The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 299 Ambition
Du Yu looked at Cao Mao in front of him in astonishment.

For a moment, he was speechless.

Du Yu saw Cao Mao's previous actions very clearly. He had always guessed that what the emperor really cared about was not his own power, nor the revival of the Wei Dynasty, but the rise and fall of the world.

And today, Cao Mao's answer confirmed his guess.

This is a man who dares to risk his life to pacify the world.

Du Yu was extremely conflicted.

Because governing the world and supporting the country are also Du Yu's ambitions.

He really admired such an emperor and such a king.

Many people believed that the emperor was a sage king like Emperor Wu and Emperor Wen, but Du Yu felt that this emperor might very well surpass those two wise emperors and become a true sage king.

But Du Yu didn't dare to speak.

Sima Zhao treated him very well, regarded him as his confidant, listened to his advice and trusted him completely.

If you choose to betray the monarch at this time, are you still a human being?
This is the political system left by the Eastern Han Dynasty. There are kings at every level. The county magistrate is called the county lord, and people in the county treat him like their own king. There is no need to say more about the prefect. The county is considered a country, and the prefect is the local lord.

In the imperial court, the recommender is the monarch of the recommended person. When there is a conflict between the emperor and their own monarch, there are many people who stand on the side of their own monarch.

Cao Cao used this method to empty the imperial court, set up a government, and then recruit talents from all over the world in the name of King of Wei.

In this way, the monarch of these wise men is Cao Cao, not the emperor sitting on the throne.

Strictly speaking, they were subordinates of Cao Cao and private ministers of the Wei State, not officials of the Han Dynasty. They received Wei salary, not Han salary.

This method benefited the Sima family greatly. Starting from Sima Yi's generation, they began to imitate Cao Cao's method, and this path appeared before everyone.

Du Yu was not a minister of the Wei Dynasty, he was an official under Sima Zhao.

Cao Mao looked at Du Yu who was hesitating in front of him and smiled again.

"Well, you can wait another month."

"If I succeed and subdue Sima Zhao, then you will follow Sima Zhao and assist me."

Du Yu was stunned. "What if it fails?"

"If you fail, it means Sima Zhao died at my hands, and you can assist me alone."

Du Yu was stunned.

Cao Mao, however, acted very familiar and asked Du Yu to sit next to him.

"Don't think I'm arrogant. You can't even see the situation in Luoyang clearly, but I know General Wei's whereabouts very clearly."

"Although I have never fought a war, I understand the principle of knowing both yourself and your enemy. General Wei doesn't even know himself, and he doesn't even know the enemy. How can he be my opponent?"

"My idea is this: to use General Wei to subdue the Hebei army in one fell swoop."

"I want Lord Yang to be the General who Guards the North, and for now, I won't be setting up the Northern Expedition. With Lord Yang's ability, having him stationed in Youzhou will be enough to quell those bandits outside."

"I'm already trying to deal with Chen Tai and Sima Wang in the northwest. As for Zhuge Dan in Huainan, I've decided to make him the Grand Marshal."

"Don't be so surprised. I have other plans for General Guanqiu."

"To be honest, Wang Chang of Jingzhou is always on the sidelines. He lacks the courage to act alone. If all these armies submit to me, he will definitely surrender."

Du Yu didn't know why the emperor suddenly talked about this to him, but following the emperor's line of thought, this was a good idea to solve the problem.

However, several important factors must also be taken into consideration, and Zhuge Dan may not be willing to come to the court.

He was originally accused of conspiring with the general. Now that the emperor is in power, does he dare to come to Luoyang?

"Your Majesty, I think that General Zhennan..."

Du Yu had just opened his mouth when he suddenly reacted.

That’s not right, I’m not your family’s counselor!
He quickly stopped.

Cao Mao couldn't help but laugh. "I know it's not easy to get General Zhuge to come to Luoyang, but General Zhuge values his reputation. I believe he wouldn't dare to rebel against me."

Cao Mao said seriously: "If we can do this, all parts of the Wei Dynasty will be pacified."

Du Yu couldn't help but ask again, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten General Hu, who is in charge of the military affairs of Qingxu?"

Cao Mao said confidently, "I heard that this man is seriously ill and will not live long."

Du Yu was just puzzled. Hu Zun had always been in good health and was the strongest among all the generals. How come he didn't know that he was seriously ill?
Is the emperor going to assassinate him?

You shouldn't do that. How could a dignified General Zhengdong be killed so easily?

Looking at Du Yu's suspicious eyes, Cao Mao didn't know how to explain.

Although Hu Zun looks very strong, he will actually become seriously ill in half a year and die in a year.

How do you explain this?

Is he going to say that he observed the stars at night and found that General Hu would not live long?

