Polo had existed in the Central Plains for a long time, but previously it was mostly a leisure activity where noble youths would gallop on horseback, swinging mallets to hit balls for entertainment, without any strict rules for determining winners and losers.
In the early Zhenguan period, after the imperial court defeated Jieli Khagan, large numbers of surrendered Turks entered the court as guards. As the desert trade routes gradually opened, more and more foreign merchants and Western barbarians arrived in Chang’an. Initially, some young Turkic guards sought places to play polo, bringing with them the rules commonly used beyond the frontier.
They would plant goalposts at both ends of the field and agree that getting the ball between the posts counted as “scoring a point.” Victory would be determined either by scoring first or by accumulating the most points, with winning criteria adjustable based on actual circumstances.
With relatively clear rules and the element of competition, the game became much more entertaining. Within a few years, polo swept through Chang’an. Young nobles from the Crown Prince’s circle, princes, imperial sons-in-law, and the Three Guards all loved to gallop their horses and chase the ball under the moon and stars. The Li Yuangui brothers were no exception. However… Yang Xinzhi was an exception.
The reason was simple: he was too big and heavy, and couldn’t find a mount both strong enough to carry him and agile enough to make quick turns.
It was common for garrison guards to accompany princes and nobles in playing polo, and Yang Xinzhi himself loved recreation. Initially, he practiced polo with his colleagues and companions. However, his weight was about two or three times that of Li Yuangui, and even for daily travel, he had to choose the sturdiest and largest mount, changing horses more frequently than his companions. The polo field demanded alert and agile horses capable of charging and stopping instantly, with complete control over movement. These were typically more slender and long-legged steeds, which could hardly withstand the impact of Yang the Meat Tower’s charges.
He practiced once or twice, but when he went to select a mount again, according to a joke circulating among the imperial guards, all the horses would immediately fall and play dead at the sight of Yang the Meat Tower’s towering figure, their limbs twitching and foam coming from their mouths. The stable hands all laughed themselves silly, and Yang Xinzhi himself found it pointless, so he stopped practicing.
When accompanying Li Yuangui and his brothers playing polo, he only cheered from the sidelines. When he got the itch to play, he would join some guards who weren’t skilled riders in “ground polo” – playing without horses, running on foot, and swinging mallets to hit the ball, which was also entertaining in its way. With his height, long legs, and large stride, plus his strong build that wasn’t afraid of shoving, he had quite an advantage in ground polo and developed decent skills.
But the former Crown Prince of Tuyuhun, Prince Zun, had specifically challenged Yang Xinzhi to a polo match, and he certainly wouldn’t accept ground polo.
Polo had been introduced to Tuyuhun and flourished there probably earlier than its introduction to the Central Plains. Prince Zun must have been a skilled player with rich experience. One look at Yang Xinzhi’s build, and he immediately understood the key issue, seizing on the loophole in the Emperor’s words about “fighting however you wish” to directly propose settling it with a polo match. This could be considered a final struggle before death, and when the words were spoken, even the Emperor was taken aback for a moment.
Prince Zun was just a dead man walking, and naturally, the Emperor could refuse his unreasonable request without any consequences. At most… it would only slightly damage his prestige and face.
The Emperor turned his head to glance at Yang Xinzhi – the newly revealed Crown Prince of Tuyuhun – and asked with a smile:
“Nuoheba, your uncle is challenging you – one-on-one polo to decide the winner. What do you think? Do you dare accept?”
Yang Xinzhi had been in a daze from the very beginning, his chubby face still showing complete bewilderment. He stood there stunned for a while before kneeling together with his mother to respond to the Emperor’s inquiry:
“Your subject… your subject… follows Your Majesty’s imperial decree.”
The crowd of foreign guests and envoys watching from the sides began murmuring discussions, seemingly disappointed by the new Crown Prince’s performance. Well, don’t onlookers always want more drama… The Emperor of Heaven glanced around at the crowd and sighed:
“Very well. Then you two shall play. Don’t say my Great Tang bullies others. So then, Wuji—”
He beckoned to Minister of Works Duke Zheng of Qi, Long Sun Wuji, who stood to one side, and the portly imperial uncle-in-law hurried over to receive orders. In front of everyone, the Emperor formally commanded:
“Go to the Imperial Stables and bring two fine horses. We need two horses of similar size and temperament but with distinctly different colors for uncle and nephew to ride in their polo match. When you bring them, let Prince Zun choose first.”
His tone was perfectly ordinary without any peculiarity, but from Li Yuangui’s vantage point, he thought he saw his brother’s eyebrows and eyes move subtly as if signaling something to his brother-in-law.
What was that signal for? Li Yuangui couldn’t guess, but Long Sun Wuji seemed to understand perfectly, bowing in acknowledgment before turning south.
The Imperial Stables were located in the southwest of the Imperial City. Duke Long Sun entered through Shuntian Gate Street and would need some time to arrive, then more time to select and lead back the horses. Taking advantage of this interval, the Master of Ceremonies proposed to first complete the funeral ceremony.
So the attendants tidied the grounds, everyone returned to their positions, and the ceremonial music began again. Prince Zun was tied up like a rice dumpling and held aside under the watch of many guards, trying not to interfere with the ceremony. He was still defiant, shouting another string of foreign words at the Emperor. The Court Interpreter was called over and translated:
“This criminal asks what benefit he would get if he wins against Young Lord Yang in polo. Could he be spared and allowed to return to his country?”
“What grand dreams!” The Emperor swept his sleeves as he returned to his position, leaving only these words: “If he wins, he can die with some dignity and honor.”
Well then… Li Yuangui also returned to his place among his brothers, following the ceremonial officer in crying and bowing. After this interruption, everyone, including the Emperor, was distracted during the funeral ceremony, going through the motions perfunctorily, their minds all on the upcoming polo match between the Murong uncle and nephew.
The Imperial Deceased’s dragon coffin and accompanying ceremonial procession had begun moving, and before the end of the magnificent procession had even disappeared down Imperial Street, Long Sun Wuji appeared with two eunuchs, leading one white and one red horse, emerging leisurely from around the corner of the Sifang Pavilion walls into the view of the crowd waiting outside Shuntian Gate.
The two horses were indeed similar in build, both stouter than those typically used for polo – Long Sun Duke had considered Yang Xinzhi’s size. However, Li Yuangui thought with a silent sigh, this wouldn’t help much. In a one-on-one polo match, victory depended on controlling the horse’s rhythm and accuracy in swinging the mallet while mounted. Yang Xinzhi was too inexperienced in both aspects and would lose badly.
The crowd gathered to watch Prince Zun choose his horse first. The young Tuyuhun man, still bound and with half-dried blood on his face, sat cross-legged on the ground and raised his head, carefully examining the two magnificent steeds for a while before nodding his chin toward the white horse with brown spots: “This one.”
So the chestnut red horse would go to Yang Xinzhi. This seemed fitting, Li Yuangui thought. The Tuyuhun and other northwestern nomads generally considered white noble, while the Great Tang military favored red and black. Yang Xinzhi might be of Tuyuhun royal blood, but he was half-Han Chinese, and his mannerisms and mindset were thoroughly those of an old Longyou family scion… Ah.
Could it be that the Emperor and Duke Long Sun had anticipated this, knowing Prince Zun would habitually choose white, and therefore prepared some trick with the white horse?
But that wasn’t certain either – Prince Zun himself knew the different customs of both countries, so wouldn’t he second-guess and deliberately choose the red horse instead? This was truly unpredictable.