Lanyue Tower, the three private rooms on the top floor are all packed, but they are clearly divided into three circles - the circle of talents. The reason why they coincidentally chose this building is that Lanyue Tower is the most famous and luxurious in Yangzhou, and it can also be regarded as a kind of battle between each other.

In the battle of the literati, the gentleman does not move his mouth, and he does not see the sword and sword, but he also does not give up an inch of land.

When the cups were being changed, there was singing and music, which was full of joy, and the non-stop sound of wind and rain outside the window added a bit of poetry to their ears.

Naturally, the hot topic of the dinner revolved around the upcoming rankings, and the conversation was full of interest.

"Liu Tianchen, what do you mean by that?"

In the private room, Guo Nanming's eyebrows were raised high.

Liu Tianchen said coldly: "It's not interesting, it's just that I can't get used to it." ”

"What are you not used to?"

Originally, Guo Nanming and Liu Tianchen only met by chance in the corridor of the restaurant, but they didn't agree with each other, and there was some verbal quarrel.

"Guo Nanming, in the academy, I respect you as a talented man in Jizhou, and I have always admired you. When the clinker came to Jiangnan, you were ambitious and praised the stinky feet of Jiangnan talents, and you lost your backbone, which is really unsightly. ”

Guo Nanming's handsome face turned red, and he said angrily: "Brother Mei and I will meet friends with texts, how can you talk about stinky feet? Liu Tianchen, you made it clear to me." ”

Liu Tianchen was not to be outdone: "Things gather like each other, you and I both represent Jizhou and the academy, and you are sticky with Mei Xuehai and them every day, what is the reason?"

Hearing this, Guo Nanming was stunned. The other party's rhetoric is not unreasonable. The literary field is like a battlefield, and it stands to reason that when you are at this juncture, you really shouldn't get too close to Mei Xuehai and them. It's just that the literary field is by no means a real battlefield, and it is common sense for friends to come and go...... For a while, he didn't want to debate more, so he brushed his sleeves and said: "Liu Tianchen, that's just your personal opinion, don't impose it on others." As a scholar, you should be broad-minded, how can you be rigid and unsophisticated? Let's just say that Ye Junsheng hides at home every day and works behind closed doors, which is not a royal way. ”

Liu Tianchen laughed: "Junsheng is called recuperation, just look at it, the top three on this list, there must be a place for Junsheng." ”

For Ye Junsheng's calligraphy level, he is very confident.

"A good sentence 'there must be a place for the top three', what a big tone. ”

Suddenly, someone said with a sneer.

But it was the dispute between Guo Nanming and Liu Tianchen that alarmed the people in the private room, one after the other, who came out to see what was going on, Mei Xuehai and Gu Wenwen. The speaker, it was Gu who asked.

After a while, someone from the third private room also came out, it was Liu Linyuan and others, all of whom were acquaintances.

Gu asked and glanced at Liu Tianchen: "This is a colleague in the competition?"

Liu Tianchen's face froze and shook his head.

"Haha, that's ridiculous, people who don't even have the qualifications for the competition, how can they judge and speak out without shame. ”

Liu Tianchen gritted his teeth: "Although I am not eligible to participate, my eyes are not blind." ”

Gu asked noncommittal: "I'm not blind, but I'm short-sighted, a frog at the bottom of a well." ”

Liu Tianchen was suddenly angry: "In this way, do you dare to bet with me." ”

"Why don't you dare?"

Gu asked is waiting for this sentence - Ye Junsheng's words are extraordinary, but after all, he is famous, and the time is too short. Besides, his calligraphy is far less famous than his lyrics.

At this point, Gu Wendao claimed to be very accurate. In this competition, the strong man is like a forest, even he himself didn't dare to pat his chest and say that he would enter the top three, so how can Ye Junsheng be virtuous?

The standard of calligraphy can be far more complex and demanding than the requirements of poetry. One stroke at a time, the research effort is very deep.

Liu Tianchen stretched out his hand, took out the money bag, and threw it on the table: "I have fifteen taels of silver here, so I'll bet on this." ”

This bit of silver, Gu Wendao didn't pay attention to it, and with a slight hand, a servant behind him took out a silver ticket of fifteen taels and put it with the money bag. Then he waved to the surrounding group: "You might as well be a witness, lest anyone lose the debt." ”

Hearing him say this, all the talented onlookers showed a knowing smile. The world's first talent competition, the top three on the list, is not easy to say. Even if it is only the top three in a small unit, it is by no means easy. Everyone has heard of Ye Junsheng's lyrics, and it can be seen that there are very few of his calligraphy.

In this bet, most of the people present believed that Gu Wendao had won.

Mei Xuehai witnessed the development of the situation and shook his head slightly: boring. said to Guo Nanming: "Nanming, let's go in and continue to drink the bar." ”

Guo Nanming hesitated slightly, and finally walked in.

"Nanming, that is a classmate of Guanchen Academy?"

Guo Nanming nodded.

