Fang Yun smiled. "How outstanding are the literati of the past? How would this official dare to claim that I can suppress them? At most, I'm just taking up a new position. "
The people of Elephant Province were instantly disappointed, but on second thought, Fang Yun claiming that he could suppress Yellow Crane Tower upon his arrival would be too abrupt.
Dong Wencong said loudly, "The future is long. As long as Fang Xusheng stays in Elephant Province, is there a need to fear that Military Reviewing Tower can't compare to Yellow Crane Tower?"
The people of Elephant Province all relaxed upon hearing this, smiles returning to their faces.
Fang Yun helplessly shook his head and walked up the stairs to the city wall.
On the city wall, lanterns were hung high and banquets were laid out. Many officials and scholars stood up, either addressing themselves as Fang Xusheng, Prince Ji, or Governor.
Fang Yun swept his gaze and walked to the north with a smile. Two tables of Jiang Province's officials were standing there.
"Everyone, long time no see!" Fang Yun smiled and cupped his hands.
The officials all bowed to Fang Yun.
The head of Jiang Province's officials, Li Wenying, had gone out to temper himself after becoming a Great Confucian and had yet to return. Apart from the governor, the officials of Jiang Province had been changed many times.
At present, Jiang Province's governor was Hanlin Academy's Chen Xibi, while the prefecture overseer was Hanlin Academy's Sai Zhi Xue, who had just been transferred from Mi Province. Apart from these two, there were also a few rank four and rank five officials. They were either Si Zhengs, prefects, or governors. Most of them were old acquaintances.
Back then, the governor of Jade Sea City, Feng Zimo, had become a prefect and was already in charge of a region.
A few of them had sent invitations to Fang Yun and had long since been classified as officials of the Left Minister's faction.
Fang Yun chatted with these old friends of Jiang Province in private for a while before speaking with the other important officials of Elephant Province. In the end, he mainly met with the old scholars of Elephant Province.
The old scholars of Elephant Province included Grand Scholars, Hanlin Academies, and Grand Scholars. They were either too old or just wanted to enjoy their old age. Back then, when Dong Wencong, the prefecture overseer, had come, he had not invited many of them. Today, many of them had come uninvited.
These old scholars had great influence over Elephant Prefecture. Their disciples and juniors were all over Elephant Prefecture. If they worked together, their influence would be even greater than that of Prefecture Overseer Dong Wencong.
Most of the old people smiled when they saw Fang Yun. They were all willing to talk to Fang Yun. Some even wanted to matchmake Fang Yun for a concubine. Only a few of them looked cold.
Other than that, there were also some outstanding young scholars from Xiang Province. Fang Yun also cordially received them.
Before the Literary Gathering had even begun, the atmosphere had already become very lively. It was completely different from the hostile atmosphere when they had welcomed Fang Yun.
The sedan chair was carried by everyone. Even the Qing officials who opposed Jing Country were mostly sincerely congratulating Fang Yun. But after today, it was a different matter.
Not long after, Fang Yun sat at the head of the table. Prefecture Overseer Dong Wencong stood at the front of the banquet to host the meeting.
Dong Wencong first spoke like spring thunder, welcoming Fang Yun on behalf of all the people of Xiang Zhou. Then, fireworks flew into the sky around Baling, turning Baling into a city that never sleeps at night.
Cheers could be heard everywhere in Baling.
Soon after, Dong Wencong began to list out Fang Yun's achievements.
Normally, an official's Literary Gathering would list his achievements in no more than a dozen sentences. But once Dong Wencong opened his mouth, there was no end. From scholar, xiucai, juren, jinshi, hanlin, and all the way to Grand Scholar, his achievements were innumerable.
Halfway through Dong Wencong's speech, an official whispered with a smile, "For those who know, he's listing the achievements of a single governor. For those who don't know, they'll think he's listing the achievements of all the governors of a country."
The people nearby nodded, then all looked enviously at Fang Yun.
