"Tianyuan?"
The old man who was playing chess with Zhang Liang put his sleeves down, did not put the white piece on the board in a hurry, and looked at Zhang Liang in confusion.
The outcome of a Go game ultimately comes down to who occupies more territory.
From the perspective of enclosing a space, the corners are the most suitable, followed by the sides, while the center is the most difficult place to enclose a space.
Therefore, when you start playing chess, you should occupy the corners first, then the sides, and try not to move towards the middle, as the middle is most likely to be surrounded.
"Tianyuan."
Zhang Liang confirmed with a smile.
The old man threw the white piece between his right index and ring fingers back into the chess pot.
"Stop for a moment." said the old man.
According to the rules of Go, stopping a move means that you will not sacrifice the piece this time, and let the opponent continue to play.
Zhang Liang's eyes were filled with surprise. He did not move to pick up the pieces and gave the old man a questioning look.
What does this mean?
"Tell me first why I am in Tianyuan, and then I will tell you why I am stopping."
Zhang Liang used his right index finger to write the word "Han" on the chessboard in the Korean language that had been abolished by the Qin State. The chessboard looked like a Han land.
"The Zhang family has lived with Han since Han left Jin, and it has been more than 200 years. This is something you will never be able to do."
The Go board is symmetrical, but only Tianyuan is unique.
"Ying Chengjiao sent you to Han, hoping to take our land. I first took the Tianyuan position, and no matter where you put your next move, I only needed to compare and I would not be defeated. I think you saw that Zhang Liang was going to play a chess imitation, so you didn't make any moves to defeat him."
If you keep playing imitation chess, you will definitely lose. However, the Zhang family in Korea does this. With 200 years of experience, it is difficult for them to lose.
The old man chuckled and shook his head.
So that's what is happening.
Zhang Liang also laughed, but did not shake his head.
It is not easy for a businessman to become the prime minister of Qin.
"I didn't make any moves because you made a move at Tianyuan that was beyond my expectation. I also want you to be unable to guess."
Zhang Liang’s smile froze.
You are Lu Buwei, not a three-year-old child. Are you childish?
"I thought it was just an ordinary game of chess, but how could I know you had so many ideas in mind? You think too much."
"Sir, you dare to come to my Zhang family alone just for a simple game of chess? Aren't you afraid that Liang will capture you?"
Standing behind Lu Buwei, Lu Gou Jian, who was dressed as a servant, repeated the word "alone" in his mind, feeling offended.
"You have not entered the palace yet, but you are a wise man. You are over 20 years old and can keep me out. You are a rare treasure. How is the danger of meeting you in Xinzheng compared to meeting the previous king in Handan?"
When Zhang Liang heard that Lu Buwei called him a rare commodity and compared him to a commodity, he did not feel offended, but rather flattered.
The last person who was treated as a rare commodity was King Zhuangxiang of Qin, who destroyed the Zhou Dynasty.
Zhang Liang raised his hands to express his gratitude.
"Sir, you are too kind. I was able to resist you because of the efforts of the Zhang family's ancestors for 200 years. You are a rare talent, and that is a real skill. Now that I have seen you, I know how to write the word courage."
After a pause, he shouted loudly: "Someone come!"
There were servants who entered the house and obeyed the orders.
"Disperse the swordsmen and axemen." Zhang Liang ordered.
"Yes." The servant obeyed the order.
There were deliberate, sporadic noises outside the door, indicating that the executioners had all left.
"I'm sorry for the offense." Zhang Liang apologized.
"No problem."
Lü Buwei acted calmly and showed no fear of the swordsmen, which made Zhang Liang respect Lü Buwei's courage even more.
The fearless Lu Buwei sat back, getting closer to Lu Gou Jian.
Picking up a white chess piece, Lü Buwei placed it in the southeast corner of the chessboard and chuckled, "It is true that your Zhang family has been operating in Han for 200 years, but my Lü family has been in business for quite a while."
As early as the time of Lu Buwei's father, the Lu's Chamber of Commerce was already a large chamber of commerce with branches in various countries.
When it came into the hands of Lu Buwei, he first used all the funds of the Lu Chamber of Commerce to support Ying Yiren, who was a hostage, to become King Zhuangxiang of Qin.
Later, he gave back to the Lu's Chamber of Commerce through his position as the Prime Minister of Qin State, and the Lu's Chamber of Commerce went further and became the leading chamber of commerce in the world.
When the Qinian Palace mutinied, rumors spread that Lü Buwei had been executed. On the surface, the Lü Chamber of Commerce collapsed overnight and was expelled from the country.
