"What do you understand?" Lan Tian asked in return.
Lan Yuan answered excitedly, "So Father moved the 'Huaisi wolves' away in order to make the 'Jiangdong sheep' fight among themselves? But won't that take too long? We still need to head north and recover the Central Plains. We don't have much time to waste watching a show in Jiangdong."
Lan Tian gently shook his head after hearing this. "It seems you still haven't fully understood. What I said afterward was this: without the wolves' natural selection, weak sheep will survive under the protection of their families. Weakness makes them prone to disease, and disease will drag down the victorious flock. Then the flock will perish."
"Uh... I understand now, but I'm even more confused..." Lan Yuan understood the relationship between sheep and wolves, yet the situation in Jiangdong only became murkier to him.
"First tell me: in that story just now, who are the wolves, and who are the sheep? And what do we represent?" Lan Tian threw out another question.
"Uh... are the Jiangdong aristocratic clans the sheep? The Huaisi... are we the wolves?" Lan Yuan was uncertain.
Lan Tian answered solemnly, "First, we represent those who eat the sheep. As Governor of Yang Province, I represent the court. The flock grazes on Han Dynasty land. Is it not only right that we take mutton as tax?"
"Then who are the wolves?" Lan Yuan pressed.
"Sun Quan and the Sun Clan, naturally. Zhang Zibu belongs to another flock of sheep." Lan Tian narrowed his eyes.
"But the wolves have already been driven away, and you drove off another flock as well. Now you're watching the 'Jiangdong sheep' grow stronger." Lan Yuan gave a bitter smile.
Lan Tian revealed a confident smile. "If we do not move the 'Huaisi sheep'