The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 596: The Eminent Man
"Mr. He! Please save us for all the time we have served you so faithfully!"

Guo Zhi was kneeling in front of He Zeng at this moment, and he looked even more worried.

He had finally escaped so many reckonings and finally regained the emperor's favor.

He never expected that his own clan would deal him such a heavy blow.

Just yesterday, officials from the Ministry of Justice broke into their house and searched everywhere. According to them, their family was involved in a case of treason.

Guo Zhi was shocked and found out after asking repeatedly.

The clansmen who stayed behind in Xiping recruited Hu people, purchased ironware, and stole war horses.

Regardless of whether they have any thoughts of rebellion, these three things are enough to make them suffer a big disaster.

Except for Guo Ze who was out of town, the rest of the Guo family were interrogated and were only released today.

After Guo Zhi came out, he hurried to the Censorate.

Sikong Hezeng sat in the upper seat, listening to Guo Zhi's loud crying.

His attitude towards the Guo family members was originally very good. No matter where he saw them, he would greet them with a smile, without any airs of a superior.

Perhaps it was because of this attitude that Guo Zhi came to him first to seek help after the accident.

He Zeng asked in surprise, "How could the Queen Mother's relatives rebel?"

"Does the Queen Mother know about this?"

Guo Zhi shook her head and said in despair, "When they came to search, I sent people to find the Queen Mother, but it was impossible to meet her."

He Zeng then confirmed the emperor's attitude and his expression changed immediately.

There was no trace of the former gentleness and intimacy on his face. His eyes were so cold, almost filled with alienation.

"Guo Zhi, you actually tolerated your clan committing such a huge mistake, and you actually want me to cover it up?"

"Could the Ministry of Justice make a mistake in something like this?!"

"Here comes someone! See you off!"

He Zeng waved his hand and completely ignored the astonished Guo Zhi. The soldier then walked in and took Guo Zhi away.

Only after being sent out of the Censorate did Guo Zhi react.

"You bastard!!"

Guo Zhi's face flushed red and she couldn't help cursing out loud.

This guy is usually so close to me and always smiling. I have helped him a lot. I didn't expect that when something happened to me, he was so indifferent. He hardly said a single nice word. He didn't even pretend and directly drove me out!
Guo Zhi cursed in his heart for a long time, then looked around blankly.

I can't go to the Empress Dowager, and the Censorate is unreliable, so who else can I turn to?
He didn't dare to go to the emperor.

He was afraid that he would never come back.

Who in Luoyang can persuade the emperor now?
Guo Zhi pondered for a long time before he came up with a candidate in his mind. He hurriedly got on the carriage and left.

There are several royal palaces in Luoyang, but if you ask which one has the highest status, it must be the residence of Shangshu Ling Wang Chang.

Wang Chang himself was the most prestigious among the four generals, the kind that even Hu Zun could hardly compete with.

In addition, he made great contributions in the administration of officials and led the ministers to solve the collapse of the officialdom in the Wei Dynasty. Therefore, he had a very high status in the emperor's eyes and was called "Prime Minister" by people at that time.

He was almost the leader of all the ministers in the Wei Dynasty. In comparison, Wang Situ was a little less impressive. After all, he only studied classics and did not participate much in state affairs.

Wang Chang was sitting in the study at this moment. Although the Secretariat was extremely busy, the Shangshu Ling was actually not like that.

It was only because the ministers selected by Cao Mao were all extremely outstanding that Wang Chang needed to keep a closer eye on them in the early stages. However, after a period of adjustment, many things no longer required Wang Chang's intervention and they could handle them on their own.

Wang Chang is more focused on making future plans and controlling the direction.

He is just a review tool, responsible for nodding.

At this moment, Wang Chang was sitting in the study, thinking about a new plan.

The Wei Dynasty had basically solved the problem of official administration, and next, Wang Chang wanted to solve the problem of arable land.

Of course, the Wei Dynasty had no shortage of food, nor did it lack laborers to open up the land.

However, after the abolition of the military farming system, measures had to be taken to deal with the problem of annexation of cultivated land. In addition to the people who rented and cultivated public land in the Wei Dynasty, there were also many self-cultivating farmers, and the number of these self-cultivating farmers was rapidly decreasing.

The main problem lies with the powerful.

Well, in the government, the public explanation is that it was because of the powerful, but the powerful are not the same as the big families.

But Wang Chang knew very well that the disappearance of a large number of self-cultivating farmers would seriously affect the balance of income and expenditure of the court. There might not be any problems in the short term, but as long as it was delayed for ten or twenty years, the income and expenditure of the Wei Dynasty would collapse. By then, if a disaster occurred, the Wei Dynasty would not even be able to provide relief!
Wang Chang has been troubled by this matter.

