The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 739 No mercy
The hairpin was indeed the murder weapon.

The hairpin was smeared with a deadly poison, and the female assassin herself also took poison before coming to assassinate, in order to prevent her from falling into the hands of others and being recognized by her accomplices.

The female assassin died of poison shortly after being subdued.

This incident immediately caused a great shock, and the eunuchs were furious.

"How dare you do that?!"

"How dare you do that?!"

Since the founding of the Wei Kingdom, such a terrible thing has never happened. However, the Wei Kingdom did such a thing to its enemies. The Wei general who assassinated Fei Yi actually had his original target as Liu Chan, but because he could not get close to him, he could only attack Fei Yi. The final result directly led to the demise of the Shu Kingdom.

There are even rumors that Sun Ce's assassination was related to the Cao Wei forces, but this is a bit far-fetched.

However, things like this can only be done by the State of Wei, and no one else can do it to the State of Wei.

I would rather stab others than be stabbed by others!!

While the eunuchs were getting anxious, Cao Mao was chatting with Man Changwu calmly.

"From now on, you have to be careful. What if you get hurt by that poison hairpin?"

"Don't let anything happen to you! If anything happens to you, I won't have any captains around me!"

As Cao Mao spoke, Man Changwu just nodded without saying a word.

Man Changwu is a very good person to chat with, which is something Cao Mao discovered recently. When he is with him, he can chat freely and he will listen very carefully, without interrupting or asking too many questions, just nodding.

This guy must be a favorite with his wife at home!

Cao Mao gestured at the memorial in his hand and said, "I have even found out the identities of the participants. I was too lenient at the beginning and showed leniency to those who committed serious crimes."

"This is the fish that slipped through the net earlier. He's Gao Rou's grandson!"

When he heard Gao Rou's name, Man Changwu's eyes finally showed some surprise.

The emperor had directly executed all three clans of Gao Rou, but had spared one person? If so, it would not be an exaggeration to say that there was a deep blood feud.

"The participants are not just these few people on the surface. They know my itinerary and can accurately predict the time when I will approach the city. They even know my personality, hahaha~~"

Cao Mao laughed.

"Let's talk about it when we get back."

Cao Mao and his entourage continued to advance towards Luoyang. Of course, the eunuchs, carrying Cao Mao's edict, had already rushed to Luoyang on horseback.

Before Cao Mao arrived in Luoyang, the important officials in Luoyang were almost in an uproar.

The first person to learn the news was Shangshu Ling Wang Chang.

Wang Chang repeatedly asked about the emperor's condition. Only after he learned that everything was fine did he breathe a sigh of relief, but his face turned pale. He immediately sent someone to inform Xiahou Xian and asked him to send people to block the surrounding areas and capture suspicious people.

Zhong Hui only learned about this news later, and even heard it from Pei Xiu, which made Zhong Hui very angry.

But he was also very concerned about Cao Mao's situation.

Almost all of this is maintained by Cao Mao. If something happens to the emperor, no matter who succeeds him, those policies will no longer be implemented.

Cao Mao forcibly promoted many of his policies by relying entirely on his own prestige in achieving great unification.

He really is the key to all problems.

When Cao Mao's carriage arrived outside Luoyang City, the ministers had already come out to greet him. They all looked very anxious, until they saw Cao Mao getting off the carriage unharmed, and then they breathed a sigh of relief.

Cao Mao met his ministers with a smile.

"My Lord, while I was away, has anything major happened in Luoyang?"

Wang Chang looked at the emperor in front of him and then said, "Your Majesty, everything is fine in Luoyang. I just heard that something serious has happened here."

Cao Mao shook his head. "It's not a big deal. It's just some traitors who want to kill the king."

Cao Mao said it lightly, but the ministers couldn't help but shudder.

Cao Mao continued, "I thought something big had happened in Luoyang. I didn't encounter anything when I left, but when I returned, I was assassinated. Some people said that this was because something had happened in Luoyang and someone didn't want me to return!"

Upon hearing this, Zhong Hui hurried forward, stood to Cao Mao's left, and warned him, "Your Majesty, I just proposed to reform the nobility system, and you were assassinated. Isn't this because of those who oppose this policy?"

Wang Chang couldn't hold it in any longer, his face flushed, "Zhong Shiji! Today I will definitely fight with you..."

Cao Mao was very displeased, "Is this how you govern the world when I'm away?!"

After he questioned this, the arrogance of both men weakened.

Cao Mao snorted coldly, ignored them, turned around and got into the car, then walked towards his own palace surrounded by his ministers.

Cao Mao knew that this matter had nothing to do with Wang Chang and others and was completely unreasonable.

Perhaps Zhong Hui was even more likely than him to pretend to arrange an assassin in order to fulfill his policy.

But Zhong Hui was not a complete madman, and it was impossible for him to do such a shameless thing.

