One day, after the morning assembly, a piece of news spread like wildfire in the marketplace.
The Emperor had agreed to the Qi Kingdom's request for a duel. The duel would be held in the palace the next day. Streets and alleys, brothels … Countless people in the Capital City were discussing this matter.
"Damn the people of the Qi Kingdom. How dare they come to our Capital City and behave atrociously. We should have taught them a lesson long ago."
"They want to challenge the entire Capital City with just a few people. How arrogant!"
"Tomorrow will be the day to avenge themselves!"
…
…
These days, from the officials and nobles to the commoners, everyone in the Capital City had been holding their breaths.
Prime Minister Qin had lost, Shi Gui had lost, and the Chess Saint had lost. They had lost to a few nobodies from the Qi Kingdom. As citizens of the Jing Kingdom, they felt humiliated.
Not only were they humiliated, but they also felt aggrieved.
They felt aggrieved because they did not use any underhanded tricks at all. Instead, they fought fair and square. With just a few people, they had forced the Confucians to close their doors and hide in their homes, not daring to meet anyone. Even the peddlers selling steamed buns on the street felt ashamed.
Now, they could finally regain their dignity and regain their confidence. Everyone was looking forward to defeating those arrogant people in a fair and square manner tomorrow.
…
…
"The people of Qi are arrogant. With just a few people, they want to challenge the entire Jing Kingdom. Tomorrow will be the first round of the duel. Is there anyone willing to accept the challenge on behalf of the Jing Kingdom?" Emperor Jing sat steadily on his throne in the golden hall, his gaze sweeping across the officials as he spoke in a clear voice.
The generals looked around, their expressions relaxed, as if they did not care at all. The duel tomorrow was a battle of words and had nothing to do with them. It was a matter for the rotten Confucians. They just had to wait and watch the show.
Their true battlefield was during martial arts battles.
The civil officials lowered their heads, afraid that they would be singled out. They did not dare to meet the Emperor's eyes.
The Qi Kingdom's envoy was despicable and cunning. The old man who had said that he had played chess for a few years and only knew a little was a national player. Even the Chess Saint, Bai Yu, had lost. Who in the imperial court would dare to say that they could win?
Bai Yu was in the prime of his life and was at the peak of his chess skills. He was publicly acknowledged as the number one player in the Jing Kingdom, yet even he was no match for that person. Who else would dare to step forward at this moment?
If they were to lose, they would become a sinner of the Jing Kingdom and their reputation would be ruined. No one was willing to take this risk.
For a moment, the court, which was supposed to be extremely noisy, fell into a rare silence.
"Is there really no one in our dynasty who dares to fight?" Emperor Jing looked disappointed. In fact, when the envoy of the Qi Kingdom made this request, he only had one choice.
All the subjects and people in the capital, including the envoys of other countries, were watching another collision between the Qi Kingdom and the Jing Kingdom under the battlefield. The significance of this competition was related to the backbone of the country and the integrity of the people. It was no less important than a war. Whether the Jing Kingdom would surpass the Qi Kingdom again and gain great fame or be suppressed by the Qi Kingdom and the people would suffer a setback, no matter what the result was, the Jing Kingdom could not avoid this competition or the competition.
"Sigh …"
Suddenly, a sigh was heard in the silent court. A figure walked in from outside the hall, trembling. He bowed to Emperor Jing twice and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to fight!"
A eunuch supported the old man with a terrified face. The guards at the door did not even dare to stop him.
"Grand Tutor Wang!"
"No, no!"
"Your Majesty, Grand Tutor is old. This must not be done!"
…
…
When this old man with white hair and a face full of wrinkles stood out, the officials were stunned for a moment. They immediately burst into an uproar and tried to dissuade him.
