In Xiangzhou, where Guangling Road and Nanjiang Road intersected, it was famous because of a relatively young Apricot Alley. On both sides of this alley were courtyards in Jiangnan. Although they were not grand, they were exquisite. The residents were not high-ranking officials or dignitaries, but scholars who had fallen on hard times and did not participate in Hong Jia's escape to the north. There were survivors of West Chu who lived in seclusion, and there were also disheartened teachers from Shangyin Academy. When these scholars settled down, they were really short of money and could not build any large residences. The mansion of the Fan family was located in the deepest part of Apricot Alley. The Fan family was once a wealthy family in the Southern Tang. The ancestors of this branch of the Fan family did not want any treasures when they separated from the family before they fled. They only wanted the library that was the hardest to carry around. In the past twenty years, they had been struggling to make ends meet. If they did not rely on selling the ancient books in the new building, they would have been reduced to a situation where they did not have enough food to eat. Liyang was prosperous, the country was prosperous, and so was the chess. Fortunately, the Fan family produced a chess addict who did not like fame, Fan Zhanghou, and Liyang imperial court's Tanhua Wu Congxian, were known as the "first two ninth". Before the two were 30 years old, they were invincible south of the Guangling River, especially Tanhua Wu Congxian, who later became one of the eight talents of the capital. After passing the imperial examination, he was personally appointed by the Emperor to fight against the four great national players of Liyang. He won all four battles and obtained an incredible record. Fan Zhanghou, who had a slight advantage in the battle of first and second, was vaguely the number one player in Liyang's chess world and received the new title of "Fan Ten Dan". The Apricot Alley, where Fan Changhou lived, was bustling with carriages and horses. However, this chess addict had been refusing visitors. Fan Changhou, who was "gentle and generous" on the chessboard, seemed to be particularly unapproachable in real life.
The Fan family's library was in the "Relief Heart" and "Begging for Forgiveness" pavilions. The "Begging for Forgiveness" pavilions had three floors on the top of the mountain, with six rooms each. There were corridors in the front and back, and in front of the building was a square patio. It covered an area of three mu and was paved with green bricks. Not long ago, Fan Changhou, who had just become the head of the Fan family, set a number of strict rules for the collection of books. Among them, there was a rule that no books could be collected from the cabinet. Women with different surnames and surnames were not allowed to enter the cabinet. The keys to the cabinet were controlled by the first son of the family.
Today was a warm winter day, suitable for drying books to get rid of mold and dampness. An elegant looking man in a green robe took out handfuls of printed books from the attic and spread them out on the green brick floor of the courtyard in front of the Seeking Forgiveness Pavilion. He did it himself and did not let the servants do it for him. A young girl whose cheeks were flushed red from the sun was squatting on the ground, casually flipping through the books. She wasn't reading with great interest, but was frowning. Looking at her back, the man smiled and stretched. He caught a glimpse of a huge figure sitting on the edge of the patio, where sunlight and shadows intersected, silently. The man's happy mood was clouded. The way this tall giant had visited the Fan family was extremely shocking. He hadn't presented a name card or knocked on the door. Instead, he had fallen from the sky and smashed into the pond in the Fan family's backyard. At the time, Fan Changhou had been playing chess with someone and had sunk into a long and exhausting thought. The person playing chess had him bring the visitor. Fan Changhou ordered the servants in the family who heard the noise not to make a sound. Then, this tall and burly man, like a celestial being, had been inseparable from the old and the young, never speaking.
It was Fan Shiduan. The man walked to the old man's side. The old man was sitting on a small stool. In front of him was a gold-threaded nanmu chessboard. At his hand was a small cup of white salt, a plate of crisp white radishes, and a bowl of white rice. After the tall golden-skinned guest had appeared, the old man had laid out the game in front of him. Then, he hadn't placed a piece, saying nothing. Unless the young girl spoke to the old man, even if Fan Changhou said something, the old man would be too lazy to respond. Fan Changhou was standing behind the old man. Facing the chess game that had already been set up, his heart was full of suspicion. The black and white chess pieces crisscrossed like canine teeth. This was a classic game of strength. It didn't pay much attention to the shape of the game, but in Fan Changhou's view, this game was far from worthy of the old man's attention.
It had to be known that in the eyes of the world, Fan Changhou had learned without a teacher, and it was publicly acknowledged that he was slow. In terms of talent, he was worlds apart from Wu Congxian, who had made his name at a young age. It was only through his tenacity that he had been able to become a late bloomer. A few years ago, he had finally been able to match Wu Congxian. But of course, Fan Changhou had a master, and it was Huang Longshi of the Spring and Autumn Chess Armor. If not for this, Fan Changhou's "late bloomer" would have been twenty years later. In today's world, the ninth dan was the highest level of Go. The top national players who were by the emperor's side waiting for the imperial decree were all unquestionably strong ninth dan. There were also some experts in the countryside who possessed the strength of ninth dan, but they weren't necessarily "strong". As for the princess of Beiliang, Xu Weixiong, who had become famous for her studies at the Yin Academy, there was a saying called "Xu Shi and Thirteen". Xu Shi said that this woman's strength was far beyond a ninth dan expert, and she was fully deserving of the title of "great tenth dan". Xu Shisan said that she was often able to play the unfathomable and marvelous moves of the thirteenth dan. Therefore, she could be considered a first-rate Go master on the same level as Cao Guanzi of West Chu. Fan Changhou admitted that he could barely bear the title of "tenth dan", but when compared to Xu Weixiong and Cao Changqing, there was a huge gap of one stone. As for comparing himself to this master in front of him, heh, this was a pleasant reunion between master and disciple. His master had given him two stones, but Fan Changhou still lost all ten games.
