When Cao Mao left the Central Book Desk and returned to Tai Chi Hall, someone was already waiting in front of the hall door.
The person guarding here is Pei Xiu.
This capable minister who used to always run around naked has performed well during this period and has always been normal.
At first, Pei Xiu was forcibly pulled to his side by Cao Mao and forced to become his confidant. However, when dealing with Sima Zhao, he cooperated with Zhong Hui and contributed a lot. He was led by him to subdue Sima Zhao. of the army.
Cao Mao's attitude towards him has also undergone subtle changes.
Maybe he really started to treat him as a confidant.
"His Majesty!!"
Cao Mao smiled and helped him up, and took him directly back to the west hall. Cao Mao sat down, and the eunuch had already prepared tea.
Cao Mao held the tea and looked at Pei Xiu beside him.
"Ji Yan, this is the tea specially sent by Xun Gong. I heard it is produced in Bashu. You can have a taste."
Hearing these words, the corners of Pei Xiu's eyes twitched.
Brocades and tea from Shu were very popular in the Wei Dynasty, and they had a price but no market.
His Majesty's words seemed to have something else in mind.
Pei Xiu took a sip of tea and said with emotion: "Good tea. Mr. Xun spent a lot of energy to let His Majesty drink such good tea."
Cao Mao liked this man's yin and yang aura.
Pei Xiu looks very cold and aloof, like a celebrity, but he doesn't suffer from his mouth and is extremely shrewd.
He was recommended to Cao Shuang by Guanqiu Jian, and later assisted Sima Yan in ascending the throne. After serving as Shangshu Ling, he claimed to have had no mistakes for four years and managed the world in an orderly manner. He was deeply loved by Sima Yan and was called the Ming Dynasty by people at the time. male.
His name is also very famous in the eyes of people in certain industries in later generations.
Pei Xiu is the most famous cartographer in ancient my country.
His book "Yugong Regional Map" created ancient Chinese cartography and is known as the "Father of Chinese Scientific Cartography".
He is one of the two most outstanding figures in the history of ancient maps of the world.
The highest award for cartography in China is the "Pei Xiu Award" which is awarded every two years.
There is even a crater on the front side of the moon named "Peixiu Crater".
However, Pei Xiu has not yet started his work.
The monarch and his ministers had tea quietly, looking very leisurely. After enjoying the tea, Pei Xiufang said, "Guo Zhang came to me and said that he wanted to betroth his daughter to your majesty."
Cao Mao sneered, "Does this mean that he knows that he can't compete with the ministers at the Chancellery and wants to follow the path of his relatives and soar into the sky?"
Being a foreign relative is definitely the best way to rise today. Once you become a foreign relative, the title of lord is the most basic. If you are lucky, you can be directly promoted to the rank of cavalry general. No matter how lucky you are, you may not be able to become a general. Even if you don't get these, the clan members They will also be promoted quickly because of their status as a relative, and their chances of entering the Chancellor's Desk or Zhongshu Desk, or even guarding the palace, will be greatly increased.
After Guo Huai's death, Guo Zhang has always wanted to take this path to enhance his family's power.
Cao Mao was very disdainful of this.
Pei Xiu continued: "Your Majesty, Guo Zhang seems to have had this idea for a long time."
"Yes, Guo Zhang, the head of the country, this person is determined."
"Your Majesty, it is not just Guo Zhang who has such an idea, but also other ministers. The main reason is that General Wei has returned this time. The ministers think that you have joined forces with General Wei, and naturally they are not willing to let the daughter of the Sima family be the queen."
"Guo Zhang will definitely use this matter as an excuse to actively win over the ministers and find a way to get His Majesty to accept the women in his family."
Cao Mao hesitated for a moment and asked, "What harm will this do to me?"
"No matter what, the queen should not be chosen from aristocratic families, otherwise there will be big problems."
Pei Xiu said seriously: "Even if there is no problem now, it is hard to say in the future."
"Your Majesty should confirm this matter earlier. A daughter from the Sima family is good for you, but she also cannot become a queen. Not just from his family, but a girl from any family cannot become a queen. It is best for the queen to come from a poor family."
Cao Mao glanced at Pei Xiu. Pei Xiu had written to Sima Yan, asking him to complete the unification as soon as possible. Like Wei Guan, he was considered a conscientious son of a wealthy family.
What Pei Xiu said makes sense. The position of relatives is really important. If you look at An Shi's relatives, you will know how far their influence can reach.
He doesn't need to form an alliance with aristocratic families, so why bother burying hidden dangers for himself?
Pei Xiu said: "I do have a candidate here."
Cao Mao looked at him, "Who?"
"The granddaughter of Duke Zheng."
Cao Mao narrowed his eyes.
Zheng Xiaotong’s granddaughter?
Pei Xiu said seriously: "Zheng Gong is the grandson of Jingshen and a great scholar known all over the world. His family's family tradition is definitely worthy of the position of queen. Moreover, Zheng Gong's clan is extremely weak. He has no brothers and distant relatives. He My son has been in poor health since childhood and has never been an official."
