Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 107, Section 106: Beauty's Six-Bet Game
When Ji Heng came to announce the summons, Qin Shi truly breathed a sigh of relief!

Just after noon, the clueless Prince Qian excitedly arrived at the South Palace with his attendants, and immediately asked:
"Why is Father treating the King of Qin so well? He even granted him residence in Xianyang Palace! Tell me quickly!"

The attendant stood by helplessly: "Your Highness, this is so rude..."

To come without sending a formal invitation, and then to speak so bluntly to a person whom the King trusts, is indeed unreasonable.

However, his energetic, reckless demeanor is reminiscent of impulsive and impulsive middle school students.

Qin Shi then smiled tolerantly and said, "I won't teach you."

Prince Qian was instantly stunned.

A moment later, he sat down angrily—ever since he sat at the table and chairs at Qin Shi's place last time, he had also had a craftsman make him a set, and now he was used to it.

At that moment, he said, "If I don't want to teach, then I won't."

“I am the king’s son, but even without studying, I can still live in Xianyang Palace.”

At that moment, Qin Shi felt an overwhelming sympathy for Ji Heng.

She didn't dare hope that Prince Qian would have the ability to rule at thirteen, but if he continued so recklessly, he might not be able to rule until he was thirty-three. With no one to whom she could entrust this vast empire, Ji Heng…

It's really not easy.

Fortunately, Prince Qian was straightforward and quickly said, "My father previously rewarded the palace chefs for their skills, saying that they all learned them from you. Qin Jun, you are so clever, you must be very good at gambling, right?"

Qin Shi: ...What show?

With eyes full of anticipation and unwavering confidence, he declared, "Coincidentally, I am also quite remarkable—Lord Qin, Nangong Qun's palace is near my own. Given this connection, let's have a gamble!"

After he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and a servant awkwardly carried a huge jade tray there, unsure whether to move it or not.

Qin Shi looked closely and then realized what was going on—

The so-called "gambling game" is actually "Liubo"!

This is a game that has been passed down from the Shang and Zhou dynasties, called "Liubo". Later, it evolved into two types: Daxiaobo and Xiaoxiaobo.

Among them, 【Da Bo】 is played by throwing a stick, which requires splitting a thin bamboo stick in half, one side being colored and the other side being white.
Each side has six pieces, consisting of one owl and five scattered pieces.

When placing a move, the scattered pieces are directed to move according to the number of white moves. If five white moves are placed, the [Owl] piece can capture the entire board.

The rules for the small bet are the same, but instead of the main bet, you bet on a carefully crafted "Boqiong," which is like a polyhedron with characters and numbers engraved on it.

Qin Shi asked curiously, "Should we go for the big gamble or the small gamble?"

Prince Qian snorted, "What's the point of 'big bet'? It's obviously 'small bet'."

He was tossing a meticulously crafted gold and silver coin up and down in his hand. The coin was intricately carved and decorated with numerous small pieces of different gemstones.

The Da Bo chess set comes with a book containing yin-yang calendars, trigrams, and hexagram texts. It's more like a fortune-telling or tarot book that girls in later generations would use when they had nothing better to do. Based on the book's correspondence, one could predict various matters, big and small.

For example, traveling, returning home, setting up a bed, getting married, etc.

Xiao Bo...

Qin Shi smiled and said, "I don't know how."

"Huh?" Prince Qian was taken aback.

"I really don't know how. I don't know either of the two games." Qin Shi said earnestly.

The rules of Liubo sound simple, similar to Monopoly and Ludo.

However, the way the chessboard divides water and curves also involves the eight trigrams, making it extremely complex.

The route is even arranged according to the pattern "Fang → Pan → Jie → Dao → Zhang", with different routes for going out, coming in, and if there are obstacles...

More importantly, the above methods of playing are all speculations; the actual methods of playing were lost long ago during the Sui and Tang dynasties.

But right now, this is a fantastic game as widely popular as mahjong! Even if you don't like it, how could anyone not know how to play it?

