The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 374 Tough!

"Your Majesty, I am innocent."

When Guo Pei was brought before Cao Mao, he was much tougher than anyone else before him.

Even though he was tied up, there was no panic on his face.

He raised his head and looked at Cao Mao with a look that was not rude but definitely not respectful.

This surprised Cao Mao. Could it be that this guy had some hidden tricks that he didn't know about?
He glanced at Zhang Hua beside him, and Zhang Hua immediately reacted.

"Lord Guo, the prince was assassinated, and the assassin claimed to be from your palace and was sent by you to carry out the assassination. Don't you have anything to say?"

Guo Pei's eyes were full of confidence.

He was the one who sent out the assassins, but he believed that these assassins trained by the Guo family would never betray him.

His original purpose was to save Wang Xiang, and he never ordered the assassination of Wang Xiang.

Wang Xiang’s death had nothing to do with him, but was most likely due to the emperor.

He immediately said very firmly: "I can confront these thieves face to face. This must be a frame-up!"

"I have no grudges against the prince, so why would I want to kill him? On the contrary, it is those who are not easy to kill who might attack him."

Zhang Hua and the emperor looked at each other and seemed a little hesitant.

Cao Mao did not continue to talk to him. He waved his hand and asked the soldiers to take Guo Pei away.

After he left, Cao Mao asked, "Where does this man get his confidence from? He's not afraid at all?"

Zhang Hua pondered for a moment. "Guo Pei is not an incompetent mediocre person. Perhaps he has made some arrangements in advance?"

Cao Mao shook his head and said, "Send him to the Supreme Court and let him stay there. I will go check on him and see what other plans he has."

Zhang Hua accepted the order and immediately left the Taiji Hall.

Cao Mao looked through a few more memorials. Perhaps because of Wang Xiang's incident, the ministers did not have much objection to the recent personnel transfers.

After reading the memorial, Cao Mao ordered Cheng Ji to prepare the carriage and leave Taiji Hall.

As soon as the carriage drove out of the palace, it met Sima Yan who was waiting for Cao Mao there.

Sima Yan took a quick step and rushed into Cao Mao's carriage and sat down next to him without any courtesy.

"Your Majesty, why are you coming out now?"

Cao Mao shook his head and said, "I was delayed by some trivial matters."

"We have to speed up a bit, otherwise there won't be many people left."

Cao Mao ordered Cheng Ji to speed up and then asked, "How are you doing with what I told you to do?"

Sima Yan was full of confidence. "Of course it was very successful. Your Majesty, have you read my memorial? Nowadays, few of these Imperial College students are devoted to studying the classics. Some take medicine, some drink. Anyway, they are not doing their job properly."

"I've been to the Imperial College a few times and have given rewards in your name to those students who have studied hard and not spent their time playing around."

"It's a pity that the money you gave is too little."

Sima Yan changed the subject and said, "Among those students in the Imperial College, which one is from a poor background? They are all from wealthy families. The rewards they receive are not even as good as a few meals for others!"

“When I give out rewards, I feel embarrassed, afraid that they will look down on me.”

Cao Mao couldn't help laughing.

Sima Yan was not wrong. In history, this guy competed with his own ministers in wealth and lost.

Even though the officials of the Great Wei are poor, the great families are extremely wealthy. They may not even take the emperor's rewards seriously.

Cao Mao said, "What matters is not the size of the reward, but who gives it. To receive the emperor's grace is more valuable than money."

Sima Yan said nothing more.

If Cao Mao wanted to change the Wei Dynasty, he had to improve his ideology.

The atmosphere in the Wei Dynasty was very bad: decadent, escapist, negative, and hedonistic. The rulers of the Wei and Jin Dynasties finally created all of this through their persistent efforts. The reason why the officials in the world were so unbearable was, firstly, that there was a problem with the assessment method, and secondly, that there was a problem with their thinking.

Cao Mao could leave the matter of reforming the system to his ministers, but he still wanted to put more effort into the ideological transformation himself.

The Imperial Academy of the Wei Dynasty can be said to be the most important place for ideological exchange in the Wei Dynasty.

Many academic disciplines were born and spread here, and many big names liked to spread their knowledge in the Imperial Academy. Wang Su and Zheng Chong had given public lectures in the Imperial Academy many times.

Therefore, Taixue was an important base for Cao Mao to transform the world's thoughts.

Cao Mao had previously sent Sima Yan to the Imperial Academy to help him take a look at the situation inside the Imperial Academy, including the doctors who taught the classics and many students, and to reward some students who could be given important tasks.

Sima Yan's work was very simple. He simply wrote down what he saw and heard in the Imperial Academy in a diary, or travelogue.

He recorded many things he saw after entering the Imperial College, even wrote down his conversations, and then submitted this to the emperor as a memorial.

If he had handed this kind of thing over to any other emperor other than Cao Mao, he would have been beheaded for treason. What minister would write a petition like this?!

You don't care about the format and rules of this thing at all.

