Chapter 26: Wrestling

  "Fourth brother! Neither of us is from Tokyo, no matter how good it is here, we will both have to leave in the end. Anyang is where our roots are." As he said this, Zhou Ping thought about how this dreamlike city would become a ruin after several years, and later generations could only find its prosperity in paintings and written records. He couldn't help but sigh: "And as for Tokyo's prosperity, it can only be maintained by exhausting the strength of all the common people under heaven. Do you think it can last forever?"

  Xue Liangyu blinked in confusion and asked: "Aping, what do you mean by this?"

  "Hehe, let's not talk about that anymore!" Zhou Ping hung the packaged bow and arrow on the wall, laughing: "Didn't you say that 'Little Guan Suo' was quite formidable? Alright, tonight we'll go take a look together!"

  "Alright!" Like all young men, Xue Liangyu immediately threw away his doubts when he encountered something that interested him. He smiled and put on his outer coat, saying: "Today is the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the 'Pole Raising' at the Xuan De Gate of the Forbidden City will be rehearsing for the Lantern Festival program. Let's take a stroll over there, and we'll arrive at Li Bao's place just in time for dinner. He has two sumo matches as the grand finale, let's go watch!"

  The two of them left the Han Mansion and headed towards the "Thorny Basin". The so-called "Thorny Basin" was a large temporary theater made of colored silk, reed mats, and bamboo frames on a vast square outside the Xuan De Gate in the Forbidden City. It could hold tens of thousands of spectators and was considered the pinnacle of the performing arts world. Any program that was selected to perform there would instantly increase its value tenfold and become a de facto national program. Not only ordinary performers, but even the imperial family's favorite generals - the Dragon God Guards, the Four Commanders of the Imperial Guard, Liu Qi, who had performed exquisite horsemanship in the "Thorny Basin" when he was still an Imperial Guard officer. In the capital city, everyone was a performer, and while watching others perform, they were also performing themselves, even if it was the emperor's ministers.

  The two arrived at the "Thorny Bowl" and watched Zhang Jinlian and his wife perform a puppet show. As a traveler from a later generation, Zhou Ping couldn't help but be amazed by Zhang Jinlian's incredible talent. With just ten fingers, he manipulated several wooden puppets, using his agile movements to make them perform not only the same actions but also different ones - flying, tumbling, pouncing, and killing. His wife, nicknamed "Golden Throat", sang along with the puppets' dance movements, her voice rising and falling in a mesmerizing rhythm. At times, she sang loudly, filling the air, while at other times, her voice was soft and gentle, like a faint echo in an empty valley. The audience's hearts seemed to be suspended by the same thread as the puppets. While this puppet show may not compare to the visual effects of modern movies and TV shows, the couple's skill had reached an astonishing level.

  Finally, amidst a burst of applause and cheers, Zhang Jin's puppet show came to an end. A child around ten years old ran out holding a small bamboo basket, asking the audience for tips. The audience members gave generously according to their financial ability, generosity, and desire to show off in public, with some giving one or two coins, others giving over ten coins, and still others throwing handfuls of money into the basket with a loud clinking sound. The staff thanked them all in unison.

  When the bamboo basket came in front of Zhou and Xue, Xue Liangyu turned his head around, with a pleading expression on his face. Zhou Ping knew that he had spent almost all his money. He smiled, took out more than ten coins from his pocket, compared them with Xue Liangyu's, and threw them into the bamboo basket.

  "Thank you, gentlemen!" The half-grown child shouted a thanks to the two men. Zhou Ping nodded and followed Xue Liangyu as they squeezed out of the crowd and headed towards the corner where the puppet show was being performed. Along the way, Xue Liangyu couldn't stop praising the previous performance, while Zhou Ping fell into deep thought. The over ten copper coins he had casually tossed aside would be enough for a strong laborer's food for two days in Anyang, but here it could only allow two people to watch two puppet shows. The income of Zhang Jinlian and his wife for one night was probably more than what a farmer could earn in a year. Perhaps this was normal in modern society where material goods were extremely abundant, but in the medieval era of Bianjing, it was quite strange. Such a huge disparity in income could only mean that the empire had concentrated most of its resources in the capital, to the point where in an era when the entire empire was still under a natural economy, the capital had developed a highly advanced commodity economy that was artificially created. This kind of abnormal prosperity would inevitably corrupt the residents, officials, royalty, and military personnel living here. In peacetime, this might not be a problem, but once war broke out, it would become the root of disaster, because the huge wealth accumulated here could not immediately turn into defensive power, but instead would attract the enemy's greed. Especially since Bianjing was located on an open plain without any natural defenses to separate itself from the northern cavalry, this danger was even more severe.

