The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 390 I want Mr. Zhong!

Shi Bao originally thought that this trip to Luoyang was an opportunity to make a contribution and perhaps replace Hu Zun.

But he never expected that as soon as he left, the officials of Qingzhou gave him such a surprise.

If Zang Ai was the only one who rebelled, he could still withstand it, but since everyone in Qingzhou was in rebellion, he, as the governor of Qingzhou, General Fenwu, could not escape.

When Xun Yi's spearhead was directed at him, Shi Bao did not even have the courage to refute.

If I had known this, why would I have left Qingzhou?
If I wait for Sun Yu and others to come and discuss rebellion, and then take them down together, wouldn't I be safe?

Shi Bao also knew very well how capable the so-called talented people in Qingzhou were.

The Wei and Jin Dynasties seemed to have returned to the pre-Qin era. Officials became almost hereditary. Under the Zhongzheng system, no one cared whether you had talent, reputation, or morality.

As long as you have a powerful father, you can become an official.

When Zang Ba, Sun Guan and others dominated Qingxu, their descendants continued to dominate Qingxu. When Xun Yu, Chen Qun, Wang Lang, Hua Xin and others occupied the government, their descendants continued to occupy the government.

These officials in Qingzhou wanted to lead the troops to fight against Hu Zun. There is no need to guess the consequences. If Hu Zun fails to quell the rebellion within a month, it will be considered that Hu Zun is incompetent!

Such a great military achievement was simply fed into Hu Zun's mouth.

At this moment, Shi Bao had no time to envy Hu Zun's luck. He saluted the emperor tremblingly, confessed his guilt again and again, and asked the emperor to punish him.

Cao Mao frowned and looked at the many ministers in front of him.

"Lord Taiwei, this turmoil must end as soon as possible!"

Zhuge Dan stood up and accepted the order.

Cao Mao left the court very unhappy. The ministers looked very unhappy and left in groups.

The ministers had different opinions on Sun Yu's behavior.

Some are angry, some are sympathetic, some are secretly happy, and some are silent.

When Cao Mao returned to Taiji Hall, Sima Yan was waiting for him anxiously.

"Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened!"

"Don't panic."

Cao Mao spoke to comfort him, then led him into the West Hall. After they sat down, Sima Yan continued, "Your Majesty, someone has posted many proclamations in the Imperial Academy. I have already surrounded the Imperial Academy with my men!"

"Someone in this Imperial Academy actually wants to harm you!!"

Cao Mao glanced at him and asked, "You only know this now?"

"what??"

"Not to mention the Imperial Academy, even in the imperial court, there are countless people who want to harm me."

Sima Yan was very surprised, "How could they do this?!"

"Don't worry about these people, and there's no need to surround the Imperial Academy."

Cao Mao said calmly: "These are not important. We can't let these things delay our work."

"Business?"

"Yes, officials, this is the most important thing now."

"Anshi, if you want to chop down a big tree, you have to sharpen the axe first. To do anything, you have to sharpen the tools first. This is the first step."

"To govern the world, aren't officials the first step? Look at the current provincial governors. They aren't the most capable officials, but their personal ethics and abilities are above average. They are already the most powerful local officials in the Wei Dynasty."

"With these provincial governors in place, the next policies can be implemented well."

Cao Mao selected local officials almost entirely according to the Book of Jin and the Records of the Three Kingdoms. He only looked for people who had proven themselves. Although they were all men of the generals, Cao Mao could despise the generals' character, but he could not despise their vision.

After all, the general and his men wanted to change the property deeds, and he also didn't want all the local officials to be bad people, so the people he promoted and appreciated must be the most suitable ones.

Of course, we can only trust Sima Zhao, and don’t even think about the people recommended and promoted by Sima Anshi.

Cao Mao's use of people is comparable to that of the generals, Sima Zhao, and Sima Yan.

Those the general liked could be promoted together, those Sima Zhao liked could be promoted at his discretion, those Sima Yan liked could be dismissed at his discretion, and those he promoted in his later years could be directly dragged out and beheaded.

Sima Yan nodded, "So what should we do next?"

"Now that the governor has been arranged, it's natural to arrange for the prefect."

"Local officials like Zang Ai, Huang Huan, Cheng Xi, and Sun Yu must not be let off."

"And the Great Wei is not without capable ministers. I have searched for a long time and have found such officials as Wu Guan, Ren Yu, Mu Bing, Yin Bao, Xian Yu Si, Huan Yu, Huang Mu, Jie Xiu, Zhang Xiu, Ding Zun, and many more. They are all talented, capable, and moral people."

"Zhong Shiji's assessment method will be implemented this year, and the evaluation will begin at the end of the year. At that time, promotions can be made based on the results of the assessment."

"Those who excel in the township assessment will be promoted to other counties, and those who excel in the county assessment will be promoted to other prefectures."

Sima Yan listened attentively and said excitedly, "If this continues, one day, the Great Wei will be filled with high-ranking officials! Local officials will be governed with integrity!"

Cao Mao smiled. Theoretically, it was as Sima Yan said, but it was not easy to achieve this result.

