My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 356 The High King Who Manipulates People's Hearts

Just half a day later, after nightfall, Gao Huan met Gao Qian and the others. After some pleasantries, he asked someone to take them down to rest, citing their long and tiring journey.

Gao Qian and his men had been on the run and really needed a good night's rest, so they didn't refuse.

The next day.

Dark clouds filled the sky, and the temperature continued to drop, as if a heavy snowfall was brewing.

After resting for a night, Gao Qian didn't dare to delay at all. He came out of the room to find Gao Huan, but saw that Wen Zisheng was already waiting in the courtyard. The two looked at each other and immediately understood what the other was thinking.

When he saw the two of them coming to find him together, a strange look flashed in Gao Huan's eyes, but he hid it well.

"We have already taken a long detour and wasted a lot of time. We hope you will quickly send someone to take us to Shandong to inform General Tian Ce of the situation in Luoyang and His Majesty's fate. General Tian Ce can then raise the banner of righteousness and call on all righteous men in the land to jointly punish the traitor Er Zhu Rong!"

Gao Huan didn't respond immediately, but instead looked troubled.

Gao Qian was suspicious. Could it be that... Gao Huan was unwilling to send them away?

Before he could speak, Gao Huan looked up at the two of them and asked, "If you two were Erzhu Rong, how would you deal with the current situation?"

Anger flashed in Wen Zisheng's eyes. "If you are unwilling to help and dare not be an enemy of Erzhu Rong, you might as well say so. Why be so sarcastic?"

Gao Qian squinted. From their brief interactions, he knew very well that Gao Huan was not that kind of person. He reached out and pulled Wen Zisheng back, signaling the latter not to act impulsively.

"We have no mind to think about anything else right now, so please just say it, Elder Brother."

Gao Huan nodded, without deliberately keeping him in suspense.

“Although Erzhu Rong is a traitor who is bloodthirsty, his past actions are quite methodical. He is used to planning before acting. This time, he dared to do such a treasonous thing, which means that he had planned it for a long time... Qian Yong, Peng Ju, you are all trusted ministers by His Majesty's side. Erzhu Rong must have been suspicious because he did not find you in Luoyang.”

"What is most important to him? To keep the news under wraps as much as possible and to arrange everything properly before the news leaks out."

“The governors of Yan, You, Ying, and Ji prefectures are all Erzhu Rong’s confidants. He must have already sent someone to deliver the message by fast horse.”

Gao Huan's analysis makes a lot of sense.

Wen Zisheng's anger gradually subsided.

"Then, in your opinion, what should we do?"

After a moment of silence, Gao Huan decided to tell the two of them the explosive news. After several conversations, he had figured it out himself.

Gao Qian, Wen Zisheng, and others had no idea that Yuan Ziyou had died. From their perspective, they thought that Erzhu Rong had simply captured Yuan Ziyou and then forcibly moved the capital with him.

"Just last night, Sima Ziru, the governor of Xiangzhou, sent a messenger on horseback to deliver a letter to me, in which he told me some shocking news."

"what news?"

"It's about Luoyang."

"Luoyang..."

Gao Qian seemed to have guessed something, and suddenly grabbed Gao Huan's hand, "Could it be..."

Gao Huan's expression was solemn as he slowly spoke, "His Majesty is dead, and Erzhu Rong intends to install a new emperor."

"What??"

Wen Zisheng was shocked and retorted incredulously, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could that traitor Erzhu Rong have such audacity..."

Gao Qian found it hard to believe for a moment.

Gao Huan clearly had no reason to deceive them, and Sima Ziru was still Erzhu Rong's trusted confidant on the surface, so the information coming from Sima Ziru would certainly not be wrong.

In other words.

Was Yuan Ziyou truly as he said before his death, 'preferring to die for the Duke of Gaogui Township'?
boom!
Gao Qian felt as if a thunderbolt had struck his mind from nowhere. This shocking news left him disoriented and in a daze.

Wen Zisheng lost his balance and fell to the ground, then began to beat his chest and waile loudly!

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty..."

Gao Huan had already driven away all the servants. He squeezed out two lines of hot tears, his face filled with grief, and he joined in the wailing.

However, Gao Huan kept glancing at the two of them out of the corner of his eye, and only stopped crying after they seemed to have vented their emotions.

Wen Zisheng's face twisted in a grimace as he roared, "Revenge! We must avenge His Majesty! Erzhu Rong, that vicious Jie barbarian, deserves to be condemned by both gods and men, and may he die a horrible death!"

