Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 333 The defeated dog
It was early spring in the sixth year of Xianqing's reign.

Pingkang Square.

As the most famous place for fireworks in Chang'an, Willow Alley is exuding the breath of spring in this new year, just like this time of year.

Many high-spirited nobles gathered in groups. They talked with each other and flocked to Cuixiang Tower at the end of the street.

Cheng Boxian touched his big belly and walked out of Ziyunxuan, the largest brothel in Pingkangfang, followed by a group of friends, with traces of hangover on his face.

Rubbing his face and looking at the flow of people towards the end of the street, Cheng Boxian lifted Turtle Gong who was passing by and said, "Where are they going?"

Cheng Boxian has followed Chen Qingsi to achieve military success in Mobei. Relying on the emperor's courtesy to the Cheng family, Cheng Boxian was directly promoted to the right guard and received a post in the army.

The Cheng family had a strict upbringing, and Cheng Boxian was originally controlled and restrained by his elders. However, as he received an official position and entered society, the Cheng family's control over Cheng Boxian was relaxed.

Cheng Boxian lacked discipline. In addition to fulfilling his duties as a right guard, he hung out with his friends and lingered in brothels and restaurants.

There are dozens of brothels in Pingkangfang, Ziyunxuan is the most popular, and the girls are also the best. The number one, Miaozhen, is second only to the most famous beauties in Jiaofangsi. It has always been the first choice for literati and wealthy businessmen. , is also located in the center of Pingkangfang Main Street, the most luxurious area, and its business has always been outstanding. Why today, are they all going to the end of the remote street?
Turtle Gong was angry because his business was gone. Suddenly, he was like a chicken, and he was about to exchange a few words. When he saw that it was Ziyunxuan's big benefactor, he hurriedly bent down and said, "I got it from Cuixianglou." A little bitch, somehow, learned a new song, and these people went to listen to the new song.”

Cheng Bo asked curiously: "What new song is so great?"

Mr. Gui didn't want to say it, because it affected other people's ambitions.

Cheng Boxian was not polite to him, slapped him so hard that he almost fell over, and said angrily: "Come on, why are you dawdling? Mr. Cheng has to rush to get on duty. If you are late, I will pull your skin out."

Gui Gong knew Cheng Boxian's temper. The eldest son of Lu Guogong's family was not serious about his actions. If he really wanted to provoke him, he would have to admit that he was unlucky and shouted: "Don't dare, go back to your husband." At the beginning of the year, Zhou Guogong's mansion A spring banquet was held. At the banquet, Yinxuan sang two poems by Chen Shilang with new songs, one "Yellow Crane Tower" and one "Dapeng Zhi", which shocked the audience. The number one song of Cuixiang Tower was unknown. Where did I learn a new song and now I am singing it in Cuixiang Tower?"

Cheng Boxian sobered up a bit when he heard "Chen Shilang".

Being able to live the life he has today, Cheng Boxian is sincerely grateful to Mr. Chen Qingsi and would visit him every year and festival.

Cheng Boxian knew about the difficulties Chen Qingsi encountered, but he was just a rough guy and couldn't really help, so he could only stare.

This time I heard that Chen Qingsi's poems had caused a sensation, and I immediately wanted to support him. "Listening to Mr. Chen's poems, it doesn't matter even if you don't appreciate it, right?"

Cheng Boxian, the right guard, has a high status, but he is really just a guard, and he can escape whenever he can.

Cheng Boxian didn't care whether it was valuable or not, and followed the flow of people to Cuixiang Tower.

Cuixiang House is located at the corner of the street. It is just an inconspicuous little brothel. It usually entertains some businessmen and scholars from ordinary families. Suddenly, a large number of people came in, and the street was completely blocked.

Cheng Bo Xian was a strong man with strong arms and pushed him all the way into the building.

As soon as I entered the hall, a loud and loud song came to my ears: "The roc rises with the wind in one day and soars ninety thousand miles away." I couldn't help but get goosebumps and have a different feeling.

In this era, entertainment facilities were scarce, and singing and dancing were the most important activities for relaxing and cultivating sentiments.

Songs and dances of the Tang Dynasty were very common in the upper class, and even emperors and princes often danced and had fun at banquets.

Cheng Boxian also belongs to the upper class, and he is indispensable for banquets. He can also dance, and he also likes music. He is a pretty good dancer, and Hu Xuan dance is his specialty.

As for music, he likes Qiuci music and often listens to Qiuci music. As for Chinese music, Cheng Boxian doesn't like to listen to any other music except King Qin's breaking formation music.

Otherwise, for a rough guy like Cheng Boxian, the music spread in China is too enchanting.

Chinese culture, since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, spread to Qi, Liang and Chen in the Southern Dynasties, has gone astray, moving closer to beauty and luxury, forming a charming and flashy style of writing, so much so that there is a saying that poetry is unified, temperament gradually disappears, and voice and color become more open. .

