Reborn Action Star: Starting in Hollywood

Chapter 441: A Ball Game 1300 Years Ago

Faced with the problem of lack of domestic polo players, director Nolan was at a loss.

Lin Yuan smiled and replied, "It's not that it can't be solved. If we can't find suitable players, we can simply reduce the number of our players and only let a few key players play."

"What?" Director Nolan didn't expect there would be such a solution.

Lin Yuan took a piece of historical material and handed it to director Nolan.

When he was young, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, once led a four-man polo team to defeat the ten-man Tibetan polo team, causing a sensation in Chang'an.

"Ancient polo matches weren't like modern ball games. If a few players were penalized, the game would be completely over," Lin Yuan explained. "Therefore, we only need a few players to defeat the opponent. This way, we don't have to go through the trouble of finding a bunch of domestic polo players to fill in the numbers."

"But in a match of three against ten, we still have to win. The team with fewer people needs to perform very well, otherwise it won't be convincing. We need to make major changes to our previous action design." Director Nolan replied.

"Leave it to me. Meng Tao and I will work together to redesign the polo action for this scene." Lin Yuan said confidently.

When Director Nolan heard that Lin Yuan had taken on this task, he immediately felt relieved.

Since they worked together on a movie, he has come to realize how reliable Lin Yuan is. He always does what he says and does it to the best of his ability.

In this way, he can focus on preparing the venue, camera positions, shooting scheduling and other more trivial tasks.

Director Nolan was in a very rushed state when filming "The Legend of Tang Dynasty".

Because he knew that the shooting schedule could only be advanced and could not be delayed.

The rainy season in southern China will soon arrive, and several important outdoor scenes must be shot as quickly as possible during this period.

Otherwise, we will have to rely on the weather for our livelihood. If the weather is bad for a long period of time and we cannot shoot the movie, even the release schedule may be affected.

Now that he has Lin Yuan as his backer, he feels much more at ease.

……

……

Fanyu Film and Television City, Tang Dynasty Palace Area.

After several days of preparation, the Jinyang Palace polo match scene is about to be filmed.

The plot of this scene is roughly about Wang Yu, the governor of Hedong Town, played by Chen Long, who invites envoys from the ten major tribes of the Later Turkic Khaganate to come to Jinyang City.

The Later Turks agreed to decide the outcome with a polo match. If they lost the match, they would avoid Hedong Town during the "grass-hunting" before winter this year.

Therefore, this is an important game that concerns local safety.

Another highlight of this scene is that three action superstars, Chen Long, Li Renjie and Lin Yuan, will all take part in the competition.

This polo match was a star-studded affair.

Chen Long plays polo quite a lot, so he has a certain foundation in it.

Although Li Renjie had never played polo before, he was a good rider, and after a period of special training, he was able to cope with today's scene.

With the arrival of specially invited polo players from Central Asia, more than 2000 extras playing the audience were ready, and the cast for today's filming was complete.

The polo field used for filming the match was also restored based on historical records.

The court is over 100 meters long and 50 meters wide. The ground is flat and smooth with no grass growing on it.

From top to bottom, the surface of the stadium is made of layers of loess and red soil mixed with sand, red-burned soil mixed with rubble, gray-black soil mixed with river pebbles and sand, forming a hard plate with a thickness of 30 cm.

The stadium is surrounded by high walls on all sides, and there are halls, pavilions, towers, platforms and other buildings under the walls for fans to watch the game, which are somewhat similar to the spectator seats in today's sports stadiums.

Both Li and his son loved polo, so the polo field was located on the west side of Jinyang Palace, making it convenient for dignitaries to play and watch the game.

In order to prevent the ball from falling into the Jinyang Palace, the polo field used ten wooden poles, each seven or eight feet high, to support a huge net that surrounded the entire east side of the polo field.

From a distance, the ball-blocking net that stretches across most of the court is quite spectacular, and its huge size can be clearly seen from more than ten miles away.

All filming preparations were ready, and the actors rode into the venue on horseback, waiting for the filming to begin.

Chen Long smiled and looked at Li Renjie beside him: "After filming for so many years, I am particularly excited today, and a little nervous."

