In two days' time it will be New Year's Eve.
Wei Cheng has been busy dealing with some government affairs these two days, and at the same time thinking about how to 'ask for leave' to stay with Mu Mu on New Year's Eve.
It's really inconvenient that the days in the two worlds are synchronized.
There are festivals celebrated here and festivals celebrated there. Fortunately, during the Three Kingdoms period, the emphasis on New Year's Eve was average and far less grand than in the late Tang Dynasty.
It is just that Wei Cheng must be present during the sacrifice, but there is not much else to pay attention to.
After the banquet last night, the Wei family selected more than thirty children under the age of ten from various aristocratic families to enter the palace.
After the new year, these children will go directly to the Imperial Academy and learn and grow together with the Wei family's children, commonly known as accompanying students.
And if one of them falls in love for a long time, it is naturally the best. The ancient people's bond of interests was nothing more than marriage.
Cai Yong was still in charge of offering wine at the Imperial Academy.
For this reason, among the supervisory students admitted to the Imperial College this time, there are five more places for Cai, which can be regarded as a different kind of care for Cai.
On this day, a carriage came from Shuofang.
There were two lazy teenagers sitting in the carriage. Who else could it be if it wasn't Sima Yi and Cai Heng?
"Haha~" Cai Heng breathed, rubbed his eyes sleepily, and asked listlessly: "Brother Yi, where are you?"
Sima Yi was leaning on the soft couch with his back and holding bamboo slips in his hand to pass the time. Hearing this, he replied angrily: "We have just passed Mang Mountain, and we will reach Luoyang in more than ten miles."
Hearing this, Cai Heng couldn't help but his eyes lit up. He stood up, opened the door curtain, and told the coachman: "Uncle Pan, stop at the city gate for a while. Let's eat something delicious before entering the city. I'm starving to death."
The man who drove the carriage was a city guard. Hearing this, he nodded with a smile and said, "Just in time, I'm also very hungry. I'll treat you two gentlemen to some mutton soup later."
Cai Heng walked directly to the carriage and sat down. He nodded and said, "A few more big meat buns and baked potatoes along the way. They almost made me vomit."
"I want it!" The man was also so greedy that he unconsciously pursed his chapped lips.
Seeing this, Cai Heng turned around and took out a bottle of wine from the carriage, handed it to him, and said, "Here, moisten your throat."
The man glanced at it and said with a smile: "That's not good, that's all."
Cai Heng pushed the wine bottle to him nonchalantly and said, "Here, we've arrived in Luoyang, so we don't miss this sip."
The man was very moved, but he still couldn't help pouting behind him. He was not afraid of Cai Heng, but he was very afraid of Sima Yi.
Seemingly sensing the man's fear, Sima Yi said without raising his head: "I'll drink it for you. It's all thanks to you all the way, otherwise we wouldn't know when we would be able to reach Luoyang."
"Hey, thank you sir." The man took the wine bottle and eagerly drank from it.
At this moment, the sound of roaring horse hooves suddenly came from behind the official road.
The three of them were startled. The man suddenly put down the wine bottle and picked up the Wind Dragon Musket beside him, looking wary.
Cai Heng lay on the carriage and looked back. First he squinted his eyes, then his eyes widened and he said, "Don't worry, he's one of our own."
Not long after, a cavalry team of more than 20 riders came forward. The leader laughed and said, "Old Pan, I knew it was you."
When the driver saw the visitor, he laughed and said, "Okay, you came back so quickly. I thought you were going to celebrate the New Year in Jizhou."
At this time, a scribe in the motorcade quickly stopped beside the carriage, smiled with Cai Heng and said, "Where is Xiao Yi?"
Cai Heng bowed his hands to the scribe and responded with a smile: "I have seen Governor Xu. Brother Yi is reading in the car."
The person who came was none other than Xu Shu, who was selling arms everywhere. He turned his head and looked at the car window. The curtain happened to be opened, and Sima Yi nodded to Xu Huang.
Xu Shu said: "When passing through Hanoi, Sima Governor asked me to tell you that you must go back to worship your ancestors during the Shangyuan Festival."
"I know..." Sima Yi yawned and asked again: "What's going on over there in Jizhou? The Southern Huns didn't cause you any trouble, did they?"
Xu Shu sneered, "A few stragglers have been wiped out by the officers and soldiers of the state capital."
With that said, Xu Shu abandoned his horse and got into the car, and warmed his hands around the briquette stove.
"On the way, I heard from the secret guard that a strong man came to Heluo Academy. In just over two months, he received high praise from more than a dozen teachers. He is no worse than you were at the beginning." Xu Huang looked at it teasingly. To Sima Yi.
Sima Yi frowned slightly. He had also heard about this matter. When he was in Anyi before, he specifically stayed for a day to visit a few teachers with whom he had good connections, and thus learned about it.
