Chapter 358 "I'm here to admit defeat"
"Speaking of which, has the Grand Master arrived? How are you preparing?" Zhao Duan skillfully changed the subject.
Mo Chou gathered her thoughts, walked inside with him, and said:
"The Grand Master has arrived. As for Zhengyang who hasn't come yet, there are quite a few people inside."
While the two were talking, they had already followed the main road of Meiyuan and arrived at today's "main venue", which is a forest garden with a huge pavilion as the center, pavilions, pavilions, and landscapes.
There were many tables and chairs placed around, with attendants coming and going. The scholars present formed a square "square formation" and were talking in low voices.
There was restlessness hidden in the solemn atmosphere. When Zhao Duan arrived, he did not attract much attention.
It was as if the attention of everyone present was focused on Dong Xuan and Zhengyang.
"Brother Zhao..."
Suddenly, Dong Da, who was wearing a Confucian robe and looked mediocre in the crowd, stood up and greeted him, saying that he had reserved a seat next to him.
As the grandson of the grand master, Dong Da was in an excellent position, surrounded by seats and acquaintances scattered around.
The most eye-catching person was naturally the Grand Master Dong who had already arrived, closed his eyes and fell asleep, but had not yet appeared on the stage.
Next to him were Han Zhi, Wang You and other bachelors from Xiuwen Hall.
"Is the Grand Master resting?" Zhao Duan walked into the seat and asked softly.
Dong Da nodded and explained worriedly:
"Before the show started, my grandfather didn't talk to anyone else so as not to distract him. Zhengyang hid in the inn and didn't show up for several days. He must have been recuperating his strength. My grandfather hurriedly accepted the challenge. He was still giving lectures in the Imperial College yesterday and he was getting older. , I don’t have much energy, so I don’t dare to distract myself.”
Uh... Zhengyang is not what you think... Zhao Duan muttered in his heart.
Sitting down with Mochou, he first said hello to Han Zhi and other acquaintances, and then looked around, and sure enough he didn't see Yuan Li, Li Yanfu or any of the ministerial-level court officials.
However, several people from the rank of minister were present.
Not long after we sat down, Sun Lianying, the senior leader of Baima Supervisory Supervisor, also arrived.
"Master Supervisor? Are you coming to join in the fun?" Zhao Duan was surprised and made room for him.
The old official with frosty white temples and sunken eye sockets sat down, nodded to his "colleague" Mo Zhaorong, and then glanced at him:
"You are allowed to come, but our family is not allowed to come?"
"How dare you..." Zhao Duan subconsciously wanted to make a joke or make a joke, but he restrained himself considering the occasion.
After Sun Lianying took her seat, she gestured with her eyes to some powerful people in the crowd around Meiyuan:
"There are quite a lot of important figures in the scholarly circles who came here today. Did you see the one opposite? The one with the white beard is President Qiu Shan of the Western Suburbs Academy. Hehe, there are more students who have passed the imperial examination than those under the Imperial Academy. No matter how much you learn, you should give in too much.
"You must have seen the Imperial Academy's sacrificial wine next to him. Have you seen the person he was talking to? He is also a Confucian master. He has been living in seclusion and rarely comes out. Today, he was exposed. He came from other places the day before yesterday. From the capital...
"And the younger one looking at you, don't underestimate him. He is the number one scholar the year before last. Although he is still in the stage of talent cultivation, he is also a great talent alongside Han Zhou.
"Han Congee is famous because he wrote a lot of poems, but what this scholar is good at is policy theory. If his imperial examination had not happened to coincide with the death of the late emperor, he would have definitely entered the Xiuwen Museum..."
The old eunuch knew that Zhao Duan didn't know much about the famous scholars in the Yu Dynasty, so he took advantage of this occasion to introduce them one by one in a low voice.
Zhao Duan was greatly surprised.
Only then did I realize that in the literary world today, the standard has reached its peak. It may not happen once in ten or twenty years that so many Confucian scholars gather together.
