The Legend of Shushan Xuanjian

Chapter 113
With a sword like water, Wu Yan beats snow, and a slender hand breaks a new orange.

The brocade tent is warming up for the first time, and the animal smoke continues, and they sit opposite each other and tune the sheng.

Ask in a low voice who is going to stay?It's three o'clock in the city.

The horse is slippery and frosty, so it's better to stop, because few people go.

——"Youth Tour" Zhou Bangyan (Northern Song Dynasty)
……

Bai Fu had been looking forward to this day for a long time.At dawn, Bai Fu woke up.In order not to wake Huang Zhen up, he put on his clothes, tiptoed out of the house, washed and changed.

After waiting all morning, Yang Yichan came back around noon.She has her hair tied up like a man's, with a short turban, a straight military uniform, a light and graceful posture, and a graceful appearance. She is a handsome young officer.

Yang Yichan jumped off the horse, opened his arms, turned around, and asked Bai Fu to look carefully. "Brother, isn't it good-looking? Does it look like Hua Mulan?"

Bai Fu praised from the bottom of his heart: "Sister Yang, I almost can't recognize your appearance! You definitely don't look like Hua Mulan. I guess Hua Mulan is not very good-looking."

Yang Yichan was curious, and asked, "How did senior know Mulan's appearance?"

Bai Fu laughed and said: "Mulan's speech says: 'The male rabbit's feet are fluttering, and the female rabbit's eyes are blurred; two rabbits walk side by side, who can tell whether I am male or female?" How can there be such a handsome young general as Yang Mei in the world. This If Hua Mulan was half as beautiful as Younger sister Yang, if she was found disguised as a man, or was recruited by the princess to be her son-in-law, who would be willing to let Mulan go to the battlefield!"

Which daughter's family doesn't like to hear her lover praise herself.Bai Fu turned around and praised himself for being beautiful, which made Yichan feel sweet and happy.

Yang Yichan smiled and said, "Brother, today there is a polo match in Chang'an City. It's Fan Yang's army vs. Anxi's army. I got two tickets. Let's go together."

Bai Fu became interested, and said: "I have heard for a long time that polo is popular in Chang'an, especially the lieutenant soldiers are the most powerful. Today I can finally open my eyes!"

The two left as soon as they said they would, simply packed up, and went straight to the Royal Polo Stadium - Daming Palace Liyuan Stadium.When the two arrived, the stadium was already full of voices and gongs and drums.

It was Bai Fu's first time watching polo, and he was very excited. He couldn't help being curious, and carefully looked at the field.The court is rectangular, with a perimeter of about a thousand steps, surrounded by walls on three sides, and only a row of stepped platforms is left on the north side.The spectators watching the game sat on the high platform.At the top of the high platform with the widest view, there is a row of long pavilions, which can shelter from the wind and rain, and are reserved for the guests of honor watching the ball.

In the long pavilion sat more than a dozen high-ranking military officers, although they were not wearing armor, they were majestic.The long pavilion near Bai Fu's side is separated by curtains, and several young men and women can be vaguely seen in the tents, dressed luxuriously, either rich or noble.

The ground of the court is ground and flattened inch by inch with loess, and repeatedly poured with oil to make it as smooth as a stone.In this way, when the horse runs, it will not splash dust and affect the sight.

At both ends of the court, a short gate was erected. The gate was engraved with red and painted colors, which was very eye-catching, and it was easy to watch the moment the goal was scored.

When the Kucha music was played, players from both sides filed into the arena.

Today Anxi's army wears red strong suits, with black gauze headbands tightly covering their hair.Fan Yangjun was wearing black brocade clothes and a bearded hat.Narrow sleeves with lapels on both sides, bodysuits, brocade belts around the waist, shiny riding boots, clean and neat, and radiant.

The horses under their crotches are particularly eye-catching. The horses used in the competition must not only be physically strong, but also undergo confrontation training to adapt to the competition.

The horses of Fan Yangjun come from Turkic horses. "Turkic horses are extremely skilled, with well-fitted muscles and bones. They can travel far and are extremely useful for field hunting."

