ination

After the fifth day of the first lunar month, Chang'an City began to become lively. On the fifth day of the first lunar month, the seventh year of Tianbao Polo Competition officially kicked off. At the same time, the annual martial arts competition was also held. Two major events made the slightly quiet capital lively. The polo competition was undertaken by the Ministry of Rites and Taipu Temple. The Ministry of Rites is only responsible for formulating rules, and the specific preparation and organization is handled by Taipu Temple.

The polo competition is once every three years. It is the national football of the Tang Dynasty. The scholars and the common people have been looking forward to it for a long time. When the first game started, the match between the Yizhou team and the Songzhou team held in Wubenfang attracted a large number of people. The polo stadium can only accommodate up to 5,000 people. Despite this, nearly 10,000 people gathered in Wubenfang and anxiously waited for the results of the game.

However, soon, the other ten polo courts started one after another. In Chang'an City, whether it is a restaurant, inn, or brothel, the gambling halls began to become popular. Many senior fans knew the situation of each strong team. Under their eloquence, the polo competition was talked about everywhere in Chang'an City, supporting different teams to fight in the restaurants, and the bets lined up in the casino. The atmosphere in Chang'an became popular, and the people of Chang'an began to indulge in it and enjoy the three-year polo feast.

Anxi team took the bye today. His first game was tomorrow, against the weak Jiannan Polo team, but Li Qingan had a game for Gao Lishi this afternoon. The opponent was the strong Jinwu Guard. This was a key game. If you win it, the next few polo teams are all Zhongzhou weak teams. At least the top fifteen of Gao Lishi's polo teams can be saved. This is also a private arrangement by officials of Taipu Temple. It not only makes Gao Lishi's polo team popular, but also secretly spreads to Chen Cang, making people have nothing to say.

Li Qing'an's game was held at Chongrenfang Polo Stadium. Since Chongrenfang Polo Stadium is an open stadium and there are no walls around, there are many people coming to Chongrenfang to watch the ball. In addition, Li Qing'an appeared, which attracted a large number of young boys and girls.

In the early morning, before dawn, Gao Lisz held a mobilization meeting and made a big move. As long as he wins the first game, each person will receive 1,000 guan. Those who hit the hole will receive 300 guan per ball. The players were very excited and were ready to go.

"Qiro, come here."

Gao Lishi waved to Li Qing'an, and Li Qing'an walked forward quickly, "Please give me instructions!"

"Qilang, I may not be present in the first game today, everything is up to you. I have given them a word first. Whoever dares not obey your command, can be eliminated on the spot, and I will never use it again."

"Xie Gaoweng trusts him, but why didn't Gaoweng participate in the first game today?"

Gao Lishi smiled helplessly, "Of course I want to participate, but today is the first day of the martial arts qualifiers. The emperor wants to inspect, so I have to follow him, there is nothing I can do!"

Li Qing'an nodded, "Don't worry, Mr. Gao! I won't let you down."

Today, the polo competition may be the first important for the people of Chang'an, but for the Emperor Li Longji of the Tang Dynasty, the opening of the Wuju exam was his first priority. In recent years, the Tang Dynasty was strong and he wanted to reverse the unfavorable situation of the Tang Dynasty in the stalemate with Tubo as soon as possible. Xiao Bolu's victory on the Western Front gave the Tang Dynasty a strategic advantage in Anxi. The current strategic focus is the Helong area on the Eastern Front. He must make a breakthrough in the past two years. Therefore, this year he attached great importance to the Wuju exam, and selecting a large number of military generals with outstanding cavalry and shooting skills was the top priority of this martial arts exam.

When Li Longji got up early in the morning, his beloved concubine Yang Yuhuan was still sleeping sweetly. No wonder, the night before yesterday she played with herself and actually threw a pot and made a draw with three shots from two feet away. She was very excited these two days and practiced in the palace every day. She was really exhausted. Even Li Longji had to admit that Li Qingan was a good master. She only taught for one afternoon before she got her beloved concubine.

Just as dawn, Li Longji, dressed in regular clothes, boarded the chariot. The examination location was in the Youwu Military Academy in the Imperial City. Today is the first day. It is the military examination recommended by the military administrations of Jianghuai, Henan and Lingnan provinces and military governments. The Ministry of War is responsible. Not only Emperor Li Longji, but also all prime ministers must attend at the same time.

As soon as Li Longji arrived near the Right Wu Guard, he heard the sound of archery and horse riding in the walls, and the exam had already begun.

