Chapter 117: Fighting for the North and the South
Three days later, the courtyard of the Scholars' Building had been cleaned up, and Manager Liu and his men had carved out a stage for the competition.
When Su Fengzhang walked down the stairs, the place was already crowded with people. He Tang, who was at the front, called out, "Brother Su, this way."
He was just about to step over when he heard a cold snort from the other side. Lin Yuye said loudly, "These pretty boys don't have much else to offer, but they're good at putting on airs."
Su Fengzhang glanced at him, walked straight to He Tang and ignored him.
It's strange to say, it was Ji Chu who had a conflict with Lin Yuye, and it was He Tang Baiyu who cursed at him later, and it was Meng Ting who issued the challenge, but this one seemed to have a deeper hostility towards Su Fengzhang.
Su Fengzhang glanced outside. Today was probably the most crowded day in the Scholars' Building. Not only the scholars who originally lived here, but also the scholars who lived in other places had heard the news and came here.
At this time, these people were clearly divided into two camps. The southern scholars were mostly dressed in blue shirts and long gowns, looking gentle and refined. In comparison, the northern scholars on the opposite side were taller and more rough in appearance.
Meng Ting was already there, and when he saw Su Fengzhang, he whispered, "I'm glad you're here."
Su Fengzhang smiled and said, "I didn't expect everyone to come so early."
Meng Ting laughed and whispered, "We're not in a hurry, but they're all very anxious."
It was fate that played such a trick on people. During the reign of Taizu of the Zhou Dynasty, because Taizu himself was from the north, most of the older generation of ministers around him were also from the north. There were even rumors that this one had suffered from the southern scholars, so he was quite biased in the court.
The major imperial examination cheating case that year led to the division of the list between the north and the south, and it is hard to say that Emperor Taizu had no hand in it.
Three consecutive emperors, to some extent, have been suppressing the development of southern scholars, which once resulted in a huge gap between northern and southern officials in the court, so that the policy had to be relaxed during the reign of the previous emperor.
Because of the emperor's preference, it was much easier for northern scholars to make a name for themselves than southern scholars in the early years. At that time, they would never have thought that the current emperor's aesthetic taste was completely different from that of their own father and grandfather.
What goes up in the leader’s mind is what follows down in the feudal dynasty. In a feudal dynasty, an emperor’s preference is enough to change the entire dynasty.
Compared with the rough northern scholars, the current emperor prefers the southern scholars with red lips, white teeth and handsome looks. Even his most beloved concubine, Concubine Xu, is a southern beauty.
This emperor has been on the throne for more than 20 years. The situation in which northern officials once held an absolute advantage in the court has completely disappeared. Now the north and the south are evenly matched, and even the southern faction has a vague upper hand.
There were certainly political considerations involved, but the emperor's preference was so obvious that many officials were unwilling to grow beards in order to cater to the emperor's aesthetic taste.
Just like Lin Yuye, who was always called a pretty boy, his face was now clean.
At this time, Shopkeeper Liu came out and shouted, "Gentlemen, all six scholars are here. To avoid a tie, I will shamelessly cast my vote as well. What do you think?"
Only after Su Fengzhang checked in did he realize that Manager Liu was indeed not an ordinary businessman, but a scholar who was born into a Juren family and had once passed the Jinshi exam. He just didn't know why he had been staying in the Scholars' Building.
Su Que smiled and said, "Shopkeeper Liu is willing to do us the honor, and we are very grateful."
Meng Ting also smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work this time, Manager Liu."
Shopkeeper Liu then smiled and said, "Today's competition is about poetry, painting, and calligraphy. How about we start with calligraphy?"
Everyone agreed, so Manager Liu said, "That's unfair. Please write your essays on the spot. After you're done, the six scholars will review and vote, and then announce the winner."
Bai Yu had already stood up and bowed to show his respect.
Su Fengzhang asked curiously, "Brother Meng, aren't you worried that the scholars invited by each family will vote for each other? If that happens, what's the point of the competition? Wouldn't that mean that Manager Liu will have the final say?"
Meng Ting said, "That's impossible. Both parties agree that at least one of the people we invite must be of outstanding character and impartial. Since he's a scholar, he naturally values his reputation."
Su Fengzhang disagreed with this. How could a human being be impartial and selfless? There must be countless people involved in this matter behind the scenes to form a balance.
The strength of calligraphy is something that requires diligent study and practice. The scholars present were not very old. Bai Yu was only in his early thirties, while the northern scholar standing opposite him was about forty years old.
Just in terms of immersion in magic, the opponent has already won. The gap of ten years cannot be made up by talent alone.
Before the results of the competition were announced, He Tang whispered, "We shouldn't have let Brother Bai take the risk. We should have found someone older who has practiced calligraphy for decades."
Meng Ting said, "Brother Bai is an excellent calligrapher and quite famous. Since he volunteered, he must be quite confident."
Su Fengzhang had never seen Bai Yu's calligraphy before, but he had heard of his excellent calligraphy, so he was quite excited. The two of them wrote with great enthusiasm on the stage, then finally stopped.
They couldn't see the words clearly from their angle, but the scholars invited to be judges came closer to watch and comment.