Cai Heng fiddled with the air inlet valve of the briquette stove with pliers, glanced at Sima Yi, and said: "No matter how powerful he is, he is not as powerful as Brother Yi, otherwise my brother-in-law would have taken him under his wing, right, Brother Yi?"
After more than half a year of getting along, Cai Heng's attitude towards Sima Yi has undergone a tremendous change at this time, and he has a very submissive attitude, just because Sima Yi has been able to stand alone in Shuofang at a young age and is much better than him.
Hearing this, Sima Yi shook his head with a smile and said: "There is no comparison. Master actually doesn't like to accept disciples. I was the one who only entered the disciples after I stalked him. Moreover, I have heard a little bit about Zhuge Liang. It’s really awesome.”
Xu Shu and Cai Heng looked at each other with surprised expressions on their faces, "Xiao Yi, you are so arrogant and arrogant, but you are so convinced by this person. It seems that this Zhuge Liang is indeed extraordinary?"
Sima Yi nodded and responded, "When I was passing through Anyi, I checked out the latest textbooks. The difficulty level has increased by a notch. If I were assessed based on the current teaching content, it would take at least two years for me to complete my credits."
"What about him?" Cai Heng asked curiously.
Sima Yi sighed solemnly and said, "The dean said that he estimates it will only take one and a half years, no more than two years at most."
"Hiss~" Cai Heng's eyes were full of shock, and he was even more curious about the young man of the same age as him.
Half a day later.
The group finally arrived in Luoyang.
After running all the way, everyone was exhausted physically and mentally. There were various stalls selling delicious food just at the gate of the city, and they ate happily.
The news of their arrival was also sent to the palace.
Wei Cheng is rubbing pills in the study. Now that his status is different, Wei Cheng has not given up his habit of making medicine. It was just to make money before, but now it is used as a means of self-cultivation.
After hearing the female guard's report, Wei Cheng raised his lips.
Hao Niang, who was helping him knead the pills, looked at him curiously when she saw this.
Wei Cheng smiled and said: "The two geniuses are finally going to meet. I don't know what sparks will be created, but it is quite exciting."
···
As soon as Xu Shu and the others entered the city, they met Hao Zhao who came to summon him.
"Wei Jun said that you and the three of you have been tired of traveling all the way. There is no need to rush to the palace to see you. You can rest for a good night. It won't be too late to come back at twilight tomorrow."
Xu Shu and the other three looked at each other in confusion, but didn't say anything. They just thought that Wei Cheng had something to do and it was inconvenient to see them now.
Watching Hao Zhao leave, the three of them looked at me and I looked at you.
Cai Heng suggested: "In that case, why don't the two brothers go back to the house with me, and let the younger brother also be the host."
Xu Shu had no home in Luoyang, so he had nothing to do with it, but the Sima family also had a residence in Luoyang, so it was unreasonable not to return to his own home.
But Sima Yi didn't go back. Anyway, his father Sima Fang was away and he was happy and at ease.
"In this case, it is better to obey orders than to be respectful."
Seeing that Sima Yi agreed, Xu Shu had no reason to refuse. He just happened to go to pay homage to Cai Guogong, which was good.
So, the three of them took a carriage and headed towards Cai's mansion in the east of the city.
Dongdongdong~
Passing through a street, I suddenly heard a burst of gongs and drums.
The three of them curiously opened the door curtain and looked around, only to see a huge high platform in the middle of the street, and someone was saying something on the platform.
Pedestrians on the road here were even more crowded, and cheers came from the crowd from time to time.
Xu Shu said with a smile: "I didn't expect that there would be so much excitement when I arrived. There were not only the flags of the Wei family on the high platform, but also the plaques of Heluo Academy and several other private schools. Why don't the two worthy brothers get out of the car and join in the fun?" How's the fun going?"
Sima Yi and Cai Heng nodded at the same time. After eating and drinking, they were not so sleepy anymore. There was nothing going on, so they got out of the car to watch the excitement.
A man from the city guard cleared the way, and the three of them quickly squeezed into the front row of the crowd.
At this time, two young men dressed as Confucian scholars were playing chess on the high platform.
The background board of the high platform is a huge chessboard, with a strong man on each side hanging the chess pieces on bamboo poles.
Judging from the situation, Heizi has a better chance of winning, and the winner will be decided soon.
Xu Shu and the three others are all in this way. Cai Heng is not as good at chess, but he is not bad at it. He can judge the situation at a glance.
"It's a pity, it's a pity. This white boy is already in a trapped beast. If he had grasped his outer eyes just now, there might be a chance of a comeback."
"Not necessarily. If Bai Zi dares to do that, Hei Zi can also stop him. This game will be lost."
Several scribes nearby were talking a lot. Some sighed sadly, while others were elated. They were all from different camps.
If you look carefully at their Confucian scholar gowns, you can see that each of these people represents different school disciples.
