Chapter 15 Emergency Military Situation

  Yun Cong took a deep breath, and the famous articles in his mind turned rapidly - he wasn't a fool, would he leave out a brain full of famous articles unused and write one to humiliate himself? That's ridiculous!

  What scenery can be seen in the small garden in winter, no more than the pond and plum blossoms? Which famous articles are suitable? Yun Zheng's brain quickly started, and soon he had his target. He looked at Zhang Yan Yu, who was still kneeling on the ground without being allowed to get up by Emperor Wan Chang, and bowed to Emperor Wan Chang: "I report to Your Majesty, I have finished my poem."

  "What?" Emperor Wanchang was startled: "So soon?" He said suspiciously: "You must have thought it through carefully, just this one opportunity - you still have time." Zhang Yanyu also looked up, he didn't expect Yun Zheng to finish the poem so quickly. It seems that we can only hope that the level of the poem is ordinary, and let the emperor feel that he cannot shut the mouths of scholars all over the world.

  "Your humble servant has indeed considered it carefully." Yun Zheng replied with a respectful face.

  "All right, then recite it. I, Zhang Gong and the others are all listening." Emperor Wan Chang waved his hand and said. Apparently, he meant that if it was a good poem, there would naturally be witnesses to testify for him, letting people know that this Top Scorer really had genuine skills.

  "Yes, Your Majesty." Yun Qing cleared his throat and recited leisurely: "The fragrance of flowers wafts and falls, alone in the small garden. The sparse shadows stretch across the shallow water, the scent floats with the yellow dusk. The frost bird wants to descend and steal a glance, the pink butterfly seems to know how to entwine souls. Fortunately, there is a gentle hum that can be shared, no need for a zither or a golden goblet."

  "The sparse shadows slant, the water is clear and shallow, the fragrance floats in the yellow dusk of the moon... Excellent! What a wonderful poem!" Emperor Wan Chang read it once, then suddenly waved his hand in praise. His face was immediately radiant with spring light, and he looked at Zhang Yan Yu and said: "Zhang Gong, what do you think of this poem? You are a scholar of the Wenhua Hall, come and comment on it for me!"

  Zhang Yanyu let out a sigh, knowing that Yun Zheng was unshakeable. However, he didn't want Yun Zheng to get the special imperial edict just because of his poem, and it wasn't entirely out of kindness. At this moment, since he couldn't persuade the emperor, he also didn't want to misinterpret and hurt Yun Zheng's poetry, so he said fairly: "Your Majesty is wise, this poem is truly not ordinary. Especially the couplet '疏影横斜水清浅，暗香浮动月黄昏' is even more elegant and refined, describing the plum blossom's posture. The word 'horizontal' writes out the plum blossom's leisurely attitude. Particularly, the plum blossom floats gently in the hazy moonlight of dusk, making it even more slender and beautiful. This isn't just writing about plum blossoms, it's like writing about a young girl who is elegant, refined, and unparalleled! I may not be arrogant, but I also ask myself if I can write such wonderful lines. In my humble opinion, this line is enough to be called the ultimate song of ancient and modern times singing about plum blossoms."

  The Emperor Wan Chang looked at him and suddenly burst out laughing: "Good, good, Zhang Yan Yu is indeed Zhang Yan Yu, and he won't intentionally suppress others just because of different opinions. Your evaluation is not bad... Of course, Yun Zheng's writing is even more wonderful! This Flower Candidate is already decided!" As he spoke, he glanced at Zhang Yan Yu, seeing that his old minister's face was gloomy, and he also felt a bit unbearable in his heart. After all, it was out of a public mind, so he said: "However, what you said also makes sense, and we can't discourage the hearts of scholars from all over the world. How about this? Yun Zheng's Flower Candidate remains, but it won't be counted among the quotas for this year... Let's just say it's a special imperial gift. This year's Flower Candidate will still be awarded... Isn't that two Flower Candidates? No big deal, and it won't take up those poor scholars' quotas. Is that okay?"

  Zhang Yanyu was overjoyed upon hearing this, and hastily knocked his head on the ground, saying: "Your Majesty is wise and brilliant, I represent all the poor scholars in the world to thank Your Majesty for your kindness, long live the Emperor, may he live forever!"

  "Alright, alright." Emperor Wanchang was pleased with himself for coming up with such a perfect solution, but humility is a virtue of the Chinese people, so he smiled and waved his hand: "Get up."

  As Zhang Yanyu stood up straight, Emperor Wanchang turned his head around again and smiled at Yun Zheng: "Little Zheng, you came to the Luoyang Poetry Society today, didn't you also come for that 'Fisherman's Song'?"

