The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 97 A wise king and capable minister
Wang Xiang.

This newly emerged moral role model of the Wei Dynasty seems to be about to surpass his predecessors and become the flag bearer.

Prince Wang Xiang was in a very good mood. At this moment, he was looking at the young emperor in front of him with a smile, and he liked him more and more.

There was no way around it, the emperor had helped him so much.

The moral leaders in the past were Xiahou Xuan, Zhuge Dan, Li Feng and others. After Xiahou Xuan and others were killed, Zhuge Dan, Zheng Chong, Sima Fu, Wang Su, Lu Yu and others became leaders. In fact, Wang Xiang was still far inferior to them.

However, the emperor could not resist his efforts.

In a short period of time, Zhuge Dan became infamous, Wang Su was scolded, Zheng Chong was also despised by many people for his inaction on the Xiahou Xuan incident, and Sima Fu hid in his mansion and dared not come out.
Wang Xiang's status rose instantly.

Now he has even become the emperor's teacher.

Wang Xiang is different from Wang Su and others.

Wang Xiang was an ambitious man, or in other words, a relatively confident man. He did not think that becoming Cao Mao's teacher would be a trouble. He felt that it was a good thing that could help him become a legitimate leader of the literati.

"Are you the prince who lay on the ice to catch carp?"

Cao Mao asked excitedly.

Wang Xiang said modestly, "It was done when I was young."

The Wang family was also very prominent during the Han Dynasty, but the foundation of their prosperity during the Jin Dynasty came from the man in front of him.

No wonder this family's rise is getting faster and faster. Just look at Wang Xiang's state and you will know. Their family must be more radical and dare to break through. Only in this way can they stand out in the bloody competition among the aristocratic families.

Looking at this person's development history, you can find that this person will hardly miss any opportunity that is beneficial to him, and dares to do it.

When he was first recruited, he was serving as an official in a local area. Bandits were rampant and officials were "unable to control them". The bandits were also obvious. This gentleman, who was famous for his morality, acted decisively, summoned his soldiers, and personally attacked. He defeated and killed the bandits entrenched in various places in Xuzhou one by one, and brought peace to Xuzhou.

This action not only frightened the powerful families, but also made the common people very happy. There were even folk songs praising his behavior.

He rose through the ranks from county magistrate to minister of agriculture, and achieved perfect political achievements in every position.

When Empress Dowager Guo and the general were competing for the position of emperor, all the ministers were hiding and unwilling to participate. This man made another move and put all his support on Cao Mao, successfully completing another leap in his career and reputation.

Because of his contribution in making the decision, he was granted the title of Guannei Hou by Sima Shi. Empress Dowager Guo thanked him for his help and made him Guanglu Xun. However, the general intercepted the opportunity and promoted him directly to Sili Xiaowei.

He sold himself for a good price.

Cao Mao also knew that this man relied on his ability to seize opportunities and extraordinary courage to become a famous minister among the famous ministers of the Jin Dynasty, ranking above the three officials, and leading the entire Wang family to success.

Biographies 1 and 2 in the Book of Jin are biographies of empresses and concubines, while biographies of ministers begin with biographies 3, and the first minister in biographies 3 is Wang Xiang.

Cao Mao excitedly grabbed his hand.

"My Lord, it really is you! I've heard of you before when I was in Yuan City!"

"I wanted to see you so much back then, but I never thought I'd see you here today!"

"How fortunate I am!"

"Please accept my worship!!"

Cao Mao's excessive enthusiasm has always been a nightmare for many ministers, but Wang Xiang was not afraid at all. He seemed to be even more excited than Cao Mao.

"Your Majesty!! How can I be so worthy as to be so incompetent!!"

As soon as he said this, he couldn't help but shed tears.

Cao Mao was stunned.

My great-grandfather!

Why does this guy cry faster than me?

Wang Xiang's eyes were red. "Your Majesty, I deserve your death for your kindness!"

"Your Majesty is a wise and virtuous ruler rarely seen in the ages. The Queen Mother has appointed me as your teacher. I am deeply apprehensive. How dare I, a humble student, teach a sage king?"

"It is the Queen Mother's order. I dare not disobey. I can only do my utmost to assist Your Majesty and accomplish a great cause that will be remembered for eternity."

Cao Mao was very moved. Of course, whoever believed Wang Xiang's words would be Anshi.

Before Cao Mao could say anything, Wang Xiang had already started chattering non-stop.

Cao Mao was stunned and immediately started complaining in his heart.

Sima Fu!!!
Look at them!!

Sometimes, you should look within yourself to find the reasons why you didn't become a loyal minister to the Wei Dynasty? Have you worked hard on your acting skills? Do you have the ability to lie with your eyes open?
Whether it is the smiling tiger Jia Chong or the loyal minister Sima Fu of the Wei Dynasty, they are far inferior to this person.

If I were not in the second round, I would probably be holding his hand to plan to kill the general.

