The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 319 Everyone
When Cao Mao left the Secretariat and returned to the Taiji Hall, someone was already waiting in front of the hall gate.

The person guarding here is Pei Xiu.

This capable minister, who used to be always disobeying orders and running around naked, has been performing well recently and has been acting normally.

Initially, Pei Xiu was forcibly pulled to his side by Cao Mao and forced to become his confidant, but when dealing with Sima Zhao, he cooperated with Zhong Hui and made great efforts. He Zeng was led by him to subdue the army.

Cao Mao's attitude towards him also underwent subtle changes.

Perhaps he was truly beginning to treat him as his confidant.

"His Majesty!!"

Cao Mao smiled and helped him up, then took him directly back to the West Hall. Cao Mao sat down, and the eunuchs had already prepared tea for him.

Cao Mao held the tea and looked at Pei Xiu beside him.

"Ji Yan, this is the tea that Xun Gong specially sent. I heard it was produced in Bashu. Please try it."

Hearing this, Pei Xiu's eyes twitched.

The brocade and tea of Shu Kingdom were very popular in Wei Dynasty, and they were in short supply.

Your Majesty's words seem to have some other meaning.

Pei Xiu took a sip of tea and said with emotion, "What a wonderful tea! Lord Xun must have put a lot of effort into making such a good tea available to Your Majesty."

Cao Mao liked this man's weird temperament.

Pei Xiu looks very aloof, like a lone celebrity, but he is very good at talking and is extremely shrewd.

He was recommended to Cao Shuang by Guanqiu Jian, and later assisted Sima Yan in coming to power. After serving as the Minister of the Chancellery, he was known for his four years of no mistakes, governing the world in an orderly manner. He was deeply loved by Sima Yan and was called Ming Gong by people at that time.

His name is also very famous among people in certain industries in later generations.

Pei Xiu was the most famous cartographer in ancient my country.

His work "Yu Gong Regional Map" pioneered the ancient Chinese cartography and he is known as the "Father of Chinese Scientific Cartography."

He is one of the two most outstanding figures in the history of ancient maps in the world.

The highest award in cartography in China is the Pei Xiu Award, which is awarded every two years.

There is even a crater on the front of the moon named "Pei Xiu Crater".

However, Pei Xiu has not yet started his own work.

The emperor and his minister drank tea quietly, looking quite relaxed. After they finished, Pei Xiu finally spoke, "Guo Zhang came to me and said he wanted to marry his daughter to Your Majesty."

Cao Mao sneered, "Does he know he can't compete with the other ministers in the Secretariat and wants to follow the path of a relative by marriage and soar to the top?"

Being a maternal relative is definitely the best way to get promoted nowadays. Once you become a maternal relative, being granted a title of nobility is the most basic thing. If you are lucky, you can be directly promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry. If you are even luckier, you may be promoted to General. Even if you don't get these, your clansmen will be quickly promoted because of your status as a maternal relative. The chances of entering the Secretariat and the Central Secretariat, or even guarding the imperial palace, will be greatly increased.

After Guo Huai's death, Guo Zhang has always wanted to take this path to enhance his family's power.

Cao Mao was very disdainful of this.

Pei Xiu continued, "Your Majesty, it seems Guo Zhang has had this idea for a long time."

"Yes, Guo Zhang, the father-in-law, this man is determined."

"Your Majesty, it's not just Guo Zhang who has this idea. I'm sure there are other ministers as well. The main reason is that with General Wei's return, the ministers believe you are colluding with him, so naturally they are unwilling to allow the daughter of the Sima family to become empress."

"Guo Zhang will certainly use this as an excuse to actively win over the ministers and try to get His Majesty to take in his daughter."

Cao Mao hesitated for a moment and asked, "How could this harm me?"

"No matter what, the queen shouldn't be chosen from aristocratic families, otherwise it will cause huge problems."

Pei Xiu said seriously: "Even if there are no problems now, it's hard to say what will happen in the future."

"Your Majesty should have decided this earlier. The daughter of the Sima family is beneficial to you, but she cannot become the empress. Not just his family, but any girl from any family cannot become the empress. It is best if the empress comes from a humble family."

Cao Mao glanced at Pei Xiu. Pei Xiu had once written to Sima Yan, asking him to complete the unification as soon as possible. Like Wei Guan, he was considered a child of a wealthy family with some conscience.

What Pei Xiu said made some sense. The position of the foreign relatives was really too important. Just look at Anshi’s foreign relatives and you will know how far their influence could reach.

I don't need to form an alliance with the aristocratic families, so why create hidden dangers for myself?

Pei Xiu said: "I do have a candidate here."

Cao Mao looked at him, "Who?"

"The granddaughter of Minister Zheng."

Cao Mao narrowed his eyes.

Zheng Xiaotong’s granddaughter?
Pei Xiu said seriously, "Duke Zheng is the grandson of the God of Classics and a renowned scholar. His family's reputation is absolutely worthy of the position of empress. Moreover, Duke Zheng's family lineage is extremely weak. He has no brothers or extended relatives. His son has been in poor health since childhood and has never served in government."

