My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 218 Gao Yu: Am I a lazy winner?

Seeing that Yuan Ziyou remained silent for a long time.

Erzhu Rong immediately bowed again and said, “Your Majesty, these are all rewards and punishments based on the merits of escorting Your Majesty back to Luoyang, after discussions between your ministers and other members of the imperial clan. Your ministers and other members of the imperial clan are of the public interest and have no bias. If Your Majesty finds anything inappropriate, please point it out.”

Selfless dedication?
And absolutely no favoritism?
Yuan Ziyou sneered inwardly, but outwardly he still had to feign a smile, "The Prime Minister is the pillar of our Great Wei. I certainly believe that the Prime Minister recommends worthy people for the country without any bias, and that the people recommended are all capable. All are approved!"

Does he have the right to object?

These are not peaceful times. Even in peaceful times, newly enthroned emperors generally do not have much power.

He's not like Emperor Xiao of the South, who reigned for decades, wielding absolute power and making all decisions single-handedly.

The current situation is simply that the court is too turbulent. Erzhu Rong does not yet have the resources to replace the Great Wei, so it is necessary to preserve the legitimacy of the Great Wei and allow the regime to continue to linger on. The greatest role of the Great Wei now is to ensure that Erzhu Rong always acts with the guise of 'righteousness'.

The Great Wei was not a short-lived dynasty; it ruled the north for over a century, and both aristocratic families and common people recognized the legitimacy of the Great Wei as the central government.

Therefore, Erzhu Rong needed to act like Cao Cao, holding the emperor hostage to command the feudal lords.

After Erzhu Rong quelled all the troubles.

What tragic fate awaits me in the future?
Yuan Ziyou refused to accept his fate.

He seized upon Erzhu Rong's desire to avoid being branded as a regicide and stirred things up relentlessly.

Erzhu Rong was cruel, so he practiced benevolence.

Man proposes, God disposes!
Whether he can succeed in the end depends on whether fate will be on his side.

"There's nothing wrong with it. How could I not trust the Prime Minister?"

Yuan Ziyou revealed a kind smile.

Erzhu Rong also quickly bowed and humbly said, "Your Majesty, I still have many shortcomings and need to point them out to me at all times."

They seem to get along very well.

Yuan Ziyou suddenly revealed a wicked smile and then said, "Prime Minister... I have reviewed the official documents you have submitted, and it seems that the position of Right Guard General is still vacant. How can such an important position in the Imperial Guard, guarding the palace and Luoyang, be left vacant?"

Erzhu Rong's heart skipped a beat.

This list is only a draft; he holds most of the key positions, especially those within the Imperial Guard system.

But the time was too short, and he simply didn't have time to break it down.

His plan was to first go to Yuan Ziyou's side to realize most of the credit for supporting the emperor, and then, once he had sorted out the political situation, he would make more detailed arrangements.

Erzhu Rong's regime was essentially a small imperial court.

Each interest group has its own interests and demands, and he must act as a "master of balance" to maintain internal equilibrium. It is true that he should give important positions to the Erzhu clan members, but he cannot allow others to become disloyal to him.

Otherwise, it would weaken one's own strength.

The more people one manages, and the more heroes and outstanding individuals one has under one's command, the more one's political skills are put to the test.

Yuan Ziyou's sudden suggestion caught him completely off guard.

Erzhu Rong could only grit his teeth and say, "Does Your Majesty have a suitable candidate in mind?"

"There is indeed one person here in the Taiji Hall."

Everyone looked around and then up at Yuan Ziyou, only to find that Yuan Ziyou's gaze seemed to be directed towards the outside of the Taiji Hall. No, Yuan Ziyou was looking towards the entrance of the Taiji Hall.

"Oh? Which brilliant talent is it that His Majesty is so concerned about?"

Yuan Ziyou did not rush to announce it, but instead slightly raised his head, as if he was recalling something.

"I remember when I was young, there was a riot in Luoyang, in which the central army mutinied, and the General Who Conquers the West's family..."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately understood: the only person in the Taiji Hall who could be connected to the Central Army uprising was Gao Yu.

Yuan Ziyou's map of the Yan state is very long.

However, even while he was still in the 'chanting' stage, everyone knew what he was thinking.

“At that time, I was ordered to accompany the late emperor in his studies every day. The late emperor and I heard from the soldiers of the Imperial Guard that Huai Shuo Gao Er was brave and unparalleled. Then the court ordered someone to escort the Rouran king back north. At that time, the Gaoche bandits occupied the Rouran royal court and gathered tens of thousands of people. It was a young hero who led dozens of cavalry to break through the Gaoche army formation and escort the Rouran king back north.”

"Prime Minister, Gao Yu has made many merits, but because the court was previously controlled by treacherous officials, such a meritorious person was not given important positions. Now that the treacherous officials in the court have all been eliminated by the Prime Minister, shouldn't the Prime Minister take the lead in giving important positions to such a talented and meritorious person!"

"Besides, who doesn't know that Gao Yu is brave and valiant? The soldiers and civilians of the six towns are exceptionally brave."

"However, I have heard that Gao Yu was able to fight the three Heba brothers to a standstill when he was young! Shouldn't such a brave and valiant person be recruited into the Imperial Guard?"

