Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 193 Besieged on all sides
"Brother Shuang".

Li Jie said with a look of disdain, "You're being too direct. Just now you said you couldn't do it, but now that I say it can make your father the Minister of War, you're going to do it."

Wang Shuang replied matter-of-factly, "If there are benefits, why wouldn't I do it?"

Li Jie snorted, "Brother Que makes it sound so easy, but it's not that simple. Why should those big families listen to us? Do you think they're all like Lao Tao? Do we usually act like mice in front of a cat when we see those elders?"

"That's true."

Wang Shuang scratched his head and looked at Wang Xi, asking, "Brother Que, can we do it?"

Wang Xi said, "It all depends on human effort. Who could have imagined that we would be able to open an academy, and who could have imagined that the academy would grow to this scale?"

Wang Shuang nodded.

Li Jieman said, "But we need to have some clue!"

Wang Xi said, "Are you stupid! The reason they're so nervous about this wine is because it will affect their restaurant's business. And for them, the restaurant isn't about how much money they can make, but about how distinguished their guests are."

Conversely, if we make good use of this wine, we can steal their customers. If we do a good job, they'll definitely want to work with us too.

Li Jie nodded and said, "That makes sense."

Huangfu Sengnian said, "Actually, our only chance to beat them now is our brewing technology. Apart from that, we have no advantage in any other aspect."

"it's not true."

Wang Xi shook his head and said, "It's not the brewing technique, but the Taoist philosophy."

"Taoist thought?"

Huangfu Sengnian said, "You mean, the laws governing the changes of all things?"

"Exactly."

Wang Xi nodded and said, "Innovation is our advantage. No matter how powerful they are, as long as we can create new products, they will not be able to completely suppress us."

Wang Shuang said, "For example, eyebrow pencils, blush, toothbrushes, tooth powder, and so on."

"Exactly!"

Wang Xi snapped his fingers and said, "They can't stop us."

Huangfu Sengnian said, "But according to the previous plan, this also needs to cooperate with your promotion of Taoism, and it also involves Xue Bao'er and the others enrolling in school, so we..."

Wang Xi nodded and said, "We can't delay any longer. We have to hurry. We need to put forward the Taoist idea first, so that when we create new products in the future, we will have an idea to follow and it will be more convincing."

Li Jieman said, "But those children aren't naughty enough."

Wang Xi said, "Then you should intensify your training."

Wang Shuang suddenly said, "That's right! Since we're going to fight, why don't we sever ties with Zhang Baishou's shop first, and stop having our operas performed there?"

Li Jie nodded vigorously and said, "That's right! How come I didn't think of that? Opera is one of our greatest strengths."

"No."

Huangfu Sengnian said, "Given Mr. Wuming's character, he shouldn't do this. It's unbecoming of him. He should wait for the other party to make the first move."

Li Jie said, "What time is it now? Why care about manners?"

"That's not how it works. Our only Achilles' heel is Tao Mo's identity. Our success is also based on Lao Tao. So no matter what, we must always remember this: we must never damage Mr. Wuming's image."

Wang Xi nodded and said, "Mr. Wuming is a reclusive master. In this respect, we have the advantage. We must be patient and wait for them to make the first move. Even if we suffer a loss, we must swallow it. We must underestimate our opponent strategically, but take them seriously tactically."

Huangfu Sengnian laughed and said, "That's a very insightful statement."

Anchangfang.

"is it?"

Lady Zixia was very pleased and said, "Does Que'er really say that?"

Uncle Fu nodded and said, "My young master is very angry about this and has threatened to make the lady pay the price."

Madam Zixia chuckled and said, "It seems that Que'er is much more sensible than I imagined!"

Uncle Fu sighed, "Madam, is it really necessary to make such a fuss?"

Madam Zixia suppressed her smile and said, "Uncle Fu, you should know how important this wine is to me. Once this wine is sold in Luoyang, restaurants without it will inevitably lose most of their customers, especially their important ones."

Moreover, we can use this wine to strengthen our ties with the Khitan, Turkic and other tribes.

I only wanted to cooperate with them, not to demand that they hand over the secret formula. I was willing to let them name their price, but even so, they still refused. So, I had no choice but to do this.

Uncle Fu sighed heavily.

Lady Zixia glanced at him and said, "By the way, what does brother say about this?"

Uncle Fu hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Lady Zixia said, "Can't I say?"

"No, that's not it." Uncle Fu said awkwardly, "My young master, cough cough, actually hopes that Madam will give the young master a good scolding."

Upon hearing this, Madam Zixia was taken aback at first, then chuckled, "Please tell my brother, Uncle Fu, that your little sister will definitely not disappoint him."

Uncle Fu was caught in the middle, caught between two unpleasant situations, unsure whether to laugh or cry. After Uncle Fu left, Guang Sheng suddenly said, "Madam, restricting their purchase of grapes might not be very effective. After all, that nameless gentleman doesn't love money, and those students are even less short of money. Just don't let them sell wine."

Madam Zixia said, "That's exactly what I considered, which is why I said that to Que'er that day."

Guang Sheng looked at Madam Zixia with a puzzled expression.

"The greatest truths are the simplest; one who is without desires is invincible."

Lady Zixia frowned and said, "If we are facing someone who has no desires or wants, then we will find it difficult to defeat them."

Therefore, I deliberately provoked them at the time, including restricting their purchase of grapes. My purpose was to provoke their anger. As long as they were willing to fight me, we would surely win.

