The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 421: A Wise Ruler and Valiant Ministers
"This"

After hearing Guanqiu Jian's words, Cao Mao suddenly hesitated.

There was some conflict between Guanqiu Jian's strategy and Zhong Hui's strategy.

Cao Mao could actually understand Guanqiu Jian's idea. Sun Chen had killed several Wu generals in a row, and there would definitely be bigger troubles in the future. This seemed to be an excellent opportunity to attack.

However, Cao Mao felt that the Kingdom of Shu should be destroyed first.

First of all, there is the natural barrier of the Yangtze River. The Wei Dynasty has a navy, but if it wants to rely on the current navy warships to destroy the Eastern Wu, it may still be a bit difficult.

Furthermore, Wu State still has a long history of talented people. If they attack Wu State forcefully, they might really force out the Shu-Wu alliance.

The people of Wu State do not like to attack, but they like to defend.

Cao Mao did not hide his thoughts. He said directly, "General, the civil unrest in Wu may intensify, but it has not yet reached the point where it can be destroyed."

"There are two people in Wu State that I am quite wary of: Ding Feng among the veteran generals, and Lu Kang among the younger generation."

"If we attack Wu now, the Wu people will quickly join forces, or even join forces with Shu, which will be disadvantageous to us."

"I think it would be best to use Sun Chen to eliminate these formidable enemies of Wu. We can protect Sun Chen and let him continue to cause trouble for many more years. When Wu's national strength has been almost completely destroyed by his harm, we can take action."

"Between Shu and Wu, Shu is more feared."

"All the generals capable of commanding a large army in Wu have been killed. We won't be able to find anyone to fight us anytime soon."

"Zhong Hui once said: Be hasty in dealing with Shu, and slow in dealing with Wu."

"I think the old general might consider this strategy."

Guanqiu Jian stroked his beard again. He still wanted to lead his troops to destroy Wu.

He had been fighting against the State of Wu for many years and had never seen the State of Wu so weak, so he subconsciously thought that now was the best time to attack the State of Wu.

The decline of Shu was due to Zhuge Liang's death too early, while the decline of Wu was due to Sun Quan's death too late.

Sun Quan's behavior in his later years led to the Wu Kingdom plunging into a long-term internal struggle. However, the overall strength of the Wu Kingdom was still slightly stronger than that of the Shu Kingdom. Zhuge Ke was able to lead an army of 200,000 to attack the Wei Kingdom, but the Shu Kingdom could not do that.

If Jiang Wei led an army of 200,000, Cao Wei would probably be unable to sit still.

The Wu State was now suffering from severe casualties among its generals, and Guanqiu Jian was sharpening his sword, but Cao Mao knew that this was not the weakest time for the Wu State, but only the beginning of its weakness.

Although Sun Xiu, Ding Feng and Lu Kang came to power later, the national strength of Wu became weaker and weaker, and eventually it went to destruction.

Moreover, as long as Sun Chen could be saved, the decline of the Wu Kingdom would be faster than in history.

Guanqiu Jian said seriously, "I would like to discuss this matter with Zhong Hui."

Cao Mao naturally agreed.

Just as the two were discussing, Cheng Ji hurried here with someone.

The person who came was Guanqiu Dian.

When he reached the door and heard his father's voice coming from inside, Guanqiu Dian immediately lowered his head with an extremely bitter expression.

Cheng Ji grinned and said, "Don't worry, General Guanqiu. I don't think General Guanqiu will beat you in front of His Majesty!"

Guanqiu Dian was stunned for a moment, without explaining, he lowered his head and walked into the hall.

When he walked in, Guanqiu Jian frowned.

"His Majesty!"

"Father!"

Guanqiu Dian and others paid their respects first.

Guanqiu Jian said nothing, but Cao Mao smiled and stood up, "Why are you so polite? Come, sit down."

Guanqiu Dian sat next to Cao Mao and did not dare to look up at his father.

Guanqiu Jian said, "If this person has something important to report, I can withdraw."

Cao Mao smiled bitterly, "General, why do you have to do this? Why is it like this between fathers?"

Guanqiu Jian replied solemnly: "There is no such thing as father and son in the imperial court; they are simply officials serving in the same court."

"This is a family dinner, we won't discuss state affairs."

Cao Mao grabbed Guanqiu Dian's hand again and said, "I dismissed you earlier, not to punish you."

"Your Majesty, I know you are protecting me. If I had not been dismissed at that time, I would have been thrown into prison like the others."

"I feel ashamed of Your Majesty and my father. I am incompetent."

Guanqiu Dian was very ashamed.

Cheng Ji stood at the door, very confused. Is that it?

Why don’t you get beaten?

If I were dismissed, my brother would break my legs.

Is this general so easy to talk to?

Cheng Ji was quite disappointed, and immediately walked to Zhang Hua's side and guarded the place with him.

Cao Mao was not afraid that Guanqiu Dian's dismissal would offend Guanqiu Jian. Guanqiu Jian was not that kind of person. He just wanted to make his words clear so as to avoid any conflict between father and son.

Cao Mao explained in detail the situation of the officials and the problems faced by the Censorate, with the intention of exonerating Guanqiu Dian.

The Censorate is a mess no matter who is in charge. Only someone like He Zeng can cut the Gordian knot.

