My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 194 Cleansing the Emperor's Side!
Yuan Xu grew angrier the more he thought about it.

It's not that the guards and palace maids can't be replaced, but the timing is extremely sensitive.

He had just had a fight with Empress Dowager Hu during the day, and even threatened to kill Zheng Yan and Xu He.

In less than a day.

Pan Chonghua, his most favored concubine who bore him a daughter, had all her maids and other servants replaced.

Is he trying to demonstrate his power to His Majesty the Emperor of Great Wei in this way?
Or should we threaten him in this way?

Were these people there to act as his eyes and ears, monitoring his every move with Pan Chonghua?
Or will they take advantage of my inattention one day and turn on me with a knife?
Yuan Xu completely lost his sense of security.

Within this palace, he seemed to have found no one he could trust, and no one he could rely on.

"My beloved concubine, do not be afraid. No one can harm you. You are my beloved concubine. Anyone who dares to harm you will be made to pay the price!"

Leaning against Yuan Xu's chest, listening to his comforting words, and feeling his hand stroking her back, the anxious Pan Chonghua gradually calmed down.

She forced a charming smile, then thought of whispering sweet nothings to Yuan Xu.

Yuan Xu, however, lost interest and pushed Pan Chonghua away under her puzzled gaze. "I remembered that I still have official business to attend to. My dear consort, please rest well first. I will come to rest at your place after I have finished my work."

Say it.

Yuan Xu then hurriedly left and returned to Xianyang Palace.

Upon entering Xianyang Palace, he glanced at the Imperial Guards outside the palace, but they didn't look familiar. This immediately triggered his senses, and he stepped forward, asking, "Who are you? Why have I never seen you before?"

"Your Majesty, we only recently joined the Imperial Guard and are here today to take turns on duty at Xianyang Palace to protect Your Majesty."

"Guards..."

Yuan Xu sneered repeatedly, retorting maniacally, "I have no need for your guards, get out! Get out of my sight!"

The guards, terrified, hastily retreated several steps, but Yuan Xu persisted, drawing his weapon from their waist and coldly saying, "I order you to get out of here! You are not allowed to approach Xianyang Palace."

After saying that, he brandished his weapon and slashed wildly, forcing the guards to dodge repeatedly until they finally had to leave.

"Go, go and summon Yuan Ziyou!"

Yuan Xu issued an edict that prompted Yuan Ziyou, who had already been resting, to hurriedly get up and come to Xianyang Palace that very night to meet him.

"Your Majesty, why have you summoned me so late at night? Has something important happened?"

After bowing, Yuan Ziyou quickly asked.

But when he looked up, he saw Yuan Xu's frightened and uneasy expression, which made him even more puzzled. What had happened to frighten Yuan Xu like this?
Yuan Xu disregarded the formalities between ruler and subject and rushed forward to grab Yuan Ziyou's hand, "Ziyou, they want to harm me, they want to kill me!"

"what?"

Yuan Ziyou was terrified. Had he endangered the emperor's life?

Who would dare to do that?
Could it be Empress Dowager Hu?
After careful consideration, Yuan Ziyou also felt that it was unlikely.

Although the struggle between Yuan Xu and Empress Dowager Hu was becoming increasingly fierce, it did not completely break off relations.

Besides...

Empress Dowager Hu was not stupid.

She was able to gain the support of the court officials because she was Yuan Xu's biological mother, and Yuan Xu was the cornerstone of her power.

Emperor Xuanwu Yuan Ke only had one son, Yuan Xu. If Yuan Xu were to die, the next emperor would definitely be chosen from among Emperor Xuanwu Yuan Ke's surviving brothers, that is, from Emperor Xiaowen's bloodline. Unlike his son Yuan Ke, Emperor Xiaowen did not have many children. Emperor Xiaowen had many sons.

If someone else becomes emperor, who will still respect Empress Dowager Hu?
wrong!

Yuan Ziyou realized that he seemed to have forgotten something.

Pan Chonghua gave birth to Yuan Xu's child, but the gender has never been announced. Could it be a boy?
"Your Majesty, please don't panic. Tell me what happened slowly."

"They replaced all of Consort Pan's close attendants and palace maids, and even the imperial guards protecting Xianyang Palace were replaced."

"It must have been the Empress Dowager's instruction, otherwise Xu He wouldn't have dared to do this. These two traitors are no ordinary villains; we must strike hard and seize their power!"

Yuan Xu became more and more enthusiastic as he spoke, as if he had already made up his mind about a certain idea.

How long until Wang Zunye arrives in Luoyang?

"There should be about ten days left."

"It's too late, it's too late."

Yuan Xu shook his head, then suddenly grabbed Yuan Ziyou's arm. "I have heard others say that if a fast horse departs from Jinyang, it will only take three to five days to reach Luoyang. Is this true?"

Yuan Ziyou nodded, then, as if struck by a sudden thought, asked incredulously, "Your Majesty, could it be that you..."

