Chapter Six: Chess Situation

  The top of Fenghuangling is called Fenghuangding.

  On top of Fenghuang Peak there is an ancient stone pavilion passed down from the ancients, the stone pavilion has no special features, the craftsmanship is simple and easy, and the structure is ordinary.

  Under the pavilion, Ye Tufei was wearing a black long gown, with a black fur hat on his head, and a pair of narrow-framed glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. In his right hand, he grasped an emerald-green jade staff, while in his left, he played with a half-smoked cigar. He stood there leisurely, occasionally tapping the jade staff gently against the stone pillar beside him.

  Zhang Luohui rushed up to the stone pavilion, panting heavily behind Ye Tufei and said: "Sixth Master, you called me?"

  Ye Tufei slowly turned around and said: "Oh, Captain Zhang has arrived."

  Zhang Luo Hui unbuttoned the collar of his military uniform and took off his hat to use as a fan, but he couldn't stop the sweat from continuously seeping out of his forehead. "What did Sixth Master call me here for?"

  Ye Tufei smiled faintly and said, "I called you here to keep me company playing chess. Either Go or Chinese Chess is fine, whichever you prefer."

  Zhang Luo Hui exclaimed: "Play chess? You want to play chess at this time?"

  Ye Tu Fei was surprised at Zhang Luo Hui's reaction and asked in return: "What? Not good?"

  Zhang Luohui furrowed his brow and said: "The great war is imminent, are you still in the mood to play chess?"

  Ye Tu Fei let out a sigh, took off his sunglasses, looked at Zhang Luo Hui twice, then put the sunglasses back on, and let out another sigh before saying: "With such an unstable mind, how can you bear this great responsibility? You make your move, Little Japan will come; you don't make your move, Little Japan will still come. In other words, whether or not you make your move, this battle is bound to happen, isn't it?"

  Zhang Luohui thought for a moment and didn't think there was any flaw, so he nodded.

  Ye Tufei laughed and said, "You've also acknowledged that playing chess and fighting a war are two different things, right? Since they're two different things, how can Captain Zhang mix them up as one?"

  Yes, how could I mix these two unrelated things together? Zhang Luohui's mind unconsciously followed Ye Tufei and went astray.

  Ye Tu Fei caught up with Zhang Luo Hui and pulled him down to sit, saying: "Are you going to choose Chinese chess or Go?"

  Zhang Luohui's mind was still stuck on the logical analysis of Ye Tufei's previous words, and when he heard Ye Tufei's question, he replied without thinking: "Xiangqi! I don't know Weiqi."

  As soon as the words came out, Zhang Luo Hui suddenly woke up. He slapped his forehead and was about to counterattack Ye Tu Fei's logical question when he heard Ye Tu Fei's voice full of irony: "Captain Zhang, a gentleman's word is like a horse that can't be chased back."

  Zhang Luohui had no choice but to sit down.

  After waiting for his brother to set up the chessboard, Zhang Luohui modestly chose to play with the red pieces first.

  Ye Tu Fei didn't stand on ceremony either and casually pulled Hei Zi in front of him.

  The chess pieces were arranged, and Zhang Luo Hui immediately made a move with the "cannon at the gate".

  According to conventional wisdom, Black should have pushed up a pawn at this time, but unexpectedly Ye Wuzhong played a knight first.

  Zhang Luo Hui thought for a while and finally felt that Black's central pawn was too tempting, so he advanced his cannon to capture it.

  Ye Tu Fei made another move without revealing his emotions.

  It's Zhang Luohui's turn to be in a dilemma. A lone cannon has entered the opponent's territory, but the opponent is already flawless and can't see any actual benefits from advancing or retreating.

  After thinking for five minutes, Zhang Luohui chose to build his own formation and first combined the complementary ones.

  Ye Tu Fei didn't hesitate and once again used his "Immortal's Guidance" technique.

  Zhang Luo Hui should use the corner cannon.

  Yè tú fēi zhè cái tǐng mǎ zhuā pào.

