The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 766 The Real Enemy

Pei Xiu was thrown at the door of his own mansion. Looking at Zhong Hui walking away, he sighed again.

The era of the great families died in its infancy before it officially arrived, and the aristocratic families had just risen when they encountered unprecedented suppression from the current emperor.

Pei Xiu felt that at this point, he should change his stance slightly.

Just as Zhong Hui said, if he was the executor, there would still be a lot of room for recovery. If he was no longer trusted and a more radical person took the lead, the Pei family would also be in trouble.

Pei Xiu thought that he had done a good job these days, and from now on, it all depends on one's luck.

Anyway, there is nothing I can do for these people.

What we need to do next is to think about how to become the emperor's favorite.

Pei Xiu was thinking about these things. Just as he walked into the mansion, a man stood in front of him with a smile.

"Brother!!!"

When Pei Xiu heard this, his heart subconsciously trembled, not because of happiness, but because of disgust.

That’s right, the one standing in front of Pei Xiu with a foolish smile on his face was none other than his good-for-nothing cousin, Pei Kai.

Pei Xiu has many relatives, and even in Shu, he has several useless brothers.

Many of his cousins also showed their talents in this year's imperial examination.

But what Pei Xiu hated the most was Pei Kai in front of him.

His cousin looks a bit like Sima Yan.

He is tolerant, but a little bit lacking in courage and opinion.

This guy has an extremely outstanding appearance and is one of the few who can compete with Lian Bi.

He was incredibly talented. When he was thirteen or fourteen years old, he could annotate classics and write works that amazed everyone.

But this person does not have much desire to make progress. He always hesitates when doing things and likes to ask others for their opinions.

And his final decision often depends on the last person he discusses with.

He and Sima Anshi were very good friends. However, among Sima Anshi's many friends, he was considered a good one. He just had some flaws in his character, but there was nothing wrong with him as a person.

Pei Xiu looked at the younger brother in front of him. After not seeing him for a few years, his younger brother looked more handsome, with a slimmer figure. There was a gleam in his eyes, and he was inexplicably gentle, gentle from the inside out.

"Aren't you in Yizhou? Why are you here?"

Pei Xiu asked.

Pei Kai quickly replied, "I was promoted because of my outstanding political achievements!"

"I want to be a Lang in the Shangshutai!"

Pei Xiu snorted coldly, "Shangshu Lang?"

He walked towards the study on his own, and Pei Kai followed him. They both walked into the study. Pei Xiu sat in the upper seat, and Pei Kai sat next to him.

"Since you are here to be a Lang in the Shangshutai, why are you coming to me instead of going to the Shangshutai?"

"Ah, I'm here to see the Shangshu!"

"still"

Pei Xiu suddenly jumped up, "Minister of Rites?"

Pei Kai smiled and nodded.

Pei Xiu was silent for a moment. "Logically, you can't work in the Ministry of Rites. Was it Zhong who asked you to come here?"

"Ah, but Minister Zhong said it was my brother who requested that I take up a position at the Ministry of Rites!"

Pei Xiu glanced at him and said, "I'll give you three days off. Go visit friends if you want, go have fun if you want. But don't disturb me within these three days!"

"only!!"

Pei Xiu drove his brother away and picked up the paper and pen helplessly.

Start writing quickly. If you don’t, you, the Shangshu who promoted your relatives, will be dragged out and punished!

After finishing writing, I sent this guy to other departments.

After Pei Kai came out from here, he went directly to pay a visit to his old superior, Xun Xu.

Unlike Pei Xiu's attitude, Xun Xu values him very much.

He was very happy to see him come back, and immediately ordered people to prepare food to entertain this old subordinate.

The two sat together, and Xun Xu took the initiative to ask about the situation in Bashu.

Pei Kai spoke very seriously, and Xun Xu also listened seriously.

"What about the situation in the Beifu?"

After Pei Kai finished talking about the situation in Bashu, he took the initiative to ask about the situation here with Xun Xu.

When talking about this matter, Xun Xu's expression became a little solemn.

Starting from the second year of Ganlu, disasters began to occur frequently in various places.

Especially in the north, in the most border areas, winter became more and more brutal, with heavy snow covering the land. Bingzhou even experienced heavy snowfall in the autumn, which dealt a heavy blow to the crops.

In stark contrast, in Liangzhou, the area is becoming increasingly dry, with rainfall decreasing. The government predicts that the area may experience a drought for many years.

The situation is not optimistic everywhere.

Xun Xu pondered for a moment before smiling and saying, "Fortunately, everything is fine here."

He did not tell the child the truth.

Even if the little kid knew, what could he do?

Xun Xu was also one of Sima Anshi's close friends and confidants. Although he was a flatterer and cowardly person, he was not without merit and was kind-hearted, as long as it didn't affect him. The two chatted for a long time, and after Pei Kai left, Xun Xu became restless.

He once again took out the many documents he had prepared.

It is really difficult to do things in Youbei Prefecture.

