The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 247 Alliance and Annexation

"General, we no longer need to worry about Hebei's affairs."

Du Yu frowned and sat next to Sima Zhao.

Now Du Yu has been screened and has become Sima Zhao's true number one adviser.

Sima Zhao obeyed his every word, and although Du Yu was reluctant to help Sima Zhao deal with the emperor, he did not feel any psychological pressure when it came to dealing with the ministers.

Du Yu strongly opposed the policies proposed by Wang Xiang and others.

Although they have their own explanation, they align the current clan system with the past military merit system, saying that it is to motivate the big clans and make them work harder.

But in fact, what they want to promote is completely different from the military merit system.

These powerful families in the current court will surely become high-ranking officials, concurrently serving as supreme rulers. Future supreme rulers will only emerge from these people. What's with all the ups and downs? Ha, the people who make the judgments and those who participate in the judgments are the same people. How can this motivate them?

According to the current situation, the first rank will not appear, the highest is the second rank, and the important clans in power are all second rank. How do you plan to fluctuate?
Du Yu stayed by Sima Zhao's side all these days, giving him advice.

The fact that Cao Mao's affairs went so smoothly was also due to Du Yu.

Sima Zhao nodded and looked at Du Yu. "The rebellion is almost over. Should we return with the army?"

"I can't go back."

"You are different from the general. You are more useful outside than in the court."

Du Yu said seriously: "This is a good opportunity for us."

"First, the general should subdue the aristocratic families in Hebei."

"Oh? Yuan Kai wants me to kill Lu Yu?"

Sima Zhao sneered and said, "I heard that this man just left Luoyang with his son. His youngest son was also dismissed and is planning to settle in Xu."

Du Yu hurriedly shook his head, "No, we can't kill them. Not only can we not kill them, the general should take them in and make use of them."

"what?"

Sima Zhao was somewhat bewildered. He asked, "Just now, Yuan Kai said we should win over the great families of Hebei. But Lu Yu has already offended the entire Hebei clan. How can we still take them in? If we take them in, won't we cause a lot of trouble? Maybe even make enemies with the great families of Hebei?"

Du Yu explained, "General, the Hebei clans originally all followed Lu Yu."

"After Lu Yu's accident, the officials in the court wanted to take action against them and divide up their property. Now they have all turned to Wang Xiang. Wang Xiang inherited Lu Yu's family fortune and relies on these people to compete with Gao Rou and others."

"It is impossible for the general to win over these great families in Hebei now. It is better to subdue Lu Yu. The Lu family is in the most critical time. At this time, they dare not refuse the general."

"After all, the powerful families in the imperial court are only a minority. If the general can support the many powerful families in Hebei, not to mention allowing them to rise again, but as long as they can slightly involve the powerful families in Henan and prevent them from being easily swallowed up, then it will be considered a success."

"Besides, Lu Yu's son and son-in-law are both very talented people."

"The general can use them to deal with the ministers in the court."

Sima Zhao was thoughtful. "Okay, I'll send someone to pick up Lu Yu right away."

"Another matter is the matter of the Central Army. General, this expedition is a perfect opportunity. We can follow the example of Ma Long and reorganize the battalions that followed us on the expedition, and completely control them in our hands."

Du Yu thought highly of Ma Long. He mentioned his name many times in front of Sima Zhao and suggested that Sima Zhao reward him. Now he even wanted Sima Zhao to emulate his behavior.

Sima Zhao naturally knew the importance of military power.

Previously, he was suppressed by the ministers mainly because there were too many children of wealthy families in the army, and it was impossible for the central army to fully execute his orders.

This time, suppressing the rebellion is indeed a good opportunity. We can take advantage of it to promote some talented people, suppress those officers from the hostile families, and use more of our own people.

Sima Zhao immediately agreed again.

Du Yu then moved on to the next matter. "General, with the passing of the General of Chariots and Cavalry, the Shu Kingdom's invasion will undoubtedly be fierce. This is a good opportunity for us to make our ministers bow their heads. However, we must not neglect Jiang Wei and must be fully prepared. I suggest that we have Deng Ai, the Governor of Yanzhou, be prepared. If anything changes, we should have him go to Yongliang to assist Lord Chen and guard against Jiang Wei."

Sima Zhao agreed to all of them. He then shook his head and said with emotion, "If it weren't for Yuan Kai, I would have been in a state of panic. Fortunately, I have a wise minister like you by my side."

"General, if you want to deal with the ministers, the most important thing is to have His Majesty's help."

"If we can join forces with His Majesty, we won't have to worry about these things."

When Du Yu mentioned this matter again, Sima Zhao's face suddenly changed.

"Is it because I don't want to? If it weren't for me, would his men be able to enter the Central Army? If it weren't for me, would Zhong Hui be able to serve as the Chief of the Imperial Clan?"

"If it weren't for me, he wouldn't even be able to save his life! The ministers would never let him go!"

"I've helped him so many times, but what's his attitude?"

