My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 348 Unwilling to be a caged bird

"quick!"

"His Majesty will surely reward you handsomely for killing the traitor Erzhu Rong! You will be granted the title of Duke of the Founding State!"

Wen Zisheng hurriedly shouted, trying to use this method to encourage the wandering knights in the palace to stay with Erzhu Rong.

Those guards chosen by Erzhu Rong to protect him personally were no different from his trained assassins; they would rather die themselves than fail to secure a way out for Erzhu Rong.

Instead of dodging, he followed the example of Erzhu Puti, facing the weapons slashing at him without flinching, and forcefully grabbed the wandering knight in front of him and charged backward, trying to knock as many people as possible over.

How utterly pathetic Erzhu Rong must be!
His face was filled with terror as he fled in panic, hearing a piercing sound as something cut through the air, and seeing a flash of cold light before his eyes.

Erzhu Rong suddenly felt all thoughts cease.

My life is over.

He closed his eyes in despair. Could it be that his years of planning had ultimately led to his downfall, only to benefit someone else?

In the end, he was too confident and thought he had everything under control. Little did he expect that Xi Yi, whom he trusted the most, would stab him in the back at the most critical moment!

The expected pain did not occur; instead, a tremendous force dragged him forward relentlessly.

Yuan Tianmu grabbed Erzhu Rong's arm and kept running forward. The path to survival was right in front of them. As long as they got outside the palace!
"Run!!"

Yuan Tianmu roared angrily, turned around and used his sword to block the weapon coming down from behind, blocking it with all his might.

"Tianbao! Run!"

Still shaken, Erzhu Rong glanced back and, without thinking, ran off again.

"Stop him!!"

Wen Zisheng shouted with a ferocious expression, and Yuan Ziyou even threw the Emperor's Sword in his hand, but they could not stop Erzhu Rong from running out of the Mingguang Hall.

It’s over.

At this moment, Yuan Ziyou closed his eyes in despair, as if all the strength in his body had been drained. He slumped to the ground in defeat. Many wandering knights wanted to give chase, but Erzhu Rong's other guards were outside the door. By the time they chased after him...

Erzhu Rong has been placed under protection.

A group of unarmored wanderers were no match for these battle-hardened veterans in full armor; their fighting abilities were simply not in the same league.

They were quickly driven back.

"General!"

Wang Xiang helped the still-shaken Erzhu Rong up, asking, "What should we do now?"

Having narrowly escaped death, and seeing his bodyguards who had followed him for decades all around him, Erzhu Rong calmed down.

The pain of losing his son and his brother relentlessly attacked his psychological defenses. He wanted to raze the entire Mingguang Palace to the ground, but he knew very well...

Xi Yi betrayed him, which meant that even the imperial guards in the palace could not be trusted.

"Go! Go now! Leave the palace! Xi Yi has betrayed me!"

As one of Erzhu Rong's confidants, Wang Xiang naturally understood what Xi Yi's betrayal meant. Xi Yi was a Wuwei General, and the palace's imperial guards had always been under his command.

Wang Xiang immediately realized the seriousness of the problem.

"Go! Quickly escort the Prime Minister out of the palace."

However, he still reassured Erzhu Rong, "Prime Minister, don't worry. Didn't you already send Shilong to bring the troops outside the city into the city? You'll be fine!"

With a resentful glance at Mingguang Hall, Erzhu Rong led his men away hastily without looking back.

"Your Majesty... Erzhu Rong has fled. I will immediately dispatch the Imperial Guards to stop him."

"No need."

Yuan Ziyou waved his hand dejectedly. Just because Xi Yi sided with him didn't mean that Xi Yi had replaced all the Imperial Guards with his own people. How could such a blatant act be kept secret?
In fact, if they failed to kill Erzhu Rong in the Mingguang Hall, all their previous efforts would have been in vain, and their efforts would have been in vain.

"His Majesty……"

Li Yu and the others wanted to persuade him again.

Yuan Ziyou just kept shaking his head. He looked at Erzhu Puti lying in a pool of blood on the ground, and then at Yuan Tianmu, who was seriously injured and on the verge of death.

Then, looking dejected, he turned and returned to his seat.

"You all... go and flee for your lives. Before Erzhu Rong seals the city gates, escape. There is no need for you to be buried with me."

"This plan has failed; it is fate. It seems that Heaven is not going to destroy Erzhu Rong, but rather to destroy me..."

Yuan Ziyou closed his eyes in despair.

Gao Qian gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty! Let's flee together! There are still loyal ministers in the Great Wei! Your Majesty can go to Shandong, where General Tian Ce will surely help Your Majesty to fight your way back to Luoyang and annihilate the traitor Er Zhu Rong!"

A glimmer of hope flashed in Yuan Ziyou's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by despair. What good would going to Shandong do?
The imperial power of the Great Wei Dynasty collapsed long ago on the day of Heyin, and all his efforts were in vain.

A bitter smile appeared on his face as he looked up at the Mingguang Hall.

"Qian Yong, look how magnificent and luxurious this Mingguang Palace is. Countless people want to fight for my position in this palace, but in my eyes, this palace is nothing more than an exquisite cage. Haven't I been a bird in this cage all these years? I've had enough of this kind of life. I'm tired."

"Hahahaha, ambitious people like Erzhu Rong have rushed to the throne one after another, even risking their lives. How could they know that once they sit on this throne, their fate would be the same as mine?"

"His Majesty……"

Wen Zisheng, Gao Qian, and others had red eyes and wept bitterly.

