Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 73 A Desperate Gamble (Author's Note on Launch)

Wang Xi is just a screenwriter, not a politician. He doesn't talk about the big picture. Does he really think he can talk about policies for governing the country?
He can't do it either!
The problem is that this overall perspective is too grand, so grand that even Li Qiao and Wang Shouyi don't quite believe it. What they say makes sense, but can it be put into practice?

When a broad perspective clashes with reality, it immediately becomes riddled with flaws.

In fact, throughout history, policies are neither good nor bad. As long as you talk about reason, righteousness, the common people, and the masses, even a dog can talk about it. Everyone knows that.

The key is whether it is feasible. A good policy can become a bad policy if it cannot be implemented, while a bad policy may produce good results if it is implemented properly.

But since things had come to this point, they had no choice but to proceed according to the plan.

In fact, they had already been coerced by Wang Xi and others, but they didn't know that it was their own son who had set a trap for them.

Who would have thought they would be so filial?

Jingzhao Mansion.

After Wang Maozhong and the others took their son away, Jiang Yanbo and a group of civil officials arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture. Seeing their students beaten and covered in bruises, they were furious and kept complaining.

Is this self-defense?

The students of the nameless academy can all complete their studies in prison and come out lively and energetic, while my students all need a doctor to take care of them, and now they need to be helped out of the house.

What kind of self-defense is this?

In fact, Meng Wenli knew a thing or two about it. Wang Xi and his group were definitely not good people. But the problem was, after all, you were the ones who went to their doorstep to cause trouble, and there were dozens of you who were chased and beaten by a dozen or so people in the street. This...

No matter what I say, if you don't cause trouble, everything will be fine.

Zhang Jiazhen comforted him, saying, "Dr. Jiang, you are highly respected both in the court and among scholars. Is it worth getting so angry over an unknown person?"

Jiang Yanbo said aggrievedly, "Lord Zhang, please understand. I had no intention of getting involved in this matter. It's just that the Jingzhao Prefecture arrested all my students. What were my students doing this for? They were upholding the law and respecting their teachers. If courtesans can be role models, then aren't we scholars reduced to being on par with those courtesans? My students are pleading for justice for us, how can we abandon them?"

He wasn't lying; this time he genuinely didn't want to get involved. He'd tried twice before, only to be met with disgrace each time, so this time he simply couldn't be bothered.

Han Xiu nodded and said, "Dr. Jiang is right. If the nameless academy had been kept hidden and unknown, that would have been fine. But now that it has become such a big deal and everyone knows about it, our Ministry of Rites cannot sit idly by."

Although she had already joined the Hongxiu sect, most literati still cared about this practice that went against tradition.

Zhang Jiazhen nodded repeatedly and said, "I know all that. I'm just worried that Dr. Jiang will get sick from getting upset, which wouldn't be worth it."

Although he had a good relationship with Wang Shouyi, he had to side with Jiang Yanbo on this matter.

Jiang Yanbo said angrily, "But now His Majesty seems to be showing favoritism towards the Prince of Sipu and the Duke of Qi."

As he spoke, he glanced at the prime ministers present.

Yuan Qianyao stated, "Of course we support the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Academy. However, Prince Sipu described his vivid teaching method as so miraculous. If it is truly as he says, then it is indeed understandable."

But if that's not the case, then we won't allow the nameless academy to deceive its superiors and disrupt the established order.

Zhang Jiazhen and Zhang Shuo both nodded.

All three prime ministers directly expressed their stance, because suppressing the imperial clan and their relatives was a very important policy during the Kaiyuan era, and they all strongly supported it.

Wang Shouyi was unable to show his face and stayed at home in a cowardly manner, and Wu Xin was also unable to show his face. In fact, he was the head of the Imperial Academy, but in the end, Jiang Yanbo took the lead.

The reason is simple: he wanted to avoid a direct conflict with Wang Shouyi as much as possible.

However, the Wu family always maintained the initiative; all he needed to do was sow discord between the Wang family and the outer court.

