Chapter 9 The General Loves Chess

  Linglong wiped away her tears and ran out to make tea for the two big shots, while Fang Yiai stood beside the table, pretending to be a good student.

  "Xuan Ling, this is the table and stool you were talking about, it's really not bad. Sitting on it is much more comfortable than kneeling on the couch. It seems that you're going to make a fortune this time. If I don't have money in the future, you must help me out." Du Ruhui sat on the stool, experiencing the unique feeling, and humorously joked.

  "Hehe, Keming, we are not those kinds of common people, how can we be like merchants who always have money on their minds?" said Fang Xuanling with a serious smile.

  "Xuan Ling, this statement is wrong. All living things have their own reasons for survival. I think talking about money is not shameful at all. Look at those officials, they pretend to be noble and dignified, but who knows how they secretly make money behind our backs?" Du Ruhui said without any reserve.

  "Ke Ming, please be quiet, if the officials hear what you said, they will definitely report to the Emperor, although we don't have to be afraid, but those officials are too annoying." Fang Xuanling reminded with a smile.

  "Haha, I dare to say it here, anyway there's no one else around. I believe Jun Er shouldn't be a big mouth, right?" Du Ru Hui said with a smile, and glanced at Fang Yu Ai with the corner of his eye. Fang Yu Ai smiled knowingly and said: "Uncle, I was distracted just now and didn't hear anything. Is there something good? Would you mind saying it again, uncle?"

  Du Ruhui knocked on Fang Yuai's arm and laughed: "Little slippery head!"

  Looking at the Chinese chess on the table, Du Ruhui smiled and asked: "Jun Er, earlier I watched with your father for half a day, this thing seems to have evolved from the Warring States period's Chinese chess, I feel it's not bad, can you tell us about the moves of this chess? My husband and I would like to play a few rounds!

  The house left love which dare say a word ah, very neatly said out the moves of Chinese chess.

  The two masters are indeed high-intelligence individuals. In the first game, both of them were familiarizing themselves with the moves of this chess variant. However, from the second game onwards, they started to engage in a fierce battle that was difficult to decipher. Half an hour had passed, and the second game still hadn't ended. Fang Yiai pulled on Linglong's sleeve, clicking her tongue as she said: "Linglong, compared to them, we're just a pair of chess novices!" Linglong nodded in agreement with a smile. The Second Master was right; these two masters weren't playing chess - they were literally at war!

  Two people spent a whole hour, and the chess game was finally over. In the end, Fang Xuanling still won by one move. Du Ruhui nodded his head and smiled: "Xuanling, I admire you, from a strategic point of view, I am always inferior to you. Just now, you used a chariot to exchange for my elephant, and I thought I had taken advantage of it. Now that I think about it, you did it on purpose, in order to disrupt my defensive strategy and find a gap, so as to provide conditions for your continuous attack. This game, I lost without regret."

  "Haha, Ke Ming, I also admire your courage, you can decisively abandon a cannon and then withdraw the car to defend the house. If your car had returned one step later, I would have won already." Fang Xuanling admired Du Ruhui's decisiveness, which was exactly what he lacked. He believed that if he were in the same situation, he would have hesitated, but Du Ruhui did not hesitate and decisively abandoned the cannon.

  "Xuan Ling, what do you think of this thing?" Du Ruhui asked with profound meaning.

  "Ke Ming, this thing contains countless changes, it can be said that it is a collection of military ideas in one body. If promoted well, it will have a great effect." Fang Xuanling stroked his beard and smiled as he spoke.

  Du Ruhui nodded and asked Fang Yilove who was standing beside him: "Jun'er, is this thing from your hand?"

  "Uncle, this thing is something I occasionally thought of, because I felt that there was too little entertainment, and going to bed so early every day isn't good, so based on the Chu-Han Contention, I added in the Xiangqi pieces from the Warring States period and came up with the current Xiangqi. I think that on the chessboard one can fully display their thoughts, able to attack or defend, advance or retreat, seeking stability but also able to launch a surprise attack to win, all tactics of deception and circling can be expressed on the chessboard." Fang Yiai explained quietly.

  When Fang Zongyi finished speaking, Du Ruhui clapped his hands excitedly and said to Fang Xuanling: "Xuanling, your family has such a talented son, but you are still not satisfied. The Great Tang has gained another hero, I believe that when His Majesty finds out, he will be overjoyed."

