Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Chapter 211 His Majesty is a Wise Ruler
Inside Xianyang Palace, Yuan Ziyou became nervous after hearing Erzhu Rong's words.

Of course, this tension wasn't due to fear, but rather to a sense of excitement.

Fight! Fight! Fight!

As long as Erzhu Rong and Li Shuang turn against each other, Luoyang will be thrown into chaos, and the situation could be reversed.

Yuan Ziyou was so looking forward to it!

"Second brother, just tell me straight, are you reluctant to part with these provisions?"

After Li Shuang uttered these words, everyone in the hall fell silent. Gao Huan, Heba Yue, and the others were somewhat nervous, but unlike Yuan Ziyou, they were genuinely afraid.

If a war really breaks out and the imperial court falls into chaos, the titles and ranks that these military merits from the north have obtained will most likely be lost.

Furthermore, if Li Shengui, Yuan Hao, and others were to attack Luoyang and Erzhu Rong were to lose power, they might even be branded as traitors.

At the same time, Gao Huan and the others felt a sense of admiration.

Li Shuang is probably the only one who dared to speak to Erzhu Rong like this at this time and place and hasn't been killed yet.

When Erzhu Rong was asked this question, he was caught off guard.

Erzhu Rong certainly couldn't say he was reluctant to part with it, but he truly was.

Seeing that Erzhu Rong did not answer, Li Shuang said:

"If General Tianzhu won't let me transport it, then I won't transport it either!"

Erzhu Zhao laughed, quite pleased with himself. He was now the most active person in the entire hall.

"You just stopped it like that, Ohno Sou? I'm almost embarrassed to point it out to you, but it's clearly because the shipments from Shaanxi couldn't get through!"

Seeing Erzhu Zhao still stirring things up, Gao Huan, Heba Yue, and the others couldn't help but curse inwardly:
idiot!

"Shut up! I'm talking to your third uncle, what right do you have to interrupt?"

Erzhu Rong spoke up, easing the situation. Erzhu Zhao's momentum instantly deflated.

Erzhu Rong looked at Li Shuang, and was quite bothered by Li Shuang addressing him as "General Tianzhu".

"Third brother, please don't misunderstand. It's not that I'm reluctant to part with these grains, but His Majesty is worried about the current situation in Luoyang, which is why he ordered the shipment to be stopped. Moreover, the court is in dire straits. If you transport so much grain to Guanzhong, how can Luoyang sustain itself? I am His Majesty's newly appointed General of the Heavenly Pillar. If it weren't for this matter, I would have returned to Jinyang long ago."

Li Shuang looked at Yuan Ziyou and asked:
"Your Majesty, is that so?"

Yuan Ziyou wondered how he had gotten himself involved.

But seeing Erzhu Rong's piercing gaze, Yuan Ziyou didn't dare to contradict him directly and simply responded.

"indeed so!"

After listening, Li Shuang sighed. Just when everyone thought Li Shuang was about to apologize to Erzhu Rong, he said:

"Second brother, you're so foolish!"

Everyone was stunned, including Erzhu Rong. Yuan Ziyou, sitting on the throne, widened his eyes, thinking to himself:

There are still such courageous people in this world!

But soon, Yuan Ziyou lost his leisure time.

"What does an emperor know about matters of state? How can Second Brother listen to him?"

At this moment, Yuan Ziyou's face turned red, and he felt extremely humiliated.

It was common knowledge that Erzhu Rong treated him as a puppet. Yet, Erzhu Rong never publicly humiliated him.

Having witnessed the power of the Northern Wei Dynasty at its peak, Erzhu Rong still held a degree of awe for the Northern Wei imperial authority.

Erzhu Rong's followers, including Erzhu Zhao, Gao Huan, and Heba Yue, were utterly shocked.

Throughout history, Li Shuang is probably the first person to dare to speak like this in the imperial palace.

After his initial shock, Erzhu Rong coughed to cover up his inner turmoil and said:
"Third brother, you mustn't be disrespectful to His Majesty!"

Li Shuang ignored this and continued:
"Second brother, why don't you understand? The accounts in Luoyang City record 12 million shi of grain. Does that mean there really are 12 million shi of grain?"

