LFHYB -Chapter 160 Wang Bo’s Final Choice

Before entering the city, Wang Bo bade farewell to Zhai Rang and the other leaders of the righteous army.

Zhai Rang looked at Wang Bo with worry but ultimately said nothing.

The other leaders were reluctant to leave. Their minds were blank; although they instinctively feared the emperor and imperial power, they didn’t understand how regicide would affect their future. Yet, they were eager to strike down the emperor.

While stationed outside the city, Wang Bo carefully explained the burdens the assassins would bear.

While studying, Wang Bo also tried to establish schools in the areas he managed, teaching others to read and write.

With his limited skill, even impoverished families would not send their children to his lessons. He could only teach the peasant children who scratched a living from the soil.

For children who had grown up hungry, most were slower in intellectual development than scholar-class children, making reading and writing extremely difficult.

With little time and difficult teaching, he achieved almost no results. Wang Bo treated it as a pastime for leisure.

This pastime, however, gave him patience and taught him how to communicate his ideas as simply as possible.

The leaders of the righteous army realized the seriousness of regicide.

If they failed against other powers in the future, wanting to take their troops and join another force, their hands must be clean of imperial blood.

The leaders gradually departed, Zhai Rang leaving last.

He wanted to ask Wang Bo, “Since you know this, why still commit regicide?”

With Wang Bo’s current strength, he would be well-treated by any power, especially given his connection to the Champion Marquis, Li Shimin.

But since Wang Bo taught others yet chose to stay himself, Zhai Rang knew that any question was meaningless.

After seeing the other leaders off, Wang Bo gathered his subordinates.

Li Zixiong, Zhang Jincheng, Sun Xuanya… Though united under him, they had long been dissatisfied with his so-called “fair” but actually unjust management.

Wang Bo said, “I won’t drag you down. The lands I’ve taken and the soldiers left behind have already been divided for you. I hoped you could each live in peace, but if you throw yourselves into this chaotic era, internal conflict is inevitable. If you have no ambition to rule the world, it’s best to join another force. I’ve arranged a better retreat for you, better than following me.”

Seeing their stern faces, Wang Bo smiled. “But don’t despise your time under me. Especially you, Zhang Jincheng—if I hadn’t stopped your wanton misdeeds and indiscriminate killings, no power would accept you. Only because I seemed weak to you could you smoothly transform from bandits to soldiers. You may dislike my lectures, but this simple truth—I’ve repeated to you for so long, you should understand.”

Zhang Jincheng said irritably, “If you think you’re so important, don’t court death.”

Li Zixiong said, “Your Excellency, the emperor’s camp is rife with complaints. He might die in internal conflict. You need not intervene.”

Sun Xuanya frowned, saying nothing.

Wang Bo said, “I simply don’t want him to die in the midst of civil strife. Too many emperors have died at the hands of the powerful.”

Among the three, Wang Bo had already made up his mind, and no further persuasion was offered.

Although there were many things about their followers that displeased them, and they had often felt the urge to betray, they found it difficult to turn on Wang Bo because he was deeply loved by the ordinary soldiers and the common people. Moreover, they had nowhere else to go, so they reluctantly remained under Wang Bo’s command.

Yet no matter how much dissatisfaction they harbored, they admired Wang Bo’s steadfastness. They knew that once he decided on something, he would not change his mind.

Wang Bo, fully aware that his trusted subordinates were constantly contemplating betrayal, still comforted them: “I should have died years ago, under conscription while that dog emperor waged war on Goguryeo. At most, now, I only risk death. If I live a few more years and manage to drag that dog emperor to his end alongside me, I will be satisfied. You need not grieve for me.”

Zhang Jincheng muttered angrily, “Who would grieve for you? I don’t care if you die! And what about your Mr. Wei? Did he run off ahead of time?”

Wang Bo chuckled, then coughed to stop himself, saying, “I had someone tie him up. He’s probably cursing me right now.”

Zhang Jincheng, Li Zixiong, and Sun Xuanya: “……”

Zhang Jincheng, fuming, turned and left, unsure what exactly he was angry about.

Li Zixiong sighed, saluted Wang Bo with a fist, then left with a heavy heart.

Sun Xuanya did not leave.

She looked into Wang Bo’s eyes and said, “I can see fear and reluctance in your heart. Why do you insist on taking this path?”

Wang Bo replied, “Simply to take revenge.”

Sun Xuanya said again, “If we leave under the pretense of not wanting to follow you, we can indeed escape being implicated in regicide, but can you really control the Xiaoguo Army alone?”

Wang Bo said, “I am not alone.”

He gave a self-mocking smile and continued, “People only pay attention to those with famous names. The names of the soldiers I lead do not reach others’ ears, so they follow me without being burdened by fame.”

Sun Xuanya said, “I see. Then I can rest assured.”

One by one, Wang Bo’s generals departed. He waited to enter the city with a thousand personal troops.

Sun Xuanya came again.

This time, she had removed her battle armor and put her hairpins and ornaments back in place.

Wang Bo looked at her in silence.

Sun Xuanya smiled. “When I joined you, I joked that since both our families are dead, maybe we could make a match. I was just kidding. With my weathered, ugly face, which wealthy man would marry me? All you men only think about young, pretty women. But now that I have power and influence, I will certainly have the right to take young, handsome men as well.”

Wang Bo continued to look at her silently.

Sun Xuanya said, “You don’t marry or have children—did you decide long ago not to burden your family?”

