Food gives me an entry, I will be invincible if I stay alive

Chapter 268 Intensive Preparations, An Invisible Battle

Pingyang Prefecture is the core of the entire Tiannan Seven Prefectures.

The Tiannan Circuit Administration was located in Pingyang City, and the provincial examination that Chen Xu was going to participate in was also held in the Pingyang City Examination Hall.

For the past ten days, Chen Xu has been walking alone in the Lingxi Mountains, seemingly far removed from the hustle and bustle of the world, oblivious to everything happening around him.

But in fact, he never missed a single moment of the attention from the outside world.

The imperial examinations were by no means something that could be achieved by studying behind closed doors.

While passing the county and prefectural examinations might only require rote memorization, the provincial and especially the prefectural examinations tested much more than just what was in the books.

On the first day of June, Chen Xu got his first glimpse of the public opinion war that was taking place before the provincial examination.

This war of public opinion is now escalating.

For example, Mo Huaizhang recently published a new book called "Elementary Education Classics".

It turns out that this is a "storybook" suitable for children's early learning, compiled by Mo Huaizhang after visiting various places in the seven prefectures of Tiannan, collecting real people and stories, and adding some anecdotes of ancient sages.

While it may be called a storybook, its greater significance lies in education.

The opening quotes the ancient sage's story of "Mencius' mother moving three times" to set the tone for the entire text.

Such use of allusions leaves no room for criticism, essentially raising a banner for oneself right from the start.

Later, there were stories of "Che Yin of the Jin Dynasty using fireflies to light his way and Sun Kang using snow to read," which became known as "using fireflies to light his way and snow to reflect light."

Children should be encouraged to continue their studies even in poverty, so that they can find a future and a way out despite their difficulties.

There are also folk tales, such as the story of a merchant in Qinglin Prefecture who kept his promise and refused a buyer's high bid, demonstrating extraordinary integrity and moral character. This story is called "Sun Cheng Sells Cloth".

There are also stories that demonstrate filial piety, such as the "Leaping Carp of Tianquan" in Linchuan Prefecture.

The story of "Leaping Carp of Tianquan" tells of a daughter-in-law who, because her mother-in-law had trouble sleeping at night, set off at midnight to climb the Lingxiao Peak of Tianquan Mountain outside the city in order to solve her insomnia problem.

Legend has it that there are many natural springs on Tianquan Mountain, but the spring at the summit is the most spiritual.

It does not easily appear before the world; one must sincerely seek it out and kneel before the rising sun at dawn to have a chance to encounter the legendary sacred spring.

It is said that drinking from this spring can nourish the spirit, cure diseases, and prolong life.

The woman went up the mountain to kneel and pray for three consecutive months, setting off at night and returning at dawn each time, without interruption regardless of wind, frost, rain or snow.

She wore out ten pairs of embroidered shoes while climbing the mountain, and she also fell due to exhaustion, getting injured and bleeding.

They even suffered attacks from wild beasts and monsters, but they always managed to drive them away with their filial piety.

As fate would have it, one morning she finally found the spiritual spring atop Lingxiao Peak.

She took several gourds of spiritual spring water, and that wasn't all. The most amazing thing was that koi fish actually jumped out of the spiritual spring water!
When Mo Huaizhang wrote this story, he commented: "Filial piety moved Heaven, and a carp leaped from the Heavenly Spring. Would this not be a reward from Heaven and Earth?"

The stories in "Mengyang Dianshi" are not only easy to understand and have a certain legendary quality, but most importantly, they are also very educational.

Mo Huaizhang's choice of words and sentence structure is also a testament to his literary talent.

Once this book was published, it became a sensation in Qinglin Prefecture.
The "Elementary Education Guide" quickly spread throughout the seven prefectures of Tiannan.

Compared to "Ten Songs of Mengyun" which he wrote when he was twelve years old, this book "Mengyang Dianshi" far surpasses it in terms of its conception, language, and popularity.

Some people even commented: "With such writing ability, Mo Huaizhang is not only capable of passing the imperial examinations, but he may even become a great Confucian scholar in the future."

This is a war of public opinion, but it is more than just a war of public opinion.

