Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 150 Danger Surrounded
Tell the stories of Taoism well.

Wang Xi had a clear and discerning mind.

Although the Li family had always regarded Taoism as the orthodox religion and claimed to be descendants of Lao Tzu, Wang Xi knew that the main reason was that Li Longji wanted to suppress Buddhism.

Why suppress Buddhism?
It refers to finance.

During Wu Zetian's reign, Buddhism was strongly supported because Buddhism advocates equality for all beings, which could give the female emperor more legitimacy.

But Li Longji had no such need. If Buddhism took away all the land and stopped paying taxes, what would happen to the national treasury?

Therefore, since the Yao and Song dynasties, Li Longji had been suppressing Buddhism.

However, Buddhism had already taken root in people's hearts. He could demolish temples, but he couldn't demolish people's hearts. So Li Longji hoped to promote Taoism to give him more reasons to suppress Buddhism.

Since Wang Xi wanted to pursue the path of becoming a favored minister, he had to carry out the tasks assigned by the emperor properly.

He readily agreed.

Before they knew it, it was already evening, and the sky had darkened. The charity banquet finally came to an end, and the ministers and envoys, with slightly tipsy and sullen eyes, left satisfied.

However, Li Linfu was still busy cleaning up the mess. Although Wang Xi was the one who stole the show at the banquet, Li Linfu was the one who worked the hardest, handling every little detail.

Therefore, Li Linfu was somewhat displeased, since all the praise was given to Wang Xi, and few people mentioned him.

"Li Zhongyun, it's best that you're here." Wu Xin, slightly out of breath, walked towards Li Linfu.

Li Linfu bowed respectfully and asked, "Hasn't the Martial Chancellor returned yet?"

Wu Xin said, panting, "I was just about to go back, but I heard some news on the way, so I rushed back."

Li Linfu asked in confusion, "What news?"

Wu Xin said, "I heard that the Tibetan nobleman Shang Gongbu has taken a fancy to Hongxiu and is leading people to Hongxiu's house."

"what?"

Li Linfu looked surprised. "Is it really true?"

Wu Xin said: "Absolutely true!"

Li Linfu cupped his hands and said, "Master Wu, I have something to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."

After all, they had known each other for a while, and since he had never even touched her, he was unwilling to let Hongxiu suffer this calamity.

Wu Xin's expression suddenly changed, and he laughed, "The land of gentle pleasures is the graveyard of heroes; that saying is indeed true!"

Li Linfu immediately stopped in his tracks. "What do you mean by that, Grand Master Wu?"

Wu Xin said, "Why do we need Li Zhongyun to take action? There is someone else who might be more suitable."

Li Linfu asked, "Who is it?"

Wu Xin said, "Wang Xiaoque."

Li Linfu was startled and looked at Wu Xin.

Wu Xin remained silent.

Li Linfu was incredibly clever and immediately realized that Wu Xin was probably behind this. However, he frowned deeply. "Last time at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, Wang Xiaoque had a quarrel with that Tibetan prince. It was obvious that His Majesty sided with Wang Xiaoque, especially since our country's relationship with Tibet is not so good right now. Doing this is tantamount to making Wang Xiaoque a hero and saving a beauty, which is meaningless."

Wu Xin said, "Whether it's meaningful or not is hard to say for now, but at least we won't suffer any losses. Although His Majesty dotes on Wang Xiaoque, what will the ministers think if a dispute arises? Wang Xiaoque is too popular right now, so we have to create some trouble for him, otherwise, who will be able to control him then?"

Li Linfu remained silent.

Wu Xin laughed and said, "Could it be that Li Zhongyun can't bear to part with that woman?"

Li Linfu laughed and said, "How could I possibly be reluctant to part with just a mere courtesan?"

After all, they had known each other for a while, and people aren't plants or trees; how could they be without feelings? But this wasn't the key point of Li Linfu's dilemma. What troubled him was that he now needed Wang Xi to rise to power, and if something happened to Wang Xi, he wouldn't be of much use to the Wu family.

