Book 50 Chapter 1 – Changing Side Changing Player

Kou Zhong did not need to seek Xu Ziling’s consent, but he also knew that there was only one answer; not daring to hesitate, he replied, “Huangshang’s order, Xiaoren all will do our best to do it.”

Letting out a cold snort, Li Nantian said, “Huangshang is asking you what is your odds of success? He is not concerned over whether you will do your best or not.”

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling understood suddenly; they knew that Li Yuan was considering putting them in the next game to replace Li Nantian and Li Shentong, so that these two Li’s greatly lost face, hence Li Nantian was making things difficult for them; first, it was to vent the anger in their heart, but more importantly, it was to indirectly express their dissatisfaction to Li Yuan.

One would know the book in one’s own house. No matter how brilliant their ‘Man-and-Horse-As-One’ was, no matter how their Long-Life Qi has reached perfection, they still need a bit of time to understand the technique to play polo profoundly. But by the time they could grasp they key to score a victory, the game would have been lost early on. Therefore, they were now really like riding a tiger, it was hard to get off; their heart alarmed, they were trembling in fear, but sadly there was no scheme with which they could deal with it.

Hardening his scalp, Xu Ziling replied, “Each time Xiaoren, the two of us, went down the field to play polo, we always have full confidence to score a victory. Huangshang, please understand.”

Hearing that, Li Yuan cast his gaze toward Li Yuanji, but Li Yuanji was looking at Wei Gonggong. Wei Gonggong cleared his throat and said, “Yu Ji Chang [chief of imperial riders] should know a bit more clearly.”

Li Yuanji and Wei Gonggong could avoid giving the answer, because they did not want to offend Li Shentong and Li Nantian. But Cheng Mo, this chief of imperial riders did not have the qualifications to offer excuses; having no alternative, he hung his head down and answer truthfully, “Chenxia [official in feudal court] has not yet had the opportunity to personally see two gentlemen Renxiong playing polo, but their riding skills are certainly not inferior to the other side.”

By this time, most of the people on both spectator’s grandstands were aware of the unusual situation surrounding Li Yuan and the others standing by the sideline; one after another they looked this direction, while making speculations excitedly. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong really wanted to know Shen Luoyan’s reaction as she saw them, but they did not dare to look at her.

Li Yuan finally made up his mind; he said, “Very well, the two of you will go down the arena to replace Shentong and Nantian. Playing in the court is just like in the battlefield, transferring troops and substituting generals are common occurrence. Right now I am using wonder troops [troops appearing suddenly in raid or ambush] to subdue the enemy, so that the other side cannot see through our deployment.”

Li Yuanji said, “But the sticks and the horses provided are not the ones they are used to using, most likely the Persians would take advantage of this opportunity. We already lost three points, we can’t lose another one.”

Li Nantian and Li Shentong’s stretched-taut face revealed a mocking and pleased expression; they knew that Li Yuanji was speaking on their side.

Inwardly, Kou Zhong did not know how grateful he was toward Li Yuanji; seizing this opportunity, he respectfully said, “Qi Wang spoke out the load in Xiaoren’s mind; not using the sticks and horses that we are accustomed to, our ability to win might be discounted, Huangshang, please understand.”

This was not a deliberate modest remark, yet as it entered Li Shentong and Li Nantian’s ears, it made the malice in their hearts toward the two boys diminished somewhat.

Li Yuan pondered slightly, he nodded and said, “It makes sense! We are going to join the Persians into the palace hall to drink and chat. Gonggong may take two gentlemen into the palace to select the most suitable stick and horse from Zhen’s [I, imperial use] collection. After practicing for half a sichen, go down the arena to compete. You must not let Zhen disappointed.”

No one had anything to say. It was even more difficult for Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling to object; without any better option, they had to drop on their knees to express their gratitude for the imperial kindness, before following Wei Gonggong into the Taiji Palace, waiting for Laotianye to arrange everything.

Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong followed Wei Gonggong, with more than a dozen imperial guards calling out their presence at the front and crowding them from the rear, walking around the Taiji Palace, heading toward the imperial island. Not daring to walk side by side with Wei Gonggong, they fell two steps behind him.

Wei Gonggong’s weird voice said, “Two housheng [younger generation/young man], kids, walk a bit forward, to give Laorenjia [old person] the convenience to talk.”

