Tibet

Although the Tang Dynasty did not have the factions and gangs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, nor was there a true underworld, there were fights wherever there was interest. For example, the Mohist family in the Warring States Period was a gang in the true sense.

At the end of the Sui Dynasty and the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, there were many gangs, and all kinds of monsters and monsters participated in the fight for the world. The cultural tolerance of the Tang Dynasty became the most splendid era of knights in history.

Of course, there are underworld gangs in Chang'an, but they are not the well-organized gangs like the Tiandi Hui and Ge Lao Hui later. They are more of a family group. This is also in line with the characteristics of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. The world is dominated by aristocratic families. The wealthy and aristocratic families dominate the cities, while the gentry dominates the countryside.

Chang'an is so huge that every influential family has its own position in this metropolis, and the Wang family is no exception.

The Wang family is naturally the family of Wang Yuanbao, the richest man in the Tang Dynasty. They are all-powerful in business. They are the largest cabinet shop in Chang'an, Baoji Cabinet Shop, the largest restaurant in Chang'an, Wude Restaurant, the largest business group in Chang'an, and the Wang Family Trading Firm, with more than 170 businesses. Shop.

Politically, the emperor Li Longji met with Wang Yuanbao three times. Both Baoji Cabinet and Wude Restaurant were named after Li Longji. The Wang family also kept a low profile and never participated in politics. Moreover, their backstage was King Ning. After King Ning passed away, his successors Prince Ning continued to protect the Wang family.

However, the Wang family was also afraid of the bandit Xiao Xiaoxiang, so they successively funded the opening of more than a dozen martial arts schools, including the sudden death of Chang'an underworld boss Xing Wei after Wang Gong's death last year. The six martial arts schools under his command were all annexed by the Wang family, giving the Wang family a Strong force support.

The Wang family's military force is in the hands of Wang Yuanbao's third brother Wang Xuanhai. Wang Xuanhai has two sons, both of whom are good in literature and martial arts. Last year, Wang Xuanhai adopted his adopted son Zhang Ping, nicknamed Black Whale, and trained under Pei Min. With strong martial arts skills, he is also the number one sumo wrestling master in Chang'an.

Moreover, Black Whale is a righteous person, helping the poor and the weak, and is deeply loved by the family leader Wang Yuanbao, and also won the support of his younger brothers.

There is a Zhenwei martial arts gym in Dongshi, with more than a dozen martial arts masters and more than 300 students. The merchants in Dongshi will ask the martial arts gym for help with anything. Of course, it is a paid service. Normally, the samurai will also assist the city department in maintaining Dongshi. In the past ten years since its establishment, the martial arts gym has had several owners, but its reputation has always been very good.

The current gym owner is Zhang Ping. Zhang Ping is not only the gym owner of Zhenwei Martial Arts Gym, but also manages the entire Wang Family Martial Arts Gym. This is just his permanent residence.

Li Ye almost didn't recognize Zhang Ping. He was wearing a black satin martial arts robe and a gauze hat. He was tall and mighty, nearly two meters tall. He really looked like a whale.

The key is that he has matured in appearance and has thousands of subordinates. He naturally has the temperament of a leader, and he is powerful without anger.

Seeing Li Ye, Zhang Ping was surprised and happy. He quickly stepped forward and bowed, "When did brother come back?"

"Just came back yesterday!"

Li Ye squeezed his unusually generous shoulders and said with a smile: "Let's help each other and see what kind of martial arts your master has taught you?"

Zhang Ping chuckled and said, "I only have a few kilograms of stupid strength. Master surrounded me with my stupid strength and taught me some moves. Under the hands of my elder brother, I am like an ant. I can be wiped out with just two fingers."

"The boy can talk now! He is so low-key."

The Wujilang next to him laughed and said: "He is just a little more humble in front of his elder brother. When negotiating with others, he grabs them in the air. The owner of the family said that he was too low-key and asked him to go to school."

Zhang Ping blushed and said, "Why are you so talkative? I am also a big brother, so hurry up and pour the tea."

Wujilang was so frightened that he ran away. Li Ye laughed dumbly and followed Zhang Ping into the martial arts hall.

At noon, the warriors all took a lunch break, and the martial arts hall was very quiet.

Zhang Ping asked Li Ye to sit down in the guest room, and sighed: "I encountered an unlucky thing today. My face was almost wiped out. There is nothing I can do."

"What bad luck happened?"

