Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 213 Judging People by Their Wine
Since Li Longji came to power, he has highly valued Taoist thought and attached great importance to it. However, he took the initiative to ask Wang Xi to handle this matter and even wanted to appoint Wang Xi as the Propagation Envoy.

Li Longji tried his best to meet Wang Xi's requests and even had Gao Lishi assist him. This shows that Li Longji's affection for Wang Xi was not only for music, but also for his abilities. Including Wang Xi's struggle with Lady Zixia, he chose not to give in, because he wanted to see what his nephew's abilities were really like.

Gao Lishi saw this and knew that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Wang Xi would surely rise to prominence in the future. Although he had a good relationship with the Wu family, he still tried his best to befriend Wang Xi.

Once outside the main hall, Gao Lishi said, "Que'er, tell Uncle Gao clearly what kind of Taoist priests and nuns you want, lest you be dissatisfied with the people we find and delay His Majesty's important business."

Wang Xi hurriedly said, "Que'er does have some requests, which may require the help of Uncle Gao."

“It’s right to have requirements, but we can’t just make them arbitrary,” Gao Lishi said. “Just tell me, and Uncle Gao will definitely find it for you.”

"Hey!"

Wang Xi said, “Let’s talk about the fifty nuns first. First of all, they must be healthy, have good temperament and skin, and be beautiful inside and out. Ten of them should be older, and these older nuns should be worldly and able to take charge of the overall situation. The other forty should be younger, able to endure hardship, and most importantly, they must all be greedy for money.”

Upon hearing this, Gao Lishi realized there were quite a few demands. "What's the explanation for this love of money?"

Wang Xi said, "If they weren't greedy for money, why would they work so hard to make the Taoist temple prosperous?"

Gao Lishi smiled and nodded, saying, "That makes some sense."

Wang Xi said, "As for those fifty Taoist priests, the criteria are: greedy, hypocritical, eloquent, and cunning."

These conditions are really quite demanding!
Gao Lishi exclaimed in surprise, "Que'er, your conditions are truly frightening. His Majesty asked you to tell good Taoist stories. If it were someone else, they would definitely choose a Taoist with higher learning. But you've chosen some cunning and deceitful Taoists. Others might think you're choosing swindlers."

Wang Xi chuckled and said, "Uncle Gao, I didn't expect you to not understand this principle either."

Gao Lishi asked curiously, "Then tell me, what is the reason behind this?"

Wang Xi said, "Uncle Gao, you were there at the charity auction that day. Did I say anything truthful?"

Gao Lishi paused for a moment, then chuckled and said, "Not a single word."

Wang Xi said, "But everyone loves to listen to the stories I tell."

“That’s true.” Gao Lishi nodded.

Wang Xi said, "To be honest, telling stories, to put it nicely, is weaving beautiful dreams; to put it bluntly, it's deceiving people. Those Taoist priests with profound Taoist skills would disdain to associate with me and would not understand my intentions. On the contrary, those who are cunning and deceitful can understand and will try their best to help me tell this story well."

Gao Lishi thought for a moment and then laughed, "Oh my! I never would have guessed that the sparrow would be so wise."

"This wasn't taught by the teacher; I figured it out myself," Wang Xi said proudly, patting his chest.

Gao Lishi chuckled and said, "Even if you don't say it, Uncle Gao already knows. Alright, I'll leave this to Uncle Gao."

Mr. Wuming is a highly respected and virtuous man. He would never allow Wang Xi to do such a thing. It must have been his own idea.

Wang Xi bowed respectfully with a simple and honest expression, saying, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Uncle Gao."

Ministry of Rites.

"Your humble servant Li Linfu greets Vice Minister Han."

"Master Li, there's no need for such formalities."

Han Xiu looked at Li Linfu and smiled slightly, "Master Li, has the Prince of Sipu come to see you recently?"

Upon hearing this, Li Linfu was immediately delighted and said, "The Prince of Sipu did indeed contact me."

