My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 279 The Loyal and Righteous Gao Erlang

The tenth day of the ninth month of the first year of Jianyi.

It was still a sunny day.

Gao Yu, Heba Yue, Li Hu, Hou Mochen Chong and others arrived at Yongning Temple. Actually, there were two other people there as well.

Yuwen Tai and Dugu Xin were also in the crowd.

The two were captured alive by Erzhu Rong along with Ge Rong, but Erzhu Rong did not make things difficult for them. He even recognized Dugu Xin as a hero at first glance and did not make him a prisoner.

The group came to see Yuwen Luosheng one last time.

They had all received favors from the Yuwen family when they broke out of Wuchuan. As for the favor of Zhang Boyao, the general of Wuchuan, who 'generously' lent them his head, they could only express their gratitude properly in the underworld.

The group wanted to climb the tower, but Gao Gongzhi stopped them.

"Without His Majesty's order, no one may climb the tower to see the prisoners."

Having suffered a loss at the hands of Gao Gongzhi before, Gao Yu had made preparations in advance and entered the palace ahead of time to meet Yuan Ziyou and ask for a warrant.

After presenting the warrant, Gao Yu chuckled and said, "Minister of Justice, this is His Majesty's decree. May we enter now?"

Despite Gao Yu's overtures, Gao Gongzhi remained unsmiling. After reading the imperial edict with a stern face, he turned slightly to the side and said, "General, you may enter. Others are not allowed. His Majesty's edict did not explicitly state this."

Heba Yue and the others glared angrily, but Gao Yu stopped them.

Gao Yu, still smiling, offered some kind compliments, "I've long heard that the Vice Minister of Justice is incorruptible and impartial; seeing him today, I can confirm that his reputation is well-deserved."

Then he said, "They are only going up with me to see Yuwen Luosheng one last time. If anything goes wrong, I will take responsibility. I hope you will be lenient."

"General, you are a General of Heavenly Strategy, specially bestowed by His Majesty. You hold a high position and wield great power. Moreover, you are meant to set an example for others. How can you lead the way in putting personal matters before public duty?"

Gao Gongzhi, however, still had a headache and refused to let them pass.

Enraged, Hou Mochen Chong immediately threatened, "How dare you! The General of the Heavenly Strategy is so noble, how dare you, a mere Junior Minister of the Court of Justice, obstruct me?"

"It is my duty to guard prisoners."

"OK OK."

Gao Yu smiled slightly, not annoyed at being humiliated, but simply turned and called Liu Taozhi over, "Take my seal to the palace to see His Majesty and ask him to issue another decree."

"For now... let us wait here for a while."

Since Gao Yu had said so, no one could say anything more, but they all looked at Gao Gongzhi with hostile eyes. If Gao Yu hadn't stopped them, they wouldn't have minded showing Gao Gongzhi what would happen if they angered a sharp-headed martial artist.

After waiting for a long time, Liu Taozhi finally rode up and delivered the imperial edict.

Gao Gongzhi then allowed them to pass.

"If it weren't for Gao Lang stopping me, I would have let this bastard..."

Hou Mochen Chong cursed and swore, venting his anger, but he quieted down after he went upstairs.

Yuwen Luosheng did not seem surprised by their appearance, nor did he show any signs of distress despite his impending execution. He appeared haggard but remained composed and dignified.

"Old friends have come, but unfortunately I have no good wine to entertain them. I hope you will forgive me."

"Since we are reuniting with old friends, how can we do without good wine?"

Gao Yu had naturally prepared the fine wine well in advance.

"As expected, Gao Lang is still so thoughtful. It's worth the time we met."

Everyone picked up their glasses and drank together.

It was clearly their last meeting, and they would be separated by life and death from now on. Everyone's faces were tinged with sorrow, but Yuwen Luosheng sighed, "To have you all accompany me on my final journey in life, I have no regrets..."

"I have a few more words to say to Black Otter, and I hope my friends can do me a favor."

Gao Yu and the others stood up, leaving space for the two brothers.

After everyone left, Yuwen Tai could no longer control himself and burst into tears, crying, "Brother..."

"Black Otter, don't cry."

Yuwen Luosheng helped him up, patted his shoulders heavily with both hands, and after a moment of silence, sighed and said, "From now on, the heavy burden of the Yuwen family will fall on your shoulders. I must go ahead and meet with Father and my two elder brothers."

Yuwentai was still crying.

"Black Otter, listen carefully to what I'm about to say."

Yuwen Tai nodded, looking up at him with teary eyes.

"In the current situation, the Emperor and Erzhu Rong are irreconcilable enemies. After my death, you should keep a low profile and not get too close to Gao Lang. His Majesty intends to give Gao Lang an important position to counterbalance Erzhu Rong, and there will definitely be a conflict between Erzhu Rong and Gao Lang."

“Erzhu Rong will not easily sit idly by and watch Gao Lang grow stronger, but none of his Erzhu clan members are capable of great things, and the powerful clans will not help him. I predict that he will eventually rely on us Wuchuan people to counter Gao Lang. You should serve him loyally and gain his trust…”

"When Gao Lang and Er Zhu Rong eventually break off their relationship..."

"What should I do?"

Yuwentai pressed for an answer.

"You can either serve Erzhu Rong to the death, or you can seize the opportunity to turn against him and help Gao Lang. How you decide and choose is up to you to judge the situation. You must know that man proposes, God disposes. I had planned everything before, but I never expected to be in this predicament..."

