in2ebook Chapter 250 The Great Han Chess Saint
Chapter 250 The Great Han Chess Saint
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Lin Ke smiled mischievously and teased, "Let's put aside the matter of this pig being tricked and talk about how he wanted to grow lychees in Chang'an in order to achieve immortality."
"As everyone knows, lychees are an extremely precious fruit. They prefer to grow in hot places and cannot withstand severe cold, so the geographical problem has always been difficult to solve. Otherwise, how could there be a record of several horses dying during the journey to deliver them to Li Longji?"
"However, on the other hand, lychees actually existed as early as the Western Han Dynasty. Other members of the Liu family probably only regarded them as tributes and often used them only for ancestral worship."
"But when it came to Emperor Wu of Han, he did not do that! In the sixth year of Yuanding, when he attacked Nanyue, he had the idea of transplanting it into the palace."
Liu Che: I want to eat my fill! Bring them all into the palace for me!
"He also knew that lychees were a precious and difficult crop to grow. For their sake, Liu Che built a greenhouse in Shanglin Garden, named Fuli Palace, and then had lychee seedlings from Nanyue transplanted into the greenhouse."
"It's just that lychees grow in the warm south, and that's their nature. At that time, Chang'an had long, cold winters, so it's no surprise that the hundred or so trees that Liu Che planted died!"
"But we also know His Majesty's temperament, so among these people, there were still craftsmen who, on one particular day, managed to successfully cultivate a lychee tree."
"But! Something's wrong with this lychee tree. You could say it's withered and dead, but it's still growing well. You could say it's alive, but it's not bearing fruit! So this situation made Liu Che very unhappy."
"Whenever he was unhappy, his subordinates would suffer. So Emperor Wu of Han executed about a hundred people who were responsible for transplanting lychees. Later, he realized that this was not feasible, so he stopped thinking about planting them, since all the regions would send tribute anyway."
"Therefore, according to the records in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, in order to bring back fruits such as lychees and longans as tribute, horses were driven to their deaths and grooms to their exhaustion."
"But whether the coachman or the horse dies, the journey must not be stopped, for the dead continue the perilous path."
"Liu Che's obsession with it was not entirely because he craved the taste of lychees; it was probably more about achieving immortality."
"We've actually discussed this topic before. It's very difficult for emperors to resist such temptations, especially with that 'you won't know until you try' attitude!"
"Therefore, when Emperor Wu of Han saw the story in the *Biographies of Immortals* about 'those who ate the fruit of the lychee and became immortals,' he believed it to be true, which is why he was so eager to have lychees sent from all over the country as tribute." (This refers to a story from the late Spring and Autumn period about someone becoming an immortal by eating too many lychees.)
Big Han Liu Zhuzhu: ???
General Judy, the Northern Expeditionary General: Eating too much of this will cause internal heat! Even Su Shi had a hemorrhoid flare-up! Can eating this stuff make you fly to heaven?!
The optimist Su Dongpo: Can we please not mention that?
Li Erfeng of the Tang Dynasty: Facts have proven that this statement is utterly false!
A spoiled young man from the Song Dynasty: If eating too much really could make you an immortal, then Su Shi would have been an immortal long ago!
……
During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han
At this point, Liu Che was blushing, whether from embarrassment or anger, he wouldn't believe anyone who tried to tell him about a way to achieve immortality!
He absolutely must kill those sorcerers!! They were deceiving me!!
He's probably the emperor that Lin Ke mentioned who got tricked multiple times!
Ugh! I'm so angry!! Why am I the only one being told I was scammed?!
……
"Now that we've finished talking about His Majesty the Pig, let's take a look at some funny anecdotes about his father, Emperor Jing of Han, Liu Qi."
"Ahem, Emperor Jing of Han, Liu Qi, and the era he and Emperor Wen of Han ruled together are known as the Reign of Wen and Jing. These two also laid the foundation for Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, to crush the Xiongnu."
Emperor Jing of Han, Liu Qi: Son! Your father has saved you a considerable fortune!!!
Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che: Got it! The Xiongnu! Just wait to get beaten up!!!
"Now, let's get to the point. When Liu Qi was still the crown prince, Liu Xian, the son of King Wu Liu Bi, came to Chang'an. One day, he entered the palace and met Crown Prince Liu Qi, and the two began to play chess."
"However, the game they played was not Go, but Liubo, and this Liubo set was later displayed in the Yangling Museum of Emperor Jing of Han, Liu Qi."
Liu Qi, the Great Chess Master of the Han Dynasty: (? .?.? ?)...What the heck! My tomb has been dug up?!
Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty: What a tragic figure!
Li Erfeng of the Tang Dynasty: If you know about the burial goods, then that must be it!!!
First Emperor: It's alright! My Terracotta Army has been excavated too! And people still go to see it every day!!!
Zhu Baba of the Ming Dynasty: It's alright, I'll have your son check on you when he goes to the afterlife!
Big Han Liu Zhuzhu: ...I almost forgot about it if you hadn't brought it up!!!
……
"The incident occurred during their game of chess. It is unknown what kind of dispute arose, but it is said that Liu Qi wanted to take back his move. But whatever the reason, the result was that Liu Qi lost his temper, picked up the chessboard, and smashed it at Liu Xian!"
"This single blow was insignificant; unexpectedly, Liu Xian was killed, and things have escalated."
"However, Liu Qi was not actually punished, but he did incur the enmity of King Liu Bi of Wu, which foreshadowed his later rebellion."
"Therefore, Liu Qi was given the nickname of the Great Chess Saint of the Han Dynasty by later generations, and after he grew up, he still sent the King of Wu and his son to reunite without holding a grudge!"
Liu Qi, the chess player of the Han Dynasty: ...