King of Song

Chapter 234 Playing Polo

"A polo match?"

In the hotel, Lin Zhao looked at Ali Gu quietly with his mouth half open, obviously a little surprised!

Ali Gu nodded and said: "Yes, there will be a polo match on Mrs. Tai's birthday. Xixia, Uighur, and us Tubo will all participate. I hope your country can also participate!"

Lin Zhao couldn't help crying inwardly, he knew a little about polo.

We know that polo is a sport of riding on a horse and hitting a ball with a club, also known as "playing a ball", "shooting a ball", "shooting a ball" and so on.It was introduced to the Central Plains from Tubo in the Tang Dynasty. According to legend, the Tang army widely promoted polo in the army in order to train soldiers' riding skills and coordinated operations.

It is precisely because of this that polo became popular in the Tang Dynasty, from soldiers and civilians to princes and nobles, and even the emperor loved polo.According to historical records, Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty had a large court, and emperors such as Xuanzong and Jingzong liked polo.

The "Polo Picture" in the tomb of Prince Zhang Huai shows the prosperity of polo in the Tang Dynasty.In the painting, more than 20 horses are galloping, their tails are tied up, and the player wears a scarf and boots, and hits each other with a club in his hand.At that time, polo was absolutely all the rage. Not only men, but even many women loved this sport and were good players.

But in the Song Dynasty, the open atmosphere began to be a little restrained, and the unrestrained Tang Dynasty began to change into graceful.Polo and other intense sports have gradually faded out of people's vision and no longer become the mainstream of society.

At the same time, there is also a very real problem, that is, there is a shortage of horses in the Song Dynasty, and there are still insufficient war horses, and there are not many horses available for the people.Riding a carriage is a luxury, and riding a horse is even more wishful thinking, and polo is naturally restricted.A few reasons overlapped, and people in the Song Dynasty gradually changed their habits, mainly playing Cuju.

People in the Song Dynasty loved Cuju very much. It was a very popular sport and game at that time. Even Su Shi and others were fans.Song people's cuju skills are very good, and Lin Zhao has also participated in it before.

If it was Cuju, the Song Dynasty mission would never bat an eye, let alone a top player, at least one of the best.But what they want to play now is polo, which is a bit...

Who are the participants?Xixia, Uighur, Tubo!
Needless to say, Tubo, the polo in the Central Plains was passed down from here, and they are the originator.Needless to say, there is no need to say more about polo skills, and they have the strength to be the best. As for Xixia and Uighur, they are both countries located in the northwest.

The most important thing is that there is no shortage of horses at all, and the sport of polo can continue.The Song Dynasty is far behind. Now that a polo match is going to be held, does it mean that the Song Dynasty will be at the bottom?Do you really want to make a fool of yourself?More importantly, it is very likely that they will lose to Xixia in this competition. The two countries are competing against each other, and Lin Zhao does not want this result to happen.

Lin Zhao had no time to think about it, what was going on, and what kind of mentality did the Tibetans have?Why such an event?Didn't they consider the feelings of the missions of the Song Dynasty?The key now is to agree or not?Are you involved?

The most helpless thing is that it is very difficult to refuse.

On Mrs. Qiao's birthday, the polo match was just for fun. It's inappropriate for me to be unmoved by the invitation.At that time, people will say that they did not give Mrs. Qiao face, and such a result would be bad...

So this matter is very helpless. Since Tubo made this decision and formally offered the invitation, he couldn't tolerate himself not agreeing!In this matter, Lin Zhao is very passive!

"Okay, I must attend on time!" No matter how uncomfortable I feel, I still have to calm down on the surface and agree without any surprise.

Ali Gu smiled lightly, he knew that Lin Zhao's agreement was actually very reluctant.But what can be done?Zanpu intended to do this, so he could only follow orders.Ali Gu vaguely sympathized with Lin Zhao, and hoped that the Song Dynasty would not lose too badly and be too embarrassing.

However, he vaguely felt that the Song Dynasty would not fail easily.Maybe he will have a way, now we can only wait and see.

Ali Gu said again: "Envoy Lin, Zanpu also ordered that he would like to meet with Your Excellency in two days' time!"

Dong felt finally willing to see herself!Lin Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, and said softly, "I wish for it!"

Ali Gu smiled and said: "Prepare well, Zanpu is looking forward to the meeting with your lord. There is also the matter of the polo match, and you must not neglect it... The people of Xixia have already started to prepare, as for our country, it is the youth. Yijie Guizhang leads the team personally..."

Hearing this lineup, Lin Zhao's pressure suddenly increased.There is no way, now I can only bite the bullet and accept the challenge!
"Bo Zhou, do you have any opinion on this polo match?" After Lin Zhao informed the Tubo people that they wanted to play polo, Su An's expression became a little unnatural.

Everyone can see that this competition is the most unfavorable to the Song Dynasty.It can even be said to be a conspiracy against the Song Dynasty, deliberately making people look ugly and lose face!

