On the eighth day of the eleventh month of the eighth year of the Zhenghe reign of the Song Dynasty, it is suitable for traveling and accepting gifts; it is taboo for going to the Liang Dynasty.
Five days have passed by in a flash. Today, a new round of Cuju competition between Song and Liao will be held in the school field five days ago. However, the sensation caused by this game was far from being compared with the previous one. Although the imperial court still invited Guan Qi to give real-time commentary on the original high platform, and although major gambling houses also offered handicap, the common people But there is no enthusiasm. This is of course because the defeat five days ago caused too much harm to everyone.
Not only was the attitude of the people towards this war a little cold, but the imperial court was no longer as solemn about it as before. Zhao Ji did not come over this time, and all the high-ranking officials in the court were absent. Only Tong Guan, who had responsibilities, and a group of military attachés who had no dealings with the Liao people still came over happily. In addition, the person with the highest status attending today's Cuju competition is Prince Zhao Huan. This can be regarded as the attitude shown by him.
Of course, saying that the impact of this competition is small is just compared to the one five days ago. In fact, this Cuju competition still attracted the attention of many people. Both the people and officials hoped that the Song Dynasty could To avenge their shame, they defeated the Liao people today, and this time there were literally tens of thousands of spectators in the school grounds, filling the stadium to capacity. The game hadn't even started yet, but the stadium was already bustling with activity.
As the time came to 6 o'clock, the two teams appeared separately, and then everyone turned their attention to the Song Dynasty team. Many people had a look of surprise on their faces: "These people are wearing What is it?"
It is indeed a bit surprising, because the Song players who came out this time were not wearing the red short-dress jerseys before, but changed into a strange outfit. The bright red clothes were extremely close-fitting, and there were no loose parts. , their lower bodies were also wearing shorts of the same color but only reaching the knees. They looked very different from the popular calf-nosed pants today. Some people wore the same red unknown stuff on their calves. In addition, these There are also some unexplained patterns drawn on the back of the person, which makes people feel very weird no matter how they look at it.
In fact, the equipment worn by this team is the football sports suit that Sun Tu took out from Warehouse No. 2, which is much lighter than the short attire worn by players in this era. It is said that since opening the No. 2 warehouse, Sun Tu has never known what the things in it can do. It was not until he took on the important task this time that he realized how useful these sports equipment are.
Two days ago, when he took out these strange-looking sportswear for other team members to put on, many people were skeptical and resistant. But when he actually wore these sportswear and had a game After the practice, they completely fell in love with this lightweight outfit. Even military generals like Zhao Tianyao praised it. Especially the football shoes of a certain brand provided by Sun Tu. They are so light that they can hardly feel the weight, can make people jump higher, run faster, and protect their feet. No matter how picky they are, People can only give a thumbs up and express their admiration.
So even though everyone on the field felt the strange looks from the surrounding stands, these players did not feel uncomfortable. Instead, they all held their heads high and looked quite confident.
Waiting for everyone
After gradually getting used to their weird costumes, everyone discovered a brand new question: "Hey, why are there only eight people on the stage?"
The Cuju team led by Sun Tu actually only had eight people including him, which greatly exceeded the expectations of the audience and opponents. Although there is generally no limit on the number of people in Cuju competitions nowadays, since twelve people were used in the previous battle, logically there should be twelve people today.
This caused the Liao team to quickly raise questions: "What do you mean by this? Could it be that the great Song Dynasty couldn't even find twelve people who were good at Cuju?"
When the official from the Ministry of Rites in charge of this game posed the question to Sun Tu and the others, as the captain, he smiled: "Of course not. But since we are the masters, and we proposed to fight again in this game, we should have That means. So we only have eight people for today's game. As for Liao, whether you have twelve people or other numbers, it's up to you." The meaning of the words is that we will be outnumbered.
These words immediately aroused dissatisfaction among the Liao people. As the captain, Xiao Chuhu immediately shouted: "Song people, don't be too self-righteous. Since there are eight of you, I, the Liao, will never take advantage of you. We will also ..." Just when he was about to say that there were only eight players, he heard a voice from the stands: "Wait a minute." It was Chen Xiangnan who suddenly spoke.
After interrupting Xiao Duhu's words, he said with a smile but not a smile: "Since you have taken the initiative to reduce the number of people, you have the consciousness to lose because of it. There is no difference between Cuju and battlefield duel. There is always the number of troops. We still have twelve people!”