This is true for poetry, and so is song.

The poems are mainly based on vivid colors, and the songs are naturally matched with melodious sounds.

The sound of Mi Mi is not without good music, but a rough guy like Cheng Boxian really can't get used to it.

This poem taken by Chen Qingsi from Li Bai is full of lofty aspirations and a strong desire to serve the world. Every word in the poem is full of the vigor of a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers.

The new tune is also exciting and uplifting, which is exactly the opposite of the melodious sound.

After listening to too much Mimi music and Hu music from Qiuci, a different piece of Chinese-style music suddenly came on, paired with a very good poem. Cheng Boxian couldn't describe that feeling in words. He only hated himself for his lack of talent and lack of knowledge, so he could only Shout "Okay" to express your myriad emotions.

Cheng Boxian seemed to have listened to it dozens of times in Cuixiang Tower before he was satisfied. Just as he was about to leave for duty, a thought occurred to him. It was pointless to support him alone. He had to let the brothers he knew know how powerful his husband was.

Immediately, he didn't care about the high-value matters, and called all his friends to watch him.

There was no concept of copyright in the Tang Dynasty at this time, and soon other brothels in Pingkangfang also succeeded in copying the example.

A new tune and a new poetic style were spread from the Wu family to Pingkangfang, and then from Pingkangfang to the whole of Chang'an.

At this point, the singing and dancing gathering would have been less powerful than three points without "Yellow Crane Tower" and "The Legend of Dapeng".

Chang'an, the Cui family's residence.

"Damn it, what's wrong?"

Cui Xinming has learned that "Yellow Crane Tower" and "Dapeng Zhi", which were already popular songs, have once again spread throughout the capital because of the new songs.

As things develop step by step, Cui Xinming has discovered that the situation is out of control.

He was originally the one who laid out the chess pieces, but as the chess game changed, he could no longer control everything on the chess board.

He asked himself that he had done everything extremely well, so why did he fall into a passive situation?
Cui Dongri looked at his angry father and felt a sense of powerlessness in his heart. He said, "Father, Chen Qingsi's power seems to be beyond our imagination. It is far beyond our imagination..."

Cui Xinming also discovered it, which could be seen from the things that caused people to get into the dark about Sheng Tang Ti.

The people they send out to preach are often maliciously targeted.

Some people would even be put in a sack for no apparent reason and receive a good beating.

Scholars cannot communicate with each other, but the people they arrange in private can be easily discovered.

How could it be possible without strength?

Unknowingly, Chen Qingsi has grown to this point and possesses such power.

This move is a complete gamble.

Cui Xinming rubbed his temples and asked, "What do the Lu family say that they can't control Lu Zhaolin? They are a bunch of traitors, and my Cui family is as famous as them. It's shameful."

His second move was to kill with a borrowed knife.

In the capital of Chang'an, the audience for palace-style poetry is very wide.

There is no other reason. Emperors Yang Guang and Li Shimin of the Sui and Tang dynasties were lovers of palace-style poetry. Under their leadership, the atmosphere of palace-style poetry in Gyeonggi was strong. After decades of development, a large number of scholars have gathered who rely on palace-style poetry to make a living.

As long as you incite them and talk about the threat of Sheng Tang Ti, they will boycott Sheng Tang Ti for their own sake. The effect was very significant at the beginning. The Tang style had only a small number of supporters in the capital, while the Gong style and the Shangguan style were the mainstream, almost annihilating the Sheng Tang style.

Until the scholars led by Lu Zhaolin and Fu Jiamo launched a counterattack.

Especially Lu Zhaolin, as the young generation with the best literary talent among the five surnames, he almost single-handedly reversed the decadent disadvantage of the Tang Dynasty style.

When he fights poetry with others, he often gives his opponents a double blow.

He knows the prosperous Tang style of poetry, as well as palace style, Shangguan style...

A talented man who supported the Tang Dynasty style was three points better than the vast majority of scholars who supported the Gong style and Shangguan style.

How is this still playing?
Cui Dongri said: "The news from the Lu family said that they have sent people to transfer Lu Zhaolin out of Chang'an and will not hinder his father anymore."

He paused and said, "Now it depends on whether Uncle Zheng can suppress King Luo Bin."

Cui Xinming looked a little better and said: "Don't worry, Zheng Shiyi is arrogant and rude, but he has real talent and learning. He is just King Luo Bin, not his opponent. Just wait for good news from him."

It has been half a year since Chen Qingsi implemented the prosperous Tang style.

Chen Qingsi didn't end up, Shangguan Yi and Xue Yuanchao didn't end up, Cui Xinming also didn't end up hiding behind the scenes.

The people below were fighting fiercely, and on the whole, the scholars who supported Gong Ti and Shangguan Ti had the upper hand.

