Chapter 29: Ruthless Comparison

  Li QIN stood in the middle of the court, looking down at the leather ball. Seeing that the ball was made very roughly, it was sewn together from two pieces of leather, not even a perfect circle. He stepped on it and felt that it was filled with dry grass or animal hair inside. He kicked it up with his instep and bounced it a few times, but the elasticity was too small, only suitable for powerful shots, not suitable for playing delicate ball skills.

  He passed the ball to Jing Qi, who was the only one in the team skilled at playing this kind of ball and claimed to be highly skilled, the Little Ball God of Fuping. Jing Qi stretched out his leg and caught the ball, which flew up to a height of over five feet, and then kicked it with all his might, producing a loud thud as the ball soared into the air!

  The soldiers and civilians on the sidelines suddenly shouted in unison, "Good!" Even Tang Jie, who was sitting on a stool, nodded his head. If the ball was kicked like this, this game of cuju would still be worth watching.

  Tang Biao didn't care about the scene on the sidelines, stood up, covered his right rib with his hand, and slowly walked to his team's front, picking out twelve sturdy men.

  "Compared to others, we're different. We kick people first, then kick the ball. Once the person is kicked down, isn't the ball still yours to kick? Am I right?"

  Twelve sturdy men were all silent, looking at each other in dismay. They could see that Li QIN's team was quite intimidating just by their appearance. If they were to compete in soccer, the outcome would be 50/50, but if it came down to fighting, nine out of ten times they wouldn't stand a chance!

  Seeing the team's nervousness, Tang Biao said again: "As long as you kick that bastard Li QIN down and win this game, you'll get a year's worth of grain. Each of you will receive half a year's worth, not just one month!"

  Tang Biao is actually a rascal by nature, with no vision and no bearing. He knows how to win people over, but uses the wrong methods. He is using methods that harm the greater collective to reward smaller collectives.

  If the strong men in the next village each get half a year's worth of food, it would be equivalent to taking away from five other people in the village. Twelve strong men, aside from their own share, would take away sixty people's worth, but this village doesn't even have that many soldiers!

  The soldiers who did not take the field immediately changed color, if according to Tang's statement, then they would have won this round, but they themselves would not get any benefits, and might not even get three days' rations, let alone enough for the twelve of them. In that case, it would be better to lose, at least they would get a steady supply of rations for three days!

  The twelve strong men thought to themselves: "This is an insult, but since it's the words of Tun Long, even if it's an insult, it's him who's being insulting. We'll just focus on carrying the grain!"

  Under the heavy reward, there must be brave men. Many strong and robust men shouted loudly, with a mind to kick people down, also took action. However, not one of their comrades-in-arms cheered them on or helped to boost their morale!

  Tang didn't care about other people's feelings at all. If he did, he wouldn't have become a rascal and bullied the weak. Covering his right rib with his hand, he glared viciously at Li Qin, thinking: "Today I'll let you know my ferocity, best if I kick all your ribs broken!"

  The two teams lined up, with Li Qins goal at the north end, and all the players facing south. Li Qin signaled to Jing Qi to give the ball to the opposing team, and he shouted loudly: "We dont take advantage of them, let them start the game and attack first!"

  Jing Qi kicked the ball to the nearest strong man and said, "You're welcome!"

  That strong man received the ball, thinking of continuing the previous scene on the field, passing the ball and making a show, then kicking people again. But before he could pass the ball out, something unexpected happened!

  Just now on the field, Yao Xiu and Tang Ke's two teams of soldiers were competing. Never mind who was predetermined to win or lose, in short, everyone first kicked the ball, no matter what, they had to make a show of it before kicking people! Tang's robust men took to the field, although they didn't have good intentions, but could still pretend to be "gentlemen", planning to pass the ball a couple of times before pouncing on and kicking people!

  But their ideas can only be theirs and do not represent what Li QIN's soldiers think. Of course, Li QIN's soldiers are also gentlemen and did not kick people first, but they didn't say they wouldn't move other things!

  "Shen Yi shouted: 'You don't allow the use of hands, huh? Alright, I won't use my hands!' He charged towards the muscular man who was about to catch the ball and rushed over."

  The strong man who received the ball was shocked and thought: "What's going on...". Before he could finish thinking, under the sunlight, a vicious act occurred. A big, round head with half of its hair not grown yet, rushed towards him with a crash. Hurriedly, it was clear that the other party didn't use their hands, but rather their head!

  Then Shen Yi charged forward with his big head, aiming at the burly man who was about to catch the ball, and viciously bumped into him, shouting "Head-butt!"

  Bang! The two heads collided!

  The strong man who received the ball didn't even hum a sound, his eyes rolled back, and he fell straight to the ground with a thud, unconscious!

  Can't he get dizzy? Even if the strong man is strong, he's still a normal person. But Shen Yi is not normal, he's just a humanoid siege hammer, hitting his head against the wall, who can hit harder than that big bald head of his?!

  Inside and outside the court, there was a dead silence, everyone was stunned... This bald rascal, what did he eat to grow up?

  Shen Yi didn't stop, and rushed towards the second strong man, shouting: "You lie down too!" Rushing forward, his posture was no different from before, strictly adhering to the rules of the competition, resolutely not using his hands, and instead using his head!

