Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 328 Help

Chang'an, Huji Winery in Yongpingfang.

The bad guy Ruan Xiao and his friends Liu Hua and Fang Bao, who are also bad guys, drank and ate meat happily.

However, the three of them all focused on Hu Ji, who was dancing gracefully on the stage. They looked at the white and tender arms, the looming breasts, the plump buttocks and the slender thighs, and the corners of their mouths were slightly raised.

Come to Hu Ji Restaurant, who are really here to drink?

But compared to the other people's secretiveness, the three people's eyes were a little hot, their mouths were colorful, and they were teasing each other, which was quite unscrupulous.

Although the business in the store was very good, a vacuum zone was formed around the three of them.

Some people would rather share a seat with others than sit next to them.

Some find it too noisy, some disdain to get close to them, and some even dare not...

The three of them didn't care at all.

Orchid Winery has two floors. On the second floor of the winery, next to the stage, there is a gathering of scholars.

There were five people in total. They were drinking wine and talking loudly.

Talking about what happened in Chang'an today.

A middle-aged scholar said: "It is said that the Tang Dynasty style is related to the mountains and the magnificent mountains and rivers in the desert. It is powerful and powerful. Reading the Tang Dynasty style can even make people broaden their minds. But now, after Mr. Chen implemented the Tang Dynasty style, what he heard in his ears Poetry and prose are not as shocking as "The great roc rises with the wind in one day and soars ninety thousand miles"."

A scholar in green clothes beside him said: "Don't mention it, I thought it was a happy event, but it turns out... how long has it been? It's a mess. There are all kinds of poems and articles... Damn it, yesterday someone went to the toilet, and I heard someone next to me. Someone recited a poem, something like, 'Refreshing, a pile of shit, mosquitoes are vying to eat it'. If I hadn't been upset at the time, I really wanted to push him into a pit and let him taste it. It's really insulting to gentlemen."

A group of people chattered together.

As soon as the words changed, the middle-aged scholar said: "Under the current situation, it is better not to implement the Tang Dynasty style. In the past, I could still hear some beautiful poems, but now my mind is filled with disgusting poems."

Someone immediately agreed.

The middle-aged scholar continued: "Now there is a rumor, which is very impressive. I wonder if you have heard of it."

He deliberately lowered his voice, but it was still loud, and said: "Mr. Chen came from a poor background and was unable to calm down to study the knowledge of sages, so he used the Tang Dynasty style to cover up his shortcomings..."

The scene was stagnant for a while, and then a young scholar said: "Mr. Chen is about the same age as me. I have been studying classics and history books since I was a child, and I have been tireless for ten years. I dare not try palace style easily, lest I use wrong words and sentences to make my generosity laugh. Chen Although Mr. Chen is very talented, he is still young. Palace style writing requires mastering a large amount of vocabulary, which cannot be mastered by anyone who is not a well-educated person. Mr. Chen is a miserable young man, and it is natural for him to seek out his own tricks..."

They said something to each other, and the topic unknowingly started to have a bit of accusation.

There are people who support the Tang Dynasty style, but naturally there are also people who are against it.

Especially people like middle-aged scholars.

A middle-aged scholar named Cen Bai came from a declining wealthy family. His ancestors left many books. He had some land at home and had no worries about food and clothing. He had studied hard for many years, but he had no connections. At this time, the palace style was popular. In order to become famous, he studied the palace style diligently, attended various literati gatherings, recited poems and composed essays, hoping to win the favor of high-ranking officials and get a promotion ladder.

Most of the literati of this era who had no identity background were like this.

Now Chen Qingsi promotes the Tang Dynasty style. At this age, Cen Bai has a rigid thinking and cannot accept it.

The tone was full of rejection and resentment.

Just when they became more and more targeted.

"Bang" sound.

A bottle of wine exploded among the five people.

The five people were startled and looked around hurriedly.

But they saw a rough-looking man with a ruffian look on his face, looking at them with evil intentions.

"I'm listening to the beauty singing and dancing. You idiots are so noisy and making noises about me."

Ruan Xiao seemed to be a little drunk. He lifted his robe and put his foot on the low table, extremely arrogant.

Liu Hua and Fang Bao also stood behind Ruan Xiao angrily.

Liu Hua pointed at Cen Bai's face and said, "Old man, you look great, but you look like a tongue-tied woman."

Cen Bai was so angry that he stared angrily, and immediately shouted: "How dare you insult me, madman!"

Liu Hua spat it out unceremoniously and said, "How about I humiliate you?"

"I'll fight you!"

The Tang Dynasty favored martial arts, and the literati at this time were not all nerds.

Cen Bai rolled up his sleeves and swept all the food and wine in front of him to the ground with a sweep of his big hand. He raised the table in front of him with both hands and threw it at Liu Hua.

That momentum is quite brave.

It's just that his opponent is Liu Hua, a bad person.

What is a bad person?

