"Thirteen Chapters of the Book of Chess" written by Zhang Xi, a scholar of Hanlin Academy in the Northern Song Dynasty, is about 2,000 words. It systematically summarizes the history from the Pre-Qin Dynasty's "Yin Wenzi", the Eastern Han Dynasty's Ban Gu's "Yizhi", Ma Rong's "Go" to the Tang Dynasty.
The discussion of Go in these works, "Ten Secrets of Go" written by the great player Wang Jixin, is the culmination of these works and established a complete and profound theory of Go, which has influenced future generations for thousands of years.
On the morning of February 19th, Chen Caozhi got up early and practiced Wuqinxi once, and then silently wrote the "Thirteen Chapters of the Book of Chess" in his small study, removing some of the detailed thoughts and replacing it with the latest Go theory of later generations -
While he was meditating and writing without stopping, he suddenly heard Gu Kaizhi's hearty laughter coming from outside the hospital, saying loudly: "Zizhong, Zizhong, a beautiful lady is here to visit, guess who it is?"
Before the Tang and Song Dynasties, the word "beautiful woman" had three meanings. In Song Yu's "The Lustful Ode of Deng Tuzi", "The most beautiful woman in the world is none other than the state of Chu". The beautiful woman refers to beautiful women; in "Book of Jin. Biography of Tao Kan", Tao Kan said to the rebel general Wang
Gong said: "You are a beautiful woman, why should I follow you?" The beautiful woman here refers to a gentleman and a wise man; in Wang Rong of the Southern Dynasty's "Qiu Hu Xing", "A beautiful woman suddenly travels thousands of miles away, and the empty boudoir accumulates resentments." This beautiful woman and a good man are synonymous.
Refers to husband——
The "beauties" mentioned by Gu Kaizhi should refer to the second meaning of gentlemen and wise men, but to Chen Caozhi's ears, the word "beauties" is really ambiguous. If he hadn't always known that Gu Kaizhi was an innocent and sincere person, he would have thought that Gu Kaizhi was deliberately teasing, because Chen Caozhi
Cao Zhizhi guessed that it was Xie Daoyun.
Chen Caozhi put down his pen and strode out the door. He saw Xie Daoyun, wearing a t-shirt and turban, walking into the courtyard behind Gu Kaizhi. She was still applying powder and incense. Before anyone came near, the fragrance was blowing——
I haven't seen my friend for three years, so I should be more enthusiastic. Gu Kaizhi is watching from the side. If he is too cold, he will think that he is frivolous. Chen Caozhi stepped forward, bowed to the ground, and said with great joy: "Yingtai
Brother, are you alright? We met yesterday, but we didn’t exchange a word. I’m so sorry!”
Xie Daoyun's eyebrows were slanted, and the tips of his brows were raised, with a charming air in his heroic manner. If it weren't for the thick powder on his face, his cheeks were blushing, and he was a little embarrassed by Gu Kaizhi's ambiguous "beauty", so he bowed in return.
He said: "Yesterday, I was very happy to see you fighting with all the wise men with your strong tongue, and your demeanor was even better than before." He straightened up and looked at Chen Caozhi, feeling that it was really funny that the two people were so serious.
Chen Shang came to see him, Ran Sheng, and Xiao Chan also came to see Zhu Langjun. It is always a pleasure to see old acquaintances in a foreign country.
Chen Caozhi invited Xie Daoyun into the hall to drink tea. Xie Daoyun said: "Zizhong, you and I are old friends. We don't need to be polite. Let's sit in your study for a while." He glanced at Chen Caozhi's left hand and saw the fingers pointing in it.
One side of the joint was slightly concave, which was the trace of writing. He asked, "Is Zizhong so diligent, practicing calligraphy?"
Chen Cao said: "Yesterday I promised Jiang Hujun that he would give me the Thirteen Chapters on Game Theory as a gift, so I got up early and wrote some."
Xie Daoyun said with a smile: "That's why I'm here. I have to take a sneak peek at the "Thirteen Chapters on Game Theory"."
Chen Cao said: "Well, please wait a moment, Brother Yingtai. It will take half an hour to finish writing."
Gu Kaizhi shook his head and said: "Zizhong's studies are too complex, but he is not perfect in any of them. He is sincere and hateful. Zi Zhong's music, chess, and calligraphy are all top-notch. I am short of a winner in painting. I can't let Zi Zhong surpass him in this."
