The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 231 It turns out they didn't give enough.
Yang Jun glanced at Guan Yu, then at Mi Wei.

He realized that he was originally a subjugated person.

If the other party wants to humiliate me, why wait until now?

He answered truthfully:
"Your Majesty is extremely kind and benevolent, while Cao Wei treats its officials with great leniency."

It must be said that Yang Jun, as a seasoned official, knew the art of speaking.

It seems like everyone is praising them.

It actually already implies praise or criticism.

The phrase "treating others with utmost kindness" naturally means treating everyone with goodwill regardless of their social status.

But land has boundaries, and power is finite.

If there's more here, there will be less there.

This stands in stark contrast to the one-sided approach taken by Cao Wei.

Those present were all elites among the scholars, and they naturally understood the underlying meaning, nodding secretly, but daring not to loudly echo Guan Yu's words.

However, Mi Zhaohan and Mi Yuzhou, who have been praised for their wisdom and resourcefulness in recent years, seem to have suddenly lost their minds.

He bluntly pressed on with the question:
"Does Yang Gong mean that the imperial court is not as popular with scholars as the Cao Wei dynasty?"

Yang Jun quickly smiled apologetically:

"No, no!"

"When Your Majesty went south to Jiangling, 100,000 people risked their lives to follow you; a few years ago, when the magistrate went north to Xiangfan, he defeated Xu Huang with a single move of 'Yuzhou grain'."

"These are all clear proof that our dynasty has won the support of talented people!"

"It is only because our dynasty's system is newly established that there are bound to be imperfections, so it is not surprising that there are some shortcomings!"

"I see!" Mi Wei nodded slightly.

"Then I will trouble you, Lord Yang, to help the court improve the system for selecting officials!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Jun thought to himself, "So Mi Wei's words were just a stepping stone for me to take office as the new official?"
He immediately relaxed and repeatedly said he didn't deserve such praise.

However, the next moment, Mi Wei changed the subject and addressed the crowd:
"As you all have just heard clearly, Lord Yang is determined to fill the gaps and make up for the shortcomings in the court's selection of officials."

"Since we have gathered so many wise men here today, why don't you all offer your suggestions and advice to Master Yang, and together decide on a better system?"

Upon hearing this, the room fell silent once again.

Yang Jun's back was already covered in cold sweat.

At this moment, Guan Yu suddenly spoke:
“Previously, two or three of my men privately complained to me that Master Mi was unfair in his dealings.”

"Very well, I've brought the people here for you today, and with the great Confucian scholar Yang Gong as witness, why are you all silent now?"

Upon hearing this, everyone secretly thought to themselves, "Isn't it because they're afraid of offending you two, uncle and son-in-law, that they dare not openly object?"
Mi Wei: "Uncle, please don't be surprised if you gentlemen are hesitant to speak. It is truly your imposing presence that no ordinary person can withstand!"

Upon hearing this, Guan Yu stroked his beard and burst into laughter, a laugh that sent chills down everyone's spines.

Fortunately, after Guan Yu finished laughing, he slowly stood up and said:
"In that case, I will go down and rest. You may say whatever you wish to say."

He then said to Chief Secretary Yang Yi:
"What we discuss today, as long as it doesn't belittle the Emperor, or even criticize Guan, will not be considered a crime!"

"Whoever blames others for this crime afterward, you shall punish them for me!"

After saying this, he left gracefully, without any hesitation.

Even so, there was a moment of silence before a respected local from Xiangyang spoke up, albeit tremblingly.

"Our dynasty basically inherited the Han system for selecting officials, except that some of the original special examinations were changed into regular examinations."

"Looking at this point alone, the court is more decisive in its personnel selection than in the past, and our family members have more opportunities to advance. It is not necessarily worse than the system of enemy countries, so we have no complaints."

Many people in the room nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

Aside from a very few prominent scholars from well-to-do families who have a tradition of reading poetry and books, there are some concerns about the cheap paper books that have been heavily promoted recently.

However, this is not enough to generate a sufficiently strong opposition at present.

Mi Wei watched coldly, having already anticipated this.

After all, most of those who passed down poetry and books through their families were scholars of the New Text School.

These "former dynasty loyalists" had already been defeated and rendered powerless by the more widely supported classical literature school during the Jian'an period.

The latter, however, had not yet formed a new knowledge monopoly class because the Nine-Rank System for Officials had only been in place for a few years.

They still retained some of the enterprising spirit of the Huan and Ling periods, which was to "punish the eunuchs" and break the "partisan stagnation".

They are more open to new things.

At this point, the local gentry said again:

"His Majesty's kindness to the common people is a virtue worthy of wise rulers of the past, how dare we criticize it?"

"It's just you, my lord."

The local notable ignored Yang Jun and faced Mi Wei directly:

"Human hearts are made of flesh and blood. How can one not secretly compare favoritism and prejudice?"