Li Linfu had calculated this very clearly.

However, being able to please everyone is never an easy task.

Li Linfu had no choice but to agree; otherwise, Wu Xin would certainly not trust him anymore.

Wang Xi chatted with Li Longji for a good while before leaving the inner palace. Reaching the gates of the imperial city, he stretched and muttered to himself, "I never imagined that my first day of the Lunar New Year in the Tang Dynasty would be so busy. Ah, am I truly destined to be a troublemaker? Ah—ouch!"

Suddenly feeling someone bump into him from behind, he almost fell over. He turned around, about to start cursing, but when he saw who it was, he was stunned: "Uncle Li?"

It was Li Linfu.

"Sparrow?"

Li Linfu quickly said, "I'm sorry! Uncle Li didn't bump into you, did he?"

"no!"

Wang Xi asked again, "Uncle Li, where are you going in such a hurry?"

"Hongxiu is in danger," Li Linfu said, panting.

"teacher?"

Wang Xi was startled and asked, "Teacher, are you in any danger?"

Li Linfu said anxiously, "Just now when you were acting, I noticed that the Tibetan prince kept staring at Hongxiu and then inquired about her. So I kept an eye on her and asked the people from Sifang Pavilion to keep an eye on her."

As expected, just now, someone from the Sifang Pavilion reported that the Tibetan prince had returned to the pavilion for a short while before hurriedly leaving and heading towards Chunhe Ward.

"what?"

Wang Xi was immediately startled and ran towards the carriage.

Li Linfu suddenly grabbed him, "Que'er, don't be impulsive. Wait here, Uncle Li will go and handle it now."

By the time you arrive, the daylily will be cold. At this moment, Wang Xi naturally disregarded etiquette, raised his right arm, shook off Li Linfu, ran towards the carriage, untied the rope, jumped onto the horse, and rode away.

Then, Li Linfu's urgent voice came from behind, "Sparrow! Sparrow!"

Li Linfu chased after him for a few steps, but then he lost sight of Wang Xi and stopped.

At that moment, a horse-drawn carriage came up from behind.

Li Linfu boarded the carriage and asked the servant driving it, "Is everything arranged?"

The servant nodded and said, "Master, rest assured, our men should have already reached Chunhe Ward. They will not let anything happen to Young Master Wang."

Li Linfu nodded slightly.

According to the curfew system of the Tang Dynasty, the curfew was only lifted during the Lantern Festival.

It was already curfew, and there were hardly any people on the road. Wang Xi galloped all the way to the gate of the ward, only to find it closed and deserted. He immediately jumped off his horse, rushed over, and kicked it open with a loud bang. The gate was actually open.

Wang Xi glanced to the side and saw signs of being pried open. He thought to himself, "It must have been done by those Tibetans."

He mounted his horse again and entered the neighborhood.

Before long, he arrived near Hongxiu's residence. Hearing the sounds of fighting in the distance, he rushed to the gate and saw that the courtyard was filled with the glint of swords and the shadows of blades. A young swordsman was fighting with four Tibetan men.

However, this person was a complete stranger, and Wang Xi did not recognize him.

Suddenly, a familiar voice was heard. Wang Xi looked closely and saw that Shang Gongbu was holding Hongxiu in one hand and pulling her into the inner room. Hongxiu was struggling. There was a person lying next to her, Qin'er.

"asshole!"

Wang Xi cursed and spurred his horse into the courtyard.

The sudden collision separated the two sides, and Wang Xi, disregarding everything else, hurriedly shouted, "Save people first!"

They kept pulling on the reins to block the other side.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the young hero rushed into the house. The other party seemed to realize Wang Xi's intention and immediately bypassed Wang Xi to block the young hero.

Upon seeing this, Wang Xi suddenly had a flash of inspiration and shouted into the house, "You Tibetan bastards, stop your insolence!"

