The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 242 Don’t let the wealth go to outsiders

Cao Mao always wanted to turn the Dongtang Banquet into an important tool for transforming contemporary thought.

Although Zhong Hui is now in charge of many things, Cao Mao cannot just sit there and do nothing.

If he did nothing, he would not be a sage king in Zhong Hui's eyes.

The consequences will be very serious.

I have to do a good job of assisting and let Zhong Hui continue to assist the Holy King.

The first thing to be solved was the problem of scholars' speech. This problem started at the end of the Han Dynasty. Many party imprisonments were aimed at making scholars all over the world shut up. Later, Emperor Wu also did not like others to talk too much, so he increased the restrictions.

After generations of disasters, the high-pressure policy of the Sima Shi period finally came into being. The scholars dared not speak out and could only avoid fighting by adopting a passive and escapist attitude and numb themselves by taking medicine and drinking.

If you want to solve the negative thoughts caused by taking loose alcohol, there is no need to ban it. You just need to create an active and relaxed ideological atmosphere.

Let them speak freely and start by admonishing the emperor.

Cao Mao didn't care about the insults these people leveled at him. The more they insulted him, the better. As the emperor, he allowed them to submit letters freely. What else did you ministers dare to say?

Do you dare to stop them from writing to you?

Do you dare to stop them from seeing you?

Moreover, this open-minded atmosphere is definitely not a bad thing for scholars.

Even people like Gao Rou would never dare to express opposition. After all, they were not generals. They were able to come to power because of these literati. If their policies were not beneficial to the literati, the literati could also force them to step down.

Why didn't they dare to come out and arrest people when the students blocked their residence and cursed them?
The main reason is that their status comes from their reputation, and reputation is given by scholars. Scholars recognize that you are the moral role model of the world. If they all think that you are despicable and immoral, then you have to get out, and you don’t have an army like Sima Shi.

The celebrities at the banquet actively cooperated because the emperor's idea would not harm them.

Cao Mao said happily: "With honest ministers in the court and righteous men in the world, why should I worry about the prosperity of the world?!"

"I have loved classics since I was young, and I will never block the way for wise men to speak!"

Cao Mao first flattered the people in front of him, and then asked, "Everyone, there is something I don't understand."

"How did the Han Dynasty lose its moral integrity?"

"You can speak freely, don't worry!"

This is where the main topic begins, the so-called academic discussion. The famous scholars all have their own opinions on the Han Dynasty's immorality. One famous scholar stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the reason why the early Han Dynasty lost its morality was because of the eunuchs. There were ten eunuchs in the palace. They spread rumors and misled the people, causing disunity between the emperor and his ministers. Their relatives were everywhere harming the people."

Cao Mao nodded. "That makes sense, but it's not comprehensive enough."

Another famous scholar stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that it was the sale of official positions and the granting of titles that led to the loss of morality in the Han Dynasty."

"A truly virtuous person would not do such a thing, but a villain would resort to bribery."

The famous scholar was talking eloquently, but the expressions of several ministers around him changed. Someone pulled his sleeve. This famous scholar was Pei Kai.

He was particularly good at talking about "Laozi" and "I Ching", and was a well-known talent in the world. He was born in the Pei family of Hedong. Well, this person was talented and handsome. Let's just say that Zhong Hui liked him very much.

Pei Kai suddenly reacted and lost his voice.

Both of the things the celebrities said seem to be inappropriate.

Let’s talk about eunuchs first. Well, Cao Cao’s grandfather Cao Teng was a eunuch. Then let’s talk about buying official positions. Well, Cao Cao’s father Cao Song spent money to buy the position of Taiwei.

The case of Cao Teng is not so bad. After all, although Cao Teng was a eunuch, he did not have a bad reputation, and it is normal to insult eunuchs in the current trend. However, when he goes on to talk about buying official positions, it seems like he is making a veiled attack on someone else.

Cao Mao suddenly laughed and said, "You don't have to be like this. You are right. This is also an important reason for the loss of morality of the early Han Dynasty."

"Any more?"

With Cao Mao's tacit approval, several more famous scholars stood up and gave other reasons.

Cao Mao listened to their stories and finally said, "I think the main reason is that Emperors Huan and Ling refused to listen to advice and used the method of party imprisonment to deal with the wise men of the world!"

"We can see the evil policies of eunuchs, relatives of the emperor's wife, and selling official positions today, but couldn't the ministers at that time see them? It was simply because the emperor refused to accept them."

"If the emperor does not listen to advice, he loses his virtue; if the ministers fail to submit advice, they lose their reputation."

"What do you think?"

Cao Mao was ready for the debate.

As long as they were not talking about classics, Sima Yan could still understand. He was the first to nod and agree with Cao Mao's statement.

Cao Mao then continued, "When Emperor Wu killed Bian Rang, and Emperor Wen killed Bao Xun, weren't these similar actions?"

Hearing this, the celebrities were suddenly shocked.

As descendants, it is really inconsistent with the current moral trend to evaluate our ancestors in this way.

But they did not come up and insult Cao Mao directly.

