Chapter 191: Polo Match
In Chengde Garden, there is a peaceful image.
According to the rules, the princess got married, in addition to the banquet of the ministers and nobles, the princess and the concubine also sent Yao flowers to each other, Yao Hua represents a peaceful and long-term meaning in the hearts of the people of Oak, many young people will send women Yao Hua when they show their love for their beloved women.
On the high platform, Princess Ling Yao and Zhou Feng stood opposite each other, both holding a Yao flower in their hands. The court musicians played cheerful tunes, and the old eunuch Gonggong An stood in front of the two and shouted in a sharp voice: "The auspicious time has come, and the newcomers will send Yao flowers to each other!"
Ling Yao and Zhou Feng looked at each other and smiled, and they both handed out the Yao Hua in their hands.
After this link is completed, according to the custom, it is customary to drink a cup of tea.
The palace maids brought two cups of tea and handed them to Ling Yao and Zhou Feng, the two of them turned out to be teacups, folded their arms, drank the tea, and the ceremony was completed!
At this time, it means that the marriage contract between the two parties has been completed, and the princess and the concubine are truly married. At this moment, there is only one last program left, and it is also the most interesting one, the polo game!
Emperor Zhuge Fei's gaze swept over the ministers below, and said loudly: "Polo performance, according to the rules of my empire, needs to be led by a horse, but this other team, I don't know who will lead the suitable?
The ministers were silent, these ministers were all figures who had been in the officialdom for many years, and naturally knew that the holy will was unpredictable, and they couldn't understand the emperor's true intentions, so I was afraid that none of these people would dare to squeak.
The emperor's gaze was majestic, and he swept over the ministers once, and this time he obviously stopped for a moment on Dan Xuan.
These ministers also have sharp-eyed people, and they can naturally see the meaning of the emperor's actions at a glance, and Shi Wenxuan, the official department's Shangshu, is one of these smart people, he smiled in his heart, stood up slightly, bowed and saluted, and said: "Saint, the minister thinks that this is the leader of the first team, it is none other than Danxuan of the medicine clan!"
As soon as these words came out, Dan Xuan, who was sitting in the corner, was shocked in his heart, and couldn't help but glance at Shangguan Yu beside him in surprise, but he was surprised in his heart, how did this kid know that the emperor wanted me to participate in a polo match. Shangguan Yu smiled slightly, shrugged his shoulders, and the meaning in his eyes was: How about it, I'm not wrong!
"Oh, what do you say?" the emperor praised in his heart the eyesight of the scholar of the Ministry of Rites, but he had to pretend to be confused.
Shi Wenxuan knew that the reason was not important, but whether it was in line with the king's will. Shi Wenxuan bowed again and said: "The minister thinks that the Dan Gongzi and the Horse Master of the Medicine Clan are both famous young talents in the Imperial City, one represents the Instrument Clan, and the other represents the Medicine Clan, the two families are the pillars of my empire, and they can be worthy of being the opponent of the Horse Lord, naturally it is none other than the Dan Xuan of the Medicine Clan!"
The emperor nodded slightly, looked around, and asked, "What do you think?"
Many ministers have already reacted to the emperor's true meaning, and they have pandered to it, saying that the saint is wise and should be so.
Danqing frowned, glanced at Zhuge Fei deeply, got up and bowed and said: "Saint, Xuan'er has recently recovered from a serious illness, and his body is still in the recovery stage, although this polo game is not like a battlefield, it will inevitably consume physical strength and energy, Xuan'er's body is thin and weak, and the old man is afraid that he will not be able to bear it, besides, ......"
Dan Qing's words were not finished, but he was stopped by Zhou Shixiong, the patriarch of the Qi Clan, and said: "Eh, Old Man Dan's words are bad, it's just polo, move your hands and feet, move your muscles and bones, even if you die and recover from a serious illness, you can't be so delicate, could it be that the children of your medicine clan are so pampered?"
"You!" Dan Qing glared at Zhou Shixiong angrily, snorted coldly, turned his head to Zhuge Fei and said: "Saint, Xuan'er has never learned equestrianism since he was a child, and he knows very little about the art of riding and archery, this polo is a game of equestrian practice in the army, in case of danger......"
"Eh!" This time, Emperor Zhuge Fei interrupted Danqing's words, and said nonchalantly: "Dan Patriarch is too worried, it's just a game, I believe that the master of the horse and the children of the Ganqi clan will have reservations, so I think it's arranged!"
Danqing wanted to say something more, but when he saw that the emperor had made up his mind, he also knew that Jun had no jokes, so he had to sigh slightly, and glanced at Dan Xuan helplessly, saying that he could not do anything.
Dan Xuan didn't think so, although he had never played polo in his previous life, but his equestrian skills were extremely good, I believe that even if he couldn't win, he could lose!
