Under the guidance of a eunuch, Li Zhen walked quickly in front of Wu Zetian, knelt down on one knee and saluted, "Weichen see Your Majesty!"

"Commander Li, I watched your polo with my own eyes and played it very well, congratulations on winning this one. Wu Zetian smiled slightly.

"Thank you for your praise!"

Wu Zetian looked at Shangguan Wan'er, and said with a smile: "I and Shangguan guessed your record before, it is said that you guaranteed to enter the top sixteen, and now that you have fulfilled your promise, then I want to know, do you have any ideas to go further?"

Of course, Wechen doesn't want to stop there, and he will work hard to get into the top eight. ”

"Okay! If you can make it to the top eight, I will ask Shangguan to give you a heavy reward, and if you can make it to the top four, the bounty will be even more upgraded. ”

Shangguan Wan'er knew that this was the saint giving herself face, so she hurriedly turned to Wu Zetian and bowed, "Wan'er thanks Your Majesty for your expectation!"

Wu Zetian smiled and waved his hand, "You don't have to thank me, I just look forward to it, whether it can be realized depends on the performance of Commander Li and his teammates, Commander Li, don't let down the hard work of the Shangguan Sheren!"

Li Zhen nodded silently, and Wu Zetian asked the palace maid to help him up, and said with a smile: "I've been outside for too long, I'm going back to the palace." ”

At this time, she remembered something and asked Gao Yanfu again: "What is the result of the match between the Fangzhou team and the Liangzhou team?"

"Returning to His Majesty, the Fangzhou team narrowly won by one goal and also entered the top 16. ”

"Today was a real surprise, as both first-time polo teams beat last year's powerhouses, and it is expected that this matter will become the focus of discussion in the whole city. ”......

As Wu Zetian joked, the victory of the Internal Guard and the Fangzhou team really surprised countless people, the Youzhou team and the Liangzhou team were both in the top ten last year, and now they are actually out of the game and have not been able to enter the top 16.

These two games quickly became a hot topic in Luoyang, countless people are talking about this matter after dinner, in the wine shop, Qinglou and other crowd gathering places, people are also mostly talking about these two teams, the internal guard team and the Fangzhou team have gradually become this year's dark horse team, by countless people's attention.

Although Li Zhen issued a strict order that no one in the team was allowed to go out during the game, this strict order obviously did not include him, he was both the main general and the team leader, he had to go to draw lots, inspect the team's venue, etc., it was impossible to stay in the house and not come out.

At dusk, Li Zhen took Di Yan to the wine shop to meet the old lady, and then the two came to the third floor of the left bank restaurant, sat down in the seat they used to sit in, and ordered a few drinks and dishes.

"Lao Li, aren't you going to participate in the lottery? Won't eating here delay your business? ”

Li Zhen looked at the sky and said with a smile: "It won't start until night, at least half an hour, let's eat a little bit, you can go with me!"

Di Yan didn't object, she smiled and said, "Now the whole city is talking about the internal guard and the Fangzhou team, I feel that you are very likely to meet in the next game." ”

"Is it such a coincidence?"

"At least that's possible, right?"

Li Zhen nodded, "Actually, I'm worried about meeting the Thousand Cavalry Battalion, after all, they are too strong, I'd rather meet the Fangzhou team." ”

"But the Thousand Cavalry Battalion is not terrible, I heard my grandmother say that you fought against them in training, but you lost. ”

Li Zhen smiled bitterly, "At that time, they were all substitutes, only one Dou Xianyun was the main force, and they didn't want to be injured in the training game, so they didn't do their best, and we did our best, and when we really competed, I am afraid it would not be a pity." ”

"But you won Dou Xianyun in the riding and archery competition!"

Di Yan bit her lip lightly and looked at Li Zhen expectantly, "Grandmother said that your polo skills are not weaker than him, but your experience is slightly worse, if you can swing well, you can also defeat them." ”

"I also hope so, but the stadium has changed strangely, maybe the Qianqi Battalion will be defeated by Wu Sansi or Princess Taiping's team, which is said to have included the polo players of Xue Huaiyi and Wu Chengsi, and has become the favorite team to win the championship. ”

As he was talking, there was a quarrel not far away, Li Zhen and Di Yan looked back, only to see that the guests at several tables of the banquet were fighting over each other.

An old man had a very loud voice, passing all the people, "I admit that the internal guard team played well, I also watched their game with my own eyes today, but in my heart, I can only compete with the Four Towns United, Lingzhou team and other teams, compared to the Thousand Cavalry Battalion is still a step worse, if nothing else, this year's top three must be the Thousand Cavalry Battalion, the Taiping Mansion Team and the Liang Wang Military General Team, as for the fourth place, I will choose one between the Ganzhou team and the Yulin Army, I personally am more optimistic about the Yulin Army, last year they were too lucky, and they met the Thousand Cavalry Battalion in the first round. ”

"Does the old man think that the Thousand Cavalry Battalion can win the championship because they have Dou Xianyun?" said a young drinker, unconvinced.

"Yes!"

"But don't forget, old man, in the previous martial arts riding and archery competition, Dou Xianyun lost to Li Zhen. ”

"Are mounted archery and polo the same thing?"

"How is it not the same thing!"

