The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 287 Moral Kidnapping
Hua Yi just didn't understand. Isn't being an official something that both parties should be willing to do?
Why force conscription?
If soft tactics don’t work, then use hard tactics, right?
Huabiao's face was full of bitterness. His son had been stubborn since childhood. When he was still in the Imperial College, he dared to write articles to satirize Cao Shuang, and later satirized Duke Xuanwen.

At that time, Hua Xin's influence was still there, so neither Cao Shuang nor Sima Yi took it seriously.

Lu Yu was attracted by his stubbornness and married his daughter to him.

Lu Yu had been suppressing him and not allowing him to take up an official position. On the one hand, this was to build up the reputation of his son-in-law, and on the other hand, it was actually to protect him.

If he becomes an official with this personality, I'm afraid something big will happen!
After Lu Yu and others failed, Hua Yi did not accept any invitation from any party and returned home directly.

When the court officials took action, Hua Yi made plans for his father in advance, allowing Hua Biao to get the first credit.

But this does not mean that Hua Yi was ready to assist the emperor. In fact, Hua Biao persuaded him many times to follow him to meet the emperor, but he just refused.

His idea was very clear. He felt that he should always stand on the same side with Lu Yu. As his son-in-law, he had received his kindness and should also bear the responsibility together.

When Huabiao saw his son's expression, he felt something was wrong.

As expected, Hua Yi directly retorted, "Your Majesty summoned me forcefully. How could you know that I am not determined to destroy Mianshan?"

The story Hua Yi mentioned refers to Jie Zitui. It is said that he hid in Mianshan Mountain in order to live in seclusion. Duke Wen of Jin set fire to the mountain and searched the mountain. As a result, Jie Zitui was burned to death and never came out to see Duke Wen.

Huabiao's eyes went dark, and he felt that his career as the Minister of the Secretariat was coming to an end.

But Cao Mao burst into laughter. "Jie Zitui fled because Duke Wen refused to reward him. Now I have just taken power. I have made no mistakes, nor have I ever looked down on capable officials like Duke Wen did. I have come personally to recruit him. Why do you want to follow Jie Zitui's example?"

"I made a big mistake when I followed Lord Lu."

Cao Mao said again: "Since it was you who made the mistake, not me, then we can't say that we fled to Mianshan to avoid the expedition. We should say that we hid in Mianshan to escape the crime."

Although Hua Yi was stubborn, he was not very eloquent. After being criticized by the emperor, he didn't know how to refute him.

Cao Mao said sternly, "You know you've made a mistake, but instead of trying to make amends, you're hiding at home. How can you be called a gentleman?"

"How many people in Hebei died or were injured because of Lord Lu's policies?! As his son-in-law, you didn't try to dissuade him, but instead allowed him to ruin things out of selfish motives. Now you're trying to hide from your mistakes?!"

Hua Yi's face flushed red, and Hua Biao quickly said, "Your Majesty, it is because I failed to discipline you well."

Cao Mao suppressed his anger and looked at Hua Yi. "I have come to recruit you this time to redeem you. I do not want your life. Your life alone cannot replace the lives of millions of people in Hebei. From now on, you should focus on assisting the government and saving the people of the world. When your merits are enough to make up for your mistakes, I will let you return to Mianshan!"

"Stand up and obey!"

Hua Biao tugged at his son, and Hua Yi stood up and bent down, "I obey your order."

Cao Mao was very happy, because he lacked such a stubborn person around him.

This person can replace Chen Qian in the future and serve as the Minister of Justice. His upper limit is Sikong, who was the Grand Censor in the past.

Only then did Cao Mao follow Huabiao into the palace.

While beating Hua Yi, Cao Mao also gave Hua Biao some rewards, and finally began to explain the business.

"Lord Hua, the ministers are somewhat dissatisfied with the recent imperial edicts on appointments and dismissals. They believe that I have acted on my own and have not listened to their advice. What do you think?"

Hua Biao asked in surprise, "I was following the orders of the Minister of the Interior. How can you say I didn't follow the advice of the ministers?"

Cao Mao laughed heartily. "If only all the ministers could be as wise as Lord Hua!"

Hua Biao quickly replied, "Your Majesty, these are petty officials in the court who are greedy for power. These people should be severely punished!"

Cao Mao shook his head and said, "There's no rush for this matter."

"I came here this time for another matter."

"Oh?"

Cao Mao asked seriously, "Who does Lord Hua think is suitable for the position of Grand Minister of Agriculture?"

Cao Mao now has a lot of things to deal with. The first thing he has to deal with is the treatment of the troops. To accomplish this, he needs the help of the Grand Minister of Agriculture. The Grand Minister of Agriculture is in charge of the finances of the temple, and the Minister of the Treasury is in charge of the emperor's personal finances.

Since the death of Sima Shi, a large number of vacant positions have appeared in the court, including the position of Grand Minister of Agriculture.

But Cao Mao couldn't find anyone who could take this position.

Speaking of which, this is really the emperor's sorrow.

Emperors of all dynasties had many people but few officials. Emperor Wu of Han was particularly fond of playing the Three Dukes Candy Crush game, as if he had an inexhaustible supply of talent. But when it came to Cao Mao, he couldn't even find anyone who could be the Minister of Agriculture and be in charge of the finances of the temple!
Huabiao was also a little confused when he heard the emperor's question.

