After the new emperor of Liyang ascended the throne, he attached great importance to Wenzhi, especially Hanlin, and his love for the latter was beyond measure. First, he moved the yamen site on the side of Zhaojiaweng to the right side of the middle line between Baohe Hall in Wuying Hall, and then After the imperial edict was issued, the academicians in charge of the Hanlin Academy and the Ministry of Rites jointly presided over the imperial examinations, which was officially determined as the practice of the dynasty, so the saying that "non-Hanlin can not join the cabinet in the future" arose everywhere in the capital.
Today, the Hanlin Academy, where the housewarming ceremony is held, can be described as a gathering of talents, what a dazzling scene of prosperity! Jin Lanting, the servant of the Ministry of Rites who made his fortune here, Li Jifu, the champion of the first year of Xiangfu who worked in the Imperial Academy, Wu Congxian, who was not only a Tanhualang but also a rookie in the chess world, Feng Song Keli, a young girl from the Song family who moved to the Imperial Academy because of his meritorious service, Dongyuan Pavilion Yan Chiji, the son of a great scholar, is already the third-rank senior official of Liyang Zheng, Chen Wang, the constant servant of Zuo Sanqi, and Sun Yin, who once served as the right sacrificial wine of the Imperial Academy. Before this group of handsome young men, the oldest of whom was only in their thirties, gathered together, many important ministers and ministers who had connections with the Imperial Academy had already left one after another. Tantan Weng Huanwen, who was born in the Hanlin Academy, Yin Maochun, a heavenly official who has recently joined the Ministry of Officials, who has been in charge of the Hanlin Academy for more than ten years, and Lu Baijie, Shangshu Tangxi Sword Immortal of the Ministry of War with the title of Xia Official, came here either alone or together. Let this brand-new Hanlin Academy be full of brilliance, full of official, noble, elegant and fairy flavor.
At this time, in the quiet courtyard at the beginning of spring, under a tung tree with bright yellow and small jujube flowers on the branches, everyone is admiring a game of chess, but the players who are playing are not chess players, even It was not Wu Congxian who rose to fame after defeating three national players in a row in the capital, but two people who were familiar to both the government and the public. The old-fashioned huanghuali chessboard, the left and right black and white chess boxes are divided into white and black chess pieces, and there are brocade cushions on the stone benches. Of course, the two players are sitting and talking while playing chess, but the remaining two stools can be used for sitting characters. It is the pinnacle of honor in the world, today's son Zhao Zhuan, queen Yan Dongwu.
In addition to the handsome boy who was nicknamed "Little Bookcase" by His Majesty, the opponents who competed in the chess game were a commoner from Liyang who was still a Baiding. It is also known as "Shuangjiu successively". Fan Changhou was superior in previous battles, so he is also known as "Fan Shiduan" in Tianxia Yilin. Among them, the wild plum is the best, proud and noble. Now in Tai'an City, Fan Changhou has said that "one tree is the only one that springs the world". Before Tanhua Wu became famous, Fan Changhou, who was hidden in a deep boudoir, was specially summoned to Beijing by the emperor. From playing six games in one breath, three slow and three fast, Wu Congxian lost all of them neatly, so Fan Changhou, who is known as the number one player in the current chess world, naturally entered the emperor's sight, and his majesty personally decided this game The lottery of chess is not small, if Fan Changhou wins, then he can directly stay in the Imperial Academy as Huang Menlang, and now the Imperial Academy is a well-deserved dragon pavilion for scholars in the world, and all the people watching chess are the smartest ones in the Liyang Dynasty A small group of people, in fact, knew very well that Fan Changhou's victory or loss on the chessboard was not important. If he could be simple in the emperor's heart, Fan Shiduan had already won out of chess.
The small bookcase may be extremely talented, but after all, it is a child's heart. It doesn't have a good posture when sitting. It is tilted, with one hand resting on the side of the chin, and the other hand is flying like flying. It almost hits the plate when Fan Chang is behind. On the other hand, Fan Changhou, who was dressed in plain clothes, was virtually at a disadvantage when it came to the demeanor of a master outside the world, but this disadvantage was only due to the weirdness of Qin Tianjian. In fact, Fan Changhou sat quietly, No matter the "movement" of slowly picking up chess pieces from the chess box, or the "movement" of twisting pieces during the long exam, they are all full of the style of a master. Fan Shiduan's response to the aggressive offensive both inside and outside the small bookcase chessboard is not in a hurry Slowly, the two started more than 20 moves, and there is no clue of gain or loss for the time being. Together with the emperor Zhao Zhuan, those who can stand aside and watch chess, not to mention Wu Congxian, who is extremely skilled in chess, and even Chen Wang, who has never played chess against anyone, must have good eyesight. Queen Yan Dongwu, known as the "Bachelor", also stared intently, quite focused.
