Dugu Xin said, "Your Majesty, the most urgent task is to find out what caused the change in the Huai Region's fortune."
As a Deity, he was keenly sensitive to changes in incense and fortune. He knew what a shift in fortune at a place as crucial as the Huai Region meant.
"Whatever caused it, we still have to do what must be done!" Yuwen Yong said firmly. "I've ordered Liang Shiyan to lead a force south from Henan and contest the Huai Region as well! If the Chen Kingdom can take it, then my Great Zhou can too!"
Dugu Xin immediately objected. "Sending troops like this is too rash. The Huai Region was once Southern Dynasty territory, after all..."
"By that reckoning, Guanzhong was once southern territory too!" Yuwen Yong swept out a hand and raised his voice. "I stripped powerful ministers of their authority, marshaled my troops, and sent my armies against the Qi Kingdom. For more than a month, they've fought bloody battle after bloody battle, pinning the Qi armies down along Hedong. Yet the Chen Kingdom seized the chance to steal Qi territory. It's only right that I send men over to pay them a visit!"
"I fear the Chen Kingdom may grow wary because of it and make peace with Qi," Dugu Xin said.
"That would suit me perfectly! If the weak gather together, all the better to sweep them away at once!"
Yuwen Yong laughed and pointed at the map on the wall. "Besides, the two kingdoms have fought over the Huai Region again and again. It's become a knot neither can untie. Even if Chen Xu and Gao Wei wanted peace, the corrupt officials in their courts would never allow it. How else would they keep their positions?"
Seeing that Dugu Xin still