Fang Yun successfully passed the second pavilion of the third mountain. After arriving at the third pavilion, he found the words "poetry and painting" written on the plaque.
The test questions for the third mountain appeared in front of Fang Yun, which actually required him to create a poem and a painting of birds singing in the mountains using the second level of calligraphy, "exquisite brushwork", and the second level of painting, "lifelike".
Fang Yun stared at the question in a daze.
"Impossible! If the third mountain and the third pavilion had this kind of question, no one, let alone a scholar or a juren, would be able to pass it. To be proficient in poetry and prose and to be proficient in a hundred arts is the highest pursuit. Only when one cannot be proficient in poetry and prose and has to settle for the next best thing, will one specialize in one or a few of the hundred arts. Although the first two mountains are difficult, as long as one has enough talent, one can definitely pass them. Even if one does not understand, as long as one finds a way, one can slowly deduce the result. But these two realms of poetry and painting have drawn a line that no scholar or juren can pass."
"There's a problem, a big problem!"
Fang Yun thought about it again and again, but he still couldn't figure it out and felt uneasy, but he also felt that there might be something else going on. After all, this mountain of books was created by Confucius, and it was impossible for it to harm him. After thinking it over, he finally decided to give up, but before giving up, he carefully looked at the entire mountain of books.
A few hours later, everyone was sent away from Shushan.
"Is this a failure?" Fang Yun was very unwilling.
Since Fang Yun reached the Three Mountains and Three Pavilions and reached the same limit as the geniuses of all ages, officials from the entire Yuhai Prefecture came to the Academy of Literature to congratulate him, and even Li Wenying came in person.
However, just when the congratulations were halfway through, the imperial court was in emergency and the Wolf Barbarians invaded massively. Fang Yun had no time to react, so Li Wenying took out a flying page and took some officials and Fang Yun to Mizhou.
Fang Yun sat in the Feiye spaceship in a daze, unable to understand why Li Wenying suddenly took him there. This was completely different from what he had expected, everything happened too suddenly.
On the Feiye Sky Boat, Fang Yun kept frowning, and his frown became more and more severe, as if he had encountered a huge problem.
The flying leaf airship quickly flew over Mizhou. When passing Ning'an County, Fang Yun was thrown down by Li Wenying.
"Ning'an County is not the front line, but it is of vital importance. It is the hub for transporting grain and fodder. You will train here for a few days. When you go to the Ning'an County government military headquarters, someone will pick you up." Li Wenying said and left.
Fang Yun always felt that something was very strange since he left Shushan. Li Wenying's behavior was also strange, or perhaps had other meanings, but he couldn't figure out why. He could only follow the military order and go to the Ning'an County government military base.
The person in charge of the Ning'an County Army was a fifth-rank deputy general. When he saw Fang Yun, he immediately threw a waist badge over and said, "Are you a fellow villager of Jianmei Gong? Go to the Escort Department immediately. I will temporarily appoint you as a ninth-rank clerk to be responsible for transporting grain and grass with the third battalion of grain escorts. If you are late, you will be executed without mercy."
Fang Yun didn't expect that his treatment was so bad. He had to participate in the dangerous food delivery before he knew the situation here. But now he was temporarily called up and became a soldier. He couldn't disobey the order and had to go to the Escort Department as a clerk.
An hour later, Fang Yun followed the third battalion of the Tongfu army as a clerk to escort food and grass to Huaitian County. Before leaving, the entire team was helped by the expedition poem "Changwu" written by the Jinshi County Magistrate. Physical fitness increased several times.
A thousand armored oxen, food carts and a battalion of five hundred soldiers were lined up on the road, stretching for miles.
Fang Yun was unfamiliar with the place and had to follow Zhong Yingxiao all the time.
The whole team is well-trained, and although they are the government troops, because they are located at the border, their strength is no less than that of the troops led by the Grand Marshal.
Fang Yun felt that the atmosphere in the team was very depressing, and he did not dare to say or ask too much. He just kept observing and learning the rules of the army.
The Zhongying School has a trained eagle demon soldier, which flies into the sky every once in a while. Except for its larger body, it is not much different from an ordinary goshawk.
At night, the Third Battalion was about to arrive at Songlin Village, preparing to stay overnight in the village and set off tomorrow. However, before arriving, the Eagle Demon Soldiers reported a cruel news. More than 200 people in Songlin Village and more than 20 government soldiers were all killed. A team of 200 wolf-barbarians was fleeing to the northwest with the bodies of the villagers, led by a barbarian general, who was equivalent to Zhong Yingxiao, a juren.
