Daming talker

Chapter 516: Literary Landscape
Although the name of the Literary Conference contains the word "Conference", it is not the kind of meeting as understood by later generations, but more like a continuous social activity.

The time will not be that precise, it is only a rough period from the end of September to the beginning of October.

When celebrities from all walks of life arrived in Suzhou City and began to socialize and party, the literary conference began.

The organizers opened the Canglang Pavilion, Qiuzhi Garden and Beiyuan as official venues. Anyone holding a "hero card" can enter and even bring others in.

Those who did not receive the invitation and took the initiative to join in the fun at the literary conference can only show their own talents.

Of course, the most popular ones are the heavyweight guests. After all, every heavyweight guest has a certain ability to guide public opinion.

Against the backdrop of the old leader’s retirement, public opinion trends are particularly important.

Former Minister of Rites Shen Li and Nanjing Ministry of Rites Left Vice Minister Zhao Yongxian were among the most important guests. Especially since the two of them came to Suzhou together, and were accompanied by Gong Nai, a famous scholar representing the Shandong literary world, this lineup was very eye-catching.

Given the status of Shen and Zhao, they naturally had to stay in Gusu Posthouse, the largest and most luxurious official posthouse in Jiangnan, which was a symbol of status.

Immediately afterwards, many literary figures from all over the country went to Gusu Station to visit and test the opinions of these heavyweights.

Someone directly asked Zhao Yongxian whether he had any idea of ​​​​competing for the position of leader in the literary world.

Zhao Yongxian answered very clearly: "I have absolutely no intention of competing for the leadership of the literary world, and I have no idea of ​​managing the literary world.

I came to Suzhou to participate in this grand event just to prevent the position of the leader of the literary world from falling into the hands of literary thieves."

Shen Li also added: "We do not bother to conceal our views and intentions. We can openly declare that we do not want to see Lin Tailai usurp the position of the leader of the literary world. We came to Suzhou this time to oppose Lin Tailai."

Shandong representative Gong Nai also said: "I fully agree with the views of the two predecessors Shen and Zhao, and I am consistent with them."

These answers surprised the visitors present, as this was not a private gathering but a public conversation.

You know, other heavyweights who have just arrived in Suzhou City are mostly vague in their attitudes and speak cautiously in public, and are unwilling to make clear their positions easily.

So the answers we just heard were the first public statements that clearly opposed Lin Tailai.

What's more, the fact that representatives of three forces with different backgrounds made a joint statement makes it even more worth pondering.

Of course, the news reached Mr. Lin's ears at the first time, but to everyone's surprise, Mr. Lin did not react at all.

Only Gao Changjiang publicly said: "We believe that the literary world can accommodate a hundred schools of thought, and we welcome you to continue to express your opinions and speak freely."

This statement is more shocking than someone opposing Lin Tailai, because this magnanimous tone is really not like Lin Tailai.

At this time, Lin Tailai and his elder brother-in-law Wang Zhiyou were already standing at Fengqiao Wharf, ready to welcome Wang Shizhen, the Nanjing Minister of Justice and the leader of the world's literary world.

From the perspective of etiquette, Mr. Lin did not need to come. However, "everyone knows what Sima Zhao is thinking", Mr. Lin wanted to show off his status as the successor, so he came to greet him.

While waiting, Mr. Lin complained to Wang Fuzun, “I am not surprised that Shen Li and Zhao Yongxian expressed their opinions, but how come Gong Nai, one of the three great families in Shandong, also got involved with them?

I am a son-in-law from Shandong, but I was stabbed in the back by you Shandong people. This is really unreasonable!"

Wang Fuzun wiped his sweat and said helplessly: "You can't say it's a backstab, right? Your relationship with Shandong Shilin was not good to begin with."

Lin Tailai said angrily: "I married a Shandong woman. Isn't this relationship good enough? Besides, I am also a disciple of Qi Shaobao from Shandong!"

Wang Fuzun reminded him, "Minister of Personnel Yang Wei is from Shandong. You repeatedly offended Yang Tianguan in order to help him win an official position. Although Yang Tianguan is old and kind, he doesn't like you very much, right?

The Minister of Rites, Yu Shenxing, is also from Shandong. Haven't you done enough to stir up trouble and take advantage of the Ministry of Rites?

In addition, the late Li Panlong, former leader of the literary world, head of the Seven Masters of the Retro School, and close friend of Wang Yanzhou, was also from Shandong.

Therefore, Shandong is also the base of the retro-style faction. When you trample on and destroy the retro-style faction, do you still expect the Shandong literary world to be nice to you? "

By giving a few simple examples, Wang Fuzun successfully broke Mr. Lin’s illusion that “I have a good relationship with Shandong.”

At this point, even Wang Fuzun, a fellow writer, couldn't understand it. With Lin Tailai's radical style of making enemies everywhere, how could he have the confidence to compete for the leadership of the literary world?
How can I say about the position of leader in the literary world? It does not necessarily belong to the person with the most supporters, but it definitely belongs to the person with the least opponents.

