"Then let's handle this matter according to what I said, Lu Jun. I have discussed the specific cost with you, and then we will follow Mr. Cui to his house to discuss it in detail."
Cao Mao waved his hand and handed over the matter to Lu Qin.
This is also recognition and trust of Lu Qin's counterattack just now.
Lu Qin hurriedly saluted and followed Cui Zan out of here.
As soon as Cui Zan left, Chen Qian walked into the hall, but Cao Mao stood up with a wry smile.
"Mr. Chen, you've come at the right time. Come, follow me to the West Hall. I'll treat you to a good meal!"
Cao Mao enthusiastically took Chen Qian's hand and led him towards the west hall. Chen Qian quickly replied: "Your Majesty, I have already eaten."
"I haven't eaten yet!"
Cao Mao shook his head and complained, "The candidates for these three stations must be arranged first, otherwise I have to do everything myself, which is unbearable."
Chen Qian was not used to it.
Chen Qian is generally a reserved person. After he passed the age of youth and frivolity, he never behaved too close to others.
But Cao Mao's attitude at the moment seemed to be that he regarded him as a good friend, and even took the initiative to complain.
As a minister, Chen Qian should kneel down and plead guilty now.
As a minister, he actually made the emperor tired. What kind of dereliction of duty is this?
However, Cao Mao seemed not to give him a chance to apologize at all, and quickly brought up the topic of food and drink again.
"When I was in Yuancheng, I made the recipes myself, and they were very famous throughout Hebei. Even now, they still call those meals "township rice!"
"It's a pity that I haven't eaten even once since I got here."
"Seriously, I really can't get used to the food in this palace."
The two sat down in the west hall. Chen Qian looked at the emperor talking in front of him and listened attentively.
Soon someone brought food to the two of them, and Cao Mao greeted Chen Qian directly and started eating.
"I went out this morning and just came back now. What's going on?"
Cao Mao shook his head and suddenly asked: "By the way, what do you want to report here?"
Chen Qian hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, you should finish your meal first."
Cao Mao did not continue to ask. After finishing his meal in a hurry, he looked at Chen Qian in front of him and said, "I won't go to the East Hall. Let's talk here."
Only then did Chen Qian inform Cao Mao about the situation when he was reviewing the Sili Xiaowei Department, and also told Cao Mao about the 20-year-old man and the non-existent official.
Cao Mao's face suddenly turned dark.
"No wonder you didn't say it just now. Indeed, I really can't eat after hearing this."
Cao Mao asked: "Has the situation gotten so bad? There are only twenty people working in one department? Are eighty people wasting their time?"
Chen Qian said seriously: "Your Majesty, this is still the situation in the temple. I'm afraid the situation in the local area will be even worse."
Cao Mao understood immediately, no wonder.
No wonder the administrative efficiency of the Western Jin Dynasty was so low that it was appalling. No wonder the performance of local officials was so eye-catching. Is this a world dominated by powerful families?
These insects are really insects!
Looking at the emperor who suddenly fell silent, Chen Qian took the initiative and said: "Your Majesty, this is a good opportunity. The ministers have always been opposed to our appointment and tried to replace the minister with false accusations."
"These are all evidence, I have captured all those people."
"The news hasn't leaked out yet. Your Majesty can hold a court meeting and throw this matter out in front of your face. If the ministers don't want to make this matter a big deal, they won't dare to make trouble again."
Cao Mao finally had some reaction at this time. He shook his head and said seriously: "Mr. Chen, your idea is very good, but you underestimated the shamelessness of these people."
"We cannot convene a court meeting now, and we must even prevent them from gathering together."
"My appointments, dismissals, rewards, and many other things in these days have stung the ministers. They will soon follow the same example and attack during the court meeting. I am fully aware of this."
"They don't care about these facts at all. It may even become your new evidence and frame you."
Chen Qian frowned, "What does your Majesty mean?"
"See the blood and let them calm down for a while."
"After a while, the situation in the temple will become different, and I will have enough energy to deal with these people."
Chen Qian stood up and saluted, "Wei!!"
Cao Mao watched Chen Qian leave, and then looked at Zhang Hua not far away.
Zhang Hua walked to Cao Mao's side and whispered: "Zhong Jun has set off, and Wang Gong and General Wen are by his side, Colonel Ma as a backup."
Cao Mao left the matter of capturing Sima Zhao to Zhong Hui.
This is why Zhong Hui suddenly disappeared recently. He was busy making achievements.
Capturing General Wei alive was a feat that Zhong Hui was not willing to give up.
And many deployments were arranged properly, and Cao Mao himself had to be prepared. After all, if he wanted to conquer the Hebei army, someone with enough weight must show up, and that was himself.
Although he had made arrangements and believed in Zhong Hui's ability, Cao Mao was still a little nervous.
