"Hiss~!"
Upon hearing this news, Jiang Ming gasped: "Why?"
"The main problem is with grasslands and water sources!"
The Xiongnu soldier explained, "Both queens wanted their tribes to settle in the grasslands north of the Yanshan Mountains... but the grasslands and water sources simply couldn't accommodate the people of both tribes... Queen Dugu Yan wanted Queen Changsun to move the tribes to the grasslands near the Yi River... but Queen Changsun refused!"
"What did the Khan say?"
"The Khan went back early this morning..."
The Xianbei soldier said, "He also left a message that all the problems should be handled by the prince consort... Don't ask him about the specifics!"
"Yes!"
Jiang Ming said speechlessly, "Then let me talk about it when I get back?"
"It's not just this one conflict! There's also the issue of how the spoils of war are divided..."
The Xianbei soldier explained, "When the Great Khan left, he left behind all the spoils of war captured from the Xiongnu, including horses, weapons, tents, armor, salt, dried meat, and so on... Dugu Dafei meant that in the Battle of Lone Wolf Mountain, their Tuoba tribe suffered the greatest losses, with 5,000 casualties, including her own husband... These spoils should all belong to the Tuoba tribe, while the Changsun tribe, which didn't even participate in the battle, shouldn't receive any spoils..."
"Hiss~!"
Jiang Ming frowned and smacked his lips, thinking to himself, "Everyone says this Dugu Yan is a strong woman, so why is she so petty?"
Ha! Women!
Jiang Ming dared not delay. After bidding farewell to his eldest sister, second sister, and younger sister, he immediately mounted his horse and led his personal guard back to the Xianbei camp in Yanbei...
"They fought over this?" Jiang Ming asked from his horse.
"Uh... also because..." The Xianbei soldier hesitated, as if he had something difficult to say.
"explain!"
"It's Her Highness the Princess... her?"
"What's wrong with her? Speak up! Stop stammering!"
The Xianbei soldier trembled in fear: "Consort Dugu feels that Her Highness the Princess is biased towards her own aunt and is handling matters unfairly. She is very dissatisfied... The two tribes had a dispute, which escalated into a conflict! Your Highness, you'll understand when you get back..."
"Is anyone injured?"
"When the princess sent me away, the two sides were in a standoff, but hadn't started fighting yet... I wonder what the situation is now?"
"Tsk...!"
Jiang Ming was extremely upset!
These Xianbei people are interesting. We're all compatriots, so why make such a fuss over something like this?
And Xue'er...
It seems that their ability to handle government affairs is indeed very poor!
Her so-called "Grand Consort" shared by two tribes really couldn't keep Dugu Yan in check...
Along the way, through the descriptions of the Xianbei soldiers, Jiang Ming gained a deeper understanding of the 'right and wrong' involved.
Actually, this matter cannot be entirely blamed on Dugu Yan.
According to the rules of the grassland, whoever arrives at a pasture first gets to own it.
Unless you have a strong and well-equipped army, you can take it away by force!
Last night, it was clearly Dugu Yan who arrived first!
The same goes for the spoils of war.
Whoever bleeds, reaps the spoils!
The brave die rich, the cowardly die poor; there's no such thing as 'humility' in this matter.
The Xianbei were a nomadic people who lived on horseback, always risking their lives and putting their heads on the line. They judged people entirely by their military achievements!
No matter how right you are, if you have no military merits, no one will listen to you!
So, "persuading people with reason" is something that only the cunning people of the Central Plains practice...
This concept doesn't exist in the rules of games played by nomadic peoples of the grasslands!
Before even reaching the Yanbei camp, standing atop the mountain on the north side of Yanshan, Jiang Ming could see countless lanterns, torches, and pine trees.
The two tribes' forces were overwhelmingly facing each other...
But instead of a large-scale brawl, they were on high alert, playing a game of "fighting generals".
The so-called "general duel" is when each side sends out a general, armed with weapons, to fight on horseback.
The victors are greatly encouraged, while the losers are humiliated and disappointed, ultimately resorting to underhanded tactics and overwhelming numbers...
Although it was a duel between generals, it didn't mean to stop there...
Jiang Ming witnessed with his own eyes that one general directly knocked the other general off his horse, killing him instantly!
"Which tribe's people were stabbed to death?" Jiang Ming asked, frowning.
“It’s the Tuoba tribe!” the Xianbei soldier replied.
"Hiss~!"
Jiang Ming was somewhat surprised. In his conventional thinking, the Changsun tribe, which was known for its beautiful women, should be relatively "gentle and weak." How could their military generals be so fierce?
He rode his horse and led his personal guards quickly to the front of the two armies.
The Xianbei soldiers around him shouted, "His Highness the Prince Consort has arrived! Cease fighting!"
Upon hearing that the Prince Consort had arrived, all the soldiers on both sides looked at Jiang Ming with curiosity, whispering among themselves.
They all wore expressions of disbelief.
The newly victorious general from the Changsun tribe even teased, "Your Highness, you're so handsome! You're even more beautiful than the young ladies of our Changsun tribe! No wonder the princess likes you!"
"Hahaha!"
As soon as he said this, everyone around him burst into laughter.
Jiang Ming's attention, however, drifted to the central command of the Tuoba tribe. There, on a tiger-skin stool, sat a woman wearing an animal-skin hat, beautiful yet possessing a striking, sharp, and valiant air, scrutinizing him with hawk-like eyes...
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