The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 337 The general is truly a loyal minister!
Yuzhou, the governor's office.

"Duke Zhou, I hope you can complete General Wei's instructions and don't neglect them!"

The envoy bowed again to Zhou Tai in front of him, and his attitude was quite good.

Zhou Tai took the order in a daze, his eyes full of astonishment.

Zhou Tai's family background was not very high. He was initially promoted by Pei Qian, who was Pei Xiu's father himself.

The Pei family was still very powerful. Pei Qian had three younger brothers. His second brother Pei Jun served as Guanglu Xun in Shu State, his third brother Pei Hui served as the governor of Jizhou in Wei State, and his fourth brother Pei Ji served as a counselor. Pei Kai was the son of his third brother.

Zhou Tai was knowledgeable in government and even better at military affairs, so he was valued by Sima Yi and was promoted and reused like Deng Ai.

He can be considered a close relative of the Sima family.

In Yuzhou, he was helping the Sima family keep an eye on Zhuge Dan, although it was not so easy to keep an eye on him.

But Zhou Tai didn't know why the Sima family completely surrendered to the emperor in just a few months.

Even though he encountered such a situation, Zhou Tai was relatively calm. However, what happened today really made him unable to hold back.

"General Wei wants me to fully cooperate with the angel and urge General Zhennan to accept the appointment and go to Luoyang?"

"is this real??"

Zhou Tai really couldn't hold it anymore at this moment.

He looked again at the envoy in front of him, the son of the former Minister of Rites Yang Dan, the cousin of the General's wife Yang Huiyu, and the current Emperor's Imperial Guard Yang Xiu.

This person is very close to the Sima family, even closer than himself. If it wasn't him, Zhou Tai would have suspected that someone was forging the general's order.

Perhaps sensing Zhou Tai's confusion, Yang Xiu asked in a serious tone, "Is it surprising that General Wei is assisting his son-in-law? Do you think General Wei is disloyal?!"

"Don't dare, don't dare."

Zhou Tai quickly shook his head and asked again, "I just received an order from General Wei that was slightly different from today's order, so I asked. I have absolutely no intention of being disloyal."

Yang Xiu said seriously, "When Duke Xuanwen suppressed the rebellion, the general inherited his ambition to support the country. Unfortunately, time was of the essence and the general fell seriously ill. Fortunately, the general met the Holy King!"

Yang Xiu bowed in the direction of Luoyang and said seriously, "The general has long seen that the current emperor is a sage king who will pacify the world, so he married his daughter to him and made him emperor, allowing him to inherit the legacy of his ancestors and carry on his ambition to uphold the country!"

"Before the great general passed away, he entrusted his entire clan to the care of the current Holy Emperor. He also ordered the clan to wholeheartedly assist the Holy King and not to tarnish the family's reputation."

"General Wei previously disregarded the Grand General's will and nearly committed a grave offense. Now, he has come to his senses and is dedicated to assisting Your Majesty. He no longer dares to disobey Duke Xuanwen and the Grand General's will!"

Yang Xiu sighed deeply, "General, how fortunate you are to have met Your Majesty before you pass away."

"This beautiful story between the ruler and his subjects will surely be passed down through the ages."

After hearing this, Zhou Tai felt a little moved.

I see, the general is truly a loyal man. I just listened to your nonsense!!!

I've followed the general for so many years, how could I not know what kind of person he is?

Zhou Tai's face still showed a very touched look, and he praised: "Mr. Yang is absolutely right!"

This is the benefit of inheriting the general's will. If Cao Mao labeled Sima Shi a traitor and killed the entire Sima family, it would certainly be quite satisfying. However, what should be done with the Sima family's confidants in various places?
Deng Ai, Du Yu, Yang Hu, Wang Ji, Zhou Tai, Pei Xiu and others basically could not escape and had to be liquidated together.

If Cao Mao wants to deal with the ministers, he has to use the base left by the general. Now that Cao Mao is the general's son-in-law, he is under the command of General Wei to command the princes. Who dares to disobey?

As long as Cao Mao stays in this position long enough, these people will sooner or later become his confidants.

After all, Cao Mao was not just an ordinary powerful official. He also had a slightly more prominent identity: the Emperor of Wei. In name, even the generals had to be loyal to him, let alone these officials?
I can only say that it is really comfortable to do the work of a powerful official as an emperor.

Cao Mao obviously learned a lot from Sima Shi.

Yang Xiu only came to bring General Wei's order to Zhou Tai, but it was someone else who read the imperial edict to Zhuge Dan. Yang Xiu was too young and was not qualified to read the emperor's edict to Zhuge Dan.

The person responsible for reading the imperial edict to Zhuge Dan was Hua Yi.

At this moment, Hua Yi was in Zhuge Dan's mansion, where he was treated very solemnly and Zhuge Dan was very kind to him.

Zhuge Dan's demeanor and appearance were far superior to Guanqiu Jian's.

Unlike the rough guy Guanqiu Jian, Zhuge Dan was radiant and looked like one of the Three Dukes.

"Mr. Hua has come from afar, and I am sorry for not hosting him well enough."

Zhuge Dan said softly.

