When Guo De came to the General's Mansion, an elegant and simple middle-aged man came out to greet him with a smile on his face.
This man is tall, handsome, with a short beard, bright eyes, and an especially friendly smile.
But when he saw this person, Guo De shuddered and hurriedly bowed to him.
The person who came was Sima Zhao, the general of the Wei Dynasty who conquered the west and the Marquis of Xincheng Township.
"How dare you let the general come to greet you..."
Sima Zhao helped Guo De up and said happily: "When I got up early today, I heard the singing of birds. The sage in the house said that a moral guest will come. Isn't it you?"
Guo De immediately relaxed a lot and was no longer as alert as before.
Sima Zhao kindly took his hand and led him towards the inner courtyard.
"You are a member of the family, so there is no need to be so polite. When we meet in the future, just call me uncle!"
Guo De was dragged all the way to the study, and Sima Zhao asked him to sit next to him.
Then he said to the clerk: "Let Yan come in and pay homage to his brother!"
Guo De quickly dissuaded him.
"General, it doesn't have to be like this..."
"You don't have to pay attention! That's how it should be!"
Sima Zhao held Guo De down, and not long after, he saw a young man with a sad face walking in.
This young man is very similar to Sima Zhao, both in body shape and appearance, except that his hair is very long, longer than ordinary people, and the same goes for his hands, which can reach past his knees.
Well, the young man is Sima Yan. His appearance often reminds his grandfather of an old friend far away in Western Shu...
Sima Yan walked into the inner room and reluctantly bowed to Guo Dexing.
Sima Zhao was immediately furious, "How do I teach you on a daily basis?! When you see a virtuous person and are a close relative, can you be so negligent?!"
Sima Yan was horrified and hurriedly visited Guo De again and asked for Guo De's forgiveness.
Guo De quickly remonstrated, and Sima Zhao calmed down his anger and drove his son out.
Sima Zhao sighed and said: "This bastard is really incompetent... Please don't blame me. I have been busy with state affairs in these years, but I have neglected to teach."
"An Shi's virtuous reputation is known to everyone in Luoyang. You teach well and you should not be humble."
The two were polite for a while.
Only then did Guo De enter the topic.
"I wonder if my father-in-law is here?"
"Oh, he's still busy. If you have anything, you might as well tell me."
"It's a matter of the new king."
Sima Zhao laughed and said, "Wang Su sent someone to send a letter. I probably know everything. Gao Gui Xiang Gong is indeed not suitable to inherit the throne. I think it is better to choose another person. As for Gao Gui Xiang Gong, just Let him be his hometown father in Yuancheng with peace of mind!"
Guo De stood up in panic, looked at Sima Zhao who was smiling in front of him, and sat down again.
"General, Lord Gaogui is humble and has the style of Emperor Wen. This is a good thing. The more he refuses, the more suitable he is to inherit the throne. How can he be replaced?"
"Oh, but I heard that this person is full of evil deeds and is definitely not a virtuous person."
Guo De was wary. This was not what Guo Zi said in his letter to him. Is the Sima family really planning to interfere in the affairs of the palace?
He hurriedly said: "The reputation of Gaogui Xianggong for his benevolence, righteousness and love for the people has spread in the temple. All the ministers say that he is worthy of being an emperor because of his humility. Moreover, the emperor is still young. Even if there are any evil deeds in the local area, he will be able to wait until he returns." In the palace, with such a loyal and good general as the general, there is no need to worry."
Sima Zhao shook his head, "You don't have to worry about my brother, he doesn't have the heart to deal with such trivial matters."
Guo De's face twitched. Is it a trivial matter to depose the emperor?
Sima Zhao continued: "I'm not saying let Cao Ji be the emperor. We can choose another suitable one in the clan. It doesn't have to be a noble countryman. What do you think?"
Guo De said seriously: "General, the matter of supporting the emperor is decided by the temple and is not something I can say."
Sima Zhao was silent for a moment. Is the Guo family determined to support Cao Mao?
Is Cao Mao so in line with the taste of your Guo family? ?
He tapped his hand lightly on the wooden desk in front of him.
"Mr. Guo...Do you want my brother to go to Yuancheng in person to kneel down to welcome the new emperor?"
Sima Zhao's voice became deeper and his eyes narrowed with a hint of murderous intent. Guo De felt a chill rising from his back, making his hair stand on end.
"General, the Queen Mother said: I am a middle-aged man with no talents. Because I married a good wife, I know a lot of truths. When I was young, I may have done some evil things, but if I am promised to a good wife as my queen, , will definitely make it change.”
"The Queen Mother believes that all virtuous women in the world come from the Sima family."
"If you feel that your countryman does not have the virtue to govern the world, you can naturally choose a good daughter in your family and marry her to the emperor, and let her teach you..."
Sima Zhao looked stunned, and the chill on his face immediately disappeared, and the gentle smile from before appeared again.
"That's it...please wait a moment, I'll be back soon."
