As dusk fell, Chief Secretary Chen Hong of Prince Wu’s residence led Prince Zhao Li Yuanjing to the main hall of the fourteenth court on the hillside outside Da’an Palace. Their shadows stretched long across the ground.
Li Yuanxu and Chai Yingluo were chatting in the hall. They rose to welcome their guest, with Chai Yingluo playfully addressing “Sixth Uncle” repeatedly, filling the room with cheerful warmth. After exchanging pleasantries and taking their seats, Li Yuanjing asked, “What did you call me here for?” Li Yuanxu scratched his head and smiled:
“It’s about that trouble I caused last time, the polo match wager with the Crown Prince and his brothers. Miss Ying spoke hastily and word reached the Empress…”
“What?” Li Yuanjing exclaimed in shock. “Won’t this get the Crown Prince scolded… This has become quite serious.”
Li Yuanxu glanced at Chai Yingluo, and the Daoist priestess smiled:
“Sixth Uncle’s guess is right. When the Empress heard about it, her first reaction was to scold the Crown Prince for being frivolous and playful. Fortunately, His Majesty was present at the time. You know how he enjoys lively activities – he laughed heartily upon hearing this and said that in a mounted contest with the princes, you Da’an Palace princes would likely be at a disadvantage, which wouldn’t be interesting.”
Her meaning was clear. Polo was a dangerous sport with frequent injuries and even deaths from falling off horses. No matter how privileged Li Yuanjing and his brothers were normally, they would be cautious about confronting the princes, especially the Crown Prince. Conversely, the princes would have far fewer reservations about their uncles. Li Yuanjing shook his head and smiled:
“We’re just taking the field to accompany the Crown Prince and others for a round, to please the princes. Who would seriously compete for victory?”
“His Majesty guessed you wouldn’t compete seriously, that’s why he said it wouldn’t be interesting,” Chai Yingluo smiled at Li Yuanjing. “Second Uncle hopes you’ll give it your all! His Majesty said the princes were all spoiled and arrogant and could use some hardship to teach them a lesson. So he asked me to tell you and Fourteenth Uncle not to worry and hit hard – don’t fear those reckless nephews! He also asked if you need anything?”
Li Yuanjing’s honest face broke into an involuntary smile, while Li Yuanxu also smiled along, with a hint of guilt and reluctance. His sixth brother was truly an honest man, never one for deception.
“His Majesty’s kindness puts my mind at ease,” Li Yuanjing replied to Chai Yingluo. “As for what we might need… well… I can’t think of anything at the moment, it’s just polo after all…”
After they chatted for a while longer, Yang Xinzhi came hurrying up to the hall. After paying his respects, he approached the brothers and said in a low voice:
“Sixth Lord, Fourteenth Lord, I just met some Hu cavalry from the garrison outside the palace gates. They say they have a secret imperial order to deliver some fine horses to the young lords.”
“What?”
Everyone in the hall stood up at these words. Both shocked and delighted, Li Yuanjing hurriedly asked, “Where are the horses? Who brought them? Where are the people… and the horses?”
“The Hu leader had a strange accent. After much talking, I only understood that he was a clansman of General Chibibi Heli, following the Heaven Khan’s secret order to deliver horses to the ‘polo-playing lords’ of Da’an Palace. He only had a personal fish tally and wasn’t registered at Da’an Palace gates, so he couldn’t enter. The men and horses were waiting outside, and he couldn’t explain clearly whom to report to. It’s been quite chaotic for half a day,” Yang Xinzhi spread his hands and smiled wryly. “These Hu people handle things oddly – while saying the Emperor ordered them to keep quiet, they’re shouting and causing a commotion, making everyone’s heads spin.”
As he spoke, he walked down the hall toward the gate, with the two brothers unconsciously following behind. Li Yuanjing smiled, “It’s General Chibibi’s clansman? Then they must be from the Emperor’s garrison cavalry, following imperial orders to deliver fine horses to help us win against the princes in polo. But this matter… why should it be kept secret?”
“There is a reason,” Li Yuanxu responded. “Those high ministers of the previous court, like Minister Wei Zheng, have always opposed us young princes ‘engaging in frivolous entertainment.’ This uncle-nephew match would particularly violate the principle of family harmony. When His Majesty learned of it, not only did he not reprimand us, but he was sending horses to aid us. If word reaches the remonstrating ministers’ ears, won’t their flood of memorials drown His Majesty?”
“That’s true… Hey? Where’s Master Shangzhen? Miss Ying?” Li Yuanjing turned back to look. Chai Yingluo had followed them down from the hall but hadn’t left the courtyard. She stood inside the gate smiling at Li Yuanjing:
“You go see what’s happening, Sixth Uncle. I still need to deliver medicine to the Emperor Emeritus at Da’an Hall. It’s getting late – if I delay any longer, I’ll have to spend the night in Da’an Palace.”
