Outside Zhaoyang Hall, there was deathly silence.
Everyone knelt and sat outside the palace, looking at the young emperor standing on the chariot in fear.
The emperor raised the sword in his hand and scolded angrily.
Under the sunlight, his body seemed to be surrounded by a halo, which was particularly dazzling.
Gao Rou looked at the familiar armor and listened to the angry questioning.
At this moment, Gao Rou finally understood.
When the sword was pointed at him, he realized that his opponent was not General Wei, but the young emperor in front of him.
Gao Rou didn't know how Cao Mao did all this.
He came here alone, without any helper.
Inside and outside the palace, and all over the world, they are all our people.
But why, the person being pointed at by the sword now is himself.
Cui Zan's face turned pale and he shook his head, "It's impossible, it's impossible."
"Could it be that Sima Zhao wants to catch us all?! Does he want to use the emperor's hands to kill us?"
But this time, no minister came to agree with him.
As long as Sima Zhao is not crazy, he will not do such a thing. There is no need for Sima Zhao to take such risks. If all this is his plan, then he has already done it perfectly, why bother?
There is only one explanation.
Everything was done by the emperor in front of him.
When the ministers were about to take action against the emperor, he began to want to fight back.
He controlled the central army and deceived Sima Qian. After removing the chancellery, he subdued Sima Qian and defeated all the two major forces in Luoyang.
Xin Chang was stunned. Seeing this drastic change, he still hasn't reacted yet.
Isn’t the Emperor the sword of General Wei?
Could it be that General Wei is the emperor's sword?
Thinking of how he had foolishly persuaded the emperor to abandon the dark side and turn to the bright side, and thinking of the emperor's serious words before, Xin Chang suddenly collapsed on the ground, his legs weak.
Cao Mao ignored the other ministers and just stared at Gao Rou in the distance.
When Cao Mao came to the temple, he tried many times to win over the world-famous Situ Gong for his own use.
When he was in Yuancheng, Guo Zi often mentioned this person's name, saying that he was Zhou Bo of the Wei Dynasty and the most important hero in eradicating Cao Shuang.
Cao Mao had also imagined that this veteran of three dynasties, an upright and famous minister, could help him to defeat the powerful officials in the temple again.
It's a pity that Gao Rou's integrity can only be seen when the distribution of benefits is insufficient.
If Cao Shuang refused to reuse him, then he was an upright warrior. When Sima Shi deposed the emperor, he personally sent the deposed emperor to the fief. When Sima Zhao regicide, he was busy accepting the title.
Gao Rou recognized the armor on Cao Mao.
"Now I am asking you to be the head of a county. You are young and despised by the princes on the left and right. There are many traitors in the place. I hope that you will govern for the public good and not be selfish. Don't let me down!"
Cao Mao's body gradually overlapped with a figure in Gao Rou's heart.
At that moment, Gao Roulao burst into tears.
He slowly lowered his head in the direction of Cao Mao, knelt on the ground, and cried bitterly.
"I plead guilty! I plead guilty!!"
Looking at Gao Rou who was kneeling on the ground and crying bitterly, Cao Mao continued to speak: "Today there is a traitor Gao Rou who instigated his two sons to murder me. The mistakes committed by their father and son are unforgivable! He should be dismissed from his official position immediately. ! Deprive him of his title! Kill his three clans!"
The ministers were immediately frightened and looked at Shangshu Ling Zheng Chong.
This punishment was a bit too harsh. Previously, there was a Sima Master who was always killing people from three tribes, but he was finally sent away. Now there is another one!
They hope Zheng Chong can speak.
But Zheng Chong turned a blind eye to the looks of the officials.
Why don't you beg for mercy?
I can't protect myself now. As the top leader of the Secretariat, I am the mastermind!
You pushed me up by force, and now you want me to beg for mercy?
Sima Fu pursed his lips and wanted to speak several times, but did not dare.
Cao Mao sentenced Gao Rou and slowly looked at Sima Fu, the loyal minister of the Wei Dynasty.
Sima Fu trembled all over.
For Sima Fu, it is obvious that he cannot kill three of his clans, otherwise he will not be able to inherit Sima Shi's legacy. The scope of these three clans is so wide that even Yang Hu and Du Yu have to be killed together.
"Master Taifu, can you plead guilty?"
Sima Fu quickly lowered his head, "Your Majesty, I plead guilty!"
"Taifu Sima Fu participated in the rebellion and should have punished three of his clans. In consideration of Duke Xuanwen's merits, he pardoned his clan's sins and was punished! He was exiled to Liaodong!"
This punishment refers to shaving off Sima Fu's hair. For a famous scholar, this is more serious than chopping off his lifeblood. It is a great humiliation for the scholar. At Sima Fu's age, it may not be possible to go to Liaodong. It can survive a year.
This obviously directly sentenced him to death, but it did not directly kill him, but let him die in an extremely humiliating way.
Sima Fu's eyes suddenly became moist.
It's better to just abandon the market! !
The reputation he had cultivated for decades and the personality he had worked so hard to build completely collapsed at this moment, but he did not dare to refute.
It was a great tolerance of the emperor that he was the only one to die.
Sima Fu slowly bowed in the direction of Cao Mao, "Thank you, Your Majesty!!"