It can be seen from this that the debate between Zhengyang and Dong Xuan was of great significance and influence.
"The Defiant Master is here!"
Suddenly, singing sounds came from outside the plum garden. The literati present were stunned for a moment, and turned to look at them. Zhao Duan frowned:
"Why are the people from Shenlong Temple here? Dabing...cough, Mo Zhaorong, did you arrange this?"
Mochou's face visibly darkened, and he said quickly in a low voice:
"Of course it can't be me."
The imperial court was trying to reduce its influence, so naturally it would not seek the arrival of this well-known mage who was walking on behalf of the abbot Xuan Yin.
That means coming uninvited...
"Master Bianji has always dealt with Confucian literati and often participated in literary gatherings. It's not unexpected to come here, but..." Bachelor Han Zhou also frowned.
Shenlong Temple sent someone here at this time. Although they couldn't find any major faults and couldn't say anything, they would undoubtedly add weight to the debate.
"The mage is here?"
"The Defiant Mage is also here!?"
Many scholars stood up to greet him.
Zhao Duan did not move, and with a cold glance he saw a mage dressed in white monk robes, with a string of blue beads hanging on his wrist, handsome appearance, and eyes as clear as a child arriving like stars holding the moon.
On the surface, the Imperial Academy, who was responsible for presiding over this discussion, stood up from the sacrificial wine and said in surprise:
"Why is the mage here?"
The monk Bianji smiled and said:
"The poor monk has always interacted a lot with scholars. How could he miss such an important event today? Plum wine is not welcome?"
Lao Jijiu, whose surname is the same as Meiyuan, was startled and said with a smile:
"When the Master comes, you are naturally welcome. Someone brings a chair."
Bian Ji smiled and thanked him. When he caught a glimpse of Zhao Duan's table, his eyes lit up and he walked straight over. He clasped his hands and said:
"Amitabha, long time no see."
It's been a long time indeed. Since the last "Buddhist and Taoist battle", the empress sent Mochou to lead troops to Shenlong Temple and beat him severely.
This group of great monks really kept a low profile for a while.
Zhao Duan smiled and said:
"The mage has not shown up for a long time. I have almost forgotten about you. It is a good time to come out this time. Oh, by the way, how is the injury of the little mage Tianhai? The last attack in the ring was not serious, and it hurt my kindness. I wanted to visit your temple, but I was delayed due to a business trip. "
This is a bit prickly.
Dressed in white, Monk Bianji, who is famous for his verse "Spring comes and the grass grows green", did not change his smile, as if he had completely forgotten the original unpleasantness, and said with a smile:
"Tianhai was not seriously injured. Instead, he experienced a deadly battle. It was a blessing in disguise. He will have to thank the envoy again if he enters the country in the future." "Haha, I will remember that. Don't regret it."
Zhao Duan smiled and said:
"By the way, which side is Master Lunxue optimistic about today?"
"...The grand master is very knowledgeable, so the poor monk naturally thinks highly of the grand master." Bianji's answer was flawless.
Zhao Duan laughed: "That's the best."
After exchanging pleasantries that seemed friendly on the surface but were actually a bit shady, Bianji walked over to the opposite side and sat down.
Mochou and others looked solemn and highly suspicious, because the court slapped Shenlong Temple in the face last time during a Buddhist-Taoist fight, and this time Bian Ji came over to watch the court's jokes.
Zhao Duan didn't say anything, his eyes seemed to be open. After a while, he saw that the seats in the plum garden were gradually filling up, and the time was gradually approaching the appointed time.
Only the place left for the Zhengyang School is still empty.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes and heard a sound that was almost like a roaring mountain and a tsunami coming from outside the Plum Garden. It was the noise of the scholars watching outside.
"Mr. Zhengyang is here!"
After a while, the sound of singing came.
Everyone fell silent, stopped talking, sat upright, and looked towards the entrance of the Plum Garden.
