Chapter 393: A great player (5k)
A good match!
In the gray-black courtyard of Shantang, Zhao Duan's head thumped. At this moment, his muscles under his cotton-padded clothes tightened, giving birth to instinctive vigilance.
I suspect that I have been exposed!
The princess mentioned herself suddenly, praised and criticized Zhenbao nakedly, and also mentioned Zhenbao's good match, which really seemed to "like" him.
Zhao Duan suspected that the other party had seen through his disguise.
But when he caught a glimpse of Princess Manzhu's natural demeanor and sincere, non-mocking eyes, he immediately realized that he had thought too much.
What came to mind next was the unspeakable weirdness. He twitched the corners of his lips: "Your Highness is joking..."
The noble lady with a high status in the Western Region is a bit rough, but A smile rose on his charming face:
"Is Mr. Lin frightened? If you really have this intention, I, my aunt, can introduce you to you."
This idea came to her on the spur of the moment.
If we can help and support a new and upright man to replace Zhao Duan, it may be a wonderful way to eliminate traitors skillfully without damaging the relationship between aunt and niece.
Even from a profit perspective, if this Link can really rise to the top, she can also earn a lot of love.
It is conducive to the further consolidation of the Western Regions and the Empress's regime.
In the history that Zhao Duan is familiar with, there are also similar operations. For example, when Wu Zetian was lonely in her later years, her daughters would often send their mother a face to show her favor.
In particular, Wu Zetian's daughter Princess Taiping was the most attentive. It is said that many of the handsome men presented to Wu Zetian were "personally tested" by Princess Taiping.
Only when the daughter thinks the experience is good will she dedicate it to her mother.
It's really annoying...
But it is indeed a powerful means to strengthen the relationship between mother and daughter.
Zhao Duan's thoughts are exquisite, and he can reveal everything at once. He grins secretly and feels like his eyes are going dark. He can't help but start to look forward to the other party's reaction after learning his true identity...
Well... The premise is that this aunt will not also think about "trying" for her niece first... Hiss...
Shaking his head and getting rid of the messy thoughts, Zhao Duan looked upright and solemn. :
"Your Highness, don't mention it again, how noble your Majesty is, Zhao Shijun is also a dragon and a phoenix among people, the two are a perfect match. I don't know where your Highness heard many slanders about Zhao Shijun. "
Princess Wenzhu had a little disappointment in her eyes and said curiously:
"Oh? Really, but I heard a lot of curses, especially from many Buddhists in the city. I don’t like this person.”
This is a temptation to pretend to be naive and ignorant.
Zhao Duan said seriously:
"Although I have a humble position, I also know what is a great kindness and what is a small favor.
Zhao Shijun is planning for the new deal. He also went to the south to preside over the opening of the market... In this way, it will benefit the country and the people;
What does it matter if I help some orphans? As for those who are angry and slandered because of the "forbidden Buddha" The followers of Zhao Shijun were just temporarily deceived.”
Princess Manzhu smiled and said nothing.
I’m not surprised by Link’s reaction.
After all, with the reputation of "King Zhao of Hell", who would dare to openly slander him?
This Link calls himself a small family. Even if he has some background, he will not dare to offend Zhao Duan.
It is only human nature to express such a stance.
However, even heroes like the young man in front of him are afraid of the "King of Hell Zhao", which shows how powerful the traitor is and how deeply rooted his cruelty is in people's hearts.
As for her sudden comparison between the two and belittling Zhao Duan just now, she also had other motives:
As long as Link didn’t react in time and showed a tendency to accept her statement, then It means "implementing the facts of the population".
It was equivalent to giving her a handle on him.
There was no evil intention in digging a hole with words like this. Instead, he was admiring the handsome man in front of him and had the idea of soliciting him, so he tried to bind him further.
Unfortunately, Link's answer was watertight.
Huh... I have been fooled. I was almost deceived by her previous "Madonna" appearance and lowered my vigilance... Zhao Duan sighed when he saw the slightly disappointed look on this lady's face.
Finally, I have a preliminary impression of this eldest princess who has returned from a distant marriage.
When I first read the information, I saw that a lonely woman who married far away could help her husband to stabilize the situation. Zhao Duan imagined the image of a powerful female monarch.
When they come into contact with each other, they feel more like a "Virgin Mother" sign.
Now speaking to her, Zhao Duan inadvertently made a sneak attack, and initially sketched out the image of this Virgin of the Western Regions in his mind:
She has a certain degree of scheming, but she is not a strongman, but good at combining vertical and horizontal lines. , tied up with connections, was jointly launched by the Buddhist ancestral court and the Yu Dynasty as a soul figure who consolidated the "Xiyu Friendship".
The "people-friendly" and "Mary" image she displays to the outside world is not a disguise, but it does have a utilitarian component.
