The Great Wei Music Bureau

Chapter 172 The Six Arts of a Gentleman (Part 6)

The competition of the Six Arts of a Gentleman is about to begin, so let’s cut the crap and get straight to the point.

The contestants from both sides took their seats, and Zhang Deyuan announced the start of the first match. The Nanliang side came up with Zhu Xi's disciple Zhen Dexiu. Li Yi wanted to laugh when he heard the name, and even more when he saw his appearance. Because Zhen Dexiu was really handsome! The distance between his eyebrows and eyes was much higher than that of ordinary people, and it felt like they were growing on his forehead.

Zhen Dexiu came on stage and said solemnly: "Guests from afar, as hosts, we should be humble, so let the Wei envoys ask the first question in this round!" Lu Yu and Tuoba Li looked at Li Yi, who came on stage and saluted, saying: "Juniors have seen a true Confucian, Zhu Xi's learning is proficient in etiquette, so we admit defeat in this debate."

As soon as these words came out, the audience booed and someone shouted, "You Northern Wei Suolu, why are you here if you have already admitted defeat? You are embarrassing yourself! Go back!"

"Go back now!" "Go back to Northern Wei!" Zhang Deyuan came to the stage and signaled for everyone to be quiet. Only then did the venue slowly calm down.

Zhang Deyuan turned to Li Yi and said, "Li Yuefu, how can you admit defeat if you don't understand the etiquette?"

Li Yi chuckled and said, "Since you know you will lose, why bother doing this? You might as well save some energy to prepare for the next competition."

Zhang Deyuan said sternly, "Li Yuefu, admitting defeat like this will only make the Confucian scholars of Liang look down on you. You don't care about this? Don't you want to save some face?"

Li Yi said nonchalantly: "If I win the next match, I will be able to regain my face. Why bother with this one?"

Zhang Deyuan said, "Li Lefu, you must not admit defeat in the following competitions, otherwise I cannot guarantee that no one will throw things onto the stage."

Li Yi smiled and said, "Okay, we won't admit defeat even if we can't win in the future."

Zhang Deyuan wanted to embarrass the Northern Wei envoys, so he smiled knowingly and said to the crowd below the stage: "Everyone, please be patient. I have already made an agreement with the Northern Wei envoys that this situation will not happen again in the next competition. Okay, let's start the second competition and compete for fun!"

Because the Northern Wei delegation was supposed to come first in the previous show, it was natural that the Southern Liang delegation would come first in this show. This old Mr. Dai Yao was indeed amazing. He played three pieces of classical music with his apprentices, and everyone was intoxicated by the music.

Lu Yu said to Li Yi: "Li Yuefu, are you sure about this performance? These three elegant music pieces are really authentic works. Can you do it?"

Li Yi smiled and said, "Master Lu, please relax. If I lose this competition, how will I survive in the future? I am not the head of the Music Bureau for nothing!"

When Nanliang Dai Yao and his apprentice finished playing, Zhang Deyuan held out his hand to signal Li Yi to come on stage. As Li Yi stood on the stage, Zhang Deyuan asked, "Li Yuefu, do you want to defeat Mr. Dai and his apprentice by yourself? Do you need me to borrow some musical instruments for you?"

Li Yi bowed and said with a smile: "Thank you, Minister Zhang, for your kindness. I have my own way." As he spoke, Li Yi released his talent, and then used the method of condensing qi into objects to transform into various musical instruments, and then used the spiritual sound spell to control all the instruments. Li Yi turned into a band conductor, directing all the instruments to play the song "Memories of the Forbidden City".

You may not know the name of this song, but it has been used in many of our film and television works, so you must have heard of it. Although it was composed by the Japanese, it is a real Chinese style, and the Japanese themselves know that Chinese culture is the root of Japanese culture. When the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded, the Japanese took away many books, not only the "Yongle Encyclopedia", but also many medical books and music classics.

The lofty artistic conception and majestic momentum of this song make it very infectious. As long as you close your eyes, you can see the image of the Forbidden City in your mind.

The rich, solemn and distant music shows the majesty of the empire and the vicissitudes of history. Every drum beat can touch people's hearts and shake their souls. Of course, this is also related to Li Yi's spiritual sound spell.