Su An said angrily: "It's really disgusting, son, I always feel that the Tubo people are very unenthusiastic this time, they have been lukewarm towards us, and they seem to be uneasy and kind."

Lin Zhao smiled wryly and nodded, "Yes, that's true. The Tubo people seem to be deliberately embarrassing us. But being uneasy and being kind doesn't count, otherwise Dong Zhan wouldn't have asked me to meet so soon. Although the meeting is a big deal, But it’s easy to deal with, but it’s the polo thing right now, which is really a headache!”

"This..." Su An said: "There are not many people playing polo in Song Dynasty, but fortunately there are still some in the army. We have more or less contacts, and we have played games before, but we haven't played for a long time, so it is inevitable that we are a little rusty. , may not be their opponent..."

Su An didn't want others to destroy his prestige, he just sought truth from facts, told the most fundamental things, and at the same time prepared for the worst.

In this regard, Lin Zhao was very helpless and avoided the inevitable.No matter what the result is, you still have to participate. Sometimes knowing the result, you still have to hit your head and break your blood.

"Is our strength so weak? Are there any remedial measures?" Lin Zhao asked in a deep voice. He has always been a person who refuses to admit defeat, so he is naturally unwilling to give up.

Su An was also very helpless, and said: "We have [-] soldiers of the imperial army, and I will choose the soldiers who are best at polo. Organize them to train as soon as possible... It's just that time is tight, and I'm afraid it will be too late..."

"Try your best, select soldiers to form a team as soon as possible, at least they can show their hands... and let them train hard, sharpen their guns before the battle, the disadvantages will be light!" Lin Zhao ordered, for the present, it can only be like this .

Lin Zhao didn't have much energy to take care of this matter. Dong Zhan wanted to see him, although it was not difficult to deal with.But you have to prepare well. The Xixia people must have offered very generous conditions. If you don't have sufficient preparation and attractiveness on your side, it will be difficult to convince the Tubo people to be tempted.

It is possible to lose to Xixia on the court, but in diplomatic affairs, there must be no mistakes...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Liang Yi laughed when he received the news of the polo match!
On the day of Mrs. Qiao's birthday, it was a time of great attention.Although it is a polo game, there are many tribes and teams participating, but the most attractive are the Song Dynasty, Tubo, Xixia and Uyghur.

Tubo should be very strong, and the Uyghurs used to be Xixia's enemies, but Liang Yibu doesn't care about them now, and they are no longer important.

Right now in Qingtang City, the only opponent is the Song Dynasty, the Song Dynasty envoy Lin Zhao.

At the welcome banquet that day, he humiliated himself and lost a lot of face because of the seating.Liang Yibu has been thinking about how to save face and embarrass the people of the Song Dynasty. Now is undoubtedly a very good opportunity...

As long as you can win the Song Dynasty, that's fine!
Polo is a sport that Xixia people often play every day.For them who are used to galloping on horseback, this is easy, and it is what they are good at.

But the people of the Song Dynasty... lacked even war horses, so how could there be horses for this kind of game?I heard that they are very good at Cuju, but the difference between the two is so different that they are not the same concept at all.

Liang Yibu even thought that the Song Dynasty people might not even be able to form a team.

So what will happen on the field then?It seems predictable now.Liang Yibu was very proud, and imagined the scene in his mind, the Xixia people won the flag, the Song Dynasty people lost miserably, and lost face... Thinking of such a result, he couldn't help laughing...

People in the Song Dynasty may have strengths in reciting poems, composing Fu, writing and painting, but in terms of sports and military affairs, they are simply vulnerable.Liang Yibu is very confident and conceited.There is no need to think too much about this matter, Xixia is already invincible.Just like what Li Fugui did on Huanqing Road, he was beyond his control...

This time, let the Song Dynasty people taste the feeling of self-inflicted humiliation!
Liang Yi buried his resentment in his heart, and a cold smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

At the same time, Liang Yibu was curious, how could the Tibetans make such an arrangement?Knowing that in terms of polo, the people of the Song Dynasty are far inferior to Xixia, and even the other two countries are far apart, but they still have to...

This is obviously to embarrass the Song Dynasty!Liang Yibu felt that the Tubo people seemed to be deliberately creating opportunities for themselves to let themselves be ashamed!
Reminiscing about the seats at the dinner the day before yesterday, the Tibetans seem to give priority to Xixia in every way. Could it be that Dong Zhan is more inclined to himself?In any case, it can be regarded as the relatives of the sons and daughters now, so I still have to give some face.

Liang Yibu didn't think too much for a while, didn't connect the matter, thought about it at a deeper level, but only saw the appearance of the matter.Perhaps it was because the hatred for Lin Zhao blinded his eyes, so that his awareness decreased.

Such a result made him very excited, as long as Dong Xing was partial to him, then everything would be fine...

The gloom that caused me to humiliate myself because of the number of banquet seats gradually dissipated, and I felt much more comfortable...

However, Liang Yibu's deep hatred for Lin Zhao never dissipated, and has already begun to brew a shame.

Of course, it's definitely not as simple as a polo match...

(End of this chapter)