Shangguan Yu smiled freely, leaned into Dan Xuan's ear and said, "You have to be careful, those people in the Zhou family are all good at equestrianism, and you can't please them in their hands!"
However, as soon as Shangguan Yu's words of schadenfreude fell, Zhou Shixiong, the patriarch of the Qi clan, got up and said: "Shengshang, the minister has a proposal, it is better to let Shangguan Yu of the Ya clan, Sima Jianyang of the Hou clan, and the three of them face off against the three juniors of my Qi clan, Zhou Feng, Zhou Yi, and Zhou Rinran, I believe it will be wonderful!"
As soon as Zhou Shixiong's words came out, he was immediately strongly supported by the ministers. Emperor Zhuge Fei also nodded with a laugh and said, "Zhou Aiqing's good idea, it is very agreeable, it must be a wonderful polo game!"
When Shangguan Yu heard this, he immediately wilted, he thought that he had escaped this catastrophe, but he never thought that it would be such an arrangement, and he couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Dan Xuan glanced at Shangguan's bitter gourd-like face, laughed twice, and said, "I think I'm not the only one who needs to be careful!"
Shangguan Yu laughed dryly, but he complained bitterly in his heart, cannon fodder is cannon fodder, he knows very well that the riding skills of the three Zhou brothers are famous in the entire imperial city, who dares to play polo against them, isn't it like looking for death?
"Shengshang, the minister thinks that since it is a game, it is natural to have some lottery heads to be interesting, otherwise if both sides are passive to fight, wouldn't they lose the interest in the game?"
As soon as this remark came out, the ministers agreed.
The Emperor nodded slightly, feeling that it made a lot of sense, and said, "Okay! You guys listen to me, if any side wins the game, I will reward him with a thousand taels of gold, and a fourth-order Xuanjian for each person!
Not long after, three Xuanjian appeared in the square, the swords were long and short, light and heavy, but they were undoubtedly rare fourth-order Xuanjian. These swords are actually military equipment for generals, but they never thought that the emperor would take out three generals' swords as the color of this horse race!
Dan Xuan looked at it fixedly, and at a glance he took a fancy to one of the heavy swords with a black body, he likes to use heavy swords, and he is also good at using heavy swords, now for him who is a one-star spiritual guard, the second-order Xuanjian in his hand is a little insufficient, he originally planned to beg Lin Qing to help him build an ordinary high-level Xuanjian, but he never had this opportunity!
"It seems that we have to try to win the game today, such a valuable lottery head can't be encountered at any time!" Dan Xuan glanced at Shangguan Yu and said jokingly.
Shangguan Yu shrugged his shoulders and said helplessly: "Then you have to have that ability, the Zhou brothers' polo riding skills are not blown out, you will know when you get to the field, when the time comes, we just need to ensure that we don't hang zero, and we won't lose badly!"
Dan Xuan snorted, and said nonchalantly: "Isn't it just hitting the ball with a stick, is it so difficult?"
Shangguan Yu glanced at Dan Xuan with disdain, thinking in his heart, it's really a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers, you really haven't seen a dead person on the polo field, do you really think this is a simple game?
Of course, Shangguan Yu didn't say this, but he just thought about it in his heart, in fact, although he heard that some soldiers in the army who trained polo were trampled to death by horses, he also felt that it was probably just an accident, and it wouldn't be such a coincidence that it would happen today!
On the lawn not far away, the two sides of the polo match have changed their equipment and are ready. The military polo referee announces the rules outside the court.
The rules of the polo competition are 10 against 10 people, with one person in goal, nine people defending or attacking, all team members are riding horses, holding a nearly two-meter-long cue, all of which are made of sandalwood on the best cues, and the bottom of the cue is a small rectangular wooden block used to hit the wooden ball.
The object of contention between the two sides is a wooden red ball, made of hard oak wood, painted red throughout.
Dan Xuan, Shangguan Yu, Sima Jianyang and the Zhou brothers were on both sides of the court, and both sides lacked seven people, which were filled by fourteen generals in the army, who often used polo to train riding in the army, and were naturally very familiar with the game of polo.
Both sides wore leather soft armor to protect the chest, shoulders, elbows, knees, head and other vulnerable parts, and stood on the horse's back with a horse pole in hand, looking heroic and vigorous, like a battlefield.
The sun in the sky is gradually blazing, the grassland is filled with heat, and the rising heat makes people and horses a little irritable, and the war horses under them are the best war horses equipped in the army!
The three Zhou brothers were arranged at one end of the field, arranged in the shape of "Pin"! Zhou Rinran rode his horse to stand at the forefront, taking the lead, and the club was stretched out high into the air by him, like a god announcing his fate, looking heroic and extraordinary.
Zhou Rinran looked at Dan Xuan, Shangguan Yu and Sima Jianyang on the other side of the court, with a playful smile in his eyes, his eyes were like a falcon looking at his prey, with a hint of danger.