Zhu Shuang and Zhu Gang were somewhat confused by what their father had said about the disaster their elder brother would suffer.
But that did not stop them from understanding the dangerous implication hidden in their father's words.
After all, the classics and histories were mandatory study for princes of the Ming. The Son of Heaven had even designated the history of the Sui and Tang as one of the key subjects.
And within the history of Sui and Tang, Li Yuan, who founded Tang and destroyed Sui, was naturally one of the central figures. His eventual hasty abdication, becoming merely a foil to Emperor Taizong of Tang, left a deep impression.
Thus, the moment Zhu Yuanzhang spoke those words, the princes felt a chill in their hearts. Almost simultaneously they left their seats and threw themselves to the ground to beg forgiveness.
For a moment the entire area facing the light screen descended into chaos.
Chairs were pushed aside. Space was cleared.
Zhu Zhen was even dragged down by Zhu Di. The sudden pull made him stumble before he managed to kneel.
Zhu Shuang and Zhu Gang, dressed in ceremonial robes, found it particularly difficult to move.
The result was a scene of utter disorder.
Those facing the screen caused a great commotion, while the others maintained an appearance of concentration. Yet from the corners of their eyes they quietly watched the spectacle.
Luo Guanzhong leaned slightly to the side and widened his eyes, capturing the confusion on the crown prince's face.
Luo Guanzhong could roughly guess what the crown prince was thinking.
The crown prince was probably wondering whether he should kneel as well.
Opportunities to witness royal family matters were rare. Luo Guanzhong almost instinctively began calculating.
If he wrote a miscellaneous chronicle about the imperial household during his leisure time, what title should it have?
Hongwu Miscellany?
Secrets of the Founding Age?
Trifles of Great Ming?
Records of Ming Anecdotes?
No, no.
The emperor still had more than twenty years of life ahead of him. If he wrote something careless and it was discovered, he might end up exiled to Hainan or Liaodong.
Before Old Luo could settle on an answer, an angry shout suddenly came from Ma Huanghou.
"Zhu Chongba!"
"Are you trying to tear this family apart?"
Xu Da, Li Shanchang, Li Wenzhong, and the others all inhaled sharply.
They immediately demonstrated an impeccable performance of looking straight ahead.
Luo Guanzhong froze for a moment. Then he quietly made a decision in his heart.
Twenty years was nothing.
He could secretly finish the manuscript, hide it somewhere, and entrust it to a loyal and cautious person.
Would that not be enough to pass the time safely?
And if that still did not work, the health preservation method that Zhuge Wuhou mentioned three months ago might not be impossible to practice...
Zhu Yuanzhang naturally had no idea what others were thinking.
Facing his wife's questioning, however, he found himself somewhat at a loss.
"Hey, hey, hey. That is not what I meant!"
"I only said that because Biao'er would suffer misfortune first... Fine, fine. No misfortune, no misfortune."
"How could I suspect Shuang'er and the others? I was speaking of matters more than ten years in the future..."
With their mother's intervention, the brothers immediately felt a great weight lifted from their hearts.
Zhu Biao also breathed a sigh of relief.
He then personally witnessed his father completely helpless before their mother, who pretended she was about to wipe away tears.
Zhu Yuanzhang could only comfort her while casting warning glances around the hall. At the same time he waved his hand, signaling for his sons to hurry and stand up.
Yes.
The later generations calling their father absurd actually made some sense...
---
Inside Ye City.
Without waiting for Kongming to speak, Liu Bei had already asked with curiosity,
"This game of polo. Later generations say it began in our Han. Why have we never heard of it?"
When Liu Bei asked this, smiles appeared on the faces of Zhao Yun and Guan Yu.
The two exchanged a glance.
Guan Yu cupped his hands toward Liu Xie in the distance, then stroked his beard and said,
"If elder brother wishes to see polo, I can summon the iron cavalry to compete."
The meaning of his words was obvious. Seeing Liu Bei's curious expression, Guan Yu did not keep him in suspense.
