My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 371: Controlling the World’s Soldiers and Horses
"Lord Cui, Lord Cui, you must persuade the general to stop!"

"Lord Cui, you must persuade the general not to ruin everything because of a moment of weakness!"

"General's brother, Gao Huan, is clearly going too far! How could the General..."

"........."

After the banquet ended, many people immediately surrounded Cui Jie, the chief secretary of the Tian Ce Prefecture. His seniority and status were evident, and he had handled countless matters, both big and small, for the Tian Ce Prefecture.

"What's the point of making so much noise?"

Cui Jie was driven crazy by the noise. He frowned and looked around at everyone.

He could probably understand Gao Yu's thoughts.

Yuan Ziyou died at the hands of Erzhu Rong. Gao Yu, as the Tian Ce General promoted by Yuan Ziyou, was in a situation of irreconcilable enmity with Erzhu Rong, which also gave Gao Yu an opportunity to contend for the world!

However, many of Gao Yu's subordinates did not think so.

Not all Shandong aristocratic families were like Yang Kan, a ruthless Han patriot who believed that Han men should conquer the Han lands.

After all, Erzhu Rong's power is still the strongest on the surface, and Gao Yu's prospects for vying for supremacy are not clear. He may very well end up losing everything.

Most people just wanted to protect their own little territory and use Gao Yu's title of "General of Heavenly Strategy" to deter Erzhu Rong from invading Shandong.

Gao Huan raised the banner of rebellion against Erzhu Rong in Hebei, so the two brothers are currently aligned in their general direction and can join forces to fight against Erzhu Rong.

However, Gao Huan's actions in Hebei were unacceptable to Gao Yu.

After all, it should have been Gao Yu's job to support the new emperor and raise the banner of rebellion against Erzhu Rong, but Gao Huan intercepted the task.

Normally, even if Gao Huan came to visit in person, Gao Yu should have ignored him.

However, Gao Yu held a banquet to welcome Gao Huan on his first day in Qingzhou.

"No wonder the general ordered grain to be transported to Jizhou earlier; it turns out he had already prepared to send troops to Hebei to provide relief?"

"Can't Hebei save itself? Gao Huan has the ability to install a new emperor, so he should protect the new emperor himself!"

"Why should we use Shandong's grain to aid the people of Hebei?"

"…………"

Cui Jie seemed to have thought of something, and he sternly rebuked, "As officials of the Tian Ce Mansion, we should do our best to serve the general."

There were still people in front of me looking indignant.

Regardless of the legitimacy of Emperor Yuanxiu's legitimacy.

Anyone who has been in officialdom knows that the closer you are to the emperor, the more you can get when it comes to rewards and honors.

The emperor is now in Gao Huan's hands.

They sent troops and supplies to Hebei to fight Erzhu Rong to the death, but in the end, they did not get the lion's share of the spoils of victory.

Does this mean I'm working for someone else?
Cui Jie had no choice but to speak again, "How foolish! If the general were truly as you all think, he would have gone to pay homage to the new emperor long ago. Why would he have been waiting in Qingzhou for his brother to come to him?"

"The general must have his own reasons."

It was quite a feat to finally get rid of these people.

Cui Jie hurriedly returned to the mansion, found several key official documents, and pieced together the general information in his mind to arrive at a simple conjecture.

"Could it be... that the general was planning this?"

………………

"General Tian Ce is indeed a man of great loyalty and righteousness!"

Wang Sizheng felt that his trip to persuade Gao Yu had gone a little too smoothly.

Gao Huan was not so optimistic; he felt a vague unease in his heart.

It was precisely because things were going too smoothly that he felt it wasn't real.

Gao Yu was no longer the little tagalong who followed him around like a shadow and asked him for advice on everything back in Huai Shuo.

Right now, Gao Yu is the master of a powerful force that controls seven states.

In fact, Gao Huan had already made preparations long before he went to see Gao Yu.

He had anticipated this.