Yan Chiji was standing behind this motherly elder sister. He was the only one who gave up halfway during the trip to the frontier of politics. He parted ways with the military brigade from Jibei to Liaoxi, and returned to the capital alone. His reputation has been damaged, but with the great amulet of Uncle Dangchao Guo, no one has dared to jump out and make irresponsible remarks so far. Yan Chiji looked at the intrigue on the chessboard, and quietly raised his head to look at the old sycamore tree with green branches to herald the joy of spring, with a tired face. If the trip to Liangzhou disappointed him and Kong Wuchi, then Jibei The trip made Yan Chiji feel angry. Since the Han family, the defense line in Jibei has been an important military base for the Central Plains to defend against Beimang. Carefully screened candidates who were placed high hopes by the court, but what did Yan Chiji see at the Beiguan of Jizhou? It is to retreat before fighting and actively shrink the line of defense! Facing his reprimand, several frontier generals were ambiguous, while Gao Tingshu, who was picking and choosing in Beiliang Road, became surprisingly silent, obviously receiving the instruction of some people in the capital. Yan Chiji withdrew his gaze, and looked coldly at Jin Sanlang who was not far away from him. The latter was also keenly aware of the young uncle Guo's unfriendly eyes, and just responded with an impeccable gentle smile. Yan Chiji and him Looking at each other, Yan Chiji suddenly felt his sleeves being pulled. He lowered his head and saw his sister pointing at a part of the chessboard and said softly, "It seems that the supervisor has played a wonderful chess game. Don't you think so?"
Hearing the empress's praise, the child raised his head and grinned brightly.
Yan Chiji sighed softly, no longer confronting Lord Shi Lang, but instead watched the chess game.
Fan Changhou's backhand response was still tepid, which made Chen Wang, who was also a relative of the emperor like Yan Chiji, a little impressed. Ordinary poor scholars could meet the sky, and it was too late for a peacock to open its tail. After a long time, it is always so soothing and moderate, which is not easy. The No. 1 scholar Li Jifu was a son of a wealthy family in Liaodong. He was not as good as Gao Tingshu when he talked about poetry and fu, and he was far worse than Wu Congxian when he talked about piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. In fact, in the poetry club founded by Jin Lanting, it is rare to hear how Li Jifu talks. It is just that a few days ago, Bai Guo, Minister of the Ministry of Households, asked Li Jifu to borrow Li Jifu from the Imperial Academy, which made people realize that Li Jifu might not be as unpleasant as he appeared on the surface. . Chen Shaobao, the only one in the group today who could compare with Jin Lanting in the size of an official's hat, only chatted with Li Jifu for a few words. Wu Congxian originally wanted to get close to Zuo Sanqi's regular servant without showing any traces, but he soon became cold .
Compared with everyone present, Song Keli's appearance today is the most unexpected. The two husbands of the Song family who have dominated the literary world for decades can't be regarded as "extremely mournful". He was sent down from the Qinggui Imperial Academy to a local county captain. Jin Lanting, who was more and more familiar with the rules of the officialdom, was very curious. How could the young Phoenix of the Song family, who had been knocked into the mud from a high branch, return to the capital? Which line did he cling to? The patriarchal nobles don't have this ability yet, and Tan Tanweng has always had a bad impression of the Song family, so all the old people in Zhang Lu don't have a good look at Song Keli, and I haven't heard that Zhongshuling Qi Yanglong has any intersection with the Song family. . Jin Lanting thought about it for a moment, and couldn't figure it out, so he didn't bother to worry about it. Song Keli's ups and downs were destined to not affect the overall situation. Back then, Jin Lanting really wanted to show his favor to the eldest grandson of the Song family who was also in the Imperial Academy. I personally sent a few hundred dollars to make a homemade signboard, but now? The servant can turn a blind eye to this person. At the small court meeting full of ministers and officials, he, Jin Sanlang, could only respectfully accompany the last seat, just a "phoenix tail", but at this time and here, he was a well-deserved phoenix head. It is bound to be bullish, and it is a certainty that he will be in charge of the Ministry of Rites in the future. With regard to the imperial examination, the Ministry of Rites will be dominated by the Hanlin Academy, and he will be the common "teacher" of all scholars in the Xiangfu period in Jin Lanting!