In the brief conversation, he tried to introduce him as his face-to-face, so as to bring the relationship between the Western Region and the Empress closer, and at the same time complete the purpose of attacking Zhao Duan... It can be said that he killed two birds with one stone and was quick in thinking.
No surprise.
After all, the Western Region is different from the Yu Dynasty. If we say that Princess Wenzhu is in front of us, she is the "regent" on the surface.
The "Dharma King" of Buddhism and the Five Directions Sangha sect are the "Overlord" of the Western Region Kingdom.
As long as the Dharma King ascends to the throne, Princess Manzhu will always be an affiliated "saint" of the Buddhist sect, and will not be able to control the real power.
In the small courtyard.
The two fell into a brief silence.
But everyone has their own thoughts in their hearts.
One wants to recruit and win over.
One tries to make friends.
The warriors from the Western Regions surrounding the stone table, and the three Shen Juan who returned from work and met their colleagues, all waited in silence.
At this time, the old dean, who had broken his leg, came over hard, carrying a teapot, and shouted:
"Looking at my memory, these two kind people are here, but I didn't drink a sip of hot water..."
Zhao Duan took advantage of the opportunity to stand up and said goodbye with a smile: "No need to entertain, we will leave now."
The dean also knew that the shantang was poor and difficult to entertain, so he respectfully sent a group of people out.
Zhao Duan glanced at the sky and saw that there was still some time before noon, so he invited:
"Your Highness will not return to the capital for a long time. If you have some spare time, how about doing a host at noon?"
Princess Manzhu glanced at him, smiled and shook her head.
Zhao Duan was stunned.
Just listen to the warm lips of this noble lady from the Western Region spitting out a string of white mist under the bright winter sun. She rubbed her hands and said softly:
"Master Lin teaches today It’s up to me to invite you. But before that, I planned to go to Huangting Alley. If Mr. Lin is interested, I can join in the fun.”
Huangting Alley?
That alley in the capital that is famous for gathering chess players?
"Is there any excitement there?" Zhao Duan asked curiously.
Princess Manzhu’s face was dazzlingly white under the sunlight reflected by the white snow. Her red lips were slightly raised:
“Yes.”
……< br>
……
Huangting Lane.
A few streets away from Shantang, between the edge of Dongcheng and the main city in the center of Beijing.
It is a place where Go enthusiasts gather all year round in the capital. On the street where Huangting Lane is located, there are several well-known chess clubs in the capital.
70% of the masters of Go in the past dynasties came from here. It was well-known throughout the Yu Dynasty as a holy place for chess players.
The alley is long and ancient. There is a plum blossom at the entrance of the alley, which is said to be a hundred years old. Because it is adjacent to many chess clubs, it is the place with the highest concentration of chess stalls in the capital.
No matter it is cold in winter or hot or hot, it is always lively.
The people who set up stalls and play chess here include not only the masters of the market, but also the disciples of several big chess clubs, and even the national Go players who are respectfully called "Qi Daizhao" in the palace. They all show up here occasionally.
When Zhao Duan and Wenzhu arrived outside the alley by car, they saw that the snow at the entrance of the alley had been cleared away, and the noise in the alley could be heard in the distance.
"It is said that the name of this back alley is 'Huangting' because there is a house deep in the alley, which was the former residence of a chess master from the previous dynasty, so it was named after it."
Princess Wenzhu dismounted and walked to his side, her eyes full of nostalgia:
"In the past, when I was in the palace, I studied chess with King Zhao to collect his salary, and the first game I learned was Huang Ting's chess score. "
Zhao Duan couldn't hide his surprise: "Does the princess like to play chess?"
The tall female warrior with loose braids answered him.
It's just different from the previous time in Shantang. At this moment, several guards from the Western Regions, led by female warriors, took out their winter cotton cloaks from the car, wore hoods, and wrapped themselves up.
Especially the face, wrap it with a scarf.
When they are dressed like this, it is impossible to tell that they are from the Western Regions. As long as they don't speak, outsiders will only think that they are people from Yu State who wear thicker clothes.
It seems to be to keep a low profile and avoid being onlookers.
“Go is very popular in the Western Regions. Hundreds of years ago, General Zhang of the Yu Kingdom’s border army introduced Go to the Western Regions, and it became very popular. There are no fewer chess players than your Yu Kingdom.”
< br>The female warrior said in less than standard Mandarin.
That's right... There are few entertainment items in the Western Region, and chess is indeed a low-cost game to relieve boredom... Zhao Duan nodded.
Princess Wenzhu asked: "Master Lin, are you not familiar with this place?"
Zhao Duan nodded honestly: "I usually play chess, but this is my first time here."< br>
He has indeed never been here. The previous owner was a soldier. He didn’t like Go at all and only roughly knew the rules.
