The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 330 Gift to Zhong Hui

Zhong Hui glanced at Xun Xu beside him and said nothing.

Xun Xu was really furious. Did I provoke you?
We are relatives, why are you picking on me?
Obviously, Xun Xu did not inherit his mother's good looks.

However, Xun Xu knew that Zhong Hui had made great contributions in the past and had long been the emperor's most trusted confidant. Now that he was the Minister of the Court and the Minister of Chancellery at this age, he had achieved an unprecedented achievement. It was hard to say whether there would be anyone like him in the future.

This position is extremely outrageous. The person is the leader who makes plans and is also responsible for their execution. He simply makes plans and does everything by himself.

This is just the beginning for him. Xun Xu doesn't even know how the emperor plans to reward him in the future.

Xun Xu did not want to have any conflict with Zhong Hui, so he saluted Cao Mao and left.

Zhong Hui was still somewhat dissatisfied with him. He said again: "Your Majesty, this man can be used but not reused. He is cunning and deceitful. Your Majesty should not be deceived by him."

Cao Mao nodded to show that he understood, and Zhong Hui then sat next to Cao Mao.

"Your Majesty, Zhuge Dan has replied to the letter."

Zhong Hui disappeared during this period of time in order to subdue foreign generals from all over the country. Hebei was the first to be dealt with, and Zhong Hui set his second target on Zhuge Dan.

Knowing Zhuge Dan's character, Zhong Hui did not resort to intimidation or coercion, but instead treated him with courtesy.

Speaking of which, Zhong Hui actually had quite a bit of respect for Zhuge Dan.

After all, Zhuge Dan was a famous scholar in the world. He had once hung out with Xiahou Xuan and Sima Shi. He was exactly the type of person that Zhong Hui liked.

But Zhong will not let personal likes and dislikes affect business.

Zhong Hui wrote the letter himself and sent it to Zhuge Dan.

I didn't expect to receive a reply so soon.

Zhong Hui placed the letter in front of Cao Mao and said, "Your Majesty, please read this."

Cao Mao picked up the letter and read it carefully.

This is the reply letter written by Zhuge Dan to Zhong Hui. In the letter, Zhuge Dan expressed his gratitude to Zhong Hui for the letter and said that he would immediately set off for Luoyang to formally meet the emperor.

Cao Mao was a little stunned.

Cao Mao knew that there was a high probability that Zhuge Dan would not oppose him, but he did not expect that it would be so smooth and be settled with just a letter.

Cao Mao looked at Zhong Hui and asked curiously, "What exactly did you write in the letter?"

Zhong Hui raised his head proudly at this moment, "What do you think, Your Majesty?"

This was Zhong Hui showing off deliberately, but Cao Mao was not angry. A letter could deal with a foreign general. Not to mention asking me to cooperate with you to be the supporting actor, even cooperating with you to play the brainless villain would be no problem.

"Could it be that they wrote about how Sima Zhao, He Zeng, Chen Ben, Chen Tai, and the others had been subdued, and that General Guanqiu had already surrendered, so that he could come and join them?"

Zhong Hui shook his head. "Zhuge Dan is a man who values his reputation very highly. If I were to persuade him in this way in a letter, he would think I was trying to intimidate him, and for the sake of his fearless reputation, he would definitely not come to Luoyang."

"I see. Could it be that I told him about my wisdom and made him think I could assist him and come to me?"

Zhong Hui smiled and said, "Zhuge Dan and I have no friendship. Your Majesty may be wise, but he has never seen it with his own eyes. How can he believe it just because of a few words from me?"

Cao Mao asked again, "Did he tell him about the internal and external difficulties and make him realize that a city cannot be defended for long?"

"Zhuge Dan is quite arrogant. How could he listen to me analyze the situation in the world?"

Cao Mao smiled bitterly, "Then I really don't know."

Zhong Hui then said, "I simply described to him the scene when Your Majesty was offering sacrifices to the late emperor."

"what??"

Cao Mao quickly adopted Sima Yan's expression and asked, "What does this have to do with his surrender?"

Zhong Hui could hardly contain his inner elation. He said, "Your Majesty, does Zhuge Dan really have any intention of establishing himself? He only governs one state, and he's surrounded by enemies. Furthermore, Your Majesty is now in power. If he were to rebel, wouldn't he be infamous for eternity?"

"He had no intention of establishing himself as a rebel. He just wanted to protect himself and preserve his reputation."

"Why did he refuse to submit? Mainly because he was afraid. First, he was worried that Your Majesty would take action against him. Second, he was worried that his past association with Sima Shi would be implicated."

"And during the sacrifice, His Majesty recounted the merits and faults of the general, and read out the rewards and arrangements for General Wei."

"Your Majesty even pardoned Sima Zhao, so he naturally wouldn't worry about being killed. Your Majesty also separated the affairs of the Prince of Qi from those of Xiahou Xuan. Therefore, Zhuge Dan, who never expressed his stance on Xiahou Xuan, naturally can't be considered a traitor and won't be implicated by Sima Shi."

"He no longer has these two concerns, and he can clearly see the situation in the world. Why wouldn't he come and seek refuge?"

Cao Mao couldn't help but clap his hands.

"As expected of you, Shiji. What you said is absolutely right. It's just as you said."

"Someone, bring me some pen and ink!"

Cao Mao waved his hand, and Zhang Hua immediately understood that his emperor was preparing to send another poem to Zhong Jun. He hurried out and quickly prepared something for Cao Mao. Zhong Hui's face was excited, like a child waiting for his parents to take out the New Year's money, his eyes full of anticipation.

