Chapter 969 – War in the Northern Border (6)
The Three Clans of Northern Border are nomadic peoples who have lived in tribes for generations.
Due to their habit of settling near water sources, the mobility of the Northern Border Clans is far greater than that of the agricultural peoples of the Central Plain.
For this reason, the bonding within a single tribe is strong, but the cohesion between tribes is tragically poor.
Often, Northern Border Tribes will fiercely argue over the ownership of grazing lands, sometimes escalating into regional wars.
The Northern Border Tribes are like loose sand; despite their fierce aggressiveness, they pose no real threat to the Central Plain.
Just loose sand, why fear it?
The emergence of the Northern Border Royal Court greatly compensates for this flaw.
Long ago, there was no royal court in the Northern Border, only three powerful mega-tribes.
In a certain era, an ambitious heir arose, who led the tribes as their chief, and the other two tribes responded in kind.
The three tribes joined forces to conquer other smaller tribes in the Northern Border.
While fighting and plundering, they consumed their lands and population.
After unification, the Northern Border Royal Court was established, and the three major tribes agreed that the Northern Border King would take turns ruling.
This system was initially well implemented, but the other two tribes weakened due to natural disasters, their influence dwindling until the Northern Border Royal Family became indisputably dominant, shamelessly turning the rotation of power into a hereditary lineage.
The powers within the Northern Border experienced various upheavals, splitting and merging.
Fast forward to the present, the current Northern Border King, with the assistance of Wu Libai, has become a true revitalizing figure.
Had it not been for the Horse Plague striking unexpectedly, perhaps the iron hooves of the Northern Border soldiers would have already trampled upon the lands of the Central Plain.
Although the royal court’s appearance has acted as a bonding agent for the tribes, the nature of the nomadic peoples remains unchanged.
The Common People of the Northern Border still habitually exist as separate tribes.
Sun Wen sees through this and devises plans to sow discord among the princes, stirring up political unrest in the Northern Border.
Other than the Fourth Prince, who took his own life out of guilt, and the Second Prince, who faces sacrifice, the remaining princes are scattered throughout the Northern Border, each mustering their own armies. Their actions further tear apart the fragile harmony of the Northern Border, making it difficult for forces to unite.
The Northern Border is akin to a rope made of hemp; when united as one, their combined power can change the color of the sun and moon.
If this rope is frayed into several strands, even an ordinary strongman could snap it easily.
Tearing apart the defenses of the Northern Border one by one is no longer a dream.
Jiang Pengji praised Sun Wen vigorously, not just with words but with generous rewards flowing like water.
Firstly, Sun Wen has made significant contributions, deserving the glory.
Secondly, with Sun Wen being a new face who shines brightly, Jiang Pengji knows that if she doesn’t support him, some might take advantage of the situation to undermine him.
The larger the power, the more complex the personnel, which increases the chances of conflict.
Jiang Pengji doesn’t seek them to love one another; she just wants them to fulfill their duties and not drag each other down.
She has been planning for the Northern Border since she was twelve, and now their army is strong, and the supplies plentiful.
Everything is set, just waiting for spring.
What was supposed to be a discussion turned into an analysis of the actual fighting strength of the Northern Border and how to deal with various unexpected events.
Sun Wen smoothly rose to the front lines, thriving, while chaos erupted in the Northern Border.
This can be traced back to some time earlier—
The Ninth Prince became the ultimate winner, riding high with joy.
The decrepit Northern Border King suffered a stroke, and the power lord Halencha strongly supported him, making the Ninth Prince the rightful heir, grasping significant power.
The taste of power can be intoxicating.
After enjoying this taste for a few days, the Ninth Prince finally remembered that he hadn’t seen Sun Wen for quite a while.
He personally went to visit, but the tent was already empty.
Before leaving, Sun Wen had laid out a scheme to buy time.
“Where is he—”
The Ninth Prince was dumbfounded.
Although his interactions with Sun Wen were few, he had come to rely on his brilliant strategies; the Northern Border still needed his guidance.
His subordinates reported back that not only was Sun Wen missing, but his tent had also been ransacked violently, with valuable items gone.
“Looks like the work of Horse Bandits—” one subordinate hesitantly stated.
The Ninth Prince twitched his lips, saying, “Horse Bandits? How could there be any around Sun Wen’s secluded place?”
The subordinate replied, “But indeed there are Horse Bandits causing trouble in Sun Wen‘s area—”
The Northern Border is vast, with Horse Bandits rampant, not only troubling the borders of Chongzhou, but also drawing the ire of the pastoralists within the Northern Border.
These Horse Bandits don’t dare to attack large tribes but linger at the fringes of the tribes.
Sun Wen‘s special status prompted him to ask to live at the edge of the tribe, to reduce his visibility and avoid attracting attention.
This place had few people, making it hard to notice him.
The Ninth Prince ticked off all this and gritted his teeth.
“Find him, even if I have to dig three feet into the ground—alive to see him, dead to see his corpse!”
He still relied on Sun Wen to stabilize the royal court and balance the various powers.
After digging deeper, the Ninth Prince realized that Halencha‘s rise from being a dried fish was entirely due to Sun Wen‘s meticulous planning.
In other words, if Sun Wen were gone, Halencha‘s value would plummet.
What use is a dried fish?
With Sun Wen missing, the Horse Bandits within the Northern Border suffered losses, with dozens of their hideouts getting wiped out.
However, no matter how many Horse Bandit dens were eliminated, they couldn’t find Sun Wen’s whereabouts.
Meanwhile, several princes who fled to their territories were eager to push the royal court to relinquish power, making the Ninth Prince‘s head spin.
“Have you found him—”
The temperament of the Ninth Prince became more frantic, with pressure from the court and each brother bearing down almost breaking his back.
“No, not yet—” his subordinate replied timidly.
“Useless—go search again—”
The Ninth Prince panted angrily, knocking everything he could reach to the ground.
As time passed, someone began to suspect that perhaps Sun Wen wasn’t taken by Horse Bandits, but had run away on his own.
However, for the Ninth Prince, this reasoning was simply a joke.
Sun Wen had gone through so much effort to help him rise to power, assisting him in removing obstacle after obstacle; with success just around the corner, why would he run away?
It made no sense at all.
With each passing day, the Ninth Prince reluctantly began to accept that something had happened to Sun Wen.
Without Sun Wen providing plans and strategies, how could the Ninth Prince stabilize against the cunning old foxes in the court and the aggressive brothers?
The stronger the pressure, the more severe the backlash.
At this moment, the Northern Border received a proclamation of suppression from Chongzhou, which helped the Ninth Prince attract all the firepower.
This was the second decree issued by Jiang Pengji.
Compared to the first warning, this time the wording was much stricter, completely indicating a stance of irreconcilable conflict.
The Ninth Prince reported this matter in the court, causing a stir among the officials, as everyone felt anxious.
“Do any of you have countermeasures?”
The Ninth Prince sat on the throne and looked around; the ministers he met gazes quickly lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.
They all knew that now was not the time for Northern Border to go to war, but Jiang Pengji had made up her mind to fight, and even Wu Libai, sent to negotiate, had faced multiple humiliations… Did the Northern Border have any choice but to prepare for battle?
