My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 362 Two Emperors
Guangchang King Yuan Ye, tracing his lineage back, was the great-grandson of Tuoba Huang.

Hey, it's Tuoba Huang, the one who helped the Erzhu clan take off.

It was during that time that the Erzhu clan became related to the emperor through marriage and were exempted from taxes for a century. This allowed them to begin accumulating a substantial fortune, which eventually led to Erzhu Rong's generation having the ability to seize power.

but……

Tuoba Huang did not actually ascend the throne, because he was framed and killed by the eunuch Zong Ai when he was 24 years old.

This Zong Ai is also a talent, comparable to a plus version of Jiang Chong.

After Jiang Chong murdered the crown prince, he was eventually killed by Emperor Wu of Han.

However, Zong Ai not only killed the then Crown Prince Tuoba Huang, but also preemptively killed Tuoba Tao before Tuoba Tao could exonerate the Crown Prince.

Erzhu Rong valued Yuan Ye because, if you traced his lineage back, Yuan Ye could barely be considered related to the Erzhu clan. Moreover, the Guangchang Prince's branch was now considered a minor branch with no foundation in the court, so there would be no difficulty for him to abdicate in the future.

To put it bluntly, he wanted to find a puppet; he didn't want to repeat the same mistakes.

Yuan Ziyou's bloodline was already quite skewed; his father, Yuan Xie, was a brother of Emperor Xiaowen, and Yuan Ziyou was not from Emperor Xiaowen's lineage.

He hadn't expected Yuan Ziyou to actually cause such a ruckus.

Having learned my lesson the hard way, I must be vigilant and nip problems in the bud.

"Then do you have any candidates in mind?"

"If we really want to honor the new emperor, we should choose Prince Yuan Gong of Guangling."

"The Prince of Guangling?"

Erzhu Rong squinted, pondering Yuan Gong's identity.

Yuan Gong was definitely closer in blood than Yuan Ye. Yuan Gong's situation was actually the same as Yuan Ziyou's. Yuan Gong's father was Yuan Yu, the fourth son of Emperor Xianwen Tuoba Hong and the fourth brother of Emperor Xiaowen. Yuan Ziyou's father, Yuan Xie, was the sixth son of Tuoba Hong.

That's the current situation.

It's still possible to find someone from Emperor Xiaowen's lineage.

However, having such a pure bloodline was detrimental to Erzhu Rong's future endeavors.

Erzhu Rong initially cooperated with Yuan Ziyou based on this consideration, but after suffering a loss at the hands of Yuan Ziyou, Erzhu Rong did not want to suffer another loss, which was a point of slight hesitation for him.

However, after careful consideration, he felt that Erzhu Shilong's words made some sense.

In terms of bloodline, Yuan Ye is indeed too distant and too biased.

Even if you push him to the top, it will be difficult to convince the public.

Yuan Gong's situation is similar to Yuan Ziyou's; he is somewhat able to gain the respect of the masses, even though others are well aware that Yuan Gong was forcibly pushed into the position and cannot find fault with him.

Erzhu Rong knew very well that he could not ascend the throne now, and even to avoid suspicion, he could not make Erzhu Ying'e's young son emperor. Only in this way could more people observe and watch.

Correct!
It's a wait-and-see approach!
Erzhu Rong didn't expect everyone to side with him, but as long as these people didn't side with the Gao brothers, as long as they remained neutral and observed!

Then I can defeat them one by one!
He was well-informed and knew a lot, including that Gao Huan was also searching the world for members of the Yuan clan, wanting to use Yuan Ziyou's will and the imperial seal to enthrone a new emperor.

“He Liuhun, He Liuhun, if it weren’t for Mo Heduo, your actions would have been truly remarkable.”

"But...how do you intend to persuade Moheduo?"

Gao Huan deceived Erzhu Zhao, but did not kill Erzhu Zhao, so he did not offend Gao Yu.

