The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 692: Important Ministers of the State
Zhang Hua didn't expect that the emperor could be so complacent about such a thing.

Who would feel relieved when their own celebrities started fighting?

That's too much!

This is simply disgraceful!
Zhang Hua asked about the situation again.

This fight was mainly caused by the dispute over the King of Zheng.

The Zheng School and the Wang School have been fighting for many years, but it was not very intense at first, probably because the influence was limited to the academic scope.

But now it is different, this is related to the orthodoxy of official schools.

When Qiao Zhou picked up many of Xunzi's ideas again to oppose the current metaphysical theories and even prepared to cut off the foundation of Zheng's school of thought, the contradiction between the two sides suddenly intensified many times.

Wang Su's previous theories, even if accepted by the emperor, would only suppress Zheng's school of thought. However, once his current theoretical system is established, it will not be suppressed, but will be eliminated.

Sun Yan has begun to gather his disciples and friends from all over the country, preparing to defeat these guys who have no king or father and have no respect for destiny.

Qiao Zhou was not good at speaking, but he had someone backing him up.

Cao Mao was biased towards Qiao Zhou. Under Cao Mao's leadership, Qiao Zhou gained a lot of invisible power, which was far from being as simple as having only the support of the Xun family on the surface.

Xiahou He, Zhong Yu and others from the Imperial Academy actually all sided with Qiao Zhou.

Their own ideas may not necessarily be biased towards Qiao Zhou, but their stance is definitely on that side, otherwise they would not be able to sit in their current positions.

Cao Mao was not in a hurry.

It is almost impossible to carry out an academic reform that is completely against fate and destiny at this time.

The main thing is that he did not die. If he was killed in the street, more than a hundred years later, the emperor would be beaten on the dragon throne. This fatalism might be weakened a lot. But now, Cao Mao's outstanding performance will only strengthen this fatalism.

However, the situation where everyone is superstitious must be improved.

The spread of metaphysics must be curbed!
Cao Mao looked at Zhang Hua standing aside and said, "Qiao Zhou is a famous scholar, but he actually took the lead in causing trouble. This is really inappropriate. You should try to dissuade him."

Zhang Hua asked, "What about Sun Yan and the others?"

"There will be people on their side who will try to dissuade them."

"Let the Minister of Justice Wei Shu go."

"only"

"For matters like this, you should handle them yourself if you can. There's no need to inform me of everything."

Cao Mao understood very well that although this idea of governing the country was also a big deal, it was not the most important thing. The most urgent task of the government at present was to seize the time to deal with those aristocratic families.

At this moment, Du Yu also formally submitted a memorial according to the suggestions put forward by Lu Kang.

That is, the temple hired the tenants to carry out construction and reclamation.

As soon as this proposal was made, the academic event that was causing a stir in Luoyang was suppressed.

The government spent money to employ people, which had never happened before. Many ministers thought this was absurd. It had always been the people who paid the government, so how could the government pay the people?
Besides, can the national treasury withstand such turmoil?
Because this matter was so controversial, Cao Mao had no choice but to hold a court meeting to discuss it.

Cao Mao sat in the upper seat, looking at the well-dressed and righteous ministers sitting on his left and right.

They really seem to be more righteous than each other.

They were unwilling to speak out on the issue of the land reward order because this matter was directly related to their interests. If they spoke rashly, they would easily be criticized by the emperor.

And it doesn't get any good reputation.

Since they have no legitimate reasons, can they still refute us by saying that it is because we earn too little?
To do so would bring ruin upon them.

Just like the original Mr. Deng who was unable to get over the problem.

But when it comes to the issue of tenants, they are not afraid.

On the surface, this has no direct relationship with them. After all, these people have separated from them and are no longer under their control. They have no relationship with each other.

But in reality, if the government cannot deal with so many tenants, or if the people gather together to rebel,
Then they would have legitimate reasons to oppose the land reward order.

There is not enough arable land and the people cannot make a living. It is obvious that the big families have given them jobs and guaranteed their livelihoods. Even if they work like slaves for the big families, they cannot repay their kindness. We occupy so much arable land not because of greed, but because we want to help these homeless people!

How kind and generous our people are! How kind-hearted they are!

They also believed that if the government could not deal with the tenant problem and found that a large number of tenants would become a destabilizing factor for the Wei Dynasty after leaving their masters, then the land reward order would definitely be revised and changed.

They did not dare to oppose Cao Mao openly, but behind the scenes, they wanted to do a lot of things.

But at this moment, they looked at Cao Mao with respect in their eyes and sincere expressions. Each of them was a wise minister who served the country and the people.

Cao Mao sat in the upper seat, with a gentle light in his eyes as he looked at them. He was a benevolent and righteous king who respected the wise and humble.

"His Majesty!"

The first one to stand up was Xun Yi.

After the land reward order was issued, Xun Yi's family suffered a lot, as they had a large amount of arable land.

In addition, there are also quite a few people who have been concealed by them.