Chen Caozhi smiled and said: "Don't worry, Changkang, I will never be as good as you in painting, so I can just follow your tail."
Chen Shang, Chen Caozhi, Gu Kaizhi, and Xie Daoyun went into the study and sat down. The small room was small, and it was a bit cramped for four people to sit down on their knees. Xie Daoyun felt a little uncomfortable, took a few pieces of Zuo Bo written in ink on the desk, and said something
: "Zizhong's calligraphy is much more round, vigorous and graceful." He recited: "——A chess player should be in line with his power and use power to control his enemy. Therefore, the plan is determined from the inside and the power is formed from the outside. The battle is not combined.
To calculate the winner, you have to calculate more; to calculate the winner, you need to calculate less; to calculate the battle but not know the outcome, there is no calculation. The art of war says, 'more means victory, less means victory', but what's more, there is no calculation?
From this perspective, we can see the winner and loser." He praised: "This is an insightful discussion! Zi Zhong, please write it down quickly."
Chen Caozhi stretched out his pen and paper and continued writing "Thirteen Chapters on Game Theory". Chen Shang sat for a while, then confessed to Xie Daoyun and went to Situ's Mansion. Gu Kaizhi was also invited by the steward of the manor to say that he had something important to do with him.
Shang, the wedding of Gu Kaizhi and Zhang Mo's daughter Zhang Tongyun is approaching. Zhang Tongyun will come to Beijing next month, and Gu Kaizhi's father Gu Yuezhi will also come from Jingzhou, so Gu Kaizhi has been quite busy recently.
Now there are only two people left in the study, Chen Caozhi and Xie Daoyun. Chen Caozhi has already written the first nine chapters of "Thirteen Chapters on Game Theory", which are more than 2,000 words. Xie Daoyun finished reading them quickly and waited for Chen Caozhi to write them.
Chen Caozhi now writes with his left hand, using Wang Xizhi's "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection" in regular script. Chen Caozhi lowers his eyelashes and looks down, with his shoulders motionless and his wrist hanging to wave a brush. One after another, beautiful small regular script characters flow out from the end of the pen, sometimes
He paused to think, his eyebrows furrowed slightly as he searched for memories, and there was a slight hint of sweat on both sides of his straight nose——
It was February and the weather was still cold, so I didn't sweat while writing. Xie Daoyun smiled and said, "Zizhong, just concentrate on writing." He took the "A Volume of Ice and Snow Essays" from his desk and flipped through it, and casually said: "
You still need a lot of hard work in cultivating your mind and nature."
Chen Caozhi smiled and said: "The galloping horse is facing you, the strong wind is destroying the trees, but your expression remains unchanged. This is called the demeanor of a celebrity."
Xie Daoyun frowned for a moment, then said with a smile: "Zizhong never forgets what he hears. Is this a grudge?"
What Chen Caozhi said just now was said by Xie Daoyun when he was at Taolin Xiaozhu in Wu County three years ago. At that time, Xie Daoyun, Xie Xuan and his brother wanted to watch Chen Caozhi paint. Chen Caozhi said that Xian Kunzhong stared at him like this and he couldn't write. Xie Daoyun then
After saying the above, the two of them argued for a while, with Xie Daoyun slightly gaining the upper hand.
Chen Cao said: "When horses gallop, cliffs collapse, or trees are destroyed by strong winds, I may be able to keep my expression unchanged, but it will be very hard for you to stare at me like this and to concentrate on writing."
Xie Daoyun asked: "Is it because I am a woman? But I heard that when Jiangzuo Wei came to Jiankang, many women threw flowers and sent sachets, but you looked calm."
Chen Cao said: "What do you want me to do? Shake and sweat profusely?"
Xie Daoyun saw the sweat on Chen Caozhi's nose and said teasingly: "Well, Zi Zhong was very nervous when he entered the city and didn't dare to sweat."
"I'm so scared that I sweat like milk" and "I'm so scared that I don't dare to sweat" are what the two sons of the great calligrapher Zhong Yao said when they met Cao Pi.
Chen Caozhi couldn't write anymore, so he put down his pen, looked at Xie Daoyun, and said: "That winter night, I saw Brother Yingtai's long letter, and my heart was very warm."
