Prince of Badong

Biodata

Title and Offices

The princely title belongs to Xiao Zixiang in the supplied account. His associated appointments change substantially between his return to the imperial lineage and his rebellion 122 326.

• Yellow battle-axe: Authorized execution of commanders holding imperial credentials. His assumption of this authority challenged the protections normally enjoyed by major regional commanders 326.
• Badong Commandery: He regarded his fief as a possible base for rebuilding his army or entering Shu after defeat, but never reached it 436 441.

Background / History

Adoption and Imperial Favor

The emperor gave Xiao Zixiang to his younger brother, the Prince of Yuzhang, as an adopted heir while the boy was still young and had not yet received his princely title. Yuzhang raised him as his own son. After Yuzhang had sons of his own, he requested Xiao Zixiang’s return to his birth lineage 122.

Upon his return, Xiao Zixiang received the title Prince of Badong and prominent capital appointments. His position as Attendant Gentleman of the Cavalier allowed him unrestricted access to palace offices and frequent attendance upon the emperor. Impressed by his martial courage, the emperor called him “my family’s Yellow-Bearded Boy” 122.

His rise was followed by impeachment and departure to Jiangzhou in the sixth year of Yongming. Xie Xinghan reported a rumor that the Crown Prince had driven the impeachment; she connected this to hostility between the Crown Prince and the Prince of Yuzhang, rather than presenting it as an established fact 122.

Position in Jingzhou

By his appearance at the scholarly debate, the prince governed Jingzhou and held military authority over seven provinces. His senior officials included court appointees, local aristocrats, and imperial informants, making open faction-building dangerous 42 82.

His close relationship with Yuzhang also affected local educational politics. Yu Qianlou expected him to tolerate or support the Yuzhang-founded Wang Academy’s effort to displace the Commandery Academy as Jingzhou’s sole official school 43.

Appearance

• Build: Young, powerfully built, and conspicuously martial among scholars 82.
• Face: Sharply defined features, thick upswept brows, and gleaming eyes repeatedly described as tiger-like 82 134.
• Public bearing: Arrives at a scholarly gathering on horseback with a bow across his back, disregarding the carriage expected by ceremonial propriety 82.
• Private dress: Appears in white nightclothes while cleaning his long saber, surrounded by black-armored guards 213.

Personality

The prince is proud, volatile, and difficult to please. Wang Yang observes that meek obedience bores him, excessive flattery loses his interest, and outright defiance can provoke his anger. Successful dealings require a careful balance of firmness and deference 132 365.

His reputation for madness is partly a political instrument. He explains that repeated small offenses make increasingly serious misconduct seem ordinary, while his open hostility toward Wu Xiuzhi could weaken the credibility of the secretary’s reports to the emperor. Wang Rong likewise warns that beneath his rough exterior lies an intelligent man with rules of his own 35 120.

His cruelty is not merely theatrical. He considers killing a maid because he is in a bad mood, although Wang Yang’s intervention changes that mood and ends the immediate danger. The author’s commentary describes him as emotionally unattached and treating women as objects 185 186.

His pride coexists with resentment toward his birth family. In prison, he describes his childhood adoption as being discarded by his father and condemns demands for loyalty and filial devotion from an unjust sovereign or unloving parent 455.

Abilities & Skills

Physical Strength and Close Combat

• Uses only half his strength in an encounter with Chen Qing Shan, then offers to fight her with a one-hand handicap 132.
• While badly wounded and surrounded, breaks spear shafts with his saber and swings an officer’s body into two other attackers 441.
• Fights with aggressive, forceful saber strokes, repeatedly breaking open the encirclement around him 441.
• Eventually loses to Yang Diru after prolonged fighting and multiple wounds. Yang acknowledges that he cannot equal the prince’s strength; the prince’s claim that he would win uninjured remains his own assessment 441.

Archery and Mounted Fighting

• At an imperial banquet in the third year of Yongming, draws a four-bushel bow and pierces two targets with one arrow 454.
• During his final flight, kills pursuing riders with a crude hunting bow without missing a shot, until his arrows run out 441.
• Leads sixty elite mounted guards to confront Wang Yi, invoking Lu Bu’s exploits as justification for the risk 328.
• Seizes command of the Changhu camp through a surprise mounted entry and defeats Wang Yi 347.

