In the 16th year of Zhengxing's reign, Wang Changling, who was secretary-supervisor at the time and envoy of the Jixian Academy's bachelor's newspaper and periodical academy, became an official.

This year, he lived to be seventy and nine years old. He felt that he had spent half his life buried in paper and ink. Today, his literary style was getting better and better. He, a dim-witted old man, should no longer be in charge of the newspaper. He wanted to resign and return to Songshan, where he studied Taoism in his youth. Take a look.

In late spring, in March, Prince Li Zuo led Wang Changling's horse and held the reins as a disciple, and sent him off to Baling.

Li Zuo had many teachers. Although Wang Changling only taught him poetry, the relationship between master and apprentice was deep.

Seeing that Li Zuo was reluctant to leave, Wang Changling said with a smile: "Your Highness has a heavy responsibility, so you should not act like a child. Before leaving, I have one more gift to give to Your Highness."

"Teacher, what is it?"

"Your Highness will know for himself after some time."

Having said that, Wang Changling brushed off the worldly dust, boarded the carriage, and headed towards the rising sun along the wide and flat straight road.

~~

At the same time, Shaolingyuan, Du Zhai.

Du Wulang knocked on the door and walked into the study. He saw Du Youlin with a pair of reading glasses on his nose and a pencil in his hand, writing something.

"Are you writing annotations again?"

"This time it's Wang Changling's collection." Du Youlin said.

Du Wulang couldn't help but worry: "I'd better do what you can and don't offend the prince."

Although this is not very respectful and filial piety, many literati did think that his grandpa's poetry was mediocre and he was only lucky enough to be in the prime minister's position.

Sure enough, Du Youlin immediately shouted angrily: "What are you talking about? Brother Wang personally came to visit and asked me to annotate his collection of poems."

"Why?" Du Wulang was quite puzzled.

"It's because I wrote the annotations well."

After hearing this, Du Wulang raised his eyebrows slightly, obviously not believing it.

Du Youlin was quite annoyed that his uneducated son could look down on his talent. He snorted coldly and was too lazy to talk to him, so he got down to business.

"I came to see you because of the marriage between His Highness and Ah Ren."

"Marriage?" Du Wulang said: "Who said A'zhen is going to marry His Highness? I have not agreed to this matter yet. Even Your Majesty has said it himself and respects my opinion!"

When this topic was mentioned, he became a little excited and raised his voice, showing his rare momentum.

Xue Bai did ask him privately about his children's marriage. When he refused, he said he would not interfere and left Li Zuo to find a way to impress him.

"I promised!"

Du Youlin's voice became louder and said: "Brother Changling came in person to propose marriage to my disciple. I have accepted the betrothal gift..."

"Why did Grandpa push Ah Rong into the fire pit in the East Palace?"

"My children love each other. Who else can I marry if I don't marry Your Highness?"

"Who said she must get married?" Du Wulang said, "Even if I can't get married for the rest of my life, I can still afford to raise this daughter."

"You grow potatoes to feed your family!"

Du Youlin slapped the case and scolded him angrily, showing off his father's authority and shouting: "Get out of here, I have the final say in this matter."

Because of his words, the Du family finally gave birth to a princess.

And just after the grand gift in the East Palace was completed, in the autumn of this year, Du Youlin received an invitation.

"On the banks of the Qinhuai River, at the head of Bailuzhou, the Jinling Poetry Club awaits your surrender."

Looking at the signature below, it is "You are sincerely present, Wang Changling's post".

Du Youlin immediately paid attention to it and asked about it.

It turned out that after Wang Changling retired from his official career and returned to Songshan Mountain, he suddenly missed his time as a county captain in Jiangning, so he trekked to Jiangling again in his old age.

Li Bai, who was the minister of the Ministry of Rites and a bachelor of Hanlin at that time, did not want to stay in Chang'an. He resigned and traveled around the world, saying that he wanted to go to the sea and see the scenery at the end of the world.

Wang Changling and Li Bai met in Jinling. The Jiangnan literati thought it was a great event, so they held a literary gathering in their names.

Du Youlin is now well-known in the literary world because of the emperor's poems and annotations, so he rarely goes there.

~~

October, Jinling.

The Qinhuai River is gurgling, and people's shadows are intertwined in front of the Confucius Temple.

On Wende Bridge, a man and a woman were saying goodbye with tears in their eyes.