The old man stared at the chessboard. He picked up a pinch of salt and sprinkled it on the radish. He asked, "Yuetian, do you still remember what I said to you when we played our first game of chess?"
Fan Zhanghou, who was known by the courtesy name of Yuetian, replied respectfully, "Master said two things. One was that true skill lies outside of chess. The other was that no matter how good you are at chess, it's all there is to it. There is a world of difference between knowing how to play chess and knowing how to behave."
Huang Longshi, the number one devil of the Spring and Autumn Period, grunted in agreement. He chewed on the bland and slightly salty radish. "That's why, other than teaching you how to play chess, I also want you to not delay your studies. Now that Wu Congxian has become famous in the capital, you don't have to fight for anything. Instead, you're even more famous than Wu Congxian. In the future, no matter who sits on the dragon throne in the Liyang imperial court, there will be a place for you. "
Fan Zhanghou asked softly, "Why does Master want me to be on good terms with His Royal Highness, the King of Yan Chi? Is it because the Emperor killed Grand Secretary Zhang Julu and was disappointed? "
Huang Longshi smiled and asked, "Yuetian, don't tell me you think Bi Yan shouldn't have been killed?"
Fan Zhanghou didn't dare to be mysterious in front of his master. He said frankly, "Even if the Emperor wanted to pave the way for Crown Prince Zhao Zhuan, killing Zhang Julu alone would be enough. Killing all nine of his family members would be too much."
Huang Longshi smiled and said, "Let's not talk about the importance of the matter. First, tell me why Bi Yan 'er was a dead end."
Fan Zhanghou walked to the opposite side of the chessboard and sat upright. He said in a deep voice, "Grand Secretary Zhang Julu promoted the imperial examination and opened the dragon gate for the poor children. Moreover, under Zhang Julu's protection, people like Yin Maochun and Zhao Youling appeared. Not only were they capable officials, but under the protection of Zhang Julu, they were able to smoothly soak in the officialdom for many years. They became more familiar with the Emperor's thoughts and the rules of the imperial court. They knew how to protect themselves and also knew how to accumulate power while leaving their names in the annals of history. These officials were different from those 'loyal officials' in the Spring and Autumn Period who were willing to die if the Emperor wanted them to. Even if the Emperor wanted them to die, the officials didn't have to die, but they weren't willing to commit suicide. In the future, there would be a continuous stream of poor and important officials. Since they were born in the marketplace, it didn't matter if they lost the family property they had accumulated over decades. At certain moments, they weren't like the deep-rooted children of the aristocratic families. They were more willing to sacrifice themselves. Zhang Julu was the creator of the Spring of Yonghui and the instigator of the poor people wearing purple and yellow. This is death. "
Huang Longshi grabbed a handful of white rice and stuffed it into his mouth. He smiled slowly and said, "It's far from enough."
"The Crown Prince Zhao Zhuan is going to ascend the throne. If nothing unexpected happens, he will be an emperor in a time of peace and prosperity. He won't have any military exploits. But if the imperial court has Zhang Julu for civil affairs and Gu Jiantang for military affairs, it will be extremely difficult for the new emperor, Zhao Zhuan, to convince the masses. The current Son of Heaven has continuously 'tested' the Grand Secretary Daren, Jin Lanting's impeachment, the Great General Yang Shenxing's mentioning of the Loyal Lie of Ji Zhou's Han Family, making an exception to promote Chai Junwang's son-in-law Chen Wang, summoning Qi Yanglong to the capital, reactivating the Hall Secretariat's subordinate provinces to contend with the Minister of Shangshu. Various methods have been pressing on the Grand Secretary step by step. Zhang Julu seems to have chosen to retreat step by step from the beginning to the end, dismantling Zhao Youling's power on his own, abandoning one after another Zhao Youling, Yin Maochun, and Bai Guo, leaving behind only Wang Xionggui, who was publicly recognized as the most lacking of the Prime Minister's support.
Even when the last pillar of Zhang Lu, the Minister of Revenue, Wang Xionggui, was demoted to Guangling's Magistrate and left the capital, Zhang Julu still didn't make a sound. "
Speaking to this point, Fan Zhanghou paused for a moment. "But, but as long as Zhang Julu doesn't die, even if he 'takes the blame' and resigns, this civil official leader will return to his hometown and live in seclusion in the mountains after losing his position. Then Grand Chancellor Qi Yanglong, who was originally used to contend with Zhang Julu, will be in an awkward position. Moreover, how old is Zhang Julu, and how old is Qi Yanglong? When the time comes, as soon as the world's situation changes, Zhang Julu, who is not in the imperial court but in Jianghu, will instead have the opportunity to become the savior of the world. Today, the disparity in treatment between Zhang Julu and Qi Yanglong, as well as their positions in the hearts of the people, will coincidentally be reversed when the time comes. How can His Majesty not understand the logic within? How can he leave a mess for the Crown Prince? If it's just this argument, without the first death of Zhang Julu as I said earlier, it can still be used as a check and balance for the monarch to control his subjects. However, since it will be a dynasty without major wars in the future, and there will be more and more talented people in the imperial court, the Emperor's Spring of Auspicious Talisman is not inferior to Zhang Julu's Spring of Eternal Hui, why should the Zhao family keep you, Zhang Julu, around?! "
Huang Longshi nodded. "Zhang Julu has been a timely help in these 20 years, so he can't be killed. In the future, he can only be the icing on the cake. His tail can't be removed, so he can indeed be killed earlier. This is also considered death. Two of them are dead. Continue. "
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