Yang Qiu was sitting in the main hall of the front yard, reading a letter under the lamp.
This is the letter Reggie brought to him, an autographed letter from the Hades Wizard.
He knew how to read the letter. Although in the eyes of others, it was still an empty piece of parchment, Yang Qiu could understand every sentence in the letter.
He knew that the assassination operation had failed, and that Reggie had sent troops to surround the mansion. He knew that Reggie could kill him at any time, but he never thought of escaping.
Lei Ji sat silently across from Yang Qiu and saw a Go chess set in front of Yang Qiu. There were a few pieces scattered on the chessboard, and it seemed that Yang Qiu was playing music.
Reggie can play Go, and is an amateur fourth-dan master, but he doesn't quite understand the rules of Go in this world.
"Like this, if I block all the ways to survive on this chess piece, I can successfully raise the piece, right?"
Yang Qiu looked at Reggie in surprise. Go was an elegant hobby unique to oriental literati. It was really unreasonable for a green-haired and blue-eyed nobleman from the Lion Kingdom to know how to play Go.
He had just suffered an assassination, and there was still a prince whose life was uncertain. He was still interested in playing chess. This was even more unreasonable.
"I'm asking you about the rules," Reggie said. "As long as I block all the ways to survive, can I destroy your chess pieces?"
Yang Qiu nodded and said, "Yes, sir."
"As long as I have more pieces and more open spaces than you, do I win the game?"
"Yes, my lord."
The rules of Go in this world are roughly the same as the rules that Reggie is familiar with. Although they have never played against each other, Reggie is confident of defeating the opponent because the chess records laid out by Yang Qiu have been studied countless times in later generations.
The possibilities of chess were all clearly recorded in Reggie's mind.
"Would you like to bet with me?" Reggie said with a smile, "The losing side has to do something for the winning side. Do you dare to bet with me?"
"Sir, let me remind you," Yang Qiu said with a smile, "Chess is a very profound knowledge. Mastering the rules does not mean you have a chance of winning."
"Let's get started," Reggie said, holding out his hand. "Let me explain one thing first. If you lose, you are not allowed to cheat or cry."
Yang Qiu admired Reggie's patience. At such a critical moment, he actually focused all his attention on the chess game.
Of course, Yang Qiu also admired Reggie's confidence. A layman who knew a little about the rules dared to challenge himself. He didn't know how important Go was to an Eastern nobleman, and he didn't know the inconvenience that Go brought to Yang Qiu.
It's just the fun of literati, but also the insights into life.
But after the layout was completed, he realized that he was wrong. Reggie was not a layman, but a genuine Go master.
After thousands of years of evolution, the skills of Go have become increasingly mature. Many incredible moves in this era have become routines in later generations.
Yang Qiu barely persisted until the middle of the game, but he knew that he had lost the possibility of winning. As a noble, he knew how to retain his dignity. He did not have to wait until the end to let Reggie kill every piece of armor. He
I chose wisely and accepted my defeat.
Reggie clapped his hands, threw the chess piece aside, and said: "Since you have given up, please find someone to heal my friend immediately. If he can't survive, neither can you."
Yang Qiu bit his lip and said, "This matter has nothing to do with me. I didn't instigate them..."
"No matter who is the mastermind, cure my friend immediately," Reggie said with a cold expression. "As long as he is safe and sound, I will solve this matter in the gentlest way."
Yang Qiu didn't say anything more. He called a medical officer, wrote down a prescription in his own hand, and asked the medical officer to prepare the decoction immediately.
"Taking this medicine will ensure that your friend's life is safe." Yang Qiu pulled out his long knife, placed it in front of Reggie, untied his clothes and said, "If you want to kill me, please
If you take action now, if you think my crime is unforgivable, you can also use a more cruel way to make me die."
Reggie was silent for a long time and asked: "Why did you do this? Did the Hell Wizard instruct you?"
Yang Qiu shook his head and said: "My mentor did not ask me to hurt you, and this matter was definitely not my order."
Reggie nodded and said: "I believe you, otherwise I would have sent you to the gallows. Now tell me, who is the real murderer?"
Yang Qiu said: "You are a businessman from Tuodao City. Sir, your behavior has aroused the anger of the businessman."
Reggie smiled: "I'm really curious, why are they angry at me? I reduced their taxes by a full 55%."
Yang Qiu said: "But you have also deprived them of their livelihood. You asked the merchants to release the girls who lost their freedom. This is equivalent to making them give up everything they have been doing for many years."
"What a ridiculous reason," Reggie sneered. "Can't you find any other way to make money besides squeezing these girls like slaves? I just gave them a choice. If the price is right, they can still make money."
The merchants here work, but these merchants must pay them. Even if you give them half of your income, you can still make 35% of the profit, which is much better than the 15% before."
"I understand what you mean, my lord, but this is not in line with the tradition of the Dongsang people."
"I respect your traditions, but you must also respect my laws. Under my rule, there are no slaves on Tuo Island. There is no room for negotiation on this matter."
"But who will bear the losses of the merchants?" Yang Qiu asked, "If a merchant just spent a lot of money to buy a few girls last month, and now these girls want to be free, wouldn't the merchant let the merchants bear the losses?"
Lost all your money?"
Reggie said: "I will make up for the losses of the merchants. For any girls purchased within a year, I can use gold coins to redeem their lifetime contracts. As for contracts beyond one year, you know without me that a girl
In one year, it is enough to earn back several times the value, as long as those businessmen will not suffer losses."
"I will... consider this matter carefully."
Reggie waved his hand and said: "There's no need to think about it. I think the Hell Wizard made it very clear in his letter. Since I can come back alive from him, I firmly believe that there is no problem on Camel Island that I can't solve. If someone
If you have to provoke him, I will let him see the majesty of the lord."
Yang Qiu didn't speak anymore, and Reji stood up and said, "There needs to be an explanation for what happened tonight. I'll be waiting for your news at any time."
Back in the backyard, Chris had fallen into a coma. After a day and night of treatment, he regained consciousness at dusk the next day.
Yang Qiu is wise. If Chris really makes a mistake, Reggie may go on a killing spree at any time.
That night, the explanation Reggie wanted came to fruition. Three samurai committed seppuku in front of the mansion. They admitted that they were the masterminds of the assassination and were willing to bear all the blame with their lives.
Everyone knew that they were scapegoats, but Reggie still didn't tell the truth. He found a batch of gold coins from Swisher's military camp, part of which came from the robbery on the route, and part of which came from the lord's savings.
Lei Ji asked Yang Qiu to summon all the merchants. Accompanied by the army, he would use gold coins and butcher knives to implement his laws and ideas.