Today's Kyoto is quite quiet, even the noise of street vendors hawking is much quieter than in the past. From time to time, I raise my head to look in the direction of the imperial palace, thinking about the competition going on there.
The competition with the Qi people can be called a battle of honor. As Jing people, driven by national pride and national honor, everyone is quite concerned about this matter.
Some underground gambling houses even offered odds for this battle. In the bustling casinos, countless people looked forward to it, waiting for the news to come from the palace.
In the Viscount's mansion, Li Yi got up early in the morning. He had to urge the two tailors to hurry up and work. After two days, the boring competition with the Qi people was over, and his confinement period just came. Before entering the palace, he had to Get those two things done first.
At this time, above the Golden Palace, on both sides of a chessboard, there were two people sitting cross-legged.
On one side was that Ma Zhongcheng, and on the other side was an old man with white hair and beard and wrinkled face.
Today is the first round of the essay test, which is very important. Even Emperor Jing couldn't sit still on the dragon chair and walk down from above, but he didn't get too close and watched from afar.
Except for Emperor Jing, there were only a few people in the hall, including the two prime ministers, and several old men who were not young, all of whom were famous scholars in the dynasty.
On the other side, behind the old man, there were several people standing, all of them were envoys of Qi State, and the leader was a young man who looked to be in his early twenties.
In order not to disturb the two players who were playing chess, most of the officials waited outside the hall, and countless people paced around the square with anxious expressions on their faces.
Ma Zhongcheng is in his prime, and it stands to reason that both chess and physical strength are at the peak of his life. Even the chess master Bai Yu dare not underestimate him. He has taken advantage of the old man no matter how you look at it.
However, not long ago, when Chess Master Bai Yu was fighting this old man, they thought the same way.
But it turned out that Bai Yu lost all three battles. Today, can Ma Zhongcheng turn the tide and win the first city for the country
This belongs to the worries of Baiguan and Emperor Jing, not what King Jin should worry about.
"This is the pastry that my concubine asked the Food Bureau to make. It's delicious. Would you like to try it?"
Jin Wang Li Han held an exquisite food box in his hand, squatting on the steps in the shade of a certain palace, and said to the little girl sitting there with a smile on his face.
"Thank you, Brother Jin, Yongning is not hungry." The little girl turned her head to look in the direction of the palace gate, shook her head and said.
"Then I'll put it here first, and I'll eat it when you're hungry." King Jin put the food box beside him, and said cautiously, "Sister Yongning, I always bullied you before, and it was all my fault. I know I was wrong, if anyone dares to bully you in the future, just tell me, and I will beat him up for you!"
After thinking about it, he added another sentence, "If it's Brother Shu King—I can't beat him, but I will tell my husband!"
Princess Yongning didn't seem to hear his words, and murmured, "When will my brother come?"
King Jin scratched his head and said, "You mean sir..., sir, he has been confined by his father for half a month. It seems that there are still a few days left, and he won't come to the palace in these few days."
The expression on Princess Yongning's face was a bit disappointed, and she subconsciously hugged her arms tightly, only to realize that the beautiful sheep was gone.
King Jin glanced in a certain direction, scratched his head, and said, "Today, the Lizheng Palace seems to be busy to watch. Sister Shouning and the others have already passed by. Do you want to go and see it with me?"
Seeing Yongning shaking his head, King Jin stood up and said, "Then I'll go first..."
Outside the Lizheng Hall, the officials were still pacing in the square. A few small figures crowded around the door, poking their heads out to look inside. Not long after, another curious head appeared.
In the hall, as the chess game progressed, Emperor Jing and everyone frowned.
The wrinkled face of the old man of Qi State showed no expression, and his moves were extremely calm, calm and breezy. On the other hand, Ma Zhongcheng, on the other side, was pale, with bead-sized beads of sweat on his forehead. A chess piece was held up for a long time, but it never fell down.
A look of defeat flashed across Qin Xiang's face. This game of chess was about to be lost.
Ma Zhongcheng, who is enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with a chess master, only lasted an hour under the old man's hands, and in the end he still inevitably lost.
When playing chess with masters, sometimes it takes several hours at a time. Ma Zhongcheng loses in an hour, which shows the difference in chess strength between the two.
If they lose another game tomorrow, three battles and two inks, there will be no need to compete in this essay test.
"I lost… "
After all, the chess piece in Ma Zhongcheng's hand still failed to fall, his face was slumped, his whole figure seemed to have aged a little in an instant, he stood up, and said in a hoarse voice.
