My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 358 The Funeral Hall is Like a Stage

"Your Majesty!!"

Outside Dongyang City.

Everyone was dressed in mourning clothes, and Gao Yu's crying was so moving that it touched the hearts of all who heard it and brought tears to their eyes.

The mourning hall that was set up could not possibly contain Yuan Ziyou's actual body; it was just an empty coffin, a symbolic gesture.

Gao Yu wept bitterly, just like Zhuge Liang in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" mourning Zhou Yu, holding the coffin with both hands.

Everyone kept their heads down, wiping away tears from time to time.

Even the general is crying so sadly.

How could they not cry?

"His Majesty!!"

Gao Yu suddenly shouted, then fell silent and collapsed to the ground with a thud, actually crying and fainting.

"General! General!!"

Cui Jie and the others rushed forward to help Gao Yu up.

After a long while, Gao Yu slowly opened his eyes and looked around to find everyone gathered around him.

"General!!"

With a sorrowful expression, Cui Jie advised, "You must not harm yourself! His Majesty has already been murdered, and all the righteous men in the world are waiting for you to raise the banner of righteousness and restore the Great Wei dynasty! If anything happens to you, wouldn't it cause grief to your loved ones and joy to your enemies?"

"I hope the general will not grieve too much, but will quickly pull himself together and lead us to avenge His Majesty!"

Gao Yu ignored him, shouting, "Get out of my way! His Majesty's kindness to me is immeasurable! Without His Majesty, how could I be where I am today?! Your Majesty!!"

How strong is Gao Yu?

He shoved everyone aside, rushed back to the coffin, and continued wailing, ignoring everyone else.

All the people could do was keep trying to persuade them.

Yang Yin and the others were quite far away, and Yang Zhong couldn't help but whisper, "Where did the general learn these words? It must have been written by Yu Zishan. His crying is even more beautiful than his singing."

"Be careful!"

Yang Yin whispered a reminder, "Since ancient times, the mourning hall has been a stage, and crying is singing. General, you were promoted by His Majesty. Now that you have heard of His Majesty's death, if you do not show such 'grief,' how will the world view you? How will you raise the banner of righteousness and call on righteous men from all over the world in the future?"

"Moreover, His Majesty's kindness is genuine. Many of the soldiers under the general's command were promoted by His Majesty back then."

Yang Zhong naturally understood these principles as well. "These words are too cheesy. If it were me, I might not even be able to cry, let alone say such cheesy words."

Yang Yin glanced at him and said, "So you are a general's prisoner. You can't sit in the general's position, and you can't become a ruler of a region."

"Reaching the position of general may not necessarily be a good thing."

Yang Zhong, however, saw things clearly: "I heard that the general's brother tricked his father-in-law, obtained the troops of the Six Garrisons, and raised the banner of rebellion in Hebei to support a new emperor."

"How should the general face him?"

Yang Yin didn't reply, but looked at Gao Yu, who had cried himself unconscious again, and gave a slightly inappropriate smile, "You really think the general won't take any action?"

"if not?"

"Then let me ask you."

Yang Yin countered, "Right Chief Secretary, Left and Right Military Advisors, why are the three of them absent from such an important occasion? And Zhongmi is also absent today. Where do you think they all went?"

Yang Zhong was taken aback; he hadn't actually gone to look at it on purpose.

As he carefully observed the crowd.

There was no trace of Yang Kan, Mulan, Peng Le, Gao Shen, or others.

Gao Shen is one thing, but Yang Kan and others hold high positions in the Tian Ce Mansion. The Chief Secretary and the Sima are the highest-ranking advisors, wielding real power.

Yang Kan was a representative of the Han people of Shandong and also a powerful maternal relative. Yang Changchu gave birth to a son for Gao Yu, Gao Ze, who was Gao Yu's eldest son. Mulan and Peng Le were Gao Yu's most trusted military generals, loyal to him and exceptionally capable, who had been training troops for him.

The absence of these three important people from such an important occasion is itself a very important signal.

Not to mention.

Although Gao Shen's official position in the Tian Ce Mansion was not high, his father was the governor of Dongji Prefecture, which was directly above Qing Prefecture.

Yang Zhong suddenly woke up with a start!

Most of the soldiers who came to the mourning hall today were the same group that came from Luoyang before. The soldiers from Qingzhou and Nanqingzhou who were summoned had long since disappeared.

He connected these pieces of information.

"Could it be that……"

Yang Yin said, "Who in the world doesn't know that the general is His Majesty's confidant?"

"When this traitor Erzhu Rong commits the act of murdering the emperor, the great cause of the world rests in your hands, General. Why should you rely on anything else?"

"But in the end, they still lost out, despite their role in the enthronement."

Yang Yin simply smiled. "The Prefect of Hengzhou is indeed a man of outstanding talent. He was able to rise to a high position by taking advantage of a wave of momentum. However... his strength is not enough to suppress the General. How can two tigers share one mountain?"

"It seems that he has occupied the fertile land of Hebei, but the governor of Hengzhou has not made any contribution and is facing the Erzhu clan directly, so he will definitely fight them to the death."

"The general can use this time to strengthen his own power, rather than to fight for some empty fame."

"The emperors of Great Wei have died one after another unnatural deaths; their fate has long been sealed, and it is time for a change of dynasty!"

"What a general needs is the strength to pacify the world, not a fleeting reputation."

Yang Zhong nodded as if he understood, and then asked, "In your opinion, what will the general do next?"

Yang Yin shook his head. "I've heard that the general has a deep relationship with his brother. I don't know... how the general will treat his brother. Everyone else is watching to see how the general will handle it."

There are already too many people standing behind Gao Yu.

"However... judging from the general's decision to send troops, it seems that the general has already made up his mind."

"It's a pity that I can't go to war."

"Don't worry about not having a chance. The general will surely launch a major campaign soon! We are now in a time of great contention. How could someone as outstanding as the general miss the opportunity to seize the world? Get ready. Our chance to make a name for ourselves is right in front of us. You and I should help each other to further enhance the prestige of the Yang family of Hongnong and report back to our elders in heaven."

Yang Yin and the others had already learned that Yang Chun, Yang Jin and others had been killed, and that Erzhu Rong had almost wiped out the entire Hongnong Yang clan in Luoyang.

Yang Zhong nodded, "A true man should make great achievements and establish unparalleled merits."

The performance is almost over.

After fainting several times, Gao Yu finally rallied!
He came up to the soldiers and, in front of everyone, suddenly drew his precious sword from his waist!
"My comrades! We have been deeply indebted to the Emperor. Today, the Emperor is in danger, and Erzhu Rongzhi's actions have aroused the wrath of both gods and men. I hereby swear that I will dedicate my life to avenging His Majesty!"

"Revenge! Revenge! Revenge!!"

The soldiers drew their weapons and shouted excitedly.

This is the significance of performing a crying scene in front of a funeral hall.

Gao Yu's expression hardened as he looked westward.

In the end, he still went to the opposite side of Erzhu Rong.

P.S.: I've read all the book reviews that guys are criticizing.

The recent plot developments have indeed been a bit of a thankless task for me. I was trying to break away from history and write something new, but the fact that it didn't satisfy the readers is definitely due to my lack of ability.

There's not much to say, and I won't say anything to make everyone understand.

I created the settings myself.

To give you a little spoiler, there will definitely be some scheming between the brothers, but it won't escalate to the point of drawing swords against each other. The King of Gao and the protagonist won't fight either. The plot has already progressed to this point, so I'm not going to dwell on it anymore. I'll continue writing according to my own ideas. Starting tomorrow, I'll try my best to update and stop worrying about plot issues.

(End of this chapter)