None of the ministers in this temple can be said to be truly assisting Your Majesty, except myself, of course!
How easy is it to find someone who is capable of managing finances and loyal to Your Majesty?
The position of Minister of Agriculture cannot be casually appointed to a young person.

Hua Biao hesitated, while Hua Yi seemed to be lost in thought. The emperor suddenly came to him, asking about the selection of the Minister of Agriculture. This made no sense. He should have asked Zheng Mao for the selection. Why did he come to ask us?

Hua Yi suddenly realized something and asked suspiciously, "Your Majesty, I wonder where my father-in-law is now?"

Hua Biao was stunned. "Didn't he go back to Hebei?"

Cao Mao chuckled. "Speaking of which, Lord Lu was also unlucky. He had just left Luoyang when Gao Rou's rebellion occurred. The cavalry was dispatched urgently and blockaded Sili. He was unable to leave, so he was temporarily detained by Captain Ji."

Hua Yi immediately understood and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the former Minister of Agriculture, Lord Lu, can take on this important position!"

The original Grand Minister of Agriculture was Wang Xiang, but after Wang Xiang completed his promotion, the position became vacant. Lu Yu's son Lu Qin filled the vacancy left by Wang Xiang and became the new Grand Minister of Agriculture, but was dismissed when Lu Yu failed, which left the Grand Minister of Agriculture vacant.

Lu Qin was reinstated as the Minister of Agriculture, which was a reinstatement of his official position and there was no problem at all.

But Huabiao looked solemn.

Since the rebellion in Hebei, the Lu family's reputation has been ruined and they have been ostracized by many major families in Hebei. In this case, if the emperor reappoints a member of the Lu family, it is likely to cause a huge backlash.

He glanced at his son and then reminded him, "Your Majesty, the previous appointments have made the ministers somewhat dissatisfied. Wang Su's arrival has made them even more uneasy. If you summon Lu Qin, I'm afraid the ministers will all submit a petition, which would be detrimental to the overall situation."

"Your Majesty has eliminated Gao Rou and other traitors, but there are still traitors hiding in the court. We must not underestimate them."

Huabiao was somewhat worried that the young emperor, who had just dealt with Gao Rou, would become arrogant, look down on his ministers, and act arbitrarily.

But Cao Mao's eyes were very bright. He understood the power of his ministers very well and was also very clear about what he was doing.

Now that the ministers are leaderless, and I have just established my authority with Gao Rou and others, this is the best time for me to take back power.

There is no room for delay when dealing with ministers. Many things should be done as soon as possible.

The military and finances must be in our own hands.

Who else could hold the position of Grand Minister of Agriculture except Lu Qin, who was isolated by the other ministers and had good character?
I want to improve the treatment of the lower-class people, but without the assistance of the Minister of Agriculture, how can I do so?

This is the first department you should consider before doing anything.

Cao Mao could not trust other people, even those who were loyal to him. The ministers in the court were greedy more than each other. Asking them to be the Minister of Agriculture would be like letting a wolf among the sheep. They would eat and drink their fill and spit out the bones to Cao Mao.

Shi Chong, who was mentioned earlier as living an extremely luxurious life, once served as the Minister of Agriculture. Well, now we understand why he was able to live such a comfortable life.

Although Lu Qin is not considered a close confidant of his, he has proven his integrity in history and would not do anything to enrich himself. Besides, he has nowhere else to go except to follow him.

Cao Mao wanted to subdue Hua Yi in order to let Hua Yi persuade Lu Qin.

Cao Mao had previously sent Zhang Hua to try to recruit him, but failed. This time, he must bring him under his command.

Cao Mao held Huabiao's hand and said soothingly, "Please don't worry. I have already prepared a plan to deal with the ministers. You can just focus on the Secretariat."

Cao Mao then looked at Hua Yi and said, "I'll leave the task of summoning Lord Lu to you."

"This year's spring planting has been affected. I wonder if there will be more disasters this year. If any civilians die of starvation, they will be killed by you. Let Lu Qin come back and help resolve these issues. Don't hide away and ignore your crimes!!"

Hua Yi stood up, "Wei!!"

Cao Mao left Washington with satisfaction. He liked dealing with these upright and moral gentlemen. He could get them to do things by using moral kidnapping. However, if he met shameless people like Jia Chong and Xun Xu, it would be of no use. After all, they had no morals at all and would not be kidnapped by morality.

Cao Mao returned to Taiji Hall and began to prepare for the upcoming East Hall Banquet.

Cao Mao attached great importance to this Dongtang Banquet and sent people to make preparations early. Zhang Hua prepared a lot of seats, and ordered the eunuchs to prepare a large amount of food and wine, and even organized special musicians.

This specification is suddenly different from the past.

Cao Mao sat at the door of the east hall, staring outside.

He seemed to be waiting for something.

"His Majesty!!"

A man walked into the hall with a swagger. That man was Zhong Hui. He would not miss such a grand banquet.

It’s a pity that Ji Kang couldn’t come, otherwise I could have listened to him play music for me.

"Your Majesty, a traitor is planning to attack today's Dongtang Banquet!"

(End of this chapter)