"Team One will stay here to guard the grain, Team Two, Team Three and the others will follow me to kill the enemy! If we can't come back, the task of transporting the grain will be handed over to you!" After saying this, Principal Zhong looked at Fang Yun and asked, "Officer Fang, are you going to stay here or destroy the barbarians?"
To fight or not to fight
Fang Yun said without hesitation: "Everything is up to the general!"
"Okay, then join me in destroying the barbarians!"
The team of more than 300 people immediately rested and ate on the spot, and then killed the wolf barbarians along their escape route.
Fang Yun secretly groaned in his heart. Before the provincial examination, he went to the holy temple to pay homage to the sages and learned the poem "Song of Yishui" about killing the enemy, the poem "My Brother in Armor" about protecting you, the poem "Ode to Xingtian" about inspiring you, and the poem "Gentleman in Service" about comforting you.
However, these war poems cannot be learned overnight; they require years of practice and understanding. He originally wanted to study them for a while after leaving the mountain of books, but who knew he would be sent out now.
"Before they set out, these soldiers were blessed with battle poems. It's no problem for more than 300 soldiers to kill more than 200 wolf barbarians. I have received four divine gifts from heaven. After the baptism of the Eight Pavilions, I have surpassed ordinary scholars in terms of literary talent, literary courage, and physical strength. I can kill a demon soldier with one arrow. If it really doesn't work, I will expose the battle poems again. At worst, I can ask the saint to keep silent. Anyway, if there is a first time, there will be a second time."
The team of more than 300 people rushed forward, and human body parts kept appearing on the road, and there were even signs of women being raped.
The anger in everyone's hearts grew stronger and stronger.
To hide or not to hide
"Don't hide your strength! Kill these beasts with all your strength first! If I retain a little bit of strength, it may lead to the deaths of more than a dozen soldiers! If I am not careful, I may die here myself." Fang Yun made up his mind.
An hour later, the team chased out of the forest and came to an uncovered plain. The wolf barbarians discovered the human soldiers and immediately turned around and killed them back, howling.
Under the cover of night, the two sides were getting closer and closer.
“Defense!”
All the soldiers immediately took quick action and formed a defensive formation. Captain Zhong and all the scholars put down their uniforms and were ready to fight at any time.
Like other ordinary scholars, Fang Yun took out his brush and ink bottle and spread paper on the tray.
At this moment, Fang Yun's talent has reached six inches. He thought to himself that the poem "Capturing the King" for strengthening soldiers only consumes one inch of talent. But the poem "The Arrow in the Stone" for killing enemies is too powerful, much stronger than "The Song of Yishui", and consumes two inches of talent, so he must calculate the time to kill the enemy and not waste it.
Captain Zhong wanted to write a poem to strengthen the soldiers, Fang Yun said: "Master Zhong, I have learned a poem to strengthen the bow, please let me be in charge of the archers."
Principal Zhong stared at Fang Yun for three breaths and said, "Then you do it!"
The power of the Strong Bow Poem is much stronger than the ordinary Strong Soldier Poem, but it lasts only a short time, only about a hundred breaths, so Fang Yun began to calculate the time for the wolf barbarians to charge, and then lowered his head to write "Capture the King".
After the last sentence "Capture the leader first" was written, the paper burned and turned into light. After entering the bodies of thirty archers, the extra light disappeared, and twenty archers were still not protected.
At this moment, the wolf barbarians just entered the range of the bows and arrows.
The wolf barbarians who rushed to the front were holding shields, most of which were iron shields captured from the human race, and ordinary bows and arrows could not penetrate them. However, they were greatly reduced in front of Fang Yun's "Capture the King".
"shooting!"
Fang Yun and others drew their bows and started shooting.
The wolf general who was rushing in the front suddenly shouted "Be careful" in the demon language, and then his blood surged and he suddenly spit out a gust of demonic wind.
This bloody hurricane blocked all the bows and arrows. Even the bows and arrows blessed with the Juren Qiangbing Poem would be easily blown away by this magic hurricane, but after these king-catching arrows passed through the magic hurricane, their power was only weakened to the level of ordinary bows and arrows. They either shot at the wolf barbarians' shields or shot at their bodies, killing a wolf by accident.
All the wolf barbarians were surprised. All the human soldiers were ecstatic, and many of them turned their heads to look at Fang Yun.
Captain Zhong laughed and said, "Great! We exchanged one volley for one sorcery trick, a huge profit! If our army can win today, your side will be credited with the first merit! Shoot!"
The second round of thirty arrows was fired at once. This time the Wolf Barbarian General did not use any magic, but roared at the other Wolf Barbarians to disperse.