Just look at Xun Yi, what kind of property does he have?

He owned hundreds of mansions, and over a thousand hectares of fertile farmland—not just mu. He employed thousands of servants and tens of thousands of tenants. Regarding this situation, the aforementioned anti-Mandate of Heaven scholar, Zhong Changtong, remarked, "The wealthy have hundreds of mansions, fertile fields, and slaves numbering in the tens of thousands!"

It is said that the Mi family in Xuzhou had tens of thousands of servants.

As for money, it is measured in billions.

I guess they can't even figure it out themselves.

Under such circumstances, the land reward order would really cost them their lives!

No matter how much they divide it, they can't get so much arable land.

The person responsible for counting these was Wei Guan. Wei Guan was an extremely fair person and did not care about personal feelings at all.

The first ones he came to investigate were these big clans.

This is not a robbery. It doesn't mean that you have 10,000 acres of arable land, but the temple only allows you to have 2,000 acres, and the remaining 8,000 acres must be handed over to the emperor.

Rather, it means that if you have 10,000 acres, because of your official title, you can be exempt from paying taxes on 2,000 acres, but you must pay taxes on the remaining acres! They still have the right to deal with these arable lands.

However, because the tenants have left, it would be difficult for them to keep the farmland even if they wanted to. They could choose to sell it, but they are still delaying and trying every means to keep it.

Xun Yi stood up at this moment with a solemn expression.

He dared to be the first to speak out in opposition because he felt that he had just helped the emperor support Qiao Zhou not long ago, and the emperor still had some use for him. Even if he spoke out now, he should not be removed.

He said, "Your Majesty, I think what Minister Du said is extremely inappropriate!"

"There are a large number of vagrants everywhere. How much food would be needed to feed them? Has Minister Du ever calculated this?"

"Ministry Du said they could be used to reclaim land. How long would it take to create arable land? Does that mean the government has to support them all the time?"

"That doesn't make sense!"

"To achieve unification, the Wei Kingdom has fought numerous wars, including conquering Shu and destroying Wu, all of which consumed a vast amount of resources. Yet, Your Majesty has exempted the Southern Kingdom from taxes, allowing them to avoid paying grain in recent years. Now, you are abusing national resources like this. This is not good governance!"

When Xun Yi said this, all the ministers spoke in favor of him.

The next person to stand up was Zhong Yu.

"Your Majesty, the Minister's policy makes some sense, but I am worried that the court cannot sustain such a large expenditure. If the national treasury is empty and another disaster occurs, it will be a disaster. The financial resources of the national treasury must always be maintained at a certain level and cannot be consumed too completely."

Zhuge Dan also stood up.

"Your Majesty, I believe what Duke Xun says is reasonable. Settling the rabble will only weaken the prefectures and counties and empty the treasury. I believe it would be better to establish military settlements, allowing them to cultivate the land on the frontiers, become self-sufficient, and replenish the frontier population."

Cao Mao also knew that those ministers who opposed Du Yu probably did not all have selfish motives.

"That makes sense!!"

Then a man suddenly stood up. When he stood up, all the ministers couldn't help but look at him.

That’s right, the person who stood up was Zhong Hui.

Today's Zhong Hui is different from the past.

This minister who led the Shangshu Pushe became a well-known figure in the court.

His position is very prominent. He has participated in most of the decisions made in the government over the years, and the specific implementation is also carried out under his rule.

In addition, he was also able to obtain the status of participating in the Secretariat.

In fact, there was no such official position in the Wei Dynasty. It was created entirely for Zhong Hui personally.

This is involved in formulating affairs.

In other words, he is a person who can basically interfere with the decision-making, formulation and implementation of government policies.

He is even more powerful than the powerful ministers!

Although all the ministers hated him, it was undeniable that he had a say in the court.

In addition, according to unreliable rumors, the emperor was preparing to promote Zhong Hui to one of the Three Dukes.

After Wang Su's death, the position of Situ has remained vacant.

It is said that this position was reserved for Zhong Hui.

If he could really become one of the Three Dukes at this age, none of the ministers would know how far he would go in the end.

When Xun Yi saw him stand up, he couldn't help but frown. He always felt that this guy would do something bad.

He looked at Zhong Yu who was standing beside him.

Zhong Yu just half-closed his eyes and turned a blind eye to all this.

Zhong Hui looked at the crowd with a smile, "I also think Du Yu's policies are not good. I still agree more with Lu Shangshu's government affairs. Nowadays, most of the arable land in the world is controlled by those incompetent villains. I think there is no need to waste energy and let the court bear this. We can simply confiscate the property of all places and severely punish those lawless villains!"

"The Zhao family in Wen County was able to seize thousands of acres of fertile land. How many people could be resettled with this? If all places were to do the same, I think the resettlement problem would be solved!"

The temple suddenly fell silent.

ps: My biological clock is reversed, and I always write until 3 or 4 o'clock these days. Allow me to adjust my biological clock today and continue to work hard tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)