The Great Wei Music Bureau

Chapter 475 The Battle of Jiankang (Page 12)

Last time we talked about how Li Yi successfully led Zhu Zi into the game. So who will win this game? Let's find out together.

After learning chess, Zhu Zi played a few games with Li Yi, with each side winning and losing. Looking at the unfinished game in front of him, Zhu Zi stroked his beard and laughed, "Chess is quite interesting! Since it was invented by the people of Chu, then you must have been to the State of Chu?"

Li Yi jumped off his horse and called out "General," then laughed and said, "How could I, a junior, miss the opportunity to fight against the demon race?"

Zhu Zizhi, having just mounted his horse, casually remarked, "I've heard that the State of Chu produced a prodigy, skilled in poetry and song, with extraordinary literary talent. It's a pity that after slaying a second-rank demon, he perished together with the God of Gu. If the two of you were to meet, it would surely be the strongest battle in the mortal realm."

"We won't run into each other." Li Yi moved his cannon and laughed, "This move is called 'Cannon After the Horse's Crowd,' checkmate. Zhu Zi, do you think we can officially start that game of chess now?"

Zhu Zi glanced at the water clock and nodded, saying, "Alright, judging from these few games, our chess skills are evenly matched. Let's play another game. Win or lose, it won't interfere with dinner. Xiu Yuan, after the game, would you like to come to my place for a simple meal?"

"Of course I do."

"Yes, anyway, no one in Liang can stop you, so it's settled then. Come on, let's officially begin!"

"Alright, but let me remind you, sir, in a formal game of chess, I will not use the word 'checkmate' again."

"It's natural."

Li Yi reached for the teacup, took a sip, and smiled, "Zhu Zi, try this tea. It's Zhu Ye Qing, which I brought from the State of Chu. It's quite good. Of course, if you lose this round, Zhu Zi, the tea I'll serve you will be even better!"

Zhu Zi smiled and took the teacup from Xiao Ruoping. He opened the lid, smelled it, and praised, "Hmm, fragrant but not overpowering, rich but not cloying, truly excellent tea! You said that if I were to lose, the tea you would serve me would be even better than this? I'm quite looking forward to it."

"Alright, alright, let's play a game of guessing pieces to determine the outcome. Since we're going to start formally, I should also use a better set of pieces to properly represent this game. Master, please have some tea first."

"it is good!"

Zhu Zi nodded and took a sip of tea, his face full of joy. When he saw Li Yi take out the exquisitely bound golden nanmu chess set from the burlap sack, he subconsciously reached out and picked up a chess piece to play with, his joy turning into amazement.

"Xiuyuan, this is..."

"To be honest, Master, I have discovered that carving is helpful for cultivating spiritual power, so I tinker with these things in my spare time. This chessboard and chess pieces were carved by me using golden nanmu wood that I obtained from Chu."

"I never knew you, Xiuyuan, had such skill. I know your handwriting, but the story behind this relief shows that you really put your heart into it."

"It's not just the reliefs. Inspired by you, Master, I've also tried to incorporate magic into the game. Each piece has hidden talismans, but I haven't mastered the technique yet, so for now I can only use them to play chess."

Zhu Zi looked at the talismans hidden in the relief and nodded, saying, "Hmm, not bad. It seems you really haven't been idle."

"Of course, after all, the motto of this junior is 'daily self-improvement,' and I dare not carry it with me. Here are two veteran generals, Zhu Zi, please choose first."

"Alright, I'll choose this one."

"Alright, Master, you hold the red pieces and go first. Let's begin."

The game officially began, and since there was a chance to avoid a major battle, Zhu Zi carefully considered every move, placing his pieces much slower than before. Xiao Ruoping watched the game and refilled the teacup. As the pot of water was almost empty, the situation on the board became increasingly tense, and Zhu Zi's expression grew more and more serious.

Zhu Zi looked at the red and black stones gleaming with golden light, as if he were truly on a battlefield, and it was the Battle of Jiankang! He stood on the city wall and saw the fireballs launched by the Wei army's siege engines, which would explode upon contact!

The cannonballs hit the city walls, instantly killing a group of Liang soldiers. When they hit Liu Hong's crossbows, they caused even larger explosions, blasting many soldiers off the city walls. Even when they hit the walls, they left deep craters. It was clear that the city walls were about to collapse, and the outer city would definitely not be able to be defended!