Chongrenfang was already crowded with crowds, and the polo court was crowded with enthusiastic spectators. Two officials from Taipu Temple presided over here, one scored and one recorded the time. More than a dozen patrol cavalry patrolled back and forth on the edge of the field to maintain order. On the court, Gao Lishi's Flying Leopard Team and Jinwu Guard Polo Team were already in place, with ten players on both sides. The players were checking the harnesses and rods. The players were dressed in short clothes and looked very energetic. Among them, the Jinwu Guard was red and Gao Lishi's Flying Leopard Team was white. The contrast was clear, and more than 200 little girls were crowded in the southwest corner, with a spectacular momentum. They screamed and shouted together, "Qilang - scored!"

A dozen other members of the Anxi Army, including Li Siye, Duan Xiushi, Bai Yuanguang, Li Fei Yuanli, etc., were all present, all of whom were watching Li Qingan play. Rushi Ruhua and Xiaolian were also in the Anxi Army's team, and they tried their best to cheer for Li Qingan.

At this time, the game was already lit, and a cavalryman stepped forward and raised his flag and yelled, "Prepare to kick off!"

Twenty players jumped onto the horse and lined up in line. Suddenly, a Ju ball was thrown into the field, and the red flag was waved, and a dragon and tiger battle began. The horses intertwined, as fast as lightning. Ju balls flew in the air, covering, cutting off, fake balls, assaults, sneak attacks, and various strategies came out one after another. The audience on both sides were neighing and shouting, and hundreds of Jinwu Guard officers and soldiers on vacation even beat the drums to make the Jinwu Guard powerful.

At this time, Li Qing'an suddenly reached sixty steps away. Two opponents who were specifically defending him blocked his way forward at twenty steps. He seemed to think that Li Qing'an could not shoot the ball sixty steps away. A gap appeared in front of Li Qing'an. Ju ball roared. He narrowed his eyes slightly, rode his horse and hit the ball sideways. With a crisp sound of "bang!", Ju ball shot like a lightning bolt, and shot strongly at the hole. When the two opponents who were defending him reacted, it was too late. The ball entered the hole. The Flying Leopards took the lead and won the first point in just one cup of tea.

The wonderful shots from sixty steps away aroused cheers all over the field, and climaxes were repeated. The Jinwu Guard also fought back hard, and the game became fierce.

There were more than a dozen high-ranking officials sitting in the stands at the Right Wushu School Field, with the Tang Dynasty Emperor Li Longji on the middle. On both sides were several prime ministers and seven or eight generals of each guard. Countless guards were guarding each other. At this time, Li Longji's face was as deep as water. Perhaps because he had more contact with border troops this year, he had invisibly high requirements for warriors. The warriors who came to take the martial arts examination this year really disappointed him. In fact, the requirements for martial arts examinations are not high. Those who shoot three stone bows flat, two stone bows riding, and those who hit ten arrows outside fifty steps can pass the bow test, and then riding and horse marksmanship. As long as three items are completed, they can pass the martial arts examination. As for the height of seven feet and whether the eyes are divine, these are secondary.

But even with such low requirements, more than half of the reference users failed today, especially the martial artists recommended in the Jianghuai area, who only passed 10 or 10. Of course, this was related to the pressure that the emperor had put on the candidates in person when he visited the examination room. Li Longji knew in his heart, but he couldn't even bear this pressure, so how could he go to war in the future? Li Longji became even more angry. He snorted heavily and turned around to ask the new Minister of Rites Pei Kuan and said: "Pei Aiqing, what do you think of martial arts today?"

Pei Kuan was tall and full of silver hair. He was once the governor of Fan Yang and was very skilled in riding and shooting. When he saw the emperor asking him, he hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I feel very disappointed."

"I feel the same way!" Li Longji sighed softly and said, "It's also the Jianghuai region. I still remember that someone could drive a seven-stone bow the previous year. Last year, someone could drive a six-stone bow, but this year, none of them could pull a five-stone bow. Besides, there were some people who shot ten times the previous year. I was very impressed by it, but this year there were very few ten times the seventh the time. Alas! Every year was worse than one year. One leaf Zhiqiu, the soldiers of the Jianghuai Palace were worried!"

"Your Majesty, I think this is a sign of the decline of the troops in the palace. The land annexation in various places is too serious, resulting in insufficient troops."

Pei Kuan took the opportunity to express his concerns, and Li Longji was silent.

At this time, the left prime minister and Minister of War Chen Xilie came out and said, "Your Majesty, I think this has nothing to do with the decline of the army in the palace. Shangshu Pei is a little bit of a soldier."

"Oh? Let's talk about it!" Li Longji asked with great interest.

