The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 741: The Descendant of Loyalty
Luoyang.

This is a long and narrow alley that leads directly to the mansion in the distance.

The mansion in the distance doesn't look very tall, but its special location shows that the past owner of this mansion must have been extraordinary.

The next moment, knights rushed here from all directions.

They quickly surrounded many entrances and exits, and then, led by a man who looked like a general, rushed into the mansion.

When they charged in with crossbows, the slaves hurriedly picked up weapons to defend themselves. After a volley of crossbow fire, the guys blocking the way fell to the ground one after another.

The general fought his way into the backyard.

The family members in the backyard screamed, and the soldiers hurried to subdue them. The generals searched among them but did not find their target, so they rushed all the way to the villa.

Only after they broke open the door did they see their target.

The man was standing in the sacrificial hall, still holding the spirit tablet in his hands and a long sword in his hand, looking at the soldiers angrily.

"Everyone, get out! Get out!!"

"My grandfather made great contributions to the Great Wei! If it weren't for my great-grandfather, would the Great Wei be as prosperous as it is today?!"

"The people have never forgotten my grandfather's kindness!!"

“They’re also going to build a temple to commemorate my grandfather!!”

This guy is not very old, but he looks like a madman. His eyes are red and he keeps roaring.

The leading general finally spoke.

"Mr. Yang, please don't embarrass us and put down your weapons."

"I won't let go! You all should thank my grandfather! My grandfather is right here! Do you dare to take me away in front of him?! You bastards!"

"What an ungrateful villain!"

The general looked at him and couldn't help shaking his head and said, "Yang Gong, why are you doing this?"

He began, "Lord Yishan was a man of integrity, both virtuous and talented, admired throughout the world. After his death, the Ming Emperor ordered you to inherit his title, and urged you to live up to his reputation."

"But now, you are colluding with traitors and wanting to kill the king and cause chaos. How can you be worthy of your ancestors?!"

"At your age, you are able to hold the position of Shangshutai, and everyone is recommending you for the position. Isn't it because of the talent and virtue of your ancestors?"

"Even at this point, you still can't admit your crimes and still want to resist stubbornly. Is this the style of your ancestors?!"

Despite being questioned repeatedly, Yang Bao was speechless.

Yang Bao was the grandson of Yang Fu, a famous official of the Wei Dynasty. He was young and talented, so he inherited his grandfather's title. His grandfather had a great reputation in the Wei Dynasty, and he also had a very good reputation.

But when Yang Zong went to Liangzhou to reorganize the situation, the Yang family also suffered a certain degree of blow.

This made Yang Bao extremely angry. He had previously wanted to take a step forward and become a minister, and had spent a lot of money and connections. However, the Ministry of Personnel thought it was not possible, thinking that he lacked talent, and Zheng Mao pushed him back.

Yang Bao became even more furious, and later, with the flattery of several powerful families in Liangzhou, he participated in the assassination attempt.

He was responsible for providing the rebels with information on the deployment of Cao Mao's entourage, the specific route, etc.

But this group of people is not reliable at all. They would even tell their wives and servants about their plans to kill the king. This guy always succeeds.

Yang Bao was also betrayed by his accomplices.

His hands holding the spirit tablet were shaking, and tears kept falling from his eyes.

At this point, he felt he should commit suicide.

But he raised the sword several times, but he didn't have the courage to cut it.

He doesn't have even one tenth of his grandfather's courage.

Just as he was hesitating, the soldiers suddenly rushed out, knocked him to the ground, and then tied him up.

Cao Mao was sitting in the Taiji Hall, with memorials piled high beside him.

These are arrest warrants.

There were indeed many people involved in this incident. For something like regicide, even if one knew about it but did not report it, he would suffer severe punishment.

This time, Cao Mao did not consider the population issue. After the tax reform, the population continued to increase. For these parasites, killing three generations of their clan was a light punishment.

All those involved in the rebellion must not be let off.

Cao Mao took a sip of tea, and Huangfu Mi sat beside him. "Your Majesty, please don't drink tea yet."

Cao Mao quickly put down the tea, and Huangfu Mi continued to take his pulse.

After a while, Huangfu Mi put down his hand and began to write.

"Your Majesty is very healthy and there is nothing wrong with you, but you still need to be careful about your diet. Your Majesty has a sweet tooth and should not eat too much."

Huangfu Mi designated a set of health-preserving meals for Cao Mao.

"Eat according to this. If you have a lot to do, add more wheat and grain. If you don't have much to do, add more rice and millet."

Cao Mao smiled and nodded, and asked someone to take the recipe.

"Thank you for your help, Mr. Huangfu!"

Huangfu Mi stared at Cao Mao's lips, as if he understood what he was saying. "This is what I should do. If Your Majesty needs anything in the future, just send a eunuch to ask for it. There's no need for such a grand ceremony."