Although the memorial was a bit simple, Cao Mao was still very satisfied with it. At least it did not have too many embellishments and no deliberate concealment. Its main feature was sincerity and generosity, which was very consistent with Anshi's character.

Through his memorial, even though Cao Mao had never been to the Imperial Academy, he already had some understanding of it.

The Imperial Academy of the Wei Dynasty was re-established during the reign of Emperor Wen, mainly following the system of the Later Han Dynasty. Part of it was to recruit older and virtuous people to study the classics, and part of it was to recruit young boys to enlighten students in the classics.

Simply put, it is graduate students and high school students.

There was no strict age requirement for admission to the Imperial College in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, which was also a compromise with the wealthy families.

The two chatted all the way as the carriage hurriedly arrived at the gate of the Imperial College.

The two got out of the car together.

The Imperial College in Luoyang was not as lively and noisy as the Imperial College in Chang'an. Except for some fierce academic battles, it was extremely quiet at other times.

The carriage stopped at the door, but no one came to ask about it.

One could even see many private carriages coming in and out. Cao Mao was dressed in casual clothes, looking noble, and was protected by a group of armored soldiers. However, this was nothing special in the Imperial Academy, as the children of wealthy families in the Imperial Academy also looked the same.

"Once you enter here, I will be your brother. You must not reveal my identity."

Cao Mao ordered.

Sima Yan then brought Cao Mao in here.

It can be seen that Emperor Wen took great pains to build the Imperial Academy. The buildings of the Imperial Academy are exceptionally majestic. The scale of the Imperial Academy is extremely large, and the roads leading to various places are exceptionally flat and neat, with green trees on both sides. In the distance, you can see rockery and small pavilions, and attics and pavilions everywhere, which give it a sense of otherworldliness.

However, looking around at such a huge Imperial College complex, there are not many people to be seen.

It was very quiet here, with only a few carriages coming in and out occasionally, but other than that, there was no one to be seen.

Cao Mao had a stern face. Since the time of King Qi, the Imperial Academy had become a place for gilding. It had not cultivated any real talents, and the teaching style had become increasingly abstract, opening up a new teaching model in which the name was present even though the person was not present.

Many people just have their names on the list in the Imperial College and don't usually come here to take a look. In the Later Han Dynasty, students had to live in the Imperial College, but nowadays, there is no strict standard either.

Historically, Sima Yan later established the Imperial College, which only recruited children from prominent families, making the Imperial College "popular." Of course, these common people were definitely not real common people, but just common people compared to the prominent families.

Cao Mao looked around, his eyes full of helplessness.

Just from such a Imperial Academy, he could almost foresee the future Wei Dynasty's government.

The students of the Wei Dynasty were even more radical than the old ministers. They had not lost their fighting spirit and were not completely decadent, but they were also greatly influenced by the metaphysics of the Wei and Jin Dynasties. They admired people like the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove who did nothing but take medicine and drink all day long, lived a decadent life, completely indulged themselves, and ignored etiquette.

Cao Mao followed Sima Yan around the Imperial Academy several times, but he didn't see many people who were actually studying.

Rather than being called a Taixue, it would be more accurate to call it a "library". Some people come here to borrow books, and there are also doctors of classics appointed by the temple. These people are rather negligent about the teaching affairs of the Taixue.

Cao Mao felt that it was necessary to revive the atmosphere of the Imperial Academy. He brought many famous scholars to the Imperial Academy more often to liven up the atmosphere, or held more debates. Even if it was just through quarrels, he had to hype up the Imperial Academy and make it full of vitality again.

Just as Cao Mao was following Sima Yan to visit the books in the Imperial College, a man hurried out and bumped into Cao Mao.

"Bold!!"

In just a moment, a large group of people suddenly jumped out from inside and outside and pressed the man to the ground.

Cao Mao frowned and looked at the person who was pinned down, his eyes full of anger.

The person who was pinned down was about forty years old. He was trembling all over and his face was pale. It was obvious that he was a senior fan of Fusan like Pei Xiu.

Cheng Ji didn't find any sharp weapon on him, so he pulled him up.

"Do you want to die?"

The man was still trembling, his forehead covered in sweat. He looked at Cao Mao and said tremblingly, "I didn't mean to offend you. I'm not feeling well. I hope you can forgive me."

Cao Mao frowned and warned, "It's best not to leave this Imperial College. You are so good-looking, how could you do such a ridiculous thing?"

The man looked at Cao Mao blankly, then spoke again: "Please don't blame me, sir. I am seriously ill and can't hear anything."

Cao Mao was stunned and looked at the man in front of him again.

Sima Yan sighed deeply, his eyes filled with pity. "Your Majesty, this disabled man has no intention of doing this. Please do not embarrass him any further."

Cao Mao said nothing, but asked someone to bring paper and pen, and asked Sima Yan to write: "May I know your name?"

The man saw the letter and bowed again.

"I am Huangfu Mi. I was rude just now. I hope you won't blame me."

At this moment, Cao Mao's whole body trembled violently.

It's you! !
(End of this chapter)