Later, I became a playboy and had no interest in coming to such a boring place.
After Zhao Duan came through time travel, he made a lot of bets, but most of them happened casually to relieve his boredom or in social situations.
For example, when he went to the imperial garden of the palace and saw Yuan Li playing chess with the empress...
At that time, he saw the level of Go in this world.
How should I put it... My chess skills are good, but many of my playing methods and ideas are "backward".
In his last life, Zhao Duan learned Go for a while in order to please his boss, but his level was quite average. However, while studying, he was attracted by some stories in the chess world and abstract anchors... and read a lot of information.
Among them, you can't help but watch people explain the famous chess games of many Go masters in history.
Therefore, although his chess skills are not good, his vision is good.
After time travel, with his vision influenced by the famous chess records of past masters, he would naturally feel that the Go game of the Yu Dynasty was boring and backward. Many of the familiar fighting formulas of later generations did not appear at all.
Naturally, he is not very interested, especially after he advanced to the "Divine Chapter" realm, his five senses were greatly enhanced.
His memory, agility and calculation power have long surpassed those of ordinary people, and his chess skills have skyrocketed. Coupled with his vision, he has become less and less interested in this thing.
How can you be so bored that you come to Huangting Lane and play chess with a bunch of novices?
Listen to music on the hook... Bah, isn't it nice to work for the country?
But when Wenzhu heard these words, he thought it was because Mr. Lin was not good at Go.
“Let’s go in and have a look.”
Princess Manzhu pursed her red lips and invited.
Zhao Duan stroked his chin after his disguise, showing a look of interest.
……
……
The arrival of the lady and the young master did not attract too many people’s attention.
Because today, all the chess players in Huangting Lane were attracted by a foreigner who was also visiting for the first time.
When Zhao Duan stepped into the alley, he found that the snow-swept stone floor was completely empty.
In the past, the chess stalls placed from one end of the alley to the other end of the alley were all empty.
A small piece of paper, the vertical and horizontal lines on the wooden chessboard, and the black and white chess pieces were all hastily thrown into the winter air.
Almost everyone gathered at a chess stall deep in the alley.
Zhao Duan and his party crossed the century-old winter plum tree and walked outside the crowd of people on the third floor and three floors outside.
No need for his orders.
Hou Renmeng, Shen Juan, and the female warriors and other people from the Western Regions used brute force to forcibly open a passage.
“Who is it!”
“Don’t squeeze!”
It inevitably attracted waves of curses.
But those chess players who were wearing thick cotton robes and watching with their necks hanging around, as soon as they caught a glimpse of Zhao Duan and Wenzhu coming hand in hand, they immediately silenced themselves and swallowed their curses.
Although I didn’t know him, I knew from his appearance that he must be a distinguished lady and son.
Where do you dare to provoke?
The closer Zhao Duan walked, the clearer the sound of chess pieces falling from the gaps in the crowd, and the subtle sound of hitting the chessboard.
When he separated from the crowd at the front, he finally saw the scene in the crowd clearly.
Surprisingly, two chess players were playing chess. The chessboard was densely packed with black and white pieces, and they had already passed half of the chessboard.
One of the parties is a skinny middle-aged man.
The other one is actually a young novice!
Approximately ten years old, still childish, wearing red monk robes, with three-dimensional facial features typical of people from the Western Regions, but his manners and manners are similar to those of Yu people.
There is a large bamboo box in the room next to the young monk. He sits on a pony with his legs together and his back straight.
Looking focused.
“Pa tah.”
Dan Che picked up a black stone, placed it somewhere on the chessboard, and then said calmly:
“You lost.”< br>
The skinny middle-aged chess player's face turned pale, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Wow——
The crowd of onlookers erupted into another round of noise, and someone shouted:
"The dragon has been killed! The big dragon has been killed!"
A look of shock appeared on everyone's face.
Danche?
Zhao Duan's pupils suddenly narrowed, and in his mind, information and portraits about the members of the Western Region Mission emerged.
He recognized this young monk whom he had never met before. He was the disciple of the "Holy Monk", the leader of the Western Region Mission.
Why does this sensitive Western monk appear here?
Is this the excitement you showed me?
Zhao Duan turned his head and looked at Princess Wenzhu's side face.
Princess Wenzhu had already opened her mouth to ask about the situation to a nearby chess player. Seeing that she was a beautiful woman with extraordinary temperament, the latter blushed and hurriedly explained what happened.
It turns out that at dawn today, this little monk came to Huangting Lane alone, carrying a bamboo box on his back.
Occupied a small stall, set up a chess board, and carefully put up a "challenge" wooden sign on the ground. If you beat him, you will get ten taels of silver.
Soon, this little monk, who looked obviously not from the Yu Kingdom, attracted attention. Some chess players came over curiously and played chess with him.
