Chương 78: Cao Cao and Shao were shocked, and the crowd was in an uproar.

After saying this, before Cao Cao and Yuan Shao could react, Liu Ce had already stood up, straightened his robes, and walked out of the private room with steady and calm steps.

He left with such composure, as if he were just going to the restroom, rather than leaving behind two "literary bombs."

Cao Cao and Yuan Shao stared at each other, stunned for several seconds.

"This... the Marquis of Champion has already left?"

Yuan Shao looked on, somewhat bewildered.

"What did he write? How can he be so confident?"

Cao Cao then came to his senses and looked down at the two sheets of paper covered in ink in his hand.

He only glanced at it, and his eyes widened instantly, his mouth gaping open as if he could fit an egg in it. He remained silent for a long time, as if he had been frozen in place.

Seeing his ghostly appearance, Yuan Shao became very curious and quickly went over to take a look.

He hadn't even noticed when he looked down that the white feather fan he used to hold coins in his hand had fallen to the ground with a "thud"!

Cao Cao took a breath and squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth:

"Holy crap! (Describe the moment)"

"Bolüe... he's really unleashed all his hidden literary talent! This poem... this poem is beyond human ability to write! Absolutely amazing! Truly amazing!"

Yuan Shao finally recovered from his shock, his eyes fixed on the words on the paper, and he subconsciously murmured them aloud: The opening line, "The moon of Qin shines on the passes of Han, the long march of ten thousand miles has not yet ended," is vast and majestic, intertwining time and space, striking straight to the heart! It is far superior to those sentimental "killing the Yellow Turbans" posts downstairs!

And then there's the line, "If only the Flying General of Longcheng were here, the barbarian horses would never dare cross the Yin Mountains!" What spirit! What determination! This is the true, unwavering courage and heroism of defending one's homeland!

His gaze then eagerly shifted to the second sheet of paper:

"The long clouds over Qinghai darken the snow-capped mountains, and the lonely city gazes afar at the Jade Gate Pass..." The imagery is vivid, desolate and bleak!

"Having fought a hundred battles in golden armor, I will not return until Loulan is conquered!" My God... this resolute determination to serve one's country to the death... this...

Yuan Shao was so excited that he was somewhat incoherent. He considered himself a scion of a noble family and had read countless poems, but he had never seen such a moving frontier poem or military poem before!

This goes beyond the scope of "good"; it's practically a groundbreaking masterpiece!

Just then, Su Wanqing's melodious voice, tinged with regret and urging, came from downstairs:

"Gentlemen, do you have any other excellent works? If not... then Wanqing will have to choose one that is acceptable and fulfill her promise~" The sound was like a wake-up call.

Cao Cao snapped out of his daze! He glanced at the poem in his hand, then at the beautiful woman on the platform below, and then at Yuan Shao beside him, who was equally excited.

A complex mix of emotions—"a godsend," "an honor to share," and "I must get this coin"—rushed into my head!

He jumped up, rushed to the window of the private room, and, disregarding all decorum, shouted downstairs in an excited voice:

"Gentlemen! Wait a minute! There's a wonderful poem here!!!"

That shout, full of energy, instantly drowned out the noise from downstairs.

Everyone instinctively looked up at the "Cheng Yaojin" who had suddenly appeared on the second floor.

Cao Cao took a deep breath, raised the first sheet of paper written by Liu Ce himself, and recited it aloud in the clearest and most emotional (with a hint of boastfulness) tone of his life:

"First song! Listen carefully!!!"

"The moon of Qin shines on the pass of Han, but the soldiers on the long march have not returned."

"If only the Flying General of Longcheng were here, the barbarian horses would never dare to cross the Yin Mountains."

The four lines of poetry, twenty-eight characters in total, each word resounding like the clang of metal, carrying the weight and desolation of history, clearly reaching the ears of everyone in Zuichunlou.

The entire Drunken Spring Pavilion fell into a deathly silence in an instant!

Everyone seemed to be under a spell, frozen in place.

The students who were still racking their brains with their pens stopped what they were doing, and the young masters who were waving their fans and showing off froze with their smiles.

Even Su Wanqing, who had been wearing a professional smile on stage, was now filled with disbelief and shock!

The silence lasted for about two or three seconds, and then—

"boom!!!"

The uproar was ten times more intense than ever before, erupting like a volcano!

"My goodness! This... this poem..."

"Amazing! Absolutely amazing!

'The Moon Over Qin, the Passes of Han'! This opening gave me goosebumps!"

"The Long March has ended, and the heroes have not yet returned..." Hearing this makes me want to cry! But it also fills me with patriotic fervor!

"If only the Flying General of Longcheng were here, the barbarian horses would never dare to cross the Yin Mountains!" So powerful! Absolutely so powerful! This is the spirit that the soldiers of our great Han Dynasty should possess!

"Who wrote this? Quick! Tell me who this genius is?!"

"Who wrote this? Quick! Copy it down! This poem will be remembered for eternity!"

"Was that Young Master Cao reciting the poem just now? Could it have been written by Young Master Cao?"

"Cao Mengde had such literary talent? I never knew that before!"

The audience erupted in cheers! Exclamations, praises, and questions filled the air as everyone was flushed with excitement, as if they had witnessed the birth of a timeless masterpiece!

Su Wanqing couldn't contain her excitement either. She looked up at Cao Cao by the second-floor window, her voice trembling slightly with urgency:

"Young Master Cao! This... this poem, is it really your work? The imagery is lofty, the spirit is magnificent, it's the best I've ever seen in my life!"

"Could you... could you please read it again? So that Wanqing and everyone else can savor it a little more?"

Seeing the shocked and admiring gazes of the crowd downstairs, and hearing Su Dajia's yearning voice, Cao Cao's vanity was greatly satisfied! But he hadn't forgotten the real target.

He suppressed his excitement, took another deep breath, and recited it again in a louder and more emotional voice.

This time, everyone listened with bated breath.

When the last line, "We will not let the barbarian horses cross the Yinshan Mountains," fell, the entire Zuichunlou seemed to be filled with an invisible heroic spirit.

Many students were so excited that their faces turned red, and they clapped enthusiastically. Some older scholars even closed their eyes to savor the moment, murmuring in praise:

"He's pioneering a new style of frontier poetry... This young man is truly talented!"

Seeing this, Cao Cao knew the time was right. He took a deep breath, suppressed his smugness, and picked up the second piece of paper.

With a louder, more emotional voice, he read aloud the second "nuclear bomb":

"Ladies and gentlemen! There's a second one!"

"Long clouds over Qinghai darken the snow-capped mountains, and from the lonely city, one can gaze afar at the Jade Gate Pass."

"Having fought a hundred battles in golden armor, we will not return until we have conquered Loulan."

He practically yelled the last sentence!

At this point, the scene downstairs was no longer just in an uproar, it was practically a nuclear explosion!

"good--!!!"

"Having fought a hundred battles, clad in golden armor! What a scene! What a spirit! It's written so incredibly well!"

"We will not return until Loulan is conquered!" What determination! What valor!

"Both! Both are masterpieces! Timeless classics!"

"Coming to Zuichunlou today was definitely worth it! To hear such poetry in person was absolutely worth it!"

"Young Master Cao is truly talented! Please accept my bow!"

"Quick! Pen and ink! Write it down quickly! Not a single word can be wrong!"