Chapter 53: The Lu Family's Sons Are Very Brave
The City Patrol had tasted victory in the first half, and now with the commander leading the team personally, the soldiers were even more motivated.

Less than half an hour into the second half, under the leadership of Holland, the City Patrol Division scored three goals in a row, while the Admiral's Battalion only scored one goal.

Young Marquis Du was the team leader. Seeing this, he became anxious. He took advantage of an opportunity when the opponent passed the ball and galloped over on his horse. With a neat touch, he hit the ball, and at the moment when he swung his club down, Huo Lang galloped on his horse and squeezed behind him, trying hard to grab the ball.

Du Jingxuan took the lead and swung the ball out, but Huo Lang jumped off his horse and intercepted the ball back from mid-air. The polo ball was intercepted and suddenly changed direction. Du Jingxuan was unwilling to give up and turned his horse's head to block it. At the moment he swung the club, the agile Huo Lang grabbed the reins with one hand, and hung his whole body under the horse, blocking Du Jingxuan's club in a very tricky posture. Du Jingxuan was not paying attention and fell off the horse. Although he grabbed the reins at the moment he was about to fall off the horse, he was hit hard on one shoulder by Huo Lang's club. With a "crack", he was seriously injured.

Polo is a highly competitive game and injuries are common.

Du Jingxuan was hit and could no longer continue to compete. He gritted his teeth in hatred at Huo Lang's back and left the stage reluctantly.

He rode his horse down to the stage and met Lu Ji's half-smiley eyes.

"My cousin is making fun of me?" Du Jingxuan said with a gloomy face.

Lu Ji simply laughed out loud and teased, "You're beaten into such a cowardly state, and you still don't want people to laugh?"

Du Jingxuan turned over and dismounted, glancing at his smug opponent on the field, his face full of resentment: "They are cavalry, fighting this, they have the advantage."

Lu Ji didn't give anyone face at all: "You are not as skilled as others, what excuses are you looking for?"

Du Jingxuan was so angry that he frowned: "Cousin, it's fine if you don't help the brothers deal with them, but why don't you even say a word of comfort and just know how to ridicule others."

Lu Ji sneered: "Can I win it back by comforting you?"

Du Jingxuan's face turned red from being choked and he kept silent.

Lu Ji took the club from him and climbed onto Du Jingxuan's horse. Seeing this, Xu Jingxuan's eyes lit up immediately: "Cousin, do you want to play?"

"If I were to rely on you, I would lose face."

As he said that, Lu Ji squeezed his legs together and rode into the arena. Du Jingxuan didn't care about the injury on his shoulder and chased after him, shouting, "Why don't you ride your own horse? My horse recognizes its master. Can you ride it well?"

Lu Ji turned a deaf ear to him, and in the blink of an eye, he had already swung his golf club straight into the court.

Huo Lang, the commander of the Patrol City Division, led his men to score goals one after another, and had already suppressed the opponent by a long way. When he saw Lu Ji, Huo Lang looked very proud: "It's good that Brother Lu is here. It's really boring for me to fight with these young boys."

Lu Ji didn't respond, and didn't even bother to give a glance. He rode the horse with all its hooves running fast, and he and his horse rushed into the field like a cheetah. Before anyone could react, he had already kicked the ball and scored a goal at lightning speed.

Huo Lang opened his eyes wide in shock. When he saw the other side's troops cheering, he came to his senses and quickly mobilized his soldiers: "Brothers, let's do it."

Both head coaches left the field, and the game suddenly became extremely intense with flying sand and rocks.

In the royal stands, the saint who was about to fall asleep also became alert: "I almost fell asleep watching these guys play, but it's still interesting to watch them play straight."

The imperial concubine sat beside the saint, covering her face with a round fan and echoed: "The son of the Lu family is indeed brave."

"Ah, it's in again." said the saint.

As he spoke, he straightened himself and became interested.

"Ah! Your Majesty, look! Another one of the Lu family's boys has scored."

The saint laughed twice and said "good". As soon as he finished speaking, there was another cheer from the field. The saint opened his eyes wide and asked, "How did you score that goal just now?"

The imperial concubine frowned and said, "It happened too fast. I didn't see it clearly."

As soon as Lu Ji came on the court, the field became his own. He and his horse became one, galloping across the field without giving the opponent a chance to react. As soon as he came on the court, he scored five goals in a row. "Brother Lu, what are you doing?"

Huo Lang was a little exasperated. He sat on his horse and yelled at Lu Ji at the top of his voice.

Lu Ji then slowed down his horse, with a cynical look on his face, and replied to Huo Lang indifferently: "Play ball."

As he said this, he looked at Huo Lang with a half-smile: "Brother Huo, you are just watching the fun. Don't you want to fight anymore? Or, just admit defeat?"

Huo Lang was inspired to fight, and he urged his horse to come forward: "Who is afraid of who?"

The fierce competition between the two head coaches caused cheers from the stands.

The City Patrol Division is in charge of the defense of the capital and is also the most elite division. The commander of the City Patrol Division is an official of the first rank. Someone like Huo Lang, who is nearly thirty years old, is naturally no ordinary person to be able to sit in this position.

Before he came to Beijing to serve as an official, he was a general stationed in the northern border. When dealing with the barbarians in the north, he was able to take the Khan's head in the midst of thousands of troops. He was truly a fierce general who could not stop thousands of men.

But after today's polo match, Huo Lang was really shocked by Lu Ji, a young man who was only four or five years younger than him.

This man is not only brave, but also has a quick reaction that is simply beyond the reach of others.

In terms of military strength and strategy, Lu Ji is far superior to himself.

"Forget it, my skills are not as good as yours." Huo Lang was not a narrow-minded person. Seeing that he was doomed to fail and had no chance of recovery, he simply admitted defeat magnanimously.

Lu Ji slowed down his horse and turned his head to look at Huo Lang who was running beside him: "General Huo, are you admitting defeat?"

Huo Lang smiled bitterly: "I am not as skilled as you, what else can I do but admit defeat?"

Lu Ji smiled, his face clear, and replied: "I have never sparred with Brother Huo before, you are a rare opponent."

Huo Lang rode up to Lu Ji and said in greeting, "I have only been in Beijing for two years, and Admiral Lu just returned from the battle in the west. We have never had any dealings before, so today, we can say that we are acquainted without fighting."

This person has a straightforward personality and is friendly to Lu Ji, so he is a good friend.

Lu Ji said: "Let's learn more from now on."

Huo Lang nodded and said yes, then he slowed down his horse and moved closer to Lu Ji and said, "The Saint is watching. Brother Lu has already won three games, and the victory is already decided. Don't let us lose too badly."

For Lu Ji, this was just a pastime. He was not a conceited person, so he readily agreed, "Okay, that's all for today."

As soon as he finished speaking, someone shouted, "Admiral Lu, catch the ball."

Lu Ji subconsciously raised his hand. Huo Lang was talking to Lu Ji when the golf club was swung and almost hit him in the face. Fortunately, he was very skilled and dodged it nimbly, otherwise, he would have been disfigured.

"Lu Ji, you——"

They had clearly agreed not to let the other party lose too badly, but Lu Ji didn't remember this until he swung the club.

Seeing the ball hit the goal at a tricky angle, Lu Ji slapped his forehead and said, "Fuck, I'm getting the hang of it."

Looking at Huo Lang, who was so angry that his face turned red and his neck became thick, Lu Ji said innocently: "I really didn't mean it."

(End of this chapter)