My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 85 We're short of talent!

Zhengguang two years.

The sun was shining brightly; it was another pleasant afternoon.

Despite it being a perfect day for a short rest, the atmosphere inside the military camp was bustling with activity.

Countless soldiers stood around a rectangular field watching, and many others waved flags and shouted, seemingly watching a very intense battle!

The large number of people in the area clearly indicated that this was not a typical military wrestling match.

There were a total of twenty-two people, one at each end and one at the other, with a wooden door frame behind them.

Meanwhile, the twenty people in the arena were frantically scrambling for the round sphere on the ground, fighting back and forth fiercely!
"Go for it! Mulan, shoot!"

"Great! Well done! Liu Yi, pass the ball forward quickly!"

Gao Yu was also on the field. He nimbly dodged the soldier who tried to block him and then shouted, "Liu Yi, pass the ball quickly!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yi flicked his right foot and delivered a perfect cross.

Like a tank speeding along, Gao Yu used his strong physique and momentum to forcefully push aside the two soldiers who were trying to interfere with his jump. Then, he exerted force with both feet, jumped into the air, and with a flick of his head, headed the ball into the goal frame!
All of a sudden!
The soldiers watching from the sidelines cheered!
"Gao Lang is mighty!"

"It all depends on Gao Lang!"

"They think two mere people can stop Gao Lang? They're too naive!"

"Gao Lang is a master archer, a true marksman. I never imagined he would be a master archer in football as well."

Many soldiers happily took their winnings from the gambling table, while those who lost were extremely frustrated, yet they were also looking forward to the next round, muttering curses as they vowed to win it all back.

"The military commander is mighty!"

The players playing Gao Yu's teammates on the field were the elite of his troops, and they rushed over to surround Gao Yu and celebrate.

He 'invented' this football when he was bored.

Records of Cuju (蹴鞠) date back to ancient China, but Cuju and modern football are fundamentally different, except that both are played with the feet and involve kicking. Cuju is not as physically intense.

Gao Yu then thought of inventing a football.

The simple soccer ball is easy to make; just inflate a pig's bladder and wrap it with leather. It is very elastic and will not be easily damaged.

As for playing football...

Firstly, it could relieve boredom and pass the time, as entertainment options were extremely limited in ancient times.

Secondly, it can also serve as a training exercise, and its intensity is definitely much higher than that of Cuju (ancient Chinese football).

What Gao Yu didn't expect was...

He originally just played with his soldiers, but it quickly became popular throughout Huai Shuo. The neighboring towns of Wu Chuan and Wo Ye also followed suit, and occasionally the three towns would send people to spar and compete with each other.

This way, a winner can be determined without causing too much discord.

Having had his fill, Gao Yu prepared to rest for a moment and immediately waved his hand, "Wan Jing, you take my place."

Hou Jing was also very passionate about playing football, so he quickly ran onto the field, shouting loudly to the sidelines.

"Brothers! Quickly place your bets on me to win!"

Mulan retorted, annoyed, "How arrogant is Wan Jing? I'll definitely score the first goal!"

"Hmph, you'll soon find out if I'm arrogant."

Before they even started, the two of them were already at each other's throats.

The soldiers under his command quickly brought Gao Yu a bowl of water, which Gao Yu slowly drank, taking small sips at a time. Just like the soldiers beside him, he kept cheering loudly for the people on the field!

"It seems the effect is indeed quite good."

Unexpectedly, the football had an unforeseen effect, and Gao Yu had other ideas. In his mind, American football was more suitable as a training method in this military camp.

After all, from the perspective of the rules, American football is more like a battle between two armies, and the confrontation is more intense.

Find an opportunity to let your soldiers try it out first.

"Mulan, charge forward! Don't just stand there waiting, get moving!"

"Get running, train hard! In a few days, when we compete with the soldiers of Wuchuan, anyone who falters will be severely punished!"

Gao Yu transformed into a coach, frantically directing from the sidelines.

At this moment, soldiers rushed up behind him to report.

"My lord, a servant has brought a letter."

Upon hearing this, Gao Yu immediately got up and returned to his tent, where a wooden box was placed on the table.

With a wave of his hand, Gao Yu dismissed the soldiers and sat down at the table, opening the wooden box.

Besides letters, there were other things inside.

However, Gao Yu first opened the letter. It was a letter written to him by Yang Changchu. Gao Yu read it carefully but was amused by the last paragraph.

"...Recently, you bestowed upon me a bow, which I have been able to draw with some effort. In time, I will surely be able to draw it fully. Please do not forget what you said before!"

She's quite a unique young woman.

