Yuan Guo stroked his beard and said, "I think that Mister, who has never fought anyone in his life, will give Zhao Bing a good beating."
Yin Maochun laughed for the first time without any fear.
Zhao Youling, who was also a grandmaster in the officialdom, also laughed.
Wang Xionggui straightened his robes, turned to look out the window and bowed solemnly.
Yuan Guo sighed and slowly stood up. He also straightened his robes and bowed.
Zhao Youling and Yin Maochun looked at each other and smiled. They stood up at the same time and bowed as well.
This was the matter of scholars.
No matter what other scholars in the world think or do, I, Scholar Zhang Lu, cultivate my body! The Qi Family! Rule the country! Pacify the world!
— —
At the border of the imperial city of Great Peace City, the door to a small courtyard was half closed. A blind young man and a maid who depended on each other were cooking wine in the snowy night.
The maid called Xing Hua said worriedly, "Young Master, it seems that the outside world is becoming more and more chaotic. When I went to buy food, I heard that the three rebel kings fought their way here and almost ran into Assistant Minister Lu's army. The price of rice in the capital has risen a lot. If we don't stock up, it will be troublesome."
The young man, who was dressed in white and smiled proudly at the nobles, said gently, "Don't worry, we won't starve. However, as long as one has food at home, one's heart won't panic.
She wanted to speak but stopped. In the end, she couldn't help but ask in a small voice, "Young Master, can we defend? If the two border armies of Gu Dazhou come down south to help, will we be able to quell the rebellion? But even I know that the King of Shu, Chen Zhibao, is very good at using troops. He is helping the King of Yan and the others. What should we do? "
Lu Xu, who was in charge of Liyang, said softly, "The white-robed war saint chose to take in Wu Zhongxuan's army not just because he wants to end the battle quickly. It also means that the scenery in the distance is not in Great Peace City, but Gu Jiantang's border towns."
Xing Hua was confused. "Ah? What is he thinking? "
Lu Suan joked, "Only God knows."
She carefully handed a cup of hot wine to Lu Xu. Over the past few years, the two of them had a tacit understanding. Although she was blind, she naturally took the cup. When Lu Xu lowered his head to drink, she sighed, "Sigh, it's only been twenty years of peace and there's going to be turmoil and chaos again."
The corners of Lu Xu's mouth curled up. "The two of us can be considered lucky to have just lived for 20 years. In the early years of Yonghui and this year's third year of Xiangfu, the people of the Central Plains, the old people from the past, and the children now will all have to live in fear. "
She smiled. "You're right, Young Master."
Lu Xu turned his head and "looked" at the half-opened door. He pursed his lips and looked calm.
She looked at the side of Young Master's face, her eyes dazed.
She didn't have any extravagant hopes. She only hoped that she could stay by his side until she saw her Young Master's hair slowly turn white, and her Young Master would never see her unbearably old appearance with white hair.
Lu Xu slowly turned his head and broke the silence. "I've already dismissed Spy Zhao today. You can say anything."
Xing Hua hesitated. "Young Master, do you occasionally feel lonely?"
The blind young man smiled and shook his head. "I'm a virgin, happy and content."
Xing Hua stuck out her tongue. "Young Master, you're so calm and indifferent. You're really amazing."
He mocked himself. "The frog in the well talks about the sea, the worm in the summer talks about the ice. That's amazing."
She didn't really understand, so she didn't say anything.
Lu Xu suddenly said, "I remember that there's spring water in my hometown. It's known as the ninth best spring in the world by the Dafeng Dynasty's Tea Sage. If you pour the spring water into a cup, the water will not overflow. It can even float copper coins."
Xing Hua widened her limpid eyes. "Is it really that magical?"
Lu Xu laughed. "Floating copper coins are definitely fake, but it's true that it's like drinking wine in a cup. If there's a chance, we can use the spring water there to boil wine. "
Xing Hua nodded her head vigorously.
Lu Xu raised his head slightly and whispered, "This spring is the most pleasant. The Eighteen Spring Seasons."
She asked curiously, "Young Master, who wrote this poem? It's quite good."
Lu Xu stretched out his finger and pointed at himself with a gentle smile.
Xing Hua immediately said in a serious tone, "It's really a good poem!"
Lu Xu pointed at her. "You're not very good at flattery."
Xing Hua blushed.
Lu Xu gently opened his palm to the woman beside him.
She felt as if she was struck by lightning. She was timid and gentle. Finally, she gathered her courage and stretched out her cold and slender hand and placed it in his palm.
Lu Xu held her hand tightly and said, "Xing Hua, I'm blind. In the future, help me look at those great rivers and mountains. If you see them, I will see them too."
She choked and said, "Young Master, don't despise me for being stupid."
Lu Xu shook his head and said softly, "I don't dare."
Outside the house, the heavy snow fell on the world. Inside the house, the people were as warm as spring.
— —
The fourth year of Xiangfu, early spring.
The last heavy snow at the end of last year had yet to melt.
Jiaodong King Zhao Sui led his elite troops to the south. At the same time, Hezhou General Cai Bai's elite cavalry and Yang Huchen's and Han Fang's cavalry successfully merged. Jingan Jiedushi Ma Zhongxian announced that he had gathered 100,000 elite troops and was about to head east.
