Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 65 Watching the Chess
The brown-robed monk leading the group was in charge of supervision. After confirming that each team had selected members to fight, he nodded slightly to the gatekeeper monk of the first checkpoint, indicating that they could begin.

Tea competitions, also known as "tea battles," were extremely popular in the Northern Song Dynasty. The judging criteria generally included the color of the tea, the foam, and the taste. Pure white tea was considered the best, and the foam was required to be even and delicate.

Many people have participated in tea competitions, but there are actually very few masters who are truly proficient in this art.

Han San Niang first gently stroked the teaware with her fingertips to check its temperature and texture.

Then, she picked up the mountain spring water in the bamboo tube and gently poured it into the red clay stove.

The charcoal was already prepared, but she wasn't in a hurry to start a fire. Instead, she looked at the water in the stove, as if judging how much water to use based on the clarity of the spring water.

After all, the amount of charcoal is fixed, and if too much water is added, the temperature may not reach the optimal temperature for brewing tea.

After making a clear judgment, she lit a fire in the furnace. The charcoal gradually turned red, and fine bubbles began to rise from the spring water.

Seeing that the water had started to bubble, she wasn't in a hurry.

"Do not add tea leaves before the water has boiled."

She murmured to herself, picked up a few tea leaves with her fingertips, and gently sniffed them.

The tea leaves were prepared by the monks; they were a vibrant green with a delicate aroma. However, her brow twitched slightly, as if she had detected a hint of bitterness that shouldn't be there.

Without making a sound, Han San Niang gently moved her fingertips in the tea basket, quietly removing a few darker-colored leaves to the bottom.

Then, she chose to add pine nuts from among the provided pine nuts, ginger, dates, orange peel, and mint.

The reason these options still exist is, of course, due to the influence of the legacy of the Tang Dynasty. You should know that during the Tang Dynasty, there was no difference between boiling tea and boiling porridge. Although we no longer add all sorts of random things, tea enthusiasts will still selectively add some unique items to highlight their personal taste.

The first challenge, "Brewing Tea with Rock Spring Water," has no time limit, because brewing tea for too long will actually make it taste worse.

Han San Niang was quick-witted and nimble-fingered. Just as the tea was about to boil, she decisively lifted the pot off the fire, held the cup with her delicate hand, and poured the tea into the white porcelain cup like a thread of gold.

The tea is clear and bright, and amidst the rising steam, one can vaguely see the tea leaves unfurling like newly blossoming orchid buds.

Then comes the process of continuously adding boiling water to the tea and stirring it with a tea whisk.

As an observer, Lu Beigu found the whole process pleasing to the eye. From this almost artistic ceremony, he also realized how insincere Li Pan had been when he first invited him for tea.

After a while, everyone's tea was brewed and placed together.

The monk guarding the first gate turned his back, and only after the brown-robed monk leading the group changed the order did he turn around to taste the tea.

The gatekeeper monk took the teacup, first observing its color, then smelling its aroma, and finally taking a small sip.

However, most of the time he just frowns.

When the tea brewed by Han San Niang arrived, he raised his eyebrows slightly and a hint of approval flashed in his eyes as soon as he tasted it: "Although the heat was rapid, the original flavor of the tea was not lost. On the contrary, the quick brewing locked in the freshness and vitality, which is rare."

On the other hand, the team from Xianzhen sent out people to participate in the first challenge. The tea they brewed could only be described as following the steps, but the details were not perfect, and they did not notice the old tea mixed in with the tea leaves. The tea soup was slightly astringent, but it was ultimately inferior.

After the monks appraised each one, they clasped their hands together and announced the winner.

"Han Ziyu's team wins the first round!"

Everyone could clearly see the process of changing the order of the teacups, so when the brown-robed monk pointed to Lu Beigu's group and announced the result, no one had any objections.

Han San Niang smiled faintly, stood up and returned to the group.

To Han Ziyu's surprise, Xianzhen was not angry at the result; instead, he smiled.

