The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 748: Justice
Guanqiu Jian was sitting in the upper seat at this moment, holding a document, looking at the messenger in front of him with interest.

At this moment, standing in front of Guanqiu Jian was a group of people dressed strangely.

Not only were these people dressed strangely, but their headwear and appearance were also rather strange.

They looked quite short and malnourished, and each of them was skinny. As for their clothing, it was more like wrapping themselves in cloth in circles, which was quite different from the clothing of any place Guanqiu Jian knew.

There were more than ten of them, and at this moment they were standing respectfully in front of Guanqiu Jian.

The leader could speak elegant Chinese and was well versed in etiquette, so he did not behave rudely in any way.

The leader was called Nan Shengmi, and at this moment he was still maintaining a ceremonial posture.

Guanqiu Jian looked them over and suddenly asked, "Nanshengmi, you haven't come to pay tribute in nearly twenty years. What's the reason?"

Nan Shengmi quickly explained, "Reporting to the Grand Marshal, there was unrest in the country. The queen passed away, and we supported a new king. We were attacked by the surrounding countries. After more than ten years of unrest, we were unable to come to the Wei Dynasty."

Guanqiu Jian narrowed his eyes and said, "I remember this."

Nan Shengmi also smiled. He raised his head, looked at Guanqiu Jian, and said, "I haven't seen the Grand Marshal for many years. He is even more majestic than before!"

A flash of memory flashed in Guanqiu Jian's eyes. "Decades have passed. When you first came to pay your respects to Emperor Liezu, you didn't even know the etiquette and needed someone to translate for you. It seems you've made some progress over the years."

Nan Shengmi smiled bitterly.

When Gongsun Yuan was in charge of Liaodong, he sent two generals to the peninsula to destroy several small tribes entrenched on the peninsula, forcing the various countries to surrender and establishing his own power in Liao.

It is said that he also sent General Gongsun Mo to Yamatai to govern the area.

In other words, within the Wei Dynasty, the Yamatai Kingdom had exchanges with Liaodong, paying tribute and so on.

Later, when the Wei Dynasty pacified the Liao area, their tribute object changed from the Gongsun family to the Cao family.

Nan Shengmi came to the Wei Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Ming and received the seal of the King of Wa from the Wei Dynasty. The Queen of Yamatai then became one of the vassal kings of the Wei Dynasty.

Therefore, these two people have met in the past.

Guanqiu Jian asked, "Is your war with the Gou Nu Kingdom still going on?"

Nan Shengmi sighed and said helplessly, "After the queen passed away, we elected a brave man as king."

"But after he ascended the throne, more unrest broke out in the country. The Dog Slave Nation seized the opportunity to launch an attack. After a long and arduous battle, they were unable to win."

"Now we enthronize a new king, and the new queen will be called Taiyu."

"As soon as the Queen ascended the throne, she sent us to the Wei Kingdom, hoping to gain its protection and stop those enemy nations."

Nan Shengmi came to ask for help this time.

This was not the first time they came to ask for help. The last time, Emperor Ming sent envoys to accompany them to warn the surrounding countries and claim that they supported Yamatai.

Guanqiu Jian was also somewhat puzzled. "When the envoys went to Yamatai, they warned the four nations not to act rashly. Why do they still dare to oppose you?"

Nan Shengmi's face was conflicted, and he seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Guanqiu Jian waved his hand and said, "Just tell me what you mean."

Nan Shengmi then said, "How can these small countries possibly understand the might of the Great Wei?"

The word "Nan Shengmi" was already said very tactfully, and Guanqiu Jian's face changed immediately.

How dare these small countries ignore the Great Wei?
Guanqiu Jian subconsciously wanted to explode, but he held himself back.

"Okay, I understand. Please prepare first. I will send someone to take you to Luoyang. Then, you can directly discuss these matters with His Majesty."

Nan Shengmi bowed again and then led the envoys away.

When they were going out, they happened to meet Wen Yang escorting the two men. Wen Yang looked at them curiously, and when he walked in front of Guanqiu Jian, he was still looking back at those people.

"Da Sima, who are those people? Why are they so short?"

The difference between the malnourished people passing by Wen Yang was so huge that it was no wonder that Wen Yang was so curious.

Guanqiu Jian glanced at him without explaining, but looked at the two men.

Zhu Ying and Kangtai hurriedly knelt before him, trembling.

Everyone in Wu was afraid of the real culprit who destroyed the Wu Kingdom.

Even Sun Hao was extremely well-behaved in front of him.

Guanqiu Jian smiled and asked, "You two are Lord Zhu and Lord Kang, right?"

"I've heard of your great name for a long time!"

Zhu Ying hurriedly lowered his head again, "I dare not!"

"No problem, just look up when you speak to me. I'm not Sun Hao. I won't execute someone just for looking at me."

Hearing this, Kangtai was obviously a little unhappy, but he didn't dare to say more.

Guanqiu Jian asked the two men to stand up and sit beside him, then said, "His Majesty has heard of your reputation in Luoyang and has sent someone to me, saying that he wants to meet you."

"This is a rare opportunity for the two of you. Don't miss it."

