Chapter 1 The Beginning
When it was drizzling in Jinling City, it began to snow heavily in Longjing City.
Within the Vermillion Forbidden City, vermillion walls and white snow, azure stones and yellow tiles, a fresh and elegant tranquility possessed a profound solemnity and majesty.
Sui Ren was observing a chess game. Jia Huang was brewing fragrant tea beside him, while at the other end of the chessboard were Qian Shen, the Minister of Revenue, no, the Left Prime Minister, and Zhu Yong, the former Minister of War, now the Right Prime Minister.
"Where has Zhuanxu reached?" Sui Ren asked, making a move.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, they have reached the vicinity of Taiyuan City. The Wang family is fiercely defending Taiyuan City with their forces. We have already dispatched troops from Handan and Luoyi to provide support."
"Luoyi?" Sui Ren watched the Left Prime Minister make a move and asked, "Has Xuanyuan Qi agreed to surrender?"
"He has not refused Your Majesty's recruitment," the Right Prime Minister replied. "However, your humble servant believes..."
"Interesting. He actually agreed. It's likely to protect his people and avoid war... As expected, benevolence, righteousness, virtue, and morality only corrupt a person's ambition and drive." Sui Ren waved dismissively. "As long as he makes a significant contribution to supporting Taiyuan this time, I will give him a chance. His power will just be a little lower than that of Di Ku... What about the Southeast Alliance?"
The Left and Right Prime Ministers exchanged glances, and the latter finally spoke, "A telegram arrived from the front lines stating that a natural disaster has prevented our army from crossing the Yellow River. Furthermore, Huang Quan was killed while investigating it..."
"..." Sui Ren paused his movement, finally placing a piece and saying, "Investigate as soon as possible. We already suffered a hidden loss when the Southeast Alliance smuggled so many enchanted bullets from abroad behind our backs. Now that such chaos has occurred, when will this war ever end?"
As he spoke, Sui Ren made another move, completely blocking his opponent's strategy, and said, "Alright, three wins today. Your strategies were not wrong, but your vision is too narrow. You still can't beat me."
"Your Majesty is wise." The two men stood up and bowed.
"If they cannot play, how about an old man like me playing a game with you?"
"Clang!" The copper spoon in Jia Huang's hand dropped to the ground. Everyone present looked at the two old men before them, rendered speechless.
"What? Not welcome? Although it is impolite for me to come uninvited, I have brought a gift, haven't I?" As he spoke, the elder reached into his sleeve to take something out.
"Hey, hey, hey..." Sui Ren quickly stood up, trying to appear as friendly as possible. He hurried over to the elder and said, "What are you saying, Master Kong? As a pillar of the nation, it is already a great honor for me to have you visit. How can I not welcome you? Come, come, my two esteemed ministers, help me put away the chess pieces. I want to have a game with Master Kong!"
Upon hearing this, the Left and Right Prime Ministers quickly moved to tidy up the chessboard. However, they discovered that the white pieces on the board had already been silently returned to the box, leaving only the black pieces on the board.
"..." The two exchanged glances, then bowed their heads to collect the black pieces and placed the box on Sui Ren's side.
After they were seated, Sui Ren picked up a cup of tea brewed by Jia Huang and offered it to Master Kong, saying, "Master, please try this tea. It is from Dongshan, fragrant and elegant, with an endless aftertaste. It is produced only four jin per year, and this ounce is worth a thousand gold."
Master Kong nodded, took the fragrant tea, but did not drink it directly. Instead, he held it in his hand and asked, "Then, does this small cup of mine cost ten gold?"
"More or less, more or less..." Sui Ren felt Master Kong's tone was a bit strange, but he couldn't say anything, so he could only respond perfunctorily.
Master Kong shook his head, handed the tea to Hui Yang behind him, and made a move, asking, "Do you know the current market price of rice?"
"One jin..." The Left Prime Minister instinctively started to speak, but was stopped by a look from Hui Yang. He glanced at the squinting Master Kong and forced himself to remain silent.
"Uh... I do not know..." Sui Ren fumbled with the chess piece, stunned. During this time, he had been busy with wars and consolidating power. Civilian affairs were managed by the Left Prime Minister's Qian family and the Cui family from the south.
"The market price is one hundred and twenty yuan per jin, more than twenty times the price before the war began. Moreover, I have had the honor of tasting it. Rice at this price usually contains sand and husks, yet even this quality of grain is still sought after by the common people in war-torn areas, and its price is even trending upwards." (The price of rice should not be that expensive. This is an approximation based on the technological tree and inflation of this world.)
"This..." Sui Ren wanted to say something, but Master Kong interrupted his thoughts and said, "Alright, it's your turn."
Sui Ren looked down at the increasingly disadvantageous chess game, beads of sweat pouring down his face.
After only a dozen moves, Sui Ren was completely different from his earlier state – his fingers trembled, his breathing was rapid, and his expression twitched uncontrollably.
"..." Sui Ren trembled and placed the black piece in his hand onto the board.
"I heard that Fuxi left behind some things?" Master Kong placed his chess piece into the game and asked.
Jia Huang's movements froze.
"Uh... I am not aware..." Sui Ren could only laugh it off.
"Jia Huang, hand it over," Hui Yang said.
Jia Huang looked at Master Kong, then at Sui Ren. Finally, as if resigned, he handed a small brocade pouch to Master Kong.
Master Kong handed the brocade pouch to Hui Yang and asked, "Speaking of which, Sui Ren, what era name do you plan to establish?"
"Uh... I haven't thought about it yet. Perhaps, Master..."
"I am not qualified," Master Kong shook his head and said, "I am just a commoner. How can I bestow an era name upon an emperor? It is against propriety, against propriety..."
Sui Ren's expression subtly darkened – even a fool could tell that Master Kong was implying that Sui Ren's ascension to emperor had violated propriety.
They played another dozen moves, and Sui Ren's situation worsened. Furthermore, Sui Ren's mind was in turmoil, and he was forced to concede defeat.
"Sui Ren, you think you are a chess player," Master Kong said, standing up. "But how do you know that you are not a chess piece?"
"The world is in great chaos now. It is both a precursor to turmoil and an opportunity for change. We will not interfere with how you attack each other, but if you betray the country for glory... do not blame me for using rites and music as a weapon."
After speaking, a gentle breeze blew, and Master Kong and Hui Yang vanished from their spots, just as they had arrived.
Sui Ren looked at the stalled chessboard before him, remaining silent for a long time.
...
A few days later, in Luoyi.
Mo Chuan had enjoyed a rare moment of leisure for the past few days.
Because Xuanyuan Qi was helping Mo Chuan find professional appraisers for his "treasures," Mo Chuan decided to wait here for a while and also take care of Mo Fei. (He had originally intended to take Mo Fei to Wanjian Sect to see Yi Tianxing.)
Mo Fei had been in a coma since giving Mo Chuan a "big surprise."