The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 406 Is This Merit Enough?

He Zeng, a man who would serve Jia Chong as a dog for fame and fortune, and a man who would ignore his own son for self-preservation.

Now Cao Mao's influence in the world is no longer comparable to that of Jia Chong.

He Zeng was extremely excited about the olive branch extended by the emperor.

He didn't care about his reputation in the literati circle, nor did he care about using any means.

The more times like this, the more we miss people like Man Chong. When Man Chong was still alive, the big families were very honest and devoted to the country. They even took the initiative to pay the hidden population and food.

Of course, comparing someone like He Zeng with Man Chong is a humiliation to Man Chong, and Man Chong is not guilty of such a crime.

However, he could never use the same method.

Cao Mao felt that He Zeng might have only one memorial dedicated to him in his sleeve at this moment, and there might be another memorial in his other sleeve urging him to go to Xuchang to see the auspicious signs.

There is no such villain as He Zeng. He is fickle and treacherous. It is common for him to do so.

Anyone who can whitewash the regicide and flatter the regicide is worse than the regicide itself.

But Cao Mao would not have any concerns about such a person. He would use it first and throw it away if it was dirty.

Anyway, the other party is not a good person. If he corrects himself and makes contributions in the future, he can enjoy his old age. If he still does evil things, then just use him and throw him away.

A smile appeared on Cao Mao's face, and he was very satisfied with He Zeng's answer.

He gestured for He Zeng to sit next to him, took his hand, and said gently, "If I wish to be Emperor Wu of Han, can you be Zhang Tang?"

He Zeng immediately said seriously: "My talent is not as good as his, but my desire to repay your majesty is far greater than his."

"it is good!"

Cao Mao immediately ordered the eunuchs to come in and personally drafted the imperial edict, appointing He Zeng as Sikong to replace Zheng Chong and take charge of the Censorate.

When this imperial edict was sent to the Secretariat, it immediately shocked the ministers.

Huabiao and Chen Ben arrived at Taiji Hall almost at the same time.

At this time, He Zeng had already left here and was ready to deal with the ministers.

"His Majesty!!"

Huabiao and Chen Ben hurriedly bowed to greet him.

Cao Mao's expression was no longer gloomy. He smiled and asked them to sit next to him.

Unconsciously, Cao Mao's expression had become more and more similar to that of his great-grandfather. There was always an inexplicably captivating light in his eyes, and even when he was smiling, he looked a little oppressive.

Especially when he looked at people sideways, there was always an inexplicable murderous look in his eyes.

Hua Biao asked, "Your Majesty, do you want to appoint He Zeng as the Minister of Works?"

"Yes, I have such an idea."

Hua Biao said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, He Zeng is definitely not a virtuous person, let alone a person who can hold a position like the Three Dukes."

"Although all government affairs today are handled by the Secretariat, the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers are still the cornerstone of the imperial court. The Minister of Works, in particular, can directly interfere with the actions of the Censorate."

"Your Majesty, do not be deceived by He Zeng. He appears to be honest, respectful, and filial, but in reality, these are just tactics to gain fame!"

"He lives extravagantly in the palace, and is always suspected of usurping power. Moreover, when he was an official, he flattered the powerful and oppressed the powerless. Because his clan was powerful and he was deeply favored by General Wei, no one dared to reprimand him."

"Such a person cannot serve as one of the Three Dukes."

"Besides, what talents and political achievements does he have? He's unversed in classics, knows nothing about military affairs, and doesn't know how to keep the people safe. In his many years in office, he's never proposed a single viable policy for the government, nor has he done a single good thing for the local people. He's only reached his current position by relying on flattery!"

"Oh, is that so?"

Cao Mao suddenly spoke up, "I remember that before Emperor Ming ascended the throne, he once asked He Zeng how to govern the world. He said that to govern the world, one must first gain the recognition of the people and thus be loved by Emperor Ming."

"In the seventh year of Huangchu, he wrote to the Emperor Ming, arguing that local officials were rampant and demanding that they be rectified and the people be appeased. For this, he was promoted to the position of Palace Attendant."

"In the second year of Jingchu, Duke Xuanwen attacked Liaodong. He submitted a memorial, saying that Duke Xuanwen was acting with urgency and that he could appoint a military supervisor. The Emperor Ming refused to accept the proposal. As a result, Duke Xuanwen went on a killing spree in Liaodong, which made the Hu people even more powerful."

"In the second year of the Jiaping reign, the military commander Yin Mo seized farmland by force. No one dared to speak out about this, and he was the first to file a petition of impeachment, deterring him from continuing his actions."

Cao Mao just looked at the two people in front of him and skillfully recounted things that had happened without him even realizing it.

In order to deal with these people in the temple, Cao Mao read the information recorded in the royal library over and over again. On weekdays, he spent all his time reading memorials and reading the information.

Huabiao was stunned at this moment.

What he just said about his inability seemed a little unreliable at this moment.

Character and talent are completely different things. Moreover, people are very complicated. Good people sometimes do bad things, and bad people sometimes do good things.

