Liu Bei: My younger brother is a deity.

Chapter 38 Cao Cao

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, the open space outside Goushi County became lively.

Jucheng was built three miles east of the city. It was a square courtyard surrounded by an earthen wall, about ten feet high, with a gate on each of the four sides.

This is the Cuju field belonging to the Goushi County Confucian Temple. It is usually used by students for playing Cuju (ancient Chinese football) after practicing archery. It is also rented out to the public during festivals or school anniversaries.

Lu Zhi's students often competed here, and over time, it became a well-known place at the foot of Goushi Mountain.

When Gongsun Zan arrived with Liu Bei and others, a large crowd had already gathered outside Ju City.

There were students of Lu Zhi, busybodies from Luoyang who had come after hearing the news, and some young men from noble families dressed in brocade robes and riding tall horses. They gathered in twos and threes, whispering and discussing something.

"Quite a few people have come." Gongsun Zan glanced around, a slight smirk playing on his lips, his tone tinged with smugness. "They're all waiting to see us deal with Cao Cao."

Liu Bei smiled but said nothing.

In this era, Cuju (ancient Chinese football) and Touhu (pitch-pot) were the two most popular sports.

Pitch-pot is an indoor sport, usually played among family and friends.

Cuju is an outdoor sport, which makes it very eye-catching, attracting a large number of spectators whenever there is a match.

Inside the city of Ju, the grounds are rectangular, about 120 paces long and 60 paces wide.

The ground was compacted and covered with a layer of fine sand, so it was neither slippery nor dusty when stepped on.

Six small archways were built at both the north and south ends, each about three feet square. A shallow recess was made of bricks in front of the archway, which was the "Ju Shi" – that is, the goal.

A net was stretched behind the ball-playing area to prevent the ball from rolling far away.

A referee, in his forties, wearing a black shirt and holding a small flag, stood in the center of the field.

He was a former teacher at the Goushi County Confucian Academy, and his surname was Hu.

Gongsun Zan led his five men to stand at the south end, while Cao Cao and his group of six stood at the north end.

The two groups faced each other across half the court, their eyes already sparking with tension even without exchanging a word.

Gongsun Zan's side consisted of six men: he himself was the vanguard, his brothers Gongsun Yue and Gongsun Fan were positioned on the left and right flanks respectively, Liu Bei was in the center directing the attack, Zhang Fei was in the rear, and as for Liu Quan—

Knowing that he was the strongest, Gongsun Zan placed him in the position of a scout, essentially a "free agent" who could go wherever he was needed.

Cao Cao's side also consisted of six people: Cao Cao personally directed operations from the center, his younger brother Cao De and cousin Cao Hong served as the left and right wings, his cousins ​​Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan were positioned in front and behind, and his friend Shi A served as a sentry.

Both sides stood still, and Coach Hu walked to the center of the field, holding the fist-sized ball in both hands.

The stands around the field were packed with people, all intently waiting for the match to begin.

The ju is made of leather, stuffed with hair, round and smooth, with tight stitches, and gleams with a dark red luster in the morning light.

Coach Hu cleared his throat and announced loudly: "Today's match is between Gongsun Bogui's team and Cao Mengde's team. The rules are as usual: the player who enters the ball room scores a point, and the first player to reach ten points wins. Players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands, push, trip, or strike other players. Violators will be disqualified and forced to leave the field for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."

He then added, "Now the two leaders can start a 'verbal battle'."

"Verbal battle" was a small part of the Cuju (ancient Chinese football) competition in the Han Dynasty, which can be simply called "talking tough."

Gongsun Zan and Cao Cao walked to the center of the field without hesitation and stood facing each other.

Gongsun Zan was more than half a head taller than Cao Cao, looking down at him with a hint of provocation in his tone:

"Cao Cao, I heard you paid for Ying'er's entire month's worth of cosmetics just to see her? What, do you have too much money at home and nowhere to spend it?"

Cao Cao, however, was not angry.

Although he was not tall, he had a very steady demeanor.

Cao Cao smiled and said, "Brother Bo Gui, you're mistaken. Miss Lai Ying'er prefers men with talent, not pretty boys. What good is your good looks alone? Can you even understand the poems and essays Miss Lai Ying'er writes?"

