Chapter 395: Report to Your Majesty, Huangting Lane has won a great victory!
There are more and more people in Huangting Lane, and it is difficult for those standing at the back to know what is happening in front.
The only way to learn about the latest progress of the chess game between the unknown Mr. Lin and the young monk from the Western Regions was through word of mouth.
In the center of the tightly blocked chess stall, the game had already reached the middle stage, but it was different from the restless crowd outside who were frequently asking questions.
At this moment, as the center of the "storm", many spectators, including Princess Wenzhu, were holding their breath, as if they dared not even breathe.
The gazes towards Zhao Duan also changed from initial surprise and confusion, or indifference, to gradually turning into astonishment and admiration.
“Pah.”
Princess Wenzhu squatted on a small stool with her legs together, staring at the chessboard. Zhao Duan made another move, and a very faint cry of surprise rang in her ears.
It was quickly suppressed by people holding their breath.
However, in the sultry air, there was a faint atmosphere of excitement that swept away the previous decadence and despair. Even people who knew nothing about Go could easily judge the situation by the expressions of the two players.
The calmness and ease on the young monk Danche's face had long since disappeared.
He leaned forward, his red monk's robe slightly damp with sweat.
On his slightly childish face, he stared intently at the black and white pieces entangled with each other on the chessboard, as if he was trapped in some extremely dangerous dilemma.
In contrast, Zhao Duan, who was dressed as a rich young man, was calm and relaxed, enjoying the gentle fanning from the maid beside him with great interest.
Qian Kerou half-knelt aside, and the slight "rustling" sound made by the chessboard that served as a fan was very clear as she waved it again and again.
Beside him, Chen Jiuyan, the palace chess player, was squatting beside the chessboard without caring about his image at all, breathing heavily, as if he was doing some kind of deduction.
This great player still can't believe what just happened.
At first, when Zhao Duan sat down to the table and made his move, people thought it was just a futile attempt by a young man who was ignorant of the immensity of the world or too hot-blooded to stand up to the enemy.
However, after a few moves, the crowd that was originally dispersed and about to disperse were attracted by the chess game again.
Nothing else.
However, Zhao Duan's chess moves were far beyond everyone's expectations.
There is no large-scale offensive, nor is there a step-by-step calculation.
From the very beginning, Zhao Duan did not follow the backward chess moves of this world.
He never dared to underestimate the ancients, and he knew very well that if it was just a competition of calculations, he, a half-baked one, would definitely not be Dan Che's opponent.
So he chose the patterns in his mind that had never appeared in this world.
At first, those moves that were considered "heretical" in the eyes of this group of mature chess players caused an uproar among the crowd, and they even doubted whether this unknown young man knew chess at all.
However, as the situation progressed, everything changed dramatically.
Then people suddenly realized that the situation had fallen into Zhao Duan's control since some time ago.
Those seemingly meaningless moves at the beginning, under the new patterns and concepts, collided head-on with Dan Che, the top Go player of the old era, and then, the latter was defeated as expected.
It was as if the scene was being repeated, but this time, the one advancing step by step and full of murderous intent was Zhao Duan.
Those who were exhausted, gradually losing territory and showing signs of defeat, became the monk Danche who won eleven games in a row without a single defeat!
“Good move!”
When Zhao Duan made this crucial move in the middle game, the top player watching beside him quickly deduced the situation, and his face suddenly turned red, and he almost blurted out these two words!
The eyes are bright and dazzling!
With this shout, the situation on the chessboard suddenly changed. Murderous intent was emitted from the sky, dragons and snakes emerged from the land, and Zhao Duan's moves suddenly changed into a full-scale general attack.
For a moment, murderous intent was boiling, the world was turned upside down, smoke rose, and blood flowed like a river.
“Pah.”
“Pah.”
“Pah.”
…
Zhao Duan and Dan Che took turns making moves. There was no long deliberation to waste time, only head-on fighting between the two armies.
The winter wind swept through the alley through the cracks, and the century-old plum tree at the entrance of the alley trembled, shaking off large flakes of snow powder that fluttered down.
The crisp sound of the pieces falling is like the beat of drums in a battle, exciting and solemn.
It was like a heavy hammer, hitting the hearts of the onlookers.
Finally, after an unknown amount of time, the smoke cleared and Zhao Duan made his last move.
The young monk Danche, his robe soaked with sweat, leaned forward, almost diving into the chessboard. His hand, which had reached into the chess box, was no longer able to pick up even a single black piece.
Zhao Duan said calmly: "You lose."
The chess stall was completely silent, the air seemed frozen. People heard these words in disbelief, but the situation was too complicated and novel to judge whether they were true or false.
So, everyone's eyes subconsciously turned to Chen Jiuyan.
