The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 29 The General's Methods
Du Yu hurriedly said, "General!"

"You are a minister of Wei. How can you kill a member of the royal family for no reason?"

"Gao Guixianggong has not committed any serious offense. So many people in the world admire Xiahougong. Are you going to kill him just because he pleaded for Xiahougong?"

"How will the world view you?"

"Rehabilitating Xiahou Xuan would harm the general, and killing Gaogui Xianggong would harm you!"

Sima Shi and Sima Zhao have different positions.

Sima Shi was more concerned with flexing his muscles and silencing his ministers through killing, while Sima Zhao was concerned with winning over these people.

Simply put, one plays the good guy and the other plays the bad guy.

For example, on the issue of Xiahou Xuan, Sima Shi insisted on killing him, while Sima Zhao pleaded for him.

Sima Shi did not need a good reputation, but Sima Zhao did.

Because in the Sima family's three-step strategy, Sima Shi decided that his younger brother would complete the last step and let him ascend the throne as emperor.

Therefore, he needs a good reputation, he needs the support of the people, he needs to have some dignity, and he needs to act like a wise ruler.

However, Cao Mao in history sacrificed his own life to cause the collapse of Sima Shi's strategy, leaving Sima Zhao humiliated. The Sima family could only delay for another generation and let Sima Yan complete this mission.

Sima Zhao naturally knew this truth.

But he was still extremely determined, "If I don't kill him today, I will regret it sooner or later!"

Du Yu said again: "General, not only must you not kill him, you must also agree with him and support him. Most importantly, you must send people to protect him and absolutely cannot let him be killed by those with ulterior motives."

"I'm afraid it's not you who wants to kill him now, but those people in the court with ulterior motives."

"The matter of redress is now causing a great uproar. If the noble lord were to suddenly die, the controversy that would be caused is beyond my imagination."

"The death of the noble Duke is beneficial to many ministers in the court, but it is disadvantageous to you."

Sima Zhao was furious.

"He's riding on my head and pulling arrows, and I still have to protect him??"

"I am the great General who conquered the West, but I am not..."

Sima Zhao's face turned red and he gnashed his teeth in hatred.

Du Yu said: "The key now is not Gaogui Xianggong. We should deal with the ministers first. We can win over one faction, suppress another, and execute another. Once the redress is completed, no one will care about Gaogui Xianggong's affairs."

"At that time, the general will only need to support someone else and no longer care about the Xiang Gong. If the general wants to prioritize important matters, he must not wantonly kill members of the royal family."

"A small leak will sink a great ship."

"When Emperor Taizu of Han founded the Han Dynasty, he first appointed his enemies as marquises, thus winning the hearts of the people."

"When all the problems are solved in the future, you must reward him with more gifts and show your generosity. Only in this way can you gain the love of the people of the world."

"The lord is but a child. You could have just sent a trusted confidant with a group of men to look after him without worry. Why kill him and ruin your reputation?"

Sima Zhao took a deep breath, and when he opened his eyes again, the anger in his eyes had disappeared without a trace.

He smiled and took Du Yu's hand, saying gently, "If it weren't for Yuan Kai, he would have almost made a big mistake. It was my inconsiderateness. Gao Guixianggong is truly wise in redressing the virtuous. Xia Hougong's reputation as a virtuous man is known to everyone in the world. I should go and help redress his innocence!"

Du Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

"General, you are wise! I know you have always admired the great general and have followed his lead in everything. However, you are not the great general after all. You can observe his methods, but you cannot imitate them."

"The general has his own strengths, which even the great general cannot match. Why should we try to imitate him?"

Sima Zhao laughed when he heard this.

"You're right! My brother still doesn't know about this, but I'm the one busy here. It shows that there are times when my brother can't compare to me!"

"Get ready, let's go meet those great sages in the court!"

"only!!"

Imperial Palace, Taiji Hall, East Hall.

This is where the emperor and his ministers usually handle important affairs of the world.

The decoration is not luxurious. When Cao Pi built the Taiji Hall, he focused on building the main hall responsible for rituals and sacrifices, and did not pay much attention to the East Hall for handling affairs and the West Hall for the emperor to rest.

According to Cao Pi, sacrifices and rituals are important matters to heaven and ancestors and must be grand, while disposal and enjoyment are not so important and can be kept simple.

Although Cao Pi had many shortcomings, he still had outstanding talents in governing and pacifying the people.

The ministers gathered here, not talking to each other, but communicating with their eye contact.

They probably knew each other's thoughts very well, and perhaps they had already made negotiations before arriving.

Sima Zhao walked quickly into the hall. Many ministers stood up to greet him, but some remained unmoved.

Sima Zhao greeted them one by one, smiling and very gentle. The three ministers sitting at the top were Taiwei Sima Fu, Situ Gaorou, and Sikong Zheng Chong.

