Start with detective Li Yuanfang

Chapter 8 Aristocratic Circle
"The construction of this site is much more difficult than modern stadiums!"

Looking at the huge polo field from a distance, Li Yan was a little shocked.

It was already the second day, he greeted the dumb uncle and came to watch the polo match.

The polo field was built in the palace city of Liangzhou.

Yes, there is Miyagi here too.

As the throat of the Silk Road, Liangzhou is also the capital of the Northwest, the ancient capital of the Five Dynasties, and the capitals of Qianliang, Houliang, Nanliang, Beiliang and Daliang were established here.

Liang is indeed quite cool, but there are complete palaces, among which the most complete one was built by King Li Gui of Daliang in the late Sui Dynasty.

The Great Liang King's fate was also the most bizarre, he was dealt with by one person, no large-scale war was caused, and the palace city was not damaged much.

After the unification of the Tang Dynasty, a lot of the palace city of Liangzhou was demolished, and an aristocratic polo field was built in the northwest corner.

It was here that the match with the Tubo envoys took place.

The first two games were kept secret, but this one was played in public.

As the news spread, clouds moved in all directions, and an endless stream of people rushed here. Even the vendors stopped their business and merged into the crowd.

In the Battle of Dafeichuan, all [-] Tang soldiers died. For other places, it may be just a sad figure, but for Longyou, it is a nightmare.

Because most of the government soldiers who went to battle were drawn from here.

Those who will stay on the plateau forever are likely to be Aye, the child of the Liangzhou family, his wife's husband, the elder brother of the young child, and the son who supports the old parents.

However, the defeat in the war did not erase the blood of Liangzhou people. They firmly believed that Datang would win another brilliant victory in the future.

As in the past, the Turks were destroyed and Goguryeo was leveled.

But this will undoubtedly take time, and the diplomatic relations in the process must not give Tubo any good fruit to eat.

Seeing the unexpected and reasonable enthusiasm of the people, the county magistrate was very nervous, and all the officials of the yamen were dispatched to maintain order.

The streets were crowded together, but fortunately Liangzhou is an important border defense area, so there was no chaos, and the people quickly flocked to the polo field in groups.

If it was a week ago, Li Yan would have been one of the crowd.

Maybe you can only stand on tiptoe, poke your head, and look in from a distance.

But now, he walked into the aristocratic passage, temporarily separated from the masses.

The passage is very long.

People in the later Song Dynasty described the polo field as a square of a thousand steps before and after, and the banquet of the thousand steps belongs to the field.

Li Yan originally thought that a thousand steps was an imaginary number, but judging from this stadium, it is really possible that there is such a wide space. In front of it, the football stadium of later generations is completely like a younger brother.

You must know that this is not as simple as enclosing a piece of land. The polo field was specially developed. First, the loess must be rammed inch by inch to ensure that the ground is smooth, and oil must be poured on the field repeatedly until it is as bright as a mirror.

This is not purely for the sake of beauty, only such a venue, when the horses run at high speed, will not raise a large amount of dust, affecting the sight of each other and the audience.

It is conceivable how much it cost to build such a project in ancient times without mechanical tools?
Of course, Li Yan felt that there was also an important reason for Lu Chang, which was that he did not ride a horse.

Longyou war horses are the most popular in the world, and the brand is well-known. The Li Zhi Dynasty was the dynasty with the largest number of horses in Chinese history.

This most, the gold content is extremely high, the Gaozong Dynasty with [-] horses is almost double the number of [-] war horses in the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Tang Xuanzong's period, which is completely ahead by a large margin.

Therefore, ordinary people can ride poor horses, and noble children must ride good horses in order to show their status.

At this time, there were several lords wearing Shu brocade narrow gowns with lapel collars and straddling green horses, who arrived first.

When passing by, he still looked at Li Yan who was walking on foot with strange eyes.

Li Yan didn't care either, and when he met his eyes, he nodded in greeting, and at the same time looked at the little leopard on the opponent's horse.

Gorgeous golden and black markings, strong and strong legs, round and short ears, green eyes, and flaring beards on both sides of the mouth.

This is the cheetah, a high-ranking official and aristocrat of the Tang Dynasty, who likes to domesticate the most. The real species should be the lynx, commonly known as the bobcat.

It is smaller than a leopard and bigger than a cat, with short front legs and long hind legs. It is good at killing, climbing trees and swimming.

It is light and nimble in action, has strong endurance, and its size is also suitable for being placed on horseback. No wonder it is loved by the upper class.

"Come on tomorrow, I'll raise a few for fun~"

The lynx is a national second-class protected animal in later generations, and it is more vigorous than cats, which is an enjoyment that later generations will not have.

It happened that there were many leopard trainers in Liangzhou, so Li Yan had the idea of ​​raising small animals.

"L!"

At this moment, a familiar voice called from behind.

Li Yan looked back and saw Kang Da sitting on the horse, waving at him.

