The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 379 Figure it out
Shi Bao was sitting in the carriage, and Hu Fen was sitting in front of him.

The atmosphere was a bit awkward. Shi Bao went to the temple on Hu Zun's orders. At first, Shi Bao was very happy and thought this was an opportunity for him.

But when Hu Fen joined, Shi Bao realized something was wrong.

Hu Zun did not despise the emperor as much as he said.

Several of his sons are in the temple or other places. Not only him, but also the other foreign generals. Their families must stay in Luoyang, which is equivalent to hostages. If you dare to rebel, your family will be the first to be killed.

When Hu Zun reaches his age, it is not very reliable to say that he will have another child suddenly, because he is not Zhong Yao.

Sima Shi originally sent his son to Zhuge Dan in order to win him over, and Sima Zhao followed suit and sent his son to Hu Zun in order to win him over.

But Hu Zun now took the initiative to let his son go to Luoyang with Shi Bao, which was actually a disguised way of submitting to the court.

My sons are no longer with me, and they definitely have no intention of rebelling.

Shi Bao never dared to speak rashly, simply because Hu Zun was a hot-tempered person and he was unwilling to get involved in the struggle between Hu Zun and the emperor.

Hu Fen looked at the scenes along the way and couldn't help laughing.

"All along the way, all I've seen are scenes of officials working diligently and the people benefiting. This is something we haven't seen in the Wei Dynasty for a long time. Those officials who usually take off their clothes and climb onto the rooftops to urinate and defecate actually know how to urge the people to work. Hahaha~~"

Hearing Hu Fen's words, Shi Bao was stunned for a moment, then he also looked outside through the car window.

If we talk about the debauchery of scholars, Shi Bao definitely has a say. In the entire Wei Dynasty, the most ruthless officials are those in Qingzhou.

Luoyang is located at the foot of the emperor, and Sima Shi was in charge there before, so they did not dare to play too much. There were also many capable officials in the Central Plains to monitor them, and there was also the risk of war.

Only Qingzhou had no invasion from the barbarians outside the Great Wall, no wars between two enemy countries, was far away from the imperial court, and had insufficient supervision. All of this led to the officials of Qingzhou becoming extremely corrupt.

As for Shi Bao...well, he naturally follows the local customs. If someone gives him money out of kindness, he can't just refuse it, right?

Someone sent a beautiful woman to me, you can’t just refuse her, right?

Everyone is like this anyway. Wouldn't it be bad if you don't fit in?
So, Governor Shi took the lead in building Qingzhou's entertainment industry.

But seeing the current situation around him, Shi Bao couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

The emperor attached so much importance to the administration of officials. If he knew about what happened in Qingzhou, not to mention the Qingzhou governor, he would probably be in big trouble.

The current governor of Qingzhou is Sun Yu. He is not well-known, but his father, Sun Guan, is quite famous. He was one of the Taishan bandits in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.

Shi Bao always felt that Hu Fen's words had a specific meaning, because taking off clothes and going upstairs after mourning was a heroic act for Qingzhou officials.

Seeing Shi Bao's guilty conscience, Hu Fen finally spoke, "My father is the governor of Qingzhou and Xuzhou, and you will take over the administration of Qingzhou. These two places are adjacent, but the administration is completely different. My father knows that Your Majesty attaches great importance to this matter, and he is preparing to submit a joint petition to cooperate with the eunuchs to supervise the affairs of the two states."

Shi Bao became even more uneasy. Although Hu Zun was irritable, he did a pretty good job in Xuzhou. He did not give much face to local clans and officials and was rude to them, but this effectively prevented the officials from becoming corrupt.

He quickly said, "The general is a serious person. Officials dare not disobey him. Your Majesty must also know the general's ability."

Hu Fen didn't say much. Shi Bao had decent abilities but average character. His father didn't trust him, so he asked him to come this time. On the one hand, he wanted to see the emperor's attitude through him, and on the other hand, he wanted to send this guy out and then take control of Qingzhou's affairs to see if there would be any good opportunities.

Hu Zun was one of the few people who did not take the great Confucian scholars in the Central Plains seriously. He felt that His Majesty's dispatch of officials to supervise was just a test for him.

He was ready to kill all those bad people and make great contributions in front of the new emperor.

Hu Zun's original words were: All the generals say they want to surrender, but none of them has proven themselves. Let's start with me.

When they endured the long journey and arrived in Luoyang, someone came to greet them.

The people who greeted them were Xiahou He and Zhang Hua.

Xiahou He was the seventh son of Xiahou Yuan. He originally served as the Yin of Henan. Because of his status, the ministers recommended him to be the Minister of Rites when they recommended officials.

This person is similar to Cao Yan. He is close to the Sima family and has a very good relationship with the ministers. Moreover, the emperor does not dislike him very much.

Xiahou He himself is still very rational, courageous and calm in times of crisis.

It's just that this person's attainments in classics are limited. He should be appointed as Guanglu Xun or something like that. It's really inappropriate for him to be Taichang.

