The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 656 The world returns to its heart
All the ministers were busy arranging the sacrificial ceremony. If nothing unexpected happened, this would be the largest sacrificial ceremony since Cao Mao ascended the throne.

All the ministers attached great importance to this, and all places strengthened their vigilance to prevent any problems from occurring during this period.

At this time, if a serious case occurred in Luoyang, his career would basically be over in one step, from the magistrate of Luoyang to the commander of the Sili Army.

Officials throughout Luoyang were extremely cautious, and the only one who completely let loose was Hu Zun.

During this period, Hu Zun held banquets all day long, summoned his ministers, and had fun drinking and having fun instead of doing his work.

His life was quite carefree, and the ministers did not dare to neglect the general. When the general gave an order, they would go to his mansion and accompany him in eating, drinking and having fun.

When the general got drunk again, Hu Guang finally couldn't bear it anymore.

He asked all the servants to leave, then bowed to Hu Zun and said:

"Father, His Majesty has just appointed you Grand General. You've only been in office for a few days, and yet you've already summoned all the ministers to your palace for a night of revelry. You've neglected any official business and spent the entire day drunk. How can this be tolerated? This is a recipe for disaster!"

Hu Zun glared at him. "Did I only summon my own men? Did I say anything unfavorable to Your Majesty to the ministers? How did I bring disaster upon myself?"

"Father, the general is the leader of all the ministers and should be a role model for them."

"I'm already this old, how can I still be a role model? Do I have to go to the Shangshutai every day to watch them do their work?"

"Now that the world is unified, the next thing should be handed over to people like you. I have completed what I should do. Can't I hold a banquet to celebrate?"

Hu Guang was suddenly unable to refute.

When Yang Zong told Cao Mao about this, Cao Mao couldn't help laughing.

He didn't care about Hu Zun's behavior.

He used his own salary to hold the banquet, and summoning the ministers did not delay their work. They were meritorious ministers, so what was wrong with indulging himself in Luoyang?

It's no big deal.

Yang Zong said, "I think Hu Zun is deliberately defaming himself so that Your Majesty won't be wary of him. After Sima Shi, the position of general has become more sensitive. Although Hu Zun wants to get this position, I'm afraid he is also a little afraid."

"He has already issued orders to his sons, instructing them to strictly instruct their offspring and close associates not to bring him any harm. He has also sent people to pacify the situation and warn his clan to strictly observe etiquette and not violate the law. If he were to learn of this, he would certainly kill his own family for the sake of justice and show no mercy."

Cao Mao shook his head. "It's not necessarily self-desecration. I just want to enjoy my old age after completing my great cause. Don't worry about it."

Cao Mao then asked, "Where are the ministers of Wu?"

It turned out that after Sun Hao came to Luoyang, the army returned to Luoyang one after another, and this time they brought with them the rest of the people, many ministers of the Wu State, and the clan members of the Sun family, etc.

After these people arrived in Luoyang, they were temporarily placed under house arrest.

Yang Zong replied, "I have already met with them. Those important officials do not seem to have any intention of resisting and are willing to serve Your Majesty. However, these people must not be allowed to return to Wu."

"They are different from the Shu people. Although there are many powerful families in Shu, they dare not openly seek benefits for their own clans. However, these people have been colluding with each other and seeking benefits for a long time. If Your Majesty releases them back to Wu, I am afraid it will be disadvantageous to Chen Tai and others."

"Your Majesty, you can keep those important officials and let them stay in the court to appease the people of Wu and allow them to have a say in the court."

"As for the rest, I believe they can be assigned to various locations in the Central Plains and given official positions according to their previous ranks and abilities."

Cao Mao calmly took out a memorial that Lu Kai had given him, which recorded the situations of many ministers in Wu.

Lu Kai and Lu Kang are indeed the two most outstanding people in Jiangdong.

Lu Kai had seen what was going to happen a long time ago, and he also knew that the Wei State would definitely take action against the Jiangdong clans. His early surrender directly allowed his clan to be preserved.

This document was also prepared by Lu Kai for Cao Mao a long time ago, and was used to understand the many ministers in Jiangdong.

With this thing in hand, Cao Mao had a clear understanding of the situation of the surrendered ministers of Wu.

Yang Zong stood aside without saying a word, but Cao Mao began to look through it carefully.

Cao Mao had read this document countless times.

They're almost all torn to pieces.

Cao Mao also had an idea of the situation of the ministers of the Wu State.

The situation of talent in the State of Wu was very strange.

They have many elderly ministers and many outstanding young people, but there are very few capable generals and ministers in their prime, that is, between the ages of 35 and 60.

Unlike the Wei State, they experienced a generational gap, which is actually understandable.

The main reason was that there were too many internal struggles in the Wu State. That generation of people was unlucky and was involved in too many struggles. In the process of the struggle between powerful officials, there were too many casualties.

Cao Mao also had an idea about how to arrange for these people. He would give the older ones honorary official titles and support them.

Occasionally, a few that are still usable are placed in the three machines as assistants.

As for the younger ones, they can be placed in local areas to hone their skills.