When this statement came out, it was not only Xiao Hulu, but also many people in the Song Dynasty who showed surprised reactions. Is this still the consistent tough performance of the Liao Kingdom? They have always boasted that their military force is superior, and they are confident that they will win against the weak Song people even if they are outnumbered. Why did they shrink back today? Is it because the person who calls the shots is a Han, so they are less courageous than ordinary Khitan people
They didn't know that the person who really made this decision was an out-and-out Khitan, Yelu Jian. At this time, he was looking at Sun Tu and everyone in his team with cautious eyes, thinking secretly: "Since he dares to take over such an important task, it means that he must have a clever plan, and I must not take it lightly." He thought By reducing our team's manpower to break our coordination, I won't be able to do what he wants!"
As if he felt the gaze from Yelu Jian, Sun Tu, who was standing on the sidelines, suddenly raised his eyes and looked back. He looked at Yelu Jian from a distance, and then curled up the corner of his mouth, revealing an inexplicable smile.
Now that the Liao ambassador had spoken, Xiao Shihu could only accept it even if he was dissatisfied, and immediately began to tell his team members: "We have a huge advantage in this battle, so we must win a big victory. Only in this way can we win." Don’t let me lose my majesty in Daliao! When the game starts, let them know how powerful we are, we are stronger than they know!”
"Ouch..." These Liao players shouted loudly, looking like the wolf totem they worshiped. At this time, they showed more energy than five days ago.
After a short interlude, the time finally arrived. As the drum beat suddenly stopped, the two teams took the field one after another, each standing near the center line waiting for the kick-off.
As the gong sounded, Cuju was thrown up high. Almost all the Liao players got ready to charge, waiting for the ball to hit the ground before rushing to attack. With their numbers already greatly dominant, they were naturally unwilling to fall into passivity from the beginning like last time.
In the cheers and noise of the people, the ball hit the ground, and the twelve Liao people rushed over as nimble and fast as twelve cheetahs catching prey. They wanted to seize the opportunity and grab the ball earlier. Just a round ball.
But just when they rushed forward, an unexpected scene happened. The eight members of the Song team did not rush forward to seize the ball as usual, but retreated sharply back at the same time, until they retreated near their own goal, and then stopped. , put on a defensive posture.
The Song people actually gave up the initiative from the beginning of the game and allowed the Liao people to attack their own dragon gate!
After understanding this, all the Liao players on the field showed excited expressions. They immediately shouted and rushed towards the Song people's goal like a tide. In just a blink of an eye, the three people at the front had already rushed to their opponents. In front of them, the ball handler at the back immediately raised his foot and sent the ball to their feet, allowing them to shoot immediately.
After seeing this weird scene, the audience burst into an uproar: "What are you doing? Have they given up completely? Why not give it a try with the Liao people? Even if they lose, they won't look so useless." ..." The one who was impatient started to curse loudly and even doubted Sun Tu's intentions.
However, there was a burst of jubilation on the Liao mission, and they all shouted to encourage their team, asking them to score a goal quickly to kick off this great victory. Only Yelu Jian was among them, but his face was solemn and he frowned: "What exactly do they want to do? Do they plan to survive these three quarters by relying on defense?"
The situation on the court was changing rapidly. Under the different reactions of the spectators on both sides, the Liao players who had just stopped the ball and wanted to take a shot suddenly found that there was a simple-looking man in front of them. The opponent actually blocked him earlier. He started at an angle to shoot, and at the same time pumped his legs in an attempt to destroy his control of the ball. It was Cui Lueshang who appeared as a replacement.
This made him irritated, so he could only change his shot before the opponent touched the ball and pass the ball towards his teammates on the side. But a defender soon appeared in front of him. Shen Liang, who also looked calm, had no chance to shoot and it was difficult to break through, so he could only pass the ball again.
As a result, Cuju was constantly being passed around at the feet of the Liao people, and as long as they found the shooting angle, a defender would inevitably come out in front of them, making them unable to shoot at all and could only continue to pass the ball. He fell at Xiao Duhu's feet.
After seeing this series of defenses from behind, he finally understood the opponent's strategy. It seemed that the Song people really planned to use iron barrel-like defenses to contain their own offensive. No matter how skilled these people are, at least they are extremely fast and can actually target twelve people with eight people, and this is even when three of them have never stepped forward to help.
While Sun Tu forced one of the Liao players to step back, he looked at the last Liao captain: "My defensive team is a new style of play that you have never seen before. Do you have a way to crack it?"