Kong Yuan and Wang Siqi heard this and both showed the same astonished expression.
Ji Bochang curled his lips into a faint smile: "Our clan, although we have pledged allegiance to the Xiongnu, has not done anything to betray the Central Plains."
The Eighth Prince continued, "Bochang's grandfather and father orchestrated the split of the Xiongnu tribes, each proclaiming their own kingship."
"What?" Wang Siqi and Kong Yuan exclaimed simultaneously.
Ji Bochang humbly smiled and said, "Initially, the leaders of the Xiongnu tribes all wanted to break away from the Royal Court and proclaim themselves as kings. My grandfather and father merely took advantage of this desire, stoking their ambitions into action."
Ji Bochang's words sounded light and insignificant, as if he were speaking of trivial matters, but they allowed the Xiongnu tribes to each claim kingship for decades, causing internal strife among them for years.