I saw a group of people from the "Zhengyang School" approaching in a mighty manner. The leader was naturally Zhengyang, who was wearing a large cloak, a Confucian robe, and a square hat.
Behind him were close students such as Lu Cheng and Song Juren.
Many people present stood up to show their respect for this great scholar of the time, but some people keenly noticed that Mr. Zhengyang looked tired and had thick dark circles under his eyes.
It seemed that his energy was not very good, but his eyes were burning as if there was a fire burning and never extinguished.
"Grandpa, people are here."
Dong Dawei looked at the Grand Master in a loud voice. Sitting in a high-backed chair, wearing a crimson university sergeant's robe, the majestic Grand Master Dong Xuan opened his eyelids and looked sharply at his opponent in the distance.
The two naturally knew each other, but the last time they met was more than ten years ago.
Dong Xuan struggled to support the armrests with both hands, and the veins on the wrinkled backs of his hands swelled. The old master stood up, with a majestic and mountainous aura.
Zhao Duan was slightly surprised, seeing for the first time the aura of Taishan Beidou among the "Nanyang Beidong" who was in charge of the literary world of the Yu Dynasty.
The crowd was slightly commotion, but they tried their best to suppress it.
The disciples of the Zhengyang School stopped one after another and stood in several rows at the reserved positions. Most of the acquaintances were in high spirits, even excited.
These days, they have been promoting their theories everywhere, and they have been looking forward to this discussion that will promote their own school of thought.
For this group of scholars, being lucky enough to participate in today's battle is a matter of bragging rights for a lifetime.
Only Lu Cheng and Song Juren had particularly heavy expressions. Especially when they saw Zhao Duan openly watching the excitement in the "auditorium", they felt an unconcealable timidity.
Zhao Duan also smiled at them and even waved.
then……
The two of them were even more panicked, and there was even a hint of horror in their eyes.
Because they realized that most of the people present were kept in the dark and did not know that the much-anticipated debate had actually ended as early as yesterday.
Today is the second game...
So, what is Zhao Yanwang planning to hide from everyone and lure his mentor out to torture him? This thought made the two of them even more nervous.
I couldn't help but look at my mentor's back, wondering how he would respond.
Mr. Zhengyang kept walking, separated from the crowd, and walked to the high platform of the pavilion in the center of the crowd, alone in full view of the crowd.
Grand Master Dong Xuan also walked up almost at the same time.
There are futons and tables placed in the pavilion for the two of them to sit down and discuss studies.
Seeing the scene of a red robe and a Confucian robe standing opposite each other, the literati in the Plum Garden held their breath and looked forward to the exciting debate that would follow, destined to be recorded in the annals of history.
The autumn wind suddenly blew through the pavilion, blowing the hair of the two great scholars.
Dong Xuanru faced the enemy, stared at Zhengyang, made a gesture to invite him to take a seat, and said:
"I am a guest from afar. Although I am in the capital and you are in Yunfu, thousands of miles away, I have long heard of the Zhengyang School's ambition to 'carry on the unique learning for the saints', but I never thought that today I would have the opportunity to have a debate with you. "
Mr. Zhengyang stood in the pavilion calmly and said nothing.
His eyes were strange, without excitement, solemnity, fighting spirit or nervousness.
His state was very wrong, and he had been very wrong since he left White Deer Academy last night.
At this moment, Mr. Zhengyang, who had been sitting in the inn all night until dawn, looked past Dong Xuan, who looked like he was facing a formidable enemy.
Looking behind the Grand Master, he saw a familiar smiling face in the crowd.
Mr. Zhengyang was silent for a moment and looked back.
He cupped his hands, and the first words he spoke made the whole plum garden fall silent:
"I'm here to admit defeat."
After a brief pause, he said his second sentence of the day:
"But I didn't lose to you, I lost to him."
Mr. Zhengyang raised his hand and pointed his finger at the smiling Zhao Duan in the crowd.
The autumn wind blows.
The huge plum garden was completely silent.
…
The next chapter is at zero point
(End of chapter)