Everyone held their breath and concentrated, waiting for Yuan Yao's reaction.
No matter who it is, if a young boy looks down on him in person, he will probably get angry, right?
But when Yuan Yao looked at the young Zhuge Liang, he just smiled and did not comment.
Seeing that Yuan Yao didn't answer, Zhuge Liang thought that Yuan Yao was acquiescing.
It seems that my guess is true. Yuan Yao did not compose "Yu Zhang Fu" with seven cups of wine.
It should be the result of Yuan Yao's literary talents since he went south to Yuzhang.
But this actually doesn't matter. Yuan Yao has never said that he has the ability to speak in six steps.
This is all the wishful thinking and deliberate arrogance of Nanchang's wealthy families and scholars after the "Yuzhang Fu" was written.
After all, this masterpiece is about the thousands-mile scenery of Yuzhang. Naturally, these Yuzhang natives hope to enhance Yuan Yao's literary image to better promote "Yuzhang Fu".
The so-called humanities, both people and literature are truly good. Therefore, these Yuzhang natives don't care whether Yuan Yao means what he says or whether he deliberately drinks and composes in six steps.
No matter how mysterious it is, they praise Yuan Yao as much as he wants. Otherwise, it would not be obvious that this "Yu Zhang Fu" is an ancient and unparalleled masterpiece.
And Zhuge Liang didn't insist on exposing Yuan Yao's background today. He didn't care whether Yuan Yao had any talent for speaking. He just had a temporary intention and wanted to test Yuan Yao.
If a person has great literary talent but poor character, Zhuge Liang will definitely look down on him.
Although he was a little offended, Zhuge Liang also controlled the size of his words so as not to go too far.
At most, it just makes everyone think that this young man from the Zhuge family is too serious!
So Zhuge Liang no longer bothered with the issue of writing in six steps, and instead smiled and said: "No matter what, this parallel prose written by General Yuan is an excellent work, enough to rank among the forefront of ancient and modern parallel prose."
When these words came out, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment, I thought that although the young man in front of me was a bit serious, he was just a teenager.
But unexpectedly, Zhuge Liang changed the subject: "Nowadays, the scholars in Yuzhang all praise "Yuzhang Fu" as unparalleled in ancient times and as the best parallel prose in ancient and modern times."
"But from a kid's perspective, this article can't be called 'unparalleled in the past', and it can't even be ranked among the top three."
Zhuge Liang's words were loud and clear, and immediately tightened the mood of everyone who had just relaxed.
Yuan Yao also didn't expect that when he met Zhuge Liang for the first time, he would be targeted in such a way, and he also became a little confused.
Seeing the unprepared expression on Yuan Yao's face, Zhuge Liang was determined to add fuel to the fire, pretending to be pity, shook his head and said:
"There are many omissions in this article. I wonder if General Yuan has discovered them?"
But now that the testing has begun, let’s just test it to the end! Test everything you want to know at once!
But the next second, the scene where Zhuge Liang imagined Yuan Yao going into a rage did not happen. Zhuge Liang could not even find a trace of anger on Yuan Yao's face.
I saw Yuan Yao bowing to Zhuge Liang using the etiquette among his peers, with a respectful look as if he was asking for advice.
"Please enlighten me!"
Of course Yuan Yao knew that his plagiarized copycat version of "The Preface to Prince Teng's Pavilion" contained many flaws, and he adapted many of them to make it more up-to-date. However, he was not a real writer after all, and perhaps he had not yet discovered the amusing and generous aspects of the adaptation.
And the young man in front of him is the character who will write "Chu Shi Bian" in the future. He is the author of the original text in the textbook. Why shouldn't he correct his problems?
Seeing Yuan Yao's humbly asking for advice, Zhuge Liang was greatly surprised and had to continue singing the play.
"First, the beginning of this article seems inappropriate."
"'The old county of Yuzhang, the new home of Hongdu', this sentence has the meaning of ancient times. If this is the case, does the general want to change the name of Yuzhang County to Hongdu County? Or should he change Nanchang County to Hongdu County? ?”
Only then did Yuan Yao realize that Hongdu, another name for Nanchang, had not yet appeared.
He just wanted to show off that day and blurted out the words smoothly. Unexpectedly, there was a joke at the beginning of the article.
But why didn’t anyone point this out at the time? Perhaps the sentence he followed was too shocking, covering up the unreasonableness of this sentence?
But Zhuge Liang's interpretation also gave Yuan Yao a step up.
So Yuan Yao immediately said: "When I wrote this article, I did have this intention."
"But after I went back, I thought about it and decided not to change the place name. After all, the name of Yuzhang County and Nanchang County have been used for nearly 400 years from the time of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty to the present. Changing it in a hurry is actually a waste of time. inappropriate."
Zhuge Liang nodded: "But if the place name is not changed, then the general's article will have to be changed."