Interestingly, he shared the ride with his elder brother Kang Meng.

Li Yan stopped and waited for them.

A strong, well-proportioned horse with a shiny mane came in front of him. Kunta turned over and smiled brightly: "Yuan Fang, I just went to your house. You weren't here, so I guessed you were here too."

Kang Meng also got off his horse and sent out an invitation: "Li Xiaolang, how are you going with us?"

Li Yan nodded: "Okay!"

Kang Meng smiled, but his pace was deliberately slow, allowing Kang Da and Li Yan to walk in front side by side.

Kangta turned slightly to the side, and said in a low voice, "Yuan Fang, brother has treated me much better, thanks to you..."

"If you can't suppress it, change it immediately, and don't go all the way to the dark. He is a smart man."

Li Yan smiled: "Sanlang, do you also like polo?"

"I'm weak and can't play polo..."

Kangta felt a little regretful, but when he thought of Tubo, he immediately clenched his fists angrily, "Tubo is rampant, I, a man from the Tang Dynasty, will definitely win!"

The whole people fight against the Tibetans and share the same hatred.

Chatting and chatting, the entrance to the polo field arrived.

Passing through the gorgeous gate, the first thing you see is the high platforms on both sides.

Not only is the space above spacious, but there is also a roof to shelter from the wind and rain. It is obviously an auditorium for the children of the famous family.

But this time, one side was almost full of people, while the other side was much less crowded.

The atmosphere is opposite.

On the high platform on the left, sat the nobles of Liangzhou, all kinds of costumes, a hundred flowers blooming, and there were also young ladies showing off, chatting and laughing in a low voice.

On the high platform on the right is the Tubo envoys, all dressed in Tubo uniforms, with a murderous air on them.

Li Yan's eyes were burning, and he noticed that both parties were very young.

The higher-ups are not present, and the juniors are allowed to show up, so there is room for buffering if they lose.

On the contrary, it shows that neither side is sure of victory.

Tubo came all the way from afar, but Liangzhou didn't have enough confidence to fight at home, which shows how difficult the opponent is.

Li Yan climbed up the steps.

His appearance instantly attracted everyone's attention.

Sitting in the center of the first row is a handsome gentleman, wearing a jade-colored cross-neck robe and a seven-star belt around his waist, with an extraordinary demeanor.

Seeing Li Yan looking over, Kang Meng behind him said in a low voice: "That is Jia Sibo, named Shilin, from Wuwei Jia."

Li Yan nodded far away, and Jia Sibo also nodded.

Jia Sibo's ancestor was Jia Xu in the Three Kingdoms period.

Jia Xu was not only an extremely personable official throughout his life, he died with all blessings, wealth and longevity, and his descendants returned to the world as prominent officials. He was very active in the political arena of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.

In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, although the Jia family had declined, its heritage was still profound, and no one in Liangzhou dared to underestimate it.

The young man next to Jia Sibo was tall and strong, about the same age as Li Yan, his chest and arms had already stretched out the obvious curve of his robe, his eyes were slightly light green, and he also looked back.

Kang Meng whispered from behind again: "Wuwei Anshi, An Zhongjing."

The Wuwei An family and the Wuwei Kang family belong to the nine surnames of Zhaowu and are natives of the Tang Dynasty of Sogdian descent.

However, the Kang family is about to become a poor family, and the An family is extremely powerful, reaching its peak in the Tang Dynasty.

It was also An Xinggui, An Zhongjing's grandfather, who entered Liangzhou alone, united all parties, broke through the palace city of Daliang with a surprise army, and captured Li Gui alive.

Li Gui was indeed weaker among the heroes at the end of the Sui Dynasty, but no matter what, he was also a prince who ruled the world together with Li Mi, Dou Jiande, and Wang Shichong.

One of the princes was actually solved by one person with the help of family influence, which deeply reflected how terrible the deep-rooted local clan was in this era.

By the way, the later An Lushan has nothing to do with this An family. An Lushan changed his surname after his mother remarried.

After the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion, the Wuwei An family was ashamed to have the same surname as the rebel. Tang Suzong also bestowed the country's surname Li, which was changed to Wuwei Li family from then on.

Knowing the leading position of Jia Sibo and An Zhongjing in the younger generation, he had a faint feeling that they did not welcome him, Li Yan glanced at the stands again, and he knew it.

Those who sat in the front had better family backgrounds. Brothers Kang Meng and Kang Da could only sit in the last row even if they had to enter the high platform.

Li Yan thought for a while, and sat down with the two of them.

When Kang Da saw him, he couldn't help but said, "Yuan Fang, you should go to the first row."

Isn't the son of the duke, the Li family of Longxi, the central figure?
Li Yan shook his head and smiled casually: "Don't worry."

It's not my position, and I can't sit still.

It should be my position, and I can't escape even if I run.

　Thanks to the book friend "Feng Yu Wu Fei" for the reward.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)