Su Lun said: "Don't forget, everyone. Before the party ends, we have to write a poem to suit the occasion."
Zhang Qingfeng smiled and nodded, saying, "Yes, let's get started. However, if there is no limit on the rhyme, it would be too simple. If there is a limit on the rhyme, it is easy to ruin the poem because of the rhyme. How about this, ten people cannot have the same rhyme, how about that?"
"Well, this is a compromise."
Several people stood up, some walked slowly in the courtyard, some looked at the sea in the east, some looked at Pearl City, and so on.
Soon, Zhang Qingfeng, as the oldest person, started to write a poem. He looked towards the direction of Lianshan Pass and composed a poem expressing his concern for the country and the people.
After everyone's evaluation, a young general wrote a poem about the farmlands in the west, praising the farmers.
Afterwards, everyone showed their abilities, and soon only Fang Yun was left.
"Long Xiang, it's your turn." Zhang Qingfeng said with a smile.
Fang Yun stood up, looked at the sea in the east, and recited slowly.
"In the past I rode my horse, now I till the fields, my house faces the blue water, and the spring flowers smile in the warm breeze."
Everyone was stunned.
Wang Li asked, "Do you intend to retire and return to the countryside?"
Fang Yun said: "I met some farmers on the way and chatted with them for a while. I envied their lives. In the next few days, I decided to stay in Phoenix Mountain to sort out my thoughts, regroup, and prepare for the impact on the university scholar."
"Do you really have hope of being promoted to Grand Secretary in the near future?" Zhang Qingfeng smiled so well that his wrinkles looked like blooming chrysanthemums, and the others were also extremely happy.
Fang Yun nodded.
Su Lun praised: "No wonder the first two lines are leisurely, while the last two lines are full of high spirits. Your previous poems have never had such artistic conception. The house faces the ocean, which makes people feel relaxed and happy. The spring flowers and the warm wind smile at each other, which makes people even more cheerful."
"Yes, this poem has swept away the sadness that was tinged in Zhang Mingzhou's previous poems, and it is extremely bright."
"Good, the word 'bright' is used well. The artistic conception of this poem is all about 'bright'!"
"In the brightness, there is vigor and vitality, the spring breeze brings warmth, everything sprouts, and flowers bloom. This is the ultimate of spring."
"I feel relieved that you can compose this poem!" Zhang Qingfeng was very pleased.
"The word '笑' is well used, showing joy and enthusiasm. If the words '伴', '迎', '共', etc. were used, they would be a little bit off."
As usual, everyone praised Fang Yun, and then left Phoenix Villa together.
After Fang Yun returned to Zhucheng, he dealt with the day's affairs and went back to Fenghuang Villa to rest that night. The next day, he changed into civilian clothes, wore coarse cloth clothes, went down the mountain and entered the fields, worked with the farmer couple from yesterday, and then went to their home for dinner, like their relatives.
After three days, Fang Yun felt that subtle changes were taking place in his literary palace, and his talent was gradually becoming stronger.
Once the column of talent becomes completely heavy, it will burst upward and transform into a talent cloud, thus completely promoting one to the rank of Grand Secretary. However, this change does not happen overnight and requires time to slowly change.
Fang Yun was delighted. Even if the King of Chu used his national fortune to seal him, it would not be able to reverse the decline of his talent. At most, it would only delay his promotion to Grand Secretary.
Just when the talent transformation was halfway completed, another 100,000 Lumen soldiers arrived in Zhucheng!
At this point, the total number of Lumen troops in Zhucheng reached 170,000.
Marquis Lumen issued an order to march south!
Except for the 30,000 Jingnan troops who stayed behind in Zhucheng, the 210,000 Zhujiang troops and the 170,000 Lumen troops were all dispatched to launch a final sweep of all the barbarians near Zhucheng. After the sweep, the target would be the final destination of this southern expedition, to capture Lianshan Pass.
