Chapter 73 of 100

Chapter 73

11 min read2,767 words

After countless heads of corrupt merchants in Jiangning County rolled, the public was greatly satisfied just two days ago.

And Jiangning County began to stabilize the aftermath, with food supplies stabilizing, thus preventing any unrest. They rebuilt civilian houses, settled the people, and provided relief through work, with the court sending people to steadily handle all matters.

It was precisely because of this that attention gradually waned.

Everything seemed to return to how it was before, with no significant changes.

However, as a piece of news spread, it once again sparked heated discussions among the people of the capital.

【The Great Xia Poetry Gathering】

This is one of the largest events in the Great Xia Dynasty, even surpassing the emperor's birthday celebration.

When the grand event begins, talented scholars from a hundred surrounding countries will gather in the capital of the Great Xia, to exchange poetry and friendship.

It emulates the Four Seas Poetry Gathering and the Ten Thousand Nations Literary Gathering.

The Four Seas Poetry Gathering and the Ten Thousand Nations Poetry Gathering are grand Confucian events held every three years.

The Four Seas Poetry Gathering has already passed, and the Ten Thousand Nations Poetry Gathering is scheduled for next year, to be held in the Fulo Dynasty.

The Great Xia Poetry Gathering is held every two years, with the Great Xia court setting up awards and inviting scholars from various countries to participate in the competition.

To ensure the fairness of the poetry gathering, nine great scholars are appointed as examiners.

Two from the Great Xia, one each from the Fulo Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty, one each from the Tongwen Alliance and the Xulin Party.

The last three are great scholars from the Central Continent serving as examiners.

There is a certain home-field advantage, but it won't be too significant.

After all, such a grand event must prioritize fairness; otherwise, it would become a laughingstock.

The opening of the Great Xia Poetry Gathering has become the latest topic of conversation among the people.

Not just among the common folk.

Even in the Great Xia Academy, at this moment, everyone is discussing the Great Xia Poetry Gathering.

Inside the Hall of Venerable Sages.

The topic of the Great Xia Poetry Gathering has never ceased.

"Do I remember correctly, the person who won the top prize at the last Great Xia Poetry Gathering was a descendant of Li Sheng?"

Wang Fugui spoke, looking at everyone and asking.

"Yes, it was a descendant of Li Sheng."

"But this time, the descendant of Li Sheng probably won't participate, as they are said to be preparing for the Ten Thousand Nations Poetry Gathering."

Someone spoke, giving an answer.

"Preparing for the Ten Thousand Nations Poetry Gathering?"

"Isn't there a conflict?"

Wang Fugui was curious.

"Not sure, but that's what the news says."

"But it doesn't matter if the descendant of Li Sheng doesn't participate, as long as Brother Jinnian participates."

"Brother Jinnian, to be honest, the two poems you wrote previously were a bit wasted."

"If you had presented them at the last Great Xia Poetry Gathering, it would have been a great relief."

At this moment, someone spoke, gritting their teeth.

Upon hearing this, many people nodded in agreement.

In the classroom.

Gu Jinnian was curious, not knowing what had happened.

"Prince, you really don't know?"

Someone looked at Gu Jinnian, their eyes filled with curiosity.

"I really don't know. Why are you all being so mysterious?"

"Just say it directly."

Gu Jinnian genuinely didn't know.

"Brother Gu, at the last Great Xia Poetry Gathering, an incident occurred. A descendant of Li Sheng wrote a poem that all nine examiners found satisfactory, even rating it as the first place in advance."

"But unexpectedly, a scholar from the Fulo Dynasty wrote a poem that produced a strange phenomenon, with each word worth a thousand gold, causing a significant controversy."

Wang Fugui explained the matter.

Hearing this, Gu Jinnian understood.

Such a large poetry gathering is essentially a competition among talented scholars from various countries. Losing isn't just a personal disgrace but represents one's dynasty.

Such an incident would naturally spark controversy.

"That's simple. If he produced a strange phenomenon, the Fulo Dynasty naturally won."

Gu Jinnian spoke.

The quality of a poem is decided by the examiners, but if it can produce a strange phenomenon, the phenomenon is the most significant.

There's nothing to argue about.

No one can surpass heaven and earth.

"No."

"Brother Gu, at the time, our dynasty also thought so. After all, losing is losing, and winning is winning."

"But the problem is, the scholar from the Fulo Dynasty wrote the poem after the poetry gathering ended, a full incense stick later."