After he took office as Taichang, he was always busy with his own affairs. He avoided getting involved in the affairs of the court if possible, and tried to protect himself.

He and Shi Bao were old acquaintances, and he was particularly excited to see them again.

"Lord Xiahou, I haven't seen you for many years, but you're still as energetic as ever!"

"Hahaha, I'm already old, how can I talk about my spirit?"

The two of them exchanged greetings enthusiastically. Hu Fen stood aside calmly, and so did Zhang Hua. Their expressions were exactly the same.

They suddenly looked at each other, then smiled and nodded to each other.

Xiahou He led them into Luoyang City. Shi Bao was very humble and kept praising Xiahou He.

Shi Bao and Xiahou He were similar in status; both had connections with many ministers in the court, and Xiahou He even had a good relationship with Zhong Hui. Zhang Hua, however, took the initiative to approach Hu Fen.

"Mr. Hu? As expected of the son of General Zhengdong, you have quite the demeanor of Mr. Hu."

Hu Fen no longer had the same arrogant expression in front of Zhang Hua. He smiled and said, "Although I have never met you, I have heard that there is a Zhang Sanqi by your Majesty's side."

"This person is handsome, good-looking, and talented. I think it must be you."

When Zhang Hua heard this, there was not much joy on his face.

It seems that the ministers in the court still have connections with Hu Zun, and he is not as unacceptable as he appears to be.

"Why didn't Lord Hu come to pay his respects in person?"

Zhang Hua suddenly asked.

Hu Fen said seriously, "My father is seriously ill and can't get up, so I asked General Shi to come on his behalf."

"When father's condition improves, I will naturally come to pay my respects to him."

When the group arrived at the palace, officials had already opened the door and let them in.

They walked all the way to the Taiji Hall and finally met the emperor of the empire.

Cao Mao sat in the upper seat, his expression calm, but he did not look very friendly. There was some scrutiny in his eyes when he looked at Shi Bao and others.

Shi Bao and Hu Fen hurriedly bowed to greet him.

The young emperor completed his first transformation. He was no longer like before, serving his ministers with a big smile on his face.

At this moment, he began to truly look like an emperor ruling the world. His expression was calm and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Shi Bao was very surprised.

Before he came here, he had thought about many things, but he had never imagined that the emperor had grown to this point, with a majestic aura without even being angry, and not like a child at all.

"Shi Qing, I heard that you were in Qingzhou, training the army and suppressing bandits, and you were deeply supported by the soldiers."

Shi Bao quickly said, "Just do what you should do."

"But I've also heard that Qingzhou's government is corrupt and everyone is greedy. The people have nowhere to seek redress for their grievances, and some are even riding in carriages to General Hu to file lawsuits against Qingzhou officials. What's going on?"

Shi Bao immediately broke out in a sweat.

He hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, this is my negligence. Please punish me!"

Cao Mao said calmly, "The former King of Qi, Cao Fang, was a mediocre and cruel man. He allowed his officials to commit evil and oppress the people, causing widespread resentment among the people."

"But now that I am in power, I may not care about past crimes, but I will definitely keep in mind what happens in the future. If any official commits immoral behavior again, I will exterminate his entire clan."

"Your Majesty the Holy Spirit!!"

Shi Bao shouted.

Cao Mao immediately looked at Hu Fen who was standing beside him.

Hu Fen felt immense pressure and hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, my father is ill."

Cao Mao's attitude softened. "I know his situation. I know General Hu's character. If he were fine, he wouldn't have delayed coming to see me."

"Is he feeling better?"

Hearing Cao Mao's question, Hu Fen quickly replied: "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. My father's condition has improved."

After seeing Cao Mao's serious side just now, Hu Fen felt a little flattered when he saw his kind expression now.

Cao Mao accurately grasped this sense of disparity, and he greeted Hu Fen again.

His words were full of concern and care for Hu Zun.

"I have entrusted the affairs of Xuzhou and Qingzhou to General Hu. I have great confidence in him, and he will surely govern the areas well for me. Qingzhou and Xuzhou are both fertile places for farming. If they can be managed properly, the armies in Hebei and Huainan will have no shortage of reinforcements to help them in the future."

Cao Mao said with a smile.

Hu Fen was extremely moved. He had no idea that the emperor valued his father so much.

Cao Mao flattered Hu Zun in various ways to show his trust in him. There was no big problem in letting Hu Zun govern Qingxu. Hu Zun himself was at odds with the big families in the Central Plains, and he did a good job in Xuzhou. Wang Yi, who said that the defeat was due to Sima Zhao, had a good relationship with Hu Zun. After this incident, Hu Zun's relationship with Sima Zhao was not very good, but he was of course still very close to Sima Shi.

Besides, this person is already seriously ill and can’t be cured for much longer. No problem, let him go and get treatment!
Wait until he dies of illness, and then I will replace him with another confidant!

After leaving Taiji Hall, Hu Fen immediately wrote a letter and asked the knight to ride as fast as possible to deliver it to his father.

(End of this chapter)