"Mr. Huangfu, I have asked you to help me, so naturally I must do so with courtesy. Please do not worry too much." "Since ancient times, scholars have despised industry and medicine, but valued the study of classics."

"I feel that engineering and medicine should not be underestimated. Are the disciples I assigned to you obedient?"

Perhaps it was because Cao Mao spoke too quickly that Huangfu Mi was a little confused.

Cao Mao had no choice but to take out paper and pen and write down what he wanted to say.

Huangfu Mi watched Cao Mao finish writing and then nodded, "They all learn very quickly."

Cao Mao still respected Huangfu Mi very much. After chatting with him for a long time, he asked Zhang Hua to see him out.

After Zhang Hua returned, Cao Mao sighed and asked, "Maoxian, if I were to issue an order exempting these disabled people from taxes, would that be feasible?"

Zhang Hua shook his head. "That's not feasible."

"I know Your Majesty is kind, but if Your Majesty issues such an order, I'm afraid many people will deliberately inflict disabilities on themselves to avoid paying taxes."

Cao Mao's eyes widened. "Has my tax revenue reached this point?"

Zhang Hua shook his head again. "Your Majesty has abolished the poll tax. It's not as harsh as it used to be. However, the people are suffering, Your Majesty."

Cao Mao sighed again.

"You're right. I'm in the palace, how could I possibly know the extent of the suffering of the people?"

"From now on, you must tell me the true situation of the place and do not hide anything."

"only!"

The two men sat down again to discuss these traitors' affairs. Actually, there was nothing much to talk about these things.

There are many loopholes, and the key issue they want to discuss is a specific scope issue.

Many large families were implicated this time.

We must fully consider the issue of the national treasury and then see to what extent the scope of this disposal can be expanded.

Faced with this assassination, Cao Mao was still quite happy, after all, the national treasury would be enriched.

These Wei people were different from the Shu and Wu people. Cao Mao could not arbitrarily force them to migrate or kill them like he did prisoners of war.

Of course, it is not impossible, but it will cause some unrest and is not justified.

After all, many of them had made great contributions to Cao Mao, but if they had committed crimes, that was another matter.

Just like Zhuge Dan and Zhuge Xu, if they had not colluded to refuse the investigation, Cao Mao would have found it difficult to take action against the Zhuge family.

But now, the Zhuge family is also on the list of targets.

Nowadays, all these big families have produced various capable ministers. Some of the capable ministers from the big families are still active in the court. However, this does not affect Cao Mao's idea of dealing with them at all.

If these powerful families are not defeated, they will sooner or later become a disaster for the world!

Just as the two of them were making a very long list, Pei Xiu arrived late.

Pei Xiu's face turned pale.

He had just met Sima Yan.

When Sima Yan found him and told him that he suspected he was the real murderer of the assassination, Pei Xiu was dumbfounded.

He came to the Taiji Hall trembling, wanting to prove his innocence.

Upon hearing that Pei Xiu was coming, Cao Mao did not let Zhang Hua leave. He asked him to sit aside and then asked Pei Xiu to come in and pay his respects.

In Cao Mao's eyes, Pei Xiu was a bit similar to Wang Xiang.

Pei Xiu is extremely talented. If we only talk about talent, he is definitely not inferior to Zhong Hui, Zhang Hua, Du Yu and others, and can be ranked in the first echelon.

But this guy's heart has always been on the side of the big family.

Even when he was working for Cao Mao, he was always thinking about how to reduce the persecution of the powerful families by the court.

The butt is not straight.

Therefore, Cao Mao and Zhong Hui both liked to mess with this guy.

In history, this guy was the man next to Sima Anshi.

It was he who single-handedly supported Sima Yan to ascend to power. He said to the other great clans: Believe me, Sima Yan will definitely be an outstanding successor whose level of benevolence and righteousness exceeds that of the ancient sage kings!
After Pei Xiu helped him up, everyone saw that it was indeed the case.

In the eyes of the great families, Sima Yan was absolutely comparable to the ancient sage kings. Many people don’t know that in many documents of the Western Jin Dynasty, ministers compared Sima Yan to Emperor Wen of Han, and felt that his kindness and generosity were unprecedented in history.

Admittedly, from their point of view, there seems to be nothing wrong with this sentence. But later Pei Xiu was also in a state of panic because the king he chose was a little too lenient.

The country was almost brought to ruin, and Pei Xiu had no choice but to start looking for ways to solve these problems. However, looking at the policies he introduced, it can be found that while he was suppressing the big families, he was also secretly giving them bonuses.

For example, the Land Occupancy Order during Pei Xiu's time was a disguised recognition by the court of the legal ownership of large families of large amounts of arable land.

At this moment, Cao Mao had a stern face and looked very solemn.

"Mr. Pei, I heard that you are involved in the assassination case. Is that true?"

Pei Xiu was so frightened that he almost fell to the ground, "Your Majesty! I am innocent!!!"

"Then what was the reason for you to conspire with Sima Yan?"

(End of this chapter)