When facing Guanqiu Jian, these two people did not dare to refute anything and just nodded.

Guanqiu Jian chatted with them for a long time before letting Wen Yang lead these two people and the envoy from Yamatai to Luoyang.

Wen Yang was very surprised by this.

"Da Sima, do you need me to go there in person?"

"You have performed great service before, and His Majesty wishes to see you."

Wen Yang naturally agreed happily. Afterwards, they rushed towards Luoyang.

Wen Yang showed great interest in those Japanese people and followed Nan Shengmi all day to ask about the situation on their side. Nan Shengmi looked at the tall and strong general and did not dare to be rude at all, and his words became even gentler.

Only Zhu Ying and Kang Tai felt very uneasy.

They also didn't know why the Emperor of Cao Wei suddenly wanted to see them.

All they could think of was the assassination that happened not long ago.

They heard that this incident was related to the local area. Could it be that the emperor is suspecting us?

In Luoyang.

The scholars gathered together, forming a huge crowd.

The soldier came out with the list and hung the golden list at the highest point as a notice.

At this moment, the crowd suddenly became excited.

Some people shouted, some people beat their chests and stamped their feet.

Sima Yan squeezed in the crowd, looking up and down for his name.

Finally, at the very end, he saw his name. At this moment, Sima Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He passed the tests twice in a row.

County middle school assessment, and Yin middle school assessment.

Next, he would meet directly with the emperor, and after consultation and debate with the emperor, he would be appointed to an official position.

Sima Yan was extremely excited at this moment.

This was the first time he relied solely on himself and proved his ability!
Although the ranking is very low and it is the last one, it is indeed not easy.

Many children of wealthy families stood proudly in the distance, bowing to each other with smiles on their faces.

Such an assessment is no big deal for the children of these wealthy families.

After all, with the best resources, it is not difficult to pass.

All of them occupied the top positions. Looking at the names above, they were basically occupied by surnames such as Xun, Chen, Zhong, Wang, Cui, and Pei.

Only at the very end can one barely see the names of some children from middle-class families.

They were very happy to celebrate at this moment.

Sima Yan immediately returned to his mansion and hurried to tell his mother the happy event.

In fact, Mrs. Wang did not really support Sima Yan's participation in this assessment. She felt that given the Sima family's current situation, it would be safest for him to stay at home honestly, not interact with others, and not get involved in anything.

But Sima Yan was determined to prove himself and display his talents, so there was nothing Mrs. Wang could do.

After learning that her son had actually passed the test, Mrs. Wang couldn't help but laugh even though she had been reluctant before.

"Okay, okay. The next exam will be in the East Hall. With His Majesty's love for you, you will definitely rank among the top!"

Sima Yan didn't feel too much about this, and went back to his study happily to prepare for the exam.

Fourteen days passed like this, and finally the palace examination arrived.

Sima Yan also arrived early. They changed their clothes uniformly and walked into the palace under the guidance of officials.

The scholars were very curious about the palace, their eyes full of excitement, but Sima Yan looked much calmer, as he often came here.

Cao Mao sat in the upper seat, looking at the people sitting around him, all of whom were children of wealthy families, but he did not seem displeased.

This is a normal situation. Their resources are not equal. In the assessment, the ones who stand out must be mainly the children of the big families. Even if there are a few poor families who suddenly emerge, they are just exceptions. If you want to see the poor families and the rich families on par, you have to wait for at least several decades, or perhaps even decades will not be enough.
Cao Mao naturally also saw Sima Yan.

Seeing the emperor's gaze, Sima Yan couldn't help but grin.

Cao Mao was very solemn. He immediately said, "The topic of this palace examination is taxes!"

"I will stop calculating, you may speak freely based on this!"

Cao Mao gave a topic and let everyone express themselves freely, and everyone started writing quickly.

Sima Yan was in a dilemma at the moment. He had been busy studying classics these days and had not paid much attention to these political affairs. He could only combine the classics he had learned to explain these policies and express his own views.

Everyone gave their answers one after another. Cao Mao accepted them with a smile and let them leave.

At this point, the emperor's subjective factors became very important, because the emperor could appoint officials and make arrangements for these people himself.

The standard is to look at the answers they give.

Cao Mao looked through the answers of these people one by one. There were indeed a few talented people among them. They were able to make detailed analysis of mental arithmetic, make predictions, and anticipate possible consequences in the future.

Cao Mao nodded and said that these people could be appointed as Lang and go to the Secretariat first.

Some people have explored the changes that mental arithmetic may cause at the local level from a very practical perspective and provided a series of implementation methods.

These people can serve as local officials.

Of course, some people's answers were a little lacking. They just talked about their own thoughts and cognitions, without any subtlety.

These people, as Yuanwailang, need to continue learning, improving themselves, and waiting for vacancies.

What many people did not expect was that Sima Yan, who was very favored by the emperor, was actually on the final list as a candidate for the position of Yuwenlang.

When his attendants asked him about this matter, Cao Mao replied: All matters under the world should be assessed impartially, so I do not consider personal feelings!
(End of this chapter)