The two quarreled, refused to give in to each other, pulled out their fists and sleeves, and saw that they were about to make a move, and the drinkers on both sides coaxed one after another, Di Yan pursed her lips and smiled at Li Zhen in a low voice: "There are your loyal admirers over there, it seems that you have lost the upper hand, do you want to go up and help the fist?"

Li Zhen covered his face with his hands and laughed quietly: "I think it will be troublesome to leave immediately, being recognized by them." ”

Di Yan covered her mouth and smiled, and hurriedly followed Li Zhen downstairs to settle the bill

It was getting dark, and in the hall of the Ministry of Rites, Du Jingjian, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, was preparing to draw the third round of lottery, compared with the last two rounds, although there were only sixteen teams left, but the number was not many, mainly because the entourage had increased, and Li Zhen and Di Yan were a little late.

Di Yan had already changed into men's clothes, wearing a black hat, a long robe, and a leather belt around her waist, she was petite, looking like a shrewd and capable little official, she whispered to Li Zhen: "It seems that it hasn't started yet!"

Li Zhen nodded, and when he saw that the row behind him was empty, he said, "Let's sit in the back!"

As soon as Li Zhen and Di Yan sat down, a young man in front of them turned his head and smiled at Li Zhen: "You guys played well today!"

It turned out to be Li Chongrun, he was the main general and leader of the Fangzhou team, mainly playing in the middle army, and the former army was Li Yuan, but Li Zhen didn't see him, Li Zhen also smiled, "It turned out to be Brother Chongrun, you also played very well today, and you actually defeated the Liangzhou team, which is very admirable." ”

"Actually, we also have a little bit of luck today, they will be injured and will end the game, so they gave us a chance, otherwise it is unknown who will die in the end!"

Speaking of this, Li Chongrun glanced at Di Yan again, perhaps because the light was a little dim, he didn't recognize Di Yan as a woman dressed as a man, and thought that she was also one of Li Zhen's polo players, so he smiled and asked, "Is this also a domestic guard polo player?"

Li Zhen smiled slightly, "This is my virtuous brother, responsible for contacting the news and arranging the court." ”

Li Chongrun felt that Di Yan was a little familiar, and when he looked at it again, he suddenly recognized her, he was stunned for a moment, and said with a wry smile: "It turned out to be Miss Di, I didn't even recognize it." ”

Di Yan smiled and asked, "Does Gongzi Li plan to stay in the capital forever?"

"I haven't made a final decision on this yet, and it is slightly more likely that I will return to Fangzhou. ”

Li Zhen asked again: "I heard that there are a lot of displaced people from Bashu who have come to Fangzhou recently, is there something going on in Fangzhou?"

Li Chongrun suddenly glanced at Li Zhen vigilantly, Li Zhen was far away in the capital, how could he know that there were many displaced people in Fangzhou, could he have spies in Fangzhou?

Thinking of Li Zhen's identity as an internal guard, Li Chongrun's heart became more and more worried, he bowed his head in a daze, and forgot to answer Li Zhen's question

At this time, there was a slight commotion in front, and I only heard someone above shouting: "I'll start drawing lots below, a total of sixteen lots, and the lottery can't be changed." ”

Li Chongrun didn't care about saying anything to Li Zhen, he sat up straight, his face became solemn, not only him, everyone was a little nervous, after all, unlike the first two rounds of the draw, he might also encounter a weak team, this time it was almost a strong team.

Du Jingjian took out a lottery from each of the two boxes on the left and right, handed it to the official next to him for inspection, and shouted loudly: "The first pair, the military generals of King Liang will fight against the Yulin army!"

Everyone was in an uproar, this was definitely a dead draw, both teams had the strength to win the championship, but they met at this time.

Cao Shiren, the general of the Yulin Army, smiled bitterly, they encountered the Thousand Cavalry Battalion in the first round last year, and they encountered the Liang Wang military generals in the third round this year, I don't know if they can pass the test this year? Cao Shiren stepped forward to receive the signature, and Wu Yanxiu, the chief general of the Liang Wang military generals, also went up to take the signature, and glanced at Cao Shiren coldly.

Wu Yanxiu is the son of Wu Chenghei, Yulin Junlang General, he originally played for Xue Huaiyi's team, after Xue Huaiyi's death, he turned to his own team, but Wu Chengsi was exiled to Lingnan, his children, wives and concubines were born in internal strife for property, Wu Yanxiu's mother was from a humble background, and was suppressed by Wu Furong, in a fit of anger, Wu Yanxiu turned to Wu Sansi and played for Wu Sansi.

Wu Yanxiu had a bad relationship with his boss Cao Shiren, so he was very cold towards Cao Shiren.

At this time, Du Jingjian drew out the second lottery and said loudly: "The second pair, the Thousand Cavalry Battalion Team will play against the Zhaozhou Team!"

The Zhaozhou team is the only weak team that reached the top 16, it was lucky, and it was lucky to meet two weaker teams in a row to get into the top 16, but they encountered the strongest Qiancai battalion, which is destined for the Zhaozhou team to stop there.

There will be no suspense about the outcome of the confrontation between these two teams, but many people cast envious glances at Dou Xianyun, they were too lucky to draw the Zhaozhou team.

"The third pair!"

Du Jingjian shouted loudly again, "Fangzhou team, against—"

He deliberately paused and said with a smile: "Internal Guard!"

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