My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 594 Divine Decree Must Not Bleed
Chen Yuankang was taken aback. He respectfully accepted the letter from Gao Yu's hand, and everyone immediately gathered around him. Even Ke Zhu Hunyuan came over immediately, wanting to dispel his doubts.

Everyone present was shrewd; they could guess some clues just by looking at Gao Yu's expression, but they still had to see for themselves.

really……

The letter's opening lines immediately put everyone on edge.

"The wicked general Houmo Chenyue..."

By immediately positioning himself as a 'criminal general,' one can pretty much guess what will happen next.

First, he mentally flattered Gao Yu.

The important content is actually in the second half. The core point is that he had no choice but to do this because Erzhu Rong had detained his family in Luoyang. He had to do this in order to protect his family.

In the next two days, he will use the pretext of resisting the enemy army to lavishly reward the soldiers guarding the city with wine and meat, thus lowering their guard.

The number of troops garrisoning the city was just over four thousand.

He instructed Gao Yu to send men to the west gate tomorrow night. He would then have Hou Mochenrui and a group of trusted confidants guard the west gate. The gate would be opened, allowing Gao Yu's army to enter the city. In this way, Beizhong City could be taken without bloodshed.

This letter also contained another imperial edict!
The fact that Erzhu Rong issued an edict in the name of the emperor to promote his eldest son, Houmochenxiang, to the position of Attendant Gentleman of the Palace further enhanced the credibility of the edict, and this document serves as evidence.

After reading the contents of the document, everyone subconsciously looked up at Gao Yu.

The contents of this letter.

Is it credible?
They can't make decisions for Gao Yu; these are things that Gao Yu himself must decide.

Hou Mochen Yue seems to have the intention to surrender, and he made it very clear in his letter, but can we really trust him?
Gao Yu would certainly not go personally on such a risky mission, but regardless of which general he assigned, they would definitely enter the city at night as Hou Mochen Yue had stated in his letter.

just in case……

What if Hou Mochen Yue is feigning surrender?

Once the troops enter the city, the city gates will be immediately closed. At that time, wouldn't Gao Yu suffer heavy losses?

For Gao Yu, who had never tasted defeat, this was a heavy blow to his personal prestige!
The myth of being undefeated is an important pillar for Gao Yu to have supreme personal prestige. If he suffers losses due to a misjudgment, he can claim to the outside world that he was misled by others and randomly pick someone to take the blame.

However, this cannot completely eliminate the impact.

God cannot shed blood.

Just like how bosses can't show their health bars.

No one dared to speak; they could only wait for Gao Yu to make the final decision on whether or not to trust Hou Mochenyue.

Gao Yu turned to look at the crowd, a slight smile on his face, "Why are you all silent?"

"The enemy general made it very clear in his letter, and I also felt that his words were sincere and trustworthy. Who would be willing to lead troops to break through the city?"

Gao Yu was certainly aware of the risks involved.

But after careful consideration, he realized that North Central City had essentially become an "isolated city," and both sides knew that it was only a matter of time before it fell.

Hou Mochenyue had no need to seize this opportunity to deliberately 'humiliate' Gao Yu.

This would be tantamount to completely cutting off his own escape route. If he really did this, he would be in a situation with Gao Yu that would be like Erzhu Rong's, a fight to the death.

The effort put in and the reward received were not proportional at all.

There is no decision in this world that does not involve taking risks; Gao Yu is simply willing to take that risk.

If Hou Mochen Yue and his son truly intend to act as inside agents, a thousand men would suffice if they entered the city at night.

If it were a real siege, the number of dead and wounded would be far more than a thousand.

However, Zhu Hunyuan noticed that Gao Yu's gaze lingered on him briefly. It was indeed most appropriate for him to do this, since he was the one who brought the letter back.

Isn't this an opportunity for myself as well?
But Zhu Hunyuan immediately stepped forward!
"General! This humble general is willing to go!"

"Very well! Then I'll leave this matter to the general!"

………………

In the city of Beizhong, Houmo Chenyue, using the pretext that Gao Yu would soon attack the city, opened the city's warehouses and took out wine and meat to reward the city's defenders.

Hou Mochenrui found him with great joy.

“Father… everything has been arranged.”

Hou Mochenyue turned around and glanced at him, her eyes full of disappointment, and said with a look of exasperation, "It's not that simple."

"how do I say this?"

"I ask you, if you were Moheduo, would you unconditionally believe me based on just a few words in a letter?"

Hou Mochen Yue was very clear about this.

He is gambling!
Because if he surrenders, he will lose something crucial!

That is the 'pledge of allegiance'!
Normally, he should have sent Houmo Chenrui to Gao Yu's army to demonstrate his intention to surrender.

But if that's the case, then his many schemes would be exposed prematurely, and his wife and children in Luoyang would certainly not be able to save their lives. If he really didn't care about his wife and children, why would he go through such a troublesome roundabout way?
But no way.

Not everyone can act like an NPC and follow the script he designed.

Therefore, throughout history, the more sophisticated the strategy, the simpler it is, and there is almost no so-called 'interlocking' intricate design in between.

Any scheme, with each additional step, inevitably carries a greater risk of failure.

Hou Mochen Yue's plan has tried to minimize the number of execution steps, but it is impossible to achieve 100% perfection.

That's what he's betting on now.

Gao Yu had been doing very well, and many of Erzhu Rong's men had indeed surrendered to him.

Why did Cao Cao so easily believe Huang Gai's offer to surrender?
It has nothing to do with the fabricated self-inflicted injury plot by Lao Luo.

It was purely because after Cao Cao pacified and unified the north, he accepted surrenders all the way south. Under such circumstances, even Cao Cao himself felt that he could unify the world, and it was normal for others to surrender to him voluntarily.

Those who stubbornly resisted became the odd ones out.

Hou Mochenrui was dumbfounded.

He originally thought Hou Mochenyue's plan had succeeded, but...

Now all we're getting is a statement that depends on whether Gao Yu is willing to believe them.
"Then...then, if the Prime Minister is unwilling to believe my father and me, how will we face each other?"

Hou Mochenyue's face darkened. He glanced at Luoyang, then slowly looked away and sighed, "Then your brother and mother are likely to be in grave danger, and you and my father will probably not be able to enjoy wealth and honor either."

"Without the merit of surrendering the city, he is merely a surrendered general. Why would Moheduo grant him a high position?"

Taking Hou Mochenrui with him and going alone to surrender to Gao Yu would be the worst possible strategy.

The only good thing was that at least one son was saved.

Even if this eldest son is so stupid, he is still my own flesh and blood.

He was not a heartless person, otherwise he would not have gone to great lengths to ensure the safety of his family in Luoyang.

Seeing this, Hou Mochenrui opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know what to say. He could only comfort him with kind words, "Father is so earnest in his heart, I believe the Prime Minister will believe your words."

"I hope so."

Hou Mochen Yue dared not make any guarantees.

Having wielded power to such an extent, Gao Yu is a shrewd and calculating individual; how could he easily believe one-sided accounts?

But that is the risk he has to take for this plan.

If Gao Yu is unwilling to believe in himself.

Then we can only go for the worst possible outcome, at least to save our own lives, right?

(End of this chapter)