"Are you worried that we won't be able to shoot this polo scene well?" Li Renjie asked with a smile.

"Of course not! I just think that the three of us can be said to be the top representatives among Chinese action actors, and this opportunity to work together is really rare. It is not easy to leave behind classic scenes of cooperation." Chen Long replied.

Chen Long’s words are easy to understand. After all, it is not easy for the three of them to collaborate on a movie. As he and Li Renjie continue to grow older, it will be even more difficult to collaborate in the future.

For this precious opportunity, Chen Long naturally wanted to leave behind a classic scene of cooperation.

"Hearing you say that, I feel a little nervous too. Are you nervous?" Li Renjie turned his head and asked the team's extras who were riding on horses nearby.

"How can I not be nervous? I'm worried that I'll forget the rules in a moment." said the extras.

"The polo rules in the Tang Dynasty were very simple, without as many requirements as modern polo matches. You just need to remember two points: you can only hit the ball with a stick, and you can only hit the ball when you are riding a horse. It's that simple," said Li Renjie.

"Now that you put it that way, it does seem easy to remember." The extras replied.

Although the rules are simple, when it comes to sports events, once passion gets the best of you, it's easy to disregard the rules and do whatever's convenient.

Although riding a horse is fast, the flexibility is definitely less, which is not as convenient as chasing the ball on foot. However, this is against the rules and you can only hit the ball while riding a horse.

A baseball bat is definitely not as convenient to use as a bat without hands, but no matter how urgent it is, you can only use a baseball bat to hit the ball.

The rules are simple and easy to understand, but they can be played in many different ways. This is where Lin Yuan will have room to play.

"What we really need to pay attention to is safety. Although you just need to cooperate and fill in the numbers and you can leave the field in a while, polo is really a very dangerous sport. You must pay attention to safety." Chen Long said considerately.

After filming action scenes for so many years, being alert to safety has become his instinct.

Polo in the Tang Dynasty Polo was a very dangerous sport. Broken legs and arms were common, and serious injuries and even death were not uncommon. It can be said to be a very dangerous sport.

In fact, this is not surprising at all. Take a look at modern sports events. When football players play on the football field, the physical collisions are quite intense, and the chance of accidental injury is very high. There have even been news reports of players breaking the opponent's shin with a single kick.

Needless to say, rugby requires wearing layers of protective gear, but various injuries are still unavoidable.

Let’s look at polo. During a polo match, more than 20 horses run fast, and the riders need to use sticks to grab the polo balls on the ground, which is bound to cause collisions between horses.

Even if two adult men collide at high speed, it will cause great damage to both sides, let alone two horses with greater impact force?

When filming this Tang Dynasty polo scene, the ancients did not have protective gear to wear, so actors such as Chen Long and Li Renjie naturally could not wear protective gear.

Can this scene be filmed smoothly today?
When Chen Long thought of those action designs, he became worried again.

……

……

"All departments, get ready." Director Nolan picked up the walkie-talkie and shouted.

"The camera crew is in place!"

"The rails are ready!"

"The lighting crew is in place!"

"The medical emergency team is here!"

……

Seeing that all the staff were ready, Director Nolan gave the order to shoot.

"Action!"

"Snapped!"

The moment the clapperboard was struck, the overhead camera captured the entire polo field in the frame.

The stands around the stadium were packed with people and the atmosphere was quite lively.

The camera lens slowly moved to the audience seats, further enhancing the atmosphere.

The audience was discussing today's game excitedly.

Whether they were high-ranking officials dressed in silk and satin, or ordinary people in rags, they all had the same identity at this moment: football fans.

"Who do you think will win today's game?"

"We will win!"

"Don't talk about this. Which team did you bet on to win?"

"...After buying it, the Turkic team won."

"Damn it! And you still say we're going to win? Whose side are you on?"

"Of course we hope our Hedong team can win. If we beat these Post-Turkic beasts, they won't come to Hedong to plunder this autumn and winter. But they are a people who live on horseback. It will be too difficult for us to win this game."

"Yes, although the Jiedushi and Deputy Envoy Li are outstanding players, they are helpless against their teammates' average level. Today's game is really mysterious."

