Yuan Lin looked at the relics that had been delivered, silent for a moment.
Wu Yong was dead. The King of Northern Jiang's first expedition to the south had failed, his forces beaten and scattered, fleeing back in disarray. Originally, it was proclaimed that their mighty army of 100,000 would take control of the Central Plains, but in the end, fewer than 1,000 defeated soldiers managed to escape and return.
Yuan Lin also understood the reasons for the defeat; it was nothing more than King Zhang Xuan of Northern Jiang being overly prideful and overzealous, which led him into an ambush. Then, due to a series of problematic decisions, his army was routed.
He did not resent the King of Northern Jiang. This was Wu Yong's duty; victory and defeat were commonplace in military affairs. There were no truly invincible generals.
But he was puzzled. Why had things turned out this way?
He opened Wu Yong's relics. Inside, there wasn't much—just a letter.