Jin Lanting smiled and bowed his head, looking down at the chess game, with one hand resting on the suet jade belt bestowed by the emperor on his waist, and quietly clenching the other hand.
The cultural context of the world is in my hands, so why worry about the connections in the temple
Wu Congxian may be the one who cares most about the outcome of the chess game. After he glanced at Fan Chang who had played chess with him many times with a complicated expression, he felt bitter. Fan Changhou, a survivor of the Spring and Autumn Period, named Yuetian and named Buddha, was the thorn in his heart that he couldn't get rid of when he was in Xiangzhou. No matter how happy the two were when they got along in public and private, Wu Congxian knew that he despised him. This person also envied this person, despised Fan Changhou for ignoring the imperial examinations, and envied Fan Changhou's superb chess skills as if "there was a heaven and man by his side, planning for him". Before and after he lost the three major chess games in a row, Wu Congxian did not mention Fan Changhou once, but the well-informed capital quickly learned that there was a Fan Shiduan in Xiangzhou, and His Majesty the Emperor entered the capital after summoning Fan Chang. A few days ago, I had a relaxed question-and-answer session with him, and Wu Congxian had no choice but to bite the bullet and say an insincere sentence, "The minister and that Fan Yuetian will win or lose." Unfortunately, His Majesty still couldn't stop His Majesty's curiosity. After he suffered a series of disastrous defeats to that child who was almost the reincarnation of a chess fairy, according to Jin Sanlang, the emperor was almost a daily reminder to the Ministry of Rites and asked that Fan Shiduan when he would enter Beijing to be able to receive this honor. The previous one was that " My cao is not as good as the common people." Your Excellency Prime Minister.
When Fan Changhou entered Beijing alone, Wu Congxian went to the posthouse that night, "speaking earnestly and earnestly" told Fan Changhou about the prodigy's chess style, "The layout of the first hand seems to be sloppy, careless and powerless, and the middle game is falling. Suddenly changing, trance like a land of rubble and ruins, a towering tall building suddenly rises, with the momentum of a condescending lion fighting a rabbit." Of course, Wu Congxian is also aware of this kind of illusory statement, saying it is tantamount to not saying it, and Fan Changhou is useless after hearing it. As for why he only talked about playing the game first and not ending it, it wasn't that Wu Congxian deliberately hid his secrets, but that Wu Congxian played chess with that child, and there were no chess games with more than two hundred moves. Say more.
Wu Congxian managed to become a blockbuster in the capital, how could he want Fan Chang to steal his limelight later in Tai'an City, wishing for Fan Changhou's complete defeat, simply put, Wu Congxian, the current strongest player in the chess world, can lose to the genius who is rumored to be from Qin Tianjian Young man, it is like a top martial artist in the world losing to a land god without losing his reputation, but he must not lose too much to Fan Changhou. This is like Li Chungang losing to Wang Xianzhi back then, and Wang Xianzhi losing to Xu Fengnian after that. lost.
The "slowness" of Fan Changhou's chess is only as fast as lightning compared to Qin Tianjian's small bookcase. An hour later, after Fan Changhou played more than ten consecutive "long exams", for the first time, he played chess with lightning speed. The winner was drawn from the situation, and the child with a leisurely expression seemed to be seeing his opponent for the first time. He no longer rested his cheeks, no longer looked left and right, sat up straight, but did not look at the game, but straight He stared straight at Fan Changhou who was lowering his head and reaching out to roll up his cuffs. Even Wu Congxian couldn't see the whole essence of this move among the people present, and the rest of the spectators watching the battle were naturally even more confused. Among them, Jin Lanting couldn't help but turned his head and asked Wu Congxian in a low voice, but the latter didn't dare to speak nonsense.
After Sun Yin rubbed his earlobe with two fingers, he yawned. Song Keli narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips tightly. Chen Wang carefully observed the change in the expression of the young supervisor. Li Jifu cautiously looked at His Majesty the Emperor who was frowning and leaning forward. Yan Chiji, who was focused on the chessboard, bent down and whispered to his sister Yan Dongwu.