  Translation: Ye Tu Fei finally grasped the cannon on horseback.

  Zhang Luo Hui could only retreat back to his own middle camp.

  Ye Tu Fei's car was hit by a red cannon on the ninth lap, and Zhang Luo Hui quickly took over.

  After a dozen or so exchanges, Zhang Luohui was disappointed to find that he could only defend and had no power to counterattack.

  Ye Tufei, who had already gained the upper hand, finally spoke up, "Playing chess and fighting a war are actually the same thing. Whether it's playing chess or fighting a war, you must first clarify your goal. For you, Zhang Team Leader, on the chessboard, your target should be my old general, not that middle pawn."

  Zhang Luo Hui didn't understand Ye Tu Fei's words and said: "If you eat your Zhong Zhu, isn't it also a threat to your old general?"

  Ye Tu Fei slightly shook his head and said, "You've heard the saying 'being greedy for small gains will lead to big losses', right? Getting my Zhong Zhou is a small gain, but losing the initiative and falling behind is a big loss!"

  As he spoke, Ye Tufei made a bottom-line shot, forcing Zhang Luohui to either cover the horse or move the old general.

  Zhang Luohui fell into deep thought.

  Ye Tufei then lit his half cigar and leisurely puffed out smoke.

  When Zhang Luohui made up his mind to sacrifice a horse, Ye Tufei suddenly said: "Has Captain Zhang ever thought about a question, why can't the Chinese army beat the little Japan?"

  This problem had been thought over by Zhang Luohui many times. From Shanghai to Nanjing and then to Xuzhou, he fought all the way and thought all the way.

  "The National Army's weapons and equipment are not as good as those of the Japanese, and the quality of individual soldiers is also inferior to that of the Japanese. I think this is the main reason why we can't beat them!"

  Ye Tufei burst out laughing and said: "Don't you officials have any sense of responsibility?"

  Zhang Luo Hui retorted: "Then according to Sixth Master's meaning, what is the reason?"

  Ye Tu Fei put away his smile, made a move on the chessboard and said: "Looks like you've already lost!"

  Zhang Luohui quickly looked at the chessboard and found that Ye Tufei had made a move he hadn't anticipated.

  "There is a gap in strength between the Chinese and Japanese armies, and there is also a gap in the combat skills of individual soldiers. However, these are not the main factors. In my opinion, the most important factor lies with you high-ranking officers. After a battle, the soldiers are confused, and the officers are equally confused, just like when you play chess, General Zhang, without knowing your own goals and objectives. I want to capture your cannon, and you rush to protect it; I want to capture your horse, and you hurry to chase after it. What's the result?

  As soon as Zhang Luohui made a move, Ye Tufei gave him a final blow: "As we were playing, suddenly I realized that my opponent's goal was not your cannon or horse at all... Ha ha, it was your old commander!"

  Zhang Luo Hui admitted defeat.

  "What you said, Sixth Master, playing chess and fighting are two different things, you can't mix them up!" Zhang Luohui couldn't refute Ye Tufei's words, so he could only play a game of sophistry with him.

  "You're right, it's two different things, but can't I use playing chess to allude to fighting? Captain Zhang, I really suspect that your language skills were taught by a music teacher." Ye Tufei took a puff of his cigar and blew the smoke onto Zhang Luohui's face. "Take a sniff, does it smell good? Do you want one?"

  "Alright, I won't argue with you, let's just say you're right. But I don't understand your tactical arrangement this time. According to the Art of War, the side that waits for the enemy to tire themselves out is definitely at an advantage. So why did you send all the brothers out to do things that can't even hurt the Japanese?"

  Ye Tu Fei extinguished the cigar in his hand on the stone table, took out a cigarette case and put the remaining small piece of cigar into it, saying: "This cigar is not easy to get, I have to be frugal with it, haha, let Zhang Tuanzhang see the joke."

  Zhang Luohui suppressed his smile and deliberately provoked Ye Tufei, saying: "Sixth Master, you haven't answered my question yet?"

