The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 816 The Lost Era

Liu Yuan's test paper really feels like Zhong Hui took the test for him.

It’s not that Liu Yuan’s level has reached the same level as Zhong Hui, but Zhong Hui did not hold back on this disciple and taught him everything. Therefore, almost everything Liu Yuan knows now comes from his teacher.

His thoughts are highly synchronized with his teacher.

Liu Yuan had not yet developed anything of his own, but Cao Mao would not look down on him. After all, he was still old.

However, Cao Mao would not directly promote and employ him. It should be Cao Wen who should employ him.

Cao Mao happily finished reading Liu Yuan's test paper, and then looked at other people's.

With Liu Yuan's test paper as a foundation, the test papers of the others seemed so boring to read.

They are actually not that bad, but the first one is too good, which creates this illusion.

When Cao Mao saw Guo Ping's test paper, he became furious.

What this guy wrote is really terrible.

He did know what the Advancement Order was, but he had no idea why it was established, why it was effective after it was established, and how to continue in the future.

Let's see his answer.

When he first discussed the reasons for the establishment of the Advancement Order, he actually said it was because the powerful families in various places lacked motivation. While this is not entirely wrong, your answer to the emperor was so perfunctory?
When asked why it was so effective, he believed it was because the emperor was wise.

He felt that he should listen to the emperor as to how to improve the situation in the end.

After reading this guy's answer, Cao Mao began to wonder how he got to where he was. Could it be that someone had helped him open a backdoor in the previous two levels?

This shitty answer is really not even as good as Sima Anshi!
Sima Anshi’s articles were better than this!!

Cao Mao's face darkened as he flipped through the other people's articles again.

And at this moment.

Guo Ping was sitting next to the prince with a smile on his face.

"Hahaha, this time I'm confident I can compete with Liu Yuan!"

Cao Wen glanced at his brother. The Guo family was not very reliable, and his brother was the same.

Of course, this brother is not always so unreliable, he also has his strengths.

His martial arts skills were very good, probably because he was weak and sickly when he was young, Sima Yi always supervised him very strictly. After following Chen Qian, he also followed him to learn military tactics, and later learned riding and archery.

He was already good at horse riding, and now he could shoot with both hands, which surprised everyone.

I heard that he went hunting with his father last year and was rewarded for shooting two wild boars.

As for classics and governance, Cao Wen was skeptical when he heard that he could compete with Liu Yuan.

Cao Wen secretly glanced outside and whispered, "Brother, the students taking the exam are all gathered together for discussion. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for you to come directly to me?"

"What's wrong with that?"

Guo Ping didn't care at all. He said seriously, "This place is the palace to them, but it's home to me! I'm home to see my brother. What can they say?"

Cao Wen explained, "I'm just afraid that someone will say you're sabotaging the imperial examination. My father allowed you to participate in order to enhance its influence and let everyone know that even my children have to take the exam. I'm afraid you'll be reprimanded by my father for your current behavior."

"I think you should go back and stay with them first. Besides, these people are all talented people nowadays. It might be beneficial for you to talk to them more."

Guo Ping hesitated for a moment, and suddenly felt that his brother's words made some sense.

He couldn't help but praise him, "You are indeed someone who studied under Guanqiu Gong. You are different from me."

Cao Wen reminded him again: "Brother, Lord Chen is also a capable minister at the moment, you shouldn't speak like that."

"Can any minister, no matter how capable he is, compare to Guanqiu Gong?"

Cao Wen fell silent again.

Before leaving, Guo Ping did not forget to show off his answer.

"I said that it was because of Your Majesty that we were able to succeed. From now on, we must listen to Your Majesty's ideas and make improvements. I guess they haven't even considered this. Only by complete obedience and loyalty will Your Majesty promote and reuse us!"

Guo Ping said this with a solemn oath.

Cao Wen just smiled bitterly, not knowing how to answer.

After his brother left, Wang Shun, who was in charge of reading with him, finally spoke up, "Given Lord Guo's personality, I'm afraid he won't be able to achieve anything great in the future."

This Wang Shun was the grandson of Wang Jing, who governed Wu. After Wang Jing became rich, he did not seek benefits for his clan. His children still made a living by farming and studying. His grandson was a simple and honest person who liked to tell the truth, had no bad habits, and loved reading.

Cao Mao asked him to be a companion to the prince and study with him.

Hearing Wang Shun's words, Cao Wen sighed deeply and then said, "My brother is honest and sincere. He can be a general, but not a commander."

"I hope Father won't punish him too much."

Cao Wen then began to prepare to go to the Grand Marshal's residence.

Wang Shun prepared a carriage for him, and Cao Wen got on it and left the palace.

When they arrived at the Grand Marshal's residence, the door of Guanqiu Jian's residence was already open.

Even though they were quite far away, they could hear the sound of reading coming from inside.