It was said that the pursuit of scholars was to leave their names in history after death. Now that Fang Yun was still alive, he had already achieved great feats that would shock the future generations.
Because of his thunderous speech when he was listing out his achievements, the entire city of Baling boiled over from the first sentence. Everyone in the city cheered loudly and discussed spiritedly.
Fang Yun's popularity in Baling skyrocketed at an inconceivable rate.
When others were listing out his achievements, the fine wine was still warm. Now that Fang Yun's achievements were being listed, all the dishes at the banquet were cold.
The evening breeze of early autumn blew past the Military Reading Tower, bringing the comfort of autumn to the Literary Gathering.
After that, it was the normal process of the Literary Gathering. After Fang Yun gave his speech, everyone began to eat and drink.
After eating for a quarter of an hour, Fang Yun began to toast each table.
The atmosphere was very lively. Fang Yun's status was high, but he was young. The scholars set a rule that no one was to use talent or literary courage to force the drunkenness away. Then they began to toast, but in reality, they were trying to get Fang Yun drunk.
Because no one was allowed to use external force to force the drunkenness away, a few people became drunk as they drank. Some officials began to say all kinds of drunken words.
"Fang Xusheng … as an official of Xiang Zhou, I may … may oppose you, but as a scholar, I prostrate myself in admiration of you! Do you know prostrating yourself in admiration? I'll give you one right now! " The drunk official of Xiang Zhou was about to kneel down and prostrate himself. Fang Yun and the people beside him hurriedly pulled him back and tried to persuade him to give up.
"Ah, Fang Xusheng's poems are too good! If he can write a new poem and present it to me, I'll immediately become the Ji King's disciple and the governor's lackey! "
"Nonsense! Fang Xusheng can bribe a scholar with a poem, why can't he bribe you, a Jinshi? "
"Scholar? You're … you're underestimating Fang Xusheng too much. Would you believe me if I said he could bribe a scholar? Would you believe me if I said he could bribe a Half-saint? "
"That's really possible!"
Although most of the officials were drunk, they remained sober. They just spoke more casually than usual.
When everyone was almost done drinking, Dong Wencong said with a red face, "Stop drinking, stop, stop! Little fellows of Baling, come and present your poems! Let me tell you in advance that Fang Xusheng isn't going all out to compose a poem today. If you can surpass Xusheng in terms of literature, this might be your only chance in life! Hold on tight! "
After the seventh month, it would be autumn. Therefore, the literary contest required the atmosphere of autumn and the autumn scenery.
After a while, the young scholars of Xiang Zhou came forward to compose their poems.
The young scholars were somewhat nervous. After all, they were facing the great Xusheng.
In the end, a total of thirty people came forward to present their poems. However, only one person's Qi exceeded a foot and reached the county level.
The officials of Xiang Zhou were very happy. If they didn't even reach the county level, everyone would be disappointed.
The person who composed the county level poem was chosen as the winner. Fang Yun gave the winner a Jinshi literary treasure, which made the humble scholar so excited that his hands trembled.
The officials present were not surprised. Many of them knew how rich Fang Yun's family was.
After a short rest, Dong Wencong stood up and said, "Governor, please come forward and compose your poem!"
Fang Yun smiled and stood up. Then, everyone present stood up. Some of the drunk people even cheered loudly. They were very happy.
Fang Yun walked to the front of the crowd. He held an ink stick and gently ground the ink. Before he could lift the brush, someone suddenly spoke.
"Fang Xusheng, this is a crucial moment in the competition for the position of the Four Great Scholars. This poem might determine whether or not you can become the head of the Four Great Scholars. You must not lower your guard!"
Many people looked in surprise at the person who spoke. It was the director of Xiang Zhou's Bureau of Rites, Nie Changju.
Many of the officials had ugly expressions.
Originally, this was an internal literary contest of Xiang Zhou, but now there was a problem.
Nie Changju's words were just to sow discord. It would have been fine if they had just ignored him. However, he deliberately said it at the literary contest purely to disgust people and make them unhappy.
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