Chapter 688 0683 [Ancient Golf]

Zhu Ming asked Bai Qi to pick 50 Yunnan horses presented by Dali Kingdom and take them back to Hunan to serve as military horses.

The rest were sold directly in Tokyo.

These little guys were too short. They could be used when the army just started, but Zhu Ming would not like them now.

Zhu Ming marked out a piece of open space next to the Tiansijian grassland as a public stadium for Tokyo citizens to play football and polo.

Now these Yunnan horses are just right for selling to the children of the rich and powerful. Because the horses are relatively short, even if they fall while playing, they can avoid being injured too seriously.

The spirit of martial arts must be cultivated slowly.

In fact, polo has always existed in the two Song dynasties. The emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty were all polo enthusiasts, but this sport was only popular among the top dignitaries. It was not until the Southern Song Dynasty that Song Xiaozong ordered the promotion of polo in the army, hoping to use polo to cultivate a martial spirit.

After two days of being with Li Qinglu, Zhu Ming took his wives and concubines to Song Huizong's sports goods warehouse.

By the way, a sports star was also invited - Cui Xiuyi, the imperial concubine of Song Huizong.

Cui Xiuyi is less than 40 years old this year. The reason why she can become an imperial concubine is somewhat related to her good polo skills. She is the captain of the first female court polo team in the Song Dynasty. Every year, she takes concubines and palace maids to play polo in Jinming Lake for the people to watch...

Song Huizong hurriedly fled to the southeast, and even took Cui Xiuyi with him. Li Bao captured her when he broke through Hangzhou.

Zhu Guoxiang sent all the concubines who still had their natal families back home.

After Cui Xiuyi returned to her natal family, her brother asked a matchmaker to arrange a marriage for her and remarried to a scholar in Kaifeng as a second wife.

"Your Highness, these more than ten are... his polo sticks." Cui Xiuyi searched for a while and soon found Song Huizong's polo sticks.

Zhu Ming took a glance and found that the styles of these sticks were at two extremes. One was fresh and elegant, without any extra carvings; the other was luxurious and precious, even inlaid with gold and gems.

Next to a row of polo clubs, there are other clubs.

The most eye-catching one is the chuiwan stick, which looks similar to a golf club.

"You can choose it yourself." Zhu Ming said.

Zhe Yanxiu was the most active, rushing over to pick up a gold-painted one: "I want this one!"

"I can't ride a horse, so let's play chuiwan." Zhang Jinping pointed at the chuiwan sticks and said.

Then, Prince Zhu's women followed the Crown Princess, because they couldn't ride a horse, so playing golf was more suitable.

Zhu Ming asked Li Qinglu: "What about you?"

Li Qinglu replied: "I can ride a horse, but I'm not good at it."

"The daughter of the Zhong family doesn't learn to ride a horse?" Zhu Ming looked at Zhong Miaoyun.

Zhong Miaoyun replied: "I rarely ride."

However, the sisters Zhao Fujin and Zhao Fujin had played with the palace women's polo team. They each picked up a chuiwan stick, and for no reason, they thought of their missing father.

There were too few people, so polo couldn't be played.

Zhu Ming asked Cui Xiuyi to lead the way and take everyone to the chuiwan court in the palace.

The court is an irregular rectangle, more than 200 meters long and about 100 meters wide. The ground is uneven, and there are even puddles and sand. Many holes are dug everywhere, and small flags are inserted next to each hole.

Zhu Ming has been here for so long, but he has never played the ancient Chinese version of golf.

The predecessor of this thing is a variant of polo in the Tang Dynasty. The original playing method is similar to hockey. In the Song Dynasty, it evolved into something similar to golf.

Cui Xiuyi is also an expert in chuiwan. First, she explained the rules to Zhu Ming, and then the terrain. Then she pointed to the clubs of different shapes and explained which clubs are suitable for which terrain, and how each club should be used to exert force.

Zhu Ming stood there and listened, and the more he listened, the more it sounded like golf.

Before they started playing, they saw Zhu Guoxiang coming with his wife and children, and Li Qingzhao also followed behind the concubines.

Zhu Guoxiang asked with a smile: "Why are you guys here to play chuiwan?"

Zhu Ming pointed to the small flag next to the hole: "I was wondering why the flag is still brightly colored. It turns out that you often come to play while I'm away fighting."

"Long live the emperor!"

Zhu Ming dared to joke with the emperor, but the others hurriedly saluted.

Zhu Guoxiang nodded in return and asked his son: "There are a lot of people today. How many games will we play together?"

"It's up to you." Zhu Ming didn't even understand the rules yet.

The two sides were divided into groups to fight, Zhu Guoxiang, Shen Yourong, Wen Xiaomei, An Niang, and Li Qingzhao in one group; Zhu Ming, Zhang Jinping, Zheng Yuanyi, Zhe Yanxiu, and Zhao Fujin in another group.

Because the number of people exceeded the upper limit, Zhao Fujin, Zhong Miaoyun, Li Qinglu, and Pei Chang'e chose to watch the game.

Cui Xiuyi was the referee.

"What's the prize?" Li Qingzhao suddenly asked.

Zhu Ming said with a joking smile: "We've all gone broke from fighting, so let's just bet ten dollars." He turned around and asked his teammates, "Who's the best among you?"

"I often play chuiwan!" Zhe Yanxiu said.

Zhu Ming sighed: "If others say so, I'll definitely feel relieved. Why do I feel more like I'm going to lose when you say so?"

Zhe Yanxiu pouted, and the other women laughed when they heard it.

Everyone went to the referee to get chips, and each hit the ball out, and the one farthest from the hole hit first.