Gongsun Zan's expression changed slightly; he was indeed not good at poetry and literature.

Seeing this, Cao Cao's smile deepened, and he added, "By the way, Miss Ying'er sent someone to tell me yesterday that she would like to hear me tell some interesting stories from the Spring and Autumn Period tonight. Given Brother Bo Gui's background, you probably don't know much about history, but if you're interested, you can come and listen."

"Bullshit!" Gongsun Zan finally couldn't hold back any longer, his face flushed red. "Cao Cao, don't think you're so great just because you have a few stinking coins and a foul mouth! Today in Ju City, I'll show you what real skill is!"

Cao Cao remained unperturbed; instead, he laughed even more heartily.

He knew that Gongsun Zan was petty, so he deliberately provoked him with his words today, which meant he had already won half the battle.

As for the other half.

His gaze shifted from Gongsun Zan's face, sweeping over Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, Gongsun Yue, Gongsun Fan...

Then it landed all over Liu's body.

hiss!

Cao Cao gasped.

He asked himself if he had seen many handsome men.

Yuan Shao was handsome, Gongsun Zan was also quite good-looking, and there were many other good-looking young men among the aristocratic families in Luoyang.

But the boy's appearance... he couldn't think of any words to describe it.

Can there really be such a handsome man in the world?!

Cao Cao suddenly felt a jolt of alarm. He thought, "Although I just said that Lai Ying'er likes talented men, in reality, this woman loves handsome men the most. Otherwise, how would that scoundrel Gongsun Zan have a chance to compete with me! This young man is even more handsome than Gongsun Zan. No, I mustn't let Lai Ying'er see him. Wait, Gongsun Zan brought this young man here, could it be that he's preparing to use his 'handsome man trap'? Damn it!"

Cao Cao suddenly felt a headache.

On the field, Coach Hu shouted loudly, "Both sides, take your positions! Let the game begin!"

With this command, the ball was tossed high into the air.

The twelve figures moved simultaneously.

Gongsun Zan took the lead and was the first to grab the leather ball.

But Cao Cao had already made preparations.

The Xiahou brothers flanked them from both sides.

Xiahou Dun completely ignored the ball and charged straight at Gongsun Zan.

Gongsun Zan was startled and quickly dodged to the side, but the leather ball under his feet was immediately hooked by Xiahou Yuan.

Just as Xiahou Yuan was about to pass the ball, he was knocked away by Zhang Fei, who rushed in from the side.

Zhang Fei passed the ball to Liu Bei.

Gongsun Zan exclaimed, "Yide did a great job!"

As Liu Bei received the ball, a young man rushed towards him.

Liu Bei was very confident in his footwork, hooking the ball left and right and swaying it, feeling that his movements were elegant and he would definitely be able to shake off his opponent.

Unexpectedly, his foot slipped and the ball was snatched away by the young man.

Seeing this from a short distance away, Cao Cao thought to himself with a sneer, "Does this kid not know that Shi A is the fastest foot in Luoyang? Daring to try and pull some fancy tricks in front of him, haha!"

He waved for the ball: "Shia, over here."

Then I witnessed an astonishing scene.

Shi A flicked the ball, dodging Liu Bei's attempt to steal it, and was preparing to pass it to Cao Cao as soon as it landed.

Suddenly a figure rushed over, leaping into the air to an astonishing height, lightly tapping his knee, and landing with the ball.

After landing, he didn't stop moving. He hooked his right foot, trapping the ball between his instep and ankle, and nimbly dodged Shi Afei's fast-moving kick by turning his body to the left.

He then lifted the ball high and spun it to the right, avoiding Cao De's collision.

Before the ball even hit the ground, he pushed it forward and sprinted toward the goal.

The Xiahou brothers resorted to their old trick, charging in from the left and right.

Unexpectedly, the opponent took an unconventional approach, first making a light and agile flick of the ball, then leaping lightly and tumbling sideways in mid-air, passing over the heads of the Xiahou brothers along with the ball.

He then landed lightly, without disturbing the dust, and continued dribbling the ball at full speed.

Cao Cao was stunned.

Can Cuju be played like this?!