My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 132 I'll borrow your head for a bit!
Inside Wuchuan City.

The town general's mansion was bustling with people, but everyone's face was solemn, and many even had red eyes and tears streaming down their faces.

Gao Yu, with a solemn expression, led Mulan and Peng Le into the town general's mansion.

But all I could hear were the whispers of those around me.

"General Zhang was such a good person, how could he suddenly..."

"You don't know, I've heard people say that when someone dies without a complete body, all that's left when they're found is a headless corpse."

"Who on earth is so vicious as to lay such a cruel hand on such a good person as General Zhang?"

"If General Zhang hadn't opened the granaries and distributed grain, we would probably have starved to death long ago. General Zhang died unjustly."

"........."

Gao Yu enters.

The room had been set up like a mourning hall. Zhang Boyao's wife and son were both dressed in mourning clothes, their eyes were red, tears were streaming down their faces, and their cries were incessant.

Gao Yu stepped forward and bowed respectfully, paying attention to all the proper etiquette so as not to give others any cause for gossip.

Mulan and Peng Le followed his example and bowed in worship.

Gao Yu glanced at it out of the corner of his eye.

The three Heba brothers, Dugu Xin, Li Hu, Houmo Chenchong, and others were all in the mourning hall, each with a different expression.

At this time.

Several more elderly men with white hair and beards arrived. They looked like ordinary people from the city. These elderly men rushed to the mourning hall, crying and shouting.

"General Zhang! General Zhang!!"

"It must have been that brat from the Yuwen family who did this!"

"Generals, we must avenge our garrison commander!"

"You brat Yuwen! Your mother and servant! I will never forgive you! I swear to use your head to pay homage to the General's spirit in heaven!"

"What has General Zhang done to offend the Yuwen family that he has to suffer such a cruel fate at their hands!"

"........."

The old man's sorrowful cries were so loud that everyone in the mourning hall joined in, their cries causing heartache and tears to flow.

Zhang Boyao, like Yang Jun, seemed to be quite well-known among the people of Wuchuan Town.

The fact that Wuchuan was able to hold out for so long was largely due to Zhang Boyao's prestige among the people. It would have been difficult to hold out for so long with the support of local powerful clans alone. The town general himself had to be very prestigious. If the town general was like Yu Jing, who was not popular with the people and was making money by using grain, how could Wuchuan have withstood the rebel army of three and a half military towns for so long?
Now that Zhang Boyao has died, the people of the city have come to pay their respects.

Gao Yu approached Heba Yue and the others without making a sound. The group had different expressions and were looking at each other, as if trying to figure out something.

Zhang Boyao's death was too sudden. He was perfectly fine yesterday, but how could he have been beheaded overnight, leaving behind not even a complete corpse?

Not only Zhang Boyao, but also dozens of his personal guards were killed last night.

The finger was pointed at the Yuwen family, who had openly 'surrendered' to the rebels. After all, after the news of Zhang Boyao's death spread, the Yuwen family mansion was deserted, with no one left in the city.

Everyone believed that it was a member of the Yuwen family who secretly killed Zhang Boyao last night, then cut off his head and took it out of the city to give to the rebels as a pledge of allegiance.

The Yuwen family betrayed Wuchuan.

Dugu Xin's face was filled with grief, and he couldn't help but sigh, "Could it really be the work of Yuwen Sanlang? How could he be so cruel?"

Hou Mochen Chong also angrily cursed, "I never thought I had misjudged him?"

Heba Yue's expression was complicated, as if he had something difficult to say. He tried to speak several times but couldn't get the words out. In the end, he could only sigh deeply.

Dugu Xin sensed something amiss, stepped forward, and whispered, "Adou, didn't you go to see the general last night? What exactly happened?"

Heba Yue looked at him with a complicated expression, shook his head, and finally remained silent.

Hou Mochen Chong couldn't help but press on, "Tell me, what happened? Could it really be Yuwen Sanlang's doing?"

Li Hu came closer, but didn't say anything. He just stared at Heba Yue thoughtfully.

Heba Yue's two elder brothers, Heba Yun and Heba Sheng, also came closer and asked in a low voice, "Could there really be a hidden story?"

After hesitating for a long time, Heba Yue looked around and then said in a low voice, "The general was not killed by Yuwen Sanlang, but committed suicide..."

what?
Upon hearing this, everyone was utterly astonished and looked up at each other in disbelief.

It's too shocking, how could I possibly believe it?

The younger Hou Mochen Chong was even more impatient and loudly refuted, "Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Fortunately, the wailing and crying inside the mourning hall did not attract the attention of others.

Dugu Xin quickly pulled him back, "Watch your words!"