"I heard that General Yuchi is an excellent player, but he offended Lord Li, so he didn't get a chance to play in this match."

"If General Yuchi could play, there might still be a chance of winning. Now the chances of winning are really slim."

"Back to the topic just now, which team did you bet on to win?"

"I also bought the Post-Turks team... But! If we can win this game, I would rather lose money."

"I guess we'll just have to bear the pain and make money today. Look, Lord Wang and the others are coming in."

At this time, the camera zooms in to the playing field.

Ten knights on each side rode their horses to the center of the field and stood facing each other.

Both sides looked at their opponents, waiting for the game to officially begin.

There are two types of goals on a polo field: single and double. A single goal is a wooden wall with a one-foot-long hole at the bottom and a net. A double goal is a goal on each side of the field, made of two wooden posts and a crossbeam.

The corresponding competition systems are single-goal matches and double-goal matches, which can be simply understood as the difference between today's half-time game and full-time game.

Today's match was a double-wicket match, filling the entire polo field.

The polo field in the Tang Dynasty was slightly smaller than a modern football field. Twenty tall horses stood in the middle of the field, making it appear quite compact and not empty.

"Woo!"

As the horn sounded, the competition officially began.

"Bang!" Chen Long kicked off the game, swung the bat and hit the ball far away.

It was like the horn of attack was blown, and everyone rode their horses straight towards the ball.

Polo matches also have quite a lot of tactics, such as multi-way attack, passing, defense and other tactics, which are not much different from modern ball games.

Therefore, not everyone rushed to grab the ball, but instead they dispersed in an orderly manner, and the players of both teams rode their horses to their respective tactical positions.

As the main attackers, Chen Long and Li Renjie were bound to fight for the ball. "Da ba da ba!" With the sound of horse hooves, the two rushed to the front, followed by three Turkic knights.

As frontier officials, Chen Long and Li Renjie must have the best horses, so their speed is obviously faster than that of the Turkic riders.

The game ball is right in front of us.

The size of a polo ball in the Tang Dynasty was slightly larger than a man's fist. It was made by hollowing out tough wood and filling it with light and cushioning materials such as straw. The outside was painted with patterns to increase its beauty and make the ball more eye-catching.

Li Renjie and Chen Long arrived at the same time. Chen Long did not stop the horse under his crotch, but continued to gallop forward.

Li Renjie was behind him and hit the polo ball hard with a stick.

"Boom!"

The polo ball drew a graceful curve in the air and landed right in front of Chen Long.

The goal is not far away.

Just as Chen Long was about to swing his stick to shoot, a Turkic knight rushed out from the side and rear.

"Oh!"

The two horses collided heavily, and Chen Long staggered and almost fell off the horse.

But this also resulted in a loss of a good chance to shoot.

There were sighs of regret from the audience. This was a reasonable collision in a polo match, and it was this kind of powerful confrontation that mattered.

"It's so abominable! He almost scored a goal!" The audience on the stage beat their chests and stamped their feet.

"Master Wang still doesn't have enough capable helpers. If he had a few more, the ball would have definitely gone in."

At this time, on the court, another Turkic knight rushed out from behind Chen Long and knocked the ball away.

The polo ball flew more than 40 meters in the air, almost spanning half of the field.

"This pass! It's so beautiful!" The audience outside the stadium couldn't help but admire.

The more beautiful the opponent's performance is, the more uncomfortable it will be for us.

As soon as the polo ball was sent to the rear of the Hedong team, the entire Turkic team immediately became excited.

"Woo-hoo~Woo-hoo~" They cheered like they were hunting, and all the knights pressed forward together.

Just like a charge on the battlefield, the Turkic knights broke through the Hedong team's defense line in an instant.

"Boom!"

A Turkic knight came not far from the goal and easily swung the ball into the goal with his stick.

0-1!

The audience immediately started cursing. No matter in ancient or modern times, in China or abroad, fans will curse when our team loses the ball.

"A goal was scored so soon? How long has the game started?"

"Lord Wang and Lord Li performed very well, but what about the rest of you? Didn't you have dinner today?"

"The offense is useless, and the defense is like paper."

Amid the shouts and curses of the fans, the horn sounded and the game continued.