However, the thirty king-capturing arrows had incredible power, speed, and accuracy, and landed on the foreheads of thirty wolf barbarians, killing them instantly and reducing the wolf tribe's force by one-seventh.
The wolf barbarian general was furious. He took a deep breath and howled at Fang Yun's human soldiers. All the other wolf barbarians also ran and howled.
"It's the howling of ghosts! Be careful! My literary courage alone is not enough to offset it! Confucius said: 'The general of an army can be replaced, but the will of a common man cannot be taken away!'" Zhong Yingxiao shouted loudly, and the power of his literary courage was integrated into the original words of Confucius in "The Analects of Confucius", which immediately formed an invisible force to protect everyone.
The ghostly howlings of more than two hundred wolf barbarians formed a black mist in the sky and rushed over, severely smashing the literary strength of Zhong Yingxiao.
Zhong Yingxiao took a step back, feeling secretly resentful. If there were two juren with great literary talent, they would definitely be able to stop the ghosts howling and wolves howling. But now he was the only juren, and the forty or fifty people in the front would inevitably be intimidated by the power of the ghosts howling and thus lose their fighting spirit.
"Don't act unless it's beneficial, don't use unless it's necessary, don't fight unless it's dangerous!" Fang Yun suddenly recited the contents of "The Art of War", especially the last sentence which said don't go to war unless it's a dangerous moment, which is very suitable for the current situation.
The power of the literary advisor was integrated into Sun Tzu's famous saying, and immediately formed a force that was 50% stronger than Zhong Yingxiao's, which pushed away the power of ghosts and wolves howling and counterattacked.
The human race cheered loudly.
The Wolf General had to roar again with the howling of ghosts and wolves to intercept Fang Yun's literary power. Because it had used the magic three times in a row, its pace slowed down a little.
"Good! We will win!" Zhong Yingxiao was inspired by Fang Yun's strength and immediately recited the Dafeng Song fluently.
The morale of the human race was boosted, and another round of king-capturing arrows was shot out.
The two sides finally came into close combat.
Fang Yun's talent had stopped shaking at this moment, and he was hiding secretly among several soldiers. He knew that since he had decided to take action, he had to be more proactive. He was writing "The Arrow in the Stone" at a very slow speed, looking for the opportunity to take action, rather than relying on Zhong Yingxiao to create opportunities.
The human soldiers tried to stop the Wolf General, but he was extremely powerful. With his two wolf claws, he could kill or knock away an ordinary soldier. Only the boy soldiers could barely block his attack.
The wolf barbarians charged into the crowd, and Captain Zhong Ying was afraid of harming the enemy, so he had to use Da Feng Ge to kill the other wolf barbarians.
While the wolf general was not paying attention, Fang Yun decisively completed the scholar's war poem "Arrow in the Stone"!
With the appearance of the original treasure light, the poetry soul treasure light and the handed down treasure light, plus the power of the Demon-Slaying Pen and Dragon Blood Ink, the power of Fang Yun's "Arrow in the Stone" increased by three times and forty percent. The lethality is already stronger than the ordinary war poems created by ordinary scholars. At the same time, with the magical effect of the poetry soul, it has terrible penetrating power.
However, this time the Poetry Soul Light did not summon Li Guang's shadow, but condensed into a giant bow ten feet high in the sky.
Arrows fly, wind rises, blood splashes, wolves howl.
The arrow was too fast. The Wolf Barbarian General was only on guard against Zhong Yingxiao and didn't take Fang Yun into consideration at all.
The wolf general stumbled back, looking in disbelief at the fist-sized blood hole in his chest that went through his chest and back. He looked up at Fang Yun, not believing that a mere talent like Qu Xiu could inflict such a heavy blow on him.
"The human race will win!" one person roared, and the morale of the human race reached an unprecedented high. Even the effects of their poems of going to war, poems of inspiring people, and poems of strengthening the army increased by 10%.
"Okay!" Zhong Yingxiao immediately spoke eloquently and continued to attack the Wolf Barbarian General.
The wolf was no longer able to resist. He tried to escape, but was stopped and eventually killed!
As soon as the wolf barbarian general died, the other wolf barbarians immediately lost their fighting spirit and were killed by humans.
"Fang Yun, take the three squads to search ahead. I see there seems to be some fish that have slipped through the net ahead."
"Yes, sir!" Fang Yun selected three squads of 45 people to search forward. These border soldiers were unruly and were good at bullying the young new commander, but they were more obedient than rabbits in front of Fang Yun. Because they knew that if the battle continued for another half a quarter of an hour, at least half of these 45 people would die.
The group headed towards the place where the wolf barbarians had passed by, and soon found the bodies of humans, cattle and sheep that the wolf barbarians had thrown away when they turned around.
