The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 808 Unspeakable Changes
Yang Hu rode a fine horse and galloped forward.

The official road is flat, and many temporary huts can be seen along the way. These houses are built on the edge of the farmland. They are very simple, but they can provide farmers with a temporary place to rest after farming.

Occasionally you can see children running around in the fields, accompanied by the scolding of adults.

The official road is lined with green trees on both sides, and tall road-guarding forests extend all the way along the official road, seemingly without end.

Occasionally, you can see a caravan coming from afar, and when they see this group of people, they will take the initiative to make way.

The carriage was piled high with all kinds of goods. A few rough men in short clothes were driving the carriage, looking at Yang Hu and his group with curiosity and awe.

Guanqiu Jian was a very low-key person. In order not to alarm the officials and people along the way, Guanqiu Jian did not even use his own carriage. He just rode a horse and led more than 20 cavalrymen on the road.

Any county magistrate's outing would be on a similar scale to his.

Guanqiu Jian really didn't like riding in a carriage. Even at his age, he still liked riding a horse, so Yang Hu had no choice but to ride with him.

Yang Hu had not returned to the Central Plains for a long time.

The scenes along the way made Yang Hu feel both familiar and unfamiliar.

He couldn't tell where the change came from.

Is it simply that the roads have become smoother? Or that there are more houses beside the farmland? Or that there are more merchants on the roads?

It seems like neither.

Guanqiu Jian looked at Yang Hu, who was lost in thought, and said in a contented tone, "You can now hear children laughing in the fields, and see thatched huts that provide shelter for them. Merchants along the road are no longer frightened by the sight of unfamiliar cavalry, and the forests protecting the roads are no longer being cut down and stolen."

"This is something that several generations of wise rulers have never achieved~~"

After hearing Guanqiu Jian's words, Yang Hu was awakened.

The changes are not on the surface, but hidden beneath these small changes.

As an old man who has truly experienced troubled times, Guanqiu Jian has a more thorough understanding of this aspect.

Yang Hu secretly glanced at Guanqiu Jian. Since the Grand Marshal accomplished the great feat of unification, he has become somewhat like Pei Xiu.

He always looks lazy, relaxed and contented, and very comfortable.

Yang Hu knew that this person had achieved success and fame and had no other pursuits, having fulfilled his lifelong ambition.

Yang Hu suddenly felt a little envious of him, and wondered if he would have such a day too.

Thinking that he would be serving as an important official in the Secretariat, Yang Hu felt a little afraid.

What Yang Hu was afraid of was Zhong Hui.

Zhong Hui is too favored and has a bad temper. He is jealous of talented people. Your Majesty has always valued me. If I am maliciously targeted by him, my days in the Secretariat will definitely not be easy in the future.

But if you keep a low profile and refuse to contribute, you will be ungrateful to the emperor for his attention and promotion.

Yang Hu was quite conflicted.

However, Yang Hu is no longer the young man who had just entered officialdom. He has grown a lot now. Even though he is a little afraid of Zhong Hui, he no longer wants to avoid him like before.

Although Zhong Hui is not a human being, the current situation is different from the past. This guy is a prime minister after all, so he wouldn't go against his own subordinates, right?

As long as I show enough respect, maybe he won't target me.

They were getting closer and closer to Luoyang.

Cao Wen stood timidly on the road, straightened his clothes, and then looked at Cao Qi beside him.

"Master Zhong, do I need to kneel down later?"

Cao Qi gazed into the distance with a smile. Upon hearing Cao Wen's question, he shook his head and said, "Your Highness, there is no need to perform grand formalities, but you should be more respectful in your words. Don't address me as Grand Marshal, just address me as Teacher."

Cao Wen nodded.

After a while, he asked again: "Zhongfu, should I ride in the same carriage with the Grand Marshal?"

"Of course it is necessary. Your Highness, there is no need to panic. Just wait for my instructions."

Cao Wen lowered his head again.

This was the first time that the young prince was sent out by his father to work, and he was very scared. Fortunately, he was accompanied by his uncle, so he felt less afraid.

This time, Cao Mao specially sent the prince out to welcome the Grand Marshal.

This was probably Cao Mao's way of training the prince, to make him more courageous and do more things from a young age, so that he would not be too panicked when encountering big things in the future.

This kind of training method is relatively normal. It is much more normal than many other methods such as letting the prince stab people with a knife, chopping people into meat sticks and letting the prince watch.

There are many ministers around him.

The ministers who came to welcome Guanqiu Jian were divided into two groups. The emperor personally led some people in Luoyang, while the prince led the rest of the people twenty miles out of the city to welcome him.

Most of the ministers who follow the prince now are officials from the Three Palaces, and Pei Xiu is the one with the highest rank among them.

Pei Xiu stood far away and didn't dare to get close.

As one of the big families, he knew too well the methods commonly used by the big families. Since these people could not deal with His Majesty, they would definitely want to start with the prince.

At this time, unless the emperor authorized it, anyone who dared to contact the prince would be killed.

Including Pei Xiu himself.

He didn't dare get close to the prince and would avoid contact if possible.

The emperor is in his prime, and these people must be crazy to dare to contact the young prince.

Cao Wen waited anxiously for Guanqiu Jian's arrival. He didn't know how long he had been waiting, but he finally saw a group of people appear in the distance. Seeing this group of people, the officials straightened their bodies.

