The capital was rather quiet that day. Even the hawkers on the streets were much quieter than usual. Every now and then, people would look up in the direction of the palace, thinking about the match that was going on there.
The match against the people of the Qi Kingdom was a battle of honor. As citizens of the Jing Kingdom, driven by their national pride and national honor, everyone was very concerned about this matter.
Some underground gambling dens even opened bets for this match. In the bustling gambling dens, countless people raised their heads in anticipation, waiting for the news to spread from the palace.
In the Viscount's Residence, Li Yi woke up early. He had to supervise the two tailors to work quickly. In two days, when the boring match against the people of the Qi Kingdom was over, his period of confinement would come to an end. He had to finish these two items before entering the palace.
At this time, in the golden hall, two people sat cross-legged on both sides of a chessboard.
On one side was Deputy Ma, and on the other was an old man with white hair and a face full of wrinkles.
Today was the first match of the written examination, and it was of utmost importance. Even Emperor Jing could not sit firmly on the throne. He walked down from above, but did not get too close, watching from afar.
Apart from Emperor Jing, there were only a few people in the hall. The two prime ministers were among them, and there were also a few old men, all famous scholars of the dynasty.
On the other side, there were also several people standing behind the old man. They were all ambassadors of the Qi Kingdom, and their leader was a young man who looked to be in his early twenties.
In order not to disturb the two people playing chess, most of the officials waited outside the hall. Countless people paced in the square, their expressions faintly anxious.
Deputy Ma was in the prime of his life. It was reasonable to say that both his chess skills and physical strength were at the peak of his life. Even Chess Saint Bai Yu did not dare to underestimate him. Against an old man, no matter how one looked at it, he had a great advantage.
However, not long ago, when Chess Saint Bai Yu played against this old man, they thought the same.
But in the end, Bai Yu lost all three matches. Today, would Deputy Ma be able to turn the tide and win the first city for the country?
This was the worry of the officials and Emperor Jing, not something that Emperor Jin should be worried about.
"These are the pastries that Lady Mother asked the catering company to make. They're delicious. Do you want to try them?"
Prince Jin, Li Han, was holding an exquisite food box in his hand. He squatted on the steps of a shady place in the palace and said to the little girl sitting there with a smile on his face.
"Thank you, Brother Jin. I'm not hungry." The little girl turned her head and looked at the direction of the palace gate. She shook her head and said.
"Then I'll leave it here first. You can eat it when you're hungry." Monarch Jin put the lunchbox aside and said cautiously, "Sister Yongning, I used to bully you all the time. It's all my fault. Now I know I was wrong. If anyone dares to bully you in the future, tell me and I'll beat him up for you!"
After thinking for a while, he added, "If it's my brother, the King of Shu, I can't beat him, but I'll tell you!"
However, Princess Yong Ning didn't seem to hear him. She murmured, "When will my brother come?"
Monarch Jin scratched his head and said, "You mean Master … Master has been grounded by Father for half a month. There are still a few days left. He won't come to the palace these days."
Princess Yong Ning looked a little disappointed. She subconsciously hugged her arms and then remembered that the sheep was gone.
Monarch Jin glanced in a certain direction and scratched his head. He said, "There seems to be something interesting in the Legislative Hall today. Sister Shouning and the others have already gone there. Do you want to go with me?"
Seeing Yong Ning shake her head, Monarch Jin stood up and said, "Then I'll leave first …"
Outside the Legislative Hall, the officials were still pacing in the square. Several small figures squeezed at the door and poked their heads out to look inside. Before long, another curious head appeared.
Inside the hall, as the chess game progressed, Emperor Jing and the others frowned.
The wrinkled face of the old man from the State of Qi was expressionless. He was very calm when he picked up a chess piece and placed it down. On the other hand, Deputy Commander Ma's complexion was pale. Beads of sweat had appeared on his forehead. He had been holding a chess piece in his hand for a long time, but he didn't place it down.
A hint of defeat flashed across Prime Minister Qin's face. He was about to lose this game.
Ma Zhongcheng, who could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Chess Saint, had only lasted for two hours against the old man. In the end, he still couldn't avoid losing.
Sometimes, a match between experts would last for several hours. For Ma Zhongcheng to lose in two hours was enough to show the difference in chess skills between the two.
If he were to lose again tomorrow, there would be no need for the written examination.
"I've lost …"
The chess piece in Ma Zhongcheng's hand didn't land in the end. His face was dejected and he seemed to have aged a little in an instant. He stood up and said in a hoarse voice.
Even though he had won, the old man opposite him didn't say a word. He stood up and silently stood opposite the young man.
