I have no intention of buying wine to pay homage to my youth. I look into the empty mirror and sigh with gray hair.
The young man under the flowers should laugh at me, and the poor horse will visit the master.
——"Crossing Zhangxi and Presenting a Gift to Zhang Wan" by Yue Fei
…
The decisive battle on the Lantern Festival finally arrived. One hour before the battle started, the people of Chang'an had already arrived at the Liyuan Stadium of Daming Palace one after another.
On both sides of the goal, a golden dragon is engraved on the head of the goal, and a stone lotus flower is placed under it to collect achievements. Two guards holding small red flags hold small red flags and sing.
There are five Jie drums. The Jiaofang also has five drums under the east and west goals. Two officials and clan members wear different-colored embroidered clothes under Jiedu. The one on the left is yellow and the one on the right is purple...
Xuanzong wore a black gauze bun with his hair tied up, wild goose feathers and arrow sleeves, and a gold belt around his waist. He rode out on a white horse and performed the "Liangzhou Song" in the Liyuan Jiaofang, which made him powerful.
The prince passed the ball to Xuanzong, and the Liyuan Jiaofang made music and played drums. Xuanzong galloped his horse and came to the door. With a wave of his stick, the ball drew a red light and flew into the net. The drum music stopped and the stage was on stage.
Down below, all officials and ministers, long live the mountain!
After finishing the three preparations, Xuanzong dismounted from his horse and, surrounded by the royal princes, returned to the high platform of the pavilion.
After Xuanzong counted the chips, the final ceremony ended.
…
As soon as the drums were played, all the riders lined up in the field, raised their bow sticks, and saluted the royal family members, civil and military officials in the pavilion.
Prince Li Heng walked to the stage and said loudly: "The stadium is like a battlefield, not as important as life and death, but higher than life and death! All generals should fight with all their strength to promote the prestige of the Tang Dynasty!"
All the riders lined up in a row, galloped their horses, circled the field, waved their sticks to signal to the people of Chang'an, their horses held their heads high and neighed with high morale. The polo ground was suddenly filled with gongs and drums, and thunderous applause.
There are poems from later generations as evidence:
The horses are soaring like the wind and whipping out of the Wei Bridge.
Bent the bow to bid farewell to the moon of Han Dynasty, insert feathers to defeat the arrogant ones.
When the formation is resolved, the stars are gone, and the fog in the air and sea in the camp disappears.
Successfully painted Lin Pavilion, unique to Huo whoring and Yao.
…
In order to make the final more entertaining, three foreign players were allowed on the field at the same time. Guangping Wang Li Chu followed the formation that defeated Jianning County Wang Li Tan: Li Siye and Li Fei Yuanli flew on both wings, Guangping Wang Li Chu served as midfielder, and Yong Wang Li Lin
Partnering up front with Yang Yichan.
Li Qiu's formation was Li Yan, Li Qiu and Li Bei stabilized the defense, the "eight-armed ape" Yuan Tike and Alberts organized the midfield, and the Persian princess Boniadi advanced forward alone.
From this lineup, we can clearly see Qing Wang Li Cong's tactical thinking: stabilize the backcourt and wait for opportunities to defend and counterattack.
The Guangping Wang Lichu team's formation is too luxurious, so it is a wiser tactical choice to use defense instead of offense.
…
Alberts is domineering. As the left auxiliary wing of the Persian Princess Boniadi, he is as unruly as Li Siye of the Anxi Tower. The two attack and defend on one side, and a direct exchange of fire between them will surely spark sparks.
Li Fei Yuanli's assists are sharp, and Yuan Tioke's dribbling and ball control are superb. Whoever performs better between the two will give his side more offensive opportunities.
Yang Yichan's unpredictable horse speed versus the erratic movement of Persian princess Boniadi. The two female generals' dashing and heroic looks are a wonderful sight.
There is also Gao Xianzhi, who is like a god of war, looking down on the heroes.
However, for the royal family, the fact that the son of the deposed Prince Ying challenges the eldest son of the Crown Prince Li Heng is probably the real highlight of this game - the drunkard's intention is not to drink.
Even so, the Li Chu team, which has three tiger generals from the Anxi Army, still makes people full of confidence. In particular, General Gao Xianzhi has already let out the news that he will definitely go into battle in person in this game. This news has convinced the fans even more
A reassuring pill.
The major casinos in Chang'an were even more optimistic about Guangping King Li Chu's team and offered odds of three to one. Many gamblers also bet on Li Chu's team. Even Gao Lishi, Mrs. Guo Guo and other dignitaries also
Bet heavily on Li Chu's side.
Qing Wang Li Cong remained unmoved and did not change his original intention. Regardless of the odds, he continued to invest heavily in his son's team.
After the royal prince sat down in the curtain, Gao Lishi smiled and said to Qing Wang Li Cong: "Your Highness Qing Wang, if you win this round, you will be the richest man in Chang'an!"
Qing Wang Li Cong laughed and said: "We don't have a rich family, so we can't afford to lose. However, for the sake of the children, I admit it!"
