Does Situ Gong think the Queen Mother has any intention of usurping the throne? Will she replace me? Will she arrange for one of her own clansmen to take over?"

Cao Mao asked three questions.

Gao Rou was stunned for a moment, then replied, "No, the Queen Mother dotes on Your Majesty very much, Your Majesty shouldn't say such things."

"Situ Gong, I say this not out of disrespect for my mother, but out of respect for her."

"If you think about it seriously, would something like this happen?"

Gao Rou shook her head, "Absolutely not."

Cao Mao laughed. "If that's the case, then what conflicts are there between me and my mother? I'm still young. What harm will it do me if my mother takes power? Aren't all these things to be given to me in the future?"

"Doesn't Lord Situ want to help his mother and govern the country?"

"Does Lord Situ have any intention of usurping the throne?"

Gao Rou's eyes widened suddenly, "Your Majesty, please don't scare me like this."

"Look, you just want to govern the world well."

"If that's the case, then what conflicts do I have with the Queen Mother and Lord Situ? What disputes do we have?"

"I sit on the throne, watching you rule the world well, and then legitimately become the greatest emperor of all time. Isn't that good?"

Gao Rou pursed her lips. Cao Mao continued, "Situ Gong shouldn't be on guard against me, much less send anyone to keep an eye on me. You're always worried about me joining forces with others, but why don't you consider joining forces with me?"

Gao Rou was speechless for a long time.

He looked at the emperor in front of him, but did not rush to answer.

The emperor is different from the empress dowager.

By joining forces with the Queen Mother, Gao Rou believed that he could control her, but facing the Emperor, Gao Rou did not have that confidence.

Besides, you have been in close contact with people from the Sima family and the Lu family these days. Who knows if they sent you to deal with me?
Facing the cautious Gao Rou, Cao Mao's expression was even more bitter.

"Lord Situ, the Sima family wants to seize my throne, and those people from the Lu family want to control the government. Forget it, you won't believe me even if I tell you again."

"I asked you to come here this time because I have something else I want to ask for your help."

"Oh? What's the matter?"

Cao Mao said, "The central army is in great disarray today. This is something the Queen Mother and I do not wish to see. I intend to appoint Jiao Bo, Ji Kang, Lu An, Ma Long, Wang Rong, Ruan Ji, Liu Ling, Shan Tao, Xiang Xiu, and others as lieutenants and place them in the central army."

Gao Rou narrowed his eyes and stared at Cao Mao in front of him.

"Your Majesty, what do you mean?"

Cao Mao said seriously, "These people are heading to the central army for their own purposes. Once they arrive, they will begin to reorganize the army, punish those who don't understand warfare by military law, and promote those who are truly capable of fighting."

Gao Rou shook his head and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, you don't think that a single imperial decree can appoint ten lieutenants to the central army, do you?"

"These imperial edicts are subject to review by the ministers. If they feel they are inappropriate, they can still be withdrawn. Emperor Liezu was even blocked by the ministers from carrying out the will of his assistant ministers. How can you believe that the Empress Dowager's edicts will be more effective?"

"I know all this, and I also know that the person responsible for drafting the imperial edict is the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Meng Kang."

"This person is your former subordinate."

"That's why you were able to prevent the ministers' memorials from reaching Mother."

After hearing Cao Mao's words, Gao Rou was silent for a long time.

"Your Majesty, do you want me to help you?"

"Lord Gao, I am willing to join forces with you. Even if you are unwilling, I am willing to be on good terms with you. I will not help outsiders to deal with my own family. You can rest assured about this."

"There will be many things in the future, and I will need your help."

"Of course, if you have any problems, you can also let me help you."

"In this palace, my mother and I are already inseparable. There's no need for you to separate us so clearly."

Gao Rou remained silent. He said, "Your Majesty, it's not that I'm unwilling to help, but you're asking for ten new lieutenants in the central army all at once. Who can help you with that? Even if Emperor Liezu were reborn, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to appoint ten new lieutenants at once."

"These captains are all connected to one another and are all close to the ministers in the court. Your Majesty cannot simply dismiss them."

Cao Mao hesitated and asked, "Then how about four?"

"I won't force it. It has to be ten. How about four?"

Gao Rou still shook her head, "Impossible."

"Your Majesty, four is impossible. If Your Majesty insists on my assistance, I can only help you arrange one."

"one??"

"What good can a battalion do?"

Cao Mao frowned. "Lord Situ, I've never asked you for anything before. How about this? I'll have the Queen Mother issue the order, and then you can help me approve it and arrange for these two people first."

Cao Mao understood very early on that it was impossible for him to promote four captains at the same time. He was not an emperor with real power, and doing so would cause a huge backlash.

However, this matter can be prioritized. Two can be arranged first, and the rest can be arranged slowly. It can even be arranged through other channels next time, such as through the Sima family's channels.

Gao Rou frowned.

The emperor had something to ask of him, but in fact, this matter did not do any harm to Gao Rou himself. After all, the central army was not Gao Rou's target. He wanted to take the upper route. In fact, if Cao Mao could really purge those minions of the aristocratic families, it would be very beneficial to him. After all, Lu Yu had his own people in the central army, such as his son-in-law.

Gao Rou narrowed his eyes. If the position of Lu Yu's son-in-law was given to someone who belonged to the emperor...
He looked at the emperor in front of him again, sighed and said, "Since Your Majesty has spoken, how can I not obey? Please leave this matter to me, I will do my best."

"However, Your Majesty is probably aware that some ministers in the court treat the Central Army as their own. If I were to appoint a lieutenant on Your Majesty's behalf, I would certainly offend these people. If this fails due to their obstruction, Your Majesty, please do not blame me, your humble servant."

Cao Mao smiled and said, "I trust Lord Situ. If Lord Situ takes action, there will be no mistakes!"

"Situ Gong is a wise man who wants to rule the world. How could he be hindered by a few villains in the court?"

(End of this chapter)