Zhu Zi picked up his chariot and charged straight into the enemy lines. In response, Liu Hong's heavy cavalry, equipped with mechanical armor, broke through the Wei infantry's lines, attempting to destroy the enemy's siege engines. However, a unit of black-armored cavalry arrived from the flank to protect the siege engines, preventing Zhu Zi from making any rash moves. Seeing that the Wei infantry was beginning to move and would encircle Liu Hong's heavy cavalry, Zhu Zi had no choice but to retreat back to the city.

And so, step by step, move by move, as the Liang army on the wall was decimated, Zhu Zi had no choice but to exchange pieces with Li Yi, trading his two chariots and one horse for Li Yi's two cannons. Even so, Zhu Zi saw that the outer city of Jiankang had fallen, the Wei army was pouring into the inner city, and the Yanjia Army and the Imperial Guards were forced to retreat to the inner city.

The most difficult battle was yet to come: street fighting in an unfamiliar city. Even though the troops had been provided with maps beforehand, they inevitably got lost along the way, which significantly weakened the Wei army's offensive.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhu Zi used his horse to kill two of Li Yi's soldiers. Similarly, Liang Jun annihilated two Wei infantry squads, but his last horse was exposed to the enemy. Li Yi then used his chariot to kill the horse, and Wei's heavy cavalry in black armor moved out and replaced it.

The current situation is that Zhu Zi only has two bishops, two advisors, and one pawn left, while Li Yi has a chariot, two horses, and a pawn. Zhu Zi has no chance of winning. He looks up at Li Yi, but the latter shows no joy of victory. He remains focused on the game, thinking about how to win with the least amount of effort.

The chariots, having already captured the enemy's generals and soldiers, arrived at the inner city gate and quickly breached it, allowing the Wei army to enter. The black-armored light cavalry, leaping from their horses and turning back to attack, charged into the inner city, beginning to mop up the remaining Imperial Guards who were still resisting.

Seeing that Zhu Zi only had two generals and one minister left besides the old general, Li Yi suddenly slowed down his attack. He reached out and took a cup of tea from Xiao Ruoping. He picked up the lid, blew on it, took a small sip, and then pushed the last soldier forward step by step.

Zhu Xi asked, "Xiuyuan, what do you mean by this?"

"This junior did not intend to make fun of Zhu Zi. Please watch closely, this pawn is the most crucial piece."

Looking at the chess piece in Li Yi's hand, Zhu Zi seemed to see the well-organized Wei army outside the capital, Taicheng. They weren't in a hurry to attack the city; instead, they shouted in unison the imperial edict from Emperor Yuan Jun of Northern Wei, which contained his evaluation of his uncle and listed three major mistakes made by Xiao Yongming. The gist of the translation is as follows:

Uncle, oh Uncle, did you ever think this day would come? I heard from Mother that you were exceptionally talented from a young age, excelling in both literature and martial arts, and were deeply loved by Grandfather. Unfortunately, you were not the eldest son of the legitimate wife, so you were unable to become the crown prince. Your brothers and sisters all felt sorry for you, but that is no reason to usurp the throne!

Of course, I also admit that you were very capable in the early stages of your reign, Uncle. You were proficient in both civil and military affairs, and you quickly turned the tide of the Southern Liang Dynasty. Even your father was defeated by you. You were indeed very powerful.

But look now, my army has already reached the outskirts of Jiankang Palace. How are you doing inside? As your nephew, I don't want to break ties with you. As long as you surrender your entire country, I will definitely make you a king! If you don't want to be a king of a fallen kingdom, then I will build you a magnificent temple where you can go and eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures.

Now that we've come this far, as your nephew, I have to say something to you. You made three major mistakes that led to your defeat today.

First, you're making good use of scoundrels. Who is that demonic monk Luo Yan? He's a genuine evil cultivator. If you dare to keep someone like that by your side, how can Heaven possibly favor you? This is the real reason why your Southern Liang has no Transcendent Realm cultivators.

Secondly, you are a devout Buddhist. There's nothing inherently wrong with practicing Buddhism, but what you're doing, Uncle, isn't practicing Buddhism at all. You're using Buddhism as a tool to make money and as a means to rule the people. Even Buddha won't protect you for doing this. You have so many temples in Jiankang City, but has even one of them sent anyone to help you defend the city?

