The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 286 There is an imperial decree!

Lu Zhi discovered that since the death of the general, the ministers' eloquence had become better and better.

Not only eloquence, but also courage suddenly appeared. Everyone became upright, brave, and impressive.

Those who had followed Wang Su with their heads bowed in the past were now summoning all the ministers to force him away.

The man who was trembling in front of the general wanted to drive Sima Yi away from the emperor.

The person who dared not raise his head when hearing the word "General" actually wanted to support the General now?
Lu Zhi was very disappointed with the ministers of the time, and his face was full of helplessness.

He always felt that these things in the temple were meaningless. His ideas were actually somewhat similar to Wang Guan's. He believed that attention should be focused on practical matters, and the chaos in the temple should be quelled as soon as possible without delaying important matters.

The reason why the ministers came to his residence this time was mainly because they dared to fight for power but did not dare to discuss this matter in their own residences.

I want to steal meat, but I'm afraid of getting beaten.

Guo Zhang found Lu Zhi and flattered him, saying that he was the hope of all the ministers and that he wanted to gather in his mansion to discuss important matters.

If someone else said this, Lu Zhi would definitely kick him out.

But Guo Zhang is different, Guo Zhang is Guo Huai's nephew.

When Lu Zhi was still very young, Guo Huai served as the governor of Yongzhou. Guo Huai valued this young man very much, so he recommended him as a filial and incorrupt official and promoted him to a doctor.

Strictly speaking, Lu Zhi was a former official of the Guo family.

Although Guo Huai is no longer with us, Lu Zhi still remembers the kindness he had shown his nephew.

However, compared with Guo Huai, this nephew's performance was really terrible. Lu Zhi couldn't help shaking his head after hearing his thoughts.

Hearing Xin Chang say even more explosive words, Lu Zhi could no longer remain calm.

"Mr. Xin, I don't know who brought this up, and I don't want to know. I'm just trying to advise you, as a colleague, not to entertain such thoughts."

He said seriously, "This is a way to die."

"Your Majesty values you very much. Therefore, you should stay in your position and avoid getting involved in the court's conspiracies. If you remain ignorant of everything, you may be able to save your life."

Having said this, Lu Zhi stood up to see the guest off.

He will never get involved with these people again. They are simply crazy!
Still supporting a general? Why don't you just support a new emperor?

He understood what these people were thinking. The emperor was now unscrupulously exercising his power of appointment and dismissal, replacing people with great fanfare, but without asking the opinions of his ministers. The ministers were extremely dissatisfied with this, but the three highest positions were vacant and no one could confront the emperor head-on, so they wanted to find a general to restrict the emperor.

They really dare to think! !
We can’t hang out with these people anymore. If we continue to do so, our three clans will be in danger sooner or later!

Lu Zhi impatiently sent Xin Chang out as if driving him away.

Standing outside the door, Xin Chang looked at the mansion gate in front of him with a wry smile. It seemed that he had to stay away from these people for a while.

The next day, at dawn, Cao Mao had already driven away from the palace.

Tonight's Dongtang Banquet cannot be delayed, and before the banquet begins, he has to visit someone.

When Cao Mao suddenly appeared in Hua Mansion, Hua Biao was panicked. He quickly ordered the door to be opened and forced his son to go out to pay him a visit.

Huabiao, who was promoted to the position of Zhongshujian, had become one of the leaders of the ministers.

If one more of the Three Dukes could be added, and the Minister of the Interior or the Grand Commandant could be in charge of the Secretariat, he would be a truly powerful prime minister of the Wei Dynasty.

Huabiao was very satisfied with his current life. He also became the emperor's most loyal minister. In just a few days, he took charge of the Secretariat and cleaned up the Secretariat from top to bottom, replacing key positions with his own people.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you~~~"

Huabiao stretched out his voice, still not changing his habit as a Shizhong, and spoke the welcoming words almost in the tone of reading an imperial edict.

Cao Mao smiled and helped him up, saying with emotion, "During these days, the imperial edicts I issued have not been delayed at all and have reached the hands of my ministers in a timely manner. This is all due to your contribution!"

"With you in the Secretariat, I can rest easy!"

Hearing this, Huabiao suddenly felt a little ashamed.

He stammered and was somewhat speechless.

The performance of Zhongshutai in recent days has been very impressive, but this actually has little to do with the Huabiao. It can be said that it has basically nothing to do with it.

As the core agency for drafting imperial edicts in the Wei Dynasty, the work of the Zhongshu is always misunderstood as simply writing imperial edicts and then sending them out.

But this specific task was obviously not that simple. When Cao Mao issued an imperial edict, he did not write it himself. He had to inform the Secretariat of his ideas, and the Secretariat would complete the task of drafting and issuing it. How to correctly understand the emperor's intentions, how to express the edict in the most concise language to prevent misunderstanding, how to alleviate the ministers' resistance to the edict, and how to correctly delegate the edict to the designated personnel were all difficult tasks.

This cannot be done without some ability. One has to worry about misunderstanding the emperor's intentions and worrying about the ministers finding fault. The power is great, but the responsibility is also great. If there is a problem with the imperial edict, the Minister of the Central Secretariat and the Supervisor of the Central Secretariat will be held responsible.

