The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 657 Virtue is not worthy of its place
After Chen Tai left, Zheng Mao, who was the Minister of Personnel, became the new Zuo Pushe.

The contributions of many Shangshu were actually great, but overall, Zheng Mao's political achievements were the greatest.

He plowed the bureaucracy of Cao Wei for Cao Mao, dismissed those incompetent and mediocre people, dealt with those cunning and evil people, and promoted a large number of capable officials.

During the five years before and after, Zheng Mao promoted more than 4,000 officials. These people were distributed throughout Cao Wei, with different ranks. Occasionally, some made mistakes and were punished, but the rest were qualified.

Even Cao Mao, a man of foresight, might not be able to match Zheng Mao's ability to judge people.

He could judge an official's character and know where to send him based on his daily profile and past political achievements.

He rebuilt the bureaucratic system of the Wei Dynasty and completed the renewal.

After years of training, his talents had improved. Every time Cao Mao wanted to employ people or give out rewards and make decisions, he would first send someone to ask the Ministry of Personnel for their opinions.

Cao Mao could not neglect such a minister with great contributions, so he let him replace Chen Tai and become the second-in-command of the Secretariat, his status only second to Wang Chang.

Everyone was convinced by the result, even the third-in-command Zhong Hui had no objection.

This was not because Zheng Mao was good-looking, but mainly because Zhong Hui also recognized his talents. When it came to judging people, this guy was really good.

When Zhong Hui was drawing up a list of officials for the State of Wu, he would quietly discuss with Zheng Mao. It is hard to say that Zhong Hui was asking for advice, it can only be said that he was discussing, and the results of the discussion would often allow Zhong Hui to suddenly see the light.

It was also for this reason that Zhong Hui respected him very much, even more than he respected Wang Chang.

As for the position of Minister of Personnel, Cao Mao wanted to give it to Zhang Hua.

As soon as this idea came out, it caused dissatisfaction among many ministers.

Just because Zhang Hua is really too young.

When Zhong Hui took up this position at his age, he still encountered opposition, let alone Zhang Hua?

Want to be a minister?

Wait until you are forty!

Even Zhang Hua himself didn't dare to accept it.

Originally, when he was in Shu, he was more like a military supervisor. He was not responsible for the actual governance. It was equivalent to the emperor temporarily sending a confidant to keep an eye on it.

If it is just a name without substance, people won't care that much about it.

But now, this Shangshu has real power.

Cao Mao hesitated again and again, and finally had no choice but to let Zhang Hua be a Lang in the Ministry of Personnel. As for the position of Minister of Personnel, he gave it to Hua Yi, who had just been promoted from the position of Governor of Jingzhou.

Hua Yi was the son of Hua Biao. He was an extremely upright person. He never went along with others in corruption and never tried to curry favor with the powerful. He was a man of practical ability and had some of Hua Xin's legacy.

People working in the Ministry of Personnel may not have talents greater than Zheng Mao, but their character must be up to standard.

Let alone the Minister of Personnel, even if he picked a small official from the Ministry of Personnel, he would be flattered by everyone outside. After all, this place is of great importance. If he can make friends with the people here, then why would he be afraid of not being able to become an official?

Wang Rong was corrupted quickly after working in the Ministry of Personnel for a few months, and went from being a famous scholar admired by the whole world to a corrupt official.

Hua Yi is a trustworthy person.

As for Zhang Hua, he will temporarily serve as Hua Yi's deputy and help him with his work in the Ministry of Personnel.

That night, Zhong Hui found Cao Mao and told him that there was a shortage of talented people at the time and that many ministers were unworthy of their positions.

Of course, when Zhong Hui was talking about this, Zhang Hua was standing by.

Zhang Hua is still a cavalryman, so he can accompany the emperor.

After Zhong Hui came in, he didn't even look at Zhang Hua. He sat next to Cao Mao and started talking about the issue of talent.

Although he didn't say who it was, every word was heart-wrenching, and he almost said that Zhang Hua and others were serving as Shangshu Lang.

Zhong Hui didn't like Zhang Hua, and he didn't like Hua Yi either.

Hua Yi is also not very old and he is not very handsome.

Cao Mao pretended not to hear anything and listened carefully to Zhong Hui's story.

"So, what do you think Shiji should do to increase the number of talented people in the country?"

"Of course, we should follow the example of Emperor Wen and establish many schools."

"Your Majesty, in recent years, the court has been busy with civil administration, agriculture, and military affairs. This teaching matter has only been done in conjunction with the civil administration, but has not officially started."

"This has led to a chaotic situation within the country, with many ministers who are unworthy of their positions emerging. Even these incompetent people are responsible for promoting talent within the Wei Dynasty. How can incompetent people promote talented people?"

"I believe that the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites can work together to solve the school's problems and increase the country's talent pool. If they can't even do this, then they are not qualified officials!"

Zhang Hua seemed to be lost in thought.