Xie Daoyun raised her eyebrows and said, "I have forgotten what I wrote at that time. I just felt very guilty that I couldn't go to express my condolences to Aunt Chen." Not wanting to arouse Chen Caozhi's sadness about mourning his mother, he changed the topic.
Said: "I would like to thank Zi Zhong for helping me talk, otherwise I would be very embarrassed."
Chen Cao said: "Brother Yingtai has no problem with his eloquence and can handle himself. I'm just joining in the fun."
Xie Daoyun said: "Otherwise, I will be much more courageous if I have Zi Zhong to help me. Since Ah Wei is not in the capital, how about Zi Zhong come to help me negotiate every month from now on?"
Chen Cao said: "I will go to Gushu in April and May."
Xie Daoyun said: "You can come and help me in March and April."
Chen Caozhi was a little hesitant. He always seemed a little embarrassed to help Xie Daoyun refuse the marriage. It would be unreasonable not to help Xie Daoyun, so he could only nod and said: "Okay."
Xie Daoyun changed the topic again and said: "Zizhong's choice to go to Xifu is right. Only Sima Huan has the courage to use you in an unusual way. However, I have something to remind Zizhong. Sima Huan has always had a disobedient heart.
He passed Wang Dun's tomb and praised Wang Dun for being a good person. A good person is a person who pleases people's wishes. Who is Wang Dun? He is also a rebel. It is obvious that Huan Da Sima has a disobedient heart. The court is also jealous of him. But what about the Huan family?
With a heavy army in hand, I am afraid that the day will eventually come when we are at war with each other. When Zi returns to the Xifu, he must be careful. He must be able to have both sides. He will come out after several years of experience. I think it is unwise for someone like Xi Guijin to surrender to the Huan family regardless of his family.
."
Xie Daoyun showed genuine concern. Even Xi Chao had never said such heart-to-heart words to him. Chen Caozhi was very grateful, but he had some words that he couldn't say to Xie Daoyun for the time being. He just said: "Thank you, Brother Yingtai - still call me
Are you Yingtai brother?"
Xie Daoyun's face turned red, and he asked calmly: "What do you want to call me? How do you call me sister like Ah Li? Well, I'd better call you brother Yingtai. I'm used to it. I feel uncomfortable calling me anything else."
At this time, Xiao Chan came in with two cups of tea and said to Xie Daoyun: "Zhu Langjun, this is the tea cooked by the little maid. It is the tea making method taught by my little Langjun. It has a fragrant fragrance and aftertaste." He put the tea down and sat aside to wait.
.
Chen Caozhi continued to write "Thirteen Chapters on the Theory of Game", and it took half an hour to finish the next four chapters, totaling more than 3,000 words. Of course, he could not sign Chen Caozhi's name, and wrote it under the name of Ban Gu.
Xiaochan helped cut the stack of Zuo Bo paper full of ink words and bound it into a thin volume.
Xie Daoyun stopped lingering, took the volume "Thirteen Chapters of Game Theory" and stood up and said: "Zizhong, let me copy this Go secret book and return it another day." He took the two servants waiting in the courtyard and left.
Chen Caozhi walked outside the gate and said goodbye. Watching Xie Daoyun's oxcart drive slowly away, he felt a little happy and a little melancholy in his heart. He thought to himself: "Brother Yingtai can come out to meet me again. This is a lifelong relationship."
It feels like a friend, but can this really last for a long time?"
After lunch and a short rest, Chen Caozhi ordered Laizhen to drive to Hengtang Lu Mansion and prepared a simple gift for Zhi: two wild ducks, ten catties of smoked preserved meat, and two jars of wine.
Ran Sheng wanted to follow again on a big white horse. Chen Caozhi said that Ran Sheng's horse was too eye-catching, and there were only a few steps in the city, so he could just go on foot.
Ran Sheng had no choice but to tie up the horse and said with a smile: "Although the young man is handsome, when others look at me from a distance, they always see me, Ran Sheng, first, haha."
Chen Cao said: "Now that you know this, don't ride horses in the city to show off and attract people to watch." Seeing Ran Sheng hiding two three-foot-long oak sticks in the bullock cart, he asked strangely: "Xiao Sheng, what is this?"
What to do?"
Ran Sheng said: "The young man's entry into the Lu Mansion is like Liu Bei's entry into Soochow to recruit relatives. You must be careful."
