The Red Chamber: Starting from Saving Xue Baochai

Chapter 37 Shen Yuan is famous in Shenjing City

"Have you read the fundraising letter in the Hanmozhai tabloid?"

"I heard someone spread the rumor yesterday, but I don't know who Shen Yuan is."

"When did such a person appear in Shenjing City? I have never heard of him before."

"Brother, you must not have read yesterday's tabloid. Shen Yuan's identity was specifically introduced in the tabloid."

"Oh? Tell me in detail, brother."

"This man is from Gusu, Jinling. He was originally a scholar, but later gave up literature and turned to martial arts.

On the sixth day of August this year, during a campaign to suppress bandits in Yingtian Prefecture, he beheaded the bandit leader among thousands of bandits and killed hundreds of them, almost eliminating the bandit problem by himself.

On August 12, he won full marks in the four categories of literary examination, skill and bravery, archery on foot, and archery on horseback in the Jinling Martial Arts Examination in Autumn. He even won the first place in the 100-step archery on horseback, and easily won the title of Wu Jieyuan. It is said that he is the most popular candidate for the Wu Zhuangyuan next year.

The person who was speaking was a young man from Jinling. He knew all about Shen Yuan's deeds and was quite proud of himself in his words. He felt honored to be a fellow townsman of Shen Jieyuan.

After hearing this, most people were deeply surprised, and some questioned, "Is it an exaggeration? Besides, I heard that Feng Ziying is the only choice for the top martial arts champion. It is said that Feng Lang's bravery is even better than his father, the divine and martial general Feng Tang."

The young man from Jinling retorted, "That was before Shen Jieyuan became famous. Now that Shen Jieyuan has emerged, even Feng Ziying can only be ranked second. Besides, this is not something I made up, but a comment from Hanmozhai."

Most people agreed with Hanmozhai's comments, but a few were jealous. A pale-faced scholar said, "In our Great Zhou, scholars have always been given priority. Shen Yuan just couldn't make it through the imperial examinations, so he had to submit and become a crude warrior."

"What the hell are you talking about? How can a warrior be considered vulgar? Isn't Feng Ziying also a very elegant and graceful man?" A warrior on the field became angry when he heard this.

The pale-faced scholar sneered and said nothing, but the young man from Jinling said sarcastically: "This young man has such a shallow vision, how dare he talk so much here?"

"You ignorant child!"

The young man from Jinling ignored the somewhat exasperated scholar and laughed loudly, "Shen Jieyuan is a man who practices both civil and military arts. The reason he gave up civil arts and followed the military path is because he was more willing to serve his country with military skills."

After a pause, the young man continued, "Have you ever heard of the Mid-Autumn Festival Poetry Festival on the Boat in Yingtian Prefecture?"

"Of course I have heard of it. It is known as the first of the four major poetry gatherings in Jiangnan, and is hosted by Mr. Li, the retired chief academician of the Imperial College."

"In this case, I believe everyone recognizes the reputation of this poetry gathering." The young man from Jinling said loudly, "And Shen Jieyuan is the champion of poetry this year!"

As soon as these words were spoken, there were constant exclamations from the audience, and many readers became more curious.

"My dear brother, I wonder which poem Shen Jieyuan wrote to win the first prize?"

Upon hearing this, the young man from Jinling suddenly became serious, and sang in a clear and slow voice: "Linjiangxian - The rolling Yangtze River flows eastward"

After the words were read, everyone was speechless, and all was silent in an instant.
Similar scenes were played out in various places in the capital, in restaurants, teahouses, pleasure boats, and cruise ships.
Of course, supporting roles like the young man from Jinling were intentionally arranged by Hanmozhai.

If Shen Yuan was present, he would have to sigh that Hanmoxuan's means of creating momentum were in no way inferior to the shocking efforts of major media outlets in later generations.

Hanmo Zhai has two main purposes for promoting it so vigorously.

First, to create an image of Shen Yuan as a man of both literary and military talents, so that both literati and warriors would admire him. In this way, Shen Yuan would be more appealing and encourage more people to respond to the donation.

