A quiet courtyard, a gray-haired, but energetic old man, walked slowly under the dense shade of the trees, stopped in front of a bush of lush chrysanthemums, and leaned over to watch.

Aunt Ren arched her hand and followed behind, looking respectful.

A young woman in brocade stood in the distance, surrounded by several servants, looking proudly at a child of four or five years old.

"Hongchang, how long have we known each other?" The old man stopped, reached out and plucked a chrysanthemum, sniffing it lightly at the tip of his nose.

"It's been forty years since Chang'an saw Zunyan."

"Forty years." The old man sighed softly, kneaded the chrysanthemum in his hand, sprinkled it casually, and turned around and walked forward.

Aunt Ren looked at the scattered petals, especially those trampled under the feet of the old man, and couldn't help but feel a tightness in her heart.

"As the saying goes, fifty is not a bad thing. Forty years is the life of many people, even if they don't die, it is enough to make many people lose their will. What was once brave, becomes cowardly. What was once smart, became stupid. Those who once faced great evils and evils without hesitation have become afraid of even a child. Hongchang, you are really getting worse and worse as you live, has the stability in Luoyang all these years worn down your fighting spirit? ”

Aunt Ren bowed and followed the old man silently, without saying a word.

The old man walked to the middle of the path, sat down on a stone couch, put his hands on his knees, and looked at the children who were playing in the distance, and the beard at the corner of his mouth trembled. "That's my son, who's just four years old."

Aunt Ren glanced up. "The little boy has great aura and will be a pillar of the country in the future."

The old man snorted, his expression a little disapproving. "The pillars of the country dare not be the pillars of the country, and if I can not fall behind, I will be satisfied." He turned his head to look at Aunt Ren. "How old is your granddaughter?" Bring it one day to see. ”

Aunt Ren hesitated for a moment. "She was taken hostage by Cao Miao, I'm afraid she won't be able to see her dignity for a while."

The old man stroked his beard and chuckled. "Ren Hongchang's granddaughter was actually taken hostage, it's the first time I've heard of it. It seems that this Cao Miao really got the dream of Emperor Wu, which is not the same as his stupid and conceited father. ”

He paused for a moment, then turned to Aunt Ren and said, "Go ahead, do what you planned." ”

"Whoa." Aunt Ren bowed down to receive the order, took a few steps back, and then turned to leave.

The moment she turned around, she saw a tall and athletic figure walking quickly, somewhat familiar, but too far away to see the face clearly.

"I'm really old, and my eyes are glazed." Aunt Ren sighed secretly and knocked on the wall of the car. The carriage started and galloped away. Out of the manor, the coachman shook his whip, threw out a whip flower, and quickly whipped his horse and headed all the way to the northwest.

Aunt Ren didn't see it, just on the big tree on the side of the road, squatting quietly in the dense shade.

"It's really lively today, not only did I touch the melon along the vine, but there was also an unexpected joy." Han Long looked into the distance and chuckled.

——

There was a new thing in Luoyang City: Xiahou Mao, a former Anxi general who had never asked about political affairs, suddenly wrote a letter and asked to be in Guanzhong and Nanyang Tuntian.

Xiahou Mao had a good relationship with Cao Pi, and his Anxi general was also an official position obtained during Cao Pi's period, but he had no special friendship with Cao Rong. On the contrary, Cao Rong looked down on Xiahou Mao's incompetence. As soon as the news of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition came, Cao Rong removed Xiahou Mao from his post and asked him to return to Luoyang as Shangshu, and soon dismissed him on the pretext of excuses.

Xiahou Mao knows each other very well, honestly teaches his wife and children, never takes the initiative to make trouble, and has no sense of existence.

This time the words in the book made many ministers realize that Xiahou Mao was still alive.

