The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 782 Unstoppable
at night.

The road was quiet.

Occasionally, the footsteps of patrolling soldiers could be heard in the distance.

The Great Wei had a strict curfew.

No one is allowed to travel at night, especially officials.

Every important intersection is guarded by special soldiers armed with powerful crossbows. If they find a moving carriage or something like that, they will immediately choose to shoot it.

The Wei Dynasty still retains many wartime policies to this day, and these are not things that can be changed overnight.

A group of people were moving quietly on the road. They were moving on foot, avoiding the patrolling soldiers along the way. They came to a mansion, someone opened the door, and the group went in one after another.

The door of the mansion was gently closed, and they came into the study. As someone lit the candle, the identities of the people in front of them were finally revealed.

They were some of the famous scholars in Luoyang.

Some of them even worked in the Imperial Academy.

Such as Sun Yan, Yue Xiang, Li Kang, Sun Gai, Xu Meng, Wei Kai and many other famous scholars, and the place they are now in is the residence of a minister.

This minister is Cui Zan, who chose to bow his head very early but survived to this day. He even has the title of Nine Ministers.

When everyone arrived, they still saluted properly and sent someone to keep an eye on the situation outside. Only then did they sit down, their faces mostly looking uneasy.

Cui Zan sat in the upper seat, facing everyone's gaze, his eyes were somewhat sad.

At this moment, Le Xiang spoke first.

"Your Majesty's current behavior is wrong."

Le Xiang is over ninety years old this year.

He was studious when he was young and learned "Zuo Zhuan" from the great Confucian scholar Xie Gai. He also wrote books and founded a school of thought. He was a super Confucian scholar.

When he was young, he worked as a doctor in the Imperial Academy and designated the ceremonies of the Great Wei. He was a highly respected figure in the entire literati circle of the Great Wei. He had a very close relationship with the Du family, and Du Yu had to kneel down and greet him when he saw him.

He retired very early. After retirement, he returned to his home and lived a leisurely life of reading and teaching.

No matter how you look at it, he is a template of a normal scholar.

However, historical records show that after he retired, all the clansmen in his country came to him, and clans big and small gathered around him. The number of his disciples studying under him alone exceeded several thousand.
He would write letters to the emperor from time to time, and the emperor did not dare to look down on him.

Some time ago, he came to the Imperial College and caused a huge sensation.

As soon as this man opened his mouth, the other famous people had no choice but to bow their heads.

Le Xiang's face was filled with sadness. He said, "Since the founding of the Great Wei, we have governed the world with benevolence. Whether it was my great-grandfather, Emperor Wen, or my great-grandfather, Emperor Ming, they both spread benevolence and virtue throughout the world, and were admired by all."

"Now that Your Majesty has inherited their aspirations and achieved great unification, this should be a blessing for the world. However, Your Majesty's harsh laws and harsh punishments are definitely not a blessing for the people of the world!!"

Hearing his words, the other celebrities just sighed.

They didn't even dare to agree.

The Ministry of Justice has already started taking action.

After Wu and Shu, the great families in the Central Plains finally waited for the day of liquidation.

County governors from all over the country received orders and began to send people to start forced migration based on the many crimes that had been collected previously. The direction of migration was the south.

For a time, the cries of the people could be heard everywhere in the world!!
The soldiers, as ferocious as tigers and wolves, rushed into the homes of the good people, beat their slaves, stole their food, blocked their warehouses, occupied their farmland and mansions, framed them with armor and powerful crossbows, and killed those who wanted to resist.

One tall Wu castle after another was breached and raging flames began to burn.

Amid the screams and groans of the rebels, the soldiers destroyed one target after another.

The tenants and slaves who were deeply indebted to these people were dragged out by the soldiers, given farmland, and forced to work!

As for these kind-hearted people, they were forced onto carriages and were only allowed to keep a little of their property. They walked in groups towards the south.

On the road, knights could be seen waving their long braids, and women and children were crying. They were sitting in carriages, heading towards an unknown distance.

The crying was so miserable that even the famous scholars in Luoyang could hear it.

This is a tragedy that has never happened since the founding of the Wei Dynasty.

They really couldn't sit still anymore.

Originally, they could accept the emperor's actions against the Wu and Shu peoples.

Because those people were defeated in the war, the emperor had the right to deal with these captives, and forced migration was a blessing for them!

But we are Wei people!
We have followed the emperor for a long time and have made great achievements. Why should we be treated like this?
When talking about these things, Le Xiang couldn't help but tremble all over.

I don't know who started it, but everyone suddenly started sobbing, and the crying became louder and louder.

Cui Zan spoke.

"Stop crying." Everyone finally stopped crying, and Le Xiang immediately spoke up, "We don't dare go looking for someone like Xun Xi anymore. He's such a flatterer, and I'm afraid he'll sell us out to buy his own safety. This time, we've come to Lord Cui, hoping he can lead us in persuading His Majesty not to commit such a tyrannical act!"

