The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 293 Very good
This Dongtang Banquet in Luoyang indeed caused a huge sensation just as Cao Mao had expected.

However, Cao Mao did not pay any more attention to this matter.

If all the ministers are trying their best to drag me to do things, then I will just throw these things away and let them fight over them while I finish the most critical things first.

As for everything that happened in the East Hall Banquet, Cao Mao directly handed it over to Zhang Hua to deal with.

He actually wanted to let Zhong Hui handle it, but Zhong Hui had too many things to handle. If he were to be given these things to do, even if he could bear it mentally, he was afraid that his body would not be able to bear it.

Cao Mao didn't want to send away his most capable minister so soon.

Cao Mao had previously rewarded many of his confidants, and these people were promoted to varying degrees, except Zhang Hua, who remained by Cao Mao's side.

Of course, Zhang Hua himself doesn’t care much about this, and his character is still good.

Cao Mao did not intend to suppress him. He really needed someone to assist him who could come up with countermeasures in a timely manner.

Just like the current chaotic situation, we can temporarily hand it over to Zhang Hua to handle. Firstly, it is a trust in him, and secondly, it is also a way to hone his talents.

Zhang Hua will at least be a capable official on the same level as Zhong Hui in the future, and Cao Mao wants him to train as soon as possible.

After handing these matters over to him, Cao Mao took his cavalry and went to meet the two important figures happily.

When Cao Mao and Sima Yan got off the carriage, Cao Mao gave a signal and Sima Yan quickly arranged for people to guard the surroundings and not allow anyone to enter or leave.

This is an ordinary courtyard located in the southern part of Luoyang. It looks no different from the surrounding houses.

When Cao Mao walked into the mansion, he saw a father and son sitting in the courtyard with worried looks on their faces.

This father and son were Lu Yu and Lu Qin.

These two people were also unlucky. After his failure, Lu Yu decided to leave Luoyang, but unfortunately, he could not get out of Luoyang.

He didn't even make it out of town.

Lu Yu gritted his teeth and looked at Cao Mao, who was smiling in front of him, feeling angry and hateful.

"Your Majesty, what exactly do you want me to do?!"

"I have already retired and returned to my hometown. Why don't you let me leave?"

Cao Mao told Hua Biao that Lu Yu and others were unable to leave Sili after leaving Luoyang and were captured by Ji Kang. In fact, this was a lie.

The truth is that Lu Yu and his son were kidnapped by a group of wanderers and imprisoned in this residence the day after they met Zhang Hua. They also pretended that Lu Yu and his son had left Luoyang, making everyone think that they had returned to Hebei.

Lu Yu really didn't know what the emperor wanted to do. He initially thought that the wealthy families in Hebei were completely shameless and wanted to kill him. Later, he received a message from the emperor saying that he was very worried about his safety, so he was protected and told not to worry.

When Lu Yu learned that the person who secretly imprisoned him was actually the emperor, he was about to collapse.

What kind of emperor is this? He even resorts to the tactics of a knight-errant? Sima Shi looks like a gentleman compared to you!

They're nothing but bandits! Even worse than bandits!

Seeing the emperor coming to visit, Lu Yu could no longer bear it.

Cao Mao bowed to him very carefully and said, "Lord Lu, I am wrong to have caused you injustice these days. Please don't blame me."

After all, Cao Mao still had the identity of an emperor.

Even if Lu Yu was furious, he instinctively stood up to return the emperor's greeting. His scholar-official nature prevented him from disregarding etiquette. "Your Majesty, please don't do this."

"I just want to go home"

Cao Mao asked the two men to sit down and sat in front of them.

"Lord Lu, perhaps you won't believe this, but among all the ministers of the Later Han Dynasty, the one I admire most is your father."

"He is a capable minister who can govern the classics, lead troops in battle, govern the local areas, and advise the emperor. It's a pity that he was born at the wrong time."

Cao Mao suddenly felt emotional.

When Lu Yu heard Cao Mao talking about Lu Zhi, the anger on his face dissipated a little.

In fact, Lu Yu did not have a very clear impression of his father. His father passed away when he was very young.

He couldn't tell whether his respect at this moment came from etiquette or from some kind of silent longing and yearning.

"Lord Lu, I previously sent Zhang Hua to find Lord Lu because I wanted him to continue serving as the Minister of Agriculture. However, he is very worried about your safety and is unwilling to leave you at this time."

"Your son is quite like his grandfather. I think he is more like his grandfather than you are."

"I really need a filial and righteous minister like him to assist me."

"Do you still want him to follow you to Hebei to die at this age?"

Cao Mao cleared his throat, and Sima Yan walked in. Cao Mao motioned for him to sit next to him, and then said, "An Shi, tell me what you heard."

Sima Yan looked at Lu Yu and said seriously, "When we captured Gao Rou's rebels earlier, we discovered his correspondence with many ministers, in which he mentioned you several times."

