Poems are the guardian of a country, and the fragrance of ink spreads a thousand miles.
The four people who were on the same stage with Fang Yun looked at each other, shook their heads, and then walked off the stage together.
"I knew this would be the result!" someone whispered.
"Then are we still going to dance Yushan?" someone joked.
"I'm convinced of my defeat, so I won't jump anymore."
"This incident taught me that I should never participate in literary gatherings with Fang Yun."
"But if there is no Fang Yun, what is the point of the literary meeting?"
"That's true, eh..."
Everyone on the right seat praised the poem, and many scholars whose hometowns were not in the capital were the most moved. The phrase "Every festival makes me miss my family all the more" expressed the sadness and longing of everyone.
Although the people at the left seat stood up to show their respect, few praised him. They just remained silent, and most people were thinking about this sentence silently.
A man at the left seat sighed and said, "Every festive occasion makes me miss my family even more. This sentence will surely be passed down through the ages. I will have no regrets if I can get this sentence in my life."
Someone nearby coughed lightly, signaling him not to talk nonsense.
"Alas..." Some people sighed, thinking that Fang Yun must be the champion this time.
The young Duke was not convinced and said, "The great scholar Nangong has also written several poems to protect the country. It is still unknown who will win the literary competition this time!"
Lei Yuanting glanced at the great scholar Nangong Leng secretly, and then said: "What the young Duke said makes sense! This poem is too simple..."
"Shut up!" Tong Luan suddenly shouted in a low voice, forcing Lei Yuanting to take back the rest of his words. Lei Yuanting blushed and realized that he had said the wrong thing.
The others also looked at Lei Yuanting with strange eyes. When the great scholar Nangong Leng was young, he was most famous not only for his poems, but also for his attitude towards poetry. He once had the beautiful story of "asking my servant about poetry".
After Nangong Leng finished writing poems, he would often ask a servant who was not well-educated. If the servant did not understand a line or a rare word, he would correct it immediately. As a result, he wrote many popular poems. His poems often seem simple, but they point directly to the true meaning of the poems. They are not pretentious, do not pursue gorgeous words, and are more true and emotional. This is the reason why Nangong Leng became famous.
Fang Yun also heard Lei Yuanting's words and Tong Luan's shouting, and shook his head secretly. This person has forgotten the original meaning of poetry. Not to mention the rhetoric, even the rhythm is secondary. After all, poetry still focuses on meaning and emotion.
Fang Yun couldn't help but think of Bai Juyi, who was known as the "Poetry Demon" and the "Poetry King". There was a famous story about Bai Juyi, "Even an old woman can understand it", which meant that every time he finished writing a poem, he would let an ordinary old woman listen to it. If the old woman didn't understand, he would change the poem.
Jian Ming hurriedly asked: "Mr. Nangong, why don't you comment on this poem?"
Nangong looked at Jian Ming with an expressionless face, which frightened Jian Ming so much that he raised his hand and slapped himself, saying, "I spoke nonsense. I know I was wrong." After saying that, he lowered his head deeply.
"Nonsense! The great scholar Nangong is competing for the first prize, how can you comment on him? Let the great scholar Nangong think about the Chongyang poem first, don't disturb him!" Assistant Prime Minister Si Yueqing scolded.
"That's right." The others nodded.
On the stage, the head of the Wei family was all smiles. As the organizer of this year's Chongyang Literary Festival, the better the poems and essays that appeared at the literary event, the more beneficial it would be to the reputation of the Wei family. As the head of a wealthy family, it was not worth bragging about how much money he had earned or which dignitaries he knew, but if a poem to protect the country appeared at the literary event he hosted, it would be enough to brag about for the rest of his life.
The head of the Wei family looked at the audience and asked, "Which gentleman would like to comment on this poem?"
"I'm itching to do it. Let me do it." Jiang Hechuan said as he raised his right foot and took a step forward. His figure was like a god, flying on the wind to the desk. When his right foot landed on the ground, he was already standing next to Fang Yun's desk.
Fang Yun bowed and took a few steps back.