Because what's blocking Wu Jieyu's way now are these ministers from the outer court; the Wang family is no longer worth mentioning.

Wu Mansion.

"Li Zhongyun, do you know what that vivid teaching method is?" Wu Xin asked with great curiosity.

Now, that's the key.

But this was something he hadn't anticipated.

Li Linfu said, "Master Wu, don't worry. According to what Hongxiu said, that vivid teaching method is actually similar to a type of opera like 'Military Service Play'."

"A military drama?"

Wu Xin exclaimed in shock, "How is this possible? That military drama is nothing but a clown's act to make people laugh; it can't possibly be considered profound or sophisticated."

Li Linfu said, “It’s absolutely true, there’s no way it could be false. That nameless old man was just using this to pique the students’ interest and then trick them into doing their homework. This is the way of a petty person, not the way of education.”

Wu Xin said, "If that were all, why would the Prince of Sipu hold him in such high esteem?"

Li Linfu stroked his beard and said, "I'm not quite sure about that either. In fact, Hongxiu also has doubts about it. She can't see any educational significance in those two stories either."

Wu Xin asked doubtfully, "Could it be that they are hiding something from Hongxiu, or that Hongxiu is not telling the truth?"

Li Linfu said, "Hongxiu wouldn't lie to me, and according to what Wuming himself said, isn't it similar to a military play? Could it be that they've run out of ideas and resorted to this tactic?"

According to Hongxiu, the students rushed out without her and Wuming's knowledge, not at Wuming's behest.

Wu Xin nodded slightly, "If that's the case, then they're completely finished this time."

The next day.

Wang Xi lay half-reclined on the couch, legs crossed, eating candied fruit, while Tao Mo stood respectfully to the side, listening to the instructions.

"Old Tao, I knew I hadn't misjudged you. Your performance yesterday was excellent."

While eating, Wang Xi praised the food in a muffled way.

"Young master, you flatter me."

Tao Mo hurriedly said, "Actually, this old man has also figured it out. We've already committed the crime of deceiving the emperor beforehand, so what's there to be afraid of?" "It's good that you understand."

Wang Xi chuckled and said, "There's another show in a few days, but you're not the lead this time, so you can relax and don't need to be too nervous."

Just then, a servant stood at the door and said, "Sir, Young Master Wang, Lady Hongxiu requests an audience."

Wang Xi laughed and said, "Old Tao, what do you think she's here for?"

Tao Mo said, "They've probably come to apologize. Hongxiu Niangzi has been very worried these past two days."

"Just say that later."

Wang Xi beckoned.

Tao Mo immediately leaned in to listen.

After giving his instructions, Wang Xi stood up unhurriedly and offered his seat to Tao Mo. Tao Mo then carefully rearranged the fruit, which immediately earned two admiring glances from Wang Xi.

Once everything was ready, Hongxiu was allowed to enter the house.

Upon seeing Wang Xi, Hongxiu didn't even bother with the proper greetings and immediately asked with concern, "Wang Xiaoque, are you alright?"

Clearly, she has already embraced the role of a teacher.

Wang Xi replied obediently, "Teacher, please rest assured, I'm eating and sleeping well inside, and nothing serious has happened."

"That's fine, that's fine."

Hongxiu breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly realized what was happening and quickly bowed to Tao Mo, saying apologetically, "Sir, this is all because of Hongxiu!"

"It's not that I look down on Hong Niangzi, but she really doesn't have such abilities. If we're being honest, Hong Niangzi is also one of the victims."

Tao Mo suddenly pointed at Wang Xi, "And the real culprit is standing right here."

Wang Xi chuckled.

Hongxiu was no ordinary courtesan; she understood the ins and outs of the matter, and said, "But it all started because of me."

Tao Mo laughed and said, "Since Miss Hong insists on thinking this way, then let's try our best to put on a good show in front of His Majesty, and we, teacher and student, will overcome this difficulty together."

His nonchalant attitude even inspired Hongxiu. Now that things had come to this, she could only work together and nodded, saying, "Hongxiu will definitely do her best."