Someone spoke, shaking their head and pointing out the issue.

At this moment, Gu Jinnian fell silent.

Indeed, if you submit your exam paper late, no matter how good it is, it's considered a zero, as the rules are clear.

"A strange phenomenon could be considered on a case-by-case basis."

Gu Jinnian spoke, giving his opinion.

Although it was past the time, a poetry gathering is difficult to perform on the spot, so it could be considered within reason.

"It's not that simple."

"Brother Gu, the two great scholars from the Great Xia Dynasty agreed with you, but the great scholars from the Central Continent believed that being late is being late."

"Don't underestimate this short incense stick of time. During the poetry gathering, the great scholars set the questions, and people could come and go freely. At the time, some suspected that the Fulo Dynasty received the questions and had a great scholar write the poem."

"It was considered cheating."

"There's a possibility, so the great scholars from the Central Continent disagreed with the Fulo Dynasty being first, but they gave them second place."

"But the Fulo Dynasty was very dissatisfied. After the poetry gathering, they spread rumors everywhere, accusing the Great Xia Dynasty of bribing the examiners and criticizing the Great Xia Dynasty for unfair judging."

"Because of this, there was even a bloody incident."

"Almost leading to a war between the two countries."

Wang Fugui explained in detail.

"Still not satisfied?"

"War between two countries? Is it really necessary?"

"But it's understandable to feel uncomfortable if you write a strange phenomenon and are suspected of cheating. Starting a war is a bit strange."

Gu Jinnian couldn't quite understand. If winning first place had some benefit, then a war would be understandable, but for a poetry gathering to almost lead to a war, Gu Jinnian found it hard to accept.

"No."

"Brother Gu, you may not fully understand the Fulo Dynasty."

At this moment, Jiang Yezhou's voice sounded.

He smiled bitterly.

"The Fulo Dynasty has done similar things before and has even been caught."

"Mainly because the Fulo Dynasty lacks legitimacy, being a dynasty formed by a mix of barbarians and savages."

"According to historical records, five thousand years ago, the Great Xia Dynasty was once unified, known as the Great Yan Dynasty, and the Fulo Dynasty was just a vassal state, living a primitive life without wisdom. It was the Great Yan Dynasty that sent several officials to civilize them."

"Even the name 'Fulo' was granted by the Great Yan Dynasty."

"But this is history from five thousand years ago, so it's hard to say if it's true or false, but some historical records are highly credible."

"However, the Fulo Dynasty refuses to acknowledge it and shamelessly claims to be descendants of the sun and moon."

"They deeply hate our Central Plains culture and always try to outdo us, but they can't match us in any way."

"More despicable is that twelve years ago, they even cooperated with the northern Huns to attack twelve cities of the Great Xia, leading to the loss of these cities and the division of our territory, which is extremely hateful."

When Jiang Yezhou mentioned this, the students in the Hall of Venerable Sages instantly became angry.

Clearly, there is a lot of hatred between the two dynasties; otherwise, they wouldn't react this way.

Gu Jinnian knew about the twelve cities.

Mainly because of the internal turmoil in the Great Xia Dynasty, his uncle rebelled, leading to the northern Huns seizing the twelve cities and massacring for fifteen days, creating a blood feud.

This incident has also been a constant source of pain for his uncle. The scholars of the world criticize his uncle for two main reasons:

1. Illegitimate ascension to the throne.

2. Loss of territory.

These two issues are a constant source of pain for his uncle. The first one can be addressed by diligent governance and Confucian values, but the second one is different. If it's not resolved, even if his uncle does well, he will still be criticized after death.

Losing territory is no small matter.

Gu Jinnian didn't expect the Fulo Dynasty to be involved in this.

"Actually, it's not just this incident."

"The Fulo Dynasty is extremely hostile to the people of the Great Xia. I have relatives who do business in the Fulo Dynasty and are often bullied."

"Moreover, if someone reports a crime, the Fulo Dynasty will always search the people of the Great Xia first. In some cities, the Great Xia people are not allowed to go out at night, and if discovered, they will be imprisoned or severely punished."

"Most despicable is that in many places in the Fulo Dynasty, there are public notices stating that the people of the Great Xia and animals are not allowed to enter."

"It makes me sick."

Someone spoke, clenching their fists.

Upon hearing this, many people frowned.

"Why do your relatives go to the Fulo Dynasty? Isn't that asking for trouble?"

