My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 462 The New Emperor and the Wedding

Gao Yu was weighing his options internally while simultaneously glancing at everyone present out of the corner of his eye.

Deposing an emperor is no child's play.

Even though the Great Wei Dynasty was already a mere shell of its former self, Emperor Yuanxiu had no authority whatsoever.

But he still held the title of emperor.

We must be careful in dealing with him. Gao Yu tried every means to suppress Yuan Xiu, but he only managed to make him lose all his prestige.

Some things shouldn't be started lightly. Once started, those who follow will only learn from them without any bottom line, even though throughout history, humanity's bottom line has been declining more and more.

"Although Your Majesty has made mistakes, it appears that they stem from a mental illness. As your subjects, how can we treat the Emperor harshly because of a minor transgression? We should consider the relationship between ruler and subject, and apply the principles of virtue. Externally, we should employ strict doctors to treat his illness with medicine, and internally, we should have strict teachers to instruct him with sagely virtues to move his heart. If we can help Your Majesty cultivate his mind and turn towards goodness, it will not only be a blessing for the imperial family, but also a blessing for all the subjects of the world."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Gao Yu in astonishment.

Gao Huan was the same; he was about to speak when he saw Gao Yu shake his head at him, so he had no choice but to remain silent.

Yang Yin, Cui Xian, and others shouted even louder.

"Prime Minister, you are so benevolent! We pride ourselves on reading the books of the sages, yet we have forgotten their way of forgiveness. We are ashamed, so ashamed..."

At this point, whether or not Yuan Xiu is abolished is actually of little significance.

Gao Yu's willingness to "show leniency" actually makes him appear "benevolent and righteous".

"That's an overstatement."

Gao Yu waved his hand, "Right now, court affairs are of utmost importance, and I happen to have something to discuss with you all."

On the way to the main hall, Gao Huan leaned close to Gao Yu and whispered something.

"Erlang, why do you refuse? There is a suitable heir to the throne in Yecheng right now, Yuan Shanjian, the grandson of the former Prince of Qinghe. In terms of seniority, he is the great-grandson of Emperor Xiaowen. Moreover, he is young and easy to control. If he ascends the throne, the court will be entirely in your hands."

"I will take the lead in deposing the emperor. Let the Prince of Jiyin and others step forward. We will bear the infamy. You don't need to worry about your reputation after death."

Gao Huan had indeed already chosen a successor for the emperor, a descendant of an old friend, the same person Gao Yu had chosen when he first went to Luoyang with Gao Huan.

Although we never officially met, I had heard of the handsome Prince Yuan Yi of Qinghe, so I could barely call him an old acquaintance.

The incident of the Central Army Uprising was known to everyone in the court at the time, including the name 'Gao Yu, the Second Son of the Gao Family'.

Gao Yu and Yuan Yi had heard of each other before, but had never met.

Historically, after Yuan Xiu fled west, Gao Huan installed Yuan Shanjian as emperor.

However, in this historical timeline, Yuan Xiu had no chance of escaping. In the original historical timeline, Yuwen Tai and his group did not support an emperor, and Yuan Xiu could have continued to be emperor after fleeing west into Guanzhong.

But what about now?

Erzhu Rong had already enthroned Yuan Gong as emperor in Luoyang long ago, so Yuan Xiu had no chance of running away.

The only place he could go was south to Jiankang to seek refuge with Xiao Pusa.

Both the Northern Wei and Southern Liang dynasties treated their respective imperial relatives who came to seek refuge with great kindness, offering them high-ranking positions and generous salaries. Yuan Xiu, as the emperor, would certainly have lived a very comfortable life if he had gone to seek refuge with them.

Yuan Shanjian is currently a mere child, not even ten years old. If he were to ascend the throne, the court would become Gao Yu's personal fiefdom.

How much cunning and scheming can a child of a few years old possess?
"Brother, do you think I care about my posthumous reputation?"

Gao Yu countered with a question.

Gao Huan remained silent. Previously, one could say that Gao Yu might care about his reputation after death, so he put on a good show.

