Chapter 590: Chapter 590
Dugu Jing first learned of Yuwen Jing when he was very young. At that time, he was still a half-grown child, and his elder brother was teaching him how to train horses on the snowy plains. Their father came to discuss war matters with his elder brother, mentioning that a major upheaval had occurred in the Yuwen Dynasty. The border Vassal King was soon to ascend the throne as the new Emperor Yuwen, and they had received a letter from the Vassal King’s Princely Heir, Yuwen Jing, proposing cooperation.
Back then, communication between Beiman and Ningzhou was extremely difficult. The fact that this Princely Heir, later Crown Prince Yuwen Jing, managed to penetrate the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry’s blockade to deliver the message to Beiman demonstrated his extraordinary methods. At that time, Dugu Jing was too young, and the Beiman King and his brother conducted discussions about war without hesitation in front of him. Dugu Jing overheard the conversation—back then, the Beiman King showed no interest in cooperation, and the matter was left unresolved. Later, when his brother grew up and firmly established himself, he secretly reconnected with Yuwen Jing, leading to cooperation between Beiman and Yuwen Jing.
Initially, Beiman hoped Yuwen Jing would provide them with Ningzhou Iron Cavalry’s defensive maps and strategic plans. Unfortunately, although the Yuwen Imperial Family had spies planted within the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry, most of them could only gather information about military movements and could not access the command tents or obtain the defensive maps.
At that time, Dugu Jing already looked down on Yuwen Jing. A Crown Prince, the rightful heir to a nation, had no control over his border troops and couldn’t even secure a single defensive map. This revealed that military authority within the Yuwen Dynasty had utterly eroded. If Marquis Zhenbei Mansion sought to command feudal lords under the emperor’s orders, it would not be difficult. Beiman’s focus should be on the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry, not the Yuwen Dynasty.
If everyone in Marquis Zhenbei Mansion were wiped out, the Yuwen Dynasty would stand no chance against Beiman’s cavalry.
Regrettably, Marquis Zhenbei, along with Xie Zhang and Xie Jue, joined forces instead, killing the Beiman King and several Princes of Beiman. Xie Jue further plunged Beiman into relentless internal chaos. From then on, Beiman’s connections with Yuwen Jing became much more frequent. Even though he couldn’t obtain the defensive maps, Beiman still hoped that Yuwen Jing could annihilate the entire Marquis Zhenbei Mansion.
Unexpectedly, Yuwen Jing agreed.
Though Dugu Jing had yet to reach adulthood that year, he had begun to make his mark on the battlefield. When Yuwen Jing agreed to collaborate with Beiman to destroy the entire Marquis Zhenbei Mansion, Dugu Jing thought this Crown Prince was not very intelligent.
True, military authority had indeed eroded, but Marquis Zhenbei Mansion was the central power of the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry and the border’s largest line of defense. As the Crown Prince, undermining such an integral pillar of defense was either foolish or ruthlessly malicious.
Not until Dugu Jing brought red sand ore to Shangjing and met Yuwen Jing, dealing with him personally, did Dugu Jing realize that Yuwen Jing was not foolish—he was just malicious.
When internal discord broke out in Yanyang, it was exactly what Dugu Jing had hoped for. He stood by, watched from the sidelines, observing as Yuwen Jing nearly annihilated the entire Marquis Zhenbei Mansion.
When Yanyang split into two factions during its internal strife, Dugu Jing wanted to tear up the peace treaty and invade Ningzhou. That was the perfect opportunity, the last chance for Beiman to defeat Yanyang. However, he missed it; Beiman’s internal chaos left the nation weakened, inadvertently granting Ningzhou Iron Cavalry three years to recover. Unwilling to let the opportunity slip away completely, Dugu Jing still seized one more chance, attempting a final strike in cooperation with Beiman, Sannan, and Yuwen Jing to eliminate the brothers Xie Jue and Xie Xun.
If Beiman abandoned the war and retreated to its own corner, once Xie Xun ascended the throne, he would certainly launch an invasion of Beiman. He would disregard any ceasefire treaty and turn Beiman into a subordinate state of Beining, perpetually subordinate. Ultimately, Beiman would face annexation, achieving national unification. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the n0velfire.net
Dugu Jing was unwilling to sacrifice territory and citizens. He refused to let Beiman’s generations live under Beining’s orders. Thus, he joined hands with Yuwen Jing again. Unexpectedly, just as their plans began to take shape, Sannan invaded Lanzhou, and Beiman could not withstand the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry’s frontal assault, leading to defeat. Forced to settle for less, Dugu Jing pinned his hopes on good news from Sannan and Yuwen Jing. In the end, Xie Xun ascended the throne.
In just a little over a month, Xie Xun, gravely injured on the battlefield, hadn’t even brought troops to Shangjing. And yet Yuwen Jing, in his own stronghold, had been toppled.
If this isn’t stupidity, then what is?
If it were him, three years ago he would’ve killed Xie Xun and Xie Jue, never allowing them to survive. If nothing else, traps should’ve been laid across heaven and earth the moment Xie Xun entered Shangjing this time—there should’ve been no opportunity for failure.
Dugu Jing could only lament that fate was unfair, causing this generation of Beiman to encounter such a ruler as Yuwen Jing, along with Xie Jue and Xie Xun of Marquis Zhenbei Mansion.
One was steadfast in civil matters, the other skilled in military affairs, surviving in the crevices and born rebellious, ultimately turning against the Yuwen Royal Family.
Generations of Marquis Zhenbei Mansion’s family had all come from military generals, loyal to the Imperial Family—only Xie Xun and Xie Jue rebelled.