The literary test is not all about guessing lantern riddles. When you reach the fifteenth level or above, you have to pay attention to the couplet skills. Fang Yun has already done the couplets in these levels in his previous life. There is no difficulty at all. When he picked up the pen, Fang Yun almost did not think about it.
Write the second line of these couplets. However, there is a deviation in the last couplet.
"The dragon and horse are in the negative picture, Fuxi draws the hexagram, and the universe is determined!"
Fang Yun was startled when he saw this couplet. He had no impression of this couplet at all.
"Young Master, this first couplet was produced by Mr. Rong, a first-grade Guanglu official in the imperial court. At present, no one in the capital can match it. If you can match it, Young Master, you can enter the final level.
Already."
The person in charge of this level is a Confucian scholar from the Hanlin Academy. He is dressed in Confucian clothes, in his forties, fair-skinned, and has three strands of beard under his chin, showing a high degree of accomplishment and knowledge.
Fang Yun was silent. Fu Xian was the legendary emperor among the three ancient emperors. According to legend, in ancient times, everyone had extremely long lifespans, and they could all climb mountains and fly into the sky. No one would obey anyone. Later, the three emperors
To rule the world, to unify the world with powerful force and benevolent means of governance. In the legend, Fuxi is the leader of the three emperors and has the strongest force. His side weapon is the dragon and horse picture. According to legend, Fuxi used the dragon and horse picture to conquer the world.
The one who establishes the universe.
Of course, these are just legends. The ancient times are far away from the present. Many things are illusory and are spread from rumor to legend.
Confucianism has always regarded Fuxi as one of the ancestors of literature. The Lantai Secret Garden of the Great Zhou Dynasty was established based on the Bagua diagram handed down by Fuxi. It was used to observe the stars and celestial phenomena, and to infer the destiny of the country, the country, and the arts.
"This topic does not exist in my memory. Now I can only rely on myself."
During this period, Fang Yun was obsessed with martial arts and had not touched literary matters for a long time. But after all, he had stored his knowledge for a lifetime. After thinking hard for a while, Fang Yun finally took up the pen and wrote the second couplet he had given.
"The tiger and the snake are stepping on the painting, Nuwa is playing the piano, and the heaven and the earth are complete!"
This couplet was written by Fang Yun based on an unofficial history he had read in his previous life. According to rumors, countless strong men fought in ancient times, causing catastrophes in the world. The sky cracked and the earth collapsed. This directly led to the end of the ancient era.
Seeing that the sky and the earth were broken and all living beings were covered with ashes, Fuxi's sister, Nuwa, comforted all things in the world with the supreme music of the piano. Finally, the sky closed and the earth gathered together. This was the continuation of the ancient times. After doing this, Nuwa
Wa also died.
Of course, these are still legends and cannot be taken to be true. However, at this moment, it is best to use them here.
"That's right, that's right! The picture of a dragon and a horse, Fu Xi's divination, the universe is determined; the tiger and snake's paintings, and Nuwa's harp, the heaven and earth are complete! What a good pair! What a good pair!"
The Hanlin Confucian scholar chanted it once, his eyes shining brightly.
"What a pair, what a pair! You have passed this level. I think Mr. Birong will be very happy when he sees your second line. I will send it to him first."
He seemed impatient at this time, as if he couldn't wait to leave immediately.
"Sir, go ahead." Fang Yun said.
After watching the Confucian scholars leave, Fang Yun entered the next level. He saw two words "Poetry" written on the threshold. Fang Yun seemed to have some enlightenment in his heart. The first few levels of this literary test were about quick thinking.
In the middle level, the test of couplets tests intelligence and superficial poetry writing ability. At this level, it is directly about literary accomplishment.
"This year's literary test has changed a lot from what I had in mind. At least the couplet of Mr. Rong, the Guanglu doctor in the Zizheng Pavilion, should not appear in this year's literary test. I hope the next level won't be too difficult.
"
Fang Yun was determined to get the Extraterrestrial Star Iron, but it was not easy to get the first place in the literary test. At least Fang Yun had a faint feeling that the next level was not easy to pass. Taking a deep breath, Fang Yun walked in.
The room was very dark, with a wooden table in the center, and a lantern standing on the wooden table, covered with a lampshade. In front of the wooden table, there was a curtain, and the curtain was bright, and a tall and thin figure was faintly reflected on the black curtain.
The figure. The figure sat quietly, and the shadow cast exuded a vast and square atmosphere.
"Fang Yun?" The faint voice revealed the majesty and magnanimity of someone who holds the power of life and death.
"Yes. The student has met the master." Fang Yun lowered his head and saluted. The magnanimity exuded by this person's projection and the dignity of his speech all reflected the fact that this examiner had a high position and a great background.
"You are the first to come to this room. Very good!" The figure on the curtain nodded slightly in appreciation.
"I don't know who the examiner is from the court."
Fang Yun remained silent, feeling slightly nervous. In his previous life, he was obsessed with Confucianism and admired those great Confucian scholars in the court who had vast knowledge of the world and studied ancient and modern times. The dark shadows in front of the curtain gave him a sense of
The feeling of a great scholar.
"There are pens, ink, and inkstones on the wooden table. Take off the lampshade on the table. The question for this last level is inside the lampshade."
"Students take orders."