"You are stupid, so I will replace it with eight characters. Please give it a try."
"I changed 'Old County of Yuzhang, New Mansion of Hongdu' to 'Old County of Jiujiang, New Mansion of Yuzhang'. I wonder if the general is satisfied?"
Zhuge Liang's words were actually just a matter of luck. He knew that his literary talent was not as good as Yuan Yao's, but this sentence really didn't make sense, so he couldn't help raising objections.
He himself was also prepared to be taught by Yuan Yao, a rising literary star.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Yuan Yao immediately nodded in approval:
"The old county of Jiujiang, the new mansion of Yuzhang... Hmm, this sentence is indeed more appropriate!"
While Zhuge Liang was greatly shocked, he continued to raise the next objection to the article.
And Yuan Yao also accepted everything. As long as Zhuge Lian proposed any changes that needed to be made, he directly agreed and asked Huang Yi behind him to write it down.
…
"Finally, in the sixth paragraph, after the general expressed his feelings, the boy felt that he still had some unfinished thoughts. It seemed that the article was not finished, so I would like to ask the general for his comments."
Yuan Yao couldn't help but blush when he heard this. "Preface to Prince Teng's Pavilion" is, after all, a "preface", and in the end it leads to the poem "Pavilion of Prince Teng".
However, I cut off the last paragraph and the main poem, which inevitably made the article a bit anticlimactic.
While Yuan Yao was racking his brains, thinking of how to explain, someone came to his rescue.
At this time, the guests Zhuge Xuan invited to accompany him, such as Chen Li, Xu Zong and others, finally gathered around.
When the people around them explained to these Yuzhang natives the conversation that had just happened, their faces suddenly became unhappy.
But these people had no intention of arguing with the fifteen-year-old Zhuge Liang. Instead, they all aimed their unkind eyes at Zhuge Xuan.
Xu Zong's expression immediately changed, and he said with a strange tone: "Mr. Zhuge, although today is not an official banquet, since you have invited us to accompany you, it cannot be regarded as a private banquet."
"If we had known earlier that we could bring the children of the clan to the banquet, Duke Zhuge should have made it clear in advance. We could also find some playmates of similar age for your nephew and let them sit at the same table to eat, drink and have fun. It complies with the rules of the banquet.”
Xu Zong's words were almost clearly blaming Zhuge Xuan. On such an occasion, a boy like Zhuge Liang who didn't have all his hair should not appear here.
But Zhuge Xuan did not dare to be angry with Xu Zong. After all, the Xu family was a large family in Yuzhang. Unlike the powerful surnames such as the Chen family, the Xu family supported no less than a thousand disciples and tribes.
Therefore, Zhuge Xuan could only apologize and laugh in embarrassment.
"Master Zhuge is not old, but his tone is not young!"
"It seems that the article must be changed according to what you said, so that this "Yuzhang Fu" can be unparalleled in the past and become the best parallel prose in the history!"
"That's right, the world will judge whether an article is good or bad. How can you, a young boy like you, get to comment on it?"
A group of Yuzhang natives also criticized him one after another.
Even Zhuge Xuan and his wife, who had always loved Zhuge Liang, had no choice but to reprimand their nephew regardless of his size, hoping to calm everyone's anger.
Among the crowd of onlookers, only the elders Chen Li and Yu did not speak.
Zhuge Liang also did not expect that the situation would develop like this.
He was young and mature, and would never have allowed himself to be so passive. But the arrogance deep in his heart made him suddenly decide to test Yuan Yao.
After all, after today, as a young man, he probably wouldn't have much chance to meet a person like Yuan Yao who could stir up the world.
Just when Zhuge Liang was about to apologize, a tall and mighty figure stood in front of him.
"In front of articles, there is no distinction between elder and younger! What a blessing it is to make friends through articles!"
Yuan Yao's broad figure turned his back to Zhuge Liang, and his voice was loud and clear.
"In front of the article, there is no distinction between elder and younger!"
Yuan Yao raised his voice by another octave, covering up everyone's words of rebuke.
Seeing Yuan Yao holding the sword in his hand, showing his composure without anger, everyone closed their mouths knowingly.
Zhuge Liang felt that an unprecedented sense of security enveloped him in an instant, but he still had to deal with whatever he had caused.
Taking a deep breath, Zhuge Liang stood up and bowed deeply to Yuan Yao: "The boy said something rude today. I am sorry for the following offense. Please forgive me, General Yuan."
Yuan Yao looked at Zhuge Liang, and the expression on his face suddenly became extremely friendly.
"What's the problem?"
"Zhuge...little friend Zhuge, meeting each other through literature is a great blessing in life. There is nothing that needs to be forgiven!"
As Yuan Yao spoke, he glanced around the crowd, the warning in his eyes self-evident.
