The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 244 Already prepared
"Appreciate further details."

Cao Mao said seriously, "First, it was the king who lost his virtue. I have heard that it was not the king who lost his virtue, but the ruler who lost his virtue."

"Since the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, the people have never been controlled by the king alone; this is called governance."

"The downfall of the empire is the fault of its rulers, not the fault of the king alone. No matter how foolish a king is, he cannot single-handedly seize all the people's farmland and leave them homeless. No matter how cruel a king is, he cannot withhold the people's grain and raise taxes without authorization. No matter how unjust a king is, he cannot single-handedly make it impossible for the poor to rise up."

"Of course, the wisdom of the many is better than the wisdom of one, but this many is not the true many. They are still ruled by one person and are still selfish. How can they be called many?"

"What's the difference between them and the king?"

Wang Xiang said solemnly, "A wise man once said: 'The ministers are all honed through hard work and have extraordinary talents, and there are few incompetent ministers. Foreign invaders are pacified by the ministers, and internal troubles are resolved by the ministers. How can they not be called the multitude?'"

"Hahaha, it was the soldiers who pacified foreign invaders, it was the farmers who opened up land and built water conservancy projects, and it was the merchants who transported supplies everywhere. If we were to talk about the wisdom of the masses, then the world should be governed by the soldiers, farmers, merchants, and craftsmen. That's what we call the masses."

"However, some people are obsessed with personal gain and disregard the people of the world. Such people are not worthy of being called the people. They are no different from the unjust king. In fact, they are even more cruel than the unjust king. The unjust king regards the world as his own property, while they regard their own property as the world."

"Would the wise man you're talking about pursue his own interests at the expense of the world?"

Wang Xiang laughed and said, "Any policy can be adjusted."

"As for the Zhongzheng system, it is true that a family is assigned a rank, but the rank is not fixed."

"To achieve high status for the family, all the officials must work with all their strength and not be negligent. Everyone should work hard and practice to improve the family's status. There will be no harm."

"If the criminal law is well established, with no corporal punishment and light penalties, all people in the world will benefit. Scholars will speak out boldly and will not yield. The world will all be loyal subjects, and great order will surely follow."

"For example, under the tax system, high-ranking clans can accumulate wealth, allowing their children to study peacefully. They can also attract more common people around them and select talented scholars from among them to educate them. If there is a disaster, the court will not have to deal with it personally. If there is an external enemy, the powerful clans will be the first to suppress it. How can the world not prosper?"

“The king is hereditary, and his ability cannot be known, but the ministers are personally appointed and are well-liked by the people, so their virtue can be known.”

"Your Majesty, what do you think is wrong?"

Cao Mao looked at Wang Xiang in front of him, feeling somewhat surprised. Was he trying to convince him?
Do you want me to surrender?
why?

Wang Xiang was also very surprised. He didn't know why he told these things to the emperor. He obviously didn't want to express his position too early.

Perhaps he felt pity for his disciple's talent? Or perhaps he was worried he wouldn't be his match?
No matter what, Wang Xiang finally expressed his thoughts for the first time.

Wang Xiang believed that having a group of ministers take over the world would definitely be better than an emperor acting arbitrarily. He even felt that those policies would not harm the world, and he could completely adjust these policies to make them benevolent.

Cao Mao shook his head.

"Teacher, this wise man only sees the good side of many policies, not the whole picture. It's true that there's no policy in the world that's completely useless. Every policy has its merits, but these few merits can't change the inherent flaws of the policy."

"That wise man's idea is actually very good, but he probably doesn't know what the public is."

"It's good to have ministers to govern the country, but if all of them come from powerful families, then there will be a big problem."

Wang Xiang smiled bitterly, "Your Majesty thinks so."

"What do you think, teacher?"

Wang Xiang regained his composure and said calmly, "I agree with your Majesty."

He frowned and said seriously, "The current Shangshutai is always discussing how to deal with Your Majesty. This old minister really can't stand it."

"Your Majesty previously entrusted me with a major task, asking me to deal with these people. I am ready to take action today."

Cao Mao was delighted and said, "Okay, I'll leave this matter to you, teacher."

"Your Majesty, I am not a short-sighted person. Important matters of the court can be discussed and decided upon. This is not something that any one person can decide."

"Just like those policies, we need to be cautious and not undermine the foundation of the world."

"The officials in the government don't know these principles."

"I will argue with them. I hope Your Majesty can wait patiently for my victory report."

Wang Xiang's meaning was very clear. To put it simply, he was telling Cao Mao that I am different from those people. We can discuss policies together. It will not be detrimental to you or the world. When I go to deal with them, you must not stab me in the back and stop your current activities.

Cao Mao once again imitated Sima Yan's expression, a profound look, as if he understood something but didn't.

