The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 767: Much More Conservative

"Your Majesty, minister."

Xun Xu's face was covered with tears at this moment.

Xun Xu was the great-grandson of Xun Shuang, the Minister of Works of the Later Han Dynasty.

He comes from a prominent family and is the son of a powerful family.

But he lost his parents when he was very young.

He was therefore sent to his grandfather's house.

Zhong Yao loved this grandson very much and believed that he would achieve extraordinary fame.

He could write articles when he was ten years old, was well-versed in classics and was extremely talented.

However, living under someone else's roof is not easy, especially when you have an uncle who is jealous of others' talents and is growing up.

After Zhong Yao passed away, Zhong Yu did his best to teach him.

However close they were, he could never be like a father to him, which led to Xun Xu's almost timid character.

Xun Xu was cautious and vigilant throughout his life. In history, whenever there was an important imperial decree in which he was involved, even if it had been announced, he would never say anything, not wanting others to know that he was involved. His close friends tried to persuade him many times.

His cousin Xun Liang once advised Xun Xu, "You have lost the trust of others. If you do good things for others, you should tell others about it. That way, more people will be grateful to you."

But in the end he refused on the grounds that he should be cautious in doing things.

At this moment, he was looking at the emperor blankly.

Ever since he lost his father's protection, it has become difficult for him to straighten his back, and he often bends it helplessly.

Saying insincere words, trying to protect yourself from any persecution as much as possible.

He has said a lot of nice things and flattered many people.

But this time, he willingly bowed his head to Cao Mao.

"Your Majesty is wise!!!"

Cao Mao pulled him up again, "Now, tell us your predictions."

"Liangzhou."

"Liangzhou may be hit by a drought."

As Xun Xu spoke, he hurriedly took out the documents and quickly placed them in front of Cao Mao, and talked about their latest forecast results from the Youbei Mansion.

Cao Mao frowned and looked through the many documents.

Drought is predictable, and the obvious decrease in rainfall is a sign of things to come.

The great drought in Liangzhou in history did not occur suddenly. It was a gradual process, with the weather becoming increasingly dry until there was no harvest.

But what is puzzling is that the Western Jin Dynasty at that time took almost no decent measures to provide relief.

They didn't even send food there, but instead sent troops there, which was very confusing, saying that there might be a rebellion.
Their prediction on this point was quite accurate!

It seems that the prelude to the severe drought in Liangzhou is about to begin.

Cao Mao took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Many preparations must be made in advance. You must do this personally! Do it with all your strength! I will have all the departments cooperate fully!"

"only!!"

Xun Xu then talked about his ideas on prevention.

Artificial rainfall could not be carried out at this moment, and Xun Xu did not propose to hold a sacrifice to pray for rain. He believed that more water conservancy projects should be built, water diversion should be carried out, and more reservoirs and water storage pools should be built to store water. At the same time, more granaries should be set up in the local area to transport and store food. In addition, preparations should be made for the migration of the people.

Cao Mao listened to his story very carefully and agreed with it deeply.

It was not until Xun Xu resigned and left that Cao Mao stayed alone in the East Hall.

He looked a little worried.

Although he could start preparing now, he didn't know how much he could do in the face of such a huge natural disaster.

I hope I can defeat this natural disaster just like I defeated those enemies in the past.

The next day.

Zhong Hui was eating, looking at the thick documents placed aside, and then looking at Pei Xiu standing in front of him.

"That's so much better."

"You always have to wait until moments like this before you put all your efforts into it. Can someone like you really become a famous minister?"

Pei Xiu didn't dare to say anything more.

This guy is in power now. If he wants to deal with me, no one can protect me except the emperor.

Zhong Hui ate his meal leisurely, and then opened the document brought by Pei Xiu.

He looked at it for a long time, then nodded slightly.

The plan Pei Xiu is currently offering is slightly different from his historical ideas.

In history, Pei Xiu chose to refine the titles, further clarify the inheritable and non-inheritable titles, and at the same time adopted a decreasing approach based on the five grades of titles.

However, his current plan was to refine and reduce the original nobility system, which did not include the royal family.

Zhong Hui narrowed his eyes and looked over and over again.

Actually, this guy is quite talented.

The version he was presenting was a disguised version of the historical nobility system reform, as there was no fifth rank at that time, and the eight-rank system was in use. Cao Mao had originally established the ranks of Marquis, Marquis of Guannei, Marquis of Name, Marquis of Guanzhong, Marquis of Guanwai, and Five Great Officials to replace the twenty ranks of nobility of the Qin and Han dynasties, and Cao Pi later added the ranks of King and Duke.

Together, they form the eight-rank nobility system of Cao Wei.

The reduction does not mean that if you are a king, your son will become a duke, because there are differences in status within the same title.

Let’s not talk about kings, as they are not within the scope of decreasing rank. Let’s just talk about dukes. There are also dukes of the state, dukes of the county, dukes of the township, etc., and there are also marquises of the county, dukes of the township, marquises of the pavilion, etc.