At this time, the young scholar holding the white piece on the stage raised his hands and admitted defeat, and the gong sounded, "Dongcheng Academy wins."
There were sighs in the audience, and there were even more cheers and cheers. Looking up, they were all students from Dongcheng College.
When the two people on the stage stepped down, the host immediately shouted: "The next match will be between Lu Su from Heluo College and Chen Shuo from Dongcheng College."
Hearing the words Heluo Academy, Sima Yi couldn't help but his eyes lit up. After all, he was also a member of the academy.
On both sides of the high platform, Lu Su had been waiting for a long time. Standing next to him were Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Fazheng, and Lu Xun, his four friends and several classmates.
Lu Xun said excitedly: "Senior brother, you must try your best."
Other students also encouraged: "It must be possible. Zijing's chess ability is second only to Junior Brother A Liang. Our Heluo Academy will definitely win this game."
Lu Su was a little nervous, because the man opposite Chen Shuo was a descendant of the Chen family in Xiapi, so his chess skills would certainly not be too bad.
Seeing this, Zhuge Liang walked to Lu Su and whispered: "Senior brother, you can start by sharing the gold with the dragon."
When Lu Su heard this, his eyes lit up, he nodded heavily and said, "Okay, I'll do my best."
After ascending to the high platform, Lu Su bowed to his opponent.
Guessing first, Lu Su was unlucky. He held the white stone and his opponent started with the black stone.
Lu Su took a deep breath and started laying out the plan according to Zhuge Liang's instructions on how to divide gold from the dragon. The effect was good.
In the audience, Sima Yi and Xu Shu frowned slightly. Xu Shu said: "What's going on with Lu Su? How can he use the final result to compete with others? This is not digging his own grave."
Sima Yi also shook his head helplessly. Although he was younger than Lu Su, his chess skills were almost as good as those of Xun He. As early as the first few moves, it was obvious that Lu Su's chess skills were not as good as those of the opposite Chen family.
Sure enough, after a stick of incense was poured out, Lu Su's face became paler and paler. The white pieces were eaten one after another, and the black pieces gradually gained the upper hand.
On the side of the high platform, Zhuge Liang also looked embarrassed and said with self-reproach: "The person opposite is not simple. Youlong's share of gold has been broken."
Pang Tong and Fazheng sighed almost at the same time, and the latter said: "Senior brother's chess skills are much inferior to those of the opponent. I should have gone first in this game. I made a mistake."
A young student consoled him: "It's okay. We still have you and A Liang. We can win two out of three games. We still have a chance."
On the high platform, Lu Su had another stalemate with his opponent, and finally lost helplessly.
When Sima Yi saw this, his face turned as dark as a lump of coal, and he said solemnly: "Who are the people the academy is recruiting now?"
Xu Shu twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "You can't say that. Lu Su is already very good. Do you think everyone is the same as you?"
When~
"Dongcheng Academy wins!"
Lu Su walked off the stage bitterly and apologized to all his classmates.
Out of three games, he lost the first game. If he loses another game in the next two games, Heluo Academy's reputation may be affected.
Although this chess fighting arena was only funded by wealthy private businessmen, since they participated, they didn’t want to lose.
Almost all colleges sent their best students to participate in the competition, but Heluo College, because of the wide variety of teaching, has very few students who can actually play chess, and only the Strategy College has more talents.
I thought that Lu Su's chess skills were enough to win the first victory, but I didn't expect the opponent to directly send Chen's disciples.
That's right, Dongcheng College is a private school run by the Chen family in Xiapi, and the students it mainly recruits are also children of aristocratic families.
"What should we do? Who will play in the next round?" Lu Xun asked with a sad face.
Everyone looked at Zhuge Liang.
Zhuge Liang comforted Lu Su a few words, nodded and said: "Let me do the second game. At least I have to win the first city."
Everyone nodded at the same time.
But at this moment, a dissatisfied voice sounded.
Sima Yi didn't know when he walked to the edge of the stage and said in a deep voice: "The academy will send you crooked melons and jujubes to play chess with others?"
Xu Shu and Cai Heng, who followed closely behind, smiled bitterly. Here they come, back. The arrogant and arrogant Sima Yi is back again.
Zhuge Liang frowned and said, "Who are you?"
Although Sima Yi had heard of Zhuge Liang, he had never met him. When he saw that the other party was just a junior student as old as Cai Heng, he said disdainfully: "It doesn't matter who I am, you all go away. Next, Just leave the battle of chess to us."
Lu Su, Fazheng and others looked at each other.
Just when Lu Xun was about to scold him, a young scribe behind him suddenly exclaimed: "Yes, it's you, Junior Sima. Are you back from Shuofang?"
Zhuge Liang looked up at Sima Yi and said in surprise: "Are you Senior Sima?!"
Sima Yi snorted coldly, pushed Zhuge Liang away, walked straight towards the stage, and said in a serious tone: "You know why you still don't get out?"
