Cao Mao had always wanted to turn the East Hall Banquet into an important tool for reshaping the thinking of his age.
Although Zhong Hui now did the legwork on many matters, Cao Mao could not simply do nothing.
If he did nothing at all, he would no longer be a Sage King in Zhong Hui's eyes.
The consequences would be very serious.
He had to do his part in support, so that Zhong Hui would continue assisting the Sage King.
The first thing to address was the question of scholars speaking out. This problem had begun in the Late Han: the repeated Partisan Prohibitions had been intended to silence the scholars of the realm, and Emperor Wu, who came afterward, had also disliked people talking too much and tightened the restrictions.
After generation upon generation of such damage, this had finally culminated in the high-pressure policies of Sima Shi's time. Scholars dared not speak and could only withdraw from conflict through passive retreat from the world, numbing themselves with powder and wine.
To address the defeatist thinking behind powder consumption and drinking, there was no fundamental need to ban either. All that was needed was a lively, relaxed intellectual atmosphere.
Let them speak their minds freely, starting with remonstrating with the emperor.
Cao Mao did not care if these people reviled him; the more they cursed him, the better. If he, the emperor, allowed them to submit memorials freely, what would ministers like these dare say?
Would they dare obstruct people from submitting memorials to him?
Would they dare prevent people from seeing him?
Besides, this sort of open intellectual atmosphere was certainly no bad thing for scholars.
Even men like Gao Rou would never dare show opposition. After all, they were not the Grand General. They had risen