Chapter 591: Chapter 591

Once they ascend to the throne and gain control over military and political power, Beiman will be as good as theirs. This defeat of Beiman was truly due to their inability to match the strength of the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry.

Since their defeat years ago, the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry has been a nightmare deeply ingrained in the hearts of the Beiman people.

Like a curse, although he led Beiman to a few victories, stirring the fighting spirit of the soldiers, he could never secure a decisive triumph.

When Xie Xun led his troops back to Ningzhou and he failed to take Ningzhou City, Dugu Jing already knew that a loss for them was inevitable.

Now that Xie Xun has summoned him to Shangjing, what does he intend? Dıscover more novels at noⅴelfire.net

Breaking promises? Seeking to kill him and take the chance to annihilate Beiman?

Dugu Jing was brought into the palace by Xie Xun’s personal guards and detained in the West Palace. After the dowager consorts of the West Palace were escorted out, the place became almost empty, leaving only palace maids and eunuchs behind.

Dugu Jing, being highly skilled in martial arts, was guarded by Nuanyang and Xie Xun’s personal guards in the hall. However, Xie Xun, having officially ascended the throne, did not meet him in the Jinluan Palace. This made Dugu Jing speculate that Xie Xun’s purpose in meeting him wasn’t state affairs.

If not state affairs, then it must be personal matters. But what personal matters could he possibly have with Xie Xun?

Unless, before an official meeting, Xie Xun wanted to negotiate the terms with him first.

Xie Xun privately met with Dugu Jing without bringing Fengyu along. Indeed, he needed to negotiate terms beforehand. Dugu Jing was tough, and if he discovered the truth, he might not agree. Furthermore, given that he was now a prisoner, if he learned that Ayu was afflicted by a venomous insect, there was a chance he might drag her down to destruction alongside himself.

"Your Yanyang people have a saying: ’When you meet an old friend after three days, you must see them in a new light.’ I must say, you’ve truly surprised me." Dugu Jing looked at Xie Xun, now dressed in the imperial dragon robe, with an exceedingly complex expression. Beiman and the Marquis Zhenbei Mansion had always had their respective rivals, generation after generation.

The old Beiman King’s rival was Marquis Zhenbei, Xie Yuan.

His elder brother’s rival was either Xie Zhang or Xie Jue.

As for him, his rival was Xie Xun.

They were supposed to be life-long enemies on the battlefield, where their blood feud would finally be settled only when either Dugu Jing or Xie Xun perished. However, now Dugu Jing was dragging a scarred and battered Beiman forward with difficulty, while Xie Xun had ascended the throne and commanded the realm. Their fates had diverged radically, and Dugu Jing found it hard to accept—almost unbearably so.

"What’s there to be surprised about? Sooner or later, I would have become the emperor of Beining." Xie Xun understood Dugu Jing’s feelings of disparity. Back when he came for peace talks, he had the capability to provoke him. Now, if Dugu Jing came again to seek peace, he would have to kneel. "Dugu Jing, do you wish to negotiate, or do you wish to fight?"

"When you were Prince Qin, you signed a ceasefire agreement with me. Now that you’re emperor, you think you can just renege on that?" Dugu Jing mocked him, "Don’t Yanyang people pride themselves on keeping a gentleman’s promise, worth a thousand pieces of gold?"

"First of all, as you said, this is Beining, not Yanyang. Secondly, swearing by a gentleman’s promise was my father’s and elder brother’s principle. They died at the hands of a scoundrel like Yuwen Jing. Of course, I must take their folly as cautionary wisdom. That being said, the ceasefire agreement we signed does have partial validity. However, times have changed, and the ceasefire agreement must be renegotiated. After all, with Yuwen Jing dead, that agreement—if I choose to deny it—can be discarded outright." That agreement had been mutually beneficial at the time, but Xie Xun didn’t want to fully honor it. The negotiations back then had been frustrating, contradicting his and his second brother’s intentions; many terms didn’t need to be granted to Beiman.

"Shameless!" Dugu Jing seethed with anger.

"Dugu Jing, if I were to kill you, do you think the Beiman King would rise up to avenge you, or would he choose to let it go? You’re under my roof now; I advise you to lower your head and know your place." Xie Xun didn’t bother with pleasantries either. He and Dugu Jing were not only representatives of Beining and Beiman but also individuals bound by their opposing fates. The deeds that Dugu Jing carried out were no different from what Xie Xun’s second brother had once done in Beiman. The enmity between the Beiman Royal Family and the Marquis Zhenbei Mansion ran as deep as the sea, impossible to unravel. Though Xie Xun bore hatred for Dugu Jing, he also respected him. They were both seasoned generals who fought fiercely on the battlefield, both loyal to their people.

But to obtain the venomous insect, Xie Xun had to master the art of negotiation.

"What do you want to do?"

"Beiman and we have had several ceasefires. But as soon as you recover, your people launch major offensives. Though Beiman spans a vast territory, little of it is habitable. The winters are long, and every able-bodied man has to serve as a soldier. Your livelihoods rely solely on mining and herding, with arable land being extremely scarce. You have just a few short months in spring and summer for sowing and harvesting, and the food you gather barely gets you through the winter. This is why you’ve been aiming to cross Ningzhou." Xie Xun gave voice to Dugu Jing’s unspoken desires. "You want to lead your people past Sha Ling Tian Mountain to find a better life. I have a proposal that might interest you."

What Dugu Jing wanted most was no secret to Xie Xun. He wanted his people to live on warm and fertile land, free from the generations of suffering endured in Beiman’s harsh environment. Though they loved their homeland deeply, they also lamented Heaven’s injustice: why should the Yanyang people enjoy picturesque landscapes, while they had to endure the torment of ice, snow, and relentless sandstorms?