The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 817 True My Son
East Hall Banquet.

This time, the successful candidates will have the opportunity to attend Cao Mao's banquet.

This is the legendary Dongtang Banquet.

When these young men sat on both sides, lowered their heads, unable to suppress the ecstasy and honor on their faces, Cao Mao couldn't help but sigh.

I still remember that more than ten years ago, I had just established Dongtang Banquet.

At that time, the Dongtang Banquet was not yet large-scale. Although it had its own fame as a foundation and the result was not bad, only Cao Mao himself knew how difficult the process was.

At that time, Cao Mao looked at the powerful celebrities in front of him with helplessness, his eyes were almost full of flattery, and he dealt with everyone in a restrained and uneasy manner. He was always worried that Sima Shi would suddenly lead his troops in from any direction.

But now, these elites from the top families are sitting in front of him very obediently, considering the Dongtang Banquet as the highest honor, which is really touching.

Cao Mao looked at everyone with a smile, and he first encouraged everyone.

"Today, we are hosting a banquet for you, our country's talented people. Don't let us down in the future!"

Everyone stood up, saluted and said, "I obey your command!"

Cao Mao then asked Pei Xiu to read out the results.

Pei Xiu stood up. Not surprisingly, Liu Yuan won the first place, or in the words of later generations, he won the top spot in the imperial examination. His article was considered the best.

Then there is Liu Hong, and then there are Pei Kang, Xun Fan, Pan Yue, Lu Hao, Cui Can, Yang Quan, Xin Gui,
Until the last person, Guo Ping finished reading, and the test results of everyone this year were finally determined.

In fact, not all of them are ranked.

The main thing is the ranking of the top three, Liu Yuan, Liu Hong and Pei Kang.

The distribution of these three people is different from that of the rest.

Liu Yuan went directly to the Secretariat to serve as a secretary.

Liu Hong went to the Secretariat as a minister, while Pei Kang went to the Censorate as a recorder.

These three people started directly from the core of the temple. Although their starting official ranks were not very high, there is a difference between starting from the local level and starting from the temple.

The next ten people were assigned to various places to serve as officials, serving as county magistrates or county heads.

There are only the last few, serving as alternate Yuanwailang, continue to wait for vacancies and study hard!
Pei Xiu finished talking about everyone's stay or departure. Even those who did not rank among the top were very happy at this moment. After all, the road to their official career was opened up.

Cao Mao once again ordered that fine wine be given to these people, but he did not follow Sun Hao's example and force them to drink it all.

Just when everyone was immersed in joy, Cao Mao looked at Pei Xiu standing aside.

"Pei Qing, why do all the new rich people this year seem to be close relatives of your family?"

Pei Xiu was not panicked at all.

If the emperor had suddenly asked this question a few years ago, he would probably have been scared to death.

But now, he's used to it.

The emperor certainly did not mean to accuse him of cheating. The person in charge of the imperial examination at the moment was Yang Zong, the emperor's close confidant. Even if someone cheated, it was Yang Zong's business and had nothing to do with Pei Xiu.

When His Majesty spoke at this moment, it seemed that his tone was more sarcastic.

This is just making fun of yourself!
Pei Xiu's relationship with Cao Mao is no longer the same as before. Although it has not reached the level of Zhong Hui and Zhang Hua, it is definitely not comparable to that of other ministers.

Pei Xiu replied calmly, "Those present are all loyal ministers of Your Majesty, not my relatives."

Cao Mao laughed heartily.

Pei Xiu asked again, "Your Majesty, do you think that the fact that all these people come from prominent families, without a single humble one, is a bit inappropriate?"

Cao Mao once again looked at the scholars in front of him and then shook his head, "It's not inappropriate."

“I just feel that what I’ve done over the years hasn’t been effective.”

"I have opened so many schools and appointed supervisors of learning, letting famous scholars serve as academic officials and promote books everywhere. But in these three-year examinations, there are no scholars from humble backgrounds. What do you think, Pei Qing?"

Pei Xiu pondered for a moment and then asked, "Why does Your Majesty want to see people from humble backgrounds among these people so much?"

Cao Mao said: "Isn't it to break the monopoly on official titles?"

"Look, I've relocated the great clans of Jizhou to the south. They've lost everything, but they still control the channels for upward mobility. Soon, these people will become the great clans of the south and make a comeback. How will the court cope with this situation when I'm no longer in power?"

"If the government is filled with people of this background, the policy of suppressing the powerful families will sooner or later be reversed by them. When that happens, I'm afraid the Central Plains will be in chaos again."

Cao Mao took a sip of the wine.

Pei Xiu pondered again.

"Your Majesty, it is actually working. There are more and more scholars from humble backgrounds in various places. Even in the Imperial Academy, scholars from humble backgrounds already account for 30%, which is the highest in the history of the Imperial Academy."

Pei Xiu looked at the crowd in front of him again, "As for these people, they are all top talents. Unless someone from a humble family is as gifted as Minister Zhang, how can they compete with these people?"

"Take Liu Yuan, for example. He studies with Zhong Situ all day long, and every day he's exposed to major world events. How can someone from a humble background possibly compete with someone like him?"

