He stared silently at the corpse, his gaze eerily calm.
"My lord..." the guard asked in a low voice, "How should we handle this?"
Gu Zhixing did not answer.
He turned to look outside the city, where thousands of rebels were still gathered. Their swords gleamed coldly in the morning light, but they no longer carried any killing intent.
Without their master, this group of people were like headless flies, their eyes already glazed over.
"Issue the order." He finally spoke, his voice not loud, but it made everyone hold their breath, "The Crown Prince has committed treason, and the evidence is conclusive. His body will be displayed at the city gate for three days as a warning to others."
The guards were startled, but dared not say a word. They immediately obeyed the order, and their footsteps startled several roosting crows.
Gu Zhixing walked slowly to the edge of the city wall, looking down at the panicked rebels.
The eastern sky gradually turned orange-red, casting a blood-red hue on his profile, and his silhouette cast on the city wall resembled a drawn sword.
"The Crown Prince is dead." His voice was calm and unhurried, yet each word was clear. "Whom are you now fighting for?"
A deathly silence fell over the city.
A moment later, the first knife clattered to the ground, followed by the second, the third... The sounds of metal colliding were continuous, like a rain of iron.
Some people knelt on the ground, some covered their faces and wept bitterly, and many more just stood there, as if their souls had been taken away.
Gu Zhixing watched all of this quietly, his eyes as deep as the night.
As he turned around, the first ray of sunlight finally pierced through the clouds.
"Recruit surrendered soldiers; those unwilling to join the army will be given travel expenses and sent back." He turned and left, his back straight as a pine tree. "I want to see the military report from Youzhou in three days."
As the sun fully rose above the horizon, only the corpse lying silently on the city wall remained, along with its ever-growing shadow.
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