The Son of Heaven was also surprised. However, he was very satisfied with Xiahou Mao's book. Xiahou Mao not only wrote a letter to suggest Tuntian, but also said that this was the legacy of Emperor Wu. At that time, Emperor Wu rebelled against Dong, and pacified the eastern part of the country in a few years, relying on Tuntian and military training. Now that Zhuge Liang has committed a crime, Sun Quan is ready to move, and the world is uneasy, so he should inherit the will of Emperor Wu, Tuntian, train soldiers, and dominate the world.

Xiahou Mao's article was written in general, and there were only a few sentences to say it, but these few sentences made the Son of Heaven very satisfied.

The Son of Heaven immediately announced Xiahou Mao's recital to the ministers and ordered the ministers to discuss it in front of the emperor.

In addition to Xiahou Mao, Sima Fu, the Duzhi Shangshu, also had a similar recital. But he was a day late, and he did not elaborate on it like Xiahou Mao, let alone rise to the height of Emperor Wu's legacy. So although his article was good, it was ignored by the Son of Heaven, intentionally or unintentionally.

The results of the court discussion were obvious, and no one could deny the importance of tuntian and military training, especially when the news that Sun Quan was about to become emperor kept coming. Even if someone wants to see the jokes of the court, they don't dare to show it on their faces.

Tuntian's proposal was successfully passed, and the Son of Heaven appointed Xiahou Mao as a servant and was in charge of Tuntian in Nanyang. Sima Fu, the secretary of the Duzhi Shangshu, rushed to Guanzhong and was specifically responsible for the Tuntian affairs in Guanzhong. It seems that Xiahou Mao only got the false title of servant and failed to get his wish, but he actually took over the responsibilities of Duzhi Shangshu. As long as he does well, it is expected that he will succeed Sima Fu.

The Son of Heaven struck while the iron was hot, announcing that he would make appropriate adjustments to the system of prohibiting the transportation of the princes and kings of the clan, and relax the control of the clan, and at the same time hoped that they would be able to rebuke the flashy, concentrate on learning, and serve the country.

Although the ministers were dissatisfied with the Son of Heaven's change of Emperor Wen's legacy, they could not refute it. Confucianism attaches great importance to blood, and it is the principle of being close to the virtuous and virtuous, prohibiting the clans from walking around each other, and they are not allowed to come and go during the New Year's holidays, which really breaks through the bottom limit of many people, and it makes no sense in principle.

The old ministers agreed with the suppression of glitz. They also hope that the imperial court will select talents through the Jiupin Zhongzheng system, rather than seeing who is good at talking about metaphysics. The reason why they are extremely disgusted with the so-called Four Congs, Bada and Sanyu is not that they are opposed to talking about the Tao of the Occult Dao, but that they are opposed to using this to enter the ranks, causing more scholars to follow suit, and then impacting the Jiupin Zhongzheng system.

Xiahou Xuan, the head of the Four Congs, abandoned hypocrisy and pragmatism, which is certainly a good sign, but it is far from enough. The edict of the Son of Heaven is the fundamental way to solve the problem.

After some debate, each side made some concessions and reached a resolution.

Scattered the dynasty, the Son of Heaven was still unsatisfied, left Xiahou Mao, inquired carefully, and learned that this suggestion was originally made by Xiahou Xu, and the Son of Heaven smiled heartily.

Don't even think about it, there must be Cao Miao's credit in this. Just by Xiahou Xu himself, he would definitely not have thought of this. He has grown so big, he has never done anything serious, and he suddenly changed his personality, and he must have someone behind him to guide him.

This person is undoubtedly Cao Miao. He seems to have a magical power, and everyone who comes into contact with him becomes positive and pragmatic.

Xiahou Xuan, Xiahou Ji, and Cao Su have repeatedly proved this, and even Cao Shuang has made significant progress.

"It's a pity for Yunliang." The Son of Heaven sighed regretfully. "If it weren't for the madness that would be difficult to get rid of, he would be a master of the clan, no less than Taichu and Yuan Gong. I hope that his retreat out of the city this time will be fruitful. I think about it, the matter of Jiangdong has to be him. ”

Cao Zhi didn't say a word, his eyes were helpless.