"General Xuande? Why is this?!"
"Get up! Get up quickly!"
Cao Mao said hurriedly and started to help him.
The two people kneeling and sitting at the entrance of the hall were naturally Guo Li and Guo Zhi.
They knelt down in front of the palace door with uneasy expressions. Guo Li's hair turned gray and his body became thinner. Guo Zhi was not much better, with a messy beard and dull eyes.
Looking at their current appearance, how can they still look as arrogant as the former Sima Shi's guest, arbitrarily pointing out the country, reprimanding the Queen Mother?
Seeing the emperor, Guo Li's eyes turned red and he actually shed tears.
"His Majesty!!"
"Save my Guo family!!"
Cao Mao was shocked, "What's going on? Is there something big going on at home?"
Guo Li just cried and didn't speak. Guo Zhi murmured: "Within three days, four people in our clan were deposed and arrested, and his brother was also deposed."
As a big family, of course there are not just a few of them. In addition to these core members, the family also has some relatives and friends, such as side branches, married women, disciples and former officials, etc. These constitute a huge family. Apart from these The big shots who sit in the temple usually include some of their clan members who have served as county magistrates or county lieutenants, who are considered low-level officials.
Hearing what Guo Zhi said, his family was beginning to be attacked. The officials who had been arranged were dismissed and arrested, and General Xuande was no longer General Xuande.
Cao Mao was a little surprised, it didn't make sense.
At this time, everyone is busy with their own things, who would be bored and take action against them? Doing such a thankless job?
"It's the people from the Sima family who are these thieves!! Even Sima Master didn't dare to be rude to us at the beginning. We helped them so much and we were kind to them. But now, just some villains who follow them dare to ride over our heads"
Guo Zhi's eyes were full of despair.
Cao Mao immediately understood. It seemed that they were just involved in the secret struggle between the Sima family and the officials.
In fact, since the court meeting, the two sides have been constantly fighting secretly, trying to find evidence of each other's crimes, then pulling the other party's officials to step down and replacing them with their own people. This is the case for everyone. The empress dowager and the general are constantly issuing edicts. Attack each other.
In the eyes of the followers of the Sima family, Queen Mother Guo was the mastermind behind all this, and her family naturally had to pay close attention to her.
But the aristocratic family hates the Guo family. Not only is it unwilling to come forward, it also follows the Sima family.
Cao Mao shook his head again.
He looked at Guo Zhi, "How much kindness did Emperor Wen and Emperor Liezu show to their family back then? Emperor Liezu even asked their family to serve as ministers of the country and entrusted all his children to them."
"How do you compare your kindness to the Sima family to theirs?"
Guo Zhi was immediately speechless.
Cao Mao glanced at Zhaoyang Palace and said, "Forget it, you go back first. I will take action on this matter."
Guo Li looked at Cao Mao in disbelief. He couldn't believe it.
But when Cao Mao looked at him, he didn't dare to ask any more questions and stood up quickly, "Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Cao Mao then walked into Zhaoyang Hall.
Queen Mother Guo looked very angry. She was sitting on the throne at the moment. When she saw Cao Mao arriving, she immediately started to complain.
"These people abandoned me and went to the Sima family. Now that the Sima family doesn't want them, they come to me again, hoping that I can protect them. How shameless is this?!"
Cao Mao listened quietly to the Queen Mother's abuse.
When the Queen Mother had finished scolding her, Cao Mao said: "Mother, despite this, they are all your elders. If something happens in this palace, it will be detrimental to you. I have asked them to leave. "
Queen Mother Guo was very dissatisfied, "I was very kind by not pursuing their fault. What else do they want?"
Cao Mao then advised: "Mother, they made a big mistake, but if you force them to death, it will be extremely detrimental to you. I think they can be pardoned for their crimes."
The Queen Mother shook her head and said firmly, "I will never forgive."
Cao Mao smiled and said: "Mother, instead of letting them kneel and die outside the door, why not let them die for something valuable?"
"oh?"
"What good can people like them do?"
Cao Mao said seriously: "Mother, you see, today Gong Situ and the important ministers in Shangshutai want to be favored by you. If you forgive General Xuande and others for their mistakes now, they will be the most panicked, and they will all be afraid. Worried about losing your favor.”
"At that time, if you are not satisfied with what the ministers do, you can pretend to be good to them, and then let the ministers do what you ask!"
Sure enough, Queen Mother Guo became excited when she heard about this competition for favor, especially the competition for favor from herself.
All she wants is to be respected and taken seriously.
Cao Mao added: "What's more, these people were rude to you before, but now the world is different. If you summon them now, their attitude will definitely be different, and you can let mother vent her anger!"
Queen Mother Guo glared at him, "Absurd! How can state affairs be handled like this?"
Although she complained, her expression softened.
Cao Mao doesn't care about the life or death of these people. No matter how many people die in Guo Li's family, it has nothing to do with Cao Mao. In the entire Guo family, Cao Mao only cares about one person, Guo Li.