Chen Caozhi laughed: "You are really ready to fight. You are making people laugh. Throw the stick away quickly."
Ran Sheng had no choice but to put the two wooden sticks back in his room, followed the ox cart, and said, "It's okay without the sticks. If you really want to fight, you can just grab anything."
Chen Caozhi shook his head and was speechless, thinking: "Ran Sheng has too much energy, so we have to take him to the military mansion to practice, but it seems that we have to ask Jing Nu for his opinion first. Jing Nu and Xiao Ran look like masters and servants, but they are like relatives."
, Ran Sheng was young and didn’t know his life experience, so Jing Nu must have had a painful past."
Gu Kaizhi came over and said: "Is Zizhong going to the Lu Mansion now? Don't enter the wrong door. Remember, the one on the left is the Mainland Minister's Mansion. You have to go to the right. If you go to the left, it will be bad.
Ha ha!"
As the ox cart drove out of the Gu Mansion, Xi Chao happened to be riding a carriage and brought several Wu Bian to invite Chen Caozhi to go to the Lu Mansion. Xi Chao asked Chen Caozhi to ride with him, and asked Chen Cao what reward the king of Kuaiji had given him last night?
One by one he said it.
Xi Chao said: "The King of Kuaiji is quite willing to accept small favors from others." He smiled and said no more.
Near Hengtang, Xie Wan arrived from behind. He did not ride a horse-drawn carriage or an ox-cart. He wore a high crown and a crane cloak. Four healthy servants carried a flat-shouldered carriage. There was a curtain on the flat-shouldered carriage. It looked like
His magnificence was extraordinary. When Xie Wan first met Sima Yu, he had such an elegant and fairy-like demeanor, which greatly impressed Sima Yu.
——
Chen Caozhi and Xi Chao got off the car to greet Xie Wan. The three of them walked slowly along the west bank of Hengtang, admiring the spring scenery of Hengtang. Although Hengtang is not as grand as Jiangling Lake and is only a few miles in radius, it is more exquisite and beautiful. In recent years,
The lake has been carefully renovated by the Lu government, and the lake is clear and clear. The flowers and trees on the lakeside are scattered, but there are faint spring waves, spring willows clinging to the sky, spring sun slanting to the west, and apricot trees blooming.
"Chen Tan Yue—Chen Tan Yue—"
When Chen Caozhi stopped and turned around, he saw Zhi Fahan, who was bald and wearing shoes, rushing over accompanied by a servant of the Gu family. He saluted and said casually: "Chen Tanyue will follow the young monk to Dong'an Temple to meet my master."
Xi Chao laughed heartily and said, "It's an honor to be summoned by the branch official, but it's even more important to meet my uncle."
Chen Cao said: "Senior brother Fahan, how about I go with you to see the branch chief tomorrow morning? I'm sorry, senior brother, I'll take a rest at the Gu Mansion."
Zhi Fahan said with a smile: "Buddha bless Chen Tanyue's marriage." They thanked Xi Chao and Wan Heshi for their gifts, and then went back with the servants of the Gu Mansion.
Xi Chao said: "Wan Shigong and Zizhong went to visit Xiao Lu Shangshu, and I visited Dalu Shangshu. I happened to have something to discuss with Dalu Shangshu."
Xie Wanshi said with a smile: "That's good, lest Lu Zhongde comes and yells at Cao Zhi, Lu Zuyan is a gentle gentleman, Zizhong doesn't have to worry."
Xi Chao went ahead and went directly to visit Lu Shi, the Minister of the Fifth Army. Xie Wan and Chen Caozhi went to Lu Na's mansion to assassinate him and ask for an audience.
Lu Na was watching Lu Weirui's painting in the study with his wife Zhang Wenwan. What he painted was the spring dawn in Jiangling Lake, with rows of gulls and herons in the blue sky, a high pavilion on the lake bank, and a scene of spring and bright scenery——
At this time, the steward came to present the famous assassination and reported that Xie Wan, the Sanqi minister, and Chen Caozhi asked for an audience. Lu Na was shocked and looked at his daughter Lu Weirui. Lu Weirui was panicked, and the hand holding the pen trembled. In the middle of Jiangling Lake, the vast blue waves
A big ink spot appeared, smearing the finished painting!