Under the guidance of a eunuch, Li Zhen quickly walked to Wu Zetian and knelt down on one knee to salute, "I am going to see Your Majesty!"

"Commander Li, I have watched your polo with my own eyes and played very well. Congratulations on winning this game." Wu Zetian said with a smile.

"Thank you for your praise!"

Wu Zetian looked at Shangguan Wan'er and smiled and said, "I and Shangguan have guessed your record before. It is said that you promised to be in the top 16. Now that you have fulfilled your promise, I want to know, do you have any ideas to go further?"

"Of course I don't want to stop here. I will work hard to get into the top eight."

"Okay! If you can enter the top eight, I will ask Shangguan to give you a heavy reward. If you can enter the top four, the bounty will be upgraded."

Shangguan Wan'er knew that it was the emperor who was giving her face. She quickly turned to Wu Zetian and bowed to her, "Wan'er thanks Your Majesty for your expectations!"

Wu Zetian smiled and waved his hand, "You don't have to thank me. I just look forward to it like this. Whether it can be realized depends on the performance of Commander Li and his teammates. Commander Li, don't let down Shangguan Sheren's painstaking efforts!"

Li Zhen nodded silently, and Wu Zetian asked the palace maid to help him up again, and said with a smile: "I have been outside for too long, and I am going to return to the palace."

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

"Report to Your Majesty, Fangzhou team narrowly won the goal and entered the top sixteen."

"There are really surprises today. The two polo teams that participated in the competition for the first time defeated last year's strong team. It is estimated that this matter will become the focus of discussion across the city."

....

Just as Wu Zetian joked, the victory of the Inner Guard and Fangzhou team really surprised countless people. Youzhou team and Liangzhou team were both in the top ten last year, but now they are out and are unable to enter the top sixteen.

These two games quickly became a hot topic in Luoyang. Countless families were talking about this after dinner. In restaurants, brothels and other places of crowd gathering, most people were talking about these two teams. The Inner Guard and Fangzhou team have gradually become the dark horse teams this year, and have attracted countless 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 player and the team leader. He wanted to draw lots, inspect the team's venue, etc., and it was impossible for him to stay in the mansion and not come out.

At dusk, Li Zhen took Di Yan to the wine shop to meet his sister. Then the two of them came to the third floor of the Zuoan Restaurant, sat down in the seat he used to sit and ordered a few wines and dishes. Although Di Yan and Li Zhen reconciled due to the polo game, Di Yan still felt a little dissatisfied, which took time to resolve it.

"Old Li, aren't you going to participate in the lottery? Will eating here delay the business?"

Li Zhen looked at Tianse and smiled and said, "It will only start in the evening. At least half an hour is left. Let's have a little bit of food and you can go with me!"

Di Yan did not object, she smiled and said, "Now the whole city is talking about the inner guard and Fangzhou team. I feel that you will most likely meet in the next game."

"Is it such a coincidence?"

"At least it's possible, right!"

Li Zhen nodded, "Actually, I am worried about meeting the Qianqi Camp team. After all, they are too strong, so I would rather meet the Fangzhou team."

"But Qianqi Camp is not scary either. I heard from my grandmother that you played with them during training, but you just lost."

Li Zhen smiled bitterly, "At that time, they were all substitutes, and 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. When we really compete, we probably wouldn't be defeated."

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

Di Yan bit her lip gently and stared at Li Zhen with anticipation, "Grandmother said that your polo skills are not inferior to him, but your experience is a little worse. If you can perform well, you can defeat them."

"I hope this is also true, but the stadium changes are strange. Maybe Qianqi Camp will be defeated by Wu Sansi or Princess Taiping's team. It is said that these two teams have taken over polo players from Xue Huaiyi and Wu Chengsi, and their strength has increased greatly and have become the most popular teams to win the championship."

As they were talking, a quarrel came not far away. Li Zhen and Di Yan looked back and saw that the guests at several banquets were red in their faces.

An old man had a loud voice, surpassing everyone. "I admit that the inner 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, Lingzhou team and other teams, which is still worse than Qianqi Battalion. If nothing unexpected happens, the top three this year will definitely be Qianqi Battalion, Taipingfu Team and Liang Wang Wuzheng Team. As for the fourth place, I will choose one between Ganzhou Team and Yulin Army. I personally prefer the Yulin Army. Last year, they were too lucky and encountered Qianqi Battalion Team in the first round."

"Does my father-in-law think that Qianqi Camp can win the championship because they have Dou Xianyun?" A young drunkard said unconvincedly.

"That's right!"

"But don't forget that Dou Xianyun lost to Li Zhen in the previous martial arts and cavalry competition."

“Is riding and shooting the same thing as polo?”

"Why isn't the same thing!"