If you add Fan Changhou, the calm-looking authority figure, not counting the Emperor Zhao Zhuan, Empress Yan Dongwu, and the Qin Tianjian Jianzheng, then there are as many as four people from Beiliang Road under the green tung tree in the Hanlin Academy today. Wang, Sun Yin, Yan Chiji, Jin Lanting. Jiangnan Road has Wu Congxian, Guangling Road has Fan Changhou, Liangliao Road has Li Jifu, and Beijing has Song Keli. From this point of view, it seems that today's emperor is more open-minded towards Beiliang than the previous emperor.
The emperor watched with great interest the little bookcase showing a vicious expression towards someone for the first time, and smoothed things over, saying: "Closing the game for now, the two of you will fight again later. Little bookcase, Fan Changhou, try your best to make this chess game into a famous game through the ages. If The finale is even more exciting, and I will ask the master Danqing in the palace to paint for you as a souvenir. I am going to attend a small court meeting soon, and I will be late, but I will be talked about by Tan Tanweng for a long time."
Jin Lanting, who was wearing a purple official uniform, hastily bowed slightly to make way for His Majesty the Emperor and the Empress.
The emperor took the queen's hand and left with a smile on his face. Yan Chiji saw him off alone. As the minister of rites, Jin Lanting also participated in the small court meeting, but the emperor didn't speak, so he naturally couldn't stick to the emperor's side, after all, he was suspected of pretending to be a tiger. After the three "family members" left first, he deliberately pulled Wu Congxian out of the Imperial Academy for a walk. The latter was originally in the Ministry of Rites to observe politics, and compared to Li Jifu, who had a higher ranking in the palace examination but was taciturn, Jin Lanting was more optimistic. Wu Congxian, who is also the backbone of the poetry club, took a high look at Gao Tingshu, who had already made a name for himself in the Ministry of War.
Yan Dongwu said softly: "Why do you value that Queen Fan so much?"
The emperor turned his head and blinked at the queen, and said quietly: "Playing chess to win is just a small matter of pleasure. In fact, what is the nine and ten dans? You are the lord of a country, how can you not have Fan Shiduan by your side?"
Yan Dongwu couldn't help but said: "This can also be angry? Your Majesty, are you still a child?"
The emperor said with a resentful face: "Am I already old in your heart?"
Yan Dongwu remembered that he was still following his younger brother Yan Chiji, and coughed lightly. The emperor laughed out loud, not taking it seriously, and deliberately slowed down his pace, letting this man who had touched his nose in Jibei and was suffocated After my brother-in-law followed, he comforted me softly: "I'm not trying to persuade you about Jibei, I just want you not to worry. I heard your sister said that she doesn't want to stay in the Ministry of War anymore. Where do you want to go? The Ministry of Rites, or the official department?"
Yan Dongwu was about to speak, but the emperor held her hand slightly harder, and she had no choice but to swallow the words.
Yan Chiji was obviously a little afraid of that older sister who was becoming more and more dignified, hesitated for a while before whispering: "Your Majesty, I want to come to the Imperial Academy, where there are many books."
The emperor glared and said: "When there are no outsiders, call brother-in-law! But it's okay to come to the Imperial Academy, but first start from the young Huangmenlang, otherwise I don't mind letting you be the big Huangmen. Your temper is too gentle, and you are nothing. Those who are willing to fight will definitely be squeezed out and left out by many seniors, and those old literati are not the same as the officials of the Six Ministries, but it doesn't matter what uncle you are."
Yan Chiji hummed.
The emperor turned his head to Yan Dongwu and said with a gentle smile, "Talk to your siblings more, I, an outsider, won't be an eyesore."
When the emperor drifted away accompanied by Song Tanglu, the number one eunuch in the dynasty, Yan Dongwu asked in a low voice, "Why didn't you return the things I gave you to that person."
Yan Chiji's face turned slightly pale, and he said with a guilty conscience: "I haven't seen Brother Feng."
She snapped, "Shut up!"
Yan Chiji, whose body trembled, asked cautiously: "Or should I destroy it secretly?"
Yan Dongwu was furious almost instantly, and then tried his best to suppress his anger, his face was cloudy and uncertain, and finally he gritted his teeth and said, "Hide it!"
Yan Chiji was downcast.
After Yan Dongwu calmed down, his tone slowed down, and he praised: "You didn't say you were going to the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Officials, very good."
Yan Dongwu stood face to face with this younger brother, helped him close up the collar of his clothes, and said softly: "You have to remember one thing, Wen Zhengwen is loyal and respectful, and this three beautiful posthumous posthumous titles must come from the Imperial Academy!"