Cao Mao was not afraid of any mistakes. Could it be worse than now?

Cao Mao took Sima Yan's hand and whispered, "So we really need officials, and the Imperial Academy is the place we should pay the most attention to."

"However, in the Imperial Academy today, the titles of Doctor of Classics are just empty titles. The students have no interest in learning and are probably unable to shoulder the heavy responsibility." "I want you to be in charge of the Imperial Academy."

"Ah I??"

Sima Yan instinctively recoiled. "The Imperial Academy is full of the most accomplished scholars in the world, and you want me to be in charge of it? I don't even understand what they're saying."

Cao Mao said seriously, "Don't be afraid. I'm not asking you to debate with them."

"I'm asking you to supervise. It's very simple. If a student leaves without asking for leave, he'll be expelled. If a doctor delays his work, he'll be dismissed. Were you forced to study when you were young?"

Sima Yan nodded, "Yes."

"Well, just follow this. You just need to supervise their studies, rectify the atmosphere of the Imperial College, and cultivate more talented people for me!"

Sima Yan hesitated and said, "Wouldn't this easily offend others?"

"Every one of those people in the Imperial Academy is the son of an important official."

"That's why I let you go."

"Your father is General Wei. Why are you afraid of the son of an important official? Which important official's status can surpass your father's?!"

"If they are rude to you, just catch them and beat them up!"

"Don't be so timid. Your grandfather is a great scholar of classics, your father is a general of the imperial guards, your uncle was a great general in the past, your cousin's husband is the emperor, and you yourself are a general of the imperial guards. What are you afraid of?"

"The Imperial Academy used to be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites. Your grandfather was the Minister of Rites back then, and he still has many of his old subordinates. They won't make things difficult for you."

Sima Yan listened to his words and touched his chin hesitantly, "Isn't this a bit of bullying?"

"If you went to the Imperial Academy and dismissed others without reason, that would be called bullying. But now you are going to rectify the atmosphere and dismiss those unlearned people. That is called ruling the country by taking advantage of your power."

Sima Yan suddenly realized.

"Okay, I'll do it, but I'm afraid I can't do it alone. Your Majesty, can you find me an assistant?"

"Okay, who do you want?"

"Mr. Zhong!"

Cao Mao was stunned for a moment, then he laughed, "Okay, I'll let Lord Zhong assist you."

Cao Mao looked at Zhang Hua who was standing beside him and said, "Take Anshi to Zhong Yu and ask him to help Anshi reorganize the Imperial Academy."

Sima Yan quickly said, "Wrong, wrong, I want Minister Zhong!"

Cao Mao looked at Zhang Hua again and said, "Tell Zhong Yu that he can be made the Minister of State after the matter is completed."

Sima Yan walked out of the Taiji Hall with a look of astonishment on his face. He looked at Zhang Hua standing beside him.

"If I say I want Zhong Hui, will he ask Zhong Yu to change his name?"

Even Zhang Hua, a serious man, couldn't help but laugh at this moment. "Sima Jun, Minister Zhong is very busy with other things. How can he have the time to handle something like this? Mr. Zhong has a strategy. With his help, this thing will definitely be accomplished."

Qi State, Linzi.

"Governor! The enemy has begun to storm the west gate!"

"Governor! The enemy is setting up ladders at the north gate!"

"Sir, it's a chariot! It's a chariot!"

Qingzhou Governor Sun Yu was a little flustered at the moment. He had many confusions, including what exactly this 轒輼 was?
He had never been on the battlefield before, and Hu Zun's fierce offensive almost stunned Sun Yu. He had no idea how to organize people to fight back. He always felt that the defenders had more advantages in war, but for some reason, at this moment, they were always being beaten and could not fight back at all.

The entire city seemed to have turned into a turtle that could not fight back, and was tortured back and forth by Hu Zun.

Soldiers kept coming, bringing only bad news.

Sun Yu was extremely frightened, and at this moment, he finally reacted.

He looked at the officials around him, "You must return to the palace now and bring His Majesty out. We need to evacuate here!"

The general's eyes widened, and he hurriedly said, "Sir, we are surrounded. How can we evacuate?"

"Are we going to stand here and be captured by Hu Zun?!"

Sun Yu was furious. He roughly pushed the general in front of him away and then ordered his confidants again: "Do as I command! Withdraw our people!"

The generals looked at each other for a few seconds and slowly surrounded Sun Yu.

"Governor, if you evacuate, what should we do?"

Sun Yu didn't realize that something was wrong. He looked up and said disdainfully, "Of course we have to continue to hold on and wait for reinforcements. I broke through this time just to gather reinforcements. As long as you can hold on for a while..."

Sun Yugang had just said a few words when he felt a huge pain in his neck.

The world spun around him and he fell to the ground. He vaguely saw a headless corpse in front of him, spurting blood.

Sun Yu opened his mouth, but was so frightened that he couldn't speak.

"Sun Yu is dead! Open the gate and accept surrender!"

The generals shouted.

(End of this chapter)