Tong Li's friends slowly retreated, they also recognized the style of the saber. Although the status of the royal monarch was not as high as that of a semi-saint, those below the Hanlin Academy were nothing in front of the monarch, not to mention that they were just students.
When the imperial guard saw Tong Li gave up on escaping, he sheathed his sword and looked towards the dragon boats on the Yudai River.
After the lyrics of "Dragon Boat Race" were completed, the No. 2 dragon boat that Fang Yun was on sped away at a terrifying speed, so fast that it almost flew over the water. The drummer was so scared that his legs went weak. He dropped his drumsticks and held on to the drum stand tightly, fearing that he would fall off.
In just a few breaths, Dragon Boat No. 2 approached Dragon Boat No. 1 of Qing Kingdom.
Mr. Qian roared, "Shi Dehong, last year you said that my Jing State had no one, dare you say it again today!"
The two boats approached and then separated, and everyone could see the other's expression.
Except for Yan Yukong, whose expression did not change, the expressions of the other people from Qing Kingdom were particularly interesting, especially Shi Dehong, the disciple of Shi Jun. His expression was as if he was sleepwalking. He still couldn't believe that Fang Yun could compose a war poem that did not contain the word "boat" but could increase the speed of boats. Even his mentor's friend "Ci Jun" took a long time to write such a poem.
The dragon boats passed by quickly, creating a lot of splashes. All the people on Dragon Boat No. 1 were splashed by the river water, and no one dared to say a word.
The dragon boat Fang Yun was on continued to move forward. Mr. Qian turned around and said, "Fang Yun, I will never forget your kindness today. Without you, my Jing Kingdom would never have a chance to recover!"
Another person said: "If you need any help in the future, our Yuhai Ye family will definitely help you!"
"It's such an honor to be in the same boat with Fang Yun!"
"You're welcome." Fang Yun smiled modestly.
The dragon boat quickly sailed under the Longtou Bridge and was controlled by the power of the official seal and quickly stopped. The drummer holding the drum stand wiped his sweat lightly and sat down weakly.
Mr. Qian stood up, his face flushed, and with trembling hands he pulled out the flagpole and waved it vigorously.
Countless Jingguo people on the bridge and on both sides of the river cheered loudly. The unmarried girls who had been waiting on Longtou Bridge threw their embroidered handkerchiefs onto the dragon boat. Everyone's target was the elegant young man at the end.
Fang Yun looked at the handkerchiefs falling towards him. He didn't know whether to catch them or not, so he just pretended he didn't see them.
This was the custom of the Ten Kingdoms. At any such literary gathering, unmarried women could express their love, and if the recipient of the handkerchief agreed, the bride could be directly married without having to consider other formalities. Many talented men and beautiful women escaped arranged marriages in this way.
The girls on the bridge giggled. They didn't necessarily want to marry Fang Yun, they just wanted to have some fun and share in the good cheer. They hoped that their future husbands would be as talented as Fang Yun.
"Win the championship, take the lead!" Wave after wave of people began shouting.
"Win the championship and take the lead!"
The last time the people of Yuhai City shouted these six words in unison was seventeen years ago.
Mr. Qian held the flagpole but couldn't bring himself to do it. Finally, he turned around and looked at Fang Yun and said, "Fang Yun, come on, you are the biggest contributor!"
The girls on the bridge also shouted loudly.
"Let Fang Yun come!"
"I haven't thrown my handkerchief yet. Let him come over here and I must throw it on him!"
Many women were playing around.
Fang Yun said, "Brother Qian, you should come."
Mr. Qian said hurriedly: "I am participating in the dragon boat race not to show off, but to wash away the shame of Jingguo. As the greatest contributor to this dragon boat literary event, you must be the one to pick the brocade!"
Fang Yun said sternly, "I let Brother Qian take the top spot because I know he is not a vain person. The people of Yuhai City have shouldered too much for Jing State. Today's honor should be taken by the people of Yuhai City themselves! Brother Qian, please!"
Mr. Qian was stunned for a moment, and soon his eyes turned red. The annual dragon boat competition between the two countries was held in Yuhai City. Every time they lost, people from other places in Jing Kingdom would scold the people of Yuhai City.
Even though they knew it would be difficult to defeat the Kingdom of Qing in the Dragon Boat Festival, and even though they knew they would be embarrassed afterwards, Qian Juren and other Yuhai literati still insisted on participating in the Dragon Boat Festival. They could lose in the literary competition, but they could not lose face!
For seventeen consecutive years, the intellectuals of this city have served as foils for the enemy country!
Only the scholars from Yuhai City who personally participated in the Dragon Boat Festival understood how difficult this process was.
"Fang Shuangjia is a man of high moral character. If anyone ever tarnishes your reputation again, I will wash it away with the blood of my enemies!"
"Thank you, Brother Qian." Fang Yun smiled slightly.
Mr. Qian raised his head and shouted loudly: "Win the championship, take the dragon head!" He roared out all the resentment in his heart for seventeen years, then used the red flagpole to pick up the brocade held in the dragon's mouth on the Dragon Head Bridge and held it high.
"good… "
There was thunderous cheering, and half of the ground in Yuhai City seemed to be shaking.
Yang Yuhuan and Zhao Zhuzhen, who were not far away, looked on with smiles. The crowds on both sides of the river cheered. Under the bridge, a dragon boat lay on the blue waves, with red flags and brocade on the boat fluttering in the wind.
After seventeen years, the Dragon Boat Festival in Yuhai City once again had the atmosphere it should have.