This gave him a bad feeling.

The group continued climbing, and the mountain path became steeper as they went higher. The stone steps wound upwards, with ancient trees towering on both sides, their branches and leaves casting dappled light and shadow.

The chirping of cicadas at the foot of the mountain gradually faded away, replaced by the soft rustling of pine needles in the mountain breeze. After walking a while longer, when everyone's legs began to ache, a flat stone slab came into view.

The stone platform is about three zhang square, with a smooth, mirror-like surface, clearly having been carefully polished.

On the open ground was a chessboard, and an old monk dressed in a kasaya sat cross-legged on one side of the chessboard. In front of him were two jars of chess pieces, the black pieces as black as ink and the white pieces as white as solidified fat.

Four pieces have already been placed on the chessboard.

Yes, Go in the Song Dynasty not only had a 17x17 grid, but also had a set of stones, which greatly restricted the freedom of the opening. The rules determined the winner by the sum of the positions occupied by one side's stones and the empty points, and there was no komi system.

Upon seeing the arrival of the group, the old monk slowly said, "The second challenge is the 'Stone Platform Chess Game.' Each team will send one person to play black and move first to play against me. The time limit is two quarters of an hour. The team that loses the least wins."

The group exchanged bewildered glances. Was he really that confident?
However, the second level is significantly different from the first level, as it includes a time limit. The "two-quarters-hour time limit" condition is clearly designed to prevent players from using the "staying up all night" tactic.

This limitation also gave everyone a bad feeling about the third and fourth challenges. As the altitude increased, their physical strength and energy would visibly decline. At this point, the challenges, coupled with the time limit, were obviously different from the challenge they could have faced calmly on flat ground.

But back to the present, Han Tzu-yu is facing a dilemma regarding the selection of participants for the second round.

According to the rules, if you win a round, you can choose to carry it over to the next round or have someone else take your place in the next round. However, if you take your place or lose, you cannot play again.

Either continue sending Han San Niang on stage, or replace her.

However, Han San Niang didn't know how to play Go at all, so they had to find someone else.

Han Ziyu intended to conserve her strength for later stages, so for the second stage, she could only choose one of Ji Yun, Lu Beigu, or Lu Guangyu.

"Who among you knows how to play chess?" Han Ziyu asked.

"."

Ji Yun fell silent. With his restless and mischievous nature, he certainly wouldn't play chess.

Lu Beigu could barely be considered to know how to play Go, but that was all. How high could his skill level be, given that he could play Go with Jiang Xinghuo for two hours before he transmigrated and still be evenly matched?
Moreover, the rules of Go in the Song Dynasty are completely different from those of modern Go. If a terrible player doesn't even understand the rules, wouldn't going up there be suicide?

"I'll go try it."

Lu Guangyu suddenly said, "Although his skill level is average, he should be able to hold out for a while."

"Go."

Lu Guangyu knelt in front of the chessboard, his fingertips gently caressing a black piece.

He looked up at the old monk in a kasaya opposite him. The old monk's eyes were lowered, and his thin fingers rested on the edge of the chess set, as if he had long since become one with the ancient pines and moss on the rocks in the mountains.

"please."

The black stone fell with a crisp "tap," its sound particularly clear in the quiet place.

The old monk's white stone followed immediately, as lightly as a falling leaf touching water.

The two exchanged blows, and in the blink of an eye, more than twenty moves had been played.

Lu Guangyu's playing style is to strive for attack with every piece, aiming to gain the initiative in the opening. It seems that the old monk is always in a passive defensive state.

"Who has the advantage?" Han San Niang asked with some concern.

“It seems that Brother Lu still holds the initiative,” Han Ziyu replied.

Han San Niang didn't really understand chess, but she had a gut feeling: "But the more I look at that old monk's white pieces, the more they look like a net?"

Han Ziyu paused, looked at the chessboard, and her brows furrowed suddenly.

(End of this chapter)