My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 493 Am I without virtue?

"Zun Ye, today's court meeting..."

Outside the Bronze Sparrow Terrace.

All the civil and military officials were preparing to attend the court assembly.

Feng Longzhi came to Sima Ziru's side, and the two walked side by side.

In ancient times, the left was considered superior, and the Left and Right Ministers of State held greater power. However, in private, there was no distinction between the two in terms of official rank. In fact, Feng Longzhi was a native of Hebei, while Sima Ziru was an "outsider" who wanted to integrate into the Hebei aristocratic families. In terms of influence within the aristocratic groups, Feng Longzhi was more influential than him.

"I will bring this up myself. Ye City is currently the residence of the emperor, so it should be expanded and new palaces should be built."

"It's a pity that He Liuhun is unwilling to stand up and support our proposal. If only we had his help..."

Feng Longzhi sighed.

Sima Ziru shook her head, "He Liuhun is not in a position to get involved in this matter, so don't think too much about it. I advise you not to contact him privately either, lest the Prime Minister finds out."

"How could I be so foolish?"

Feng Longzhi chuckled, “As long as we all agree to this move, the Prime Minister will not be able to refute us, because we have the moral high ground!”

Along the way, the two encountered many officials who took the initiative to bow to them, until they saw another figure. Their expressions faltered slightly, but they then greeted him with smiles.

"Greetings, Attendant."

The Chamberlain was Yang Dun, Yang Kan's cousin. He had previously served as the governor of Yanzhou, where he reformed the bureaucracy and was known for his incorruptibility.

She is a completely different person from Yang Kan, who lives a life of extravagance.

Last year, Gao Yu transferred him from Yanzhou to Yecheng and promoted him to the position of Attendant-in-Ordinary, making him a representative figure of Shandong aristocratic families in the court.

Yang Dunchong and the other man nodded and went inside together.

Yuan Shanjian sat before the imperial desk, facing the assembled officials. Gao Yu was to his right and in front of him, also facing the assembled officials. From the perspective of the civil and military officials, Gao Yu was positioned to their left.

After paying homage to the emperor.

Gao Yu looked at the assembled officials and asked in a loud voice, "Is there anything you wish to report?"

When Gao Yu spoke, he looked at Sima Ziru and the others. As soon as he finished speaking, Sima Ziru stepped forward and bowed.

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister, I have something to report!"

"What important matter concerns the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel?"

Sima Ziru looked up at Gao Yu and immediately said, "Currently, Ye City is the residence of the emperor, but its city walls and palaces are old and lack the grandeur of an emperor's residence. I propose to conscript laborers and craftsmen to expand Ye City, repair the Three Terraces, and build palaces in the new city for the emperor to live in."

"Furthermore... the late emperor ascended the throne in Ye City, and Your Majesty also ascended the throne in Ye City. Moreover, Ye City directly confronts the traitor Erzhu Rong. Ye City should be designated as the capital, and all the brave warriors of the land should be summoned to defend it and to punish the traitor! This will also demonstrate Your Majesty's emulation of the righteousness of your ancestors!"

Back then, Emperor Xiaowen used the pretext of personally leading an expedition to conquer Qi in the south to lead his civil and military officials all the way south to Luoyang. He used the strategy of "openly repairing the plank road while secretly crossing the Chencang" to finally move the capital to Luoyang.

Sima Ziru also followed this tactic.

Ye City is the front line in the face of national traitors. By establishing the capital here, the bravest warriors from all over the country can be mobilized to defend it and then punish the national traitors. This is perfectly reasonable.

Feng Longzhi also stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister, I also agree with the words of the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Ye City is worthy of being designated as the capital! We should expand the city walls and build palaces to make Ye City display the grandeur of the Son of Heaven's residence!"

Ye City served as the capital of Cao Wei, Later Zhao, and Former Qin. In addition to the Three Terraces, there are indeed palaces built in the city in the past, but they are old and can be renovated or rebuilt.

Then, many more ministers stepped forward.

"I second the proposal!"

Gao Yu glanced at the others without showing any emotion and asked in return, "What about you? Share your thoughts."

Yang Dun frowned, stepped forward, and said, "I object!"

"The land of Hebei has suffered greatly from war and should be given time to rest. If we were to conscript laborers on a large scale now, wasting their strength, wouldn't that plunge them into misery?"

Sima Ziru retorted, "His Majesty cherishes the people and has already reduced taxes in Hebei for several years. His Majesty's compassion for the people is so great that they are all grateful for His Majesty's heaven-like virtue. Right now, he is merely conscripting them to build palaces for His Majesty. Isn't this just giving the people a chance to repay His Majesty's kindness? What's wrong with letting the people express their gratitude to their sovereign through practical actions?" The two were essentially at odds.

They all have their own reasons.

"Your Majesty, please make your decision!"

Yuan Shanjian is just a child, how could he make a decision?
He instinctively looked for help at the tall figure in front of him, his teacher, his tutor, who taught him every day.

When in doubt, consult the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister possesses extraordinary talent and a strong ambition to restore the stability and prosperity of the Great Wei Dynasty.

Ask the Prime Minister, you can't go wrong!
Yuan Shanjian spoke in a childish voice, "I wonder what the Prime Minister's opinion is?"

Gao Yu turned around, respectfully bowed to Yuan Shanjian, and then turned back around.

He looked at the crowd.

"The words of the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel have some merit..."

"However, what the Chamberlain said makes sense."

"Ye City is indeed the residence of the emperor at present. The Three Terraces Palace is too old and not suitable. It is most appropriate to conscript laborers to repair the Three Terraces Palace. The project is not large and will not be too laborious and wasteful of resources. It will also preserve the dignity of the imperial family."

Gao Yu made a middle-of-the-road decision.

It wouldn't hurt to make some repairs.

"As for establishing Ye City as the capital."

Gao Yu paused.

Everyone looked up at him.

Expanding the city walls, repairing the palaces, and making them look like the emperor's residence—these are all empty promises, mere pretexts.

The most important thing is to establish Ye City as the capital.

"Here, I have a question for the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel."

"Please answer my questions, Prime Minister. I will certainly do my best to answer them."

"Where are the ancestral tablets of my great Wei dynasty?"

Sima Ziru was taken aback, and subconsciously replied, "Naturally, it is enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple in Luoyang..."

"Yes! They are enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple!"

Gao Yu nodded and said, "Currently, Luoyang is occupied by the traitor Erzhu Rong. We, as ministers of the Great Wei, do not think of taking back Luoyang, but instead think of establishing the capital in Yecheng. Is this how you ministers should behave? Is there any capital that does not worship the ancestral tablets of past generations?"

Gao Yu's volume suddenly increased!
Sima Ziru was at a loss for words.

Offering sacrifices to ancestors is an act of filial piety.

In ancient times, if you used 'filial piety' to suppress people, absolutely no one would dare to refute you.

Gao Yu didn't give them any chance.

Then he spoke again.

"When Emperor Gaozu of Han wanted to establish his capital in Luoyang, his ministers advised him that Luoyang was the center of the world and only a virtuous person could reside there!"

"Now that Luoyang is in the hands of traitors, instead of thinking about retaking Luoyang and restoring the emperor to Luoyang, you are thinking about establishing the capital in Ye City?"

"Could it be that in your eyes, the Son of Heaven is a person without virtue, unfit to rule the world?"

"If I agree to your proposal today..."

"Do you think I am a person without virtue?!"

(End of this chapter)