Water Margin people

Chapter 1659: A Fight Between a Young Man and a Scholar

"Fools! Fools! We are shouting for the world, how dare you do this! It's totally disgraceful!"

The literati pointed at the merchants and shouted.

The merchants were not good at speaking in elegant language. Who would have a good temper if they made a living on the street? They used foul language to curse at the literati, making them blush. However, they could not curse back due to their politeness and face. Of course, they could not win the curse either.

"Defeat the academic clique and give me back my justice!"

Suddenly, shouts were heard from the other end of the street.

Those furious literati looked over in surprise and found that a large number of young people were walking towards them holding banners with the words "Down with the Academic Warlords" clearly written on them.

The two groups met directly on the street, and the young students and the literati looked at each other, staring at each other.

"Boy, what are you doing!"

An older scholar, seeing that the people opposite him were all teenagers in their teens, immediately pointed at them and started scolding them in a condescending manner.

"Lao Deng, what are you doing again?"

A young man pointed at the old scholar and questioned him.

"You bastard, how dare you be so rude!"

  The old scholar was so angry that his beard stood up. He was a former juren and a professor of Confucianism in the county. When young people saw him, they would call him "sir". Who dared to address him so rudely?

"Old Deng, why are you still acting so high and mighty now that you're out on the streets?"

  The young man got furious and started cursing at the old scholar. In school, he was also the leader of the class. Which younger brother in the class dared to talk back to him?

"You're asking for a fight!"

The old scholar found a ruler from somewhere and raised it to hit him.

"Old Deng is looking for death!"

The boy was not a pushover either. He picked up a clod of earth and threw it over.

The old scholar didn't expect that the young man would be so bold, and he quickly took two steps back. The clod of earth fell to the place where he had just stood and shattered into pieces.

"How dare you! How dare you!"

The old scholar was so angry that he blew his beard and glared.

"Old man, you go your way and I go mine. If you dare to mess with me, you're asking for a fight!"

The young man pointed at the old scholar and shouted.

"Where did this wild boy come from!"

The other Confucian scholars were also furious. They had never seen such a rude young man. He really had no manners at all.

"You adults can wave flags and shout slogans everywhere, but we are not allowed to come to the street to play? Is this like the officials are allowed to set fires but the people are not allowed to light lamps?"

The young man spoke.

"We are here to appeal for justice! How dare you, a bunch of naughty kids, come and cause trouble?"

A Confucian scholar pointed at the young men and started scolding them.

"We are naughty kids? I think you are old and stubborn. You are already very old, but you are shamelessly barking in the street like a bunch of old dogs!"

"Old dog!"

"Old dog!"

……

The young men waved flags and cheered.

"You bastard, you bastard!"

Those Confucian scholars had never been insulted like this before, and they were all shaking with anger.

"Those wild boys from there don't know any manners at all!"

"It seems that these are the students who were taught in the school run by the emperor. They have indeed been led astray. Miscellaneous learning is harmful to people!"

"We must rectify the ruler's ways, clarify the duties of the ministers, and educate the people!"

A group of literati stood on the moral high ground and began to flatter themselves.

"Bah, a bunch of old dogs who don't know what's good for them! Your Majesty is benevolent, the world is peaceful, the people live and work in peace, it's a prosperous time, but you old dogs are causing trouble. I think you are just a bunch of old people!"

"An old dog who won't die!"

"Kill the dog and eat its meat!"

"Eat dog meat!"

The young men started shouting and cursing fiercely again. Xin Qiji was watching the joke in the alley nearby. He wanted to let these pedantic guys know what it meant to be a scholar meeting a soldier.

"You made such a big deal out of it? Those are our elders. If you don't acknowledge them, your family members will have to acknowledge you too!"

Lu You's voice rang out.

Xin Qiji hurriedly turned around and saw Lu You staring at him, obviously having already discovered what he had done.

"Big brother!"

Xin Qiji quickly greeted him with a smile.

"You are really brave. Aren't you afraid of problems if you let them scold you like that?"

Lu You pointed at the young people on the street and asked Xin Qiji.

"What's the problem? No one knows that I ordered it! They are all my brothers, and there is no doubt about their loyalty! These are farmers' sons, and they are not from the same world as these powerful families. They are justified in scolding these people, and Your Majesty can't blame them!"

Xin Qiji said with a chuckle.

"You have a good way! What if we get into a fight and end up at a disadvantage?"

Lu You spoke up, after all, the boys Xin Qiji had found were all around 11 or 12 years old. Although they were farmers and strong, they were still young and could not compare to adults.

"Let the fight start! My brothers and I are waiting for it. Once the fight starts, we will rush out. Look, I have the mask ready!"

Xin Qiji took out a piece of gray cloth from his arms and gestured on his face.

"Be careful, fight for a while and then run away. I want to lead the troops to stop the chaos!"

Lu You left after saying this.

"Don't worry, big brother!"

Xin Qiji said with a laugh.

The verbal battle between the teenagers and the literati became more and more fierce. The merchants and passers-by, who were originally a little irritated, watched everything in front of them with interest. It was not uncommon for children to curse in the streets, but it was rare to see a group of distinguished literati being scolded.

"What's wrong with these scholars today? Why are they coming to the street to argue with the kids?"

Wu Dalang watched everything in the pancake shop and was very confused. In the past, these literati were very aloof and never spoke to ordinary people.

"Brother, leave those people alone!"

Wu Song took a sip of wine and said.

"Erlang, how come you have time to come to my shop today? You should take the children to meet those uncles and aunts, and also wish His Majesty a happy new year, right?"

Wu Dalang looked at his younger brother again. His younger brother was a high-ranking official now. He should be visiting relatives and friends during the holidays or entertaining guests at home.

"We have something important to do today!"

Wu Song pointed at everything on the street and spoke.

"These matters are under your jurisdiction?"

Wu Dalang immediately understood what Wu Song meant.

"Why can't we just watch adults beat children?"

Wu Song smiled and said that he was mainly responsible for the safety of the students.

"What are these people thinking? We have such a good life that we couldn't even dream of before, so why are they trying to make trouble?"

Wu Dalang began to knead the dough helplessly. Although there were not many customers, he still had to make the pancakes. If they didn't work later, he would give them to the children. They must be hungry after scolding him for so long.

The literati became so angry after being scolded that they finally couldn't bear it anymore and rushed forward to fight without caring about being polite.

Those young men were not afraid either. They rushed forward like little tigers and attacked with all their might. They were well prepared and had short sticks on their belts behind their backs.

The scholars suffered a loss as soon as they attacked with their bare hands, and the short sticks caught them off guard.

But adults are adults after all, and they quickly turned the situation around.

"You dare to hit our brothers, call for help!"

The leading boy roared, and a boy next to him immediately set off the fireworks, which exploded in the air.

The literati still didn't know what was happening.

"kill!"

At this moment, a large number of masked teenagers armed with short sticks rushed out from the streets and started beating the literati.