Chapter 425: Taming the Tiger

The wind in the armored tent is desolate; the Prince of Badong sobs.

Inside the great tent, Li Jingxuan and the others are prostrate on the ground, stiff as wood. Wang Yang sits beside the Prince of Badong, patting the Prince's hand and offering comfort in a steady stream:

"It's alright, it's alright. Your Highness, stay calm. Tell me slowly—how exactly was Jingzhou lost?"

The Prince of Badong lifts his tear-filled eyes, his expression dazed:

"I... I don't know..."

"You don't know?"

The Prince of Badong's voice is frantic:

"It... it was a report from Baling. They had just received the news themselves, saying the barbarians sent troops to assist Wenyang, broke my long siege in a single battle, and then swept through to seize Jingzhou! I have already sent men back to Jing by both water and land to investigate..."

Whether from rage or fear, the Prince's hands begin to tremble.

Wang Yang grips the Prince of Badong's shaking hand, his voice steady:

"Your Highness, do not be anxious. Since the news is unclear, Jingzhou may not truly be lost yet—"

The Prince of Badong reacts violently, his voice suddenly rising, growing more frantic as he speaks:

"It is lost! It is definitely lost! The grain shipments from Jingzhou have been late for half a month! Kong Zhangyu's reports have also ceased! Something must have happened in Jingzhou!"

Wang Yang is silent for a moment before asking:

"And Kong Zhangyu?"

The Prince of Badong's voice is choked with sobs, his eye sockets red as if stained with blood, a sudden ferocity rising in him:

"... I do not know if he lives or dies... Those dog barbarians, I will slaughter them! I will slaughter them all!!!"

Seeing the Prince of Badong succumb to his violent temper again, Li Jingxuan and the others are too terrified to breathe, desperately trying to make themselves invisible, wishing they could play dead and act like corpses.

Wang Yang is also feeling a bit of trepidation. Especially regarding the face of Tao Rui—if that could even be called a face—which left a deep impression on him.

But he must pretend not to be afraid at all. This is necessary for his plan, and it is also the way to deal with the Prince of Badong.

"Your Highness, my hand, my hand... it hurts a little."

This scene had occurred before back in Jingzhou, when the Prince of Badong had laughed and teased Wang Yang for being physically weak (see Chapter 394). Now, everything has changed.

The Prince of Badong hurriedly lets go, his previous ferocity instantly dissipating for the most part, his expression somewhat embarrassed:

"I... I didn't notice... Zhiyan, you—"

Wang Yang flexes his wrist and smiles:

"It is fine. I have long since experienced Your Highness's strength."

The Prince of Badong subconsciously smiles along, though at such a juncture, the smile is truly bitter. Yet, seeing Wang Yang's relaxed demeanor, the despair that had been crushing him so hard he could barely breathe is unexpectedly diluted. Along with it, the remaining traces of his violent temper fade, and his aura weakens accordingly.

An aura is a mysterious thing; when hearts reflect one another and expressions meet, either the east wind overwhelms the west, or the west overwhelms the east. Anger and violence are among the means to elevate one's aura; thus, when Lin Xiangru confronted the King of Qin, he either bristled with rage or glared and shouted; when Napoleon negotiated with the Austrian representative, he once deliberately feigned a fit of rage and smashed porcelain.

Whether the Prince of Badong's sudden ferocity just now had any deliberate component is hard to say. However, the "warning" of Tao Rui's corpse was certainly intentional. This actually reflects that his violent temper is not only his personality but also his means of controlling his subordinates. Therefore, whether civil or military, regardless of family status, everyone under the Prince's command is terrified out of their wits and trembling like chickens the moment he flies into a rage.

If Wang Yang does not want to become timid and weak, to be manipulated and looked down upon by the Prince of Badong, or even end up in the position of Li Jingxuan and the others, he must maintain his rhythm. Even now, facing the dispirited Prince, he cannot relax.

No matter how diminished, the Prince is still a "Badong Tiger" capable of eating men. But for Wang Yang, taming this flying, sick tiger is much easier than manipulating the imperial "evil dragon" of the past.

After the Prince of Badong's violent aura leaks away, his eyes are helpless, his expression lost:

"Zhiyan, what should we do..."

Wang Yang stands up and paces, deep in thought.

