Hsu Fengnian left Diaoyu Terrace and wandered around the city with Yu Youwei. He saw an alley crowded with people, and there was no lack of young scholars in green robes. As he walked closer to take a look, he found that they were gambling on chess. There were people squatting, sitting, and standing. Hsu Fengnian then remembered that other than Xiangguo Alley being a money-squandering den in Xiangfan, this Yongzi Alley was also quite famous. The people sitting against the wall in the alley were all Nogi with chess pieces and chess boxes. They used the strength of their chess skills to bet different amounts to lure tourists and chess addicts who were itching to play. This kind of game was naturally difficult to attract the attention of the chess masters, but it was the best way to waste the time of the common people and poor scholars. In addition, the bets were usually no more than a dozen copper coins, so it could be considered a small gamble to entertain the mood.
Hsu Fengnian smiled and took a bite of the marinated beef wrapped in oiled paper. In the past, he was penniless and hungry, so there was a period of time when he gambled in the alley to earn money. With his chess skills trained by Scholar Li Yishan and Xu Weixiong, it was not difficult for him to win. However, there were often people of the same trade who had to make a living. Those who were reasonable would mind their own business, but those who were unreasonable would use the fact that they were locals to drive His Royal Highness away. In addition, there were rules to winning chess. One could not kill the dragon easily, but one had to keep a sense of propriety and win a few pieces. Otherwise, if the opponent was defeated, they would not be willing to continue playing chess. This was the vulgar truth that Hsu Fengnian was forced to slowly understand.
His Royal Highness had Lv Yangshu and the other two stand further away, leaving only Ning Emei standing behind him. He pulled Yu Youwei and found a gap to make use of. The player who placed the bet was a young man who looked like a down and out student. His clothes were mended and his shoes and socks were white. In front of him, there were ten chess pieces placed on the chessboard. This meant that if the player who placed the chess pieces lost, he would have to pay ten sets of money. Usually, only two or three chess pieces would be placed on the board. It was rare to see five chess pieces. It could be seen that this Nogi was quite confident. Hsu Fengnian squatted down and was hesitating whether he should take out a few copper coins to place his bet. When he looked up, he saw that the player was blind. How could he play this game?
As if accustomed to this situation, the blind player warmly said, "It's okay. When I hear the sound of a chess piece being placed, I will know where to place it."
Hsu Fengnian nodded and said, "I'll place a bet of ten copper coins."
The blind player took out his money pouch from his sleeve and weighed it in his hand. With an ashamed expression, he said softly, "Young master, if I lose, I will owe you sixteen copper coins. If you don't mind, I have a chess manual that has been passed down from my ancestors. It should be worth that amount."
Hsu Fengnian smiled and said, "Okay."
Xu Fengnian didn't really care about chess manuals. There were countless chess manuals in the Tide-listening Pavilion that could make famous chess players go crazy, such as the Peach Blossom Spring Chess Manual, the Exquisite South Sea Game Manual, the Immortal Bestowment Manual, and so on. His Highness could pile them up into a small mountain, let alone now that the chess board had turned from fifteen to nineteen. Usually, the older a chess manual was, the less valuable it was.
Generally speaking, the strength of the muscles in the hands of ancient and modern chess players was getting stronger and stronger. The blind player, who was sitting cross-legged against the wall, had a box of black chess pieces under his knees. He spread out his hand slightly and gestured for Hsu Fengnian to go first with white. Although this Nogi was dressed shabbily, his bearing was not to be underestimated. His every move revealed the refined and ancient style of a true aristocratic family.
Before the official match, both sides would place two chess pieces on opposite sides of the board, which were called 'positions'. These were the positions of ancient chess pieces. To a large extent, they limited the advantage of going first. Moreover, they were destined to fight fiercely in the middle of the board.
Hsu Fengnian passed the marinated beef to Yu Youwei and took the lead to place a three six. This position was rated as the best aggressive position by the self-proclaimed 'Huang Sanjia' grandmaster, Huang Longshi. The young blind player's expression was calm. Indeed, he could distinguish positions by listening. The black chess piece was placed with a nine three and was in a stalemate with the white chess piece.
Following that, each of the nine black and white chess pieces were placed with the same style as their predecessors. Yu Youwei's father, who was watching from the side, was once an illustrious chess master in West Chu. When he was studying at Shangyin Academy, he was only defeated by Huang Longshi, who was said to have unparalleled battle prowess. Since young, she had been influenced by her father's chess style. Naturally, she was proficient in chess theory. Perhaps even the small Beiliang chess player Lu Yi of Wutong Garden would not dare to say that he could win against Yu Youwei. Yu Youwei was somewhat disappointed when they saw each other's ten moves.
However, Hsu Fengnian's eleven moves made Yu Youwei's eyes brighten. The blind player was also slightly stagnant. He no longer placed his chess piece at lightning speed. After thinking for a moment, he picked up his piece and placed it again.
