The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 708 Guiyi Hou

Li Wei looked at Liu Yuan beside him, his eyes full of astonishment.

Zhong Hui continued, "Lord Tuoba, you have a great reputation within the Tuoba tribe, and it is not impossible for the Tuoba tribe to rise again."

Li Wei's eyes widened. Rise? ?
Our country has been destroyed, and you still talk about rising?
Zhong Hui said seriously: "Just look at the Xiongnu today and you will understand."

"Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, more than twenty Xiongnu have enrolled in the Imperial Academy."

"Among those who hold official titles, there are four with rank exceeding 2,000 dan, and more than a hundred who have passed the assessment."

"Take my useless disciple for example. He is still young now. In another thirty years, he might be able to inherit my legacy and become the chief minister of the Great Wei."

“Isn’t this the rise of the Huns?”

"I believe that within a hundred years, the Xiongnu Liu clans throughout Bingzhou will become a great clan respected by the world."

Tuoba Liwei looked a little dazed, hesitant to speak.

Zhong Hui continued, "Your Majesty once said that past emperors all valued the Central Plains over the four corners, but I alone love them as my only love."

"As long as they possess talent and virtue, Your Majesty does not care about their background. Many of the Tuoba people have been resettled in various counties in Youzhou. Your Majesty has sent officials to inform the local governors to treat them well, provide them with shelter and food, lead them in reclamation and construction, allow them to own their own farmland, allow their children to attend school, and allow the virtuous among them to participate in assessments."

"All of this is enough to show that Your Majesty treats people from all corners of the world equally!"

"You are now in Luoyang, but you have not yet received a title from the Great Wei. Why is that? Because you have not yet demonstrated your loyalty to His Majesty!"

"A true man, how can he be idle and inactive? If he cannot achieve great things outside the Great Wall, why not make achievements in the Central Plains?"

Li Wei understood a little.

"Mr. Zhong wants me to go to His Majesty and help appease these people and promote talented people among them for His Majesty."

"I just expressed my thoughts. It's up to you to decide how to proceed."

Zhong Hui only said this and did not go into details.

Tuoba Liwei seemed to be lost in thought. The two of them discussed for a long time before Liwei said goodbye and left.

Zhong Hui personally escorted him to the door.

After watching the other party's carriage gradually disappear, the smile on Zhong Hui's face disappeared.

In fact, it is very easy to conquer Tuoba. You just need to win over its upper-class nobles, bring them into the circle of benefits, and make them a member of the upper class. Then they will take the initiative to help the temple complete the education of the lower class.

Tuoba Liwei stayed in the mansion for a few days and finally couldn't bear it anymore.

He sent someone to report that he wanted to see the emperor.

Soon, someone from Cao Mao sent a message that the emperor would summon Tuoba Liwei to the East Hall.

This is the second time the two sides have met.

When they met in private, Cao Mao's attitude was much gentler and not as aggressive as before.

"Even at his age, Lord Tuoba can still endure the fatigue of traveling by boat and carriage, and he looks so energetic. He is truly extraordinary!"

Tuoba Liwei lived a very long life. Historically, he died of illness at the age of over 100.

At this moment, he didn't look that old. He still spoke with full energy and had a clear mind.

"Your Majesty, at such a young age, has accomplished such a great feat. You are truly extraordinary, a Holy King sent from Heaven!"

Tuoba Liwei was no longer as lifeless, tired and world-weary as before.

He looked at Cao Mao, his expression becoming more humble.

Cao Mao laughed. It seemed that the talk with Zhong Hui had some effect.

Tuoba Liwei was a man who could bend and stretch. After talking with Zhong Hui and others, he quickly put away all his dissatisfaction with Cao Mao. This time when he came to visit, his tone was humble and there was a kind of flattering intention.

"I used to be ignorant of Your Majesty's kindness and even wanted to challenge Your Majesty. Now that I think about it, I really don't know how to face Your Majesty. If Your Majesty can forgive my past sins, I am willing to follow Your Majesty and serve you wholeheartedly."

"I know that Your Majesty has arranged the Tuoba tribe in various places in Youzhou. I am willing to go to these places and tell them about Your Majesty's kindness, so that they will no longer have any thoughts of rebelling or leaving. As for my sons who are useless and still want to rebel against Your Majesty, I am willing to persuade them to come and surrender to Your Majesty."

Tuoba Liwei said a lot.

Cao Mao laughed and said, "If Lord Tuoba had thought this way before, why would he have resorted to violence?"

"I confer upon you the title of Marquis of Guiyi, a hereditary title. From now on, you can communicate more with Pei Xiu from the Ministry of Rites. He will advise you on what to do."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!!"

Tuoba Liwei hurriedly bowed to express his gratitude.

Cao Mao smiled and asked Yang Zong to send this man away.

The upper classes of the Hu people in various places today have been won over to become powerful and wealthy, and are now on the same boat with Cao Mao.

After these Hu leaders became Wei leaders, their tribes lost the ability to cause chaos.