After all, this matter is of great importance. If he can succeed, it means that he has defeated the most powerful enemy in the country and completely conquered the Sima family, which is just around the corner.
And the many legacies of the Sima family are also beckoning towards him.
After quelling this internal trouble, he can turn around and compete with Jiang Wei.
Once these two people are dealt with, the officials will be quite obedient for a long time, as long as they are still afraid of death.
The Sima family needs to change the dynasty, and it depends on the face of the big family, but if Cao Mao has real power, it is hard to say. I dare not say that the big family who can kill for no reason will have many heads, but he will not be easily bullied by the officials.
Just when Cao Mao was about to continue plotting with Zhang Hua, an unexpected guest came to his west hall.
Queen Mother Guo put on her luxurious clothes again, and, accompanied by six palace maids, came to the Tai Chi Hall in a hurry.
When they saw the person coming, many of the soldiers were a little afraid and did not dare to stop her. Only Man Changwu still stood in front of her.
Entering the Taiji Hall requires an imperial edict from the emperor, even from the Queen Mother.
Queen Mother Guo looked ugly, but she didn't say anything to Man Changwu. Man Changwu was very tall and seemed difficult to deal with.
When Cao Mao learned that the Queen Mother was coming, he naturally hurried out to greet her.
"Mother!!"
"Why are you here?"
Cao Mao appeared in front of Queen Mother Guo with a smile. When she saw her son, Queen Mother Guo's eyes suddenly turned red and she was about to cry.
Cao Mao was horrified and quickly stepped forward to comfort her, "Mother, what happened? Why are you crying?"
"Come, let's go into the west hall and talk about it."
Cao Mao helped the Queen Mother walk into the West Hall. The Queen Mother looked around and then said in surprise: "So your West Hall is like this."
Cao Mao was speechless. This was the first time for this mother to come to the West Hall since he entered the palace.
Cao Mao helped the Queen Mother sit on the upper seat, while he sat next to her.
Queen Mother Guo immediately said: "My son, those three people of the Guo family are extremely disrespectful to me!"
Cao Mao was stunned, "Guo family? Three people? What did mother say??"
"Guo Li, Guo Zhi and others."
Cao Mao was a little suspicious. He stroked his chin and said, "Mother, don't be deceived. Those three people have been dismissed from their positions and are all in the house. How could they be disrespectful to you? Could it be that someone is instigating it?"
Queen Mother Guo was suddenly speechless. She looked at her son and said with some embarrassment: "I invited them to come to Zhaoyang Palace, but they disrespected me in person."
Cao Mao was very surprised, "Why did mother summon them to Zhaoyang Palace?"
"I wanted to give them a chance to change their ways, but I didn't expect that they would dare to do this to me."
"My son, I will never forgive them!"
Cao Mao nodded, "Okay, I will never forgive them, so I will let Tingwei catch them. But, mother, what disrespectful words did they say? This needs to be informed to Tingwei."
Queen Mother Guo was speechless again and hesitated.
"Then I remember it was disrespectful, I just forgot what I said."
Cao Mao felt a little embarrassed, "Mom, even I can't arrest people at will. Ting Wei won't accept it."
Empress Dowager Guo added: "There are also those three ministers. They are also disrespectful to me. I called them to come, but they actually refused."
"Why did mother summon them?"
Queen Mother Guo couldn't cope with it again.
Looking at her son with a sincere face in front of her, Queen Mother Guo just felt aggrieved, her eyes turned red again, and she couldn't help but shed tears.
"I have made great contributions to the country, how dare they disrespect me?"
Cao Mao sighed.
He looked at Queen Mother Guo seriously, "Mother, I told you back then that in the entire temple, you and I are the only ones who are of the same mind."
"Look at those documents. It is not easy to govern the world, especially nowadays. Those ministers are very busy, and I am even more busy. Even so, I still go to see you every day."
"I completely treat you as my mother, but you have been very neglectful of me these days."
"You summoned people from the Guo family and summoned the minister just to stay away from your sons and ministers, right?"
"Mother, since you think so, then I can only accept it."
Cao Mao shook his head and stood up slowly, "There is probably no place for me, Cao Mao, in Luoyang. I will return to Yuancheng to be my noble country father. My mother can choose another wise man to be the emperor."
"Leave all the major events in this world to my mother."
"You should take care of yourself. Also, Sima Zhao has stationed troops in Hebei. There are more than 100,000 men and horses, watching eagerly. Jiang Wei is attacking Yongliang and has destroyed several cities. Mother cannot take these things lightly."
Hearing Cao Mao's words, Queen Mother Guo trembled. She quickly took Cao Mao's hand and said sternly: "Can this emperor's position be given up?! How can you be worthy of the ancestors who established the foundation?"
Cao Mao looked at her, "Mother, haven't I done enough?!"
At this moment, Queen Mother Guo didn't even dare to be angry.
She looked at her son in front of her and was speechless for a long time.