As for how to deal with them, the nameless gentleman isn't the key. He doesn't seek fame or fortune, and we can't do anything about him. We can only try to deal with others.

As she spoke, she slightly raised her slender hand and placed it on the documents on the low table beside her. "According to the information you found, Hongxiu's parents should not have been enshrined in the ancestral hall in the village yet. Now her whole family has been exonerated. Go and contact the Sun family and have them go to Hongxiu so that she can send her parents' memorial tablets back to their hometown."

"Yes. I will do it right away."

"Wait a minute!"

Madam Zixia said, "The Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Academy have a deep-seated grudge against the Nameless Academy. They have been repeatedly bullied by the Nameless Academy in the past, simply because the Academy foolishly refused to perform opera."

Go to the Cui family again and have them contact Jiang Yanbo of the Imperial Academy. Then have Jiang Yanbo advise Minister Han to reform the Jiaofang (Imperial Music Bureau), learn opera, and ideally, recall the palace prostitutes from the Wuming Academy.

Their operas are also very important to us. Since we're going to compete, we need to make these preparations. As soon as those palace courtesans return to the music academy, we can also put together operas.”

"As ordered."

After Guang Sheng left, Madam Zixia frowned slightly, "How dare a mere teacher be so rude to me? He really doesn't know what's good for him."

After saying that, she picked up the information about the Nameless Academy on the table and began to look at it carefully.

This Uncle Fu was certainly not loyal to Lady Zixia; he simply said that he often dealt with Lady Zixia, and seeing that the two sides were really about to fight, Uncle Fu quickly ran to report the matter to Wang Shouyi.

To everyone's surprise, Wang Shouyi burst into laughter, slapping his thigh. "I knew it! I knew it! Hahaha!"

Uncle Fu said dejectedly, "Young master, what's there to be happy about?"

Wang Shouyi said, "There's nothing to be happy about. Both that brat and the little girl are despicable. They rely on their little bit of cleverness and think they're above everyone else. I knew back then that with their personalities, they would definitely fight. Let them fight. When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits."

Uncle Fu was dumbfounded and said, "Young master, this is not right. One of them is your son and the other is your sister. How can you say that when the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits? It seems to me that they are both flesh and blood. No matter whether they win or lose, you will definitely be the one who loses."

Wang Shouyi snorted, "But do they treat me like a father or an older brother? They've often annoyed me."

Uncle Fu was speechless for a moment.

Just then, Huangfu Shangde rushed into the room, his expression slightly anxious, "Brother Wang!"

Seemingly noticing that Uncle Fu was also there, he swallowed back the words he was about to say.

Wang Shouyi immediately said to Uncle Fu, "You can go down now."

"Yes."

After Uncle Fu left, Huangfu Shangde said, "Something has happened."

Wang Shouyi hurriedly asked, "What is it?"

Huangfu Shangde said, "Just now, the Anye Bureau in Luoyang sent a message that someone reported to the Anye Bureau that the previous magistrate of Luoyang County used land from the imperial court to bribe General Zhang Jiayou in order to obtain the position of Prefect of Taiyuan."

"what?"

Wang Shouyi suddenly stood up. "Has the matter been investigated thoroughly?"

Huangfu Shangde said, "I have already sent people to investigate, but it should be true, because the previous magistrate of Luoyang County was promoted to Taiyuan Prefecture because of Zhang Xianggong's promotion."

Wang Shouyi's heart skipped a beat. He walked to the door, closed it, turned back, and whispered, "This must not be told to anyone."

Huangfu Shangde said, "If we had found out by accident, we might have been able to keep it a secret. But now that someone has reported it, if we keep it a secret, we might also be implicated."

Wang Shouyi frowned and said, "You mean, someone deliberately came to the Anye Bureau to report this?"

Huangfu Shangde said, "Although there is no evidence yet, it is definitely possible. There are quite a few people in Luoyang who want to deal with our Anye Bureau and the Expansion Commissioner."

"I knew this job wouldn't be easy, but I still couldn't avoid it in the end."

Wang Shouyi felt a headache coming on, and said to Huangfu Sengnian, "You know the relationship between Zhang Jiazhen and me. If I investigate Zhang Jiayou, how will Zhang Jiazhen view me? I can't do something so heartless and ungrateful."

Huangfu Shangde spread his hands and said, "Then what should we do?"

After thinking for a moment, Wang Shouyi said, "How about this, I'll tell Zhang Jiazhen the news first and let him quickly find a way to remedy the situation."

Huangfu Shangde hesitated and said, "Brother, we should be cautious. If this is a conspiracy, do you think they wouldn't have foreseen this?"

Wang Shouyi said, "So what if they know? They can't produce any evidence anyway. In any case, I will never betray Zhang Jiazhen."

Huangfu Shangde said, "How about this, we leak the information to Yuwen Rong."

Wang Shouyi said, "Isn't this just using someone else to do the dirty work? And who can guarantee that Yuwen Rong won't use this incident to drag Zhang Jiazhen down with him? That would be very detrimental to my Wang family."

Huangfu Shangde glanced at Wang Shouyi and said, "Let's not rush things. We should wait until we've investigated everything. If you rashly inform Zhang Jiazhen, something bad might happen."

Wang Shouyi frowned. "Alright, let's find out the truth first."

(End of this chapter)