"So, am I just on good terms with your Wang family?" Senior Official Lin said uncertainly, "At least I helped everyone in your Wang family to be promoted to a higher rank!"

"Thank you very much." Wang Fuzun said.

Lin Tailai then said, "Then you should go talk to Gong Nai as a fellow villager and persuade him to turn back from his wrong path! I need the support of the northern literary world!"

In today's literary landscape, apart from the Jiangnan region, Shandong and Hubei are the most important.

If you want to become the leader of the world, support from these three places is indispensable.

The reason why the Seven Masters of the Retro School dominated the national literary scene was largely because Li Panlong, Wang Shizhen and Wu Guolun were from Shandong, Jiangnan and Hubei respectively.

Among them, Shandong is an important literary center in the north, and apart from Shandong, Mr. Lin could not count on the support of other provinces in the north.

There are people like Wang Jiaping and Yang Junmin in Shanxi, Shen Li in Henan, and Zhao Nanxing in Northern Zhili. Who can give Lin Tailai a good face?
Wang Fuzun agreed and said, "I will try my best, but I heard that Gong Nai admires the pure stream very much, so I am afraid it will be difficult to deal with him."

As they were talking, the boat of old leader Wang arrived and the two men went to greet him.

There was no problem with the etiquette procedures, but there was a bit of an unexpected incident regarding the accommodation arrangements for Alliance Leader Wang.

"It was agreed in advance that Duke Yanzhou would stay at Canglang Pavilion in Suzhou. Why did he change his mind at the last minute?" asked Mr. Lin in surprise.

The old leader Wang, who was still sick, said calmly: "I think it would be more appropriate for us to stay at Gusu Posthouse. Isn't that allowed?"

At this time, it was not easy for Mr. Lin to capture the old leader by force and forcibly bring him to Canglang Pavilion.

The main reason was that he was afraid that the old leader Wang would die suddenly on the spot, and then he would not be able to explain himself.

After all, in the original history, the old leader Wang only had one year left to live, so Lin Tailai had to be on guard. In the end, he could only watch the old leader being helped onto the boat and leaving.

Wang Fuzun sighed beside him: "Your situation is not optimistic."

It was very clear that the old leader Wang had heard the opinions of Shen Li, Zhao Yongxian and Gong Nai at Gusu Station, so he changed his mind and insisted on staying at Gusu Station.

Anyone with a little understanding can understand what Alliance Leader Wang is trying to express.

Lin Tailai said dissatisfiedly: "What do you mean the situation is not optimistic? Don't destroy your own ambition!"

Wang Fuzun responded: "I am just telling the truth. From the current perspective, there are not many powerful people who sincerely support you.

Zhang Fengyi from Suzhou is one of them. Others like Wen Yuanfa, Wang Zhideng, etc. are probably just working but not putting in any effort. Then among the people from all over the country, Yuan Hongdao from Huguang can barely be counted as one of them. Who else is there?"

Mr. Lin was still optimistic and said, "Isn't this a good situation?
Jiangnan and Hubei each have Zhang Fengyi and Yuan Hongdao as fulcrums. If you can help me take over Shandong, a literary powerhouse, can't we replicate the path of the retro-style post-Seven Masters to dominate the literary world?"

Wang Fuzun reminded him: "If we only talk about literature and art, in addition to Jiangnan, Hubei, and Shandong, Zhejiang can also be called an important city.

You have to think of a solution for Zhejiang as well. If Shandong doesn’t work, then Zhejiang cannot afford to lose.”

Lin Tailai replied: "Of course I know that. After welcoming Wang Yanzhou today, we will focus on attacking Zhejiang.

Besides, you guys in Shandong can’t fail! If you can’t handle it, tell me right away and I’ll allocate more energy to deal with it!”

After returning to the mansion, Mr. Lin called Zhang Fengyi over to discuss how to attack Zhejiang.

There are three heavyweights from Zhejiang attending this literary conference, Shen Mingchen, Tu Long and Hu Yinglin, each of them is extraordinary.

Mr. Lin crossed out Hu Yinglin first. "This should be no problem. Let's not consider him for now."

Hu Yinglin is an expert in poetry theory who has risen in the past decade. He is known as the successor of Master Wang in literary criticism. Four years ago, he had a battle of magic with Master Lin and became his enemy.

However, Hu Yinglin and Old Man Zhao Zhigao were from the same county and had been taken care of by Old Man Zhao, so Mr. Lin had already asked Old Man Zhao to pass on the message.

Anyway, Hu Yinglin is unlikely to jump out and act as a troublemaker at this literary conference.

Then Mr. Lin pointed at Shen Mingchen's name and said, "This man is the uncle of Shen Yikuan, a senior poet in the poetry world, and Shen Yikuan was also promoted by Prime Minister Shen.