Mei Xuehai said with a smile: "It can be seen that this son and Ye Jun should have a good relationship in their lives." ”

"Well, there are not many people who can talk to Ye Junsheng, and he is one of them. ”

Guo Nanming said. In fact, in his opinion, Ye Junsheng's personality is not strange and cold, how to say it, there is always a lack of topics that can be discussed, and when faced with it, many words are difficult to say. Of course, because of some frictions in the past, Guo Nanming didn't think that he could be close to Ye Junsheng and become good friends.

"Ye Junsheng's calligraphy is really famous in Jizhou?"

Mei Xuehai changed the topic and turned to the key point.

Guo Nanming was silent, and after a while, he said slowly: "Above me." "He was originally an extremely arrogant person, and he would never easily bow his head and admit defeat, but what happened in Jizhou made him almost defeated, and it was difficult to say what he said.

Mei Xuehai's eyes flickered, he didn't expect him to say so directly. But even so, Mei Xuehai doesn't think that Ye Junsheng can be among the top three in the calligraphy unit, because Guo Nanming's level, that is, the top 20 position, is better than him, and it doesn't mean anything.

"Hehe, with that, I'm getting more and more interested in him. ”

When I went north to Jizhou, I had the meaning of looking for Ye Junsheng to "learn" poetry, and now we meet on the big stage of the talent competition, which is the most perfect opportunity. It's not just poetry, it's about synthesizing all talents.

In this way, if Ye Junsheng's level is too inferior and he doesn't win, it won't be interesting.

"It's public!

Suddenly, there was a pig-killing shout downstairs, but it was two or three errand boys who rushed back to Lanyue Tower from the direction of the academy in the rain, running all the way, shouting all the way, attracting the attention of countless people.

This situation is comparable to when the imperial examination was released.

Perhaps for many literati, the significance of this talent competition is even more important than the imperial examination. There is an examination for the imperial examination every three years, and the talent competition is probably held once like this, and if you miss it, you will never have a chance. The most important thing is that the saint has a royal pen!

The plaque of "the first genius in the world" was hung on the door, the military attache dismounted, and the civil official fell off the bridge, which was supreme glory.

"Where's the list, take it out!"

As soon as the little guy went upstairs, he was surrounded by a group of scholars, all of whom stretched their necks, all wanting to see the content of the copied list for the first time.

"Don't worry, gentlemen, here you are. ”

The little guy was not in a hurry, carefully took out the list that he had hidden closely, took it, and first handed it over to the master of the family who sent him out to find out the news.

After the initial commotion, everyone's mood slowly calmed down.

I saw that the list was copied neatly and neatly, divided into four major contents, A, B, C, D, which belonged to the division criteria of the four grades, stroke by stroke, and each person's name was written very clearly.

In the competition of the calligraphy unit, if the score is only the last class B, you will be eliminated directly and will not be able to participate in the next competitions. From this standpoint, it is not that people in the second class write poorly, but that they are relatively inferior compared to others. Because of the number of places eliminated in each unit, there is a certain number and must be filled.

As soon as the list was rolled out, almost everyone's eyes automatically ignored the words at the back, but focused on the first-class column, and directly looked at the name of the best talent - "Wow!"

A large exclamation exploded like a wave stirred by a hurricane, and then the scene fell into an indescribable silence.

"What's wrong?"

"What happened?"

With the announcement of the list, everyone couldn't stay in the private room, and they poured out of the hall one after another, and the hall space was much larger and lively.

There are too many people, and two or three lists are obviously not enough, and many people are blocked out of the circle, although they can't see the specific content when they jump up -- in this era, there are many people who are short-sighted, and there are no glasses to use.

The more I can't see it, the more anxious I feel.

Mei Xuehai and the others were still in the private room, they didn't look at the list, and they couldn't help but show a puzzled look when they heard such an unreasonable exclamation first.

The next moment, the answer was revealed:

"The calligraphy unit of the world's first talent competition, three first-class results, ranked before and after: Mei Xuehai, Song Xiaofeng, Ye Junsheng, ......"

Mei Xuehai and Song Xiaofeng are both the three major talents in the south of the Yangtze River, they are famous, they have been famous for a long time, and they are among the top three, the key is that the name "Ye Junsheng" is really a bit dazzling, which makes people not easy to accept at the first time.

Gu Wendao looked at the list, his name appeared in the third place of the second class, the ranking is not low, it can be said that it has exceeded expectations, it should be a happy thing. But when he saw Ye Junsheng's name appear in the first-class column, with strokes and strokes, teeth and claws, all the excitement disappeared without a trace, from not believing to only believing, a thick sense of frustration was like a dark cloud covering the top, overwhelming people.

"Haha, I just said, Junsheng will definitely be in the top three, win, win well. ”

Liu Tianchen's laughter was so arrogant that he got a little carried away, but at this time, no one had the courage to refute.

"This genius, if you lose, you won't pay the bill, there are so many witnesses. ”

Unforgiving, Liu Tianchen didn't want to ask Gu to go down the stairs.

In the private room, Mei Xuehai still had a smile on her face, but she was clearly stiff, and suddenly asked, "What is the calligraphy written by Ye Junsheng?"

(To be continued)