Chapter 18: Polo
Cage locked himself in the room again and didn't come out for a few days. Watson waited at the door, anxiously waiting. House went to practice. He looked like a human monster. The muscles of his body used to have a healthy shape, but now they were as hard as iron, just like a big piece of iron put together.
"Squeak" the door opened and Cage walked out.
"Watson."
"The old slave is here."
"Go buy a piece of land, and then do it according to the requirements on it." Cage handed the animal skin in his hand to Watson and asked him to handle it.
"Your Highness, where is the best place to buy?" Watson saw the size of the land on it.
"The closer the better." Cage thought about it and thought it was better to be closer. After finishing, he could take a sauna, which was more comfortable.
"Yes, Your Highness." Watson promised to go down and handle it.
Fifteen days later, all the things were done. After Cage checked, he could see that it was done well. In the field, a team of people wearing clothes of two different colors, riding tall magic horses, stood in the field waiting for Cage's inspection, and Cage was very satisfied.
"Are you all clear about the rules?"
"I understand." The answer was loud and clear, and it seemed that he should be a trained veteran.
Cage changed his clothes and came to the field, shouted "Start" loudly, and threw the ball made of sea otter skin in his hand into the air. The moment he landed, the two sides began to fight. Cage brought polo from the Tang Dynasty in China to this world. In his previous life, he always wanted to try out what fun this polo had, so he tried his best to formulate rules and follow the rules of this world. At the same time, he made the ball with sea otter skin that has better sealing and lighter weight.
Polo is really interesting, and it tests the horse control skills and the skills in your hands. After all, it is difficult to swing and hit the ball on horseback. Although Cage's equestrian skills are not good, his flexibility is still far higher than that of the people present, and they pass it between each other and attack and defend each other. In fact, it is very difficult to score in polo, because the goal is high and the ring itself is not big, which requires considerable skills.
These people must be from the cavalry team. It seems that they want to make some extra money, but Cage doesn't care. Only in this way can he show his skills! He also enjoys sweating all over. It feels good. After hard work, they gradually mastered the trick of swinging.
"Goal, we scored." The players on one side were very happy and swung and hit each other to congratulate.
Cage and his friends were very disappointed because someone else scored the goal. Cage thought that a tactic should be arranged, so he said, "Pause for a while, the blue team, follow me." A group of blue team players came to the side, and Cage drew a defense map on the ground, dividing all the players into four echelons. The players with the best swing skills were the forwards, responsible for receiving the ball and shooting. The players with good horse riding, average swing skills, and strong bodies were the midfielders, responsible for dispatching the ball, grabbing the ball, defending, passing, etc. The players with good horse riding and good swing skills were the backcourt, responsible for intercepting the opponent's attack and preventing the ball from being passed in. The players with poor ball skills and poor horse riding were the goalkeepers, responsible for staring at the opponent's ball shot into the ball circle and intercepting it. After formulating a simple tactic, they went on the court again.
At the beginning, there was a little chaos, but it gradually became organized. After all, a team of horses were crowded together, the space was small, and the space for movement was not very large. If there was no order, it would be completely useless if they rushed forward without any rules, and it would only hinder their own attack. When a group of people from the red team crowded together, three players from the blue team went up and completely controlled the situation. Although three people could not stop a group of people, due to the small space for movement, if they squeezed together casually, the opponent would have no room to move forward, because you have to open up the gap. Finally, this group of people found an opportunity and quickly passed the ball to the front court.
"D*mn, we were fooled, there is no one behind us." A man who was probably a captain of the red team shouted.
Polo does not pay attention to offside. In the absence of defense, the blue player in front received the ball, swung and shot, and easily scored.
"We scored a goal." The blue team began to cheer, and Cage also came forward to touch the club with them. Cage still felt very accomplished, after all, it was under his command that he won the ball.
