 He makes several attempts to kill Laurence, culminating in a mercenary attack on a guest house where the British characters are quartered; when the plot is revealed, Temeraire kills Yongxing in revenge.The book takes place in 1806; historically, Yongxing served in Mianning's military council and died in 1823.His character in the book is cold and aloof to the British, only occasionally letting slip emotion or opinions; however, he is shown to have genuine affection for the dragon Lien and made her his companion in spite of her albinism causing her to be viewed as cursed and unlucky.