My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 360 Wan Ren is truly a good brother

The governor of Jeju was Yuan Zihua, a member of the Yuan clan.

Jeju currently only has one nominal governor, which explains the current situation.

This was also due to the political tacit understanding between Erzhu Rong and Yuan Ziyou. At first, Erzhu Rong did not control Yuan Ziyou too strictly. In order to show his reputation as a "loyal minister of the Great Wei", he allowed Yuan Ziyou to place some of his Yuan clan relatives as governors in some unimportant prefectures.

Yuan Zihua is that lucky one.

Despite his name being similar to Yuan Ziyou's, he was actually quite distant from Yuan Ziyou.

Yuan Ziyou was the third son of Yuan Xie.

His elder brother died young, before Yuan Xu was even dead.

The other two brothers, Yuan Shao and Yuan Zizheng, died on the day in Heyin. Erzhu Rong ordered Guo Luosha and Chilie Shagui to personally execute them in front of Yuan Ziyou.

News of Qizhou arrived quickly, upon learning that Qizhou had 'fallen'.

Yuan Zihua didn't hesitate or struggle at all.

He immediately ordered the city gates to be opened to welcome the "royal army"!
At this time, Yang Kan and his three armies had only just entered Jizhou by following the Ji River westward. The army marched all the way to the capital city of Pingyuan County, without encountering any resistance along the way.

They didn't need to give any orders at all; all they had to do was maintain strict military discipline and keep their soldiers from destroying farmland or harassing the local people.

"Not even a little resistance?"

Yang Kan was very unhappy.

He craves the thrill of battle!

However, they encountered no significant resistance along the way. Qizhou put up a little resistance but was quickly defeated, so Jizhou simply gave up.

Although it was a great achievement to take over two states in one fell swoop, this achievement was as easy as picking it up for free.

Mulan explained, "The governor of Jizhou is a member of the Yuan clan. Now that Erzhu Rong has committed regicide, how can he continue to serve Erzhu Rong?"

It didn't take three days.

Then Gao Yu's trusted confidant came to deliver the message.

Yang Kan was ordered to temporarily serve as the governor of Jizhou and remain stationed in his current location, while Gao Ji was ordered to temporarily serve as the governor of Qizhou. Mulan and Peng Le were to lead troops south to Kaocheng to join him.

Gao Yu's next goal was to lead his troops south to reclaim Xixuzhou.

He completely controlled the seven provinces of Ji, Qi, Qing, Xu, Yan, Nanqing, and Guang, which meant bringing the entire Shandong region under his control.

Yang Zhong and Lan Qin have already set off for Langya County, following the same steps they took to recapture Qizhou, launching a pincer attack from multiple directions.

However, before leaving Qingzhou, Gao Yu still needed to deal with a troublesome matter.

"Erlang! No... Moheduo!!"

Erzhu Zhao's eyes were bloodshot as he gripped Gao Yu's arm tightly. "Do you consider me a brother?"

Gao Yu was helpless. He comforted her, "If Yuechan heard this, wouldn't the hierarchy be messed up?"

He did like having Erzhu Yuechan call him 'Uncle,' but how could he possibly bring up such private matters, such intimate moments between husband and wife, in the open?

"Fine! If you consider me your father-in-law, then lend me your troops!"

"and then?"

"I'm going to tear that damned bastard He Liuhun apart! I trusted him so much, treated him like a brother, and what did he do?!"

Erzhu Zhao was agitated, like an enraged bull, "If I cannot personally kill He Liuhun, how can I face the souls of the many Erzhu clan members after my death?!"

If Gao Huan had only tricked him and seized the city, that would have been one thing.

However, they then allowed the soldiers and civilians of the Six Garrisons to burn, kill, plunder, and massacre many members of the Erzhu clan in Sizhou and Xiurongchuan, the "birthplace" of the Erzhu clan.

Gao Yu remained silent.

He also learned about Gao Huan's series of actions from Erzhu Zhao, and all I can say is... these actions were very clever.