At this moment, a servant came to report that Guo Zhi had come to see him. As the head of the Secretariat, Wang Chang was definitely the first minister to know everything that was going on in the temple.

Any search by the Ministry of Justice needed to be reported to him, so he knew why Guo Zhi came.

Wang Chang just felt a little strange because he had no contact with this person.

Why did you think of coming to find me?

Wang Chang is different from He Zeng. He Zeng is worried that discussing this matter with Guo Zhi will drag him into trouble, but Wang Chang is not afraid.

As the leader of the ministers, he has such confidence.

He asked someone to call Guo Zhi over.

When Guo Zhi knelt before him in despair and kowtowed, Wang Chang smiled and asked, "Mr. Guo, are you here for clan matters?"

Guo Zhi hurriedly said, "My Lord, I'm not trying to exonerate my clan. Since the Ministry of Justice has said so, they must have evidence of a crime. I blame myself deeply for having such a wicked man. However, the Guo family is the Empress Dowager's clan. If we were charged with treason and punished, how would the Empress Dowager maintain her dignity?"

Guo Zhi cried and said, "When I think about how I have dragged down the Empress Dowager and even Your Majesty because of my poor discipline, I am so sad that I almost die!"

"I really can't think of a way to solve this problem right now, so I came here specially to see you, hoping you can give me some pointers!"

Hearing Guo Zhi's words, Wang Chang nodded in agreement.

"You are right. How can the Queen Mother's clan be charged with treason?"

"Besides, if this crime is proven, the entire clan will be exterminated! How do you think the Queen Mother will deal with it?"

Wang Chang sighed, "Since ancient times, there has never been such a situation!"

"Your people have truly made a grave mistake!"

Guo Zhi bowed his head again and confessed his guilt.

Wang Chang pondered for a long time before saying, "Actually, it's not difficult to resolve this matter. Your relative who led the rebellion must die."

"As for the rest of your clansmen, how about this? You write a letter to His Majesty, and make the situation sound lighter. Say that the Yongliang people aren't plotting a rebellion, but are instead using the Hu people to seize public land and use them as domestic slaves, thereby profiting from it!"

"For this crime, your clansmen won't all be executed. The Ministry of Justice will eventually spare them. At most, they'll be exiled, which is much better than exterminating the entire clan. What do you think?"

Hearing Wang Chang's words, Guo Zhi hurriedly showed her excitement.

"Your Majesty is absolutely right!"

Only then did Wang Chang give Guo Zhi instructions.

Wang Chang certainly did this not to cover up the empress dowager's shame, or out of sympathy.

In fact, Cao Mao never thought of killing all these people.

Cao Mao initially took heavy-handed measures because he lacked prestige and needed to kill a few prominent figures to demonstrate his power, but now he no longer has such concerns.

Cao Mao was a very frugal person. What would be the point of killing more than a thousand people from the Guo family?
Although these people are evil, they are indeed highly capable talents. At least, they can read, know the classics, and understand mathematics, which are things that ordinary people cannot master.

Cao Mao was unwilling to waste.

Yang Zong also clearly stated in his memorial that he wanted to confiscate the property of the eight major families implicated in the crime and make them migrate to Nanzhong, Jiaozhou, Jingnan and other places with their meager properties.

This memorial was very much to Cao Mao's liking.

Isn’t this the migration of cultured people to the south?
The South has always lacked development, and these big clans are the best at development. Sending a large clan of more than a thousand people to a remote place is much more effective than transporting ten thousand people there.

Because after these big families settled in the local area, they would naturally educate the locals, exploit the local people, and annex the farmland.
Anyway, big families are very good at doing these things.

The only benefit of the migration of the elite to the south was the development of the south. After arriving in the south, these wealthy families who were best at land reclamation and exploitation in the north changed the backward exploitation model of the south and exploited them in advanced ways. But at the same time, they also changed the harsh living environment in the south, allowing the south to be well governed and start to get rid of its backward position in economic, technological and production aspects.

Therefore, it is a good idea to send these eight families to the most remote places in the south one after another.

It would be best if they could volunteer.

Just like today.

Wang Chang stroked his beard and said seriously, "In fact, even if you don't come to me, your clan will not be in any serious trouble. I have already submitted a petition to His Majesty, requesting that you reduce corporal punishment and excessive torture, and emulate the benevolent rule of the former Emperor Wen of Han."

"Your Majesty believes what I said is correct. Do not be afraid. Go to the palace now, admit your clan's fault, and ask His Majesty for leniency. You will surely be pardoned."

Guo Zhi quickly stood up, thanked the other party again and again, and then left with a touched look on his face.

Watching the other party leave, Wang Chang shook his head.

These people, it's all their own fault.

I also have to restrain my own clan more, so that they won't stab me in the back.

However, this incident in Yongliang seemed to give Wang Chang a new direction to solve the problem of arable land.
(End of this chapter)