Yan Chiji said timidly: "Sister, I didn't think that much, really."
Yan Dongwu bent his fingers and tapped on the younger brother's forehead, and smiled a little, "You, stupid people have stupid blessings."
Yan Chiji hesitated to speak, Yan Dongwu obviously guessed what he was thinking, shook his head and said: "Don't worry about the things in the palace. Go back, I have an intuition, those young people in that courtyard now people, will..."
Speaking of which, the empress stopped talking, and looked up at the sun, which was dazzling, so it was a bit dazzling.
Yan Chiji returned to the yard, under the green paulownia tree, the child was asking coldly, "Who did you learn chess from?"
Fan Changhou smiled and said: "Since I was four years old, I have been learning chess from ancient people in ancient books."
The child pointed to the last move on the chessboard, "The ancients couldn't make this move!"
Fan Changhou said calmly: "My generation is invincible to the ancients, how can I face future generations? It's true to learn chess from the ancients, but when it's your turn to play chess, you can't sit still forever."
The child snorted coldly, and glanced at the broken chessboard, "If it wasn't for the accident that happened to the Qin Tianjian, I would not have given you a chance to win or lose today! Come to the Qin Tianjian Zhaixing Pavilion tomorrow! "
Fan Changhou was noncommittal.
The old-fashioned child strode away, only at this time did he have the childishness he should have at his age.
Since he was a child, he ran around in the small bookcase of Qin Tianjian, and finally found the empress who was the closest to him. Contrary to the domineering aura of this child when he played chess with others, he Seeing Yan Dongwu, he was full of immature smiles, just like a child meeting a sister who loves him.
Yan Dongwu rubbed the head of the small bookcase, and said with pity: "It's hard for you, Qin Tianjian has undergone such a drastic change, His Majesty wants you to play chess with others, and I will scold him for you later."
In the incident that was tightly sealed not long ago, there were more than 800 guards who died in battle alone. It was the latter. On the way to escort "something" to Guangling Road, more than a hundred top grasslands who had been recruited by the court's Ministry of Punishment all died mysteriously. But compared to the real loss, the death of the qi practitioners in the Qin Tianjian is nothing at all.
These so-called celestial beings in the world, there are many masters with mysterious supernatural powers, and they have an indispensable effect on the Liyang court. Their existence itself is a magnificent deterrent that can symbolize the majesty of the heaven.
The emperor is the man to whom the destiny belongs, so he obeys the destiny of heaven.
As a result, the Fulong Qi fighters sent from Liyang North died completely in that bloody battle!
Today, who has always regarded Go as a "leisure trail", why did it move the Imperial Academy in a hurry? And why personally create momentum for Fan Shiduan and Fan Changhou? Or was it because he wanted to divert the attention of the courtiers and tried his best to suppress the ripples of turmoil that had spread to the entire capital
Yan Dongwu even saw the gentle and elegant "Four Princes" with his own eyes, and locked himself in the imperial study for a whole night. When he came out, even the eunuch Song Tanglu didn't dare to approach him, so she had no choice but to go forward to bandage his bloody left hand.
The small bookcase shook his head and said: "Grandpa Jianzheng said that people are going to die, I am not sad. If it wasn't for me, I would have to play three games of chess with someone for Grandpa Jianzheng, otherwise it doesn't matter if I die there .”
Then the child said silently in his heart, although the old man died, his apprentice may have appeared.
He will not tell anyone about this matter, not even the queen sister.
Yan Dongwu laughed angrily: "Stop saying bad things, you are only a little older, live well."
The little bookcase laughed and said, "I want to eat sweet-scented osmanthus cake."
Yan Dongwu took his little hand and walked in the palace, "That will have to wait until autumn, so, you must live well."
In the Hanlin Academy, when Yan Chiji approached, he found that the atmosphere was a bit delicate. Chen Wang and Li Jifu, the highest-ranking officials, were standing aside and chatting. The national player Fan Chang will review it in detail later.
Yan Chiji had already stopped in his tracks, but suddenly found that Song Keli, who was alone, smiled at him, and Yan Chiji smiled heartily, and walked forward.
In the spring of the second year of Xiangfu, on this day, there were six people in this small courtyard.
Chen Wang, Sun Yin, Song Keli, Fan Changhou, Li Jifu, Yan Chiji.