The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 360 A knife hidden in a smile
Cao Mao sat in the Taiji Hall, and every day memorials flew in like snowflakes, almost drowning him.

These memorials were sent by eunuchs from all over the country, who updated the emperor on the situation of officials in various places in a timely manner.

When Cao Mao saw these memorials, although he had expected it, he was still so angry that he almost jumped up.

The local administration situation was even worse than Cao Mao had imagined.

Calling them good-for-nothings is a compliment to them. They are simply a group of beasts who are governing the counties of Wei on behalf of the government.

Cao Mao's face darkened as he read through the memorials sent today again.

"Your Majesty, please eat something."

Mr. Xu smiled as he brought the food to Cao Mao. Cao Mao took a look at the food in front of him and narrowed his eyes. "Yuancheng cuisine, made by Madam Zheng?"

"She arranged for someone to do it."

Cao Mao didn't say anything else and quickly finished the food in front of him.

Mr. Xu talked about many situations in the harem, including the fact that Zheng Xian had been running to Empress Dowager Guo all day recently and that their relationship had eased.

Cao Mao was a little surprised, but didn't care too much.

The matter of Empress Dowager Guo was no longer that important. Cao Mao was becoming increasingly busy, and his daily schedule was almost full. He had no time to coax the empress dowager, especially now when important matters were being handled in the temple.

After Cao Mao finished his meal, he left Taiji Hall by carriage.

His destination was the Secretariat.

Today, a new official has arrived at the Secretariat, and Emperor Cao Mao needs to go and visit him in person.

When the emperor's carriage stopped outside the Secretariat, the ministers hurried out to greet him, led by Xun Yi and Chen Tai.

Chen Tai's appointment and dismissal was simpler than Cao Mao had imagined. Within a very short period of time, all the ministers approved his appointment and dismissal, and he rose to become the Shangshu You Pushe of the Wei Dynasty.

Follow Xun Yi to take care of the affairs of the Secretariat.

Xun Yi was both happy and worried about this situation.

Fortunately, Chen Tai's attitude was very humble. He was very polite to other colleagues and even put Xun Xi first, which made Xun Xi lower his guard.

"Greetings to Your Majesty!!"

Everyone bowed and greeted him.

Cao Mao went over to greet them with a smile and a warm attitude. Many of the Shangshu in the Secretariat and their officials felt the emperor's kindness.

Xun Yi led Cao Mao inside, and then many ministers took their seats.

Cao Mao looked at the people who truly governed the Great Wei and said, "I have come here today to reward you all. The prosperity of the Great Wei is due to your contributions."

"I dare not take credit!"

Cao Mao chatted with them cordially, asking about their situations one by one, greeting their families, and being very approachable. After chatting for a long time, Cao Mao let them go and take care of their own affairs.

When all the ministers stood up, Cao Mao grabbed Chen Tai again and began to tell him to work hard.

The ministers did not dare to stay any longer and left one by one.

Cao Mao brought Chen Tai with him and started to wander around the Secretariat.

The two men walked here talking and laughing, and from time to time they pointed at the ministers in the distance and asked something with a smile. Chen Tai answered with his head down, and Cao Mao nodded with satisfaction.

The scene was picturesque, and everyone in the Shangshutai worked even harder.

But this is only because they didn't hear the specific conversation between the two.

Cao Mao pointed to a minister in the distance and asked Chen Tai, "Who can take over Yuan Liang's position?"

"What do you think, Your Majesty?"

"He has no knowledge of etiquette, let alone education. I think Wei Shu can replace him."

"Indeed."

"Mr. Chen, you don't know this. This man deserves to be killed."

Cao Mao smiled and said, "It was he who instigated Guo Zhang to come forward earlier. He is also secretly communicating with Feng Fu and others, hoping to deny my legitimacy by convicting the general!"

Chen Tai was stunned. He didn't know how the emperor knew these things, but it seemed that the emperor knew those people very well, and even knew what they were plotting recently.

Cao Mao continued, "It is my fault that the Secretariat is filled with such incompetent, mediocre, stupid, and treacherous people."

"We must replace them one by one. Let me tell you the truth, everyone in this Shangshutai except you can be dealt with. No one will be wronged."

"However, they are so powerful that we cannot act rashly. We can only defeat them one by one."

"Let's start with Yuan Liang. His position is too important. He can be transferred from the position of Shangshu to the Ministry of Rites. Duke Wei will surely make meritorious contributions during his inspection tours throughout the country, and then we can let Duke Wei replace him."

Chen Tai nodded, "That's right."

Yuan Liang, who was pretentiously discussing important matters with the imperial eunuchs in the distance, saw the emperor pointing at him several times with a smile on his face. Chen Tai beside him even nodded, and he was even more delighted. Could it be that the Duke was about to be promoted?!
Cao Mao then went on to talk about the other ministers and vice ministers.

Cao Mao was very clear about their crimes, and even knew what they talked about after drinking yesterday. Chen Tai lowered his head even more.

