Seven hundred and seventieth IX Meeting of Ten Directions
Hua Bushi smiled and said: "It is precisely because those who come to the Lingxiao Sword Forum are all famous masters from various sects, it is most appropriate for the meeting to be hosted by a scholar. Otherwise, I am afraid no one will be convinced."
As the saying goes: "Wen first, martial arts second." This saying is not just for martial artists. It is also true for Jianghu sects, especially people from famous sects. People in famous sects will always regard their own sect higher and think that their martial arts is the best in the world. First, it’s not surprising
The essence of the Lingxiao Sword Forum is a battlefield where all the white Taoist forces compete for the interests of the capital. "Seven sects of the Central Plains" are all involved in it. No matter which sect's master presides over the meeting, no matter how high the person's martial arts and reputation are, it is inevitable. It will be suspected of being biased and will be criticized. In fact, there is no sect or master in the world that can suppress all others and become dominant.
Therefore, instead of finding a master master to preside over the sword discussion meeting, it would be better to let Tang Wanfang, who has no martial arts skills and no reputation and is unlikely to intervene in the competition for interests of all parties, to do it. Everyone has no objections.
This is the so-called mediocre person making good use of it
Sima Rulan is also a smart person. Hua Bushi immediately figured out the reason after mentioning it.
Passing around the screen is the main banquet hall of Lingxiao Pavilion. The decoration here is as luxurious as the lobby downstairs. The floor is paved with snow-white white marble and is as smooth as a mirror. Dozens of exquisite palace lanterns hang from the ceiling above, lighting up the entire banquet hall. The bright lights are refracted and dazzling, giving you a sudden feeling of splendor.
In the center of the banquet hall is an empty space with a radius of five feet. On the east, west, and south sides, there are multiple seats separated by glazed walls. It looks like private rooms in a restaurant, but they are all open and do not block the line of sight. There are as many as ten seats inside, obviously prepared for the ten sects participating in this meeting.
On the north side of the hall is a stone platform about a foot high. The only other objects on the platform are eight large rosewood chairs arranged side by side. They are all covered with bright red brocade chair cushions and are inlaid with pearl agate, which makes them shine. luxurious[
Under the guidance of Dou Fei, Hua Bushi and his party walked to a seat at the west end of the banquet hall. However, they saw that there were already two people in the seat. They were a formidable-looking old man in gray robe and a man in his thirties dressed as a master. people
When they got closer, Dou Fei came up to pay homage and introduced Hua Bushi. It turned out that the old man in gray robe was Dou Fei's father, Dou Ruyuan, the master of "Wanli Hall", and the person dressed as a master was actually a steward named from the Ministry of Household Affairs. Zou Tong
The backstage of "Wanli Tang" in the capital was Xu Hao, the left minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs. This manager Zou was obviously the person sent by Xu Shilang.
Dou Ruyuan saw that Hua Bushi was very enthusiastic in his speech and thanked the young master repeatedly for being invited. However, the steward Zou Tong, although polite and considerate on the surface, always looked a little stiff.
Xu Hao belongs to the Five Kings Party. Everyone can hear the conversation between Hua Bushi and Qiu Hengbo in the lobby downstairs just now. This "evil dog son" has a close relationship with the Cao family. The current party is fighting for the Five Kings Party. The eunuch party is an enemy. Not long ago, the leader of the Five Kings Party, Wen Tiren, was impeached by Cao Huachun. Now the two parties are even more on the same page. Zou Tong is not afraid of China. It is natural.
Of course, Manager Zou didn't know that although Hua Bushi had an old relationship with Cao Muyun, he had no relationship with the eunuchs and had never intervened in the party disputes in the court.
The Eight Immortals table was already filled with delicacies from the mountains and seas as well as fine wines and delicacies. Everyone sitting in front of the table did not have much thought about eating and drinking. What the Dou family and his son were thinking about was how the "Wanli Hall" would be ranked in the sword competition later. Wu Yinghao was thinking about how much benefit he would gain, but he was thinking about how he would follow Hua Bushi when he visited the Cao family three days later, how to show his loyalty and build a relationship with the Cao family.
But Hua Bushi's attention was focused on the various forces in the banquet hall.
The guests who came in the lobby downstairs were only divided into the east and west corners and sat casually in the banquet hall, but they were clearly distributed in the seats of the invited party. In the "Eight Gates of Yanjing" plus two new sect halls The ten seats represent the ten forces that are facing each other on three sides of the hall.
The leaders of each force and the experts invited can all have a clear view here.
The four seats on each side of the east and west are the "Eight Gates of Yanjing" in Beijing, while the two seats in the south are the other two new sects.
"Jinyang Gate" ranks first among the current "Eight Gates of Yanjing". The seat occupied is the east. The head of the first table, Jin Dafu, is a stocky middle-aged man, and the master invited to help is " The big boss of Tang Lianhua and "Jinyang Gate" of "Tangmen in Sichuan" is Wang Chengen, the leader of the eunuchs. There are two smooth-faced men in brocade clothes in front of the table, both of whom should be eunuchs in the palace.
