Luoyang.
Scholars had long since gathered outside the county office.
Armored guards were stationed around it to maintain order.
The scholars gathered there had naturally divided into two camps.
Those gathered farther away were all sons of great clans. In Luoyang, shabby clothing had suddenly become fashionable, and these young men dressed almost no differently from sons of humble families. Even so, the difference was still obvious at a glance.
After all, clothes could be worn and ragged, but the material they were made from did not change.
Ragged brocade was still brocade.
They also had numerous servants attending them. Carriages stood nearby, and the servants bustled back and forth, constantly fetching all manner of things from them.
These men held forth on the latest trends among scholars, unwilling even to glance at the much larger gathering of humble-born young men in the distance.
"I hear Lord Ruan has written something new?"
"Heh, times of ruin are sure to produce masterpieces."
"With treacherous ministers holding sway and virtuous governance in decay, it is hardly surprising that masterpieces keep appearing!"
"Quiet! That villain He has his hawks and hounds everywhere. Watch what you say!"
"Those villains can only be found among petty men without virtue. Everyone here is a distinguished scholar from a prominent family. How could any of us help a tyrant perpetrate his atrocities?"
As they talked, the spearhead of their criticism inevitably turned toward the emperor.
Cao Mao's standing among these scholars had truly sunk to rock bottom.
They all believed that Great Wei would perish in this tyrant's hands.
They compared Cao Mao to the Qin Emperor and Emperor Wu of Han. Those two emperors had actually enjoyed fairly good reputations during Cao Pi's reign: they had merits as well as faults, a reasonably objective assessment. But