  "What kind of ridiculous question is that? I've been talking for half a day, and it's like playing the piano to a cow!"

  Zhang Luohui furrowed his brow and thought for half a day, but he couldn't connect what Ye Tufei had said earlier with the arrangement of this battle. Helpless, he could only lower his head to Ye Tufei: "Sixth Master, forgive Zhang Luohui's stupidity, please enlighten me!"

  Ye Tu Fei hesitated for a moment, then took out the cigarette case again, pulled out a cigarette holder and a small cigar, put on the holder and lit the cigar. "If we compare our battle with Little Japan to a game of chess, what do you think is the ultimate goal of Little Japan, that is, our old general?"

  Zhang Luo Hui replied without hesitation: "Of course it's your sixth grandfather."

  Ye Tu Fei, not being careful, was choked by the cigar smoke and coughed several times. He pointed at Zhang Luo Hui and said: "From the moment I saw you for the first time, I knew that you, Zhang Luo Hui, are a reliable and upright person, but this..." He pointed to his own head, "is indeed a bit stupid!"

  Zhang Luohui smiled awkwardly and said: "Sixth Master, you really are quite accurate. Since I was a child, my dad has always said that I'm single-minded."

  Yè Tú Fēi smiled and said: "Now I must admit that my initial judgment of you was wrong."

  Zhang Luohui was taken aback and asked, "What did you say?"

  Ye Tu Fei replied: "You're not a bit stupid, you're your grandma's too stupid!"

  Zhang Luohui was once again confused and pondered for half a day, but still couldn't figure out what Ye Tufei's sentence meant.

  Ye Tufei saw the situation and almost collapsed, quickly shifting the topic: "The target of this surprise attack by Little Japan is Jiajia Wang! My brother, Jiajia Wang is the old general of the black side on this chessboard."

  Zhang Luohui slapped his forehead and said: "Right, right, right! How could I have forgotten this!"

  "So, how can we lure the Little Japanese commander into forgetting his goal and focusing on my Zhong Chuang instead?"

  Zhang Luohui reacted quickly this time, hastening to answer: "I understand, just like Sixth Master's moves on the chessboard, letting Little Japan sense our defensive deployment..."

  Ye Tufei interrupted Zhang Luohui, sighed and said: "What's the point of this! Alright, I'll just say it straight out. If the Japanese commander can keep a clear head, he will remember that his ultimate goal is Jiajiazhuang, so he won't consider other factors too much, but will only advance bravely. Against such momentum of the Japanese army, with our limited strength, we are bound to be unable to withstand it."

  That small cigar finally burned to the head, Ye Tu Fei reluctantly knocked off the remaining ash on the mouthpiece, played with the mouthpiece, and continued: "The only way is to make the Japanese commander lose his mind, forget his goal, so that we can get what we want."

  Zhang Luohui still didn't understand and asked: "Even if that's the case, how can we get the result we want?"

  At this time, Guo Zhonglin carried a teapot and held a stack of tea bowls, walking into the stone pavilion. He interjected: "Zhang Tuanzhang, your brain is almost as muddled as a pig's! Let me tell you, Liu Ye's intention is to provoke the little Japanese devil, letting him think only of devouring us, and forgetting about that affair with Jiajia Wang. Wouldn't this keep Jiajia Wang safe?"

  Zhang Luohui was bewildered and said: "If the little Japanese have made up their minds to swallow us, then we won't be able to hold on for much longer either?"

  Guo Zhonglin sighed and said, "I really should apologize to the pig. Comparing Zhang Tuanzhang's IQ with a pig is an insult to the pig."

  Zhang Luohui didn't get angry at Guo Zhonglin's sarcasm, but instead scratched the back of his head and waited for Guo to give an answer.

  "We can't beat them in a fair fight, but we won't run away either! This Erlang Mountain is surrounded by dozens of miles of land, and with the little Japanese devil leading the way, it'll take us till the end of time to circle around. Ah, from now on, don't you dare tell anyone that you know poor scholar Zhang, I'd be too ashamed."