The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 799 Peak of Life
"Great Zhong Hui! Great Shi Ji!!"

Cao Mao sat in the upper seat, extremely excited. Looking at Zhong Hui sitting in front of him, he couldn't find any way to praise this famous minister of the time!
No wonder after Zhong Hui's death, his affairs had to be divided among Yang Hu, Du Yu and Pei Xiu.

Cao Mao didn't know how powerful the ministers in the past were, but even in Cao Mao's time, Zhong Hui was already the top minister, especially as he grew older.

Now is the fifth year of Ganlu.

Historically, the grass on Zhong Hui's grave was already half a person's height at this time, and he had not even reached his peak.

But now Zhong Hui is still full of energy and is reaching the peak of his life.

Zhong will appear before Cao Mao today to inform him of the results of this promotion order.

After more than a year of rectification, the first advancement order in the territory of Wei was completed.

According to Zhong Hui's idea, it would be most appropriate to come once every three years.

These people are like leeks, which ripen once every three years, and each time they ripen they can bring a lot of benefits to the temple.

The reason for this success is that we are living in a "good era" where those in power can do whatever they want and no one dares to put power in a cage.

It cannot even be said that the imperial power did not go to the countryside. The imperial power did not go to the countryside from this time on. Just recently in the Former Han Dynasty, the emperor's power still went to the countryside. The grassroots units were very mature. Even at this moment, the emperor's edicts could be implemented at the grassroots level.

Of course, the rest of the credit goes to Zhong Hui.

Although he had too many shortcomings, Cao Mao felt that no one could suppress him except himself, but this did not prevent Zhong Hui from being useful.

Cao Mao felt that if he died earlier than Zhong Hui in the future, this person would at least be an enhanced version of the Great General of the Universe.

The reason why he is not as good as Yang Jian and Zhao Da is because Zhong Hui is not the right person.

If you want to accomplish great things like Yang Jian and Zhao Da, you must have friends and everyone must support you. If you are unpopular and can't get along with anyone, the result can only be that you can become a general of the universe, but you will not be able to accomplish great things.

Cao Wen could never control such a minister; only the most powerful king could.
But it’s really nice to have people like this.

Cao Mao's initial migration was just an idea. People in the south went north, and people in the north went south, breaking the monopoly, strengthening exchanges, and allowing the north and the south to achieve unification as soon as possible.

It was Zhong Hui who turned Cao Mao's idea into reality and established the standards, types, time limits, etc.

Moreover, it took him less than a month to come up with all the relevant systems, and then they began to be implemented in various places.

Both the efficiency and the results are amazing.

Cao Mao was so excited that he didn't know what to say.

This is exactly what Zhong Hui wanted.

He sat aside with a beaming face. This year, the treasury of the Wei Dynasty had increased greatly, mainly because the Shu region had started paying taxes.

The food supply in the temple became abundant again, and the successful completion of the advancement order determined the future of the Wei Dynasty.

With the Land Reward Order and the Advancement Order, Zhong Hui could be sure that the big families would not cause any trouble for at least the next hundred years.

These two basic policies will represent the destiny of the Wei Dynasty. When these two systems cannot keep up with the development of the times or are abolished, the Wei Dynasty will not be far from its demise.

This was Zhong Hui’s own idea.

Zhong Hui also had great admiration for the emperor.

After all, these two ideas were proposed by the emperor. The two of them together are simply better than the previous combination of monarch and minister!

Cao Mao finally spoke at this moment.

"Shi Ji, I plan to let you take over the Shangshutai."

Zhong Hui's eyes lit up.

Shangshu Ling?
The current Shangshu Ling is still Wang Chang who serves part-time, but the problem is that this Shangshu Ling is also old and frail. He basically leaves all important matters to the left and right Pushe, and he basically just attends the Shangshu meetings.

In addition, this pioneer who originally supported Cao Mao in opposing the great families is now gradually changing his attitude as Cao Mao's policies become more radical.
Cao Mao really didn't want to have a showdown with Wang Chang one day.

Wang Chang came from a super powerful family, but he once said many fair words, proposed to suppress the powerful families, and made many contributions.

Cao Mao didn't want him to lose his reputation in his later years.

Cao Mao knew very well that if the two sides really had to confront each other, he would probably really bear the pain and see this prince off on his final journey.

Before things got to that point, Cao Mao decided to let Wang Chang enjoy his retirement in peace.

He is already this old. Wouldn’t it be nice to let him rest at home as a grandfather and spend his old age in peace?

As for Wang Chang's job, naturally only Zhong Hui could take over.

Zhong Hui was a little excited.

He seemed to have guessed something.

Everything he had been expecting seemed to be coming.

"His Majesty!!"

At this moment, someone suddenly walked in and interrupted their conversation. Zhong Hui immediately frowned and looked extremely unhappy.

The visitor was Yang Zong. After paying his respects, he hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I have something important to report!"

"Just speak frankly, Mr. Yang."

"I need to report this separately!"

Hearing this, Zhong Hui snorted coldly, but still stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I will wait outside."

Yang Zong didn't want to tell him, and he didn't want to listen!

After Zhong Hui left, Yang Zong bowed deeply to Cao Mao again.

