In the war-torn era, the trust between the emperor's relatives and relatives was even more precious. When his brother rebelled, the government and the opposition were shocked, but the emperor said these touching words to his nephew. He is convinced that his cronies will not betray, is it out of sincere friendship or naïve thinking? How will his nephew deal with himself? How will this crisis of trust between the royal family end? Let's find out...
The war raged, and the imperial relatives fell into a crisis of confidence
The heyday of the Tang Dynasty is a distant past. With the intensification of the situation of feudal towns and foreign invasions, the Central Plains fell into a turbulent era of continuous wars. In this land filled with gunpowder, one dynasty after another was short-lived, and the power struggle between the emperor's relatives was even more upside down.
In this era of change, a crisis of trust between the royal family is brewing. A newly enthroned emperor faces a rebellion from his brother. The emperor was in the prime of his life and was full of ambition to ascend the throne, who would have expected that his own brother would have different intentions towards him and try to seize the country he had worked so hard to build.
As soon as the news spread, the government and the opposition were shocked, and no one expected that the contradictions between the imperial relatives would be so acute. For a moment, the whole court was in chaos. Some advised the emperor to punish rebellion severely, while others feared that it would lead to even greater civil strife. The emperor himself was faced with a difficult choice: should he kill the killer and get rid of his ambitious brother, or should he be magnanimous and try to win back his heart?
The emperor's deep trust in his cronies
Faced with the betrayal of his brother, the emperor fell into an unprecedented predicament. However, at this moment of crisis, his eyes fell on one person - a close confidant with whom he had known since childhood. This cronie is not only the emperor's confidant minister, but also his right-hand man in the battle array.
The relationship between the two can be traced back to a long, long time ago. At that time, they were all innocent children, playing in the court. As they grew older, they forged an unbreakable revolutionary friendship. In those stormy years, they fought side by side, and lived and died together several times.
It was because of this unique experience that the emperor had an unparalleled trust in this close confidant. He clearly remembered that in that decisive battle, it was this cronie who forcibly pulled him out of the enemy's encirclement, regardless of his personal safety. If it weren't for his bravery and courage, the emperor would have died long ago.
The credit, of course, doesn't stop there. During those difficult battle years, this cronie made many military exploits and won one city after another for the emperor. Whenever the bell of victory rang, the emperor would personally find him, hug him, and praise him for his outstanding exploits in front of the entire army.
Even when the emperor succeeded to the throne, this cronie was indispensable. It was with his great help that the emperor was able to finally sit on the throne. It can be said that without the hard work of this cronie, nothing would have been possible today.
Perhaps, it is precisely because of various origins that the emperor has great trust in this cronie. Even in the face of his brother's rebellion, he always believed that this cronie would always be loyal and share his weal and woe with him until the last moment.
Cronies are under a lot of pressure
However, just when the emperor had great trust in this cronie, a series of events put the cronie under a lot of pressure.
First of all, the news of the emperor's own brother's open rebellion spread quickly among the government and the opposition. As the emperor's confidant minister, this cronie naturally learned of this astonishing news as soon as possible. For a while, his heart fell into a huge contradiction.
As a close confidant of the emperor, he should fully support the emperor and severely punish this rebellion. But on the other hand, the rebel is the emperor's own brother, and the two have known each other since childhood, and have had countless experiences of life and death together. It was really difficult for him to get rid of this former comrade-in-arms with his own hands.
Just when the cronie was in a dilemma, more pressure followed. As the rebellion spread, the government and the opposition began to split into two factions, with some openly supporting the emperor's elder brother and calling for the overthrow of the existing rule. Others, on the side of the emperor, swore to defend the imperial power.
In this case, the position of this cronie becomes particularly sensitive. As the emperor's confidant, he should take the lead in maintaining imperial power, but at the same time, he is also well aware that if he takes rash action, it is likely to trigger greater civil strife and lead to the disintegration of the government and the opposition.
The pressure comes not only from political difficulties, but also from the military. As a close confidant of the emperor, he has a large number of elite troops in his hands. But the loyalty of these troops has become a huge problem. After all, the camp of the rebellion was also growing, and many soldiers began to waver, not knowing whether to be loyal to the emperor or to join the rebels.
In this case, this cronie had to be careful and always guard against the defection of his subordinates. He had no choice but to strengthen military discipline and severely punish those who derelict their duties in order to ensure the stability of the army's morale. But this also put him in another dilemma - too harsh may cause more resentment, but if he shows mercy, the rebel camp will take advantage of it.
The nephew was sent to convey the imperial decree
While this cronie was in trouble, the emperor had great trust in him. In order to show his trust in this confidant, the emperor decided to send an envoy to convey his will to him personally.
And the envoy chosen by the emperor was none other than the biological son of this cronie - a young and heroic general. The young general was not only brave, but also admired by the emperor from an early age. In the eyes of the emperor, he was like his own son.
So, at dusk, the emperor summoned the young general. When the young general knelt respectfully on the ground, the emperor spoke, his tone full of kindness: "Child, your father and I have been friends of life and death since childhood. Now, despite this happening to him, I always believe that he will always be faithful to me... ＂
At this, the emperor paused, looked at the young general with a determined gaze, and continued: "You go to your father now and convey my will to him. Tell him that I will always trust him in his loyalty, and that I will never doubt him. ＂
When the young general heard this, he couldn't help but be moved by the emperor's trust in his father. He kowtowed and soon left the palace with the emperor's will.
However, shortly after the young general left, an unexpected turn of events occurred. Some people with ulterior motives began to murmur in the emperor's ear that this cronie had long since betrayed the emperor and colluded with the rebels. They advised the emperor not to believe it easily, and to send troops to attack him immediately.
In the face of these slanders, the emperor never wavered in his trust in his cronies. He insisted that the cronie would never betray him and must have been framed by someone else. In order to prove his judgment, the emperor decided to go there himself and reason with this cronie face to face.
The end result of a crisis of confidence
At the same time that the emperor himself went to meet with his cronies, this crisis of confidence finally reached its final climax.
Along the way, everywhere the emperor went, there were scenes of war. The rebels and the Emperor's army have been fighting in several areas, with casualties on both sides mounting. Seeing this scene, the emperor's heart was undoubtedly extremely heavy.
Finally, outside a remote city, the emperor and his cronies were encountered. Both sides were originally full of enthusiasm and were ready to fight to the death here. But at this juncture, the emperor personally appeared and prevented the conflict between the two sides.
Facing the emperor, this cronie looked extremely troubled. On the one hand, his trust and loyalty to the emperor never wavered, but on the other hand, the strength of the rebels became stronger, and he was really stretched thin, and he did not know what to do.
It was at this time that the young general also arrived at the battlefield. He conveyed the emperor's will to his father as it was, and his words were full of trust and expectations for his father.
After listening to the emperor's will, this cronie seems to have finally made up his mind. He immediately ordered his army to lay down its arms and no longer clash with the emperor's army.
Seeing this scene, the emperor's face finally showed a look of relief. He himself stepped forward, hugged the cronie, and said to him, "I knew that you would never betray me." ＂
In this way, this crisis of confidence was finally resolved. The cronies chose to pledge allegiance to the Emperor, and the Emperor regained complete trust in his cronies. As for those rebels, they were eventually put down one by one under the leadership of their cronies.
From then on, the relationship between the emperor and his cronies became more intimate. And the young general, because of his performance in this crisis, was rewarded and reused by the emperor.