"Your Majesty, I think, should not be too concerned about these last few people. You can pay more attention to the participants in the first two exams. Although these people are elite, they are few in number. As for those from humble backgrounds, they are increasing in number. One day, Your Majesty will see what you want to see. You just need to wait."

Pei Xiu is now outspoken and no longer hides his true intentions. He says whatever he wants to say.

Cao Mao nodded and said nothing more. When the banquet in the East Hall ended, the students said goodbye and left together.

Cao Mao led Pei Xiu for a walk in the palace.

As the head of all ministries, the Ministry of Rites is responsible for many things, including diplomacy and foreign trade, which are actually the work of the Ministry of Rites.

Over the years, the Wei Dynasty sent envoys to other countries many times and established many diplomatic relations, all of which were under the responsibility of Pei Xiu.

Cao Mao and Pei Xiu were strolling in the evening breeze, chatting as they walked.

Cao Mao really liked the feeling of taking a walk after being slightly tipsy, with the breeze blowing on his face, which was particularly refreshing.

"Pei Qing, I previously sent people to Kushan, but the results were not very satisfactory to me."

"The Kushans are already dried bones in a grave, beyond any cure."

"There are internal and external troubles. There are princes running rampant at home, and there are foreign enemies abroad. Even if I send the Grand Marshal to lead 50,000 troops, it will be difficult to accomplish anything."

"At this point, it's doomed no matter what."

Cao Mao never hesitated too much. He got a relatively comprehensive understanding of the Kushans from everyone's documents. After learning about them, Cao Mao immediately decided to give up.

With Cao Wei's strength, it could actually help the Kushan Empire prolong its life.

To put it simply, as long as the Wei Dynasty openly supports the Kushan King, the princes from all over the country will be more wary of him. Then, by exchanging more supplies and sending more merchants, the prestige of their king can be enhanced, the king's strength can be improved, and so on.

But, what's the use of this?
This cannot fundamentally solve any problem, and Cao Mao does not like such ineffective investment.

Pei Xiu also knew something about these things. He nodded and agreed with Cao Mao's idea.

Cao Mao continued, "As for the Persians, we can actually trade with them, but they are quite powerful. I'm afraid we might have to go to war with them in Shazhou. Trade between two countries would require a huge investment upfront. If a war were to destroy all that, I'd be reluctant to do so."

The Persians are now ambitious and expanding everywhere.

They continued to encroach on the Kushan territory and now bordered parts of Shazhou.

In the past, Cao Wei's mind was on the Central Plains, so he had no idea about the expansion of the Persians, and the two empires were safe and sound.

But judging from the current situation, Wei will definitely continue to develop Shazhou, and the Persians will definitely get closer to Shazhou.

Then, there will be a war between the two empires around the inside and outside of Shazhou. The scale may not be large, with only hundreds or thousands of people fighting, but the significance to the two countries will be different, and commercial exchanges will cause big problems.

Cao Mao looked at Pei Xiu.

"I have also told Zhong Hui about this matter, but Zhong Hui wants to send troops to Shazhou. He wants to move the headquarters of the General of Zhenxi to Shazhou."

"He is unreliable in this regard. I want to ask for your opinion."

Pei Xiu laughed and said, "Your Majesty, I think we can trade with the Kushans, we can trade with Persia, we can trade with anyone."

"Even if the Kushan Empire collapses, it won't be a bad thing for Wei. On the contrary, those princes will be even more eager to trade with us. As for Persia, which Your Majesty often mentions, as long as someone among them benefits from trade, war will not be easily started."

“Even if it were to start, it would not jeopardize trade.”

"I believe that the only thing the imperial court does is send envoys. As for trade, it should be left to the people. The imperial court only needs to provide some supervision. Merchants can travel to various places, make friends with the princes of various countries, and bring back a lot of news."

The more Pei Xiu talked, the more he seemed to have had ideas about these things.

Cao Mao grabbed his hand and said, "Well said, I'll leave it to you!"

"Do whatever you want. Pay close attention to what's happening overseas. I know that trade won't yield results in the short term. Even a caravan going back and forth would take years. So go ahead and do it. I won't rush you!"

Pei Xiu immediately accepted the order.

When I returned to Xitang, for some reason, Cao Wen was still waiting there.

Cao Wen just stood at the door and didn't go in to wait. He was so sleepy that he kept yawning. When he saw Cao Mao appear, he quickly perked up.

"Father!"

"Why are you here so late at night?"

Cao Mao motioned him to follow, and the two of them walked into the West Hall together.

Cao Wen hurriedly said: "Father, I..."

Looking at the hesitant Cao Wen, Cao Mao was a little angry. "Just say what you want to say. Why hesitate?!"

"Father! I beg you to give the Grand Marshal two months to visit Jingzhou."

"Jingzhou??"

"Teacher, upon hearing the news of General Zhuge's death, has been restless for several days. He has considered going to Jingzhou to attend the funeral, but he says the court is busy and he dares not leave easily. I feel sorry for him. I know that state affairs are more important, but I still hope that father can grant him some time. I..."

Looking at the frightened little guy in front of him, Cao Mao was silent for a moment, and suddenly laughed again.

"good."

"A teacher who knows how to care for himself."

"It's really my son!"

(End of this chapter)