Chapter 357 — The Public Order Problem

Heidi sat down across from Gao Yang, full of curiosity. She could sense no magical fluctuation from the pieces; their material was nothing but ordinary wood. She truly could not see what connection this had to the worsening public order she had just reported. But placing great trust in Gao Yang, she began earnestly listening to his explanation of the rules of this "game."

The rules of chess were not complicated; even an uneducated commoner could learn them with ease, let alone someone as quick-witted as Heidi. The lady soon understood what each of the simple pieces signified. Gao Yang had localized, "translated," the pieces, calling them "King," "Emperor," "Guard," "Knight," and so on, so that Heidi could grasp them more easily.

Once she understood the rules, Heidi tried a game against Gao Yang.

"This... moves forward one step?" Holding the piece labeled "Infantry," she pushed it cautiously forward one square and looked up to ask Gao Yang.

"That is right," Gao Yang said, nodding. "Then it is my turn..."

In less than ten minutes, Heidi's first chess game of her life ended in utter rout.

Yet from that stumbling, ultimately disastrous first game, she felt an incredible delight. So much variation could be contained in these pieces! Something with such simple rules... could be so fascinating?

"Can we... go again?" Heidi's face was full of excitement and anticipation as she stared straight into Gao Yang's eyes. "I think this time I will not need your hints!"

"Of course," Gao Yang said. It was rare to see Heidi so relaxed and happy, so he agreed readily. "This time you set up the pieces, and I will teach you."

A dozen or so minutes later, Heidi stared at the "King" surrounded by chariots and wizards, trapped with no way out, and clenched her fist unwillingly. "Ancestor, I think... let us go again..."

It was not until the sun gradually sank and the light grew dim, and Betty came into the parlor to light the magic crystal lamp, that this lady, hopelessly lost in chess, suddenly came to her senses. She glanced at the time, then at the board before her, and jerked upright. "Ah! I forgot the time... (crack)."

A loud crack came from Heidi's shoulder and neck. The rest of her sentence turned straight into a cry of pain: "Ow, ow, ow..."

"Sitting too long, you need to move around," Gao Yang said, lifting his eyes to look at her. "Well? Is chess fun?"

"Yes..." Heidi said reflexively. But then she finally remembered what the real topic had been. "But what does this have to do with the conflicts among the territory's residents, with the worsening public order?"

"Of course it does," Gao Yang said, crossing his arms. "Why do you think they fight and brawl and stir up trouble?"

Heidi rubbed her shoulder and neck, thinking hard. "Because... they have violent tempers?"

"There are hot-tempered people, but not that many, and it is even less likely that everyone was gentle through the past autumn and winter and only turned violent once spring came," Gao Yang said, shaking his head. "The real reason is that our people finally have energy to spare. They are fed and clothed; they no longer have to pour every ounce of their strength into scraping a living. But once fed and warmed, they have few amusements, so brawls become unavoidable. Of course, that is not the whole reason, but it is an important one."

"No means of entertainment?" Hedy seemed to be pondering the question of "commoners' entertainment" for the very first time. "But in the past... and in other territories as well, why was there never this problem of brawls and fights breaking out all in one place?"

Gao Yang glanced at Hedy. "Because they had never once eaten their fill."

Hedy was briefly startled, grasping Gao Yang's meaning only vaguely, and then she looked again at the chess set before her. "Then you believe that a game like this can solve the territory's public order problems?"

This time Gao Yang's answer was even more blunt. "No."

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