My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 162 Showing Off Muscles in a High-Profile Way
The fourth day of the third month in the sixth year of Zheng Guang (525 AD).

Gao Yu didn't know how Erzhu Rong would proceed, but over the past two months, Erzhu Rong seemed to be able to continuously receive the latest news from Luoyang through his own information channels.

Ever since Empress Dowager Hu and the young emperor completely subdued Prince Yuan Yi of Jiangyang.

The few trusted confidants that Yuan Yi sent abroad became thorns in the side of Empress Dowager Hu.

The Erzhu clan lived directly below Heng and Shuo prefectures, and the imperial court dared not offend them, fearing that pushing them too far would lead to a direct rebellion by the Erzhu clan, further deteriorating the already dire situation in northwestern Shanxi.

Moreover, the imperial court also needed the Erzhu clan to continue providing food and supplies to the army suppressing the rebellion on the northern front.

Yuan Hongye was in Dingzhou, which was the most fertile and central region of the Great Wei Dynasty. The Hebei Plain was the most important granary of the imperial court, and it could not be allowed to descend into chaos.

Therefore, their first target was Yuan Faseng, the governor of Xuzhou.

Empress Dowager Hu sent Zhang Wenbo, a secretary in the Imperial Secretariat, to Xuzhou to lure Yuan Faseng back in the name of Yuan Yi, the Prince of Jiangyang. However, Yuan Faseng seemed to have known about what was happening in Luoyang beforehand, and directly killed Zhang Wenbo. He then ascended the throne in Pengcheng, established the state of 'Song', and changed the era name to 'Tianqi'.

The imperial court directly dispatched Prince Yuan Jian of Le'an to lead troops to quell the rebellion. Yuan Faseng was unable to resist at all and had no choice but to send his confidant to deliver a message indicating that he wanted to surrender to the Southern Dynasty.

Xiao Pusa, from the south, appointed Yuan Lue, a former member of the Great Wei imperial family who had also surrendered, as Grand Commander. He led Chen Qingzhi and others to meet Yuan Faseng and brought him to Jiankang.

Both the Southern Liang and the Northern Wei dynasties had members of the imperial family who had surrendered from the other side, and both courts accepted them without reservation. These were all essential elements for making 'claims' in the future.

Upon learning of Yuan Faseng's rebellion, the imperial court immediately executed Yuan Yi, the Prince of Jiangyang, who was already a prisoner, on the pretext of "inciting" his relatives to rebel.

"Back in Luoyang, I knew that Yuan Fasheng and Yuan Hongye were both sycophants. If they weren't of noble birth, how could such scoundrels hold such high positions?"

Upon learning of the defeat of the monk Yuanfa and his escape to the Southern Liang Dynasty.

Erzhu Rong was furious and couldn't stop cursing.

"It's a pity that the message I sent him was completely ignored."

If Luoyang had been careful to prevent the news of Jiangyang King Yuan Yi's downfall from spreading, Yuan Fasheng, who was far away in Xuzhou, could not have learned of it so quickly.

The fact that Yuan Fasheng was able to find out must mean that someone in Luoyang had passed on crucial information to him.

No wonder Erzhu Rong was so excited.

Gao Yu finally understood. So the message was sent by Erzhu Rong on his own initiative?

Do you want to draw the court's attention to Yuan Faseng's rebellion, making the situation in Great Wei even worse, and give Great Wei a hard throttle on its way down the mountain?
Perhaps realizing his own loss of composure, Erzhu Rong burned the letter he had received and then looked at Gao Yu.

"With such instigators occupying important positions in the court, how could the Great Wei not have declined to this extent?"

Gao Yu didn't respond to that question. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, "I wonder if Tianbao summoned me here for something?"

Erzhu Rong didn't dwell on it any longer, and instead nodded and said, "Yuan Tianmu led his troops out of Luoyang last month. Just now, Wei Qingbin, the governor of Sizhou, sent someone to deliver a message to me, saying that the army will arrive at Xiurongchuan in a few days, and that I should quickly prepare warhorses and provisions to hand over to the army."

Wei Qingbin's original surname was Yuchi. It was Yuchi, one of the eight major Xianbei surnames, that Emperor Xiaowen designated during the Taihe Reforms to establish surnames and clans. After being Sinicized, Yuchi was changed to Wei.

He made great contributions in suppressing the Yuan Faseng rebellion, and the court promoted him to the position of Prefect of Sizhou.

Having followed Li Chong on campaigns for many years, he could be considered a seasoned general. Empress Dowager Hu sent such a shrewd and experienced man to Sizhou, which clearly showed that she did not trust Erzhu Rong. She did not think that Yu Jingzhe, a relative of the imperial clan and governor, was capable of suppressing Erzhu Rong.

"That damned old scoundrel, why would I need him to remind me? Or is he acting on the Empress Dowager's orders, trying to undermine me, both openly and secretly?"

For the wealthy and powerful Erzhu clan, the warhorses, cattle, sheep, and other provisions prepared this time were not a significant loss.

But it still makes people feel uncomfortable, after all, if it weren't for Prince Gaoyang Yuan Yong's insistence on bringing it up, the Erzhu clan could have avoided this loss.

Whenever this matter was mentioned, Erzhu Rong would grit his teeth in hatred. His hatred for Prince Gaoyang, Yuan Yong, grew stronger every day. When he got drunk, he wished he could immediately lead his troops to trample Luoyang and personally cut Yuan Yong into a thousand pieces to relieve his hatred.

Gao Yu could understand Erzhu Rong's displeasure; he himself would have felt the same way.