Although that's not the case, Wang Shouyi did find Li Qiao, but when Li Qiao went to Han Xiu, he would definitely say that he had spoken with Li Linfu, not that it was Wang Shouyi.

Han Xiu asked, "What is it?"

Li Linfu said, "It is said that the Anye Bureau is short of people, and the Duke of Qi hopes to send me to help."

Han Xiu asked, "Why does the Qi Kingdom Guild suddenly want to arrange for you to go to the Anye Bureau?"

Li Linfu said, "According to what the Prince of Sipu said, it was because of the incident with the Left General of the Golden Guard that the Duke of Qi realized that it would be difficult to handle the affairs of the Anye Bureau with just a group of servants. It just so happens that I assisted the Prince of Sipu in handling the charity banquet, so the Duke of Qi chose me."

Han Xiu smiled and said, "Is that all there is to it?"

Li Linfu hesitated and remained silent.

Han Xiu said, "I'm afraid that the Prince of Sipu is worried that the operas that the Jiaofang will rehearse in the future will steal the limelight from Wuming Academy."

Li Linfu said, "I think this is probably just a coincidence, and in fact, I can't play much of a role in it."

Furthermore, I have heard that the Nameless Academy is very willing to help private theaters rehearse operas, while the Nameless Academy focuses more on teaching.

"Perhaps that's true." Han Xiu then asked, "What exactly is Master Li thinking?"

Li Linfu pondered for a moment before saying, "Minister Han, you are wise. I was very willing to assist you in rehearsing operas that praise the spirit of our Great Tang Dynasty, and I have been working very hard on this."

He paused slightly at this point, then added, "But...but."

Han Xiu smiled and said, "But with the addition of Cui Sheren and Zhang Sheren, things are different from what you imagined."

After Zhang Yue was promoted to Grand Secretary, the first thing he did was to promote Zhang Jiuling from Proofreader to Secretary.

Li Linfu nodded. "Furthermore, there is more room for development at the Anye Bureau, so I don't want to deceive Minister Han. I also prefer to go to the Anye Bureau."

Han Xiu smiled and nodded, saying, "It's obvious that Anye Bureau is better for one's career."

He sighed and said, "Actually, I feel guilty towards you about this. After all, it was your idea, but now it seems that even if you stay, you won't be able to make the decision."

The idea came from Li Linfu, but in the end, Zhang Jiuling wrote the script and Cui Qiao arranged the actors. On the surface, it seemed Li Linfu was in charge of everything. But it was obvious that neither Zhang Jiuling nor Cui Qiao would listen to Li Linfu. Han Xiu also felt he had let Li Linfu down.

Li Linfu cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your understanding, Vice Minister Han. In fact, I have always been worried that you might misunderstand me. I have always kept your kindness in mind."

Han Xiu waved his hand and said, "I really can't say I've been helped. That's fine, I won't keep you here. Hehe, even if I wanted to keep you, the Prince of Sipu wouldn't allow it."

However, both Zhang Shuo and Zhang Jiuling supported this matter, and Zhang Jiuling did not want to cooperate with Li Linfu.

Li Linfu cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Vice Minister Han."

He was overjoyed. Even if he went to the An Ye Bureau, Li Qiao's affairs of promoting opera would still be handed over to him.

He got a great job for free, though it was one that would offend people, but Li Linfu wasn't afraid of that; he was really looking forward to it.

Among treacherous officials, Li Linfu is undoubtedly the worst, far superior to the likes of Cai Jing.

Just as I came out of the Ministry of Rites, I suddenly heard someone call out, "Master Li."

Li Linfu turned around and saw that it was Wu Xin. He thought to himself, "His information network is quite good." He cupped his hands and said, "It's Chief Instructor Wu. Greetings, greetings."

Wu Xin stepped forward, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then the two of them walked together towards the outskirts of the imperial city.

As they walked, Wu Xin whispered, "Master Li, what exactly is going on?"