"Purge the court of treacherous officials! There are treacherous ministers in the court. I will order Erzhu Rong to lead troops south to purge the court of treacherous officials and execute all those like Zheng Yan and Xu He!"

"No, Your Majesty!"

Yuan Ziyou was immediately alarmed and pulled Yuan Xu back, earnestly advising, "Your Majesty, this is absolutely forbidden!"

Yuan Xu glared at him angrily, "You..."

At this moment, Yuan Ziyou couldn't care less about anything else and interrupted him, "Your Majesty, I know how you feel right now, but please calm down and listen to what I have to say."

"Xu He and Zheng Yan don't have the guts to harm His Majesty, and how could the Empress Dowager, as His Majesty's birth mother, possibly harm him? The reason things have developed to this point is entirely because we have put too much pressure on Xu He and Zheng Yan!"

"What did you say?"

Yuan Xu roared angrily, "Did I force them?"

"Your Majesty, I do not object to your intention to execute these two traitors. Xu He and Zheng Yan deserve to die for their actions. However, you have been too hasty in your actions recently. You should know the principle that slow and steady wins the race. You could have waited until Wang Zunye arrived in Luoyang before promoting him to the rank of Palace General. You should not have announced it at the court meeting before he even arrived. Have you forgotten what happened between the General Who Conquers the West and his son and the soldiers of the Central Army back then?"

"Why did the Central Army ultimately take the risk and riot in Luoyang? Wasn't it because Princess Zheng Dache of Guangping was kidnapped by bandits, and the Central Army was involved? The court had been undecided on how to deal with the Central Army, which made the soldiers of the Central Army live in fear and anxiety, and ultimately led to a disaster?"

"Before Wang Zunye even arrived, you announced at the court meeting that you would strip Xu He of his official position. Xu He must be just like the soldiers of the central army back then, living in constant fear."

"As for purging the court of corrupt officials? Throughout history, how many people have truly served the country by eliminating traitors? There are quite a few who use the pretext of purging the court of corrupt officials to seize power. Your Majesty must not issue such an edict to Erzhu Rong. At present, there is no one in the Great Wei who can restrain Erzhu Rong. If Your Majesty issues another edict to purge the court of corrupt officials, the situation will be completely out of control, and it will be too late to regret it then."

The King of Beihai had just led 20,000 infantry and cavalry north to Xiangzhou to resist the rebels.

The combined forces of the central army and the imperial guards around Luoyang number at most five or six thousand. If Erzhu Rong were to bring a large army under the pretext of "purging the court of corrupt officials," there would be no one to restrain him.

At that time, Erzhu Rong would be able to manipulate the Luoyang court at will. If Erzhu Rong showed even the slightest disloyalty, the situation would be unpredictable.

Yuan Xu continued to look at him coldly and asked in return, "Then how do you think I should deal with this?" Seeing that Yuan Xu was still willing to listen, Yuan Ziyou quickly advised, "Your Majesty, you should take the initiative to go to Jiafu Palace to ease the tension with the Empress Dowager, bow your head and apologize to her. Appeasing the Empress Dowager will appease Xu He and Zheng Yan. You can even meet with them and speak kindly to them, saying that after careful consideration, the edict you issued in court was ill-considered, and that Xu He is loyal to the country and should continue to serve as the Palace General, to put their minds at ease."

"Should I still offer these two traitors kind words and comfort?"

"Your Majesty! These two traitors deserve to die, but given the current situation, Your Majesty must be patient for a few days. Once Wang Zunye enters the palace, succeeds as the Palace General, and takes control of the palace guards, ensuring Your Majesty's safety, it will not be too late for you to execute the two traitors in the name of eliminating traitors!"

“Your Majesty, to openly display a knife is to kill, and to appear kind on the surface while carrying a knife behind one's back is also to kill. Ultimately, both are acts of murder, but the latter will undoubtedly greatly reduce the other party's vigilance and resistance. You are of noble status and of noble birth; you should not put yourself in such danger!”

Yuan Ziyou spoke earnestly and patiently.

Showing weakness to the enemy might feel a bit unfair, but as long as the ultimate goal can be achieved without bloodshed, what's wrong with that?

Moreover, there is no need to pay any price. Simply lowering one's stance and saying a few kind words can effectively prevent Xu He and Zheng Yan from taking desperate and risky actions.

When you are about to kill someone, you should pretend that you don't want to kill them. This will prevent the other party from taking desperate measures and fighting like a cornered beast.

Threatening someone before committing murder and shouting that you're going to kill them will only result in a lose-lose situation.

Yuan Xu remained expressionless. "I understand. You may go back and rest."

"Your Majesty, every word I have spoken comes from the bottom of my heart. I hope Your Majesty will listen to it and refrain from acting rashly again."

After bowing deeply, Yuan Ziyou left Xianyang Hall.

Yuan Xu coldly watched his departing figure and said in a cold voice.

