Chapter 470: Savage Performance Art (Part 2)

In his own study, Fang Chongyong watched Du Gu Li, who had traveled a thousand li, listen to his out‑of‑the‑blue "grand plans", and for a moment didn't know what to say.

King Ying Li Jiao, compared with Li Chang, has two huge gaps that are hard to make up.

The biggest gap is that Li Jiao is not the crown prince; even if he ascended the throne, his legitimacy would be no stronger than that of the Hebei rebels. Li Chang, however, is the crown prince, and that title alone can attract many to conspire with him.

The other gap is the "first‑move advantage". Li Chang was the first to stand up against Ji Ge, so those who don't intend to jump ship will surely side with Ji Ge, while those who plan to jump ship will first jump to Li Chang's side.

Li Jiao has no advantage at all!

I really don't know where Du Gu Li's confidence comes from!

"Supporting King Ying in taking the throne at Xiangyang amounts to treason. I can't do that."

Fang Chongyong said slowly.

But Du Gu Li was clearly not so easy to fool; a disdainful smile appeared on his face and he couldn't help mocking, "Everyone now knows the Son of Heaven has struck you and the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army, yet you still talk about fearing treason. The one who fears treason the least is you, Fang."

"That's true, but I don't want to support King Ying. The world's situation has already changed dramatically; there's no turning back."

"If the Du Gu clan still wants to place bets on every side as before, they're miscalculating."

Fang Chongyong decided to make one last appeal; if Du Gu Li really can't take it in, then there's nothing else to do.

Path dependence is actually a very useful—and very frightening—thing.

Path dependence lets people handle some "not‑worth‑the‑effort" matters efficiently, freeing their attention for the key issues.

It worked fine before; using the old routine again should work just as well.

When Northern Wei fell and was replaced by Northern Zhou, then by the Sui, then by the Tang, the Guanzhong aristocrats rode each speculative gamble, always standing on the victor's side. They had mastered this "path dependence".

They also habitually believed the next gamble would succeed too.

"You know nothing! I'm only helping you because of Shi San Niang, don't think I'm useless without you!"

Du Gu Li dropped a harsh remark, stormed out, and the conversation died. When minds differ, trying to persuade the other is as hard as scaling a mountain.

Fang Chongyong guessed correctly: King Ying Li Jiao is merely a "project" the Du Gu clan has invested in. As time passes and the war shifts, more "projects" will appear to ensure the clan's core interests are protected even under the next emperor.

Fang Chongyong escorted Du Gu Li out the courtyard, turned and saw Wang Yunxiu watching him, apparently with something to say.

"My lady heard brother say my father intends to strike A Lang in Sparrow Rat Valley—does such a thing exist?"

Wang Yunxiu feigned calm and asked.

When Wang Yanshu told her about it, Wang Yunxiu, who had grown up, felt a deep terror from the bottom of her heart for the first time.

She remembered the "men are made for women" anecdote clearly. Her father and husband meet on the battlefield; whom should she help?

It is a test of humanity and a hard‑to‑decide dilemma.

If Wang Zhongsi truly annihilated the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army in Sparrow Rat Valley, the devastating blow to Wang Yunxiu's life would be obvious.

"It's nothing; don't listen to Wang Yanshu's nonsense. It's all just a performance."

Fang Chongyong waved his hand nonchalantly.

He thought it over and decided not to tell Wang Yunxiu about Wang Zhongsi's dangerous march of troops into Hebei.

"The world has changed; there's no turning back."

Fang Chongyong clasped Wang Yunxiu's shoulder and sighed helplessly.

……

In the early summer of the twelfth year of the Tianbao era, Crown Prince Li Chang formally appointed Fang Chongyong as Jiedushi of the Xuanwu Army, overseeing the military, civil, and administrative affairs of Bian Prefecture, Song Prefecture, Cao Prefecture, Chen Prefecture, Bo Prefecture, and Ying Prefecture.

He seized control of military power, finances, and personnel appointments in one hand!

Moreover, he named King Ying Li Jiao, Prince Yong Li Lin, and others as Jiedushi, each stationed in their own region to jointly suppress the Hebei rebel forces.

Although Li Chang's actions border on "pulling down one's pants and farting", these petty deeds all challenge Ji Ge's authority.

The Hedong side gave no reaction; according to Ji Ge's plan, they would thrust a great army straight into the rebels' rear. If they won, all of Li Chang's flamboyance would melt away like ice under the scorching sun.

In the face of absolute victory, such conspiracies are insignificant!

Putting aside the court's gathering of a massive army in Hedong to battle the Hebei rebels, even Bian Prefecture has seen many new changes.

Fang Chongyong ordered Duan Xiushi to gather nearby laborers, levy corvée on the opposite bank of the Kaifeng County canal, and build a fortified settlement there.

This was actually appropriate, since the east bank of the canal needed a small town to support Kaifeng City, ensuring basic local defense. Moreover, the east bank housed many warehouses that required a town to guard against bandits.

