My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 161 Establishing a Strategy for the Erzhu Clan

Although Gao Yu didn't have much contact with Erzhu Rong.

But just by the fact that he was able to bring the Erzhu clan together, you can tell that this person must be extremely capable.

How could someone like him not know the principle that those who achieve great things do not consult the masses?
Erzhu Rong had his own ideas. The reason he summoned everyone to discuss the matter was probably to see what the Erzhu clan thought and to understand their opinions.

Unifying internal thinking is even more important.

Erzhu Rong nodded in agreement, and with a smile revealed the key information: "Gao Lang is indeed far-sighted. Rebellion is not a good idea. Great Wei also has many soldiers who can fight, but they are stationed in the south and have not moved north."

Having served as an official in Luoyang for many years, and being the right-hand man of the powerful minister Yuan Yi, the Prince of Jiangyang, Erzhu Rong was arguably one of the people in the world who understood the strength of the Great Wei the most.

Although the court was full of corrupt officials who only knew how to fight for power and profit and were greedy for pleasure.

However, the Great Wei was ultimately a dynasty that had unified the northern border of the Central Plains for over a hundred years, and its accumulated foundation was profound. It was not something that could be destroyed by one or two rebellions.

The northern frontier and Longxi were merely minor problems, as they posed no real threat to the core areas of the Central Plains.

For the Great Wei, as long as the Hebei Plain remains stable, and this major granary remains intact, it can continuously replenish its resources. Only when the Hebei Plain descends into chaos will it truly be a calamity that shakes the foundation of the Great Wei.

"In your opinion, how will the court treat me after the fall of the Prince of Jiangyang?"

"The court naturally dared not pursue the matter, and even had to rely on the Erzhu clan to quell the rebellion, so the Tianbao era could be worry-free."

"Hearing Gao Lang's words, I suddenly understood and relieved my worries."

Erzhu Rong smiled and showered him with compliments.

Erzhu Zhongyuan, Erzhu Tianguang, and the others all looked at Gao Yu, feeling somewhat resentful and jealous.

They originally thought that Erzhu Rong had already treated Erzhu Zhao extremely well, but without comparison there is no harm. In comparison, Gao Yu was the one who was treated extremely well.

They don't understand.

Gao Yu was the first person to openly and voluntarily pledge allegiance to the Erzhu clan.

Erzhu Rong will definitely treat Gao Yu well, using Gao Yu as a golden brand to continuously attract other talents to join him.

Moreover, Gao Yu himself possesses such strong abilities.

"Gao Lang has relieved my worries. You all should prepare cattle, sheep, and warhorses. In a few days, the imperial army will surely arrive. Do not withhold anything. You must demonstrate the loyalty of the Erzhu clan to the court."

"Yes."

Everyone got up and went to prepare.

Gao Yu felt that if Erzhu Rong only wanted to discuss this matter, there was no need to go to such lengths.
Throughout the entire process, Erzhu Rong actually had a very definite answer in his heart.

Just as Gao Yu was about to leave.

Erzhu Rong raised his hand and called out to him, "Gao Lang, please wait."

"How has Gao Lang been doing at Xiu Rongchuan these past few days?"

“Excellent, excellent! Xiu Rongchuan is a land of outstanding people and abundant resources, a place chosen by heaven…”

Erzhu Rong listened intently, but his eyes kept looking in other directions. After everyone else had left, he pulled Gao Yu aside and revealed his true purpose.

"With Gao Lang's intelligence, he should be able to guess that I have not gathered everyone here today for this matter."

Gao Yu did not deny it.

"But... as you can see, Tianguang, Zhongyuan and the others only know how to fight and kill, and they can't help me at all. On the contrary, Gaolang is far-sighted. I hope Gaolang can give me some pointers."

"I wonder what's going on?"

Erzhu Rong then revealed the entire situation in Luoyang.

"Now is not the right time to rebel, but I can no longer return to Luoyang. If I cannot stay in Luoyang, I will not be able to know what is happening in the court in a timely manner, which is very disadvantageous to me."

"Furthermore, I currently hold no official position, making it difficult to recruit other talented individuals to serve me."

Erzhu Rong did not hide his ambition. Erzhu Zhongyuan had already openly proposed to rebel, so there was no point in hiding his ambition.

Besides...

Only those with great ambition can make empty promises to their subordinates.

Erzhu Rong actually wanted an official position in name only, preferably something like Grand General or Grand Master of the Three Departments, so that he could recruit talents in the name of the court, use them for his own purposes, strengthen his own power, and then wait and see how things developed.

As long as the strength is sufficient, given the current dire situation of the Great Wei, it is possible to achieve this.

