From ancient times to the present, people like to borrow various entertainment activities to light up boring life after work. For the ancients, chess was such an entertainment project that was both leisure and intellectual.
People who have learned about chess should know that like other board games, chess also has a set of complex rules when running, for example, for the chess move, people pay attention to "horses walking the sun, elephants walking in the field, cars taking straight roads and cannons overturning mountains, and soldiers taking diagonal lines to protect the edges."
Of course, in addition to these rules that have been determined, before the Song Dynasty, there was also such an unwritten rule in chess, that is, the generals and marshals absolutely could not meet directly, and there must be small pawns in the middle as a gap, otherwise there would be a situation of "laughing opposite", and meeting would be dead.
The addition of this rule has increased the difficulty and gameplay of chess with only 32 pieces by more than one notch, and has become more regular in strategy.
"Hidden" behind the chess xiang Liu war
As the saying goes, the source of art is life. For such an unwritten rule before the Song Dynasty, there is actually such a real war hidden behind it.
Xiang Yu, the "Overlord of Western Chu", and Liu Bang, the "Ancestor of Han Gaozu", have been sworn enemies of each other since the fall of the Qin Dynasty, and looking back at the years when the winds were strong and the clouds were flying, the Chu-Han dispute became the main representative of the two competing with each other.
In August of the fourth year of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gao, sent Hou Gong to ask Xiang Yu for peace, and finally the Chu and Han sides signed the famous "Gulf Agreement" in history.
The two agreed to divide the world in the middle, with the chasm as the boundary, the chasm to the east to Chu, and the chasm to the west to the Han. Although for this matter, posterity has always understood him as a compromise of Liu Bang, in fact, this is just Liu Bang's strategy to slow down the army.
Before the formal signing of the divide agreement, Xiang Yu's subordinate General Fan Zeng had been exiled by Liu Bang's provocation, eventually causing Xiang Yu's only highly valued staff officer to leave him. With a belly full of anger, Xiang Yu planned to clean up Liu Bang, who had bad intentions and obstructed him.
Under the fight, Xiang Yu made this "evil breath" very painful, not only beating Liu Bang to flee everywhere, but also greatly defeating the morale of the enemy army. Liu Bang, who was in a difficult situation, had no other choice but to quietly hide in the end.
Although it was true that his military command ability was inferior to Xiang Yu's, Liu Bang was still quite scheming to fight a roundabout war with the help of his cronies. Seemingly random hiding strongholds are actually feng shui treasures that Liu Bang has "carefully selected".
The protracted battle "pulled down" Xiang Yu's large army
The place where Liu Bang hid was called Gong County, which was also a good place to live by the mountains and rivers. Not only is it easy to defend and difficult to attack, but it can also provide sufficient water supply for large troops, and it is perfect for large troops to use such a place as a temporary hiding place.
Not only was he quite clever in the choice of hiding place, Liu Bang also had a nose and an eye when he started a roundabout battle, and since both sides chose to temporarily recuperate on both sides of the chasm, Liu Bang took the advice of his close confidant Zhang Liang and planned to send people to quietly cross the river and sneak into Dong'a City, which was behind Xiang Yu.
Due to the suddenness of the battle, Xiang Yu, who was in the front, was not prepared, so Liu Bang won an absolute victory on this trip. After learning of this, Xiang Yu immediately led his troops to Dong'a City to rescue him, but when Xiang Yu arrived at Dong'a City, he found that there was not even a single Liu Bang's subordinate in Dong'a City at this time.
In this way, Liu Bang led the army like an undead Xiao Qiang, and every time he would successfully escape after creating endless trouble for Xiang Yu. The purpose of this is to "bring down" Xiang Yu's army through protracted war.
In the protracted battle of constant pulling, Liu Bang seized the opportunity to retake Cheng Gao in one fell swoop, planning to have a few more rounds with Xiang Yu here, but at this time, Xiang Yu was eager to make a quick decision. After all, Liu Bang can be said to have no worries about logistical support, and he will not worry about logistical supplies when he fights a protracted war.
But Xiang Yu was different, not only was the logistics supply area of Dong'a City frequently harassed by surprise attacks, but even the morale of the army began to gradually decline in successive wars. Therefore, in the face of Liu Bang, who was hiding in Chenggao City, Xiang Yu was anxious like an ant on a hot pot.
One arrow rewrites the rules of chess
In order to force Liu Bang out of the city, Xiang Yu took Liu Bang's father hostage on the Guangwu Mountain and set up an iron pot, claiming that if Liu Bang did not surrender again, he would personally cook Xiang Yu's father and eat it.
But I didn't think about it, Liu Bang saw through Xiang Yu's little tricks, and even boldly said: We are brothers who have been worshipped, so my father is your father. If you're going to cook your dad, don't forget to give me a bowl of broth to drink.
In the face of Liu Bang's answer that did not play cards according to the routine, Xiang Yu was eager to be angry and vomit blood. Therefore, looking at Liu Bang, who was standing on the city tower and making a big fuss, Xiang Yu felt more and more unpleasant, and in one breath, he pulled up his bow and shot at Liu Bang.
The sharp arrows that flew forward made Liu Bang have no ability to dodge, although in the end it did not hurt the key point, but only hit the chest, but according to later investigations, the reason why Liu Bang died within a few years after the founding of the country was related to the old wound on the chest at that time.
In order to stabilize the hearts of the army, Liu Bang after the middle arrow has been pretending to be calm, and even can't help but disdain Xiang Yu again: It seems that your arrow technique still needs to be improved, and it has all shot at my feet.
To outsiders, liu bang at this time seemed to be just fighting with the angry Xiang Yu, and as everyone knew, without everyone knowing it, Liu Bang had already sent his subordinate Han Xin to occupy Hebei and Shandong, once again seizing the opportunity, and taking the lead in seizing the excellent path of backup supplies before Xiang Yu.
In this way, Liu Bang's army not only received personnel protection, but also the military food supplies transported from Guanzhong were continuously transported to the barracks. What about xiang yu on the other side? At this time, we are facing the desperate situation of lack of soldiers and horses and difficulties in supply.
Therefore, in order to give Xiang Yu and his men a chance to breathe, the two sides finally signed a gulf agreement in the autumn of 202 BC, which is also the origin of the "Chu River Han Boundary" on the chessboard.
At the same time, because Xiang Yu almost killed Liu Bang because of an arrow in the Battle of Chenggao City, an unwritten rule such as "laughing at the opposite" appeared in the rules of chess since then. The encounter between the generals will be a dead end, and the two tigers will be injured when they fight, and it is said that Liu Bang and Xiang Yu are "sworn enemies".
With 32 pieces and 90 intersections, the chess culture hidden in the small chessboard can be described as a fusion of one broad and profound historical story after another. Not only that, but behind each rule is actually hidden a period of fiery past.
Seemingly small chess pieces, in fact, contain unlimited Chinese history, and this may be one of the reasons why chess has been able to pass all the way from the war-torn Warring States to the present.