Seven or eight hundred years ago, King Mu of Zhou played Liubo, a board game, with the Duke of Jing for three whole days!

Going back another 20 years, even with a large army pressing in, Lord Xinling was unwilling to leave the chessboard!
Prince Qian's eyes widened. After a moment, a serious expression appeared on his youthful face: "Don't worry, Lord Qin, I am not a short-tempered or narrow-minded person. Even if I lose the game, I will never smash the chessboard against you."

Qin Shi: ...

She was truly grateful to the prince.

However, throughout history, quite a few people have lost their lives playing Liubo.

Don't be fooled by Cao Cao's poem, which alludes to the story of King Mu of Zhou to describe Liubo: "An immortal wields six chopsticks, playing Liubo at the corner of Mount Tai." It makes it seem as if the game is as elegant and refined as Go.

But in reality, more than four hundred years earlier, when Duke Min of Song was playing chess, he mocked Nangong Wan for being captured by the State of Lu. In a fit of anger, Nangong Wan smashed the chessboard to his death.

Later, when Emperor Jing of Han, Liu Qi, was the crown prince, he played Liubo, the son of Liu Bi, the King of Wu. Due to a dispute over the game, he used the game board to kill Liu Xian.

Later, Liu Bi launched the Rebellion of the Seven States.

……

Qin Shi recalled all the historical materials he had read, and at that moment, he couldn't help but touch the top of his head.

But she just can't do it.

She didn't even learn the simple ways to play that later generations speculated about, which shows that she was really not proficient in this art.

Now he had no choice but to politely decline Prince Qian's invitation.

Little did anyone know, the servants nearby secretly breathed a sigh of relief, because Prince Qian Liubo's actions were exactly the opposite of his description; he had indeed picked up the chessboard!

In short, he was caught between his lord and the king's trusted nobleman, and he couldn't afford to offend either of them.

Fortunately, Qin Jun doesn't know how!

Qin Shi noticed the attendant's relieved expression, and this time, she couldn't help but touch her head again.

But instead of pressing further, she asked curiously, "How did you come up with the idea of ​​playing games with me?"

Prince Qian looked somewhat annoyed, but still obediently replied, "With such a grand display of your move from Lanchi to Xianyang Palace, who in the entire city of Xianyang doesn't know about it?"

"I just happened to run into Lady Qin today after leaving the martial arts arena. She said that you are so clever, and being a woman, you must be especially good at gambling. She was just thinking of playing a game with you during her free time."

Qin Beauty...

Oh.

Qin Shi Houzhijue: This is one of the women in Ji Heng's harem. She is from Qin and has the title of Beauty. She has a daughter named Chan, who is two years old this year.

However, no matter how you look at it, the other party has no direct interest in her, and why would a beauty from the King of Qin's harem come to her to gamble?

Surely the other party couldn't possibly know that she had been chosen as queen?

Qin Shi lowered his eyes and slowly sipped his tea.

The clueless one, completely unaware and even slightly arrogant, said, "With such talent, how could I, the prince, fall behind? Naturally, I'll be the first to challenge you before she even arrives."

“You’re not a lady in the King’s palace, so gambling is perfectly fine for you.”

He then became angry again: "You are trusted by the King so much, you must be very capable, how come you don't even know how to play games?"

Qin Shi blinked: "Maybe it's because I know too much?"

She listed them one by one: "Monopoly, Ludo, Checkers, Go, Chess, Gomoku, Mahjong, Poker... Let me think, there are so many, I can't even list them all."

Prince Qian stood frozen in place, his mouth slightly agape, gazing at her with an almost reverent and awe-inspiring expression. After a long pause, he stammered:
"I've never heard of any of these things you're talking about..."

Coming!

The gameplay of [Liubo] circulating online is based on basic gameplay inferences derived from some historical records.

I tried to learn it, but it's actually really complicated. I admit defeat because I failed math.

The events described in this book are very detailed, which is why I can't rush things as I always do. So the timeline drags on very slowly; it might take more than a day to finish 10 chapters.

But, they should all still have some meaning, right?