Their numbers were originally small. If the more than 400,000 Tuoba people were scattered throughout Youzhou, it would be like sprinkling salt into the sea, which would melt as soon as it touched the sea and would not cause any ripples.

This is still in the sparsely populated Youzhou. If it were a little further inland, there would be even less to say.

Cao Mao wanted to complete the civilization of the surrounding barbarians within his own generation, just as the first emperor had done when he conquered the other states, with a unified script and a standard wheel gauge.
When Yang Zong returned from escorting the others, Cao Mao was already preparing. Looking at the puzzled Yang Zong, Cao Mao smiled and said, "If it weren't for Li Wei coming today, I would have almost forgotten that there's a minister in the country who's busy with important matters. Prepare the carriage, I'll go see if this minister is working diligently!"

Yang Zong understood immediately.

The carriage quickly left the palace and headed towards Pei Mansion.

Pei Xiu had to be attacked by surprise from time to time, otherwise he wouldn't work attentively.

When Cao Mao arrived at Pei Mansion, Pei Xiu's mansion was in chaos.

Cao Mao did not give them any chance to report and directly led everyone into the mansion.

The servants along the way bowed to him and Cao Mao walked towards the study with ease. When Cao Mao pushed open the door of the study, Pei Xiu was sitting in the study in a daze, with several doctors from the Imperial College sitting beside him.

There were documents in front of them, and they seemed to be discussing something important.

Seeing the emperor suddenly rush in, several people were shocked and hurriedly stood up to bow to him.

Cao Mao was extremely surprised by this.

When did Pei Xiu become so diligent?
He actually works in the mansion?
He sniffed and didn't smell any alcohol in the study.

Cao Mao looked at Pei Xiu with a half-smile, "I originally wanted to come to Pei Jun's place to ask for some wine, but I didn't expect Pei Jun to be busy with work."

Pei Xiu hurriedly said, "I haven't drunk alcohol for a long time. Today I summoned the Five Classics scholars to discuss matters concerning schools in various regions."

Cao Mao then smiled and sat on the upper seat. Pei Xiu sat beside him. Cao Mao looked at the people in front of him.

"So how did your discussion go?"

Education is also an area that Cao Mao attaches great importance to.

Whether from the perspective of breaking the academic monopoly of the aristocratic families or improving the overall national strength, this education cannot be underestimated.

Pei Xiu hurriedly talked about their recent negotiation plan.

Pei Xiu's original idea of having Tai students serve as teachers in various places has ushered in a new innovation.

Pei Xiu added a lot of new things.

And the first attempt is ready to go.

Pei Xiu selected more than 500 students from the Imperial College as the first group of teachers to go to various places.

Today, the local education system of the Wei Dynasty has not yet reached the point where every county has a county school. The official education system can only be maintained at the level of a county school.

Cao Mao also knew that he couldn't take too big a step. Given the current situation of the Wei Dynasty, it was already good enough for each county to have a county school.

At least scholars from all over the country who are interested in studying can have a place to receive a better education and have the space and opportunity to move up.

The population of the Wei Dynasty is not large at present, and there are even fewer scholars seeking to study. The significance of the county school is not great, unless Cao Mao wants to carry out compulsory enlightenment throughout the country and shift the target of education from scholars to children.

But considering the current situation of Wei, this is really unrealistic.

Let’s increase the number of scholars first.

Judging from Pei Xiu's words, he really hasn't been drinking and having fun for a while, and he has thought about this matter seriously.

"Your Majesty, besides these students, I have another idea."

"Oh, go ahead."

"I hope Your Majesty can promote more famous people to official positions."

Cao Mao's eyes narrowed immediately, and Pei Xiu quickly explained, "What I mean is that we should appoint more local academic officials and appoint more learned and famous scholars. These people have many disciples and are talented, so they will definitely play a huge role in local schools."

"Back in the Shu Kingdom, many famous scholars served as academic officials in various places. As a result, these famous scholars trained many students. For example, didn't Qiao Zhou hold such an official position in the Shu Kingdom?"

"Today, Luoyang is home to many of the world's most renowned scholars. They gather together all day long to debate academic matters, all they really want is to attract your Majesty's attention and be employed by you."

"Your Majesty, please promote someone from among these people and see how effective they are before promoting others. This will not only reduce academic conflicts within the Imperial Academy, but will also greatly promote education."

Cao Mao looked at the other doctors of the Imperial College.

"What do you think?"

These people nodded, "Minister Pei is absolutely right!"

"Okay, since you all think it's okay, let's try it first."

Cao Mao immediately ordered, "You all should withdraw first. I have other important matters to discuss with Pei Xiu."

Everyone stood up, saluted again, and hurried away.

Cao Mao then looked at Pei Xiu. He slowly took out a pot of wine from under Pei Xiu's desk and placed it on the desk.

Pei Xiu was silent for a moment, "Your Majesty, this is what I use to sharpen my mind."

Cao Mao laughed and raised the wine pot to look at it for a long time.

"There's still quite a bit left, stop pretending, and get someone to get some wine cups and some food!"

(End of this chapter)