Reading 1001 discussion

There are a few instances in Chinese history where the emperor appears to be little more than a puppet, usually because they were too young to govern. For example, Puyi, the last emperor of the Qing dynasty, acceded to the throne when he was 2 and "had to" abdicate in 1912 when he was 6, the latter decision made by the Empress Dowager with influence from the senior eunuchs. We have seen so far that the Emperor, despite the loyalty shown by some of the warlords, appears to have very little power and that most decisions are being made or undertaken by his advisers or his warlords. Who really detains the power that should be enjoyed by the Emperor?

The power of the throne seems to rest, at least in part, with the warlord who controls the physical person of the Emperor, as long as he can make a claim that he is protecting and serving the Emperor.

I would say anyone who acts how they wish to act in the name of the Emperor and their are several of them in the story so far.