Li Shimin's imperial edict came very punctually. The next morning, Li Ke had just had breakfast and was chatting with Ma Zhou, Su Dingfang and Liu Rengui. When he saw the eunuch Wang De walking in with the imperial edict. Before everyone could react, Wang De showed the imperial edict and shouted: "The King of Han received the imperial edict."

Li Ke and everyone knelt down quickly, and Wang De read out loudly: "In accordance with the will of heaven, the emperor's edict said: Now the King of Han created a new Cuju method, which is beneficial to the country and the people. He specially ordered the King of Han to form a Cuju Department to be in charge of the competitions of the Tang Dynasty Cuju. There is also the prince of the palace, Bo Ma Zhou, who is quick-witted and can be very useful. He serves as the censor and supervises the Cuju Department, and can correct the favoritism and fraud of all officials in the competition. I respect this!"

After Wang De finished reading the imperial edict, Li Ke felt at ease and hurriedly thanked him for his gratitude and then said politely to Wang De: "Please sit down, Eunuch Wang." He ordered the servants to serve tea.

Wang De said politely: "I thanked Your Highness for your kindness, but I still have to go back to the palace to serve the emperor, and I will drink the tea another day."

Li Ke knew that Wang De did not want to have anything to do with any prince, so he no longer forced him to keep him and asked Yang En to send him out of the Han Palace. As soon as Wang De left, Ma Zhou and the other three bowed to Li Ke and said, "Congratulations to Your Highness for fulfilling his wish and holding the competition under the order."

Li Ke smiled gently and said to Ma Zhou: "Binwang, it's you who should congratulate you this time. After reading the memorial you wrote, my father immediately appointed you as the censor and supervising the Cuju Department. This shows that you have affirmed and trusted your talents, so don't let him down."

Ma Zhou was also quite happy with Li Shimin's arrangements. He did not pretend to behave in front of everyone at this time, and said, "Thank you for your trust from the Emperor and Your Highness. I will do my best to manage the Cuju Department."

Next, Li Ke changed the topic and mentioned the matter of forming a new army. He first asked Ma Zhou: "King Bin, do you think I wrote to my father and served as the military training envoy?"

When Ma Zhou saw the question, he pondered for a moment and said, "Your Highness, the matter of training is of great importance. Be cautious and think twice."

Li Ke heard Ma Zhou say this and said worriedly: "I have two generals, Dingfang and Zhengze. I believe that training elite soldiers is not a problem. Therefore, I am not afraid of not being able to train soldiers well, but I am afraid that my father will not agree to form a new army. You also know that there are many talents in the court now, and there are gathered around my father who can conquer and fight. The errands of training will most likely fall on them."

Su Dingfang and Liu Rengui praised him when they heard Li Ke mention them. They were grateful and hurriedly thanked him: "Your Highness has been awarded too much."

Ma Zhou tentatively said: "If the empress is not wrong, what Your Highness is worried about is not that someone from the court is ordered to train troops, but that someone who supports the Eastern Palace or the Prince of Wei serves as the military training envoy?"

Li Ke nodded and looked at Ma Zhou, as if waiting for him to express his opinion.

Ma Zhou said bluntly: "This matter is very big. I think I will wait and see the changes for the time being. It will not be too late for Your Highness to think about it again after the Cuju incident comes to an end."

Su Dingfang and Liu Rengui also said: "Your Highness, you should organize the Cuju competition first. At that time, the emperor will recognize your highness's ability, so it is very likely that you will consider letting your highness serve as a military training envoy.

Li Ke felt that he was indeed a little anxious when he heard this. The proposal to form a new army had just been discussed in the court. Before the establishment of an army was officially established, he was worried about this in advance and put the Cuju in front of him aside. He smiled and said, "What you said is that I am too anxious."

After a pause, Li Ke said again: "For the main matters of Cuju competition, you and Zhengze will do it. Dingfang. During the game, I will ask my father to transfer the left and right Jinwu Guards and the Wangfu Wolf Guards led by you to jointly maintain the order of the venue. Your responsibility is heavy."

