The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 475 Doing the opposite

Cao Mao looked at Pei Xiu's serious expression and finally smiled and nodded.

"good."

"Then how do you think we should promote it?"

Pei Xiu said calmly: "It's not difficult."

"Ban it."

"Hide it again."

"No one is allowed to watch."

Cao Mao's face stiffened for a moment, and he raised his head again, looking at Pei Xiu in front of him.

Because of Pei Xiu's unique personality, even when he was awake, he always looked like he had taken drugs, which made Cao Mao unable to be sure whether he was awake or not.

Pei Xiu saw the suspicion in Cao Mao's eyes and gave an explanation.

"Your Majesty, you don't understand the scholars of today."

"Your Majesty, if you force them to read it and force the book into their hands, I guarantee that not many people will read it. It may even have a counterproductive effect, and there will be a group of people who will refute it."

"But if Your Majesty does the opposite and deliberately conceals the truth, only spreading the news and asking the princes and those who know the truth not to explain the specific content to outsiders for the time being, then it will become something that celebrities will boast about."

Pei Xiu pointed out the biggest characteristic of the scholars in the Wei and Jin Dynasties.

To put it nicely, they are rebellious. They are extremely suspicious of everything. They do not believe in the government, and even less so, they do not trust those in power.

To put it bluntly, he is a jerk and deserves a beating, and his mental state is not very stable.

Cao Mao could understand this. When he and Ruan Ji wrote poems, Sima Zhao banned them. As a result, the rumors spread like wildfire.
These children have been rebellious since they were young and won't listen to any kind words.

Cao Mao waved his hand and said, "Anyway, I'll leave this matter to you. You don't need to report to me. Just do it!"

Pei Xiu said yes.

Pei Xiu then asked for many of Wang Su's manuscripts and took them back home.

After returning home, he copied it himself. During the copying process, Pei Xiu also understood why the emperor wanted to promote these books.

After finishing the copying, Pei Xiu did not take any further action.

He neither sent anyone away nor spread the news. He went to Wang Su's mansion from time to time, and his attitude towards Wang Su became more and more respectful.

He didn't go to the party anymore and disappeared from his friends. If you didn't know him, you would think he had become Wang Su's disciple.

Pei Xiu's abnormal behavior soon attracted everyone's attention.

It was only at this time that rumors began to circulate that Wang Su and many ministers had jointly annotated many classics, made great breakthroughs, and achieved great success.

This even alarmed His Majesty, who forbade any such information to be spread outside. Only Pei Xiu, the Minister of Rites, knew about this, so he often went to Wang Su's residence.

No one knows where this rumor came from or who started it, but it gets more and more outrageous.

No one has ever seen these contents, but they have been passed down in mysterious ways, attracting the attention of countless celebrities.

Wang Su's strength is still very recognized. What good thing has he come up with?

This matter was widely circulated in Luoyang, and the content was spread in various ways.

Soon, the news spread from Luoyang to all parts of the world.

Even Cao Mao in the Taiji Hall was stunned. He hadn't even seen the book yet, and yet it was already so popular?

The first to take action were the big families. They wanted to confirm the authenticity of the news. They contacted the three dukes and nine ministers, hoping to get information from them, but without exception, these people only talked about some very general things and did not mention the content at all.

This made everyone realize that this thing really existed, and perhaps the content was even more amazing than we thought! !

Soon, more and more people began to visit Wang Su, and Wang Su was happy to entertain these people, but whenever they talked about new classics, Wang Su would make an excuse to leave or shake his head and remain silent.

Cao Mao sat in the West Hall, looking at the person in front of him.

As expected, Pei Xiu was absolutely right.

This way of hiding will indeed attract the attention of celebrities, especially those who like celebrities.

He looked at Zhong Hui in front of him.

Zhong Hui's eyes were full of urgency.

"Your Majesty, the prince's classic."

Zhong Hui had obviously taken the bait. For famous scholars, classics were an unavoidable link, and as an expert in classics, Zhong Hui naturally would not miss it.

Looking at his appearance, Cao Mao couldn't help shaking his head.

Who would have thought that the first one to take the bait would be one of our own.

It can be seen that Pei Xiu really understands these celebrities.

Cao Mao cleared his throat and told Zhong Hui that Wang Su had just written a new classic and that he had asked Pei Xiu to promote it. Pei Xiu deliberately fabricated rumors and made the scholars believe them.

Zhong Hui had just finished the provincial examination and was preparing to prepare for the next palace examination.

Even in such a busy situation, he still found time to return to the temple to inquire about this matter.

Cao Mao didn't know whether to say that he was studious or to scold him for not doing his job properly.

After Cao Mao's careful explanation, Zhong Hui suddenly understood. "So that's how it is."