No emperor is willing to listen to bad news.

Since ancient times, those who report good news often receive many rewards, while those who report bad news will not have a good ending.

This has nothing to do with whether the emperor is wise or not. No matter how wise the emperor is, he is still a human being after all.

Who would like to hear someone reporting bad news every day?

Even if it was Xun Xu himself, seeing someone reporting bad news every day, every time he appeared, he would probably have the urge to kill him.

And his department is specifically responsible for reporting bad news.

When Youbeifu was first established, it was very popular among everyone. People believed that this department could arbitrarily mobilize grain reserves from all over the country and had great power. However, when people learned that they were only doing some useless work and their power was not as great as they imagined, this department was almost forgotten.

Only Cao Mao attached great importance to this department. Even if the treasury conditions were not good, there would never be a lack of funds for them.

With the support of a large amount of funds, Xun Xu did not disappoint Cao Mao's high hopes and successfully set up government offices in various places.

Their government office has almost no conflicts of interest with any forces. Unless they encounter someone like Shi Jian who deliberately conceals the local disaster situation, they will basically not be troubled.

Although the current Youbei Prefecture is not very famous, it is actually very large in scale. It just has no influence, so it has not been discovered.

Pei Kai's question today made Xun Xu even more embarrassed.

It is necessary to report it, but how to report it?
Xun Xu hesitated for a long time, repeatedly checking the documents in his hand, before he asked someone to prepare a carriage and prepare to go to meet the emperor.

Even if it causes the emperor's displeasure, it must be reported, otherwise the consequences will be more serious.

When Xun Xu arrived, his attendants took him to the East Hall.

But the emperor was not in the East Hall, so Xun Xu waited there.

After a while, Cao Mao's laughter was heard outside.

Xun Xu hurriedly made preparations for the visit.

Cao Mao took Cao Wen's hand and walked into the hall together.

Xun Xu hurried to pay his respects.

"Your Majesty, your servant Xun Xu pays respects to you!"

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince, is greeted by your Highness, Xun Xu!"

Just this year, Cao Mao appointed his eldest son Cao Wen as the crown prince.

Therefore, when the ministers saw Cao Wen, they could no longer treat him as a prince. Even Cao Qi could not easily offend Cao Wen. After all, he was now the crown prince. With this identity, except for his parents, everyone else, even the elders, had to bow and meet him.

Cao Wen looked at Xun Xu with a smile, and before Cao Mao could speak, he imitated his father's past behavior and shouted, "Stand up!"

Xun Xu smiled but did not stand up.

Cao Mao patted Cao Wen on the head and said, "It's not time for you to give orders yet. Go play with your brother!"

The little guy turned and ran away.

Cao Mao then smiled and helped Xun Xu up. "Gong Zeng, have you been waiting for a long time?"

"How dare! How dare!"

Looking at Xun Xu's expression, Cao Mao could probably guess what he was thinking.

However, Cao Mao was not bothered by Xun Xu's frequent visits to report his worries.

He originally set up this department because he was prepared to face these endless natural disasters.

Twenty years later, Liangzhou will face a drought that will exceed the scale of the one in the Later Han Dynasty. The continuous drought will cause no harvest in the local area and will spread to Yongqin and other places, resulting in hundreds of thousands or even millions of victims.

These people could not find food and began to flee everywhere. A large number of people fled to Bashu and even migrated to Bingzhou and other places.

Those who are unable to escape will start a rebellion. If we don't have enough food to eat, we will eat you!
Poems as proof:

Jackals are naturally ferocious, gathering in large numbers and roaring to wreak havoc. I don't believe that since the founding of the Jin Dynasty, I've heard that rebels have established themselves in the West!

And that’s just the beginning.

Cao Mao was mentally prepared. He set up the Youbei Mansion to deal with future natural disasters.

He frowned and said with some displeasure, "Xun Gongzeng, although you have been diligent these days, there are still many derelictions of duty in your department."

Xun Xu was stunned. He was fine just now, why was he suddenly being blamed?
He quickly pleaded guilty.

Cao Mao continued, "You once submitted a memorial arguing that rather than providing disaster relief after a disaster strikes, it is better to predict and prevent it before it strikes."

"I just set up the department, but now, you rarely report the forecasts from various places. Do you think that doing so will disgust me?"

Xun Xu pursed his lips and said, "This minister."

"Gong Zeng, I'm not afraid of hearing any bad predictions or bad news. I'm just afraid that you'll hide it."

"Even if your predictions were wrong and the disaster never occurred, I would not blame you."

"When a disaster strikes, tens or even hundreds of thousands of people suffer. To resist it, any price can be paid."

"Gong Zeng, I have the audacity to establish a government office without fear of your predictions. From now on, you must speak freely and hold nothing back. If our ruler and his subjects can survive this calamity and leave a successful precedent for future generations, how many lives will be saved by this?"

"This is a great achievement that will be remembered for eternity!"

"You and I, the ruler and our subjects, should work together to deal with this."

(End of this chapter)