By borrowing troops from the grasslands and tricking Erzhu Zhao into heading south, they entered Sizhou and obtained the true elite soldiers of the Six Garrisons, who had been repeatedly selected by Erzhu Rong. Instantly, they gained a base of support and strengthened their own power.

Seeing that Gao Yu remained silent, Erzhu Zhao couldn't help but sigh. He had learned a lot of news these past few days, including the matter of Erzhu Rong's regicide. Not to mention that Gao Yu and Gao Huan were brothers, blood relatives who had relied on each other since childhood and supported one another, sharing a deep bond.

Faced with the greater good, and before eliminating Erzhu Rong, the traitor who murdered the emperor, the two could not possibly draw their swords against each other.

Erzhu Zhao remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking.

"Erlang, just pretend I didn't mention it. I know your difficulties."

"Wanren...you should take good care of yourself and live out your remaining years as a wealthy man, rather than fighting and killing."

Gao Yu advised.

Erzhu Zhao was not good at political affairs, but he was good at leading troops.

A person with ability and connections to the imperial family, but without a strong foundation, is the most reliable when leading troops. There's not even much need to consider how to check and balance them to prevent them from becoming too powerful.

However, Erzhu is currently a "traitor to the country" that everyone hates. Even Gao Yu cannot force Erzhu Zhao to be employed under such a critical situation, otherwise he would lose the greater good.

Protecting Erzhu Yuechan and Erzhu Zhao's family, even just one clan, is the limit.

Erzhu Zhao glanced at him and suddenly laughed.

"Erlang, this is the difference between you and Tianbao."

"You... are ultimately too kind-hearted."

"If Tianbao were in your position right now, do you know what he would do?"

Gao Yu didn't respond, but Erzhu Zhao continued speaking on his own.

"Tianbao will immediately arrest Yuechan, me, and all my clansmen, and publicly enumerate the crimes of the Erzhu clan in front of the entire army. They will then kill us in public and use us as a sacrifice to gain righteousness."

"Erlang, Yuechan and my wife are just women. They have never harmed anyone. Moreover, Yuechan is your wife. No one will say anything if you spare their lives."

“You can detain me and the other remaining members of your clan, kill us, and use us as a sacrifice to the flag. In this way, the righteousness of the world will be in your hands, and no one will use your protection of me or my life as a pretext to attack you.”

Gao Yu shook his head. "Wan Ren, why do you have to do this? If I act like this, how will I face Yue Chan in the future?"

Erzhu Zhao gave a bitter laugh, "I am already a sinner of the Erzhu clan, and death is my only fate!"

"I also do not want to see you fight against the Tianbao army. Death would be a relief for you."

Even the sharp-witted Erzhu Zhao could see the current situation.

Gao Yu and Erzhu Rong must either die.

There are no other possibilities.

He didn't want to be caught in the middle, torn between two options.

Gao Yu shook his head again, "Wan Ren, you know I wouldn't do that, and I wouldn't just stand by and watch you die."

"If you truly consider me a brother, then lend me a hand."

Erzhu Zhao was taken aback. "You can still use me?"

“There will naturally be a place for you to use your talents.”

Just because it's not usable for now doesn't mean it won't be usable in the future; there will always be an opportunity.

At present, Erzhu Zhao is determined to die.

He simply felt guilty towards Erzhu Rong, had no place to stand with Gao Yu, and had no face to go to Erzhu Rong again. He was also unwilling to be a rich man.

Let's try to calm him down first, and then figure out a solution later.

Erzhu Zhao opened his mouth. He wasn't really stupid; how could he not know that this was just Gao Yu trying to appease him?
"In short, you should rest and recuperate at home for now."

Gao Yu patted him on the shoulder, offering words of comfort.

Erzhu Zhao then pressed on, asking, "How do you plan to treat He Liuhun? If he really enthrone a new emperor, how will you handle yourself?"

Gao Yu paused, but did not speak.

(End of this chapter)