The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 660: The Young Can Be Feared

"Mr. Pei has been very busy these days and is not very willing to meet with me."

"He dislikes Lord Hua, and therefore dislikes everyone in the Ministry of Personnel."

Cao Mao shook his head. This guy had a long list of bad deeds, just like Zhong Hui. He was arrogant and looked down on everyone. He always liked to show off and talk to everyone.

We still have to be a little stronger against this guy and hit him from time to time!
Luoyang has been extremely busy these days.

Ever since the emperor changed the reign title, the entire Wei Dynasty's government has been operating at high speed. In the past, the generals were busy, but now the government is responsible for cleaning up the mess.

With such a large territory suddenly being annexed, there are many things to deal with.

It’s still the old problem, the division of local counties.

This is quite a brain-racking matter.

If handled improperly, it may cause serious consequences.

The old ministers headed by Wang Chang have always believed that the prefectures and counties should be subdivided.

They wanted to establish several more states in the south. They even planned to split Jiaozhou into two, with Longchuan and other places as the core, and set up a Guangzhou to support Jiaozhou.

As for Jingyang, they also planned to subdivide the counties and prefectures, splitting those large counties into densely packed small counties.

However, the younger generation, led by Zhong Hui, opposed this division.

They believed that doing so would result in a waste of manpower, unnecessarily increase the temple's expenses, and create many extra positions.

Zhong Hui even publicly stated that Wang Chang and others set up more prefectures and counties in order to provide more opportunities for their own children, to increase the number of official positions, and to allow close relatives to become officials.

However, Lu Zhi opposed this view. He wrote to the emperor, arguing that Zhong Hui and others' proposal to integrate counties was not conducive to the governance of the court, but instead increased the risk of rebellion.

Both sides had their own arguments and the argument was fierce.

They not only want to redivide the South, they even want to redivide the entire world.

Because the world is now unified, many of the divisions in the past were made for the convenience of war. Now that there are no wars, more detailed divisions can be made.

For example, in You, officials proposed to add Pingzhou, in Yongliang area to add Qinzhou, and in Jingyang to add Jiangzhou and Xiangzhou.

Cao Mao did a rough calculation and according to the Secretariat, with this set of procedures, the Great Wei would have at least twenty-one states.

In fact, subdividing the states was a good thing for Cao Mao.

Because the state only needs to add inspectors, and the inspectors are the emperor's eyes and ears. When the imperial power is prosperous, the inspectors are the most powerful supervisors in the local area.

Cao Mao had more people responsible for supervision under his command, which was beneficial for consolidating power and governing the local area.

However, Cao Mao found it difficult to accept the idea of subdividing the counties.

Although from the perspective of governance, detailed division can indeed improve administrative efficiency, the official system required for adding one more county is different from that for a governor!

As a result, the temple's expenditure became extremely high.

After the abolition of the public land system, the government no longer had the same confidence as before. In the first two years, the government's income did not increase explosively again, but entered a stable stage with ups and downs.

This was due to too many wars and the fact that the newly conquered areas did not bring much economic benefits to the court.

Although Cao Wei conquered the world, in order to appease these places, Cao Mao issued tax exemption policies to Shu and Wu. The Wei court even had to spend money to build and repair the wounds left by the war.

This requires a lot of money and food.

Cao Mao had already begun thinking about reducing military spending to facilitate construction, and increasing spending at this time was something Cao Mao did not want to see.

As a result, the negotiations in the government came to a standstill.

Pei Xiu did not get involved in these trivial matters. He was still running around for school affairs.

During these days, he basically stayed in the Imperial Academy, discussing issues of educating the world with the doctors there.

It is actually not easy to convince them.

But Pei Xiu has his own way.

Wang Chang had just returned to the mansion when he learned that Pei Xiu had been waiting for him for a long time.

Pei Xiu is actually not very old, he is only one year older than Zhong Hui.

But because of his usual personality, Zhong Hui did not regard him as a threat.

He is younger than Wang Chang's son, but Wang Chang is very optimistic about this young man.

He always felt that Pei Xiu was a talented person who could be cultivated and that he was suitable to serve as the Minister of the Chancellery during times of peace.

If war or urgent matters needed to be dealt with, Pei Xiu wouldn't be a qualified minister. He was a bit lazy, fond of taking medicine and drinking, and didn't enjoy work or being proactive. But if the world was pacified, he would be an extremely outstanding minister. If he was in power, he would ensure that the entire country would not encounter any trouble. He hated trouble and would immediately extinguish any signs of trouble.

This was indeed the case with Pei Xiu in history. After this brother came to power, he was constantly impeached because of his personal moral issues.