It is not impossible to emulate the story of Cao Cao, who remained loyal to the Great Wei for life and had his sons succeed him. In the end, the world would belong to the Erzhu family.

Gao Yu was also pondering.

He needed to go through all the information provided by Erzhu Rong and then connect the key pieces of information.

The young emperor and Empress Dowager Hu joined forces to eliminate Yuan Yi.

However, judging from the arrangements for the key positions of General of the Army, Grand Chancellor, and Palace General, none of them were the young emperor's men; they were all Empress Dowager Hu's confidants.

The young emperor's desire to overthrow Yuan Yi was undoubtedly for his own power. When Gao Yu went to Luoyang, the young emperor was still naive and inexperienced; serving as a figurehead wouldn't have been a problem.

But now that the young emperor is growing older, he will naturally have more and more ideas about reclaiming the imperial power, since it is the power that rightfully belongs to him.

It's impossible that the young emperor went to all this trouble just to return power to Empress Dowager Hu and continue to be a figurehead, right?
"According to Tianbao's words, there should already be a rift between His Majesty and the Empress Dowager because of this matter."

Erzhu Rong nodded, sharing the same view. "In the past two years, His Majesty has long been unwilling to relinquish power, and all his efforts are aimed at regaining imperial authority."

"If that's the case..."

Gao Yu reminded him, "His Majesty's attempt to seize power has failed, and the Empress Dowager has surely eliminated all the confidants His Majesty has cultivated over the past two years. His Majesty is now isolated and helpless. If Tianbao were to go and assist him at this time, as an external ally, His Majesty would certainly value him highly!"

Erzhu Rong remained silent, seemingly also considering the possibility. He still had some concerns, saying, "I once served the Prince of Jiangyang, and I'm afraid His Majesty might harbor resentment because of this."

“Now that the Prince of Jiangyang has fallen from power, and the Empress Dowager has controlled the court for a long time, the court is full of her people. If Your Majesty wants to take back power from the Empress Dowager, you can only rely on foreign ministers.”

"It was the Prince of Jiangyang who disrespected and offended His Majesty, not Tianbao who offended His Majesty. How can they be confused?"

As for the current situation...

The young emperor had no choice at all.

Empress Dowager Hu will definitely be more wary of him. It will be almost impossible for the young emperor to find any help in Luoyang, and no one will dare to help the young emperor under Empress Dowager Hu's nose at this time.

In this way, the young emperor could only rely on people outside Luoyang for help.

Since ancient times.

If you lack internal strength, you can only seek external help.

"Tianbao should send a trusted confidant to Luoyang to express his feelings to His Majesty..."

"This is a golden opportunity to help us in our time of need; Tianbao must not miss it!"

"No matter how much power the Empress Dowager has, she can only wield power as His Majesty's mother. The title and the power are in His Majesty's hands. Without His Majesty, how could a woman like the Empress Dowager hold power?"

Erzhu Rong squinted.

The more I listened, the more I realized that Gao Yu made sense.

In other circumstances...

He was once the most trusted confidant of Yuan Yi, the Prince of Jiangyang, and this identity was indeed an obstacle.

But the situation is different now.

The young emperor Yuan Xu lost his power struggle with Empress Dowager Hu and lost all his support. All that remained was for Erzhu Rong to serve him.

Former enemy subordinates can also become your own subordinates.

After all, they both had a common enemy: Empress Dowager Hu.

of course……

There is also an uncertainty surrounding this proposal.

What if the young emperor doesn't have that kind of brain?

Some people blindly regard Erzhu Rong as an enemy simply because they think he once served Yuan Yi.

Surely the young emperor isn't that brainless?

Erzhu Rong bowed respectfully to Gao Yu, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, Gao Lang. Your words have truly enlightened me."

"You're too kind. I was merely offering a suggestion. How to proceed is up to Tianbao himself."

Erzhu Rong smiled and said, "Yuan Tianmu is a trusted confidant chosen by His Majesty. He will lead his army north. When he does, I will definitely treat him well and have him convey my loyalty to His Majesty."

"What about Luoyang?"

“I also have trusted confidants in Luoyang.”

"Oh?"

“This person is my cousin. When I was in Luoyang, I often visited him in private and we had a close relationship. I will write a secret letter myself and have him find someone to deliver it to His Majesty to express my feelings. There should be no problem. There are also many people in the Imperial Guard who are on good terms with me. It is impossible for the Empress Dowager to eliminate them all. There will always be one person who is overlooked.”

"If that's really the case, then that's wonderful."

Gao Yu didn't ask any further questions.

There are some things it's better not to know.

The more you know, the more dangerous it becomes.

Erzhu Rong only asked him for advice; all he needed to do was offer his opinion.

As for how to implement it, let Erzhu Rong handle it himself.

(End of this chapter)