The two of them quarreled, refused to give in to each other, pulled out their fists and rolled up their sleeves, and when they were about to take action, the drinkers on both sides started to cheer. Di Yan whispered to Li Zhen and smiled: "There is your loyal admirer over there, it seems that he is at a disadvantage. Do you want to go up and help the fist?"

Li Zhen covered his face with his hands and laughed in a low voice: "I think it will be troublesome to leave immediately if they recognize him."

Di Yan covered her mouth and smiled, and hurriedly followed Li Zhen downstairs to check out.

.........

The sky gradually darkened. In the lobby of the Ministry of Rites, Du Jingjian, the Minister of Rites, was preparing to draw the third round of lottery. Compared with the previous two rounds, although there were only sixteen teams left, the number was not large, mainly because the number of followers increased, and Li Zhen and Di Yan came a little late.

Di Yan had already changed into men's clothes, wearing a black hat, a long robe, and a leather belt. She was petite and looked like a shrewd and capable lieutenant. She whispered to Li Zhen: "It seems that it hasn't started yet!"

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

Li Zhen and Di Yan just sat down, but a young man in front turned around and smiled at Li Zhen and said, "You guys played well today!"

It turned out to be Li Chongrun, the main general and leader of Fangzhou team, mainly fighting against the central army, and the front army was Li Zhi, but Li Zhen did not see him. Li Zhen also smiled, "It turned out to be Brother Chongrun. You played very well today, and actually defeated Liangzhou team, which is very admirable."

"Actually, we have some luck today. Their main general was injured and gave us a chance. Otherwise, it would be unknown who would win in the end!"

Speaking of this, Li Chongrun looked at Di Yan again. Perhaps because of the dim light, he did not recognize Di Yan as a dressed as a man. He thought she was also one of Li Zhen’s polo players, so he asked with a smile: “Is this also an inner guard polo player?”

Li Zhen smiled slightly, "This is my brother, responsible for contacting information and arranging the stadium."

Li Chongrun felt that Di Yan looked familiar, and then smiled carefully, and suddenly recognized her. He was stunned for a moment and said with a wry smile: "It turns out to be Miss Di, I didn't recognize her."

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

"I haven't made the final decision on this yet, and it is a little more likely to return to Fangzhou."

Li Zhen asked again: "I heard that there are many refugees from Bashu to Fangzhou recently. Has something happened to Fangzhou?"

Li Chongrun suddenly looked at Li Zhen with caution. Li Zhen was far away in the capital, how could he know that there were many refugees in Fangzhou? Could it be that he had spies in Fangzhou?

Thinking of Li Zhen’s identity as an inner guard, Li Chongrun became more worried. He bowed his head in a daze and forgot to answer Li Zhen’s questions.

.........

At this time, there was a slight commotion in front of me, and someone above said loudly: "I will start drawing lots below, there are a total of sixteen lottery tickets, and you can't change it if you get the lottery."

Li Chongrun didn't care about anything to say to Li Zhen. He sat upright and his face became solemn. Not only him, but everyone was a little nervous. After all, unlike the first two rounds of draws, he might also encounter weak teams. This time he draws almost all strong teams.

Du Jingjian drew a lottery from each of the two boxes on both sides, handed it to the officials beside him for inspection, and shouted loudly: "The first pair will be matched by the Wulin Army of Liang Wang Wang!

Everyone was in an uproar. This was definitely a dead sign. Both teams had the ability to win the championship, but they met at this time.

Yulin Army General Cao Shiren smiled bitterly. They encountered the Qianqi Camp team in the first round last year, and in the third round this year, they encountered the Liang Wang Wu General Team. I wonder if they can pass this year? Cao Shiren went up to receive the sign, and Wu Yanxiu, the leader of Liang Wang Wu General Team, also went up to take the sign and looked at Cao Shiren coldly.

Wu Yanxiu is the son of Wu Chengsi and the general of the army in the Yulin Army. He originally played for Xue Huaiyi's team. After Xue Huaiyi's death, he turned into his own team. Unexpectedly, Wu Chengsi was exiled to Lingnan. His children, wives and concubines had internal conflicts to fight for property. Wu Yanxiu's mother was a humble mother and was suppressed by Wu Furong. In anger, Wu Yanxiu turned to Wu Sansi to play for Wu Sansi.

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

At this time, Du Jingjian drew out the second draw and whispered: "The second pair will be matched by the Qianqi Camp team against Zhaozhou team!"

Zhaozhou team is the only weak team to enter the top 16. It is lucky to meet two weaker teams in succession and then enter the top 16. However, they encountered the strongest Qianqi Battalion Team, which is destined to stop at this point.

There will be no suspense in the outcome of the two teams, but many people cast envious eyes at Dou Xianyun. They were so lucky that they actually drew Zhaozhou team.

"The third pair!"

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

He paused intentionally and smiled, "Inner Guard!"
Chapter completed!