Chapter 264: This Isn't Football…

In late January, in the eastern outskirts of Shangcai, on the wild grassy flat where Li Si and his son once chased swift hares with yellow hounds, this year a cluster of rammed-earth barracks full of men had sprung up out of nowhere. The few patches of green still left among them were now hemmed in by a sea of Qin soldiers.

They stood atop a ring of earthen embankment, eyes glued to the fierce contest unfolding on the grass that had been marked off into a rectangle.

At the shrill blast of a bronze whistle from the army law officer acting as guest referee, Li Xian, clad in black and wearing black leather armor that solidly shielded his chest, back, thighs and arms, with a leather helmet on his head, drew a deep breath, retreated several paces for a run-up, then suddenly launched a flying kick, sending the leather ball — a pig's bladder wrapped in cowhide and stuffed with feathers and straw — soaring high into the air!

The ball flew over ten paces, sailing over the heads of his equally armored, five-man-line companions, and finally landed on the right half of the rectangular pitch, among a group of Qin soldiers in red armor…

Mu, the tall, burly standard-bearer, had his eye on that ball long ago. At this moment he sprang up fiercely and clutched it tightly to his chest with both hands! Then he began to run forward in great strides, his footfalls heavy as a rhinoceros's, but just as he crossed the halfway line drawn with charcoal powder, the five black-armored Qin soldiers, already arrayed in tight formation, swarmed him all at once, crashing into him together, trying to throw him to the ground!

Yet Mu was tall and powerfully built; even with several men pulling, shoving and blocking him, he still managed to force his way forward a few more steps. Just before he was pinned to the ground, he swung his arm and hurled the ball hard — it was caught perfectly by Dongmen Bao, who had been sprinting swiftly along the edge of the pitch. He was precisely the leader of this red-armored squad!

Dongmen Bao darted across the grass like a speeding leopard. Under Li Xian's direction, the black-armored Qin soldiers who tried to grab, shove and block him were all thrown to the ground by the red-armored soldiers covering Dongmen Bao. Even Li Xian himself, at the last moment, was sent reeling and seeing stars by this brute, crashing to the ground. In the end, Dongmen Bao successfully reached the end line and threw the ball in his hands into the goal. The ball entered the frame and was caught by the fishing net behind it…

The bronze whistle sounded once more. The watching Qin soldiers erupted in deafening cheers, and Dongmen Bao, like a hero on a battlefield, preened and showed off triumphantly to the crowd…

Zhang Han, seated on the earthen embankment, saw this scene. Though he didn't quite understand it, he was swept up by the atmosphere and burst into loud laughter, but then he turned his head and loudly asked Heifu, "Commander, there is still one thing I don't understand. Isn't it called football? Why are the soldiers on the field all using their hands?"

"At the very start, during the kickoff, didn't they use a foot? Calling it football isn't entirely wrong…"

Heifu resorted to sophistry, but the reality was helpless, because the game before their eyes truly could not be called football anymore. Instead, it resembled a hybrid of a football pitch with the rules and gameplay of rugby.

At the very beginning, he had indeed intended to use the "ju" ball from cuju to teach everyone to play football — at least it was better than idling about all day, and more interesting than stone-throwing distance contests, wrist-wrestling, or pitch-pot.

But everyone was like little children who had never seen football and didn't know the rules. Soon after they started kicking, it descended into chaos. Not only were physical collisions frequent, with pushing and shoving creating mayhem, but people often instinctively caught the ball with their hands. That fellow Dongmen Bao, getting carried away in the heat of the moment, found kicking unsatisfying and actually scooped the ball directly into his hands, then jumped, man and ball together, into the fishing net serving as the goal, and then laughed uproariously like a fool, saying he hadn't had this much fun in ages…

Watching this scene, Heifu had a sudden flash of inspiration and changed the game's rules and style of play into a complete hodgepodge:

Two sides would compete with ten men each. The match allowed the use of both hands and feet, adopting a turn-based offense system. The defending side would kick the ball toward the attacking side; after catching the ball, the attacking side would try to advance as far as possible, either running wildly while holding the ball or throwing it forward as a pass, until stopped and pinned down by the defenders. The offense would then start a new round of attack from the spot where the ball was stopped, with a total of three chances, until the attempts were exhausted, or until the ball was carried to the end line or thrown into the goal.

