The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 349 No Longer Afraid
"Lord Xun!! How could you treat me like this?!"

"Aren't you afraid that no one will be willing to stand up for important matters in the future?"

Guo Zhang's face flushed red. He stood in front of Xun Yi, almost jumping up in anger.

Through this joint petition, all the ministers got what they wanted. From now on, the emperor could no longer exercise the power of appointment and dismissal at will, but had to formulate rules and regulations that were acceptable to everyone.

The emperor was very happy, Zhong Hui was very happy, and all the ministers were very happy too.

Only Guo Zhang was unhappy.

Because he was going to be punished, the Censorate impeached him for three crimes. No matter what charges he was finally charged with, he would lose his official title.

Guo Zhang was very angry about this.

I am your pioneer, and you should also protect me.

Now that your plans have succeeded, is there no one left to protect me?
Xun Yi's face did not have his usual smile at this moment, and he was in a very bad mood. The court meeting had just been successfully completed when he was dragged away by Zhuge Dan to deal with the Taicang incident.

Zhuge Dan showed no mercy and scolded him repeatedly in front of many officials.

He even ordered himself to catch the criminal and solve the matter within ten days.

Looking at Zhuge Dan's expression, Xun Yi had no doubt that if he failed to complete the task, this man would really draw his sword against him.

What kind of madman is this? For the sake of that empty reputation, he is not afraid of offending the ministers at all?
Xun Xi was in a very bad mood. He had just returned to the mansion when Guo Zhang broke in again and asked for his protection. Xun Xi just said that he would talk about it tomorrow, and he became furious.

Xun Yi's eyes suddenly turned cold when he looked at Guo Zhang.

You come from a prominent family, but I am not one as well?

Speaking of fathers, your father is not even worthy of carrying my father's shoes, and you dare to shout here?
He said coldly, "Mr. Guo, please don't say such harsh words. It was you who took the initiative to propose to speak first. I also advised you that this matter was extremely risky, but it was you who said there was no need to worry, as we had the ministers to help us."

"Why, in your place, I alone am a minister?!"

Guo Zhang knew he had spoken out of turn, and his face flushed, but he still bowed his head respectfully, "Lord Xun, I don't mean to blame you."

"All the ministers advance and retreat together. This is why the traitors in the court cannot succeed."

"I have stood up for the interests of the ministers, and Your Majesty has been deceived and wants to punish me. If no one comes to my rescue, how can we still stand together?"

"Will anyone dare to come forward first in the future?!"

"It's not that I'm afraid of death, I'm just worried that no one will dare to speak out in the future!!"

Guo Zhang's voice was trembling. He was extremely scared. Who knew what he would encounter after going out of here? Maybe there were soldiers standing outside the door who wanted to arrest him.

Xun Yi listened to his words, but felt disdainful in his heart.

Xun Yi was not a person who took risks. His original idea was just to use Sima Shi's incident to increase the emperor's strength, and then resolve the matter tactfully. It was people like Guo Zhang who were shouting that they wanted to fight to the death, so why is he getting scared now?
This time, the Emperor has specifically named you to be executed. What do you want me to do?

Gather ministers again to oppose the emperor?

You really don't take the Emperor of Wei seriously, right?
If the emperor continues to oppose you again and again, the central army might storm the Secretariat for the second time.

You are the one who is shouting the loudest, so why do you want me to intervene now?

Xun Yi was unwilling to fight the emperor head-on for Guo Zhang. He had to leave room for the emperor to ease the situation. A head-on confrontation would result in both sides suffering losses.

The emperor did not dare to massacre them all, and they did not dare to resign en masse.

The main point is that people are wary of each other.

But once they completely turn against each other, it’s hard to say.

Xun Yi pondered for a moment before saying, "I will take care of this matter. You don't have to worry. Just wait at home."

Guo Zhang was overjoyed and thanked Xun Yi again and again before leaving trembling.

After he left, Xun Yi called the housekeeper over and earnestly instructed him, "Don't let this person in from now on."

Xun Xi was not worried about the future at all. As long as the benefits were great, there would be no shortage of forwards who dared to come out. This was always the case.
As soon as Cao Mao returned to Taiji Hall, he saw Jiao Bo who was extremely excited.

When Jiao Bo saw Cao Mao appear, he hurried forward to pay his respects, his whole body trembling slightly.

"His Majesty!!"

"Victory! Big victory!"

"Lord Deng led his troops to defeat Jiang Wei and captured the Shu general Zhang Yi alive!"

Jiao Bo's voice was trembling a little. Cao Mao, who had just returned from Ma Jun, was also feeling uneasy.

"Who was captured alive?"

"Zhang Yi! The Shu rebels' General Zhang Yi!"

Cao Mao took a deep breath and was speechless for a long time.

Zhang Hua, standing by, quickly bowed and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

Everyone around saluted and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty!" Cao Mao was stunned for a long time, then he raised his head and laughed.

His laugh was particularly hearty, somewhat like that of his great-grandfather.

"Defeat Jiang Wei and capture Zhang Yi alive! Good, good! Capturing Zhang Yi alive means these Shu bandits must have suffered heavy casualties!"