"If Your Majesty finds this unacceptable, then Shangshu Ling Zheng Gong is also a good candidate. He comes from a humble background, has few relatives, and his son is only a low-level county official. He is a kind person."

Choose one from the two Zhengs?

Cao Mao fell into deep thought.

At this moment, Pei Xiu said again: "I still think that Minister Zheng Gong is better. After all, Zheng Gong is handsome."

Cao Mao smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"Have you been busy these days trying to find out about the ministers' daughters and granddaughters?"

Pei Xiu said seriously: "This is not a trivial matter, Your Majesty. The emperor has no family affairs, and private affairs are state affairs."

"It's best not to delay this matter too long and not give the ministers any opportunity to cause trouble. We must take precautions in all aspects." Cao Mao nodded. "Okay, I will discuss this matter with Duke Zheng."

Cao Mao then ordered, "You should pay more attention to the affairs of the Secretariat. The Secretariat cannot continue like this. We need to do something!"

Pei Xiu immediately stood up and accepted the order.

After seeing Pei Xiu off, Cao Mao sighed deeply.

Pei Xiu's warning was not without reason. Instead of waiting for the ministers to cause trouble and then suppressing them, it would be better to shut their mouths directly and give them no chance to cause trouble.

It seems that I still need to talk to Duke Zheng about this matter.

But now, Cao Mao still had a lot to do, so this matter had to be postponed for a few days. He hurriedly called Zhang Hua in and gave him important instructions.

"Brother!!"

Inside General Wei’s mansion.

Sima Gan bowed deeply to Sima Zhao, who hurried forward and helped him up, his eyes red.

"As long as you are alright, as long as you are alright!"

Sima Zhao almost cried.

Sima Gan didn't dare look his brother in the eye. He choked up and said, "Brother, I have betrayed your trust. I was bullied by them."

"All right."

Sima Zhao interrupted him and then looked at Li Chu in the distance, "We are brothers meeting, you wait at the door."

Li Chu said seriously: "General, your brother has come from afar, so I should stay and serve him. How can I leave?"

Sima Zhao gritted his teeth and was about to explode, but Sima Gan held him back.

"Brother."

The two brothers sat directly in the house, and Li Chu stood at the door, staring at them, without concealing his surveillance at all.

Under his gaze, the two brothers clearly had a lot to say, but at this moment they couldn't utter a single word.

The two brothers just stared at each other, and they could see the anger and sadness in each other's eyes.

They had never missed their eldest brother so much.

If my brother were still alive
Sima Zhao forced himself not to look at Li Chu at the door and asked, "Are all the clan members safe?"

"My father has been sentenced to exile and is still in prison. He will be leaving for Youzhou in a few days."

"The rest are still safe, having been stripped of their official titles, except for Jun, who is still serving as a lieutenant."

When talking about this brother, Sima Gan's eyes were obviously filled with anger.

Everyone has been caught, but you are still doing well under the emperor. It is hard not to doubt his position.

Sima Zhao did not say much. He really wanted to tell Sima Gan not to force Sima Jun to take sides. It was not a bad thing to have a younger brother who could continue to serve the emperor. However, he did not dare to say so.

If the emperor heard this, he might think that his brother was in collusion with him and directly dismiss Sima Jun.

The two fell silent again.

Sima Zhao had a lot to say and a lot of plans in his mind. He had originally thought that he could talk to his brother after seeing him, but when his brother really came, he found that he could do nothing.

Sima Gan said, "Brother, we have received your order. Please don't worry."

"Orders? What orders?"

"Didn't you order us to return home?"

Sima Zhao's face darkened and he asked, "What other orders did I give?"

"Let Anshi take charge of the overall situation, and let Deng Ai and others return to the temple."

At this moment, Sima Zhao could no longer bear it.

"Too much bullying! Too much bullying!!"

"Even if you want to give an order, you should at least ask me first. Tell me!"

He looked directly at Li Chu in the distance, "I never gave such an order!!!"

Li Chu immediately frowned and looked cold.

"When the general issued the decree on behalf of His Majesty, did he ever ask or inform His Majesty?"

Sima Zhao was suddenly speechless. He stared at Li Chu in shock and anger, his body staggering and he suddenly fell headfirst.

“Brother!! Brother!!”

Even when he saw Sima Zhao fall to the ground, Li Chu was not at all panicked. He still remembered the miserable appearance of his father before his death, with his body covered with bruises from torture.

Compared to my father, what are you?

I have to make you try everything you have done to others before I let you die!
When Sima Zhao opened his eyes again, two imperial doctors were sitting on both sides of him. Seeing Sima Zhao wake up, the imperial doctor stood up, turned around and left without saying anything more.

Sima Zhao felt extremely weak. He wanted to say something, but his voice was so weak that no one could hear him.

Sima Zhao just lay straight on the bed, and for a moment, tears streamed down his face.

(End of this chapter)