Is “He was beheaded by the Zhou army at the execution block.” true?
novel invention
The Records of the Grand Historian, in the 'Annals of Qin', only states that 'When King Wu of Zhou attacked Zhou, he killed E Lai as well.' It does not include the novel's detail of his capture and beheading due to supernatural magic.
E Lai
In official history, he is a fierce general of the Shang dynasty and an ancestor of the Qin state, but in the novel, he is depicted as a powerful but villainous minister who aids tyranny.