#And wcg gets B for provably being a good parent but then LEAVING HIS SON IN YILING and DYING. Jzx gets A. Jyl! Gets a C!!!

[phoenixcatch7]

Absolutely insane to me that anyone either in universe or irl believes anything the main wen clan says.

We see from the very beginning in every adaptation that their modus operandi, nay, their way of life, is to lie, threaten and bribe people into doing their dirty work for them (you see this even easier in untamed).

Their favourite thing in the whole world is to make other people look bad, ESPECIALLY when they get a scapegoat out of it.

This is one of the ways the jin clan at the time follow in their footsteps - they capitalise on wwx as the pre prepared scapegoate they can blame and use to sow doubt, discord, distrust. They use the exact same tactic to remove a perceived threat on wwx as the wen remnants, mxy, even jrl - isolate them, make their word untrustworthy, assert themselves as the Righteous and Generous side in the process. But not without rubbing everyone else the wrong way just to make double sure they uncover anyone willing to stand against them!

The main issue here is, of course, the burning of lotus pier. First of all, wwx had no part in the physical actions the wens took, just to get the most obvious out of the way. Secondly, gusu burned first. That had absolutely zero to do with wwx or any rising rebellion - it happened before the indoctrination! (Side note, I can't believe that's how it gets translated when that's the biggest possible red flag term to use. It's genuinely insane when the clans remain complacent as they toss that word around and prepare to send their kids to it. At least pick, like, Education or Examination or something with plausibly less brainwashing cult kidnapping energy.)

Anyway. The wens chose their targets well. Gusu burns first: it is the best connected, hosting the lectures, it is the biggest repository of knowledge in the entire jianghu (including assassination techniques!!), it has two rising stars, one set to take up the role of new (and thus more alert and proactive). It's got the weakest actual sect leader by far. It's also, perhaps, the most isolated. None of the other clans are aware it's been utterly decimated by the time of the indoctrination.

Then it's either the Nie, already partially crippled with the previous sect leader already killed by wrh, leaving a child to fill the boots with no parents, no previous instruction, an infant brother and no elders. They're prone to deviation exacerbated by resentment (which human battlefields are FULL of) (though they can be helped by, you guessed it! Lan techniques, whom they've just burned all of). They have no rising star, their heir is famously useless. Or the Jin, the most closely allied major clan, with immense wealth but little actual stake in the war as long as they themselves aren't targeted. You'll remember it's the sect heir who finally drags his men onto the field. The jianghus whore is too busy coddling up to and yes manning the wen to be of any concern.

This just leaves the jiang. A strong and powerful great sect filled with dangerous, head strong warriors. I'm explicitly including yzy in this, who is a harsh taskmaster who continues taking night hunts into marriage and motherhood to keep her wit and skills sharp. The daughters engagement with the jin is cancelled, which means they won't alienate the jin by attacking. The father is both alive and active, capable and willing to actually run the sect and lead it into battle with the wen (or at the very least his wife is practically chomping at the bit). It's got two rising stars glued to each other's hip, one of which is the heir and the other the brightest, most troublemaking, most ready to throw hands in the name of justice in his whole generation. Their people are wealthy and loyal.

Oh, and also, they basically own the waterways. I'm not sure if it's explicitly canon, but they are the sect most connected to the rivers that (canonically, remember the waterborne abyss?) run between at least three of Great sects, including (drumroll please) the very first sect they just burned to the ground and are notably keeping surpressed (wen chao, at the very least should have bragged incessantly to everyone who looked at him, never mind his captive and isolated audience), and the wens themselves!! Lotus pier basically borders to its town, which is very clearly thriving af. It's loud, it's colourful, it's exotic, it's getting so much trade it's not even funny. The jiang are so much more experienced in water and water enemies (remember wwx noticing lwjs weird boat waterline?) than even gusus heir and spare! They are trade, they are TRANSPORT, they are INFORMATION (merchants and gossips).

Even if wwx didn't exist, it's just the most tactical thing to do. If you want to cripple your enemies, you target their knowledge and ties. You sabotage supply lines and communication lines. You do that as fast as you can, make sure to damage moral, prevent them from rallying together. The wens win when their enemies are divided. All together and united, they form the sun shot campaign.

WHICH IS WHY. Absolutely NOTHING they say or do can be trusted!!

What's her face coming into lotus pier and targeting wwx is so blatant and transparent a divisive tactic (so identical to the rest of the clan) I was honestly shocked anyone even pretended to listen. Jc believing it even slightly really surprised me. And I'm!! Not trained! In leadership tactics in fantasy land, SECT HEIR. At the very least living with his mother should have given him some idea of how to spot when someone is lashing out and scapegoating for their own gain, good grief.

Unfortunately. Pink antenna (I don't know how but the anime makes her look really old) dangles the possibility of sparing the jiang in front of their faces. It is a long, unlikely shot. It's playing into their hands, it's giving them the jerk off material and superiority high they want, it's undignified and self sabotaging. It's probably stalling at best. But. It's literally the only option either wwx or yzy could live with. If they didn't at least try.

It's exactly the same tactic the jin later use with wwx (again) and the remnants. Give us your strongest people, your glue, your most clever and loyal. Let us ruin them, kill them. In return, we will let your people go free <- lying so openly and blatantly to people so cornered and out of options that they might just, desperately, make the willing sacrifice. It's scummy and cruel.

Ironically, I think this is the time wwx and yzy are most in agreement, and it's when jc would rather anything else. They play this awful role, really ham it up, demean themselves and pretend they're playing right into the wens hands. She says no, she hesitates, she backs out or fumbles, she gets pressed for harder, more, make him really bleed. Wwx is willing to perform the farce and be the sacrifical lamb, on the longest shot to keep his home safe. He wears his own mask for this, because you'll notice he's able to get up and fight immediately after, whereas lwj was bedbound and healing for literal years.

Yes, wwx is insane and martyrish and has way too little self worth. Yes, yzy would not have been so willing if jc was picked. Yes, she stopped the SECOND they realised the wens were just going to keep pressing until wwx was dead and then probably demand she desecrate the corpse. She wasn't about to cripple her best fighter and son's best chance of survival. And she recognised that becoming a supervisory office would be pretty equal to being destroyed by them, but also grant the wen a HUGE boost in everything a war monger could want. If the wen took lotus pier, forces overwhelming as it already was, they would win. Full stop.

Whether or not all that was going through her mind as she slapped pinky idk, and I won't say she made the right choice, but again, either way they did what the wens wanted. This is how they isolate and sabotage threats. They will say and do anything to keep their hallucinated high horse and get that sweet sweet bullying high.

They cannot, under any circumstances, be trusted to give a reliable word on anything. In fact, I'd argue that you should believe the opposite of what they say.

So stop acting like anyone genuinely believes them. Have characters (wwx) blame themselves for events with their guilt complexes but not their head!

Also shout out to mianmian for being the only other person to call anyone out on it.