"This comparison naturally introduces bias and attachment... Even if Your Majesty's sword is sharp, how can it sever the bonds that bind the hearts of millions?"

This time, no one spoke up in agreement. But all eyes turned to Mi Wei, waiting for him to give his opinion.

This invisible pressure made Zhuge Qiao, who was sitting to the side, feel like he was sitting on pins and needles.

Even Yang Jun became uneasy.

I don't know whether I should express my support for the majority opinion or defend Guan Yu's bravery.

Only Yang Yi had a thick skin; he remained as calm as Mi Wei, even wearing a look of amusement.

Miwei did not respond directly.

After a moment of silence, until the local gentry's forehead was beaded with sweat, he said with a half-smile:
"I think I understand now."

"Gentlemen, you are not actually complaining that I, Miwei, am unfair in my actions, nor are you complaining that the court's system is unfair."

"What you gentlemen are complaining about is that the benefits the court provides are not as great as those Cao Pi provides, is that not so?"

Still, no one dared to answer.

But Miwei already had the answer, and suddenly chuckled:
"The world is bustling, all for profit; the world is bustling, all for gain."

"Guanzi was right to tell me!"

The local notable immediately blushed and opened his mouth to argue.

But Mi Wei raised his hand to stop him, saying:
"In my opinion, things would be simpler if both sides only talked about 'profit'."

"If you think it's not enough, then give more."

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone could get along well?"

The group looked at each other, but still dared not respond.

Yang Jun, being a mature and learned scholar, couldn't help but speak up upon seeing this:
"Your words are all about profit, behaving like a common merchant in the marketplace; this is certainly not the way of a sage!"

Upon hearing this, Miwei quickly apologized:

"What Master Yang said is very true! I misspoke."

Then, without a trace of shame, he turned back to the crowd:
"Then let me put it another way."

"If the court were more lenient, I suppose your flesh-and-blood hearts would be able to change your minds?"

This time, even Yang Jun didn't dare to respond.

Yang Yi, who had been watching the show closely, suddenly asked when the time was right:
"I wonder how Governor Mi intends to treat scholars well? Is he perhaps planning to establish a separate system for the nine-rank official system?"

"Or perhaps it's emulating Cao Cao's earlier 'Edict for Seeking Talented Individuals,' advocating 'appointing only the talented'?"

"Good question!" Mi Wei gave Yang Yi an approving look.

"To be honest, I have indeed considered these two matters."

"But I have always looked up to Your Majesty as my role model."

"Looking at Your Majesty's achievements over the past two or three decades, they can be summarized in just eight words: 'Only by opposing Cao Cao can things be accomplished.'"

"If I were to imitate His Majesty's gait today, wouldn't I be going against His Majesty's lifelong aspirations?"

"The Nine-Rank System for Officials, ostensibly a system of evaluating and selecting officials, is in reality a way of relinquishing the court's power to appoint officials. It is not a long-term solution and is not adopted by wise people."

"The idea of ​​'appointing people based solely on talent' sounds nice, but it fizzles out after one generation, leaving those from poor families with no way to advance."

"It is clear that without addressing the root of the law, writing any number of edicts seeking talent is futile."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the people present varied.

Some were disappointed that Mi Wei rejected the Nine-Rank System for officials outright.

Some people are relieved that Mi Wei did not promote the "merit-based" approach that judges people solely on their talents and disregards their moral character.

Some people are dissatisfied with Mi Wei's emphasis on the path to advancement for scholars from humble backgrounds, while others disagree.

More people were drawn in by the phrase "every time they do the opposite of what Cao Cao said," and had some expectations.

Mi Wei secretly observed everyone's expressions, becoming even more convinced of his earlier conclusion.

He kept talking:

"Although we may not take it, it is not impossible for everyone here to benefit from it."

Zhuge Qiao suddenly asked, "May I ask, Your Excellency, what benefit have you all gained?"

Mi Wei glanced approvingly at Zhuge Qiao and said loudly:

"To clear the names of those who died unjustly and to vindicate those who have been stigmatized!"

"The so-called nine-rank evaluation system of Cao Wei was, in essence, a one-man show by the Zhongzheng official."

"And those so-called Grand and Small Justices are nothing but a bunch of shameless scoundrels who rose to power by slandering virtuous men!"

"If your official ranks are judged by such a shameless person, wouldn't you all become just as petty as him? Can you really accept that?"

These words caused the entire room to fall silent once again.

But soon, as some quick-witted people realized what was happening, discussions began to rise, and with Mi Wei's deliberate indulgence, the noise grew louder and louder, eventually reaching a boiling point.

Yang Jun, who had just been cowering and forcing a smile, now had bloodshot eyes and was trembling all over.

(End of this chapter)