This would be Chai Yingluo’s first return to Da’an Hall since helping the Seventeenth Princess leave, and her first time facing Consort Yin De again. She and Li Yuanxu exchanged meaningful glances as she prepared to take the main road to Da’an Hall with her maid, Wei Shubin.
After letting his gaze linger on their figures for a moment, Li Yuanxu turned away and accompanied his sixth brother out of the Seventeenth Prince’s courtyard. He didn’t want to involve these two women in such dangerous matters. Yesterday morning after speaking with Sang Sai, he had told Chai Yingluo and the others, “I can handle this alone this time – having more people will only complicate things.”
He meant it sincerely, not even wanting to involve Yang Xinzhi. He had resolved to commit high treason by colluding with foreign barbarian chiefs to endanger the state and harm the emperor and his father – crimes deserving of the harshest punishment. The fewer people involved, the better. If it meant death or dismemberment, he would bear it alone.
The result was… Wei Shubin, usually the most gentle and fragile, was the first to object, saying “I will face death unflinchingly wherever you need me, let heaven’s punishment include me.” Yang Xinzhi spread his hands indicating that “abandoning the Fourteenth Lord would be a dereliction of duty and defying imperial orders.” Chai Yingluo simply grabbed his collar demanding he “honestly tell what evil deed you’re planning.” The four became inextricably entangled… just as their connections had long since become impossible to untangle.
He suddenly felt an unreal sense of vertigo. He still remembered the first time in his life hearing the details of the Xuanwu Gate incident, about how his Second Brother Li Shimin led a group of loyal death squads, personally shooting his full brothers inside the gate. Yuchi Jingde had cut off the heads of Jiancheng and Yuanji, and armored warriors wielding bloody blades were ordered to confront the Emperor. The young Fourteenth Prince had cried out then, thinking only: “How could Second Brother… That’s Father…”
Now, with the same father, he had resolved to do the same thing.
He and Sixth Brother rode along the mountain path to Da’an Palace Gate, where they indeed found a group waiting by the road outside. Seven or eight magnificent horses stood strong and sturdy, truly desirable steeds. The dozen or so men delivering them wore the uniforms of garrison guards – red headbands, tiger-skin leggings – mostly Hu people.
Their leader was a tall, robust man in his thirties who introduced himself as “Right Garrison Cavalry Commander Chibibi Luo,” wearing a headband and crimson robe. The prince brothers naturally knew that a few years ago, the Emperor had selected a hundred skilled archers to accompany him in hunting, called the “Hundred Riders.” These were the Emperor’s private soldiers, including many Hu cavalry, who weren’t formally part of the court hierarchy – some casually carried honorary titles to facilitate their comings and goings. This Chibibi Luo held the fifth-rank title of “Cavalry Commander,” which wasn’t particularly low.
The bronze fish tally he presented also bore his title, name, and the character for “match.” This was only the right half of the tally; the left half would be kept at the Xuanwu Gate or other palace gates where the Hundred Riders regularly entered. As it was already late, the prince brothers were not inclined to investigate thoroughly. They casually checked the fish tally before tossing it back to Chibibi Luo, focused only on questioning him about the details of the imperial order to deliver horses.
The Hu man’s accent was difficult, barely managing to convey his meaning, saying roughly what Yang Xinzhi had reported and what the prince brothers had guessed – that “the Heaven Khan ordered us to secretly deliver horses to the polo-playing princes at Da’an Palace, and not to make it known, absolutely cannot let people outside the palace know.” He repeated these few sentences and had nothing more to say when asked further.
These few sentences were enough. Li Yuanjing was elated, planning to send someone into the palace to his Prince Zhao’s residence to summon servants out to lead these fine horses in and to invite the other polo-playing brothers to his home to select horses. Before he could give the order, Chibibi Luo roughly interrupted:
“Wait, young lord. The Heaven Khan ordered me personally to deliver these horses to Da’an Palace’s stables, note which brothers received horses, and bring back a sealed document to report completion. I cannot hand over the horses to you here.”
This was somewhat discourteous, but the two imperial brother princes wouldn’t quibble with a thick-tongued Hu man. Li Yuanxu also advised:
“Don’t rush, Sixth Brother. His Majesty doesn’t want this matter known. If you send orders inside and a large group comes out to receive and select horses, it will create too much commotion in the palace, and news might spread outside immediately.”
Li Yuanjing nodded: “You make sense. Then what should we do?”
“In my view, have these men take the side gate and lead the horses into the Seventeenth Prince’s courtyard through the servants’ path, keeping the disturbance minimal. We’ll quietly send people to invite Seventh Brother and the others to come select and lead away horses themselves.”
These were all planned arrangements, and Li Yuanxu presented them comprehensively. Li Yuanjing suspected nothing, just clapped his hands in approval, and spoke to the Da’an Palace gate guard on duty.