The audience is too broad and the number of people is overwhelming. But in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, physical strength was the key to excellence. Lu Zhaolin, Luo Binwang, Fu Jiamo, and Du Shenyan were all among the best, especially the first two. Lu Zhaolin and Luo Binwang were at their peak. Their talent, experience, and energy were all lacking, and they fought fiercely with the soldiers. , not too weak.

With effective and reasonable counterattacks, the situation can be turned into a back-and-forth fight.

Now with the help of He Lanmin from the Wu family, the situation is actually 50 to 50.

Cui Xinming saw that he had a chance to win, because of the existence of Lu Zhaolin and King Luo Bin, he was able to regain his disadvantage little by little.

Cui Xinming was forced to have no choice but to set up a trap against Lu Zhaolin and King Luo Bin.

He forced the Lu family to put pressure on Lu Zhaolin, and specially invited his strong enemy Zheng Shiyi to deal with King Luo Bin.

Zheng Shiyi is the only person of his generation who can compare with him.

Cui Xinming has confidence in Zheng Shiyi.

Today is the day for their counterattack.

Cui Xinming brushed away the annoyance caused by the renewed popularity of "Yellow Crane Tower" and "Dapeng Chronicles" and said: "As soon as there is news, report it immediately."

Cui Xinming said firmly, but his fingers tapped on the table uncontrollably, which also showed his anxiety.

There is really no good news recently, so inviting Zheng Shiyi, who he can't deal with, is no longer an option.

Wait and wait, wait and wait!
One hour, two hours.

Cui Xinming looked at the darkening sky, feeling even more anxious, "Why haven't you come back yet?"

He couldn't bear the boring waiting and said, "Go and find out the situation."

Cui Dongri responded and strode away.

In less than half an hour, Cui Dongri came back with an ashen face.

Looking at his son's expression, Cui Xinming dropped the book in his hand and muttered: "Even he couldn't suppress King Luo Bin?"

Cui Dongri said with a sad face: "Uncle Zheng, lost to Wang Bo..."

Wang Bo?

Cui Xinming didn't react for a moment and said in shock: "Wang Bo, is that Wang Bo? The grandson of Wen Zhongzi, the son of Wang Fuji? He, he, he, he..."

He mentioned him several times before finally holding back one sentence: "How old is he?"

Wang Bo's father, Wang Fuqi, had average talents, but he was not ranked among the five surnamed families and was not remarkable. But Wang Bo's grandfather, Wang Tong, was a first-rate good man, a famous educator with the title "Zhongzi", and a world-famous educator with students and friends all over the world.

Wang Bo was a young prodigy with amazing talent and beauty, so Cui Xinming had heard of his name and knew his size.

A person who has been famous for many years was defeated by a child?

How can this be?

Cui Xinming couldn't believe it.

Cui Dongri said: "I don't believe it either, but it is the fact. After Uncle Zheng lost, he was so ashamed that he was ashamed to see his father and left Chang'an directly."

Cui Xinming stood up suddenly and cursed: "I lost to a child, I, Cui Xinming, am ashamed to be as famous as you!"

In fact, Zheng Shiyi's true level is above Wang Bo, there is no doubt about this.

Wang Bo and Yang Jiong are still young after all. Although they are both one-in-a-million prodigies, prodigies are still children after all.

Lacking experience and lack of accumulated understanding of knowledge, their chances of winning against adults are not high.

Therefore, during this counterattack, Wang Bo and Yang Jiong spent most of their time studying next to King Luo Bin and Lu Zhaolin, absorbing knowledge crazily.

But the reason why genius is called genius lies in that moment of inspiration.

When that feeling comes, you can no longer look at them based on their age.

Today's original protagonists were King Luo Bin and Zheng Shiyi, but when the two were facing each other tit for tat, Wang Bo, who was absorbing knowledge on the side, seized the sudden feeling as if possessed by Wen Quxing, and directly killed Zheng Shiyi.

Zheng Shiyi had been famous for thirty years, but he couldn't bear this kind of stimulation. He was in chaos and fled Chang'an like a defeated dog.

"Father!"

Cui Dongri's confidence also disappeared with Zheng Shiyi's escape.

His words about father have a somewhat desolate feeling.

Cui Xinming swayed, suppressed the unwillingness in his heart, and said: "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter..."

He tried his best to suppress his panic and said: "We haven't lost yet, they still have a trump card. Now it's just a small fight. The real outcome depends on the final showdown between Shangguan Yi, Xue Yuanchao and Chen Qingsi... ...Yes, yes, yes, we haven’t lost yet, we still have a chance of winning!”

His tone became more and more serious, and he said: "We can't wait any longer. We will force Shangguan Yi and Xue Yuanchao to do it, and do our best to spread the news that Chen Qingsi has insufficient talent, does not understand the elegance of palace style poetry, and is trying to please others by grandstanding!"

(End of this chapter)