However, none of Tian Gaoyu's actions were for the sake of his posthumous reputation; they were all acts of powerful ministers who were 'notorious' in history.

Gao Huan, however, remained stubborn.

"There are many important matters that require your attention right now. How can you let the Emperor distract you? Second Brother, listen to me on this matter. Leave it to me, and I will handle it properly. You don't need to worry about it."

"At that time, you only need to propose in front of everyone that Yuan Shanjian be enthroned as emperor."

Gao Huan may not have wanted to kill Yuan Xiu, but Yuan Xiu was ultimately the emperor he had installed, and a thorn in the side of the two brothers.

Now that Gao Huan has decided to settle down, he naturally wants to remove this thorn in his side himself!
"Then you can decide for yourself, my brother."

Enter the main hall.

The emperor's throne was empty, and on the imperial desk lay the genuine jade seal of the Great Wei. The one in the Luoyang palace was a counterfeit made by craftsmen at the behest of Erzhu Rong. However... the jade seal in the Bronze Sparrow Terrace in Ye City was not the genuine one either. The true Imperial Seal, which was inscribed with "By the Mandate of Heaven, May Your Reign Be Long and Prosperous," had been sent south by Fu Jian back then.

The one inside the Taiji Hall of Jiankang City at this moment is the real Imperial Seal of the State.

"I have discussed with His Majesty that the previous bureaucracy in the court was bloated and the government's orders were not being effectively implemented. We will streamline the three provincial offices and adjust the appointment of officials accordingly."

"King of Jiyin".

"The minister is here."

"You are hereby appointed as Minister of Works and concurrently appointed as Director of the Secretariat..."

Yuan Huiye was taken aback. However, he still bowed and thanked the emperor. It was a promotion in name only, and although he still held the position of Director of the Imperial Secretariat, it was not the same as actually serving as Director of the Imperial Secretariat.

The title of "Three Dukes" has long been an honorary title.

They sidelined Yuan Huiye, a prestigious and powerful member of the imperial clan, but did not completely remove him from the central government.

"The Ministry of Personnel was originally divided into thirty-six departments, which were later streamlined into six ministries: the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Rites."

“Gao Huan, the governor of Hengzhou, was appointed as the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat; Sima Ziru, the governor of Xiangzhou, was appointed as the Left Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat; and Feng Longzhi was appointed as the Right Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat.”

"Cui Xian, the former Chief Secretary of the Tian Ce Prefecture, was appointed Minister of Personnel; Yang Yin, the former Military Advisor of the Tian Ce Prefecture, was appointed Minister of Revenue..."

Actually, things were fine at first.

When it came to the selection of the six ministers, everyone looked at Cui Xian and Yang Yin with nothing but envy.

Especially Yang Yin.

Having just reached adulthood, he became Minister of Revenue, controlling the imperial treasury. Cui Xian was no less powerful, serving as Minister of Personnel, overseeing personnel appointments, including transfers and promotions.

Gao Yu tried his best to take care of all aspects during the process of dividing the pork.

For example, Feng Longzhi, who was originally from the Hebei local faction, was also promoted and transferred to the Ministry of Personnel.

However, Gao Yu tightly controlled the purse strings and the power to appoint and dismiss personnel.

Not convinced?

Even if you're not convinced, you should keep it to yourself!

This is the true embodiment of the merit of "following the dragon"!
Breaking all the rules, just because they are capable and were among the first to pledge allegiance to and follow Gao Yu, they can immediately assume a high position!

Gao Yu issued orders in the main hall according to his own design.

No one had any 'disagreement', nor dared to.

Outside the palace stood the Imperial Guards, clad in armor and wielding sharp blades. These were all regular palace soldiers, obeying only Gao Yu's orders.

In times of war and chaos, might makes right.

Apart from civil servants.

Regarding military generals.