Wang Xiang then talked about some of his coping strategies.

Cao Mao listened very carefully, but he didn't agree with it in his heart.

His teacher probably didn't know that in Cao Mao's mind, Teacher Wang posed the same threat as Sima Shi. This was not because of Wang Xiang's personal ability, but because of the ideas and forces he represented.

In fact, Gao Rou and Sima Fu are still stuck in the previous version and have not fully realized what is about to happen to them. Only Wang Xiang has always known that he is much more difficult to deal with than Gao Rou and others.

Why did Sima Shi attack Lu Yu but ignore Gao Rou?
Because Lu Yu's threat is greater than Gao Rou's. If Lu Yu were still in power now, I'm afraid even the military power would be taken away by him.

Now Cao Mao is the same. If he is asked to choose an enemy between Wang Xiang and Gao Rou, he will choose Gao Rou without hesitation. After Wang Xiang left, Cao Mao found Zhang Hua.

"Go tell Mr. Zhong that Wang Taichang is about to take action against us. We don't know what he will do first. Tell Shi Ji to be careful. If there is an emergency, you don't have to wait for my order and take action directly!"

Zhang Hua was stunned and asked in astonishment, "Why would Taichang attack us?"

"Shouldn't he use us to deal with Sima Fu and the others?"

Cao Mao laughed. "It's because Gao Rou and his men are incompetent. They're unwilling to fight against me and have been shirking responsibility. They even want Zhong Hui's brother to deal with Zhong Hui. If my teacher wants to wait until we kill each other before taking power, I'm afraid he'll have to wait for several years."

“So, he changed his strategy.”

"I think he wants to win over the ministers by demonstrating his ability and calming the chaos in the court."

"What could be better than getting rid of Zhong Hui and winning over the ministers' hearts and minds?"

"Chaos in the Shangshutai is most beneficial to us. They hinder each other and delay making decisions on important matters. This will allow us to accumulate greater strength."

"It's too early to let the teacher pacify the temple."

Zhang Hua frowned and said hesitantly, "I'm afraid it won't be easy. Wang Taichang is different from the other ministers. If he takes action, even if Lord Zhong is strong, he won't be a match for so many people. Sooner or later, he will reveal his weakness."

Cao Mao grinned.

"My teacher may have forgotten who gave him the qualifications to become a minister."

"How could I let him come up here without making plans to counterattack?"

"Father, you can't go! You can't go!"

Wang Kai stood in front of Wang Su with an anxious look on his face.

"The roads are full of bandits and rebels everywhere. Besides, the general is gone. Returning to the imperial court now would only bring us into great trouble."

Wang Su was very angry and pushed his son away.

"Why can't I go? Even your sister sent someone to tell me I could come back, and you're the only one saying I can't go!"

"Back then, others said I could become one of the Three Dukes! This was absolutely true!"

"I have to go back!"

Wang Su's beard trembled, and Wang Kai had a headache. He said helplessly, "Doesn't father hate that guy the most? We finally got rid of him, why would he go back?"

“If I go back this time, it will be difficult to leave again.”

Speaking of that person, Wang Su's face suddenly turned red.

"What do you know?!"

"My lifelong learning has been stolen, and some even claim I borrowed from that scoundrel Wang Xiang! How dare that scoundrel Wang Xiang even talk about learning?!"

"I must go to Luoyang and expose the true face of that bastard to the public!"

"He colluded with the emperor and stole my knowledge. If he stays in Luoyang until I die, then this knowledge will truly become his!"

"Do you know how important this classic is? Losing it would be like losing an arm for my family!"

Wang Su said angrily.

Since leaving the court, Wang Su's daily routine has been to curse Wang Xiang. He picked up his many classics again, began to study them again, and quickly patched up many loopholes. He has been gritting his teeth, his mind full of thoughts about returning to Luoyang to settle accounts with Wang Xiang!

At first, Wang Kai was able to stop his father from going back, but a letter from Wang Yuanji broke this situation.

After reading the letter, Wang Su immediately began to pack up and said he would go to Luoyang no matter what.

Wang Kai was so upset that he wanted to cry. Why should we get involved in the Sima family's affairs? If something goes wrong, can Sima Zhao protect us? He might not even be able to protect himself!

If we stay here, we will still be a big family and can benefit from the reform of the government.

If you go to Luoyang, you will become the enemy of all the ministers!

But looking at the furious father in front of him, Wang Kai felt that he seemed unable to stop him.

Wang Su glanced at his son and said coldly, "Don't worry. This trip to Luoyang might not be a bad opportunity for us."

"To be honest, I am more suitable to be one of the Three Dukes than Wang Xiang and his ilk."

"Besides, General Wei won't object to my taking the position."

(End of this chapter)