Inside the wooden box, besides the letters, there was also a map made by Yang Changchu based on the "Commentary on the Waterways Classic." How did she know I wanted this?
Clearly, this young lady from the Yang family must have diligently studied the Six Principles of Cartography, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to create such an exquisite map. The Six Principles of Cartography were first proposed, or rather summarized, by Pei Xiu of the Jin Dynasty as the methods that should be followed when making maps.

The so-called six principles are proportion, accuracy, distance, elevation, orientation, and detour. These principles regulate map making from multiple dimensions such as proportion, orientation, distance, and terrain.

It can be said that, apart from lacking the concepts of latitude and longitude and projection used in modern cartography, it lacks these features.

This method of creating six diagrams represents the limit that ancient times could achieve.

"The kindness of the young lady from the Yang family is... I can never repay it. I must repay her in some way in the future."

Jia Sixie, Cui Xian, and Yang Kan had all written to him, which were delivered long distances by caravans.

Given the transportation conditions in ancient times, if it were to be delivered from Luoyang, it would take at least six months.

The letter from Yang Changchu was sent from Taishan County, which means that almost a year had passed since she wrote it.

Put the letters and maps back into the wooden box and keep them safe.

Gao Yu muttered thoughtfully, "Judging by the time, Liu Taozhi should be back soon."

With the help of his wealthy sister-in-law, Gao Yu also formed his own caravan. On his first trip to the Western Regions for business, he was mentored by an elder from the Lou family caravan.

Gao Yu also needs to send a trusted confidant to accompany him to the 'Danxue Middle School'.

Liu Taozhi is the best candidate.

He is quick-witted and extremely loyal to me.

Liu Yi and his men, though brave and sharp-witted, were not suited for this job and could only serve as his personal guards.

After returning from Luoyang.

Gao Yu did not simply use the rewards he received from Luoyang to build his own caravan and make money through trade.

They are also recruiting and training soldiers.

After the northern expedition against Rouran and the return of Anagui, the court promoted him to commander of the cavalry, with a force of 500 men. Before leaving office, the commander also used his power to gift the brothers Gao Yu and Gao Huan 100 sets of precious horse armor.

Gao Huan gave all the vests to Gao Yu, instructing Gao Yu to assemble an elite cavalry force of one hundred men, clad in full armor.

During this time, Gao Yu has been recruiting soldiers, and many people from Huai Shuo have come to him because of his bravery.

But helpless.

Armored cavalry is not a position that ordinary soldiers can hold; it requires the bravest warriors in the entire army.

Gao Yu's attitude towards such elite troops was "better to have none than to have bad ones." He preferred to be understaffed rather than lower the standards, since maintaining each armored cavalryman was a considerable expense.

After spending so much time, Gao Yu only managed to recruit fifty or sixty warriors who barely met his requirements. Apart from the armored cavalry, the remaining four hundred light cavalry were already the maximum number.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh.

"We're short of people! Especially brave and fierce ones who can lead the charge in battle for me."

Gao Yu only had one Mulan who met his requirements for a brave general, which was obviously not enough. He planned to divide these five hundred men into light and heavy cavalry, which would require at least two generals. For now, he could only take on one of those roles.

…………

The border between Woye and Huaishuo.

Screams and shouts of killing filled the air.

Peng Le brandished his spear, charging left and right like a tiger among wolves, easily killing all the guards and leaders of a small caravan.

"Quickly, ignore the corpses on the ground, drive the carriage and get away as fast as you can! Otherwise, those town soldiers will come again."

The robbers swiftly took the carriage away, while Peng Le and a group of men stayed behind to cover their retreat.

After the convoy had driven far away, Peng Le hurriedly led his men to leave.

Before long, the town soldiers of Woye Town arrived. Looking at the corpses on the ground, the leader couldn't help but curse.

"Damn it! That thief got away again."

One of his men immediately reminded him, "Commander, Huai Shuo Town is just a few dozen miles to the east. We'll drive these damned bandits there, and then let the people of Huai Shuo have a headache."

"That's right, let's clean up and head back to camp!"

The soldiers, laughing and joking, stripped the dead bodies of everything, piled the corpses together, threw in some firewood, and burned them.

They were kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see these people lying dead in the wilderness.

the other side.

Peng Le was leading his men to take stock of the spoils of this robbery.

"Damn it, how come there's so little cargo? If we can only rob this little bit every time, the brothers will starve to death sooner or later!"

Peng Le kicked the wooden crate over while cursing.

"Why are those sons of bitches in Woye Town targeting me?"

"Continuing to plunder is ultimately unsustainable..."

Peng Le looked to the east and murmured, "I still need to find a backer."

(End of this chapter)