Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 403 Domineering
Yuan Ziyou rode a horse and followed Yuan Tianmu to the Menxia Province.

The soldiers outside the Menxia Province have been replaced by elite soldiers under Erzhu Rong, and they are much more orderly than when the imperial guards were on duty.

Even when Yuan Tianmu and Yuan Ziyu entered the Menxia Province, they were checked by the guards, and all the soldiers were at their posts.

Yuan Ziyou sighed slightly. The imperial guards that had been maintained for decades since the reign of Emperor Xiaowen were not as good as Erzhu Rong's private soldiers. No wonder the court was in complete disarray.

When he entered the government hall, Yuan Ziyou saw some old faces, some new faces, and some faces had disappeared.

The familiar faces are Gaoyang King Yuanyong and Hejian King Yuanchen.

Yuan Tianmu took Yuan Ziyou and came to a middle-aged man and said:
"This is the General of the Central Army, the Grand Master of the Imperial Household, the Minister of Imperial Households, and the Duke of Pingyuan, Xi Yi."

Yuan Ziyou had heard of this name and knew that he was Erzhu Rong's confidant. He bowed politely and said:
"Duke Xi."

The Ministry of Personnel discussed politics while sitting down. After taking his seat, Yuan Ziyou asked:
"Where are Lord Li and Lord Xing?"

These are the two prime ministers who disappeared from the Menxia Province.

It is easy to guess why Li Daoyuan did not show up. He is Su Ze's master. Even if Erzhu Rong did not want to implicate him, he would not keep him in the province.

As expected, Yuan Tianmu said:

"Mr. Li has disappeared."

Now Ziyuan Ziyou could be considered relieved. With Su Ze's extraordinary means, he should be able to protect Li Daoyuan.

"Xing Shao once wrote an article to curse the general. His cousin Xing Gao rebelled in Qingzhou and disappeared yesterday. He may have gone to join the rebels. The general was very angry and ordered the execution of the descendants of the Hejian Xing family in Luoyang."

After Yuan Tianmu said this, Yuan Ziyu felt a chill.

Xing Shao, who came from the Xing family of Hejian, entered the officialdom because of his literary talent. He succeeded Cui Guang as the chief academic officer of the Imperial College. Last year, he was promoted to the rank of Palace Attendant and entered the Ministry of Personnel to attend government affairs.

Xing Shao and Empress Dowager Hu's secretary Wen Zisheng were known as the two heroes of the North. They had high attainments in literature, and their articles were even circulated in the Western Regions.

What Yuan Ziyou was frightened of was Erzhu Rong's unscrupulous methods.

It is true that the Xing family of Hejian rebelled, but according to the current political rules, the descendants of the Xing family who stayed in Luoyang should not be implicated and liquidated. Xing Shao had a good reputation as an official and often promoted children from poor families. He had a high reputation in the officialdom of Luoyang. Such a person would be killed along with his entire family by Erzhu Rong.

However, only Yuan Ziyou thought so. Gaoyang King Yuan Yong and Hejian King Yuan Chen said flatteringly:

"Xing Shao was originally a lucky minister, relying on his beautiful writings to curry favor with the Demon Queen. This time he brought this upon himself."

Yuan Ziyou felt a little disappointed. In the eyes of these Wei princes, only the noble families with the surname A could be considered human beings. Local powerful B-class families like the Xing family of Hejian would be discriminated against.

On the contrary, when Xi Yi heard that Xing was executed, a look of dissatisfaction flashed across his face, which was seen by Yuan Ziyou.

It seems that this confidant arranged by Erzhu Rong to enter the Menxia Province also seems to have different ideas.

After everyone was seated, Yuan Tianmu presided over the meeting of the Ministry of Personnel and said:

"The false emperor has fled, and the country cannot be without a ruler for a day. Today, I have summoned all the ministers to discuss the selection of the new emperor."

Upon hearing this, Gaoyang Prince Yuanyong and Hejian Prince Yuanchen both showed anxious expressions.