Fang Yun took off the lampshade and saw an octagonal lantern made of white paper standing on the wooden table. The lantern was divided into eight sides, and the side facing Fang Yun was completely blank. The moment Fang Yun took off the lampshade,
The base of the lantern made a buzzing sound, and then the white paper octagonal lantern slowly started to rotate in Fang Yun's eyes.
Fang Yun stared at the octagonal lantern attentively.
The first side is blank, the second side is blank...the fourth side is still blank...
On the fifth side, writing finally appeared on the octagonal lantern. A line of thin ancient seal characters appeared on the fifth side of the lantern paper like water.
"Chess is fun all day long."
Seeing this line of thin fonts, even though Fang Yun was determined, he couldn't help but waver. He thought that the question in the first level might be difficult, but he didn't expect that the first line of poetry was like this. This line,
It's not even a poem, even a stranger in the village could probably do it.
"this……"
Fang Yun glanced at the figure behind the curtain. The figure was motionless, as if he had turned into a wooden sculpture, making no sound.
"Click--"
The machine rotated, and a second line of font appeared on the octagonal lantern:
"The pain of being closely kissed is once lost."
There was still no change in this line of writing, and there was still no new idea. The huge gap between expectations and reality made Fang Yun almost wonder if he had entered the wrong room.
"A poem has eight lines, corresponding to the eight sides of the octagonal lantern. Four of the sides are already blank, and the remaining four sides should have verses. Let's talk about it after reading it."
Fang Yun took a deep breath and braced himself.
The third line of verse finally appears:
"The soldier fell into the river and could not be saved."
As soon as this line of poetry appeared, the artistic conception of the entire poem immediately changed, and a wave of murderous intent burst out of the paper, shocking the heart and soul.
Fang Yun's mind suddenly buzzed and roared. Suddenly, his ears heard a scream of struggle and shouts, and before his eyes he seemed to see a scene of thousands of troops crowded into the river and being washed away by the flood.
Okay---
The machine is still in operation, the octagonal lantern rotates slowly, and the fourth line of poetry appears:
"The soldiers drowned and let us rest together."
As soon as these seven small and thin ancient seal scripts came out, the murderous atmosphere of the whole poem suddenly increased a hundred times a thousand times. Between the lines, the artistic conception of "the melting pot of heaven and earth is lived, and all things are mercilessly reincarnated and suffering" is revealed, which is majestic and majestic
The chilling aura is surging and unstoppable!
At this time, the sound of machine gun finally stopped. But Fang Yun was still staring at the white octagonal lamp, his mind was immersed in the murderous atmosphere, and these four lines of poems were constantly emerging in his mind.
Fang Yun frowned.
These four lines of poetry are not simple! - This was Fang Yun's first feeling.
The Great Zhou Dynasty was divided into civil and military affairs. Military affairs did not concern civil affairs, while civil affairs did not concern military affairs. However, for more than a thousand years, wars in the Five Wildernesses continued, and Confucianism no longer had an attitude of indifference. And military generals had an attitude towards Confucianism.
I also started to make some subtle remarks.
Civilization and military affairs have always looked down upon each other since ancient times. Confucianists look down on military strategists, and military strategists also look down on Confucianists! This is a great truth that will not change for thousands of years!
This poem on the white paper lantern represents a kind of friction between civil and military forces that has begun to rise in the court in recent years.
On the surface, the test questions in this last level are to test the students' poetry skills, but on a deeper level, they are to allow the best scholars to stand out in the literary test and clarify their positions and attitudes.
The scholars who went to the capital basically studied both literature and martial arts. This last step clearly allowed these scholars with both civil and military skills to make their own choice between Confucianism and military strategism.
"Every time after the Lantern Festival, the question of the Chinese language test will be circulated. If this question is done normally, the Confucian or the military strategist will definitely offend someone. No matter which one, it will be a disaster for the family.
It’s not a blessing. I have to think carefully about it!”
Fang Yun felt heavy in his heart, knowing that the extraterritorial star iron that was being rewarded this time was starting to become hot to touch.
"Fang Yun, if you have a stick of incense, write out the neck couplet and tail couplet of this poem."
Behind the curtain, the majestic figure spoke. As soon as the voice fell, a eunuch came out from behind the curtain and inserted a newly lit sandalwood stick into the incense burner.
Hearing this voice, Fang Yun's heart moved, and he suddenly remembered something.
Legend has it that when the Imperial Tutor was young, he used to indulge in entertainment. His favorite was playing chess. As time went by, he stopped doing any academic work, and finally incurred the wrath of his mother, who threw his favorite chess into the lake.
In the river, the Taifu watched helplessly as the chess pieces sank to the bottom of the river. His heart was as sharp as a knife. He couldn't help but burst into tears. When he returned home, he sat there for several days in a daze, as if he had lost his soul. In the eyes of his mother, he felt like a ghost again.
I was angry and in pain, so I said to my son with tears in my eyes:
"A good man should have great ambitions. How can he let a few chess pieces ruin his life?"
Seeing his mother in tears, Taifu finally came to his senses, stopped playing chess, and concentrated on studying. Only then did he become the third Duke, and his reputation spread all over the world.
The Tutor once accidentally mentioned this matter on some occasion. Not many people knew about it. Fang Yun learned about this little story under some special circumstances. He didn't care about it at the time. At this time, seeing this
In four lines of poetry, this story immediately comes to mind.
"Could it be that this examiner is the current imperial master?!"