In the world of martial arts, whoever has the sharpest knife and the strongest fist has the final say. If in other capital cities, the most direct way is to gather the disciples to fight to the death, but in other capital cities, the most direct way is to fight for the interests of various gangs. In the majestic capital of the Ming Dynasty, it is obviously not feasible to openly fight and kill under the eyes of the emperor. Moreover, these sects all have government backgrounds, so it is even more inappropriate to do such things that violate the king's law.
So the solution is the "Jingwu Lion King Conference".
The "Jingwu Lion King Conference" has a long history. In the past, it was a very common folk festival. During the Duanyang Festival every year, it is held on Tianqiao Street, the busiest street in the capital. Most of the people who participate in this conference are martial arts practitioners in the city. There are also some merchants and wealthy people in the pavilion, and there are often dozens of lion teams competing to dance, which can be called a festive and lively event.
Since the rise of the "Eight Sects of Yanjing" in Beijing, the Lion King Tournament has naturally been controlled by these eight gangs, and has evolved into a way for these sects to compete with each other for strength and power.
Today's "Jingwu Lion Club" only has ten lion dance teams that can participate every year, eight of which belong to the "Eight Sects of Yanjing", and the remaining two are other sects that want to enter Beijing to develop their power. The quota to participate in the Lion King Conference must be approved by the "Eight Gates of Yanjing". It can be purchased with silver, or it can be obtained through power, force, etc.
The ten gangs that will finally participate in the Lion King Conference will compete for ranking with lion dances to determine their interests in the city. The top eight gangs in the Lion King Conference will be the "Yanjing" in the new year. "Eight Gates", and the two lowest-ranked gangs must withdraw from Beijing on their own, otherwise they will be expelled by other parties.
The so-called lion dance competition is not just a simple competition of skills, but actually contains both light and dark meanings.
At the annual Lion King Conference, the ten sects each send their masters to form a lion dance team to compete for the eight auspicious bouquets set up in the conference in the form of a lion fight. The one who wins the bouquet with better skills wins.
However, these are only rules on the surface. In fact, the leaders and backstage bosses of the major gangs will also attend this meeting to discuss the distribution of various interests in the city. If a compromise can be reached, the lion dance will win the championship. It has become a formality. Only when there is a stalemate, will the Lion King win the ball to compete.
From this point of view, what determines the ranking of the "Jingwu Lion Tournament" is not only the strength of the masters of each faction, but also whether their backing is strong enough, whether their power can suppress other gangs, and many other conditions.
In addition to the official position in the court, the size of the power in the world is also an important factor in the competition among the gangs in the capital of the Lion King Conference. It is also one of the important factors that determine the ranking. After all, it is only the official authority of the Ming Dynasty. , many people in the world do not know how to sell their accounts, and if they want to grab this big piece of meat in the capital, it is still difficult to do so without the support of the Baidao forces.
Today's Baidao forces are naturally led by the "Seven sects of the Central Plains". In the past, at the "Jingwu Lion King Conference", the "Eight Sects of Yanjing" would often invite the masters of the "Seven sects" to the scene. Coming to watch the lion dance convention is actually to strengthen the momentum of my sect and increase the bargaining chips.
"Wanli Hall" originally had some friendship with an elder from the "Kongtong Sect". This person was always invited to the Lion King Conference in the past few years. However, this elder was not young, and he was in a Many months ago, unfortunately, I passed away from Hexi.
The support of the "Kongtong Sect" is very important for whether the "Wanli Hall" can secure its position as one of the "Eight Gates of Yanjing". After hearing the news of the death of the elder, the hall leader Dou Ruyuan recently went to Kongtong Mountain in Shaanxi Province. In addition to paying homage and mourning, he also wanted to establish some friendship with the "Kongtong Sect" and asked them to send experts to support the "Wanli Hall". However, the matter did not go smoothly. As soon as Hall Master Dou arrived in Kongtong, he learned that " There is news that the "Kongtong Sect" has decided to support another sect "Evergreen Xuan" that is about to enter the capital at this year's Lion King Conference.
Apart from being acquainted with the deceased elder, the Dou family did not have much friendship with other people in the "Kongtong Sect". It is said that the female owner of "Evergreen Xuan" not only had a relationship with Fei Yunzi, the head of Kongtong Sect, He was old and had already promised a lot of money. In this way, Dou Ruyuan's trip to Shaanxi would be in vain. Not to mention the famous masters of the "Kongtong Sect", he was also the disciple of the original elder. I can't even invite half of them.
Dou Ruyuan, who returned to the capital, was extremely anxious, just because the Lion King Conference was about to be held. Not to mention that "Wanli Hall" had no friendship with other famous sects, even if he really wanted to spend money to hire people, it would probably be too late.
But at this moment, Master Hua suddenly came to visit, which was undoubtedly a good opportunity for the Dou family. Although the "Evil Dog Gate" had only been established in the world for a few years, "Evil Dog Master" Hua Bushi was even more famous. It's a mess, but no one can deny that the current "Evil Dog Sect" branches are spread across seven provinces, and its power is already comparable to that of the "Seven sects".