"Gentlemen, Zhuge Liang is really guilty of disturbing everyone's enjoyment of the banquet today. He will definitely come to apologize to you someday. Please forgive me!"
"Don't you dare...what crime is Master Zhuge guilty of?"
"General Yuan has already said that in front of articles, there is no distinction between seniority and inferiority... It's just me who is vulgar."
Everyone headed by Xu Zong waved their hands hurriedly, pretending to be generous.
Deaf? Didn't you hear what Yuan Yao called this young man Zhuge Liang just now?
Little friend Zhuge!
Regardless of whether Yuan Yao was sincere in his friendship with this young man, or whether he was just pretending to be a friend, now that Yuan Yao had expressed his stance, they naturally did not dare to hold Zhuge Liang accountable.
Zhuge Liang secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and his impression of Yuan Yao became a little higher.
But it was no longer suitable for him to stay at the banquet, so he resigned on his own initiative.
Watching Zhuge Liang retreat to another courtyard, a thought flashed through Yuan Yao's mind.
Zhuge Liang, weren't you testing me just now?
It was only then that Yuan Yao, who was extremely excited because of seeing his idol, realized later that Zhuge Liang's words and deeds just now were just to test himself.
Zhuge Liang repeatedly tested Yuan Yao. First, he questioned whether Yuan Yao really had the literary talent to express himself in order to test Yuan Yao's character.
Of course, as the saying goes, you know a person's face but not his heart. It may take a lifetime to see a person's character clearly. But at least by observing Yuan Yao's reaction when faced with doubts, we can see whether Yuan Yao is an arrogant and conceited person who is inconsistent with his appearance.
The second is to test Yuan Yao's attitude towards revising the original text, so as to test Yuan Yao's tolerance.
Talented people are often pretentious. If you want to deliberately find fault with him, you only need to see how impatient he is to know how strong his temper is.
If the person who is the king is a person with a narrow mind, he will definitely not be able to accomplish anything great.
Zhuge Liang also had unexpected gains through this trial.
That is, this Yuan Yao is not only an open-minded person, but also, as indicated in his article, a person who is thirsty for talents.
It is not Zhou Gong's spitting and feeding, but it is the neighbor of Meng family.
You really have the heart to seek talents!
After returning to his house, Zhuge Liang was restless and curious about Yuan Yao, eager to know all about his deeds.
After thinking about it, Zhuge Liang suddenly remembered Xiong Xun, the eldest son of Xiong, who recited "Yu Zhang Fu" to him.
This Xiong Xun is the leader among the Xiong family's children. He likes to make friends with scholars so that he can consider himself a scholar. You should be able to get a lot of useful information from him...
At this time, Yuan Yao was still thinking about the details of the conversation with Zhuge Liang just now, for fear that Zhuge Liang would have a bad impression of him.
Just as he was thinking wildly, a thick hand suddenly touched his shoulder.
Then a smell of alcohol hit Yuan Yao's face:
"Are you the eldest son of Yuan, Yuan Yao and Yuan Xianneng?"
Yuan Yao felt nauseated, frowned and looked up, and found a round-faced man standing next to him.
This man was wearing armor all over his body, just like himself. But for some reason, a pair of fine and powerful armor felt fluid when worn on him.
It was as if he had stolen this armor and put it on haphazardly.
"Bold, how can you call the general by his name?"
One of the guards behind Yuan Yao was furious and immediately grasped the handle of the knife at his waist.
"Don't move. Even if you draw the knife first, I can kill you and your master!"
The round-faced man just narrowed his eyes and looked at the guard. The guard seemed to be possessed by someone, his hands and feet were not obeying his command, and he started to tremble.
Although the round-faced man did not look directly at him, Yuan Yao still felt an invisible pressure for a moment.
This kind of pressure has never been experienced before, but it seems that if you dare to move, you will really be killed on the spot.
murderous look!
Only a warrior who can kill dozens or even hundreds of people in a formation has such murderous aura.
"I am Yuan Yao, and you are Liu Pan?"
Yuan Yao also gave up the idea of drawing his sword and just asked.
The round-faced man didn't mind being called by his first name, he just smiled and nodded: "I am Liu Pan, the two tigers of the Jingzhou Liu family!"
Yuan Yao had never heard of Jingzhou Shuanghu, but for a moment he thought of Liu Biao's other nephew.
"Oh... I don't know who is the big tiger or the little tiger between you and that Liu Hu?"
Liu Hu was also Liu Biao's nephew and led an army of five thousand like Liu Pan. He was a clan general whom Liu Biao relied heavily on.
"What big tiger and little tiger?"
Liu Pan was a little puzzled, but he didn't care about it. He just looked up and down at Yuan Yao, who was half a head taller than him, and said:
"I heard that you are very famous in Yuzhang County recently!"
"How about you dare to have a real sword fight with me? Do you have the courage?"
