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"What's so interesting? You're even more ruthless than him when it comes to doing things!"
Chen Pingping chuckled, "How can this old minister's methods compare to those of His Majesty's own brothers?"
"How did you manage to accomplish such a great feat while in the heart of a dangerous place, in the capital of an enemy kingdom? This old minister is very curious!"
Chen Pingping's urging only made Emperor Qing more impatient. "Look, look! Take it and look! What's so interesting about it!"
"He's gotten more capable, and his temper has grown too. He's even learned to play tricks on me!"
Emperor Qing tossed a memorial to Chen Pingping and then continued polishing the arrowheads.
After reading the memorial, Chen Pingping looked embarrassed, realizing that Prince Yong hadn't explained how to do it.
Emperor Qing only knew that Li Chang'an had accomplished something, but he didn't know exactly what he had done until he read Chen Pingping's memorial.
Li Chang'an's secret memorial to Emperor Qing contained only six characters.
"I'll do the work, don't worry."
Chen Pingping's eyelids twitched. His Majesty has been on the throne for twenty years, and Li Chang'an is the only one who dares to write a memorial to His Majesty like this.
Only he and Fan Jian dared to be so informal with His Majesty, but neither of them would dare to write it like that.
Prince Yong is His Majesty's own brother, so he is closer in kinship and can be a little bolder and more arrogant.
However, there is a prerequisite for being arrogant in front of the emperor: you must be capable enough.
But now it seems that Li Chang'an's abilities are indeed quite great!
Chen Pingping coughed twice, then stretched out his sleeves, clasped his hands together, and solemnly bowed.
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
"With a prince like this in Daqing, His Majesty is fortunate, and Daqing is fortunate!"
"The eldest brother is like a father. His Highness Prince Yong has made such outstanding contributions to Daqing, all thanks to His Majesty's excellent guidance!"
Emperor Qing continued to gather his bow and arrows, seemingly oblivious to what he was saying. "Get out! Get out! Get out of here now!"
Chapter 118 The Empress's Question: Will You Come Up or Not? (33)
The brief period of chaos in the capital city quickly came to an end.
Despite the impact of the riots that night, talented scholars from all over the country who came to participate in the Yunmen Poetry Gathering still began to gather in the capital.
The inns in the city were filled with talented men from all over the country and even from other countries. Not only were the food and lodging fully booked, but the business of brothels and pleasure boats also increased several times over.
The Northern Qi dynasty, which claimed to be the orthodox culture, could be described as a period of prosperity and rampant prostitution.
In the capital, exclamations of surprise at old friends meeting again could be heard from time to time. Their conversations inevitably revolved around poetry, and for a time, the sound of poetry could be heard everywhere in the capital.
The Yunmen Poetry Festival, held every three years, is sure to produce several poems that become famous throughout the world.
The Yunmen Poetry Gathering, known as the number one poetry gathering in the world, is surrounded by various magical legends.
It is said that there were many poor scholars who, due to their outstanding poetry and prose, were noticed by high-ranking officials and entered the court as officials.
afternoon.
Fan Xian, Guo Baokun, and Zong Zhui arrived near Yunmen Temple.
Yan Bingyun has returned to the mission, and everything is settled. He will be able to depart for Nanqing in a couple of days.
Yan Bingyun's matter went very smoothly. Wei Hua, the acting commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, personally visited Fan Xian and safely returned Yan Bingyun to the Southern Qing delegation.
The intelligence network of the Imperial Guards in the capital was temporarily paralyzed, and they simply didn't have the energy to deal with Yan Bingyun's matter anymore.
Despite Guo Shao's strong encouragement, Fan Xian decided to come and attend the world-renowned Yunmen Poetry Gathering.
Yunmen Temple is located north of Shangjing City, nestled on the mountainside of Yunmen Mountain beside the Xiaodu River.
Because so many people wanted to participate in the poetry gathering, talented individuals had to go through multiple rounds of selection before they could enter the poetry gathering at Yunmen Temple.
"Young Master Guo, do we have to go through challenges and contests to participate in this poetry gathering?"
Guo Baokun, a renowned scholar in the capital, had long admired the greatest poetry gathering in the world.
"Brother Fan, do you know how many talented men want to participate in the Yunmen Poetry Gathering?"
Fan Xian just glanced around casually and didn't deliberately inquire about anything.
"Such a high-level poetry gathering, you wouldn't dare to come without some talent, it would be good if there were even a few hundred people!"
Guo Baokun said seriously, "Too little, at least tens of thousands!"
"Not only will talented scholars from all over Northern Qi come, but my Great Qing also does not restrict scholars from participating. Even people from the distant Nanzhao and Dongying will come!"