Cao Mao discussed the future personnel arrangements with Chen Tai and then asked, "Mr. Chen, what do you think the Secretariat should do now?"

"Your Majesty, the first thing you should do is to deal with the Hu people."

"Ok??"

Cao Mao looked at Chen Tai in astonishment.

The Hu people? Their rebellion was decades later, so why would we say we need to control the Hu people?
Chen Tai frowned and said seriously, "Your Majesty, you may not know that I am in Yongzhou, governing the region. Due to years of war, Yongliang has suffered severe damage. Many people are now living together with the Hu people, and their customs and practices are increasingly leaning towards the Hu people. This is something that the court cannot ignore!"

"Duke Deng had once reported to the general that the Qiang, Xianbei, and Wei peoples of the borderlands were living together, and that the people of Yongliang and other places were increasingly leaning towards the barbarian ways and were gradually escaping the jurisdiction of the imperial court."

"The situation in Yongliang, Bingyou, and other places is becoming increasingly severe. The power of the Hu people is growing, but the court lacks the means to fear them and govern them, and always looks down on them."

"The general took this very seriously and ordered that the border guards separate them, organize the Qiang and Hu people into households, and teach them the doctrine of distinguishing between honor and shame. But this didn't last long. Your Majesty, this problem has just emerged and is not yet at its most serious. If we don't find a way to deal with it now, once they become a force to be reckoned with, it will be difficult to control them."

Cao Mao was shocked.

This person is good.

If you go out and tell others now that the Hu people are planning a rebellion, you will probably be laughed at.

Even though the Three Kingdoms had entered a stage of competing for the worst, the Hu people were not prepared to face that. Every year, Shu Han would bring the Qiang and Hu people to attack Cao Wei, and Cao Wei would still fight back. If the Hu people in the northeastern peninsula dared to provoke him, Guanqiu Jian would go straight to destroy the country.

Not to mention Wei, even the relatively weak Shu used a dimensionality reduction attack on the barbarians on the border.

The same is true for Wu.

Therefore, they did not think that the Hu people could be a big problem at all. Both Cao Wei and Shu Han liked to use Hu mercenaries. In fact, there were also Hu cavalry in Cao Mao's central army.

This is an old tradition from the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty's tradition of using Hu cavalry can be traced back all the way to the time of Emperor Wu of Han.

But Chen Tai could actually sense something was wrong.

This is something that will only happen decades later.

Did Deng Ai even read the book earlier than him?
It was thanks to Sima Shi that Deng Ai accepted his advice. If it were any of his other successors, they would probably have laughed Deng Ai to death.

Chen Tai looked at the emperor in disbelief and said helplessly, "Your Majesty, I am not speaking nonsense. The situation on this frontier is really not as the ministers say."

"Mr. Chen, you don't need to explain. I understand what you mean."

"Since you've spoken, it must be the truth. I know you and your abilities. You wouldn't say something without a reason."

"Just handle these important matters according to your ideas."

At this moment, Chen Tai felt indescribably moved. Even Sima Shi had never given Chen Tai such trust.

He hurriedly bowed and saluted, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Cao Mao smiled and helped him up. "There are many treacherous people in the court, but there are still wise men like you. This is why I dare to inherit the great throne of my ancestors and believe that I can live up to them."

Cao Mao's one-day trip to the Secretariat ended and he left.

Many officials in the Secretariat also left afterwards.

When Yuan Liang returned to the mansion, a familiar old friend was waiting for him.

"Mr. He, why are you here?"

Yuan Liang hurriedly greeted the visitor. He Zeng smiled and replied, "I wasn't able to enjoy drinking with you recently because there were always outsiders present. I came to your residence today specifically to drink with you alone!"

Yuan Liang hurriedly ordered his servants to prepare food, and took He Zeng's hand and went to the inner room together.

He Zeng has been exhausted these days.

He followed the emperor's edict and frequently interacted with the ministers in the temple through Feng Fulai. He was famous and not very shameless, so he quickly established a good relationship with these people.

He even became a small leader in these anti-Cao Mao gangs. Many people hoped that he could come forward and once again overthrow the emperor and take over as the Minister of the Chancellery.

Regarding the ministers' idea, He Zeng could only say that they were thinking too much.

However, He Zeng also became an important spy for the emperor. With his help, the emperor knew everything about the movements of these people.

"Hahaha, His Majesty is visiting today. You may not know this, but His Majesty has watched me work several times and nodded repeatedly. I think His Majesty has discovered my talent and is ready to make use of me."

He Zengdu almost laughed out loud when he heard Yuan Liang's words.

Yes, yes, yes, reuse, absolutely reuse.

They even sent someone to ask me to collect evidence. It seems that the Supreme Court and the Censorate jointly dealt with this matter.

Not many people can receive such treatment, which can definitely be considered as being reused.

How could these idiots have the guts to go against His Majesty?
(End of this chapter)