Chapter 242 Football
At the beginning of Mao, the day begins.

The sky gets bright very early in the summer, and the morning light shines on both sides of the river. There are willow trees on the bank and a pond in front of the village. The frog croaking that has been ringing in the middle of the night finally stops, and there is the quietness that should be there before dawn.

The morning light shines down, and the lively Mid-Autumn Night comes to an end.

There were already voices of people in the village, and smoke from cooking fires was rising very early.

At that time, Zhu Wen awarded this villa outside the city, and Xiao Yan also bought two contiguous manors within a few miles. At the same time, he kept the original slaves and others, and they were not required to do anything special. They still cultivated the fields and took care of the villa as before.

But in addition to this, there is one more thing to do, which is to level the land according to regulations, plant turf, and then lay it one by one.

For this additional work, Xiao Yan did not give them extra money. He only promised that each family only needed to hand over 10% of the grain they earned from farming the land, and the remaining 90% would belong to them.

This one item alone is enough to make up for the extra work. In fact, things like leveling the land and planting turf are not considered extra work at all. They are just trivial tasks in the fields.

In troubled times, food is precious and can move people's hearts more than money. Moreover, under the name of Xiao Yan, they can enjoy the natural protection of military leaders. They are dozens or hundreds of times more stable than ordinary farmers. They don't even need to pay taxes. Of course, the servants under the name of Xiao's manor are all happy and work harder than usual.

Xiao Yan had returned to Beijing half a month ago, and it was a rare opportunity for him to stay here for half a night. Naturally, he had to serve the stewards in the manor with all his heart. However, it was only the morning, and all kinds of farm flavors were served.

The yellowish rice porridge, fresh green vegetables, sweet fruits, and soup made from fresh fish caught from the pond may look simple, but it is more appetizing than the palace banquet with plenty of wine and meat.

"The life of a god is just like this."

In the courtyard, Xiao Yan looked at the fields outside the courtyard. The morning breeze rustled, and the crops swayed in the wind. It was so beautiful that he picked up the bowl of hot porridge and suddenly said, "I understand those who suddenly want to live in seclusion from the world."

Ji Ruxue, who was peeling eggs nearby, looked up when she heard this, and then stopped talking.

Xiao Yan certainly understood the little girl's thoughts, so he picked up the chopsticks and snatched the peeled egg, jokingly saying, "Are you wondering if I would take you with me if I went into seclusion?"

"Who wants to join you?"

Ji Ruxue pretended to roll her eyes, but took another egg, peeled it, and put it back into the ceramic bowl in front of Xiao Yan.

"Then we won't go together." Xiao Yan frowned and said in embarrassment: "It might not hurt to ask Miaocheng Tianshengji and Xuanjing Tianshengji. It's also possible to ask King Qi for two talented women."

"..."

Ji Ruxue's face was cold and stern. She took back the egg that she had just put down with her hand before she withdrew it. Then, without saying a word, she bit off the egg in just three or two bites, which usually took four or five bites.

Xiao Yan couldn't help but burst into laughter, making the girl's face puffy. She obviously couldn't swallow it for a moment, but after glaring at him, she drank the porridge in big gulps and forced herself to swallow a mouthful of egg whole.

Xiao Yan was still amused, but he stopped teasing her. He took the porridge and ate the egg he had just snatched, saying, "In other words, the man you fought with not only practiced Yang-attributed internal energy, but was also good at using silver needles as hidden weapons?"

"Yeah." Ji Ruxue was still depressed, but still held the bowl of porridge and said: "Yes, that person's internal strength is domineering, and I need to use all my strength to block it if it explodes."

Then, she thought for a moment and recalled, "The inner strength you told me about is extremely strong, masculine, pure and righteous. Maybe it's like his. When he uses it, there is a golden glow. It seems to be called 'Tian Gang Jue'..."

"I understand." Xiao Yan nodded repeatedly and said, "Indeed, only that person can match the match."

Since he can use the Tiangang Jue, the range can almost be locked down. After all, in Xiao Yan's impression, the only people who can be taught this skill by Yuan Tiangang himself are Li Xingyun and the fake Li. As for if there are other people, it is not known who is qualified for the time being.

Ji Ruxue drank porridge sullenly from the bowl. Xiao Yan didn't tell her who that person was, so of course she wouldn't ask. Even if she knew, there was no point since she didn't know him.

However, Xiao Yan took the initiative to explain to her: "This person should be the direct disciple of the Bad Commander. His strength is indeed higher than yours. He can also be ranked among the top among his peers. It is normal that I can't beat him. After all, it's hard to say whether my skills can compare with the Tiangang Jue..."

"How can it not compare!" Ji Ruxue was listening silently, but suddenly looked up, and then looked at Xiao Yan's astonished eyes, pondered for a moment, of course, she couldn't say anything, so she just continued to emphasize: "Compared!"

Xiao Yan smiled naturally, and continued to nod his head in response to the girl's determined eyes: "When you give your skills to others, it's the people who become stronger in the end. It's really hard to compare. But there may be many opportunities to deal with them in the future, so you need to be more cautious."