Although these three people had high positions, it was the Secretariat that actually did the work. Sima Shi served concurrently as the Shangshu Ling, and the person who worked on his behalf was Shangshu Pushe Lu Yu.

Sima Fu is Sima Yi's younger brother and has a very good reputation. Large families usually have different roles, and Sima Fu's role in the Sima family is probably similar to that of Guo Ze.

Although he came from the Sima family, he had a good reputation and was deeply respected by scholars.

Gao Rou was the cousin of Gao Gan, the former governor of Bingzhou. He started out as a minor official and worked from the time of Cao Cao until now. He was an old minister who assisted five generations of Cao Wei in history. Because he supported Sima Yi in Gaoping Mausoleum, he was deeply loved by the Sima family.

Zheng Chong was born in a humble family and was promoted by Cao Pi himself. However, he has always been a transparent person in government affairs, never interfering in anything and only seeking to protect himself.

As for Lu Yu, his background is even more prominent. He is the son of Lu Zhi, a famous official in the late Han Dynasty.

"General, have you heard that Princess Gaogui is advocating for a rebellion on behalf of Mr. Xiahou?"

The elderly Gao Rou spoke first.

Gao Rou is not young, but he doesn't look old at all and has a loud voice.

Gao Rou and the Sima family did not have a dependent relationship, they were real allies. Gao Rou had been in the court for many years and had countless students and former officials. Even Sima Shi would not easily offend him.

Sima Zhao originally thought that some of his lackeys would make a test attack first, but unexpectedly, Gao Rou actually started fighting directly without any intention of testing.

"I heard about it, and I think this is a good thing. Lord Xiahou was bewitched by others and acted like this!"

Sima Zhao replied with a smile.

Smiles suddenly appeared on the faces of the ministers.

But Sima Zhao added, "I am willing to join you in submitting a petition to the General, asking him to redress the injustice!"

Gao Rou was not a fool. He frowned. Are these two brothers starting to act again?

"General, Duke Xiahou's reputation is known throughout the world. He was implicated because he mistakenly trusted a treacherous minister, but he wasn't the one who plotted rebellion; someone else did. Since the new emperor is willing to redress his innocence, how can we, the ministers, turn a blind eye?"

"General, we are going to submit a petition to the Queen Mother, requesting her order to revolt on behalf of General Xiahou. Please lead the charge!"

Gao Rou blocked the road with just one sentence.

Don't go to your brother to act, just come with us to see the Queen Mother.

Let's put this matter to rest. Didn't you say you support us? Then follow us!
If you don't go, it means you are pretending to support us and we will never give you a chance to act.

Sima Zhao obviously did not expect Gao Rou to be so direct. He was panicked for a moment and hurriedly looked at Sima Fu.

Sima Fu's face was calm as he smiled and nodded, "Mr. Situ's words make sense!"

"Yes! It is indeed!"

"That's how it should be!"

Everyone started talking at once.

Sima Zhao felt unprecedented pressure. If his brother had not been unwell, would these people dare to be so arrogant?

He was frantically thinking of a solution.

At this moment, a eunuch suddenly walked in from the side door and walked directly to the center of the ministers.

The eunuch looked at everyone, opened the imperial edict in his hand, and read:
"The Queen Mother has issued an edict!"

"Although Xiahou Xuan had a reputation for being virtuous, he participated in a rebellion. According to Wei law, there was nothing wrong with investigating and prosecuting him. Now, there is Pingyuan Marquis Guo De, who, out of pity for his wife's uncle, has sent people to deceive the new emperor, falsely claiming to be the new emperor's decree, causing unrest throughout the country and unrest in the court!"

"A country has laws, which cannot be abolished because of one person. Lord Xiahou, I love him, but you cannot disregard the laws because of this. Otherwise, the country will no longer be a country."

"Severely punish Pingyuan Hou Guo De for his crimes. There's no need to mention this matter of redress!"

After the eunuch finished speaking, he put away the imperial edict.

Everyone was stunned.

At this moment, another person came in, bowed to the ministers, and then reported:

"Gentlemen, upon learning that this incident has caused unrest within the court, Pingyuan Marquis Guo De felt immense guilt and personally wrote down his crime of deceiving the new emperor and disrupting the court. He then committed suicide by taking poison last night."

At this moment, the entire temple was in deathly silence.

Even Sima Zhao was stunned.

What?? Guo De confessed to suicide??
The Queen Mother even personally issued an order refusing to redress the injustice?

what's the situation?
Did Big Brother take action?!
But when did he make his move? !

ps: Thanks to the leader Shangxian Qitian, the new book has been collected 60,000 times, and the growth is very good. Thank you for your support, and I hope you don’t forget to collect it.

This book hasn't even been released yet, but I already owe dozens of chapters. I don't know when I can finish paying it back.
(End of this chapter)