“Yuan Ziyou can’t be trusted either. He even wants me to bow down to Xu He and Zheng Yan. He probably already secretly sided with the Empress Dowager. No wonder I wanted to issue a secret edict ordering Erzhu Rong to lead troops eastward to quell the rebellion. I had only discussed it with him, but the Empress Dowager found out.”

"Damn it! He betrayed me despite all the trust I placed in him!"

"In this palace, in this court, no... in Luoyang, there is no one I can trust anymore. If this continues, I fear I will die one day without being able to rest in peace."

"Erzhu Rong must lead the troops south. Everyone in the Taiji Palace can be replaced. As long as I am here, the Great Wei will stand!"

"Someone! Go and summon General Xi Yi!"

Xi Yi was on duty in the palace today, and upon receiving the news, he immediately went to Xianyang Hall to meet Yuan Xu.

"Greetings to Your Majesty!"

At this moment, Yuan Xu had already composed himself, forced a kind smile, and very affectionately took his arm and helped him up.

Xi Yi was flattered and overwhelmed. "I wonder what important matter Your Majesty has summoned me here so late at night?"

Yuan Xu asked with a smile, "I have heard that the Erzhu clan now has a strong army and is the most powerful foreign minister in our Great Wei?"

Xi Yi had no idea what had happened. Upon hearing the young emperor Yuan Xu say this, he hurriedly bowed again in fear. "Your Majesty, the Erzhu clan is indeed recruiting soldiers, but that is for the sake of Your Majesty's country. Bandits are rampant in Hebei and Shandong, and the imperial army is not doing well in suppressing the rebellion. If Tianbao does not prepare for war, who can relieve Your Majesty's worries and quell the rebellion?"

"Why are you so alarmed, Wu Cheng? I have no other intention than to ask a few questions. Ying'e is my Empress, my closest person. Erzhu Tianbao is Ying'e's father and also my father-in-law. How could I not trust him? I asked to dispel any doubts in my mind."

Xi Yi still dared not be careless. You can't judge a book by its cover; how could he know if the young emperor was testing him with his words?
He quickly replied, "Tianbao currently commands several thousand elite cavalry, enough to quell the rebellion."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Xu couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed.

But the truth is he doesn't understand at all.

Xi Yi knew that the young emperor didn't quite understand the intricacies of the situation, so he deliberately played a trick.

The Qihu elite cavalry under Erzhu Rong's command were trained according to the standards of elite troops, and when they were put together for combat, they formed an elite officer corps of several thousand men.

but……

As long as there are enough people, enough weapons, and enough provisions.

With a single command from Erzhu Rong, these few thousand elite Qihu cavalry could quickly draw away a fighting force of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands.

It's simply that Erzhu Rong always adhered to the "elite army policy" and did not deliberately expand the recruitment of ordinary peasant soldiers to fill the number of soldiers in his army.

Anyone who has spent even a little time in the military will understand this.

What does "thousands of elite troops" mean?

Seeing the disappointment in Yuan Xu's eyes, Xi Yi knew... the young emperor really didn't understand this. He quickly added, "Your Majesty, please rest assured, several thousand elite troops are more than enough to relieve Your Majesty's worries and completely quell the bandits in Hebei and Shandong!"

Yuan Xu, however, did not take it seriously.

In the past two years, the imperial court has sent several large armies to quell the rebellion. Each of these armies has been in the tens of thousands.
is that useful?
When they arrived in Hebei, they were still utterly defeated by the rebels.

but……

With several thousand people, they could eliminate treacherous officials for themselves.

There are still several thousand central army and imperial guards in Luoyang, which is just enough to restrain Erzhu Rong!

Damn!

Yuan Ziyou also kept saying that no one could restrain him, which would lead to a great disaster!
He was afraid that if he captured Xu He, Zheng Yan, and others, he would force them to reveal that Yuan Ziyou was also a member of the Empress Dowager's faction, which would bring about his own death!

After figuring everything out.

Yuan Xu walked up to Xi Yi and whispered.

"I have a very important matter to entrust to you. This matter is of great importance and must not be leaked. I would say that I entrust my life and fortune to you and Erzhu Tianbao."

Xi Yi's eyes widened. "I don't know..."

Yuan Xu raised his hand to interrupt him.

He took out a handwritten letter and an imperial edict from his pocket and handed them to Xi Yi.

"You must personally go north to deliver these two items to Erzhu Tianbao. After he sees the letter and the imperial edict, he must immediately lead his troops south. There are treacherous officials in the court who want to kill me."

"Send Erzhu Tianbao to lead his troops south to Luoyang immediately to purge the court of corrupt officials and eliminate traitors for the country!"

Xi Yi heard this.

Completely dumbfounded.

He looked at the young emperor with a bewildered expression.

Are they leading troops to purge the emperor's inner circle?
The young emperor placed his hands on his shoulders, giving him tearful words of advice.

"please……"

(End of this chapter)