The red team, which kicked off again, was much more careful and also arranged a goalkeeper to guard the backcourt. The two sides squeezed together again in the center circle. There was no space. One could only feel the constant collision of bodies. The blood was aroused in the field. The desire for victory made people more passionate. The blue team was well organized. The ball passed by the red team to the front court was received by the blue team's defender. The defender passed it directly to one of the midfielders. The midfielder saw that there was only one person in front of him, and he passed it to the player in front without a pause. Pick the ball, swing, shoot, it's a pity, because of the goalkeeper, a small interference made this ball not go in, depressed.
Cage called the forward back to explain a few words, and kicked off again. Both sides were more cautious. What made the red team depressed was that as long as the ball was passed forward, it would always be cut off. After several entanglements, the captain of the other team also saw something strange. The opponent's offense was very layered and the defense was also in place. So according to the opponent's arrangement, he also adjusted his players and needed to free up some space. This made the midfield entanglement more intense. Cage took the opportunity to steal a ball and passed it directly to the front court. Then, before the opponent turned his horse around, he had already urged his horse to the front court. The blue team's forward made a fake shot to deceive the goalkeeper's sight. The ball had already passed into the air and flew to Cage's position. Cage pulled it hard, and with a little rotation, the ball went in.
"We scored again." The blue team players gathered together and hit the clubs in their hands. They were very happy, just like winning a battle.
The captain of the red team saw something. It seems that this polo is like fighting. It emphasizes cooperation and a certain degree of attack and defense. You can't just attack all the time, and you can't just retreat all the time. That won't work. You must maintain a certain balance. After understanding this, the captain of the red team called all the red players to make arrangements and made adjustments based on the blue team's formation. When they came on the field again, the lines were stretched wider, and the players on both sides had room to move. The fight between them became more intense, especially for the players in the midfield, who had to rely on physical confrontation and the power of the horses to squeeze the opponent away in order to get the ball.
They fought for half a magic hour in attack and defense, but there was still no shot. However, they felt that the game was more intense and interesting. This was a contest of wisdom, skills, and cooperation.
After playing for a full half magic hour, the players on both sides were too tired and gave up the game. The blue team led by Cage led by two goals. After all, in terms of tactical arrangement, the captain of the other team could not compare with Cage, who had played football. Cage could fully display all kinds of tactics. Although very tired, everyone was very happy. Men are eager to fight and struggle. This is the law of nature. Whether it is fighting for food, territory, or spouse, there is a lot of fighting between males. Only fighting can reflect the value of men.
Cage asked everyone to take a shower in the clubhouse. After all, they had worked hard. Everyone was given some money as an appearance fee. Cage would not take that little money seriously. Cage believed that as the sport developed, more people would send him money.
Cage invented a new game, which soon spread throughout the imperial capital. The entire imperial capital knew that any matter invented by His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince was very interesting and could make a lot of money. The Seventh Prince was the symbol of gold coins. If the empire allowed it, many people wanted to print the image of the Seventh Prince on the gold coins to bless them to make a lot of money.
In the second game, there were many people watching the scene, but they were all advised to stay away from the court to avoid being accidentally injured. Cage played again this time. The two sides made free combinations and were divided into red and blue teams. However, this time Cage prepared more than last time. Both sides wore small jackets with numbers. Cage arranged his players and set some tactical formations.
The attack and defense of both sides made the people standing on the high platform excited, and they wanted to fight on the field. This time was more exciting than the last time. After all, after a game, people on both sides understood how to play polo and the rules of the game. Therefore, both sides were not only more careful than last time, but also more rational and passionate than last time.
In the eyes of the people below, it was a collision of wisdom. The arrangement of the formation was as exciting as arranging the battle formation. The men watching were all fascinated by this sport, eager to fight, and constantly cheering for the players on both sides. This feeling was involuntary. You would feel sorry for their missed good balls, and you would also be excited for every shot. This is the charm of confrontational games. The collision of bodies makes this game full of blood. There must be more courage and wisdom in this blood. This is why football is so attractive. Men who are not passionate are not men. As long as they are male, there is always desire in their hearts, which is the desire for fighting, the desire for honor, and the need for passion.
There are too few games in this world, and everyone needs entertainment.