As for the second purpose, Hanmozhai has considered it more deeply.
Imperial Palace, Imperial Study Room.

Emperor Yuanzhen put down the tabloid in his hand and looked at Gao Yue who was sitting below.

"Is this your idea or Shen Yuan's?"

"Your Majesty, the idea of ​​fundraising was proposed by Shen Yuan, and the tabloid publicity was decided by me." Upon hearing this, Emperor Yuan Zhen was silent for a moment, then he said thoughtfully, "Jiang Zhongnian once submitted a memorial to strongly recommend Shen Yuan to me. I originally wanted to send someone to secretly investigate him. Now it seems that this boy is really a talent. Please keep an eye on him for me."

"Don't worry, father. I understand."

"You're sparing no effort to promote him. I'm afraid it's not just for fundraising, right?"

"My son's purpose will naturally not escape the eyes of the emperor." Gao Yue said calmly: "The situation in the nine borders is now dangerous, and our Great Zhou needs to be more martial."

Emperor Yuanzhen nodded and fell into deep thought.

Having such a talented person who is both civil and military and is determined to serve the country through military force will surely change many people's views on warriors and boost the spirit of martial arts.

Shenjing City, Feng Mansion.

General Feng Tang and his son were drinking tea and chatting after lunch.

"What do you think of Shen Yuan?"

"He should be a very strong opponent," Feng Ziying said with a frank smile, "Maybe we can become friends."

There is a rumor going around that Shen Yuan is seen as Feng Ziying's biggest rival in winning the title of No. 1 martial arts champion.

There were even casinos that had already opened odds, betting on which of the two would win the next spring martial arts examination, and the odds turned out to be 50-50.

Even though Hanmozhai has been promoting Shen Yuan vigorously recently, it still has not been able to shake Feng Ziying's position in the hearts of some people.

Seeing his son so carefree, Feng Tang stroked his beard and nodded, saying with relief: "I am very pleased that you think this way. A real man should be open and honest, and the sons of my Feng family should be like this even more."

Rongguo Mansion, Lixiangyuan.

Daiyu, Xiangyun, Ying, Tan and Xi, the three sisters, all came today to play with Baochai.

The girls in the mansion had also recently heard about Shen Yuan's disaster relief work, and they couldn't help but feel admiration for him.

Mr. Shen is not only kind and righteous, but also possesses wisdom beyond ordinary people's reach.

Xiangyun's mind moved slightly, and her bright eyes swept over Baochai, Daiyu, Tanchun and others, and said in a coquettish voice: "How about we also help to distribute porridge?"

Xiangyun is a lively person. She always wants to do something meaningful and doesn't want to stay in the garden doing nothing all day.

Baochai knew what the girl was thinking, so she shook her head and said, "I'm afraid it's not appropriate. If you go there, you may catch a cold."

Many of the starving people have indeed caught colds. The girls usually stay in the garden, and their body resistance is weaker than that of ordinary people. If they are suddenly exposed to the wind and snow, and then come into contact with patients with colds, they will easily catch the disease.

Moreover, it was indeed inappropriate to let these young girls show themselves in front of thousands of starving people.

Xiangyun also figured out the problem, and her eyes suddenly dimmed.

Daiyu thought for a moment, her beautiful eyes sparkling with light, and she said in a clear voice: "Why don't we donate some money to help Master Shen buy food for disaster relief? This way, we can also do our part for the victims."

Baochai nodded her head and added with a smile, "Sister Lin's idea is good. In addition to donating some of our own money, we can also collect donations in the mansion. It all depends on everyone's wishes, whether to donate or not, and how much to donate."

When Tanchun heard this, she also perked up. She looked up at Daiyu and Baochai and said happily, "Sister Lin and Sister Bao, this is a good idea. I think it will work."

Seeing that everyone agreed, Xiangyun's impatience came back. Her beautiful face showed excitement. She suddenly stood up and said in a coquettish voice, "Since everyone agrees, let's hurry up and go back to prepare."

(End of this chapter)