At this time, a servant picked up both pieces of calligraphy and hung them in the air.
When he saw the two words clearly, Su Fengzhang frowned and felt a pang in his heart. Bai Yu's calligraphy was indeed very good. To be honest, Su Fengzhang felt inferior to him.
But the scholar compared to him was even more outstanding. His handwriting was like the work of gods, with such force that it could be seen through the paper. One could tell at a glance that it could not have been achieved without decades of immersion and hard practice.
Meng Ting's face froze for a moment. Sure enough, although the six scholars had some disagreements, they quickly selected the winner. Even without Manager Liu giving his precious vote, it was decided that the northern scholar won the first round.
Bai Yu came down in a state of despair. He was quite unwilling to accept the result, but he could only accept the loss. Ji Chu stood beside him, wanting to comfort him, but he didn't know what to say. In the end, he smiled and said to Tang, "Don't worry, we still have Brother Meng and Brother Su."
Who knew that after hearing this, Bai Yu's face turned even worse, and he lowered his head and didn't look at the people around him.
Lin Yuye laughed as if he had won, and said, "How is it? Are you convinced of your defeat?"
Meng Ting and Su Fengzhang ignored him. The former turned around and said to the person next to him: "Brother Su, I'm going to do it."
After saying this, Meng Ting went straight up to the stage and looked down at Su Qun below, his eyes filled with a burning desire to fight.
Su Qun was also most famous for his poetry. Logically, he would have faced Meng Ting in this round. However, who would have thought that he was waving his fan slowly at this moment, while Lin Yuye beside him jumped onto the stage.
Meng Ting's expression changed slightly, and he heard Lin Yuye sneer, "I'll come and meet you."
Meng Ting stared at them coldly and shouted, "You are no match for me. Try someone else."
Lin Yuye shouted, "Today I am your opponent. You will know if I am qualified after the competition!"
"Su Qi!" Meng Ting couldn't help but shout, the anger in his voice was obvious.
In contrast, Su Qun looked relaxed. It was obvious that he was the one who came up with this Tian Ji horse racing method: "Brother Meng, the race is about to begin. Please concentrate on fighting the enemy."
Meng Ting knew that they were playing tricks but he could do nothing about it. He just wanted to slap them in the face on the stage.
At this time, Su Qun walked up to Su Fengzhang and said with a smile, "I heard that you have outstanding painting skills. I would like to learn from you later."
The northern student used his trump card of calligraphy and the strategy of Tian Ji's horse racing. Su Qu looked confident of victory, as if he had already defeated Su Fengzhang.
Su Fengzhang smiled, thinking to himself that he was being treated as a soft persimmon and was being squeezed: "Please do not show mercy."
Su Qun raised his eyebrows slightly and glanced at him seriously. He was not familiar with Su Fengzhang, but he vaguely remembered that he had a good relationship with He Tang. At first, he thought that He Tang would be sent from the south, after all, He Tang was famous for his expertise in painting beauties.
In his impression, this handsome man was tall, but he didn't look like a southerner. When Lin Yuye faced him that day, he came back with bruises on his wrists and said that this man was extremely strong.
Su Qu's eyes moved slightly, and he thought to himself, so what if he is strong? Painting is not something that requires strength.
Suddenly, he smiled and asked, "I'm from the Shandong Su family, and my ancestors have quite a few famous people. Your surname is also Su, I wonder where your family came from? Maybe we're actually related if we can trace our ancestry up a little bit."
Su Fengzhang replied very coldly, "I am from Qingzhou, and my ancestors have all been from Qingzhou. I have never heard my ancestors mention northern blood. I am afraid that I will never be related to you, Brother Su."
Su Qun narrowed his eyes, raised his eyebrows and stopped talking.
In just a few words, the winner was decided on the stage.
If the outcome of the first match is still debatable, after all, Bai Yu's handwriting is really good, just slightly worse than the other one.
Then this poetry contest was almost a foregone conclusion. Meng Ting was a man of great literary talent, and writing poetry was as easy for him as eating and drinking water. His ability had been witnessed by students in Qingzhou, and Su Fengzhang had also admired him very much.
Now that he was on the stage, Meng Ting wanted to beat up the person opposite him. He recited poems one after another, which not only made Lin Yuye look pale, but also amazed the scholars who came to watch and comment.
One of them, a scholar invited by the northern scholars, praised the poem highly. He read the poem in amazement and even said, "What are you still commenting on? Mr. Meng's poem is novel in conception and easy to read. It is definitely not comparable to Lin Yuye's."
The others thought this was a bit too much, but it was also the truth, so they didn't object.
Lin Yuye knew he would lose before he went on stage. After all, Su Qun himself was not sure of winning, so he pushed him up.
But at that time he still had some illusions, thinking that even if he lost, he would not lose too badly. Who knew that in just half an hour, he not only lost but also lost face and felt ashamed.
Lin Yuye jumped down with a cold face, and even began to regret agreeing to Su Qun's request. His expression was definitely much uglier than Bai Yu's just now.
However, Bai Yu felt a little better when he saw him lose so miserably. In comparison, he didn't seem so embarrassed.
------------------t-----
The author has something to say: Click on the column
Save new articles
Love me quickly
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