This time it was Chen Long who kicked off again, and Li Renjie and another knight cooperated with him in the attack.

The other teammates' riding skills were obviously inferior, they were far behind and could not be of much help.

In this way, Chen Long and the other three Hedong team players who were in the offensive position had to face the pressure from the entire defense line of the Turkic team.

This scene really looks like a cavalry charge on the battlefield. No wonder polo was originally used as a means of training troops.

Chen Long, Li Renjie and another knight were like the most elite cavalry charging, but they were facing Turkic knights whose numbers far exceeded theirs.

After a fierce fight, they still failed to break out of the siege.

The ball was once again taken away by the Turkic team.

The opponent launched a beautiful defensive counterattack.

Score: 0-2!

……

0-3!

……

The score was widening rapidly and the mood of the fans at the scene became quite depressed.

You knew you might lose, but you didn't expect the gap to be so big?

"I feel like we're going to lose badly in this competition. It's so embarrassing."

"Do you think we'll get nothing?"

"Not really. After all, Lord Wang and Lord Li are also very good players."

"It's difficult to support the team with just the two of them."

"Look, isn't that General Yuchi over there? Is he coming to watch the game today too?"

"It would be great if General Yuchi could play!"

……

1-3!

The Hedong team finally scored a goal.

The audience immediately erupted in thunderous cheers.

Everyone seemed to see hope again.

But soon, everyone fell into despair again.

1-4!

……

1-5!

……

1-6!

……

The score was even wider than before, and everyone understood that the previous goal didn't mean anything.

"Boom!"

To make matters worse, a player from the Hedong team was hit hard from the side by a Turkic knight and fell off his horse.

His injury seemed serious and he obviously couldn't continue the game.

"Suspend the game!"

Polo matches in the Tang Dynasty could also be paused, with each side having two opportunities to pause.

In this situation, Chen Long had to suspend the game.

"What should we do? If we continue like this, we will definitely lose." Chen Long asked in a low voice with sweat on his forehead.

"Our players' riding skills are worse than those of the Turks, and they are too weak in attack. If we don't change this, we won't be able to score," said Li Renjie.

"Isn't that person Yuchi Yuan under your command?" Chen Long suddenly pointed at Lin Yuan in the audience and asked.

"Yes, it's him." Although Li Renjie was reluctant, he couldn't openly deny it.

"How is his riding skills?" Chen Long asked.

"...very good." Li Renjie had to answer truthfully.

"How are your ball skills?" Chen Long asked further.

"..."

Lin Yuan often played polo in Yunzhou City, and his skills were well-known. Li Renjie could not hide this fact.

So he said, "You are very good at playing."

"What are we waiting for? Let him come on the court to save the situation!" Chen Long shouted.

So, Li Renjie rode his horse to the side of the audience and said, "General Yuchi, Lord Wang has ordered you to play!"

"what?"

"This is a military order and must not be disobeyed!" Li Renjie continued.

"Yes! I'll change my clothes and go on stage immediately!" Lin Yuan answered loudly.

Seeing Lin Yuan go to the side to change clothes, the audience who knew Lin Yuan cheered:

"General Yuchi is leaving the field, our team is saved!"

"Who is he? Is he strong?"

"General Yuchi Yuan! He's the descendant of Yuchi Gong, Duke of E, a true general!"

"I've heard of him. I heard his riding skills are known as the best in the northern border, the best in the world. Some time ago, outside the Great Wall, he defeated the 400 cavalry of the Later Turkic people with only 4000 cavalry!"

"With such a strong player on the field, we have hope. But why didn't you use him before?"

"I don't know about that. I heard it's related to Deputy Envoy Li."

"Why bother with so much? Winning the game is the most important thing right now!"

Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, Lin Yuan changed into his uniform and came to the polo field.

He was wearing a round-necked, tight-fitting crimson robe with narrow sleeves, a black fu hat on his head, black leather boots on his feet, and stirrups on his feet.

He was riding a scarlet horse with white hooves. The horse had a broad chest and strong limbs. It was obvious that it was a horse that could run a thousand miles.

Seeing Lin Yuan’s appearance.

Chen Long couldn't help but praise: "What a mighty man!"

(End of this chapter)