sjar Chapter 412 "On a Mission to the Frontier"
Chapter 412 "On a Mission to the Frontier"
Chapter 412 "An Envoy to the Frontier"
Seeing Ye Ru blatantly ignoring him, Ji Yuan took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and then said coldly:
"Alright, since that's the case, let's begin. Father, you will be the judge. The poem will be completed in five breaths. Whoever takes one more breath loses!"
The other party was so arrogant that even Ji Jun couldn't help but get furious. A mere scholar had only won the literary contest. If he were to win the literary duel as well, where would the face of the Jin state be?
Moreover, there are many merchants here. If the other side wins, coupled with the merchants' gossip, it will be easy to indirectly enhance Ye Ru's literary reputation, while the literary reputation of Jin's literati will plummet.
For the mighty state of Jin to have a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination) lose to a Xiucai (a lower-level scholar) is utterly ridiculous.
"rest assured."
Then, Ji Jun nodded and said, which immediately added to the tense atmosphere.
"Grind the inkstone to write poetry, then take out your brush and ink."
Ji Yuan sneered, then waved his hand, and a servant brought out the Four Treasures of the Study, and then added two tables outside.
Ye Ru also took out his own brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and began grinding ink. The two stopped at the same time, and then the latter gestured with his palm:
"please."
"please!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Ru began to write:
"Journey in the Desert"
"Riding alone, I sought to inquire about the border, passing through the vassal state of Juyan."
"One breath left."
Ye Ru took only one breath to complete the first part, which made Zhang Dong and the others stare intently, and then they couldn't help but say something.
However, before he could finish speaking, Ye Ru's brow suddenly flashed, and then a silver light emerged. This light startled everyone present, and Ji Yuan's expression changed upon seeing it.
"Bookish Heart?"
Zhang Dong stared wide-eyed at the book.
"No wonder Chief Ye is so confident; it turns out he has the power to control the Book Heart."
Seeing that there was a book in the book, Zhang Zhi was relieved.
With Shuxin's help, Ye Ru's poetry writing speed increased, and he finished the poem in just three breaths.
"The tumbleweed drifts beyond the border, the returning wild goose enters the demonic heavens."
"A lone smoke rises high in the desert, and the sun sets round over the long river."
"I met a scout at Yun Pass; the Protector-General was at Yanran."
The poem written by Ye Ru is Wang Wei's "On a Mission to the Frontier" from the Tang Dynasty. Because some of the locations in the poem do not exist in the Confucian Continent, Ye Ru changed them to fit the Confucian Continent.
After Ye Ru finished writing, Ji Yuan also finished writing a poem.
"rise!"
As soon as the words fell, two bursts of talent suddenly shot out from the two sheets of Xuan paper. Ye Ru's poem soared to four feet high, while Ji Yuan's only reached three and a half feet before slowly stopping.
The entire hall fell silent once more. Ji Yuan stared in disbelief at the radiance emanating from Ye Ru, then at his own writing, and helplessly lowered his hand.
Unexpectedly, whether in a literary contest or a battle of wits, he was unable to defeat the opponent, a mere scholar.
"A lone chariot seeks the border... What a fine line of poetry! Although it describes the desert, it also expresses the poet's own emotions. I never expected that Ye Anshou could write such a poem after only a trip to the border. He is truly a talented person."
Zhang Dong read it again, then clapped his hands and cheered.
"Especially the couplet 'A lone plume of smoke rises straight from the desert, the setting sun hangs round over the long river,' which describes the unique and magnificent scenery of the frontier after entering the border region. The picture is expansive and the artistic conception is majestic. It is probably no exaggeration to call it a famous line for all time."
Zhang Zhi nodded, savoring the imagery in the poem, especially praising the third couplet, which was simply a stroke of genius. Unconsciously, he admired Ye Ru's talent even more.
"'A lone plume of smoke rises straight from the desert, the setting sun is round over the long river.' I think, how can smoke rise straight? The sun is naturally round. I like these two lines the most."
The slightly overweight businessman also clapped his hands in praise.
"I have lost so completely... In terms of both artistic conception and language, my opponent's poetry is superior to mine..."
Ji Yuan still couldn't believe it; he couldn't believe that a mere scholar could write such a fine poem.
"I wonder if I have won this literary contest?"
Ye Ru bowed to Ji Jun and said.
"call……"
Ji Jun let out a sigh of relief. Only now did he realize that he had really kicked a hornet's nest. He never expected that his original intention to mock the Yanhuang Kingdom would backfire so badly.
"You have won. Make way and let the Yanhuang Kingdom delegation into the city, and treat them with the courtesy due to envoys."
After a moment, Ji Jun waved his hand.
"Lord City Lord, this..."
'I said make way.'
Ji Jun said in a calm tone, and the Jin guards reluctantly opened the city gate.
“Envoy of Yanhuang, even a mere scholar in your Yanhuang Kingdom possesses such talent. I truly wonder how many talented individuals there are within your Yanhuang Kingdom. Rest assured, although I am a merchant, I also know what Confucius said: ‘One must be true to one’s word and resolute in one’s actions.’ I will definitely make a trip to the Yanhuang Kingdom in the future.”
The slightly overweight merchant bowed and then patted his chest to assure them.
"Thank you very much."
Ye Ru nodded and returned the greeting.
"My name is Yan Wei. I don't know your name, sir. I'll tell you when I go to Yanhuang Kingdom or when I tell others, so I can show off a bit."
Yan Wei said.
"A name is just a code. My surname is Ye and my given name is Ru."
Ye Ru said.
"Alright, then we'll take our leave now."
After Yan Wei finished speaking, he solemnly clasped his hands in a fist salute to Ye Ru before driving the carriage away.
"Let's go into town too."
Ye Ru said, and then led everyone into Qingcheng.
“Yuan’er, don’t be discouraged. Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. It’s just that the name Ye Ru sounds familiar, but I can’t remember who he is. I’ll go back to the city lord’s mansion and find out who he is. He has such talent.”
Watching Ye Ru's departing figure, Ji Jun patted Ji Yuan on the shoulder and comforted him.
"I never imagined that I, a mere Juren, would be inferior to even a Xiucai. Father, I have decided to travel to the State of Wei to study. When I have completed my studies, I will surely be more outstanding than I am now."
Ji Yuan nodded, his face still showing frustration, but his eyes gradually regained their composure.
"Study abroad? Sure, a man's ambition lies in all directions. If you stay here all the time, you'll probably never amount to anything. When you return, you might be able to participate in our Jin State's literary examination. You're sure to rank highly then."
Ji Jun pondered for a moment, then slowly spoke.
"Alright, then let's not delay. I'll go back and pack my bags now, and we'll set off tomorrow."
Nodding, Ji Yuan also left.
"My lord...this..."
The soldier guarding the city seemed to have something to say but hesitated before speaking.
"Don't worry, we've done what we were supposed to do. There's nothing more for us to do now. Once they leave Qingcheng, someone will naturally come to take care of them."
Ji Jun reached out, interrupting the soldier guarding the city, then looked towards the spot where Ye Ru had disappeared, and murmured:
"Ye Ru..."