The Human Emperor (1-200)

C66: Military Chess Formation

Out of respect for the old marshal, Wang Chong asked the old servant on the details. Thus, he knew that Su Zhengchen's Go Board was different from the others. His Go Board was plated with gold, and this has become his distinguishing feature for Wang Chong.

However, after circling around the Ghost Tree District, Wang Chong was stunned.

"...He isn't here!"

Then, at the east of the thousand-year-old Chinese scholar tree, Wang Chong suddenly caught a glimpse of a stone table and on it was a golden Go Board. Even though the Go Board was there, Su Zhengchen was nowhere in sight. Instead, a four to five-year-old kid was yawning in boredom beside it.

"Lad, where's the old grandpa who plays chess here?"

"I've no idea. He only told me to give this stone to anyone who approaches, and only when a person passes the test will he appear."

The little child was chubby and cute. Hearing someone ask him about the Go Board, he opened his eyes. As he spoke, he stretched out his chubby hand to pass a black stone over. The stone was drenched with the sweat of the little child.

Wang Chong glanced at the sweat-drenched black stone in surprise. Soon, he understood what was going on. This was a test, and the content of the test was Go.

Since there was only one stone, he could only make one move.

If he made the correct move, Old Marshal Su would appear. However, if he were to make the wrong move, it would be equivalent to him being eliminated. Naturally, Old Marshal Su wouldn't appear.

"Lad, this silver ingot is for you."

Wang Chong stuffed an ingot into the hands of the little child before turning his attention to the Go Board. There, pieces intersected one another in a confusing manner even though there weren't many of them on it.

The black and white stones had mainly gathered in a corner each, and it looked as though two armies had claimed a high ground for their own.

"Judging from the layout, it is a wrestle between the both sides."

Wang Chong couldn't help but smile. This was a standard 'military chess formation'. Clearly, Old Marshal Su wished to test the other party's ability in leading an army in battle.

What the Great Tang needed wasn't a powerful boor but a wise general who was capable of leading an army in battle. As a legendary marshal in the Great Tang, Su Zhengchen hoped that his successor would be adept in warfare as well.

Perhaps he could feel that his end was coming, or perhaps he was worried that he wouldn't have a successor for his ultimate art, but Su Zhengchen didn't set up too difficult a trial.

In this military chess formation, the black only had to place the piece on the northwest position from the center of the white pieces to turn the tables around. After which, by dragging matters out, it would be the black's victory. As such, Wang Chong could be deemed to have passed the first trial.

However, Wang Chong had a differing view on this matter.

In his previous life, Wang Chong had become the Great Tang's Grand Marshal. However, it wasn't because of his martial arts that he was chosen by those powerful elders. On the contrary, Wang Chong had started his training too late, thus missing the ideal foundation building period, causing his cultivation to be the least impressive side to him.

The reason why Wang Chong was chosen under the precarious situation by those remaining meritorious 'seniors' to become the Great Tang's Great Marshal was because of his talent in warfare.

After which, Wang Chong had also proven his worth in warfare through his performance. In the few years where Wang Chong led the great armies of Great Tang, the Great Tang slaughtered more foreign cavalries than in the past several decades of the catastrophe, thus giving rise to his reputation as the most formidable Military Stratagem War God in the Central Plains.