Gao Qian, however, needed to calm down. After wiping away his tears, he quickly dissuaded him, "Don't act impulsively. Erzhu Rong has countless elite soldiers and fierce generals under his command. How can we succeed by ourselves alone?" "In the end, there are still more righteous men in the world who are loyal to the imperial family. Go to Shandong! Go to Shandong to find General Tian Ce! With General Tian Ce's bravery, he will surely be able to avenge His Majesty!!"

Gao Qian looked at Gao Huan, "I wonder what insightful opinion you have, Gao Lang?"

Gao Huan had been waiting for this very sentence, but he still maintained a sorrowful expression on his face: "I'm afraid we are no match for them."

"Hmph, what do you mean? If you're afraid, just say so. You can go south and beg for surrender, while I'll go east!"

Wen Zisheng showed a look of disgust and shouted loudly.

Gao Huan shook his head and said, "Pengju, you've misunderstood me."

Gao Qian also chimed in, "Pengju, why are you in such a hurry? Let Gao Lang finish speaking first."

“What I mean is… With His Majesty dead, Luoyang has fallen into Erzhu Rong’s control. The most crucial point is… Erzhu Rong’s daughter is pregnant, and everyone in the world knows that. We are not in Luoyang, so how can we know whether the Empress has given birth to a boy or a girl? If Erzhu Rong honors His Majesty’s youngest son as emperor, the right to rule will be in the hands of the Erzhu clan.”

"In the eyes of the world, we are probably the ones who are usurpers!"

"His Majesty died suddenly, how could Erzhu Rong possibly..."

“Pengju, as I said, Luoyang is under Erzhu Rong’s control. So what if he murdered the emperor himself? He can easily push someone out as a scapegoat. His Majesty did die after he entered Luoyang, but as long as he doesn’t openly murder the emperor and has His Majesty’s young son in his hands, how can we raise the banner of rebellion?”

Wen Zisheng thought about it and realized that it made sense. However, he immediately retorted, "We have His Majesty's personally written edict and the imperial seal. How can we not stand against Erzhu Rong?"

Finally, they brought up the news themselves!
Gao Huan was overjoyed. He suppressed his excitement and put on an incredulous expression, "Is this really true?"

"Of course it is true! His Majesty is so wise; he had long anticipated that Erzhu Rong would do something so desperate!"

Wen Zisheng wiped away his tears and bowed respectfully to Gao Huan. "I hope that you, Lord Gao, will send someone to escort us to Shandong. We will hand over His Majesty's edict and imperial seal to General Tian Ce, and in his name, raise the banner of righteousness to punish the traitors!"

Gao Huan shook his head and said, "This move is probably inappropriate."

"I have a way."

"any solution?"

"Erzhu Rong is certainly still making various arrangements right now, and at the same time, he also wants to support a new emperor. What he fears most right now is that the news of His Majesty's death will get out!"

"I wait……"

Gao Huan gritted his teeth and revealed his plan: "We should now produce His Majesty's edict and the Imperial Seal, select a virtuous person from among the surviving members of the imperial clan, honor him as Emperor, and call upon righteous men throughout the land to jointly punish the traitor Erzhu Rong!"

“In this way, we can disrupt many of Erzhu Rong’s plans. If Erzhu Rong’s men know that he is plotting to kill the emperor, there will certainly be righteous men who will rebel against him. However, if Erzhu Rong is given enough time to plan and arrange, and controls the families of these people, then these righteous men who could have helped us may be forced to obey Erzhu Rong because their families are controlled.”

"Our most urgent task right now is to honor the new emperor and then spread the news widely!"

"Once the news spreads in Hebei, it will soon reach Shandong. At that time, General Tian Ce will lead his troops to join us, pay homage to the new emperor, and then march south to punish Er Zhu Rong!"

Gao Qian frowned slightly.

To be fair, Gao Huan's suggestion was not problematic at all.

It sounds reasonable and can withstand scrutiny.

We definitely need to race against Erzhu Rong!

If we wait until Erzhu Rong has made all the necessary arrangements, then we can enthrone a new emperor and spread the news of his ascension to the throne throughout the world!
So……

The legitimacy of Yuan Ziyou's will and imperial seal in their possession will become increasingly diminished.

Thus.

In the end, they became the traitors who harbored rebellious intentions and plotted to bring chaos to the world.

It comes down to it.

After Empress Dowager Hu's series of questionable actions, the prestige of the Great Wei royal family was greatly diminished.

More and more aristocratic families began to choose to wait and see rather than be completely loyal to the royal family.

"Then... let it be as you say."

"We will first honor the new emperor in accordance with His Majesty's last edict!"

(End of this chapter)