The strong smell of blood filled the air.
"There are wolf cubs!" More than a dozen soldiers rushed over and grabbed two three-foot-tall little wolf barbarians with wolf heads and human bodies, and their bodies were covered with fur.
One wolf cub had fierce eyes, kept barking and biting people, and was controlled. Another timid one did not move at all. It seemed to be frightened and stared at Fang Yun blankly.
"Master Fang, please give the order whether to kill or release."
Fang Yun was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that he had become Lord Fang in the army. Then he looked at the little wolf barbarian that kept howling.
There was blood at the corners of its mouth and a few pieces of human skin were stuck between its teeth.
To kill or not to kill
"Kill!" Fang Yun shouted in a low voice.
There was a flash of the knife, and the little wolf barbarian's head flew up.
“Wow…” The other little wolf barbarian was so scared that he knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Fang Yun for mercy.
"Sir, should we kill him or not?" a soldier asked, holding a knife.
Fang Yun looked at the little wolf barbarian and found traces of human blood in its little claws.
"kill!"
The knife flashed again, and the two wolf cubs died.
"go back."
The group returned to Principal Zhong Ying and reported what had happened.
Principal Zhong Ying praised: "Back then, a Hanlin let a few barbarians go out of his soft heart. A few years later, the Hanlin was killed by the barbarians he let go. Letting a tiger go back to the mountains is a taboo in war! This is not a civil war among humans, but a life-and-death war of genocide!"
Suddenly, the pile of wolf-barbarian corpses began to move. More than ten wolves stood up quickly, their eyes emitting green light, which was extremely terrifying in the night.
"Not good! They are in cahoots with each other! That wolf general actually has a wolf spirit hidden in his body!"
Before Zhong Yingxiao could finish his words, the body of the Wolf Barbarian General suddenly jumped high up, and its two sharp claws stabbed Zhong Yingxiao directly.
Two bodyguards rushed forward to stop it, while the others were terrified. Captain Zhong also quickly retreated.
Fang Yun was right next to Zhong Yingxiao and had only two choices at this moment, to escape or to help Zhong Yingxiao.
"If I flee, Zhong Yingxiao will most likely die. Without him, these zombie wolves will surely kill us all. I only have two inches of energy left and I can't escape. If I help Zhong Yingxiao, there is still a glimmer of hope."
To save or not to save
Fang Yun pounced fiercely at the wolf general.
"Captain Zhong, it's up to you!" After Fang Yun shouted, he felt a sharp pain in his left arm and fainted from the pain.
Not long after, Fang Yun opened his eyes and saw himself lying in a large room, and his left arm had disappeared.
"Forget it. Losing my left arm is better than losing my life. If I had the Millennium Life Fruit, I would be able to recover as before."
Soon, Li Wenying arrived, apologized to Fang Yun and took him back to Yuhai City.
Fang Yun was studying and recuperating in Yuhai City.
A year later, Fang Yun took part in the provincial examination and ranked first, becoming the Jiangzhou Jieyuan.
The next year, Fang Yun went to Beijing to take the imperial examination and ranked third among the Jinshi candidates, becoming Tanhua.
Two years later, Chen Guanhai passed away.
Another year has passed...
The autumn leaves fall, but they still linger on the warmth of the branches. They spin in the air, reluctant to return to their roots.
The streets of Yuhai City were bustling with people, and from a place surrounded by a crowd came the sound of storytelling.
"The demon king White Snake held the Dragon King's Talisman and called for a flood. The soldiers were like shrimps and crabs. The Grand Secretary Cai He was not willing to be outdone, and his righteous spirit was full of vigor, and all the demons bowed to him..."
A group of children aged six or seven to teenagers were sitting or squatting in the innermost circle, with many lazy men and young girls and wives behind them. There were also some passers-by standing behind them, some stopped to listen, and some left after listening for a while if they didn't understand.
Soon, two young men came over and heard someone telling a story, so they came over.
The young man in brocade robes was surprised, "This beggar is so calm and composed. He has an extraordinary temperament. He doesn't rely on kowtows but on storytelling. He speaks clearly and has no flattery. His arms and legs are broken but he doesn't change his expression. He is truly a righteous beggar. I'll give him one tael of silver as a reward."
The cloth-clad attendant lowered his voice and said hastily, "Sir, you must not do this."
"Why is it absolutely impossible? If this beggar's legs were intact, it would be no problem for him to pass the examination and become a scholar."
"Sir, this guy was the top scholar in Jing State back then!"
The young man in brocade robes had a drastic change of expression, and asked in surprise, "Is he the Fang Yun, the most talented scholar in Jing State who scolded the left prime minister in the court?"