The positive effects of Wei and Jin metaphysics were probably that they tore a hole in the solid shackles of etiquette and law. The restraining power of etiquette and law was not as strong as before. If one continued to indulge in wine and meat after the death of his parents, he would have been beheaded in the Han Dynasty.

Moreover, the emperor's remarks were biased towards the scholars, so they were not too excessive.

Cao Mao continued, "Speaking frankly means being impartial. We cannot hold back because of personal feelings or social status. Emperor Wen is my grandfather, but if I had lived before him, I would certainly have stopped him from doing such a thing."

"Knowing your lord is wrong but not daring to advise him, knowing your king's behavior is inappropriate but not knowing how to remonstrate, this is the greatest unfilial and disloyal act. This is making your lord and king appear unkind, while only saving yourself. It can be said that you have lost great virtue for the sake of petty righteousness!"

"I have heard that Xun Yu, the son of the late Chief Censor Xun Gong, and Xun Rong, the son of the Marquis of Xiyang Ting, reprimanded Minister Xun for his behavior to his face and urged him to correct his mistakes. What do you think of these two men?"

Sima Yan immediately spoke up, "These two are incredibly filial and loyal!" "They don't care about their own reputations. For the sake of their own lords and the great Wei dynasty, they don't hesitate to offend their elders and speak out their advice. Isn't this the most virtuous behavior?"

"They should be role models for the world!"

Many famous scholars did not object. Since Xun Yi did not say anything, they had to admit that their behavior was correct.

Cao Mao said to Sima Yan, who was standing beside him, "You can invite them both to the next banquet. I will reward them in person!"

"These two are truly the virtuous sons of the Xun family!"

Cao Mao evaluated them.

The celebrities suddenly became a little restless.

Next, Cao Mao gave several similar examples.

This Dongtang Banquet went very smoothly. Even though many people were lost, it was still a good place to become famous. Apart from anything else, the conversation between Your Majesty and the celebrities today will definitely be passed down to future generations.

Everyone is now envious of the two people with the surname Xun. After today's incident, they have become completely famous.

The banquet ended very late and the celebrities left one after another.

Cao Mao smiled and sent everyone away. Sima Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the emperor beside him with a smile.

"Your Majesty, how was my performance today?"

"Sima Changshi did a good job, but it was a bit too deliberate."

"Remember to be more natural next time, just talk to him like you normally would."

Cao Mao said with a smile.

Sima Yan couldn't help but say, "Today's East Hall Banquet benefited from the two Xun family boys who didn't come. Your Majesty, next time you want to give an example, you can cite me as an example!"

"What are you afraid of? Staying by my side, are you afraid of not having the opportunity to become famous?"

Sima Yan rubbed his hands together and said, "Anyway, it's done today. We've fooled them all!"

"Your Majesty, when will the next banquet be held?"

"No hurry, no hurry. Let them do something. It won't be too late to comment on them after they've finished."

Cao Mao narrowed his eyes and said thoughtfully.

Sima Yan nodded and said, "Your Majesty, I have something else to do, so I won't stay with you."

"Ah? What do you want?"

"Business! Big business!"

Sima Yan was a little anxious. He just said a few words and left in a hurry.

After leaving the palace, Sima Yan immediately got into the carriage.

"Go to the Grand Tutor's residence!"

"what?"

The driver was stunned, and Sima Yan spoke again: "Go to my grandfather!"

"Sir, this is not quite..."

"Just go if you're told to! Don't say anything more!"

The driver had no choice but to take Sima Yan to Sima Fu's mansion. Sima Yan hurriedly got off the carriage. As soon as he got off, he saw seven or eight people surrounding him, shouting insults.

Sima Yan frowned, ordered his men to separate these people, make a path, and quickly walked towards the mansion.

The scholars were very dissatisfied and started arguing with Sima Yan's followers.

Whenever Sima Yan went out, he always brought a large number of armored soldiers with him. This was because he was worried that his ministers would harm him, but it came in handy at this moment.

The servants in the mansion probably also heard the noise outside.

Someone slowly opened the door and saw Sima Yan outside, then heaved a sigh of relief.

"Open the door quickly! I'm here to see my great grandfather!"

"Sima Sanqi, the Grand Tutor is not in the mansion."

"If you have anything, please tell me and I will pass it on to the head of the family for you."

Sima Fu was of course in the mansion, but he had already instructed his servants not to see anyone, especially not anyone from the Sima family.

Sima Yan frowned, cleared his mind, and then said loudly: "Then please tell my Zhong Dafu!"

"As a senior official, he should be supporting the country and assisting His Majesty. Yet, he is now proposing to imprison the Queen Mother and humiliate His Majesty. This is truly horrifying! He must correct his mistakes and not tarnish the family's reputation!"

"Otherwise it would be immoral!"

"I, Sima Yan, will never tolerate such a thing!"

"If I remain indifferent, I would be putting you in an unkind position and disregarding the righteousness of the world. This would be the greatest act of filial piety and disloyalty!!"

At this moment, the scholars were in an uproar.

(End of this chapter)