Seeing two princes personally coming to receive them, especially Sixth Brother Prince Zhao’s distinguished status, the guard was happy to do them a favor. He had Li Yuanjing and his brother sign their names and allowed this group of Hu garrison cavalry to lead the horses inside. The two princes personally led the group, after entering the palace gate they took the small path, entering the Seventeenth Prince’s courtyard hillside through the rear servants’ gate.
The Emperor Emeritus’s younger sons who had come of age and moved out to establish their residences were arranged along the main road of the Seventeenth Prince’s courtyard according to their rank – the higher the rank, the closer to the courtyard’s main gate. If Li Yuanjing and his brother had entered through the main gate on the main road, his Prince Zhao residence would have been the first on the right. But they came through the back gate, following the courtyard wall and hillside leading the horses, soon distantly spotting Li Yuanxu’s Prince Wu residence.
A dozen Hu men leading seven or eight strong horses, with two princes in the lead, made quite an eye-catching group. Li Yuanjing waved his hand in signal, quickly leading the men and horses into Prince Wu’s residence. The not-so-large courtyard was suddenly filled with the noise of people calling and horses neighing.
Chen Hong, Prince Wu’s Chief Secretary who had stayed inside, came out startled to see what was happening. Li Yuanxu grabbed him and ordered him to send people to separately invite the masters of Prince Lu, Prince Zheng, and Prince Bin residences to come to select horses. For those not at home, invite their chief secretaries or commanders to come, but not to bring extra attendants.
This proved not as easy as it sounded. The various masters of the Seventeenth Prince’s courtyard had different temperaments. Just running messages and securing audiences took considerable effort. The fifteenth brother Prince Bin Li Fengtian was already drunk before dark, sleeping in a stupor… By the time the night curfew drums on the high cliff bell tower were almost finished, the young princes who were home had gradually arrived to inspect and select horses. Amid their cheerful chatter, Li Yuanxu couldn’t avoid his duties as host, ordering wine and food laid out for a feast of brotherhood celebration.
Earlier he and Sixth Brother Yuanjing had agreed that since the Emperor didn’t want the gift of horses known outside, they might as well say these fine horses were purchased by him and Sixth Brother – whether their brothers believed it or not, it was at least some explanation. The princes had all grown up in the deep palace and naturally knew some things were better left unquestioned. Each was happy to receive fine horses, and they passed the evening drinking games, gambling, and revelry.
Including Li Yuanjing, not one of them paid attention to the dozen or so garrison guards who had delivered the horses. In the princes’ eyes, servants always disappeared when they were supposed to.
Even if anyone asked, Li Yuanxu had prepared an answer: The palace gates were closed after curfew, so these men couldn’t leave tonight. They had been taken to empty rooms in a corner of the Seventeenth Prince’s courtyard to stay until they could be led out of the palace in the morning.
He told his old Chief Secretary Chen Hong the same. Secretary Chen seemed to find it somewhat inappropriate but had no grounds to argue with his master, and ended up personally leading Chibibi Luo and his men to quarters in the rear mountainside hall. He was an old family servant who had managed affairs since Li Yuanxu first established his princely residence and knew his young master’s temperament too well.
Amid the joyous sounds filling the courtyard, a group of Hu garrison guards quietly withdrew into the deepening night, brushing past Li Yuanxu as he stood in the hall.
From the group, a fifteen or sixteen-year-old barbarian youth raised his hand in a gesture to Prince Wu, who nodded slightly to indicate to Prince Sang Sai “Don’t worry.”
Notes:
1. The description of Li Shimin’s hundred riders wearing “red headbands and tiger-skin leggings” – “tiger-skin leggings” were pants with leg wrappings made of tiger skin. The style of “red headbands” can be seen in the ceremonial guard murals of Crown Prince Zhang Huai’s tomb.
2. Regarding Tang Dynasty identification documents, many people now know about “fish tallies,” but these were just one type in the official credential system. Besides fish tallies, there were wood tallies, double dragon tallies, qilin tallies, azure dragon tallies, vermilion bird tallies, zouyu (white tiger) tallies, black tortoise tallies, etc., each with different uses.
Even among items called “fish tallies,” there were different appearances based on rank and purpose. Simply put, there were bronze fish tallies used for military mobilization and changing guards; personal fish tallies used to verify officials’ identities; and exchange fish tallies and patrol fish tallies used for palace entry and gate operations. The “personal fish tally” shown by Chibibi Luo in this Vol 2 – Chapter normally only served as identification and couldn’t be used for other purposes.
Fish tallies were generally about 6 cm long and 2 cm wide. They were split into left and right halves, with a “matching” shaped mortise and tenon in the middle that could fit together. Some fish tallies also had the characters for “match together” carved into the bottom seam for verification when joining the halves. The inner sides bore inscriptions noting the bearer’s identity or the tally’s scope of use.