"Good general! You deserve a reward! You deserve congratulations!!"

Cao Mao smiled happily.

To be honest, although Jiang Wei was a great threat to the Wei State, he was not the kind of opponent who could force the Wei State into a desperate situation.

When Zhuge Liang went on the expedition, the emperor was shocked when he heard the news. He dispatched troops and kept an eye on Yongliang all day long. This was a serious concern.

Whenever Jiang Wei went on an expedition, the generals of Yongliang would usually be terrified and start mobilizing their troops and keeping a close eye on him. Unless they were defeated, the emperor would not care too much about it, perhaps because he was used to fighting.

But even if I'm not afraid, I can't stand this guy causing trouble every day!

Liangzhou has been in turmoil for more than a hundred years. From the initial Qiang Rebellion to the present day, this area has never been peaceful, with years of war and disasters.

Cao Wei was quite effective in governing Yongliang, but it could not withstand the repeated disasters.

Cao Mao also knew that in a few decades, an extremely serious food crisis would break out here, followed by a rebellion involving hundreds of thousands of people.

In Cao Mao's great cause of governing the world, Yongliang was still a very key link, connecting the Western Regions, Bashu, and Bingzhou.

Commerce, agriculture, mining.

After Jiang Wei's defeat in this battle, Shu Kingdom will have a period of reorganization, and Jiang Wei cannot invade Yongliang under the pressure of his ministers.

This period of time will be a very precious opportunity for Cao Mao.

Cao Mao can use this opportunity to rectify the administration and get rid of those pests in the army!
No matter what, any drastic action against the army will affect its combat effectiveness in the early stages. If it is during peacetime, there is no need to worry.

Do it, do it in a big and decisive way. Arrest and execute all those who embezzle military rations, do not know how to fight, and steal credit and fame. At least achieve a certain degree of transparency in military spending and get rid of the parasites in the army.

After a short period of pain, the combat effectiveness of the Wei army will be greatly enhanced.

Once the military reforms are completed, treatment is improved in all aspects, and training is carried out actively, Cao Mao will no longer worry about Jiang Wei coming again. With the huge gap in strength, Deng Ai, as an opponent of equal strength to Jiang Wei, will be able to beat Jiang Wei to a pulp!
After completely controlling the Secretariat and completing many early reforms, you can try to unify the country.

On the question of whether to attack Shu or Wu first, Cao Mao and many of his confidants supported attacking Shu first.

Because if you attack Wu, Shu will definitely send troops to harass you, but if you attack Shu, Wu may not.
The native families of Wu were too powerful, perhaps even stronger than the big families of Cao Wei. If others attacked them, they would go all out and fight actively. But if they were asked to send troops to attack and do something thankless, they would passively avoid the war.

Therefore, it is common to see that the State of Wu often defeats the larger force with a smaller one when defending, and often loses with a larger force when attacking.

What does the life and death of Shu have to do with those wealthy Wu clans who are living a life of drunkenness and debauchery?

But now the general of Wu State, Sun Jun, is a very smart man, so we still have to wait a little longer. This man inherited the fine traditions of the generals of the Sun family and died young. After his death, we can start preparing to deal with Shu State.

Sun Chen, who inherited his position, was a young and inexperienced man. Compared with his cousin, his methods were too weak. He was simply a replica of Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, no, Sima Shi and Sima Yan!
Cao Mao thought of a lot of things at this moment, and he looked at Zhang Hua beside him.

"Immediately inform the world that this is the first time the Great Wei has achieved such a great victory since I took power. This is the blessing of our ancestors!!"

Zhang Hua is well aware of the importance of publicity work.

This victory came at a very timely moment. The ministers had already jumped out to openly defy the emperor. Such a great victory could calm down the complacent ministers.

Victory is the best way to enhance the prestige of the emperor. A great victory can make the emperor more popular with the soldiers, and the new meritorious people who are awarded titles will become supporters of the emperor. At the same time, people all over the world will become more in awe of him, for various reasons.

"Your Majesty, I will go with you!"

"Go, everyone go!"

Cao Mao waved his hand and the eunuchs swarmed out of the Taiji Hall.

Cao Mao smiled and watched the eunuchs leave, then strode into the West Hall. He bent down, casually wiped the steps, and sat down directly. His posture was very casual, but it was not in line with the etiquette of a king at all.

Mr. Xu stood aside, hesitant to speak.

Cao Mao waved to him.

Mr. Xu hurried forward, bent down, and waited for instructions.

"Er Gong Xu, take your men and raid Guo Zhang's house now and prepare all his belongings for me. This meritorious official is coming back, so how can I not reward him?"

"If anyone dares to stop us, we will kill them directly."

Mr. Xu was shocked and asked him to take care of this matter?
The aristocratic families are very wary of eunuchs. How could they let them do something like confiscating property?
Is this because he is afraid that his ministers will not rebel against him?

Cao Mao glanced at him again and slowly narrowed his eyes.

"Slave obeys the order!!!"

"Well, bring more people with you. There's no need to hide anything. Send Guo Zhang directly to the Supreme Court. As for his property, if anyone embezzles it, I will execute his entire clan."

"only!!!"

(End of this chapter)