The long river runs through the city like a jade belt. The surface of the river is filled with water vapor, as if there is a layer of very light fog. Green willows hang down on both sides of the river, and countless people are crowded on the shore.
At the edge of the sandbar, everyone on the dragon boat stood up.
On the high-rise building with black tiles, the prefect of Yu Hai recited a eulogy to commemorate the ancestors, and the dragon boat race officially started.
"Raise the flag!" someone on Shazhou shouted.
The drummers on the five dragon boats held the red flag together to reinforce it for the final time to prevent it from falling during the dragon boat race.
"Beat the drum!" the man shouted again.
Five drummers beat the drums together, the beats were in unison and the sound was deafening. The crowds on both sides of the river cheered again, and Nunu's two little ears dropped to block out the sound.
"Let's start." said Qian Juren.
The people in dragon boat number two sat down and began to grind ink.
Fang Yun had just ground the ink and hadn't even picked up his brush when he heard someone in the crowd exclaim.
"Dragon Boat No. 1 is talented! It's still rising."
Fang Yun immediately looked towards the No. 1 dragon boat where the people of Qing were. Under the power of the official seal, he saw that the paper in front of Shi Jun's disciple Shi Dehong was emitting an orange light of talent, which was constantly growing higher and was now more than one foot high, reaching the standard for leaving the county.
The scholar in front snorted coldly and said, "They really have prepared in advance. I'm afraid they have spent several months thinking about it in their minds, but they never wrote it down."
The scholar on the No. 3 dragon boat sighed and said, "You are indeed the disciple of the poet. I may not be able to write a poem that will be published in the county in my lifetime."
"Their Qing Kingdom has no external enemies around, so they are naturally good at writing about romance. If we are allowed to write about boats, we can write war poems with dragon boats and warships as the theme. Our writing may not be as good, but we can mobilize more vitality of heaven and earth, so how can we lose to them!"
"Stop talking nonsense and start writing!"
The talent on the paper in front of Shi Dehong continued to grow. When he finished writing the poem, the talent was one foot and seven inches, only three inches away from reaching the palace, which was amazing.
Shi Dehong smiled slightly, then glanced at Fang Yun and other Jingguo people's dragon boats, and found that no one was writing, so he recited his own poem: "Yuhe is on the Dragon Boat Festival..."
He only read one sentence, and then he found that everyone was looking behind him, and saw that the talent on paper of the semi-saint disciple Yan Yukong was growing at a faster rate.
On the tall black-tiled building, Feng Zimo, the Minister of the Court, used his official seal to read Yan Yukong's poems. Yan Yukong wrote a line and he read it.
Some of the officials around remained silent, while others praised him. No one would belittle Yan Yukong. Even though Yan Yukong was from an enemy country and a semi-saint disciple, they were not someone they could criticize casually. What's more, Yan Yukong was an excellent writer and his talent would not lie.
When Yan Yukong put away his pen, a two-foot-one-inch-high piece of talent appeared on the paper in front of him.
"Poetry is complete!"
The people of Jing on both sides of the river sighed long and hard, and the branches of the willow trees swayed as if they were disturbed by the sighs of the crowd.
The people of Qing on Dragon Boat No. 1 showed joy on their faces. The talent of just two people was four feet.
The other four people from Qing State immediately started writing. Everyone was full of talent. One person wrote poetry and three wrote lyrics. When they finished, the talent of the entire dragon boat team combined was as much as five feet and seven inches.
Afterwards, the talent of Dragon Boat No. 1 attracted the vitality of heaven and earth, and a faint green light emerged from the dragon boat. This faint green light was the power that drove the dragon boat to move forward.
"Last year, the first round of poetry by the Qing country team only had a talent of four feet six. I didn't expect there to be so many more this year."
The people of Qing on the other four dragon boats groaned, feeling that it was not right to write or not to write, for fear that they would lose face if they wrote too badly.
Fang Yun noticed that there was something wrong with the expressions and actions of several people on Dragon Boat No. 2. They were obviously suppressed by the momentum of the Qing people. Even though these people had prepared poems before, they all needed to be slightly modified. Without the momentum, the poems would most likely be messed up.
Dragon boat racing requires cooperation among six people. If the remaining five lose their momentum, Fang Yun will surely lose even if he writes a national poem of outstanding talent.
Fang Yun took a deep breath and said, "My fellow writers, if we lose to Qing, the writers of Jing will bear the stigma of eighteen consecutive defeats. Even if we win next year, Jing will never be able to wash it off! The talent of Qing is five feet seven, and our dragon boat only needs to be five feet eight to beat them! I will take two feet five, do you five dare to share the remaining three feet three?"
It is only two feet away from home, and there will be a chance to study "The Holy Way" in the future.
The five people in front turned around together and looked at Fang Yun in surprise. Seeing the determination on his face, they were immediately encouraged!
"Each person has only six inches of talent! How can I not be able to do it!"
"We must make up three feet three!"
"We will never lose this battle!"
The five people were in high spirits, sweeping away the haze that the Qing people had brought to them before.
Shi Dehong, the disciple of Shi Jun, laughed loudly and said, "The people of Jing are really arrogant! Do you think that poem Cheng Dafu was so easy to write? A scholar dares to shout like this, you are even more arrogant than the number one lunatic Yi Zhishi!"
Mr. Qian turned his head and said, "The verbal battles of the people of Qing are getting more and more fierce. It's a pity that now we are writing poems and lyrics, not competing in verbal skills. When we win the brocade flag of Longtou Bridge, you will naturally know that it is you who are crazy, not us!"
"I'm waiting! If you can win first place, I, Shi Dehong, will eat the dragon heads of all five dragon boats!"
Jing Guoren in dragon boat number two ignored Shi Dehong, picked up his pen and began to write slowly.