On the morning of March 24, there were songs of victory and music. Grand Secretary Lu Menhou personally wrote a poem of encouragement, "Chang Wu", to bless the soldiers of the Pearl River Army. Then, all the soldiers in the Pearl River Army became thicker, and their bulging muscles were full of strength.
When the Lumen Army passed through Jingzhou, they were blessed with the heroic poems of the great scholar and became even more powerful.
An army of 380,000 came out in full force with huge flags flying, marching across the vast land of southern Xinjiang like dark clouds on the ground.
Fang Yun rode a shiny black dragon horse and walked in the center of the royal guard. He was wearing a white Hanlin uniform and golden armor over it.
The Royal Guards were surrounded by four armies of ten thousand men. They were the central army of the Pearl River Army, led by the old Hanlin Zhang Qingfeng himself.
The fifth army of the Pearl River Army formed a neat array and marched forward behind the Lumen Army.
Fang Yun held the reins and stepped on the stirrups. Even though the dragon horse walked steadily, his body still swayed slightly.
Fang Yun had a blank expression on his face. He looked ahead with sharp eyes, while also glancing around with his peripheral vision.
"The King of Chu finally couldn't sit still anymore. This time he should test the barbarians first, and next time he will formally attack Lianshan Pass. When attacking Lianshan Pass, it will be the most dangerous time for me. However, by then I will be a university scholar and can use the great scholar's treasure Wuhou Chariot! Unfortunately, I wanted to expose the Wuhou Chariot again in Liangjie Mountain."
“Of course, the King of Chu may also use the barbarians to eliminate me during this march, but the possibility is very small. First, it has not been long since Spring Hope was published, and my literary reputation in the literary world and Shengyuan Continent is still rising. Second, if they want to kill me now, they must first destroy the Lumen Army and the Pearl River Army. The State of Chu cannot afford this loss!”
Fang Yun was multitasking, thinking about all possible situations, and even making preparations for the King of Chu to collude with the six barbarian kings to assassinate him.
When the army set out, the soldiers did not walk fast in order to conserve their energy. They traveled a hundred miles a day and set up camp at night.
The first day passed safely, and on the second day, the army continued to move forward.
Soon, Fang Yun and many generals discovered a problem.
The area within a hundred miles of Zhucheng had been swept before, so it was normal that there were no barbarians. However, from morning to night the next day, there was not a single barbarian to be seen, and even the eagle demon scouts in the sky could not be seen. This made people suspicious.
That night, Marquis Lu Men convened a military meeting. Generals Fang Yun and Zhang Qingfeng suggested that the army retreat, but Marquis Lu Men and his men insisted on marching for another day before making a final decision. Fang Yun and his men had no choice but to obey.
On the morning of the third day, we still didn't encounter any barbarians. Originally, we would encounter many barbarian tribes along this route, but those tribes had already left in advance.
That night, even Lumenhou's subordinates did not want to move forward and hoped to return. Finally, Lumenhou decided to return to Zhucheng the next day and warned everyone that the changes of the barbarians were unusual. They had to be alert tonight and be vigilant at any sign of trouble.
Fang Yun had a gloomy expression the whole day. When he was rushing to Zhucheng a few days ago, those barbarians did not play by the rules. The barbarian king led his troops deep into the heartland of the human race to launch a surprise attack. This meant that the situation encountered in the past few days was most likely intentional by the barbarians.
"They are looking for the most suitable time to go out, and tonight is the best time. Lu Menhou must know this very well. He should have noticed it last night, but as a marshal, he cannot return empty-handed, so he walked for a whole day. However, it is precisely because he is experienced that he realized that something was wrong, so he stopped moving forward."
After dinner, Fang Yun was reading in the tent. Just an hour later, Lu Menhou's messenger arrived.
"All troops, prepare, throw away useless heavy objects, and return to Pearl City at full speed in a quarter of an hour!"
Fang Yun quickly ran out of the tent, made a small-scale verbal attack, and ordered the soldiers of the Royal Guard to prepare to return.
.(To be continued.)