Even if he won the chess, the old man on the opposite side didn't say a word, stood up and stood silently opposite the young man.
Hundreds of officials outside the palace filed in. Just looking at Ma Zhongcheng's expression, he came to a conclusion in his heart.
Lost, as expected, still lost, only an hour later, the old man turned out to be so powerful!
Baiguan was heavy-hearted and stood around without saying a word.
"We were lucky enough to win the first game, and we accepted it." The young man smiled and bowed to everyone.
Disappointed, Emperor Jing waved his hand and said, "Let's leave the court today, and we'll be here tomorrow for the second match."
"His Majesty, wait a moment." At this moment, the young man suddenly spoke.
"What else is there for you?" Emperor Jing looked back at the young man and said with a frown.
The young man smiled and said: "This time, the competition with your country is just for exchange and discussion. It has no other intentions. I really don't want to cause trouble to your country..."
Baiguan frowned, not wanting to cause trouble to our country. Doesn't the meaning of the third prince's words mean that if the competition continues, will Jingguo continue to lose and continue to lose face? Hearing his words, Baiguan Guan just felt more ashamed and indignant than losing the competition.
"Could it be that the third prince thinks that you are really sure to win?" Before Emperor Jing could speak, Prime Minister Qin snorted coldly and said.
The young man smiled and said: "Winning or losing is actually not important. This competition is for exchange and learning. If you have to decide who is better, you have lost your original intention. It must be everyone present. You don’t want to have to decide whether to win or lose, do you?”
The young man's words are stagnant. If they win the first game, how can they let the prince of Qi talk so much here? The problem is that they have already lost a game. If they lose again in the next game, What will be lost is not only their face, but the face of the entire Jing country. What will the people think, and what will other countries think? Qi Guo only took a few people to sweep Jing Guo. A group of drunks and rice bags
"What do you think?" It was not suitable for Emperor Jing to speak at this time, Qin Xiang pondered for a moment, looked at the young man and asked.
The young man looked at Emperor Jing and said: "As long as your country agrees to a small condition for us, there will be no need for further competitions. After the handover of the city, our envoys will leave Jing country immediately. I wonder what the emperor wants?"
Although he didn't want to admit it, if the comparison continues, Jingguo may lose face even more. Emperor Jing looked at him and asked, "What's the condition you mentioned?"
"It's very simple, it's just a small request." The young man smiled and said, "There are a large number of missions, and they have been staying in the capital for a long time, and the money has been exhausted. I just ask His Majesty the Emperor to give some food, enough for the mission You can go home."
"Just food?" When the young man finished speaking, not only Emperor Jing was stunned, but all the officials also showed expressions of disbelief.
Concerned about the face of the country, I thought that the third prince of Qi would make some unreasonable demands, as long as they were slightly excessive, even if His Majesty agreed, they would strongly oppose it.
But who would have thought that they spent so much effort to just ask for some food...
For a moment, the expressions of all the officials looking at the third prince of Qi country changed subtly. They all said that the third prince of Qi country was the most capable one among all the princes of Qi country. The third prince is actually the same as the king of Shu, all his talents are based on blowing out
As if he didn't notice the strange eyes of the officials, the young man casually pointed to the chessboard beside him and said, "The mission doesn't need much food, as long as His Majesty sends someone to put a grain in the first grid of the chessboard." For rice, put two grains in the second grid, four grains in the third grid, and then each grid is twice the size of the previous grid, and so on, just put it on the sixty-fourth grid on the board. "
After the young man finished speaking, he looked at Emperor Jing with a smile, waiting for his reply.
Emperor Jing didn't reply immediately, he looked at the chessboard on one side, and then at the young man. Judging from the performance of the third prince of Qi, he is definitely not an ordinary person. Will it end so hastily
Relying on the food that filled the sixty-four grid chessboard to return to Qi State, I am afraid that they would have starved to death before they arrived in Qi State
"What do you think?" Emperor Jing looked at the officials around him and asked.
Many officials were secretly happy at the moment, they didn't think that the third prince of Qi was actually a fool. This was really great news for them. It's just food, just give it to him, a few bags of food, what kind of conspiracy can he play
"Returning to Your Majesty, since the envoys of the Qi State are so short of food, we naturally cannot refuse. We must not let the envoys of other countries starve. This is not in line with etiquette." Chen Bo, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, stood up and said with a smile.
"What Mr. Chen said is very true. If I refuse, it will appear that I am stingy."