On Dragon Boat No. 1, which was still far away from Longtou Bridge, Yan Yukong watched everything calmly, his expression remained unchanged.
"I will never accept this insult! I cannot be a sinner of Qing Kingdom!" Shi Dehong clenched his fists and roared in a low voice. He couldn't believe that Qing Kingdom's 17 years of hard work was destroyed in his hands. He couldn't believe that he, as a juren, lost to a scholar. He couldn't believe that he, as a disciple of Shijun, lost to a poor boy.
Yan Yukong said calmly: "Why don't I feel this is an insult?"
"I am different from you! You don't care, but the one our Shi family depends on is going to compete for the next head of the Xun family. If I can beat Fang Yun who wrote 'Man is inherently good at birth', that person will naturally be more valued in the Xun family, and will definitely value our Shi family more."
"You can give it a try. If he loses to you, then there is no need for me to wait for him in Xuehai." Yan Yukong said.
Shi Dehong calmed down and said, "Don't worry, even though Fang Yun is well-versed in scriptures, he still has irreparable flaws. I have a way to defeat him!"
"You mean the mountain of books?"
"Shushan is just a backup. The imperial examination tests 'essence', while Shushan tests 'miscellaneous'. How can a poor boy like him learn all the arts? We, the wealthy and powerful, have the money to learn all the arts, the six arts of a gentleman, and many other miscellaneous things. How can a poor scholar like him surpass us? Maybe he was born with talent, but he was not born with everything!"
"That's right. At first, I didn't understand why my mentor asked me to learn those seemingly useless things. I understood it after I got the Wenxin. The Book Mountain is indeed too difficult. Even if I and Yi Zhishi were together, I could only get the middle-level Wenxin. However, the so-called "miscellaneous" test only applies to the first three mountains. From the fourth mountain onwards, it's different. I can't say the details. After all, except for the saints, everyone's memory of the Book Mountain is vague, and they can only know the general idea."
Shi Dehong wiped the water off his face, looked at Fang Yun's back under the Longtou Bridge, and said firmly: "I was splashed with water today, and I will repay you with a river of water one day! Fang Yun underestimated the power of our Qing country and the power of the Semi-Saint family. He may not be able to climb the Book Mountain."
Yan Yukong's eyes changed slightly, and he said sternly: "Do you want to use... the power of the Holy Academy?" Yan Yukong glanced around and didn't finish his words.
Shi Dehong glanced at the officials of Jing State not far away without hesitation, and said confidently: "I used an upright strategy, they can't do anything to me. What's more, we have other helpers. In June, the provincial examination will be held, and the Imperial Examination Inspector of the Holy Academy will definitely come to Yuhai City!"
Yan Yukong was stunned for a moment, and finally shook his head, reciting the content of "The Analects" in a low voice: "The Master said: Do not yield to your teacher when it comes to responsibility. The Master said: A gentleman is steadfast but does not forgive..."
His voice seemed to have a strange power, which made Shi Dehong's belief more pure. He firmly believed that he was doing it for the family and for justice, which made Wen Dan unshakable.
Yan Yukong recited "The Analects" in a low voice while looking forward. His eyes became empty again, with only the world in his eyes.
On the high building, Prefect Dong and Feng Yuanjun looked at each other with anger on their faces. The official seals of the two men covered the river section, and they could hear clearly what Yan Yukong and Shi Dehong said.
Prefect Dong said: "How arrogant! You treat us like nothing!"
Court Master Feng Zimo whispered, "I never thought they would be so despicable! Once the imperial examination inspectors intervene, any flaws will be magnified infinitely. Those people are good at finding faults in everything, but they still follow the rules. I will not participate in the celebration banquet. I will go to Dayuan Mansion to report to Lord Li in person."
Prefect Dong nodded and said, "Go ahead. I am the chief examiner of the prefectural examination. Even if someone from the Holy Academy dares to violate the Holy Instructions, they will have to overcome my verbal battle first! I will go to Jinghai Tower to prepare a celebration banquet."
Fang Shouye, who was standing by, was shocked and asked, "What's going on? Why are they sending out the imperial examination inspectors? Those people are like awls, they will definitely make a hole."
Prefect Dong recounted what had happened. The officials around him were furious. It was obvious that Shi Dehong said that deliberately to tell all Yuhai officials that even if Qing Kingdom lost the Dragon Boat Festival, it could get it back somewhere else.
"This Shijun disciple is too arrogant!"
"We must ask our semi-saint family to stop them."
However, no one responded, and even the young official who spoke looked gloomy.
Xunzi's family is one of the six sub-sage families, second only to Confucius' family. No other family in Jing State can compare to it.
Fang Shouye said slowly: "Unless Chen Sheng comes out of retreat and goes to the Saint Academy in person, no one in Jingguo can stop him. After all, the Xun family is the family of the sub-sage. As long as the head of the family can pass the imperial examination, even if he does not make any further progress, he can enter the Saint Academy and gradually receive the initiation of talent and become a great scholar. However, the heads of the sub-sage families in the past dynasties have been proud, and no one has accepted the initiation of talent, and they all gave this opportunity to other people in the family. But this is enough to ensure that the sub-sage families will always have great scholars in charge, and sometimes there are even multiple great scholars, comparable to our Jing country."
"It is precisely because the sub-saint family is deeply rooted that Shi Dehong is so arrogant. It's a pity that the old master Xun doesn't have much time left and won't care about such things. Otherwise, we would have jointly requested him not to let the Xun family suppress the great talents of the human race."
"We don't have any other options?"
"The Saint Academy is too complicated. Once a sub-saint family takes action, other families will not intervene unless they are at loggerheads."