Hou Mochen Chong then lowered his voice, "Why did the general commit suicide? The agreed-upon day to break out of the city was in a few days. The general had no reason to commit suicide, A Dou Ni... Tell us the truth, did you join in when Yuwen Sanlang made his move?"

Heba Yue shook his head, "The general has treated me well, how could I harm him?"

He then sighed and revealed the whole truth: "Last night, when Yuwen Sanlang returned to the city, I went with him to meet the general to discuss the specifics of our breakout."

"When Sanlang and I met the general, he was holding Sima Qian's book and reading the biographies of assassins."

"Upon seeing the two of us, he said, 'Words alone cannot reassure the rebels. Since things have come to this, only my head can convince the rebel leader. Today, Sanlang, take my head and go out of the city as a pledge of allegiance. Only then can Sanlang's plan succeed.'"

"Before Sanlang and I could react, the general had already drawn his sword and committed suicide. Sanlang and I were unable to stop him."

"Since things have come to this, Sanlang can only grit his teeth and take the general's head. He also swears to the heavens that he will defeat the enemy army and tell the general's spirit in heaven."

Everyone fell silent for a moment, seemingly processing the information Heba Yue had conveyed.

Did reading biographies of assassins inspire you to commit suicide?

Even so, it's hard to believe.

Dugu Xin gave Heba Yue a deep look, only to find that Heba Yue was looking at Gao Yu, who also looked at them with surprise.

Hou Mochen Chong still found it hard to believe.

Heba Yue’s words seemed to have no major flaws, but how could a perfectly healthy person suddenly commit suicide?

"Adou refuses to tell the truth; it must be Yuwen Sanlang's doing!"

………………

"Nonsense! General Zhang has treated my Yuwen family well. How could my brother be such an ungrateful person!"

Yuwen Tai vehemently refuted his personal guards' doubts.

Not far away, Yuwen Luosheng sat silently, still looking preoccupied. At his feet lay Zhang Boyao's severed head.

They have been taken into custody by the rebels and are waiting for the rebel leader to arrive so they can continue the negotiations with the Yuwen family from last night.

Yuwen Tai glanced around and, seeing that there were no outsiders nearby, and noticing that his own guards still had doubts, lowered his voice and said, "General Zhang was killed by A Dou!"

Wow!
Everyone looked up at Yuwen Tai in astonishment and disbelief.

Clearly, they didn't believe it. If Heba Yue had killed Zhang Boyao, how could the Heba family still be in Wuchuan City?
Yuwentai then vividly recounted the events of the previous night to everyone.

“Last night, Adou Ni went to the drill ground to discuss matters with Gao Lang. Upon entering his military tent, he found Gao Lang holding Sima Qian’s book. When Adou Ni arrived, Gao Lang put down the book and exclaimed, ‘Jing Ke sang a long farewell song by the Yan River, never to return. Is this not a tragedy?’”

"Upon hearing this, A Dou Ni found it strange and said, 'In just a few days, you will be breaking out of the city. Does Gao Lang still have the leisure to read books?'"

Gao Yu chuckled and shook his head, saying, "It was just a spontaneous remark."

"Adou Ni still felt strange, so he left the training ground. On his way back to the mansion, Adou Ni finally understood that Gao Yu was using the story of Jing Ke, the assassin from Yan, who attempted to assassinate the King of Qin, to imply that with Fan Yuqi's head, Jing Ke could meet the King of Qin, gain his trust, and be within five steps of him in the palace. Gao Yu's intention was that if he wanted to gain the trust of the rebels, he would also have to offer up the general's head."

"Then Adou Ni led his men to meet General Zhang under the pretense of having urgent military intelligence. Only then did they attack and kill General Zhang. By the time the prince returned to the city to meet General Zhang, the general had already met with misfortune and had not even seen him one last time. Adou Ni had already cut off the general's head and handed it to the prince."

Yuwen Tai spoke with such conviction that everyone who listened was stunned.

Moreover, it is based on sound reasoning and evidence.

One of the guards was stunned for a long time, pondering Yuwen Tai's words. When he came to his senses, he said, "According to what Fourth Brother said, General Zhang died at the hands of Heba Sanlang?"

"Heba Sanlang is one of the murderers, and Gao Yu is also a murderer!"

"Who would have thought that a man as brave and valiant as Gao Lang could also take a life with a silver tongue, just like a scholar?"

"How abominable!"

The sound of armor clashing against weapons and hurried footsteps interrupted the discussion.

Follow the sound.

A group of soldiers escorted a strong man as he strode forward. The man was dressed in Hu clothing and had a precious sword at his waist. A striking ruby ​​was inlaid on the hilt of the sword, which showed his noble status!
This person is Wei Kegu!
Po Liuhan Baling also bestowed the title of king upon Wei Kegu.