"Your Majesty, are you planning to appoint Zhong Hui as Minister of Rites to lead the Secretariat?"

"Oh, how did Yang Gong know this?"

Yang Zong said, "Your Majesty intends to let Grand Tutor Wang rest. This matter is already known to all the ministers. If Wang Gong retires and returns to his hometown, then Your Majesty will naturally want Zhong Hui to succeed him."

"Is there anything wrong with this?" Yang Zong shuddered. "Your Majesty!! Zhong Hui is only forty years old this year!"

"How can there be a forty-year-old Three Dukes in this world?! And he's the one who holds all the power, the Minister of State!!"

"I hope your Majesty will think twice!"

After Yang Zong finished speaking, he bowed to Cao Mao again and again.

Cao Mao hadn't expected Yang Zong to be so opposed to this matter. He frowned and said softly, "In terms of talent, who among the ministers in the court dares to say they can surpass Zhong Hui? What he has done alone, four or five people might not be able to accomplish."

"In terms of merit, Zhong Hui has made countless contributions. Seventy percent of the current government affairs were completed by Zhong Hui. Almost nothing was left out."

"Now, considering his talents and contributions, I am planning to grant him the rank of Three Dukes and concurrently the position of Chief Secretary. What's wrong with that?"

Yang Zong replied, "Your Majesty, Zhong Hui is frivolous, unruly, unruly, and ambitious. Your Majesty favors him too much. If you now rank him among the highest officials, making him the leader of all ministers, how will Your Majesty reward him if he makes further contributions in the future?"

Cao Mao shook his head.

"That's not the truth."

"Since I took power, I have punished those who made mistakes and rewarded those who made contributions. Zhong Hui's contributions are worthy of such a reward."

"As for the future, will there still be kings who worry about not being able to reward their ministers?"

"I have made up my mind! No need to persuade me anymore!"

Yang Zong's face was full of helplessness, and he just sighed.

Cao Mao knew very well what these people were worried about, but he was not very worried. Not to mention that he was much younger than Zhong Hui. Even if Zhong Hui wanted to make trouble, he had to have someone to support him. Of course, mutual achievement is the best.

No matter what happens in the future, at present, Zhong Hui is the most capable minister under his command, so he should receive corresponding rewards.

Seeing that the emperor was so determined, Yang Zong said no more.

Then Cao Mao let Zhong Hui into the hall.

Then Cao Mao read out the content of the reward to Zhong Hui.

He was appointed Minister of the Interior and Minister of the Chancellery.

Zhong Hui trembled all over and kowtowed to express his gratitude.

At this moment, Zhong Hui served as Si Tu, Shang Shu Ling, Shi Zhong, and participated in the affairs of the Secretariat.

It can be said that there has never been such a minister since the founding of the Wei Dynasty. He is just Sima Shi who has no military power.

The true second person in the Wei Dynasty.

Looking at the extremely excited Zhong Hui, Cao Mao said, "Shi Ji, I value you very much and want to lead you to create great achievements. I only hope that you will never let me down in this life!"

Zhong Hui's eyes were filled with determination. "I will never let your majesty down!"

Cao Mao laughed and said, "Stand up."

Zhong Hui immediately sat closer.

Cao Mao took his hand and said seriously, "Now that you are the chief minister, you should pay more attention to your words and actions. You should not be as reckless as before, and you should not look down on your colleagues."

"I must make up for my shortcomings and become a role model for the world!"

"only!!"

Zhong Hui came this time not only to contribute to Cao Mao's achievements, but also to do something very important, which was the matter of title.

This matter has not been completely revised yet, but Zhong Hui is also catching up with the progress.

Cao Mao listened to his report carefully.

Yang Zong looked at the two of them, feeling very worried.

I hope that the reward Your Majesty bestows today will not lead to disaster in the future.

After Cao Mao rewarded Zhong Hui, he naturally had to appease Wang Chang.

Cao Mao decided to visit him in person.

Wang Chang was a rare minister with a conscience among the big families. However, he could not completely ignore his clans. When Cao Mao began to migrate the big families in the north, Wang Chang had already expressed some dissatisfaction.

When Zhong Hui was originally carrying out the migration and reform, Wang Chang also deliberately used the excuse of dealing with Zhong Hui to oppose him.

It looked like their personal conflict, but in fact, he was just using the personal conflict to cover up his own behavior.

Later, Liu Yuan took the initiative to step forward, and Wang Chang had no choice but to go along with it.

Cao Mao knew all of this, but he just didn't want to expose it.

When Cao Mao arrived, Wang Chang's mansion was in chaos.

Wang Chang came to greet him in disheveled clothes, and Cao Mao even smelled some alcohol on him.

He seemed to have a guest, but Cao Mao didn't say much. He smiled and returned to his study with Wang Chang.

The two of them had a very harmonious conversation. Cao Mao asked about his physical condition and the work of the Secretariat.

"My Lord, you have assisted me for many years and have made many contributions. From now on, you can rest in peace in your palace."

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."

"Your Majesty, there is no need to say more. Your seven suggestions initially initiated the great cause of governing the Great Wei. No matter what, you are a meritorious official of the Great Wei."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Wang Chang was also feeling indescribable emotions at this moment.

The king and his minister looked at each other, followed by a long silence.

(End of this chapter)