In the end, everyone who came was defeated, but in the fifth set, the young monk Danche finally caused a sensation in Huangting Alley after defeating a well-known chess player from the Kyoto chess hall in the middle game.
Some people began to invite the masters in the chess hall to play chess with them, vowing to "kill this monk's temper!" and "teach him what it means to be high and high!"
But The status of the chess players who come here to participate in the battle is getting higher and higher, but their results are getting worse and worse.
Defeat!
Disastrous failure!
Another disastrous defeat!
The young monk never seems to be struggling. No matter what kind of opponent he faces, he always defeats the opponent in the middle game.
He did not let go of any bold words, but it was a great humiliation for a young man from a foreign land to lose consecutively to the Beijing chess players.
So, not long ago, the director of the Kyoto Chess Academy finally took action personally, it was the middle-aged man in front of him.
However, the latter, which had high hopes, was already unable to support itself in the middle of the game.
"Mrs. Madam, what is this?" Zhao Duan came closer and asked in a low voice.
Princess Wenzhu said calmly:
“I also returned to Beijing this time, and I didn’t know Danche was here until I was on the way. He had studied chess in the red-roofed temple in the Western Regions for many years, and once said that he wanted to come here one day. The capital of Yu State asked the masters of chess skills.
But I heard from people in the Buddhist ancestral court that they think this young man is powerful enough to sweep the capital."
Sweep the capital?
Zhao Duan quickly understood the hidden meaning of these words.
The mission of the Western Regions came to the city to argue with Shenlong Temple in order to promote the reputation of the ancestral court. This seemingly inconspicuous little monk wanted to make a name for Buddhism in the Western Regions on the chess track. .
The purpose of everything is to highlight the sense of existence and seek to use the Shenlong Temple as a springboard to penetrate the influence of Buddhism in the Western Regions into the territory of the Yu Dynasty.
And if this young man really sweeps all the chess players of Yu State, there is no doubt that this will be the best encouragement before the "Buddhist Debate".
"Dean..."
At this time, the expressions of several chess players in the nearby chess academy changed drastically. Someone looked up at the sky and suddenly said loudly:
"It's almost noon, seal the chess!"
The rest of them followed one after another. After waking up, they all echoed: "Seal the chess!"
Zhao Duan raised his eyebrows, knowing that these people were going to use the lunch break as an excuse to "time out" to buy time for the director of the chess academy.
The longest chess game in the Yu Dynasty lasted for three and a half months. It was "blocked" many times in the middle. When the weaker side saw that the situation was not going well, they started to pause and went home to find a crowd to work together. Conceive ways to break the situation.
Little monk Danche blinked, opened the bamboo box beside him, took out a lunch box, handed it over, and said:
"There is food here."
Everyone shouted. stagnation.
Dan Che was not in a hurry, and took out lunch boxes, water bottles, urinals, bedding, lamps, pens and ink from the box... and said with a smile:
"I I know that you still have the habit of using long exams to delay time and fight fiercely with your opponents, so I brought enough preparations to stay here for the night.”
Everyone is quiet again.
Dan Che calmly took out the brush, licked it on his tongue, handed it over, and said:
"If you still want to seal the chess piece, you should follow the rules and ' seal the hand'. The paper and pen are here. ”
The so-called closed hand means that whoever wants to take a break in the middle must record the next move on paper.
He was really well prepared to intercept in all directions.
Everyone fell silent.
The skinny middle-aged man seemed to be slapped a few times by these words. He gave up, stood up, shook his head and said bitterly:
"I lost. .”
There was silence in Huangting Alley.
Dan Che put his hands together, stood up, nodded slightly, and said seriously:
"You're pretty good, but not as good as me."
The skinny middle-aged man was speechless for a moment. He didn't know whether it was a compliment or a sarcasm, so he could only turn around silently and walk out of the crowd.
Dan Che looked around everyone with a smile: "Is there anyone else who dares to challenge me?"
Suddenly, his gaze paused, and his eyes stayed on the face of Princess Wenzhu who appeared at an unknown time. , the latter shook his head slightly, Dan Che understood and did not call out the princess' name.
Then he looked at Zhao Duan with curiosity, not knowing who this person was.
There was a moment of silence in the crowd, and the chess players were slightly distracted. Who else could play?
Suddenly, a calm and confident voice came from behind the crowd:
“I’m here to learn the methods of the Western Regions monks.”
Brush——
Everyone turned to look back.
Zhao Duan also looked over and saw a young man wearing robes similar to Hanlin walking calmly at the end of a narrow passage that opened to both sides.
"The chess is waiting for the imperial edict! Chen Jiuyan!"
"Chen Guoshou is here!"
——
The layout is changed first and then
< br>
(End of this chapter)