Before dawn the next day, hundreds of inner guards escorted the polo team to the imperial city. Today, the two games were held in the East City of the imperial city. The match between the inner guards and the Taipingfu team was at the Qianqiying Polo Field, while the match between the Qianqiying Camp and Liang Wangwu General was placed at the Right Guard Polo Field. The two polo fields were less than two miles apart, attracting more than 200,000 Luoyang people to flock to the imperial city to watch the game.

In fact, if the defending troops did not close the city gate in time, more fans would have flocked to the city, and the imperial city would be overwhelmed, all the gates entering the palace city were closed, and the city was covered with fully armed soldiers.

At dawn, the two polo stadiums were already crowded with people, noisy and noisy, and the drums and music were shaking the sky, as if they had encountered a grand festival. Nearly 30,000 troops were responsible for maintaining order in the field, and 8,000 heavily armored infantry stood in line in the two stadiums to prevent the audience from losing control and rushing into the stadium.

Li Zhen led the team to the big tent in the northeast corner, and Li Zhen summoned the polo players to make the last deployment before the battle.

"Today is the same as last time. I am fighting on the left side of the central army, and Ge Nu is responsible for the right side. Lao Pang and Lao Chang guard the back side, Xiao Ye fights the front side. In addition, the tactics of close proximity last time were very effective. This time, Lao Pang still needs to closely follow the main force he deals with."

Li Zhen's eyes fell on Jiu Zhi who was eager to try, and said to him: "The person you are watching closely is not Zhang Changzong, but Yang Shenjiao."

Everyone found it strange, Chang Kuan asked: "Zhang Changzong is the former army and the chief general, why don't he keep an eye on him, but instead stare at Yang Shenjiao of the Central Army?"

"Although Zhang Changzong played well, he was still much inferior to Yang Shenjiao. Yang Shenjiao is the real threat. I am not saying that he wants to follow Yang Shenjiao and run all over the field. As long as he breaks into the front area, he must keep a close eye on him and not give him a chance to shoot."

"What should Zhang Changzong do?" Jiu Zhi said worriedly: "If Yang Shen's friend attracts me away, the defense line will be empty. Wouldn't it give him a chance to attack?"

"There is also Lao Chang sitting near the goal to prevent Zhang Changzong. In addition, if the situation is critical, we will withdraw in time to assist in the defense. In short, just like what I said yesterday, first stabilize the defense and then wait for an opportunity to counterattack."

Everyone nodded silently. They were weak, and the right plan was to fight defensively.

At this time, the sound of urging drums outside sounded, and Li Zhen said to everyone: "Check the equipment and war horses again and prepare to go to war."

In another big tent, Princess Taiping was also carrying out the final pre-war mobilization. Unlike Shangguan Wan'er, she paid great attention to the achievements of her polo team. She was eager to win the polo championship this year, which was of great benefit to improving her personal reputation and also helped her improve her status in the court.

"I don't want to mention what happened yesterday. I have only one request now. You must do your best to win today's game."

Princess Taiping's tone was very stern, and her eyes were wandering coldly on the face of every polo player, and finally fell on Zhang Changzong's face. Last night, Zhang Changzong poisoned more than a dozen good horses without Princess Taiping's knowledge, and attempted to blame the inner guard polo team. Princess Taiping was blinded for a moment, and finally found out that it was Zhang Changzong's actions, which almost made her so angry that she fainted.

Fortunately, she stopped the investigation of Dali Temple in time. Otherwise, once the matter was a big deal, it would also involve the incident at noon, and she would be unable to bear it. Zhang Changzong, a idiot, had no idea how powerful that woman was in Dali Temple, and she actually led a wolf into the house.

若不是看在床第间的情分上,太平公主早就将张昌宗狠揍一顿了,她收回了怒视张昌宗的目光,又对众人道:“我先丑话说在前面,这场比赛若输了,那么你们今年的赏金将全部取消,一文钱都不会有,相反,若赢了这场球,每人赏一百两黄金,记住没有?”

Everyone stood up straight and shouted: "Remember"

Princess Taiping waved her hand and said, "Go to fight and slaughter the inner guards."

The polo players all turned over and horses. Zhang Changzong took the lead and led everyone to the polo field. His face was gloomy and he was full of anger. He did not dare to provoke Princess Taiping, so the anger in his heart would be vented on his opponent today.

The drum sounded again, and the two teams slowly lined up. The main generals of both sides stood on one side. Wang Jin, the doctor of the Ministry of Rites who was hosting today's game, took out a copper coin and said loudly: "The main generals on both sides choose"

Zhang Changzong stared at Li Zhen with cold eyes and said, "I choose the literal form."

Li Zhen raised his eyebrows and smiled slightly, "Since Mr. Zhang chose the literals, then I will choose the finish."

Wang Jin threw the money high and waited for the money to land, but what they saw was Xingyue decoration. Wang Jin threw the ball to Li Zhen and ran out of the field quickly. Zhang Changzong snorted heavily, then rode his horse and left.

The Polo match in the Tang Dynasty was different from the polo match in later generations. There were no fouls or stadium referees. There was only one game host who was responsible for the opening, final and scores. Once the game started, it would not stop. Even if someone was injured in the middle, it would be resolved by itself, unless there was a fierce conflict between the two sides.

Polo is a sport that is extremely prone to player conflicts, but it is rare in national competitions. Especially under the eyes of the emperor, governments in various places can restrain their teams. Only one conflict occurred last year, and so far this year, there has been no conflict.

With a dull drum sound, a shout like a mountain collapse broke out around the court. The game finally began. Li Zhen made a diagonal line, Xiao Ye rode a horse to catch up and control the polo. The horses of both sides chased and interspered like lightning. Soon the polo was cut off by Zheng Tai, the center of the right side of the Taipingfu team. Zheng Tai's nickname was called "Long Kui Shu", which refers to his extremely strong ability to pass and intercept the ball.