As the old saying goes, a chess piece is born from a break. Hsu Fengnian's next few moves were all born from this break. It could be said that this was an ingenious move. The blind player endured patiently all the way. Finally, the black eighteen made the first move before the corner was settled. Five or six flew attacks. Yu Youwei frowned and pondered deeply. This move had as many as forty-four changes.
She subconsciously looked at Hsu Fengnian. He was still calm and collected. His speed of placing chess pieces was the same from beginning to end. When the white forty-three moved gently, the chessboard was instantly filled with murderous intent. Yu Youwei watched with trepidation. This move was really too ferocious. The white fifty-nine flew to add and the eighty-three pointed attack was similarly aggressive. Unexpectedly, the blind player's situation was like a small boat in the ocean. It swayed but did not fall. After the black eighteen moves, victory was already firmly in his grasp. Hsu Fengnian very calmly admitted defeat.
Hsu Fengnian took out another ten copper coins and said, "Still ten wens."
The blind player played white first. In this game, Hsu Fengnian stirred up the smoke early, and the blind player calmly responded. Yu Youwei vaguely saw some clues. Hsu Fengnian was extremely aggressive, but the blind player was not the same as most people. The most important thing was the formation of the terrain. Some of the moves that seemed to be casually placed could always resonate with the middle game and even the ending game. If Hsu Fengnian did not rely on endless tricks to forcibly set off waves of unreasonable killing, the two games would not have lasted more than two hundred moves. At the moment, Xu Weixiong, who was a woman of great talent, changed fifteen to nineteen, and broke the position system. In Yu Youwei's view, the blind player who was slightly better than His Royal Highness was destined to amaze the world. Moreover, it was hard to say whether this player was hiding his strength or not. Indeed, it was a case of hidden dragons in the marketplace and crouching tigers in the alley.
"Again."
Hsu Fengnian, who had lost two games in a row, chuckled softly. This time, he played white and started with two swallows. This routine was once widely spread, but in the past fifty years, the most outstanding national players had all abandoned it in the fierce battles of the Summit Challenge. Huang Longshi even said that the two swallows were too tight at the beginning and lost its mellow flavor. It could be said that he had given this classic layout a death sentence.
Hsu Fengnian simply sat on the ground. As a result, he changed to a more comfortable position. On the chessboard, he was defeated like a mountain. He easily lost three games in a row. There was already a pile of thirty copper coins in front of the blind player. Hsu Fengnian raised his head and looked at the sky through the eaves of Yongzi Alley. It was already time for dinner. However, it was rare to meet Nogi, who was so good at chess. He waved his hand and called Shu Xiu to his side, asking her to go to the wine shop to get some food. Soon, Shu Xiu carried a large food box with four pairs of bowls and chopsticks. After Yang Qingfeng tested that the food was not poisonous, Shu Xiu dared to put it in front of Hsu Fengnian. Hsu Fengnian smiled and asked, "I don't plan to leave for a while. Do you want to eat some?"
The blind player did not care about trifles and nodded with a smile. Yu Youwei was a pampered girl who lived like a princess. She did not feel like she was losing her composure when eating with Hsu Fengnian. The halberd Ning Emei, on the other hand, was standing and wolfing down the food in a few mouthfuls. As Nogi ate slowly, he even took the initiative to talk to Hsu Fengnian about the gains and losses of the three defeats. When he talked about Hsu Fengnian's skillful moves, he did not hide his admiration. When he talked about his moves, he also straightforwardly pointed out the shortcomings. Hsu Fengnian frequently nodded and benefited a lot. They chatted happily. Hsu Fengnian smiled and asked the blind player if he had learned from a famous chess master. The blind player shook his head and said that his family background was ordinary. Before he lost his sight, he had just started playing chess. After losing his sight, he had no one to rely on and could only play chess as a companion. He had been playing chess in Yongzi Alley for almost ten years. The money he earned was only enough for him to eat and wear. Whenever he had free time, he would buy chess manuals and did not save a single bit of money. As he spoke, the blind player patted his head and took out a few Confucian classics from his bag. He handed them to Hsu Fengnian, whose butt could only touch the floor. He chuckled and said, "Cushion."
Hsu Fengnian took the books and took out two to give to Yu Youwei, whose legs were already numb. He smiled and said, "Isn't this inappropriate? It's a disgrace to the teachings of the saints. "
The blind player smiled and shook his head. "Propriety, justice, integrity, and shame are not in the books."
Xu Fengnian was no longer pretentious. He ate and drank to his heart's content with the wild chess player in front of him who had won thirty wen from him. Once again, smoke rose from the nineteen paths. Xu Fengnian repeatedly lost and did not feel tired. When the blind chess soldiers came, he blocked the water, and when the earth blocked the earth. His chess pieces were crisp and his expression was calm.
The ten games in Yongzi Alley were fought until the sky turned dark. From noon to dusk to moonlight, the dust settled. Hsu Fengnian lost ten games in a spurt of energy and paid a hundred copper coins. Nogi had already left Yongzi Alley. Hsu Fengnian sat cross-legged in front of a Confucian classic. He looked at the losing game on the chessboard and sighed heavily. He said, "With your skill, you can compete with Xu Weixiong from the Yin Academy."
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