To put it bluntly, they are gangsters with criminal records hired by the court.

This kind of person is naturally lazy, does not engage in production, and is idle.

Such people exist everywhere and have a great impact on public security.

The Li Tang court came up with a way to control evil with evil, recruiting powerful characters, granting them official positions as bad guys, and letting them manage public security. Use positions to constrain their behavior, give them a living, and control ruffians.

In this era without surveillance, Chang'an has a population of one million and is able to maintain good public security, with a lot of bad people contributing.

However, because they were originally gangsters, they were not very popular.

But people like them fight hard, and their martial arts may not be very high, but they are masters of fighting.

Cen Bai came menacingly, but he remained calm and strode forward. He calmly picked up the wine bottle that Cen Bai had swept to the ground. He ducked to the right to avoid the attack and grabbed Cen Bai with one hand. He pulled his hair back and smashed the wine bottle in Cen Bai's face.

The jug was broken and blood dripped from it.

This also shows that Liu Hua has rich fighting experience.

He did not choose the most convenient way of attacking, smashing the wine bottle at the back of Cen Bai's head. Instead, he specially pulled his hair and smashed the wine bottle upwards from Cen Bai's face.

A direct hit to the back of the head may be fatal, but a hit to the forehead may look miserable, but will not cause a murder by accident.

Liu Hua's move shocked the entire audience.

Originally, when Cen Bai took action, the remaining four were not timid, but were loyal and faced the enemy together.

But Liu Hua opened Cen Bai's ladle with a flask, and he struck quickly and accurately. The four of them were scholars after all. Even though they had hands-on experience due to folk customs, they had never seen such a bluff, and they did not dare to make a move. .

But it was obvious that the four of them did not dare to take action.

Ruan Xiao and Fang Bao on the other side did not let them go and stepped forward with shouts.

The two of them fought one against two and beat the four of them severely.

People like them were very black and accurate in their attacks. They only beat five people in agony and screamed in agony, but it was not fatal and did not hurt their muscles or bones until Wu Hou Pu Wu Hou arrived.

The shop owner didn't dare to provoke bad people. He had no intention of breaking up the fight. He just asked people to go to Wu Hou's shop to invite Wu Hou. The Wuhou who came was called Wei Zhe, and he was the Wuhou in charge of this area.

Ruan Xiao winked at Wei Zhe.

Although the bad guys have their own system, Wuhoupu is qualified to mobilize the bad guys to help them fight fires, detect theft, and maintain public order.

They both belong to Yongpingfang and naturally know each other.

Wei Zhe didn't pay attention, just glanced at everyone and said: "If anyone dares to cause trouble under the emperor's feet, it is unreasonable to take them away together."

Wei Zhe looked like he was dealing with justice and said to the owner of Hu Ji Restaurant: "Everything in the store will be counted by the owner. I will take it back first. After determining what is right and wrong, I will ask someone to compensate for all losses."

Wu Hou escorted a group of brawlers to Wu Houpu. On the streets of Chang'an, Ruan Xiao, Liu Hua and Fang Bao didn't care about the eyes of passers-by on the street. They showed off their power as if they had won a battle.

As for Cen Bai and his entourage of literati, wearing colorful clothes and ragged clothes, they were really humiliated and polite in public, and they were so ashamed that they did not dare to raise their heads.

Wei Zhe took the person to Wuhoupu and did not interrogate him immediately. Instead, he let people watch him and quickly set off to the Zhao family's residence in Xinghuafang.

The owner of the Zhao family mansion is Zhao Chiman.

"Brother Zhao!"

Zhao Chiman was a forthright and open-minded person. He made friends with high-ranking officials and ruffians.

Even though Wei Zhe was just a junior Wuhou, he still treated Zhao Chiman, who was born in the Zhao family of Tianshui, as a brother.

"Come on, sit down!"

Zhao Chiman invited Wei Zhe to the table.

Wei Zhe said: "After being reminded by Brother Zhao, we paid attention to the situation in the workshop. There are indeed people spreading rumors maliciously, and they are targeting Chen Shilang. Some of them we have to keep an eye on, and some of them go too far and directly arrange for people to cause trouble. , captured together."

Zhao Chiman said: "I have wronged my brothers..." He took out a bag of Tongbao from his waist, threw it towards Wei Zhe, and said: "Buy wine for the brothers."

Wei Zhe reached out and took it without any courtesy, stuffed it into his arms, and said, "Just bully them. Going to jail is just like going home. Don't worry about them."

He said something casually and immediately asked: "What should I do next?"

Zhao Chiman said: "Shilang Chen and I have a favor, and we cannot allow people like him to be humiliated like this. If the other party dares to do this, his background is certain, and there is no need for us to offend him. But such despicable methods must be used by despicable people." . We have the best way to deal with the dirty people."

Wei Zhe immediately understood and said with a smile: "I understand."

**********

The Chen family residence.

The Qingliu faction gathered together.