After Zhong Hui left with an unhappy look on his face, Cao Mao smiled and said, "Don't worry about it. Zhong Shiji still thinks highly of you and often mentions you to me." Zhang Hua remained calm, unconcerned. He spoke, "Your Majesty, what Mr. Zhong said is not without reason. Now that the world is pacified and your majesty's territory has expanded, it's time to focus your energy on educating the world. While the imperial examinations can promote useful and virtuous people, only teaching can unearth more talents."

"When I was in Shu, I once had a conversation with a famous local scholar."

"This man is very contemptuous of today's wise men, saying that today's brave generals are far inferior to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, and today's counselors are far inferior to Zhuge Liang and Fa Zheng."

"I told him: It's not that there aren't brave warriors like Guan Yu and Zhang Fei today, it's just that under the rule of the Holy King, they don't have to go out and fight, and can stay at home and do their own business."

"It's not that there aren't wise men like Zhuge Liang and Fa Zheng today. It's just that under the rule of a sage king, there's no need for life-and-death struggles. They're all at home, concentrating on studying the classics."

Zhang Hua added, "There are certainly talented people in the world. If we can discover and cultivate them, and make them useful to the government, then a prosperous era will be achieved."

"Hahaha, that makes sense."

"Your answer is truly clever. According to you, there won't be another Guan Yu or Zhang Fei in the world, which is actually quite a good thing."

"I will discuss this matter with Hua Yi and others. By now, the child should be awake. Come on, let's go see Awen again!"

Cao Mao would usually only take his trusted ministers to meet his children.

For example, only a few ministers such as Zhong Hui, Guanqiu Jian, and Wang Chang had such privileges.

The other ministers could not even see him, but Zhang Hua was taken to see Awen many times.

Zhang Hua really liked this child.

Zhang Hua also had a son named Zhang Yi, but he was still very young and not old enough to go to the Imperial College.

"Your Highness looks very similar to Your Majesty. In the future, he will surely become a man as mighty as Your Majesty!"

Cao Mao couldn't help but burst into laughter, his laughter full of pride.

"What? School?"

“Who came up with this?”

Pei Xiu raised his head, his eyes full of anger.

Ever since being forgiven by Cao Mao, this guy has started to live a bad life again.

The letter of enlightenment he submitted has become an important basis for Cao Mao to govern the barbarians. Because of this great contribution, Cao Mao tolerated this guy's passive work.

Pei Xiu is most afraid of trouble. He works seriously and basically does not make any mistakes. He starts to enjoy himself after finishing the work. In the past, he would take some medicine or something.

Now that His Majesty has forbidden the use of medicine, he drinks secretly.

The new Shangshu Hua Yi found him and told him about opening a school, and Pei Xiu immediately got furious.

Hua Yi frowned, very displeased with Pei Xiu's lazy look.

"Mr. Pei, this matter was ordered by His Majesty!"

"Do you intend to disobey His Majesty's decree?"

Pei Xiu waved his hand and said, "Even your father wouldn't dare to speak to me like that. Don't accuse me of a crime!"

"This matter was originally difficult to handle. During the reign of Emperor Wen, scholars of low birth could not participate in the Five Classics examinations. After completing their studies, they could only teach in schools across the country. This was a rule left by Emperor Wen and continued for many years. However, during the reign of the current emperor, he abolished this rule and allowed everyone to participate."

"Who's willing to take the initiative to teach in schools these days? They're all waiting for the imperial examinations to start."

"Building a school is not difficult, and recruiting students from all over the country is not a problem either, but they all need teachers to teach them. Can you conjure up teachers out of thin air?"

"If you can't, don't yell here!"

Pei Xiu's words shut Hua Yi up, and his face flushed. "Don't you realize how difficult this is? As a minister, you should share the king's worries, even if it means death! You are unworthy of being the Minister of State, receiving such great favor from His Majesty, yet you only know how to drink and entertain yourself, neglecting state affairs. I will definitely impeach His Majesty!"

Pei Xiu calmly listened to the man scolding him, then left angrily.

He shook his head.

I don’t know how Huabiao raised such a stupid and foolish child.

Governing the world and handling major affairs is not about who can shout the loudest slogans.

The person who raised this matter was deliberately trying to make things difficult for the Ministry of Personnel and his own Ministry of Rites.

It is easier said than done.

Pei Xiu stroked his chin. This was really troublesome. How should he solve this teacher's problem?

We can't arrest all the Wu people and make them teachers, right?
His Majesty the Emperor has exercised benevolent rule, yet I must bear the consequences. How about admonishing the Emperor? Asking him to emulate Emperor Wen's policies once again, and forcing those scholars of commoner origin to teach students?
No, if you advise me like this, you will definitely die a miserable death.

Who dug this pit for themselves with bad intentions? And this Hua Yi, why did he let such a young man be the Minister of Personnel? This guy is eager to jump into the pit. Oh, it's really not easy to stay in Luoyang and have a drink peacefully.

The sacrificial matter hadn't been completed yet, and another school matter came up.
(End of this chapter)