Gao Pian
As it was Yu who initially introduced Lü to Gao, many of Gao's officers blamed Yu for this situation. Yu thus periodically met with Lü to urge him to change his ways, drawing Lü's resentment. Lü was also resentful of Yao for often publicly rebuking him and trying, on one occasion, to assassinate him. In 883, Lü decided to eliminate Yu and Yao. He had Gao issue an order that they attack the agrarian rebels at Shen County (慎縣, in modern Hefei, Anhui), and then falsely informed Yang Xingmin (who would later change his name to Yang Xingmi) the prefect of Lu Prefecture (廬州, in modern Hefei) that Yu and Yao were going to attack him. Yang reacted by ambushing Yu and Yao, killing them, and then informing Gao that Yu and Yao were intending to rebel. Gao, not knowing that this was all Lü's treachery, rewarded Yang. In 884, when Gao Pian's nephew Gao Yu (高澞) met with Gao Pian and submitted a list of 20 crimes of Lü's, Gao Pian confronted Lü with them, but Lü managed to convince Gao Pian that Gao Yu had only accused him of crimes because Gao Yu had previously tried to borrow money from Lü but Lü declined. Gao Pian expelled Gao Yu from his household, made him the prefect of Shu Prefecture (舒州, in modern Anqing, Anhui), and later, after Gao Yu suffered defeats at the hands of agrarian rebels, executed Gao Yu.