Chapter 228 The Emperor Lying Down

Battle reports from Guanzhong and Yuzhou were sent to Luoyang one after another, and the prime minister, ministers, and generals in the central government were busy all day long.

The first is to supply military supplies to the army on the front line, and the second is to discuss how to deal with the father and son of the Li family who have made great contributions and have a large number of troops after Chang'an is recovered.

The current decline of Dayan's national strength is obvious to all, and the troops, horses, money and food that can be mobilized are very limited, otherwise there would be no need to worry about these problems.

Shangshu Ling Gao Shize, Zuo Pushe Xue Chu, and Zhongshu Ling Liu He temporarily reached some tacit understanding because they had a common opponent.

Whether Li Yuan entered the court as an official or usurped the throne to become emperor, it would have an impact on the interests of the three of them.

As an official in the court, Li Yuan was destined to become a powerful official, the kind that holds all the power.

Regardless of what he will do in the future, first of all, the three current prime ministers will have to stand aside, because no powerful official will like senior and powerful prime ministers like them. These three people will definitely be expelled from the court or give up their power.

On the other hand, if Li Yuan was planning to establish himself, the people who would support him would definitely be the great families in Guanlong. But the Gao family of Bohai was a noble family in Hebei, and the Xue and Liu families were both prominent families in Hedong, so the interests of the two sides were not aligned.

Even though the Xue and Liu families in Hedong were actually considered to be part of the Guanlong clan because they had lived in Guanzhong for a long time, this kind of prominent family was a huge one with many branches and leaves.

For example, Xue Renmei, who is under Li Er, is also from the Hedong Xue family. His interests are destined to be different from those of his uncle Xue Chu.

This of course also includes Li Yuan's trusted military officer, Liu Yuanjing, who is a brother of Liu He.

But Liu Yuanjing definitely hopes that Li Yuan can go one step further.

The same is true for Gao Shize. His cousin Gao Shiliang is Li Yuan's relative, and the father-in-law of Li Er.

Therefore, a family is a family, and personal interests can sometimes make a family seem divided. But this is also a kind of wisdom, and eggs should not be put in one basket.

Emperor Guangping Murong Chao is not in good health. He has been staying at home and recuperating in the palace.

The government affairs were basically left to a few prime ministers to handle.

On the one hand, he had listened to the advice of many prime ministers and was worried about the serious consequences if the Li family rebelled.

On the other hand, I felt that the prime ministers might be exaggerating. It couldn't be more serious than the rebellion of the second son Murong Zan, right?

In fact, he no longer had any hope of rectifying the world and restoring the prosperity of Dayan.

He knew he didn't have the talent.

But he was also worried that the country would be defeated in his hands and he would not be able to go down to see his ancestors.

I want to rise up and restore my old territories, but I have no idea where to start.

I want to lay low, but I am not willing to do so. I want to do something, but I don’t have the ability to do it. I doubt my life all day long.

Why am I the emperor? If it weren’t for me, would the situation not be so bad?

If the third son became the emperor, if Li Silang had told him that the second son would rebel, he would definitely choose to believe Li Silang and take precautions. In this way, the second son's rebellion would probably not succeed, the world would not be in chaos, and the two traitors Cao Xuan of Jingzhou and Cao Yuanjing of Jiangdong would not have the opportunity to become powerful.
There were originally two think tanks that he could consult frequently. One was Jiang Yi, a secretary who had served as a military officer for the late King Wei.

However, precisely because Murong Chao repeatedly asked him for advice, Jiang Yi was targeted by the prime ministers, who jointly arranged for him to be the prefect of Chenjun.

The other was the Secretary of the Central Secretariat Li Xiaoyan. He originally relied heavily on Li Xiaoyan.

But the problem now is that Li Xiaoyan's father and brothers have all become generals and commanders with large troops under their command, and are about to compete with the Luoyang court.

Therefore, Murong Chao's impression of Li Xiaoyan is more complicated.

He had offered suggestions and advice to him many times before, and helped him recruit Wagang. In his eyes, Li Jiadalang was a talent that could become a prime minister.

