Without even guessing, it was obvious that Third Uncle and Old Jia were plotting against him.
For Liu Cheng, who possessed master-level chess skills, it didn't matter.
After a while, they stopped whispering.
Liu Cheng smiled, "What's the plan?"
Third Uncle chuckled, "Next, we'll play endgames."
Liu Cheng secretly smiled.
Chess is divided into full games and endgames.
As a master-level chess player, it was impossible to only know full games and not endgames.
After all this, they wanted to set up an endgame to trick him.
Do you really think I'm a traveler outside the station?
Can you just set up a random endgame and trick me out of money?
Soon, I'll let you know what a master-level chess player is.
Thinking this, Liu Cheng nodded.
"Alright, no problem."
Seeing that Liu Cheng didn't object, Yan Bugui was overjoyed. His eyes darted around, and he came up with another bad idea.
He didn't know many endgames, so to win back the money he lost and to win Liu Cheng's money, he had to increase the stakes for each game.
Thinking this, Yan Bugui said, "Endgames are high-level games, so I think the stakes should also be raised to make it more exciting."
Old Jia immediately understood and quickly nodded in agreement.
"Yes, this is the only way to show respect for Chinese chess."
Liu Cheng almost burst out laughing.
You clearly want to trick me, and you're talking about respecting Chinese chess?
You really know how to flatter yourselves.
"That's fine. I've heard endgames are very enjoyable. Every time I see someone setting up a game on the street, I can't squeeze in. It's a good chance to see for myself."
Upon hearing that Liu Cheng had never experienced an endgame, Yan Bugui became even more excited.
"Okay, how about 40 per game?"
Old Jia was very shrewd. One game to break even, and then win two more games from Liu Cheng. This way, he and Old Jia could each get 40 yuan.
Of course, if Liu Cheng was willing to play a few more games and let them win more, it didn't matter.
He considered it poverty relief.
Yes, he received a thousand yuan in compensation.
His parents still didn't know how much savings they had left, making Liu Cheng a proper rich man in the Siheyuan Courtyard.
He should help them out.
The people around gasped when they heard this.
10 yuan a game was already too much.
After all, in this era, many people's monthly salaries were only around 10 yuan.
40 yuan for one game was clearly a scam.
And to scam a child, it was simply shameless.
However, they all knew Old Jia's character, especially his wife, who was famously fierce in Naluo Drum Lane. Therefore, even if the people around felt it was unfair, they couldn't directly call him out.
Liu Cheng immediately understood their calculations.
Want to trick me?
Heh.
I'm just afraid you don't have enough capital.
Speaking of capital, Liu Cheng looked at the money in front of them.
He had already won 40 from them earlier, and what was left were some loose change. It was questionable if it was even enough for one game.
Want to get something for nothing?
Don't even think about it.
"Oh, I have a question. We agreed on immediate payment. I don't think you have enough money. If we can't do immediate payment, what's the point? Forget it, I'm not playing, I'm not playing. I ate too much just now, I'd better go for a walk."
Saying this, Liu Cheng made to stand up.
Old Jia and Yan Bugui became anxious.
If they didn't play now, the 40 yuan they had already lost would not be recovered.
Yan Bugui quickly said, "Don't rush, don't rush, of course there are stakes."
The two exchanged glances, then awkwardly started fumbling around.
Yan Bugui pulled a rope from his waistband, and at the other end of the rope was a pocket sewn from floral fabric.
He opened the cloth bag and took out several 10 yuan bills.
Old Jia also pulled out a stack of bills from his inner clothing; this was his secretly saved private money.
"Is that enough now?"
Yan Bugui took a deep breath and then set up an endgame.
This endgame was called "Ten Memorials to Qin."
It originated from the historical allusion of the Lao Ai Rebellion in the Qin Dynasty.
When Qin Shi Huang was young, his mother had an affair with Lao Ai, leading to the Lao Ai Rebellion.
Later, when the First Emperor gained power, he executed Lao Ai.
He wanted to kill his birth mother, Hime, but ministers wrote memorials advising Qin Shi Huang not to execute his birth mother.