Seeing that he had entrusted him with important tasks, Su Dingfang hurriedly said, "Don't worry, your highness, I will ensure that the game will go smoothly."

Li Ke believed in the ability of the three people. As long as they were given full rights, they would not disappoint themselves. So, he said to the three people: "Yesterday, I discovered a few Cuju talents in Changlefang. Today I will report to the mansion. At that time, I will choose a few Cuju people from the Wolf Guard to form the Cuju team in the mansion. As for the team name, I have not yet figured out. I wonder what suggestions are you three?"

Among the three, Su Dingfang had the talent of a great general, Liu Rengui and Ma Zhou were talented people, but they were very cautious about the name of the Cuju team in the royal palace and did not dare to make a rash at the time. Ma Zhou thought for a while and said, "Your Highness, I want to set the imperial gift for the competition into a tripod. The tripod is the inheritance of the country and has a deep culture. In this way, how about the Cuju team in the palace called Dinghan?"

Li Ke's heart lit up, and he felt that the "Ding Han" was very important, so he turned his eyes to Su and Liu, and they agreed. Li Ke immediately said, "Then call it Ding Han Cuju team in the meaning of King Bin." Suddenly, he asked Ma Zhou again, "Why do you want to set the imperial reward as a tripod?"

Ma Zhou explained: "This is just an idea of ​​the empress, and it is still to be approved by the emperor. The tripod is regarded as a powerful weapon for establishing a country since ancient times, with a great meaning. In addition, the tripod is a ritual instrument for commemorating achievements. The kings or princes and ministers of the Zhou Dynasty had to cast a tripod during major celebrations or receiving rewards to record the grand occasion. Therefore, using the tripod as a reward means that the emperor attaches great importance to the competition, which is also a great encouragement for the contestants."

After hearing this, Li Ke said with satisfaction: "Then follow what King Bin said." As soon as he finished speaking, Yang En walked into the hall and said: "Your Highness, the few people you selected to play Cuju yesterday have come to the mansion, and the old slave brought them to the new Cuju venue."

Li Ke was happy and knew that Ye Xi and others had come, so he said to Yang En, "Old Yang, please let Sun Fu come to the stadium." Then, he led everyone to the newly built Cuju Field in the royal palace.

The newly built Cuju Field is a completely replica of the later stadiums. However, it was already mid-October at this time. The transplanted lawn was no longer as bright green as summer. It was dark yellow in the bleak autumn wind. Ye Xi and others saw such a large, luxurious and unique Cuju Field for the first time. They were shocked and confused, but they were more excited. Seeing Li Ke walking towards the stadium with the company of several people, Ye Xi hurried over and saluted: "I have seen Your Highness."

Li Ke smiled and helped Ye Xi up, and said to everyone behind him: "Everyone, get up."

Ye Xi thanked Li Ke and followed Li Ke to the seat on the side of the court. After Li Ke first asked Ma Zhou to explain the way to play the new Cuju, and then asked Chen Qi and the Eagle Guards he had played before to show Ye Xi and others. The few of them were masters of this kind, and they could understand it at a glance. Now that Ma Zhou explained it, Chen Qi and others' drills were already clear about the new Cuju. Looking at the new Cuju played by the Eagle Guards, they couldn't help but want to try it. Li Ke saw their thoughts and asked them to play with Chen Qi and others on the field for several rounds, as they tried to play with each other.

Ye Xi replied, "Yes!" and walked into the field with his subordinates in high spirits. Chen Qi wanted to compete with Ye Xi and the others, so they chose people who played well on weekdays. Chen Qi took the lead and kicked Ju Qiu to Ye Xi's feet, saying, "Brother Ye, please kick the ball." Ye Xi was not polite, and said, "I'll give in!" As he said, his feet were as fast as flying. Chen Qi's team members were a little stunned. Ye Xi had already run five or six meters away from the ball, and then raised his foot and shot with a shovel. Ju Qiu

Like an eagle, he flew up and dived towards the goal. Li Ke and others' hearts were hanging along with Ju Qiu outside the field. Chen Qi's goalkeeper did not expect Ye Xi to shoot directly. In a hurry, he was blocked in a hurry. Ju Qiu seemed to have eyes. In an instant, he bypassed the goalkeeper's five fingers and screwed into the goal. People who watched outside the field couldn't help but admire. People who watched outside the field couldn't help but admire. Ye Xi smiled shyly and hugged his fists outside the field to express his gratitude.

