Old Grandmother was extremely proud. Around her were four children—two boys and two girls. If Li Anlan hadn’t taken Li Rong to Lingnan, there should have been five little treasures around her. Yun Baobao had been kissed by too many people when he was small, which was why he still drooled now—this was Old Grandmother’s view. It was all those useless women in the household who, upon seeing Baobao, wouldn’t let go, making the child still unable to grow up. Boys couldn’t be raised in women’s hands—Old Grandmother knew this principle, but just couldn’t bear to part with him.

Yun Mu was currently beating up her own Wang Cai. Just now Wang Cai had licked her brother with his big tongue because he thought this chubby child’s drool tasted good. But this action had terrified Yun Shou. Yet the big dog just stayed nearby and wouldn’t leave. He didn’t dare cry, so he could only seek help from his sister. As for the two little ones, they’d long been carried far away by their wet nurses.

“Seize any Tubo people you see and break their legs”—this was a new rule of the Yun Family estate, personally ordered by Old Grandmother to Old Jiang. So these past two days, anyone who looked like they had a beard had to be questioned several times. Even those with eyes green from hunger had to be asked if they were Tubo people. This was the consequence of never having seen Tubo people. The second steward, Old Fang, quietly explained to Old Jiang that Tubo people also had black eyes and black hair. Those with yellow hair, red hair, or multicolored hair were definitely not Tubo people.

Yun Mu liked riding Wang Cai around the courtyard. Yun Shou also wanted to ride, but as soon as he climbed onto the dog’s back, Wang Cai would immediately lie down, unwilling to let him ride. Even bribing with treats didn’t work.

When mealtime came, the most enthusiastic person in the household was Yun Mu. Once a maid mentioned it, no matter what she was doing, she would happily wash her hands clean, put on her bib, clutch her fork in hand, and sit in her heightened chair waiting for the meal to begin.

For this, Old Grandmother had thoroughly scolded Na Rimu again. A perfectly good young lady of a great family had been turned into a famine victim on the grasslands. So these past two days she’d been making delicious food in every variation for Yun Mu, making her plump little face become even rounder.

The Yun Family had suffered a loss, so naturally they had to lodge complaints. Both the Chang’an County Office and the Court of Judicial Review received complaints submitted by Yun Family stewards. First they’d make the matter known, lest when the Yun Family broke Tubo people’s legs, they’d be accused of Chang’an people bullying them.

Li Er was currently looking at the Yun Family’s complaint. The people at the Court of Judicial Review really had no way to judge this case and could only submit it to the Emperor’s hands. The Tubo Grand Minister’s envoy delegation was on the road to Chang’an. If they hadn’t taken the wrong road several times and ended up in Luoyang, they might have already entered the capital by now.

Li Er placed great importance on relations with Tubo. All along, this highland nation had been renowned worldwide for its fierceness. He’d long wanted to establish a channel for discussing matters between the two countries. But the Battle of Songzhou had scared the Tubo people’s courage to pieces. They’d shrunk back onto the plateau and wouldn’t come down. He truly had strength but couldn’t use it. Now it was good—Tubo’s number two figure had come down from the plateau. What a tremendously good thing! Unfortunately, as soon as he came down the mountain, he’d thoroughly offended the Yun Family. Based on Li Er’s understanding of Yun Ye, this matter would absolutely not be lightly brushed aside. Why did this bastard called Ludongzan have nothing better to do than provoke enemies for himself?

He was troubled, not knowing that Ludongzan was even more troubled. Traveling along the road, gaining knowledge along the road, he discovered that the closer to Chang’an, the more prosperous and flourishing it became. When passing through Xiliu Camp and especially at Xinfeng, he was even more amazed—the prosperity of a single town far exceeded that of Lhasa.

The Great Tang’s prosperity made him understand what was called strength. Thinking of how he’d so casually offended the Yun Family on the grasslands, he wished he could pound his own head twice. Because along the road, from officials’ mouths he’d finally learned exactly what kind of figure he’d offended. When he asked officials from whom he should learn so that Tubo could become as prosperous as the Great Tang, he discovered that the name appearing most frequently from officials’ mouths was Marquis Lantian, Yun Ye.

Ludongzan didn’t care at all about offending anyone. A brave man who’d fought his way through battlefields wouldn’t worry about receiving any retaliation. It was nothing more than walking through a forest of blades and swords once more. But he cared about his mission. Tubo people had been impoverished for generations, their lives precarious. Everyone, while they could still move, desperately lived their lives. In Tubo, if you didn’t struggle desperately, there was no way to live.

Struggle with heaven, struggle with wild beasts, and also struggle with disease. Each Tubo person’s life course was actually a history of struggle. Being born without dying from umbilical wind meant passing through one barrier. Not freezing to death when winter came meant passing through another barrier. In spring when there was nothing to eat, enduring hunger through the spring days also meant passing a barrier. A man who lived to twenty had to struggle against heaven and earth for twenty years. Tubo needed the Great Tang’s help, needed the Great Tang to teach everyone how to build houses that could ward off cold, needed to learn from the Great Tang what medicines sick people should take to recover, even child-rearing required learning from the Great Tang.

Arriving at Xinfeng Market, even the air seemed to ripple with rich wine fragrance. The accompanying warriors all unconsciously licked their own chapped lips. Since tasting the benefits of strong liquor, no one could be separated from this stuff anymore.