"Gao Yu has inspected Luoyang on my behalf and calmed the people's hearts. In just a few days, he has brought peace to the people of Luoyang. Isn't that a great achievement?"

"He is meritorious and talented. I intend to appoint him as the Right Guard General to take charge of training the Imperial Guards on my behalf. What does the Prime Minister think?"

Gao Yu lowered his head.

He knew that many people were watching him.

Isn't Yuan Ziyou putting himself in a very difficult position?

That's all for the sake of talking about it.

Erzhu Rong had no reason to refuse.

Yuan Ziyou's statement is reasonable and well-founded.

Gao Yu has made contributions and is talented, so why shouldn't he be given an important position?
If Erzhu Rong refuses.

That's jealousy, that's not rewarding those who have done good. How is that any different from the treacherous officials he raised an army to eliminate?
Erzhu Rong squinted.

He didn't understand why Yuan Ziyou was so obsessed with Gao Yu.

Yuan Ziyou had little contact with Gao Yu and mostly only heard about Gao Yu's deeds.

Say.

Who doesn't know that Gao Yu and Er Zhu are related by marriage?
His engagement to Erzhu Yuechan was arranged long ago. It can be said that...

On the surface, Gao Yu is absolutely a staunch supporter of Erzhu Rong's faction, a confidant among confidants, and would never betray Erzhu Rong.

but……

Yuan Ziyou indeed grasped Erzhu Rong's weakness.

Because of Erzhu Rong's deliberate protection, Gao Yu was an observer while everyone else played the 'bad guy'.

Internally, Erzhu Rong cannot forcefully promote Gao Yu, as that would cause resentment among everyone and sow the seeds of future problems.

Gao Yu is indeed too young; it would be a mistake to place him in such a high position at such a young age.

Then, it's easy for something to happen: there's nothing left to seal. He knows Gao Yu's abilities better than anyone else.

As long as Gao Yu doesn't die young, he will surely rise to a high position in the government.

As for factions?

Yuan Ziyou had actually investigated this matter in secret.

He discovered that Gao Yu was indeed a rather 'special' figure under Erzhu Rong's command.

It's like a cure-all.

The Erzhu clan was composed of only a few factions.

The Erzhu clan members, their trusted confidants, and the Six Garrisons Group were further divided into two factions: Huai Shuo and Wu Chuan.

Gao Yu seems to be able to maintain good relationships with every faction, and he can quickly integrate into whichever faction he joins.

He is Erzhu Zhao's son-in-law.

His bravery and personal charisma were off the charts, and his reputation, in particular, earned him the deep respect of people from Daidi, Wuchuan, and Huaishuo factions.

To win over Gao Yu alone.

This is equivalent to being able to shake the foundation of Erzhu Rong's entire regime.

Yuan Ziyou also noticed it.

Since Erzhu Rong doesn't want to give Gao Yu a prominent position right now, he must be keeping him in the Imperial Guard. He can't let Gao Yu stay idle at home; he will wait for a suitable opportunity to promote him.

Seeing Erzhu Rong's conflicted expression.

Yuan Ziyou was secretly delighted.

Erzhu Rong used the tactic of 'persuading him to ascend the throne' to sow discord between him and Yuan Tianmu and others.

He then used the same method to sow discord between Gao Yu and him.

As for what would happen if Erzhu Rong were pushed too far, he might commit regicide.

He wouldn't even frown; in fact, he might even feel secretly pleased.

In the eyes of later generations, Erzhu Rong was a tyrannical regicide who acted against the natural order!
Since he couldn't overthrow Erzhu Rong on his own, he would make sure Erzhu Rong was recorded in the historians' books as a regicide, forever condemned and never able to recover!

He Yuanziyou.

I'd rather die as the Duke of Gaogui than live as Emperor Xian of Han!

Erzhu Rong was furious inside, but he forced a kind smile on his face and said through gritted teeth.

"Your Majesty is right. I was negligent when I discussed this with my relatives."

“Gao Yu, the magistrate of Cangcheng County, is exceptionally brave and is indeed suitable to be transferred to the Imperial Guard to guard the palace and Luoyang, and to protect His Majesty.”

This is just great.

The favor that Gao Yu received in promoting him was now attributed to Yuan Ziyou.

He was instead forced to promote Gao Yu.

To outsiders, it seemed as if he was deliberately suppressing Gao Yu.

On the contrary, many people cast envious glances at Gao Yu, while others were indignant, especially Erzhu Shilong and others.

Why?

They were the ones who orchestrated the connections, and they were also the ones who bore the infamy for slaughtering officials and princes.

Gao Yu does nothing, so why is he being given such important responsibilities?

It's not that they were so reluctant to give up the position of Right Guard General.

I just felt it was very unfair.

Yuan Ziyou coldly observed the expressions of everyone in the Taiji Hall, secretly pleased. It seemed that he had indeed found a key point within the Erzhu clan!

"Let the Prime Minister handle this matter properly. I have no other opinions."

"Your Majesty is wise! I will discuss this further with the princes and ministers and then submit the list again."

Gao Yu didn't know whether she should be happy or sad.

They clearly didn't do anything.

But none of the benefits were missed.

Co-authored.

So he really became the one who got away with this coup without lifting a finger?

(End of this chapter)