The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 412 Court Meeting
The next day, the court held a meeting.

This court meeting was different from previous ones.

Even the ministers with the biggest prejudices no longer felt angry when they looked at each other, but nodded instead.

The officials in the court who had not been able to be united for a long time were united by He Zeng alone.

Whether it is the emperor faction or the aristocratic family faction, at this moment they all hope that the mad dog faction such as He Zeng and Guo Jian can be dismissed as soon as possible.

The inhumane acts they committed were unbearable for anyone to watch.

Even Ji Kang and others who were most inclined towards Cao Mao issued documents in various places to reprimand Guo Jian and He Zeng for their actions, and were subsequently retaliated by He Zeng.

The atmosphere is particularly solemn.

The ministers walked into the hall one after another, including He Zeng. Facing their angry glares, he glared back provocatively, as if he was still thinking about who to arrest.

Except for a few people of equal rank to him and some ministers of Cao Mao's faction, no one dared to look up and glare at him.

Even Xun Yi, the leader of the aristocratic faction, did not dare to glare at He Zeng at this moment, and did not even dare to speak of He Zeng publicly.

He Zeng is simply crazy.

He even arrested Zheng Chong!

Xun Yi absolutely did not believe that Zheng Chong would be involved in any rebellion. Just because he came to the banquet with Tao Qiuyi, He Zeng thought he was suspected of rebellion and might be the leader of the rebels, so he was directly imprisoned.

That person was the previous Sikong. If he was so rude to him, how much more so to others?
He Zeng walked into the hall amidst the gazes of these ministers who wanted to deal with him but did not dare to.

Wang Chang and others looked very ugly.

When Cao Mao appeared here, he clearly felt the change in atmosphere.

The ministers paid their respects, and then the court meeting officially began.

Just as Zhuge Dan was about to make his speech, Zhong Hui spoke first.

"Your Majesty, please play!"

Zhuge Dan was somewhat dissatisfied with Zhong Hui's behavior, but Zhong Hui was usually polite to him, so Zhuge Dan did not take it to heart.

Zhong Hui immediately said, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Justice has conducted a thorough investigation and found that the civil service is in disarray. Even the nine ministers in the imperial court are suspected of treason."

Zhong Hui talked about the kindnesses and favors done by people both inside and outside the court, and he looked very angry.

This is also the reason why the ministers are not brave enough to criticize He Zeng now, as there really is someone plotting a rebellion.

At that time, Xiahou Xuan, Li Feng and others were more famous than Tao Qiuyi and were almost the leaders of the scholars. However, just because they were on the list of rebellion, they were sentenced to death, and even killed in a very cruel way. However, no minister dared to plead for mercy to Sima Shi in person.

Because they were afraid of being associated with treason, which was a serious crime punishable by death without even a trial.

Zhong Hui became more and more excited as he spoke. Just when everyone thought he was going to turn his attention to He Zeng, Zhong Hui changed the subject.

"Your Majesty, I believe these things are caused by a lack of education. Since the reign of Emperor Ming, education has been neglected. The King of Qi has been preoccupied with pleasure, neglecting the education of the people. The people lack the knowledge of the sages, and the officials do not understand the fundamental principles of benevolent governance."

Zhong Hui immediately changed the topic to education and learning.

This time, the ministers have recovered. Are they planning to use this incident to educate the people?

But they knew Wang Chang's seven political strategies.

Zhong Hui suddenly said, "Your Majesty, the Eastern Palace houses the richest collection of books in the world. The Imperial Palace houses all the rare books in the world. These are precious treasures. I implore Your Majesty to open the Eastern Palace, take these treasures and distribute them throughout the world so that everyone can benefit from them. In this way, the teachings of the sages can be spread and the world can be governed."

Zhong Hui once again gave the ministers a fright.

When the ministers heard this, their first reaction was that Zhong Hui had also gone crazy.

I have only heard of emperors collecting books from the people, but I have never heard of the people collecting books from the emperor.

Knowledge is power, a ladder to advancement. The great families everywhere hid their books, making it difficult for even their disciples to see them, and they could only listen to oral narration. In this situation, you ask the emperor to take out his collection of books and distribute them to the great families throughout the world?

You are too pampered. Don't you want to live anymore?

Amid the astonished looks of his ministers, the emperor actually nodded.

"What Zhong Shiji said makes sense. I've heard that the books in the common people's collections have never been circulated in the local area. As a result, the teachings of the sages have not been known to the public. There is chaos among the people, and even more so in the court!"

"This is the root cause of everything!"

"However, Mr. Zhong, the world is vast. Although my collection of books is vast, how can I distribute it to the entire world?"

Zhong Hui replied, "It should be copied."

The conversation between the two left all the officials confused. Are they really going to release the library?
Du Yu spoke up in time, "Your Majesty! I have a report!"

"There was a man named Ma Gong who had a method that could enable a person to copy thousands of pages in a single day."

The three of them started their performance as if no one was around, praising Ma Jun, and then decided to set up libraries in various states and distribute the books all over the world.