The ministers could not sit still. Two of the three big bosses who had previously been in power were gone.
Cao Mao finally looked at his teacher, Wang Xiang.
Cao Mao is still very grateful to his teacher. After all, this teacher contributed a lot on the road to tripping up the Sima family. If it weren't for him, Cao Mao would not have been able to turn the temple into such a mess.
But it was also because of him that Cao Mao was forced to start a counterattack in advance.
Wang Xiang is Cao Mao's teacher, but Cao Mao still has no pressure to kill him, so what about the teacher? I am the king!
Which one do you guess comes first?
Wang Xiang didn't wait for Cao Mao to ask questions and knelt down in front of him.
"Old minister, I plead guilty! Your Majesty, please punish me!"
Wang Xiang knew very well in his heart that the situation was over now. At least in this palace, the ministers were just lambs to be slaughtered. People who could do such a thing didn't care at all whether the famous families in the world would rebel. He simply chose to bow his head as long as he was not touched. He can accept it from his own clan.
Cao Mao also knew his thoughts very well. The teacher was somewhat similar to Master Sima. They only had their own clan in their minds and were not so afraid of death.
Cao Mao asked seriously: "Taichang is in charge of etiquette, why would he do such a thing that ignores etiquette and law?"
Wang Xiang burst into tears immediately, and his expression was more real than the previous two people.
"I have failed to live up to your majesty's high expectations. Please punish me!!"
Cao Mao shook his head, "Taichang is my teacher. I am not willing to use swords and weapons to remove him from his official position!"
Um? ?
At this moment, everyone was a little surprised.
The first two punishments were so severe, but Wang Xiang just raised the board high and lowered it gently?
What does it mean?
Wang Xiang was also surprised, but he reacted quickly and hurriedly thanked the emperor while crying even more guiltily.
Zhong Hui frowned, suddenly remembered something, and laughed again.
Zhong Yu was standing in front of his younger brother with a straight face and said nothing.
Finally, we arrived at Zheng Chong.
Zheng Chong took a deep breath and kowtowed to Cao Mao, "Old minister, I plead guilty and please be punished by your majesty."
As the mastermind, Zheng Chong believed that he had no friendship with the emperor. This time, even if he was not executed by his clan, he would probably be punished by shaving his hair.
At your age, do you still have to suffer such humiliation?
Zheng Chong's eyes were full of despair.
Cao Mao shook his head, "Sikong Gong, I know that you are being held hostage by a traitor. I am also being held hostage by a traitor and cannot take care of myself. How can I hold those who are also held hostage accountable for their crimes?"
"I forgive your crime, please get up."
Zheng Chong's eyes widened. He had thought about many consequences, but he never thought it would be like this.
He is the mastermind, so can he be forgiven like this?
Shouldn't we severely shock the officials?
The officials were also a little confused about this punishment, but for some reason, they suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.
Even Mr. Zheng can be pardoned, so we innocent people who were dragged in should not suffer any punishment, right?
Zheng Chong trembled and bowed to Cao Mao, "Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Among these people, his words are probably the most sincere.
Cao Mao did not touch Zheng Chong because he had his own considerations. Zheng Chong could be put to another great use in the future. Like Wang Xiang, he still had residual value.
Zheng Chong's attainments in classics will play a great role in the future.
In just a few words, the temple of Wei Dynasty has changed.
The three once-all-powerful men were all wiped out, and the only remaining third-level minister, Zheng Chong, was still an old man who had nothing to do with the world.
The ministers looked at the emperor uneasily, and they did not know what their fate would be.
Cao Mao looked at the officials.
"I have already pronounced the verdict on the mastermind of Shangshutai, and the other accomplices will have to be screened by Tingwei Yushi and other officials."
"Now the three princes are leaderless. The general died of illness. I want to take charge personally."
Cao Mao first looked at Zheng Chong, "Sikong Gong, what do you think?"
"Your Majesty is wise and able to govern!"
Zheng Chong hurriedly agreed, and Cao Mao looked at Wang Xiang, "Teacher, what do you think?"
"Your Majesty will rule personally!"
"King Yan, you are my elder, what do you think?"
Cao Yu replied without hesitation: "Your Majesty will govern personally!"
Cao Mao finally looked at the ministers, "What do you think?!"
"I would like to ask your Majesty to take charge!!"
Wang Jing was the first to speak. After him, the ministers all kowtowed and asked Cao Mao to take charge.
Cao Mao laughed, then got off the chariot and walked into Zhaoyang Hall.
Soon, he walked out with the Queen Mother.
Queen Mother Guo looked excitedly at the crowd of ministers outside, her eyes full of excitement, and she was so excited that she almost shed tears.
Cao Mao said softly: "Mother, I have dealt with all the traitors. Now there is no owner of the Chancellery, the general has died of illness, and all the ministers are begging me to govern. What do you think?"
Queen Mother Guo looked at the scene in front of her and reached out to hold his hand. "Although my son is young, he is talented and intelligent and is extremely filial to me. If you are not pro-government, who can govern the Wei Dynasty well?"
She looked at the ministers and said, "Pass on my edict! From now on, my son will be in charge, and the ministers will give their full support! You must not be disobedient and disloyal!!"
"only!!!"