"It's not easy for the third prince, so why not satisfy his request?"
…
…
Things took a turn for the worse, and the courtiers all smiled and said that they could get rid of the difficult Qi people with some food. This deal is a good deal no matter what.
At that time, it can be said to the outside world that the people of Qi State were afraid, and they went back to Qi State after begging for some food. His Majesty was kind and gave them some more, which not only saved face, but also saw the jokes of Qi State people. Why not for
"Where is the Ph.D. from the National Regulatory Commission?" Emperor Jing asked suddenly after pondering for a moment.
When Zheng Jijiu heard the words, he immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, except for Dr. Han, all the doctors of mathematics went to the Li County Zifu to ask for advice on mathematics, and they are not in the court."
This Dr. Han, the reason why he came here today is nothing more than wanting to ask for a serious imperial decree from His Majesty, otherwise he would not even be able to enter the gate of the Li family. The young man walked over quickly.
Emperor Jing felt a little regretful in his heart. If he knew about this, he should have called Li Yi here today. He has never let himself down. With him here, why should he worry about these things
"Do you know how much food they want?" Emperor Jing asked, looking at Dr. Han.
Dr. Han pondered for a moment, and said, "Return to Your Majesty, it's only sixty-four squares, not many."
Dr. Han looked at the chessboard. As a Ph.D. in arithmetic, he naturally thought more than other officials. The multiplier is related. Sixty-four grids are actually quite a lot, but the grains of rice are only so big, and the amount of rice in a stone is too many to count. , even if it is not enough to put sixty-four squares, ten stones is still not enough, is it not enough to put a hundred stones
Jing Guo did not lack those hundred ten stones of rice. With this little thing, Qi Guo's envoys could be sent away, which was unbelievably cost-effective.
The courtiers rarely held the same opinion on this matter, Emperor Jing suppressed the only worry in his heart, and said: "In that case, then..."
The third prince of Qi still kept a faint smile on his face.
The expression on Baiguan's face was quite satisfied.
Everyone is happy, everyone is well.
"Wait a moment… "
The harmonious atmosphere was suddenly broken by a voice. After being stunned for a moment, everyone turned their heads to look in the direction of the voice.
King Li Han of Jin stood at the entrance of the hall, and seeing so many people in the hall looking at him, he couldn't help feeling a little scared, but he still mustered up his courage, interrupted Emperor Jing, and said, "Father, you can't promise them!"
In front of the envoys of the Qi State and all civil and military officials, Emperor Jing was interrupted by the King of Jin, but he was not angry at all, and instead showed a thoughtful expression on his face.
The expression of the third prince of Qi State moved slightly, looking at the little fat man standing at the gate of the palace, a trace of surprise appeared in his eyes.
"His Royal Highness King Jin, this is the court hall, don't mess around!"
All the officials quickly realized that they didn't care about the issue of identity, and they all spoke out to stop it. This is a huge advantage. You must not be disturbed by King Jin. Next time, you may not meet such a stupid prince. up.
Most of the officials were trying to stop King Jin, but a few people changed their faces at the same time.
Qin Huan, Minister of the Ministry of Households, Yan Bing, Minister of the Ministry of War, Jijiu of the Imperial College, and a Ph.D. in mathematics, no one knows better than them how many incredible things are contained in this chubby head.
"Han'er, come and talk." Emperor Jing said with a smile on his face, beckoning to King Jin.
Seeing that the father was not angry, King Jin was relieved, walked over slowly, pointed at the young man, and said to Emperor Jing: "Father, don't be fooled by them, sir, said, fill sixty-four squares All the countries in the world don’t have enough food for the chessboard. If we build a big warehouse to hold the food, the warehouse will be three feet long and two feet wide, reaching as high as the sun…”
The expression on the face of the third prince of Qi State remained unchanged, but he sighed in his heart, and for the first time looked at the little fat man in front of him with serious eyes.
"Yes, there are so many..." Guozijian Jijiu said in a trembling voice.
The face of Dr. Han who spoke just now turned pale, and he felt a little dark in front of his eyes. If it was only King Jin, he still had a glimmer of hope in his heart, but the problem is, what he just said was "Mr. "ah…
King Jin's husband, who else is that unpredictable Li Xianzi
How could it be possible to teach someone like the King of Jin who swept away the National Academy of Sciences at the age of a naughty boy, and made several doctors of mathematics extremely ashamed, how could he speak nonsense without any basis