My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 183 Borrowing My Brother's Head

The sixth day of the seventh month in the second year of Xiaochang.

The persistent high temperatures inevitably made people irritable, and Yuan Hongye tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Xianyu Xiuli's rebel army was very powerful. After raising the flag of rebellion in Zuoren City, they swept all the way and killed anyone who stood in their way!
In April, they decisively defeated the elite army that the court had transferred from the south, and defeated the famous general Changsun Zhi, which greatly boosted the morale of the rebel army. In just a few months, they had almost taken over the entire territory of Dingzhou. At present, only Zhongshan City is still holding out and waiting for the court's rescue.

The reason why Zhongshan City was able to remain strong was because the city was located at the border of Dingzhou and Yingzhou, and Yingzhou could provide some assistance to alleviate its pressure.

Xianyu Xiuli was stubborn and insisted on fighting Zhongshan City to the death. He ignored the advice of his generals Ge Rong and others and insisted on taking Zhongshan City before advancing eastward.

"Damn it, that lowly Dingling bastard, if it weren't for my help, how could he have so easily taken over Zuoren City and expanded his power?"

Yuan Hongye drank his wine in silence, muttering curses under his breath.

He was the first to join Xianyu Xiuli, or rather, Xianyu Xiuli was able to start an uprising in Zuoren City and quickly "conquer" Zuoren City, gaining prestige and attracting the surrendered people of the six towns in Ji, Ding and Ying prefectures to come and join him, all thanks to Yuan Hongye!

Moreover, Xianyu Xiuli was able to capture several cities before the imperial army arrived to quell the rebellion.

That was also due to Yuan Hongye's status as the governor of Dingzhou and a member of the Yuan clan. Several cities were captured by Yuan Hongye leading people into the city as insiders to trick the city gates into opening, allowing the rebels to take several cities without bloodshed. Their morale soared, and they were able to defeat the army brought by Changsun Zhi in one fell swoop.

After Xianyu Xiuli's power grew, he heavily relied on his own clansmen, the Dingling people, as his confidants. Secondly, he relied on people like Ge Rong, who had previously held official positions in the Six Garrisons, or the Yuwen family, a respectable and powerful family in the Six Garrisons.

On the contrary, Yuan Hongye's influence continued to decline. Despite having made the greatest contribution, he was not respected, but he had become a marginalized and invisible figure within Xianyu Xiuli's inner circle.

A hint of resentment flashed in Yuan Hongye's eyes.

The next day.

He sent someone to summon Ge Rong to his residence. He did not trust the Yuwen family and other respectable families and powerful figures; he only trusted people like Ge Rong who had once served as officials within the Wei system.

"Greetings, Your Majesty. May I ask why Your Majesty has summoned me here?"

"There's no need for such formalities."

Yuan Hongye took the initiative to help him up, then personally poured Ge Rong a full glass of wine, and waved to dismiss those around him, leaving only the two of them.

Ge Rong remained calm, but Yuan Hongye's behavior told him that there must be something 'unspeakable' going on next, otherwise why would he dismiss everyone around him?
"Come, come, let's have a drink together!"

After the two finished their drinks, Yuan Hongye chuckled and said meaningfully, "General, you haven't been having a good time lately, have you?"

"Our army's morale is high. What do you mean by that, Your Majesty?"

Yuan Hongye glanced at him and simply smiled, “General, you seem to command a large army, but your subordinates are all Dingling people who do not obey your orders at all. The soldiers and civilians of the Six Garrisons who are willing to obey your orders have been assigned to other people’s units… Doesn’t the General have any complaints?”

Although Ge Rong had successfully broken through the encirclement of Po Liu Han Baling, his own troops had suffered heavy losses.

Xianyu Xiuli merely used his title as the garrison commander of Huai Shuo Town to attract surrendered people to submit, but he was extremely wary of Ge Rong. As Yuan Hongye said, Xianyu Xiuli gave Ge Rong a lot of soldiers, but they were all Dingling people. He also placed several other generals in the army. Ge Rong was just a general in name only and could not command his soldiers at all.

“The King has treated me with such kindness that it is as heavy as a mountain. How could I dare to complain?”

"It seems the general still doesn't believe me."

Yuan Hongye smiled and said, "I can understand the general's feelings. However, I can swear to heaven that I will become sworn brothers with the general. This time, I am not testing the general, but want to work with the general to accomplish great things!"

Ge Rong was greatly alarmed, but his face remained calm. He slowly drank a cup of wine and asked, "My status is lowly, how dare I presume to be related to your clan?"

"Xianyu Xiuli is a nepotist who favors his relatives and treacherous officials. He is unlikely to achieve great things. The current situation seems to show that the rebels are powerful, but it is difficult to sustain. The general should know this well. Ji, Ding and Ying are three provinces that are vulnerable to attack from all sides and have no natural defenses. Moreover, the powerful families and clans are deeply entrenched and they will not support the rebels at all."

Ge Rong also agreed with these points.

The rebels appeared powerful, but they had no way of integrating the three prefectures of Ji, Ding, and Ying. Despite seemingly possessing fertile lands, they were unable to make the three prefectures completely their own.

After all, only Dingzhou is in chaos right now, while Yingzhou and Jizhou are relatively stable.

Rebels must keep winning; once their momentum is thwarted, their fighting capacity will decline significantly.

"Your Majesty, please speak frankly. I am a warrior, straightforward by nature, and do not understand those roundabout ways."