Li Linfu said, "What else could it be? The Prince of Sipu and the Duke of Qi were not very willing for me to help the Jiaofang rehearse operas, so they transferred me to Anye Department."

Wu Xin said, "But if you are unwilling, they may find it difficult to force you."

Li Linfu said, "To be honest, Grand Master Wu, I am willing because I do not want to be subordinate to Zhang Jiuling. If I work with him, we will inevitably quarrel. Grand Master Wu is also aware of the relationship between Zhang Jiuling and the Grand Secretary. If I offend Zhang Jiuling, I may anger the Grand Secretary. If we can't afford to offend him, we can at least avoid him."

Wu Xin nodded slightly, "But the Anye Bureau is facing numerous crises. The incident with Zhang Jiayou last time proved everything."

Li Linfu said, "If I had been at the Anye Department last time, Grand Master Wu wouldn't have been kept in the dark. But then again, how much help can I really be of Grand Master Wu just by helping them rehearse operas at the Ministry of Rites?"

Wu Xin smiled and nodded, saying, "That's right, that's right."

Although he wasn't as shrewd as Li Linfu, he could still figure this out; he was actually there to sound out Li Linfu's opinion.

Although Wang Xi's conditions were very complicated, Li Longji had previously given Taoism a great boost in order to promote it. In Chang'an alone, he built more than 30 Taoist temples, many of which were converted from Buddhist temples.

Taoist temples are easy to build, but what about the Taoist priests?

With so many temples being built, it's inevitable that there will be a mix of good and bad. The key point is that these Taoist temples are currently under the control of the imperial court. Gao Lishi quickly found fifty Taoist priests and fifty Taoist nuns as Wang Xi requested.

He also established Qingyun Temple in Jiaoyifang as Wang Xi's main base.

Qingyun Temple.

There were fifty Taoist priests, all around thirty years old, each with a dignified and respectable appearance, sitting cross-legged on their mats, looking as if they were meditating on the Tao.

The three people standing in the distance were Wang Xi, Huangfu Sengnian, and Li Bai.

"Brother Li Bai."

Wang Xi suddenly said to Li Bai, "Can you do me a small favor?"

Li Bai just looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Li Bai's reservations about helping Wang Xi were probably even greater than Wu Chongwen's.

Wang Xi said, "My master wants to promote Taoist thought, so he needs to invite some Taoist priests to help. We are both young and don't know how to judge people. Can you help us take a look and see who is suitable?"

Li Bai glanced at the Taoist priests and shook his head, saying, "None of them will do."

Huangfu Sengnian asked curiously, "You can know just by looking at me?"

Li Bai laughed and said, "If it were possible, I wouldn't be sitting here waiting for someone to choose me."

Huangfu Sengnian snorted, "So, you're probably even worse than them."

Li Bai said, "I was invited, not chosen; that makes a difference."

“Different, different, of course they are different.” Wang Xi quickly stopped them. If the two of them started arguing, they could really fight until the sky darkened. He then said to Li Bai, “Brother Li Bai, please do me this small favor and get some wine to have a drink with them. Let’s see what kind of people they are.”

"What? A drinking session?"

Li Bai's eyes suddenly lit up.

Wang Xi said, "That's right! I never trust sober people. Judging people by their drinking is the safest way. It's a pity that we can't hold our liquor. If we go up there, we'll only be judged by others."

"Judging people by their wine, brilliant, brilliant!" Li Bai laughed heartily. "Alright! I'll help you with this."

"Thank you! Thank you!"

Wang Xi cupped his hands in greeting.

After Li Bai left, Huangfu Sengnian asked in bewilderment, "Why did you send a drunkard to do that?"

Wang Xi said, "You don't understand. He's very picky. If he thinks something is okay, then it's definitely not okay. That's the easiest way for him to avoid trouble."

Huangfu Sengnian suddenly realized the truth.

(End of this chapter)