Zhang He interrupted in confusion, "But after listening to your Majesty's words, I still don't know how to write a poem!"
Cao Rui smiled and shook his head: "If we use the march as an example, General Zhang has just walked from Chencang to Lueyang. If he wants to turn it into a poem, he still has two steps to go."
"What I want to talk about next is rhyme."
Cao Rui pointed at Sima Yi and said, "Sikong, recite the late emperor's "Yan Ge Xing" to everyone present. Just the last four lines will do."
Sima Yi was helpless, but he had to do it. As one of the four friends of the late emperor, Sima Yi could not fail to recite the poems written by the late emperor, especially the masterpiece "Yan Ge Xing".
After clearing his throat, Sima Yi recited aloud: "The bright moon shines on my bed, the Milky Way flows westward in the endless night. The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl look at each other from afar, why are you alone confined to the river bridge?"
Cao Rui looked at Zhang He and asked, "Do you feel that the poem written by the late emperor is very smooth to read?"
Zhang He was silent for a few moments: "Yes! But I don't know what to do for the moment."
Cao Rui smiled and said, "The last word! Shining on my bed, the night is still long, looking at each other from afar, bounded by the river bridge."
"Look, aren't the last words pronounced similarly? They all have the sound of 'ang'?"
Zhang He nodded: "Indeed."
Except for Sima Yi, Cao Zhi, Wang Su and other three people, the remaining seven people present were all very curious about what the emperor said.
Even Cao Zhen and Cao Hong looked at each other, and were surprised that they understood. The last word has a similar pronunciation!
Cao Rui put his hands behind his back and pointed southward: "I will choose one of the four scenes you mentioned, and I will choose the West Han River. The first sentence of a poem often begins with a repetition of words or a direction."
"Now I want you to use two words to describe the West Han River." Cao Rui guided Zhang He: "Remember to use a double word."
"Let me give you an example: the distant Altair and the bright Milky Way girl. With their delicate hands, they work on the loom."
Zhang He was a little confused for a moment, and it took him a while to settle down: "Your Majesty, I will use the word 'torrential'!"
"Okay," Cao Rui nodded, "General Zhang has already written the first sentence."
"The surging...West Han River?" Zhang He asked tentatively.
“Hahahaha.” Cao Rui laughed and said, “It’s the general who wrote the poem, not me. If you say it’s okay, then of course it’s okay.”
"Then it's 'The surging West Han River'." Zhang He nodded and asked, "What about the second sentence?"
Cao Rui went on to say: "When writing poetry, there should be rhythm and progression, and there is no need to pile up a lot of images. Start with a scene or an object, write it clearly and bring out the emotion."
"You have all heard of the White Horse Piece written by the Emperor's uncle, right?"
The civil officials all nodded. Cao Rui looked at his generals and said helplessly, "A white horse with golden reins gallops to the northwest. May I ask who this boy is? He is a knight from You and Bing."
"The beginning of this poem is very good. The white horse carries the knight to the border. One sentence follows another. The first sentence is about the white horse, and the second sentence is about galloping to the northwest."
"Since General Zhang started with the West Han River, why not explain it more clearly?"
Seeing Zhang He was confused again, Cao Rui said with a smile: "Let me ask you, where does the West Han River come from? Where does it flow through and where does it go? What is its use?"
Zhang He replied, "I know this. The West Han River originates in Longnan, flows through Qinzhou to Yizhou, and now the army is heading south along the West Han River to Wudu!"
"Okay, let's start with the story of the West Han River flowing out of Longnan." Cao Rui guided him, "You used the word 'taotao' before. Can you use a reduplicated word here to describe the West Han River from a different angle?"
"Let me think about it," Zhang He lowered his head and thought: "Wide? Broad? Long?"
Cao Rui smiled and shook his head: "General Zhang, you just used the word 'turbulent'. The turbulence of water can be seen with the eyes, but can we hear it with the ears, or touch it with the hands? Change the feeling?"
Seeing Zhang He still thinking, Cao Rui reminded him: "Can you use turbulent or fierce? Two senses, two different words, you can choose one."
"I choose the Lie Lie. The West Han River is surging, and the river flows south of Longnan."
When this sentence came out of Zhang He's mouth, not only did Cao Zhi and others' eyes light up, but even Cao Zhen and Cao Hong, who did not understand poetry, suddenly felt that this poem had some substance.
Whether it is the Yuefu of the Han Dynasty or the literati in Yexia headed by Cao Pi and Cao Zhi in the past, they all emphasized narrative in their poetry writing, with simple words but deep feelings, and they made extensive use of inspiration.
The first line of a poem written in this writing style is often quite ancient and simple, and the quality of the poem can only be judged after two or four lines.
"We have the first two sentences, but what about the third and fourth sentences?" Cao Rui continued to guide: "Just now you said that the West Han River flows from Qinzhou to Yizhou. How can we express it better?"
"From Qin to Yi?" Zhang He blurted out, then he laughed and thought it was inappropriate, so he quickly added, "Your Majesty, wait a moment, I will change it."
"Flowing through Qin and Yi? Going upstream through Qin and Yi? Connecting Qin and Yi?" Zhang He asked tentatively several times.
"The latter one is better." Qian Zhao whispered beside him.
Cao Rui smiled but said nothing.
Zhang He continued to whisper to himself, following the emperor's instructions: "That means it is the route for the army to march."
"Open up a wider road?" Zhang He looked up at the emperor again.
Now it was Guo Huai's turn to remind him: "Mr. Zhang, maybe you can change a few words to be more elegant."
"Change the road to the post road?" Zhang He did not want to be polite to Guo Huai, so he turned around and asked, "How about the post road?"
"Better, better." Guo Huai said.