When this soul-stirring music was finished, the entire arena was silent, and everyone looked at Li Yi with incredible eyes, because at this time Li Yi was raising his hand to absorb the brilliant talent. After absorbing it, he looked down at the audience with a look of contempt. When it comes to pretentiousness, he has never been defeated by anyone.

Li Yi adjusted his tone slightly and said loudly: "The song just now was called "Memory of History". I wonder if everyone has felt the thickness and glory of our Chinese civilization?" No one in the audience responded. They were all stunned.

Li Yi shook his head and smiled, "You have just experienced glory, so in the next song, I will let you feel what is regretful." After that, he once again used the spiritual sound spell to direct all the instruments to start playing the song "Hero's Dawn".

This song is the opening song of the Japanese anime "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". It has also been used many times in the Louis Koo version of "The Return of the Condor Heroes". It is also a song that you may not know the name of, but you will definitely know it as long as you hear the melody.

This masterpiece, which combines Eastern and Western instruments, can be said to be a classic among classics. It has both the majestic grandeur of swallowing mountains and rivers and the chivalrous tenderness of a peerless hero. It is both a majestic and tragic song and an unwavering sound. It is not only a piece of music, but also a story:

A young general with high spirits embarked on a journey, and was stained with blood countless times on the battlefield, turning from a handsome young man into a twilight hero. This was his last battle. After several rounds of fierce fighting, only the setting sun was left. Before his death, he seemed to see that his great cause was about to be accomplished and dawn was just around the corner. His belief drove him to use his last bit of strength to tighten the reins, but he found that his body began to tremble and his vision gradually blurred. He finally left the battlefield where he had fought all his life with a heart full of sadness and reluctance.

When the music ended, a column of righteous energy descended from the sky and poured directly into Li Yi's body. He felt his own enlightenment and stored the righteous energy on the spirit platform of the Acalanatha Dharmakaya.

The people of Nanliang no longer knew how to express their inner shock. If "Memories of the Forbidden City" brought them a shock to their souls, then "Dawn of Heroes" brought them spiritual sadness.

Li Yi looked at the solemn-looking Confucianists and Taoists of Southern Liang on and off the stage, shook his head helplessly, and then said loudly: "In my opinion, this elegant music should be joyful but not lewd, sad but not sorrowful. If you can only hear the tragic and majestic from this piece, it would be a waste of nature's gift.

As the saying goes, jade can be broken but its whiteness cannot be changed, bamboo can be burned but its joints cannot be destroyed. Even if the body dies, the name can be recorded in bamboo and silk. What is there to fear? Even if the hero dies, his heart still faces the dawn. This is the true meaning of the song! "

Seeing that there was still no reaction from the crowd, Li Yi chuckled and said, "Maybe this song of mine is too heavy. Well then, let me help you calm down." As he said that, he took back the musical instruments created by condensing energy, leaving only an ocarina, and then played the song "The Wilderness of Hometown".

Li Yi used this long and soothing music to cultivate the sentiments of the crowd, to help them clear their minds of distracting thoughts, to make them feel the tranquility, and to present in their hearts a picture of green willows hanging over the lake like a mirror, light wind and clear clouds, and the long singing of birds.

As Li Yi played, he controlled his condensed talent to circulate in the venue, and the lingering sound was very pleasant to the ear. When the sound of the flute faded, everyone felt as if they had just woken up from a dream, and they felt refreshed and open-minded. Li Yi looked around at everyone and smiled slightly. When he turned around and looked at Zhang Deyuan, he found Dai Yao standing beside him with his head bowed.

Li Yi quickly saluted and said, "Junior Li Yi greets Mr. Dai. I wonder if you have any advice for me." However, the next scene scared everyone present.

Dai Yao, the former head of the Southern Liang Music Bureau and a master of zither playing in his fifties, actually performed the disciple ceremony to Li Yi and said respectfully: "Dai has been studying music for most of his life. I thought it would be difficult for the world to see another master of music like Shi Kuang and Boya from the pre-Qin period. But today, the three elegant music pieces by Li Yuefu made me realize how far I am from being a master! If Li Yuefu does not mind my advanced age, please accept me as your disciple and teach me the way of elegant music."