  "Here, here!" Xue Liangyu's cheering voice woke Zhou Ping up from his contemplation. He looked up to see that the destination of this trip was somewhat humble compared to the surrounding buildings - just an empty space about 4 or 5 square meters surrounded by bamboo fences. At each end of the empty space, there were two thatched cottages for contestants to rest in. Guests with status watched from above on the surrounding buildings, but the simple decorations did not hinder the enthusiasm of the audience. Hundreds of spectators shouted loudly outside, cheering for their favorite side.

  "It's a good thing we didn't arrive late, the next group is Li Bao's 'Little Guan Suo'!" Xue Liangyu asked someone nearby about the schedule and ran back to tell Zhou Ping. Zhou Ping was just about to find a spot with a better view when he suddenly saw two people sitting on the second floor across from him, with shaved foreheads and braids in the back of their heads, dressed in attire that seemed similar to what he had seen in books as Jurchen people. Zhou Ping's heart skipped a beat, wondering if these two weren't the Jurchen envoys he had heard about at the post station the other day.

  Xue Liangyu squeezed inside and turned back to see Zhou Ping standing there stupidly, and couldn't help but scold: "What are you standing there for, Li Bao is about to go on stage!"

  "Oh!" Zhou Ping responded with a sound and followed him in. At this time, a cheer erupted from the crowd, and it turned out that Li Bao had made an appearance.

  Li Bao emerged from the thatched hut, his sturdy build and compact physique immediately catching Zhou Ping's attention. He was wearing a long belt around his waist, shorts, and pointed shoes, with his upper body bare to reveal rippling muscles. With a closed fist, he bowed deeply to the surrounding crowd, who responded with an even more thunderous cheer, amidst which Zhou Ping could pick out the shrill cries of several young women, leading him to muse that Li Bao was still quite popular among Tokyo's females.

  At this time, with a loud gong, the cheers subsided, and hundreds of eyes suddenly focused on the two men who were about to engage in a bout of horn-butting in the empty space. This horn-butting is a traditional Chinese hand-to-hand combat skill, whose rules are roughly similar to modern wrestling, with the goal of pushing the opponent out of the circle or knocking them to the ground to win. During the Northern Song Dynasty, it was extremely popular, whether in the military or among civilians, and there were countless fans. As the capital city where the best talents gathered, the number of skilled horn-butters was even more numerous. Li Bao's reputation as the first-rate horn-butter was naturally not ordinary, and he had extraordinary skills. He stood with his legs slightly bent, his toes inward, his arms hanging naturally, and his eyes coldly staring at his opponent, waiting for him to make the first move.

  The man opposite Li Bao circled around him several times, unable to find an opportunity, and suddenly felt a surge of urgency in his heart. With a loud shout, he rushed forward two steps, stretched out his left hand, and reached for the opponent's right shoulder. At the same time, his right leg made a hooking motion, waiting for his fingertips to touch the opponent's shoulder before twisting his waist and exerting force to throw him down. Although this wrestler was not as famous as Li Bao, he was also extremely well-known in his hometown before coming to Tokyo. The key to this shoulder-throwing technique lay in the strength of one's waist and legs. From a young age, he had practiced by rotating a large water jug that could hold several people, first filled with water, then with sand and soil. After nearly twenty years of hard work, at his current age, he could still rotate the water jug filled with half a bucket of sand and soil as if it were empty, demonstrating his formidable waist and leg strength. With one exertion, even a strong male donkey would be unable to withstand his throw.

  He thought that no matter what, Li Bao would retreat half a step and let him take the lead again. However, he didn't expect his opponent to stand still on the other side, not moving at all. With this grab, his heart was overjoyed, thinking that Li Bao was too arrogant, and his hands involuntarily added three more points of force, wanting to throw his opponent to the ground in one go.

  Just as his fingertips were about to touch Li Bao's shoulder, a flash appeared in front of him, and the person was gone. Before he could figure out what had happened, his thigh hurt, and he flew up into the air, crashing down with a thud that left him dazed.

  "What a clever move!" Zhou Ping couldn't help but exclaim, having watched the whole scene unfold clearly from the side. It turned out that Li Bao had not retreated, but instead advanced, bending down to dodge his opponent's grab and seizing the opportunity to insert his right leg between his opponent's legs, loosening their footing. He then took advantage of the momentum to grab his opponent's waist and with a swift motion, sent them tumbling to the ground. It was as quick as a spirit cat, leaving no room for hesitation.

  The crowd erupted in a deafening cheer, countless copper coins were thrown into the arena, and even a few pieces of gold and silver jewelry were mixed in. Li Bao bowed to the surrounding crowd, then went in to rest and prepare for his next opponent, leaving it to the young boys to pick up the money.

  "Awesome!" Just then, a strange and discordant cheer came from the rear. Zhou Ping turned his head to look in the direction of the sound, and found that it was those two Huren on the second floor who were cheering. One of them waved his arm, and something fell onto the sandy ground where they had been wrestling. Zhou Ping took a closer look, and saw that it was a silver ingot about the size of a fist.