They were the first among the princes to cooperate with Erzhu Rong, so they stood on the opposite side of the escaped young emperor Yuan Xu.

As long as the little emperor was around, they were traitors to the royal family and Erzhu Rong's running dogs.

Only after supporting the new monarch could they get rid of these identities and continue to control Luoyang as regents.

In the view of Yuan Yong and Yuan Chen, it was impossible for Erzhu Rong to stay in Luoyang for long.

Guanzhong and Hedong were both eyeing the situation covetously. Even if Erzhu Rong moved his headquarters to Luoyang, he would still have to fight wars outside all year round.

By that time, the empress dowager will be imprisoned and the new emperor will be enthroned. Won't he be the one who handles the important affairs of the court?

Yuan Yong and Yuan Chen both believed that this was just a transitional stage. Xi Yi, who was placed in the Menxia Province by Erzhu Rong, was just a country bumpkin. Yuan Tianmu was Erzhu Rong's chief steward and it was impossible for him to interfere in the affairs of the Menxia Province. By then, they would still be the ones who controlled the court.

Even Li Daoyuan, who had always opposed them in the Political Affairs Hall, was cleared out.

Yuan Yong and Yuan Chen looked at each other, and then Yuan Chen said:

"Yuan Zhao, the son of Lintao King Yuan Baohui, is the closest in blood and should be made emperor."

Yuan Ziyou looked down at the two of them. He naturally knew what they were thinking by making a one-year-old child the emperor. The two Yuan clan princes had resorted to all means to please Erzhu Rong. It was really disgusting.

As soon as this proposal was made, everyone in the province fell silent.

After a while, Yuan Tianmu said:

"Do you have any other candidates?"

Everyone continued to be silent.

Yuan Tianmu said:
"The ruler is young and the country is in doubt. The general still wants to establish a wise ruler. You should go back and think about whether there is a suitable candidate."

Li Xian?

Yuan Ziyou was surprised. Erzhu Rong was really confident! Did he think that no matter who the emperor was, he could control the government?
But this is in line with his style, and his style is becoming more and more like that of the Overlord of Western Chu. On the contrary, Su Ze in Guanzhong is becoming more and more like that of Liu Tingzhang, who rushed to the edge of Luoyang without even thinking of coming in to take a look, but just snatched the little emperor away and ran away.

This meeting of the Menxia Province did not seem to produce any results, but Yuan Ziyou did have a certain understanding of the new situation in Luoyang.

However, Yuan Ziyou had never met Erzhu Rong, who was at the center of power.

After everyone left the Menxia Province, a handsome man walked out from behind the screen of the Menxia Province.

The person who came out was naturally Erzhu Rong. He said in a casual tone:
"The kings of Luoyang are all like insects. No wonder the government has become like this."

Those who stayed in the Menxia Province were Yuan Tianmu and Xi Yi, both of whom were Erzhu Rong's confidants.

Yuan Tianmu seemed indifferent to Erzhu Rong's "sharp comments" on the Luoyang kings. Instead, Xi Yi lowered his head. He did not like Erzhu Rong's attitude.

Although they were relatives, Xi Yi was from the Xi family with the surname Jia, and had been making friends in Luoyang since he was a child. If he had not been implicated in Xi Kangsheng's case, he would have also interacted with these princes and noble families in Luoyang. He himself had a close relationship with a number of high-ranking officials in the court, including Hejian Wang Yuanchen.

This time when he entered the Menxia Province, he thought that Erzhu Rong wanted to manipulate the court through the Menxia Province, but he found that Erzhu Rong did not seem to have such an intention.

He wanted to treat the Menxia Province as a decoration and only wanted the Menxia Province to draft imperial edicts, stamp them and issue them. He didn't even have the idea of ​​letting the Menxia Province participate in politics.

Now all the decisions of the Erzhu Rong Group are actually decided after consultation between Erzhu Rong and Yuan Tianmu, and some decisions are not even known to Yuan Tianmu, as they are decided by Erzhu Rong alone.