Mo Huaizhang's writing is undeniable; although he focuses solely on elementary education and hasn't yet produced any groundbreaking or profound articles, his achievements as a young man are already astonishing. Besides Mo Huaizhang, Zhou Qian of Pingyang Prefecture wrote an article that infuriated an old scholar from a rival family, but later, when the old scholar's wife and children were being persecuted by their clan and nearly wiped out, Zhou Qian intervened to mediate and support them.

Later, when asked about the matter by others, Zhou Qian explained: "My conflict with Mr. Tong was merely a clash of ideas. This was a battle to defend the Way, so it should not be taken lightly. We should express our views fully to show respect for our opponent."

But setting aside their ideological differences, Mr. Tong was also a worthy opponent.

I deeply regret that Mr. Tong passed away prematurely due to illness.

After his death, his wife and children were persecuted by their own clan. This dignified scholar, who had read the classics and slain demons and monsters, could not even protect his loved ones after his death.

Such a situation has hurt not only Mr. Tong's wife and children, but also the sincere hearts of scholars all over the world.

I've known Mr. Tong for a time; we were both rivals and friends. Shouldn't I stand up for him at this moment?

These words immediately revealed the difference in their breadth of vision and character.

Originally, he had angered Mr. Tong to death because of his overly sharp words, but now it has been said that the other party died of illness.

After the other party's death, he went out of his way to help and support the other party's wife and children, hitting the key point that people care about most after death, which can be said to have done everything he could to be benevolent and righteous.

In this way, some of the things that had previously been criticized about him, such as being too sharp-tongued and too aggressive, are no longer problems.

When people mention Zhou Qian again, who doesn't praise his benevolence and righteousness?
This comeback was executed brilliantly and generated a lot of buzz.

In addition, Luo Wenhuan didn't make any big moves, except that he defeated several opponents in the art of divination and solved a divination puzzle from thirty years ago, which made him a bit of a sensation on a small scale.

Song Chengye then cut off his own flesh and bled it out to use as a medicinal ingredient to cure his grandmother's illness. This story is considered a good one, and it has been talked about and praised by people for a long time.

Ning Siyu from Linchuan Prefecture also wrote the "Tiannan Water Classic".

On that day, Ning Siyu finished writing the last stroke of the "Tiannan Water Classic" in Pingyang City, and a wisp of light smoke immediately rose into the sky above Pingyang City.

Although the wisp of smoke only flashed by and did not actually take shape, nor did it successfully rise into the sky, it was still a fleeting glimpse of wisp of smoke.

This is enough to prove how extraordinary the "Tiannan Water Classic" is.

It turns out that the "Tiannan Water Classic" marked the key points of many waterways in the seven prefectures of Tiannan, recorded a lot of detailed hydrological data, and gave specific suggestions on bridge and dike construction.

The impact of the "Tiannan Water Classic" on the entire Tiannan Seven Prefectures is probably extraordinary.

This is quite different from the meaning of "Mengyang Dianshi".

The reason why the "Tiannan Water Classic" failed to actually generate blue smoke may be because the book has not been actually verified, or it may be because the "Tiannan Water Classic" has only been written for a short time and may still have many imperfections.

This is all quite normal, but the fact that this book could attract even a wisp of smoke shows just how powerful it is.

Therefore, although Chen Xu was included in the "Records of the Splendor of Dali" because of his military achievements, his opponents were indeed all formidable.

Even the little hedgehog couldn't help but worry about this, so it said, "Brother Chen, why don't you... why don't you write a few more poems about green smoke? Otherwise, I'm afraid our opponents are too powerful."

It was unwilling to say that Chen Xu might lose, so its wording left much unsaid.

Chen Xu laughed and said, "Ah Yuan, Qingyan's poems are good, but they are not on the same level as the Tiannan Water Classic."

It's not that poetry is necessarily inferior to practical works, but rather that they are different in nature and cannot be compared.

So, what exactly should Chen Xu do to stand out once again in such a fierce pre-exam public opinion battle?
Should we kill a few more evil demons?

Or should we continue to bide our time and conceal our abilities?

(End of this chapter)