  Fang Yu didn't quite understand what Du Ruhui meant, but he felt that Du Ruhui was indeed crossing him. However, Fang Xuanling furrowed his brow, "Ke Ming, Jun Er is only 14 years old now, is it too early to let him come into contact with these things?"

  "Xuan Ling, we are only responsible for recommending, as for other things, it should be decided by Your Majesty personally. There is a saying that 'recommending the virtuous does not avoid relatives', as long as there are talented people, we must recommend them to Your Majesty, this is our responsibility. Moreover, Your Majesty is so wise and will certainly make good arrangements." Du Ruhui laughed loudly.

  Fang Xuanling knew Du Ruhui's temper and since he had already made up his mind to do so, it would be of no use even if he himself tried to stop him.

  After Du Ruhui left, Fang Xuanling led Fang Yuyi to his own study room. Fang Xuanling sat on the newly made chair and thought for a moment before asking seriously: "Jyun-er, do you have any plans? What I'm asking is what you want to learn?"

  "Father, son, wants to learn martial arts!" Fang Yi'ai replied very seriously, he had thought about this issue a long time ago. The Great Tang Dynasty attaches the most importance to military achievements. As long as one has made enough military achievements and has connections in the military, the Fang family can be completely preserved. Otherwise, a single title cannot protect the Fang family because it is too dazzling, dazzling to the point of arousing jealousy.

  "Jun Er, why must you learn martial arts? Don't you know it's very tiring? Why not learn music, chess, calligraphy or painting instead?" asked Fang Xuanling with a furrowed brow.

  "Father, there are two reasons. Firstly, the House of Fang is not something that can be protected by a mere title; to protect it, one must have sufficient power. Only when I have established myself in the military and with the support of my elder brother in the imperial court can the House of Fang be truly secure. Otherwise, once you pass away, the House of Fang will be destroyed in an instant. Secondly, I am not particularly interested in music, chess, calligraphy, or painting, and you are also aware of my nature."

  After listening to Fang Yi Ai's words, Fang Xuanling carefully looked at his son in front of him and suddenly laughed with great joy, the wrinkles on his face also relaxed, as if he had become ten years younger. "Jun Er, do you know? Your father is very happy because you have finally grown up. Very good, since you want to learn martial arts, your father will find the best master for you. However, your father still wants to say that learning cultural knowledge does not mean being weak. Your father is also a scholar, but he can ride horses and shoot arrows too. Literature and martial arts are not mutually exclusive, do you understand?"

  "Father, I will follow your teachings and work hard to enrich my knowledge. However, regarding martial arts training, please help me more." Fang Yiai also understood her father's words, a soldier without knowledge is just a rough man and can never become a general.

  "Jun'er, rest assured that I, as your father, would not deceive you. Remember, the conversation between us today must not be mentioned to a third person, not even your elder brother. Your elder brother is too gentle by nature." Fang Xuanling cautioned with a heavy heart, always worrying about the future of the Fang family. Li Shimin's desire for power was too strong, and over the years, he had been harboring resentment towards Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui due to their obstruction. As long as Fang Xuanling was alive, Li Shimin could not do anything, but once he passed away, with Li Shimin's personality, he would definitely uproot the Fang family. Just like his son said, the title of Duke of Liangguo was not enough to protect the Fang family; only real power could. The Tang Dynasty valued military achievements above all else, and as long as the military supported the Fang family, even if Li Shimin had great power, he would not be able to do anything.

  Fang Yi nodded and said with a smile: "Father, it's still better to have you backing me up. This way I can be carefree and be a young master!"

  "You little stinker, asking for a beating! Are you itching for a fight?" Fang Xuanling scolded with a smile on his face. After a while, he smiled and asked: "Jun'er, I'll ask you a question. If you had the power in your hands now, would you support one of the princes?"

  "Father, do you want to hear the truth or a lie?" Fang Yiai asked with a smile on her face.

  "Sharp tongue, of course it's true!"

  "Well, I'll just say it straight out. When Your Majesty was alive, I absolutely supported your authority and wouldn't have backed anyone else. But once you passed away, I would definitely support a prince with whom I had a good relationship." Fang Yiai said lightly.