The two rushed forward to his side. Wei Gonggong said, “To save time, I will only take you to the nearest treasury [orig. tribute hall] to select sticks from Huangshang’s collection. The horses are from the imperial stable by Xuanwu Gate over yonder. I’ll have Yu Ma Chang [chief imperial horse] select seven, eight horses for you to choose from. Otherwise you won’t have enough time to practice. You will also have to change your clothes to look more like it.”

Listening to him, the two boys only responded with ‘Yes, Sir, yes, Sir’, while their eyes, in ‘turns out Taiji Palace is so magnificent’ curious look – were glancing to the left and right, acting like good ol’ country bumpkins who went into the city for the first time.

Lowering his voice, Wei Gonggong said, “You guys can have this opportunity to play side by side with Huangshang, your ancestors must have amassed great good fortune. As long as you put on good performance, other than bestowing gold and silk, Huangshang may bestow other rewards as well.”

Hearing the singing to a string accompaniment, Kou Zhong knew that he was offering advice; hurriedly he spoke humbly, “We will rely on Wei Gonggong to guide and carry the light in everything.”

Wei Gonggong cheerfully said, “Human beings always have the thought of showing favor toward talents. If you guys put on outstanding performance later, I will ask Huangshang on your behalf for some official part-time work, so that you won’t have to live the at-the-edge-of-a-saber-and-spilling-blood-of-gang-and-society life.”

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were secretly shocked, wondering if they were trying to be clever and end up with egg on their face? Wei Gonggong could possibly be the person who understood how to fathom the content of Li Yuan’s heart the most, knowing that if the two helped Li Yuan to win this game, when the dragon heart was greatly delighted, Li Yuan might create the ‘Ma Qiu Zhang’ [chief polo officer] official position for the two to manage. Therefore, Wei Gonggong pushed the boat with the current, by receiving the two as his trusted aide in advance. If they lost the game, naturally they could forget about everything.

Trying to redeem himself, Xu Ziling said, “But we …”

Wei Gonggong laughed and said, “You are working for that newly rich Situ Furong! I know all about it. Don’t worry! As long as you become my men, I will take care of you in everything. I like your attitude of displaying utter loyalty to your master.”

Kou Zhong was pondering whether he should lose the game so that he did not have to be an officer, but then he laughed at himself for worrying over nothing, because in this game, to lose was not easy, to win was even more difficult than ascending to the heavens.

Wei Gonggong added, “Winning or losing is originally like other people’s business, but the Persian people have always regarded polo like a battle; furthermore, they thought that our, Han people’s polo skill is far inferior to theirs. This time Huangshang particularly invited them over a thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers to come from afar to compete, he has made the preparation for many years in advance; he attaches great importance to this matter. Therefore, this battle is not to be lost, the Persians must be defeated that they concede both with their mouth and in their heart. Now you should understand why Huangshang ignored Huai Wang and Nan Wang, two men’s feeling, and firmly set on replacing them with you on the field.”

This moment, from the imperial garden they turned right to enter Li Yuan’s rear palace [chambers of imperial concubines], toward a building complex located at the southwest corner. The building next door on its north side was precisely the imperial study room, where the two boys nearly ended nursing a grievance earlier.

Clearly the inner palace’s guard was strengthened. The passageways coming in and out were heavily guarded, they even added not a few both covert and undercover guards keeping watch; the atmosphere was tense.

Entering the main gate, which was guarded by more than a dozen imperial guards, four magnificent buildings towered in front of the two boys. Along the winding corridors revolving around the complex, there was one guard every five steps, one sentry every ten steps, perhaps even a fly would find it difficult to fly freely in this kind of situation.

Taking them toward the palace hall located in the southwest Wei Gonggong said, “The gifts and tributes presented to Huangshang from everywhere are stored in these four treasuries; merely polo sticks are over a thousand items; I guarantee that when you guys see it, you will love it too much to part with it. However, there is not much time, you must not waste time in this regard.”

And then he addressed the imperial guards escorting them, “You guys stay here.”

The crowd of imperial guards responded in loud voice and stood at attention. Wei Gonggong led the two climbing the stone steps, and ordered the imperial guard on the door to open wide the middle gate to let the three men entered the palace hall over which there was a horizontal tablet inscribed with ‘Zhao Feng Tang’ [Hall of Morning Breeze], three large characters.

Altogether the Zhao Feng Tang was divided into eight tribute rooms, there were closed iron doors lining up the wall on the left and right. By this time the eunuch in charge of the tribute halls had heard the news, he took four young eunuchs to hurriedly unlock the door for the Great Court Eunuch Wei Gonggong.