Before Zhang Changzong joined, Taipingfu team had a superb passer named Ji Zhigao, nicknamed Ma, and he was responsible for passing the ball to Yang Shenjiao, the main attacker. However, Zhang Zongchang's joining made the horse and was forced to sit off the court to watch the game. Yang Shenjiao also retreated to play the central army. Zhang Changzong became the most dazzling offensive main player, which also made Li Zhen discover the weakness of Taipingfu team.

Although Zhang Changzong's joining made the Taipingfu team's offense no longer as smooth as before, the Taipingfu team was strong after all. After a quarter of an hour of the battle, Yang Shenjiao broke away from Jiuzhi's close defense and took the lead in shooting, making the Taipingfu team take the lead.

The two sides regrouped again. After a stick of incense, Zheng Tai's pass was cut off by Li Linfu. He hit hard with one blow. The polo flew out hundreds of steps and landed on the frontcourt of the Taipingfu team. Li Zhen's horse suddenly accelerated and rushed towards the opponent's goal like lightning. His sharp counterattack and Xiao Ye made the Taipingfu team a mess. Yang Shenjiao and Zheng Tai were forced to retreat quickly to meet.

At this time, Li Zhen's horse galloped, surpassing one of the rear troops of the Taipingfu team, making him face the defense of only one rear troops, and the opportunity was right in front of him.

Xiao Ye made a pass from the right, and the polo flew in the sky. Li Zhen was calm and ran away from the horse, staggering the gap with the last defensive opponent. At the moment another player from the back army arrived, he decisively waved his stick and shot a angular shot fifty steps away. The opponent was unable to rescue, and the polo shot into the hole.

The two sides fought one-to-one draw, and the court was boiling, drums, gongs, and shouts rang out in the sky.

Princess Taiping's face became extremely ugly. The inner guards were not as vulnerable as the rumors in the market. On the contrary, they played very well and had a very tight defense. Once they seized the opportunity, they would quickly counterattack and tear their defense.

In contrast, although the Taipingfu team is better in strength, it has never been able to find effective offensive methods.

Seeing that the two sides became evenly matched, Princess Taiping snorted heavily and turned back to the big tent. The team's performance disappointed her so much that she didn't want to watch anymore.

The inner guard's goal also gradually became wild. Perhaps realizing that Princess Taiping was dissatisfied with the team's performance, the polo player of Taiping's team began to grow in an impatient manner. In an attack shortly after the second half, Xiao Ye was collided by the opponent's back player Wang Dali. Both horses were seriously injured. Xiao Ye was opened with a big hole in his shoulder and blood flowed continuously.

Li Zhen replaced Sun Zhi and changed his tactics. He changed to the front army. Sun Zhi fought against the central army. The fierce battle between the two armies reached a fever pitch. The score was tightly grasped. When the Taipingfu team scored another goal, the inner guard also scored a goal by Sun Zhi, who had just been on the court, and tied the score again.

The Taipingfu team, which was not good, attacked wildly. With only a quarter of an hour left before the end of the game, Yang Shen scored another goal, and the score between the two sides changed to three to two. The Taipingfu team led by one point, and the situation turned to the inner guards. The Taipingfu team began to turn off attack to defense, trying to maintain a point advantage until the end.

Because Li Zhen was closely watched by Zheng Tai, the opponent's central army, it was still difficult to get an offensive opportunity. Time passed little by little, and it was almost time to end the game, and almost everyone's hearts were irritated. At this time, Li Zhen decisively replaced Li Linfu, who was seriously overdrawn, and let Yao Xi, who had never had a chance to play, take the field.

Opportunities often appear unexpectedly. Zhang Changzong made a mistake when passing the ball, and the polo was cut off by Yao Xi in the air. He decisively used his staff and hit a low ball with very weak strength.

Zheng Tai, who had been pestering Li Zhen, saw that the ball was very slow, so he threw Li Zhen down and rushed towards the polo. Unexpectedly, this was Yao Xi's plan to lure troops. He took the lead and chased the polo. He gently lifted the polo, and the polo crossed Zheng Tai's head and landed in front of Li Zhen.

The opportunity appeared. Li Zhen got rid of Zheng Tai's entanglement and chased the polo. At this time, he was only forty steps away from the goal. In front of him was the opponent's rear army Wang Dali blocked him, blocking his shooting angle. Li Zhen swung his shot, and the polo passed under Wang Dali's abdomen. He then turned his horse's head, turned his head and ran to the right, swaying past Wang Dali's interception.

But just as Li Zhen was about to swing the stick, he found a sharp short blade shot towards his left rib from the corner of his eyes.

Li Zhen was shocked and flashed his body quickly. The short blade pierced into the leather armor and pressed against his skin tightly. He could even feel the coldness of the short blade. Li Zhen was furious. The wind direction of the short blade shot was no one else except for more than a dozen steps. Zhang Changzong's eyes were full of murderous intent and he clenched his fists.

Li Zhen didn't care about having a conflict with Zhang Changzong, and there was no time left. Seeing that the last chance was about to pass, Li Zhen clamped his legs and the horse ran a few steps, catching up with the polo jumping on the ground.

At this time, another player from the back, Lin Yansi arrived in time and experiencedly blocked Li Zhen's shooting angle. Li Zhen swung his side and shot with a polo, and the polo flew over Lin Yansi's head and shot a parabola at the hole, which was once again heard into the hole.

The whole audience cheered suddenly, and the gong sounded at the end of the game, and the score was a three-to-three draw. The Taiping Male team was extremely frustrated. They would have to face a personal shot against the opponent to decide the final victory.
Chapter completed!