Cao Mao smiled and said, "The ministers in the court are all anxious to deal with these people. Perhaps they are afraid that their promotion will affect their own interests, or perhaps they simply dislike these people, whom they call southerners."

"I have received over twenty memorials alone regarding the proper handling of Wu's surrendered ministers and informing them that these people are different from the Shu people."

"These wise men under my command are too impatient and cannot learn to be steady. The more anxious they are to exclude and suppress these Wu people, the more I want to promote them." Just as Cao Mao was talking to Yang Zong, Cheng Ji walked in again in a hurry.

"Your Majesty!! Zhang Jun is back!"

Cao Mao stood up suddenly and asked, "Is Maoxian back?"

"exactly."

"Moxian!"

Cao Mao shouted loudly, turned around and ran outside. Looking at the emperor who disappeared in a flash, Yang Zong sighed and shook his head.

Just now he said that the ministers were not steady enough!
Cao Mao hurried to the outside of Taiji Hall, where Zhang Hua was standing waiting for him.

"Moxian!"

Cao Mao shouted again, and Zhang Hua looked over quickly. Seeing Cao Mao walking towards him quickly, Zhang Hua was shocked and hurried forward to pay his respects.

"Zhang Hua pays respect to His Majesty!!"

"Get up! Get up!"

Cao Mao hurriedly helped this trusted and beloved minister up and then looked him over.

Zhang Hua looked much rougher than before. When he was still in Luoyang, he was a tender-skinned young man without even a beard. If you didn't know him, you would think he was a eunuch serving Cao Mao.

But after staying in Shu for such a long time, he had undergone a huge change.

His skin color became darker, he grew a beard, his eyes became brighter, and his temperament became much more stable.

Cao Mao couldn't help but sigh, "I'm sorry you've suffered so much!"

Zhang Hua was also looking at the emperor in front of him. The emperor looked more majestic than before.

When the emperor and his minister met, Cao Mao grabbed Zhang Hua's hand and walked towards the West Hall.

"You're finally back! Chen Tai and Wang Jing left together, leaving vacancies in the Shangshutai. I was just worried about what to do!"

Zhang Hua asked, "Did Lord Chen go to Wu?"

"Yes, I asked him to do it. How's the situation on your side?"

"Deng Ai didn't cause any trouble, did he?"

Zhang Hua shook his head. "Mr. Deng is fine, but the local officials are quite wary of him. A few even advised me that it might be inappropriate for Mr. Deng to stay in Shu."

"This is all because I was scared by Deng Ai back then."

The two of them talked and chatted as they walked into the West Hall.

Yang Zong was standing at the door, and Zhang Hua hurriedly bowed to greet him. Yang Zong just returned the greeting and didn't say much. They were not very close.

The two of them walked into the West Hall, and Cao Mao pulled Zhang Hua to sit next to him, doting on her to the extreme.

"Maoxian, you've been traveling a lot, and you've become so dark."

Yang Zong watched the two of them chatting idly and cleared his throat. "Your Majesty, I will wait outside."

The two chatted for a long time, and Zhang Hua took the initiative to talk about the demise of the Wu Kingdom.

"I was in Hanzhong when I learned of the fall of Wu. I couldn't sleep at night and summoned all the officials to inform them of the situation. The officials from Shu were very surprised and became more respectful, while the officials from the Central Plains became even more arrogant."

Speaking of this incident, Zhang Hua couldn't help but talk about the issue of discrimination between different places.

Because of years of war, the hatred between Wei, Shu and Wu spread to their people.

This was finally reflected in the officials. The old Wei officials who came from the Central Plains were quite contemptuous of the new local officials.

After all, he was from the old Zhengcao Banner, and he faced these people with the attitude of a conqueror, which led to Zhang Hua having to deal with these guys who deliberately provoked trouble in the early stage.

As a result, just when they were under pressure, the Shu people here started to jump up and cause trouble again.

Zhang Hua is now worried that the same situation will occur in the State of Wu.

"Now that the war is almost over, we can appropriately disarm and reduce military spending, and then gradually lower various taxes across the country."

Cao Mao said calmly, "As long as the people of these two regions can live better than before, the barriers between them will gradually disappear. We are all originally citizens of the Later Han Dynasty, but we were coerced by the bandits and refused to submit after the Wei Dynasty succeeded the Later Han Dynasty."

"I can even educate the Qiang and Hu people, so why should I worry that the people of these two places won't be loyal to me?"

"The officials assigned to these areas must be carefully considered. Corrupt and treacherous officials must be avoided. Furthermore, the Ministry of Industry must also be diligent in promoting advanced machinery and technology in the south as quickly as possible. I have heard that many technologies in the south are still relatively backward, far inferior to those in the north."

"Reducing taxes, improving governance, and teaching technology—if these three are combined, the people of these areas will surely return within ten years!"

"I will also set up drums in various places, allowing the people of Shu and Wu to directly inform me when they encounter grievances and unfair treatment!"

"Emperor Yao beat the drum, and the whole world was united"

(End of this chapter)