Therefore, this decrease must be very methodical and cannot be done randomly.

Speaking of it, the nobility system of the Wei Dynasty was also strange and complicated, and was not as convenient and easy to remember as the original twenty ranks of nobility.

Zhong Hui looked at Pei Xiu and said, "Every generation has a lower rank. It would take a long time for a county lord to become a commoner."

“Pei Xiu, Pei Xiu, at this point, do you still want to seek profit for the big family?”

Pei Xiu couldn't sit still anymore.

If it were in the past, I would have accepted it if you said I was seeking profit, but this time, I have clearly considered it from the perspective of the entire world. How can you still say I am seeking profit?

What? Are you going to downgrade the generation by eight levels?
The father is a duke, and the son is directly demoted to a commoner? ?

Let’s see whether the ministers from all over the country are against you!

Pei Xiu took a deep breath. "Minister, it's not that I'm biased, but this decreasing order is the most appropriate. You just used the example of a county lord, but how many are there in the Wei Dynasty? Dukes are mostly given to members of the royal family. You should consider the title of marquis. If a county lord who has made great contributions has no descendants, it will take four generations to become a fifth-rank official, and then the title will be lost after the fifth generation. I think this is a more appropriate approach."

"Although Your Majesty holds great prestige, you cannot dishearten those who have made great contributions."

Zhong Hui subconsciously wanted to scold him.

But for some reason, he hesitated again.

A person suddenly flashed before my eyes, as if staring at me and sighing.

Pei Xiu watched as Zhong Hui's expression gradually changed from anger to calm.

"Improving it once more doesn't mean you have to lose heart for your meritorious service, but it can't be delayed too much. Three generations of Fukuzawa are enough, and five generations is a bit too long."

Pei Xiu was helpless, but he knew in his heart that this person had already made a concession, otherwise, the family lineage would have been cut off in one generation.

"I'll go back and make some revisions."

"I'll give you fifteen days."

"Thank you, Minister."

"Pei Kai will be my husband first."

"only!!"

Pei Xiu left here dejectedly.

Liu Yuan personally sent him out and then returned to Zhong Hui.

"Teacher, I actually think what Pei Xiu said makes some sense. How many people in the world can achieve the rank of county marquis? If someone can achieve this, they must have made great contributions. There's nothing wrong with allowing their descendants to receive more rewards."

Zhong Hui glanced at him and said with a sneer, "Once wealth and honor last for a long time, they will breed all kinds of disasters."

"The first generation is a hero, the second generation might be good too, but the third generation is arrogant and conceited. After that, they will bring shame to their ancestors. This is not protecting their descendants, it is a way to bring disaster."

When Zhong Hui was drinking with Cao Mao, he heard Cao Mao jokingly talk about the theory of evolution of children from wealthy families.

Zhong Hui agreed with this deeply, but he felt that he was the first generation and his brother was the second generation, because his brother inherited his father's title, but he did not. He was the one who created a title on his own with his own ability.

Similarly, Cao Mao was also considered by Zhong Hui to be the first generation, after all, he was the first ruler to unify the country.

Zhong Hui glanced at the pensive Liu Yuan and said, "I heard that Lu Kang also accepted a disciple. It was also arranged by Your Majesty."

"My brother took up an official position at the age of fifteen, and I was a minister at the age of twenty. You must participate in the next imperial examination. If you don't get first place..."

Liu Yuan frowned. If everything else was fine, it would be fine, but this classic was not his strong point.

But he was not afraid.

How can a famous person be afraid?

"Definitely first place!"

As long as he could pass the first two tests and reach the third level, he would not be afraid of not getting first place. After all, the palace examination would not test classics. His Majesty would definitely test him on state governance. In this regard, Liu Yuan thought he could beat a hundred Zhang Guis and the like.

Zhong Hui left the room quickly.

This title is just one of the many things that Zhong Hui is responsible for now.

He still had a lot to do, the most important of which was to send an envoy delegation to the west.

Zhong Hui had already found several suitable candidates. Yongliang sent several Buddhist monks. These people had been in the Western Regions for many years and had personally visited the Dayuezhi.

They are absolutely qualified as guides and translators.

The Confucian scholar who had met Cao Mao before was also called over to serve as one of the guides.

As for the main person in charge, Zhong Hui directly bypassed the Ministry of Rites and arranged the candidate.

Zhong Hui felt that it would be most appropriate for Zhuge Xu to go.

This mission to Yuezhi was not an easy one. This guy had made mistakes in Yongzhou before, so he could make amends. Moreover, he understood classics, knew diplomacy, was good at speaking, and his status was not humble. He was neither too old nor too young, so he could withstand the journey.

Ever since Zhuge Dan fell ill, the Zhuge family has been on a downward trend. Zhong Hui feels that this guy dares not give his all, and this is a good opportunity for them to rise again. If they can successfully complete this task and reopen the trade route to that side, perhaps their family will still have a chance to rise again.

Otherwise, as soon as Zhuge Dan died, their family would face a complete liquidation.

(End of this chapter)