Chapter 36 Thirty-six

Not long ago, a group of people came out from the Daxiong Palace. The leader was a man in Tsing Yi, who was over fifty, with a thin face and yellow beard, and a gloomy expression, giving people a feeling of discomfort.Next to him was a fat man with a pot belly who looked like an official, and several local dignified figures.The man in Tsing Yi went straight to the chess table and sat down. This man was Li Ruchuan who was playing chess.That fat man was Wang He, an official to the Ministry of Rites, on the way back home from the capital to visit his relatives, he occasionally saw Li Ruchuan playing chess with others, he was invincible, and every time he killed his opponent, he was defeated and left.Wang He knew that the current Emperor Wanli was good at chess, Li Ruchuan was invincible in chess, and would be of great use in the capital in the future, so he hired him with a lot of money.That Li Ruchuan had a gloomy and eccentric temperament, he had no one in his eyes, at first he ignored Wang He, but after seeing that he was a Beijing official, he followed him.At this time, Wang He, accompanied by several local officials, was wearing casual clothes and sitting on a bamboo chair beside him watching chess.Wang He saw that although Li Ruchuan was aloof and indifferent, he regarded himself as a national player who came out of the mountain, and he meant to be the best in the world. It will make his official career prosper and make him flourish. Every time he thinks of this, Wang He feels happy in his heart.

At this time, Lu Wenyi saw that Li Ruchuan was sitting there as if no one was around, and ignored him, obviously he was left out in the cold, and he was a little annoyed: "Putting chess to set up a challenge, today's three major masters in the chess world dare not do it, but Sir, I’ve never heard of it before, and you made such a random move, is it for grandstanding?” Li Ruchuan glanced at Lu Wenyi, and said coldly: “Stop talking nonsense, if you have the ability, let’s talk about it in chess.” A pair of cold triangular eyes Suddenly a few bursts of cold air burst out.When Lu Wenyi saw it, his heart trembled, and he felt timid, so he cupped his hands and said, "I'm going to Jingzhou, Lu Wenyi, come to ask the master for advice." Li Ruchuan said coldly: "Since you have the ability to play chess on the stage, hold the black and go first. That's right." Then Lu Wenyi was subdued by Li Ruchuan's cold and domineering aura, and no longer mentioned the matter of giving up to the first three sons. He believed that he had a few percent chess strength, and wanted to defeat the opponent, so he made a layout and responded first.Li Ruchuan responded calmly, and a game of chess has already started.The audience was silent at this moment, watching quietly, most of the people were watching this kind of non-hustle and bustle, and they all wanted to know where the one thousand taels of silver prize money would be snatched away by an expert in the end.

Although Fang Guohuan squeezed to the front of the crowd, he was too far away from the chess table on the stage, and the chess moves of both sides could not be clearly seen, so he had to wait patiently for the result.After dozens of chess moves between the two sides, Lu Wenyi became a little irritable, showing surprise at times.But Li Ruchuan sat upright with no expression on his face. Lu Wenyi thought for a long time before making a move, and Li Ruchuan responded casually without thinking.Seeing this, Fang Guohuan was surprised and said: "This Li Ruchuan is very calm, he really is an expert at chess, this time I am lucky to meet him, we must not miss the opportunity to ask for advice." At the middle of the game, Lu Wenyi's chess strength seemed to be at its peak There is no way to go, and he stared blankly at the chessboard for a while, then threw his hand and conceded defeat, shook his head and exclaimed: "Mr. Yes!" I was completely overwhelmed.Then, Lu Wenyi got up and was about to leave, when he heard Li Ruchuan sneer: "Your Excellency is so powerful in chess that you have survived dozens of times, do you want a reward?" After hearing this, Lu Wenyi was ashamed, covered his face with his long sleeves, and jumped off the stage , separated from the crowd, and went in a panic.The crowd burst into amazement, and Wang He, who was watching, nodded, feeling even more proud.

Fang Guohuan in the audience was surprised and said: "Then Lu Wenyi's chess strength does not seem to be weak, but he was defeated like this. It can be seen that although Li Ruchuan has not reached the level of 'take all the game and leave no stone' in this game of chess, It's also amazingly high, which is rare in the world." I admire him in my heart, and my interest has already been aroused.At this time, seeing a servant on the stage collecting the chess pieces on the chess table, Li Ruchuan wanted to get up and leave, Fang Guohuan didn't have time to think, walked out of the crowd, came up to the stage and cupped his hands and said: "Mr. Li, please stay, junior Fang Guohuan is here to ask for advice." Seeing that it was a young man playing chess, they were all surprised.Li Ruchuan was startled when he heard the sound, and when he turned around to look, he saw that he was a handsome young man, and he couldn't help but wondered: "What? Does the young master also know chess?" Fang Guohuan said respectfully: "The junior is not talented. Seeing the senior's advanced chess skills and rare opportunities, he played the game boldly, and hoped for his advice." "Eh?" Li Ruchuan was surprised when he heard that, and was a little surprised to see Fang Guohuan's extraordinary words, so he sized Fang Guohuan up and down. Seeing it again, Fang Guohuan's heart trembled, because he saw this person's eyes were cold, sharp and unpredictable.After a while, Li Ruchuan nodded, and said coldly: "There is no distinction between young and old in chess. Since the young master dares to play chess on the stage, he must have extraordinary skills, maybe a national prodigy. You are young, so I will make an exception and let you be the Nine Stars first, but if you can occupy the Hundred Sons, you will be considered a winner, and the prize money of one thousand taels of silver will be taken away, so that this old man will not be suspected of being a bully." There was something in the words. Disdainful.As soon as this remark came out, the crowd went into a commotion, and some players who knew chess couldn't help but said in amazement: "As long as this little brother has a few percent of his chess strength, that's all. It's really a big advantage to let the first nine pieces." A young monk squeezed in front of the crowd. He was quite surprised to see a young man playing chess on the stage, so he watched from the sidelines.

Seeing that Li Ruchuan was so cold, arrogant and contemptuous of others, Fang Guohuan's previous respect was greatly reduced, which was also due to the nature of a chess player. At this time, Fang Guohuan shook his head and said, "Your junior is not talented, but he is also unwilling to give way to others. Mr. Chess is difficult. Yu, only by playing the opponent's chess, can you appreciate the master's demeanor and benefit from the chess, and please give me your advice." "Huh?" Li Ruchuan was surprised when he heard it, and secretly said: "This kid The tone is loud, maybe it is someone with some background, but he doesn't know the depth, and he doesn't know good or bad." His expression was already displeased, he let out a "hum", and sneered: "Young master also has some courage, let's just go Opponent chess, let the old man learn your skills, go first." Fang Guohuan and Fang Guohuan sat opposite each other at the chess table.Fang Guohuan saw that Li Ruchuan had the intention of belittling him, and knew that the only way to talk to him was at the chess game, his heart immediately calmed down, and he said "acceptance", and he was not polite, he held a black piece, and habitually dropped Tianyuan.