The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 8 Han Dynasty, Wei Dynasty and Jin Dynasty
The stream was gurgling, and there were a few children barefoot, standing in the water, covered in mud.

Suddenly someone caught a small fish and proudly threw it to his friends to see. The clear laughter could be heard clearly even from a long distance.

Cao Mao just looked at the scene calmly.

With a smile on his face, he felt comfortable inside.

There was a woodcutter carrying heavy firewood and singing along the way.

Zhao Ge was passionate and excited.

Cao Mao couldn't help but hum along.

"If Cao Gong likes to listen, why not capture him and make him sing for you!"

Liu Lu couldn't help but say.

Cao Mao glanced at him and said, "If you were born fifty years earlier, you could have gone to assist Dong Zhuo."

Everyone immediately laughed.

"We should go out more often in the future. Once outside the mansion, Cao Gong's mood improved a lot, and he was no longer as irritable as he was back home."

Cao Mao shook his head.

For him, the most precious thing is time.

He also wanted to immerse himself in this leisurely pastoral scenery and enjoy the tranquility, but he still had a lot of things to do.

They didn't stay in the suburbs for too long and soon headed towards their own residence.

The people sent by the temple are not so easy to deal with.

Perhaps, Wang Su had already sent knights on horseback to convey the news of his refusal to succeed to the throne to the capital.

How would Sima Shi react?

Surprise? Angry? Disdain?

"Liu Lu! Go buy a pot of wine!"

"Okay~~"

When Cao Mao swaggered into the mansion with wine in his hands, Yang Gong, who was lying under the shade of a tree, was the first to see him.

Then he shook his head in disdain and turned away.

But Cao Mao did not stop beside him and walked into the inner hall.

Yang Gong squinted his eyes and waited for a long time, but did not hear Cao Mao's voice. He took a few sneak peeks and found that the front hall was empty. He was stunned.

Wasn't that fine wine bought for me?
"Come on, Mr. Guo, don't be busy today, come and have some wine with me!"

Cao Mao grabbed Guo Ze's hand and walked towards the inner room.

Guo Ze was still in a trance at this moment, and was dragged into the inner room by Cao Mao.

Guo Ze is undoubtedly a dedicated and responsible housekeeper.

Although he always opposed Cao Mao's making friends with merchants and knights-errant, he really regarded Cao Mao as his monarch.

During this year, he was in charge of the income and expenditure of Cao Mao's mansion, the filial piety of merchants, the relief to those in need, and even the settlement of wanderers.

He works very seriously and meticulously. Although his efficiency is not high, he won't make any big mistakes.

"Mr. Guo."

Cao Mao smiled and whispered, "I lost my mother when I was born, and because of that, my father disliked me. I was born out of wedlock, and my brothers didn't get close to me. Although a son shouldn't speak ill of his father, my father wasn't exactly a good man. He forced two of our servants to death."

"It wasn't until I came to Yuancheng and met you that I felt I was no longer alone."

"In the past few years, you've probably been the only person in the world who cared about me."

"Thank you for taking care of me during these days! I'm very grateful!"

Cao Mao stood up and bowed to Guo Ze.

Guo Ze finally reacted and quickly dodged.

"This is what I should do. Lord Cao, what do you mean by this?"

"I don't have any other intentions. I just don't want to leave any regrets. I should have thanked you a long time ago."

Cao Mao sat down again and said seriously, "My rejection of Wang Su this time is equivalent to my rejection of Sima Shi. Not everyone has the right to decline three times."

"I don't know if today will be my last day."

"Then how dare Sima Shi?"

Guo Ze stood up suddenly, as if he had thought of something, and then slumped down in his seat again like a deflated ball.

"Hahaha, Mr. Guo, if only everyone in the world were as polite as you."

Cao Mao added, "Even if he doesn't kill me, he won't let me off easily. I probably won't be able to keep this title. We won't be together for much longer."

"Why don't you want to inherit the throne?"

"Although it is against the etiquette, I know that you are intelligent, kind, good and generous. If you become the emperor, it will be a blessing for all the people in the world!" Cao Mao took a sip of bitter wine.

"I had a fortune-teller tell me about this matter, and I saw the future very clearly. This is a dead end."

Guo Ze frowned, "Human affairs are the foundation, and the laws of nature are the end. There is no destiny in the world, everything is human affairs!"

"You are quite right, but the current situation cannot be changed by human power."

"Now, I am like a bird in a cage, a fish in a net! I can only watch the catastrophe approaching step by step, but I am powerless to do anything. If I were in the palace, the confinement would be even worse, worse than that of the people in the wild."

