The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 432 No Need to Serve
Cao Mao suddenly understood.

There is indeed such a possibility.

Although Cao Mao did not know Shi Ji, he knew about this person. Historically, after Sun Chen massacred a large number of generals, he became the only remaining top general.

Shi Ji was very worried about this and felt that Sun Chen was going to attack him. His response was to send people to contact Shu Han and try to form an alliance with Shu Han in private.

It is said that he told Shu Han that Wu was in turmoil, all the generals who could fight had died, and morale was low. He was afraid that Cao Wei would attack, so he hoped to establish contact in private and help each other to avoid being wiped out by Cao Wei.

When the Shu Kingdom learned about this, it was also very happy. Liu Chan sent the right general Yan Yu to lead 5,000 soldiers to strengthen the defense of Baidi City and prepare to support Shi Ji.

But soon, Sun Chen was ambushed and killed by Ding Feng and others, and Shi Ji finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But now, the situation is obviously a little different.

Ding Feng, who had the ability to ambush and kill Sun Chen, escaped, and Shi Ji raised an army. Cao Mao suspected that Ding Feng had run to Shi Ji's side and instigated Shi Ji to lead an army to attack Sun Chen.

But Shi Ji was a very cautious person. His military strength was not as good as Sun Chen's, and he had to defend against Cao Wei. If he dared to take the initiative to raise troops, he must have some chance of winning.

It is highly likely that he had colluded with people in the court and was trying to kill Sun Chen.

Wang Chang continued, "Your Majesty, please do not take this matter lightly. It would be best to inform Wang Ji of these matters. Wang Ji is a skilled warrior, but he is very confident in himself and always likes to act on his own. If Your Majesty does not inform him, I am afraid he will send troops first and then submit a petition."

Wang Chang also knows this former partner very well.

Wang Ji had a small problem, similar to Deng Ai, both of them were easily impulsive.

Once he feels that the time is ripe, he will not obey the orders of his immediate superior too much and will focus on sending a general away.

Chen Tai suddenly spoke up, "Your Majesty, if we let General Wang feint an attack on Jingzhou, will Shu send troops to help Shi Ji?"

Cao Mao looked at him and asked, "What do you think, Lord Chen?"

Chen Tai pondered for a long time before smiling and shaking his head. "I just have some ideas, but they are not mature yet."

The other generals did not rush to speak.

Cao Mao asked again, "My Lord, should we not send troops during this civil unrest in Wu?"

Wang Chang laughed. "Wu's current weakness and chaos are unprecedented. Even in the future, I'm afraid it will be difficult for such a situation to occur. The elite navy of Jiangdong will need a lot of time to prepare for a strong attack on Wu. But can Jingzhou still tolerate them?"

"We should send troops, but we cannot, as Ma Long suggested, gather a large army to attack. Select two battalions from the central army and send them to Jingzhou. Have Wen Qin dispatch one battalion. The three battalions will then go and await Wang Ji's orders. Your Majesty, do not worry about the rest."

"Wang Ji naturally knows what to do."

"Even if we can't take Jingzhou, we can't let Shi Ji achieve his goal so easily."

Cao Mao made a decision immediately. He was never a shy person. He immediately issued an edict, asking Ma Long and Wen Yang from the central army to lead troops to Jingzhou, and asked Wen Qin to send the brave general Jiang Ban to lead elite troops to Jingzhou.

As for Wang Ji, Cao Mao did not give any orders except informing Shi Ji and others of the situation.

This gives him great autonomy and allows him to do things his own way.

Cao Mao did not like to interfere in the war or the fate of the generals. Sima Zhao had already interpreted this well once. He just had to do his job honestly and let the generals fight boldly. That was enough.

Sima Zhao had been listening to their strategies, but he did not express any of his own ideas. Of course, Cao Mao did not think of asking him to express any opinions.

Sima Zhao's biggest role here was to let the ministers know that the war was started because of General Wei.

Zhuge Dan and Guanqiu Jian sat on both sides, but their eyes never met.

The two men did not get along well. In the past, Zhuge Dan would certainly have made a long speech on the situation in Jingzhou and would not miss such an opportunity. However, with Guanqiu Jian present, he was much more cautious, probably because he was afraid that Guanqiu Jian would find a loophole and counterattack.

The same was true for Guanqiu Jian. Although he had fought against the State of Wu many times and had even confronted Shi Ji, with Wang Chang around, he never thought of having to speak out and express his ideas.

After the negotiation ended, Cao Mao saw the generals off.

No one was left alone.

When the ministers learned the news of the troop deployment, although they were still a little angry, there were not many voices of opposition.

With a vicious dog like He Zeng in the temple, the effect is still very obvious.

Cao Mao didn't care about this matter.

The next day, when Cao Mao woke up, he found that it was snowing heavily outside.

Heavy snow suddenly arrived, and the whole Luoyang became extremely cold.

Cao Mao stood at the door, looking at the vast snowy scene outside, his eyes filled with growing worry.

The snow in the north is coming earlier and earlier, and is also getting heavier.

This is actually not a good thing.

Hunger and cold are two survival problems that ordinary people have to face.

I wonder how many people in the Wei Dynasty would be frozen to death by such a heavy snow.