Political Maneuvering

• Cultivates an outrageous public image to conceal calculation and reduce scrutiny 120.
• Investigates Wang Yang’s identity through Kong Changyu’s connection to Guo Jian 120 134.
• Uses appointments, business opportunities, rewards, and threats to bind Wang Yang to his service 135 144 215.
• Restricts Wang Yang’s military orders through personal review and his seal, places Wang’s quarters beside his own, and assigns six expert guards for both protection and supervision 408.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Great Yellow Bow — Used to threaten Wang Yang during an interrogation about who had sent him 134.
• Ring-Pommel Long Saber — Cleaned in private, used to intimidate advisers, and made the subject of a wager with Wang Yang 213 214 357.
• Captured hunting bow — Obtained during his retreat and used against pursuing troops 441.
• Warhorse — Carries him during his final escape before collapsing from its wounds; the prince dismounts and strokes it sorrowfully 441.
• Princely standard — A black banner bearing “Badong” in gold, raised aboard his four-story tower ship 403.

Relationships

• The emperor — Birth father. Once praised his courage and favored him at court; the prince later rebelled and expressed deep resentment over his childhood adoption 122 347 455.
• Consort Zhang — Birth mother. Kong Changyu urged him to stop pleading illness and observe the customary palace visits on the first and fifteenth of each month 236.
• Prince of Yuzhang — Former adoptive father who raised him affectionately. Their bond remained politically important after his return to the imperial lineage 43 122.
• Wang Yang — Business agent, adviser, military commander, and adversary whose wit repeatedly entertains him. Their relationship combines affection, exploitation, attempted murder, and eventual reconciliation 110 135 408 453 455.
• Kong Changyu — Household secretary and trusted adviser. His “Three Admonitions” opposed reckless violence, neglect of the prince’s birth mother, and unrestrained speech 82 236.
• Li Jingxuan — Adviser involved in the ambush plans and later in limiting Wang Yang’s authority; frequently subjected to the prince’s anger 252 263 411.
• Wu Xiuzhi — Court-appointed supervisory secretary whom the prince publicly humiliates and challenges to report his misconduct 120.
• Wang Yi — Court envoy and Chief Clerk who challenges the validity of the prince’s military orders and mobilizes troops against him 235 328.
• Wang Zao’s daughter — Intended bride in an imperially bestowed political marriage. Xue Shao abandons her procession; the wedding does not take place, and the marriage remains unresolved after the prince’s deposition 236 356 482.
• Yongning Barbarians — Partners in his covert dealings. Their intervention against the delegation ambush complicates his plans 263 307 351.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Patronage, Commerce, and the Granary

Ambush and Rebellion

The prince approves additional ambush preparations along possible routes taken by Wang Yang and the court delegation. The scheme collapses in the Green Camphor Forest after Yongning Commandery troops intervene, leaving Wang Yi and Wang Yang unaccounted for 252 263.

Fear that Wang Yang might belong to the Crown Prince—and that his barbarian dealings could be exposed—helps drive the prince to open rebellion. He uses the Southern Barbarian threat as a pretext to detain senior aides and issue commands throughout Jingzhou. His surprise victory over Wang Yi strengthens the uprising’s initial momentum 347 348.

Wang Yang’s Return and the Campaign

• Insists on meeting Wang Yang before killing him, overruling advisers who demand immediate execution 357.
• Allows Wang Yang to argue his case and demonstrate his value, but refuses to release Yu Yuling before the gentry submit 360 365 372.
• Rewards Wang Yang for securing Yu Yi’s surrender with the acting Chief Clerkship of Jingzhou; orders the recruitment of eight thousand retainer troops within seven days 394.
• Launches the campaign aboard his tower ship while closely supervising Wang Yang’s growing authority 403 408.
• Decides to remove Wang Yang’s effective powers while preserving his title of Military Commander 411.
• Turns back to Wang Yang for reassurance and practical direction after reports of Jingzhou’s fall and the discovery that the army has only ten days of grain 425.

Defeat, Capture, and Reconciliation

After defeat, the prince refuses the northern route and plans to return through Jingzhou to his fief, rebuilding his forces if possible or entering Shu if necessary. Court, Yingzhou, and Jiangling troops instead trap him in Jingnan 436 441.

His last four mounted guards die during his flight. Wounded and exhausted, he fights on foot, spares Guard Army officer Li Yanbo, and challenges Yang Diru. After losing the duel, he throws away his saber and declares his surrender 441.

In prison, he initially tries to seize Wang Yang through the bars. Their later conversation brings an acknowledgment that his own ambushes, hostage-taking, and suspicion justified Wang Yang’s lack of sincere support. He asks Wang Yang to help the people of his residence and Kong Changyu’s family 452 453.

Their final documented reconciliation centers on friendship rather than political allegiance. When Wang Yang promises to remember his kindness despite the world’s condemnation, Xiao Zixiang straightens his clothes and bows deeply to him 455.

Notable Quotes

“A virtuous prince like my second imperial brother draws ten thousand eyes the moment he makes a single mistake. But an outrageous prince like me can make mistake after mistake, and hardly anyone cares.” 120

“Since I wasn’t sincere with you, it was only reasonable that you weren’t sincere with me.” 453

“I, Xiao Zixiang—am humbled—” 455