Shen Fang

Biodata

Background / History

Shen Fang served as the Prefect of Zhangwei during the Qingzhou famine. When Liu Shuyue proposed issuing bonds and implementing work-relief programs, he refused: extracting money and grain from wealthy families and merchants, in his view, would create a more difficult crisis than managing the refugees outside the city 13.

His relief policy remained deliberately limited. He distributed one bowl of thin porridge per day according to an outdated count of three thousand refugees, despite their rapidly increasing numbers; he later admitted that he had kept the refugees concentrated near Zhangwei rather than letting them disperse 15 27. He also concealed that no additional relief grain was expected because the higher authorities had never intended to provide it 28.

As the military prepared to seize the refugees' food and suppress their southward movement, Shen Fang could not stop the order and followed the troops out of the city. When Liu Shuyue blocked their path with heavenly thunder, he warned General Gong Lingwu not to cross her line, recognizing that an Immortal Master's sword could kill people as readily as demons 28 29.

Later, Shen Fang arrived at Mala Village as the King of Qi's envoy, carrying a demand that Liu Shuyue surrender. After witnessing the settlement's resources and stability, he offered to have Zhangwei personnel escort further refugees safely to the village, calling it a chance to avoid becoming “the sinner cursed by the people of Qingzhou” 35. Chen Xuan suspects Shen Fang's visit also served to assess Mala Village as a possible refuge should Great Qi lose a war with the Luo Kingdom 36.

As Great Qi weakened following its defeat at Jiufeng City, Shen Fang received the King of Qi and Jiang Ning's decree ordering every locality to send children aged ten to eighteen to the Royal City for a supposed path to immortality. Unwilling to carry out an order that would destroy his reputation and tear families apart, but too fearful to openly defy the king, he sent County Lieutenant Tang to Mala Village to draw Liu Shuyue into publicly opposing it. This would allow Shen Fang to distance himself from the resistance and place responsibility on her 392 393.

Liu Shuyue saw through the maneuver when she came to Zhangwei in person. Rather than merely obstructing the decree, she announced her intention to take control of Qingzhou and relocate Zhangwei's population to Mala Village, where ordinary people could be granted the opportunity to sense qi and cultivate. Realizing that Zhangwei would become either Liu's territory or a royal military target, Shen Fang agreed to cooperate with her and effectively accepted her as Qingzhou's new ruler 393 394.

Personality

Shen Fang is politically cautious and pragmatic. As prefect, he prioritizes Zhangwei's internal stability and the interests of its established residents, judging powerful gentry and merchants to be a more immediate threat than desperate refugees 13 18.

He is neither openly bloodthirsty nor consistently compassionate. He recognizes Liu Shuyue's sincere wish to save the refugees and appears reluctant to use force, yet he accepts the government's abandonment of relief efforts as the refugees' “fate” and proposes taking their grain to make a military seizure appear more presentable 15 28.

His conduct at Mala Village shows flexibility. Rather than blindly following the King of Qi's interests, he adapts to the changed circumstances, treats Liu Shuyue with renewed respect, and seeks a practical outcome that may preserve both refugees and his own future 35 36.

Shen Fang is a skilled political survivor who prefers indirect action to open defiance. His attempt to use Liu Shuyue as the public face of resistance to the child-recruitment decree demonstrates his desire to preserve both his office and reputation while avoiding the king's retaliation 393. Once Liu makes her larger ambitions clear, he quickly adjusts, recognizing the advantages of aligning Zhangwei with an emerging power rather than a failing court 393 394.

He also understands public legitimacy and mass persuasion. Though he knows little about cultivation, he advises Liu Shuyue to promote her relocation plan through rumors, impressive displays of immortal power, and public demonstrations of qi-sensing, so that her authority can rival Jiang Ning's influence 394.

Relationships

• Liu Shuyue — Political opponent turned uneasy collaborator. He rejected her famine-relief proposals and initially viewed her growing influence with concern, but later delivered the King of Qi's letter personally and offered assistance relocating refugees to Mala Village. He subsequently tried to draw her into opposing the royal child-recruitment decree while preserving his own deniability; after she declared her plan to take Qingzhou and relocate Zhangwei, he agreed to cooperate with her and advised her on building public support 13 19 35 393 394.
• Chen Xuan — Initially suspected Chen Xuan to be a figure of status comparable to Liu Shuyue; later accepted Liu's claim that Chen was her fellow Daoist from beyond the abyssal sea 15 35.
• County Lieutenant Tang — Subordinate and confidant with whom Shen Fang discusses Zhangwei's refugee policy, Liu Shuyue's political position, and the court's intentions. Shen later uses Tang as an intermediary to deliver news of the child-recruitment decree and provoke Liu Shuyue into taking responsibility for opposing it 15 18 392 393.
• Gong Lingwu — A general whose demand to seize the refugees' food places Shen Fang in a difficult position. Shen Fang later urges him to be cautious of Liu Shuyue's thunder barrier 27 29.
• King of Qi — His sovereign; Shen Fang serves as the king's envoy by delivering the ultimatum ordering Liu Shuyue's surrender. Though he remains unable to openly oppose the king, Shen seeks to avoid enforcing the later decree to seize children for the Royal City 35 392 393.
• Jiang Ning — The King of Qi's newly appointed Immortal Master, whose promise to grant children immortality makes Shen Fang's position over the royal recruitment decree increasingly untenable 392 394.

Trivia

• Shen Fang was skilled enough to react immediately to Chen Xuan's unexpected appearance in the prefectural residence, initially assuming an assassination attempt 13.
• He is married and is shown speaking harshly to his wife while privately displaying affection toward her 19.