Many people did not expect the sudden change at the palace banquet, and the original joyful and festive atmosphere in the palace also faded. However, for most people in the palace, this sudden incident could only be regarded as an unexpected episode.
Wang Jingchong was neither a military commander who had lived in a foreign town for a long time, nor was he a direct martial artist who started from Hedong with the Liu family. In addition, he lacked a foundation in the Forbidden Army and an official background in the previous dynasty. To the people at the palace banquet, Naturally, he is an insignificant person, not to mention that Fengxiang Mansion is thousands of miles away, so neither the vassal town nor the court officials will spend too much thought on this matter.
And Wang Jingchong's loss of power as a counter-rebellion general is destined to only be a new interesting story in the palace from now on, and it will be difficult to cause greater waves in the abyss-like city of Tokyo. As Liu Chengyou spoke, Hou Yi's complaint in front of the emperor was announced. People's interest was once again high because of the upcoming football match. Many civil servants, military men, husbands and ladies filed out of the hall one after another and moved. Go to Xiyuan to watch polo.
Polo is also a kind of playing ball. Since it was introduced to the Central Plains in the Tang Dynasty, it has been sought after by the upper class. Many kings, ministers, literati and military generals are good at it. In today's era of rampant force, polo is even more popular. In the army, Guo Xin saw the elite cavalry playing and performing in the army. He also played a few games, so he was no stranger to the rules of polo.
There is a large open space in the Xiyuan next to the main hall in the palace. Since the time of Emperor Liang, it has been used exclusively by the royal families of various dynasties as a venue for horse racing and jubilation. However, Guo Xin did not follow the crowd directly to the stadium in Xiyuan. Instead, he gathered with Shi Dejun, Song Xie, who were also going to play, and several Yamen disciples who were also on duty in the Forbidden Army, and then the internal servants who led the way went to Tiansi. Supervise the horse.
This was not the first time for Guo Xin to enter the palace, but it was the first time that he had strayed away from the formal occasion of a monarch and his ministers. He curiously turned his head and looked around at the red and white walls along the way. At first, I felt that the corridor was too narrow, but after a while, the novelty in my eyes had faded by half. After all, the building is also a place for people to live, and it is nothing more than the width of the house and the size of the yard.
Guo Xin followed a group of people to the Si prison, but found that another group of people was waiting at the door holding horses. They looked like they were sergeants in the army, and he immediately guessed the reason why this group of people were here. According to the rules at this time, the two sides of the competition were divided into two tents, with twelve people in each tent. Five or six people on their own side were obviously not enough. There were many people in the army who were good at polo. It was also good to select some for people from other towns to see the elite of the Forbidden Army. Reasonable meaning.
Several sergeants first clasped fists at Guo Xin and others and performed a military salute. As expected, the internal supervisor introduced to them: "These military masters are good players specially selected from the Ma Army..."
Hearing this, Shi Dejun's eyebrows jumped immediately, and he interrupted directly: "Which of our brothers didn't grow up on a horse? Don't talk about good people relying on their hands, just find some people who have no hands to ride on the horse, we I won’t lose out on those outsiders for a while.”
The internal prison officer looked at Shi Dejun with a strange expression: "This is an arrangement made by the people sent by Captain Shi..."
Shi Dejun immediately choked up and was speechless. Song Xie smoothed things over and said, "I know all about Shi Lang and Guo Lang's abilities, but those people outside are not mediocre people, especially Fu Zhaoxu and Li Chongxun, both of whom have some reputations. Let's It’s better not to underestimate the enemy.”
As they spoke, several people walked into the stables, where the deacons and eunuchs who came to greet them had already brought many horses out of the stables for them to choose from. However, Guo Xin only glanced at it and knew that the horses in front of him were far inferior to the eight-treasure unicorn in his stable.
After all, the prisoner in the palace now only has the name of an imperial stable. In fact, the thousands of royal horses left in the previous palace were taken away when the Khitans returned north. Therefore, the prison is now Barely enough, they only had a batch of horses donated by the Kingdom of Khotan years ago, as well as horses drawn from the guards' horse army, which could be considered as the target.
Several people picked horses in the inner stables. When they waited for the horse farm in Xiyuan, the surroundings of the venue were already guarded by palace guards holding swords, spears, spears and halberds. Clusters of umbrellas were also erected on the viewing platform in the north. , especially the yellow canopy in the center, which is guarded by a number of colorful flags, is particularly eye-catching under the sunlight. However, there was less wind at noon, and the flags of the Blue Dragon and the Five Mountains, which were used to show the dignity of the official family, were all hanging weakly on the edge of the canopy, which made Guo Xin still feel a little less interesting.
Guo Xin and Shi Dejun, as well as a team of several young generals from Shanju in the Forbidden Army, led their horses into the field in a heroic manner, which immediately aroused a heated discussion in the audience. Without listening carefully, Guo Xin knew that the people on the stage were just talking about himself and other people on the stage. However, Guo Xin is not the kind of person who enjoys being in the spotlight, and does not care about the gathering of people's eyes. However, thinking that among these eyes are important figures in the court like his father Guo Wei and that young official, he still feels a little bit inside. fluctuation.
Fortunately, the other team had not yet brought the horses over at this time, so Guo Xin followed Shi Dejun and others and concentrated on running back and forth to test the horses and soothe their mood by riding the horses.
The court in the palace is very wide, and the ground is all compacted and flat. Except for the viewing platform in the north, there are wooden boards more than ten feet high in the east and west of the venue. A round hole is a hole where both sides score goals. Under the spectator stand on the north side of the stadium, twelve small flags are planted on the east and west sides for scoring purposes. If a goal is scored, a flag from the opponent's team will be pulled out and an additional flag will be planted on one's own side until one team loses all flags. The loser.
Not long after, another team also rode into the arena on tall horses, including Fu Zhaoxu and Li Chongxun, whom Guo Xin had seen at the banquet. At this time, Guo Xin's eyes were suddenly attracted by Fu Zhaoxu's horse, but it was not because of how strong the horse was, but because it was quite similar to the eight-treasure unicorn that Liu Chengxun rewarded him. If he hadn't noticed that the white spots on the horse were similar to his own, The position is slightly different, but I really thought it was my own horse. It was probably the newly awarded imperial horse that Shi Dejun mentioned before.
Guo Xin thought for a moment and then looked at Fu Zhaoxu carefully on his horse. Fu Zhaoxu was on a trial ride, but he did not relax the reins and run freely like Li Chongxun and others next to him. Instead, he controlled the speed and direction in a measured manner, which was unconsciously revealed by his vigorous movements and pleasing posture. , showing his rich experience in horse racing all year round.
The two sides tried riding for a while, and soon the little eunuch serving on the side of the field gave each person a club about four feet long, and tied red and black belts on the necks of the horses of the two teams. Distinguish between the two teams.
The game hasn't started yet, but everyone in the audience seems to have started to stare up and down, and the slow but steady drum beating on the sidelines also heats up the atmosphere.
Although it is March in spring, the weather in Tokyo is already getting hotter. In addition, in order to facilitate horse riding, Guo Xin and others are wearing narrow embroidered robes. At that moment, they feel that their bodies are restrained and stuffy, and they are afraid that they will soon be running horses. I was sweating profusely.
Soon, palace officials in red clothes came down from the viewing platform and asked everyone in the audience to explain. It was nothing more than a big talk to teach everyone to work together in front of the officials, but it was also very lengthy. Guo Xin felt bored after listening to these two sentences, and looked away from the inner prison to look for Fu Zhaoxu's figure, but he happened to meet Fu Zhaoxu's eyes.