The racehorses of the Anxi Army come from Dawan horses.Li Bai wrote a poem for him: "The celestial horse came out of the Yueshi Cave, with tiger-patterned dragon wing bones on its back, hissing blue clouds, vibrating green hair, and the orchid tendons disappeared."

As soon as the drum was played, all the riders lined up in the polo field, raised their sticks, and saluted the Changting Pavilion
A general walked out of the long pavilion and said in a loud voice: "The stadium is like a battlefield. It is not more than life and death, but higher than life and death! All the generals should fight hard to show our great Tang military prestige. The winners will each be rewarded with a hundred taels of silver and a hundred pieces of silk!"

The polo field immediately burst into applause and thunderous applause.All the riders waved their sticks to signal to the audience, and the horses under their crotch held their heads high and neighed with high fighting spirit.

Yang Yichan began to explain the rules to Bai Fu:

"Brother, these sticks are naturally bent into a crescent shape at the head, so they are also called 'moon sticks'. Army sticks
They are all relatively simple, you see, they just painted a layer of red paint on the surface of the wood.I heard that the sticks of royal family members and children of powerful families are more luxurious, often wrapped with animal skins with bright patterns, such as tiger skin, leopard skin and so on.When swinging the club in this way, it looks majestic and beautiful.

Did you see that little painted ball in the middle of the field?This is a polo, only the size of a fist, a solid ball made of wood, very hard and inelastic.The spherical surface is painted with colored paint.In this way, whether the ball is rolling on the ground or flying in mid-air, it can be as eye-catching as a shooting star, which is convenient for the rider to find and the audience to watch. "

……

A drum sounded, and the game began.

Players from both sides fought bravely, Fan Yangjun and An Shouzhong hit the first shot!A crisp sound!The crescent head of the club scooped up a piece of loess on the ground, and the polo was hit far away.Both teams are chasing the ball.

Fan Yangjun and Cai Xide ran fast, stretched out his club and took control of the ball.

Bai Xiaode and Ma Lin of the Anxi army came to intercept one after another. Cai Xide often used polo to train troops and was very skilled in the game.Commanding the steed to charge left and right, under the attack of the Anxi army, he went in and out like no one, and scored two goals one after another.

The Anxi Army lost two goals in a row and stepped up their counterattack.Anxi Jun Duan Xiushi got the ball and galloped away, but he was caught by Cui Qianyou of Fan Yangjun just after ten steps.After Cui Qianyou got the ball, he went to the meeting single-handedly, galloping like lightning, and rushed to the goal from a long distance.All the riders of the Anxi Army were left far behind.

Li Siye, the commander of the Modao Army of the Anxi Army, slapped his horse and chased him straight.Cui Qianyou shook several times, but couldn't break through Li Siye, and with a glance, Tian Chengsi had already stepped down from the sidewalk.Cui Qianyou hit the ball with a swing, ready to make a long pass to Tian Chengsi.

Unexpectedly, Li Siye was even faster, taking advantage of Cui Qianyou's lead and swinging his stick, he flicked his wrist and pulled the ball softly.

Cui Qianyou kicked the left stirrup, he rushed into Li Siye with his horse and man, wanting to borrow horsepower, and then wanted to take it back.Li Siye didn't give this opportunity. He passed a long pass to Li Qiyun. Li Qiyun then picked it to Feng Changqing. Feng Changqing got the ball in the middle circle. now.

Feng Changqing swung hard and sent the ball into the hinterland with a long pass.The moment Feng Changqing passed the ball, Duan Xiushen understood it, and before Fan Yangjun's defender came back to his senses, the Spurs kicked the horse's belly, as fast as lightning, straight into the belly, and instantly came to the point where the ball landed.

Duan Xiushi didn't wait for the polo to hit the ground, and swung his stick in the air. The polo drew an arc in the air, passed the last defending rider, and slammed into the goal from the right net.

"The Anxi army scored!" The crowd on the field rejoiced again.

　Main reference materials

　　1. "Polo Sports in Tang Dynasty", Gao Yuan, Lanzhou University, 2006
　　2. "Stop Hunting Terrace", Liu Yuan, Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House
　　3. "Guide to Settling in the Tang Dynasty", Forest Deer, BJ United Publishing House,
　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)