  Fang Xuanling nodded with a smile and said, "Jun'er, I just realized that you've been pretending to be foolish all along. You know, if it were your older brother, he would have told me to remain neutral, and still be neutral until death. But he never thought that once you step into this trend, how can you be alone in being good? Neutral people will always be disliked by both sides."

  "Father, actually having a personality like Big Brother's doesn't have any drawbacks. At least others can't find ways to harm him because he is too humble and won't give anyone anything to use against him," said Fang Yiai with a smile.

  "Jun Er, you're wrong. You think Changsun Wuji needs a handle? He only needs a reason, and with that reason, he can create countless evidence." Fang Xuanling said through gritted teeth.

  After listening to Fang Xuanling's words, Fang Yiai felt as if he had been enlightened. It turned out that he was still too naive. Fang Yiai couldn't help but admire Fang Xuanling's strategy. Wasn't what he said the method used by Li Zongwei to overthrow the Fang family later on? By using the name of rebellion, fabricating a bunch of messy evidence, and wiping out the entire Fang family in one go, they even managed to get rid of Wu Wang Li Ke at the same time. It was truly a case of killing two birds with one stone.

  "Father, it seems that I really don't understand politics," Fang Yi said with a bitter smile and shook his head.

  "Jun Er, you don't need to understand these things, just remember that as long as the military has your voice, you'll be fine. As long as the military supports you, no one will dare to touch you, not even Zhangsun Wuji. Also, we should start making arrangements for your marriage soon. Your older brother and sister-in-law are deeply in love, but their union hasn't brought any benefits to the House of Fang, so I've discussed it with your mother and we plan to have you marry a princess from a noble family."

  "What? Father, you want me to have an arranged marriage?" Fang Yiai couldn't accept this from the bottom of his heart. After all, he was a modern person, how could he accept such a loveless marriage?

  "Jun Er, I know you're not willing, but your father has no choice either. In order for the Fang family to continue, I have to do this." Fang Xuanling looked at his son's disheartened face and felt uneasy himself, but what could he do? His eldest son was already married, so the arranged marriage had to be placed on this younger son instead.

  Fang Yi'ai knew that this was his fate, and he had no way to resist. For the Fang family, for his parents, he had to accept such an arrangement. Fang Yi'ai smiled wryly and said faintly: "Father, my marriage can be arranged by you, but can we talk about it in a few years? I just want to focus on learning martial arts for now!"

  Fang Xuanling stood up and walked to Fang Yiai's side, stroking her hair, and sighed with a mixture of emotions: "Silly child, how could your father be so inconsiderate? If you want to clear your mind for a few years, then let's talk about it again after a few years."

  The next day, Du Ruhui presented the Chu-Han Xiangqi to Li Shimin. At that time, Li Shimin was staring at his eyes and playing Xiangqi with Cheng Yaojin. Li Shimin couldn't bear it anymore, slapped the table and scolded: "You old rascal, do you still want face? You've taken back several moves, do you play regretful during battles too?"

  "Your Majesty, I, Old Cheng, only take charge of charging and breaking through the enemy lines. As for whether to regret or not, that's your problem. Which battle wasn't commanded by you and General Xu?" Cheng Yaojin retorted with a big mouth, revealing his large teeth in a very shameless manner. As for Li Shimin's mention of "face", Cheng Yaojin had long since stopped caring about it. From the time he started making a name for himself, he never thought about having a sense of shame.

  After listening to Cheng Yaojin's words, Li Shimin felt a belly full of fire with nowhere to vent, and after trembling with rage for half a day, he finally cursed: "You old scoundrel, why would I play chess with you?"

  "Your Majesty, who knows, I just heard that there's a battle to be fought, so I came. To be honest, this game of chess is quite interesting, Your Majesty. I think you'd better play with the pharmacist, I'm not good at it. I'm only good at killing people." Li Shimin was already quite tolerant, but even so, Cheng Yaojin dared to call himself "old Cheng" in front of him. If it were someone else, Li Shimin would have beheaded them long ago. This emperor hadn't even called himself "old Li", and yet this old fellow kept calling himself "old Cheng", making others feel like they were younger than him.

  From that day on, Xiangqi swept the land of Tang rapidly. If you ask the generals of Tang what they love, they will tell you that all the generals love playing Xiangqi.