Li Yi quickly reached out to help Dai Yao up. At this time, the arena was already in an uproar. There was no doubt that Li Yi won this competition, and it was a complete victory. Moreover, Dai Yao's behavior could be said to have made Liang State lose face, so Zhang Deyuan immediately signaled Dai Yao's disciples to pull him off the stage.

Li Yi just laughed at this, then bowed to everyone and returned to the seat of the Northern Wei delegation. Everyone in the Northern Wei delegation stood up to greet him. Tuoba Li gave a thumbs up and said, "Li Yuefu is worthy of being the most talented scholar in the Great Wei! Even the music masters of the Southern Liang Dynasty want to worship you as their teacher. Ah, you have really made our Great Wei proud this time!"

Lu Yu also sighed: "Li Yuefu, you are really a god! You can convince Dai Yao. After this competition, I think it is not an exaggeration to call you the music saint!"

Although Li Yi enjoyed the flattery, he pretended to be polite and said, "This is just a small event, nothing surprising, nothing surprising. If it were arranged like the venue for the Queen Mother's birthday banquet, I would be able to surprise them."

After saying that, Li Yi sat back in his seat. Cui Zhi stretched out her hand and kneaded his shoulder and whispered, "Sir, I have never seen your special effects. Do you have a chance?"

Li Yi smiled and said, "Don't worry, you will definitely see it."

Zhang Deyuan looked at the Northern Wei envoys and snorted coldly. He stepped onto the stage and said, "The next match was supposed to be a competition of archery, but considering that the two arts of archery and charioteering need to be changed to another venue, we will first conduct the competition of calligraphy and mathematics here. After that, we will move to the training ground to conduct the competition of archery and charioteering."

Zhang Deyuan did this to suppress the morale of the Northern Wei delegation. Li Yi had just won a game, and if he wanted to save face, the Southern Liang side also had to win a game, so he temporarily changed the order of the competition.

With Wang Huanzhi, the son of the calligrapher Wang Youjun, and Zu Hao, the son of Zu Riheng, present, he had absolute confidence that he could defeat the Northern Wei delegation in both calligraphy and mathematics. Moreover, Zhang Deyuan not only changed the order of the competition, but also went to greet the referee. The next round was a calligraphy competition. Even if Li Yi's handwriting was good, he could not win!

Tuoba Li was very unhappy about the temporary change in the order of the competition. Lu Yu also said displeasedly: "Zhang Deyuan is really shameless. Seeing that we won a great victory in the last game, he is doing this to make trouble. Bah!"

Li Yi waved his hand and smiled, "It's okay. I know Wang Huanzhi is also a master of calligraphy, but he is better at cursive script. As for calligraphy, cursive script does not have a large audience, so it must be compared with regular script. I have been personally instructed by Wang Ru, so even if I lose, I will not lose badly." Tuoba Li and Lu Yu felt relieved when they heard what Li Yi said.

At this time, Zhang Deyuan had already announced the start of the second round of the competition. The table, pen and paper were already set up on the stage. When Li Yi and Wang Huan came on stage, Zhang Deyuan stretched out his hand and said, "You two can start writing now."

Li Yi asked, "Didn't Minister Zhang specify what to write? Otherwise, how can we compete?"

Zhang Deyuan shook his head and smiled, "It seems that Li Yuefu doesn't often compete with others in writing! Just write whatever you want. When you are done, there will be people to judge."

Li Yi asked in confusion: "Who will judge?"

Just as he finished speaking, a familiar voice came from midair: "Xiu Yuan, we meet again!"

Everyone in the room was shocked because they only heard the voice but didn't see the person. But the ink on the table suddenly floated up and slowly gathered together. With a bang, the ink exploded and Wang Youjun appeared on the stage. Everyone applauded when they saw the calligraphy master coming.

Li Yi sighed in his heart: Oh, I didn't expect that this Master Mo Zhai really likes to show off and has to come up with a unique way of making an appearance.

When Zhang Deyuan saw Wang Youjun, he immediately stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Greetings, Wang Ru. From what you said, you have met Li Yuefu?"

Wang Youjun laughed and said, "More than that, Li Yuefu still has a lot of resentment towards me."

Li Yi quickly bowed and said, "Sir, you are joking. I don't have any resentment from you."

Wang Huanzhi also bowed and said, "Meet father."