"How should I change it to open up?" Zhang He muttered to himself again. Cao Zhi couldn't listen any more: "I have used three sentences to accumulate the momentum of the West Han River. The fourth round is to explode. You might as well use some fierce words."
Zhang He looked towards Cao Zhi. Cao Zhi knew that he had said too much, but he couldn't help but give him some advice: "It's better to use the word 'destroy' rather than 'open up'!"
"That is..." Zhang He said softly, "The surging West Han River flows from Longnan. It connects Qin and Yi, and widens the post road."
"It looks a bit like that, and the rhyme is also on point." Cao Rui said with a smile, "After talking about the scenery, it's time to talk about people's psychological activities."
"Take you for example, why did you come here today and to Qishan? What are you going to do in the future?"
Zhang He replied simply, "I am the General of the Western Expedition, appointed by Your Majesty to command the military forces of Qin and Yong Provinces. I have fulfilled my duty and am now following the army to Qishan. I will be marching towards Hanzhong via Wudu!"
"Well said. You just said three sentences, so let's write it into six sentences." Cao Rui nodded.
"From Chencang to Longyou, from Qishan to Hanzhong." Zhang He seemed to have come to his senses and said, "General, defend Yongliang and lead troops to aid Longyou..."
"The rhyme is wrong. I will change it for you." Cao Rui interrupted, "The general defended Yongliang and went to the national crisis."
"Qian Zhao Guo Huai, you two help to revise the next four sentences."
"As you wish." Qian Zhao and Guo Huai agreed at the same time, but they couldn't help but have some doubts in their hearts.
Zhang He thought for a long time and continued, "According to the emperor's order, the army will march out of Qishan."
It was Guo Huai who corrected the words again: "It would be better to change the term 'great army' to 'royal division'."
Qian Zhao also laughed and said, "They are all two-character and three-character structures. It seems better to change them according to the emperor's will. According to the emperor's will?"
Guo Huai glanced at the emperor and said, "It seems better to repay the emperor's kindness!"
Zhang He knew that he was a little slow in writing poems, and everyone present was waiting for him to finish, so he simply accepted the two people's suggestions: "To repay the emperor's intention, the royal army will march out of Qishan."
Cao Rui reminded him, "General Zhang just mentioned the four scenes: the West Han River, the army, and the wilderness. The only thing missing is the flag."
Zhang He nodded in agreement, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "Longyou has been recovered, and the army is heading towards Hanzhong."
“It doesn’t seem to rhyme again.”
"Use Hanchuan instead of Hanzhong." Guo Huai reminded: "The flags replace the military flags."
Qian Zhao looked at Guo Huai and whispered, "Has been recovered, towards Hanchuan. Both are one word plus two words. It seems that the previous sentence should be changed."
Guo Huai replied: "It has been restored!"
Zhang He was not embarrassed at all. He accepted the proposal of Qian Zhao and Guo Huai in its entirety. After sorting out the thoughts in his mind, he bowed to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I have finished my first poem."
"Tell me." Cao Rui could hardly hold back the smile on his face, but the other civil officials beside him were still quite surprised by the emperor's patient guidance and method of composing poetry.
It turns out that writing poetry is not that difficult?
Zhang He coughed lightly and recited aloud:
"The surging West Han River flows from the south of Longnan. It connects Qin and Yi, and widens the post road. The general guards Yongliang and goes to the national crisis. In order to repay the emperor's will, the royal army marches out of Qishan. Now that Longyou has been recovered, the flags are heading towards Hanchuan."
After Zhang He finished reciting a five-character poem, he found that his colleagues around him were staring at him in silence.
"What's going on..." Zhang He asked in surprise, "Your Majesty, is there anything I said wrong?"
Of course there was nothing wrong with it. With the help of the emperor, Cao Zhi, Qian Zhao and Guo Huai, Zhang He wrote a five-character poem that was far above the average in just one stick of incense!
Cao Zhi clapped his hands and praised: "Hearing your Majesty's words to General Zhang, I actually felt a bit like when I first read the late emperor's "Classics"!"
Cao Rui smiled and waved his hand: "Don't compare me with the late emperor, it's not appropriate. But I have already said almost everything about my current poetry writing."
"First, the words are simple but the feelings are profound; second, the narrative technique is used to slowly progress."
"As for the opening of the poem, I took a trick and let General Zhang follow the routine." Cao Rui smiled and said, "Uncle, don't be surprised. The direction or repetition of words I just mentioned is just a summary of some poems I have read in two ways."
"First, use repetition to describe the scene and then create the mood, such as the green cypress on the tomb and the rocks in the stream."
“Or start with directions, such as in the north there is a beautiful woman, peerless and independent. In the northwest there is a tall building, reaching as high as the clouds.”
Cao Zhi sighed, "After the army returns to Luoyang, I and Wu Ji will edit the collection of poems and essays. I hope Your Majesty will personally guide and comment on them!"
"Okay, let's discuss it after we return to Luoyang." Cao Rui nodded in agreement.
Zhang He was waiting impatiently: "Your Majesty, how do you think this poem is?"
"It's very well written." Cao Rui smiled and said, "General Zhang's poem "The Raging West Han River" can be engraved on a stone to add more literary flavor to the newly built Qishan City!"
"You have all heard what I said just now. So I will order each of you to write a five-character poem with the first line of 'Roaring West Han River'."
"It's still the same rule. If you can't write it, you have to drink ten bottles of wine as a penalty!"
Everyone agreed.
Seeing how easy it was for Zhang He to write poetry, Cao Hong couldn't help but pull Cao Zhen's sleeve and said, "Zidan, why don't you and I write a poem together?"
"Are you going to break your promise in front of His Majesty? Just do it yourself!" Cao Zhen rolled his eyes at Cao Hong, shook his hand away and ignored him. (End of this chapter)