The two boys mused that Wei Gonggong indeed carried big airs around him; unexpectedly he did not notify the court eunuch in charge of the tribute hall in advance. If the other side was late, he would surely receive the blame.

The two boys followed behind Wei Gonggong going deep into the hall; suddenly their mind was shocked at the same time, hastily they focused their power into their nose. Sure enough, a whiff of a faint fragrance, which originally seemed to be there but not there, was seeping out through the cracks on the door and became thicker. It was precisely the scent that Lei Jiuzhi let them sniff this morning.

Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong thought that how could there be such a ghost-helping-deity-pushing matter, that unexpectedly Li Yuan was keeping the ‘Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu’ inside the first tribute hall on the left by the entrance?

“We are here!” Wei Gonggong said.

The room’s door was wide open, all kinds of polo sticks, coming from various regions, inside and outside the Great Wall, of different design, line and pattern, color and materials, lined up in rows, numerous and close together, as if they were entering a forest of polo sticks, in which they could only walk sideways.

Remembering the fate that was coming for them, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong smiled bitterly in their heart, and stepped into the room.

The two led the race horse, which put on a suit of armor of seven colors, rich and diverse, with the carefully chosen polo stick hanging by the horse’s belly, from Taiji Palace back into the traversing public square. Following Wei Gonggong’s instruction, they waited respectfully for Li Yuan’s holy self at the northwest corner of the field.

Both the east and the west spectator’s grandstands were clamorous, returning to the pre-game situation where the guests were exchanging conventional greetings, talking and laughing, in sharp contrast to the imperial guards standing respectfully along the four sides of the field.

Altogether the Taiji Palace had three gates; the main gate was Cheng Tian, the other two gates were Guang Yun and Chang Le. They entered the field via the Guang Yun Gate, which was west of the Cheng Tian Gate, hence they did not attract too much attention.

Just now inside the imperial garden, they used the available time to the greatest extent to practice and to master the technique of playing polo. The two boys were geniuses of martial art ways, they comprehended new things by analogy, from witnessing two sets of the Li Clan and the Persians polo masters striving against each other, they already had penetrating views of the technique and skill in playing polo. After going through some practice, their confidence increased greatly, no longer like before, where they were standing before the battle, trembling with fear and trepidation.

Xu Ziling looked up to the east spectator’s grandstand on the other side in the distance, he saw Shen Luoyan was looking at them with full attention, sizing them up, but sadly there was no way of transmitting the sound of their hearts to her.

Kou Zhong leaned over and whispered in his ear, “Li Mi certainly has not had any chance to get close to Li Yuan, just look at his absent-minded appearance and you’ll know it.”

Suddenly the drum music sounded at the same time, the guests and officers all stood up.

Li Yuan and Prince Hamomei and the other Persian guests, amidst the loud ‘Wansui’ shout, entered the arena from the Cheng Tian Gate. And then the music stopped, leaving only the sound of the drum beats.

Li Yuan signaled with his hand, one after another everybody sat down.

Two teams of men and horses separated, Li Yuan and Li Yuanji were talking quietly on horseback, while urging their horses to gallop slowly toward Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling.

Kou Zhong spoke in Xu Ziling’s ear, “I don’t know whether Ling Shao notice it or not, but the arrangement of these two east and west spectator’s grandstands really does not make any sense; they ought to be located north and south of the arena, to let the people see a bit more clearly.”

Xu Ziling nodded and said, “I thought about it. In my opinion, Li Yuan arranged it this way to guard against the assassins. East and west, two grandstands’ position is rather far, assassination will be a bit more inconvenient.”

Kou Zhong agreed, “That makes sense!” he said.

This moment Li Yuan’s holy-self has come near, the two did not dare to talk, they solemnly hung their head low and greeted him respectfully.

Li Yuan flung off his horse, he laughed and said, “On the arena, Zhen and you guys are partners and comrade-in-arms, no need to confine yourselves to common etiquette. How’s your practice?”

Kou Zhong replied, “Thanks to Huangshang’s great blessings, Xiaoren, two of us have obtained profound understanding of the stick and the horse; we are confident that we will live up to Huangshang’s expectations.”

“That’s the best,” Li Yuan said cheerfully, “We have lost three points in the last game, in the next game, after switching side, we must have a four-point lead if we want to have the hope of winning.”

