After Fang Yun finished speaking, he dipped his brush heavily in ink and began to write slowly.
Sage of Shu.
In youth, who knew the world's hardships? Northward I gazed upon the Central Plains, my spirit like mountains.
Warships amid night snow at Ning'an Ferry, Iron cavalry in autumn wind at Dasan Pass.
At the frontier, I fancied myself the Great Wall in vain; In the mirror, my graying temples had already appeared.
A memorial before departure truly won immortal fame— For a thousand years, who could stand shoulder to shoulder with him?
When the poem was completed, Literary Qi shot skyward, instantly breaking through Nation-Quelling. Yet it remained three inches short of being Transmitted Under Heaven.
Nation-Quelling phenomena arose one after another.
The fragrance of books filled the air, its sound traveled ten thousand miles, all living beings bowed in submission, and divine light soared ten thousand fathoms.
Though the scholars of the Craftsmen Realm did not compose poetry or ci verse, they had studied the Book of Songs and understood the true meaning of poetry. They simply did not understand the power of poetry. Seeing that a single poem could produce such phenomena—and that it praised First Sage Zhuge—they were all delighted.
Only a small number of people carefully savored the poem.
The poem described how, in his youth, the poet had not understood the hardships of the world and believed he could easily resolve the Demon Barbarians in the north. But now, gazing northward, he understood that resentment there towered like mountains, and conquering the Demon Barbarians was no task for a day or a night.
He recalled the scenes of fighting the Demon Barbarians at Ning'an Ferry, then remembered leading a great army northward to recover lost territory again and again, even Dasan Pass, which had