After Sima Zhao left, Guo De naturally knew in his heart that he must go to his father-in-law to make a decision.
Guo De didn't wait long. After a while, Sima Zhao came back, but he looked slightly embarrassed.
He sat in front of Guo De and cleared his throat.
"The general has already issued an order on this matter."
Guo De quickly lowered his head to accept the order.
"Order of the General: On October 5th, the emperor will succeed to the throne."
Guo De finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Sure enough, after their own family made concessions and were willing to make room for the Sima family in the harem, the Sima family was happy to accept it.
"Thank you, General! Thank you, General Zhengxi!"
Sima Zhao smiled and helped him up, "We are all one family, there is no need to be like this, go and prepare quickly!"
"only!!"
Sima Zhao watched Guo De leave with a smile on his face. When Guo De left, a thin young scribe stepped out from the side and stood next to Sima Zhao, also staring in Guo De's direction.
This young scribe is tall and thin, with fair complexion and a delicate appearance.
"General... something's not right."
"Oh? Yuan Kai...what's wrong?"
Sima Zhao looked at his cronies, Du Yu, the grandson of Du Ji, the minister of Cao Wei, and the son of Du Shu, the minister of the Wei Dynasty, Du Yu.
Although Du Yu grew up in an official family, he was not a playboy. He had read extensively since childhood, was diligent in writing, and was proficient in almost all fields.
His father, Du Shu, was at odds with Sima Yi and resented powerful ministers. After the Gaoping Ling Incident, he was dismissed, and he was unable to serve as an official.
Three years ago, Sima Zhao discovered this young man and was amazed by his talent. He quickly promoted him as his confidant and recommended him to his elder brother.
After a conversation with him, Master Sima married his sister to him on the spot, completely ignoring his family's pro-Wei stance.
Du Yu said seriously: "Guo De is extremely scared today. He seems to be afraid that the general will renege on his promise. He is particularly wary of you and is eager to make the township governor the emperor, even to the point where he has no choice but to make the township governor the emperor."
"I think there must be someone instigating the dissension."
"The general can send someone to investigate and see if anyone has contacted Guo recently."
Sima Zhao stroked his beard and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter if I establish Cao Mao, my family will not suffer any loss, and I can still get the title of queen, and I can legitimately enter the palace..."
"General, don't be careless."
"Okay, okay, then follow Yuan Kai's advice and send someone to investigate!"
Guo De hurried back to the palace and went to see the Queen Mother. Soon after, Guo Jian, the guard general, led more than 20 riders out of the palace, left Luoyang, and galloped towards Yuancheng.
.......
At this moment, Yuancheng has returned to its original calm.
Nothing seems to happen.
"Mr. Cao, look at these, these are all the good deeds I have done in these days!"
"Since your teachings, I have completely changed my past. I am dedicated to doing good and doing many benevolent things. I have donated almost all of my family property!"
One person placed the bill in front of Cao Mao and said righteously.
Cao Mao glanced at it and said, "Your silk business has almost monopolized half of Jizhou. This won't make you bankrupt, right?"
The man smiled awkwardly and said quickly: "The business is big, but the profits are small. You don't know how difficult it is to make a living today..."
How could Cao Mao not know that the current situation of merchants was quite bad.
War, the collapse of the monetary system, mergers by powerful powers, and many reasons caused the economy to collapse in the late Han Dynasty. Later, Cao Pi stabilized the economy in the north, and merchants emerged again. Unfortunately, this did not last long.
After compromising with the aristocratic family, Cao Wei began to re-define the system, such as the salt and iron monopoly, which could only be operated by the official and private operations were prohibited.
Regarding the issue of alcohol, Cao Rui later abolished the prohibition on alcohol and allowed drinking. At the same time, he also stipulated that it could only be operated by the official.
This so-called official operation is different from the temple operation in the Western Han Dynasty. It can be understood that it is run by aristocratic families.
The aristocratic families are becoming more and more unworthy of human beings. Not only do they sell goods in temples, but they even lead people to openly rob and kill merchants and steal their goods.
By this time, they were no longer willing to talk nonsense about not competing with the people for their own benefit.
In addition to paying various taxes to temples, these merchants now also have to give gifts to wealthy families in various places. They usually take a direct cut of the profits, which is equivalent to protection fees or tolls.
It also faces the risk of being robbed by powerful people and annexed by aristocratic families at any time.
The status of merchants became even lower. Scholar-officials said that they smelled bad and were worse than untouchables.
This is one of the reasons why they can respond quickly to Cao Mao. They also need to be protected.
What's more, Cao Mao can also create more profits for them.
After getting Cao Mao's hint, these Yuancheng merchants all took action and began to "invite names" for Cao Mao regardless of the cost.
Cao Mao originally had a high reputation among the knights in Hebei, but now, the "untouchables" in Hebei have also heard of this benevolent and virtuous man.
These ants, who are looked down upon by the wealthy families, are the power that Cao Mao wants most.