"My grandmother will be celebrating her 70th birthday in a few days. I found a tripod to celebrate her birthday last night, but it was stolen by someone behind me this morning. Such a heavy tripod!"

Li Ye narrowed his eyes, "Is it a golden tripod weighing a thousand pounds?"

"ah!"

Zhang Ping was stunned. He quickly shook his head and said: "How can it be a golden tripod? It is a gold-plated copper tripod."

Li Ye asked again: "Are there nine deer on the tripod?"

Zhang Ping nodded, "I took a look and there were several deer!"

That's right, the golden tripod in Bahanna is also called Jiuluding, which is very unique.

Li Ye's face immediately darkened, and he said coldly: "I don't care if you do underworld to make money, but you actually started stealing things indiscriminately. Where do you want to put the face of your ancestors?"

Zhang Ping's face turned red, "Brother, I have no conscience, I have not stolen anything. Master will definitely break my legs if he finds out."

"Hmph! You still said no. It was either a gold-plated tripod or a golden tripod made of one thousand kilograms of gold. It is the national treasure of Bukhana. I escorted Prince Bukhanna and the golden tripod to Beijing. The golden tripod was prepared to be dedicated to the emperor, but yesterday The Chamber of Commerce in Bukhan was robbed at night, how could it be in your hands if you didn't steal it?"

Zhang Ping was stunned. He thought it was gold-plated brass, but he didn't expect it to be a real golden tripod.

He was so frightened that he waved his hands quickly, "We fished the golden tripod from the river in Shengyefang before dawn. We thought it was something from the Han Dynasty or Sui Dynasty, but we didn't steal it!"

Li Ye secretly thought that it was probably thieves who sank the golden tripod into the river and were discovered by Zhang Ping's men.

"Then what? Why is the golden tripod gone again?"

"We sent the tripod to the Wang family. Just now the housekeeper came to tell me that several Taoist nuns came to the door early in the morning and said that it was the madam who asked them to take the bell away. They said that having a bell when celebrating a birthday is unlucky and means the end of life. They have madams. The housekeeper did not stop them, so they went into the family temple and took down the bell and moved it away. Later, the housekeeper found that the bell was still there, but the tripod was missing, so they actually carried the tripod away."

"But the housekeeper doesn't know that it's a golden tripod?"

"Of course he didn't know. The tripod was wrapped very tightly. I told him it was a bronze tripod, so he placed it in his family temple."

Li Ye nodded. He understood that these Taoist nuns were the thieves. They hid the golden tripod in the river, but it was discovered. Instead, Zhang Ping and his men fished it away. As a result, these Taoist nuns tried to steal it again. Walk. .

Li Ye thought for a while and said, "You just said that they have the lady's jade plaque. The jade plaque can't be fake, right?"

"The jade tablet must be genuine, and the housekeeper will not admit his mistake. But my wife went to burn incense and did not come back, so I can't ask about the situation for the time being."

As soon as he finished speaking, a servant ran in and said to Zhang Ping: "The housekeeper asked me to inform the young master that the lady is back!"

"Okay! I'll go now."

Li Ye stood up and said, "I'll go with you."

Li Ye met Wang Yuanbao for the first time. He was about fifty years old. He was short and fat. He looked very kind and dressed simply. He looked like an ordinary shopkeeper.

On the other hand, the brother next to him, Wang Xuanhai, is very imposing, with a square face, clear contours and a pair of particularly sharp eyes.

Although the Wang family was the most famous rich man in the Tang Dynasty, when they heard that a thousand kilograms of gold was used to build a golden tripod, they were both surprised and exchanged glances.

Wang Xuanhai frowned and criticized Zhang Ping: "You have seen some of the world, but you can't even tell the difference between a bronze tripod and a gold tripod."

Zhang Ping's face turned red. Wang Yuanbao waved his hands and said, "Don't blame him. Not many people have seen using gold to make a cauldron. I'm afraid even I can't think of it. The top priority now is to recover the golden cauldron. It should be too late!"

At this time, a female housekeeper came out and gave a Wanfu gift and said: "Master, Madam said, those female Taoist priests should be from the Taiqing Palace. They have Madam's jade plaques in their hands. You can find one named Zhengyi." Female mage.”

Taiqing Palace is a famous female Taoist temple in Chang'an. It is located on the bank of Qujiang Pool. Li Ye left immediately and took Zhang Ping on horseback to the Taiqing Palace.