"If your Majesty feels that it is not possible, then Minister Zheng Gong is also a good candidate. He comes from a very low background and has few relatives. His son is just a low-level county official and he is kind."
Choose one from the two?
Cao Mao began to think deeply.
At this moment, Pei Xiu said again: "I still think that the servant Zheng Gong is better. After all, Zheng Gong has a good appearance."
Cao Mao smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"Have you been busy checking out the ministers' daughters and granddaughters these past few days?"
Pei Xiu said seriously: "This is not a trivial matter, Your Majesty, the emperor has no family affairs, private affairs are state affairs."
"It's best not to delay this matter for too long, not to give the ministers any chance to cause trouble, and to take precautions in all aspects."
Cao Mao nodded, "Okay, I will discuss this matter with Mr. Zheng."
Cao Mao ordered again: "You should pay more attention to the affairs of the Shangshutai. The Shangshutai cannot continue like this and needs to do something!"
Pei Xiu immediately stood up and accepted the order.
After sending Pei Xiu away, Cao Mao sighed.
Pei Xiu's warning was not unreasonable. Instead of waiting until the ministers made trouble to suppress it, it was better to block their mouths directly so that they had no chance to make trouble.
It seems that I still need to talk to Mr. Zheng about this matter.
But now, Cao Mao still had a lot to do, and this matter still had to be postponed for a few days. He hurriedly called Zhang Hua in and gave important instructions.
"Brother!!"
In General Wei's mansion.
Sima Qian bowed to Sima Zhao, and Sima Zhao hurriedly stepped forward and helped him up, his eyes red.
"As long as it's okay for you, it's okay, as long as it's okay!"
Sima Zhao almost cried.
Sima Qian did not dare to look directly into his brother's eyes. He choked and said, "Brother, I betrayed your trust and was bullied by them."
"alright."
Sima Zhao interrupted him, and then looked at Li Hu in the distance, "When we brothers meet, you wait at the door."
Li Chu said seriously: "General, your brother has come from afar, and I should stay and serve him. How can I leave?"
Sima Zhao gritted his teeth and was about to explode, but Sima Qian held him back.
"brother"
The two brothers sat directly in the house, and Li Hu stood at the door, staring directly at them, making no attempt to hide his surveillance.
Under his gaze, the two brothers obviously had a lot to say, but at the moment they couldn't say a word.
The two brothers just looked at each other, and they could see the anger and sadness in each other's eyes.
They had never missed their eldest brother so much.
If eldest brother is still here
Sima Zhao forced himself not to look at Li Hu at the door and asked, "Are all the clan members okay?"
"Father Zhong was sentenced to exile and is still in prison. He will leave for Youzhou in a few days."
"The rest of the people are still fine, but they were dismissed from their official titles, except Jun. He is still serving as the school captain."
When talking about this brother, Sima Qian's eyes were obviously angry.
Everyone has been arrested, but you are still living smoothly under the emperor. It is difficult not to make people doubt his position.
Sima Zhao didn't say much. He wanted to tell Sima Qian not to force Sima Jun to take sides. It wouldn't be a bad thing to have a younger brother who could continue to work under the emperor, but he didn't dare to say so.
If the emperor heard this, he might think that his brother had colluded with him and directly dismiss Sima Jun.
The two fell silent again.
Sima Zhao had been holding back a lot of words and plans. He originally thought that he would talk to his brother after seeing him, but when his brother really came, he found that he could not do anything.
Sima Qian said: "Brother, we have received your orders, please don't worry."
"Order?? What order?"
"Didn't you order us to return to our hometown?"
Sima Zhao's face darkened and he asked, "What other orders did I give?"
"Let An Shi be responsible for the overall situation, and let Deng Ai and others return to the temple."
At this moment, Sima Zhao couldn't bear it anymore.
"It's too much to bully others! It's too much to bully others!!"
"Even if you want to give an order, why should you ask me? Just tell me!"
He looked directly at Li Hu in the distance, "I never gave such an order!!!"
Li Hu immediately had a straight face and cold eyes.
"When the general issued the edict on behalf of His Majesty, did he ever ask or inform His Majesty?"
Sima Zhao was suddenly speechless. He stared at Li Hu in shock and anger, his body swayed, and he suddenly fell down.
"Brother!! Brother!!"
Even when he saw Sima Zhao falling to the ground, Li Hu didn't panic at all. He still remembered his father's miserable appearance before he died, with his body covered in bruises and bruises from torture.
Compared to my father, who are you?
I have to let you try what you do to others first, and then let you die!
When Sima Zhao opened his eyes again, two imperial doctors were sitting on both sides of him. Seeing Sima Zhao wake up, the imperial doctor got up and refused to say anything, turned around and left.
Sima Zhao felt extremely weak. He wanted to say something, but his voice was so weak that no one could hear him.
Sima Zhao just lay upright on the bed, and for a while, he burst into tears.