  Yun Cong saw that the Emperor Wanchang seemed to be quite good to himself, so he didn't show too much awkwardness and smiled: "To answer Your Majesty's question, my calligraphy level... Hehe, this is probably not enough to appreciate 'The Fisherman's Song'."

  "Huh?" Emperor Wanchang was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing: "You little guy, other scholars are afraid of being looked down upon, even if they don't understand, they pretend to be calm and composed. But you're just weird, saying yourself that your level is terrible."

  Yun Cong smiled and said: "Your Majesty is wise. Although I, your humble minister, have read some books, in my bones I am still a military general. A military general is someone who leads troops into battle, and weapons are cruel things that sages use only when they must. As a military general, there is one thing that can never be forgotten: at all times, one must clearly understand one's own abilities. War is not like other things; if two scholars debate and one of them loses, the most that will happen is that he will lose face. But when two countries or two armies clash, if one overestimates one's own strength and loses, it can endanger the entire world! I come from a family of famous generals and do not dare to forget the lesson of Zhao Kuo; I beg Your Majesty to consider this."

  Lin Sheng was the only one around who couldn't stand Yun Zheng's nonsense, and hearing his words made her want to curse him out loud. However, she had no opportunity to speak up and could only mutter to herself in discontent. The others, on the other hand, all nodded in secret agreement, and Zhang Yanyu, although not a military general, was particularly pleased with Yun Zheng's words, his old face beaming with smiles.

  The happiest one was naturally Emperor Wanchang, who nodded repeatedly: "Well said! You are indeed the son of Yunlan! Seventeen years ago, when the previous emperor passed away, the Liao people were shameless and took advantage of my recent ascension to the throne to launch a massive attack with 500,000 troops. The whole country was shaken, and all the ministers advised me to make peace with the Liao people first, saying that even if we suffered a bit at the moment, I could sit firmly on the throne and take revenge later. But your father Yunlan strongly opposed it! I still remember clearly that a young man under twenty years old stood alone in the Golden Hall, angrily rebuking all the ministers present! He said: 'As long as there is one person left in my Yun family, we will not lose an inch of our Great Wei territory!' At that time, I couldn't even mobilize the imperial army to assist him on the front line. He rushed alone to Yanyun overnight, and with 70,000 troops from the Yun family, he stubbornly held off the Liao army for a whole month! Yanyun became a quagmire for the Liao army until later when the armies of Hebei and Shanxi arrived, your father led 200,000 men to defeat the 500,000-strong Liao army! Our Great Wei was able to bring peace to the world, and your father's merit is unparalleled!"

  Although Yun Cong knew that was just his cheap old dad, after all, at this moment, that was indeed his own father, and it was a fact known to the whole world, so he had actually accepted this "objective fact" in his heart. At this time, he also knelt down with an excited face and said: "I am proud to have such a heroic father! I will take my father as a model, swear to defend the land to the death, and be loyal to Your Majesty!"

  Shouting slogans? That's what I'm good at. I've grown up listening to slogans, and although there are many talented people in this world, when it comes to shouting slogans, Yun Ting is confident that he's second to none. He claims to be the best, with no one able to surpass him.

  As expected, Emperor Wan Chang was overjoyed and exclaimed loudly: "Good! I trust you, just like I trusted your father back then. I look forward to you achieving great things and making the Yun family go from seven generations of loyalty to eight!"

  Yun Cong hastily thanked him, and naturally couldn't help but let out a cheer. Just as Emperor Wan Chang was delighted, he suddenly saw a guard come in and salute him, saying: "Your Majesty, the Duke of Yun has sent someone to look for Young Master Yun San."

  Emperor Wan Chang was taken aback: "What's the point of finding him?" He smiled and said, "At his age, it's rare for him to return to the capital during the New Year. Can't he even go out and have some fun? Yunlan is a good person in every way, but she's just too strict."

  The guard said: "To report back to Your Majesty, that person said that Yun Guo Gong has urgent military affairs and wants Young Master Yun to return to the manor immediately."

  The Emperor Wan Chang's smile solidified on his face: "Urgent military affairs?"

  Yun Cong hastily said: "Your Majesty, since Father has found you so urgently, he must have an urgent matter. I, your humble minister, suspect that it's probably the Liao people taking advantage of Father's return to the capital to report on his duties and stirring up some trouble again."

  The Emperor Wan Chang nodded: "Since that's the case, you hurry up and go, military affairs are of utmost importance." Seeing the unhappy look on the face of the 13th Princess, he added another sentence: "If it's not a big deal, I'll have your two elder brothers handle it, so you won't need to go, we can talk about it after the New Year."

  "I thank Your Majesty for your great kindness, I, a humble minister, bid farewell."

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