"Do I have to ask him to join forces?"

Du Yu didn't know how to persuade Sima Zhao. Now that the general was gone, the balance of power in the court was no longer there. If the emperor and Sima Zhao could join forces, they could still stand up to the officials in the court. They could even launch a counterattack and force the officials to become obedient again.

But Du Yu didn't know why the emperor was always unwilling to take this step. It was obvious that the interests of both sides were the same, and Sima Zhao had taken action several times, but the emperor just refused to formally join forces.

Sima Zhao naturally would not ask Cao Mao to join forces.

Du Yu was somewhat worried. The current group of ministers could not pose a threat because they were engaged in serious internal power struggles. Once someone, like Lu Yu, gained control of the group of ministers and became a true leader, his own family would be at a disadvantage.

Now, the many preparations he asked Sima Zhao to make can only be regarded as increasing his bargaining chips so that he will not be defeated too early, but it is not a real solution to the problem.

To truly solve the problem, both sides need to cooperate to fill the power vacuum. A powerful emperor or a powerful general can solve this troublesome matter.

Seeing Du Yu's worried face, Sima Zhao calmed down a bit. He said, "Don't worry, Yuan Kai. Return to Yanzhou first and talk to Governor Deng about reorganizing the central army. Then I will send someone to contact the emperor."

"If he is as intelligent as everyone says, he should help me pacify the ministers!"

Taiji Hall, inside the West Hall.

"Hahaha, you are indeed Mr. Zhong!"

"I've heard about what happened at the Shangshutai. Those words have completely destroyed Wang Xiang's fighting spirit. He himself has run into serious problems. I heard that Cui Zan doesn't want to go to his mansion anymore!"

Cao Mao was very happy looking at Zhong Hui in front of him.

He really didn't expect that in this situation, Zhong Hui could turn the tables and directly put the blame on Wang Xiang for the unrest in Hebei. No matter how Wang Xiang explained, what needed to be said had been said, the thorn had been planted, and no matter how much he washed it off, he could not return to his original innocence.

Zhong Hui shook his head and said calmly, "This is not what I did."

Cao Mao was stunned. "So this is the Chief Justice's own plan?"

Zhong Hui laughed disdainfully, "He just wants to put the blame on me. He's always been like this, wanting to do big things but not daring to take responsibility."

If it weren't for Zhong Hui, Cao Mao would not have thought that this was actually Zhong Yu's own plan.

The matter of the Secretariat had already been spread out and was a hot topic in Luoyang. Cao Mao knew without hesitation that it was Sima Fu or Gao Rou who was working behind the scenes to suppress Wang Xiang again.

When Cao Mao first heard about this, he immediately concluded that it was Zhong Hui who asked his brother to say it.

I really didn't expect that Zhong Yu, who looked honest and loyal, was actually more cunning and intelligent than Zhong Hui.

Cao Mao did not think that Zhong Hui was lying. If a man like him did such a thing, he would have told everyone and would never have put the blame on his brother.

In this case, I still underestimated this Chief Justice.

Zhong Hui continued, "The Sima family also does not want to see the Shangshutai pacified. Now, the Sima family should be more eager to join forces with Your Majesty."

Cao Mao laughed, "Yes, Sima Zhao must be getting a little impatient, but he can't bring himself to speak."

Zhong Hui nodded. Neither Cao Mao nor Zhong Hui thought of joining forces with Sima Zhao. What they wanted was to inherit Sima Shi and make the Sima family their own. They didn't want an alliance, they wanted a merger!
"In that case, Your Majesty, we can no longer do anything."

"Oh? Zhong Yu wants the ministers to fight General Wei?"

Zhong Hui said unhappily, "My brother is putting all the blame on me. It's obvious that he wants to see us fight against the ministers, and they will stand behind and gain the advantage."

"How can such a thing be possible in the world?"

"If we are to reap the benefits, we have to be the ones to do it!"

"We've done enough these days. From now on, I will continue to handle the affairs of the royal family in secret and let Wang Xiang do what he wants. If Sima Zhao doesn't want to lose control, he must take the initiative to step forward."

"Your Majesty, please be patient and don't rush into action."

Cao Mao smiled and nodded.

"Don't worry, Shiji, I understand."

Zhong Hui suddenly cursed again: "That King of Yan is truly incompetent!"

"Although Xiahou Xian was reckless, he had some courage. However, the King of Yan has become even more timid than before. He only knows how to nod and give in to his ministers. He has even become a weapon used by Wang Xiang and others to deal with Xiahou Xian."

"If we didn't have to rely on the power of the royal family, I would have advised Your Majesty to get rid of him directly."

Speaking of Cao Yu, Cao Mao's face also showed some disappointment.

I thought that after years of imprisonment, this person would have come to his senses, but unexpectedly, he was even more disappointing than before.

It is destined that you cannot be a minister of state!

Cao Mao said solemnly, with a straight face, "Shi Ji, don't worry about this man. I will make him stand firm."

(End of this chapter)