Guanqiu Jian loved to read aloud, and his voice was so loud that it could be heard from far away. It is said that many people stood outside Guanqiu Jian's mansion every day hoping to hear him reading, but it is unknown why they did so.

Guanqiu Jian is now living a semi-retired life. Apart from reading and teaching the prince, his biggest hobby is writing classics.
Classics are the final destination of every famous official of the Wei and Jin Dynasties.

Guanqiu Jian was no exception. As one of the famous scholars of the time, he had his own understanding of Confucian classics. When he achieved success and fame, he began to study the classics seriously, hoping to make some breakthroughs.

He specializes in Wangxue and has completed a book in the past few years, making academic breakthroughs.

This has set a good example for many retired officials.

Those idle old men seemed to have found their mission in an instant and joined the academic research industry one after another.

In recent years, the study of classics in the Wei Dynasty has progressed rapidly, probably because so many elderly people have been forced or voluntarily retired.

Cao Wen walked into the study, and Guanqiu Jian put down the book with a smile.

After paying his respects, Cao Wen took out his books and prepared to listen to the lecture.

Little did he know, Guanqiu Jian had no intention of continuing his lecture. He suddenly asked, "What is the reason for the establishment of the Spring and Autumn List in the imperial court?"

Cao Wen was taken aback for a moment, then replied, "It's probably to take care of the scholars around us."

Guanqiu Jian laughed, and his eyes became softer as he looked at the prince.

The prince is not quite like his father.

He did not have the ruthlessness, decisiveness, indescribable dominance and self-confidence of Cao Mao.

He is a very gentle person.

However, Guanqiu Jian was very satisfied with him. Although the prince was gentle, he was not pedantic. Even though he was still young, he could see through many things and had his own understanding of many major issues.

Guanqiu Jian often used beautiful jade to describe the prince, saying he was gentle and flawless.

It can be seen that Guanqiu Jian was quite satisfied with this answer.

Only then did he pick up the classics and begin to teach.

Cao Wen listened very carefully, and when he encountered something he didn't understand, he would ask. Guanqiu Jian never got angry and taught him patiently.

After studying for half an hour, Guanqiu Jian allowed him to rest for a while.

Taking advantage of the break, Cao Wen asked, "Teacher, there is something I don't quite understand."

"Oh? What's going on?"

"The Minister of Punishment has been impeached several times by the ministers for excessive punishments. His Majesty has repeatedly reprimanded him, and Lord Zhong has frequently demanded punishment. Yet, the Minister of Punishment's rank has only risen higher and higher, and his rewards have only grown more and more generous."

"I know that Minister Zhang is very close to His Majesty, but my father has always been fair. If he didn't do well, why would he reward him?"

"If he's doing well, why scold him?"

Since taking over as the Minister of Justice, Zhang Hua has explained to the ministers what it means to be the emperor's lackey.

Things like He Zeng are all put aside.

Zhang Hua was much more radical than Wei Shu and others. He served as the Shangshu for less than half the time that Wei Shu did, but the number of people he arrested and sentenced was more than three times that of Wei Shu.

Even Cao Mao felt that Zhang Hua was a little too impatient and scolded him repeatedly.

But this did not hinder him from being promoted to a higher rank and receiving rewards.

After hearing what the prince said, Guanqiu Jian burst into laughter.

"Because the reprimands for all three are different."

"The ministers impeached Zhang Hua because they were afraid of him. Zhang Hua is a harsh man, showing no mercy to others, so they impeached him. Your Majesty reprimanded him because you were worried about him."

"Your Majesty has high hopes for Zhang Hua and doesn't want him to become just another cruel official. Therefore, he reprimands him frequently to encourage him to achieve more."

"As for Zhong Hui, let's not talk about him."

Cao Wen pondered, "So, Minister Zhang did nothing wrong?"

"Of course he did nothing wrong. The current administration is completely different from what it was back then. After Minister Zhang came to power, he carried out several rectifications across the country, shocking everyone. Nowadays, there are very few people who dare to take bribes and break the law. It's just that he was too impatient and used some cruel methods. Perhaps things will change in the future."

Cao Wen didn't ask any more questions.

Guanqiu Jian looked at him and earnestly warned him, "You should learn more from your father about this matter. All the ministers opposed harsh punishments, citing benevolence as their reason. Of course, cruel officials are not to be advocated, but as an emperor, you certainly cannot advocate using cruel officials to govern the country. However, if you don't have even one cruel official under your command, that would be the situation during the Later Han Dynasty."

"Disciple knows."

Just as Guanqiu Jian continued to lecture, a servant suddenly came in and interrupted their teaching.

The visitor was a Langguan from the Secretariat.

He came to see Guanqiu Jian.

"Grand Marshal! Lord Zhuge has passed away."

Guanqiu Jian was stunned and remained silent for a long time before he sat down weakly.

Alas, the era of veterans has finally passed.

(End of this chapter)