As he spoke, Sima Yan took out a few letters and handed them to Lu Yu in front of him.

Cao Mao said calmly, "Look, you want to go back and enjoy your old age, but those great families in Hebei don't have that idea. They've already prepared to kill you, and they've even prepared the people to do it. These letters are written to He Zeng and Chen Ben. You should know what they can do in Hebei, right?"

Lu Yu frowned as he read the letters before him, his face flushing red. He knew he would face retaliation this time, but he hadn't imagined the other party would actually want to exterminate his entire family.

Lu Yu began to tremble all over.

He took a deep breath and calmed himself down. Now he raised his head and looked at the emperor in front of him, but there was no resentment in his eyes.

He stood up trembling and bowed deeply to Cao Mao.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!!!"

Cao Mao hurriedly helped him up and said, "Alas, Lord Lu, as long as you don't blame me, I feel guilty for forcing you to stay here."

Lu Yu's face was full of shame, and he didn't even dare to look the emperor in the eye. Thinking of the curses he had secretly been making these days, he felt that he was becoming less and less of a human being.

These letters in Cao Mao's hands are not forged, they are real!

Previously, in order to unite the ministers, Wang Xiang wanted to completely wipe out the Lu family and take people to divide up the interests of many major families in Hebei. Naturally, Lu Yu and his son were on the list of those who must be eliminated.

"If it weren't for Your Majesty, I'm afraid we would have met with an accident long ago."

"Mr. Lu, please don't speak like that."

Cao Mao looked at Lu Qin who was standing aside and said, "Lord Lu, the position of Minister of Agriculture still needs you to take it."

Lu Qin looked at his father beside him and said helplessly: "Your Majesty, how dare I, a guilty person, continue to stay by your side?"

Cao Mao said seriously, "Lord Lu, you must not be so selfish. Have you forgotten that you are not alone in Luoyang? You have a brother-in-law. Do you really not care about his safety?"

"Mr. Hua has made great contributions by assisting his father these days, but because of you, he dare not accept the reward."

"You don't want to be an official, so do you want Hua Jun to be a commoner like you? At his age, isn't it time for him to unleash his inner revenge?!"

After Cao Mao said this, Lu Qin felt even more ashamed.

"I"

Cao Mao shook his head. "These days, Lord Hua has been writing to me, saying that he wants you to continue serving as the Minister of Agriculture. He wants to meet you and try to persuade you, but I have always stopped him."

This time, Lu Qin finally couldn't bear it anymore.

"Your Majesty, I will go to meet him now. I am guilty!"

Cao Mao glanced at Sima Yan again, and Sima Yan hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, if Duke Lu returns to Hebei with his family, they will surely be attacked by villains. Even if they can escape, how can Lord Hua and his wife and children live in peace?"

"I think Your Majesty could revisit this matter and personally issue an edict to remove Lord Lu from his official position and allow him to reflect on his actions within the palace."

"In this way, the ministers will not dare to embarrass him again."

"And Mr. Hua and Mr. Lu will continue to serve you. The current spring planting has been greatly affected. If the Minister of Agriculture is not arranged in time, who knows how much more damage the people will suffer."

After hearing these words, Lu Yu and his son were speechless, and the mansion was unusually quiet.

Cao Mao nodded.

"That's fine too."

"Lord Lu, I will arrange for Lord Hua to meet you. Please prepare to take up the position of Minister of Agriculture."

After he had given instructions for the next things to do, he prepared to leave. Before leaving, he looked at Lu Yu again.

"Lord Lu, in order to seize power this time, you deliberately neglected government affairs, causing great casualties. To be honest with you, if I didn't need someone to make up for all this, I would have ordered you to be executed!"

"If you still have a conscience, please help your son and do your best to make up for the mistakes you have made."

"Otherwise, after you die, how will you face your father?"

"When your father first governed the area, he treated the people with kindness and compassion. Even the southern barbarians respected him and didn't dare to point their swords at him. When they heard it was him coming, they all took off their armor and returned home."

"Why haven't you been able to imitate his character?"

After some questioning, Cao Mao said nothing more. He turned around and left with Sima Yan.

Lu Qin hurried to see him off.

Lu Yu just stood there blankly, with a dull expression and said nothing.

When Lu Qin sent them away and returned to the courtyard, two tear marks appeared on Lu Yu's face.

"My father's lifelong reputation was destroyed by me!"

Cao Mao had already boarded the carriage, and Sima Yan sat beside him. Looking at Cao Mao's serious expression, he cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, he has already agreed to work for us. Why are you still questioning him like that?"

"I think his health is not good, don't let these words make you angry to death."

Cao Mao shook his head. "I don't know. Sometimes I just can't help myself."

"When I'm a few years older, maybe that won't be the case."

"No problem, I think this is actually quite good."

(End of this chapter)