Chapter Five: The Game of Go

  Zhou Ru sighed and said, "As a parent official of this region, I am most deeply moved by the words of the Fourth Master. Therefore, in this life, I do not seek to have achievements, but only hope to ensure the safety and stability of the people of this region."

  Cao Zhi nodded solemnly and said, "Everyone has ambitions to soar to great heights, but many have lofty aspirations yet lack the talent. They don't realize that it's easy to know what to do, but hard to actually do it. Zhou Xian's ambition was only to protect his people, but he succeeded in doing so, which is far superior to those who only know how to boast and brag."

  Zhou Ruo's eyes flashed with a hint of color, and he nodded heavily: "Those who know me are the fourth young master." He sighed as he spoke: "But if it weren't for the fourth young master standing up to save us this time, I'm afraid that I and the three million people of Guangwei would have been beheaded. I am eternally grateful, Fourth Young Master, please take a rest, I will go prepare dinner for you now." Zhou Ruo noticed that Guo Jia was looking for Cao Zhi on some matter, so he bid farewell and left.

  Cao Zhi didn't stop him, letting Zhou Yu leave as he pleased. He himself walked with Guo Jia along the city wall. As they walked, Guo Jia chuckled and said: "I've only heard that the Fourth Young Master could speak and recognize characters at the age of one, read and understand the Xiaojing and Lunyu by the age of two, and was well-versed in all the arts. I didn't expect that you would also understand such profound truths that ordinary people can't comprehend in a lifetime. Even if Gan Luo were reborn, he wouldn't be any more than this."

  When Cao Zhi heard Guo Jia's praise, he didn't show any delight, but instead shook his head and said: "Mr. Fengxiao, I don't want to be a Gan Luo."

  Guo Jia's half-closed eyes suddenly widened, and he looked at Cao Zhi with great interest, asking: "Gan Luo was able to offer his services at the age of twelve, why doesn't the Fourth Son want to be like Gan Luo?"

  Cao Zhi did not answer, but instead looked at Guo Jia and asked: "Sir, you are so intelligent, yet every time you present a plan to my father, he only praises it as 'filial words that accord with my intentions'. The reason for your presenting plans is precisely the reason I do not want to be like Gan Luo." After finishing speaking, he winked at Guo Jia.

  "Hmm?" This time, Guo Jia's expression finally changed, his eyebrows slightly raised, and he thought to himself in surprise: "At such a young age, you can see through the ways of the world so clearly?" After thinking for a moment, Guo Jia's surprised look disappeared, and he resumed his usual lazy demeanor, saying: "I've heard that Fourth Master is well-versed in chess. Why don't we play a game, just the two of us? What do you say?"

  Cao Zhi chuckled and said, "You can't get what you seek." The two of them were on the city wall, when Guo Jia had Yue Jin send someone to fetch a chessboard table, and they started playing against each other right there on top of the city gate.

  Life in the late Han Dynasty was actually quite monotonous. Due to the low grain yield at that time, even during peaceful times, ordinary people had to work hard all year round to make a living. As for the sons of aristocratic families, they did not need to farm and had a lot of free time. However, without gathering the wisdom of the common people, and since the sons of aristocratic families also needed to maintain their dignity and could not play too vulgar games, this led to a lack of entertainment in this era.

  Such as playing the zither, drinking games and other forms of entertainment are typical of literati, while warriors mainly engage in activities like archery and shooting arrows. If the weather is good or they have money, they will invite friends and family to go on outings, hunting trips, or hold poetry and wine gatherings at home. However, it was precisely this monotony of the entertainment industry that cultivated the pragmatic style of Han Confucianism.

  Go playing, in fact, did not have a high status during the Han Dynasty. Among the four arts (qin, qi, shu, hua) that later generations of gentlemen considered essential to master, except for qin, the other three arts did not have a high status. Calligraphy and painting were mainly restricted due to the expensive cost of paper, so let's not talk about it. As for playing Go, it also suffered from criticism.