The officials outside the hall filed in. Just by looking at Ma Zhongcheng's expression, they already had a conclusion.
He had lost. As expected, he had lost. It had only been two hours, and the old man had become so powerful!
The officials' hearts were heavy. They stood around and didn't say a word.
"I was lucky to win the first game. Thank you for letting me win." The young man smiled and cupped his hands at the crowd.
Emperor Jing was disappointed. He waved his hand and said, "Let's end the court today. Tomorrow, we will continue with the second round of the written examination."
"Your Majesty, please wait." At this moment, the young man suddenly spoke.
"What else do you want?" Emperor Jing looked back at the young man and asked with a frown.
The young man smiled and said, "This time, I proposed to compete with your kingdom only for the sake of learning from each other. I have no other intentions. I really don't want to cause trouble for your kingdom …"
The officials frowned when they heard this. He didn't want to cause trouble for his kingdom. Didn't the Third Prince mean that if the competition continued, the Jing Kingdom would continue to lose and lose face? Hearing this, the officials felt more ashamed and resentful than if they had lost the competition.
"Does the Third Prince really think that you will win?" Before Emperor Jing could speak, Prime Minister Qin snorted coldly and said.
The young man smiled and said, "Winning or losing isn't important. The purpose of this competition is to exchange and learn. If we insist on determining who is superior and who is inferior, it would lose its original meaning. I believe that even everyone here doesn't want to determine a winner and a loser, right?"
The young man's words made all the officials speechless. If they had won the first round, they would not have allowed the Prince of Qi to speak so much here. The problem was that they had already lost the first round. If they lost the next round, they would not only lose their face, but also the face of the entire Jing Kingdom. At that time, what would the commoners think? What would the other kingdoms think? The Qi Kingdom had only brought a few people with them, yet they had defeated the Jing Kingdom. Could it be that the Jing Kingdom's imperial court was filled with a bunch of good-for-nothings?
"What do you want?" At this time, it was not suitable for Emperor Jing to speak. Prime Minister Qin thought for a moment and looked at the young man and asked.
The young man looked at Emperor Jing and said, "As long as your country agrees to a small condition of ours, there is no need to continue the competition. After the handover of the city, our envoy will immediately leave the Jing Kingdom. What does Your Majesty think?"
Although he was unwilling to admit it, if the competition continued, the possibility of the Jing Kingdom losing face would only be greater. Emperor Jing looked at him and asked, "What is the condition?"
"It's very simple. It's just a small request." The young man smiled and said, "There are many people in the envoy group. After staying in the capital for a long time, our travel expenses have been exhausted. We only hope that Your Majesty can give us some food, enough for the envoy group to return to the country."
"Only food?" As soon as the young man's voice fell, not only was the expression on Emperor Jing's face startled, but the officials also showed an expression of disbelief.
When it came to the face of the country, they thought that the Third Prince of the Qi Kingdom would make some unreasonable request. As long as it was a little too much, even if His Majesty agreed, they would still strongly oppose it.
But who would have thought that after spending so much effort, it was actually just a little food …
For a moment, the expressions of the officials as they looked at the Third Prince of the Qi Kingdom immediately changed subtly. It was said that the Third Prince of the Qi Kingdom was the most capable of all the princes of the Qi Kingdom and could be said to be extremely talented. Could it be that the rumors were false? Was the Third Prince actually the same as the King of Shu?
As if not noticing the strange gazes of the officials, the young man pointed to the chessboard at the side and said, "The envoy group does not need much food. As long as Your Majesty sends someone to put one grain of rice in the first grid of the chessboard, two grains in the second grid, four grains in the third grid, and after that, each grid will have twice the amount of rice in the previous grid, and so on. You only need to put the rice on the 64th grid of the chessboard."
After the young man finished speaking, he looked at Emperor Jing with a smile, waiting for his reply.
Emperor Jing did not reply immediately. He looked at the chessboard at the side and then at the young man. Judging from the performance of the Third Prince of the Qi Kingdom, he was definitely not an ordinary person. This competition had been planned for a long time, so how could it end so hastily?
Relying on the food on the 64th grid of the chessboard to return to the Qi Kingdom, they would probably starve to death before they reached the Qi Kingdom.
"What do you all think?" Emperor Jing looked at the officials around him and asked.
Many officials rejoiced in their hearts. They hadn't expected that the Third Prince of the Qi Kingdom would be a fool. This was great news for them. Although there were some who suspected that there might be a scheme behind this, the Third Prince only wanted some rations. So, they could just give it to him. What kind of scheme could he play with a few bags of rations?