Grand Tutor Wang was over eighty years old and had served several generations of emperors. In terms of seniority, he was much older than Prime Minister Qin and Prime Minister Shen. He was one of the few old men in the court and did not usually have to attend court. No one knew why he was making an exception today. If this old man were to play chess with the people of Qi, the civil and military officials of the Jing Kingdom would not be able to face others in the future …
"Teacher, why are you … please, have a seat!" Emperor Jing stood up from the dragon throne and hurriedly ordered the guards to bring a chair. The old man did not sit down but continued to bow and said, "I am not talented, but I have played chess for a few years. Since no one in the imperial court is willing, why don't you let me play? I hope Your Majesty agrees."
Emperor Jing walked down from the throne and said with a bitter smile, "Teacher, why do you have to do this?"
The old man sighed and said, "We cannot let outsiders think that there is no one in the Jing Kingdom!"
When the old man's aged voice sounded, the officials looked ashamed. At this moment, a figure walked out from the crowd and bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to fight!"
"Deputy Prime Minister Ma …"
"Why would Deputy Prime Minister Ma …"
"That's right, only Ma Zhongcheng can do it. Ma Zhongcheng and Chess Saint Bai Yu are best friends, and the two of them often play chess together. Bai Yu once said that if the two of them were to play seriously, the outcome would be uncertain …"
…
…
The person who stood out at the right time was the Deputy Prime Minister of the Imperial Censor. The officials in the court had heard of his chess skills and couldn't help but feel hopeful.
"In that case, let me fight for the poetry contest." A scholar from the Directorate of Literature stood out.
"I also want to debate with the Master of Literature. I hope Your Majesty will allow me to do so." The speaker was a scholar from the Hongwen School.
After these three people stood out, the officials didn't fight for them. After all, Deputy Prime Minister Ma Zhongcheng was good at chess, Wei Siye was good at poetry, and Scholar Zhou had studied at the Hongwen School all his life. Among the officials, no one was more suitable than them for the last two contests.
Among the crowd, Governor Dong Wenyun frowned. Wei Siye was indeed good at poetry. When he was young, he was known as the number one scholar in the capital because of his poems. However, he was not as famous as the poet. Even the poet was not as famous as the poet. How could Wei Siye win against the outstanding talent of the Qi Kingdom?
When it came to poetry, the first person that came to his mind was, of course, that person.
He was known as the number one scholar of the Jing Kingdom. All of his poems were widely spread. If he could handle the poetry contest, it would be more stable. However …
Dong Wenyun wanted to mention that name, but Wei Siye had already stood out. It was not appropriate for him to say it again. Moreover, that name was a sensitive topic in the court. He could only shake his head helplessly and suppress his thoughts.
"In that case, the literary contest will be fought by Minister Ma, Minister Wei, and Minister Zhou." Emperor Jing's expression softened as he announced in front of the crowd.
When the court was dismissed, the officials walked out one after another. However, their footsteps were not relaxed.
Although the Emperor had already decided on the candidates, they still didn't have much of a chance of winning.
The Master of Literature, the best poet in a thousand years, the Chess Soul of the Daqi Kingdom … Any of these titles was enough to crush people to death. Who would dare to say that they would win?
The shameless envoys of the Qi Kingdom had almost brought their trump cards. The hope of the literary contest was slim. It seemed that they could only pin their hopes on the martial contest …
…
…
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The Imperial Palace will be especially lively tomorrow. Are you really not going to take a look?" Li Xuan stood in front of Li Yi and said temptingly.
"I'm not going." Li Yi said without hesitation.
He found that two bowties looked more comfortable. It was just that the tailor's craftsmanship was too poor. When Fang went to the Jade Courtyard today, he had to ask him to find a reliable tailor.
"You don't have to worry about being grounded. Uncle Huang has no time to care about us. I guarantee that the censors won't care either." Li Xuan was looking forward to the bustling scene tomorrow and continued to tempt him.
Li Yi seemed to be moved. He finally looked up at him and waved the thing in his hand in front of him. He asked, "Do you think one bowtie is better or two?"
"…"
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