And more people gathered in front of the Confucius Temple, craning their necks to watch the cultural gathering being held in the yard next to it.

Due to the rise of newspapers and papermaking, the literary style of the Tang Dynasty, which was already brilliant in poetry, became even more prosperous. Even ordinary people who had never read books could read a few poems and join in the fun.

"Look, the 'Four Kui' are here."

"Who is that?"

"The four celebrities who lived in Jiangning, Han Hui, Lu Dongmei, Cui Zao, and Zhang Zhengze, were all outstanding figures at that time."

"Who are the children following them?"

"It must be the son of someone among the four Kui..."

Amid the hustle and bustle, seven-year-old Han Yu would raise his neck and look curiously from time to time.

Han Yu lost his father when he was young, so he was raised by his elder brother Han Hui. He loved reading poetry and books, and today he came with his brother to gain some knowledge.

When he heard that Han Hui was greeting his friends and talking about the topic of "Will Mr. Yan come today?", Han Yu couldn't help but his eyes lit up, full of anticipation.

His favorite was the "Horse Theory" handwritten by Yan Zhenqing, who was named "Han Yu" by the emperor. He felt that the article was destined to him, and felt that it would be great if he could see Yan Gong today, so he kept the "Black Story" in his heart.

I recited the poem silently twice more, trying to show off well in front of Yan Zhenqing.

When they arrived at the venue, Han Huisui asked Han Yu to sit down aside and said, "Just watch here and don't move around."

"Yes, brother."

Han Yu agreed, sat down cross-legged, looked around, and found two women sitting next to him, each holding a three or four-year-old child.

The two children fussed with each other for a while, then turned their heads and looked at his big brother with great curiosity.

"What are your names?" Han Yu asked teasingly.

"My nickname is 'that'."

"Where's the name?"

"Juyi." The milky voice replied: "Bai Juyi."

Han Yu then asked another child: "Who are you?"

"I'm Jujuro."

The child stretched out his two little hands and wanted to sign the number nineteen but didn't know how. It was very difficult.

Bai Juyi had already replied in his waxy voice: "His name is Liu Yuxi."

"I haven't said anything yet. Let me tell you my name." Liu Yuxi was in a hurry, but his words were not as fluent as Bai Juyi's.

Han Yu couldn't help but laugh and asked: "Are you coming to the cultural gathering at such a young age?"

Bai Juyi tilted his head and said, "But you're not that big either."

Just as he was talking, a burst of cheers suddenly came from outside the door.

Han Yu turned around and looked around, and suddenly became excited because it was Yao Runeng, the editor-in-chief of "Xin Si Bao".

When it comes to poetry and poetry, there are many famous writers here who are far better than Yao Runeng. But the prosperity of newspapers gave him a stage to display, and people loved to read his documentary stories, such as "Records of Anlu Mountain" and "Yang Guozhong".

"Records", and in recent years he has turned to exposing the evil deeds of the powerful and has enjoyed a great reputation among the people.

"Mr. Yao, the ocean-going fleet has returned. What do you say to this matter?"

"This time the ocean-going fleet really came back, which is a good thing, but I still think that the court concealed the truth before..."

"Mr. Yao, may I ask Mr. Gu Yanwu if he can show up today?" Someone suddenly asked, causing a commotion.

"I would like you to know, but I have never met Mr. Gu." Yao Runeng replied.

Everyone felt disappointed and sighed.

Yao Runeng then smiled and said: "However, Mr. Gu also composed a poem for today's cultural gathering, and you should have heard it during the introduction."

Someone else asked: "Can Mr. Tangwu come?"

After hearing the words "Mr. Tangwu", even Han Yu stood up, eyes wide open, full of expectation.

He was still young and could not understand Gu Yanwu's articles, but he often heard his brother say that Mr. Gu was an unparalleled talent.

As for Mr. Tang Wu, he is another strange person who often contributes articles to "Xin Si Bao". His articles are clever but not craftsmanship, and contain great wisdom in their plainness. They are more easily accepted by Han Yu today.

Du Youlin, who was sitting at the top, frowned slightly. He stood by the emperor in everything, so he was naturally dissatisfied with Yao Runeng's article.

In addition, Du Youlin also disliked some of the content in "Xinsi Daily". He had lived in seclusion in Shaolingyuan for these years and almost never read the newspaper.

As Yao Runeng arrived, the time also came, but the literary meeting had not started yet, so the venue gradually became quiet, and some people started talking in low voices.
To be continued...