Yuwen Luosheng's words inevitably carried a hint of sorrow.

"I only have one piece of advice for you: stay calm in the face of adversity and be cautious in all things."

Yuwentai nodded.

Yuwen Luosheng remained silent for a moment, then said, "If your sister-in-law wants to remarry, do not stop her. I entrust Bodhi to you."

"From now on, you must rely on yourself in everything. I will be watching over you from heaven with your father and brothers... Take good care of yourself from now on."

Yuwen Tai gritted his teeth, forcing back his tears, and knelt before Yuwen Luosheng, kowtowing several times with resounding thuds.

With a resolute look in his eyes, he gritted his teeth and said, "Brother, take care. I... will never let you down!"

After saying that, he turned and left without any hesitation or doubt.

Yuwen Luosheng's eyes held a look of relief, followed by a desolate smile, as he began to drink alone.

"What a pity... I am friends with many heroes, but I have to leave first and will not be able to witness the great changes of the world."

………………

September 12th.

The sun was shining brightly, and the sky was still clear and cloudless, but it wasn't as hot as in summer. Instead, the sunlight felt warm and comfortable on my skin.

Outside Xuanyang Gate, people in Luoyang city and even in the surrounding suburbs forgot about rebuilding their homes and rushed to see the spectacle.

A large number of Imperial Guard soldiers were mobilized, dressed in neat standard armor. Because a large number of former Xuanjia soldiers had been incorporated into the Imperial Guard, and after the Battle of Luoyang, the Imperial Guard soldiers had all undergone a transformation, with solemn and imposing expressions.

The crowd of people remained calm and quiet, clearly intimidated by the Imperial Guards; no one dared to utter a sound.

Yuan Ziyou led his officials out and personally ascended the altar to offer sacrifices to Heaven, praying to the previous emperors. Then he listed the heinous crimes committed by Yuan Hao, Ge Rong and others.

Yuan Hao, Ge Rong, Yuwen Luosheng, and others were escorted here by Imperial Guards.

Death is approaching.

Everyone's expression was different.

But most of them still maintained their last shred of dignity, without bursting into tears or begging for mercy.

When noon arrives.

At the command, the executioners swiftly brought down their blades.

In an instant, a sea of ​​heads appeared, and many of the onlookers were terrified, some even covering their eyes with their hands.

After the entire process is completed.

Yuan Ziyou then led the officials back to Luoyang.

Gao Yu did not follow, but stayed behind with his personal guards.

Others also stayed behind. When Hou Jing saw Gao Yu about to step forward, he tried to stop him, but Gao Yu broke free. "Wan Jing, let go. Don't get involved in this."

Hou Jing had no choice but to give up.

Gao Yu walked slowly forward and slowly approached Yuwen Luosheng's corpse.

He had just squatted down when he heard Erzhu Yanbo's voice.

"General Gao, these are the corpses of those whom His Majesty has designated as traitors and rebels. Yet you are collecting their bodies. Are you defying the world's will?"

Gao Yu didn't even bother to look up at him, and said coldly.

“Young Master Yuwen was kind to me. He committed heinous crimes in his lifetime, but now that he is dead, what crime could he have committed?”

"If you think my actions are inappropriate, you are welcome to speak to His Majesty and the Censor about my faults."

The scene of the body being dismembered was extremely gruesome.

Gao Yu, however, was already used to it. He wrapped the body in cloth and planned to take it back to sew the corpse back together so that Yuwen Luosheng could be buried with a dignified 'whole body'.

After Gao Yu left with Yuwen Luosheng's corpse.

Erzhu Rong, Erzhu Zhao, and others also came over one after another.

"Prime Minister, look at this! This is clearly an act with malicious intent. Why don't we go and see His Majesty..."

"okay."

"Erlang made it very clear that Yuwen Luosheng had been kind to him, and his actions were merely to repay that kindness. This shows that Erlang is a man of great affection and righteousness."

"Hmph, people like you... if something were to happen to Tianbao, would you also choose to protect yourselves and abandon his corpse? You are clearly of the same clan, yet you treat him worse than strangers..."

Erzhu Zhao still speaks without thinking.

Erzhu Rong's face darkened.

What does it mean that he will end up like Yuwen Luosheng?
"Wanren! Moheduo has already pledged allegiance to the Emperor and betrayed the Prime Minister, yet you still speak up for him! What are your intentions?"

"Are you all petty and jealous of Erlang? Why doesn't the Emperor give you important positions?"

"That's enough! That's enough!"

Erzhu Rong, feeling extremely annoyed, spoke up to stop the two from arguing.

Looking in the direction Gao Yu left with a complicated expression, he sighed.

"What Wanren said makes sense. Mo... Erlang is a kind and righteous person. Let's not make a big deal out of this. Let's just pretend we didn't see it."

"Furthermore... Erlang is now personally appointed by His Majesty as the Grand General of the Heavenly Strategy, a position of great prestige. You must not be disrespectful to him in the future!"

Upon hearing this, Erzhu Shilong and the others all changed their expressions.

But there was no way to refute it. After his expression changed drastically, he could only swallow his anger and say, "We understand."

"Hmph... It's only because Erlang has a good temper. If it were me, in a high position, and you dared to be so disrespectful and offend me, I would have already taken action."

Erzhu Zhao cursed and swore.

Erlang was in trouble, and he really went to the rescue.

(End of this chapter)