After Cao Mao's explanation, Guanqiu Jian's expression eased slightly.

"You have failed His Majesty's high hopes. You should read more books and study more in the future. Don't be so incompetent and let His Majesty do things yourself!" Guanqiu Jian scolded his son.

The three of them then started talking about the problems in the temple and had a meal together. The atmosphere became increasingly harmonious.

Guanqiu Jian seemed to be hesitant to speak at this moment and failed to open his mouth several times.

Cao Mao clearly saw the change in Guanqiu Jian's expression.

"General, you have come from afar, so there is no need to rush to see the ministers. Why not go see the King of Qi first? The King of Qi's residence is nearby. I can ask Maoxian to take you there."

This is what Guanqiu Jian couldn't say.

Guanqiu Jian was a die-hard loyalist of the Ming Emperor.

Although Cao Mao was now adopted by Emperor Ming and inherited his throne, there was still the Prince of Qi, the son of Emperor Ming.

Guanqiu Jian had been thinking about this problem before he arrived.

The original rebellion in Qingzhou directly forced the King of Qi into a very dangerous situation.

Later, the King of Qi went to Luoyang, and many people said that the King of Qi would die young.

Although Guanqiu Jian supported Cao Mao very much, he was also worried about the safety of King Qi. He did not want to see King Qi die, but from Cao Mao's perspective, he could understand such a thing.

When Cao Mao asked him to go see the King of Qi, Guanqiu Jian was a little surprised.

Following a politician's logic, he almost thought that the emperor was testing him.

He wanted to know what his attitude towards King Qi was.

However, looking at Cao Mao's clear eyes, Guanqiu Jian dispelled his doubts.

"Your Majesty, I am not..."

Guanqiu Jian wanted to explain a few words, but suddenly felt that such an explanation seemed to be a disregard for the trust of the young emperor.

Guanqiu Jian stopped talking and saluted Cao Mao.

"only!"

Guanqiu Dian looked a little surprised. When Zhang Hua took his father away, he wanted to say something but Cao Mao held him back.

"Don't worry about these things. I won't doubt you, General. If I can't even trust General Guanqiu, then there's no one I can trust in the whole world. I have no intention of killing the King of Qi. Lord Guanqiu, I want you to be the governor of Hebei. What do you think?"

Guanqiu Dian hurriedly said, "I'm afraid I'll disappoint your majesty's high hopes."

Cao Mao then said, "Don't worry. When I appointed you as the Chief Censor, I didn't consider that the evildoers in the court could be so rampant."

"First, I'll have you go to the countryside to hone your skills. Aside from the provincial governor, no one can suppress you. The villains in the countryside are even worse than those in the imperial court, and they'll stop at nothing. If you can defeat them, you'll understand how to govern the empire."

The two of them started chatting.

However, Guanqiu Jian and Zhang Hua went to the place where the King of Qi was.

Zhang Hua said, "General, I have something to ask you."

Guanqiu Jian looked at him and said, "Your Excellency, it's alright to speak frankly."

"General, do you think Your Majesty is a cruel and tyrannical king?"

"Absolutely not."

Guanqiu Jian’s answer was very straightforward.

"Then why bother to go see the King of Qi?"

"Don't you think that His Majesty is not good for King Qi?"

Guanqiu Jian said seriously, "I have been ordered by the Emperor Ming to take good care of the King of Qi."

"Because of my incompetence, he was deposed, but the current situation is critical. Even if the Ming Emperor were reborn, he would definitely support the current Majesty to take power. The Prince of Qi is far inferior to him."

"I'm going to see the King of Qi now only to persuade him not to bring disaster upon himself and not to force His Majesty to do anything he doesn't want to do. I also want to explain everything clearly so that others won't use me to deceive the King of Qi and make him do something dangerous."

Zhang Hua was moved after hearing Guanqiu Jian's explanation.

"He is truly a wise ruler and a virtuous minister."

Guanqiu Jian looked at him again and said, "I am already old. Even if I assist the Holy Emperor, I can only do so for ten years. The future of the Wei Dynasty will still depend on ministers like Zhang Maoxian."

The two of them walked to where King Cao Fang of Qi was.

Before they even walked in, they heard laughter coming from inside.

Zhang Hua sent a eunuch to inform them. When Guanqiu Jian and Zhang Hua walked in, Cao Fang's clothes were a little disheveled, and his princess hurried into the side yard.

There was no embarrassment on Cao Fang's face. He immediately recognized this trusted minister who had been with his father for many years!
"General!!"

Cao Fang hurriedly bowed. Guanqiu Jian felt a little complicated, but he still helped him up.

Cao Fang looked at him and couldn't help asking, "When did you come here, General? What happened?"

"I have come today, on the orders of His Majesty, to visit the King."

"So it was His Majesty's order. I'm so moved that Your Majesty still thinks of me at this moment."

As Cao Fang spoke, a few tears seemed to squeeze out of her eyes.

This made Guanqiu Jian feel a little unbelievable.

Your attitude is a bit surprising. When did you become so smart?
Cao Fang hurriedly took out a letter and said, "This is written by me. Please help me deliver it to His Majesty!"

"After arriving in Luoyang, I have been deeply touched by Your Majesty's kindness, so I wrote this letter to express my gratitude to Your Majesty!"

(End of this chapter)