Standing by his side, Li Yuanji said, “This is the first time we are working together, you guys are the experts in this area, in term of tactics, if you have any idea, you can boldly put it forward, no need to worry about above and below, superior and subordinate differences. If you don’t agree with Fu Huang or my playing style, you can raise objection.”

Li Yuan raised his hand and made a signal. The drums stopped, in the entire field, the crow and peacock made no sound. When the next game began, it would be entirely dependent on Li Yuan’s holy intention.

The two boys felt the heavy pressure just before the competition begin; on the contrary, they were hoping that the gongs and the drums would continue, so that it would not be like this, where everybody had nothing to say, they had nothing to do, hence all their attention was focused on them. On top of that, they were like a thief lacking confidence, so that their mood was absolutely unpleasant.

Kou Zhong already considered the problem of tactics early on; respectfully, upright and honest, he said, “Xiaoren, two of us came up with a tactic to be aimed at their weak point …”

Li Yuanji suddenly cut him off, “They might take out Longsheng and Zhili, and have Zexina Da Gong [great duke … I think] and Meineiyi Houjue [marquis] to take their place.”

The two looked at each other with blank expression on their face.

Li Yuan let out a cold humph and said, “In this game, the Persians’ aspiration is that they must win; seeing our previous troop disposition was easy to take, they change formation to deal with it. Don’t underestimate this as a mere polo game, this perhaps will influence the direction of the Persian dynasty’s future national policy. Since our Great Tang must not suppress and intimidate the Persians on the battlefield, we have no choice but to do our best on the playing field to accomplish it.”

Kou Zhong was dumbstruck and unable to reply; he could only feel certain that these Zexina and Meineiyi or something must be more brilliant than Longsheng and Zhili whom they replaced, just like Li Yuan thought that in term of polo skill, these two boys surpassed Li Shentong and Li Nantian, which made the strategy that the two boys thought of became using martial art skill but without any ground [not sure].

Xu Ziling said, “Huangshang, please understand, since the other side changes their troop disposition and switching their generals, it would be best if in the field, we change according to the situation. Since Xiaoren [plural] have seen Huangshang and Qi Wang competing, for the time being, let Xiaoren, the two of us coordinate with Huangshang and Qi Wang. Xiaoren, the two of us will take the defensive position at the rear, to intercept the opponent’s offensive and send the ball to Huangshang and Qi Wang to break the enemy and score a victory.”

Li Yuan nodded and said, “That would be best. You two do your best, if we win, you will be like establishing meritorious service in the army, Zhen will definitely give you reward.”

The two boys chorused their gratitude for the favor from the emperor. But whatever little bit of self-confidence that they had just established was already like dispersing-cloud-vanishing-smoke due to the Persian side changing personnel.

Li Yuan issued instructions, the sound of drums indicating the game would reopen shook the entire traversing public square.

In this second half of the game, both teams exchanged side; now the Li Clan defended the west gate, the Persians defended the east gate.

The ball was placed in the small circle in the middle of the field, and the teams arranged their troop disposition on the east and west sides, respectively.

Although Grand Duke Zexina was the oldest – he was about fifty years of age – but the older he got, the stronger he was. His body was perfectly straight like an iron tower, his thick beard was like a brush hanging under his chin, his pair of eyes flickering with spirit, his manner grave; without even needing to brandish the polo stick, everybody knew that he belonged among these masters. Meineiyi was a husky and robust man. His age was no more than thirty, his muscles bulging, he was full of explosive power; he must not be underestimated even more.

The drums stopped suddenly.

The announcer introduced the names of the new players from both sides entering the game. Themselves, Zexina and Meineiyi held official rank in the Persian dynasty, but unexpectedly Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were crowned as petty officials, some squad leaders of the imperial guards, which made the two not knowing whether to laugh or cry, yet they still had to salute the spectators cheering on them.

Three drum beats in succession. The ball was tossed from the hand of the announcer into the air. From both sides of the field, the storing-up-energy-in-waiting Li Yuanji and Hamomei spurred their horses to charge forward to fight over the ball. The team members from both sides moved their horses, ready to either provide support or intercept. The sound of hoof beats rose to the heaven, everybody held their breath and calmed their qi, concentrated their attention to watch for the development of the game.

Li Yuanji and Hamomei reached forward at the same time, their stick tried to hook the ball, the two riders brushed past each other. Li Yuanji did not disappoint; he snatched the ball, and then controlling the ball from the horseback, he charged straight through into the opponent’s line of defense.

