Chapter 1253 This is quite interesting...
Xiao Yuansui did not respond to this, but knelt there straight with his head down. The almost frozen air made his loose hair hanging down his forehead act as a barrier, obscuring his downcast eyes.
But Yuwen Yuan saw through his silent resistance perfectly.
He knew, of course, that the biggest reason Xiao Yuansui was unwilling to go to the Prince of Qin's mansion was these "old friends." After all, just a few months ago, he was still the uncrowned king of Luoyang, and even swept across Hebei, leading an army of 100,000 to line up at Hulao Pass. How powerful he was back then! Now, most of the people who are causing trouble for the emperor in the Prince of Qin's mansion are still his henchmen.
Now, if he were to sit at the same table with these people—no, not even at the same table, if he were really just going to be a military advisor, all the former foot soldiers would be overshadowing him.
How could Xiao Yuansui, who was considered a "pillar of the state," bear such a humiliation?
Seeing his silence, Yuwen Yuan laughed again and said, "Very well, since you are unwilling, I will not force you."
"..."
"Then, what should I do with you?"
Only then did Xiao Yuansui slowly raise his head. Through the gaps in his disheveled hair, his eyes finally seemed to regain some luster, and he said slightly, "Your Majesty, you don't want to kill me?"
Yuwen Yuan said, "Originally, I intended to kill you."
"..."
"But I never expected so many people to come and plead for you—even my sons came."
Xiao Yuansui understood why he could smell so many people in the hall, but there were only a few people inside. It turned out that these people had all arrived before him, and Yuwen Yuan had obviously met them before coming to see him.
He said, "Even the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi have come to plead for me?"
Yuwen Yuan's eyes flashed: "Yes."
Xiao Yuansui remained silent for a while, then smiled faintly and said, "I never thought that so many people would come to plead for me, a defeated general and a useless person."
After saying that, he looked at Yuwen Yuan and asked, "When does Your Majesty intend to kill me?"
Yuwen Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly.
He had already made his point very clear: he didn't necessarily have to kill him—in fact, he never intended to kill him at all. But Xiao Yuansui kept dwelling on this matter, as if all other options were meaningless to him, and he only wanted to die.
So he asked, "Do you really want to die?"
Xiao Yuansui said, "His Majesty just said that he wants to kill me. So now, I can only keep this in mind and no longer have any other expectations."
It turns out that he had already given up hope.
Yuwen Yuan said leisurely, "Then, if I don't kill you, what can you do?"
Xiao Yuansui asked, "Your Majesty, what do you want me to do?"
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Yuan sighed inwardly, then smiled and said, "I know your abilities very well. Now is the time to use people, and it would be a real pity to kill you. Since you are unwilling to be a military advisor in the Prince of Qin's residence, how about becoming a tutor in the Crown Prince's residence?"
The position of Crown Prince's tutor is a fifth-rank official, which is much higher than that of the military advisor in the Prince of Qin's mansion.
More importantly... he was the Crown Prince's tutor.
Although Xiao Yuansui had been imprisoned in Dali Temple for the past few months, and the outside wind couldn't even blow into that deep and dark cell, he didn't know what had happened outside during this time. But just from the fact that he had lost to Yuwen Ye, and that Yuwen Cheng was the first to take him back to Chang'an to claim credit, plus the fact that the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi had come to plead for him together, as Yuwen Yuan had just mentioned, he had already figured out the situation pretty well.
The forces of Prince Qin, Yuwen Ye, Crown Prince Yuwen Qian, and Prince Qi, Yuwen Cheng, are vying for power...
No, it's not that simple.
Based on the information revealed by Yuwen Yuan's probing words, the current situation seems to be that Yuwen Ye is challenging the alliance of the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and the Prince of Qi all by himself. Even so, he doesn't seem to be at a disadvantage. At this point, Emperor Yuwen Yuan even needs to win over his former enemies to increase their chances of winning.
This is really interesting...
Thinking this to himself, Xiao Yuansui still kept his head down, only his faint breaths causing the stray hairs falling across his forehead to sway slightly. He said in a deep voice, "What merit or ability does Xiao Yuansui have to serve as the Crown Prince's tutor?"
Yuwen Yuan said, "Just because so much time has passed, your former subordinates are still willing to spare your life."
"……Yeah?"
“That’s right. Many of the soldiers who surrendered earlier came to me to plead for your forgiveness and to spare your life.”
At this point, Yuwen Yuan leaned towards him, a half-smile on his face, and said, "There are nearly ten thousand of them."
"..."
"It seems you have quite a bit of prestige in the military."
Xiao Yuansui raised his head, a hint of emotion appearing in his previously somewhat bewildered eyes.
He said, "So that's how it is..."
After he finished speaking, he lowered his head again, and the emotions in his eyes vanished instantly, as if he had taken off a piece of clothing.
He wasn't naive enough to believe that Yuwen Yuan would actually spare his life because of his former subordinates' pleas. On the contrary, this situation was actually very dangerous for him. After all, those in power need the absolute loyalty of their subordinates. Once they discover that these people still have feelings for their former masters, it means that their hearts are unsettled. Of course, he wouldn't kill surrendered soldiers in such a situation, but those who make people's hearts unsettled should often "disappear".
However, the reason why Yuwen Yuan did not kill him was precisely because of this.
With so many of his former subordinates still willing to follow him, sending him to assist the Crown Prince would mean increasing the Crown Prince's power.
Moreover, the number of those who came to plead for him was just right—not so many that the emperor felt threatened, nor so few that they were unmoving. With himself and these people willing to follow him joining the Crown Prince's ranks, he would be a sharp dagger against the ever-expanding power of the King of Qin.
That was his original plan.
"how?"
Just as Xiao Yuansui was deep in thought, Yuwen Yuan's voice rang out again in the empty hall. This time, however, his voice was urgent, and his tone became heavier. It was like a muffled thunderclap in the hall, making Xiao Yuansui tremble slightly.
He raised his head, his still somewhat hazy eyes meeting Yuwen Yuan's burning gaze.
Then, he knelt down and said in a deep voice, "The sinner Xiao Yuansui accepts the decree!"
Upon hearing this, a smile immediately appeared in Yuwen Yuan's eyes. He waved his hand and said, "Alright, you may leave now. I will issue an edict to announce this to the world."
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."
After saying that, Xiao Yuansui slowly stood up and walked out.
The moment he stepped out of the Liangyi Hall, a gust of hot wind blew by, brushing aside his disheveled hair and revealing a sharp glint in his bright, pearl-like eyes.
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