These good news added a festive atmosphere to this year's first court meeting.
After the court meeting, Sun Yin found Fan Zhanghou in the crowd. He said that he had recently picked up an incomplete chess piece. It was true that he had achieved great success. His chess skills had skyrocketed. He would definitely be able to teach this tenth level chess saint a lesson.
Fan Zhanghou was originally walking side by side with Song Keli, who was also in the Hanlin Academy. The two of them had a good relationship. The young phoenix of the Song family, whose family had declined, had always been silent. Only Fan Zhanghou and he often talked at night.
After hearing Sun Yin's provocation, Fan Zhanghou smiled and agreed. They agreed to meet tonight at Sun Yin's house. Sun Yin repeatedly reminded this great national player to not forget to bring the Liuji mutton from the horse stop. Fan Zhanghou had to promise that even if he did not show up, he would not miss the mutton. Only then did Sun Yin give up.
The top scholar of the last imperial examination, Li Jifu, ran all the way. When he reached Sun Yin's side, he was slightly out of breath. After being glared at by Sun Yin, Li Jifu smiled shyly.
Li Jifu's appearance was average and his temperament was dull. He had always been ridiculed as one of the bottom three candidates in the Li Yang Imperial Examinations. He was neither a distinguished scholar nor a military strategist. Not to mention the distinguished and outstanding leader of the Yong Hui's court officials, Yin Maochun, he was far inferior to the second place Gao Ting Shu Tanhua Wu Congxian of the same Imperial Examinations. His family background, his career prospects, and his prospects in the capital were all like this. Li Jifu had done nothing for three whole years and was not famous. Now, they were about to welcome the next court examination. Even though there were no results, Qin Guanhai from last autumn's Autumn Assembly had surpassed Li Jifu in both style and bearing. Qin Guanhai of a noble family was already famous in Great Peace City. With the help of Jin Lanting, Gao Tingshu and the others, Li Jifu naturally became a supporting character. Occasionally, he would be mocked and ridiculed.
The only thing that attracted attention about Li Jifu, this honest person, was that he was willing to be a follower of the Beiliang's mad scholar, Sun Yin. For no reason, he would go find Sun Yin, who had just been transferred to the Ministry of Rites. Every time he left court, he would follow behind Sun Yin as if he would not be at ease if he did not do so. The civil and military officials of the court were used to this. On the other hand, Sun Yin was a person who did not stop. After the debate at the Imperial College, he quickly lost his position. Within a year, he had been transferred from the Ministry of War to the Ministry of Rites. Not long after, he was scolding a minister, second assistant minister, and third langzhong. The only remaining langzhong, who had luckily escaped, was chased and questioned by the leaders of other ministries every time he went to court. Questions such as, "Langzhong Ma, who blocked the door and scolded you yesterday?", "Will you be able to escape today?", "Official Ma, you have to hold on, I bet that you will be fine this month! Whether or not you can get your salary next month depends on you! "
Soon, Assistant Minister Ma inexplicably became a well-known figure in the court. It was enough to show the arrogance of the "minor official of the Ministry of Rites", Sun Yin.
At dusk, in the small house rented by Sun Yin Kuangren, the two people playing chess were not Fan Zhanghou and Sun Yin Kuangren, who boasted of his god-like chess skills. Instead, it was an ordinary scholar from outside the country who was playing chess with the world-famous Xiangfu Chess Sage. Moreover, after more than sixty moves, the former was still not at a disadvantage. Those who knew about Fan Zhanghou's powerful chess skills knew that this was not an easy feat. In the contemporary Go world, Fan Zhanghou, who was publicly recognized as the 'Fan Zi', had already surpassed the West Chu's Guoshi, Li Mi. It was very likely that he would be able to catch up with Huang Sanjia and Cao Changqing. Therefore, there was a humorous saying that 'Xu Weixiong is not in the capital, Fan Zhanghou is within one arm's reach'.
The national players of Liyang Go Waiting for the Imperial Edict were thoroughly convinced of their loss. Among them, Yuan Mei, the famous Go master of the 'Peach Spring Go Manual', admitted that Fan Changhou's invincibility was a misunderstanding. It was only because no one in the capital was truly able to drag the game into the middle game.
In addition to Sun Yin and the two players, Li Jifu and Song Keli were also in the room. Sun Yin was squatting on a small stool, holding a large plate of peanuts in his hands. A gentleman would watch the game without saying anything. Sun Yin, who was not good at Go, would watch the game and talk nonsense. Fortunately, the young scholar did not listen to his advice at all. Song Keli did not watch the game. He was flipping through an ancient book that Sun Yin had picked up from somewhere. Li Jifu, who had no chair to sit on, squatted directly next to Sun Yin. Occasionally, he would pick up a peanut from the plate and chew it slowly. If he picked it up too quickly, Sun Yin would slap it away. Li Jifu could only look resentful.
After more than eighty moves, that young scholar threw in his chess piece and admitted defeat. Even though this person's strength was already extremely shocking, the only flaw was that no matter if it was the pick or the placement of the chess piece, his posture was too unpresentable. It had nothing to do with that confidence and ease.
Fan Zhanghou raised his head and looked at his peer who was staring down at the game. He asked gently, "Brother Liu, may I ask how long you have been learning Go?"
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