The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 489 Difference
“That’s really amazing.”

Zhang Hua sat in front of Cao Mao, his thoughts still seemed to be in the Imperial College, and he couldn't help but sigh.

Guo Ze also nodded.

It was really an eye-opener for them.

Cao Mao seemed much more pleased. He smiled and said, "Anyone who can establish a school of thought must be a great one."

At this moment, they were sitting in the restaurant that Cao Mao always liked to go to.

The owner of the restaurant bought the house on the left, connected the two houses, hung a sign outside, and added seats, making it quite lively.

The man's clothes were also different from before. He was no longer dressed like a farmer, but more like a merchant. And the people walking around were no longer his children. He also hired two servants.

More and more people are coming here, of all kinds.

Cao Mao looked at all this and felt a sense of accomplishment.

What he wanted was not just an increase in government tax revenue, but also an improvement in the quality of life of the people.

From today's perspective, the quality of life of the people in Luoyang has obviously improved a lot.

The fact that you have spare money to eat out in restaurants proves this point.

At this moment, a group of people walked into the restaurant, exhausted.

The appearance of this group of people made the restaurant, which was originally very lively, suddenly quiet.

The group of people who came in had strange hairstyles and were dressed differently from the people in the Central Plains.

But they were not Huns. They wrapped animal fur around their necks, which was different from the Huns' dress.

The moment they appeared, Zhang Hua couldn't help but say, "Xianbei people."

Cao Mao was a little surprised. It was the first time he saw Xianbei people. He couldn't help but look at the people who came in.

Looking at the appearance of these people, there is actually not much difference. Their cheekbones are slightly higher and their eye sockets are slightly deeper, which is different from the Huns.

There were five of them, and they were leading horses with their backs loaded with things.

This makes their identities clear at a glance: they are Hu merchants.

When they appeared, the servant stood in front of them with some caution.

"Guests, you are not allowed to bring horses in here."

The men immediately started chatting, and no one could understand what they were saying. Soon, one of them looked at the servant and asked, "Where is the horse?"

"There's no room for horses here or there."

The servant replied.

In fact, it’s not that there aren’t any, it’s just that they don’t want to cause trouble. There are also quite a few Hu merchants in Luoyang.

However, the difference is still obvious.

After the Wei State established the Office of the Chief Secretary in the Western Regions and enfeoffed the kings of the Western Regions, Hu merchants from the Western Regions would occasionally appear in Luoyang. These were the Wei people who had been enfeoffed. They could live in the government post stations and enjoy good treatment.

However, the Xianbei people were not on the list of those to be enthroned.

The only Xianbei people who enjoyed such treatment were the Xianbei tribe in Liaodong. They were enfeoffed because they helped Sima Yi in the war, so they were considered to be his own people.

But the ones in front of him were not the Liaodong Xianbei at all.

The Xianbei people of Liaodong can be identified at a glance. They are highly assimilated into the Han culture and like to wear crowns. They would not dress so strangely.

Cheng Jidu had already stood up, and the strong men in the distance also secretly picked up their weapons.

Cao Mao was extremely curious at this moment.

He smiled and waved his hand, "Help them lead the horses and give them some food. The leader, come over and sit with me for a while."

Those people only noticed Cao Mao at this moment. The servant did not dare to disobey this noble man and hurried forward to lead the horse.

The leader's face looked extremely ugly at this moment.

He sat in front of Cao Mao helplessly.

Cao Mao smiled and said, "Don't be afraid. I won't steal your things. I'm quite wealthy, so I wouldn't be interested in your things. I'm just curious and wanted to talk to you. Maybe we could have a drink?"

The man shook his head warily, "I don't know how to drink."

"How can a man not drink?!"

Cao Mao waved his hand and insisted that someone bring some wine.

"I have at least a hundred men in this mansion. If I want to kill you, do I need to poison your drink?"

The Hu man then picked up the wine, toasted Cao Mao, and drank it all in one gulp.

Cao Mao nodded and asked, "Are you from Hexi?"

"Tufa Xianbei?"

The Hu people nodded and replied, "It is the Tufa Xianbei."

Cao Mao narrowed his eyes, "Then why are you here?" "We are merchants, here to do business."

"I've heard your leader is a capable man. Why doesn't he submit to the court?"

The Hu man was stunned and said, "I am just a businessman, I really don't know..."

"Only by submitting to the imperial court and becoming citizens of the Great Wei can you do business here and appear on the land of the Great Wei. Your leaders have never submitted, nor received titles from the Great Wei, yet you dare to appear here?"

"You should go back. When you return, tell your leader to surrender as soon as possible. Otherwise, you will be in great danger."

This Hu Shang was a little angry.

But there were many people around Cao Mao, and he didn't dare to offend them, so he just nodded in agreement.

After eating a few mouthfuls of food, he hurried away with the rest of the people.