In fact, Ying Chengjiao changed the name of the Lu's Chamber of Commerce and split it into several chambers of commerce, using these chambers of commerce to amass all the wealth in the world.
If these chambers of commerce were to join forces and be reorganized into the Lu's Chamber of Commerce, there would be a giant chamber of commerce that had never existed before in the world and would involve all aspects of business.
In order to take over Han, Ying Chengjiao established the Lu's Chamber of Commerce in Han and drew elites from chambers of commerce from all over the country to settle in.
Before Lü Buwei entered Han, the Lü Chamber of Commerce had already established a firm foothold in Han.
Lu Buwei wants to seize the land of Han from the Zhang family by using the youth version of the Lu's Chamber of Commerce, which brings together the most profitable businessmen in the world.
"The fact that the Lu's Chamber of Commerce can become so large is beyond Liang's expectations, and beyond the expectations of everyone in the world."
Zhang Liang placed a black piece in the northwest corner, which was exactly opposite to Lu Buwei's white piece in the southeast corner. It was clearly an imitation chess game.
"Please, sir."
Then please use the Lu Chamber of Commerce to seize my Han land. If you want to fight a war through trade, then you should just fight a war through trade.
Lu Buwei, holding the white pieces, landed in the northeast corner.
"Carrier pigeon."
When he first entered Han, Lu Buwei used carrier pigeons to send messages instead of running horses, which greatly increased the speed of information exchange.
He learned about the movements of various cities in Han in the shortest possible time, made fine-tuned adjustments, and always issued orders one step ahead of Zhang Liang.
Zhang Liang placed the black piece in the corresponding southwest corner.
"Liang also has paper."
Not long after, Zhang Liang summoned many craftsmen to mass-produce paper based on the green paper they had obtained by chance.
From then on, Zhang Liang was able to command and dispatch the major cities in Han from Xinzheng.
In terms of command, Lu Buwei and Zhang Liang were back on the same starting line.
Lu Buwei held three white pieces in his hand and placed them all on the Tianyuan position of the black piece in the center.
"I can buy iron at three times the price, but you can't imitate this chess move."
As he spoke, Lu Buwei placed two more white pieces.
"Five times the iron."
After a pause, Lu Buwei placed five more white pieces.
"Ten times the iron."
He looked up and chuckled.
"At this point, the situation has become a foregone conclusion and the trend is irreversible."
The Han Di Lu's Chamber of Commerce is sponsored by Ying Chengjiao, and its financial support comes from one of the top ten chambers of commerce in the world.
The Lu's Chamber of Commerce was very wealthy, and they first bought iron at three times the price, then five times the price, and finally ten times the price. They took whatever iron there was on the market.
Zhang Liang looked at the ten new white pieces on the chessboard before making his move.
"The imitation of chess is not to use one's own weaknesses to imitate the enemy's strengths. If these ten pieces were to be imitated hard, they would have already lost at this moment."
Zhang Liang didn’t know how much money the Lu Chamber of Commerce had, but he knew how much money the Zhang family had.
The Zhang family is asked to buy iron at three, five, or ten times the price. With the financial resources of the Zhang family, it is possible in the short term, but not in the long term.
The Lu's Chamber of Commerce only has financial resources, while the Zhang family has both influence and financial resources in Korea.
Zhang Liang was not interested in competing for money, and he would not use his own weakness to attack the enemy's strength.
If the Zhang family had tripled the iron from the Lu Chamber of Commerce at the beginning and increased it to ten times now, the Zhang family would have nothing left.
"I am stupid and don't know what you mean by the general trend." Zhang Liang grabbed a handful of black pieces and threw them on the chessboard, and continued, "The iron in the land of Han is inexhaustible and can be used endlessly."
On the chessboard, the black pieces fell down with a clattering sound, as if mocking Lu Buwei's pointless behavior.
Korea was an area of ​​iron ore during the Warring States Period. Historical records show that all the best bows and crossbows in the world came from Korea, and all the most precious swords in the world were made in Korea.
It is indeed feasible to break into the local market by purchasing a monopoly on a necessity, but the prerequisite is that this necessity can really be monopolized.
It is impossible to break into the market by purchasing iron in Korea, unless all the iron mines in Korea are occupied and iron is no longer produced.
After the chess pieces were in place, Zhang Liang circled all the black pieces next to the white pieces, surrounding them.
"Liang's side has become a big trend. Would you like to listen to it, sir?"