Xie Jue, in matters of military and political decisions, was authoritative and resolute. If he didn’t wish to negotiate with Beiman, it was nearly impossible to reach an agreement, but if he were willing to engage, he certainly wouldn’t resort to deception. Dugu Jing was well aware that this negotiation was different from three years ago. He had restrained all his prior arrogance. This time, Beiman’s request for peace resembled more of a surrender, allowing Xie Jue free rein to demand exorbitantly. "Three years ago, when Beiman suddenly sought peace, was it an internal decision to negotiate, or were there other reasons?" Xie Jue asked. "At this point, I won’t hide it from you. After my father’s death, though the military morale was in chaos, it wouldn’t have led to total collapse. It was Yuwen Jing who contacted me, proposing that Beiman should negotiate peace. He offered to slaughter all the men of Marquis Zhenbei Mansion as a bargaining chip. You sowed discord between my brothers, causing the various tribes to mistrust one another. Xie Zhang even assassinated my father. At the time, I was consumed by the desire for revenge and thus agreed to Yuwen Jing’s terms. From the start, agreeing to negotiate peace was a conspiracy. All of my strategies had never escaped Yuwen Jing’s notice. Even the bows and arrows made from red sand ore were provided by me to him," Dugu Jing said coolly. "Xie Jue, I’m not making excuses for myself. The things I did are no different from what you did in Beiman. Our positions differ—initiating a civil war among your people is entirely beneficial to me and poses no disadvantages. I had no reason to refuse." The words were cruel but undeniably true. Xie Jue suppressed his emotions, asking in a low voice, "What were Yuwen Jing’s terms of exchange?" "Once Marquis Zhenbei Mansion was wiped out, Ningzhou, Pingzhou, and Yunzhou—three cities—would be ceded as Beiman’s territory." "Despicable!" Fang Chuning was furious. "The emperor defends the frontier, and throughout the dynasties, even the most incompetent Yuwen Monarchs have never ceded land to Beiman for the sake of negotiation. Beiman is nothing but a pack of vicious wolves; feed them a piece of meat today, and tomorrow they’ll demand two. Today, they devour one leg—tomorrow, they’ll tear your body apart. Three cities, including Ningzhou, a naturally strategic stronghold—Yuwen Jing is truly beyond foolish." "The conditions were too tempting for my brother and me to resist. We simply didn’t anticipate that Yuwen Jing would be so incompetent as to let you brothers live," Dugu Jing expressed regret. "At that time, I planned to stay in the Capital City to collaborate. Had I remained, you would surely not have survived until today, and Ningzhou and the three cities would have already become Beiman’s territory." Unfortunately, Xie Zhang had enforced strict inspections, ensuring Dugu Jing’s group left the Capital City, dispatching trusted agents to verify them at every city, making deception impossible. Fengyu was livid after hearing this—let alone Xie Jue. But Xie Jue’s face revealed no trace of anger or sadness. "Was the deployment of troops this time also based on prior communication with Yuwen Jing?" "Yes!" Dugu Jing admitted without hesitation. "How can I be sure that what you say is true and not fabricated slander?" Xie Jue’s expression was cold and his tone calm, as though the extermination of his household had nothing to do with him, and the person before him was not his foe. Dugu Jing sneered. Beside him, a general handed over a box. He took it and tossed it toward Xie Jue, who caught it steadily. Dugu Jing said, "These are letters exchanged between my brother and Yuwen Jing. There are ones from three years ago and ones from today. You can examine them yourselves." As Xie Jue prepared to open the box, Fang Chuning grabbed his wrist and took the box himself. Fang Chuning opened it personally. Dugu Jing sneered, "Junior General Fang is truly protective of the Second Young Master. Are you worried I poisoned it? Rest assured, if I were to poison you, I wouldn’t do so in a box this conspicuous. This time, I’m here for genuine negotiations." "I don’t trust you!" Fang Chuning inspected the letters thoroughly before handing them to Xie Jue. Xie Jue read the first letter, his fingers quivering, nearly crumpling the paper. Six letters altogether, and he read each one carefully. Fang Chuning also reviewed each of them. Though they had known Yuwen Jing was a despicable wretch, seeing the Yanyang Monarch colluding with foreign enemies and betraying loyal subjects, Xie Jue and Fang Chuning were overwhelmed with hatred and wanted nothing more than to kill him. The atmosphere in the tent was icy. Dugu Jing raised an eyebrow and asked, "Does the Prince not wish to read them?" Fengyu hesitated before suddenly replying coolly, "I’ve long known about your collusion. I won’t disgust myself further." The reasoning left no room for criticism. Fengyu had no particular interest in the letters. If Xie Xun were present, he would certainly have read them, but Fengyu had come merely to observe—this was not her battlefield. "You’ve also colluded with Sannan. How did you communicate?" Fang Chuning asked. "There’s a faction of spies we’ve planted within Yanyang’s borders for communication. My direct dealings with Sannan are minimal. To my knowledge, Yuwen Jing and King of Sannan are in closer contact," Dugu Jing said sincerely. "This war was instigated by Sannan. I mistakenly trusted him. If I had known earlier how incompetent he was, with the Emperor of Yanyang rendered powerless, I wouldn’t have cooperated with him. Instead, I should have partnered with you brothers." The Beiman Imperial Court was different from Yanyang. The Beiman King held absolute power over life and death, wielding total control over military and political matters, leaving no room for being undermined by clans or powerful ministers. Even as Regent King, he had authority over military forces solely because his brother was frail in health and Princess Huazhen sought to seize power after giving birth to a son. In Beiman Imperial Court, it was inconceivable for an emperor to be undermined. In Yanyang, however, Dugu Jing had suffered due to his lack of understanding of Yanyang’s politics, unaware that Yuwen Jing had been weakened to the extent of losing control over even Jiangnan’s loyal army. "You’re delusional. Ting Feng would never agree to work with you," Fang Chuning said icily. "For the generals guarding the borders, our lives are bound to the city’s survival. There will never be an instance of ceding land or paying reparations." "Junior General Fang certainly shares... an intriguing bond with the Second Young Master." Malice flickered in Dugu Jing’s eyes. "Did you know that the Second Young Master was once married in Beiman? Having bowed before heaven and earth, paid respects to the Heavenly God, and fulfilled the formal rituals as husband and wife. Of course, since returning to Yanyang, the Second Young Master must have long forgotten his wife left behind in Beiman, haven’t you?" Fang Chuning’s Adam’s apple bobbed faintly, his ears flushed bright red for no apparent reason. He snuck a glance at Xie Jue, who remained indifferent, his complexion still pale as snow. Fengyu’s eyes widened dramatically. "?" My heavens, thank goodness Zhixu isn’t here!!!