"Unless someone is as famous as Prince Yong of my dynasty or the Five-Character Great Wall of Northern Qi, they can participate directly; everyone else must go through a selection process."
"In the end, one hundred scholars officially participated in the poetry gathering, and another four hundred people were allowed to listen in!"
"And the scholars who failed the selection would mostly gather at the foot of the mountain, waiting for the poetry gathering to produce famous works!"
Fan Xian was astonished. The Northern Qi was indeed a place of great cultural heritage, having gone to such great lengths to organize such a poetry gathering.
At this moment, Zong Zhui said to Fan Xian, "My lord, Lord Wei did say that he could give us a spot to audit the class directly."
Fan Xian waved his hand and said, "No need, I'd like to see this selection method."
"Let's disguise ourselves as Guo Shao's servants. If we can advance, we'll go and see. If we can't, then so be it."
Guo Baokun was flattered and said, "Brother Fan, how can this be! I am your loyal servant!"
Fan Xian had long given up on the idea of making a name for himself in poetry and literature, so he persisted in doing so, which moved Guo Shao to tears.
At the foot of Yunmen Mountain, eight passages have been opened, with soldiers from the Jingji Grand Camp specifically responsible for maintaining order.
Fan Xian and his two companions chose the nearest passage to queue up, while listening to the scholars' discussions.
"Have you heard? His Majesty is also attending this poetry gathering!"
"Really? In the past, at most the Minister of Rites would come, but this time even His Majesty is coming!"
"Yes, His Majesty has turned sixteen and can finally participate in the poetry gathering!"
"This poetry gathering is a golden opportunity for me to soar to new heights!"
"Everyone participating in the formal poetry gathering must set a topic and compose a good poem when His Majesty sets the topic..."
"Then you have a bright future ahead of you! A bright future ahead of you!"
"Stop with the grand gestures, let's get into the formal poetry gathering first!"
The procession moved quickly, and when they were almost at Guo Baokun's location, Fan Xian saw the situation at the entrance.
"First, submit an introductory poem!"
"Three taels of silver are required in advance for the drinks!"
Fan Xian asked, "Young Master Guo, why do we have to pay more money?"
Guo Shao said seriously, "As for dinner money! Don't worry, Brother Fan, I've already prepared it."
"Introduction poems are an ancient tradition. In the early days, few people understood poetry and literature, so you had to prove that you could write poetry in order to get in smoothly."
"Now, introductory poetry is just a formality. As long as there are no typos and the handwriting is above average, that's fine!"
Fan Xian patted Guo Shao on the shoulder and said, "I know, I know, hurry up and get started!"
After successfully entering the gate, Guo Baokun received a number and followed the directions to the riverbank.
There are dozens of small pavilions on both sides of the river. The pavilions all look quite old and are marked with numbers on top.
Guo Shao took the number 38 and went to the pavilion. Soon, ten people had gathered in the pavilion.
Of course, Fan Xian and Zong Zhui were considered servants, and together with Guo Baokun, they were counted as one person.
Once all ten people had gathered, the clerk at the gate began to recite the rules verbatim.
"Gentlemen, there are ten scholars participating in the poetry competition selection in Pavilion No. 38."
"The topic for the poem is randomly drawn by the first scholar to arrive, and then everyone writes a poem on the same topic within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea."
"The first two to finish will automatically advance. If there are any disputes, the judges will decide. Anyone who disrupts the order will be immediately removed from the competition..."
Fan Xian thought he would only be eliminated in the first round, but he didn't expect the topic in the pavilion to be "Green Mountains".
Guo Baokun was the first to answer, and he used the poem that Fan Xian recited at the poetry gathering at Prince Jing's mansion, and he successfully advanced to the next round.
Fan Xian couldn't help but sigh, "The days without plagiarism checks were wonderful!"
The second round was even simpler and more direct. The two hundred-plus people in this passage arrived at a separate courtyard near Yunmen Temple.
In the villa, there were famous musicians playing the zither and dancing. Then, the scholars were divided into more than twenty tables according to their numbers, and began to drink wine and compose poems.
At each table, there was a minor official who supervised the drinking games according to the poems, and the two winners advanced to the next level.
Fan Xian and Zong Zhui, along with the servants of the other scholars, watched as one by one the scholars were carried away.
It seems that to attend this poetry gathering, one not only needs to be talented, but also needs to be able to hold their liquor.
Those who were carried out were those who didn't lose because of their poetry, but because of their drinking capacity.
There may be talented individuals eliminated due to their drinking capacity, but those who ultimately sit at the table will certainly be those who possess both a high drinking capacity and considerable talent.
If you lack talent, you won't be able to keep up with the drinking games.