When Cao Mao returned to the palace, all the ministers were ready for the court meeting. However, Cao Mao did not convene the court meeting and even lifted the alert for the entire Sili area. He only left a few important ministers and led them into the West Hall.

Sitting in the West Hall, the important officials of the three platforms sat on Cao Mao's left and right respectively.

Cao Mao then spoke, "During my time away, Yongzhou encountered numerous problems. Governor Zhuge Xu was often partial to local officials, allowing them to commit evil acts! He has failed my high hopes!"

“He’s not the only one who failed to live up to expectations.”

Cao Mao's eyes slowly shifted to Zhuge Dan who was sitting beside him.

Zhuge Dan looked unhappy, lowered his head and said nothing.

"General, your relationship with him is truly touching. Could you also tell him how to respond to my inquiries?"

"The Grand Marshal truly cares for the young men of the clan. I cannot help but admire him!"

After hearing these words, Zhuge Dan became restless.

For a celebrity like him who values his reputation, this incident is even more painful than killing him.

When Cao Mao was conducting a strict inspection of Tongguan, Zhuge Xu wrote to Zhuge Dan to ask for countermeasures. Zhuge Dan could not ignore the younger generation of his family, so he taught him some ways to deal with the emperor.

Who would have thought that the emperor would know about this?

Zhuge Dan's lips trembled violently. He wanted to say something but didn't know how to start.

These guys who come from big families are not without talent or merit, it’s just that their selfishness is too strong!
It really can’t be changed!
Zhuge Xu had participated in major battles in the past and had military merits. It cannot be said that he had no contributions in Yongzhou. This was the reason why Cao Mao did not punish him severely.

As for Zhuge Dan, it was even more so. He was even the commander who destroyed Shu.

But even such a person cannot change his inherent habits and will still favor his own relatives.

Of course, anyone will favor his or her own relatives when encountering problems, and there is nothing wrong with that, but this kind of favoritism cannot appear on these pampered ministers, especially it cannot conflict with state affairs!
Under Cao Mao's gaze, Zhuge Dan's expression became increasingly ugly.

He stood up trembling.

He slowly looked at Cao Mao.

"Pfft~~~"

Blood suddenly spurted out of Zhuge Dan's mouth and he fell to the ground immediately.

Wei Shu, who was standing by, was quick to support him and prevent Zhuge Dan from falling to the ground.

Cao Mao remained unmoved and said calmly, "Send someone to escort the Grand Marshal back to his residence."

Many ministers looked at each other in confusion.

Zhuge Dan had already achieved success and fame, and would soon be able to enjoy a peaceful life, but suddenly something like this happened.

Zhuge Xu was the same. He knew that what His Majesty feared most was collusion among the big families to oppose him, but he still wrote a letter to Zhuge Dan asking him what to do.

Now he lost his official position and destroyed his clan’s support.

I’m afraid something big is going to happen to the Zhuge family of Langya.

Cao Mao continued to talk about Shi Jian's problem.

"I've already investigated Shi Jian. He's been lying about his achievements and committing fraud for a long time. And yet, the Ministry of Personnel was completely unaware of him!"

Cao Mao did not mention his assassination attempt, but instead talked about the many problems in Yongzhou.

This was something the ministers had never thought of.

Cao Mao talked about the eight problems he found in Yongzhou and asked the three officials to solve them as soon as possible.

After finishing all this, Cao Mao talked about the assassination case.

"There are quite a few people implicated in this assassination attempt. They think they have it all figured out. In reality, the Dianshi Mansion has been keeping an eye on these people for a long time, so there's no need for you to worry too much."

"If you dare to do such a treasonous thing, then don't blame me for being unkind."

"Anyone involved in this matter will have their entire clan executed."

All the ministers lowered their heads, and no one dared to speak out in opposition. They were unwilling to talk about this matter, fearing that it would affect themselves. At the same time, they could only pray that their relatives and friends would not get involved in such things.

After reading out a few important matters, Cao Mao let them leave.

All the ministers left the Taiji Hall one by one, except Zhong Hui who stayed.

After the ministers left, Zhong Hui quickly said, "Your Majesty, this must have been done by a powerful family in Yanzhou."

Cao Mao was stunned and looked at him in surprise, "Why do you think so?"

"I already know that the Wu people received the letter, so I can rule out the Wu people as suspects. If the evildoers achieve their goal, they will be buried with the dead no matter what. They will not do such a thing."

"Then there are the various places in Hanoi where the letter was sent. They chose to send it from Hanoi because Your Majesty has the most enemies in Hanoi, such as the Zhao family, the Sima family, the Zhang family, and many other powerful families. But this is also wrong. Do they dare to send such a letter from their own hometown?"

"This is to turn the court's attention to Hanoi and the Wu people."

(End of this chapter)