“Drink wine, drink wine! You’re all guests who’ve come from far away. Honor you with a bowl of wine to show our hearts—you can’t refuse. After drinking one bowl of wine we’ll be friends.” The wine shop owner stood by the roadside under an old willow tree, shoving wine bowls into Tubo people’s hands. They couldn’t not drink.

The official from the Court of State Ceremonial said with a smile: “Grand Minister, this is the rule at Xinfeng Market. Wine shop owners all do this. They hope you’ll like these wines so they can do business with you in the future.”

Ludongzan waved his hand. Immediately the Tubo warriors beamed with joy, holding up wine bowls and draining them in one gulp. They let out a long breath—truly good wine. Having drunk one bowl, they wanted a second, but the owner had already covered the wine jar. Smiling broadly he said that if they still wanted to drink Xinfeng fine wine, they needed to bring copper coins to buy it.

How outrageous! The Tubo warriors were furious. In Tubo, when drinking wine at a friend’s home, where was there any talk of paying money? This was desecrating the word “friends.” The owner had just said everyone was friends now. Asking friends for money was a profound humiliation. The owner’s erroneous words and behavior must be corrected. So fists larger than bowls pounded into the shopkeeper’s nose.

Having knocked down the shopkeeper and kicked away the assistant, then stuffed the alluring Hu beauty head-down into a wooden barrel, their group finally surrounded the wine jar, drinking heartily with the wine bowls in their hands.

Ludongzan smiled as he watched his warrior just kick away a fat, robust man, then pin down a middle-aged man who wanted to argue, using him as a stool to sit on.

“Grand Minister, this is the Great Tang’s Chang’an. Being excessively unrestrained has not half a benefit for you. You’ve already offended Marquis Yun. If at this time you offend all the local officials too, your situation won’t be wonderful.” The official from the Court of State Ceremonial’s face began turning black. If it weren’t for being told thousands of times by superiors before coming that no incidents were allowed, by now he himself might have rushed up to thoroughly beat the Tubo people.

“Hehe, Tubo people are ignorant and stubborn—this is because they haven’t received civilization. If the Great Tang teaches them what benefit exchange means, I’ll definitely make them apologize to the wine shop and compensate them.”

The Tubo people’s disturbance grew bigger and bigger. One team of people dealt with a large group of Tang people on the long street. Punches flew, kicks landed, benches sailed through the air. Unfortunately, how could these common people compare with those fierce warriors who’d survived hundreds of battles? One punch knocked out the front teeth of a thug-like fellow in the lead. Another punch pounded on a robust man’s forehead. The robust man collapsed softly to the ground.

“They’ve killed someone!” Following one shrill shout, the Xinfeng common people who’d originally been watching the excitement immediately threw whatever was in their hands. Dense objects fell onto the Tubo warriors’ bodies—rotten vegetable leaves, eggs, teacups. Most bizarrely, there was even a live sheep. A warrior who didn’t see clearly punched it once, splitting the sheep’s belly open. Intestines and fresh blood flowed all over the ground.

The common people hesitated slightly, then immediately surged forward even more fiercely. Being beaten so thoroughly at one’s own doorstep was too ugly. Moreover, by a group of Tubo people—this made the Xinfeng common people who’d always prided themselves on chivalry thoroughly enraged. Shoulder poles and scale weights all arrived. Earlier they’d still worried that accidentally beating a Tubo person to death would be very troublesome. Now seeing them handle one against a hundred with ease, this was intolerable—so what if they beat these bandits to death?

The official from the Court of State Ceremonial finally saw through it—Ludongzan was doing this deliberately. As long as the common people of Xinfeng Market beat one or two Tubo people to death, as an envoy, Ludongzan would definitely propose many conditions they’d never even dared imagine before.

The battle ended. A trace of sorrow flashed through Ludongzan’s eyes. Seven or eight people wanting to fight with rioters from the entire marketplace—at first they could still gain some advantage, but later two fists couldn’t match four hands. They were quickly beaten down. In moments, these eight warriors collapsed on the ground covered with footprints all over their bodies.

Seeing they’d beaten people to death, the vagrants of Xinfeng Market immediately disappeared completely clean, leaving only the eight warriors lying on the ground. Eyes staring, gazing lifelessly at the blue sky. Just now they’d still been drinking wine with imposing might—how were they now lying on the ground? “The Tang country truly has so many people.” This was the sigh the guards issued before death.

Ludongzan was filled with grief. There must be something strange among the crowd. How could eight battle-hardened robust men possibly be beaten until their souls scattered by a group of common people? This wasn’t right—there was something strange here.

Opening one guard’s clothes, a light red dot at the position near the heart pit made Ludongzan keenly observe it. This was murder, murder in broad daylight. There must be a master mixed in the crowd. Only thus could he have silently killed his eight guards.

The official from the Court of State Ceremonial had been laughing at first, but when the crowd dispersed and eight corpses appeared before him, his face collapsed. His calves went soft. He didn’t know how to handle this matter.

“Warriors who die will surely enter the divine kingdom.” Ludongzan said quietly to the official: “You needn’t worry. The people of the Great Tang are still the same as in early years—at the slightest disagreement they draw swords and make sacrifices.”