…
As soon as the drum sounds, the game officially begins.
As soon as the game started, Li Chu's army pressed into the opponent's half, controlled the ball, and attacked very relaxedly and patiently.
Li Feiyuanli also ran to the frontcourt with the formation, inserting himself into the opponent's hinterland from time to time to provide support. No matter whether he was on the wing or in the middle, whether he was holding a stick in his left hand or his right hand, whether he was making personal breakthroughs or passing passes, this Anxi Army attacker could always continue
Create opportunities.
When the first drum sounded, Li Feiyuanli, who was very competitive, took the lead in attacking. He broke through from the wing, took the ball into the center of the frontcourt, and passed the ball to Yongwang Li Lin. Li Lin and Yang Yichan hit the wall and cooperated.
It passed Li Yan. Then, Yong Wang Li Lin hit the goal post with a cold shot, causing the defending Li Yan to break out in a cold sweat.
At the second drumbeat, Anxi Tower Li Siye made a long pass from his own half. The ball flew sixty steps and landed in front of Yang Yichan's horse.
Yang Yichan pinched the horse's belly, speeding like lightning, accelerating instantly! The speed was astonishing. In just two steps, she got rid of Li Qiu who was guarding her, faced the empty goal, and easily scored the ball.
Relying on horse speed to force a breakthrough is Yang Yichan's specialty. In the deep attack, Yang Yichan and Yongwang Li Lin also cooperate skillfully.
Next, the two had another pass-and-run coordination, but the "eight-armed ape" Yuan Tiaoke broke it up first. The two looked at each other and smiled, full of confidence and a sure chance of victory.
At the third drum sound, Li Fei Yuanli suddenly fired a cold arrow, and shot a diagonal shot from the side, which was blocked by the door frame. Li Chu was also famous for his fast horse. He arrived one step ahead of Li Yan, swung his bow stick, and shot
The ball hit the blind spot on the other side of the goal.
In the first few drums, Yang Yichan stole the show on the court with her superb equestrian skills in the "Dragon Control Technique". She sat down and fought with the blood jade lion on the horse's hooves. She was always one step ahead, appearing in the gap between the opponent's defense and catching him.
Fighter to shoot.
The people watching the game felt that Li Chu's team seemed to have opened the lid of the stew pot. People were fish and meat, but they were Daozu, so they could eat as much as they wanted. However, the first two goals were scored too easily, which made Li Chu's team unable to win in one go.
Contest.
After several drums sounded, the Li Chu team's offense was somewhat weak. Yang Yichan and Yongwang Li Lin both had scoring opportunities, but they missed the goal in several attacks.
The "Eight-Armed Monkey" Yuan Tiike blocks from left to right, like an iron chain crossing the river; the Alberz troops are strong and powerful, and they collide fiercely; coupled with the chain defense of Li Qiu's team, the "Iron Bucket Formation" is impregnable and lacks the means to attack.
Team Li Chu couldn't chew it for a while.
The Li Chu team defended and counterattacked, and each counterattack was organized in an orderly manner, which slowly consumed the Li Chu team's physical fitness. Even though the Li Chu team had twice as many attacks and shots on goal as their opponents, the two sides created an equal match.
Scoring opportunities.
After being unable to attack for a long time, there are always people who are in a trance and are anxious and out of control. When Li Fei Yuanli saw the opponent cowering in half of the court, he was too confident. Regardless of his own defensive tasks, he frequently attacked the opponent's hinterland, leaving a large open space behind him.
Gao Xianzhi saw clearly from the outside and was about to remind Li Fei Yuan Li to retreat when the opponent had already seized the opportunity:
Li Fei Yuanli broke into the frontcourt, dribbling too much, hoping to perform tricks and win a lot of applause in front of the emperor. Unexpectedly, Yuan Tiake reacted very quickly, "picking" the ball from behind him, and then passed it to the back.
The Persian princess Boniadi. The Persian princess Boniadi, with the ball in her hand, galloping on her horse, riding alone for thousands of miles, shot an angry shot, and the ball went into the net.
Li Fei Yuanli's horses had no time to turn around, so they were helpless against this sudden blow.
After Li Chu's team lost points, Li Fei Yuanli continued to play hard. When he intercepted a pass from Li Chu that seemed to be a shot, he almost scored an own goal and blocked the ball into his own goal.
When the last drum sounded in the first half, Persian princess Boniadi even had a chance to win. As soon as Alberts got the ball, before Yang Yichan had time to react, she controlled her horse and advanced.
Alberts understood the idea, swung a long pass, and sent the ball in front of Boniatima. Boniadi used a stick to lift the ball, and then shot a lob towards the back corner of the goal.
Li Siye, who performed steadily throughout the game, was on a galloping horse, left his left foot off the stirrup, lay down on his side, and used a "rhinoceros looking at the moon" move to barely block the ball. The ball hit the goal beam and bounced out of bounds.
If Li Siye, who performed steadily throughout the game, hadn't caught up in time, this lob shot would have almost ruined the Li Chu team's previous efforts, and the victory in the first half was in doubt.