The two deputy generals were right; Helian Jue did indeed intend to focus on the minor offenses while letting the major ones go.
There's nothing we can do about it.
Helian Jue also wanted to ruthlessly eliminate those people and their families who were plotting their own schemes.
But that's not realistic.
Governing a large country is like cooking a small fish.
When frying fish, you have to flip it over very gently, for fear of breaking it.
Governing a country requires even greater caution.
Why did such a capable emperor, skilled in both civil and military affairs, fall from grace?
Wasn't it because he was too eager to weaken the powerful families?
Which of the aristocratic families in the Great Zhou Dynasty hadn't continued their lineage for hundreds or even thousands of years?
Despite numerous wars and the rise and fall of countless dynasties, they have remained standing.
Their power was deeply entrenched and their influence was enormous—the world admired aristocratic families.
For ordinary people, it seems perfectly natural that powerful families monopolize power.
The late emperor wanted to break the monopoly of the aristocratic families, which was correct, because the aristocratic families were so powerful that they had in turn controlled the imperial power.
However, his mistake was that he was too impatient.
The late emperor has already paid the price for his mistakes, and Helian Jue, as his successor, should naturally learn from those lessons.
Of course, Helian Jue wasn't going to be a doormat.
Everyone is plotting against him, yet he remains silent and tolerant. He might as well not be emperor!
"Boiling a frog in lukewarm water!"
When Xie Yuan discussed court affairs with Helian Jue, he told him this joke that later became extremely popular.
First, without letting the powerful families realize the danger, gradually prune their branches and leaves, and then—
Of course, there are even more classic examples of this method in ancient times.
Feudal system!
To weaken the feudal lords, they were forced to "divide their households".
Modern aristocratic families can also apply this method.
Helian Jue's "focus on the small and let the big" approach meant first cutting off the branches and offshoots that the aristocratic families had thrown out.
Then, it differentiates step by step.
This time, even though Helian Jue clearly held a large army and had an absolute advantage, he did not wipe out those people. This was a "favor".
In the future, if Helian Jue continues to promote the imperial examination system, the powerful families will not be able to openly oppose him!
Yes, the late emperor was indeed a bit too hasty, but there was nothing wrong with his decrees.
The imperial examination system was indeed a powerful tool to break the monopoly of aristocratic families!
However, Helian Jue will not be as radical as the late emperor; he will take it slowly.
Xie Yuan gave him an excellent idea: first, let the aristocratic families fall into internal chaos.
Of course, that's a story for another time.
For now, what Helian Jue needs to do is stabilize the court and ascend the throne smoothly.
The farce involving the Turkic prince has been largely over, and Helian Jue has achieved his goal of deterring and intimidating powerful families and nobles!
He bared his fangs, but didn't let everyone bite him to death. This was both a strategy to maintain stability and a way of telling the major powers that he was leaving them room to maneuver and that they didn't need to launch a full-scale counterattack.
The "boiling frog" analogy suggests that you must first lull the other party into a false sense of security.
Mu Jialan and his two lieutenants were thus "numbed," and they all sensed Helian Jue's "goodwill"—
snort!
I knew it! He's just a newly enthroned emperor, with no achievements and no prestige. How could he dare to act like the late emperor, making arbitrary decisions and doing whatever he wanted?
Even though they knew these people were problematic, they only dared to kill a few low-level henchmen.
Emperor Helian Jue, this young emperor, is someone you can still get along with.
The commander and his two deputies all saw hope in Helian Jue's "concession".
They quickly mustered their troops and, together with the Xuanjia Army, marched in a grand procession towards the capital.
In fact, even if they hadn't arrived, Ashina He wouldn't have been able to hold on.
Ashina He ordered his men to shoot arrows at the hot air balloon, but the balloon flew too high and was beyond the range of the arrows.
Moreover, the hot air balloon did not drop anything down; it seemed to float up to attract attention.
On the contrary, a row of people stood on the city wall.
As soon as the Turks began crossing the river and attacking the city, they would throw small porcelain bottles into the water.
Battles rely on momentum, and the Turkic soldiers, having suffered repeated bombings, were utterly terrified.
If they tried to flee, Ashina He and his personal guards would shoot them.
Soldiers: ...Damn it, we really can't stand it.
Charging forward is certain death!
Retreating is also a death sentence!
They had no enmity with the people of Da Zhou.
On the contrary, the Ninth Prince, for his own selfish interests, disregarded the Khan's orders and rashly attacked the city!
It's him!
It's all his fault!
The remaining Turkic soldiers collapsed and erupted!
They turned around and charged at Ashina He and his confidants without regard for anything else.
Ashina He: ...
Are these people crazy?
How dare you defy your superiors?
Ashina He was momentarily stunned when a group of soldiers rushed up to him.
"Kill them! Kill these powerful and wealthy people who don't treat us like human beings!"
"kill!"
The crowd shouted loudly, seemingly trying to encourage themselves.
Ashina He was startled by the sight. He saw that the soldiers he had never taken seriously before now looked like wolves, their bloodshot eyes gleaming with bloodlust.
He instinctively felt fear.
These people, whether they were crazy or not, genuinely wanted to kill him!
With this thought popping into his mind, Ashina He swung his scimitar while dodging.
His personal guards rushed up to protect him.
For a moment, no one shot the deserters.
The soldiers realized that their only chance to escape had come!
Instead of continuing their siege of Ashina He, they fled in all directions.
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