The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 612 Account
"Anshi, you don't have many elders left, so I'm the only one who can tell you about this."

"I can only say that we can't blame others for ending up like this. This is all the trouble we brought upon ourselves."

"Retribution is a matter of time. Even if it doesn't happen now, it will definitely happen in the future."

"I just don't want my descendants to make big mistakes because of what happened before and never forget it."

Wang Su looked at Sima Yan. "I don't ask you to become successful or clear your name, but you absolutely must not listen to the slander of villains and do anything that would harm your family. Your mother will be your responsibility from now on. Before you act, think more about your mother, your brother, and your uncles. Of course, your uncles are unreliable."

Sima Yan finally spoke, "I have never thought about revenge."

"I know you are different from your father and your uncle. I trust you. I just hope you can keep an eye on your brother, your brother."

"Ugh."

Wang Su sighed deeply, as if remembering something. He looked at Wang Yuanji again and said, "I don't have anything important to tell you. I'll leave you the farmland and house in Luoyang. You and your children will live here from now on. Don't get involved in outside affairs, and keep an eye on your children."

Just as a few people were talking, there were suddenly exclamations and hurried footsteps outside.

Hearing this voice, Wang Su knew who was coming.

The soldiers quickly stood inside and outside the mansion, controlling all places and watching everyone vigilantly. Everyone bowed and knelt. Cao Mao came from a distance and walked quickly into the house without stopping in front of everyone.

When Cao Mao pushed open the door and walked in, Wang Yuanji and Sima Yan both hurriedly bowed to greet him.

Cao Mao's eyes lingered on Sima Yan for a moment, and then fell on Wang Su.

"Prince!"

Cao Mao walked up to Wang Su with a worried look on his face, then sat next to him and held his hand.

When Wang Su saw the emperor appear, his face was full of smiles.

"Your Majesty, I am so virtuous and capable!"

Logically speaking, the emperor should appear after the death of a minister and give him a posthumous title. Otherwise, if the emperor appears when the minister is seriously ill, the minister will die today or not. However, in Wang Su's current condition, many imperial doctors think that he can't survive. The emperor's arrival gave Wang Su enough face, and this incident can be recorded in Wang Su's biography in the future.

And the most important thing is that Wang Su can take the opportunity to make some "requests".

Cao Mao was really worried about Wang Su at this moment.

In terms of character and morality, Wang Su would definitely not be ranked among Cao Mao's many ministers, but in terms of classics, he is unique and is one of the best in the world.

Losing such a great scholar of Confucian classics would be a huge loss for Cao Mao.

However, Cao Mao could not do more, he had already done his best.

Cao Mao could not help but admonish him, "Prince, the great task of studying the classics is not yet complete. You cannot leave me! I am already summoning more famous doctors, and they will surely be able to cure you!"

Wang Su pursed his lips and wanted to say something. He looked at Wang Yuanji and said, "Yuanji, you can go out first. Anshi can stay."

Wang Yuanji lowered her head and left, leaving only the three of them in the room.

Wang Su then spoke, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid I'm dying. Before I die, I still have something to say to Your Majesty. I only ask Your Majesty not to blame me."

Cao Mao nodded.

Wang Su then said, "Your Majesty, initially, I came to you and worked for you simply to protect my family and to be promoted to one of the Three Dukes."

"Later, the revision of the classics was only to be able to take it a step further."

Wang Su paused, noticing that Cao Mao's face showed no anger, before continuing, "It's just that, under Your Majesty's rule, I finally understand the true feelings of those wise ministers in ancient times who assisted Your Majesty. You are clear about rewards and punishments, lenient to others, and decisive when you know what's happening. You are truly a sage king that only appears once in a century, a wise ruler like Emperor Xiaowen of the Han Dynasty, or even Yao and Shun of ancient times!"

"I only regret that I am too old to assist Your Majesty for much longer."

Wang Su looked at Cao Mao firmly and said, "Before I die, I have a few things I want to tell Your Majesty."

"Speak now, my lord."

"Your Majesty, you abolished the military farming system because of its serious drawbacks. However, once it's abolished, all the arable land in the world will be quickly divided up by the powerful families and wealthy individuals. This year alone, my incompetent son, Wang Kai, has already annexed three thousand acres of fertile farmland from the local area!"

Wang Su gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with anger, "I have already punished him and made him pay back in full!"

"However, Your Majesty, under the military farming system, the amount of public land was monitored by officials, and private land was protected by people. But now, it is at the mercy of others. Even a useless son like me can do this. I can't imagine what the other big families can do."

"Farmland is the foundation of the world. Your Majesty must not underestimate it. You must implement policies to limit the amount of farmland owned by large families and the number of tenants. You must also worry about them exchanging poor farmland for good farmland."

"Local officials are completely afraid to stop them or impeach them."

Cao Mao was silent for a moment, then nodded, "Okay."

