Chapter 584: Time to Settle Up
With the grain stores selling at inflated prices, the government raked in a substantial sum of silver.
Wu Shen's heart swelled with delight. "Money! I finally have funds again!"
However, before that hefty sum could even warm in his hands, Li Daoxuan, strolling casually with a birdcage, materialized at the entrance of Wu Shen's official residence. "Lord Wu," Li Daoxuan began, "I hear the city's refugees stumbled upon a stroke of good fortune and purchased a great deal of grain from your government stores. You must be flush with cash now, wouldn't you say?"
Wu Shen's heart gave a sudden, heavy lurch.
Li Daoxuan continued, "The celestial fertilizer bought on credit from my side... it's high time those accounts were settled, don't you think?"
If Wu Shen had been a venal official, he might have tried to wriggle out of it. But he was, by contrast, an upright man, a scholar with an unyielding sense of honor. Such a man could not default on his word. Debts owed had to be dutifully paid. And so, the substantial sum of silver he'd just acquired cascaded, coin by coin, back into Li Daoxuan's outstretched hand.
Li Daoxuan pocketed the silver, an impish grin playing on his lips. "Lord Wu," he noted, "with the refugees making such hefty purchases, your government grain stores must be rather depleted now, wouldn't you agree?"
Wu Shen sighed. "Indeed, our reserves are quite low. If they were to make similar purchases two or three more times, the government grain stores would be completely empty."
Li Daoxuan chuckled. "That's not too difficult to remedy. You see, I still have some grain in my stores that could be used to support your efforts, Lord Wu. Would you perhaps care to purchase a fresh supply on credit from my estate to sell? You are a man of your word, Lord Wu, one who always settles his debts. I wouldn't hesitate to extend you credit."
No sooner had the two men finalized their arrangement than shouts erupted from the street outside. "The Prince of Qin's men!" cried a villager, "They're heading for the celestial fertilizer shop again!"
"Loads of them, and they've all got clubs!"
Wu Shen's face immediately contorted with alarm.
Li Daoxuan, however, simply chuckled. "No need to fret," he assured him. "My men are already stationed there. Let's go and observe the proceedings ourselves."
The grain store and the celestial fertilizer shop were only a short distance apart, just half a block and a turn. They would be visible in moments.
Wu Shen, consumed by urgency, dashed forward at top speed. Li Daoxuan, however, remained unhurried, as a brisk pace would only jostle his bird. He continued his leisurely stroll.
When Li Daoxuan finally rounded the corner, he found the celestial fertilizer shop entrance already a scene of lively chaos.
The Prince of Qin's household guards, on this occasion, had clearly dispensed with any pretense of negotiation. Without a single word, they simply raised their clubs and charged, much like a street gang storming a rival's turf, launching into a brawl at the first hint of confrontation.
The Gao Family Village Militia, however, had been well-prepared. From beneath the counters, they retrieved their own clubs and surged forward, meeting the assault head-on.
The spectators, recognizing the sheer numbers involved on both sides, instinctively knew to keep a wide berth. They scattered instantly, clearing the entire block.
The entire street in front of the celestial fertilizer shop swiftly transformed into a chaotic battlefield.
The Prince of Qin's manor had dispatched fifty men.
The Gao Family Village Militia matched them, sending precisely fifty fighters themselves. Their strategy was simple: "Never let the enemy gauge your true strength."
More than a hundred individuals clashed, clubs whistling through the air in a frenzied melee.
This was Xi'an, after all!
Normally, a disturbance like this would have brought the local military officials rushing to intervene. But this clash pitted imperial kin against the civil bureaucracy. The military officers tasked with maintaining order prudently kept their distance, unwilling to insert themselves into such a delicate political feud.
The Provincial Governor of Shaanxi and the Prefect of Xi'an might as well have been invisible; no one from their offices dared to get involved.
With everyone deliberately looking the other way, the conflict would simply be decided by brute force.
Zheng Gouzi swayed, narrowly evading a retainer's club. His own weapon, however, connected with a brutal thwack against the man's thigh, sending him sprawling. Zheng Gouzi wasted no time, seizing the moment to rain a flurry of savage blows onto the fallen figure.