Dou Fei explained the ins and outs of the Lion King Conference in detail, and then said: "If Mr. Hua can attend the conference at the invitation of our sect, I, the Dou family and Wanli Tang will be grateful. My father is ready." I bought one hundred thousand taels of silver and twenty beauties as a gift to thank Master Hua for his generous help."
The "Evil Dog Young Master" is well-known in the world for his greed for money, lust, and cunning and scheming. Instead of beating around the bush and telling lies to this young master, Dou Fei was so forthright, telling the truth about the Lion King Conference and immediately proposing the terms of the gift. The wisest move.
After listening to what the "Wanlimen" Young Master said, Hua Bushi didn't answer for a moment, and pondered for a moment before saying: "Brother Dou did me a big favor today. The invitation to the Dragon Boat Festival, I am so sentimental and reasonable." I shouldn't refuse at all, but this matter is not trivial. I have two questions. Please tell me the truth, Brother Dou."
Dou Fei said: "Master Hua, may I ask?"
Hua Bushi said: "First, the background of the ten sects participating in this year's Lion King Conference and the government forces supporting them. Whether Guitang has already grasped it,"
Dou Fei said: "Originally, we have been very clear about the backstage of the 'Yanjing Eight Sects' in the government. We have also done some research on the two new sects participating in the conference this year. One of them is Wu Zongdajian, an old scholar in the court. Enter, the other family seems to have some relationship with the eunuchs,"
Hua Bushi nodded and said: "The second question is about the list of distinguished guests from various sects in the world invited on the Dragon Boat Festival. Does your hall know about it?"
Dou Fei said: "There is a guest list, but because the Lion King Conference is jointly organized by our 'Yanjing Eight Sects', all participating sects can temporarily change the people they invite, just like our hall now invites Young Master Hua. Therefore, the person who will eventually join the Lion King cannot be confirmed at the moment.”
Hua Bushi lowered his head and thought for a while, then said: "I heard what Mr. Dou said, the Dragon King Conference is very involved, and the current situation is not clear. I can't agree to it for the time being, but if Guitang is patient, in two days I will give a clear answer to Mr. Dou later. If you don’t want to wait, you can invite others to be guests. It doesn’t matter at all.”
Being invited by "Wanli Hall" to attend the Lion King Conference seems simple, but in fact it is equivalent to getting involved in the struggle for interests among the "Eight Sects of Yanjing", and may also become the enemy of the "Seven Sects of the Central Plains". Even though the current strength of the "Evil Dog Sect" is no longer lower than that of the "Seven sects", it is not a wise move to rashly make strong enemies by forcing others on their behalf just for the benefit of a small gift.
This truth is self-evident. Hua Bushi did not agree immediately, which was already expected by Dou Fei. In fact, the other party did not reject it outright, which was enough to make Dou Fei hope.
Dou Fei's face was full of sincerity, and he said: "The Lion King Conference will be held in five days. How can we invite other experts from famous sects, so we are placing all our hopes on the 'Evil Dog Sect'. If Master Hua feels that the gift is not enough, I can add some more,"
Hua Bushi waved his hand and said: "Young Master Dou, this is a mistake. The gift you just promised is already quite large. I have no intention of bargaining. Anyway, two days are coming in a blink of an eye. I will give you an answer when the time comes." of,"
After hearing this, Dou Fei already knew that there was no point in talking. Fortunately, from the tone of this young master Hua, it was still possible that he would agree to be invited. He immediately handed over his hands and said, "Okay, in two days, Dou will respectfully listen to Hua." There’s news about the young master,”
Hua Bushi smiled slightly, clasped his fists in return, and walked into the secret passage on the wall.
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Going out from the secret passage is a small courtyard. A black carriage is parked in the courtyard. The young man sitting on the driver's seat is none other than Meng Huan.
Hua Bushi got into the carriage, Meng Huanyang whipped the horse, and the carriage left the courtyard and drove towards the street.
Beijing's ancient name was Yanjing, and it was the capital of many dynasties. It was renamed Beiping Prefecture when Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty was renamed Peking Prefecture. When Emperor Yongle Zhu Di ascended the throne, it was officially determined to be the capital of the Ming Dynasty and renamed Beijing.
Compared with Kaifeng, which is also an ancient capital, the layout of Beijing is obviously more royal. Although the city is large, the buildings in the streets and houses are mostly square, wide and straight. The Forbidden City is in the center, surrounded by layers of four squares, facing south. From the Yongding Gate on the front of the outer city to the Bell and Drum Tower in the north of the Imperial City, a central axis is formed that runs through the north and south. The buildings on both sides are arranged symmetrically, making the entire city very imposing.
During the Jiajing period, a Portuguese Pinto came to Beijing. After returning to China, he wrote in his "Travel Notes": "Beijing is a prosperous, civilized, and magnificent cosmopolitan city with high walls, thick walls, vertical pavilions, and shops in the city. There are many department stores in the market, and walking in the market is like entering a dreamland."
However, for Hua Bushi, he did not know much about the prosperity of the capital. In the few days since he entered the city, he had been living in seclusion. Even when he traveled, he often took carriages, locking himself in the carriage and not showing up. Just so as not to attract the attention of others,