After the fifth day of the first month, Chang'an City began to be lively, on the fifth day of the first month, the polo tournament of Tianbao seven years officially opened, at the same time, the annual martial arts also opened the department, two major events made the slightly silent capital become lively, the polo tournament is responsible for the Ministry of Rites and the Taifu Temple, the Ministry of Rites is only responsible for formulating the rules, and the specific organization is organized by the Taifu Temple.

The polo tournament is once every three years, this is the national sport of the Tang Dynasty, the people of Shishu have been looking forward to it for a long time, when the first gong match, the game between the Yizhou team and the Songzhou team held in Wubenfang, attracted a large number of people, the polo field can only accommodate 5,000 people at most, despite this, there are still nearly 10,000 people gathered in Wubenfang, anxiously waiting for the results of the game.

But soon, the other ten polo fields have also started one after another, in Chang'an City, whether it is a wine shop, an inn, or a green building, a gambling hall has begun to become a hot business, many senior fans are well aware of the situation of each strong team, under the rendering of their mouths, Chang'an City is talking about polo games everywhere, supporting different teams to fight in the restaurant, the gambling hall bettors lined up in a long line, the atmosphere of Chang'an is hot, and the people of Chang'an began to indulge in it wholeheartedly, enjoying the polo feast once every three years.

Anxi team has a bye today, his first game is tomorrow, against the weak team Jiannan Polo Team, but Li Qingan has a game for Gaolishi this afternoon, the opponent is the strong Jinwu Guards, this is a key game, take it, the next few polo teams are weak teams in Zhongzhou, at least the top fifteen of Gaolis's polo team can be kept, this is also the private arrangement of the officials of Taifu Temple, which not only makes Gaolis's polo team strong, but also secretly Chencang, so that people have nothing to say.

Li Qing'an's game was held at the Chongrenfang Polo Field, because the Chongrenfang Polo Stadium is an open court and there is no wall around it, so there are many people who pour into Chongrenfang to watch the game, and Li Qing'an has appeared, which has attracted a large number of boys and girls.

In the early hours of the morning, before dawn, Colliers held a mobilization meeting, sprinkled a big deal, as long as the first game wins, each person will be rewarded with 1,000 yuan, and those who hit the hole will be rewarded with 300 yuan per ball.

"Shichiro, come over here."

Gao Lishi beckoned to Li Qing'an, and Li Qing'an stepped forward quickly, "Please give Gao Weng orders!" ”

"Shichiro, I may not be present in the first game today, everything is up to you, I have already given them a word first, who dares not to listen to your command, you can be dismissed on the spot, I will never use it again."

"Xie Gaoweng trusts, but why didn't Gao Weng participate in today's first game?"

Gao Lishi smiled helplessly, "Of course I want to participate, but today is also the first day of the martial arts, and the saint is going to inspect, so I have to go with him, no way!" ”

Li Qingan nodded, "Don't worry, Gao Weng!" I won't let you down. ”

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Today for the people of Chang'an may be the first polo game is the most important, but for the Tang Dynasty son Li Longji, the opening of the martial arts examination is his first priority, these years the Tang Dynasty is strong, he wants to reverse the unfavorable situation of the Tang Dynasty in the stalemate with Tubo as soon as possible, the small Bolu victory on the western front, so that the Tang Dynasty has achieved a strategic advantage in Anxi, and now the strategic focus is the Helong region of the eastern front, he must make a breakthrough in these two years, so this year he attaches great importance to the examination of the martial arts, The selection of a large number of generals with outstanding riding and archery ability is one of the priorities of this martial arts.

When Li Longji got up early in the morning, his concubine Yang Yuhuan was still sleeping sweetly, no wonder, the night before yesterday she and herself competed to throw a pot in two zhang away, and made a tie, she was full of interest in the past two days, practicing in the palace every day, she was really tired, even Li Longji had to admit that Li Qingan was a good master, and she only taught for one afternoon, and then made her concubine get started.

Today is the first day, and it is the martial arts examination recommended by the military governments of Jianghuai, Henan, and Lingnan prefectures, and the military department is responsible for it, not only the emperor Li Longji, but also all the prime ministers must attend at the same time.

As soon as Li Longji arrived near the Youwu Guard's office, he heard the sound of archery and horseback riding coming from within the wall, and the examination had begun.

