Though the art of battle formations shared certain common ground with the Chess Dao, and some inheritances even used the Chess Dao as a substitute for deploying troops and arranging formations when proper instruction was unavailable.
Take Chinese chess, for instance: it had generals, horses, soldiers, chariots—an embodiment of ancient battle formations. The thought behind its moves often connected with battlefield tactics as well.
Yet Li Ao and Fang Gongming truly knew nothing about any of this, nor could they make sense of it.
Why did Meng Zhao seek He Wuji out for a game of chess, and specifically require the two of them to watch?
"Could it be that the Lord of the Northern Meng Dragon King loves chess and intends to win us over while playing?"
Li Ao guessed. It was indeed entirely possible. He did not believe Meng Zhao would look down on them. After all, Xu Fei, Shen Zhihang, Mo Li, and the others had all been accepted by him. What were the two of them lacking? Why would Meng Zhao reject them?
Moreover, aside from their own martial and military talents, the elite soldiers under their command were also a major bargaining chip. Together, they commanded a full ten thousand elite troops. Wherever they went, that was no small force and could not possibly be ignored.
Thus, bringing up the matter over a game of chess would be both elegant and effective. Was that not wonderfully clever?
Perhaps that was also the common failing of those aristocratic clans and noble families: they were too roundabout in their dealings, hiding things behind Cloud Concealment Mist, enough to make one anxious.
Perhaps this was the only area in which Commander Bai could surpass Meng Zhao.
"I do not know. Still, there is no need for us to