However, the palace chess player who had recently caused a great disaster stared at the chessboard, muttering to himself, and finally confirmed with his last bit of strength:
"Winning by five points, no mistake!"
He raised his head and said in a daze, "We... won."
Win!
Really won!
The crowd suddenly went from dead silence to excitement. The Yu State chess players suddenly came to their senses, and someone suddenly shouted loudly: "We won! A big win!"
"The monk from the Western Regions lost!"
The sound spread from inside to outside, toward the entire Huangting Lane.
Like a stone thrown into a lake.
"Princess!?"
The female warrior wrapped in a cloak was astonished to see Princess Wenzhu suddenly stand up. Her action was so sudden that the group of guards were caught off guard.
Princess Wenzhu, however, just stared at Zhao Duan with her beautiful eyes, a look of shock on her face.
Did this Young Master Lin really defeat Dan Che? Isn't this your first time here? Why... is there such a formidable chess player hidden in the capital?
Is he so much better than the imperial chess players? Why is he so unknown? Why did he happen to meet me?
At this moment, she even suspected that this was no coincidence. However, she had only come to see the excitement on a whim and had not told anyone around her beforehand...
"Young Master..." Hou Renmeng, Chen Juan and others were also unable to hide their astonishment, wondering how their lord's chess skills could be so terrifying?
The young monk Danche sat there woodenly. He raised his head, his face no longer showing any pride. He stared blankly at Zhao Duan and said in a hoarse voice:
"I've never heard of a chess player like you in the capital."
Zhao Duan stood up, smiled, and didn't explain too much:
"The capital is not as simple as you people from the Western Regions think."
After saying this, he felt the atmosphere around him and knew that he could not stay any longer, otherwise once the news spread, he would never be able to escape.
He glanced at Princess Wenzhu apologetically, leaned over and whispered:
"It's getting late, and I have some things to do, so I'll take my leave first."
Princess Wenzhu finally came back to her senses and pursed her lips. Although she wanted to take this guy to the room and question him, she nodded and said, "Please do as you please, sir."
Zhao Duan glanced at Qian Kerou and the others and was about to leave.
"etc!"
Suddenly, Chen Jiuyan, who had a strand of white hair on his forehead, suddenly spoke excitedly:
"Excuse me, sir, where is your residence? I would like to visit you..."
Zhao Duan paused, glanced at him, and said meaningfully:
"I have a message for Chen Daizhao."
Chen Jiuyan was startled and bowed respectfully: "Sir, please speak."
Zhao Duan, however, was just nonchalant, saying, "If you want to wear the official hat, you must bear its weight. To be an official, you must bend down first."
Chen Jiuyan was stunned, chewed it carefully, and immediately his face turned red.
Realizing the mysterious origin of this young man, he immediately saw through his intention of coming here today.
It's just that in the past year, the empress has promoted countless new officials, too many of whom, like Han Zhou and Feng Ju, have risen to high positions overnight.
Chen Jiuyan, a chess player, was eager to make a move. Although he knew that there were risks in joining the battle, he still came alone without asking his superiors for permission.
The purpose is nothing more than "performance", to flatter the superiors and seek credit, but they forget that not everyone is qualified to rise to the top.
The crowd subconsciously made way for a passage, and three Lihuatang brocade-clad men led the way, and Zhao Duan walked out of Huangting Lane.
Chen Jiuyan raised his hands high and bowed deeply towards his departing back.
The crowd dispersed suddenly, spreading the news of this game that happened without any warning at a chess stall in a winter alley, but was worthy of being recorded in history.
…
"The Huangting Alley is ahead. My disciple Dan Che is over there."
The old monkey, who was a master of the Red Sect, rode in a carriage with Master Bian Ji and pointed to the chess academy building in the distance.
Bian Ji in white forced a smile. Although the disgrace to the chess world of Yu State had little to do with Shenlong Temple, it was not a good thing to give the other party such a big limelight when the debate was about to begin.
"Let's go on foot." The Red Sect master got off the carriage and, surrounded by several Western monks, stepped on the thin snow on the street with a smile.
However, just as I turned the corner, I saw a large crowd of people coming back in the distance.
Everyone looked excited and seemed eager to tell their friends.
"It seems something has happened." Bian Ji raised his eyebrows, sensing something was wrong.
The Red Sect master frowned slightly, and saw a Western monk who was watching here also followed the crowd and strode over. Seeing the monks, he hurriedly quickened his pace.
"Where is Dan Che? Is he still playing chess?" asked the Red Sect master.
The low EQ monk shook his head, not caring about Bian Ji's presence, and said breathlessly:
"Dan Che defeated the national champion of Yu State, but was defeated by an unknown person."
After a pause, he added: "A miserable defeat."
The smile on the Red Sect master's face slowly froze, like a piece of ice in the corner.
…
Imperial Palace.