Guanqiu Jian was riding a horse and could see the different sizes and flags in the distance at a glance.

Guanqiu Jian dismounted immediately, and the others followed suit.

When the two sides met, Crown Prince Cao Wen had not yet performed the ceremony, but Guanqiu Jian performed the ceremony first.

"Your servant Guanqiu Jian pays homage to the Crown Prince!"

Cao Wen's face turned pale and he looked at Cao Qi in panic. Cao Qi gestured to him, and Cao Wen also hurriedly bowed to greet him.

"Greetings, teacher!!"

You can actually judge someone's identity just by their size and clothing.

Cao Wen looked at Guanqiu Jian, who remained motionless, and hurriedly said, "Teacher, please don't be so polite."

Guanqiu Jian then stood up, and the other generals bowed to him.

Yang Hu was a little surprised. He didn't expect that the prince would come out of the city to greet him. How could the prince be so old now?

Cao Wen was very nervous. Guanqiu Jian had already learned from a letter that the emperor wanted him to teach the prince, so he was not surprised by the prince's arrival. He looked at Cao Qi with a smile.

"I am truly ashamed to trouble the Crown Prince to go there in person."

Cao Qi quickly replied, "When the Crown Prince learned that the Grand Marshal was coming, he immediately came to greet him in person to show his respect for him."

Cao Qi acted as Cao Wen's mouthpiece, while Cao Wen stood aside, nodding from time to time to guarantee that what his uncle said was true.

Guanqiu Jian smiled and chatted with him for a while, and then Pei Xiu stepped forward to pay his respects.

Guanqiu Jian looked at him and said, "Mr. Pei is finally no longer lost."

Pei Xiu was quite ashamed.

Guanqiu Jian sighed again, "Born with intelligence, he grew up to respect nature, to be quiet and true, to enter the profound way, to be knowledgeable and well-informed, to be well-versed in all literature, to be filial to his elders, to be friendly to his brothers, to have a good reputation in his village, and to have a high reputation far and wide."

"He truly deserves to be an assistant minister to the wise emperor, ascend to the position of one of the Three Dukes, serve as an advisor to the government, and spread his merits and virtues throughout the world. He should possess not only the virtues of Ziqi and Gan Luo, but also the virtues of Yan Hui, Ran Qiu, Ziyou, and Zixia."

"Isn't that what I said at the time?"

Pei Xiu lowered his head and said guiltily, "That's right."

Pei Xiu was very famous when he was young and was considered a leader of the new generation. Of course, Zhong Hui was no longer considered a leader of the new generation at that time.

Later, Guanqiu Jian personally recommended Pei Xiu to Cao Shuang, and what he said was the recommendation just now.

Guanqiu Jian believed that Pei Xiu was extremely talented and could definitely become an important official at the level of one of the Three Dukes. At the same time, he had excellent morals and would definitely become a perfect number one official in the future.

But how can we describe Pei Xiu's subsequent performance? We can't say he was bad, he was indeed strong, but he started taking drugs and drinking alcohol early on, and his governance was often perfunctory.

Only come to the rescue at the critical moment.

Under Cao Mao's command, Pei Xiu always maintained a passive cooperation. It is not right to say that he did not cooperate, nor is it right to say that he cooperated completely. In any case, he just ate and waited for death.

Guanqiu Jian became increasingly disappointed with him.

In just this one year, Pei Xiu achieved many results.

For example, he did a very good job in establishing new titles and educating people, so Guanqiu Jian said that he was no longer lost.

Pei Xiu would not have such emotions towards anyone, but he would feel a little embarrassed when facing Guanqiu Jian, who had recommended him.

The group began to continue their journey towards Luoyang, and on the way, Yang Hu also had the opportunity to communicate, and he walked together with Pei Xiu.

The two were not very familiar with each other in the past, but in terms of family ties, they were still related.

Everyone is like this.

Yang Hu took the initiative to talk and asked about the situation of the Shangshu Tai. Facing his future boss, Pei Xiu was not too indifferent and remained polite.

After chatting with Pei Xiu, Yang Hu finally relaxed a little. According to Pei Xiu, Zhong Hui today is no longer the same Zhong Hui as before.

Although his personality is still not very good, he will no longer be jealous of his subordinates.

After all, he has already done his best. No matter how well others do, it cannot affect him, and even their achievements can be attributed to him.

Therefore, Zhong Hui now only hates those who are not doing their job well, and Zhang Hua.

Although Yang Hu didn't know why Zhang Hua was being targeted, he was not so worried when he heard that he was only targeting Zhang Hua.

When the group arrived outside Luoyang City, Cao Mao was leading his ministers to greet them, and Zhong Hui was among them.

If this was done to welcome someone else, Zhong Hui might be very unhappy, but if it was to welcome Guanqiu Jian, then there would be no problem.

This time, Guanqiu Jian did not ride a horse, but rode in a carriage with the crown prince and the King of Donghai.

Cao Mao walked quickly, and Guanqiu Jian and others got off the car, and the two sides met.

Cao Mao happily took Guanqiu Jian's hand and looked at this important official.

"Guanqiu Gong is still strong!"

"Your Majesty is even more spirited!"

The two men praised each other and then laughed. Cao Mao glanced at the prince. Cao Wen hurried forward to lead the way for them. He was very skilled, as if he had practiced it many times.

(End of this chapter)