At present, the Qingliu faction is headed by Chen Qingsi, assisted by Zhao Renben, Wang Dezhen, Zhang Daan, Gao Zhizhou, and the rest are Yuan Zhixin, Du Yiyi, Liu Qixian, Yuan Wanqing, Zhang Jianzhi, Wei Yuanzhong and others.

The gathering today is to celebrate Gao Zhizhou's promotion to the Minister of Rites, and also to take this opportunity to gather the core members of the Qingliu faction together to set the tone.

Gao Zhizhou held up the wine cup and looked at Chen Qingsi, who was talking to Zhang Daan, with a complicated heart.

Gao Zhizhou was also a student of Shi Zhonglan in Yangzhou, and he was the worst off among his fellow students.

When Lai Ji, Sun Chuyue, and Hao Chujun were showing off their skills in the temple, he was still serving as a soldier in the Yue Palace and as a county magistrate in Feixian County.

Gao Zhizhou had heard the name Chen Qingsi from his senior brothers, and their teacher specially asked them to help each other.

Gao Zhizhou was also among them, but at that time he was serving as governor in another place and had no chance to help.

It had only been a few years, but the situation had changed so quickly that I actually needed the support of the other party. I couldn't help but sigh with emotion, and said loudly: "Let's honor Minister Chen together!"

Zhao Renben, Wang Dezhen, and Zhang Da'an looked at each other and raised their glasses in agreement: "Here's to Minister Chen!"

The rest of you also followed suit and became very interested.

Zhao Renben and Wang Dezhen's compromise with Chen Qingsi was not their original intention at the beginning. It was just that Qingliu's morale was distracted. If they did not take advantage of Changsun Wuji's suffering to stabilize the morale of the army, Qingliu would risk disbandment. Faced with this situation, the two had to compromise. But with Chen Qingsi's outstanding performance, the two also recognized Chen Qingsi's ability and believed that he did have the ability to stabilize Qingliu's internal problems. However, as he and Xu Jingzong fought to a draw this time, Gao Zhizhou was promoted to Minister of Rites.

The mentality of the two people changed again, and they regarded him as the real party leader. They believed that the Qingliu lineage could achieve glory under his leadership, even surpassing the Laiji period.

Zhang Daan is similar. When he was most confused, he got help from Chen Qingsi, joined Qingliu, and saw the other party's methods. Following such a leader, his future will definitely be good.

As for the people below, Yuan Zhixin, Du Yiyi, Liu Qixian, and Yuan Wanqing...

Except for Chen Qingsi's confidant Yuan Zhixin who knew more, the other few people had only a partial understanding of internal affairs. However, they could see the current momentum of the Qingliu Party and had visions for the future, so their attitudes naturally increased.

Chen Qingsi saw a dozen people in the hall holding their wine glasses high, and looking at the enthusiastic crowd, there was a bit of pride in her chest.

Although the Qingliu lineage lacks a prime minister and assistant, it also has four ministers and a Gyeonggi Sima, which is already a force that cannot be underestimated.

What's more, he also has rising stars like Zhang Jianzhi and Wei Yuanzhong on his hands.

The future is expected.

Chen Qingsi held the wine glass high in high spirits, raised the wine glass in his hand, and drank it all in one gulp.

After the banquet dispersed, Chen Qingsi signaled to Zhang Daan to stay.

Chen Qingsi invited him to the study. After he took his seat, he said, "Have you had enough time to drink?"

Zhang Daan smiled and said: "I was drunk once, so I didn't dare to drink more."

Chen Qingsi nodded and said: "Chang'an seems to be a little quiet, but what did Brother Zhang do?"

Chen Qingsi is a little strange, any change will set the interests of the conservatives.

The promotion of the Tang Dynasty style will seriously harm those scholars who relied on the palace style to become famous.

What's more, the Guandong nobles are not stupid. Li Zhi reused Shangguan Yi and Chen Qingsi. The purpose is obvious.

How could they sit back and watch the success of Tang Dynasty style and let themselves attract the hope of scholars from all over the world?

Chen Qingsi was already prepared when he decided to implement the Tang Dynasty style.

The greater the seal he raises, the greater the resistance he will encounter.

But Chen Qingsi didn't feel too big a storm. When Zhou Kui investigated the situation, he did hear a lot of rumors, but they were far from enough to be called storms.

At first, he thought it was the calm before the storm.

It wasn't until recently that he realized that someone had taken action to suppress the first wave of trouble.

The first thing Chen Qingsi thought of was Zhang Daan.

Zhang Da'an is the Sima of Yongzhou Prefecture, and all the military princes and bad people in the entire capital are under his control.

This is also the reason why Chen Qingsi is determined to win Sima Yongzhou Prefecture.

Zhang Daan smiled bitterly and said: "Brother Chen thinks too highly of Zhang. The only one who can have such prestige is Zhao Chiman. There is really someone behind this matter, and it is probably him."

(End of this chapter)