  Jia Yi of the Western Han Dynasty once said: "Losing courtesy and confusing wind and chess is also." The reason is that Confucianism attaches great importance to seniority and hierarchy, while Go players are equal on both sides, which undermines the Confucian etiquette. However, after entering the Eastern Han Dynasty, the status of Go rose with the gradual improvement of the status of ancient literature scholars. For example, great Confucians such as Ban Gu and Ma Rong all affirmed Go, believing that Go is a small battlefield, which can be used to fight wars.

  As a result, as the beacon smoke spread throughout the great Han, war became the theme of this era, and Go also began to receive great attention. For example, Cao Cao, who is now a cheap dad for Cao Zhi, was originally a Go master. In addition, Sun Ce, who is currently under Yuan Shu, and Lu Xun, one of the four masters of Eastern Wu in history, as well as Wang Can, one of the Seven Sages of Jian'an, were all good players. Among them, the first three are famous military strategists in history, and the role of Go can be imagined.

  Cao Zhi was born with the knowledge of eighteen hundred years, and as a child, he was really too bored. So at the age of one, he asked Cao Cao to let him read books and recognize characters to pass the time. Although Cao Zhi is only five years old now, with the knowledge of his previous life as a double PhD holder plus four years of self-study every day, with Cao Zhi's own intelligence, he has become the Cao family's divine child who can speak at one year old, read and understand "The Analects" and "Filial Piety" at two years old, and is well-versed in all arts.

  In this era, the Go game was quite different from what Cao Zhi knew. The current Go board has 17 vertical and horizontal lines, with a total of 289 lines, and there are 150 black and white pieces each. Moreover, the pieces were not like those in later generations, but were made of wood and square in shape. However, this did not stump Cao Zhi. At the Cao residence, he had craftsmen make a board with 19 vertical and horizontal lines, and used stone to create round pieces, applying black and white colors, and introducing the chess system into the game. After Cao Cao saw it, he praised it highly, thinking that the new chess system was better. As soon as Cao Zhi opened his mouth, the officials and soldiers below naturally followed suit. In just half a year, everyone in the Cao camp was using the chess system and board changed by Cao Zhi to play against each other. It was also at this time that Cao Zhi's reputation as a child prodigy spread throughout several nearby states.

  However, it was Cao Zhi's first time playing against Guo Jia. Although history did not record how good Guo Jia was at chess, the literati of this era, especially those who had achieved success, would not be too bad at chess. Cao Zhi naturally did not dare to slack off, and after the two made their moves, Cao Zhi took the white piece and moved first, but he was not polite at all, holding the piece and slapping it onto the board with a "slap".

  "Hmm? What's the opening?" Seeing Cao Zhi make this move, Guo Jia couldn't help but furrow his brow. His eyes, full of spirit, glanced at Cao Zhi before he picked up a black piece to follow suit.

  Cao Zhi didn't care what Guo Jia thought, his hands kept moving, and in this back-and-forth manner, they played over a dozen moves. Guo Jia's brow furrowed even deeper, he raised his pale face, and asked doubtfully: "I've heard that the Fourth Young Master created his own chessboard and changed the rules of chess, but I don't know who the Fourth Young Master learned this chess from?"

  Cao Zhi was previously focused on playing chess and didn't notice Guo Jia's expression. At this time, he heard it and raised his head vaguely: "This is what Zhi himself looks at the chess manual and ponders, how can Master Xiang and Master Xun ask about it in general?"

  Xun Shi referred to Xun Yu, but it was after Xun Yu surrendered to Cao Cao that Cao Cao asked him to be in charge of the education of the Cao family children, so all the Cao family children called him teacher.

  Guo Jia's face showed a sudden realization, and he smiled as he asked: "What did Wen Ruo say about the Fourth Master?"

  Cao Zhi shook his head and sighed: "I don't know, I once asked Master Xun, but he refused to say, so I didn't ask further."