Fang Yun did not join in the quarrel. He first wrote down the name of the tune "Huan Xi Sha" and then added the word "Duanwu".
A group of officials in the black-tiled high-rise building not far away immediately became excited.
"Fang Shuangjia has started writing!"
"Zimo, what did he write?"
"Huanxisha Dragon Boat Festival!"
"He has started writing again. Read quickly."
"You... I'll just read it. The light sweat seeps through the green silk, and tomorrow I'll bathe in the fragrant orchids on the Dragon Boat Festival. The flowing fragrance fills the clear river..."
"Good! The scene of the women playing on the Dragon Boat Festival is vividly presented before our eyes, especially the flowing fragrance and swelling of the body, which is quite novel. After the women wash and comb their hair, they pour all the makeup and water into the river, so naturally the flowing fragrance and swelling of the body fill the clear river."
"This talent is growing even faster than Yan Yukong's!"
The people on dragon boat number two continued to write poems, but the people on the other dragon boats looked at Fang Yun together.
The arrogant Yan Yukong set his eyes on Fang Yun.
At this time, Fang Yun turned his head to look at Yang Yuhuan and Zhao Zhuzhen on the boat, and the little fox immediately waved its little paws at Fang Yun.
Fang Yun smiled slightly and continued to write the second half of the poem with his head down.
Feng Zimo, the abbot upstairs, continued to recite: "Colored threads lightly wrapped around her red jade arms, small charms slanted on her green cloud hair. We will see each other for a thousand years."
One person clapped his hands and applauded: "The colors are bright, as if they are right in front of us. It turns out that she is praising her adopted child bride, Jiangzhou Xishi. The colorful thread wrapped around her arms can prevent illness and dampness; the small charms worn on her body can ward off disasters. Writing about her beauty is also a hope that she will be free from illness and disaster, and stay with her forever for a thousand years. The first part describes the scene of the Dragon Boat Festival, and the second part blesses the beauty with Dragon Boat Festival items. It is much better than Yan Yukong's!"
Everyone nodded, after all, poetry must contain emotion.
Yang Yuhuan couldn't see or hear clearly, she just smiled and watched Fang Yun's talent rising.
When Fang Yun stopped writing, Yang Yuhuan asked softly, "Sister Zhao, how many feet are Xiao Yun's poems? I'm far away, so I can't see it clearly."
Zhao Zhuzhen didn't care that Yang Yuhuan had revealed her gender. She glanced at a scholar behind her, who immediately said, "Two feet and eight inches, and her poetry is great, seven inches taller than Yan Yukong."
Zhao Zhuzhen asked: "What did he write?"
The scholar said, "We can row the boat to the outside of the building where the prefects and the court masters are, and someone will naturally inform us."
"good."
The others continued to write poems, and the pleasure boat soon stopped at the shore below the building. Someone handed up the lyrics written by Fang Yun.
Yang Yuhuan had just learned to read and could not understand the poem, but when she saw that it was written by Fang Yun, she liked it immediately.
Nunu stared at the word carefully, word by word, and was very excited.
Zhao Zhuzhen recited softly: "A light sweat seeps through the green silk..." Finally, she lowered her head, looked at the river, and repeated in a low voice: "I see my beauty for a thousand years, I see my beauty for a thousand years..." There was a hint of sadness in her eyes.
After a while, she looked up at Fang Yun and said softly, "As expected of Fang Shuangjia, his talent is amazing. Yuhuan, he wrote this poem for you, you must remember it well."
"Ah? Is it written for me?" Yang Yuhuan was extremely happy.
"Oh! Oh!" Nunu nodded with a smile.
Not long after Fang Yun finished writing "Huanxisha Dragon Boat Festival", all the other people on the same boat had finished writing. None of their poems reached the county level of one foot high, and their combined length could not reach three feet and three. However, Qian Juren's poetic talent reached more than nine inches, which was an extraordinary performance.
In the end, the length of Fang Yun's Dragon Boat No. 2 was as high as five feet and nine inches, two inches taller than Dragon Boat No. 1. Even people far away could tell the difference.
"God has mercy on us! Our Jing Kingdom can finally hold our heads high!"
"Jingguo will win!"
The crowds on both sides of the Taiwan Strait were excited, and some intellectuals even had tears in their eyes. They did not expect that after losing for seventeen consecutive years, they could finally win back a game.
Many people roared wildly, cheering for Fang Yun and others on Dragon Boat No. 2.
Tong Li, who had made a bet with Fang Yun, stood at the bridgehead of Longtou Bridge, holding the stone railing tightly with both hands, looking ahead in disbelief.
"Idiots! A disciple of Shi Jun and a semi-saint disciple is not as good as Fang Yun! A bunch of idiots!"
Someone on the side immediately shouted, "What country are you from? If you dare to slander Fang Yun again, I will break your legs!"
"Is there anyone helping the Qing people? Who? Stand up!"
"Who dares! You're not you?"
"It's not me! You heard it wrong!" Tong Li waved his hands hurriedly, looking pale with fear.
The people around looked at Tong Li for a few times. Seeing that he was dressed in a brocade robe, he must be rich or noble. No one took action. One person pointed at him and said, "If you dare to help the enemy country again, don't blame us for taking action!"
"Misunderstanding, it's all misunderstanding!" Tong Li left in a hurry, and several of his friends also left in a hurry.
Except for Yan Yukong who remained calm, the other five people from Qing on Dragon Boat No. 1 were all in a state of panic.
"Who is that person? He is just a young scholar. How could he write poems as good as those of Dafu?"
“Could it be that the officials of Jing State cheated, and that the talent is fake?”
"Most likely!"
Yan Yukong said calmly: "If my guess is correct, that person is Fang Yun, the number one student in Jing country. He should be the number one scholar now."