The story of the match between Anling and Yanling spread to the two counties at an astonishing speed.
Tens of thousands of able-bodied young people from both sides signed up enthusiastically, which was even more exaggerated than the imperial court recruiting troops.
It’s no wonder, as the saying goes, a tree has a skin, and people fight for a breath. How many people have been ruined by a face since ancient times?
What's more, whether it's Anling or Yanling, the aristocratic forces in both counties are secretly guiding this matter, which makes the common people's fighting spirit even higher.
The match between the two counties was scheduled for the first day of May. However, on April 29th and 30th, many people from the two counties came to the competition venue to support the field and build simple shacks.
After all, Zhao Hongrun made it very clear that this competition would take so long that almost all the citizens of the two counties could participate. In this way, if one party loses, the other party cannot blame it.
The meeting place between the two counties is located in the deserted open space at the junction of Anling County and Yanling County.
Zhao's sect was very fast. Within a few days, a huge stone tablet with a height of two feet was erected at this place, with "boundary stone" engraved on it.
The reason why the words Yanling and Anling are not engraved is because Zhao Hongrun considered the issue of ranking. Anyway, even if this thing is not engraved, the people of the two counties will know what it is used for.
This is used to slap each other in the face... No, no, this is used to determine the boundaries of the two counties.
On the first day of May, Zhao Hongrun put on a brand new brocade robe and, escorted by Zongwei Weijiao, Lu Mu, Mu Qing, Chu Heng, and Zhou Pu, and his third uncle Zhao Laiyu, took a carriage to the competition venue.
.
When I got there, I was like, wow, there was a huge crowd of people, as if all the strong men from the two counties were here.
And the sound of cheers and taunts, like a sea wave, was even more shocking.
No, Zhao Laiyu, who is over sixty years old, this old man who has seen many big scenes in his life, also has a tense face at this moment, holding on to the crutch with his right hand.
Looking at his nervous look, Zhao Hongrun maliciously guessed whether the old man had some hidden heart disease.
"Hey, let me, let me!"
While the Zongwei were protecting Zhao Hongrun and Zhao Laiyu, they called on the civilians above to give in. Fortunately, there were soldiers from Shangshui here to maintain order. Otherwise, Lu Mu doubted whether they could squeeze into this river-like crowd.
Stopping in the sea of people, Zhao Laiyu looked around and asked doubtfully: "Hongrun, where are the boys in my family?"
"He's presiding over the ring."
Zhao Hongrun said with a smile.
He had sharper eyes than Zhao Laiyu, and it didn't take long before he saw Zhao Chengxun's figure and pointed the direction for Zhao Laiyu.
So, Zhao Laiyu leaned on crutches and squeezed into the more crowded crowd with Zhao Hongrun.
At this time, where they were about to go, there was a ring, about two feet in diameter and one foot in height. It was made of solid wood and covered with a layer of sheepskin that was as long as one knuckle.
On the ring, the Thirteenth Young Master Zhao Chengxun was standing in the corner of the ring, raising his arms high and shouting with all his strength: "Winner! Anling!"
"Whoa whoa--"
Under the ring, the Anling people were cheering with their arms raised, and some Yanling people were mixed in, cursing each and every one of them.
"Who else? Who else?"
In the center of the ring, there was a tall and strong man from Anling, raising his voice to challenge the Yanling people in the audience.
Hearing this man's provocation, a Yanling man couldn't bear it anymore, climbed onto the ring and shouted: "Yanling!"
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sound of booing from Anling people all around.
"Shhhhh-"
And among them, there were also a lot of curses and cheers.
"Kill this Yanling man to death!"
"Fuck him!"
Amidst the shouts of the crowd, the strong man from Anling who had won earlier looked at the challenger arrogantly, and then the two sides began to struggle.
Yes, a scuffle.
It's not a competition of weapons, nor a competition of fists and kicks, but a competition of wrestling.
Why? Because wrestling consumes the most energy. As long as the strength of each other is not too different, one party has to defeat the other. Unless the wrestling skills are very good, it will consume a lot of energy. Only in this way can two people defeat each other in just a few days.
There are as many as hundreds of thousands of county residents, so most of them have the opportunity to play.
If you lose without playing on your own, compared to losing if you play on your own, it will naturally be more convincing for future generations.
When Zhao Hongrun and Zhao Laiyu stopped to watch, the two people on the stage were fighting each other fiercely. Although the stage was padded with sheepskin as thick as a knuckle, don't forget that underneath the sheepskin was all solid wood. This wrestling
After all, it's still no joke.
"It seems that everyone here... is from Anling?"
Zhao Laiyu looked at Zhao Hongrun doubtfully.
"Does Third Uncle think that this king will cheat?" Zhao Hongrun seemed to understand Zhao Laiyu's expression, shook his head and said: "There are twenty arenas in total, Anling ten, Yanling ten, the former is Anling
The latter is Yanling's home court. If you want to win in the end, you must not only defend your own arena, but also capture the opponent's..."
"Take it off? Just like that man?"
Zhao Laiyu raised his finger and pointed at the ring, and saw that on the ring, the Yanling man actually defeated the strong man from Anling before. Amidst the curses and applause of many Anling people around the ring, he pulled
He yelled: "Yan Ling!"
At this time, Zhao Chengxun on the ring also showed a hint of regret and reluctantly shouted: "Winner, Yan Ling!"
