The moonlight created by "Song of Water Melody" dissipated, but Fang Yun still stayed in the study.
Fang Yun stretched out his hand, and a book that only he could read appeared in his hand. It was the "Thirty-Six Strategies".
After completing the Thirty-Six Stratagems of Concealing the Sky and Besieging Wei to Save Zhao, the "Secretly Crossing Chencang" was derived because it absorbed the first chapter of "Three Chapters of Han Xin".
And now, the "Swallow Self-Torture Strategy" has appeared in the "Thirty-Six Strategies", but the text is very dim.
The Self-Torture Strategy was originally one of the Thirty-Six Stratagems.
Fang Yun put away the "Thirty-Six Strategies" and roughly guessed the reason why the "Swallowing Flesh Stratagem" appeared.
This world values learning for practical use. This time, I used the "Tactics of Bitterness" in the Art of War. Even if I didn't study it as hard as before, once it was completed, it would definitely be published directly. Many military scholars in the past dynasties had mediocre classics, but because of their achievements in military tactics and the test of actual combat, their literary status gradually improved and they eventually became great scholars.
Fang Yun sat on the bed, pondering the details and impact of this self-torture stratagem as if he were studying classics and strategies, in order to make the "Thirty-Six Strategies" more perfect.
Fang Yun realized that after the results were announced on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, there would definitely be some corrupt scholars who would blame him. However, he had majored in Confucianism and minored in military strategy. If he did not use military strategy to punish the villains when there was such a great opportunity, he would be worse than even the corrupt scholars.
Not long after, Fang Yun heard messy footsteps coming from outside, followed by the sound of banging on the door.
Fang Yun straightened his collar in front of the bronze mirror, walked steadily to the door, and was about to open it when he heard someone outside scolding, "How dare you? You can't even knock on the door? Drag these two to the street corner, gag them, and whip them a hundred times."
"Please spare my life, sir! I thought...ah..."
Fang Yun found the voice familiar. The person who gave the order was none other than Chen Xibi, the general of Dayuan Prefecture. He smiled slightly and thought that these soldiers were not all reckless. Whether it was a deliberate arrangement or a natural occurrence, he appreciated the kindness.
Fang Yun opened the door and saw torches everywhere outside, making crackling sounds, swords and guns flashing, and the cold light hurting people's eyes.
At the street corner, there was a constant sound of whips hitting flesh.
Chen Xibi turned over and dismounted, expressionless, holding up a military order in his hand, and said, "Fang Yun has received the grace of the country and the saint, but he blasphemed the saints of the holy way. This is indeed a heinous crime! The Queen Mother has ordered that Fang Yun be forbidden to travel until the Minister of Literature arrives! Surround the Fang family! If anyone escapes, I will bring their heads to me!"
"Yes!" Then the two teams of people hurriedly ran away and went around to the back of the Fang family.
After Chen Xibi finished speaking, he looked around at all the soldiers, then patted his left arm which had just grown a few days ago, and said: "Fang Yun is a heinous criminal, you all know it, but this arm of mine grew from the Shengshen Fruit given by Fang Wenhou! As long as the imperial edict to deprive him of his title does not arrive, he is my Jingguo Wenhou! You know what to do!"
"Yes!" all the soldiers said in unison.
The sound of whips at the street corner became louder.
Chen Xibi looked at Fang Yun. The coldness on his face disappeared, and he smiled slightly, saying: "The emperor has given me the order, and I have no choice. Now that the official business is done, let's talk about personal matters together."
"Please come in, Lord Chen." Fang Yun made a gesture of invitation and turned to walk into the yard.
Chen Xibi entered the yard and closed the door first, then walked to Fang Yun's side, isolating himself from the outside world with the power of literary courage.
"Is this matter really as the letter said?" Chen Xibi stared at Fang Yun with bright eyes.
Fang Yun remained calm and said, "Let's not talk about this."
"Well, don't be discouraged. We don't take it seriously. When I first joined the army, I was much worse off than you. I'll tell you about it when we have time to drink. The Queen Mother imprisoned you, maybe for your protection. She said it would be three years, but I guess you can be released in one or two years. Don't think too much, you are Fang Zhenguo, and the future of Jingguo will depend on you after all!"
"Thank you, Lord Chen." Fang Yun said.
"My men are outside. You can tell them what to do. If anyone dares to be disrespectful, come back and tell me!" Chen Xibi said.
"Um."
"Since you don't want to say more, I'm leaving. I'll try for the imperial examination again on September 1st next year! Goodbye!" Chen Xibi was a soldier after all, and he was unusually straightforward.
"Goodbye."
After seeing Chen Xibi off, Fang Yun bowed to the soldiers outside the door and said, "Thank you all for your help."
The soldiers saluted in return.
After closing the door, Fang Yun returned to his bedroom and slept until noon.
Fang Yun walked out of the yard and found that there were a few more people in the yard, one of whom was the old housekeeper of his uncle Fang Shouye's house.
"Young Master, are you awake? The young master said you were short of staff, so he sent us to take care of your daily life and meals. Just tell me what you want to eat, and I'll have someone prepare it for you."
Fang Yun nodded and said, "Just follow the usual routine. I don't have any dietary restrictions. Can you guys come and go as you please?"
"You can go in, but you can't go out. People buying vegetables can go in and out, but according to the rules, two soldiers must follow them."
Fang Yun said: "It will be over by the fifth day at the latest. Thank you for your help."
"No trouble. In this life, there is no hurdle that cannot be overcome. If you fall, get up and keep going. You must always look forward. All of us at Dayuan support you!"
"Thank you." Fang Yun thanked with a smile.
