The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 344 Great Wei
"If this continues, our Great Wei will perish at the hands of these villains!"

Inside the Secretariat, several ministers were sitting there with extremely solemn expressions.

They saw Cao Mao's recent appointments and policies and were angry about them.

Although they were promoted to their current positions by Cao Mao, the emperor's behavior is becoming increasingly unbearable for them.

Zhuge Dan became the Grand Marshal, which already dissatisfied the ministers, and Wang Su soon became the Minister of Rites.

This completely angered many ministers in the Secretariat.

In fact, this is not a simple dispute between the Three Dukes. Although they are the Three Dukes, their Secretariat is the actual institution that governs the world after all.

Theirs was actually a factional dispute. Both Zhuge Dan and Wang Su were identified by the officials of the Secretariat as belonging to the Sima family's faction.

Because these two families have marriage ties with Sima Zhao, and Wang Chang has a similar relationship.

His grandson married Sima Zhao's daughter.

Cao Mao's coup reshuffled the power structure in the court, and the imperial faction headed by Xun emerged.

The faction led by Xun, although called the Emperor Faction, was actually a faction supported by Cao Mao himself, but it was not a faction loyal to the emperor at all. They should actually be called the Profitable Family Faction. After losing their leader, they quickly united in order to prevent being single-pointedly exploded by the emperor.

They were eager to redefine the rules so that their interests would not be trampled upon, and the emperor's many policies further accelerated the cooperation of this interest group.

Those who opposed them were the Sima family's former trusted ministers, or in other words, the ministers who did not benefit from the coup.

Because these people did not directly benefit from the coup, they needed to follow the emperor at this moment to gain benefits.

This was the case with Wang Su, Zhuge Dan, Chen Qian, Zheng Mao and others.

There was another group of people, who should be called the coup faction. They directly participated in the coup, supported the emperor from beginning to end, and profited from it.

They were represented by the Huabiao in the court and Guanqiu Jian outside.

These three factions, together with the neutral onlookers headed by Zheng Chong, form the power structure of the current temple.

Now Cao Mao's strong support for the Sima faction has made the imperial faction extremely dissatisfied.

Xun Gan directly summoned several ministers in the Secretariat without any concealment, because their anger had reached a peak.

They didn't want to retreat any further. If they gave in again at this moment, the Sima faction would be in power in the future. What should they do then?

Xun looked at the people in front of him and said angrily, "What qualifications does Wang Su have to be a minister?"

"He previously refused to rebel for Xiahou Gong for the sake of his own official title, and when the court was in turmoil, he abandoned his position and left. Now he wants to come back?"

"The same goes for Zhuge Dan!"

"Wang Su can be the Minister of Rites, but not the Minister of Education; Zhuge Dan can be the Minister of Defense, but not the Minister of War!"

Xun said loudly.

At this moment, the ministers around were silent.

Cui Zan said helplessly: "Lord Xun, although that is true, this matter was ordered by His Majesty himself. Don't forget that Gao Rou has not been killed yet."

They were just a group of people who had not been liquidated. Gao Rou's rebellion could easily implicate any one of them, which was also an important reason why they had been backing off.

Guo Zhang couldn't help but say, "We should solve the problem of rebellion!"

"Now that the Gao Rou case has been judged, it should be over. No matter who is impeached again due to this incident, we will file a petition together!"

Cui Zan shook his head. Among these people, he was relatively close to Cao Mao.

He said seriously, "Everyone, things are different now than they were back then. Back then, the reason all the ministers were able to submit a petition together was because Gao Rou and others kept working hard, which made all the ministers work together. That's why Sima Shi didn't dare to refute him."

"But now, the ministers are divided, distrustful of one another, and unable to conspire privately. How can they work together to accomplish great things?"

"I think we should not be too concerned about their affairs. His Majesty only wants balance in the court. He will not help those people suppress us too much."

Yuan Liang shook his head; he had a different opinion.

"I think now is the time to unite the ministers."

"With Wang Su ascending to power, the ministers are undoubtedly terrified. Many of the previous reforms have now come to a standstill. Furthermore, the matter of the Supreme Court Justice has caused a great uproar. If we address these three matters, we will surely reap rewards."

Xun looked at everyone and pondered for a long time before making a decision.

"You can do it, but it must be done in secret."

"In addition, this matter concerns the officials within the court and the safety of the empire. If anyone betrays a colleague for their own selfish desires, they will certainly be unacceptable to everyone!"

Xun said a few words and let them leave.

Cui Zan was the first to walk out of here, his eyes full of helplessness. Xun Lian did not fully trust the people in the Secretariat, but he actually wanted to summon all the ministers to put pressure on the emperor?
You think too much.

However, Your Majesty is indeed a little too hasty in doing things, one thing after another, so it is normal for the ministers to react like this. But what should I do?