"Yes, that's it." Zhao Hongrun smiled and nodded.
The Yanling man, using the words of the Anling strong man just now, provoked the Anling people in the audience: "Who else?! Who else?!"
His shouting aroused the indignation of many nearby Anling people.
But I have to say that this Anling man is really powerful, and he actually fell down the challenge of several Anling men one after another.
Seeing this, Zhao Laiyu frowned slightly and said: "Hongrun, you... are not appropriate. If one party fights with a wheel, no matter how powerful the person is, he will lose."
Zhao Hongrun smiled when he heard this and said: "I have already considered this... One point for grabbing the ring, and one point for each challenger who fails to defeat the opponent after that. Until the sun sets in the evening, he still occupies the stage.
One side in the arena gets 100 points.
In the end, the party with the highest score will be the winner of this arena." At this point, he paused and said with a smile: "I have no restrictions on the loser from playing again. As long as you have physical strength, if you don't have physical strength, it's purely
Just give points to the other party."
Just as Zhao Hongrun was explaining to Zhao Laiyu, someone climbed up on the ring and said to the Yanling native: "I'll challenge you!"
"Huh?"
Zhao Hongrun was slightly startled because he found out that this person was a familiar face. It was Lu Zhi whom he met in the refugee camp when he first arrived in Anling. He was a man who looked thin but was actually very strong.
Zhao Hongrun laughed quietly because he saw Lu Zhi shouting the word "An Ling" after hesitating after entering the ring.
But in fact, is Lu Zhi from Anling?
No, he is originally from Yanling County.
Because of this, Lu Zhi felt very awkward after calling out the word An Ling.
So, he added another sentence: "Formerly from Yanling County!"
The Anling people under the ring were stunned for a moment, but immediately, these words were forgotten: Aren't the people from Yanling County also from Anling now?
"Fuck him!"
"Brother, beat him to death!"
Amidst the waves of cheering, Lu Zhi lived up to expectations and finally knocked down the Yanling native who had defeated several opponents. He fell to the ring and panted like an ox, unable to get up.
Seeing this, Zhao Chengxun shouted excitedly: "The winner is Anling!"
"Whoa whoa--"
The Anling people below the stage cheered with such enthusiasm that even Lu Zhi on the stage, who still had some grudges against the Anling people in his heart, forgot about the discord between them, and after a full discussion
After shouting with a red face, he forgot about himself and began to provoke those Yanling people.
It seems that provoking each other has become an established habit.
"I finally understand why you secretly sought out the refugees outside Anling City in the first place..." Zhao Laiyu turned to look at Zhao Hongrun, nodded as if in approval and said: "Solve two things at the same time, brilliant!
"
"Haha." Zhao Hongrun smiled slightly.
While the two of them were talking, Lu Zhi once again defeated an opponent who was obviously not as strong as him, thus arousing cheers from the Anling people.
"Well done! Brother!"
"Kill them!"
Of course, it also caused curses from the Yanling people.
"That's crazy."
Looking at the crazy atmosphere around him, Zhao Laiyu might be old and his heart couldn't stand the stimulation, so he left with Zhao Hongrun on crutches.
He did not greet his grandson Zhao Chengxun because the latter did a good job.
Although it only serves a promotional purpose, such an opportunity to show one's face is not something that just anyone can get.
"crazy?"
Zhao Hongrun smiled and said pointedly: "These people originally lacked a place to vent... After venting the evil fire in their hearts, people will naturally feel comfortable."
Zhao Laiyu glanced at the people shouting at the top of their lungs around the ring, and shook his head secretly: If you have exhausted all your strength just by shouting, can you still go on stage?
But then again, this may not be a way to vent.
"This kid...this move is brilliant!"
Zhao Laiyu was sincerely convinced, because even he had never thought of such an incredible solution.
"Are you sure that I, An Ling, can win?"
Zhao Laiyu asked casually.
After hearing this, Zhao Hongrun said with a smile: "Why should I be sure? Whether Anling wins or Yanling wins, what does this have to do with me?"
Zhao Laiyu's eyes widened in astonishment, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that what Zhao Hongrun said was right, because the latter just gave these people a way to vent the evil fire in their hearts. As for who can win and who can lose, it's really
Not that important.
Lost? Not convinced? Let’s fight again next year!
I believe that a few years later, these two groups will be full of thoughts on how to win back what they lost last year, or continue to win in the coming year, and continue to ridicule the losers. I am afraid that few people will still remember the grievances that caused the conflict between the two sides in the first place.
And this is the most brilliant part of Zhao Hongrun's trick: he used a less important dispute to subvert the national antagonism between the two.
Thinking of this, Zhao Laiyu sighed secretly and made a rare joke with Zhao Hongrun: "If An Ling loses, I'm afraid not only will the Ministry of Rites cause trouble for you, but the Imperial Censor will also impeach you on the charge of "undermining the national decency".
.”
Also, the defeat of the Wei people to the Chu people is a big or small matter.
"The Ministry of Rites?" Zhao Hongrun grinned and said angrily: "The Ministry of Rites owes me a huge favor! As for the Yushijian, I like to talk. Anyway, it won't be a day or two for me to be impeached. He is one more person.
not much."
"Haha." Zhao Laiyu smiled and shook his head.
At this moment, Duan Pei from the Blue Crows appeared in the crowd and whispered a few words to Zhao Hongrun, which made the latter frown slightly.