Three points for a hole-in-one, two points for a hole-in-two, and one point for a hole-in-three.

If three shots are not in, it is considered a failure.

Each ball is of different colors, and must be hit into the hole with the corresponding color flag.

There is no doubt that Zhu Ming, who was playing chuiwan for the first time, hit the ball farthest from the hole, so he hit the first shot.

Just as Zhu Ming took out a pole, Cui Xiuyi quickly stopped him and said, "Your Highness, there is a steep ridge in front of this ball. The ball should fly over the ridge and into the hole. You should use a stick or dipper to hit the ball. The terrain here is difficult to hit." The stick is best, and the stick should be played while standing..."

So, with everyone watching the excitement, Ju Ming began to rummage through the bag to find the corresponding clubs.

Before playing, you have to make a base, that is, make the tee box yourself, and no one else is allowed to come over to help.

"Bang!"

Ju Ming swung hard and the ball flew far away.

Cui Xiuyi saw that he was playing completely randomly and started to talk about how to identify the path of the ball.

Zhe Yanxiu was indeed bragging, Chuiwan was a delicate job, and her skills were not much better than Ju Ming's.

The two of them were embarrassed together, which actually caused bursts of laughter.

Zhu Guoxiang squatted down and hit the ball with the olecranon of his ladle. The second shot landed near the ball socket, and the next third shot would be a sure goal.

"It's okay for officials, but you practice a lot in private, right?" Zhu Ming said with a smile.

Zhu Guoxiang lowered his voice and said at a volume that only the other two could hear: "I only played a few times, and this place is much smaller than golf. Before I traveled through time, I played golf, and I still know how to make a powerful swing."

Ju Ming asked: "Why do you want to come and play ball?"

Zhu Guoxiang said: "The fish in the palace are so stupid that they bite the hook as soon as they are thrown in. Fishing is not interesting, and playing cards and chess is boring. I asked if there were any balls to play with, and Li Qingzhao recommended this ball-pounding sport. When I first came here, the grass was knee deep."

"You are living a really good life. You take your wife, mistress and Xiaomi to play ball with you every now and then." Zhu Ming started talking nonsense again.

Zhu Guoxiang admitted it generously and said with a smile: "I want to retire early now and indulge in pleasure all day long."

"Stop dreaming, you will have to bear the burden for another two or three years." Zhu Ming said cheerfully.

Zhu Guoxiang suddenly turned around and asked: "It was agreed at the beginning that I would only be emperor for a month, and now it has been Hongwu for three years! When will it end? Before I traveled through time, I was looking forward to retiring after removing the subtitle. This How many years have you been back at work?”

"Hey, it's in!"

Ju Ming ignored the emperor and clapped his hands and praised: "Li Daizhao is good at pilling!"

"It's about football skills, not ball skills." Zhu Guoxiang quickly reminded.

Li Qingzhao held the club and bowed, and said proudly: "Your Highness is so complimentary."

But Jushi Yi An is proficient in playing, and he scored directly after just two shots.

Ju Ming asked: "Can Li Daizhao play polo?"

Li Qingzhao said: "I have only ever ridden a rogue horse."

"Playing polo is more interesting, and you can get some practice." Ju Ming said seductively.

Li Qingzhao was really eager to try it. She liked all kinds of new things.

"It's in, our class (team) is in too!" Zhao Fujin shouted suddenly.

Ju Ming turned around and saw that his first goal scorer was Zhang Jinping, who was quiet and did not like to move.

Seeing her husband's eyes, Zhang Jinping winked playfully.

As a referee, Cui Xiuyi looked at the lively playing scene and naturally thought of the past. She led a group of concubines and maids to gallop in Jinmingchi, and countless people cheered every time she scored a goal.

The palace is still the same palace, and the stadium is still the same stadium, but things and people have changed.

Seeing that she was unhappy, Ju Ming suddenly asked: "How many members of the former palace women's polo team are still alive?"

Cui Xiuyi said: "Three people took advantage of the chaos to escape from the palace and disappeared, and the rest are still alive. One person remarried and followed his husband to Huainan. Two more married officers of the Ming Dynasty and went to Hebei to live with their husbands this spring."

Unable to find concubines from his previous dynasty, Zhu Guoxiang has been using matchmakers to remarry unmarried or widowed military officers.

Nowadays, most of them have remarried, and the rest live in collectives and support themselves by spinning and sewing.

Ju Ming said: "I plan to guide more people to play polo. You go and call the former women's polo players. It's all voluntary. There is no need to force it. Choose one day a month to compete and perform at the polo ground in the north of the city. Playing is not in vain, there are Money is the reward.”

"Yes!" Cui Xiuyi said with cupped hands.

Ju Ming added: "I plan to change the kick-off rules. Each side chooses one person to ride across the court and shoot arrows to determine the outcome. The winner will kick off first."

Cui Xiuyi understood and said: "Your Highness wants to develop the style of riding and shooting."

Ju Ming looked to the north: "Destroy the Jin Kingdom and Xixia, and then there will be more horses. It would be best if all the children of wealthy families come to learn riding and shooting."

After talking for a while, Cui Xiuyi reminded: "Your Highness, please strike the third stick."

Ju Ming followed the explanation and changed to another type of club. One shot was pushed out, but the ball was still far away from the nest.

Ju Ming curled his lips and thought: This thing is too boring. It is suitable for retired middle-aged and elderly people. Young people still have to play polo.

If not, you can still play football.

Perhaps, the Royal League can also be held. Anyway, there are definitely enough conditions to hold a football league.

During the Song and Ming dynasties, there were big stars who were invited by various cities to play tour exhibition games. Don't underestimate the imagination of the ancients in entertainment.