The Most Powerful Young Master of the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 45: The Nature of a Fighting Donkey

The one who truly brought Di Qing down wasn’t Zhang Fangping; Old Zhang merely defused the situation by downplaying the issue before it spiraled out of control. It’s like when a mischievous child gets into trouble, and before outsiders can intervene, the father gives the child a slap—though the punishment may be insufficient, it sends a clear message, making it easier to calm the situation. Otherwise, if a powerful outsider were to step in, the consequences would be far more severe. So this is the outcome of the intricate power struggle that unfolded: Di Qing would “come down with a cold,” but he would survive and no longer be in the eye of the storm. A promotion for Di Qing is out of the question; he’ll be impeached by Old Bao and forced to resign as Deputy Secretary of the Privy Council. Since Ouyang Xiu and his allies aren’t bad people either, things will largely settle down. As for whether this is unfair to Di Qing—perhaps. But if he is truly as low-key, loyal, and brave as others describe him to be, the country needs him to keep a low profile for the time being. If he can do so, he will be of great use in the future. What the Song Dynasty lacks is sound governance; it’s not as if Earth would stop turning without a single general. Relying on a single renowned general for the security of the entire nation is, in itself, a form of “insecurity.” This was Wang Bang’s reasoning; of course, aside from the little donkey Xiaobao, no one knew he was so underhanded. Furthermore, Bao Zheng was under immense pressure this time; his political armor was on the verge of shattering. Not only was he gathering incriminating evidence against Grand Tutor Pang, but he also delivered the final blow to Chen Shu at the very moment when Chen Shu was facing his greatest difficulties—an act that nearly drove Chen Shu to his death. All these incidents combined must have left Emperor Zhao Zhen deeply dissatisfied with Bao Zheng. However, since Emperor Zhao Zhen is known for his even temper, and Old Bao is merely unyielding rather than in the wrong, the emperor has chosen not to address the matter for the time being. Now, Zhang Fangping has concluded that Di Qing “misappropriated war spoils,” but he won’t actually make this public. So this information will surely be too much for Old Bao to bear, and he’ll jump in again to deliver a final blow to Di Qing. The fact that Di Qing was allowed to lead the troops clearly shows the emperor favors him, and the emperor is even happier that Di Qing won the battle. Yet Bao Zheng will step in to deliver another “blow” to the very person the emperor favors. A person’s character is eroded bit by bit—with Bao Zheng repeatedly provoking the emperor’s wrath despite repeated warnings, even a Buddha would eventually lose his temper… Today, Wang Bang was still daydreaming when he was suddenly hung up. Swinging from the rope in the courtyard, Maolu Xiaobao, Wang Xiaoya, and Old Liao were standing nearby watching. Old Liao shrugged and said, “Hanging you up isn’t my doing—it was the master’s order. The reason is that he discovered your shenanigans.” Wang Bang’s scheme was that, even after being warned by Wang Anshi, he continued to supply 90 percent of his chick production to the Egg Gang. This was because Old Chen was going all out to make a big splash next year; he was secretly driving up chick prices and offering extra money to secure them, making it impossible for Wang Bang to resist the temptation of money. So the scheming Wang Bang, in a truly despicable move, continued to reduce the supply allocated to small-scale farmers. And that’s how he got caught in the middle. Wang Bang didn’t care whether Old Chen had also been “invited for a cup of tea,” though he suspected not. With Sima Shengren keeping watch, and since Old Chen hadn’t violated the laws of the Great Song, even the Great Demon King couldn’t force Old Chen to “harmonize” with the system. As for me, Da Bang, I was in a world of trouble. A father can discipline his own son—Sima Shengren wouldn’t interfere with that. It’s a tear-jerking story, really. Wang Bang hasn’t actually reduced the absolute volume of supply to small-scale farmers, and he’s still selling at market price. Wang Bang was merely reducing the proportion of supply allocated to small-scale farmers. This was due to his growing operational expertise, equipment upgrades, and refinements to the breeding chicken’s nutritional formula—all of which had kept the hatch rate rising steadily. With the same number of breeding hens, a higher hatch rate naturally means more chicks. Then Old Chen kept frantically raising prices to buy up the chicks, so Da Bang played a word game with his devilish dad: he increased the absolute quantity supplied to small-scale farmers while lowering the proportion. As a result, he’s been left hanging this time. Grandma and Mom could only watch anxiously from a distance, too afraid to approach, because Wang Anshi had said, “If you dare go over there to comfort him, I can’t do anything to you, but I’ll make the punishment for that kid even harsher.” So now, only Wang Xiaoya is left to take care of her older brother. Her tiny frame carried a jar filled with the egg and millet porridge that Wang Bang loved to eat. Since she wasn’t tall enough, Erya straddled the donkey’s back and used a spoon to feed Wang Bang the porridge. The rope was loose, so whenever the wind blew, Wang Bang would spin around, changing direction after each spoonful. Sigh. Why not just reach out and turn Wang Bang toward him? But Xiaobao just turned around and went back to “looking for” Wang Bang’s face. The wind blew again, and Wang Bang turned back to face forward. So Xiaobao set out to find him once more. “Ooh-ah.” Unable to find Wang Bang’s front face no matter how long he looked, the donkey voiced his opinion. “Damn it, you’re the one who’s clueless, yet you dare blame me for drifting around?” This time, Wang Bang used the momentum of the wind to kick the donkey in the head with both legs. Then Xiaobao the donkey, carrying Erya and Wang Bang’s breakfast, ran off. “Da Bang hasn’t had enough to eat yet—Wang, don’t be naughty,” Erya shouted urgently. But the donkey, Xiaobao, wouldn’t listen—he really wasn’t coming back. It looked like they were going to go hungry this time. With Erya’s wit, she held the pot and spoon aloft but couldn’t get down from Xiaobao’s back. She’d just have to keep holding them like that. “This donkey is no different from a deserter. Do you really expect it to carry me into battle to fight for our country someday?” Wang Bang said. “The Wang family can’t have such a good-for-nothing around. I suggest we burn it.” Old Liao chuckled, “Unless you want to hang around here all winter, I suggest you don’t set your sights on the donkey. You wouldn’t understand the bond between my husband and it.” “However, the issue of the army’s lineage concerns the future fortune of the Song Kingdom. As a combat donkey, it must stand firm and wave gloriously alongside the Song Kingdom banner,” Wang Bang began rambling again. Old Liao shook his head and said, “It’s not a war donkey—it’s just a kid, just like you. And it’s not nearly as despicable as you are.” Wang Bang finally shut up, but inwardly he thought, “Old Chen actually dared to tempt me with money to make me slip up. If you don’t give this young master some financial compensation later, I’ll have you hung up just like that too…”