So if we try to win him over from this perspective, we should have a good chance. And judging from Shen Mingchen's experience, he is not aloof and does not reject interactions with the powerful. "

Shen Mingchen is one of the three greatest commoner poets in the world and has extensive experience in the literary world. He has served as an aide to Governor-General Hu Zongxian and as a retainer of Prime Minister Xu Jie.

His position in Zhejiang literary world is similar to that of Wang Laodeng in Suzhou.

In the end, only Tu Long was left. This man was also not an ordinary person. He was one of the last five figures of the retro style in the literary world. This was enough to illustrate his status.

Mr. Lin said to Zhang Fengyi, "I heard that Tu Long has been obsessed with opera in recent years. Is he from your opera circle?"

Zhang Fengyi nodded and said, "That's true. Brother Tu and I have a good relationship and we can talk. But there is a question. I wonder if the master has considered it?"

"What's the problem?" Lin Tailai asked.

Zhang Fengyi replied, "Although Brother Tu and Shen Mingchen are from the same county, their relationship is very bad and they regard each other as enemies. It is impossible for them to be in the same camp."

Ten years ago, Tu Long was an official in Songjiang Prefecture. As a newcomer in officialdom, he worked too hard and offended the local gentry.

Later, Tu Long was promoted to the Ministry of Rites in the capital, and then he was maliciously reported by officials from Songjiang Prefecture. There are rumors that this was instigated by Xu Jie, the former prime minister and the big boss of Songjiang Prefecture.

Later, Tu Long was dismissed from office by the court on the charge of "lewdness".

The reasons for officials to be dismissed in this era are nothing more than those few, but using "debauchery" as a public reason is such a humiliation.

After Tu Long, who was insultingly dismissed from office, returned to his hometown, Shen Mingchen taught Tu Long a lesson as a senior.

Don't forget that Shen Mingchen used to be a retainer of Xu Jie, which made Tu Long very sensitive and angry.

As a result, Tu Long and Shen Mingchen, the two big names in Zhejiang literary world, became enemies. When Shen Mingchen fell ill, Tu Long shouted that it was retribution.

Zhang Fengyi analyzed, "So the leader cannot win over both Shen Mingchen and Tu Long at the same time. No matter which one he keeps, the other will definitely run to the other side.

In other words, it is almost impossible to get all of Zhejiang to support the sitting leader.”

Mr. Lin couldn't help cursing, "They are obviously from the same county, but they can still make such a fuss. It really affects my overall situation!"

Among the important cities in the current literary world, Shandong has already opposed me, and the future situation is unclear.

Yuan Hongdao of Hubei can only represent half of the emerging Gong'an faction. The real boss of Hubei is Wu Guolun, who is listed as one of the last seven together with the old leader Wang.

Not to mention the Jiangnan region, where there are too many people and too many gossips, and the Wang brothers of the Xin'an faction are eyeing them covetously.

Therefore, Zhejiang was the territory that Mr. Lin had to conquer, but he did not expect that Zhejiang was so divided internally.

After considering it, Mr. Lin instructed: "Invite Shen Mingchen and Tu Long to come here tomorrow, and I will talk to them in person."

"Call them all over?" Zhang Fengyi thought he had misheard.

If they meet separately, they may be able to win over one of them, but if they call a pair of enemies over at the same time, they may even fight on the spot.

If in the end, nothing happens and no one is won over, it would be a big loss.

"That's right, call them all over! I don't like fighting in my life, so I have to stop them and mediate for them!" Mr. Lin said calmly.

At the same time, in Shen Li's residence in Gusu Station, Gu Xiancheng was also analyzing the current situation with Shen Li and Zhao Yongxian.

That’s right, it was Gu Xiancheng. He concealed his identity and sneaked in to avoid being accused of being out during the mourning period.

"The situation seems to be extremely favorable at the moment, and we have the upper hand in all provinces." Gu Xiancheng analyzed after listening to the situation over the past two days.

“Among the important cities, the North has already supported us, and Lord Shen and Gong Nai have made great contributions.

As for Hubei, as long as we get the tacit approval of Lord Wang Yanzhou, Senior Wu Guolun, who is also one of the Later Seven Masters, will definitely support us. Yuan Hongdao's Gong'an faction is unable to compete with Wu Guolun for the time being.

As for Jiangnan, Senior Zhao is from Jiangnan and will definitely be able to get a lot of support, which is enough.

All in all, the advantage is entirely mine, and the outcome is decided!"

Zhao Yongxian reminded Gu Xiancheng: "There is also Zhejiang, which should not be underestimated."

Gu Xiancheng smiled and said, "As long as we don't let Lin Tailai get all the support from Zhejiang, our advantage will be unshakable. It's very simple!
We told Tu Long that Lin Tailai had recently been in close contact with the gentry of Songjiang Prefecture, and that we just needed to unite with them to do big things!

Tu Long hated the gentry of Songjiang Prefecture very much. After hearing this news, it was impossible for him to support Lin Tailai!

So there is no need to worry about Zhejiang. Even if Lin Tailai wins over Shen Mingchen, it will not affect the overall situation. "

(End of this chapter)