Hou Jing was promoted to General Who Conquers the West, and Yang Kan was promoted to General Who Conquers the South. At the same time, he also fulfilled his promise to Heba Yun, promoting him to General Who Conquers the North. After all, Heba Yun's surrender was the greatest credit for the great victory over Erzhu Rong. It was Heba Yun who led his troops to surrender, which allowed Gao Yu to easily extricate himself from Yingzhou and quickly lead his army to support Gao Huan.

Those who offer help in times of need deserve a generous reward; this can be considered a case of "spending a fortune to buy a horse's bones." When the news spreads, it strengthens the resolve of those who were considering surrendering.

In the official system of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

The Four Generals of Expedition are one rank higher than the Four Generals of Garrison.

The Four Generals of Expedition were of the second rank, while the Four Generals of Garrison were only of the second rank.

The most important general in charge of the army, who was in charge of the imperial guards, was Erzhu Zhao, who was far away in Pengcheng.

The person in charge of the Imperial Guards must not have too many nepotistic connections.

Erzhu Zhao's identity was indeed very special.

Firstly, he was a relative of the emperor's family and had a close relationship with Gao Yu.

However, because they were descendants of the Erzhu clan and were of Qihu ethnicity, they were inherently incompatible with the powerful families and clans of Shandong.

Having been outmaneuvered by Gao Huan, Erzhu Zhao was destined to have no further contact with anyone else in the Huai Shuo faction.

It can be considered an 'isolated city', and entrusting the imperial guards in the palace to such a person would be most appropriate and reassuring.

of course……

The Imperial Guard will definitely need to be modified in the future. For example, following the example of later dynasties, the powers of commanding, training, and dispatching troops can be separated. However, these can be postponed appropriately. The most important thing is to formally establish the Three Departments and Six Ministries system first.

This is only the personnel arrangement in the central government.

The subsequent appointments of regional governors to various states will require careful consideration.

Gao Yu was considering candidates for governorships of various prefectures.

Gao Huan then took action, bringing along Yuan Huiye, Yuan Zhi, and other relatives, and carried out a full process of worship at the Imperial Ancestral Temple and casting a golden statue, using the decrees of past ancestors as a pretext to depose Yuan Xiu from the throne.

Gao Yu, on the other hand, argued that "a country cannot be without a ruler for a single day."

Yuan Shanjian was chosen from among Emperor Xiaowen's direct descendants to ascend the throne.

After offering sacrifices and prayers to Heaven again outside Ye City.

The enthronement process was completed quickly.

It's already October, and the temperature is dropping further, with the possibility of the first snowfall of the year at any time.

Although Yuan Xiu was deposed, Gao Yu still gave him some dignity by bestowing upon him the title of 'Duke of Chang Le'.

Gao Yu also found Yuan Mingyue inside the palace.

"The Duke of Chang Le has already left Ye City. Princess, what are your plans?"

Yuan Mingyue glanced at Gao Yu. She was young, but had experienced a lot. She seemed to have seen through the world. "I wish to find a temple, shave my head and become a nun, enter the Buddhist order, and burn incense and chant Buddhist prayers day and night..."

She unfortunately became a victim of the power struggle, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Gao Yu sighed, "I will send someone to take you to Qingzhou."

Her identity is quite special, so it's impossible to just throw her into any temple.

After thinking it over, Gao Yu decided to send her to Qingzhou and settle her next to Yuan Miao.

In terms of seniority.

Yuan Mingyue's father, Prince Yuan Yu of Jingzhao, was the third son of Emperor Xiaowen and the younger brother of Emperor Xuanwu, Yuan Ke. In terms of seniority, Yuan Mingyue was Emperor Xiaowen's granddaughter.

Yuan Miao was the daughter of Empress Gao during the reign of Emperor Xuanwu and the granddaughter of Emperor Xiaowen.

Both of them were granddaughters of Emperor Xiaowen.

"Thank you for your kindness, Prime Minister..."

Yuanming bowed and paid his respects under the bright moon.

After dealing with this mess.

Gao Yu found Gao Huan.

To prevent anyone from using underhanded tactics to sow discord between him and his brother in the future, he needed to take some precautions.

(End of this chapter)