But in the current situation, even if he is asked to make suggestions and summoned from time to time, the prime ministers will not agree.

Therefore, Li Jiadalang was not summoned during this period, and even stayed at home, not even going to the Zhongshu.

Zhongshu Ling Liu He would naturally not be so blind as to criticize him for this matter. Some things should be kept tacitly. Therefore, Murong Chao basically does not summon ministers now, and meets with a few prime ministers every day to go through the motions.

The two mainstays who were previously invited to maintain order also stayed at home on the grounds of poor health and basically stopped caring about court affairs.

Prince of Wei Murong Xianzong actually did this to avoid suspicion. After all, the Princess of Wei was Li Yuan's aunt, and he was Li Yuan's uncle.

As for Grand Tutor Duan Shihuan, he simply didn't want to get involved.

Therefore, Emperor Murong Chao became a de facto lonely man.

Although he could still command the central army, he was very worried that his reckless command would lead to serious consequences.

This point was mentioned to him by the late King Wei, so he always kept it in mind.

This means that for the entire Luoyang court, he, the emperor, is basically just a human-shaped jade seal with no practical use.

He had no will to impose on the states and the army.

If it were a peaceful and prosperous era, then a lord like him who doesn't make trouble, doesn't kill people indiscriminately and has a kind temperament would be a very good emperor.

But unfortunately, this is a chaotic world.

"The saint is truly a benevolent ruler. What a pity, what a pity."

At Li's house, Li Xiaoyan and Murong Wuji sat opposite each other and ate mutton hotpot in a clay oven.

This is one of the favorite autumn delicacies of the nobles in Luoyang. It is said that it became popular during the reign of Emperor Xuan of Wei, and was euphemistically called "putting on weight in autumn."

Li Xiaoyan took a sip of the rice wine at just the right temperature and couldn't help but sigh.

Although Murong Wuji was a member of the royal family, the two had known each other for a long time and had worked together, so they could talk about anything and had no reservations.

"The so-called benevolent monarch is actually more like a mediocre monarch. The sage was not originally trained by the late emperor as a crown prince. In fact, the best choice at the time was His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu."

"I think that the former crown prince, His Royal Highness the King of Shu, is smart and decisive, and may be better than the King of Wu. Wuji is optimistic about the King of Wu. Could it be because Wuji and the King of Wu are cousins?"

"Hahaha, there are some considerations in this regard. However, if His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu ascends the throne, given his relationship with Liang Ni, he would have to be on guard against Liang Ni's uprising in advance, without Silang's reminder."

"This is exactly why the late emperor passed the throne to the present emperor. He is benevolent and generous, but unfortunately he was born in a turbulent time. It can be said that he was born at the wrong time."

The two of them talked about these taboos without caring at all, as if they were already used to it. This shows how deep their friendship was. After all, they went to Wagang together to persuade the surrender, so they had established a deep friendship.

Murong Wuji now has great admiration for his deceased father, Prince Gaoyang Murong He.

He had made friends with the Li family early on, and even did a big favor to the Li family before he "died in the king's service." No wonder he told me not to covet the treasures of the old ship, and to abandon the ship and escape when I should.

Now I see that this road has been paved by my father.

The Li family has reached the stage of rising power.

Whether it was because of his father's influence or his relationship with the Li brothers, he had no reason to stick to his royal family status and be loyal to Dayan.

Isn’t Liu Ye, a hero of the Wei Dynasty, a relative of the Han royal family?
Liu Ye was a descendant of Emperor Guangwu, much more noble than Liu Bei, a distant relative of the Western Han Dynasty. Yet, wasn't he wholeheartedly serving the Wei Dynasty?

Of course, if he had the ability and luck, he would also like to be Liu Bei.

But isn't this the case?
So, is there anything wrong with just going with the flow and boarding the Li family's big ship?

completely fine.

The only thing you need to worry about is that if you get on the boat late, you may miss out on a good seat!
(End of this chapter)