Everyone immediately listened in silence. Jiang Hechuan was the Minister of Culture, in charge of national education. He was the "Master of the Stage". The king would bow to him when he saw him, but he did not need to bow to the king.
Jiang Hechuan nodded slightly and said, "I don't need to say much about the sentence 'Every festive occasion makes me miss my family even more'. I have read countless poems but have never seen such a concise and perfect summary, which is close to the poetic way. Someone just said that this sentence can protect the country, and this is true. Thousands of years later, I, Jiang Hechuan, will surely be forgotten, but this sentence will continue to be mentioned, and even every festival and literary gathering will inevitably mention this sentence. This sentence is simple power, and it is true poetry."
"I like this sentence, but I like the following two sentences even more. Fang Yun's first two sentences express his true feelings. If you or I were to write the following two sentences, I'm afraid we would continue to write about how homesick we are. But Fang Yun's last two sentences suddenly changed the world. He didn't talk about himself, but wrote about his brothers and relatives who were also climbing a mountain far away. They planted dogwood everywhere, but found that Fang Yun was missing. When I heard this sentence, I felt inexplicably lost."
Many people originally did not understand the last two lines of this poem, but after listening to Wen Xiang’s explanation, they vaguely understood it.
Jiang Hechuan paused for a few breaths deliberately to give everyone time to think, and then said: "The last two sentences are from Fang Yun, who, after 'missing his relatives', extended his sympathy to others, hoping that seeing his relatives and friends 'missing one person' would not feel sad for him. The ingenuity of his intention is really rare. Having said that, if you think about it carefully, his relatives and friends would feel sad if he was missing one person, so what would he do if he lost so many relatives and friends? If you think about this sentence carefully, you will find it infinitely mysterious, and it echoes the previous sentence 'being a stranger in a foreign land', which further shows the feeling of being away from friends and hometown. Fang Yun's talent is beyond my reach. Even if I spend decades studying, I still can't write such a poem."
Lei Yuanting's face turned redder as he listened. He had preconceived notions just now that this poem was simple, but after listening to Jiang Hechuan's explanation, he understood that since it was meant to protect the country, there must be a reason for it!
Lei Yuanting also discovered that a great scholar would never explain poetry like this, but he explained it in such detail, which was similar to the "Ask me about poetry" by the great scholar Nangong. Because there were many women and children in the venue, if he used poetic terms to explain, it would be useless except for showing off. This is the difference between great scholars and ordinary scholars. They have reached the state of returning to simplicity.
The young duke standing by secretly wiped his sweat, his face burning, and thought to himself that it was a good thing that he was not stupid enough to criticize the poem, otherwise he would have to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Afterwards, Jiang Hechuan specifically analyzed the clever use of words such as "unique" and "different" in the poem, and finally exclaimed that it was a stroke of genius.
"This poem is not only wonderfully structured and full of deep emotion, but also has unique calligraphy. Such a masterpiece should be enshrined in the Jingguo Academy for three years, so that people all over the world will know that the students of Jingguo are not inferior to those of any other country."
After Jiang Hechuan finished speaking, he smiled and clasped his fists at everyone, then without any fireworks, he stretched out his fingers to pinch "Remembering the Brothers of Shengxu on the Ninth Day of the Ninth Month" and put it into the Hanhu Shell. His movements were smooth, unrestrained and natural.
The whole audience was stunned.
Fang Yun almost rolled his eyes. Just looking at his movements, he knew that the Minister of Literature would keep this national poem in his hands for a few days before putting it into the academy.
Fang Yun was not worried that the poem would be embezzled, as it would definitely be returned to him in three years. There were only advantages and no disadvantages in sending the poem to the academy. Many things were not originally his turn, but the moment the poem was sent to the academy, he had the qualifications and experience.
After appreciating the poem, Jiang Hechuan walked off the stage.
Everyone's eyes fell on the other great scholar in purple robe, intentionally or unintentionally.
Even though Nangong Leng didn't say anything, he still couldn't avoid becoming the focus of the whole audience.
Everyone on the top of the mountain seemed to be strangled by an invisible force. No one spoke, only the autumn wind.
Even the ignorant children were affected by this atmosphere and clung to their parents' clothes tightly.