The one who truly offended Gao Yu.

This is equivalent to Gao Huan intercepting Gao Qian and others. Originally, it was Gao Yu who should have supported the new emperor and raised his banner. In other words, Gao Huan stole what originally belonged to Gao Yu.

Gao Yu is magnanimous.

Of course...

What about the people behind Gao Yu?
Erzhu Rong was certain that Gao Yu would never back down on this matter; any concession would cause him to lose the support of the people!
"I knew you were an ambitious man, and I knew you were capable of great things... If I were to die, you might have a great future, but... Since Heaven has spared my life, with me here, how can you possibly succeed!"

Erzhu Rong had always held Gao Huan in high regard and had always kept a close watch on him. The current situation only proves that Gao Huan was indeed capable of causing trouble, and that Erzhu Rong's judgment of him was correct. If he were to die, the Erzhu clan members would likely be manipulated by Gao Huan just like Erzhu Zhao.

In Erzhu Rong's view.

The current situation isn't that complicated.
The fact that Heaven spared his life was a decree from the Eternal Heaven.

Erzhu Rong.

When I reign supreme, I will rule the world!
………………

Outside Yecheng.

Gao Huan hasn't been 'idling' all these days.

He ordered Hou Jing and others to lead troops south, capture Yinzhou, and then, with the help of Sima Ziru, quickly capture Yecheng, and then take control of Xiangzhou, instantly controlling most of Hebei.

"Is the news accurate?"

"It's absolutely true, I've confirmed it!"

"Take me there immediately!"

Gao Huan was also searching for a member of the Yuan clan, but his approach differed from Erzhu Rong's. Erzhu Rong wanted to find a relative whose bloodline was neither too close nor too distant.

Gao Huan, on the other hand, wanted to search as close as possible!
If no one can be found in Yuan Ziyou's lineage, then the next line goes back to Yuan Xu, but Yuan Xu did not leave any offspring. The next line goes back to Emperor Xuanwu, Yuan Ke.

What a coincidence...

Yuan Ke only had Yuan Xu as his sole heir.

We need to trace it back further, to Emperor Xiaowen's direct lineage.

Emperor Xiaowen did have many children, having a total of seven sons, but... in recent years, the Northern Wei imperial family had been fighting and purging each other, and many of them had already died in the political struggles.

"This man is the third son of the Prince of Guangping."

"The Prince of Guangping?"

Gao Huan's expression was somewhat strange.

He thought of an old friend, a 'pale green youth'.

Yuan Ti was the eldest son of the Prince of Guangping and inherited his title. However... during the chaos in the central army, Yuan Ti became a vegetable and eventually died.

His wife, Zheng Dache, is now Gao Yu's concubine and has given birth to a son for him.

This relationship...

However, from the perspective of bloodline...

Yuan Xiu is qualified.

Yuan Xiu's father, Yuan Huai, was the brother of Emperor Xuanwu, Yuan Ke, and was a direct descendant of Emperor Xiaowen!
Moreover, his elder brother Yuan Ti had already died, so from this perspective, he could indeed be enthroned as the new emperor.

"That's a good candidate. What's their personality like?"

"He was of average appearance and loved martial arts..."

With this description, Gao Huan had a better understanding of the situation.

A sharp-headed warrior, huh?

Sima Ziru opened her mouth to persuade him, "We have already acted in this way, yet... Mo Heduo has not sent anyone to contact you yet, He Liuhun, have you thought about how to face Mo Heduo?"

"Without Moheduo's recognition, even if we were to support a new emperor, it would be difficult to succeed. Without his help, how could we face Erzhu Rong's counterattack?"

Gao Huan remained silent.

He glanced to the east, then shook his head and said, "You don't need to worry about this. I have my own way. First, I will go to see Yuan Xiu and discuss the enthronement. Then I will personally go to see Erlang and explain the situation to him."

(End of this chapter)