Wang Su then added, "Your Majesty, the second matter is about the barbarians outside the Great Wall."

"None of the ministers know your majesty's intentions. They all think you are just seeking fame, wanting to establish yourself by defeating these barbarians. Only this old minister knows that your majesty wants to unite China. This is a great achievement. If your majesty can accomplish this, then no matter who gains power in the future, they will all be legitimate Chinese, and the people of China will not be harmed."

Cao Mao was somewhat surprised. "So Minister Wang knew about this, so why didn't he tell me?"

Wang Su smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid many ministers understand your intentions, but who dares to speak out? To guess the king's thoughts is a grave sin!"

Wang Su's voice grew weaker, and he began to speak: "Your Majesty, if you want to accomplish this, you must use both kindness and power!" "But nowadays, generals are so good at military exploits, and ministers in the court still look down on the noble families outside the Great Wall, let alone the Hu people?"

"If there is only power but no grace, then your majesty's policies will not last long. Perhaps your majesty can use more pedantic people to handle such matters. For example, there is a Mr. Guo by your side. This person can take on the important task of education."

Cao Mao nodded again, "I understand."

Wang Su sighed deeply, "Your Majesty, the last thing is a personal matter for me."

Wang Su looked at Sima Yan with difficulty and said, "The Sima clan has been punished by Your Majesty, and this is well deserved. I dare not say much, but I only ask Your Majesty to consider the humble contributions I have made and forgive my daughter and two grandsons so that they will not be implicated in the affairs of the Sima family."

"As for my sons, if they have committed serious crimes, Your Majesty, please punish them severely and do not forgive them easily."

Cao Mao looked at Sima Yan standing aside.

The two looked at each other.

Cao Mao said softly, "I pardoned him a long time ago. Otherwise, he wouldn't be alive today."

"Don't worry about these things. An Shi is my good friend and has helped me many times before. I will not kill him."

Wang Su nodded and said with a smile: "I have told them before. Your Majesty is a kind and virtuous person, unlike his father-in-law."

His expression slowly calmed down and he seemed a little worried.

“I wonder if my achievements and failures in this life can satisfy my ancestors.”

Looking at Wang Su who slowly closed his eyes and breathed softly, Cao Mao did not disturb him anymore. He motioned Sima Yan to follow him and left.

Cao Mao walked out of the gate, looked at the people outside, and his eyes suddenly fell on Wang Kai.

Wang Kai's face turned pale and his hands trembled slightly when the emperor stared at him like that.

Cao Mao stared at him for a long time, then suddenly took off his sword from his waist, stepped forward quickly, and hit Wang Kai on the head.

Wang Kai screamed in fear, covered his head and collapsed to the ground.

Fortunately, Cao Mao used the scabbard to swing the sword directly and did not cut the opponent's head in half.

Everyone looked at the angry Cao Mao in astonishment.

Cao Mao scolded him, "Your father is seriously ill, yet you still dare to do something illegal! Is there a more unfilial son in this world than you?!"

"From now on, you are forbidden from holding an official position and your title will be stripped from you. If your father is no longer around, I will build a house next to his grave and observe mourning for him until you have completely cleansed yourself of your sins!"

"If it weren't for Lord Situ today, I would have executed you!"

"You take care of yourself!"

Cao Mao uttered a harsh remark, but Wang Kai was so frightened that he didn't even dare to cry.

Cao Mao left immediately, but Sima Yan got on the carriage with him.

Sitting in the car, the two looked at each other but didn't speak.

"I'm going to have a baby."

Cao Mao was the first to open the topic.

Sima Yan was stunned. "I heard from my mother that the Queen invited my mother and aunt to the palace for a banquet. They told me about this after they came back."

Cao Mao laughed, "What about you? When are you getting married?"

Sima Yan hesitated for a moment, "My mother said she found a family for me. But I think it's a bit problematic, so I'm not sure."

"What are you afraid of? Are you a man afraid of getting married? Whose daughter is she?"

"General Hu's granddaughter"

"Oh, then I understand."

Cao Mao glanced at Sima Yan and asked, "You've seen it, right?"

Sima Yan nodded, a little confused, "He has some of General Hu's style."

Cao Mao laughed. "Isn't that great? Who knows, I might even be able to protect you in the future! Could it be that you have inherited General Hu's appearance?"

Sima Yan glared at him and said, "His appearance is quite good, but his personality is a bit too warrior-like."

"I thought your mother would find you a family from a large family, a good match. General Hu's clan is just a large frontier clan. How could your mother be interested in them?"

Sima Yan looked around and whispered, "My mother said that General Hu is very lucky. If I can marry his granddaughter, I might be able to share some of his luck in the future."

Cao Mao laughed out loud, "That makes sense!"

"Just don't bully others, otherwise General Hu's character..."

(End of this chapter)