The game continued. Due to Ye Xi's superb performance, Chen Qi was also very passionate. When the goalkeeper served, Chen Qi blocked the ball and intercepted the Ju ball. He immediately dribbled the ball towards Ye Xi's goal. Ye Xi and others hurriedly chased and fought. However, Chen Qi had practiced martial arts and his kung fu was naturally great. But he saw that he dribbled the ball like a flying ball, and lightly flashed through Ye Xi's defense. He soon arrived in front of the goal and kicked it with the momentum. Ju ball was like an arrow and shot at the goal. Ye Xi's defense

The goalkeeper was Liu Chao, who was prepared for Chen Qi. When he raised his feet, Liu Chao had already judged the direction of Ju Qiu flying, so he jumped and reached out to block the ball from the crossbar of the goal. Chen Qi was shocked when he saw the ball being saved. Without thinking too much, he jumped, greeted Ju Qiu with his head, swung hard, and bounced Ju ball into the goal. Li Ke and others watched it. The wonderful scene just now made them forget to applaud. It took them a long time to react. Suddenly, applause and cheers came one after another.

The two sides played for more than a moment, and it was difficult to decide the winner. Chen Qi and Ye Xi couldn't help but secretly praise each other. Because Li Ke had to explain to Ye Xi's Cuju team, he rushed to the field and shouted: "Let's go here today, and everyone has time to compete in the future." After hearing this, Chen Qi and Ye Xi stopped the game and led the players to Li Ke. Seeing that Ye Xi and others had such a quick understanding, Li Ke was very happy, so he ordered Su Dingfang to select enough of the remaining players from the Wolf Guard and hand them over to Ye Xi, let him serve as the captain and take charge of the unification. Ye Xi did not expect that he was given an important task as soon as he arrived at the palace. He was moved and knelt on the ground and said: "Your Highness Ye Xi is so kind, he will be crushed to pieces and thank His Highness for his great kindness."

What Li Ke wanted was Ye Xi's loyalty, so he hurriedly helped him up and said, "Ye Xi, in a few days, I will hold several exhibition matches in Chang'an City, and then the Chang'an City match will be held. I hope you will not let down my trust and train my Dinghan team well."

Ye Xi promised: "Don't worry, your highness, I will never let your highness down."

Li Ke smiled and said, "In this way, I will feel relieved." Then, he pointed to Sun Fu who was waiting aside and introduced to Ye Xi: "He is a servant in the mansion and is specialized in charge of the Cuju team. If you have any needs in the future, just tell him."

Seeing Li Ke talking about him, Sun Fu hurriedly walked up and said, "Don't worry, your highness, I will definitely manage the Cuju team well."

Li Ke smiled with satisfaction, leaving Ye Xi and Sun Fu on the court, allowing them to train the team as soon as possible. He had something to do, so he could only miss the first training of Ye Xi and the others.

In fact, Li Ke arranged for Sun Fu to manage the Cuju team, not because he did not trust Ye Xi, but because he wanted to better strengthen his Dinghan team. Just imagine that Ye Xi, a poor child, was okay to train his brothers, could command the soldiers selected from the Wolf Guard? But Sun Fu is different. He is an old man in the royal palace, and those soldiers cannot pay attention to his words. Also, the establishment of a Cuju team is necessary, and if someone like Sun Fu manages these things and does a good job in logistics, Ye Xi and others can train better. In other words, Sun Fu's role is the manager of a club in later generations.
Chapter completed!