Guo Ze could not help but say, "Your Majesty, it is a good thing that these Hu people are coming here to trade. It can let them know about the culture and education of the Great Wei and help educate them. Besides, these people have to pay money to enter and exit the checkpoints, so there is no harm. Why bother?"

Cao Mao shook his head. "If there is no difference, then wouldn't the wise kings who surrendered to the court be disheartened?!"

Guo Ze was speechless immediately.

The Tuoba Xianbei were different from the Xiongnu.

The Southern Xiongnu surrendered to the Han Dynasty, and their people had household registration in the Wei Dynasty. Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, China has been a multi-ethnic unified country. The Qin and Han Dynasties established the Dao. The so-called Dao was at the same level as the county. The difference was that most of the people here were Hu people.

In areas where the Hu people occupied the majority, the imperial court set up Dao, which was jointly governed by the officials of the imperial court and the leaders of the local Hu people. The Didao that Jiang Wei had attacked before was actually Di County. It was called Dao because there were so many Di people in the area.

These people also had to pay taxes and be governed by the government. The imperial court had many roads in the border areas. After years of development, these roads were a mixture of Hu and Han people, and there was not much difference between the two sides.

But people like the Tuoba Xianbei later migrated to places like Hexi. They did not live in the Dao, did not accept the Han Dynasty's enthronement, did not need to pay taxes, and ruled the world like kings.

Then they can no longer be considered as citizens of the Great Wei.

The problem of the Hu people in the Yongliang area has troubled the court for many years, but both the Han and Wei dynasties found it difficult to deal with this problem, mainly because the local Hu and Qiang peoples lived together and their composition was complex.

Among them, there are many native people who accept the rule of the Han Dynasty, there are migrants from other places, and there are also people who cannot bear the taxes and run away to become outsiders. There are hundreds of tribes with different opinions, closeness and degree of sinicization, making them extremely difficult to govern.

The Tuoba Xianbei now number only a few tens of thousands of people, living in the wild and have not yet surrendered.

Cao Mao always felt that when governing these areas, clear boundaries should be set to show the difference between insiders and outsiders.

And it is not so easy to accept surrender.

After seeing these bald Xianbei today, Cao Mao suddenly had more ideas in his mind.

In the Yongliang area, the Shu people liked to contact the Hu and Qiang people here to assist them in sending troops. Every time they talked about how to deal with the Hu and Qiang issues here, the two sides always argued.

Some people think he should be killed, while others think he should be treated leniently.

But Cao Mao felt that neither of these was right. The correct approach should be to win over his own people and kill the invaders.

Pei Xiu's policies have already begun to be implemented in the Southern Xiongnu. These methods should bring some benefits. For example, only those who have accepted education can engage in trade and grazing normally.

If they are outsiders who are unwilling to accept education, then they should be expelled and blocked off, and their pastures should be handed over to our own people. Wouldn't that be great?

Cao Mao tapped lightly on the wooden table in front of him.

Just as Cao Mao was pondering this matter, Wang Su walked out of the Imperial College surrounded by many scholars.

At this moment, the real Wang Xuefang appeared in Luoyang.

When Wang's philosophy began to spread, there was no need for the government to do anything more, as many of Wang Su's ideas had already spread everywhere.

This caused a huge sensation.

Those who reacted slowly were still asking questions that they could not understand, while those who reacted were already shouting for unification.

For a time, the great unification of Gongyang in the Spring and Autumn Period seemed to come back to life under the shell of metaphysics and filled Luoyang.

These were the things that everyone was talking about, and the heated discussions among the scholars even became strange things among the common people.

Those people in the bamboo forest also learned the specific situation at this moment.

When they gathered together to discuss the matter, their ideas seemed to differ.

Ruan Ji, who had lost motivation due to the collapse of his beliefs, became a little different at this moment. Wang Su's theory gave him new inspiration.

Ruan Ji was also a Confucian scholar. Although he was not as accomplished as Wang Su, he still had some accomplishments. Ruan Ji immediately recognized Wang Su's theory. After all, his pursuit of a higher level of thinking was also recognized by Wang Su. Wang Su even believed that he was a Confucian scholar who could maintain the peak national strength in a peaceful world.

But Liu Ling held a different view. He believed that this was just compiled by Wang Su to help the emperor achieve great unification and there was no need to pay attention to it.

However, the other celebrities had different ideas.

The one who was most touched was probably Ji Kang.

Ji Kang was very supportive of Cao Mao, but at the same time, he opposed Cao Mao's cruel policies. He believed that the method of governing by inaction should be adopted, and that the current policies would bring hidden dangers in the future. However, after being exposed to Wang Su's Confucian classics, he suddenly realized that this was only a temporary solution.

Compared with his unfounded opposition, Wang Su's ideas are more convincing.

Ruan Xian was almost opposed to Wang Su. He felt that Wang Su's doctrine was downplaying metaphysics. This was using Confucianism to eat up metaphysics, and using the shell of metaphysics to explain the principles of Confucianism. It was fundamentally wrong.

It seemed that neither of them could convince the other.

(End of this chapter)