At the bottom of the "Jinyang Gate" is the "Longwei Martial Arts Hall", which is currently ranked second. Six sturdy men in fine clothes stand solemnly at the table. Master Yuantong is sitting leisurely on a chair with a big belly, and is sitting beside him. A middle-aged martial artist who is supposed to be the head instructor of the martial arts school
The next seats are "Zhengdaomen", "Chujianghui", "Heshengmen" and "Qingfengyuan", each with experts from "Huashan", "Emei", "Putuo" and other sects sitting in "Wanlitang". The seventh seat is located third to the west and second to last among the main seats on the east and west sides.
The last "Tianxiang Hui" did not have the support of the masters of the "Seven sects of the Central Plains" but invited a middle-aged couple from the "Huangshan sect" to help out. From Hua Bushi's perspective, this couple with swords on their backs looked like gods. Yun's restrained martial arts must be quite good, so he looked at them a few more times[
The current ranking of the "Eight Sects of Yanjing" was determined at last year's Lingxiao Sword Forum and will be rewritten soon. It is also unknown whether these sects can maintain their status as the "Eight Sects of Yanjing" and remain in the capital.
In fact, compared with the eight seats on the east and west sides, the two sects in the south are more eye-catching.
"Changqingxuan" is suspected to be the most powerful sect in the hall. Baohua Zhenren and Feixuanzi are both Suqi who have been famous in the world for a long time. They respectively represent the two sects of "Wudang" and "Kongtong", plus a martial arts master. The ambition of the Cao family, Qiu Hengbo, an imperial master, in this sword discussion meeting is obviously not just to gain the title of "Eight Gates of Yanjing"
Compared with the luxurious lineup of "Evergreen Xuan", the "Xiandu Sect" located next to the same one in Nanshou is extremely shabby.
There were only two people sitting in front of the huge Eight Immortals table. A thin old man with a long beard and drooping chest and a wrinkled face had a long sword hanging on his waist. He must be the head Fan Dongli. Next to him was a middle-aged woman with thick waist and legs. Wearing a short green cloth shirt with a piece of floral cloth covering his head, he has a fat head and big ears. He looks very ugly.
A three-foot-long boxwood stick leaning at the woman's feet was probably her weapon.
Hua Bushi's eyes stopped at the seat of the "Xiandu Sect" and whispered: "Mrs. Yiyi, that middle-aged woman is not on the list you made before, but I don't know where she came from."
Chu Yi followed what he pointed at and stared at it, but said with a slight frown: "I don't know that woman. According to the information obtained by the 'Qianhuafang', there seems to be no such person in the 'Xiandu Sect'."
As the person in charge of "Qianhuafang", Chu Yiyi has a very broad vision of the characters in the martial arts world. Even she doesn't know them, so they must not be people who often appear in the world.
Dou Ruyuan, who was sitting next to him, heard the two of them talking and interrupted: "This 'Xiandu Sect' is just a small gang in Tongzhou. With these two people, it is too much to invite experts from famous sects or support from the official family." It’s child’s play”
The steward Zou Tongtong said: "Master Dou is right. These sects as big as sesame seeds also want to come to the capital to find bargains. Do you really think that the land in the city is so good? I think they are just here for a formality. Let's wait. I’m afraid I won’t even dare to say something loud when I’m competing for rankings.”
Hua Bushi looked at the two people at the table in the distance and said with a faint smile: "I hope it will be as Butler Zou said."
During the conversation, suddenly a gong sound was heard in the hall. A man walked out from the side and stood in the empty space in the center of the hall. He said loudly: "I, Tang Wanfangtian, was invited by the 'Eight Gates of Yanjing' as the master of Lingxiao Pavilion." I am very honored to have all the heroes, distinguished officials, and nobles presiding over this meeting."
The boss of Lingxiao Pavilion is about forty years old. He wears a Confucian scarf and a long robe. He has bright eyebrows and starry eyes. He has a handsome face and five long beards fluttering under his chin. He has a good-looking appearance and a somewhat majestic demeanor. It's just that his steps are frivolous and his breath is rough. It's obvious that he is a scholar who doesn't know martial arts.
As he spoke, Tang Wanfang waved the white jade folding fan in his hand and unfolded it with a "pop" sound. However, he saw that the seven-character poem "Beauty to the Moon" inscribed on the fan was actually written by Tang Bohu.
He paused for a while and waited for everyone in the hall to focus on him before continuing: "This year's Lingxiao Sword Discussion Club is very different from previous years. Most of the friends here must be very clear about the rules of this club, but there are To the new participants, I would like to explain the rules again in a few words."
The rules of the Lingxiao Sword Forum are not complicated. This meeting has two purposes. One is to determine the new "Eight Sects of Yanjing", that is, to determine the qualifications of the eight sects that will develop in the capital in the next year. The other is to determine the status of each sect. to discuss the division of land and ownership of industries.
Therefore, the sword discussion meeting also has two corresponding procedures: first, the competition for the ranking of the sects, and then the discussion. The eight jeweled sandalwood seats placed on the low platform in the north of the banquet hall represent the qualifications of the "Eight Sects of Yanjing". From left to right, the ranking is from one to eight.
In fact, the so-called rules are that the strong will prevail and the weak will be eliminated. The ten sects participating in the sword debate can exchange benefits or compete for victory. As long as you have the ability to sit on the eight top seats without being challenged by others, you can be knocked down. Become the new "Eight Gates of Yanjing" and stay in the capital