However, he was assisting the good-natured An Shi at the time, and impeaching others in front of An Shi would generally not succeed. Pei Xiu was protected by An Shi, and immediately began to take charge of the Secretariat. Then, in an extremely safe manner, he allowed Sima Yan to complete the transition from King of Jin to Emperor of Jin, and no unfavorable events occurred. When he died of excessive mourning, the political affairs of the Western Jin Dynasty began to become chaotic.

Wang Chang looked at him with a smile, asked him to follow him into the study, and asked someone to pour him tea.

He said, "Among the many young men in the government today, I believe that only you and Du Yuankai can accomplish great things."

"Zhang Hua is too young and has been doted on, and Zhong Hui has no moral integrity. These two will not have a good ending!"

Pei Xiu lowered his head and said nothing.

Wang Chang couldn't help but complain a few more times before asking, "Mr. Pei came to see me. What's the matter?"

Pei Xiu then said, "I came to see you today for a personal matter, not for official business."

Wang Chang was stunned. "Your father and I are good friends. You can just speak frankly."

Pei Xiu then said, "Prince, His Majesty previously asked me to take charge of the teaching. As you know, the policies left by Emperor Wen no longer exist. This matter is no longer as simple as it used to be."

Wang Chang frowned and stroked his beard. He said, "I have heard about this matter. I heard that it was Zhong Hui who reported it. He also told outsiders that the current Ministry of Personnel and Ministry of Rites are unable to complete this task."

Pei Xiu narrowed his eyes. Sure enough, it was this guy! !

He continued, "Your Majesty insisted that I complete this task. I originally proposed that students must teach in local areas for a year before they can participate in the assessment."

"This is just a temporary solution. Current expenditures are enormous, and the government cannot accomplish this by simply increasing the salaries of academic officials."

After hearing Pei Xiu's words, Wang Chang fell into deep thought.

"This matter is of great importance. It will take a whole year."

Looking at Wang Chang, who seemed to be hesitating, Pei Xiu hurriedly said, "When you first submitted a memorial to rectify the civil service and proposed many strategies, you mentioned this matter."

"So I came to you this time to ask for your opinion."

Wang Chang did not rush to speak at this moment. Although Wang Chang came from a prominent family, he was still a wise minister who cared about the world and was not a dog of the clan. Otherwise, he would not have proposed so many policies to restrict the prominent families.

He hesitated now because Pei Xiu's idea sounded a bit risky.

In today's world where talented people are scarce, these people in the Imperial Academy are all treasures. They are the pillars of the future. Pei Xiu's policies should not destroy the prosperous situation of the Imperial Academy today, right?

Don't let the purpose of educating talents be achieved, and instead the Imperial Academy be disrupted. That would be a big problem.

Seeing the worry on Wang Chang's face, Pei Xiu continued, "I've already visited the Imperial Academy. They say my ideas might cause students to leave, and that the Imperial Academy has already lost its former status. They say my policies will further undermine it."

"After I went back, I thought a lot about it, and I felt that what they said didn't seem to be a problem."

"So I think we should change our thinking and submit a memorial to His Majesty. Don't just focus on the students. From now on, no matter who wants to become an official or participate in the assessment, they must first serve as a scholar for a full year!"

"This way, we're not just targeting the Imperial College, we're treating everyone equally!"

"Especially those children of wealthy families. They so desperately want to be officials and are already well-educated. If we let them serve as academic officials, wouldn't that solve the problem?"

Wang Chang's eyes widened.

Ah? ? ?
"Pei Jun! Don't be anxious for now!"

"If you do this, the impact will be even more serious than the Imperial College."

"You have to be calm. This is not an easy thing to do. Don't be so anxious!"

Pei Xiu suddenly stood up, his face flushed. "Don't you know how difficult this is? As a minister, you should share the king's worries, even if it means death! Since you are the Minister of the Chancellery and have received such favor from His Majesty, how can you dissuade me if you don't want to repay him?"

Wang Chang was stunned. What's wrong with this person?

Pei Xiu put his knowledge into practice immediately. "My Lord, since you are unwilling to help me, then allow me to return first. This time, I will work with the Ministry of Personnel to complete this matter. As long as I can relieve the king's worries, why should I fear the consequences? If anything goes wrong in the end, I will bear the consequences myself!"

Pei Xiu said this, turned around and left.

Wang Chang stood up and took a deep breath.

These young people nowadays! None of them are capable! They are all impatient and eager to make progress!
After these old ministers of mine pass away, the Wei Dynasty will be finished!

He quickly looked at the servants beside him, "Go and stop Pei Xiu for me! Also, quickly summon all the ministers from the Secretariat! Tell them that I have something very important to discuss with them!!"

P.S. My condition has improved. I finally stopped having a fever at night. A new volume has started, which may also be the last one. I will try to update it quickly from tomorrow. I will catch up with the previous ones even if my hands get broken!!!

(End of this chapter)