Chapter 398 I don't want to be a traitor, I want to be both! The method of selecting only the best is outdated, he has to use this method!

When Xiahou Dun and others heard Cao Cao's complaint, which clearly showed his refusal to become emperor, they immediately became anxious.

The corners of Guo Jia's mouth rose slightly.

He had a firm grasp of Cao Cao's thoughts.

If Cao Cao had not revealed his intention to abolish the Han Dynasty and become emperor in his previous words and attitude, how could he have taken the lead in persuading him to do so?

Although Cao Cao was a man of temperament, he was still a human being after all and could not escape the common practices.

After all, becoming an emperor is not a glorious thing.

As soon as your ministers urged you to ascend the throne, you happily agreed. Doesn't this show the world that you have long harbored the intention to usurp the Han Dynasty, and that all your previous loyalty and courage in supporting the Han Dynasty were just acting?

So Cao Cao certainly couldn't agree to it immediately. He had to act out the drama of declining and requesting three times, and finally becoming emperor reluctantly and out of helplessness.

This makes it seem that he actually did not want to be emperor, and was forced to become emperor by you "disloyal and unrighteous" ministers, who forced him to wear the yellow robe.

To put it bluntly, it is both...

So Guo Jia once again put on a generous face, and earnestly did ideological work on Cao Cao and paved the way for him.

The rest of the ministers also came to their senses and began to persuade and plead with each other in various ways.

Cao Pi, Cao Zhi and other sons were naturally the ones who reacted most strongly and advised the most harshly.

There was nothing they could do. Since Cao Cao had become emperor, they, the brothers, were the biggest beneficiaries.

After all, Cao Cao has not yet appointed a crown prince, so theoretically any of them has the hope of being appointed as the crown prince of Qin.

If Cao Cao becomes emperor, then they will be the princes.

A hundred years after Cao Cao passes away, they will be the emperors who rule the world!
With such a great temptation, how could they not be tempted to the point of crazy persuasion?

So Cao Cao declined again and again, and his ministers urged him again and again.

In the end, Guo Jia believed what he was saying, and he knelt on the ground and threatened Cao Cao:

If you, my king, do not follow the will of heaven and the people and become emperor, I, Guo Jia, will plead for the people of the world and kneel and die in this hall.

When the ministers saw this scene, they all knelt down immediately.

At this point, the steps are solid enough and the atmosphere is almost set.

"You, what are you doing? Why are you forcing each other so hard~~"

Cao Cao stood up, went down the stairs himself and tried to help everyone up, his face full of helplessness.

The ministers' knees seemed to be nailed to the ground, and no one stood up.

"Now Liu Bei has taken control of the Kyushu region east of the Yangtze River. Everyone in the world knows that Chu is strong and Qin is weak. Countless heroes from all over the country have come to Liu Bei, and there are many such people even within Qin."

"If this continues, there will be no need for Liu Bei to lead his army to attack. The people of Qin will be scattered and all the heroes and patriots will abandon my father and leave."

"If my father does not ascend the throne to become the emperor, how can we reassure the people, how can we lead the army and people of our Great Qin, and fight for the world with the false Chu?"

Cao Pi knocked his forehead to the ground and tried to persuade him in an almost tragic tone.

Cao Cao was startled.

My son's words were straightforward enough:
Your national strength is not as strong as Liu Bei's, and your status and position are not as orthodox as Liu Bei's. What can you use to compete with Liu Bei for the hearts of the people?

Without fame, there is only profit.

What is benefit for those civil officials and military generals?
It's nothing more than being conferred a title of nobility.

When you become the emperor, those ministers will rise with the tide. Those who deserve to be granted titles will be granted titles, and those who deserve to be granted fiefs will be granted fiefs. Everyone can become a loyal minister.

These ministers will fight for you with their lives, risk their lives with Liu Bei, and help you fight for the world.

Why?

