The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 461: Being a Situ is Not Easy

Luo Xian sat very close to the emperor, but he had no other thoughts.

When he got closer, Luo Xian realized that the young man he wanted to assassinate was not as weak as he had thought.

He was straight and almost as tall as herself, but looked much stronger than herself.

Luo Xian was doubting whether he could defeat him if he suddenly attacked him.
Cao Mao asked, "I am quite curious about the affairs of Shu. I heard that the person currently handling government affairs in Shu is the Minister of the Chancellery, Chen Qi. Have you met this person?"

Luo Xian replied, "I have."

Cao Mao asked again: "What kind of person is this?"

Luo Xian had no choice but to answer, "He doesn't have a good reputation among the scholars because he associates with Huang Hao, but his relationship with the general is quite good. Your Majesty, the Emperor of Shu also likes him very much."

Cao Mao asked again, and Luo Xian answered them one by one.

Luo Xian did not hide this. Since these matters did not involve anything, he told Cao Mao everything he knew about Chen Qi.

"That's it."

"I remember that this Shangshu Ling is also old?"

"I'm over sixty."

Cao Mao shook his head and couldn't help sighing, "Eating little and worrying a lot, how can this last long?"

At this moment, Luo Xian finally understood why the emperor cared so much about Chen Qi, and his heart trembled.

Cao Mao became more and more certain of his guess that Chen Qi would not live long.

Chen Qi didn't live long, so he only lived a few years before and after the New Year. This time, the pressure on Shu Kingdom was even greater, and there were more things that required him to step in.

Under such circumstances, he may not live until next year.

In today's Shu Kingdom, Chen Qi is the last pillar maintaining the balance of the temple.

After he died of illness, Liu Chan would no longer easily trust other ministers and completely listened to the eunuch Huang Hao, who then officially began his career in power.

Among the officials in the court, those who were not close to him would be exiled, while those who were close to him would be promoted. His relationship with Jiang Wei became increasingly worse, and finally Jiang Wei directly wrote a letter to kill Huang Hao, and the two of them completely fell out.

Later, Huang Hao cultivated his confidant Yan Yu, so that Jiang Wei did not dare to return to Chengdu.

Even the strongest barrier will eventually have loopholes if there is disunity between the ruler and his subjects.

What's more, Cao Mao looked at Luo Xian standing beside him.

The Shield of Yong'an fell into his hands, which helped Wang Ji solve a huge problem in his campaign against the Kingdom of Shu.

If Luo Xian was stationed in Yong'an, I wonder how hard he would have to fight to take over this place.

Cao Mao then asked several other generals and ministers, and after learning the situation, he ordered someone to take Luo Xian to rest.

After Luo Xian left, Cao Mao immediately asked Wang Qiao about the situation in Jiangbei.

Wang Qiao quickly replied, "Your Majesty, ever since you issued the imperial edict demanding the conquest of Wu, Wu has been wary. Patrolling warships frequently arrive, fearing we might suddenly launch an attack."

"After General Wang conquered Jingnan, he first appeased the people and ordered them not to delay farming this year. He took the arable land that had been reclaimed by the Wu people and made it public land. He then rented it out to the landless people to cultivate. Refugees fled to many places."

After Wang Qiao left, Zhang Hua slipped in here.

"Your Majesty, Luo Xian's target is not Zhong Hui, but you."

Zhang Hua sat next to Cao Mao and talked about his observations.

"After he sat down just now, he first looked at the door, and then looked inside the hall. This is not the behavior of someone who truly surrenders."

"General, you can't be an assassin after all."

Listening to Zhang Hua's words, Cao Mao laughed, "It doesn't matter. He just wants to assassinate me, but there's absolutely no chance of success."

"He is not completely loyal to Shu. Otherwise, Shu would not have kept his adopted son as hostage."

"It's alright, let him stay. I don't believe I can't be better than Liu Chan."

As we were talking, it was time for dinner.

Although Cao Mao was busy, he never missed meals and never stayed up late at night. He went to bed at the appointed time.

Since his family had a tradition of early death, Cao Mao always regarded health preservation as an important task.

For the sake of the world, he must stay healthy.

There are so many things to do that you can be busy all day long, but you must never miss a day to eat or sleep.

This time, Jiang Wei and others' decision seemed hasty and absurd, but if it succeeded, it would be a fatal blow to Cao Wei. Once something happened to Cao Mao, all reforms would be interrupted, major problems would arise everywhere, and the situation would be even worse than during the time of Sima Shi.

At least Sima Shi had a successor, but Cao Mao had none at all, and there was not even anyone who could replace him in taking charge of the government.

Cao Mao's meals were also reasonably matched, with meat, vegetables and rice, and the main focus was on health preservation.

At this moment, Wang Su was sitting in the mansion.

His face was very solemn, and sitting next to him was Zhuge Dan.

The two highest officials of the dynasty gathered here, and they all looked a little stern.