"Wang Xiaoque!" Hongxiu exclaimed with delight upon seeing Wang Xi.

Shang Gongbu turned around and saw that it was Wang Xi. It was truly a case of enemies meeting each other with intense hatred. In addition, he had been forced to drink many cups of wine by Wu Xin at the banquet, which made him very drunk. He then started cursing at Wang Xi.

Wang Xi first spurred his horse toward the other three Tibetan men, then jumped off his horse and rushed into the house.

The young swordsman, knowing Wang Xi's intention, brandished his longsword and blocked the pursuing Tibetan man.

Upon entering the house, Wang Xi kicked Shang Gongbu.

Shang Gongbu didn't take it seriously at all and raised his hand to block, but because he had drunk a lot of wine, his reaction was a beat too slow. Wang Xi kicked him to the ground, and he pulled Hongxiu down with him.

Wang Xi quickly pulled Hongxiu up behind her, shielding her, "Teacher, are you alright?"

Hongxiu, regaining her composure after the initial shock, shook her head and suddenly shouted, "Be careful!"

But seeing that Shang Gongbu had already gotten up, he immediately pounced on Wang Xi.

Wang Xi pushed Hongxiu aside and went to meet her, but was immediately punched back.

"Little Sparrow!"

"It's nothing! Just a minor mistake!"

Wang Xi didn't forget to comfort Hongxiu before rushing forward again.

Shang Gongbu was older than Wang Xi, strong and powerful, and had also practiced martial arts. In theory, Wang Xi was no match for him. However, because he had drunk a lot of wine, his punches and kicks were a bit weak. Although he had the upper hand and made Wang Xi retreat repeatedly, he was unable to knock him down in one blow.

Meanwhile, the young hero outside the house, fighting four opponents alone, seemed to be gradually losing his strength and slowly falling into a disadvantageous position.

Having escaped danger, Hongxiu saw that Wang Xi was no match for the opponent and thought of sneaking out to ask for help. However, as soon as she reached the door, she was discovered by one of the opponents, who immediately blocked her way with a knife.

Hongxiu screamed in fright and immediately ran back, shouting, "Help! Help! Help!" Shang Gongbu cursed and shouted a few more words in the gibberish. Suddenly, a Tibetan man rushed towards Hongxiu. The young hero tried his best to stop him, and although he blocked the man, he was kicked from behind. He rolled on the ground, raised his sword to block the scimitar, and swept out with his leg, forcing the man back. He immediately got up and stood in front of Hongxiu, politely saying, "Madam, please speak a little louder."

Hongxiu disregarded her image and desperately shouted, "Help! Help!"

Shang Gongbu was grabbing Wang Xi and beating him while roaring at the outside.

The attacks of the four Tibetan men became increasingly fierce, showing no mercy.

Seeing that the situation was becoming increasingly precarious, suddenly, the four Tibetan men felt sand in their eyes. They instinctively raised their hands to cover their eyes, and suddenly felt a gust of wind. They instinctively rolled on the ground, and through their blurry vision, they saw a young man wielding a wooden stick attacking them.

Due to limited vision, he could only jump backward. With a loud crack, the man felt as if he had been whipped on the back of the head. He turned around and saw two figures, one fat and one thin, standing at the door.

It was Li Jieman, Wang Shuang, and Huangfu Sengnian.

"Don't be afraid, little sparrow, your brother is here."

Li Jieman threw out another handful of dirt, then rushed into the house without regard for anything else.

This time, the Tibetan men were prepared and dodged to the side. As soon as they opened their eyes, another handful of mud was thrown at them. They cursed inwardly, thinking that these Han people were actually playing dirty tricks.

Huangfu Sengnian brandished his horsewhip wildly.

Even the young swordsman, who was almost knocked down, hurriedly jumped out of the circle and shouted, "Brother, don't hurt good people!"

