Jin Tiancheng asked smugly, "Surprised?"

Jin Dongxing nodded. "Very surprised. Is this true?"

Jin Tiancheng laughed. "Of course it's true. The Great Xuan is our greatest enemy, so naturally we watch its every move very closely.

When Ning Chen died suddenly, the Great Xuan's little emperor didn't want military power in the hands of Yuan Long and the others. She seized on the pretext, stripped them of their command and banished them to the frontier.

Pity she was in too much of a hurry. Now Yuan Long and the others have turned their hearts away from her.

The Great Xuan's little emperor has deployed her troops and massed them at Yangzhou City. War with Yuan Long is about to break out.

Yuan Long's seventy thousand men have had their money and grain cut off. All he can do is come over to someone and ask for help."

Jin Dongxing frowned deeply. He couldn't shake the feeling that something about this was strange.

"Your Majesty, did Yuan Long send his defection letter only to you?"

Jin Tiancheng said, "Not only to me. Kang Luo and Kang Feng got one too... That's no surprise either. Anyone with a little sense knows not to put all his eggs in one basket.

Jin Dongxing, you've always thought so highly of Ning Chen. Do you feel like a fool now?

A man may be as formidable as you like, but first he has to stay alive... Once he's dead, he has nothing left at all."

Jin Dongxing said nothing. This business felt wrong to him.

"Your Majesty, there's something strange about this. Your guilty subject has dealt with Yuan Long and the others. They're men loyal to the core... Ning Chen is barely dead and they rebel? That goes against all reason!"

Jin Tiancheng sneered. "Yuan Long and the others have a brilliant war record. They ought to be sitting back and enjoying wealth and glory. But the Great Xuan's little emperor went too far and banished them to suffer at the frontier. Any man would rebel."

Jin Dongxing was sure something was off, but…