The Prince of Badong's gaze follows Wang Yang closely, not missing a step, as if a drowning man waiting to be pulled ashore.

"How much longer can our military grain last?" Wang Yang asks.

The Prince of Badong is stunned for a moment, then roars:

"Li Yong-dog!"

Li Jingxuan shudders, his forehead pressed to the ground:

"Reporting to Your Highness, reporting to the Army Supervisor, the grain remaining in the army can barely last ten days..."

The Prince of Badong's face turns pale, and he almost sheds tears again, but then he hears Wang Yang say:

"It is fine. I established a grain depot in Zhouling; the accumulated grain is enough for an emergency—"

Before he can finish, the Prince of Badong suddenly stands up and kicks Li Jingxuan over!

Li Jingxuan lets out a muffled groan, and before he can crawl up, a second kick follows!

Wang Yang is startled:

"Your Highness, you—"

The Prince of Badong raises his foot high for a third time, hovering over Li Jingxuan, panting heavily, and roars through gritted teeth:

"You say it yourself! You tell Zhiyan yourself!!!"

It turns out that after Wang Yang was removed from his post, Li Jingxuan felt Zhouling was too close to the enemy and feared a loss. Also, out of an ingrained wariness of Wang Yang, he ordered the grain depot moved to the rear at Pujikou.

He had reported this to the Prince of Badong at the time, and the Prince had agreed! In terms of strategy, he believed his handling was correct! Zhouling was near the enemy, and an isolated depot hanging outside was not a proper place for storage! But at this moment, he dares not offer a single word of rebuttal! He can only endure the pain, swallow the blood, crawl up, and beg for forgiveness.

The Prince of Badong no longer has the strength to kick Li Jingxuan. He collapses back into his seat, his expression nearly blank. After a long while, he squeezes out a low, hoarse sentence:

"Zhiyan, are we..."

His throat rolls, and he finally struggles to say the last two words:

"Finished."

Once the word falls, the tent is terrifyingly silent.

Everyone has the feeling of watching themselves fall into an abyss, yet being powerless to stop it.

Everyone is thinking of the two words that have been lingering in their hearts, but which no one dared to say aloud except the Prince of Badong—

Finished.

"We are not finished."

Wang Yang's voice is resonant, like a precious sword, cleanly slicing through this heavy, suffocating silence.

Everyone suddenly lifts their heads, looking at Wang Yang's profile!

The Prince of Badong is like someone rescued from the bottom of the water, his voice trembling with a hope he himself cannot believe:

"Tr-truly?"

Wang Yang turns around, his expression sharp and heroic, every word distinct:

"Of course it is true. The odds of victory are still fifty-fifty."

The sentence is like a thunderclap on flat ground; the entire tent is shaken!

What did he say???? Fifty-fifty?????

How can it still be fifty-fifty when things have reached this point?!!!

The Prince of Badong is so excited he is trembling all over; he wishes he could pounce on Wang Yang and give him a fierce kiss!

What's the use of having many women! None of them are as fragrant as Wang Yang!!!

If this disaster can truly be overcome, I would be willing to abstain from sex for—for a year or two!

Even three or four years without touching a woman wouldn't be impossible!

The Prince of Badong doesn't know where this "fifty-fifty" comes from, but he believes it! Because it was said by Zhiyan!

Can Zhiyan be wrong?!

Impossible!!!

If he says fifty-fifty, it might even be a humble estimate!

Zhiyan is a god!!!!

The Prince of Badong had felt the sky collapsing and the earth sinking just moments ago, but now he is as if injected with chicken blood; his previous depression and despair are swept away! In their place is an inexplicable excitement and near-blind hope! It is as if a gambler about to lose his entire fortune suddenly receives divine revelation telling him he will definitely turn the tables in the next round.

He sits up straight almost immediately and says urgently:

"Zhiyan, speak quickly! What should we do!"

Wang Yang says:

"First, dispatch mobile troops to raid the land and collect grain to sustain the army. On the north bank, from Zhouling to Huaihui, west to Yundu, and east to Taibai Lake. On the south bank, from the front of Baiyang Fort, limited to Fankou. At the same time, order Pujikou to urgently transport grain to the army."