After breakfast, Fang Yun began to read the letters. There were not as many letters today as in the past. Many people came to persuade and comfort him. Some people did not mention anything about giving up the exam at all, but just talked about some very ordinary things, just like normal correspondence.
Only a few people sent letters to rebuke or even criticize.
Soon, many people wrote to him, accusing Cai He of being shameless and saying that they would never do such a thing.
Cai He soon sent a letter.
"I have already announced that I will sever ties with you, and you have been scolding me. Now many scholars and officials in Jiangzhou have actually sever ties with me. Well, the people of Jing have backbone and did not add insult to injury because you fell into a trough. The Qing and Wu countries have really taken action. Many scholars have united to forge a letter of all people, which will be sent to the Holy Academy soon, asking the Holy Academy to severely punish you. Let them make a fuss. The more they make a fuss, the more regretful they will be!"
In addition to Cai He, Zeng Yuan, Zong Wude and others successively sent news from the outside world, allowing Fang Yun to better understand the current situation.
After the people of Jing learned about this, except for a few curses at the beginning, almost everyone supported Fang Yun afterwards. Even those who cursed Fang Yun at the beginning said that it was just a minor mistake and was understandable.
The literati of Qing and Wu, who had been hostile to Jing for many years, launched verbal and written attacks. A large number of literary gatherings were held in various places, and these literary gatherings even required people to write poems and essays attacking Fang Yun. The people with lofty ideals in Qing and Wu called on everyone to remain calm, but only a few remained calm.
As for other countries, the reaction was not that big. No one thought there was anything wrong with Fang Yun giving up the exam, at most they would say something like "young man has achieved success".
After reading all the books, Fang Yun found that he could do nothing but read.
All the books in the study had been moved away, but this did not pose a problem for Fang Yun, so he spent the entire day immersed in the world of strange books except for eating.
As his literary rank improved, his literary palace and literary courage became stronger, Fang Yun's reading speed had exceeded ten lines at a glance, and in the world of strange books, it was even faster. He could read almost one page at a time, and the pages of the book were like the wind blowing, constantly turning.
Fang Yun was able to read at such a fast speed because these books were not classics of the saints but various miscellaneous books. Moreover, with his literary courage and talent, he could fully understand the contents of the books.
After reading for an hour, Fang Yun would rest for a quarter of an hour before continuing to read. He did not seek to completely absorb the knowledge in the book, but only to have a preliminary understanding. With the accumulation of knowledge day by day, he would surely grow.
If he found a book that was very useful, Fang Yun would pick it out and read it carefully after a while, trying to digest it thoroughly.
In the afternoon, Fang Yun was reading with his eyes closed. He heard a familiar knock on the door, so he went to open it.
As soon as the door opened, more than 20 people in black robes stood outside. Each of them had mountains embroidered on their sleeves and collars, just like the black mountain robes worn by the candidates.
"Qingguo is not fun, so we decided to go back to Dayuanfu for a few days." Li Fanming smiled and waved the fan in his hand. The big rabbit jumped over with a carrot in its mouth, then stood up, held the carrot with its two front paws and handed it to Fang Yun, but its eyes were reluctant to part with the carrot.
Fang Yun smiled, patted the big rabbit's head, and said, "Eat it. I appreciate it."
The big rabbit lifted the carrot up again and refused to take it back.
Fang Yun pushed the carrot back and said, "I won't eat it. You eat it."
The big rabbit then put away the carrot, sat on the ground, and looked up at Fang Yun.
Fang Yun bowed and said, "Thank you all, I am fine. Since the Queen Mother has ordered me to do so, I will not say more. When I am free again, we can drink wine together and talk about the world."
Many candidates had a flash of regret or sorrow in their eyes, but they soon returned to smiling.
"Since you don't want to tell us, we won't ask. The Fang Zhenguo in our hearts will not be defeated by an imperial examination."
"It's hard to say what will happen to Fang Yun. Maybe he will crack down on the imperial examination next year."
Everyone smiled kindly.
Fang Yun felt helpless. Since the self-torture trick had already been used, he had to continue acting. He forced a smile and said, "Thank you, everyone."
Fang Yun's smile was very unnatural at the moment, and everyone thought that he had a knot in his heart. Li Fanming immediately said: "We are here to see you off! If the people of Jing country dare to harm you, I will contact the saints of Qi country and kidnap you to my Qi country!"
"Our Shu Kingdom is the best place. Fang Yun, you must think carefully!"
"Let's go to our Jia Country!"
Everyone was making jokes and making a fuss on purpose.
Looking at this ordinary scene, Fang Yun was deeply moved. He had thousands of words in his mind but could not say them out loud, so he could only bow.
"Let's go and come back tomorrow!"
Everyone said goodbye to Fang Yun.
Fang Yun closed the door, shook his head and smiled bitterly. After the results were announced, he would have to spend money. He had to book the best restaurant in Dayuan Prefecture to entertain everyone.
The door of Fang Yun's house was surrounded by soldiers, and the state academy of literature in Dayuan Prefecture was blocked by countless people.
The door of the examination room opened and a large number of candidates rushed out of the door, while the candidates' relatives and friends rushed forward at a faster speed, like two waves colliding, with a loud noise.
"Congratulations Zhiyuan, you are the best candidate for this year's title!" Many scholars who gave up the exam flocked to Chen Zhiyuan, especially those from Minggu Prefecture.
Chen Zhiyuan saw Fang Yun passing by his examination room with his own eyes. He had already guessed what was going on, so he pretended to be confused and asked, "What do you mean? Shouldn't Fang Yun, Fang Zhenguo, be the champion this year? I don't dare to compare with him in anything else except policy essays."
"Fang Zhenguo gave up the exam! What a pity! Even his title was taken away." (To be continued...)