Hua Yi quickly said, "I dare not. General Zhennan has made great contributions to the country and his reputation is known throughout the world. How dare I allow you to come and greet him?"

A smile appeared on Zhuge Dan's face.

Zhuge Dan shared a common flaw among the celebrities of his time: a love of fame. Hence, when Cao Mao leaked the news that he had colluded with the general to betray Xiahou Xuan, Zhuge Dan panicked. Reputation was his most important concern, and he would not ruin it even if it cost him his own life!

When he learned that Hua Yi came here on the emperor's edict to appoint him as one of the Three Dukes, the old minister's face actually showed some hesitation.

"What virtue do I have to be a Three Lords? I really don't dare."

It can only be said that in history, when Jia Chong came to discuss important matters with him, he went in the wrong direction. If Jia Chong said: Your virtues are outstanding, I would like to invite you to go back and serve as one of the Three Dukes, and be the head of all ministers.

Zhuge Dan would probably refuse a few times and then take office. If Sima Zhao wanted to do something in the future, he would just imitate Sima Fu and cry a few times.

However, Jia Chong asked directly: All the ministers think that it is time to abdicate and Sima Zhao should be the emperor. Do you agree?

How do you expect Zhuge Dan, a man who values reputation so much, to answer this question?
Are you saying that I support Sima Zhao to be the one in charge?

He immediately flew into a rage and said to Jia Chong, "Aren't you the son of Jia Yuzhou? Your family has been blessed by the Wei Dynasty for generations. How can you think of handing over the kingdom to someone else? If danger befalls Luozhong, I am willing to die for my country!"

Then, the third Huainan Uprising broke out the following year.

At this time, this person was still protecting himself, but he was protecting his own reputation. The biggest problem with Jia Chong was that he judged others by himself. He always felt that everyone in the world was as shameless as him and would do anything to climb up.

Hua Yi was of course aware of Zhuge Dan's thoughts, and he began to persuade him again and again, asking Zhuge Dan to agree.

Hua Yi talked about how helpless the current court was. The emperor lacked an important minister and was in great need of a capable minister to assist him.

Zhuge Dan shook his head and said, "I really don't have such talent. I can ask Zhendong and the general to assist me."

Zhuge Dan paused deliberately for a moment, and it was obvious that he was still a little bothered by the fact that Guanqiu Jian was "bigger" than himself.

Hua Yi sighed and said, "I'll come back another day."

Hua Yi left just like that, and Zhuge Dan smiled and sent him out of the mansion.

"General!"

General Jiang Ban grabbed Zhuge Dan's arm, his eyes filled with anxiety. "General, why are you refusing?"

Zhuge Dan said arrogantly, "I don't have the talent of a Three Duke. How can I go to the imperial court and take on such an important responsibility?"

Jiang Ban said helplessly, "General, this is not the time. His Majesty has sent someone to pay you homage as one of the Three Dukes. If you refuse, people will think you are dissatisfied with His Majesty and want to establish your own territory. This is really inappropriate. Even if you cannot accept it, you should not refuse it so clearly!"

Jiang Ban was really convinced. At this point, was he still pretending like this?

Don’t we know whether you want to be a Sangong or not?
But he couldn't say this openly, as Zhuge Dan never spoke freely to his confidants.

If it were Sima Shi, he would have dared to pull Zhong Hui and ask him how to rebel.

But if it was Zhuge Dan, even if he was going to raise an army, he would pretend to be serious with his subordinates, and it would not be real anyway.

This was difficult for his confidants to accept. Of course, you can be a famous scholar in front of outsiders, but why in front of us?

Are we outsiders too?

But they had no choice. Zhuge Dan was willing to play it this way, so what could they do?

Hua Yi also saw through Zhuge Dan's tricks. After going back to rest for two days, he came to Zhuge Dan's house again.

This time, Hua Yi's attitude was more sincere.

"Mr. Zhuge, you don't know something."

"Although His Majesty is currently in charge of government, he is still troubled by military affairs. Jiang Wei is looting the northwest, and His Majesty has ordered the Secretariat to send food, fodder, and military equipment to Yongliang. Before they even leave, they've discovered a massive deficit."

"Corruption is rampant in the army. Whether it's salaries, weapons, food, or even military merit, there are problems."

"His Majesty knows that you are kind to the soldiers, upright, and unyielding. Therefore, he wishes to appoint you as the Grand Commandant to rectify these abominable practices and clean up the military!"

"No one can accomplish this except you. Please don't refuse!"

Jiang Ban's face suddenly became even uglier. This kind of situation in the army had long become a rule. Not to mention now, even when Emperor Ming, Emperor Wen, and even the founding Emperor Wu were still in power, there were corrupt people in the army, and even members of the royal family were involved.

This kind of thing cannot withstand investigation. If it is investigated, who knows what level of people may be in trouble.

It is obvious that the emperor wants to use his own lord to solve this most difficult problem for him!

Just as he was about to persuade him, he saw Zhuge Dan frowning with a look of indignation on his face.

"How can the Great Wei allow traitors to run rampant?! I will set off now!! To Luoyang!! To eliminate the thieves for Your Majesty!!"

At this moment, Jiang Ban's eyes went dark.

It's bad, is it too late to run away now?!
(End of this chapter)