After that, he thought: "I have asked King Qi carefully. Your Huanyinfang pursues the ultimate speed and instant reaction ability. Although it is mainly based on cleverness and softness, if it can be combined with instant super speed, it can not only burst out excellent power, but also complement the Sanfen Guiyuan Qi. And Sanfen Guiyuan internal and external auxiliary cultivation, this skill alone is enough to improve your body movement, internal strength, and moves. Combined with Huanyin Jue, in theory, you can go one step further, and it is indeed no worse than Tiangang Jue."

Ji Ruxue listened silently without saying anything. She just picked up another egg and peeled it for Xiao Yan.

The girl's little actions made Xiao Yan laugh. He ate calmly, but he was already eight-tenths full. He put down his bowl and chopsticks and said, "Let's go to the Tianshan Sword Forging Pavilion to forge a good sword. When you reach the lower heaven, I will teach you the Green Lotus Sword Song."

Ji Ruxue remained silent. She looked up at Xiao Yan, but could only see the latter's warm smile. After a moment of silence, she nodded: "Yeah."

She actually wanted to ask Xiao Yan why he was so nice to her. Even in the more than ten years of life since the girl could remember, no one had ever been so nice to her. Even when he had a little temper, Xiao Yan always just laughed it off. All these things were enough to fill all her visions, but Xiao Yan never gave her more than that.

But Ji Ruxue wouldn't ask.

The only thing she could do was to keep working hard and constantly improve her skills so that her strength could always keep up with Xiao Yan's pace, that's all.

Xiao Yan naturally didn't know that Ji Ruxue would think so much in such a short moment. After putting down his bowl and chopsticks, he stood up and pondered for a moment, then frowned and said, "As for the man who defeated Wanyan Agunai with one move, what impression do you still have?"

Ji Ruxue shook her head: "No, it's hard to tell who he is, and he didn't show any moves. Chief Wanyan has already lost the ability to fight back. But the person he rescued didn't seem to know him either... Anyway, it was sudden and beyond everyone's expectations."

Xiao Yan thought again.

But there are too few clues. The so-called mysterious man came and left quickly, and he had no intention of hurting anyone. The only thing we know is that he knows the moves of the Illusionary Sound Art. However, there are not too many people in the world who know the Illusionary Sound Art. Even if there are few people who can destroy Wanyan Agunai with one move, there are many masters in the world. Agunai is not an extraordinary master, but there are many people in Tongwenguan and Xuanming Sect who can beat him alone, especially there are many thirty-six captains under Yuan Tiangang who have not shown their faces, and each of them is possible.

Putting his thoughts aside for the moment, Xiao Yan did not think about it any further. Instead, he waited for Ji Ruxue to finish her meal and asked people to distribute the uneaten dishes and eggs. Then, wearing only a long gown with narrow sleeves, he took her for a good walk in and out of the manor.

Until the sun rose completely high, there were bursts of horse hoof sounds outside Zhuangzi. It was Wang Yanzhang, Han Yanhui, Yu Zhong and other generals of the Guide Army who had all arrived. In addition, Miao Chengtian and others from Anle Pavilion also came one after another.

Of course Miao Chengtian and the others wanted to greet Ji Ruxue first, but when they saw that the latter was fine and staying beside Xiao Yan, they were completely relieved and there was no need to ask any more questions.

Duan Chengtian, who came with them, went to see Luo Xiaobei first. Seeing that the boy was still sleeping soundly in the room, he felt relieved for a moment, and then tears filled his eyes. He even bowed deeply to Xiao Yan in public, and then did not forget to bow and thank Ji Ruxue solemnly.

Xiao Yan didn't mention it. Ji Ruxue was a little shy like a girl, but because Xiao Yan had taught her a few words in advance, she just dealt with it calmly.

As for Wang Yanzhang and others, how could they know what happened last night? They were all in casual clothes at the moment, and as soon as they got off their horses, they laughed and greeted Xiao Yan with crossed arms, as if they hadn't seen each other for half a month, and now they were finally together, and they could no longer hold back their restless emotions.

Xiao Yan didn't say much, but with a smile on his face, he led everyone out of the manor, led by several generals of the Yeluhe family, and walked more than a hundred steps to a flat land that was supposed to be a field.

But at this moment, the field was leveled. All the flowers and plants planted by the original owner in the past were pulled out, filled with soil, and then rolled over with stones. It was covered with pieces of turf that had taken countless slaves a lot of effort to make. It was about forty feet long and more than ten feet wide, neat and tidy, and surrounded by fences on all sides.

And inside the fence, there was actually a meter-high grandstand. At this time, Xiao Yan led them onto the grandstand, and Miao Chengtian and others could see clearly that there were wide and long white lines of lime on all four sides of the venue. There were two rectangular wooden frames on both sides opposite the venue, and a small circle of lime was also sprinkled in front of the frames.

Wang Yanzhang was confused at the moment and started to ask questions.

You have to know that unlike Xiao Yan who has his own house in the city, he does not need to report to the government office during the holidays. Even if he does, he only goes to the Imperial Guards to handle military affairs and does not need to go to the military camp on a regular basis.