And so, what Zhang Han beheld was a group of Qin soldiers, as if going into battle, wearing thick armor, either forming lines of five to defend against opponents, or running like madmen clutching the ball. A crowd of big Qin army men, under the command of their respective squad leaders, blocking, shoving, and seeking opportunities to break through!

The most common sight was them crashing into each other with intense physical force, producing the clattering sound of armor scraping, or like a leopard seizing a lamb, bringing an opponent completely to the ground and pinning them underneath, sweat flying, soil and turf scattering everywhere, while the watching crowd grew hot-blooded with excitement.

This was the "football" that had swept through the Southern Commandery troops over the past half month. Because Zhang Han had been ordered to build another side road, he only saw its true face today…

One couldn't say much else, but as a way to pass the time, it was absolutely top-notch. Not only did the players enjoy themselves immensely, but the spectators, once they slightly understood the rules, also became mesmerized.

As they watched, Heifu explained to Zhang Han that both the offensive and defensive sides had ten men each, exactly the number of a squad in the Qin army.

In the front row center, one file of soldiers wearing heavy armor to block people was called the line forwards; two others who sprinted to catch the ball were called receivers; in the back row, there was a squad leader who made decisions and started the play, and two defenders, called the backs.

Every time they caught the ball and broke through until being tackled by the opponent, they had to advance at least five paces; otherwise, the chance to attack would be given back to the other side. Reaching the end line with the ball scored 1 point. Carrying both man and ball to the end line was called a "touchdown," scoring 2 points. If they could throw the ball into the goal, they scored 3 points.

The offensive unit had to advance as much as possible, while the defensive unit, if they intercepted the opponent's ball, could run as far as they could in one breath, and had to hinder the enemy's offense as much as possible.

In short, these were the rules Heifu had cobbled together, with simplicity and ease of understanding as the priority. After all, if he really brought out the complex offside and other rules of later-era rugby and football, these mostly illiterate soldiers would fall asleep before he finished explaining…

While simplifying the rules, he also shortened the match time, all for the sake of more intense confrontation.

"What if they start fighting over a disputed ball because of a disagreement?" During a halftime break after a quarter-hour of play, Zhang Han asked Heifu with some concern.

"Ordinary physical collisions are harmless and within the allowed rules, as long as they don't go too far. Besides, I've also arranged medical and first-aid personnel waiting on the sidelines. These past few months without battle, they haven't even had a chance to use their skills."

Heifu put away his smile. "But if, because of frustration, they start brawling, then that counts as the crime of private fighting. Everyone knows very well what the punishment for that is."

He pursed his lips, pointing at Yue, who was blowing the whistle on the field. "That is our unit's army law officer. With him on the field making the calls, I'd like to see who dares to act out of line!"

Zhang Han nodded. Just then, another whistle blast sounded, and the second half of the match began.

At first, Zhang Han was just watching for the spectacle. Seeing Dongmen Bao and the others intercept the ball, then tumble, fall, and get buried under layers of defenders piled on top of them, that alone could make him laugh heartily.

But as time passed, he watched both sides attack once, twice, three times, grinding down each other inch by inch. He watched their third attack, still ten paces from the end line with seemingly no hope, suddenly deliver a pass that snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. He watched them, just one step from crossing the line, suddenly get pinned down firmly by the opponent, failing at the last moment. He watched them, after repeated failures, gather ten men in a circle to discuss how to defend, then grab each other's shoulders and roar with fury, before solemnly preparing for the next kickoff…

Watching all this, Zhang Han felt that he had become utterly captivated.

Another beautiful play, man and ball together entering the net. The watching crowd erupted in cheers once more. This time, even Zhang Han couldn't help but stand up, clapping his hands in praise.

