It turns out that this literary duel is very popular in the capital.
It has been a long history that scholars look down on each other. Scholars make their careers out of studying, and anyone who has made achievements in their profession is full of pride. When one uses one's own thoughts as a benchmark, it is inevitable that one will question others.
However, thoughts are invisible and exist in the brain. How can we prove it? It is better to draw up rules for comparison.
Moreover, a large number of candidates would gather in the capital every year to take the imperial examinations. But for the vast majority of them, the glory here was fleeting, and they might be shut out of the imperial examinations for the rest of their lives.
How can anyone accept this?
After seeing a place like the capital, who would be willing to leave? The only way to stay here is to become famous. If you can be spotted by a high official, you may be able to soar to the sky.
Literary debate can have this effect.
After listening to the rules of the literary duel, Xie Shu roughly understood that it was actually just a competition of poems and essays on the spot, which was not much different from the Xiyuan Poetry Festival he had participated in back then.
Just as Xie Shu's doubts were slightly resolved, another doubt arose in his mind: why did this man named Kong Xiu, who was now so famous, challenge them to a fight?
Is it really a spur of the moment thing?
The doors of restaurants in the capital are decorated with colorful silks, pearl curtains and embroidered foreheads that sway up and down. At night, the lights are on and the candlelight is as bright as day.
Wangchuan Tower is different. It does not have any special decorations. However, it is so eye-catching among the many colorful towers in the streets that block out the sun because it is much taller than other towers.
The entire Wangchuan Tower is divided into five floors, each with a flying bridge and railings, with the same light and dark. This high building built in the previous dynasty was originally built by the King of Hengyang for his concubine, because the concubine was from Shu and often missed her hometown, so she built this high building. When you are at the viewing platform, when the wind is light and the clouds are clear, you can see the outline of the green mountains in the distance, which looks like Shu. Later, the previous dynasty was destroyed and the former royal palace no longer existed. After being widened, it has become a famous building in the capital because of its unique scenery.
Before evening today, Wangchuan Tower was already bustling with people, and everyone was waiting for a grand event to take place.
At this time, at the highest point of Wangchuan Tower, a group of people were sitting around a table, talking and laughing. The young man sitting in the middle was Kong Xiu. He was indeed very young, less than 20 years old, and what a high-spirited age.
"Master Kong, you must help us put a stop to those people from Jiangnan today!"
"Yes, they call themselves the Jinling Literary Society. I think they are just a bunch of rabble."
"In previous years, the number of Jinshi who passed the imperial examination in Jiangnan has never been as many as in Qi and Lu. I don't know what they rely on!"
"I do know a little bit about the inside story. The person who organized the Jinling Literary Society is called Xie Shu. He is a disciple of Mr. Jiang. However, he is not that outstanding. He is far inferior to Lu Shuo back then."
This statement was echoed by everyone, but no one noticed that Kong Xiu's expression was slightly moved. Then, he glanced at an inconspicuous man next to him in a very obscure way, as if he was paying special attention to this man's reaction.
This is indeed the case. Others do not know his identity. This man is called Shao Yuan, the younger brother of Emperor Qing, and his title is Prince Yu.
Although Shao Yuan's fiefdom was far away in Jizhou, Emperor Qing had loved his younger brother since he was young and let him live in the capital. Shao Yuan had no ambitions and only liked singing, dancing, and literary pursuits.
Since Kong Xiu became famous in the capital, every time he had a new work, it would spread quickly. After that, everything went smoothly, and even Prince Yu came to visit him.
Being able to make friends with Prince Yu is a blessing that everyone desires, and Kong Xiu is no exception. However, Prince Yu has a flaw: he loves grand and extravagant events.
In order to please them, Kong Xiu came up with the idea of a fight, and just in time, the Jinling gang came knocking on the door.
Kong Xiu was certainly confident in dealing with these people, but he was very competitive and determined to win this literary duel, so he naturally didn't want to let others steal the limelight.
When he heard people talking about Xie Shu's teacher, he saw Prince Yu's eyes light up and couldn't help but become a little wary.
As the agreed time was getting closer, the people from Jinling Literary Society had not shown up yet, which made people feel very anxious.
Kong Xiu, Qi Lu and others were already standing on the high platform on the first floor. They couldn't help but feel annoyed in their hearts, thinking, wouldn't these people be afraid to come?
Suddenly, a commotion was heard coming from the entire Wangchuan Tower, which made Kong Xiu wonder. Could something have happened?
When Xie Shu walked into Wangchuan Tower, he was also slightly surprised. He used to give lectures in Huifu Tower in Jinling, and there were also crowds of people there.
But Huifu Tower is a private tea house after all, and it emphasizes elegance and sophistication, unlike Wangchuan Tower which is so grand and unprecedented.
And these people are really good at showing off!
Xie Shu had been staying indoors for so many days since he came to the capital, and he thought that few people present knew his name, but everyone seemed to know him and was very excited.
However, Xie Shu did not feel shy and greeted everyone calmly. Then he walked up to the platform surrounded by the Jiangnan crowd.
Only when Xie Shu came up to him did Kong Xiu force a smile.
Kong Xiu never expected that Xie Shu was so handsome. His unique charm was in no way inferior to those young men from noble families who were known as orchids and jade trees.
