My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 178 Empress Erzhu
February 20th.

Inside Xianyang Palace in Luoyang.

The young emperor Yuan Xu held an official document in his hand, his face full of anger.

"What exactly is Erzhu Rong trying to do! Has he gone mad! He dared to lead his army to attack Sizhou, not only capturing the governor Wei Qingbin, but also arbitrarily appointing Erzhu Yusheng as the governor of Sizhou? He even dared to lead his troops south to try to enter Bingzhou and demand the position of governor of Bingzhou from me."

"How dare he! Is he going to rebel too?!"

The official document in Yuan Xu's hand was personally written by Erzhu Rong and sent to Luoyang by someone.

The official document only mentions two things.

Wei Qingbin is too old and frail to handle the affairs of Sizhou, so he has appointed Erzhu Yusheng to replace him as the governor of Sizhou and manage the affairs of Sizhou.

Another thing was that he openly demanded the position of Governor of Bingzhou from the imperial court, and the reason he gave was laughable.

The garrison in Bingzhou was short-handed and needed him to lead the Erzhu clan's army to assist in the defense. However, fearing that military orders would not be carried out smoothly, he requested the court to appoint him as the governor of Bingzhou.

Has Bingzhou been acquired?

Soon another messenger will arrive saying that they want to take over the defenses of Luoyang and help Luoyang defend against enemy troops.
Why not just let him sit on the emperor's throne?

Yuan Ziyou took the official document, glanced at it, and advised, "Your Majesty, why be angry? There must be some hidden reason behind this."

"What's the hidden story? How is Erzhu Rong's behavior any different from that of the rebels in Ji, Ding, and Ying prefectures? This is blatant treason!"

Yuan Xu was still furious. In his eyes, Erzhu Rong had betrayed him, even though he had previously regarded Erzhu Rong as his confidant.

Yuan Ziyou then spoke up again to persuade him, "If Erzhu Rong truly intended to rebel, why did he send his daughter into the palace to become His Majesty's concubine?"

"In my opinion, judging from his actions after Yuan Yi's downfall, Erzhu Rong is a meticulous person and would not act so rashly. There must be a hidden reason behind this."

Yuan Xu's anger gradually subsided. He paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, thinking for a long time but still couldn't come up with a solution.

"Even I do not know what secrets might be hidden behind this."

Yuan Ziyou also frowned. He couldn't rule out the possibility that Erzhu Rong did indeed have rebellious intentions, but the probability was too small, too small.

The rebellions in Ji, Ding, Ying, Yan and other places were indeed a major headache for the Great Wei court, but that did not mean that Erzhu Rong could lead his troops south and directly attack Luoyang at this moment.

Bingzhou also has garrison troops, and the imperial court can continue to send troops from the south to protect Luoyang, or send troops from Guanzhong. Even if Luoyang has no natural defenses against Bingzhou, Erzhu Rong simply cannot take Luoyang in a short time.

No matter how you look at it, Erzhu Rong's rebellion at this time not only further worsened the situation in the Great Wei, but also did not bring him much benefit.

Could it be that?
Yuan Ziyou seemed to have thought of something.

He looked at Yuan Xu, paused, and then asked, "Your Majesty... have you recently favored Erzhu Rong's daughter?"

Yuan Xu was taken aback, not understanding why Yuan Ziyou would suddenly ask him about matters in the bedroom. Yuan Ziyou didn't seem like such a gossipy person, but he still answered honestly.

"Consort Pan is pregnant, and I have been spending time with her recently. It has indeed been a long time since I have seen Consort Erzhu."

Yuan Ziyou suddenly realized that this explained why Erzhu Rong had suddenly gone mad and made so many 'outrageous' moves.

"Does Ziyou know the truth behind this? Quickly explain it to me."

Seeing that Yuan Xu still hadn't figured it out, Yuan Ziyou shook his head helplessly, but still patiently explained, "Your Majesty... Erzhu Rong is expressing his dissatisfaction to Your Majesty this time!"

"dissatisfied?"

Yuan Xu frowned. "He wanted to be the governor of Sizhou, so I appointed him as the governor of Sizhou. When Erzhu Ying'e entered the palace, she was directly made a concubine. I have never treated him unfairly, so why is he dissatisfied?"

Yuan Ziyou sighed, "This is far from enough, Your Majesty..."

"Erzhu Rong is an extremely ambitious man. He clearly wants to emulate his ancestors and become a true member of the imperial family through marriage!"

"He's already..."

Yuan Xu stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence, only then realizing Erzhu Rong's true intention in sending his daughter into the palace.