Guo Ze was very surprised when he saw Cao Mao with an unwilling look on his face.

"I didn't know you thought that way!"

"So what exactly do you want to do?"

"I want to get rid of my title, escape control, go to the frontier, secretly accumulate strength, and wait for the opportunity!"

Guo Ze was silent for a long time.

"Are you planning to hide?"

"Lord Cao, I know you are very capable, but if you abandon your status as a royal family member, a mere village headman can arrest you and bring you to justice."

"Today, the world is divided into three parts. Although it has not yet been unified, it is not like the past when states and counties were divided. There was no chance for heroes to become the hegemon."

"You just said that you rejected Sima Shi. Even if he didn't kill you, he would never easily let a member of the royal family who rebelled against him escape from his control."

"What the opposition says is wishful thinking."

"Furthermore, the emperor is in trouble today, and the country is in turmoil. You are a member of the royal family. Why would you want to hide away if you don't want to eliminate the thieves and bring peace to the people?"

Cao Mao picked up the wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.

"I've always wanted to rid my country of thieves. If only things were as simple as you think."

"How am I supposed to get rid of this thief? Do you know what a powerful leader Sima Shi is?"

Guo Ze was as serious as ever, "If you do it, maybe it will work. If you don't do it, it will definitely not work."

"You all say Sima Shi is a hero. I've never met him, but I think that since he chose Cao Gong as his puppet, he's not a very smart person."

"I've heard that everyone has to die, and some people's death is heavier than Mount Tai, while others are lighter than a feather!"

"Before, you could draw your sword against the county magistrate for a commoner, but now you can't draw your sword against the Sima family for the people of the world?!"

"Why does this place smell like wine?"

The door was suddenly pushed open, and Yang Zong, who was covered in a foul smell, staggered in.

Guo Ze frowned.

Yang Zong ignored him, sat down aside, and reached out to take the wine cup in front of Guo Ze.

Guo Ze stood up and said to Cao Mao, "In today's world, rituals and music are in decline. Powerful officials are in power, villains are in power, and loyal and good people are suppressed. Ambitious people cannot display their talents, and loyal and good people are repeatedly persecuted. Local tycoons have hundreds of houses connected to each other, fertile fields spread all over the fields, thousands of slaves and servants, and tens of thousands of followers. The common people have no place to live!"

"You can protect the people of Yuancheng in one city. If you were in Luoyang, you could protect the people of the whole world!"

"Please think carefully, Lord Cao. I am already drunk and dare not drink any more."

He saluted Cao Mao and turned to leave.

Yang Zong stared at Guo Ze with complicated eyes, and watched him leave after he finished speaking.

"This guy just doesn't want to drink with me."

"Lord Cao, Guo Ze is not a bad person. Don't be angry with him. He's just been protected too well by his family and can't see his true nature. He just clings to those bullshit principles he learned, thinking that these can save the world."

Yang Zong took a sip of the bitter wine and said, "Actually, it's useless. The teachings of a saint can't save the world."

"Those principles of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness, and the principle of learning to govern the world, are all nonsense, and are just lies that bind people!"

"You don't have to care about what he says. You're right to want to stay away from the chaos of the temple. No one can say anything about you. This is all your own business. Don't worry about worldly opinions."

"Since you've been drinking my wine all these days, I can teach you how to save your life."

Yang Zong wiped the wine off his beard and his expression became serious.

"Wang Su will come again. If you refuse him again during his second visit, I'm afraid you'll be in big trouble. Sima Shi is not someone who anyone can use to gain fame."

"When he arrives, no matter what he says, you must pretend to be extremely frightened, then recommend Cao Ju, the Prince of Pengcheng, to be the emperor. Constantly praise him and ask him to replace you."

"In this way, Wang Su will think that you are not truly against the Sima family, but are afraid of their power and therefore dare not take the position. Since you are recommended by the Queen Mother, you are tantamount to expressing your position in the royal family and choosing a side on behalf of the Great Wei royal family. Then your life will not be in danger."

"Lord Cao, please don't think I'm trying to provoke you. This is the best choice. You're still young, and young people are often hot-blooded and impulsive. When you're older, you'll understand my painstaking efforts."

"As for Guo Ze, you don't have to worry about him. One day, he will understand this."

As Yang Zong spoke, his expression became dazed, and the image of the young man with high morale appeared in his mind again, his ambitions that could never be realized, and his helplessness in the face of everything.

He picked up the wine cup painfully and drank it all in one gulp.

"He'll understand sooner or later."

(End of this chapter)