The rebels to the east seem to be considering Po Liu Han Baling as their superior.

After all, Po Liuhanbaling had twice defeated the imperial army that was suppressing the rebellion in the west, and twice defeated the imperial army at Baidao in the east. Wei Kegu had made the greatest contributions in both cases, especially in the second defeat of the army led by Li Chong.

The great victory was entirely due to Po Liuhan Baling's ability to see through Li Chong's "luring the tiger away from the mountain" strategy, annihilate the western army that was suppressing the rebellion, and send back news that allowed the eastern rebels to achieve a great victory, capturing a large amount of grain and supplies, which greatly boosted morale.

Yuwen Luosheng quickly composed himself and took the initiative to get up and greet him.

"I've met the king!"

Wei Kegu let out a hearty laugh, but out of the corner of his eye he noticed that there were old and young people, and Yuwen Luosheng had indeed brought out his family, guards and even private retainers from Wuchuan City.

However, he remained vigilant. The soldiers who came with Wei Kegu were all armored and on high alert, ready to deal with any unexpected situation. There was no slackening in their vigilance.

"No need for formalities. It seems that Yuwen Sanlang truly intends to abandon darkness and embrace the light."

Yuwen Luosheng then quickly introduced his father Yuwen Gong, his second brother Yuwen Lian, his younger brother Yuwen Tai, and his trusted guards to Wei Kegu. His elder brother Yuwen Hao was stationed in his own fortified village and was not in Wuchuan City.

He kept glancing at Wei Kegu out of the corner of his eye, noticing that although Wei Kegu smiled constantly, he remained vigilant.

He immediately played his trump card.

“I also know that Your Majesty and your people will not easily trust us. After returning to the city last night, I decided to offer my pledge of allegiance. Your Majesty, please rest assured!”

Say it.

He grabbed Zhang Boyao's head from the ground.

"Is this item sufficient to demonstrate the Yuwen family's submission to the King?"

Wei Kegu had already heard from the soldiers that Yuwen Luosheng had brought a head with him on horseback.

When Wei Kegu saw the head clearly, he was stunned.

On his way here, he had already thought that at most the head of Zhang Boyao's trusted general or some of the Heba family's confidants would be captured. Even if that were the case, he still did not intend to completely trust Yuwen Luosheng. Instead, he would keep him under guard and wait until Wuchuan City fell before using the Yuwen family's reputation to appease the soldiers and civilians in the city and use him for his own purposes.

And then?
Whether to kill him or abandon him is entirely up to him.

But Wei Kegu never dreamed of this.

Yuwen Luosheng actually brought Zhang Boyao's head with him.

He stood there stunned for a long time, looking at the head in Yuwen Luosheng's hand, and then at Yuwen Luosheng himself.

The scene before him was so shocking that it seemed unreal.

He snatched the head away and examined it carefully, trying to find any flaws to prove that the head was fake. What would be unacceptable to an ordinary person was commonplace to Wei Kegu, who had crawled out of a pile of corpses.

"It really is the garrison commander of Wuchuan!"

Wei Kegu was overjoyed to receive a definite answer.

He quickly summoned his personal guards and gave them some instructions. Then, dozens of guards mounted their horses and headed west, clearly to deliver a message.

Then he spoke again.

"Someone, go and summon Rouxuan, Huaihuang, and Fuming. Tell them we have important matters to discuss!"

After explaining everything.

Wei Kegu was no longer as wary and vigilant as before.

He grabbed Yuwen Luosheng's arm with great enthusiasm, his heart pounding with emotion, and he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Now that the Yuwen family has joined us, what worries do we have about not succeeding? Heaven is helping us! Heaven is helping us!"

At this point, what is there left to doubt?

Wei Kegu initially viewed Yuwen Luosheng's act of begging for surrender as a feigned surrender, even though news spread in Wuchuan City that the Yuwen family and the Heba family had a dispute over provisions, and that Zhang Boyao was biased towards the Heba family, which made the Yuwen family dissatisfied.

He still didn't choose to fully believe and remained skeptical.

But when they saw Zhang Boyao's head...

His doubts vanished.

How could anyone sacrifice their own life and use their own brains to benefit others?

PS:

Luo Sheng and Yue Ye visited Bo Yao's residence. Bo Yao recounted the story of Jing Ke, lamenting that without Fan Shou, how could he trust the King of Qin? He then committed suicide, leaving his head to Luo Sheng to aid his strategy. Luo Sheng was deeply moved and wept uncontrollably. (From the *Old Book of Qi*)

Emperor Taizong used the story of Jing Ke to persuade Yue Fei. Heba killed Bo Yao and presented his head to Luo Sheng, who remained silent. (From the *New Book of Qi*)

(End of this chapter)