Erzhu Rong's expression changed.

He glanced back at Erzhu Zhao with a look of anger.

Under this gaze, Erzhu Zhao dared not look directly at him. He avoided Erzhu Rong's gaze, channeling his last bit of stubbornness into Li Shuang.

"Ohno Sō, stop talking nonsense! There's nothing wrong with these numbers. I checked them all myself!"

Li Shuang didn't respond directly, but spoke for Hou Jing: "Have you done the math? You just accept whatever others say you deserve!"

Upon hearing this, Erzhu Rong became wary. He already understood that Erzhu Zhao, that fool, had been manipulated to stir up trouble.

If he were to fight Li Shuang, it would probably be something many people outside Luoyang and in the Guandong region would be happy to see.

Erzhu Rong turned his suspicious gaze toward Yuan Ziyou.

At this moment, looking into Erzhu Rong's eyes, Yuan Ziyou felt a surge of emotion in his throat, sensing that death was very close to him.

But in the end, Erzhu Rong let him go.

Erzhu Rong believed that Yuan Ziyou was not the one who did this. It wasn't that he trusted Yuan Ziyou so much, but rather that he believed Yuan Ziyou was not yet capable of such a thing.

"Third brother, just tell me the truth. How much grain did you transport? One or two million shi? I don't care... and I'm sure His Majesty doesn't care either!"

Li Shuang said:
"It does not matter!"

Upon hearing Li Shuang's words, Erzhu Rong knew that the amount must be more than one or two million shi (a unit of dry measure).

At that moment, Erzhu Rong felt a pang of heartache.

"Second brother, do you know that Yuan Hao, the governor of Xiangzhou and the Prince of Beihai, has secretly contacted the Liang Kingdom in the south?"

Upon hearing this, both Yuan Ziyou and Erzhu Rong's expressions changed drastically.

Although Yuan Ziyou hated Erzhu Rong, he was able to secure his throne because of Erzhu Rong.

The relationship between the two is quite complex.

But once external forces intervene, the situation changes.

The two sides will transform from fighting each other to fighting to the death to uniting against a common enemy.

Yuan Hao was also a member of the Yuan clan and a prince of the Northern Wei Dynasty. If Yuan Ziyou could sit on the throne, then he could not.

"Duke Tang, is this true?"

Yuan Ziyou was even more anxious than Zhu Rong. The reason was simple: Yuan Ziyou had absolutely no leverage at the moment.

Even though Erzhu Rong was defeated, he was still able to retreat to Jinyang.

If Yuan Ziyou loses the throne, even if he can return to Jinyang with Erzhu Rong, he will become nothing.

"That's natural!"

Li Shuang said:
"Second brother, His Majesty is ignorant, how can you be so confused? Isn't it obvious that Yuan Hao's remaining forces in Luoyang want to use this incident to incite internal strife in Luoyang so that they can take the opportunity to march into Luoyang?"

Erzhu Rong smiled upon hearing this.

"Third brother is right. I was too hasty and shouldn't have listened to His Majesty!"

Then, Erzhu Rong said to Yuan Ziyou:

"Your Majesty, apologize to the Duke of Tang, and this matter will be over!"

"..."

Yuan Ziyou's mouth dropped open. At that moment, he felt an urge to take Erzhu Rong and Li Shuang, those two bastards, down with him.

This throne, let whoever wants to sit on it, I'm not serving you anymore!

"No need for an apology, I'm not that petty!"

Erzhu Rong praised:
"My third brother is truly a magnanimous and wise man, possessing the virtues of an ancient gentleman! Your Majesty, why don't you thank the Duke of Tang!"

“There’s no need for that!” Li Shuang waved his hand. “I’m devoted to the country and have unwavering loyalty, so it’s common for me to be misunderstood.”

Erzhu Rong sighed:
"Third brother, you've really had a tough time!"

"Second brother, you understand me!"

The two embraced and wept in the palace.

After crying for a while, Erzhu Rong said:
"Third brother, I owe you an explanation for this!"

"If all else fails, let His Majesty issue an edict of self-reproach!"

"Your Majesty is a wise and capable ruler; he admits his mistakes and corrects them. Let it be so!"

……

(End of this chapter)