A nearby retainer darted in, attempting a sneak attack. Yet, the Gao Family Village Militia fought with an almost tactical precision. While a full battle formation was impossible in the cramped street, their fundamental training in coordination and mutual cover shone through.
A militia member beside him swiftly swung his club, deflecting the retainer's blow with a sharp crack. Seizing the opening, Zheng Gouzi delivered another forceful sweep, sending that man crashing to the ground as well.
The retainers, clearly unwilling to yield, surged forward once more, several men charging at once.
Suddenly, Padi Tu let out a strange yelp and rolled low across the ground, his club a blur of motion. *Thwack, thwack, thwack!* He landed several rapid, successive blows to the retainers' shins.
Anyone who has felt the searing pain of a club connecting with their shin bone knows it's an excruciating experience.
A whole row of retainers crumpled to the ground.
One retainer, observing Padi Tu's ground-level antics, believed he held a superior position. With a roar, he brought his club smashing down. To his utter shock, Padi Tu, using his hands to push off the ground, suddenly launched himself upward, his forehead connecting with a loud "thump" against the retainer's jaw.
The retainer let out a choked gasp, tumbling backward.
From the outset, this battle offered no suspense. It was a one-sided domination, a relentless pummeling. The Prince of Qin's household guards were utterly outmatched, unable to land a single counter-blow, and swiftly began a full-scale rout.
Their hasty retreat naturally led them toward the street corner.
And it was precisely from that direction that Wu Shen was approaching.
One retainer, eyes blazing with battle-frenzy, swung his club menacingly towards Wu Shen. The accompanying steward was utterly horrified, hastily kicking the belligerent guard aside. "You can strike a servant," he hissed urgently, "but never the principal official! Otherwise, you'll bring calamity upon the Prince!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Wu Shen's palm cracked across the steward's face.
Wu Shen possessed no fighting skill, so his slap was merely that of an ordinary man.
The steward seethed with indignation, but his rage quickly gave way to helplessness. Burying his head, he simply pushed past Wu Shen and continued his panicked flight.
In his headlong rush, he collided with Li Daoxuan, who had leisurely followed in their wake.
The steward recognized Li Daoxuan. The Prince of Qin's subordinates had long ago investigated him thoroughly: this man was supposedly a descendant of some Tang Dynasty royal line, currently holding no official rank, merely a local gentry figure.
The steward wouldn't dare strike Wu Shen, but a mere gentry member? That was a different matter.
He raised his club and brought it down on Li Daoxuan.
Li Daoxuan calmly raised his right hand, meeting the blow.
A solid *thwack!*
The club connected with his forearm. The steward's mind raced: *That hit must have shattered his arm, surely?*
Instead, with a sharp *CRACK!*, the club splintered.
The steward froze, utterly bewildered. *What sort of man is this? His arm is like solid rock! Has he mastered the Thirteen Grand Protectors' Horizontal Training? The Golden Bell Shield or the Iron Cloth Shirt?*
Before the thought could fully register, Li Daoxuan's fist snapped out in retaliation.
A resounding *THWACK!*
The steward felt as though his face had been struck not by a mere fist, but by a solid block of iron, unyielding and brutally hard. There was no give, no cushioning; only his own facial muscles bore the full, jarring impact.
The steward let out a guttural shriek, tumbling backward. His nose was undoubtedly broken, and several teeth had shattered, leaving his face a gruesome canvas of crimson.
He didn't even have a chance to scramble to his feet before the Gao Family Village Militia soldiers, having pursued the fleeing retainers, descended upon him. To dare lay hands on the Heavenly Lord himself? That was an unforgivable offense! In their eyes, it was an act of profound blasphemy, demanding nothing less than a savage beating.
A merciless flurry of *thuds* and *cracks* rained down, every club finding its mark on the hapless steward.
Had the Heavenly Lord not explicitly commanded them to avoid fatalities, the steward would surely have breathed his last right there on the cobblestones.
As it was, even if he survived, he was certainly destined for severe injury.
The steward, his body riddled with multiple fractures, his head and face a bloody mess, was eventually dragged away by a desperate handful of his fellow retainers, who then scrambled away in terror towards the Prince of Qin's manor.
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