Expressing loyalty to oneself is only one aspect.

More importantly... Erzhu Rong wanted Erzhu Ying'e to give birth to a son for him, who would become the crown prince and the future emperor of the Great Wei! At that time, as the maternal grandfather of the next emperor, Erzhu Rong and the Erzhu clan would be able to become top-level powerful ministers who held immense power, just like the Gao family during the reign of Emperor Xuanwu.

"The position of Empress has remained undecided, hasn't it? I heard that... the Empress Dowager intends to bring a woman from her clan to the palace and have His Majesty make her Empress. I suppose Erzhu Rong has also heard of this."

"hateful!"

After carefully unraveling the ins and outs of the matter, Yuan Xu slammed his fist on the table in anger, "He's clearly using this as an excuse to blackmail me. Does he really think I'm someone to be trifled with?"

Yuan Ziyou advised again, "Your Majesty, please calm down. It is precisely because Erzhu Rong has such ambition that Your Majesty can use high-ranking positions as bait to make him work for Your Majesty. If he has no ambition at all, it will be difficult for him to work for Your Majesty."

"But if we continue to indulge them like this, what will happen in the future..."

"After the rebels are quelled and His Majesty assumes personal rule, we can then consider how to restrain Erzhu Rong. The most urgent task at present is to take back the imperial power from the Empress Dowager."

Yuan Xu was very dissatisfied and resentful, feeling extremely frustrated.

But he also knew that Yuan Ziyou was right.

No matter how outrageous Erzhu Rong was, he was still far away in Sizhou and Bingzhou. For him, the most important thing was to take power in his own right and to wrest back the imperial power that belonged to him from the Empress Dowager.

With power.

He could support one Erzhu Rong, and then he could support another Erzhu Rong to counterbalance him, thus hindering each other.

After letting out a long sigh, Yuan Xu said helplessly, "The situation is what it is, what can we do? Ziyou, teach me."

After a moment's thought, Yuan Ziyou offered a suggestion: "Your Majesty should spend some time with Consort Erzhu these days, and then issue an edict to make her Empress, so as to appease Erzhu Rong and make her loyal to Your Majesty. The governorship of Bingzhou can also be given to him, but you must write a secret letter in which you sternly rebuke him. If he dares to do anything 'out of line' again in the future, he should be regarded as a rebel."

"Only by using both kindness and severity can we win his heart and divert the Empress Dowager's attention, allowing us to use her to suppress Erzhu Rong."

Empress Dowager Hu wanted to bring a younger member of her clan to the palace to become empress, clearly intending to continue controlling the young emperor.

Erzhu Rong also wanted his daughter to become empress.

This is the open conflict between the two; by making them confront each other, one can reap the benefits.

"This action can also test the Empress Dowager."

Empress Dowager Hu regained power last year.

It was she and Prince Yuanhui of Chengyang who made the decision to resettle more than 200,000 surrendered people from the six towns to the three prefectures of Ji, Ding and Ying for food.

Right now, the most fertile land and the most important granary of the Great Wei have fallen into chaos, causing incalculable losses to the Great Wei, and someone needs to be held accountable.

The current corrupt political situation is a huge blow to the political prestige of Empress Dowager Hu and Prince Chengyang.

This is why the Empress Dowager, despite having the idea of ​​bringing her niece into the palace and making her Empress, has hesitated to take action.

Once she lost her political prestige, she could no longer easily issue edicts on behalf of the emperor.

"The appointment of an empress can also be seen as an important step for His Majesty to regain power. If the Empress Dowager backs down this time, His Majesty will be able to take back many important positions and appoint his trusted confidants to them."

"Okay! Just follow Ziyou's words."

Yuan Xu immediately made the decision.

Like Erzhu Zhao, he was self-aware, listened to advice, and was very proactive.

The next day.

At the court meeting.

Yuan Xu then spoke in front of all the court officials.

"The former governor of Sizhou, Wei Qingbin, is old and frail. I wish to let him enjoy his old age in peace. Erzhu Yusheng will temporarily take over the post of governor of Sizhou."

"The rebel forces in Ji, Ding, and Ying prefectures are powerful, and I fear that Bingzhou will be thrown into chaos. I hereby order Erzhu to lead troops south to garrison Bingzhou and appoint Erzhu Rong as the governor of Bingzhou."

"Since I ascended the throne, the position of Empress has remained undecided. Now, Consort Erzhu Ying'e is intelligent, beautiful, and wise, and has won my heart. I wish to make her Empress!"

(End of this chapter)