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墨書 Inktalez
The Great Zhou Civil and Military Officials caught sight of the Young Confucian, who wore a proud expression, instantly piquing their interest. In recent years, the Great Zhou Dynasty had been embroiled in continuous warfare, and the court was filled with generals like Lin Qingyue. When it came to Ru Scholars, they were far outshone by the Xia Kingdom.
Standing at the forefront of the military officials, the Lingnan King slightly crossed his arms and closed his eyes to rest, exuding an air of confidence as if victory was assured. His faction's officials had already received orders to unconditionally praise the poetry of the Xia Kingdom's Ru Scholars.
Behind him, half a step back, the Lingnan Prince Heir eagerly anticipated what this Ru Scholar would produce—something truly astonishing in terms of poetry. Su Qianxue maintained her regal demeanor, waiting for Jiang Han to present his verses.
Jiu Gong and Mu Jinkun stood together, resembling a pair of elegant companions. Nong Kun strolled into the court and declared before everyone, "I have already prepared my poetry; allow me to share it with you all!"
The poem was titled "Beyond the Frontier," with a theme centered on border defense:
At midnight, the soldiers rise for the strict watch,
The wind howls high as the beacon fires blaze.
Beyond the frontier, there are no herding horses now;
May the general sleep well and dream clear.
As soon as this poem was recited, its rhyme and relevance to border defense were evident. The many Civil and Military Officials recognized that Nong Kun's verses depicted the situation of border defense in the northern regions of the Xia Kingdom. The Xia Kingdom shared borders with dozens of nations, with its strongest enemy lying to the north—an army of over a million elite troops stationed there.
Thus, poems about border defense from the Xia Kingdom often focused on these northern frontiers.
What a splendid piece of poetry! This Ru Scholar from the Xia Kingdom truly excels; "May the general sleep well and dream clear"—what a wonderful line!
Indeed, how beautifully it captures the imagery of life beyond the frontier!
Yes, Lord Wang, listening to this poetry makes me want to visit the northern regions of the Xia Kingdom myself!
The pre-arranged Civil Officials and Military Officers immediately began to lavish praise. Su Qianxue opened her beautiful eyes slightly and pondered over the poem; she felt it had some merit and was not without skill for a Ru Scholar from the Xia Kingdom.
Seeing such a reaction from everyone, Nong Kun felt immensely satisfied. He bowed respectfully to Su Qianxue and then to the Great Zhou Civil and Military Officials before finally approaching Jiu Gong and Mu Jinkun to pay his respects.
"Junior brother, you must not falter! Once I return, I will find you ten exotic dancers for your enjoyment!"
Mu Jinkun chuckled lightly, teasingly.
Jiu Gong couldn't help but laugh as well, saying, "If you can achieve victory, you may choose one of the maids from my household."
"Thank you, Senior! Thank you, Your Excellency!" Nong Kun replied with a beaming smile, genuinely feeling that his abilities surpassed those of others.
The Great Zhou civil and military officials began to discuss among themselves, especially the officials from the Langya Prince faction, who praised him unconditionally. This prompted other officials to also appreciate the poem. Once their discussions settled down, their gazes turned toward Su Qianxue.
The person designated by Su Qianxue had yet to appear! There were plenty of poems about border defense. If one had never personally been to the northern borders, they probably wouldn't even know about the scenery there—how could they compose such poetry?
Jiu Gong caught sight of Su Qianxue, who still wore that half-closed expression, and a smile of satisfaction spread across his lips. "You dared to provoke This Palace!"
"This Palace" would ensure that you suffered greatly for this.
Just as the ministers were puzzled and staring at Su Qianxue, the Personal Eunuch arrived. He presented a piece of silk to Su Qianxue.
Upon seeing the poem on the silk, Su Qianxue's expression changed to one of astonishment as she murmured softly, "Is there truly such poetry in this world?"
She immediately handed the silk back to the Personal Eunuch, indicating for him to step forward as a contestant and recite the poem.
The entire court watched in surprise as the Personal Eunuch took the silk and memorized the poem before stepping forward confidently to act as a contestant.
"Your Majesty," Jiu Gong exclaimed indignantly, "are you really sending a eunuch to compete against us?"
"A eunuch can also read and write! Why not?" Su Qianxue replied.
"This is clearly not poetry composed by that eunuch; he just memorized it! This Palace witnessed it!" Jiu Gong retorted angrily.
"So what? If you can't compete, you may leave; there's no need for further exchanges or refining weapons!" Su Qianxue coldly stated, causing Jiu Gong to tremble with rage.
Now that she had refined weapons and ignited their desires, the power naturally lay in Su Qianxue's hands.
"Good!"
The eunuch was determined to show what kind of poetry he could produce!
Jiu Gong glared angrily at the Personal Eunuch. The Personal Eunuch began reciting, "This poem is titled 'Song of the Army.'"
"Long clouds shadow the snowy mountains of Qinghai, a solitary city gazes towards Yumen Pass!
Yellow sand, a hundred battles wear golden armor; until Loulan is conquered, I shall not return!"
As soon as the poem was recited, the entire court was taken aback. Even Hong Qianjun looked on with wide eyes, astonished at the Personal Eunuch. How could such an exquisite poem come from a eunuch? Even if it weren’t written by a eunuch, it was hard to believe that anyone from the Great Zhou could possess such extraordinary talent!
"Long clouds shadow the snowy mountains of Qinghai!" Lingnan Prince Heir murmured, analyzing it. "Is it referring to the blue sea that covers and darkens the snowy mountains? Yumen Pass? It must be some kind of fortress!"
"Yellow sand, a hundred battles wear golden armor—it's incredible! Until Loulan is conquered, I shall not return. Loulan must be some place!"
This poem was simply unparalleled in the world! Lingnan Prince Heir couldn't help but praise, "Your Majesty, this poem is undoubtedly the best border defense poem in the world!"
Even though he didn’t know where Qinghai was or what Loulan referred to, he could tell that the structure and rhythm of the entire poem were masterpieces.
The Great Zhou Civil and Military Officials applauded repeatedly! Even officials from the Langya Prince faction were left speechless upon hearing this poem, like eggplants hit by frost, unable to utter a word.
Jiu Gong stared in disbelief, glaring at Su Qianxue. "How is this possible? In your Great Zhou Dynasty, a small place constantly at war—how could anyone produce such an exceptional poem?"
If Jiu Gong made such claims, he needed to provide evidence! If everyone present agreed that this poem was good, then the outcome would already be settled!
As Su Qianxue's words fell, a group of Female Guards moved in and captured Nong Kun. Caught off guard, Nong Kun could only look desperately at Jiu Gong.
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