Chapter 548
Chapter 548
“Then, may the Kings of Chu and Yue officially commence the formal battle on the border! The world shall bear witness!”
A thousand envoys from various nations sat upon the dais, ready to serve as witnesses to this battle. It was the same arrangement as when Ning Yuanxian had faced the King of Wu. Seeing the magnificent and murderous aura of his army, the King of Chu felt a surge of exhilaration and laughed heartily.
“I have heard that my royal brother, the King of Yue, is a master of Go. How about we begin this engagement with a game?”
Hearing this, everyone was taken aback. They had heard that the King of Yue was skilled at Go, but they had never heard that the King of Chu was a skilled player. Ning Yuanxian, dressed in thick cotton robes, frowned slightly.
“My royal brother, was there any mention of a clash of wits in this battle?”
The King of Chu said with a smile.
“It takes time for the two armies to prepare for their confrontation, leaving us with a moment of leisure. I hear my wise brother is a master of Go. If we play a game during this idle time, wouldn't it relieve the boredom of our esteemed guests here?”
It was quite normal to add another contest to a formal battle. Ning Yuanxian typically loved Go matches.
“However, my body is unwell. It would be best to refrain.”
Ning Yuanxian acted as if he had completely given up, seemingly lamenting his inability to end this battle and humiliation at once and return to the State of Yue. The King of Chu said to him.
“It is fine. We can play slowly, can we not? Your skill at Go is ten times greater than mine, so you will surely win. I recently acquired a certain board position, and though I sought out all the Go masters within Chu's borders, not a single one could solve it. It was then that I remembered my wise brother is a master of the game, and so I have come to seek your guidance!”
Then, the King of Chu shouted loudly.
“Bring out the board!”
A Go board was set before Ning Yuanxian. A massive board, tens of meters in size, was also laid out in the center of the field. The stones placed upon it were exceptionally large, allowing all thousand envoys present to clearly see the game. The moment King Ning Yuanxian of Yue saw it, his head throbbed. This was an absolutely unsolvable puzzle. He had already tried to solve it for several years, but to no avail. The envoys from the various nations gathered there cursed inwardly at the sight.
‘King of Chu, you truly never miss an opportunity. Not only do you intend to crush and slaughter the State of Yue in battle, but you also seek to humiliate the King of Yue with a clash of wits?’
That unsolvable game was so famous that all the Go enthusiasts present had attempted it, but it was a puzzle that could not be solved. The King of Chu bowed and said.
“My wise brother, I sincerely wish to ask for your guidance. This game will have no bearing on the outcome of our battle. I shall play black, and you shall play white. If my wise brother can solve this puzzle and defeat me, how about I personally beat the drums to celebrate your victory?”
The Crown Prince of Chu chimed in.
“Even if Your Majesty, the King of Yue, fails to solve this puzzle, I will still ask my royal father to beat the drums for you.”
Ning Yuanxian had no idea how to handle this situation. If he could have solved this unsolvable game, he would have done so years ago. Why would he have waited until now? The King of Chu bowed to him once more and requested.
“My wise brother is a renowned master of Go. Are you refusing without even trying?”
“Your Majesty, why do you make things difficult for the King of Yue? Hasn't he just recovered from a serious illness?”
When the Vice Minister of Rites of Chu made this remark, everyone nodded in agreement, and Ning Yuanxian was enraged.
‘What are you people of Chu implying? That I had a stroke that addled my mind, and I dare not even try for fear of making a fool of myself?’
In that moment, Ning Yuanxian's mind went blank.
‘If I try, I will surely lose. If I refuse without trying, they will think I've lost my mind due to the stroke…’
He had always prided himself on being a Go master. What a great humiliation it would be to be bullied by the King of Chu in the realm of Go. Shen Lang, on the other hand, was sneering inwardly.
‘King of Chu, I see right through you and your character. If I couldn't even grasp the weakness of a beast like you, I wouldn't have come here.’
This unsolvable game was extremely famous, having originated from the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion. No Go master in the world could solve it. Of course, Shen Lang hadn't solved it either, but his computer could. Shen Lang had once spent tens of hours having his computer run a thousand simulations to finally crack the unsolvable puzzle.
Shen Lang stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
“Your Majesty, the King of Chu, is a single unsolvable game worthy of our King of Yue’s personal attention? His Highness Ying Zheng is more than sufficient!”
At that moment, the Fifth Prince, Ying Zheng, said.
“Royal Father, this son wishes to play in your stead.”
Everyone was surprised. Yes, that was another way. If Ying Zheng played a game that was destined to be lost, the defeat would not be so embarrassing. After all, Ying Zheng was here to take responsibility for this battle and was soon to be exiled. Losing a single game of Go was no great matter. This unsolvable game had stumped countless Go masters; it was impossible that the useless prince Ying Zheng could solve it.
Shen Lang said.
“Then it is decided. If His Highness Ying Zheng solves the unsolvable game and defeats the King of Chu, Your Majesty will beat the drums for our king, and the Crown Prince of Chu will sing in accompaniment.”
The King of Chu laughed heartily.
“Excellent! If the King of Yue wins, my son and I will sing and beat the drums for him. Since my wise brother is ill, it is acceptable for his son to play in his stead. However, if he loses the game, it will be the King of Yue himself, not another, who must beat the drums. What say you?”
Ning Yuanxian said.