Fang Yun lowered his head slightly and looked at the ground of the writing platform. He did not look at Nangong Leng. Even though he knew that Nangong Leng might be bad for him, he would not provoke him or compete with him. He would not be complacent about having a poem to protect the country.
Fang Yun saw from the corner of his eye that the purple figure moved. His heart skipped a beat, and then he looked up in shock, because Nangong Leng was not walking towards the stage, but stepping on the white clouds. Slowly rising, he was actually leaving the literary gathering.
What's going on here
Everyone, including Minister of Literature Jiang Hechuan, was confused. Nangong Leng could not escape without fighting. As a great scholar, he would rather lose than escape. Moreover, the Wu Kingdom where he was located was in opposition to the Jing Kingdom. Once he escaped, he would be spurned by the scholars of the Wu Kingdom.
The most important thing is that a great scholar came to ask Fang Yun to become a juren, which must be because he wanted something from the Lei family. If he left at this moment, he would not only lose an important opportunity, but might even offend the powerful Lei family.
Even a living semi-saint would not offend the Lei family, let alone a great scholar!
Nangong Leng turned his back to the crowd, and slowly rose up on the white clouds. Amidst everyone's puzzled gazes, he suddenly spoke, and his voice could be heard thousands of miles away.
"The young phoenix of the Fang family is soaring in the sky. All the birds have folded their wings and dare not present their works."
Many people on the left had faces as black as ash at the bottom of a pot, especially the young duke who wished Fang Yun dead, Jian Ming and Lei Yuanting who had staked their treasures. Their faces were as dark as purple and looked like they could burst at any time.
The young Duke almost yelled at Nangong Leng that he was crazy. The line "Hundreds of birds fold their wings and dare not present articles" was not just Nangong the great scholar admitting that he was not as good as Fang Yun, but when combined with the line "young phoenix", it was obvious that it was to help Fang Yun become famous!
A great scholar who was the most famous poet of his time thought that he was not as famous as Fang Yun. Even a fool could hear that he was trying to flatter and promote him.
This kind of promotion would lead to the loss of all wisdom if one is not careful. Even the Minister of Culture Jiang Hechuan could not do it. But this Wu person who was opposed to the Jing State actually said it, which was beyond everyone's imagination.
Jian Ming's eyes turned red. He never dreamed that Nangong Leng would say this. In his eyes as a Wu countryman, Nangong Daru was simply treasonous! At this moment, he even wanted to assassinate Nangong Leng, the traitor, but this idea quickly dissipated.
Lei Yuanting's eyes were full of panic. He seemed to have foreseen something. He reached out to hold the table, his clothes trembling slightly.
Nangong Leng's voice once again spread throughout Yushan.
"I originally wanted to cooperate with the Lei family. The Lei family used Fang Yun to test my sincerity, but I used Fang Yun to test the Lei family's ability. Unfortunately, the Lei family made an enemy of Fang Yun for a mere brat. They have no ability to judge people. They rely on the protection of the dragon clan and their ancestors to be self-satisfied and arrogant. I am ashamed to be associated with them! I have long wanted to discuss poetry with Fang Yun. Although I didn't say a word today, I came back with a lot of gains. Wonderful!"
When Nangong Leng uttered the last two words "Wonderful", except for the Minister of Literature Jiang Hechuan, everyone, whether they were a centenarian or a three-year-old child, whether they were the people on the right seat who supported Fang Yun or the people on the left seat who opposed Fang Yun, even Jian Ming who had already lost the Ink Dragon Brush Washer and Lei Yuanting who might lose the Dragon Stone, all showed natural smiles.
Everyone was infected and changed by Nangong Leng's words "wonderful", and endless joy emerged from the depths of everyone's heart, as if everyone, like Nangong Leng, had encountered the most wonderful thing.
Fang Yun bowed deeply and said eloquently, "Mr. Nangong has a broad mind and is truly a model of scholars. I almost judged you by my own standards. I respectfully bid you farewell."
Nangong Leng flicked his sleeves lightly, put his hands behind his back, sped away, and finally disappeared into the sky. (To be continued...)