"I once watched wrestling matches for entertainment in Xinzheng City, and they weren't half as thrilling as today! This is a true army game!"

No, this "football" seemed to be more than just a simple army game.

Zhang Han had a dawning realization, understanding why he felt such a strong sense of déjà vu. The whole team, under the command of the squad leader, each shouldered the responsibilities of blocking, running, and carrying. Some sacrificed themselves, some fell, and others caught the ball and continued forward, all for the sake of hurling it heavily to the end line.

He faintly sensed that within this game, there was even a hint of… the art of war?

Zhang Han was not the only one with this feeling. After the entire match ended and everyone was congratulating the winning side, several orderlies from the rear shouted loudly: "General Wang approaches!"

…

There was only one man in the entire army who could be called "General Wang." The watching Qin soldiers, and the players drenched in sweat who hadn't even had time to wipe it off, all prostrated themselves on the ground, gazing respectfully at that old general who had been sitting inconspicuously in a corner the whole time, watching the entire match under the personal escort and commentary of Commandant Li You…

Heifu also bowed to the ground. As he raised his head, he saw amidst the universal black clothes and black armor of the crowd, a speck of gray-white. General Wang Jian looked just like an ordinary old army veteran, dressed in a plain set of cotton clothes. Only the towering brown-eared pheasant cap on his head revealed his status and rank. The general's once tall and mighty frame had shrunk considerably, but the imposing aura that could make the entire army bow their heads with a single sweeping glance had not diminished in the slightest!

"The game you fellows played today truly opened this old man's eyes."

Wang Jian's voice was still full of vigor. He bade everyone rise, and these words came from the bottom of his heart.

Like Zhang Han, Wang Jian had initially come out of curiosity and to see the spectacle, wanting to see what kind of game this "football" was that could sweep through the Southern Commandery troops and make hundreds, even a thousand men stand and watch for half a shichen.

With Wang Jian's insight and experience, the game seemed very simple: just passing, blocking, running, and throwing, with no complex rules. At times it was intense, at times dull, at times tangled. The twenty men on the field defended and contained each other, either charging ahead like a storm or bogged down as if stuck in mud, stumbling and staggering.

But as he watched further, from this small patch of lawn barely a hundred paces square, he suddenly caught a glimpse of the spirit of clashing metal and charging warhorses!

Flesh and intellect collided fiercely. Spatial advancement, full-team coordination, finding the gap, striking home in one blow. The stifled, pent-up feeling amidst ten thousand troops, then a lightning bolt splitting the layered clouds — that sensation, Wang Jian was all too familiar with.

Yes, it dawned on him. This was no football at all. This was the art of war, the very military struggle he himself had experienced countless times!

Five armored soldiers lined up in a row to block the opponent, while on the flanks, shock cavalry suddenly thrust and penetrated deep. The commander directed everyone, engaging with the orthodox and winning with the unorthodox.

In just two quarter-hours of confrontation, the soldiers had used many methods to defeat their opponents. From the offense, Wang Jian could actually see: feint when strong, appear strong when weak; lure with profit, strike when in chaos; be prepared when the enemy is strong, avoid when the enemy is stronger; provoke the wrathful, foster pride in the humble; exhaust the rested, sow discord among the close. Attack where they are unprepared, strike where they least expect it…

From the defense, he also saw: prepare the front and the rear is weak, prepare the rear and the front is weak, prepare the left and the right is weak, prepare the right and the left is weak; prepare everywhere and everywhere is weak…

The principles in the art of war — military momentum, weakness and strength, army formation, the nine variations — all seemed to be condensed within it. Those twenty men were just ordinary soldiers and junior officers; of course they didn't understand military strategy. They were just doing it subconsciously after playing this game for a long time, because in this world, man-to-man combat and confrontation came first, and the art of war that summarizes its patterns came later.

But the person who devised this game must certainly understand the art of war and know military struggle!

Wang Jian's gaze swept over the crowd.

"Commander Heifu, where is he?"

PS: Chapter 3 at 1 o'clock.

(End of chapter)