If we defeat Liu Bei, we will all be regarded as ministers who made the greatest contributions to the cause. The throne of your Cao family can be passed down from generation to generation, and the titles and powers of us meritorious officials can also be passed down from generation to generation.

This is a win-win situation.

What made Cao Cao feel awe-struck was not only the truth, but also the fact that these words came from Cao Pi's mouth.

"Zihuan actually has such insight, I am really impressed..."

Looking at Cao Pi who was kneeling on the ground, Cao Cao nodded slightly, with a hint of appreciation in his eyes.

Then he put away his admiration and pretended to let out a long sigh of helplessness.

"Since it is the will of heaven and the will of the people, I naturally cannot go against the will of heaven and the will of the people."

"However, I am, after all, a Han official. If I depose the emperor as an official, and my position is not legitimate, how can the country last long?"

"I don't want to be a traitor who usurps the country and is despised by future generations, and I don't want the dynasty I founded to be a short-lived dynasty..."

The ministers were a little confused.

Did Cao Cao agree to this or not?

"Let's stop here for today's meeting..."

Cao Cao waved his hands, not giving his ministers any chance to persuade him to ascend the throne, and left immediately.

All the ministers were left alone in the hall, looking at each other in confusion.

"Fengxiao, what do you think father meant by what he said just now?"

"Did he agree or not?"

Cao Zhi was the first to come up to Guo Jia and asked with a confused look on his face.

How could Guo Jia not hear the hidden meaning behind Cao Cao's words? He opened his mouth to answer, but when the words were on the tip of his tongue, he glanced at Cao Pi who was a few steps away, and swallowed them back.

If this were told to Cao Zhi, wouldn't it be equivalent to instructing Cao Zhi in Cao Pi's eyes?
These two sons of the Cao family have already begun to show signs of competing for the throne. Guo Jia is so smart, how could he let himself be caught up in the vortex of the two sons' struggle for the throne?

"I'm sorry, I'm so ignorant, I can't guess what the king is thinking at the moment."

Guo Jia had no choice but to respond to Cao Zhi with self-mockery.

Cao Zhi touched his forehead with his fingertips, frowned deeply, and fell into deep thought.

This court meeting ended without any results. …

Half an hour later, in a certain mansion.

"Zhongda, today Guo Fengxiao really took the lead in persuading my father to ascend the throne. I will also follow what you taught me and persuade my father to ascend the throne as emperor."

"But my father said in the end that he was deposing the emperor by using his ministers, and that his position was not legitimate. He also said that he did not want to be despised by future generations and be called a traitor who usurped the throne!"

"Zhongda, Changwen, what do you think father meant by this?"

After returning from the Qin Palace, Cao Pi recounted the entire court meeting and looked at the two trusted advisers in front of him.

One of them is Chen Qun.

The other person is Sima Yi.

After persuading Yuan Xi to surrender to Qin, Sima Yi suddenly changed from a minister of Wei to a minister of Qin.

Given Sima Fang's relationship with Cao Cao, the fact that his brother Sima Lang had paved the way for him, and his contribution in persuading Yuan Xi to surrender to Qin, Sima Yi originally had the opportunity to be included in the court ranks.

But he didn't.

Perhaps he had learned the lesson from his time in Wei, so this time he chose to conceal his edge. In the name of observing filial piety, he politely declined Cao Cao's high position and generous offer.

Of course, mourning was just a cover. During the mourning period, he successfully hooked up with Cao Pi, the eldest prince of Qin.

Because of Sima Fang's relationship, Sima Yi knew Cao Pi when he was young, and they could barely be considered childhood playmates.

At this time, Cao Pi was troubled by Cao Cao's love for his younger brother Cao Zhi. He felt a deep sense of crisis and was afraid of becoming the second Yuan Tan. Naturally, he was eager to win over a group of capable and wise men to give him advice.

Unfortunately, Guo Jia, Cheng Yu and other counselors were very smart and decisively chose not to take sides and not to help either him or Cao Zhi.