Then, tomorrow he would be able to make another step forward with his unspoken great achievements, and he would have to accompany Emperor Liezu. Cao Mao's eyes were filled with tears, "Prince! With a wise minister like you in the country, what else do I have to worry about?"

In fact, putting aside Cao Mao's own standpoint, Sima Shi cannot be considered Cao Mao's most powerful opponent.

At the temple level, Cao Mao's most powerful opponents should be the future aristocratic families headed by people like Wang Xiang.

Even the Sima family had to bow down to these aristocratic families. Even after the Sima family was wiped out, they continued to harm China. Even in the early Tang Dynasty, one could still clearly see the disgusting traces they left behind.

However, at different times, the enemies to be dealt with are different.

If the Sima family cannot defeat these people, then he can use these people to defeat the Sima family first, and then take his time.

In the end, we must deal with these people. As for whether we will keep the enemy at bay,
Even if I am not as good as Sima Shi, I can't say I am not as good as Sima Zhong, right?

The two of them kept exchanging meaningless pleasantries.

After talking for a long time, Wang Xiang finally got down to business. From now on, he would be Cao Mao's teacher and teach him.

In history, Wang Xiang also served as Cao Mao's teacher, teaching him the principles of governing the world.

It was the same at this moment. When Wang Xiang gave Cao Mao a lecture, he was not talking about the classics. Wang Xiang believed that the classics only needed to be written down. The real method of governing the world was different from the classics. Wang Xiang was more inclined to the method of governing the world.

After listening for a moment, Cao Mao understood why he did not continue to follow Wang Xiang to ask for advice in the first week.

The method of governing the world that Wang Xiang described was too exaggerated, too fake, and too empty.

"A wise king who governs the world must prioritize virtuous officials and stay away from villains."

Cao Mao curled his lips and asked, "Have you paid the copyright fee to Zhuge Wuhou?"

"We should reduce taxes and levies, cherish the people's strength, lighten the criminal law, and reduce corporal punishment"

What Wang Xiang said could be said by any minister. They are just broad principles. This is the Wei Dynasty, not the Spring and Autumn Period! Who else doesn't understand what you said?
Cao Mao immediately lost interest, but different ideas quickly emerged in his mind.

"Prince? How can one be close to virtuous ministers and stay away from villains?"

Wang Xiang was silent for a moment before he said, "Those who are respected by the world are naturally virtuous ministers, while those who are despised by the people are villains."

Oh, so you don’t look at what he did, just look at his reputation?
Cao Mao suddenly realized, "So that's why I have provincial officials selecting those talented people with good reputations to serve me!"

"That's exactly what happened. This is Emperor Wen's benevolent policy."

"If I want more talented people, what should I do?"

Wang Xiang hesitated again, "Your Majesty, what do you mean?"

"I want to recruit all the talented people in the world! The current way of selecting talents is still too superficial!"

"In my opinion, instead of assigning rank to scholars, it would be better to assign ranks directly to the great families throughout the country. The Shangshutai would step in and wait for the sons of the high-ranking families to come of age before directly recruiting them. This would save a lot of trouble. For those families that don't reach the high rank, the Zhongzheng officials would then assess their reputation and ability before appointing them as officials. Isn't this very concise?"

"what???"

Wang Xiang's eyes widened.

The Nine-Rank System did not appear suddenly. It was a gradual development process. At the end of the Han Dynasty, there was already a tradition of village evaluation. By the time of Cao Cao, he formally incorporated public opinion into the national process of selecting officials and established ranks. However, Cao Cao cared more about talent. Although he did not ignore family background, he cared more about talent.

During the reign of Cao Pi, Zhongzheng officially emerged, using family background, morality, and talent as the criteria for selecting officials.

Later, Sima Yi formally implemented this policy and raised the local Zhongzheng to the imperial Zhongzheng.

By the time of Sima Yan, it had become as Cao Mao had just said, where children of wealthy families such as the Ministry of Personnel were directly selected into official positions upon reaching adulthood, without going through the process of recommendation. Talent and morality were no longer important, and it all came down to family background. They became tools of aristocratic politics, and not to mention people at the bottom of society, even those from humble backgrounds lost the chance to move up.

"There are no commoners in the upper class, and no gentry in the lower class" has become a reality since then.

What Cao Mao meant was to bring forward the development of the Zhongzheng system, which had reached its peak, and use it now.

Wang Xiang was of course startled. Wasn't this a little too fast?

Fortunately, he regained his composure.

"Your Majesty, you still need to give these things more consideration and not be impatient."

Cao Mao nodded and asked, "What about this light tax?"

Wang Xiang slowly replied, "The people are suffering, and the wars are endless, so it is natural to reduce or exempt miscellaneous taxes."

"That's great! If we can establish ranks for the different clans, and then exempt those who reach the rank from tax, wouldn't that greatly improve the people's power?"

"what???"

Wang Xiang was stunned again.

(End of this chapter)