The Most Powerful Young Master of the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 26: The Little Brat’s Ingenious Plan

Wang Bang said, “That’s exactly the problem. Influenced by those guys in the imperial court, these southern civil officials look down on Di Qing and worry that he’ll steal the credit. They, too, want to claim credit before Di Qing does, so they harbor resentment. While other military commanders dare not act, Chen Shu—as the prefect holding the seal of office—would never give Di Qing the courtesy of compliance. That is why Chen Shu disobeyed military orders, sent troops out on his own initiative, suffered a crushing defeat, and sacrificed eight thousand soldiers. “Therefore, my son, I am certain that Di Qing—whose temper is already as fiery as a blaze—will kill the moment he arrives at the front lines, especially now that he has endured so much humiliation and his anger has reached a boiling point. Chen Shu is as good as dead. If even Chen Shu can be killed, Di Qing will be finished.” Wang Anshi was certainly no fool; he began to grow genuinely concerned. In Old Wang’s mind, Chen Shu—who disobeyed his commander, was stubborn and self-willed, violated military orders by launching an unauthorized attack, suffered defeat, and sacrificed eight thousand soldiers—certainly deserved to die. However, no one in the Song Dynasty would kill Chen Shu; if Chen Shu were executed now, what would become of Han Qi, who had suffered defeat at Haoshui River? If that were the case, Di Qing would have caused a major scandal. After much deliberation, Wang Anshi said hesitantly, “Bing’er, this is merely your conjecture. There is no evidence to suggest that Di Qing would dare to kill Chen Shu. If he has no such intention, and since I am not his superior, writing him a letter to warn him about this would imply that I, Wang Anshi, do not trust him. It would affect his state of mind and cause him to harbor even greater hatred toward literati.” Wang Bang shook his head and said, “Son, I am certain that Di Qing will kill Chen Shu. Because the order to deploy troops came from Chen Shu; the other generals were merely following orders. If he does not kill Chen Shu, Di Qing will be unable to kill the other generals. And without killing those responsible, Di Qing will have no authority within the Southern Army. As a military genius, Di Qing is a man of pure conviction. In the capital, he naturally maintains a low profile and acts with humility, but once on the battlefield, his mindset shifts; he becomes a machine, heedless of all else, with his subconscious telling him that his sole mission is to win the war. Thus, in his urgent need to rally the troops and enforce strict discipline, he must kill to establish his authority. Chen Shu, however, looks down on Di Qing and is inevitably too proud to admit his mistake. Chen Shu would think, ‘Even if I’m wrong, I’ll just get another official post somewhere else—who the hell do you, Di Qing, think you are to criticize me?’ With this mindset, he would inevitably humiliate the commander-in-chief appointed by the emperor right in front of the entire army!” At this point, Wang Anshi’s expression finally changed. Bang’er’s logic was so clear that it had almost completely laid bare the arrogant mindset of the court officials and literati. For the imperial army, on the verge of a decisive battle at Kunlun Pass, if the commander-in-chief were publicly humiliated and nothing were done about it, that army would be unable to go into battle. So now Wang Anshi realized that if such a situation arose, Di Qing—in a fit of passion and to establish his authority to win the war—would surely kill Chen Shu. Once that happened, Di Qing would truly be finished—not even the emperor could save him. For he would be challenging the very system of the Great Song. “Thank goodness my son thinks clearly and reminded me in time; otherwise, something truly disastrous would have happened. I’ll write a letter to Di Qing right away to warn him.” Wang Anshi sat down and picked up his brush. But then he set the brush down again, looking bewildered. “Yet if that’s the case, Chen Shu truly deserves to die. Without killing him, there’s no way to bring about a decisive battle. Without dealing with Chen Shu, there will be no self-discipline or morale among the troops—and what will become of my people, who are already suffering in the depths of misery? Although Di Qing might not actually lose, if this drags on for an extended period, how can the court afford the constant drain on its finances? Zhang Fangping will be the first to throw himself against a wall because he can’t even put food on the table.” Wang Bang chuckled and said, “I have a plan to defeat Chen Shu.” “Tell me about it.” Wang Anshi truly began to see his son in a new light; he felt the boy was a genius, though his mind wasn’t set on his studies. Wang Bang smiled. “Judging by the timing, Father, your second shipment of grain and provisions should be on its way. Why don’t you deliver it yourself this time?” Wang Anshi paused for a moment and said, “Here in Shuzhou City, I’m temporarily unable to get anything done. If it could solve the problem, it would be worth the trouble for me to make the trip. Unfortunately, this isn’t Huaixi—over there, I have no administrative authority, and no one listens to me. What good would it do for me to go?” Wang Bang bit his finger and said, “When you get there, just find an excuse to pick a fight with Chen Shu! Beat him up and send him to the hospital. Let him stay there until the war is over—then he can do whatever he wants.” Pfft. Wang Anshi spit out a mouthful of tea. “Is that your plan to take down Chen Shu? That sounds like nothing but thuggish behavior.” Wang Bang spread his hands. “So what if it’s thuggish? Chen Shu is a civil official—aren’t you? You’re even higher in rank than he is. You’re tall and stocky—like a human shield. You could teach that kid a lesson in no time, without needing anyone’s help. Just go over there, find an opportunity to bump into him on purpose, or ask, ‘What are you staring at?’ Then grab him by the neck, sweep his legs out from under him, and knock him to the ground. After pinning him down and giving him a good beating, send him to Anji Ward to be hospitalized—that way, Di Qing won’t have a chance to stir up animosity. What’s there to be afraid of? At worst, you’ll get a reputation for being hot-headed and impulsive. Now that Chen Shu has suffered a crushing defeat and cost us eight thousand men, if you beat him up as a passionate, indignant young man using that as your justification—sure, it’s not right, but at a time like this, absolutely no one will blame you. In fact, quite a few people will secretly cheer you on. For instance, Di Qing will be grateful that you did what he couldn’t bring himself to do, and the men of the Southern Army will thank you with tears in their eyes for standing up for their eight thousand fallen brothers.” Wang Anshi couldn’t help but pause in surprise; after hearing this explanation from this unorthodox young man, it actually seemed to make sense. However, Old Wang smiled wryly: “If I do that, Father’s reputation will suffer, and I’ll attract a lot of enmity.” Wang Bang replied in a gentle tone: “Father, you are a man of action; it is inevitable that your reputation won’t be a good one. As for enmity, haven’t you already incurred plenty of it? Do you really think that if you don’t crack down on Chen Shu, he’ll like you? He won’t. They’re bound to dislike you because they fear your style of governance. Since that’s the case, there’s no need to waste your energy on people who are bound to dislike you. ‘A man will die for his true friend; a woman adorns herself for the one who delights in her.’ You need to recognize who your “client base” is. You only need to be kind to those who trust you and follow you, and then charge forward without hesitation.” “Alright!” Old Wang slammed his palm down on the table and declared, “Just for those words, I, Wang Anshi, will gladly take on this hatred. I’ll personally deliver the grain this time. Chen Shu is as good as dead—just wait until I beat him senseless. I don’t care if the Ministry of Personnel gives me a disciplinary reprimand.” “Father, you’re so awesome! Your son is rooting for you,” Wang Bang said, pointing at him with his two little fingers. “Go to bed now.” With that, he was smacked on the back of the head and, clutching his head, scampered off… Upon hearing the little devil’s half-baked advice to his husband, Geng Tianji was utterly flabbergasted. He never would have imagined the young master’s imagination could run this wild—sitting in a thatched cottage, acting as a strategist despite being nothing more than a little brat, and mapping out the Wang family’s “political campaign” for Guangnan. So now, the two campaigns were intertwined: the Great Demon King was tasked with bringing his own lunchbox to defeat Chen Shu—that useless teammate—and once the political obstacles were cleared, Di Qing would be responsible for teaching Nong Zhigao a lesson, thereby enabling the Great Song Dynasty to reclaim its lost territories. The Little Devil said that military affairs are an extension of politics; whether Guangnan can achieve a great victory depends on whether Old Wang can make Chen Shu bite the dust. As long as the political battle is won, Di Qing won’t lose the military one. Old Liao and Xu Langshan were blown away by the young master’s scheme. These two hotheads simply lacked the courage—if they could, they would’ve thrown Chen Shu into a cauldron of boiling oil long ago. Now that they’ve heard the Great Demon King is even bringing his own lunchbox and charging into battle bare-chested, things should be looking up. On the other side, Da Bang’s mouth was split wide in a grin. “Once the ‘Great Demon King’ is away on a business trip, Shuzhou is mine to do with as I please. No one can stop me—no one can tell me what to do anymore.” Erya said, “I’m a bit worried about Dad’s fighting ability. That’s enemy territory—what if he gets surrounded by a bunch of scholars? What then?” Wang Bang scolded her, “You’re overthinking it. If those people were that united and capable, Chen Shu wouldn’t have lost at Kunlun Pass. They’re more cunning than demons. When our father fights Chen Shu, it’s out of frustration—he’s disappointed in someone with potential. But if they were to surround him, that would be insubordination. Military authority lies in Di Qing’s hands, and he’d definitely ‘take sides’ in that situation.” After hearing this explanation, Erya said, “As long as Da Bang is in charge, I’ll rest easy—as long as Father is safe.” At the same time, a strong wind began to blow from the south. Chen Shu felt a burning sensation behind his ears, followed by a chill that sent shivers down his spine. Yet, despite looking around suspiciously, he could find no reason for it…