"Your Majesty, my reason is very simple. If the military soldiers in the government are declining, it should be that there are problems in all regions. However, the results of the martial artists in Henan Road have not declined, and the same is true for Lingnan Road. The results are the same as last year. The results are the same as those in the previous year. Only Jiangnan Road and Huainan Road have declined. I think that the military preparations in the Jianghuai region have their own reasons for their slack in the past two years. First, the resources in the Jianghuai region are rich in resources, and the people are generally well-off, and the trend of enjoyment is prevalent. The literary and military decline has also affected the military soldiers, resulting in insufficient training. Secondly, most of the generals and officials have aging. I have statistics in my hands. Most of the commanders of the Jianghuai military governments are over 45 years old. The same is true for Guoyi. The generals and officials themselves are not capable of sufficient abilities. How can the soldiers below improve? Therefore, I believe that in the final analysis, the martial artists recommended in the Jianghuai region are not high, which is still a training problem."

"Captain Chen, even His Majesty thinks that this is the inevitable result of the decline of the military soldiers in the palace. You are the Minister of War. Are you still not sure about the problem? But you avoid the truth and say that you are not trained enough. Chen, you are a misleading country!"

Pei Kuan was very angry. As a prime minister, he did not want to solve the problem fundamentally, but he took the light and avoided the important things and misled the emperor.

Chen Xilie smiled coldly and retorted: "Shangshu Pei, I am the Minister of War. Everything I say is well-founded. I can give the documents from the various military offices of the Jianghuai River to the emperor. You have only been in office for two days. What basis do you have?"

"Okay, please stop arguing, my dear friends."

Li Longji smiled and smoothed out the situation, then asked Li Linfu, who had not spoken, and said, "Li Xiangguo, you are also the governor of Yangzhou, what do you think?"

Li Linfu smiled slightly and bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I think both are possible, so the best way is to experiment on the spot to see if it is Chen Xiangguo right or Shangshu Pei right."

"Then the prime minister tells me, what method can I use to test it?"

"This minister hasn't thought about it yet."

"Your Majesty, I have a way." Chen Xilie smiled.

"Please say, I'll listen."

Chen Xilie gently stroked his goatee and said with a smile: "Now there are many powerful border generals in Chang'an. I suggest that they be appointed as regiment training envoys and be transferred to the Jianghuai area to command troops for half a year, and use the border army to train the government soldiers in the Jianghuai area. After half a year, it is a land issue or a training issue, which can be seen at a glance."

Li Linfu also smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I think the method of Prime Minister Chen is good, you can give it a try."

Li Longji looked at Zhang Yun, the Minister of Revenue, and Zhang Yun also smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you can give it a try. If not, let's consider Shangshu Pei's opinion."

"Okay! I'm sure this matter is correct, and the matter will be fully coordinated by the Prime Minister Chen. After half a year, I'll see the result."

"I obey the order!"

The game on Chongrenfang Polo Field is about to end, and the third team is still a small piece left. The score on the field is 6-4. Gao Lishi's Flying Leopard Polo team led by two goals. Among these six goals, Li Qing'an scored four goals. There is almost no suspense about the outcome of the game. Eight players of the Flying Leopard team retreated to their own holes and replaced the offense with defense. They wanted to save the final score. Each person got one thousand knives. Only Li Qing'an and another player were cruising throughout the game, waiting for an opportunity to find the opponent's loopholes. It was because Li Qing'an was wandering near the midfield that the Jinwu Guards did not dare to gamble. This was the siege in the war. A cavalry was cruising outside, making the siege fearful for fear of the camp being attacked.

However, the shouts in the audience were shocking, and the drums were beating desperately. The voices of sisters like poetry and painting were hoarse. Xiaolian accidentally discovered that Dugu Mingzhu, who was wearing new makeup, was also present. She saw a large piece of paper in her hand, with red words on it: 'Li Qilang will win!'

Time is getting closer to the end of the game. Although the Jinwu Guards counterattacked wildly, the Flying Leopards defended like an iron barrel, leaving the opponent with no chance. At this time, a player seized the opportunity and sent the ball out with a stick for seventy steps, landing beside Li Qing'an. Li Qing'an picked out a high ball, ran away from the horse, and broke into the oblique corner of the opponent's hole. There was no one in front of this position, and the ball fell from the air.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the four defensive players of Jinwu Guard rushed towards Li Qing'an together, but they were still one step late. Li Qing'an made a spinning ball like flowing water. The ball drew an arc in the air and adjusted to the gap on the other side. There was a teammate there to support him. At this time, no one was defending him. He easily slashed and the ball entered the hole, seven to four.
Chapter completed!