Their relationship wasn't particularly close, but at this point they were forced to join forces. Zhuge Dan spoke first, "The Secretariat is becoming increasingly powerful. The Wei Dynasty hasn't held court meetings for a long time. All decisions are made in the Secretariat."

"We have absolutely no way of intervening."

"This is just abandoning us."

"I can no longer interfere with current military affairs. I can only let the Shangshutai handle it."

Hearing Zhuge Dan's words, Wang Su nodded slightly.

After successfully stabilizing the situation in the temple, Cao Mao began to use his own team to deal with major affairs of the world. The status of the Three Tai increased dramatically. The Three Dukes and Nine Ministers were originally decorations, but at least they were decorations with some use. Now they have become real decorations.

Wang Su, Zhuge Dan and others were completely idle and had nothing to do.

He Zeng was fine, after all he was in charge of the Censorate, while Wang Chang also served as the Minister of the Chancellery, which was different from them.

The other nine ministers also gradually felt this change.

The nine ministers had different opinions on this.

Some ministers think that this kind of life is pretty good. They are old and hold high positions. They don’t have to participate in any major events and can still enjoy the fruits of their labor. Isn’t that great?

However, some ministers felt that they were being sidelined by the emperor and that they had many talents but were unable to display them.

Many ministers found Wang Su and Zhuge Dan, hoping that they could come up with a solution.

Wang Su and Zhuge Dan met today for this matter.

Zhuge Dan was very dissatisfied with Chen Qian. He always felt that he was being sidelined by the Ministry of War. If he had been allowed to command the war in Jingzhou, the Wu Kingdom would have been defeated long ago!
As for Wang Su, he didn't have many complaints about the Secretariat.

Wang Su had an idea of his own abilities. He knew that the emperor valued him in order to appease the people of the Sima Group and at the same time let him fight against those big clan factions.

He also didn't think he could replace Wang Chang to govern the Secretariat. He knew whether he had the ability to do so or not.

However, as the head of the ministers, he naturally cannot remain indifferent when there are voices of opposition in the temple.

Zhuge Dan initially thought that He Zeng would be helpful in many of his affairs, but now he can't do anything, and the public opposition to He Zeng is getting bigger and bigger, and Zhuge Dan is getting a little restless.

Wang Su said at this moment: "Grand Marshal, His Majesty has brought you here from a thousand miles away, naturally not to let you sit in the position of Grand Marshal and waste your time."

"In the past, the Grand Marshal was like this too. He wasn't responsible for minor matters, only major ones."

"I think that among all the ministers, you are the one who needs to be least worried."

"Your Majesty has great ambitions and will certainly not watch the Shu and Wu thieves continue to clamor."

At this moment, Zhuge Dan suddenly remembered something, and there was a faint light in his eyes.

He naturally understood Wang Su's thoughts. If they wanted to destroy Shu and Wu in the future, they would have to be led by the Grand Marshal. He didn't have to worry about not being valued and unable to achieve great things.

Zhuge Dan murmured, "But I am already old, I don't know if I can live to see that day."

Wang Su smiled and said, "Don't worry, Lord Zhuge. It will definitely work. However, we can't just stand by and do nothing. This will make His Majesty look down on us even more."

"Since His Majesty feels that the ministers of the Secretariat can be relied upon, why don't we also accomplish something great and show His Majesty that we are not old and useless? If His Majesty knew our abilities, he would certainly no longer favor the three secretaries."

Zhuge Dan immediately expressed his agreement.

"Mr. Situ is absolutely right!"

"That's how it should be!"

"But what big thing should we do?"

"As long as we can resolve the issue that Your Majesty is most concerned about, there will be opportunities for us to achieve great things."

Wang Su said.

Zhuge Dan couldn't think of what to do for a moment, but he was unwilling to ask. He wanted to maintain his celebrity style, be noble and aloof, and not lose face.

Wang Su said seriously, "I am discussing this matter with my ministers. I hope the Grand Marshal will give us his full support when the time comes."

Zhuge Dan nodded in satisfaction and left.

After seeing Zhuge Dan off, Wang Su sighed helplessly. His power was not hollowed out. The most important function of the Si Tu, maintaining the stability of the temple, was still in charge by him.

His ideas were completely different from Zhuge Dan's. He was now sitting here with Zhuge Dan to discuss things, actually just to appease him.

It is really not easy to be the Situ, especially at this time, the conflicts within the temple are actually very fierce, and the Nine Ministers are ready to make a move.

All I can do is guide them, comfort them, and prevent them from causing any trouble.

No matter what major event, such as destroying Shu or Wu, he was the one who came up with it temporarily to fool the Grand Marshal.

We have to contact the emperor in time about this matter and ask him to pay more attention to these old ministers and not to further intensify the conflict.

Wang Su prepared his things and was about to leave the house when he was greeted by an uninvited guest.

Wang Su originally thought that this was another minister who would have to figure out a solution on his own, but when he learned the identity of the visitor, he was shocked.

The person who came was Sima Gan.

(End of this chapter)