Cao Mao picked up his pen, pondered for a moment, and then began to write:
"Mr. Zhong is truly remarkable, and Mr. Qu is truly talented!"

"I have reached Haidaihao and made friends with the Luzhu family."

"Treasures are found in the depths of the sea, and dragons and snakes abound in the vast lakes."

"The wise master has received it, and the road to the misty sky is not far away!"

Cao Mao quickly finished writing, picked it up and handed it to Zhong Hui in front of him.

Zhong Hui was extremely excited at this moment. He looked at the poem in his hand and recited it over and over again. This made him more excited than being appointed as one of the Three Dukes. The look in his eyes when he looked at Cao Mao became more and more fiery.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the poem!!"

"Hahaha, this poem's title is dedicated to Mr. Zhong!"

Zhong Hui's face flushed and he was very excited, but Zhang Hua, who was not far away, shook his head. It must be hard for His Majesty to meet such a minister.

During these days, Your Majesty has written a total of fourteen poems to Zhong Hui, all of which are dedicated to Mr. Zhong.

These poems have elevated the bell music to a great height.

When these poems are passed down to later generations, I am afraid that future generations will be amazed at how favored this Mr. Zhong was that the emperor would write poems to him all day long.

Fortunately, Your Majesty is quick-witted and can write it!
Cao Mao also had a big smile on his face at this moment. He had written quite a few poems to commemorate Zhong Hui in recent days. Some of them were original creations, and some were directly copied from later generations. This made him feel a little guilty, but there was nothing he could do. Although he had a talent for poetry, he could not write an original poem every week to praise Zhong Hui.

Zhong Hui excitedly accepted the ancient poem and then continued to discuss important matters with Cao Mao.

"Your Majesty, if Zhuge Dan wanted to come, he should have submitted a petition directly to Your Majesty instead of writing to me to inform me. He wrote to me mainly because he was waiting for the imperial reward."

"Your Majesty can send someone to Yuzhou to appoint him as Grand Marshal and invite him to the temple."

Cao Mao nodded and asked, "Is he qualified for this position?"

Zhong Hui's face was filled with disdain. He said, "Your Majesty, the system within the imperial court must be reformed in the future. These three dukes and nine ministers will only be tools for Your Majesty to win over the old ministers. The real important matters still belong to the Secretariat. The Five Ministers of War are the ones who are responsible for the actual war. Whether he is competent or not is not important."

"This man values his reputation more than his own life. Your Majesty can entrust him with the most difficult issues, such as corruption."

Zhong Hui then recounted an incident, "When Zhuge Dan was a secretary, he and Du Ji, the Minister of State, were testing a boat on the Tao River. A strong storm struck, and the boat sank into the river, drowning both Zhuge Dan and Du Ji."

"Hu Ben came in a small boat to rescue Zhuge Dan. Zhuge Dan told him to save Du Ji first, but he fainted and his body floated to the riverbank. He was later rescued and he was respected for this incident."

"People like him are most suitable for doing this most difficult task."

Cao Mao laughed and said, "I'm afraid he won't be as good as Shi Ji."

Zhong Hui was very confident of this. "I still have to deal with the other foreign generals and cannot handle this matter. Your Majesty, don't worry. After I subdue the foreign generals for Your Majesty, I will personally handle this matter, reorganize the armies in various places, and make these evil-doers die a miserable death!"

Cao Mao naturally flattered him a few more times.

He asked, "Who are we going to deal with next?"

"Wang Chang."

Zhong Hui answered without hesitation.

"Wang Chang's son, Wang Hun, married my granddaughter. Wang Chang is skilled in warfare and well-versed in government, and he could be of great use. His son, Wang Hun, is quite virtuous and accomplished in various fields, and is quite good. Wang Hun's son, Wang Ji, is extremely handsome."

Cao Mao thought about it. Wang Hun was Zhong Hui's grandson-in-law, so Wang Chang was Zhong Hui's son-in-law.
Wang Ji is even more amazing. He is the great-grandson of Zhong Hui?

My goodness, your seniority is really scary. As the great general of the Wei Dynasty, I have to bow to you before seeing you?
No wonder everyone dislikes you.

Of course, the reason why they dislike Zhong Hui is definitely not just because of his high seniority, it also has something to do with his personality.

Zhong Hui was determined to win over Wang Chang. He believed that although Wang Chang was talented, he lacked the courage to do great things. How could a man who was timid even in the face of Sima Zhao dare to go against the emperor?
But Cao Mao still had a good impression of Wang Chang. Wang Chang was a capable and moral man. His son Wang Hun was a relatively capable and moral man. His grandson Wang Ji was a... well, the evolution history of aristocratic families, with a similar plot.

"Your Majesty, are you planning to send troops to Bashu?"

Zhong Hui suddenly asked at this moment.

Cao Mao was stunned. "How did Shi Ji know this?"

"You appointed Deng Ai as the General Guarding the West, and ordered Xiahou Xian to fully reorganize the central army, distribute rewards, and deploy troops. Isn't this all for the purpose of conquering Shu?"

Cao Mao's expression turned serious. "It's just that the ministers are not very willing to send troops."

Zhong Hui laughed and said, "Your Majesty, this is an easy matter. Please let me take care of it."

"Actually, Shiji doesn't have to worry."

Cao Mao narrowed his eyes.

(End of this chapter)