The cheers exploded, the sound of the drums shook the ears.

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were, after all, new hands in this. Momentarily they were at a loss whether they ought to advance or to retreat. Without any better option, they urged their horses to gallop toward the east field.

Kesa and Meineiyi separately galloped over, cutting through the field from left and right, to intercept Li Yuanji. Li Yuan rushed toward the southern line, in order to provide support to Li Yuanji from the outside. The Persian Old General Zexina was dashing back and forth in front of the east gate, his bearing calm and collected.

His path was blocked, Li Yuanji passed the ball to Li Yuan. Kesa and Meineiyi, two riders, crossed each other in front of Li Yuanji’s horse, as if they were performing acrobatic horse riding, startling Li Yuanji’s horse that it neighed and reared on its hind legs. In the meantime, Meineiyi already seized the opportunity to gallop toward Li Yuan. None of the spectators did not know that he would be able to intercept Li Yuan’s attack in time.

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cried ‘Not good!’ inwardly; whether in terms of coordination and tactics, the Persians were more than a notch more superior than they. Not only they could break Li Yuanji and Li Yuan’s cooperation, they also made Li Yuan a lone army penetrating deep inside the enemy’s line, so that he could only rely on his power alone to crash through the barrier to score a goal.

But Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were, after all, veterans of a hundred battles. The former let out a shrill whistle, signaling Xu Ziling to guard against Hamomei dashing toward the west field, while he himself lightly pressed the horse’s belly with his legs, secretly launching the ‘man-and-horse-as-one’ technique. Like lightning, his ride galloped swiftly along the north line, to provide support to Li Yuan far away on the other side of the field.

Li Yuan waved his dragon stick; the ball traversed the sky and fell into Kou Zhong’s side.

Unexpectedly Kou Zhong was able to suddenly raise the horse’s speed to the limit; perhaps it was even beyond the limit, provoking thunderous applause from the entire field. The people from the Persian’s side, none did not reveal a shocked expression.

Kesa, who was rushing toward the north line, urgently urged his mount to fight over the ball, which was still unknown to which family the flower was about to fall.

Seeing this opportunity, from the midfield Li Yuanji hurried toward the east gate.

This moment Kou Zhong cast aside all doubts; heroic feeling roused to vigorous action, he mused that if I, Kou Zhong, cannot win over you, this Persian kid, later on I will write my name backward. Abruptly he drew out a breath, his horse soared high into the air, he was one step ahead to catch and hold on to the ball, which had not fallen onto the ground, and just like that he waved his stick to strike. The ball, like a shooting star, flitted across above Kesa’s head, so accurately that it was hard to believe, it landed about ten steps or so ahead and to the left of Li Yuanji’s horse’s head, precisely the brilliant position to give Li Yuanji the most convenience to hit the ball into the opponent’s goal.

Everybody on both the east and the west spectator’s grandstands cheered and shouted and sighed in praise in unison.

Li Yuanji was greatly delighted; swinging his stick, he swiftly struck. The ball turned into brightly-colored light, flying toward the goal.

Zexina rushed at an angle, his stick stretched out swiftly, just before the ball entered the goal, he caught the ball head-on. The way he applied his strength was so ingenious, not only the ball did not bounce back from the impact with the stick, it appeared to be moved by the stick that it coiled around the charging over Li Yuanji. Amidst the sound of sighing of most of the spectators, the stick swept and hit the ball toward Hamomei, who was in the west side of the field.

Meineiyi immediately spurred his horse to gallop toward the west field to provide support.

Xu Ziling groaned inwardly. Just now Li Yuan was the lone army penetrating deep inside the enemy’s line, but now it was he who became the lone army defending his territory alone. If he could not seize the ball, they would undoubtedly lose this point.

Having no other choice, he unleashed the ‘man-and-horse-as-one’ technique to rush toward the point the ball was about to fall.

The point that the ball hit by Zexina’s stick was ingenious; it just fell about twenty paces away to the Hamomei’s right, and Xu Ziling happened to be on Hamomei’s left side. If the situation developed normally, Hamomei only need to stop in his position, he could use the horse to stop Xu Ziling from entering the range within which he could touch the ball.

Even Li Yuan and Li Yuanji, who were in the field, also believed that they were going to lose. Only Kou Zhong knew that Xu Ziling had the ability to pull strongly against a crazy tide [idiom: to try hard to save a desperate crisis].

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