While the wooden wall was still under construction, merchants set up stalls around the walls, naturally gravitating toward it.

The scene resembled the old Jiankang City without an outer wall: a cluster of tiny forts, with residents continuously moving in and settling near the forts until the whole city merged into one.

Many thought that way at first, but soon they sensed something was off.

For example, merchants saw Yinqiang Xiaojie Army soldiers pushing carts into the new town, and in the carts' cages were a tiger… and a slightly smaller leopard!

It was admittedly a bit abstract.

Moreover, the city often echoed with tiger roars and the curses of the Qiu Ba.

Those merchants who had gathered near the walls fled overnight after hearing the tiger's howl, leaving not a hair behind.

In this absurdly surreal style, twenty days later the odd new town was completed. At the city gate hung a huge black plaque.

It bore the two characters "Hu Ben".

Early that morning, outside Kaifeng City.

Yuan Jie, dressed in a red official robe, carried a gong, beating it while shouting to the crowd, "Passers‑by, don't miss this! Warriors wrestle fierce tigers—once in a hundred years! All for a single coin! One coin won't make you lose, one coin won't cheat you; for one coin you can watch warriors grapple with ferocious tigers inside Hu Ben City! After this village, the stall disappears!"

With his loud cries, merchants, peddlers, and travelers inside and around Kaifeng flocked enthusiastically toward the newly built "Hu Ben City".

At the gate a ticket booth accepted a Kaiyuan Tongbao coin tossed into a box, granting entry to the show. Bian Prefecture is prosperous; even a commoner can spare a coin.

And a program of wrestling a fierce tiger was something they had never even heard of before!

"Jiedushi, why have you come…"

At that moment, ticket‑seller Che Guangqian saw Fang Chongyong arrive with a lady companion. Though the woman wore a veil, Che Guangqian instantly recognized her as A Na Ye.

"The whole world is celebrating, so I came to join the fun."

Dressed in a simple cloth robe, blending into the crowd so he could no longer be identified, Fang Chongyong tossed two Kaiyuan Tongbao coins into the wooden box, and sauntered into the newly‑built city that was only a few days old.

At this moment the place was already packed like a sea of people, and the sergeants maintaining order shouted at the top of their lungs, warning the crowd not to push or run around.

This city was built specifically for performances. The central arena was the site where warriors grappled with ferocious tigers. Around it, tiered platforms rose in concentric circles, eventually level with the city walls.

Fang Chongyong arrived relatively late, and the better seats had already been taken. He and A Naye could only sit on a platform near the height of the city wall; it was a bit far from the arena, so the view was not very clear and details could not be observed.

"Over in the west of the river they select slaves, sometimes making them fight lion‑tigers. But A Lang putting on a spectacle this big is truly unheard of."

A Naye teased Fang Chongyong with a remark.

The trope of humans battling ferocious beasts has existed since ancient times, though it has always been highly controversial.

On one hand, the violent component in human genetics makes this cruel, blood‑thirsty activity widely praised, causing spectators' blood to boil with excitement.

On the other hand, its sheer bloodiness seems uncivilized and at odds with the direction of the times.

In short, onlookers treat it with a "stinky tofu" attitude.

It smells foul but tastes fragrant. In public they disdain such violent, bloody spectacles, even harshly criticizing them!

Yet when given a chance to watch, they still rush in without hesitation to observe.

"A Lang, can this person beat a ferocious tiger? Oh dear, how cruel!"

A few seats away from Fang Chongyong, a woman wearing the same mesh veil as A Naye asked a businessman‑styled man beside her. Her voice was soft and coquettish, sending gooseflesh down one's spine.

According to A Naye, just from the voice one could tell she was a slut.

If nothing went wrong, this woman was probably the merchant's "standard‑issue concubine", something like a "secretary for business and for bed". She could attend to daily needs as well as intimate duties.

Merchants in the Tang dynasty usually liked to have a beautiful concubine on hand, taking her wherever they went. Moreover, if they could afford it, they would employ a Kunlun slave as a bodyguard, and at the very least hire a Sogdian warrior as a personal guard.

When Xuanzang journeyed west for the scriptures, he was accompanied not by Sun Wukong but by a Sogdian warrior, who fought across the whole arena.

"Mo, don't call, Ah, Ah Lang."

"People, people fight, can't beat, ferocious, ferocious tiger."

The young man beside the woman was actually a bit stuttered, speaking haltingly.

It's hard to imagine a stutterer being a merchant! Of course, that's just Fang Chongyong's guess from the man's attire; the reality is unknown.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing that Fang Chongyong kept looking at others, A Naye asked curiously.

"Nothing."

Fang Chongyong waved his hand lightly, feeling it unnecessary to share those boring observations with A Naye.

Just as the two were chatting, drums sounded loudly from the four corners of the city!

Boom—boom—boom—boom! Boom—boom—boom—boom!

Boom—boom—boom—boom! Boom—boom—boom—boom!

The Yinqiang Xiaojie Army's military band began beating the drums.

With its distinctive rhythm, everyone on the platform felt as if they were on a battlefield.