"In the past, when I commanded the cavalry, I struggled to find an effective training method. I wrote to Brother Zilong for advice. From Liaodong he sent a method of training cavalry through the game of jiqiu."
"Once the soldiers learned this game, they competed day and night without rest. Their riding skill improved greatly."
Zhao Yun also stood and briefly explained.
"The northern lands are bitterly cold. Our people must constantly fight for survival against the Hu tribes."
"Since the time of Emperor Xiaowu, although the Han cavalry possesses strong armor and weapons, our horsemanship still falls slightly behind the Hu, who practice riding from childhood."
"In winter there is no farming. Someone therefore adapted the method of cuju and played it on horseback."
"The riders of the north all know this practice. When Brother Yunchang asked me before, I simply told him about it."
Everyone now understood.
What followed later was known to all.
The iron cavalry rose to fame in a single battle. Cao Cao's formal decline began when he could no longer deal with that elite force.
At this moment Zhang Fei seemed somewhat dissatisfied.
He nudged Zhao Yun with his shoulder. Although he lowered his voice, even Liu Xie could hear him clearly.
"I usually call you brother as well, Zilong. Why do you only remember Brother Yunchang and never treat old Zhang as your elder brother?"
This behavior immediately provoked Ma Chao's protest.
"The Yongliang cavalry training method that I taught Yide. Was it not useful?"
For a moment the hall became lively.
Zhao Yun tried to comfort Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei grumbled loudly.
Huang Zhong asked questions with curiosity.
Guan Yu shared his experiences.
Meanwhile Kongming, Xu Shu, and Pang Tong discussed quietly among themselves.
"It seems that the key to military games lies in simple rules and clear victory and defeat."
All these voices mixed together and filled the hall with noise for several moments.
Seeing Liu Xie's widened eyes, Liu Bei felt somewhat embarrassed.
"I manage my civil and military officials mainly through sincerity. I do not demand perfection in every detail."
"So they often behave somewhat informally."
Liu Xie smiled and waved his hand.
"I take no offense. In truth... it is quite good."
Liu Bei immediately relaxed.
---
[Lightscreen]
[Aside from polo, there is not much to say about Emperor Xuanzong at Leisure.
But through archery, cuju, polo, chuiwan, and touhu, we can roughly trace part of the development of ancient recreational activities.
First, cuju, which is essentially football. Its origins can be traced back to the Warring States period. It is considered a native traditional competition.
Polo, although not clearly recorded in the Han, appears in Cao Zhi's Ode to the Famous Capital, which describes a grand scene of polo play. At the time it was called jiqiu. This suggests it likely evolved from cuju.
As for chuiwan, many articles today claim it as the origin of golf. However, there is still no conclusive evidence.
Yet from records left in the Song dynasty, it is certain that chuiwan developed from polo.
The simplification of polo into chuiwan resembles the way touhu developed from archery.
The Rites of Zhou defined the Six Arts as the method of educating the sons of the state. Archery was among those Six Arts.
From the Book of Rites we can see that the Six Arts were not only required studies for gentlemen. They also served as a form of social interaction among scholars.
However, archery had a relatively high threshold. It required both strength and proper space.
For aristocratic youths raised in comfort, a social activity with a lower threshold yet still elegant was needed. Thus touhu naturally developed from archery.
The birth of chuiwan followed a similar pattern.
The Song dynasty itself possessed a political tendency of ruling through civil governance. Later it also lost its horse breeding regions, making good horses extremely difficult to obtain.
Under these combined circumstances, polo became a sport whose requirements rose to a level that the Song could scarcely reach.
According to Mengliang Lu, by the Southern Song period polo had already become a pastime used by wealthy young masters and sons of officials to display elegance.
It was beyond the reach of ordinary civil or military officials.
Thus polo, once a symbol of the grandeur of the Tang dynasty, was rapidly simplified.
Chuiwan was born and quickly spread everywhere.]