Gao Yu might rebuke him, berate him, or even, in extreme cases, refuse to acknowledge Yuan Xiu's imperial throne altogether. He might also make exorbitant demands to force Yuan Xiu to relinquish most of his power, or even personally hand the emperor over to Gao Yu.

But Gao Yu didn't mention anything, and after a brief meeting, he hosted a banquet. This was very unusual.

When the two returned to the gate of their residence, they found Liu Yi already waiting there with his men.

"The general ordered me to come here and ask my eldest son to come to the Tian Ce Mansion, saying that he has important matters to discuss."

Gao Huan and Wang Sizheng exchanged a glance.

Where was Gao Huan?

Wang Sizheng was immediately filled with doubt. Could it be that the two brothers were plotting something in private?
Gao Huan noticed the doubt in Wang Sizheng's eyes, sighed inwardly, and said nothing, "Let's go."

Soon Liu Yi brought Gao Huan back to the Tian Ce Mansion.

It's still the same pavilion.

Gao Huan suppressed his doubts and quickly walked into the pavilion.

"Erlang?"

Gao Yu, who had been facing away from him, turned around after hearing the voice and said with a light laugh, "Brother, have some tea."

"I made a fool of myself in front of the prince at the banquet earlier."

"You are, after all, a ruler of a region, and you have your own difficulties."

Gao Huan hadn't figured out Gao Yu's thoughts yet, so he could only go along with Gao Yu's words for the time being.

Gao Yu smiled and said, "Yes, if you want your soldiers to serve you to the death, you have to provide them with enough food and drink, and you can't skimp on the rewards they deserve."

"If I want powerful families to serve me, I also need to entice them with benefits so that they will be willing to work for me."

"All the world's hustle and bustle is for profit, and all the people in the world are busy striving for the word 'profit'."

Despite Gao Yu's smiling face, Gao Huan understood the meaning behind his words.

Gao Yu's unspoken message was this.

It's time to discuss terms.

Not providing sufficient benefits.

How did he command his soldiers and noble families?
Simply relying on the righteous cause of avenging the late emperor is not enough to sway the people under his command. Yuan Ziyou has been kind to Gao Yu in promoting him, but he has no such favor to the powerful families of Shandong.

"What Erlang said is absolutely right."

Gao Huan chuckled dryly, then noticed Gao Yu staring intently at him with a faint smile on his lips.

He had no choice but to say, “You were originally granted the title of General of Heavenly Strategy by the late Emperor. Before I came, His Majesty said that when the late Emperor was alive, he often said in private conversations that the General of Heavenly Strategy is the pillar of the country, and only the General of Heavenly Strategy can protect the peace and prosperity of the Great Wei.”

"His Majesty has said that he intends to appoint you as Prime Minister, to oversee all civil and military officials, and to defend against the traitor Erzhu Rong. What do you think?"

Gao Yu gave a half-smile.

What he cared about was not just the empty title of prime minister.

If the empty title of prime minister could satisfy him, he would have agreed to recognize Yuan Xiu's imperial throne when Gao Yang came, instead of remaining silent in Qingzhou and waiting for Gao Huan to come and see him in person.

Seeing that Gao Yu still wouldn't budge.

Gao Huan had no choice but to speak again, "Second Brother, if you have any other requests, please feel free to ask, and I will personally persuade His Majesty on your behalf!"

Gao Yu, however, calmly picked up his teacup and took a sip of hot tea.

"As a subject, it is my duty to relieve Your Majesty's worries and solve your problems..."

"However, since you've said so, and His Majesty acknowledges my abilities, I do have a few small thoughts."

"you say……"

Gao Huan could also see that Gao Yu didn't care about the title of Prime Minister.

After Gao Yu put down his teacup, he slowly looked up at Gao Huan.

"Handling government affairs is not my forte."

"However, I believe I have a bit of talent when it comes to military strategy!"

"Since His Majesty approves of me and intends to appoint me to punish the disloyal, the prince also wants me to take charge of the overall situation."

"Then...why don't I take command of all the armies in the land!"

(End of this chapter)