Yuan Hongye took the initiative to get up and come to his side, and persuaded him, "You and I were both officials in the Great Wei court, and we were loyal to the Great Wei. Now we are only forced by the situation to submit to the traitors."

"Now, the rebel army is powerful, and the court will find it difficult to defeat them in the short term."

"If the two of us can help the court quell the rebellion and then lead the people to surrender, relieving His Majesty and the Empress Dowager's urgent crisis, we will surely rise to high positions, and His Majesty and the Empress Dowager will bestow upon us high-ranking official titles and generous salaries!"

Ge Rong hesitated for a moment, then said with difficulty, "I'm afraid the court won't trust the two of us."

"You don't need to worry about this. There will be people in the Luoyang court who will speak up for us. If the court doesn't give us high-ranking positions and generous salaries, we can continue to lead the rebellion. We should be kings ourselves. Why should we be slaves to Xianyu Xiuli?"

"This……"

"I have already sent someone to deliver a letter to Xianyu Xiuli. He will return to Zuoren City in a few days. General, we must not miss this opportunity."

"If Heaven grants a gift and you do not seize it, you will suffer the consequences. Everything has been planned and decided. What is there for the general to hesitate about?"

Ge Rong gritted his teeth and said, "Then it shall be as Your Majesty says."

"it is good!"

Yuan Hongye was overjoyed. He immediately pulled Ge Rong outside and pointed to the sky.

"Today, I, Yuan Hongye, swear to Heaven that I will never betray the General for the rest of my life, and I hereby become sworn brothers with the General!"

Ge Rong was flattered and the two immediately addressed each other as brothers. Four days later.

Xianyu Xiuli returned to Zuoren City with his personal guards. Yuan Hongye, under the pretext of having "important matters to report," immediately led his men on a light cavalry journey back day and night, entering the city at night.

"What's important?"

Xianyu Xiuli pressed for an answer in a hurry.

Yuan Hongye did indeed provide him with considerable assistance, so he valued the information Yuan Hongye provided.

"Your Majesty has traveled a long and tiring journey. Please drink some wine to relieve your fatigue. There is no need to rush."

The group prepared to go inside.

Yuan Hongye reached out and stopped Xianyu Xiuli's personal guards and others.

"This is a confidential matter. I would like to ask General Ge to entertain my brothers on my behalf. Your Majesty, please come inside with me."

Xianyu Xiuli didn't think much of it.

From his perspective.

Yuan Hongye could never betray him.

He had already done his research and found that Yuan Hongye was a close associate of Yuan Yi, the Prince of Jiangyang, and had long been suspected by the court. That was why Yuan Hongye approached him immediately and said he wanted to rebel with him. It was not uncommon for members of the Yuan clan to rebel against the Great Wei.

He immediately nodded and followed Yuan Hongye inside.

A hint of smugness flashed in Ge Rong's eyes, and he immediately smiled and said, "Brothers, you've all worked hard. Come on, I've prepared a feast, and there will be beautiful women to keep you company!"

The guards were overjoyed and followed him to another hall.

He kept urging them to drink, and after calculating that it was about time, Ge Rong spoke up, "Brothers, do you know why that scoundrel Yuan Hongye wouldn't let us in together?"

"I don't know..."

"I heard that scoundrel somehow got hold of a group of beautiful women trained in the Imperial Palace in Luoyang. Each one is as beautiful as a fairy, and he doesn't want to share them with us brothers!"

"Really? This guy is truly despicable!!"

"Hey, I've never seen such a stunning beauty in my life. Brothers, do you dare to come with me for a sneak peek?"

"Let's go! Let's go see the beauties!"

Xianyu Xiuli's guards immediately stood up unsteadily and followed Ge Rong to the door, where Ge Rong deliberately pushed the door open a little.

just!

A burst of wild laughter erupted from inside.

"Hahahaha, you scoundrel, you dare to call me brother? I'm only temporarily submitting to you, you scoundrel!"

Ge Rong's hand slipped and opened the door completely.

can be seen.

Yuan Hongye had several personal guards beside him, while Xianyu Xiuli lay in a pool of blood.

The shocking scene instantly snapped Xianyu Xiuli's guards back to their senses, and they all shouted.

“Your Majesty!!”

Ge Rong had already quietly retreated behind the crowd, and shouted in a high-pitched voice, "Brothers! This villain is utterly despicable! Quickly kill him and avenge the King!!"

"Kill!!"

The guards immediately swarmed in and killed everyone around Yuan Hongye.

Yuan Hongye was completely bewildered. Shouldn't these guards have already been killed by Ge Rong and his men? Why did this happen?
What suddenly occurred to him?
At this time.

Ge Rong rushed out, not giving him a chance to speak, and kicked him to the ground. Then, he punched him hard, knocking out several of his teeth.

Under Yuan Hongye's gaze, which was both surprised and furious.

Ge Rong bent down and whispered to him, "Good brother, I will take good care of your wife. After I achieve great things, I will commemorate you on this day every year. As for now..."

"I need to borrow something from my brother to help me achieve my great goal!"

Unable to speak, Yuan Hongye could only watch helplessly as Ge Rong stabbed him in the chest with a knife. His eyes were bloodshot as he gripped Ge Rong's arm tightly.

Ge Rong then whispered again, "I need to borrow my brother's head!"

He suddenly drew his weapon and swung it down sharply.

puff!

Blood gushed out, and heads fell off!
Yuan Hongye died with his eyes wide open in disbelief, while Ge Rong swiftly picked up his head and shouted.

"Brothers! Follow me to avenge the King and slaughter Yuan Hongye's entire family!"

(End of this chapter)