“I agree to those terms!”
“Then it is a promise!”
And so, Ying Zheng ascended the dais to play Go in Ning Yuanxian’s place, while on the Chu side, the Crown Prince of Chu would play in the King of Chu’s stead. It didn't matter who played for Chu anyway. This was an unsolvable game; the key was how the white stones could possibly break through. As the two princes placed their stones on the board at their side, identical stones were placed on the large board, a kind of live broadcast of the game.
Everyone present was already feeling drowsy, for the outcome of this game was predetermined. How many years had it been since anyone had solved this puzzle? Moreover, Ying Zheng was not even a Go master. But in just a quarter of an hour, everyone's drowsiness vanished completely, for the state of the board had changed dramatically.
‘Ying Zheng is winning. Is… is this possible? In this unsolvable puzzle, the white stones are supposed to be in a situation where they are certain to lose. There's supposed to be no way out, right? Countless Go masters have poured their hearts and souls into it, but there was no solution. This is the unsolvable game created by the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion. Could it be that Ying Zheng has solved it?’
As the game progressed, the Crown Prince of Chu grew increasingly flustered.
‘This is different from the game in my memory. How am I supposed to play from here?’
He appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly he was in turmoil. The King of Chu’s eyes instinctively turned to the advisor beside him. This whole affair had been orchestrated by his advisor for the purpose of striking a blow to King Ning Yuanxian’s dignity and elevating the King of Chu’s reputation. He had clearly proclaimed that this puzzle had no solution, so why was this scene unfolding before his eyes? Looking at Ying Zheng's side, he remained calm throughout, not arrogant in victory nor dejected in defeat.
Another quarter of an hour passed, and the board tilted even more clearly in favor of white's victory. Everyone who saw the spectacle could not believe it.
‘Is the unsolvable game from the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion being broken just like this? Weren't we told this game was impossible to solve?’
For over five long years, countless masters from among the common people had declared they had solved this puzzle. But in the end, it was only proven that they were talking nonsense. They had played both white and black themselves, creating a win for white. They had not followed the established steps of the game but had created openings for themselves to allow white to win.
Even on Earth, many amateur scientists would annually declare they had solved Goldbach's conjecture, but all of them had used various methods to produce fraudulent solutions. However, Ying Zheng was different from them; he had truly solved this game. The Crown Prince of Chu had not made a single wrong move, so how could he be losing? How was this possible?
Every few years, the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion would present an unsolvable game to the world, and as soon as one was solved, they would immediately release a new one. Typically, a single unsolvable game would be solved by someone within six or seven years, and the person who solved it would become an honorary scholar of the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion. That was the highest honor, perhaps equivalent to becoming an honorary professor at Cambridge or Oxford University on modern Earth.
For that reason, every time the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion presented a difficult game, countless Go masters would pour their hearts and souls into trying to solve it. To be known throughout the world for solving a puzzle posed by the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion brought astonishing fame and fortune. Therefore, it was normal for such an unsolvable game to be solved by a grandmaster of Go or a hidden sage living in seclusion.
But who was Ying Zheng? He was a useless prince disdained by everyone in the world. From childhood to adulthood, while other princes studied with great scholars in the palace, he could only learn from an old eunuch by his side. For him to solve this unsolvable game now was truly a mystery.
The Crown Prince of Chu held a black stone in his hand, unable to place it on the board for a long time. He asked Ying Zheng.
“Wise Brother Ying Zheng, since harmony should be our highest priority, how about we declare this game a draw?”
He was calculating in his own favor, but under normal circumstances, his opponent would not refuse. The State of Yue was currently in a position of begging Chu, and it appeared that way to everyone. His opponent would hope that in the true battle to follow, Chu would not be too harsh and would leave the King of Yue with at least a shred of dignity. If Ying Zheng accepted the offer of a draw, Chu would owe them a small debt, and during the clash of the two great armies, Chu might not slaughter all of Yue’s soldiers.
“No!”
But Ying Zheng rejected the offer outright. The Crown Prince of Chu’s face twitched slightly, and his expression instantly soured. Everyone present was shocked.
‘Is Ying Zheng that stubborn? Should this be called strong-willed, or foolish?’
Then, the Crown Prince of Chu expressionlessly continued to play. A quarter of an hour later, the game ended, and Ying Zheng was victorious. This meant that Ying Zheng had officially solved the unsolvable game presented by the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion.
“In the great match between the two nations, the State of Yue is victorious!”
An envoy from the Great Yan Dynasty shouted loudly. The King of Chu shot a fierce glare at the advisor who had proposed this plan, then burst into hearty laughter.
“My wise brother's son is quite a talent. The unknown Ying Zheng has inherited your skill at Go. Remarkable, truly remarkable.”
Then, without mentioning his promise to beat the drums and sing, the King of Chu shouted loudly.
“I am a bit thirsty. Bring wine!”
In an instant, palace maidens floated in gracefully, beginning to sing and dance while serving fine wine and food. His intention was glaringly obvious: let everyone eat, drink, and watch the beautiful women, and in doing so, forget all about his promise to beat the drums and sing. Everyone wanted to see the King of Chu beat the drums, but no one dared to mention it. Just then, Shen Lang stood up abruptly and said.
“Everyone, please drink slowly. Your Majesty, the King of Chu, and Your Highness, the Crown Prince. Have you two forgotten something?”