The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 357 Remembering the Ancients
"Master Taiwei, what are you doing?"

Cao Mao wanted to say something but stopped himself.

Zhuge Dan said loudly, "Your Majesty has entrusted me with such an important matter. How dare I neglect it? This Xun Yi, who is in charge of the Secretariat, is so lazy and negligent that he is truly despicable."

"Snubbing?!"

Xun Yi turned and looked at him in disbelief.

What bullshit are you talking about?

Is this public neglect?

Do you know how much has been going on in the Secretariat these days?
I deal with the Shangshu in the morning, Zhong Hui in the afternoon, and you in the evening. And you say I'm lazy and negligent?

If he could defeat him, Xun Xi would have rushed over and strangled Zhuge Dan's neck.

Cao Mao asked the two to sit down, looking rather helpless. "Alas, Lord Xun, you are the only one serving as a minister in the Secretariat. I am really troubling you. So, how about this?"

"You are here to promote someone to serve as your deputy to assist you in your work!"

Cao Mao's attitude was very sincere, and no matter who came, no one could find fault with him.

What decentralization? This is clearly for Xun Xi's consideration. We are proactively helping him reduce his burden. The other party has been chosen, so what else does Your Majesty want?
Xun Yi was very conflicted at this moment.

In the absence of a clear position for You Pushe, he was the de facto boss of the Secretariat, ruling the country alone and had a bright future.

This power is unimaginable.

However, power often means responsibility. The Secretariat is different from the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers. It is a practical department. You are not the Minister of the Chancellery, so you cannot just wave your hand and let them deal with it themselves.

Xun Yi wanted to eat meat, but he had a poor appetite and couldn't finish it.

At this moment, Xun Yi quickly thought of the candidate in his mind.

Then, he discovered in despair that there was no one available! !
Cao Mao summarized the talent patterns of the Three Kingdoms and came up with a theory of the evolution of aristocratic families.

That is the previous view that "the first generation is moral and capable, the second generation is capable, and the third generation is human."

There is a lack of young talents. Wei seems to have many strong talents, but that is because the other two countries are even worse.

The most intuitive description of this point can even be seen in various games in later generations. In the early stages, people would not even look at a character with an ability value below 90, but in the later stages, they would be so excited that they would cry when they saw a character with an ability value of 80.

At this moment, Xun Yi could not think of a trusted minister who could assist him.

Looking at Xun Yi who fell silent for a moment, Cao Mao took his hand and said seriously: "Xun Gong, please don't worry too much. It's not that I don't trust you, I just think you are too tired. If you feel that you are still okay, I can take back my words."

Xun Yi looked at Zhuge Dan standing beside him and still felt discouraged.

"Your Majesty, I believe that the Governor of Yongzhou, Mr. Chen, is well-known and knowledgeable in government, and can be appointed to an important position."

Cao Mao frowned and pondered for a long time.

"I know Mr. Chen is good at military affairs, but does he also understand government affairs?"

Xun Yi had to take the initiative to flatter Chen Tai. This feeling was really depressing.

"Your Majesty, Lord Chen is a good ruler. When he was in Yongzhou, he personally implemented everything and was deeply loved by the local officials and people."

Xun Yi persuaded him for a long time before Cao Mao finally said, "Okay, then let the ministers discuss the candidate and then make the appointment or dismissal."

"You said before that if I directly appoint people, it will be easy for traitors to be appointed and dismissed."

"During this period of discussion among the ministers, I ask that you continue to take care of us."

Xun Yi felt a darkness before his eyes.

Only after Xun Yi left the East Hall tremblingly did Zhuge Dan put away the arrogance on his face.

"Your Majesty, can we start working on military matters now?"

Cao Mao shook his head gently, "Grand Marshal, don't be anxious."

"We are currently rectifying the civil service. If we carry out two tasks simultaneously, the harm will be too great. We should rectify the civil service first, and then rectify the military discipline."

"After these two things are completed, I can focus on other matters."

Zhuge Dan was not in a hurry either. After all, his reputation had been growing in recent days. With the emergence of his many proposals, he was praised by the scholars, and even the generals and captains came to pay him a visit.

Zhuge Dan is very satisfied with his current life.

And he finally surpassed his old friends and became the pillar of the court he had dreamed of.

Cao Mao has become more and more tolerant. Almost every minister under his command has his own major flaws, but Cao Mao does not care about them. Take Zhuge Dan for example. He now plays a very good role in the court, so Cao Mao can ignore some of his shortcomings.

Seeing that Zhuge Dan talked about other things and was unwilling to get up and leave, Cao Mao immediately understood what he was thinking.

"My Lord, there is something I don't know how to express."

"Your Majesty, just give your orders."

Cao Mao then said, "I am planning to hold a banquet in my East Hall to entertain the world's famous scholars. However, the visitors are mostly young scholars. You are so respected and virtuous that you shouldn't speak up. If the Grand Marshal doesn't have any important matters, I wonder if you could stay by my side and attend the banquet with me?"

Zhuge Dan was extremely happy at the moment, but he hesitated. "Your Majesty, it's not that I don't want to come, but I'm not very talented or well-educated, and I don't have much reputation."