However, Cao Mao has always been a very diligent and thrifty person and is unwilling to waste anything. Even if it is garbage, it can be recycled, right?
Nowadays, the Guo family has lost its support. It has an antagonistic relationship with Gao Rou, Lu Yu, Sima Shi and others and is not accepted. If the Queen Mother keeps them, they can only do their best to work for the Queen Mother. Well, this will be the case in the short term. , it’s hard to say whether it will pop up again in the future.
However, they probably will not have a future.
As for garbage, it is more environmentally friendly to bury it in the ground after recycling.
Such a sense of crisis will turn them into mad dogs. Just as they reprimanded the Queen Mother at first, they now dare to reprimand the ministers.
If used properly, it can also become a sharp knife.
After discussing the matter, Cao Mao asked Xia Houxian, Qin Lang and others.
They have a very good relationship with Cao Rui, and the Queen Mother should know about them.
Queen Mother Guo frowned at this moment and said helplessly: "Xiahou Xian is still alive and wrote me a letter last year, but Qin Lang has passed away. Guo Zhi once told me about this."
Cao Mao sighed.
What a pity for a good man.
However, Xia Houxian is still alive. It seems that this person can be used?
Xiahou Xian was the grandson of Xiahou Dun and had served as a leading general, which was equivalent to the commander-in-chief of the Chinese army.
He also sent troops to attack Shu with Xia Houxuan.
Cao Mao made a decision immediately.
"Mother, can you order this person to be summoned to Luoyang?"
"What did you call him for?"
"Zongzheng, mother, do you still remember what I told you back then?"
Empress Dowager Guo nodded. Previously, Cao Mao persuaded the Empress Dowager to issue an edict to summon the princes in some places. Empress Dowager Guo's edict had been sent out long ago, but because of the distance, those people had not arrived yet.
Queen Mother Guo still looked a little worried.
"Let them come, I'm afraid it won't be possible with my edict."
"Mom, don't worry! We still have Gao Situ to help!"
At this moment, in the Gao Mansion, Gao Rou looked at the ministers in front of him with a straight face, and the anger in his heart almost overwhelmed him.
The ministers in the temple stood in front of him now, all staring at him.
Gao Rou sneered, "Everyone, there is something wrong with the Shangshutai. If you don't go to Lu Yu, why would you come to me?"
"Situ Gong, you are the leader of the ministers. The current affairs of the temple are not clear, which will cause big problems. Please come forward and take charge of these things."
Xunyi spoke first.
The other ministers agreed.
Gao Rou raised his head, not afraid of their pressure at all, "I only heard that the minister ordered the ministers to govern the minister's desk, but I never heard that Situ was required to take charge of it personally. According to what law do you ask me to do it?"
If it were at any other time, settling in Shangshutai would be an opportunity that Gao Rou would never miss.
But now, the situation is different.
Lu Yuzang's thunder has completely exploded. Who dares to take over the Shangshutai at this time?
This is asking for death!
Does Xun Yi not want to be unlucky for himself, but wants to drag him into trouble?
Gao Rou is not worried at all. If I don't want to, how can you force me to go with a knife?
Immediately, a minister said: "Situ Gong! What do you mean by this? The temple is in chaos today. As the leader of the ministers, don't you care about these things at all? The appraisal, promotion, and even salary of the ministers have not been completed. Even the food for the border troops has not been transported in place, and Jiang Wei is ready to make a move. If something big happens because of this, won't the Wei Dynasty be destroyed?"
"In this case, instead of coming forward, you asked us why we came to you?"
Xun Yi even sneered, "Situ Gong, Tingwei caught a few people spreading rumors outside. They said they were following your order to fabricate rumors and discredit Lu Gong!"
"It's because of this incident that Mr. Lu refused to come forward again, putting the world in such danger."
"Don't you want to solve the mistakes you made?"
At this moment, Gao Rou couldn't bear it anymore.
"How dare you slander me here?!"
"Have I ever sent someone to do such a despicable thing?"
"This was clearly done by Lu Yu himself. As a minister of the temple, he actually used the interests of the world and the lives and deaths of the people to threaten the ministers into giving in. Is a villain like him worth following you?!"
"If the world really perishes, it will all be Lu Yu's fault!"
"It was he who gave up the chancellery, hid in the palace, and ignored government affairs. How can you blame me for this?!"
"At my age, do I have to go to the Chancellor in person to sacrifice my life to make up for the vacancy left by Lu Yu?"
The more Gao Rou spoke, the more excited he became. He suddenly covered his chest, his face was pale and shaky.
The officials who were noisy just now suddenly fell silent, and a trace of panic flashed in Xun Yi's eyes.
"We are also doing this for world affairs. Let's go and find Lu Yu!"
The ministers did not dare to stay any longer and left one after another. Gao Rou was trembling all over as she watched these people leave.
After the ministers left, Gao Rou instantly calmed down, her expression as normal.
"Hey idiot."