Yuan Ziyou sighed deeply and spoke from the heart.

Power shortens the path of life, sorrow lengthens the road to death.

He left the country with resentment, and entered the land of ghosts with sorrow.
The gate is closed for a moment, and the secluded courtyard will never shine again.
Birds sing among the green pines, a mournful wind blows through the white poplars.
When everyone hears of the suffering of death, how can one claim to suffer it oneself?

"Qianyong, Pengju, do not grieve for me. I knew this day would come years ago."

"Indeed! Even if I die, I will never let such an ambitious person as Erzhu Rong get his way!" Yuan Ziyou took out paper and pen and wrote a decree calling on the people of the world to punish the traitor. He personally stamped it with the imperial seal. Then he immediately wrote a pardon decree, stamped it, and handed the imperial seal and the decree to Wen Zisheng and Gao Qian.

"Qian Yong, go to the Court of Justice immediately and release Ao Cao. You all take my edict and the imperial seal and flee for your lives. Go and join those loyal ministers who are not loyal to Er Zhu Rong, and together we will punish the disloyal ministers!"

"Your Majesty! Without you, who could take charge of the overall situation?"

"Your Majesty, there is still time. Come with us! You are still young; you might be able to lead troops back to Luoyang!"

The two continued to persuade him, but Yuan Ziyou's mind was made up. "Go! If you two still regard me as the emperor, then obey my decree! Do you two intend to disobey the imperial edict?"

Gao Qian and Wen Zisheng exchanged a glance, then gritted their teeth and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, please rest assured, your subjects will certainly not fail Your Majesty's last wishes!"

After watching the two leave, Yuan Ziyou looked at Li Yu, Lu An, and the many wandering knights.

"Go, all of you. There's no need for you to be buried with me."

Li Yu refused outright, instead bowing and saying, "How can a subject abandon the emperor? If Your Majesty issues the order, I will defy it today!"

"We will never live a life of dishonor!!"

Seeing that everyone else was equally determined, Yuan Ziyou did not try to persuade them again, but instead showed a relieved smile.

He wasn't a complete failure as an emperor.

All the efforts over the years have not been entirely in vain.

Yuan Ziyou slowly walked to the palace entrance, bent down and picked up the Emperor's Sword. Holding the sword in one hand, he said, "Go, bring me my armor. Today I will emulate the Duke of Gaogui and let the world know that Erzhu Rong is a traitor who murdered the emperor!"

"I urge you all to follow me out of the palace to confront the traitors!"

"Your Majesty, I am willing to follow you closely!"

………………

Gao Qian and Wen Zisheng rushed to the Court of Justice. Gao Gongzhi, seeing their hurried expressions, immediately asked them questions.

"What happened?"

After understanding the whole story.

Gao Gongzhi quickly released Gao Ang, saying, "Now, you all must flee the city at once and not disappoint His Majesty's expectations!"

"Dao Mu, you..."

Gao Gongzhi said solemnly, "If it weren't for His Majesty's protection, I would have died by someone else's sword long ago. His Majesty saved my life and helped me. Now that there are treacherous officials who want to rebel, as a subject, I will go and follow His Majesty."

Say it.

Gao Gongzhi then turned around and hurriedly headed to the palace.

Wen Zisheng and Gao Qian didn't say much; trying to persuade him would only be an insult to Gao Gongzhi.

The two men, both with serious expressions, straightened their clothes and bowed respectfully to Gao Gongzhi's retreating figure.

"go!"

Wen Zisheng's eyes were filled with indignation. "We must not let His Majesty down. We must let the whole world know that Erzhu Rong is a traitor who murdered the emperor and usurped the throne!!"

Without further hesitation, the three quickly fled from the Court of Justice and headed out of the city.

Erzhu Shilong had already brought all five thousand elite Qihu cavalry into the city. Such a commotion was already known throughout the city, and countless people hid in their homes, trembling with fear.

War is far more dangerous than banditry.

"Yuan Gui, take your family and leave the city immediately."

"Father, you..."

“I have been favored by the emperor for generations, and the current emperor has treated me with even greater kindness. How can I sit idly by and watch the emperor be humiliated?”

“Go back to Hongnong. No matter how ruthless Erzhu Rong is, he wouldn’t go so far as to target the entire Yang family of Hongnong. Even if he did commit such an outrageous act, Zunyan and Lingyi are both in Shandong. Our Yang family will not die out!”

"Father."

"Stop being so indecisive and get going!"

"Yes!"

Yang Yu gritted his teeth and turned to leave.

As soon as Yang Chun came out of the mansion, he saw Yang Jin. His younger brother was obviously also heading to the palace. Both brothers were quite old and were already in their twilight years.

The two brothers smiled at each other and resolutely embarked on their journey to the palace.

the other side.

Erzhu Rong ran out of the palace and went straight to Erzhu Shilong.

Although Erzhu Shilong was unclear about what had happened, he could tell from the fact that Yuan Tianmu, Erzhu Puti, and the others had all disappeared and Erzhu Rong was in a very disheveled state that something was amiss.

Erzhu Rong gritted his teeth and said with resentment, "Order the army to follow me and storm the palace!"

"Here!"

Erzhu Shilong was overjoyed and immediately turned around and shouted, "The Prime Minister has ordered! All troops to prepare for battle, storm the palace, and execute the treacherous officials!!"

The large group of people immediately marched towards the palace.

And just then.

A message has been sent back from the front.

"Prime Minister, His Majesty has led his men out of Helu Gate!"

(End of this chapter)