"What have these people done wrong? Why are they being treated like this?"

"Just because their ancestors made contributions, had property, and farmland, should they be treated like this?"

"Their farmland was not stolen, but earned through meritorious service. They have never committed any evil in the local area. Instead, they have treated the people well, providing livelihoods for those without a livelihood and often providing relief to them."

"Now that the government has run out of money, they're using these people's minor faults as excuses to seize their property and drive them out of their homeland. How can this be justified in this world?!"

Cui Zan had a stern face and said nothing.

This time, these people finally did not look for Xun Yi again.

Perhaps it was because Xun Xi was betraying his teammates at an increasingly faster rate, which made them no longer dare to provoke him easily.

But because they were directly facing a huge trauma this time, they had to gather together and find a solution.

Cao Mao's reputation completely collapsed at this moment, of course, his reputation among scholars.

He was once again compared with the First Emperor.

Both achieved great unification and used cruel Legalist methods to bring disaster to the world.

This is almost like pointing at Cao Mao's nose and scolding him for wanting to die in the second generation.

Everyone had different thoughts, but they all looked at Cui Zan, "Mr. Cui."

Cui Zan sighed and stood up.

"What else can we do?"

"How many of those ministers are still around?"

"How can I dissuade His Majesty?"

Cui Zan said unscrupulously: "The armies of the world are in your Majesty's hands. Among the generals from all over the country, Guanqiu Jian, Xiahou Xian, Wang Ji, Wen Qin, Yang Hu, Ma Long, Wen Yang, Huo Yi, is there any one who can stand on our side?"

"Not to mention the officers and soldiers. They only obey Your Majesty. Even if Guanqiu Jian wanted to rally them to oppose Your Majesty, he wouldn't be able to do it."

"Now, as for the local officials, among all the provincial governors in the world, is there a single one who dares to challenge Your Majesty? Which of the county governors in various places was not promoted by Your Majesty? Who can you persuade?"

"Among the officials in the imperial court, are there any who are willing to support you, including Hua Biao, Wang Chang, He Zeng, Zhong Hui, Zheng Mao, Lu Zhi, Du Yu, Wei Shu, Hua Yi, and even the likes of Pei Xiu?"

"Hua Biao was the first to resign, expressing his willingness to move to Jiangling. Your Majesty gave him a considerable amount of money, and Wang Chang, Guanqiu Jian, and others took the initiative to order their clansmen to cooperate in the migration. Needless to say, He Zeng's clansmen had already moved to various places before Your Majesty even issued the order."

"Everyone in the world is your Majesty's. There is no chance, no way. Whether it's the common people, merchants, soldiers, ministers, county governors, or even the royal family, no one is willing to resist or dissuade you."

Cui Zan looked at everyone and said, "You said you wanted to meet with me and work together to find a solution."

"As for us, we don't have any power at all, and we are even inferior to the ministers in terms of strategy and talent. What else can we do to dissuade Your Majesty?"

Hearing Cui Zan's words, Sun Gai couldn't help but ask, "Lord Cui, are we just going to watch Your Majesty carry out his tyrannical policies and do nothing?"

"Then what do you want to do?"

"Are you going to lead your servants in rebellion? Even a county magistrate can suppress you!"

"Or do you want to make a memorial to His Majesty to persuade him?"

"If His Majesty could be persuaded by you, would he still order such a thing to be done?"

Cui Zan asked a few questions and then sat back in his seat.

He suddenly lost his temper and said, "Let's all go back."

"Ever since His Majesty ascended the throne, there have been people trying to deal with Him, trying to dissuade Him, trying to change His Majesty's mind. But until now, no one has succeeded. Some have died, some have left. Even assassination attempts have occurred, but to no avail."

"Your Majesty's power is unstoppable. You dare not even speak a word against him, and can only whisper words of advice. When I mentioned the military, your faces turned pale and you almost collapsed to the ground. Your fear of His Majesty has reached such a level, do you still want to oppose Him?"

"Let your Majesty do it."

Cui Zan looked off into the distance and said, "There's nothing we can do anymore. I'll submit my resignation tomorrow and lead my people back to Wu."

"I'm meeting with you this time to discuss this matter. If you obey Your Majesty, you can still save your life. As for the state of Wei, I will leave it to Your Majesty to govern."

After Cui Zan finished speaking, he stopped talking.

Everyone just remained silent.

The candlelight flickered in the darkness.

Everyone looked bewildered. They just couldn't understand why things had developed to this point. How could the young man who had entered Luoyang alone become such a terrifying and unstoppable ruler today?

Their era seemed to have been shattered.

ps: Don’t worry, brothers. I have started applying medicine and it is not as swollen as before.

(End of this chapter)