Cui Zan was a little conflicted at the moment. He had always wanted to follow the emperor, but he couldn't draw a clear line between himself and the ministers.

If you betray the ministers and surrender to the emperor, you will offend the aristocratic families to death. You will definitely be hated by everyone. You will not be able to rest in peace after death, and you will not even be given a good posthumous title.

Who would dare to do such a risky thing?

What Cui Zan didn't know was that after he left, several ministers made a circle and appeared in Xun Mansion again.

Xun looked at everyone and sneered, "That Cui Zan is secretly colluding with Your Majesty. All those words just now were said to him!"

"This person cannot be trusted!"

Several ministers nodded.

Xun then said, "What is said here will only reach the ears of a few of us. We will each pass it on to our confidants. It must not be passed on to outsiders!"

"Especially those around His Majesty, his confidants, they must not be allowed to know!"

"The key to breaking the deadlock now actually lies with Sima Shi."

"Your Majesty, this is the specific situation!"

"This bunch of bastards have long been planning to collude and harm Your Majesty. This time, Feng Fu approached me, and I pretended to support them, gathering a wealth of information!"

"I have also learned that recently, the ministers have been constantly communicating with each other, privately mentioning many times that Your Majesty has appointed a prince as Minister of Education. I am very unhappy about this. They are also trying to jointly submit another petition to treat Your Majesty as if he were the general!!"

"Some even think that the general's actions in deposing and enthroning the emperor were akin to usurping the throne, and that his clan and power should be wiped out!"

"Your Majesty, these people are truly despicable. Hearing these words, I am filled with rage. How could the general be plotting a rebellion? He is devoted to his country! How could he allow these people to slander him?!"

He Zeng knelt beside Cao Mao and talked incessantly about the conspiracy of his ministers.

He looked very excited and his face was red.

Cao Mao stared at him with a faint smile in his eyes.

He Zeng cleared his throat and said quickly, "In short, the general's affairs must be decided by His Majesty. These people have no right to interfere!"

"Your Majesty, I am loyal to you. Upon learning of these matters, I came to report them to you. It seems to me that these people's intention to slander the General is false; their real intention is to discredit you! They want to eliminate your closest associates so they can control the government themselves!"

Cao Mao did not interrupt He Zeng and just listened to him talking.

When He Zeng's mouth was dry from talking, Cao Mao asked, "How did Mr. He know such a confidential matter?"

"Those people let it slip!"

Cao Mao shook his head.

"Mr. He's talent can deceive others, but it cannot deceive me. Mr. He must have obtained the information from them, right?"

He Zeng looked at the emperor blankly, then nodded quickly, "Yes, yes, yes, that's it!"

Cao Mao looked at He Zeng who was still pretending, but did not expose him again.

No wonder the ministers wanted to give you the posthumous title of "ugly", no wonder you condescended to be Jia Cheng's dog, you really have no moral standards at all. Your friend's son got into trouble and came to ask you for help. Not only did you not help, but you also tricked him into believing something and then turned around to betray him.

To be honest, although this person was useful to Cao Mao, Cao Mao disliked him at all.

This person is really shameless.

Anshi gave you a single word: filial piety, and you shouldn’t change it!

He Zeng's posthumous title was originally "Xiao". Anshi thought this posthumous title was very good. In fact, this posthumous title was somewhat humiliating. The Jin Dynasty ruled the country with filial piety. If it was followed by another word "Xiao", it would be really amazing. But if it was just the word "Xiao" alone, it would be too embarrassing.

The general meaning is that this is a person.

As one of Anshi's many trusted aides, He Zeng's moral standards fluctuated, sometimes he was a filial son and a humble gentleman, sometimes he was extravagant and extravagant, sometimes he scolded others for being unfilial, and sometimes he cheered on treacherous officials.
At this moment, Cao Mao decided to keep him for the time being. Although this man was shameless, he could see the situation clearly and knew who to follow to benefit himself more. He didn't even have the integrity of a noble family. He was the opposite of Zhuge Dan, an absolute egoist. He might not even care about his own children.

This can be seen from the fact that when he was about to die, he told his children about the great disaster that would come in the future.

"What do you think, Mr. He, should be done with these people?"

He Zeng hurriedly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to take charge of this matter. I have never wanted to associate with these traitors. Today, they want to collude and humiliate Your Majesty. I am willing to eliminate these traitors for you!!!"

"If we get rid of them, who will rule the world?"

"Whoever your majesty says will govern, then let him govern!"

"Okay. Go ahead and do it then."

He Zeng looked at the emperor's half-smile on his face and always felt inexplicably uneasy, but the big words had already been said, and there was naturally no way to swallow them back, so he immediately bowed and accepted the order.

(End of this chapter)