Three Kingdoms, I'm really not a general!

Chapter 49: The Elegant Scholar
"I heard that General Xing is a man of great talent, but today I see that he does not live up to his reputation."

As soon as Da Qiao met him, she spoke in a somewhat impolite manner.

Got it!
When Xing Daorong saw that Qiao Guo was always "one-sided", and that Qiao Guo had no such intention at all, he couldn't tell whether he was disappointed or happy.

He just smiled generously and said, "Compared with Sun Bofu, I am still inferior."

When Da Qiao heard Xing Daorong talking about Sun Ce, even though she said she was not as good as him, she didn't know why she felt a little angry.

She said in a cold voice: "My husband defeated the rebellion and succeeded the world, and conquered the six counties. You are not as good as him."

This is a bit harsh to say.

Not to mention that Xing Daorong is not as good as Sun Ce, just mentioning the word "husband" in front of Xing Daorong is somewhat disrespectful.

After all, it had already been made clear what the old man Qiao meant by asking Xing Daorong to come, so Da Qiao's words were a bit of a slap in the face of her own father.

Xing Daorong originally didn't want to argue with a woman, but since the Qiao family did something unkind, he didn't hesitate.

But he said: "Hearing what the lady said, I think the heroes of the time must expand the territory. Little do you know that a real man may live in the fields or in the government. He has a heroic spirit in his heart, waiting for the weather to change, and making achievements. How can this be a sparrow's view?"

"Good! Well said!" As soon as the words fell, Da Qiao hadn't said anything yet, but Qiao Guolao next to her started praising her.

Seeing Qiao Guolao's somewhat exaggerated performance, Xing Daorong could no longer be angry.

But he didn't want to stay any longer, so he just bowed to Qiao Guolao and said, "Qiao Lao, I'm sorry to bother you today. I'll leave now."

Qiao Guo Lao knew that today was not the time to talk about this. Seeing that his daughter was in a bad mood, he stopped staring at Xing Daorong and responded with a cupped hand: "Okay. Okay."

Seeing that Qiao Guolao didn't want to stay any longer, Xing Daorong said nothing more and left.

Seeing Da Qiao's attitude towards him, although he knew that Qiao Guolao wanted him to pick up Da Qiao, it seemed that there was no hope.

I don't take it to heart anymore.

But he didn't know that as soon as he took a step forward, Da Qiao's body went limp and she almost couldn't stand.

When Qiao Guolao saw this, he was shocked and quickly asked someone to call a doctor.

Poor old man, he is so worried, but he still has to stand up and take care of the women and children in the family.

When Xing Daorong returned to the inn, Pang Tong had already returned.

But he didn't come back alone, there were a few young people around him.

Pang Tong introduced them one by one: "Zi Yu, you are finally back. Let me introduce a few people to you."

After Pang Tong's introduction, Xing Daorong learned that these people were Lu Ji, Gu Shao and Quan Cong.

The most famous one among them should be Lu Ji.

In "Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars", there is a line: "Filial piety is innate, a six-year-old boy in the world. He holds a green tangerine in his sleeve, and leaves it to his mother. It is a strange thing." It is talking about him.

Xing Daorong didn't expect that Pang Tong had quite a few good relationships with people in Jiangdong, so he met them one by one.

However, Lu Ji said, "General Xing, we came to see you unexpectedly today. We asked Shi Yuanfei to bring us here."

Seeing Lu Ji start talking, Gu Shao and Quan Cong also followed suit and said, "We came here to drink and socialize with the general. We don't want to talk about serious matters, but just about elegance."

Xing Daorong found it strange.

Things like elegance and grace are obviously not in line with my image!

Look at Lu Ji and others, each of them is an elegant and poetic man. I look like a military general, so why are they talking to me about "elegance"?

Just as he was about to refuse, Pang Tong explained, "I have told you about the general's deeds, which forced me to come. I want to treat the general to a meal and a drink."

"I'll host you, General, and invite you to visit Cha Xin Ya Pavilion." Lu Ji's family was obviously well off. After all, he came from a big family and was rich!
Nowadays, the so-called elegant scholars can only do these few things. Literati gather together to drink tea and calm their minds; cultivate their sentiments and meditate by burning incense; drink wine and arrange flowers to appreciate culture; hang paintings and play the zither to cultivate their character.

For Xing Daorong, he knows nothing about sipping tea to calm his mind, burning incense to meditate, pouring wine and arranging flowers, hanging paintings and playing the piano. He only has a little bit of culture and can occasionally "write" a poem or two.

As mentioned before, in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, poetry, songs and fu were the main genres, and poetry was not very popular.

Even if Xing Daorong wanted to plagiarize this article, the effect would not be very significant and there was not much need for it.

However, looking at the scene before him, he had no choice but to go, so Xing Daorong could only nod and agree.

A group of people came to the "Xinya Pavilion" in a mighty manner.

Not to mention, although everyone suffered in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, Jiangdong was less affected by war, and the overall environment was even better than that of Jingzhou.

This "Xin Ya Pavilion" is located in a lake.

Surrounded by lush trees, the pavilion is constructed of elegant redwood and has a tiled roof.

Xing Daorong guessed that the pavilion should have been built with a bridge before it could be built all the way across.

The pavilion is surrounded by flowers and plants, and the fragrance of flowers and plants fills the air, making people feel relaxed and happy.

Looking out from the pavilion, the lake is sparkling, reflecting the beautiful scenery of blue sky, white clouds and distant mountains, and the scenery is picturesque.

Xing Daorong and four other people took a small boat over there. When they got inside, everything had already been arranged, so they just had to take a seat.

Each person has an incense burner and a cup of tea.

Each of them had a servant serving them.

Luxurious!
What a waste!
Just look at the style of these people, no wonder the Jiangdong soldiers are not doing well.

Xing Daorong secretly complained in his heart, and in a somewhat unkind way, he put a high hat on Lu Ji and others.

Lu Ji and his companions naturally had no idea what Xing Daorong was thinking, otherwise they would have thrown him down directly.

...

You certainly won't get drunk from drinking tea. Lu Ji, Pang Tong and others recited poems and composed couplets, but they really didn't talk about any serious business.

These children of aristocratic families don't think about family affairs every day. In their free time, they are really free.

It’s not that Xing Daorong is unwilling to join, he just really has no say.

"I think... let's not just talk nonsense, why don't we recite some poems first?" Seeing that it was getting late, Quan Zong's suggestion made Xing Daorong a little worried.

If I really have to rely on my shallow poetry skills, wouldn't I just be abused?
As for being a plagiarist, it is not that easy.

It has to be relevant to the topic and the meaning. Otherwise, if you just make up a random song, people will just think you are crazy.

Fortunately... Lu Ji's topic was not too unpopular, so Xing Daorong didn't really embarrass himself.

But he said, "How about we use the Yangtze River as the subject?"

Since everyone had been in Jiangnan for a long time, naturally they had no objections.

Then Gu Shao stood up and said, "How about I go first?"

After that, regardless of what others said, he chanted: "The Yangtze River is stagnant with sorrow, and I miss returning home thousands of miles away. I want to sail away, but I am afraid of the surging waves."

This poem sounds okay, but it is a bit simple and bland, so it can only be considered passable at best.

(End of this chapter)