Chen Ben was the second to speak. After all, he was not the emperor's confidant, and he had a grudge against He Zeng, so he had to wait until Hua Biao finished speaking before he could continue.

He said, "Your Majesty, although He Zeng has some ability, he truly lacks the achievements worthy of being a Three Duke." "When Hebei was in turmoil, he didn't help Your Majesty, but instead aided the rebels. He truly shouldn't have been appointed Minister of Works."

The smile on Cao Mao's face suddenly faded a little, and he looked at the two people in front of him.

"Then do you think that the Grand Coachman Tao Qiuyi can be one of the Three Dukes?"

Huabiao pondered for a moment. Tao Qiuyi was a kind and honest person. He never participated in any fights and had a good relationship with the ministers.

Huabiao did not like He Zeng very much because he knew how bad his character was. If he appointed such a person as one of the Three Dukes, future generations would use this to mock His Majesty.

"Tao Qiuyi might be able to do it."

For some reason, Chen Ben always felt that there was something wrong with this sentence.

We were talking about He Zeng's contribution, why are we suddenly talking about Tao Qiuyi?
Besides, if Zheng Chong must be replaced, there are many people who can take his place, Cui Zan, Sun Yong, Zhong Yu, Xun Yi, Lu Qin, and Lu Zhi. In short, it will not be his turn even if they line up.

But why did the emperor suddenly mention his name?
Chen Ben was not sure, so he did not dare to agree.

Cao Mao ignored him and just looked at Huabiao. Then he took out a memorial and threw it to Huabiao.

"Why not? Tao Qiuyi can get better. Take a look at this memorial."

Huabiao picked up the memorial and began to read it carefully.

Chen Ben had no intention of moving closer to take a look, he just stood aside.

Sure enough, the next moment, Huabiao's face turned pale and his whole body began to tremble. He didn't dare to look down and knelt down in front of Cao Mao.

"Your Majesty!! I am guilty!! I am guilty!!"

"I didn't know how to be loyal and good! I mistakenly trusted the evildoers!!"

This memorial was exactly the one that He Zeng wrote to Cao Mao. Hua Biao had just said that Tao Qiuyi could be one of the Three Dukes, but then he saw a memorial saying that Tao Qiuyi was planning a rebellion. This made Hua Biao's scalp tingle.

I was so scared that I couldn't even speak clearly.

Seeing Huabiao's terrified look, although Chen Ben didn't know what he had seen, he also knelt in front of Huabiao.

At this moment, he knew in his heart that this Minister Tao might have encountered a big disaster.

Cao Mao didn't look angry at all, and there was still a smile on his face.

"You just said that Lord He had no merit. He identified the rebels, reported them to the emperor, and dealt with them. Is such merit enough to be a Three Lords?"

"enough!"

Huabiao no longer dared to talk nonsense at this moment.

Cao Mao shook his head. "I know what kind of people the ministers are. Lord Hua, don't be afraid. I also know what kind of person you are. This matter of the Tao thief has nothing to do with you."

Huabiao also hurriedly expressed his loyalty at this moment, "Your Majesty, my past dealings with him were all due to government affairs, and we never had any friendship. Such a traitor deserves to be cut into pieces."

Cao Mao looked at Chen Ben beside him with a smile.

"Mr. Chen, you should do the same. Don't worry. But don't reveal Tao Qiuyi's matter for now. The Minister of Works will handle this matter. Just issue the imperial edict. If anyone asks, just say you were acting on orders."

Both of them agreed and left in a hurry.

Zhang Hua stood not far away until they finished talking, then he walked to the emperor's side.

"Your Majesty, should the Censorate send another person to keep an eye on He Zeng?"

"Why?"

"Although Lord Zhong is radical, he possesses the character of a scholar. Even if he were to kill someone, he wouldn't go too far. However, he's no different. To achieve merit for you, he'd do anything. I'm afraid he might go too far and tarnish your Majesty's reputation."

Cao Mao said calmly, "Isn't the reason I promoted him so that he could do things that even Zhong Hui wouldn't dare to do?"

Zhang Hua said helplessly, "Your Majesty, in order to gain merit, He Zeng would certainly use any means necessary, including forcing a confession through torture, framing someone, and even killing the minister with the most brutal punishment."

"Yes, I know."

"Your Majesty is a virtuous king. If he really did something like this, I'm afraid it would ruin your reputation and make you despised by future generations."

Cao Mao laughed.

"The right and wrong, the merits and demerits, will be judged by future generations. What does it have to do with me?"

"As for He Zeng's problem, I know for sure that if there were a figure like Cang Ying during the Han Dynasty, I wouldn't have let him be the Minister of Works. To deal with shameless and vicious people, we can only find someone even more shameless and vicious than them."

"You are a kind and righteous person, you can't do such a thing."

"Don't worry, if He Zeng goes too far, I will naturally stop him."

Zhang Hua still looked very worried. He didn't want his emperor to bear any infamy for no reason. If anyone was to be infamous for eternity, it would have to be those good-for-nothings. If that didn't work, there were still us. How could he let His Majesty bear the blame?!
(End of this chapter)