Cao Mao was also very patient and continued to flatter and enlighten him.

Zhuge Dan finally agreed to stay.

Zhuge Dan didn't leave just now because he wanted to attend Cao Mao's banquet. He was very similar to Zhong Hui. They both liked banquets and wanted fame, but there were also differences between them.

Zhong Hui was more direct. To a banquet like this, he would come directly without any pretense. However, Zhuge Dan was both demanding and pretentious. In any case, he would only agree if Cao Mao asked him to come.

If you want to interact with someone, you have to judge whether they really want it. Otherwise, if you really don't invite them, you will inadvertently offend them. Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin were already close friends, but it was Wen Qin's direct and rude personality that caused a conflict between the two.

Wen Qin did not know how to cooperate. For example, if Zhuge Dan said that he was not as good as Guanqiu Jian, Guanqiu Jian would hurriedly say that you are too modest, while Wen Qin would nod and say: Yes, you are indeed not as good as him.

Then something went wrong.

While the two were chatting, Du Yu also started chatting with Ma Jun.

Ma Jun was very surprised. He didn't expect that among the young men, it was not only the emperor who was interested in these things, but also other people. When he learned the name of his father, Ma Jun was even more excited. It turned out that he was the son of a colleague!
The two of them suddenly became close.

Before long, many famous people began to come to the banquet.

Of course, Zhong Hui was the first to arrive.

Zhong Hui is really busy nowadays. He has at least four major things going on at the same time.

But even in this situation, he still took time out to attend the emperor's banquet.

This is enough to prove Zhong Shiji's loyalty to the emperor.

Zhong Hui still respected Zhuge Dan very much and did not behave rudely. More and more famous scholars came, even Ji Kang came.

When Zhong Hui saw Ji Kang coming, he stood up first and went to pay him a visit.

Ji Kang seemed to be in a bad mood and came to confess his guilt to the emperor first.

"Your Majesty, I have made a grave mistake in judging people. I beg you to punish me."

Cao Mao now has many talented people at his disposal, and no longer needs someone like Ji Kang to be a captain.

Ji Kang was arranged by Cao Mao into the internal official system.

Cao Mao still wanted him to take on more publicity tasks.

"Ji Jun, why do you say that? Come, please take a seat."

Cao Mao asked Ji Kang to sit next to him and said, "Even I couldn't see the evil in Lü Xun. How could you, a kind-hearted person, know that?"

"This Lu Xun has received the punishment he deserves. I can pardon his mother and his brothers."

"You don't have to worry about this. Now that I'm in charge of the government, you should drink less, don't take medicine, and focus on important matters!"

More and more celebrities arrived here, and the East Hall became lively.

With Zhuge Dan joining, the banquet became more lively. People came to pay their respects. Cao Mao felt tired when he saw Zhuge Dan's face that was trying not to smile.

If you want to laugh, just laugh. Why do you have to be so pretentious?
Although Cao Mao didn't understand, he still expressed his understanding.

Compared with the Han and Jin scholars, the Wei scholars, who were caught in a period of change, seemed much more complicated.

They yearn for the backbone of the Han people, but have to face the current corruption. Caught in the middle, they have become this weird appearance.

Ma Jun is the protagonist of this Dongtang Banquet.

When everyone arrived, Cao Mao couldn't wait to ask Ma Jun to perform his talent for everyone.

When it comes to helping people make their debut, Cao Mao is definitely an expert.

Just as Cao Mao had expected, when the puppets began to move under the power of water, the celebrities present went crazy.

There were dozens of these puppets, each with different movements, extremely flexible and lifelike. Without anyone controlling them, they performed a great show for the celebrities.

"A divine workmanship exists in the world! Ma Gong is a divine man!!"

"Even Gongshu and Lu Ban are only this good?!"

Compared to things that can improve people's livelihood, celebrities prefer this moving puppet. Even Zhong Hui praised it highly.

Looking at the many excited celebrities in the hall, Cao Mao didn't know whether he should be happy or sad for a moment.

Cao Mao took the lead in composing poems for Ma Jun's puppet show.

After he spoke, other celebrities followed suit.

For a time, everyone was praising Ma Jun and his handicrafts.

Ma Jun sat in a daze among the crowd. Only thirty years ago, many ministers were critical of him, thinking that he was obsessed with entertainment and not doing his job properly.

I didn't expect the world to change so quickly.

Ji Kang's playing brought the atmosphere of the banquet to its climax.

The scholars began to revel, and started to talk and debate.

Cao Mao's goal this time was achieved. After today, Ma Jun's fame will grow, and even his skills will be widely spread. Then, Cao Mao can promote it with peace of mind.

The wealthy and powerful families would be the first to adopt these new inventions and bring them to all parts of the country.

Du Yu frowned and sat aside, looking at the many scholars in front of him.

He didn't speak for a long time.

Cao Mao looked at him, "Yuan Kai? Why are you so depressed?"

"Your Majesty, I am fine."

“It’s just a little bit of nostalgia for the ancients.”

(End of this chapter)