The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 276 I will go there myself
The banquet ended and Guanqiu Dian, Wen Yang and others left.

"His Majesty."

Only Cao Mao and Liu Lu were left in the East Hall.

Liu Lu finally spoke, his eyes a little moist.

"Your Majesty has grown taller and gained some weight."

Cao Mao held his hand, and his heart was also very excited and difficult to calm down.

"You've lost a lot of weight, and your skin has become so dark. I'm sorry you've suffered."

"I dare not. Your Majesty is in a tiger's den. How dare I utter the word 'bitter' in front of Your Majesty?"

"It is all due to the incompetence of our ministers that Your Majesty has suffered."

"If it weren't for you, I would have died in Sima Shi's hands by now."

Cao Mao held Liu Lu's hand, his eyes full of emotion.

All the civil and military officials in the court were well-versed in the classics and came from prominent families. They looked so elegant and respectable, and were famous throughout the world.

But looking at their actions, they are so despicable. They only care about their own interests and have no sense of justice.

Liu Lu was a knight-errant who came from a low-class background, but he had been working hard for himself these days, risking his life. The contrast between the two really made Cao Mao sigh.

Liu Lu talked seriously about his behavior in recent days.

Cao Mao did not interrupt, but just listened calmly.

Liu Lu talked about his journey to Luoyang and his arrival in Huainan. During these days, Liu Lu gained a lot of knowledge and became more mature than before.

After listening to his story, Cao Mao sighed again, "Even those famous heroes back then were far inferior to you."

Liu Lu suddenly asked, "By the way, Your Majesty, how did Lord Guo become king?"

"Shouldn't I be the one to do something like this? Why would you let him do it?"

Cao Mao smiled bitterly, "It wasn't me who asked him to go. He was coerced by someone else."

"Ah, I see. That's what I was saying. Mr. Guo has gone up the mountain to become a thief. This world is really..."

Liu Lu suddenly asked again: "Now that Your Majesty is in power, can you summon him back?"

Cao Mao shook his head, "Not yet."

"why?"

"The temple is still unstable, and he has great achievements in the mountains."

Liu Lu frowned. "Can he still help His Majesty in the mountains?"

"Of course you can. There are many things that I cannot handle, but bandits can do as they please."

"I originally wanted to send someone to contact them, but I really didn't have anyone around me who could accomplish this. Now that you're back, I don't have to worry anymore."

Liu Lu nodded, "I see."

"Your Majesty, what about Lord Yang?"

Cao Mao paused. When he was in Yuancheng, he had three confidants around him, and Yang Zong was later recruited by Sima Zhao and became an official under Sima Zhao.

Cao Mao later learned that Yang Zong, under Sima Zhao's command, spent his days taking medicine and drinking instead of doing his job, and had not made any contribution so far.

Cao Mao knew that when they were in Yuancheng, Yang Zong had wavered and thought about following him.

However, Cao Mao did not win him over, but used him as a fallback. If he died, he could persuade Sima Zhao to prevent some tragedy from happening.

Judging from the current situation, well, it seems that there is no need for Yang Zong to continue to serve as the backup.

However, given this old man's personality, I'm afraid he won't easily change his allegiance and come to me again.
Cao Mao pondered for a moment before saying, "Let's talk about his affairs later."

"Okay! Your Majesty, I will prepare today and go to see Mr. Guo tomorrow! You'd better write the letter now."

Cao Mao grabbed him and said, "Don't worry. You have come a long way. Just rest in Luoyang."

"I appoint you as a Huangmen Lang. From now on, you must stay by my side and obey my orders."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, but..."

"But what?"

"I want to know how much the salary of this Huangmen Lang is?"

Cao Mao raised his head and laughed, "Don't worry, you won't starve!"

"Someone, bring some wine!"

Yecheng.

Governor's Mansion.

"General."

Du Yu frowned and appeared in the inner room with a serious expression.

Sima Zhao was holding Hu Fen's hand, chatting happily. Seeing Du Yu suddenly appear, Sima Zhao sensed that something big was about to happen. He quickly said to Hu Fen, "You have come a long way. Go and rest first. We will discuss this tomorrow!"

Hu Fen thanked him and turned to leave.

Hu Fen came to Hebei from Xuzhou to pay a visit to Sima Zhao.

This was similar to Guanqiu Dian's visit to the imperial court to pay his respects to Cao Mao. It represented Sima Zhao's annexation of Hu Zun, the General of the Eastern Expedition, stationed in Xuzhou. Both Hu Zun and his son had fought under Sima Yi before. Hu Zun, in particular, was a veteran with a distinguished record of military exploits. He had been Sima Yi's top general, having fought alongside him against the Xiongnu, Zhuge Liang, and Gongsun Yuan. Unlike He Zeng, he had achieved the title of General of the Eastern Expedition based on his own merits.

In this "rebellion" caused by Sima Shi, Hu Zun took heavy-handed action. He did not even hide it and almost led his men to burn, kill and loot.

His behavior immediately aroused the anger of many ministers.

