The Demon Lords-Chapter 662 - 123 Lord Jingnan Goes to War_3

Tian Wujing dismounted from his Pixiu and slowly approached the crowd, his armor emitting a muffled RUSTLE from the friction. He walked up to the Eldest Prince, the former commander-in-chief of the Eastern Conquest Army who had voluntarily handed over the imperial seal.

He spoke, "Get up."

"Thank you, Lord!"

"Thank you, Lord!"

Officials from Cheng State, such as Situ Yu, and military generals, such as Li Fusheng, all rose. The Eldest Prince hesitated for a moment, then also began to stand.

However, a boot slammed onto his shoulder—Ji Wujiang's shoulder.

BANG!

The Eldest Prince was kicked to the ground. For a moment, the entire place fell silent.

Naturally, the one who kicked was Lord Jingnan. The one kicked was the Yan Emperor's eldest son, and this occurred in full view of everyone. Tian Wujing was the Eldest Prince's "uncle." Though not related by blood, current customs dictated that the legitimate mother's relatives naturally held influence over sons born of concubines. Tian Wujing's sister was the Empress, so he naturally became the uncle to all the princes. But even disregarding his status as an elder or as Lord Jingnan, and looking purely at their actual power, it was nearly impossible for the Eldest Prince to resist Tian Wujing. This was, after all, a Lord capable of defeating the Sword Saint!

The Eldest Prince, kicked to the ground, didn't bother wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, nor did he try to regulate the internal injuries caused by the turmoil of his qi and blood. He immediately knelt before Tian Wujing again.

"Left Army, Central Army, Right Army—three armies, three separate components! Who the hell taught you to wage war like this!"

Upon hearing this, Ji Wujiang shivered, immediately pressed his forehead to the ground, and shouted, "Wujiang was wrong!"

If the Left Army had contained even 10,000 soldiers from the North Border Army, the catastrophic defeat that day, with tens of thousands drowning, would not have occurred. If there are a few wolves among a flock of sheep, the sheep will naturally follow the wolves' order. This wasn't just about discipline after crossing the river; if a contingent of the North Border Army had been present then, they could have completely helped the allied forces of the Left Army's commanders resist the initial onslaught of the wild people. At the very least, the battle would have been fought in the open field outside the encampment. Regardless of the outcome, they wouldn't have been herded into the river like ducks!

BANG!

Tian Wujing kicked the Eldest Prince again as he knelt on the ground admitting his mistake. The Eldest Prince was sent sprawling once more, but he quickly endured the pain and knelt again before Lord Jingnan.

"Wujiang was wrong!"

"You are the frontline commander-in-chief! His Majesty has never led troops in battle in his life. There are some things His Majesty doesn't understand, but you don't understand either? Are you a general leading troops at the front, or just a clay figure standing in the imperial court!"

The division of the three armies had been decided by the Yan Emperor. Gathering the military commanders from within Yan State and entrusting them to the Eldest Prince to be tempered on the battlefield was also the Yan Emperor's policy. There was nothing inherently wrong with this; it was a method of centralizing power. The problem was that the three armies set out as separate forces and, even when engaging in battle, fought as such. The Eldest Prince had only reorganized the Left Army but had failed to dismantle and integrate the forces properly.

Consider this: when Lord Jingnan and the Earl of North Border jointly entered Jin through the South Gate, the North Border Army and Lord Jingnan's army didn't operate independently. Instead, the Earl of North Border completely relinquished command, allowing Lord Jingnan to unify allocation and distribution. Even those two titans, with their two elite armies, conducted themselves this way before battle. What makes you think you can afford to play such games?

The last one to try such a strategy was Qian State. Their various forces swarmed in, only to be cut down by 60,000 soldiers of the North Border Army right before the gates of their imperial capital. Of course, when Tian Wujing uttered the words, "There are some things His Majesty doesn't understand, but you don't understand either?" many hearts in the crowd skipped a beat. Such treasonous words—perhaps only Lord Jingnan would dare to speak them.

Prince Cheng and head of the Situ Family, Situ Yu, watched Lord Jingnan kick the Eldest Prince repeatedly. The young man was so terrified he nearly cried and almost knelt again. It wasn't that he was too cowardly; as Situ Lei's son, he wasn't that fragile. However, his perception differed from others. When others saw Lord Jingnan kicking the Eldest Prince, they perceived the terrifying extent of his status and power, as well as the unusual relationship between Lord Jingnan, the Yan Emperor, and the Earl of North Border. Situ Yu, on the other hand, sensed Tian Wujing's disdain for imperial authority and lineage. And lineage was the fundamental reason he, Situ Yu, could stand there today. Otherwise, what military achievements, contributions, or talents did he possess to qualify for his position?

The Eldest Prince was repeatedly kicked down, yet each time he knelt again, not daring to show the slightest resistance or even a hint of anger on his face. It was perfectly natural for an elder to discipline a junior.

Watching this scene from the rear, Zheng Fan thought to himself that it seemed to be a tradition for Lord Jingnan to discipline princes... 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Two matriarchal clans of princes had been destroyed. Although the Third Prince had crippled himself, it was still done under Tian Wujing's direction. Of the Yan Emperor's six adult sons, Lord Jingnan had already dealt with three. Today's was the fourth.

"Knowing that the Chu State's naval forces had appeared, you still insisted on a forced river crossing to attack Jade Plate City! You thought you were snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, but it was merely your unwillingness to lose! Because you didn't want to lose, you sacrificed a general and an additional 5,000 elite soldiers of the North Border Army! What do you think you are? Just because your surname is Ji, did they have to die for your foolishness?"

The appearance of Chu State's naval forces meant a high probability they had also deployed infantry.

"Wujiang was wrong!"

The Eldest Prince could only repeatedly shout his admission of fault.

"Don't think that just because you didn't commit suicide and are still alive, you've suffered some great injustice! For a general, defeat is incompetence. There are no other excuses!"

"Yes, Wujiang knows his mistake."

At this moment, A Ming, standing behind Zheng Fan, leaned in and whispered, "My lord, isn't this a bit too much?" Treating the Eldest Prince like this in public... TSK TSK.

Zheng Fan shook his head slightly and whispered in response, "No, he's happy about it. Being kicked and beaten allows him to unload his burden."