Tong Li's face darkened. The thing he was most worried about happened.
Fang Yun had no conflict of interest with the scholars and candidates in Yuhai City.
Although his grandfather was a third-rank minister and even had a good relationship with Li Wenying and had a certain amount of influence in Yuhai City, Yuhai City was ultimately the world of Shengyuan and Li Wenying and others. Fang Yun was valued by Li Wenying, so Li Wenying's people would naturally help Fang Yun.
The examination for the title of Juren was held by the entire Jiangzhou together, so it didn't matter which prefecture Fang Yun was in. Therefore, the middle-level scholars in Yuhai City not only did not dislike Fang Yun, but instead expected him to leave a great literary reputation in Yuhai City. Many people even hoped that they could benefit from his good name.
Tong Li cursed these people in his heart. No wonder they knew Fang Yun was here but didn't remind him. They were just waiting for him to jump into the trap and then act as if they shared the same hatred with Fang Yun.
Tong Li was very clear about his own level, so he deliberately took part in the provincial examination two years later, just for the title of the first Maocai. As for the title of the first Juren "Jieyuan", he didn't even dare to think about it.
For the reputation of Maocai, he prepared for many years and was sure that this year had the best chance. He did not expect Fang Yun to suddenly appear. He could not swallow this humiliation.
Tong Li's expression quickly turned from gloomy to bright, and he smiled and said, "You have also seen that you want Fang Yun to participate in the dragon boat race, but he doesn't want to participate. I came here to provoke him, and it is also for his own good. Can you all listen to me finish my words?"
"Then tell me about it." said the scholar.
Tong Li smiled and said, "Fang Yun, you may not know that the rules of the annual dragon boat race originated from the holy land 'Xuehai', right?"
"I have seen it in a book, but I don't know the details." Fang Yun said.
"That's it. In the dragon boat race in Yuhai City, the prefect and Lord Yuanjun will use the official seal together to mobilize the talents of the Holy Temple to cover the river section where the dragon boat race is held. The dragon boat race here is not about who can row the best, but about who can write the best poetry. The more talent in poetry, the stronger the resonance with the official seal, the more vitality of heaven and earth will be driven, and thus the dragon boat will be driven. All these rules are modified from "Xuehai". If you participate in the dragon boat race this year, you will get twice the result with half the effort if you pass the imperial examination and go to Xuehai Diao Wenxin in the future."
No one objected. Just from this point of view, it was indeed beneficial to the other party's luck.
Tong Li continued to smile and said, "But since Fang Yun is not seeking fame, I will make a bet to provoke him. As long as Fang Yun can win the first place in this dragon boat race, I will not only be willing to give me a holy page given by my grandfather, but also kneel down in public at Longtou Bridge to admit my mistake, and do my best to clarify the matter of grabbing the quota of Shushan before, and give up this year's prefectural examination. If Fang Yun, you can't win the first place, I don't need you to kneel down, I just need you to set up a table of apology banquet in Jinghai Tower to apologize to me, and then return to Dayuan Prefecture to take the examination for the scholar, how about it?"
Now even those scholars who helped Fang Yun found it difficult to refute. After all, the price Tong Li paid was extremely high, and it was obvious that Fang Yun was taking advantage.
Everyone looked at Fang Yun.
Zhao Zhuzhen frowned slightly and gave Fang Yun a look, as if telling him not to agree.
Fang Yun did not respond to Zhao Zhuzhen. He stared at Tong Li for a long time before saying, "Brother Tong is really thoughtful. If I don't participate in the dragon boat race, it would be a waste of Brother Tong's kindness. Well, I accept this bet! Which dragon boat team is willing to let me participate?"
Everyone hesitated.
Tong Li immediately looked at the scholar who scolded him and said, "Brother Qian, since you are also participating in the dragon boat race, why don't you let Fang Yun join?"
Mr. Qian looked at Fang Yun and asked, "Brother Fang, do you really want to participate in the dragon boat race?"
"nature."
"Okay. According to the rules, each dragon boat can carry three juren and three xiucai. We will replace one person in our dragon boat and let you get on." Juren Qian was very happy. As a person who had no conflict of interest with Fang Yun, he wanted to make friends with Fang Yun even more.
Fang Yun bowed to everyone and said, "Everyone, please be my witness today. If Brother Qian and I fail in the dragon boat race, I will leave Yuhai City immediately and never set foot here again." After Fang Yun finished speaking, he looked at Tong Li.
Tong Li immediately shouted, "Then I also ask everyone to bear witness. If Fang Yun can win the first place in the dragon boat race, I will kneel down at Longtou Bridge in front of the whole city and kowtow to him three times!"
Zhao Zhuzhen said: "Tong Li, since you said so, if you can't do it at that time, don't blame me for forcing you to kowtow!"
Everyone could see the anger in Zhao Zhuzhen's heart. Most people didn't know who this person was and how dare he speak to Tong Li like that, while a few people showed a little surprise.
"I, Tong Li, keep my word! I'll go to Longtou Bridge and wait for you first! Bye!" Tong Li bowed and walked quickly downstairs. Several students behind him followed immediately.
After leaving Yuhe Tower, a man behind Tong Li hurriedly asked, "Brother Tong, what's wrong with you today? Everyone knows the names of Fang Yun's poems, why are you still betting with him?"
"Yes, Brother Tong is really unwise."
"I think Tong Li looks very confident. He must know something. Tell the truth!" someone said with a smile.
Tong Li laughed and said, "Do you know who the Qing Kingdom sent to participate in the dragon boat race today?"