"Exactly, why go to the Fulo Dynasty, a place even dogs wouldn't stay?"

"Is there such a thing? Damn, they are a bunch of animals."

The students spoke, and some couldn't help but curse, losing their composure.

After all, this really sounds disgusting.

"What can be done? It's for a living."

"The northwest region is extremely arid, and many grains and fish oil need to be transported from the Fulo Dynasty."

"Transporting from places like Jiangnan and Yangzhou would be five times more expensive. The Fulo Dynasty is cheaper because they are close to the East Sea."

"To put it bluntly, we are in the capital, and our families are wealthy. If this happened to us, everyone here would immediately condemn it, but can the common people do the same?"

"Even if we, except for the prince, went to the Fulo Dynasty, would we dare to speak out?"

The latter was somewhat annoyed and couldn't help but complain.

But it was the truth.

A strong dragon doesn't suppress a local snake. The Fulo Dynasty has its own rules, which, though disgusting, don't force you to come.

If you can't stand it, don't come.

"Hmph, thinking about it now, the great scholars from the Central Continent were indeed fair. They shouldn't have given the Fulo Dynasty first place, which infuriates these people."

"I've also heard about some despicable things the Fulo Dynasty has done. Remember last year? The Fulo Dynasty had a Lantern Festival in their capital."

"Scholars from all over gathered, with a prize of ten thousand taels of silver for first place. The top ten were all from our Great Xia Dynasty, and the examiners acknowledged it. But the great scholars from the Fulo Dynasty nitpicked, saying our scholars' writing was too dark in one place and too light in another."

"Using such things to deceive, they gave all the prizes to their own scholars, and two from the Jin Dynasty, as the Fulo Dynasty is known to be a lackey of the Jin Dynasty."

The students continued to speak.

In the classroom.

Gu Jinnian was increasingly astonished. Is there such a shameless dynasty in this world?

Ten thousand taels of silver is a lot.

But for a dynasty, it's not much.

To have no face at all?

Good grief.

"What's the big deal? Do you know about Cuju?"

"It happened in February, in the Fulo Dynasty. Our Great Xia warriors prepared for two years, but when they arrived, they didn't dare to eat or drink because the Fulo Dynasty had previously drugged their food."

"This time, they didn't eat or drink, thinking it would be fine, but unexpectedly, they still did something, adding a bone-softening fragrance. Our Great Xia warriors were weak during the match, but with great determination, they almost won."

"But unexpectedly, the Fulo Dynasty people resorted to violence, breaking the legs of seven out of ten of our warriors and fracturing the skulls of two others. If the envoy hadn't been furious, they might have died in the Fulo Dynasty."

"Ah, in short, the people of the Fulo Dynasty are truly disgusting."

The students became increasingly angry and furious.

It gave the impression that if a Fulo Dynasty scholar were to appear now, they would definitely gang up on them.

After hearing all this, Gu Jinnian couldn't help but think of a country.

It was truly a case of similar tactics.

Good grief.

"Actually, what's most infuriating is how the Fulo Dynasty treats us, yet the Great Xia Dynasty treats them so well."

"That's what angers me."

Someone spoke, expressing everyone's thoughts.

Indeed, the Fulo Dynasty is so unrighteous, yet the Great Xia Dynasty is so courteous, which they find very frustrating.

"It's not a big deal. Let me tell you something secretly. I don't know who initiated it, but the Fulo Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty, and our Great Xia Dynasty are going to exchange students."

"There's an empty plot in the southern market of the capital, and a new academy is being built. When it's ready, students from the Fulo Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty will come to live in the Great Xia Dynasty, to learn our culture, and the Great Xia will send students to their places to learn their cultures."

"Once the poetry gathering is over, this will be made public. At that time, you'll see them from time to time, which will be even more disgusting."

Someone spoke. This was the son of the Minister of Revenue, named He Ming.

His information was likely true.

For a moment, everyone couldn't help but continue to curse.

"To be honest, the Jin Dynasty is still okay, just a bit arrogant, but the Fulo Dynasty is shameless."

"If I were the emperor, I would issue an edict to expel all Fulo merchants, and anyone who resists will be executed."

A descendant of a military general spoke bluntly.

"I can't understand why the Great Xia Dynasty is so kind to them after they do such despicable things."

Everyone spoke, clearly very angry.

At this moment, Li Ji's voice sounded.

"It's fine, but what angers me the most is how the Fulo Dynasty treats us."

"But the Great Xia Dynasty treats them so well."