Third, you are ungrateful to the people. Putting aside how much money you have plundered from the people, the fact that you became a monk three times and neglected state affairs is hardly the behavior of an emperor. In the early years of your reign, you suppressed the powerful clans and prevented them from arbitrarily annexing land, but what happened later? You cultivated a new group of powerful clans, and their exploitation of the people will only intensify!

Here I can also make a statement to the people of Southern Liang: if you are willing to submit to the Great Wei, I can guarantee that you will have land to cultivate, houses to live in, jobs to work for, and rewards to laborers.

You can inquire around and find out that even ordinary people in our Great Wei can enter officialdom through the imperial examination. I heard that my uncle even deliberately suppressed Zhu Xi's students. I am eager to find talented people, but my uncle is ostracizing Confucian scholars. This kind of thing is simply unbelievable to me!

I know you think that my Great Wei is the domain of the Xianbei people, and that you will be bullied if you come here. You can rest assured about that. There is no longer any ethnic distinction here. We are all descendants of Yan and Huang, and we are all one family! People of the Southern Dynasty, please don't suffer at my uncle's place.

Yuan Jun's nearly 1,000-word essay, written in a long and eloquent manner, was later known as the "Letter to the Liang State." The fact that the Northern Wei soldiers read this article aloud outside the Jiankang Palace is also considered a turning point in the history of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, when the people of the Southern Dynasties began to accept the rule of the Northern Wei...

Back at the chessboard, Zhu Zi suddenly sensed something unusual. He felt that all of this was real and not his imagination, but when he looked up at Li Yi, everything returned to normal.

Zhu Zi was in a bad mood and knew that the defeat was inevitable. He wanted to go out and confirm it, so he casually covered the old general with his own strategist to indicate that he was admitting defeat.

Seeing Zhu Zi's actions, Li Yi finally smiled and bowed, saying, "Zhu Zi is too kind."

"The game of chess is over. Can you let me out now?"

"Zhu Zi, don't be in such a hurry. Didn't we agree to have a pot of tea? Ruo Ping, let me brew this pot of tea myself." Xiao Ruo Ping stood up and offered her seat. Li Yi sat behind the tea table and proceeded with the steps he had shown Lan Ze earlier.

Zhu Xi watched with great interest, stroking his beard and laughing, "I never imagined there were so many intricacies to tea tasting."

"I learned all of this in the State of Chu. If the tea master is a woman, she will even perform a tea-picking dance to add to the festivities." Li Yi handed the teacup to Zhu Zi with a smug look on his face and said, "Please enjoy, Zhu Zi."

"Hmm, what kind of tea is this?"

"Among all the teas from Yunnan, Banzhang Pu'er is the king, and the tea produced in Banzhang is the king of kings. This package of tea is a new tea specially sent by a friend through a junior. Every step of the process, from picking to sun-drying, fixing, rolling, and drying, was personally handled by the best tea master in the world."

"To be honest, Zhu Zi, this tea master is at the extraordinary level. Even the Emperor of our Great Wei cannot taste such fine tea! Only you, Zhu Zi, can appreciate the essence of this tea."

"Oh? Then this old man must have a good taste." Zhu Zi first took a small sip, and the faint bitterness upon first sip made him frown. "How come this tea is..."

Zhu Zi glanced at Li Yi, who was smiling slightly, then lowered his head and took another sip. The aftertaste was sweet and the aroma was rich and mellow, instantly transporting Zhu Zi to the tea mountains of Dianzhou, where he saw the scene of tea picking in Lanze! Zhu Zi was stunned on the spot, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

He picked up his teacup and took another sip. His past life flashed before his eyes, a mix of bitterness and sweetness, sourness and astringency. He drank sip after sip, watching scene after scene, until finally the image settled on the moment he saw Xiao Qingsu in the nunnery.

Li Yi casually handed over a letter. Zhu Zi opened it and saw that it was written by Xiao Qingsu, describing her recent situation.

Master Zhu, I am writing this from the north, looking south. It has been several years since we parted. I wonder if you are in good health? I am doing well in Qing'an City. My sisters take good care of me, and Sister Ruyun even teaches me martial arts. I don't have to worry about anyone's feelings and I live a very carefree life.