Wang Bo: “Yes.”

Sun Xuanya said, “This time, I am serious. I will be your wife. I will go with you to kill that dog emperor. But you must make my name known—I want to be famous as well. Don’t try to persuade me to leave. If I leave and join another force, they would never let a woman become a general. I might as well go with you and shock the world by killing that dog emperor.”

Wang Bo sighed. “If you want to come, you can come with me. But there is no need to be my wife.”

Sun Xuanya smiled and looped her arm through his, and Wang Bo did not refuse. “Killing the dog emperor and being your wife are two separate things. If you do not refuse, I will take it as consent. Today, we are married. As for the wedding, don’t worry—I’ve prepared everything.”

Wang Bo continued to remain silent.

Sun Xuanya laughed heartily.

A black-faced blacksmith and a yellow-faced peasant woman—both had once been the lowest of the low—but they had ambitions and aspirations that even the literati did not possess.

In the camp outside the city, red silk was hung. The two bowed to Heaven and Earth to marry, and the ceremony was essentially nonexistent.

Li Xuanba had wanted to attend Wang Bo and Sun Xuanya’s wedding, but upon reflection, he realized that their wedding likely did not require a noble’s presence.

Wei Zheng was tied up and thrown onto a carriage, angrily cursing at Li Xuanba while crying.

Xue Shou and Qin Qiong each grabbed one of Li Shimin’s arms to stop him from dragging Wei Zheng off the carriage.

Li Shimin, furious, shouted, “I’ll tear his mouth apart!”

Xue Shou said, “Forget it, forget it. This time, it really is Li San being unreasonable.”

Qin Qiong dared not speak and could only hold their lord tightly.

Wei Zheng had never expected his first encounter with his lord to be under such circumstances. But his mind was filled with anger, and he no longer cared about who was lord and who was not.

He cursed, “Was I wrong to curse?! Look at Li Xuanba—he doesn’t even dare answer back!”

Li Xuanba said, “It’s not that I won’t answer—it’s just unnecessary.”

Wei Zheng cried and cursed, “You can save Wang Bo—why don’t you? If you want to kill Yang Guang, he would surely die in civil strife anyway. Why let Wang Bo take action?”

Li Xuanba sighed. “Wei Xuancheng, do you think I ordered Wang Bo to act? From start to finish, what authority do I have to command Wang Bo?”

Wei Zheng continued to curse Li Xuanba, ignoring his words.

Li Xuanba rubbed his temples. “But there is one thing you’re right about. I am indeed using Wang Bo. Without him, I cannot make the people sympathize with and praise the righteous army. Without him, the army would only be seen as bandits at the end of any dynasty.”

Li Xuanba patted his second brother on the shoulder. Li Shimin, still fuming, calmed himself and shook off Xue Shou and Qin Qiong.

Li Xuanba said, “I want to return to the Central Plains alone because I don’t want my second brother to see this. I want Yang Guang to die at the hands of the uprising people, not the nobles. Only then will his death have meaning. Otherwise, it is just the powerful fighting among themselves for power and profit.”

Li Shimin sighed. Though he had long guessed his brother’s thoughts, he still found them a bit extreme.

Li Xuanba said, “I had originally planned to disguise my men as the righteous army to strike Yang Guang down.”

Li Shimin could not help but exclaim, “A-Xuan! Are you being too reckless? Is this really necessary?”

Wei Zheng stopped cursing, choking on his sobs: “Third Lord, haven’t you already made your preparations? Why go back on it halfway?”

Li Xuanba said calmly, “Because this is Wang Bo’s wish.”

Wei Zheng clenched his teeth. “So what if it’s his wish? Is it more important than his life?”

Li Xuanba’s voice remained even. “In this world, there are those who kill themselves to fulfill benevolence, and those who sacrifice their lives for righteousness. Once they have made up their minds, how can others stop them?”

Wei Zheng’s voice faltered, then turned into louder sobbing.

Li Xuanba continued, “But you’re right to scold me. For me, it’s better that Wang Bo takes action than that I do.”

“No matter how I disguise it, in essence I’m still a member of the nobility using the chaos of the common people as a pretext to assassinate the ruler and rebel. Perhaps the world wouldn’t know it was me who struck, but an unknown rebel looks too much like someone else’s disguise. By then, all kinds of conspiracy theories would be rampant, obscuring my true purpose.”

“But Wang Bo is different. He is the Zhishi Lang, the leader of the very first peasant uprising against the Sui.”

“He is a genuine rebel, a genuine commoner of Great Sui.”

Li Xuanba lowered his head slightly, then slowly raised it again, as if gazing into the sky, or perhaps gazing toward Wang Bo, dozens of li away, who was in the midst of his wedding.

“The death knell of Qin was rung by the peasant uprising at Dazexiang, but the one who killed the last Qin ruler, Ziying, was Xiang Yu, a descendant of Chu nobility.”

“The death knell of Han was rung by the Yellow Turban uprising, but Emperor Xian of Han abdicated to Cao Pi, a descendant of former Han officials.”

“The people are water; the ruler is a boat. Water can carry the boat, and water can also overturn it. Yet in the end, emperors still perish at the hands of powerful nobles and officials, as if the rise and fall of dynasties had nothing to do with the common people.”

“But if there were an emperor who, because he abused the people, was charged by those very people he abused, had his crimes read aloud, and then had his head cut off…”

Including Li Shimin, all who were listening felt a chill crawl up their backs.

…Madness.