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Chongren Fang is already crowded with people, both sides of the polo field are crowded with enthusiastic spectators, two officials of the Taifu Temple are presided over here, one scores, one keeps time, more than a dozen patrol cavalry patrol back and forth on the edge of the field, maintain order, on the court, the flying leopard team of Gaolishi and the Jinwuwei polo team are already in place, ten golfers on each side, the golfers are checking the harness and cane, the golfers are dressed in short clothes, and they look very spiritual, among which the Jinwu Guards are red, and the Flying Leopards of Gaolishi are white, the contrast is stark, In the southwest corner, more than 200 young ladies were crowded, and the momentum was very spectacular, and they screamed and shouted together, "Shichiro - goal!" ”

Standing next to Anxi Jun's colleagues, Li Siye, Duan Xiushi, Bai Yuanguang, Li Fei Yuanli and other more than 20 people were present, all to see Li Qing'an playing, Picturesque and Xiaolian The three little ladies were also in the team of the Anxi Army, and they did their best to cheer for Li Qing'an.

At this time, the incense of the game had been lit, and a cavalryman stepped forward to raise his flag and shouted, "Ready to kick off!" ”

Twenty players jumped on the horse, each lined up, suddenly, a bow ball was thrown into the field, the red flag waved, a dragon and tiger fight began, the war horses were staggered, as fast as lightning, the bow ball flew in the air, cover, cut off, match-fixing, assault, sneak attack, all kinds of strategies came out one after another, the audience on both sides screamed, hundreds of officers and soldiers on leave of the Jinwu Guard beat the big drum, for the Jinwu Guard.

At this time, Li Qing'an burst to sixty steps away, two opponents who specialized in defending him blocked his way forward at twenty steps, he seemed to think that Li Qing'an could not shoot the ball from sixty steps away, there was a gap in front of Li Qing'an, the ball whistled, his eyes narrowed slightly, he galloped on his horse, and waved his staff sideways to hit the ball, 'Bang! With a crisp sound, the ball shot like a bolt of lightning into the hole, and by the time the two opponents defending him reacted, it was too late, and the Flying Leopards took the lead and scored the first point in just one tea time at the start of the game.

The wonderful shot from 60 steps away aroused the cheers of the whole audience, and Jin Wuwei also fought back, and the game entered a white heat.

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There are more than a dozen high-ranking officials sitting in the stands of the right martial guard school, in the middle is the Tang Emperor Li Longji, on both sides are several Xiangguo and seven or eight generals of each guard, countless guards are on both sides, at this time Li Longji's face is sinking like water, perhaps this year he has more contact with the border army, virtually his requirements for the martial arts are also higher, and this year to participate in the martial arts examination of the martial arts is really disappointed to him, in fact, the requirements of the martial arts are not high, flat shooting three stone bows, riding two stone bows, fifty steps away ten arrows and seven in the middle can pass the bow test, and then riding and horse marksmanship, As long as the three are completed, it can be regarded as passing the martial arts, as for the height of seven feet, whether the eyes are divine or not, these are secondary.

But even with such a low requirement, more than half of the references still failed today, especially the martial arts students recommended by the Jianghuai region, only 12 out of 10 passed, of course, this is related to the pressure caused by the emperor's visit to the examination room, Li Longji also knew in his heart, but he couldn't even bear this pressure, how could he go into battle in the future? Li Longji was even more angry, he snorted heavily, turned around and asked Pei Kuandao, the new secretary of the Ministry of Rites: "Pei Aiqing, what do you think of today's martial arts?" ”

Pei Kuan is tall and full of silver hair, he once served as the envoy of Fan Yangjie, and he is very good at riding and shooting, seeing that the saint asked him, he hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, the minister's feeling is very disappointed. ”

"I feel the same way!" Li Longji sighed lightly and said, "It's also the Jianghuai region, I still remember that someone could open a seven-stone bow last year, and someone could open a six-stone bow last year, but this year, none of them could open a five-stone bow, and not to mention archery, the year before last, someone had ten shots and ten hits, and I was very impressed, but this year there are very few even ten shots and seven hits, hey!" A year is not as good as a year, a leaf knows autumn, and the soldiers of Jianghuai Mansion are worried! ”

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that this is a harbinger of the decline of the government army, and the land annexation in various places is too serious, resulting in a shortage of soldiers."

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

At this time, Chen Xilie, the left minister and the secretary of the military department, came out and said: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that this has nothing to do with the decline of the government soldiers. ”

"Oh? Chen Xiangguo talk about it! Li Longji asked with great interest.