Qin Shi Huang did not listen and killed the advising ministers.
However, ministers continued to advise him.
Qin Shi Huang continued to kill.
Finally, Qin Shi Huang was moved and exiled Hime.
This metaphorically explained the gameplay of this endgame.
At first glance, in this game, the Red side, representing the ministers, seemed to have no solution, while the Black side, representing Qin Shi Huang, had a complete advantage.
But the Red side had one more piece, and two Red pawns were about to cross the river, facing a Black knight and an elephant respectively.
The way to break the game was to constantly sacrifice Red pieces, exchanging pieces. Eventually, the Black side would gradually fall into a disadvantage, leading to a comeback.
After setting up the board, Third Uncle carefully recalled it several times, making sure it was correct, and then he relaxed.
"Liu Cheng, do you choose Red or Black?"
"Whatever."
Third Uncle smiled, "Since the Black pieces are in front of you, I'll choose Red."
Liu Cheng, possessing master-level chess skills, instantly saw the hidden mystery in the endgame.
On the surface, the Black side seemed to have the advantage in this game, but the Red side actually had more potential.
However, the Red side had an advantage in the number of pieces, and of the four pawns, two had already crossed the river, and two were about to cross.
They could completely resolve and weaken Black's attack through fighting and exchanging pieces.
Until Black had no pieces left to use, and eventually Red would win.
Liu Cheng secretly smiled.
In fact, it was very simple to deal with it: just pause the attack on the Red general.
Focus on dealing with the four pawns.
The two pawns that had already crossed the river were being constrained by the rook and cannon, so they could be ignored for now.
The two pawns that were about to cross the river had to be eliminated as soon as possible.
Once too many pawns crossed the river and formed an offensive, the trouble would be endless.
After solving these two pawns, he would then maneuver with the Red side, not giving them a chance if they wanted to exchange pieces.
In this way, Black's advantage could be maintained.
The game began.
Third Uncle unhesitatingly moved one of the Red pawns across the river, capturing Liu Cheng's Black knight.
Some losses were inevitable.
Liu Cheng moved his rook, capturing the other pawn that was about to cross the river.
Seeing this, Third Uncle was stunned.
He hadn't expected Liu Cheng to target his pawn. Normally, his rook should have moved to check his general, which would have been beneficial for his next plan.
Liu Cheng's move directly disrupted Yan Bugui's rhythm.
Yan Bugui was only momentarily stunned before continuing with his pawn-pushing plan.
Three pawns that had crossed the river, plus the rook and cannon, could still easily take down Black.
Yan Bugui continued to advance the Red pawn.
Liu Cheng's rook pursued relentlessly.
Although the pawns that had crossed the river were powerful, they were no match for the speed of a rook. Before he knew it, that Red pawn was quickly captured.
Now Third Uncle was a bit bewildered.
Exchanging two pawns for one knight seemed like a good deal on the surface, but in reality, he had lost out.
Because the key to winning was the pawns that had crossed the river.
Left with no choice, Third Uncle had to move his rook and cannon, attempting to continue capturing pieces, or even exchanging pieces.
However, Liu Cheng seemed to have seen through his moves, constantly avoiding his strong points and maneuvering with him.
Seizing opportunities, he instead continuously captured his pieces.
After several rounds, Third Uncle not only failed to weaken Black but was instead routed and was checkmated in just two moves.
Now Third Uncle was completely dumbfounded.
He had actually lost.
This was an endgame that was completely in his favor, wasn't it?
Liu Cheng could actually win?
Liu Cheng didn't care if he was bewildered or not, and directly reached out his hand.
"Third Uncle, 40, give me the money."
Third Uncle felt his heart bleeding.
He looked again and again, confirming without a doubt that he had indeed been checkmated.
Losing 40 in the previous four games had already made him feel a lot of pain.
Now, losing 40 in one game was no longer just a matter of pain; he was furious.
He wanted to flip the table.
Old Jia, beside him, also had a face like a pig's liver.
"Yan Bugui, what happened? Didn't you say you could win this endgame with your eyes closed? How did you play?"