In ancient times, it was often said to "strengthen the walls and clear the fields." It sounds like a very powerful strategy; it seems that mentioning it is a superior plan, and many generals who choose to fight outside the city instead of defending it often appear reckless and unintelligent.

But the facts are not so.

First, not all places have cities. Even in Jiankang, the capital of the Southern Dynasties, it was not until the Southern Qi that they began to build an outer stone wall; before that, it was always a bamboo fence. Of course, there was the Taicheng that could be defended, but the outer wall was always a bamboo fence. A bamboo-fenced enclosure was also called a "city," so when the word "city" appears in medieval history books, it is often not the image of distinct stone bricks and towering heights seen in television dramas.

And even for stone cities, there are differences in quality. Some have been in disrepair or there was no time to repair them, making them indefensible. For example, when Emperor Wen of Liu Song launched his northern expedition, the Jinyong City, one of the four towns in Henan, had to be abandoned because the city walls could not be defended.

Secondly, the size of cities varies, and their capacity for people is different. The "fields" in "clearing the fields" refers to the land outside the city. And the majority of the population lived outside the city. For example, once a metropolis like Jiankang shrinks to defend the city, the vast majority of people cannot enter. As for the vast fields of crops and the surrounding villages and gardens, they cannot be moved into the city at all.

In places like the north where horse warfare is frequent, closing the city also involves the problem of pasture. For example, when He Lianchang, the King of Xia, attacked Anding, he raided for days, and the city "had no fodder or pasture, and the generals were troubled by it." The Northern Wei once sealed off many fertile fields as pastures, which were also used for grazing horses outside the city.

Therefore, true "strengthening of walls and clearing of fields" is difficult to achieve and is often rejected in discussions. Even if it is done, most of it can only be to arrange for more residents and harvest more crops in the time available. Once huddled inside the city, it not only means turning to a limited and passive fighting style but also means handing over vast territories, populations, and economic production to others. (This is why it is common to see cases where they cannot break into the city and turn to raiding the population instead.)

There is also a true sense of "strengthening walls and clearing fields," burning everything outside the city and driving everyone into the mountains. But the more settled, wealthy, and less militarized a society is, the harder it is to implement this policy. First, it is difficult to operate, and secondly, even if forced, it is equivalent to self-mutilation. In many cases, it is even more damaging to the foundation or even self-destructive.

Yingzhou is neither willing nor has the conditions, and it also lacks the ability to do so.

Xiakou concentrates its strength to defend only three points, which has its benefits, but the drawback is that the vast counties outside the three points are left to be slaughtered. This gives Wang Yang the room to offer the strategy of "taking food from the enemy."

The Prince of Badong says "good" repeatedly, and Guo Wenyuan and the others also feel a bit more at ease.

It really must be said, the moment Wang Yang speaks, it feels like having a backbone!

Only Li Jingxuan has objections.

Because this violates the last of the four principles he set before attacking Xiakou (see Chapter 413, "Achieving Ambition")—

Do not divide troops to raid the land.

The third principle is also half-violated. The eastern defense fortresses he originally set were Baiyang Fort and Yuhu City, defending against ambushes and surprise attacks by the Tai army. Now Wang Yang wants to cross Baiyang Fort to collect grain, which is risky. However, Wang Yang added a "limited to Fankou," which leaves room for maneuver, which can be considered a mature strategy. And with Yuhu City as a backup, even if the mobile troops run into trouble, it will not damage the foundation. In this way, it seems there is no problem?

Not to mention there is no problem, even if there were, what could be done?

Now that grain is about to run out, if we stick to the old strategy, we will just sit and die.

More importantly, the look in the Prince of Badong's eyes when he looks at Wang Yang right now is like looking at a god descended to earth! If he dares to say even half a word of disagreement, he fears he will be beaten into meat paste on the spot...

The Prince of Badong had been pulled out of the water and sunned by Wang Yang while in despair. Now that he has listened carefully, he has been pushed back into the water, but after being pulled out again, he has been roasted by the sun until his face is rosy, his Vitamin D levels are high, and his whole person is full of vitality! He asks excitedly:

"Zhiyan, what about Jingzhou? What should we do about Jingzhou? Li Yong-dog said we cannot return to Jingzhou, is that right?"

Li Jingxuan secretly glances at Wang Yang, his gaze deep. ===== CHAPTER 426 =====