"Your Majesty, since the Ambassadors of the Qi Kingdom are so short of food, we naturally can't refuse. We can't let the ambassadors of other countries starve. This is not appropriate." Assistant Minister Chen Bo stood up and said with a smile.
"Your Excellency Chen is right. If we refuse, it will seem that we are stingy."
"It's not easy for the Third Prince to come from afar. Why not satisfy his request?"
…
…
Things took a turn, and the officials all smiled and spoke. If they could use some food to send away the troublesome people of the Qi Kingdom, it was a good deal no matter how they looked at it.
At that time, they could say that the people of the Qi Kingdom were afraid, so they asked for some food and went back to the Qi Kingdom. His Majesty was kind and gave them some food. Not only did they save face, but they also saw the people of the Qi Kingdom as a joke. Why not?
"Where are the professors of mathematics in the Imperial College?" Emperor Jing pondered for a moment and suddenly asked.
When Chancellor Zheng heard this, he immediately went forward and said, "Your Majesty, except for Professor Han, the other professors of mathematics went to the Li County Mansion to ask for mathematics. They are not in the court."
The reason why this Professor Han came today was that he wanted to ask for a proper imperial edict from His Majesty. Otherwise, he would not even be able to enter the gate of the Li family. Chancellor Zheng waved his hand behind him, and immediately a middle-aged man walked over quickly.
Emperor Jing was a little regretful. If he knew this, he should have called Li Yi here today. He had never let him down. With him here, why should he worry about these things?
"Do you know how much food they want?" Emperor Jing looked at Professor Han and asked.
Professor Han pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, it's only 64 squares. It won't be a lot."
Professor Han looked at the chessboard. As a Professor of Mathematics, he naturally thought more than the other officials. Due to the multiplication, 64 squares were actually not a small number. However, how big was a grain of rice? One stone of rice was already innumerable. Even if 64 squares could not be filled, 10 stones would not be enough, and 100 stones would not be enough, right?
The Jing Kingdom did not lack those hundred or so meters of rice. Using this amount of rice to send off the Qi Kingdom's envoy was a very good deal.
It was rare for the officials to have the same opinion on this matter. Emperor Jing suppressed the only worry in his heart and said, "In that case, then …"
The Third Prince of the Qi Kingdom still had a faint smile on his face.
The expressions on the officials' faces were also quite satisfied.
Everyone was happy and well.
"Wait a minute …"
The harmonious atmosphere was suddenly broken by a voice. After being stunned for a moment, everyone turned their heads and looked in the direction of the voice.
Prince Jin, Li Han, stood at the door of the hall. When he saw so many people in the hall looking at him, he couldn't help but feel a little scared. But he still forced himself to muster up courage and interrupted Emperor Jing's words, saying, "Father, you can't agree with them!"
In front of the envoy of the Qi Kingdom and the civil and military officials, Emperor Jing's words were interrupted by Prince Jin, but he was not angry at all. Instead, his face showed a thoughtful expression.
The Third Prince of the Qi Kingdom's expression changed slightly. He looked at the little fat man standing at the door of the hall with a trace of surprise in his eyes.
"Your Highness, this is the court. Don't make trouble here!"
The officials quickly reacted. They didn't care about their identity and spoke out to stop him. This was a great advantage. They must not let Prince Jin ruin it. Next time, they might not meet such a stupid prince.
Most of the officials stopped Prince Jin, but a few people's faces changed at the same time.
Minister of the Ministry of Revenue Qin Huan, Minister of War Yan Bing, Chancellor of the Imperial College, and the Professor of Mathematics. No one knew better than them how many incredible things were in this fat head.
"Han 'er, come here and talk." Emperor Jing smiled and waved to Prince Jin.
Seeing that his father was not angry, Prince Jin was relieved. He walked over slowly, pointed at the young man, and said to Emperor Jing, "Father, don't be cheated by them. My teacher said that all the countries in the world can't fill the 64 squares of the chessboard. If we build a big warehouse to store all the food, the warehouse should be three feet long, six feet wide, and high as the sun …"
The Third Prince of the Qi Kingdom's expression did not change, but he sighed in his heart. For the first time, he looked at the little fat man in front of him seriously.
"Yes, there are so many …" The Chancellor of the Imperial College said in a trembling voice.
The face of Professor Han, who had just spoken, turned pale. He only felt that his eyes were a little black. If it was only Prince Jin, he still had a glimmer of hope in his heart. But the problem was that he just said "my teacher said" …
Prince Jin's teacher was none other than the mysterious Li Xianzi.
He taught Prince Jin, who was a naughty child, to sweep the mathematics students of the Imperial College and make the Professors of Mathematics extremely ashamed. How could he talk nonsense without any basis?
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