You should know that although the imperial examination is the standard for selecting talents, the Ministry of Personnel also has a set of default rules when assigning positions, which is to judge by words, deeds and personal conduct.
The body refers to a person's appearance. If one is to attend court, he must not be unsightly. After all, judging people by their appearance is human nature. Naturally, the better the appearance, the more favored they are.
Therefore, the moment he saw Xie Shu, Kong Xiu couldn't help but feel a little sour. He had studied hard since he was young and had finally earned his current fame, but he didn't hear as many cheers from the people as when Xie Shu showed up.
However, Kong Xiu changed his mind and felt a little better. It seemed that Xie Shu relied on his appearance a lot.
At this time, Xie Shu was also looking at Kong Xiu. He had asked about this man's appearance before, and he was indeed very young.
Before the literary competition begins, both sides greet each other. The rules of this competition are not special. Both sides write three topics. The topics cannot be tricky or obscure, and it is best if everyone knows them. Then the other side draws lots, and finally writes a work on each of the two topics, whether it is poetry or prose, and the time limit is within one hour.
Of these two topics, one was prepared by our side, and the other was randomly drawn. It can not only show a person's daily accumulation, but also his ability to perform on the spot, which is very appropriate.
The two parties took out the notes they had prepared in advance, and after a neutral scholar checked them to make sure they were correct, they each grabbed one.
Zhang Enshi carefully took out one and opened it, his expression became strange. Others had the same expression, but Xie Shu smiled.
It turns out that the one that Zhang Enshi grabbed is the one that people most easily think of, but it is also the subject that people first exclude, which is Wangchuan Tower itself.
It seems that the other party has the same idea as me and also wrote Wangchuan Tower.
At this time, a cry of surprise came from the opposite side. It turned out that they also drew Wangchuan Tower!
It was the first time that the neutral person encountered such a situation. Although he had seen the topics on both sides, he did not expect it to be such a coincidence.
Just as he was considering whether to ask both parties to rewrite, a man from Qi and Lu suddenly clapped his hands and said, "No coincidence can make a book. How about we use the words 'Wangchuan Tower' as the title and each write a poem and an essay?"
He made the decision without hesitation, but the people of Qi and Lu disagreed. They knew that Kong Xiu was quick-witted and if he really performed on the spot, he would not lose to anyone.
But with the topic of Wangchuan Tower, who knows if the other party has been prepared? And Kong Xiu is indeed famous for his writing, but it seems that I have never heard of any of his poems.
However, before they could say anything to dissuade him, Kong Xiu nodded repeatedly and said, "That's fine, let's make it a one poem and one fu."
After hearing what Kong Xiu said, the talents of Qi and Lu gave up, but then they changed their minds and thought that since Kong Xiu did not hesitate at all, he must have already secured victory.
But Kong Xiu didn't know that he agreed only after he saw that the person who spoke was Prince Yu!
In fact, he was not willing to do this in his heart. He had been thinking that he must show his talent today and write two more articles that would be famous in the capital, but he did not expect that there was only a common theme like Wangchuan Tower.
Moreover, Prince Yu only ordered him to write a poem and a fu, which really left him limited room for creativity.
Of course Kong Xiu was also very confident. Although he was not particularly outstanding in poetry, it was impossible for these people to surpass him.
Since both sides had no objections, the literary duel officially began. At this time, no one in Wangchuan Tower spoke loudly anymore. Everyone was quietly watching the process of the literary duel, and at the same time, they couldn't wait to appreciate the poems and essays of these talented men.
There were already several people on the platform who specialized in transcribing. Once someone finished writing an essay, they would immediately send it down for public viewing and for everyone to judge. This naturally put a lot of pressure on them.
At this time, Xie Shu had already fallen into deep thought. After a while, he began to write. He chose to start with a fu.
As time passed, someone on the stage had already completed one of them, especially the one who wrote the poem first.
Poetry is the basic skill of a scholar. Those present here can pass the imperial examination. Regardless of whether their poems are good or not, at least their rhythm and rhythm are fine. They just need to think about how to use allusions and refine the sentences. As for fu, the same principle applies. Moreover, most people know that they have no chance in this literary competition because Kong Xiu is here, so they just try to be decent.
Before he knew it, the hourglass had passed halfway. While most people were still deep in thought, Kong Xiu had already decided to put down his pen!
But suddenly, Kong Xiu remembered something and picked up the pen again.
It turned out that Kong Xiu lost interest when he saw that there was only one poem and one essay, but he was indeed talented and finished it quickly.
At this time, Kong Xiu saw that although Prince Yu had a poem, he was still thinking hard about how to write an fu, and thought to himself, why not write one for him!
Kong Xiu did not stop writing until he had finished writing another fu, and the hourglass had not yet run out.
Kong Xiu covered it with his robe sleeve and quietly handed it to Prince Yu. Seeing Prince Yu looking at him with admiration, he couldn't help but feel secretly happy.
At this time, Xie Shu had already put down his pen and ink. Although he had not yet climbed up to the Wangchuan Tower and seen the scenery from a high place, even if he had not seen it with his own eyes, he could imagine the feelings involved.
When writing about things, one does not really mean the things themselves, but rather expresses one's thoughts or emotions through the objects. In Xie Shu's eyes, the river in "Wangchuan" is the Jiangnan in his heart.
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