By this time, different opinions emerged among the ministers.

Some people were ecstatic. If the palace's collection of books were to be released, they would naturally be the ones to benefit the most. They could browse through those treasured books, and even delve into more advanced studies and accumulate more knowledge.

Some people are frightened.

They can have their current monopoly position because they possess knowledge. If knowledge spreads to the world and everyone has knowledge, can they still continue their monopoly?
Although the inheritance of knowledge cannot be achieved through books alone, it will indeed break the monopoly of the big families to a certain extent.

For a time, the ministers began to argue.

Those who did not have many books at home and had risen through their own efforts were all supportive, while those children of wealthy families who had gathered power by relying on the inheritance of Confucian classics in their families were now fully opposed.

The two sides started arguing, and neither of them gave in.

Cao Mao looked at his ministers calmly.

These are the ministers of my Great Wei. When interests arise, Tao Qiuyi and cruel means all become unimportant. Let’s eat the meat first.

The ministers on Cao Mao's side still agreed with this idea.

This is helpful for their education.

The voice of the big families in the temple today seems to be declining at an alarming rate. In normal times, they always have the upper hand in such debates, but when Cao Mao threw out his collection of books, these opponents were drowned out, and the core of the temple has gradually been replaced.

The great clan realized this with horror.

Xun Yi stood among the ministers and did not express any opinion on this.

He was not afraid of this. His family had passed down "Xunzi" and he himself was a descendant of Xunzi. In addition to Xunzi, his family had several Confucian classics. Xunzi himself was also a master of "Yi". His family had the most complete annotations, as well as the experience and explanations summarized from generation to generation. Without these things, it would be of little use for others to get the books.

Even if they could understand it, as long as Xun Yi did not approve, they would not have the right to interpret it.

Until the debate ended with Zhong Hui's victory, Cao Mao immediately looked at Zhuge Dan standing beside him.

Zhuge Dan is one of the few people nowadays who dares to confront He Zeng head-on.

Zhuge Dan would not miss such an opportunity. This was a chance to truly become famous in the world. Even if he was caught and imprisoned by He Zeng, he would not give in.

Cao Mao asked first, "Does the Grand Marshal have anything to offer regarding the enlightenment of the world?"

Zhuge Dan then spoke up, "Your Majesty, if you want to educate the world, you should follow the example of Emperor Wen and encourage local governments to prioritize education. Current local education is truly deplorable."

"Only by making education the most important aspect of performance evaluation can we make officials across the country take this seriously."

Zhuge Dan naturally talked freely.

This Mr. Zhuge was famous for his big talk but poor skills. Others were all ambitious but incompetent, but he was different. He was the ancestor of elegant conversation. As for this kind of eloquent talker, he could hold his ministers to talk for days and nights, but if he was asked to take charge of something, he might not be able to do it.

It is said that when the Emperor of Ming learned about the extravagant things among the people, he summoned all his ministers to issue an edict, but he found that the court was full of people like Zhuge Dan who talked nonsense all the time and did things in a very crude way.

The Ming Emperor was furious and dismissed all these people.

Cao Mao was able to accept this.

After Zhuge Dan spent a long time explaining his opinions and views on education, Cao Mao clapped his hands happily.

"As expected of you, Grand Marshal! Your words are exactly what I need most!"

"From now on, we will handle this matter according to the memorials submitted by the Grand Marshal. If it succeeds, it will surely be a great achievement for the Grand Marshal!"

The atmosphere of this court meeting seemed to be much more relaxed. When Zhuge Dan heard the emperor's words, he actually looked a little hesitant.

He did not lead the charge against He Zeng as the minister had expected.

Zhuge Dan hesitated, Wang Su stopped talking, and Wang Chang even closed his eyes.

If these three people do not take the lead, the other ministers will not be able to take action.

At this moment, the last important official of the Wei Dynasty, the emperor's confidant, and the cornerstone of the world, General Wei Sima Zhao, stepped forward.

Sima Zhao would attend every court meeting and sometimes even go to the Secretariat.

But he rarely spoke, so Sima Zhao saluted the emperor at this moment.

"His Majesty!!"

"I have something to report!!"

Sima Zhao said sternly, "Your Majesty, Tao Qiu and his ilk are plotting a rebellion. There must be accomplices and remnants within the government and the country. We must investigate!"

"Also, there's Wang Rong, the Imperial Guard, who's been committing crimes, and the whole government is speaking out for him. Some scholars, armed with weapons, came to my residence and shot arrows into it with crossbows, intending to kill me. They were discovered by passing soldiers, and they openly attacked the soldiers and even attempted to storm the Imperial Palace. The traitors have become so rampant!"

"Your Majesty, please punish these traitors and bring justice to us!"

Sima Zhao immediately began to accuse, and his words were so sincere that people cried.

The emperor was furious when he heard this.

"Are all the people in the government and the country traitors? How dare they do that?!"

(End of this chapter)