"Of course it's him."
"But how did he become like this!" The young man in brocade robe looked angry.
"Alas. Although I am from Qing, I also admire such a man of integrity. Back then, he climbed three mountains and three pavilions as a scholar. Although he did not pass the three pavilions, he climbed the Book Mountain twice after passing the imperial examination. Finally, he passed the third mountain and won the Wenxin. Later, he passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi."
The young man in brocade robe said, "I know all this. Later, he joined forces with Minister Wen to fight Liu Shan. He was full of vigor and vitality, but at the height of his power, Chen Guanhai died. The Langman invaded in large numbers. Minister Wen, Zhang Poyue, Li Wenying, Fang Yun and others fought bloody battles against the enemy, but were first betrayed by Minister Zuo and then surrounded. In the end, they were defeated. Li Wenying died first, and Minister Wen transported Fang Yun a thousand miles away before he died. I also heard some of what happened later, but I'm not very clear."
"Later, the armies of Qing and Wu marched straight in and divided up Jing, and several wealthy families joined forces to arrest Fang Yun for deserting the battlefield, crushing his courage, destroying his palace, crippling his limbs, and forcing him to beg for a living in Yuhai City. But Fang Yun is really a talent. With no one daring to help him, he has no talent or hands and feet, but he has unified the beggars in Yuhai City and lives more comfortably than many ordinary people."
The young man in brocade robe sighed and said, "He is truly a rare genius. He is the best among scholars and the best among beggars. If I had fallen to such a state, I would have committed suicide by jumping into the sea. But he is so good. He cannot publish books and sell his writings, but he actually tells stories and begs. He is truly a rare talent. All the scholars in the world are really outshined by him."
The commoner attendant said with regret: "Fang Yun is too miserable. First he was betrayed, then he watched his comrades die in battle one after another, and finally he was abandoned by the Holy Academy and was... ahem, tortured, but still alive. Just this courage is beyond the reach of ordinary people. But he offended the wealthy family of my Qing country, so you must not give him money, sir."
"Pity."
"Look at him, his spirit is not the slightest bit decadent, and his temperament seems to be more reserved than before. If his literary position is restored, I'm afraid he can go straight to the Grand Secretary."
"Let's go."
Suddenly, all time stopped and everyone was motionless except Fang Yun.
Fang Yun's eyebrows moved slightly, and he continued to talk to himself: "Xiao Qing was defeated by Cai He, and flew out spitting blood..."
The old man in the mountain of books quietly appeared in front of Fang Yun.
"Why do you live in shame?"
"I cannot die until my friend's death is avenged and my country's destruction is repaid."
"What if you have the ability of a half-saint?" the old man asked again.
Fang Yun replied calmly: "Kill the entire Liushan clan, massacre the royal families of Qingwu and Wu, eliminate the wealthy families of the two countries, reorganize the Holy Academy, and destroy the demons and barbarians."
"You are quite ambitious."
"All I have left is ambition." Fang Yun smiled slightly.
"Did you gain anything?"
Fang Yun said in a clear voice: "So when God is about to give a man a great responsibility, he must first make his mind suffer, his muscles and bones tired, his body hungry and empty, and his actions frustrated, so as to stimulate his heart and harden his nature, and increase his ability to do what he could not do before."
Every time Fang Yun spoke a word, it was as if an invisible hammer struck the world, and the entire space shook. Finally, a large number of cracks appeared in the entire space, like broken glass.
The whole world collapsed, like countless broken glass falling.
In front of Fang Yun's eyes, there was a pavilion, and the words on the plaque changed and finally fixed.
Fantasy dream.
At this moment, Fang Yun was still in the second pavilion of the third mountain.
At this moment, it has been less than an hour since Fang Yun set foot here.
Fang Yun smiled and said, "I never thought that I would also dream of becoming a scholar. Old sir, can I pass through this pavilion?"
"As it should." The old man disappeared.
Fang turned around and looked, and found that the people of Jing country at the foot of the mountain were looking at him eagerly.
"Jingguo is still here."
Fang Yun walked towards the third pavilion of Three Mountains.
A roar erupted from the bottom of the mountain, loud enough to overturn a mountain of books.
Not only were the people of Jing roaring, but people from other countries were also shouting loudly to congratulate Fang Yun.
"I am convinced!" A man from Qing country jumped into the Ruoshui River.
The rest of Wu Guoqing's countrymen jumped into the river one after another.
. (To be continued..)
ps: The previous chapter was not written by Xu Xiake, but by Li Daoyuan, it was a typo.
As the plot requires, the two chapters are combined into one.