Huangfu Sennian didn't care about anything else and continued to dance wildly. If the other party chased after him, he would run out the door. The other party didn't dare to chase after him because the master was still there. But as soon as he turned around, Huangfu Sennian threw a handful of mud at him and continued to whip the horse, which made the other party quite annoyed.

Inside the house, with Li Jieman's arrival, the situation was immediately reversed, and they gained the upper hand. The two brothers were seasoned veterans and had excellent teamwork. Shang Gongbu had been drinking, and his reaction was far from his usual level.

boom!
Before he knew it, Wang Xi had punched him in the face.

Li Jieman immediately charged forward with a savage ramming motion, using his large, fleshy body to send Shang Gongbu flying.

The two men gave him no chance to catch his breath, pounced on him, pinned him to the ground, and started punching him relentlessly.

"Fuck your mother! Fuck your mother!"

The four Tibetan men, seeing their master being beaten on the ground, didn't care about anything else. Two of them blocked the young swordsman, while the other two rushed over to help.

Wang Shuang and Huangfu Sengnian rushed over immediately, trying to hold off the two. Wang Shuang was skilled in martial arts and blocked one of them with his staff, while Huangfu Sengnian knew he was no match for him, so he bent down and lashed out with his whip, wrapping it around one of the men's ankles.

The man turned around and with a single stroke, severed the horsewhip.

With a snap, the whip rebounded and struck Huangfu Sengnian directly in the face.

Huangfu Sengnian grunted and cursed, "You bastard!"

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps were heard from afar.

Upon hearing this, the young swordsman panicked. "Oh no! The soldiers are here!" He immediately brandished his sword, jumped out of the circle, clasped his hands in a salute, and said, "Gentlemen, I am bound by the law and cannot stay any longer. Farewell."

They just ran away.

This completely baffled Wang Shuang and Huangfu Sengnian.

Is he an idiot?

At this point, you're still thinking about the curfew.

The four Tibetan men were also dumbfounded. They were surprised to see such a good thing. They immediately split into two groups: one blocked Huangfu Sengnian, and the other three rushed towards Wang Shuang, who was blocking the door.

Wang Shuang was complaining incessantly, but still swung his bat to meet the attack, shouting urgently, "Xiaoman, close the door quickly, I can't hold on any longer."

Li Jieman turned around, rushed forward, and blocked the door.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and Wang Xi flew over and crashed heavily into the door.

Li Jie said anxiously, "I can block the door by myself, don't you even have this much teamwork?"

Wang Xi cursed, "Are you blind? Didn't you see I was kicked over here?"

After saying that, he rushed forward again.

Outside, Wang Shuang was outnumbered by four opponents. Seeing this, Huangfu Sengnian suddenly shouted in Tibetan, "Your Highness, do not be afraid, your subject is here to help you."

Upon hearing this, the four Tibetan men were startled and withdrew their attack.

Wang Shuang was given a chance to catch his breath and stood back to back with Huangfu Sengnian, blocking the doorway.

Just then, someone shouted, "Brother Que, Brother Shuang, don't panic, we're here."

Then, Cui Gu'er, Xue Jun, Dou E, and more than ten others rushed in, wielding sticks, swords, stools, and torches.

"Seng Nian!"

Cui Gu'er threw a long sword directly to Huangfu Sengnian.

Huangfu Sengnian took the long sword and, without pausing for a moment, thrust it at the Tibetan man.

His motto was to seek revenge.

With the addition of the纨绔 (playboy) gang, the situation was immediately reversed.

These spoiled brats were not cowards, and all of them were skilled in martial arts. They absolutely loved this kind of scene and immediately surrounded the four Tibetan men.

The four Tibetan men were inwardly groaning. They had intended to rescue Shang Gongbu, but instead, they were surrounded by the unexpected band of spoiled brats.

They could only unite, retreat to the front of the door, and block the others from entering.

Inside the house, when Li Jie saw his brothers arrive, he immediately abandoned blocking the door, rushed forward, and unleashed a barrage of punches.