But Hu Zun didn't care about this. He was born into a prominent family on the frontier and was already looked down upon by the prominent families in the Central Plains. Moreover, Hu Zun, who had fought his way out of a sea of blood and corpses, didn't take these corrupt scholars seriously at all.

Even if Nai Gong kills him, what can you do?
If you have the guts, come and challenge me. Let’s see if you dare.

At Du Yu's suggestion, Sima Zhao first sent people to win over the General of the Eastern Expedition.

Sima Zhao's way of winning over the other party was also simple and crude. He told him directly and clearly that as long as he could stand on his side, your son would be the next General of the Eastern Expedition, and Xuzhou would still be supervised by your son.

So, not long after, Hu Fen appeared in front of Sima Zhao.

Hu Fen was also a fierce general. He had fought in wars with Sima Yi. Although he did not have as much experience as his father, he was also a rising star. Among the many second-generation generals, he was the best.

What is valuable is that this person has a very good relationship with Sima Zhao.

After Hu Fen left, Sima Zhao said, "That old general has a huge appetite. From what I heard, they want to support me, but also want to reform the Zhongzheng system and become a second-rank official."

"I want everything, but I'm not afraid of eating too much."

Du Yu's face was stern, and he said seriously, "General, please don't worry about these things for now. Something big has happened in Luoyang!"

"what??"

Sima Zhao was horrified. "Why did you send a letter?"

"No."

"What happened?"

"No one has sent any letters."

Sima Zhao was a little suspicious. "What do you mean?"

Du Yu explained, "General, the situation in Luoyang is very complicated. That's why I advised you to leave and not rush back."

"The treacherous ministers are greedy and want to do evil. When you were in Luoyang, they were still restless. Now that you've left Luoyang, do you think they will calm down?"

"But in recent days, no letters have come here from Luoyang to inform the ministers of the situation."

"This must have been the work of the ministers. They have already subdued the officers of the Central Army. They deliberately concealed the news, waiting for our return to launch a surprise attack."

Sima Zhao was stunned. "Aren't you being too arbitrary? The officers and soldiers of the six battalions in the central army are all from my family. How could the ministers subdue them so quickly? My brother may not have talent, but he is cautious and won't make any big mistakes."

"Besides, there are people like Zhong Yu in the temple. These people are all strategic people. How could they fail so easily?"

Du Yu said seriously, "Your departure from Luoyang is good news for the ministers. They will seize the opportunity to strike back at the treacherous ministers. This was our original plan."

"But up to now, no news has come from Luoyang. This can only mean that the ministers have succeeded."

"They won't delay this long."

Sima Zhao was really panicked at this moment, because his clansmen and family were all in Luoyang!
The descendants of foreign generals from all over the country, including the families of his soldiers, are also in Luoyang. If something happens in Luoyang.

Sima Zhao no longer had the heart to think about Hu Zun, and he paced back and forth.

"No, I will lead my troops back to Luoyang now!"

"No."

"General, we only have four battalions under our command."

"Then call He Zeng and Chen Ben's army!"

Du Yu hesitated to speak.

Sima Zhao let out a breath, calmed the anger in his heart, and his thoughts became clearer.

He Zeng and Chen Ben behaved very obediently at this moment, but once they arrived in Luoyang and found that the ministers had occupied Luoyang, the situation would be different. The reinforcements might even become enemy troops.

Thinking of this, Sima Zhao felt an unbearable headache.

Sima Zhao looked at Du Yu again, suppressing all his uneasiness, "Yuan Kai, what should we do next?"

"General, we cannot fight a civil war at this moment. Jiang Wei is invading from the west, and the Wu rebels are ready to make a move from the south. The Wei Dynasty cannot afford a civil war."

"So you want me to surrender?!"

Du Yu shook his head. "That's not what I meant. Attacking the heart is the best strategy. General, you can send someone to contact Guanqiu Jian. If the ministers take action, Your Majesty will surely be imprisoned by them. Guanqiu Jian will certainly side with Your Majesty."

"General, I'll leave the matter of contacting the foreign generals to you."

"I wish to go to Luoyang, persuade the three ministers of the current dynasty, and try to force them to stop."

Sima Zhao frowned, "Yuan Kai, please send someone else. If you leave, what will I do here?"

Du Yu said helplessly, "General, please don't worry. The ministers don't want to see the fall of the Wei Dynasty, and they dare not anger you. I think our families are just imprisoned. I will persuade the ministers to think clearly about the current situation. Wang Xiang and others are not stupid, they will understand the crisis at this moment."

"General, please contact your trusted aides now and have them reorganize the army and put pressure on the ministers."

Sima Zhao was very reluctant to let go. He trusted Du Yu very much and always asked for his advice before doing anything. Now that Du Yu was gone, he would have no one to ask for help.

Seeing Sima Zhao's worried look, Du Yu said, "Military Counselor Yang Gong is a man of strategy. He is enjoying himself simply because he doesn't want to take action against Your Majesty. Now that the ministers are taking action against Your Majesty, he will have no scruples. After I leave, you can ask him more about his thoughts."

(End of this chapter)