In this situation, Sima Yi was like a timely help. Not long after meeting him, Cao Pi was deeply impressed by Sima Yi's talents and soon made him his confidant.

"Prince Zihuan, it's not that the king doesn't want to be promoted to the throne. He wants to be crowned emperor legitimately without being cursed by future generations."

"This is a great opportunity for you to make a contribution."

Cao Pi was both surprised and delighted by Sima Yi's few words, and quickly motioned for Sima Yi to continue.

"In fact, the king's intention is to hint that we should persuade the emperor to follow the example of Yao and Shun and abdicate the throne to the king."

"The deeds of Yao and Shun have been praised by later generations. Your Majesty should follow the example of Yao and Shun and ascend to the throne of emperor. Only then will your title be justified and you will not be cursed by later generations."

Sima Yi saw through Cao Cao's thoughts.

Cao Pi suddenly realized that, after all, Cao Cao was both the leader and the villain.

Sima Yi moved closer to Cao Pi and said in a low voice:
"What you have to do now is to lead your troops into the palace immediately, force the emperor to write a letter of abdication, and then take the lead in submitting a petition to persuade him to ascend the throne!"

"In this way, the king can legitimately ascend the throne and you will become the first contributor to the king's ascension to the throne!"

"With this great achievement, you will be invincible in the future competition with Master Zijian!"

Cao Pi's eyes flashed with light, and he suddenly realized something. He was so excited that he jumped up.

"That's it, that's it."

"Zhongda, ah Zhongda, with your help, Zijian has no chance of competing with me for the throne!"

"Okay, okay, I will go to the palace right now and force Liu Xie to abdicate to my father!"

Cao Pi laughed wildly, turned around and walked away.

"Master Zihuan, Master Zihuan——"

Chen Qun, who was standing aside, was holding a scroll of bamboo slips in his hand, and it was obvious that he had something to say.

Cao Pi was completely focused on forcing Liu Xie to abdicate, and had no intention of giving him a chance to speak. In the blink of an eye, he strode away.

"Brother Changwen, what are you doing?"

Sima Yi's eyes fell on the bamboo slips in Chen Qun's hand.

"Oh, this is a set of methods for selecting officials that I spent more than a year developing for the king."

"You also know that with my current position, I am not qualified to meet the king and present it in person."

"So I came here today to ask Prince Zihuan to present this method of selecting officials to the king. Who would have thought..."

Chen Qun shook his head and smiled bitterly, then placed the bamboo slips on the table.

"Method for selecting officials?"

Sima Yi became curious, picked up the bamboo slips and looked at them carefully.

On the first of the bamboo slips, there were five words written: "The Nine-Rank Official System".

"Zhongzheng official, ninth rank, um, interesting..."

Sima Yi's eyes lit up, his interest grew stronger the more he looked, and he gradually immersed himself in the reading while holding the scroll in his hands.

After a while, the bamboo slips were closed.

Sima Yi looked at Chen Qun with an expression of deep recollection, and he looked at her with admiration:

"Brother Changwen is truly a genius. The Nine-Rank Official System you created has eliminated the drawbacks of the system of selecting officials through imperial examinations. It is truly a good way for our Great Qin to select talented people and appoint capable people to positions!"

"You're too kind, Zhongda."

Chen Qun laughed at himself, but he also looked worried:

"But the king has always advocated the selection of people based on their talents, regardless of their moral character or family background."

"The nine-rank official system I drafted, in addition to talent and learning, also takes family background and moral character into consideration, which seems to be contrary to the king's method of employing people."

"I am worried that even if I submit this method, the king may not adopt it."

Sima Yi smiled, with a hint of amusement in his tone:
"This is a different time. Your Majesty's method of employing people based on their talents is no longer appropriate and will not help us compete with Liu Bei for the hearts of the people."

"Don't worry, Changwen. As long as you offer this method, I'm sure the king will adopt it!"

"No, I should say I have to adopt it!"

(End of this chapter)