But in the past few days, Cao Mao issued several imperial edicts, including personnel appointments and dismissals, transfers, and some policy adjustments, all of which were completed excellently by the Secretariat.

Cao Mao looked at the Hua Biao in front of him and praised it a few more times. Hua Biao finally couldn't help but said, "Your Majesty, this is not the work of this old minister."

"Oh? Why do you say that?"

Hua Biao then explained, "I used to look down on Duke Zheng, but now I know that his reputation for judging people is not empty talk. The Lord Wei he recommended is extremely talented. He has been in charge of all the affairs of the Secretariat without any delay."

Huabiao is a person whose talents are actually not particularly outstanding.

Cao Mao had long expected that Wei Guan would be the one behind this.

The reason why he didn't point it out was that he wanted to see whether the Huabiao could continue to be used in the future.

Although Huabiao showed great loyalty, when it comes to governing the world, loyalty is not the only consideration, ability is also important. If Huabiao takes away the credit of his subordinates, it means that this person is not suitable for an important position, and someone can be found to replace him later.

But now Huabiao told the truth. Well, even if he himself lacks talent, he may not be jealous of his subordinates' talents and will take the initiative to take credit for them. This person is still useful.

When Cao Mao appointed Zheng Mao as the Minister of Personnel to replace many officials, Hua Biao expressed doubts.

Cao Mao asked Zheng Mao to recommend someone to assist Huabiao, and Zheng Mao recommended the young Wei Guan.

Wei Guan came from a prominent family. His great-grandfather Wei Hao was a famous Confucian scholar during the reign of Emperor Ming of Han. The classics were passed down from generation to generation. By the time of his father Wei Ji, he had already held the important position of Shangshu.

However, Wei Guan, like many capable ministers around Cao Mao, had an unfortunate childhood. He lost his father at the age of ten and began to live an independent life at an early age. When he was a teenager, he was praised by others and was believed to be extraordinary.

Cao Mao felt as if he had discovered the common characteristics of capable ministers. Those who came from prominent families but had had smooth sailing since childhood and lived under the protection of adults were almost all good-for-nothings. On the contrary, those who lost protection since childhood and became independent had achieved great success.

Wei Guan was different from the others who were hyped up. He became a Shangshu Lang when he was 20 years old. This start was no less promising than Zhong Hui's.

The Secretariat is a place that gets practical work done. It is not a place where an ordinary good-for-nothing can get in. Afterwards, he went to various important positions to hone his skills, and served as Tongshilang and Zhongshulang successively. He has worked in almost all institutions that get practical work done, which laid the foundation for him to become a capable official.

If it weren't for Cao Mao's change, he would have been valued by Sima Zhao and become the emperor's regular attendant.

This man had a very vigorous life. He became a Shizhong at the age of forty and then became a Jiuqing. Although he was a little inferior to a certain forty-year-old who became one of the Three Dukes, he had plenty of practical experience and was proficient in both civil and military affairs.

Later, when Zhong Hui rebelled, it was this man who stepped forward and pacified Yizhou, but he did not accept the reward. During the Sima Yan period, he solved the Xianbei problem for the court in the northeast.

Unfortunately, he was unjustly killed in the end. It was said that this was because he opposed Sima Zhong's ascension to the throne and thus offended Jia Nanfeng.

This person was fair and talented, and most importantly, Cao Mao knew that he was the first official in the Wei and Jin dynasties to submit a memorial to Sima Yan requesting the abolition of the Nine-Rank System.

He believed that such an official selection system would undermine the foundation of the government and that it was only a temporary measure and should not be continued.

This also explains why he died so miserably. It is worth mentioning that Wei Jie, one of the four most handsome men in ancient times, was the grandson of Wei Guan.

This young man can still be used. He is much more stable than Zhong Hui.

However, Cao Mao did not come this time for Wei Guan.

Cao Mao looked at Hua Yi, who was also kneeling beside him and maintaining a saluting posture.

He came here for Huayi this time.

Anshi has so many talented people in his hands!

There were many talented people, but none of them had a good ending, including Hua Yi in front of him. He was the Shangshu Ling of Anshi in history. He was an upright person and did not flatter the powerful.

When Jia Nanfeng wanted to marry her relative to Hua Yi's grandson, Hua Yi insulted her directly and said that he was unwilling to go along with the corrupt practices.

From then on, he continued to suffer retaliation from Jia Nanfeng, and until his death, he was never allowed to ascend to the throne and become one of the Three Dukes.

Although his rank and ability were among the best, he was unwilling to do so. Finally, he could not withstand the pressure from the ministers and was given the rank of Yitong Sansi.
Cao Mao looked at Hua Yi with a smile and asked, "Lord Hua, you have achieved such great merit this time, why are you unwilling to come to see me?"

Hua Yi raised his head and said, "Your Majesty, I have no virtue. All that happened before was because of my father's orders. I have not made any achievements myself, so I am truly unworthy of Your Majesty's esteem."

"I came here this time to give you a chance to make great achievements."

"I have an edict, you must obey it!"

(End of this chapter)