Of course, it was not just Cao Wei that suffered at this time. Shu Han and Eastern Wu were also deeply troubled by various natural disasters.

Their ability to cope with natural disasters was even weaker than that of Cao Wei, especially Shu Han. Their southern border was no longer as stable as it had been in the past. Frequent natural disasters were bound to be accompanied by rebellions. Natural disasters and years of war would inevitably lead to domestic unrest. Although there are no detailed records of rebellions within Shu Han in historical books, when Shu suffered a fatal blow, some people proposed fleeing to the south, but a minister immediately stated that there were too many rebellions in the south and it was impossible to go there.

From this we can see that there were already big problems within Shu Han.

It was freezing cold, but Cao Mao appeared in Zhaoyang Palace.

Empress Dowager Guo, Sima Yi, Zheng Xian and others were all here.

Empress Dowager Guo was in a good mood.

Sima Yi and Zheng Xian stayed by her side respectively, coaxing her with all kinds of nice words.

They are eating.

"My son, I heard that all the royal family members of Wu have surrendered?"

"Yes, mother, the general of the Wu army has come to seek refuge with us, and I have appointed him the Marquis of Wu."

"Hahaha~~"

Queen Mother Guo laughed and said, "Wouldn't the people of Wu be furious?"

Sima Yi praised, "The Queen Mother is the best judge of talent. She disregarded the opposition of others and supported Your Majesty. Since Your Majesty took power, the power of the Wei Kingdom has greatly increased, the autumn harvest has been abundant, and you have defeated Shu and Wu in succession. Now even the royal family of Wu has surrendered. I believe Your Majesty will soon be able to fulfill the long-cherished wish of the Ming Emperor and the aspirations of our ancestors. This is all thanks to the Queen Mother!"

Empress Dowager Guo's eyes narrowed into crescents.

The atmosphere was very warm, but there was probably no real emotion beneath the words.

Cao Mao ate something hurriedly and then said, "Mother, this year the north has suffered severe cold disasters. The court is preparing to provide disaster relief, but I'm afraid there won't be enough food. Alas, I'm deeply troubled."

Empress Dowager Guo thought about it. Although she came from the frontier, she didn't know how serious the snow disaster would be. She thought about it, and all she could think of was the roads covered with snow and the people hiding in their houses, not daring to go out.

"Why does the emperor have to personally take charge of this disaster relief?"

Empress Dowager Guo was a little confused. It was not like she had never seen anyone govern the world before. Not to mention the King of Qi, even when the Emperor Ming was governing the world, there were not so many things to deal with.

He would take me out for fun from time to time, build palaces in various places, and collect treasures from all over the world. He was rarely heard complaining about the affairs of the world.

The only time he did so was when he complained that his ministers were only good at talking but not doing anything.

No one has ever seen the Ming Emperor frowning and running around all day.

How come it has become like this now?

Are the ministers today really so incompetent?
Cao Mao glanced at Sima Yi, then lowered his head and said nothing.

Sima Yi suddenly approached the empress dowager and whispered something in her ear.

It was obvious that Empress Dowager Guo looked a little surprised after hearing her words.

She pondered for a moment and looked at Cao Mao again.

"My son, I have an idea. With disasters ravaging many places and the people suffering, I wonder if we could cut down on the palace's expenses, reduce consumption, and use the savings to help the people in the countryside?"

Cao Mao was stunned for a moment, then hesitantly said, "Mother, how much money can the Imperial Palace save from the government expenditure? And how many people can be saved if we use this money to help the people?"

"If I embarrass my mother because of this, wouldn't that be disobedience?"

Empress Dowager Guo suddenly gained confidence. She said in a lecturing tone, "My son, what are you talking about? Is the only thing we can measure when we do something? Even if the money saved is not much, does that mean there will be no results at all? As for suffering, I am not worried about suffering for the people of the world, so why should you be worried?"

After being scolded by the Queen Mother, Cao Mao hurriedly lowered his head and accepted his mother's teachings.

Sima Yi smiled and said, "The Queen Mother is kind and considerate, and she cares about the people of the world. She will surely be respected by everyone in the world!"

Cao Mao did not say anything. This was what he had secretly instructed Sima Yi to do.

Reducing the expenses of the imperial palace and dismissing unnecessary personnel will certainly not save much money, but this is not the important thing.

The emperor's behavior often leads the entire country. If the emperor himself loves luxurious things and competes with his ministers in wealth, then the whole country will have such ministers. But if the emperor is frugal, then there will probably be many "frugal" people. Regardless of whether he is truly frugal or just pretending to be frugal, as long as he can adjust the social atmosphere, he will be successful.

After finishing the meal as usual, Cao Mao was about to leave, but Zheng Xian hurriedly followed Cao Mao.

Cao Mao looked at Zheng Xian who was following behind him, "Do you have anything else to say?"

"The Queen Mother asked me to serve Your Majesty as soon as possible."

Even though Zheng Xian was bold, she was a little shy at this moment.

They both knew what this service meant.

Cao Mao was very calm.

"Several generations of my family have died young. Mr. Huangfu once told me that doing things too early can be very harmful to your health."

"I still have a lot of things to do, and there is no need to rush to serve."

"what???"

(End of this chapter)