"Your Majesty, the minister's reason is very simple, if it is the decline of the government soldiers, it should also be a problem in all regions, but the results of the martial arts examiners in Henan Province have not declined, and the same is true in Lingnan Province, the results are the same as last year, and the results have declined only in Jiangnan Province and Huainan Province, the minister thinks that in the past two years, the Jianghuai region has its own reasons for the relaxation of military equipment, one is that the Jianghuai region is rich in products, the people are generally well-off, and the wind of enjoyment prevails, and the decline of the military has also affected the government soldiers, resulting in insufficient training, and secondly, most of the generals are aging, There are statistics in the hands of the ministers, most of the captains of the Jianghuai military offices are over forty-five years old, and the same is true of Guoyi, the generals themselves are not capable, and how can the sergeants below be improved, so the ministers think that in the final analysis, the results of the military examiners recommended by the Jianghuai region are not high, and it is still a training problem. ”

"Chen Xiangguo, even His Majesty thinks that this is the inevitable result of the decline of the government soldiers, you are the secretary of the military department, don't you know the problem here? But he avoided the truth and took it lightly, saying that he was not well trained, Chen Xiangguo, you are misleading the country! ”

Pei Kuan was very angry in his heart, as a Xiangguo, he didn't think about solving the problem fundamentally, but he misled the saint by taking a light and avoiding the serious.

Chen Xilie smiled coldly and retorted: "Pei Shangshu, I am the secretary of the Ministry of War, what I say is well-founded, I can take the documents of the Jianghuai military government to the saint, and you have only been in office for two days, what basis do you have?" ”

"Okay, don't quarrel between the two Aiqing."

Li Longji smiled and played a round, and asked Li Linfu, who had not spoken: "Li Xiangguo, you are also the governor of Yangzhou, what do you think?" ”

Li Linfu smiled slightly, bowed down and said, "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that both are possible, so the best way is to test it on the spot to see if Chen Xiangguo is right, or Pei Shangshu is reasonable." ”

"Then Xiangguo talk about it, what method is used to test it?"

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

"Your Majesty, the minister has a way." Chen Xilie said with a smile.

"Chen Xiangguo, please speak, I listen."

Chen Xilie stroked his goatee lightly and said with a smile: "Now there are many border army generals in Chang'an, and the minister suggests that they be appointed as regimental training envoys and transferred to the Jianghuai region to command the troops for half a year, and use the border army to train the government soldiers in the Jianghuai region. ”

Li Linfu also smiled and said: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that Chen Xiangguo's method is good, you can give it a try." ”

Li Longji glanced at Zhang Yun again, and Zhang Yun also smiled and said: "Your Majesty, you can give it a try, if not, let's consider Pei Shangshu's opinion." ”

"Alright! This matter was approved, and Chen Xiangguo was solely responsible for coordinating this matter, and half a year later, I saw the results. ”

"Obey the order!"

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The game on the Chongrenfang polo field is about to end, the third incense is still a small section, the score on the field is six to four, Colliers's Flying Leopard Polo Team leads by two goals, Li Qingan shot four goals in these six goals, there is almost no suspense about the outcome of the game, the eight players of the Flying Leopard team have retreated to their own holes, replacing the offense with defense, they want to keep the final score, each person is a thousand runs, only Li Qingan and another player are cruising around the field, waiting for the opportunity to find the opponent's loopholes, It was precisely because of Li Qing'an wandering near the midfield that the Jinwu guards did not dare to go all out, this was the siege of the city in the war, and a cavalry roamed outside, so that the besiegers were afraid of being attacked.

In the audience, the shouts shook the sky, the gongs and drums were beating desperately, and the picturesque sisters' voices were hoarse, but Xiaolian inadvertently found that the fashionable Dugu Mingzhu was also present, and saw that she was holding a large piece of paper in her hand, which was written in red letters: 'Li Qilang will win!' ’

Time is getting closer and closer to the end of the game, although the Jinwu Guards are crazy to counterattack, but the Flying Leopards are defending like an iron bucket, so that the opponent has no chance, then a player seized the opportunity, a stick sent the ball out seventy steps away, is falling next to Li Qing'an, Li Qing'an picked out a high ball, galloped, and burst to the corner of the opponent's hole, the front of this position is unblocked, and the ball falls from the air.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Jin Wuwei's four defenders rushed towards Li Qing'an together, but they were still a step too late, Li Qing'an hit a spinning ball like a cloud, the ball drew an arc in the air, and moved to the gap on the other side, there was also a teammate over there, at this time there was no one in front of him to defend, he easily volleyed, the ball went into the hole, seven to four.

At this time, the bell for the end of the game rang, and suddenly the whole audience was full of joy and thunder, the players of the Flying Leopards turned over and dismounted, threw their sticks high, and hugged each other excitedly, this was the first time they defeated the strong team with real skills, everyone was so excited that they burst into tears, and hugged Li Qingan, if they had been dissatisfied and resentful of Li Qingan, but in the face of victory, all the resentment was gone.

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(To be continued)