But it was different for Wang Yanzhang and others. As generals of the imperial guards, they had to patrol the camp every day, eat and sleep in the camp, and they could not leave the camp without permission. They were not as happy as Xiao Yan. After seeing something new today, they had to ask clearly.

Xiao Yan just smiled, waved his hand and asked everyone to find a seat and sit down, then he sat down in the main seat in the middle, and someone came to serve tea and snacks to everyone.

After a moment, with a whistle, everyone saw more than 20 people divided into two teams walking out from the stands. Only then did they realize that behind the stands was a large room where people could change clothes and rest. The 20 or so men wearing calf-nosed pants (shorts) and cross-collared half-sleeves (vests) came out one after another. They were divided into two teams with black and white clothes. At the same time, there were ten black round plates with "One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten" written on the front and back of the white clothes. As for the black clothes, there were "A, B, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui", also ten numbers.

At this moment, they just discovered that the leader of the team in white was Li Mang, who had not appeared for a long time...

The leader of the black team was another Yanzhou bad guy, who also looked eager to try, and led the team members behind him to compete with the white team in arrogance.

What’s funny is that Li Mang is a Cangzhou Bad Man, but the team members he leads are all Yanzhou Bad Men. But even so, the team members behind him are more imposing than the Black Team, and they seem to be doing their job impartially.

What is particularly noticeable is that at the end of both teams, there is a man in a blue shirt, but the words on his shirt do not read "goalkeeper", so they are counted together, which means there are eleven people in each team.

At this moment, everyone was already confused. Miao Chengtian and Xuan Jingtian had already received the information revealed by Ji Ruxue, so they knew that this was the so-called football field. As for the two teams off the field, they could vaguely understand it based on the game of Cuju.

Xiao Yan did not let the crowd wait any longer. He just waved his hand. As the whistle sounded again, the two teams rushed across the field, chasing a ball together. Although the ball was similar to the common Cuju ball, it was made of twelve pieces of black and white leather, without any other fancy decorations. It was also bigger and more elastic, rolling and jumping across the field, as twenty-two men scrambled to chase after it, causing them to fall to the ground.

It should be noted that Cuju was an activity that was on the rise in this era, and was not much inferior to sumo. Even in the Song Dynasty, there was a case where an idle man could be promoted to the Grand Commandant of the Imperial Guards because of Cuju.

Even decades ago, Emperor Xizong of the Tang Dynasty was particularly fond of polo, which was similar to Cuju. In a match, he promised that whoever scored the first goal would be appointed as the governor of Xichuan. It was really absurd, but it also showed how popular this activity was. Not to mention football, which was improved and improved countless times on Cuju and polo. If you don't get the hang of it, it's fine. But people like Li Mang were so addicted to it after playing a few times that they didn't want to leave the field.

And these bad guys under Xiao Yan's command were all young and strong, and proficient in martial arts. Although they were strictly forbidden to use their internal force to gain advantages, they were extremely energetic. They were fighting for a ball in the field, just like a bloody battle, fierce and brutal. In just a moment, they attracted Wang Yanzhang and other generals to stare and watch, as if they had been attracted to it.

Even Han Yanhui, a scholar, could not help but be very interested. At the same time, he looked at the professionals outside the field who were responsible for timing and counting, as well as the farmhands who were almost immediately attracted. He shook his feather fan and laughed, looking at his own lord, and had already guessed the purpose of this so-called football field.

Although Ji Ruxue, Miao Chengtian and Xuan Jingtian are women, they are also people of the martial arts world and are just as heroic as men. Even though the football game is more suitable for men, it does not affect their attraction. They focus all their attention on the two competing teams until the hourglass runs out and the whistle blows, but they still feel unsatisfied.

"how?"

Xiao Yan had a smile on his face, but he looked around to see his colleagues.

"My Lord, stop talking, let me go down and have a try." Wang Yanzhang patted his chest and shouted, "Although Li Mang won, I still don't feel satisfied no matter how I watch it. Let me go up and give him a try, I will definitely beat him!"

Xiao Yan laughed of his own accord, and did not say much that football was a matter of teamwork. He just stood up and asked someone to fetch his jersey, intending to personally go down to the field to compete with Wang Yanzhang.

During this process, he looked at Miao Chengtian and others.

"You must have seen it, madam. Is this place attractive?"

Miao Chengtian watched a game and knew that there were so many things that could be manipulated in football. Setting up a game and placing bets were all trivial matters. If one had more flexible ideas, one could even directly create a related industrial chain.

She immediately stood up, smiling, and said, "Don't worry, my lord. Within a few months, I will make sure that everyone in the city will flock here and make you a lot of money..."

Xiao Yan smiled and waved, then waved to Han Yanhui. When he came closer, he whispered, "Arrange for me how to meet Princess Ying properly. Make sure you arrange it well."

"My lord, rest assured."

The conversation between the two was inevitably heard by Ji Ruxue who was not far away, but her expression remained unchanged. She just sat down calmly, ready to watch Xiao Yan's appearance.

(End of this chapter)