Tao Mo stood up. "Let's go see what those brats are up to."

What?
Of course it's just bragging and joking. These brats have no fear. They're all talking about the fun they had in the capital. We've been inside before, so we have to brag about it.

Suddenly seeing Tao Mo, Hong Xiu, and Wang Xi walk in, they immediately sat down.

Tao Mo chuckled and said, "Looks like you guys didn't suffer in there!"

Xue Jun chuckled and said, "The students really didn't suffer much, but it was those yamen runners who suffered. There were only a few of them, but they had to serve so many of us."

"Ha ha!"

The group of spoiled brats burst into laughter.

The yamen runners of the Jingzhao Prefecture only dared to mess with ordinary people. These young masters, once they were inside, would naturally have to be treated with care. Besides, would Li Longji really bother Wang Maozhong for such a trivial matter?

If these young masters knew the truth, wouldn't they tear this old man apart? Tao Mo felt a slight dampness on his back, but his face remained calm as he said, "Do you have the confidence to put on a good show in front of His Majesty?"

"Have."

The students responded in unison.

These animals were not afraid at all; on the contrary, they were very excited. In their eyes, this was a chance to show their faces in front of the emperor and the prime minister.

Sigh. These people are really courting death! Tao Mo nodded, his words contradicting his true feelings: "That's good."

Huangfu Sengnian said in a low voice, "Wouldn't you say we're taking a desperate gamble?"

Wang Xi responded calmly, "But it's worth it."
-
PS: It will be available for purchase tomorrow morning. I'd like to take this opportunity to chat with everyone, since I've been resting for so long and haven't had much time to talk about the book since its release.

As you can see, this book didn't do very well, and I'm not afraid of being laughed at. Actually, this book is the result of my reflections during my break.

I intentionally slowed down the pace of this book and gave more screen time to the supporting characters.

The reason is that when I reread my previous books, I found that starting from the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, I habitually created one climax after another in the early stages. Although this proved to be very helpful in boosting the ratings, historical fiction has its limits, which led to a decline in the middle and later stages.

Furthermore, it can lead to a narrower and narrower writing style in the later stages, resulting in a flat and straightforward progression, unlike the Little Chef and the Idle Man, which have unlimited imagination in the later stages.

For example, Li Qi and Han Yi could have directly usurped the throne or chosen someone else to be emperor. These are all possibilities. I've also thought about whether to usurp the throne, especially since I'm a nobody. I even struggled with this for a few days and left some foreshadowing.

But Guo Dan and Zhang Fei had no such thoughts at all; the outcome was already clear.

One very important reason is that in the early stages, the game relies entirely on the protagonist's advantages to drive the game forward, which is like rushing forward in a straight line. This leads to the neglect of the growth of other characters.

Logically speaking, other characters should also grow through the changes brought about by the protagonist, whether they rise to prominence by taking advantage of the situation or face obstacles in their future.

But once this phase is over, it's over and there's no going back to fill in the gaps, which causes many supporting characters to become NPCs later on, making it difficult for the plot to develop.

Another point is that some details that I used to dare to write are now less and less daring to write. Sometimes I write them and then delete them. For example, I deleted a large part of the content about Wang Anshi's son because I was afraid that if I wrote it, the readers would be unhappy. I always try to balance between Wang Anshi and Sima Guang, but the less I dare to write, the less I can write. This is also a problem.

Although this book may be a bit overcorrected, there's no other way. I'm still figuring things out. But so far, I feel quite comfortable writing it myself. I will do my best to write this book well. Of course, it's impossible to abandon it completely; I've never cut it off, but I also won't leave it unfinished.

Oh, and another thing is that I said before that I was going to write about Wu Zetian, but then I found that there were so many female protagonists to write about during that period, each of them very unique, so I couldn't help but write about them in detail. As I wrote, I went off-topic and eventually gave up.

I will update five times in a row on the day of publication to finish writing this plot. I also hope that everyone can give me some encouragement.

(End of this chapter)