  Bang! Another loud noise, the second strong man didn't even understand what was happening, and he also fell straight down, his eyes rolled back, not pretending to be dizzy. He and the first strong man lay on the ground in a perfect "eight" shape, neat and tidy!

  Shen Yi rubbed his bald head with one hand and said, "I've been beaten up for the past few days, finally I have the chance to beat someone up!" He charged at the third sturdy man again.

  The third strong man shouted loudly: "Save your life!" and turned around to run away, fleeing in all directions.

  Shen Yi shouted from behind: "Stop, stop right there!"

  At this time, the people on the scene just reacted, Li Qin shouted: "Good iron head work! Brothers, come on!" He took the lead and rushed towards the strong men, Meng Mu and others yelled loudly, followed him and also rushed up!

  In the blink of an eye, all twenty people who were still able to move on the field started sprinting wildly. Li Qins and his group chased from behind while the robust men fled in front, filling the entire field with figures shouting and running frantically!

  And that ball, quietly lying on the ground, so wronged, no one paid attention to it, this is a Cuju match!

  Tang Ren stood up, his face full of horror, and kept saying: "My mother, my mother......"

  Tang Jie grasped his beard and opened his mouth wide: "This, this, this, this......"

  Tang's face was stunned, his eyes wide with shock. "Is this how it is? They're also too bullying!"

  In less than half a meal's time, ten of the strong men from Tang Biao's team were lying on the ground, and the two who escaped disaster ran out of the field, completely defeated!

  The ball is still inside, and no one cares about it. Li QIN and his players are standing there, panting heavily. Although they have defeated their opponents, the physical strength consumed in this short period of time is not small. Even if everyone has a strong physique, they can't help but stop to catch their breath!

  Tang Jie had come back to his senses by this time and he said: "This...this means Li Qiren and the others have won, right?"

  Tang Ren was stunned and couldn't respond; this was his first time encountering such a situation.

  Jing Ming said, "In response to the big man's words, this counts as Li QIN and his team winning. Originally they had to score three goals first to win, but now that their opponent is gone, the game can't continue, so even if they don't score any more goals, it still counts as a win!"

  Tang Jie burst out laughing and said, "Although this is a cuju match, no one kicked the ball, but Li Qin's team didn't break the rules either. They really didn't use their hands, nor did they take anyone's life. Come on, go up and take a look at those lying on the ground, and wake them up. Also, Li Qin and his team don't need to be substituted out, let's continue the match!"

  Jing Ming responded with a nod and called for the bailiffs to come forward, who then carried down those unconscious strong men.

  Tang Ting heard that he was going to continue the competition, and his heart was racing. What kind of kicking ball is this? This is a cruel competition! He turned his head to look at his own troops, but saw that the soldiers were all pale-faced, especially the twelve who had just played in the previous match, who were hiding behind the crowd. These soldiers were used to bullying Yao Xiu, but when they found someone even more ruthless than them, they didn't dare to compete anymore, and retreated!

  Tang Yan originally only planned to take second place and didn't think about taking first. Now that he has already taken second, why bother letting his soldiers go through the trouble? He straightforwardly said to Tang Jie: "Uncle... sir, I think Meng Mu Tun's soldiers are highly skilled in Cuju, my soldiers can't compare, so there's no need for a competition. We admit defeat!"

  Tang Jie nodded and thought to himself, "He's a clever kid, much better than his foolish father." He said, "You admitting defeat is good, knowing when to yield is a sign of greatness. Someone come and call Li QIN and the others, tell them we've won first place."

  Jing Ming immediately shouted loudly. Li Qin heard the shouting and exclaimed, "We won!" He raised his hand and said, "Everyone raise your right hands, let's give a round of applause!"

  Xu Xiaoni was the most obedient, immediately raised his right hand, ran to the front, and slapped Li Qin's palm. Jing Qi followed closely behind, Wu Dangzi also rushed over, Shen Yi and Wu Xiao saw it, hesitated for a moment, and also came over to slap palms with Li Qin.

  As soon as the applause ended, Wu Xiaosan and his friends suddenly had a feeling that this was what it meant to share honor and shame together, they were all part of the same group. As soon as this thought occurred to them, they began shouting and applauding each other loudly.

  Everyone arrived in front of Tang Jie. Li Qin bowed his hands and said, "Sir, I was able to get the first place, it's all thanks to your guidance, sir. I have a request, I hope you can agree."

  Tang Jie furrowed his brow, thinking to himself: "Unlikely! Li Qin is quite skilled at handling people, how could he just make a show of himself and then come to me with demands? Could it be that he wants more military rations? Where am I supposed to get those from?"

  In front of everyone, he was too embarrassed to directly refuse, so he said: "What's the matter, just say it." He had made up his mind, agreeing in person and refusing behind their back.

  Li Qindao said: "I want to set up a banquet for you, sir, and invite all colleagues. I hope you will give me face and let me have a good reputation!"

  Tang Jie was taken aback, and it turned out that he wanted to invite himself to drink. He burst out laughing and said: "So this is the request, I should have agreed, I should have agreed."

  ——

  Peaceful loud shout, seeking support, seeking recommendation votes, seeking collection, trouble everyone, thank you!