However, he still offered a word of advice: "Tianbao, the governor comes from one of the eight great Xianbei clans. If you want to gain the help of talented people, you will need to rely on the four great Han clans and the eight great Xianbei clans."

Genes are indeed fair.

People born into prominent families are not necessarily more intelligent than others; most are probably just average in terms of intelligence.

However, in this era, books and knowledge are still monopolized in the hands of these people, who can receive the 'elite education' of this era from a young age.

Ordinary people struggle to even get three meals a day. Just to fill their stomachs and avoid starvation, they have to exhaust all their energy. How can they possibly learn anything?
Talented individuals from prominent families have received 'elite education,' so their minimum standard is very high—a standard that ordinary people might never reach even in their entire lives.

In an era without universal compulsory education, the probability of discovering top talents from ordinary people is extremely low.

Someone like Gao Huan is truly a genius, one in ten thousand. "And how could I not know..."

Erzhu Rong sighed. Having spent many years navigating the officialdom of Luoyang, Erzhu Rong knew the ins and outs better than anyone else. "I was just venting my anger verbally in private."

“Yuan Tianmu has brought a large army here. I originally intended to invite him to stay in Xiurongchuan for a few days. At that time, I would gather my people and hunt him down so that he could see for himself how brave the warriors of my Erzhu clan are. However, I felt that this was not appropriate. After thinking about it, I decided to win him over with wealth and gifts. What do you think, Gao Lang?”

"What's wrong with demonstrating our strength?"

Gao Yu frowned slightly. "If the world were at peace now, being too outspoken would indeed easily arouse the suspicion of the Luoyang court. But the situation is different now. If His Majesty wants to seize power, he needs strong support."

"This is the perfect opportunity for you, Tianbao, to demonstrate the strength of the Erzhu clan. You should use Yuan Tianmu to convey to His Majesty how powerful the Erzhu clan is right now."

The young emperor had considered seizing power.

That proves that he is not the kind of person who would be content to be a 'mascot' in the Taiji Hall.

If they truly had no interest in power, why go through all this trouble?
In particular, this time the young emperor thought he had victory in his grasp and would eventually regain his rightful imperial power, but in the end he found that all his hard work and various maneuvers in the court had been thwarted by Empress Dowager Hu.

They will surely feel immense dissatisfaction and an even stronger desire to reclaim their power!
A powerful foreign minister would be seen as a lifeline by the young emperor. The more powerful the minister, the tighter the young emperor would hold on to him, and the stronger his desire to seize power would become.

"According to Gao Lang's words, His Majesty will not only not be wary of me, but will be extremely pleased?"

"Correct!"

Gao Yu nodded repeatedly, "The King of Jiangyang is dead. As a former confidant of the King of Jiangyang, Tianbao's career in Luoyang would have been over by now."

In officialdom, who doesn't take sides?

Choosing the wrong side can lead to death, or at best, being kicked out of the center of power and ending up with nothing more than that.

Erzhu Rong has chosen the wrong side; his biggest backer has fallen.

But the situation is different now.

"Your Majesty is also aware of Tianbao's current situation. He is a powerful minister from outside the capital who has no backing in Luoyang. How could Your Majesty not give him an important position?"

"On the contrary, if Tianbao is secretive and does not let Yuan Tianmu see the true strength of the Erzhu clan, His Majesty may misunderstand."

Erzhu Rong suddenly realized that he was actually too fixated on his past identity as a confidant of Yuan Yi, the Prince of Jiangyang.

His worries were justified.

However, the current situation is special. The young emperor and Empress Dowager Hu are engaged in a power struggle. As the weaker party, the young emperor will inevitably have to win over everyone he can, not to mention that the Erzhu clan is so powerful.

Erzhu Rong held Gao Yu's hand and exclaimed, "Today, I have gained Gao Lang, just as Emperor Gaozu gained Liu Hou. Listening to Gao Lang's words is like a gentle spring breeze, and my mind has been enlightened!"

"If it weren't for Gao Lang... I really don't know who in my clan could relieve my worries and answer my questions."

Historical records state that Marquis Liu, Zhang Liang, also had fair skin and a woman-like appearance. From his appearance, it wouldn't be wrong for him to call himself Marquis Liu.
Gao Yu humbly shook his head and said, "Those involved are often confused, while bystanders see things clearly. If Wan Ren, Shi Long, and Zhong Yuan knew the news, they could also help Tianbao."

"Rely on them?"

Erzhu Rong chuckled twice, his meaning quite clear.

"If that's the case, then I'll let Yuan Tianmu see just how valiant my Qihu elite cavalry are. Gao Lang can also come with me; you're also a master strategist, so you can give me some pointers."

"How can I talk about using troops?"

Gao Yu shook his head.

It wasn't that he was being modest; although the Six Towns were a harsh and cold place, they weren't entirely without merit.

With everyone a soldier and soldiers of extremely high quality, Gao Yu didn't need to spend much energy training his troops, as they all came to join him with their own skills.

The Erzhu clan is different.

In Xiurongchuan, a place far from the frontier, the quality of soldiers is uneven, only slightly better than that of peasant soldiers in the Central Plains.

The most difficult part of anything is going from 0 to 1.

The Qihu elite cavalry were indeed valiant, and Gao Yu was also curious to see how Erzhu Rong trained his troops.

If there is anything worthwhile, I will remember it carefully. When I have a base in the future, and I need to train a commoner who knows nothing from scratch into a qualified soldier, I may be able to use Erzhu Rong's training methods.

(End of this chapter)