When the great master Chen Jiuyan went to play chess without permission, the relevant news had already been delivered to the Baima Prison, and a messenger entered the palace and delivered the news to the desk of the empress who had just returned from the Xiuwenguan.
"What? Monks from the Western Regions swept through Huangting Alley, and the chess player Chen Jiuyan went there to play against them?"
In the imperial study, Xu Zhenguan's face changed slightly after hearing this, and then anger surged between his brows:
"Who gave him permission to go? Go and recall him... No, I'm afraid it's too late. Go find out the outcome and report back immediately."
After sending people to investigate, the empress paced in the room, feeling uneasy.
Mo Chou, the female official standing at one side of the room, said softly:
"Your Majesty, it's just a game of chess. The impact will ultimately be limited. Besides, Master Chen's strength in the current chess world is obvious to all."
Xu Zhenguan was not comforted. The empress shook her head and sighed:
"How could I care about just a game of chess?"
Her bright face looked out at the imperial study, at the snow-covered palace:
"What I care about is the Buddhist ancestral temple."
Mo Chou was silent for a moment.
The Buddhist debate may seem like an internal struggle between two forces, but how could it have no impact on the territory of the imperial court?
Not to mention the matter of the escaped Great Master, the imperial court just banned Buddhism and suppressed the Shenlong Temple, and the ancestral temple of Buddhism in the Western Regions took the opportunity to expand its influence.
From Xu Zhenguan's perspective, he did not want the Shenlong Temple to become bigger, and of course he was not willing to let the Buddhist ancestral temple become famous by stepping on the chess world in the capital.
This is not just about saving face, but more about what people in the world think of the new dynasty led by the empress.
"I can almost imagine how those scholars in the south who dislike me would slander and spread rumors if Chen Jiuyan lost, making a big fuss about it and arguing that the court under my rule has disgraced the Yu Kingdom."
Xu Zhenguan said expressionlessly:
"Besides, since that Western monk caught everyone off guard, how could he not be confident?"
Mo Chou also gritted her teeth angrily:
"That chess attendant is despicable. Doesn't he know he represents the imperial court? At this critical juncture, every move involving the Western Regions will be watched closely by the entire world."
However, no matter how angry she was, it was too late. The news was passed on too late. Even if the empress had amazing cultivation, she could not rush in personally and drag Chen Jiuyan back from the chessboard.
The king and his ministers waited for a while in an anxious atmosphere, and finally received the report from the servants, and learned of Chen Jiuyan's disastrous defeat.
The atmosphere in the imperial study suddenly became tense.
Even though he had already anticipated this, Xu Zhenguan still couldn't help but sigh when he learned the result.
"Your Majesty, I will go and fetch the chess player right away."
Mo Chou was in a state of panic. "Summon the rest of the national team to fight? Or... try to keep this matter under wraps?"
At this point, Xu Zhenguan's anger subsided. After a moment of hesitation, he finally sighed and said,
"No rush. Send an order to the imperial court to minimize the impact of this incident. The other national players should not participate."
If we lose one game, we can still say that we were careless and underestimated the enemy. If we have to send the rest of the national players to fight and restore the impact, if we lose again, it will actually bring fame to the people of the Western Regions.
"Yes." Mo Chou responded, but did not retreat immediately. Instead, she said:
"Your Majesty, send someone to report that Princess Wenzhu and her group are suspected to have appeared in Huangting Lane."
aunt?
Xu Zhenguan was stunned for a moment, frowned and thought for a while, then said:
"I see. Is Princess Wenzhu still there?"
"It is said that after Chen Jiuyan lost the game, Monk Danche did not leave and was still accepting the challenge. Princess Wenzhu was also there. Well, there seemed to be a few people around the princess, whose identities are unknown." Mochou said.
Xu Zhen nodded and said:
"Send someone to keep watching and report any movement, but don't keep too close an eye on Princess Wenzhu."
"yes."
After the others left, the empress stood alone at the door of the imperial study, looking at the bright sun and white snow outside, lost in thought.
After an unknown amount of time, Mo Chou hurried back, looking obviously agitated:
"Your Majesty, there are changes in Huangting Lane again!"
Xu Zhenguan came back to his senses and cast a puzzled look at his trusted female official.
Mo Chou said with a strange expression, "Someone took action and defeated Monk Dan Che, reversing the defeat! Now the news has spread over there."
Xu Zhenguan was startled, extremely surprised: "Is the news true?"
This result was far beyond her expectations.
If Chen Jiuyan loses, who can turn the tide?
The first thought was that which chess player had gone there without permission, but he felt that something was not right.
Mo Chou nodded excitedly:
"The news came from Princess Wenzhu. She's outside the palace, requesting to see Your Majesty. By the way, the young man who defeated Danche is the one standing next to Princess Wenzhu."
…
Typos should be corrected first and then replaced
(End of this chapter)
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