"I was wondering how it became known to everyone in such a short time. It turns out it was Pei Xiu."

Zhong Hui then asked, "Could you please show me this classic again?"

Cao Mao's eyes widened. You really are...
Suddenly, Cao Mao remembered something and nodded, "I have another set here that I can give to Shi Ji. However, Shi Ji must not show it to anyone else, nor reveal the contents."

Zhong Hui was overjoyed, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. I will never let anyone know!"

Cao Mao then asked Guo Ze to get a set of books and give them to Zhong Hui.

Zhong Hui was very excited and thanked the emperor again and again.

After Zhong Hui happily left, Guo Ze finally spoke up, "Your Majesty, Minister Zhong is a man who loves fame. I'm afraid everyone will know about it."

Cao Mao grinned, "Isn't that great?"

Guo Ze was a little confused, but Cao Mao became more confident.

That night, Zhong Hui returned to his mansion and began to read the annotations. Then, Zhong Hui immersed himself in reading.

Wei was sandwiched between Han and Jin, and its thoughts seemed very divided. The scholars of the Wei Dynasty were always struggling in a wavering position.

They yearned for the morality of Han scholars, but could not achieve the pure indulgence of Jin scholars.

Wang Su combined the two different viewpoints and instantly came up with a completely new explanation for them: it's not our problem, it's the generation that has changed! !
After reading it over and over again, Zhong Hui seemed to have solved many of his problems.

It is hard to say whether Zhong Hui had truly come to his senses or was just catering to the style of the celebrities. In any case, on the third day, he went to meet Wang Su in a very formal manner and treated Wang Su with the same attitude as he treated Ji Kang.

After this incident was spread, it caused even more controversy among the public.

As Guo Ze said, Zhong Hui could not hide the truth at all. Soon, he boasted to everyone, claiming that he had received a reward from the emperor and had read Wang Su's classics. The content in the classics was definitely the best choice for governing the world and could be said to be the words of a new saint!

Such evaluation made Wang Su once again the top star of Wei.

This even piqued the interest of the brothers in Zhulin.

They didn't know what Wang Su had come up with.

In such a fanatical atmosphere, Cao Mao also prepared for his own palace examination.

This palace examination is actually just an honor for the few people who make it to the end.

Regardless of whether they can pass or not, these people are definitely able to enter officialdom.

Among these people, Cao Mao targeted several, including Cui Hong, Wang Ji, Xun Kui, Yang Xiao, Zhou Hui, Wei Heng, Le Guang, etc.
What is more embarrassing is that Zhuge Dan’s son also seemed to have participated in the assessment, but the results did not seem to be very good.

Given General Zhuge's face-saving style, his son can only wish for good luck.

This first assessment in the temple was indeed very rough. Although it was just rough rice, it was very satisfying.

Finally, the day of the palace examination arrived. After all the candidates had passed the examination, less than twenty people were able to stand before Cao Mao.
At this stage, their surnames could prove everything. There was hardly any one from a humble background; they were all from wealthy families. Cao Mao even suspected that they were able to pass because of some off-site factors.

These people changed their clothes, paraded through the streets, and headed towards the palace with great fanfare.

The scholars had already gathered on both sides of the road, watching these people go, their eyes full of envy.

There were exclamations all the way.

It was not until they approached the palace that they were able to escape the noise.

They were protected by soldiers all the way to the East Hall.

Cao Mao sat in the upper seat.

The students came and paid their respects to the emperor in unison, telling him their names and places of origin one by one. It seemed that the Ministry of Rites had done homework for them.

When everyone sat on both sides, Cao Mao finally saw their appearance clearly.

Cao Mao smiled and said, "You are all the most outstanding students in the Great Wei. I am very pleased to be able to discuss with you in the same hall!"

The scholars were meeting the emperor for the first time, and they were very nervous, even more so than during the previous assessments.

A eunuch placed a wooden table in front of them, and then someone placed books next to them.

Cao Mao smiled and said, "This book is the Taixuan annotated by the prince."

"Our palace examination this time is based on this item."

When the scholars heard Cao Mao's words, they were immediately shocked. Of course, they had heard about Wang Su's affairs, which made them look at the books placed beside them.

Cao Mao smiled and said, "The task I'm giving you this time is also very simple: how to quickly move from prosperity to peace."

"You can answer the questions based on this book and your own thoughts."

The scholar hurriedly flipped through the books beside him. Cui Hong frowned. Both Shengping and Taiping were terms in the Gongyang Commentary of the Spring and Autumn Annals, but this one was about Taixuan. How could the two be related?

But when Cui Hong actually checked the content, he was shocked.

Is it really related???

Cao Mao only gave them a short time. If they wanted to read the book completely, they would have to not answer the questions.

Cao Mao sat in the upper seat, feeling very excited.

(End of this chapter)