"It is said that there is a disciple of Shi Jun, one of the four great talents. I don't know if this is true or not. But even if the other party is Shi Jun's disciple, Fang Yun is not much worse. How can you be so sure that you can beat Fang Yun?"
Tong Li still smiled and said, "You only know one side of the story. I only found out yesterday that Yan Yukong, the last disciple of the Semi-Saint of Qing State, also came here! Dragon boat racing is not a one-person race, but a multi-person race with three scholars and three scholars in the same boat. If one disciple of Shijun is not as good as Fang Yun, then with Yan Yukong, what are Fang Yun's chances of winning?"
"Ah? Is it really that Yan Yukong? It is said that his talent not only surpasses that of the Poet of Qing Country, but is even not inferior to Yi Zhishi, the first genius of the past century. He is the most likely candidate for the next Half-Saint of Qing Country. Why is he here?"
"Is he the three-headed genius who won the first place in the examination at the age of ten, the first place in the examination at the age of twelve, and the first place in the examination at the age of fourteen? It is said that he could have passed the imperial examination at the age of sixteen, but his semi-saint teacher suppressed him and personally took him to travel around the world. He will take the imperial examination this year, and he will be eighteen years old. Last year, someone said that Yan Yukong not only wanted to compete for the first place in the Qing Kingdom, but also wanted to compete for the first place in the Ten Kingdoms! If he becomes the first place in the Ten Kingdoms, he will definitely become a five-headed genius, and the four great geniuses of the next generation will naturally be a piece of cake."
Tong Li's smile deepened as he said, "It's good that you know Yan Yukong's talent. Although Fang Yun has a famous teacher, how can he compare to Yan Yukong's semi-saint's teaching by words and deeds! His so-called famous teacher may just be a great scholar or semi-saint who gives him some pointers. He wants to be known as a mentor by that person, but that person may not necessarily want to accept him as a disciple!"
"Brother Tong is right! Fang Yun is dead this time!"
"Brother Tong is very shrewd!"
"No wonder Qing Kingdom was willing to take out the Mountain and River Chessboard. What a pity." The person who spoke sighed softly, and then the others realized that there was discord between Qing Kingdom and Jing Kingdom, and that Jing Kingdom had even seized a state from Qing Kingdom, so they stopped talking.
Tong Li's face darkened, and he didn't know how to get angry.
"Brother Tong, who is that sissy?"
"That person seems to be a woman dressed as a man. Brother Tong, who is she?"
Tong Li's face became even gloomier, and he said, "She is a big shot that neither you nor I can afford to offend. I didn't want to offend her, but since she doesn't like me, I'll just fight for my talent, and she can't do anything to me!"
In Yuhe Tower, Zhao Zhuzhen told Fang Yun about the semi-saint disciples. After he finished speaking, he sighed and continued, "I winked at you just now, hoping that you would not fall into my trap, but you still agreed. Yan Yukong alone is not strong enough to overwhelm you, but with Shijun's disciples and others, you have almost no chance of winning."
Fang Yun asked: "Why would a semi-saint disciple participate in this dragon boat race?"
Zhao Zhuzhen said angrily, "The half-saint of Qing may not send anyone here, but the royal family of Qing has always been eyeing our Jing country. Last year, our Jing country was badly defeated by the wolf barbarians, and this year the situation is even more serious. Qing will naturally take the opportunity to use the Dragon Boat Festival to suppress our Jing country. To put it more bluntly, Qing is promoting their strength to the ten countries and our Jing people, preparing to take over our territory in the future."
Fang Yun looked at this Zhao Zhuzhen carefully, and suddenly remembered that the royal family of Jing State had the surname Zhao. Could it be that this Zhao Zhuzhen, who was dressed as a man, was a county lady or a princess
Fang Yun immediately recalled the people of the Jing Kingdom's royal family. There were many princesses, but there was only one young princess, who was the sister of the late emperor and the aunt of the current three-year-old emperor. The other princesses were not so young.
"I see. If they had sent Shijun's disciples, that wouldn't have been a big deal, but sending even a semi-saint disciple is really too much." Fang Yun said.
"Of course! They have gone too far this time! Otherwise I wouldn't have come here in person!" Zhao Zhuzhen became even more excited, but did not conceal her voice, sounding more like a woman.
An idea popped up in Fang Yun's mind, and he asked, "Could it be that you asked Lord Li to ask me to come and watch the dragon boat race?"
Zhao Zhuzhen said frankly, "I asked Uncle Li to let you come, but since you didn't like dragon boat racing, I didn't persuade you much. I just didn't expect that bastard Tong Li would actually provoke you. I really don't know whether I should thank him. Tong Li was well-behaved in the capital by Minister Tong, but once he left the capital, he became a useless playboy. I really want to teach this bastard a lesson on behalf of Minister Tong."
Fang Yun didn't expect that Zhao Zhu was such a straightforward person and treated him as an acquaintance after just meeting him for a short time.
Zhao Zhuzhen quickly realized that she had said something wrong and hurriedly explained: "I like your poems and essays. I have pondered them over and over again. I feel particularly close to you when I see you today. Please don't misunderstand me."
"Brother Zhao, you are too polite. I like people who speak quickly and directly." Fang Yun said with a smile.
"That's good." Zhao Zhuzhen nodded, and regained his usual composure, and then continued, "I know that your talent is no less than Yan Yukong, but Yan Yukong already has a literary mind. Although the real function of the literary mind is to be used in combat, as long as there is a literary mind in the Wen Palace, no matter it is talent, literary courage, talent stability, etc., there will be a certain improvement, and it will also be of great help in writing poetry and prose."