Seeing that the reinforcements were not surrounded, Shang Gongbu also unleashed his potential. He roared and, relying on his age, pushed the two men away, intending to fight his way out.

Wang Xi and Li Jieman were also in a bloodthirsty frenzy. They staggered a few steps and rushed forward again to tackle Shang Gongbu to the ground.

The three of them rolled to the ground, completely out of options, and began wildly swinging their fists and feet.

In the blink of an eye, the three of them had each taken several punches.

Boom boom boom!
Then, another series of footsteps could be heard outside the courtyard.

A shout rang out: "Who's fighting here!"

A group of soldiers rushed into the courtyard.

Upon seeing this, Shang Gongbu immediately cried out, "I am a Tibetan prince, please save me!"

It's completely useless!

When will these spoiled brats ever respect the government troops? Let's keep fighting.

The junior officer in charge seemed to recognize Wang Shuang and his group, and hurriedly shouted, "Stop! Young men, please stop!"

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he could only say, "Quickly pull them apart, and don't hurt them."

After saying that, he first drew his long sword, leaped into the air, and swung his sword at the center. The men on both sides instinctively dodged.

The soldiers quickly swarmed forward and pulled back the frivolous young men who were already bloodthirsty.

The four Tibetan men immediately turned around and rushed into the house. Seeing this, the young general was afraid that they would hurt Wang Xi and Li Jieman, so he swung his sword again. The two Tibetan men swung their swords to meet the attack, but they felt that the opponent's sword was powerful and heavy, and they were forced to take a step back.

The young general pointed his long sword and shouted, "If you don't stop, don't blame me for being impolite."

The four Tibetan men exchanged glances, knowing they were no match for this man, and that he outnumbered them. So they all put down their swords.

Suddenly, a shrill scream was heard.

Shang Gongbu clutched his groin and rolled on the ground. It turned out that when Shang Gongbu saw that the reinforcements had arrived, he rushed out without thinking. However, Li Jieman tackled him in front of Wang Xi and then delivered a knee strike to his groin, hitting him in a vital spot.

The four Tibetan men, disregarding everything, charged forward again with their knives.

"Stop them."

The young soldier immediately shouted.

Several soldiers immediately stepped forward to stop them. The young general rushed into the house, grabbed Wang Xi by the back of his collar and threw him backward, then seized Li Jieman and threw him aside, taking the opportunity to rescue Shang Gongbu.

Upon seeing this, the four Tibetan men immediately stopped and surrounded Shang Gongbu.

Wang Xi sat down in the corner, panting heavily. He glanced at Li Jieman, who seemed a little dizzy, and cursed, "You fatso, why didn't you come sooner?"

Li Jie said, "You still dare to say that? You almost kicked me just now, but I'm not even married yet."

"Wang Xiaoque!"

Hongxiu rushed over, her eyes brimming with tears, and looked at him, asking, "How are you?"

Wang Xi quickly grabbed her hand, "Teacher, are you alright?"

Hongxiu shook her head and said, "Teacher is fine. How are you? Are you hurt?"

"Have!"

Wang Xi nodded, then let out an "Ah" and fell into Hongxiu's arms.

Li Jie rolled his eyes, leaned against the wall, and limped out, shouting, "The son of the Duke of Qi has fainted! Quickly take him to see a doctor. If anything happens to him, you will all lose your heads."

Upon hearing this, the young officer immediately went inside, clasped his hands in a salute, and said, "Please make way, madam."

Hongxiu quickly pushed Wang Xi, who was in her arms, to the young general.

The young soldier simply carried Wang Xi on his back.

Once outside, Wang Xi quietly opened his eyes, sized up the young man, and whispered, "Which department are you from? You have no sense at all. Do you think I need you to carry me? Get off me."

The young officer was startled. He put Wang Xilai down and, seeing that he was unharmed, breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, "This humble officer is Guo Ziyi of the Left Guard Battalion."

(End of this chapter)