The drumbeats grew increasingly urgent!

Fang Chongyong looked around, observing the audience's expressions; each person was full of anticipation, many even clenching their fists.

Good, the atmosphere was almost perfectly set.

Fang Chongyong couldn't help but nod lightly.

In his view, a public‑opinion war is also warfare; this performance uses the power of future journalism to forge a 'ace iron army' through social opinion.

Abbreviated: Internet Celebrity Army!

Whether you can fight isn't the point; you must make outsiders believe you are extremely capable.

When the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army first arrived in Bianzhou, the people were unconvinced. No matter how Fang Chongyong told others that this army was incredibly formidable in the Western Regions and that in Hedong it had crushed the Hebei rebels beyond recovery,

It was all useless.

The ignorant don't know the value of these battles. They might even think it's simple, that the enemies are just easy trophies.

Even if Fang Chongyong explained strategy and tactics to them, they wouldn't understand or want to listen.

But a warrior fighting a ferocious tiger is thrilling, visceral, and intoxicating! The visual impact is overwhelming!

If a unit's soldiers can even kill a tiger, will they still be able to win battles on the battlefield?

If you can beat a tiger, how fierce could you be? How could battlefield enemies be any fiercer than a tiger?

Therefore, Fang Chongyong need not argue further; after witnessing today's 'warrior‑vs‑tiger' spectacle, the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army's name will spread on its own.

And it will be passed by word of mouth, growing ever more legendary!

In reality, organizing a well‑trained force is far harder than finding a few brave men to fight a tiger! On the battlefield, the warriors who can grapple a ferocious tiger are merely front‑line combatants.

If a delirious commander appears, even the fiercest men will be beaten to death by the enemy. On the battlefield, the weight of a commander's command and control far outweighs that of a few tiger‑slayers!

But ordinary citizens, even some aristocratic families, don't understand any of this!

The more violent and bloody the spectacle, the more it makes their blood surge.

They don't grasp strategy or battlefield melee, yet they can see how a man‑eating ferocious tiger is defeated by a warrior!

Fierce, brave, powerful!

One short, vivid word after another will shock their nerves, imprinting the notion 'Yinqiang Xiaojie Army is invincible' in their minds, evoking a deep‑seated awe.

"Eh? Isn't that He Laohu?"

A Naye impatiently lifted the mesh veil that blocked her view and pointed at the 'ferocious warrior' wielding a staff on the arena.

"It really is He Laohu."

Fang Chongyong also saw the man's build; it could only be He Changqi.

He was the only bald one in the army, easy to identify.

"This performance includes a solo tiger fight, a solo leopard strike, and a three‑person tiger hunt.

Watch slowly; A Duan has trained them on how to catch tigers. In fact, many things become easy with practice—once you know a tiger's habits, dealing with them isn't hard, at least easier than killing enemies on the battlefield."

No matter how fierce a beast, it cannot compare to the ferocity of humans."

Fang Chongyong said with pointed meaning.

"B-brother, you, you said it well! P-people are the, the most terrifying."

The young man seated next to him, dressed as a wealthy merchant, stammered as he gave Fang Chongyong a thumbs up.

As a sharp whistle sounded, an iron-bar gate at the edge of the training ground opened, and a massive tiger with glaring eyes and a white brow slowly stepped out of its cage.

Overbearing in presence! Mighty and magnificent!

Those yellow vertical-pupiled eyes stared fixedly at He Changqi.

Alas!

Everyone in the stands held their breath; some even covered their eyes with their hands, yet couldn't resist spreading their fingers apart to peek through a gap!

The show had finally begun—this one copper coin was well spent!

The tiger warily circled around He Changqi, and the latter moved along with the tiger's steps, always facing the beast.

"Aoo!"

Suddenly, the tiger displayed unparalleled explosive power—its hind legs thrust off, its forepaws stretched straight out, and it lunged forward with ferocious speed!

If that pounce landed, it would be game over instantly—time for the funeral banquet.

Who knew that He Changqi first stood motionless as a mountain, and only when the foul stench from the tiger's jaws was already in his face did he suddenly explode into motion, dodging to the side and slamming the wooden club hard onto the tiger's lower back!

"Wuu wuu wuu wuu!"

The tiger whimpered a few times in pain, then actually turned and fled, instantly darting back inside the iron bars, refusing to come out again!

"Yinqiang Xiaojie, invincible in battle!"

He Changqi raised his wooden club and roared!

"Yinqiang Xiaojie, invincible in battle!"

"Yinqiang Xiaojie, invincible in battle!"

"Yinqiang Xiaojie, invincible in battle!"

On one side of the stands, entirely composed of soldiers from the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army, they immediately joined He Changqi in the chanting, pushing the atmosphere to a climax!

"How about it, not bad, right?"

Fang Chongyong asked Anaye beside him, not without a hint of pride.

"So Old Tiger He really can fight tigers. I used to think he was just blowing his own horn."

Anaye murmured to herself.

(End of this chapter)