This made Xi Yi very uncomfortable.

Erzhu Rong continued:
"Then Yuan Ziyou is quite good, he is a good candidate."

Yuan Tianmu understood Erzhu Rong's attitude.

His characteristic is that he is unruly.

Anyone that Erzhu Rong could look up to, such as Su Zeyuan and Tianmu, would be directly made sworn brothers with him.

As for the inferior ones, like the Gao Huan and Heba brothers, they would treat each other with courtesy if they liked each other, and would not be stingy with official positions and gold and silver rewards, so they could be quickly recruited as their confidants.

Erzhu Rong didn't think highly of the next one.

In the end, those who Erzhu Rong looked down upon were no longer human beings in his eyes. They were almost like horses or beasts, and were even worse than his beloved horses.

It was fine before, when Erzhu Rong was running around in Luoyang and making friends, he could still be polite to these people.

Now Erzhu Rong simply didn't want to see people like Gaoyang King Yuan Yong, and usually sent Yuan Tianmu to negotiate with the kings.

But Yuan Tianmu didn't think Yuan Ziyou was a good candidate, he reminded:

"Prince Changle has experienced several coups. He is a deep-minded person with many hidden plans. I cannot see through him. If you really support him, I am afraid it will be difficult to control him in the future."

Erzhu Rong said indifferently:

"I don't think so. With a young ruler and a country in doubt, those insects are bound to have thoughts. If they are replaced by someone who can't figure out what he is doing, they will cause trouble. On the contrary, a smart person like Yuan Ziyou knows what to do and what not to do, so he will be honest and obedient."

Yuan Tianmu still felt that Erzhu Rong's words were perverse, but Erzhu Rong said:

"I'm ready to marry my daughter to Yuan Ziyou."

Xi Yi was surprised and said, "What? My Lord wants Ying'e to marry Yuan Ziyou? But she is only ten years old."

Erzhu Rong shook his head and said:
"Ying'e is still young. I'm talking about another daughter."

Now even Yuan Tianmu thought that Erzhu Rong was really crazy. The other daughter he was talking about was Yuan Xu's concubine, Erzhu Rong's illegitimate daughter.

When Su Suan kidnapped the young emperor and left the palace, he only took away his most beloved concubine Pan Chonghua. His queen Hu and concubine Erzhu were left in the palace.

Erzhu Rong also said complacently:
"I heard that Yuan Ziyou and the fake emperor have a good relationship. Only in this way can the two of them turn against each other. Then Yuan Ziyou can only rely on this general and fight against the fake emperor to the end!"

Yuan Tianmu and Xi Yi both felt that it was inappropriate, but marrying their daughter to the new emperor and using the status of an in-law to control the government was indeed a normal practice for powerful officials.

There was really no other way. Erzhu Rong only had two daughters, and the legitimate daughter was too young, so there was no big problem with this operation.

Having explained his decision, Erzhu Rong said directly:

"Ten days later, when the reinforcements from Jinyang arrive in Luoyang, have the Demon Queen issue an edict to enthrone Yuan Ziyou as the new emperor."

Yuan Tianmu and Xi Yi both had a bad feeling in their hearts, but they couldn't guess what Erzhu Rong was going to do.

At the end of the third year of Xiaochang, Su Ze finally returned to Tongguan with his troops.

Standing on the Tongguan city wall, looking at the frightened little emperor Yuan Xu behind him, Su Ze felt a sense of distance.

This was a historical figure whose destiny he had truly changed with his own hands, and from then on he had completely become his opponent, Erzhu Rong.

What made Su Ze feel relieved was that the current Erzhu Rong was not yet the Erzhu Rong in his prime. He had not yet completely annexed Ge Rong's troops and land, nor had he completely seized the legal system of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

The fate of some people has changed, while the fate of some people still stubbornly remains on its original track.

(End of this chapter)