Cao Mao waved his hand decisively. "None of this matters. What matters is what comes next." "I have already decided to improve the treatment of Wei's soldiers. Next, we will reduce the burden on farmers and ensure the safety of merchants."

"Open official schools in various places, spread the teachings of the sages throughout the world, conquer Shu and Wu, and relocate the powerful families there. Then relocate the powerful families here to those places."

"Anyway, those are the ideas I have for the short term. By the way, I heard you're also good at making tools. I have some blueprints here. Would you mind taking a look?"

Cao Mao looked at Du Yu, and Du Yu was staring at the emperor with his eyes wide open, motionless.

Is this called short-term planning?
Are you thinking a little too far?
Du Yu just felt that his mind was a little confused at the moment.

It was not until Cao Mao placed his precious blueprint in front of Du Yu that Du Yu came to his senses.

"Your Majesty, you"

"This thing is already in use at General Guanqiu's place. Take a look, it's called a curved plow. Even though it's just an improved curved arm, the improvement is enormous. I sent someone to Huainan a long time ago to take a look at it."

Du Yu looked at the drawings in his hand.

As an all-around player, Du Yu naturally saw the mystery at a glance. He couldn't help but ask, "Is this what Your Majesty has in mind?"

“It doesn’t matter who came up with it, as long as it works.”

"I'll give this to you. Take it back and read it. Maybe it will inspire you."

Du Yu quickly placed the item on the table and said, "Your Majesty, this is too valuable."

"Don't worry. I've got General Guanqiu working hard on it in Huainan. I'm not afraid of it leaking out. Even if it gets obtained by General Wei, or even by Shu or Wu, I won't be angry."

"Wei inherits the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty. Are the people within the territories of Shu and Wu not my subjects?"

"Let them learn how to make these earlier, so that we don't have to go through the trouble of promoting them after I conquer them."

Du Yu looked at the young emperor in front of him again.

At this moment, he actually hoped that His Majesty would succeed.

Du Yu said seriously, "Your Majesty, even without me to assist you, you will surely be able to uphold the country and establish a prosperous era."

Cao Mao shook his head and said, "No one person can accomplish anything, and a prosperous era is not the result of one person alone."

"I know your talents. It would be a shame if I couldn't use them."

"However, there is no need to rush. You can rest in Luoyang. I still have important things to do. In the future, I will ask you to come here from time to time. I will not ask you to find ways to deal with General Wei, but I still hope that you can spare no effort in governing the world."

Du Yu quickly stood up and bowed deeply to Cao Mao.

Cao Mao personally escorted him to the door, where Liu Lu was waiting.

Seeing Cao Mao coming out, Liu Lu laughed. He watched the soldiers take Du Yu away, then he stepped forward and said:

"Your Majesty, this man is indeed useful. I think he is different from those corrupt scholars in the temple."

After Liu Lu became Cao Mao's eunuch, Cao Mao bought a mansion for him in Luoyang, helped him to add furniture, and rewarded him with a lot of money and gold.

Cao Mao's reward to Liu Lu was not without reason.

After all these days of running around, Liu Lu has become more and more reliable. He has been tempered and his character is no longer reckless. His progress is quite obvious.

Cao Mao was extremely satisfied with his performance.

He patted Liu Lu's shoulder and said, "I didn't expect you to accomplish such a great feat so soon. I thought you would be delayed for some time."

Liu Lu laughed, "I'm most familiar with those official roads. This guy doesn't dare to take the side roads. I can definitely catch him."

"Don't rush around for now. Rest at home for a few days. There's no need to rush Sima Zhao's matter."

Liu Lu nodded, "Yes."

After seeing Liu Lu off, Cao Mao got on the carriage and hurriedly left the Taiji Hall.

That’s right, Cao Mao’s destination this time is still the central army camp.

During these days, the place Cao Mao went to most frequently was the central military camp. Every time he went there, he would reward those who performed well.

Cao Mao played to his social butterfly nature, taking the initiative to ask the names of the officers and get to know them. Sometimes, he would even chat with the soldiers.

Cao Mao's prestige in the central army was growing.

Every time the soldiers learned that the emperor was coming, they were extremely excited and trained very hard.

Cao Mao's behavior also made the ministers very unhappy.

He believed that Cao Mao was not doing his job properly and was hanging out with warriors all day.

Cao Mao ignored these people. Today was a new round of competition for the central army. He had previously promised everyone that he would go there in person. Even if Du Yu came, he could not delay this matter.

The emperor's arrival greatly increased the value of this competition. The morale of the central army was boosted again, and the shouts of killing were deafening.

Ma Long stood not far away, nodding with satisfaction.

With the current morale, if he could lead his troops to the northwest, it would surely give Shu's Jiang Wei a significant shock, right?

(End of this chapter)