Chapter Eleven: The Polo Scandal (Part 1)

“Drink! Drink!”
Bai Yuanguang nudged Duan Xiushi with his arm and changed the subject, saying, “Lord Cheng, the food here is quite good today. Have they changed chefs?”
“Haha! It is indeed good. Waiter, bring another plate of braised fish.”
“You guys!” Wu Niang slammed the table in anger. “You’re helping him bully me! I’ll tell Uncle Feng!”
Li Qingan suddenly felt his head spinning. Calling Feng Changqing ‘Uncle Feng’—was this Wu Niang…?
At that moment, Xi Yuanqing, who had remained silent until then, smiled and said, “Seventh Brother, you might not know Wu Niang yet! She’s the youngest daughter of our tall and handsome one, and her nickname is…”
“Xi Manqiang, don’t say it!” Wu Niang grew anxious and glared at Xi Yuanqing fiercely. Xi Yuanqing quickly raised his hands and laughed, “Okay! Okay! I won’t say it.”
Wu Niang glanced at Li Qingan. “Hey! What’s your name?”
Li Qingan quickly smiled and said, “My name is Li Qingan. They all call me Seventh Brother. If you don’t want that leopard skin anymore, I’ll take it to sell tomorrow.”
“That was paid for by me! How dare you sell it!”
After a pause, Wu Niang asked him again, “What weapon do you use?”
Li Qingan grinned. Could this girl be trying to come up with a nickname for him?
Bai Yuanguang, who was enjoying the situation the most, quickly said, “Wu Niang, Seventh Brother uses a bow and arrows.”
“Good. From now on, I’ll call you Stinky Bow Li. If I say ‘Stinky Bow Li,’ you must bring me the leopard skin by tomorrow. Understood?”
The other three couldn’t help but laugh when they heard Li Qingan given the nickname ‘Stinky Bow Li’.
Li Qingan wore a pained expression and thought to himself, “Damn it, how did Gao Xianzhi have such a daughter?”
…
After drinking, Gao Wu returned to her mansion first. Duan Xiushi and Xi Yuanqing had other matters to attend to, so Bai Yuanguang and Li Qingan headed back to the camp together.
“Seventh Brother, don’t underestimate Wu Niang. She’s skilled with both archery and horseback riding, and her swordsmanship is excellent. No few men can match her.”
“I can see that you all like her very much, right?”
“Yes! Everyone in the Anxi Army likes her. It’s not because of her straightforward personality, but because she’s very righteous. Whenever she sees injustice, she steps in. Last year, Kang Huaishun’s son was beating soldiers on the street. She saw it, beat him up severely, and forced him to apologize to the soldiers. It’s still satisfying to think about it.”
Li Qingan nodded. Suddenly remembering something, he quickly asked with a smile, “What’s her nickname?”

Bai Yuanguang laughed and said, “She loves giving people nicknames, so everyone gave her one too—‘High-Legged Phoenix.’ But you must never mention it in front of her; she seems particularly displeased with you.”
Li Qing’an couldn’t help but laugh. Gao Wu was tall with long, thin legs—wasn’t she just a high-legged chicken?
“Qilang, by the way, there’s something I almost forgot to tell you,” Bai Yuanguang said, slapping his forehead. “There’s a polo match tomorrow, and you must attend.”
Li Qing’an nodded happily and smiled. “I haven’t had any official matches yet! This is a great chance to test myself in actual competition.”
…
Polo was extremely popular in the Tang Dynasty, to the point of being a craze. From emperors and powerful officials to common soldiers and peddlers, everyone loved this sport. It required participants not only to have strong physiques, excellent riding skills, and precise shooting abilities but also the strongest will and fastest reactions.
Since its inception, polo had been known as the “military game” and was a mandatory training activity for Tang soldiers. Most of the Tang Dynasty’s top polo players came from the military, especially those in the border regions with large cavalry forces, where many talented players emerged. Polo was also very popular among the Anxi troops, who had many skilled players and won third place in last spring’s Tang Dynasty polo competition.
Li Qing’an had only been playing this sport for a few dozen days but already showed extraordinary talent. His ability to seize opportunities and his precise shots left many in awe. All he lacked was experience in major competitions, which could only be gained through repeated matches.
Today’s match was between Fumeng Lingcha’s personal guard team and Gao Xianzhi’s personal guard team. Both teams had the best polo players from Anxi. Gao Xianzhi’s team included famous players like Duan Xiushi, Bai Yuanguang, Li Qing’an, and Heba Yurun, while Fumeng Lingcha’s team had experts such as Bai Xiaode, Li Fei Shouyu, Liu Qing, and Liu Zhi Kui. Ten players from each side competed on the polo field in Kucha.
The polo field was about a thousand steps long, roughly the size of three modern football fields. The mallet was three feet long, shaped like a crescent sword, and the ball was the size of an orange. The goal was a square hole one foot across dug into a wooden board, lined with a soft cover—winning meant scoring a goal in the opponent’s hole.
The match consisted of three rounds: upper, middle, and lower, each lasting as long as one incense stick. The team with more goals won.
Over five thousand people came to watch the match, including soldiers, their families, and many civilians from Kucha who heard about it and came to see it.

On the viewing platform beside the racetrack sat Fu Menglingcha, the military governor; Gao Xianzhi, the deputy commander and commander of the troops in the four garrisons; Bian Lingcheng, the military supervisor; Cheng Qianli, the deputy commander; Bi Sichen, the military officer in charge; Wang Tao, an official on duty; Kang Huaishun, the chief secretary—along with other high-ranking military and civil officials of the Anxi Army.

Fu Menglingcha was in his fifties, with long, narrow eyes and dark skin. Perhaps due to his age, he had become somewhat obese, no longer possessing the vigor and ambition he once had when leading troops in battles across the land. He glanced at Gao Xianzhi and smiled with narrowed eyes, saying, “Xianzhi, shall we set up a prize as usual?”

Gao Xianzhi bowed and replied, “Sure!”

“Good. As per tradition, each of us will contribute fifty guan, and the winner will get it.”

Bian Lingcheng, the military supervisor, laughed and said, “Let me add some fun too. I have a precious pearl; it will go to the winning team.”

“Eunuch Bian, one team has ten people, but you only have one pearl. How will you divide it if they win?” Gao Wu, Gao Xianzhi’s daughter sitting behind him, interjected with a laugh.

“Wu, don’t interrupt when the lord is speaking,” Gao Xianzhi reprimanded her gently.

Fu Menglingcha laughed. “Wu makes a good point! Military supervisor, don’t be stingy. Contribute more money to liven things up!”

Bian Lingcheng cleared his throat twice, nodded, and said with a smile, “Since Wu has an opinion, I must contribute. I’ll add another hundred guan; the winner will get it.”

“What about the pearl?” Gao Wu pressed persistently.

Bian Lingcheng took out a pearl the size of a walnut and waved it in front of her, saying with a laugh, “If your team of rusty swords and broken spears wins, this pearl will be yours!”

“Really?”

Gao Wu was overjoyed. She shouted loudly, “Duan Xiaojian, Bai Lawa Gun, Li Chou Gong—fight hard!”

The soldiers of the Anxi Army around them burst into laughter. Fu Menglingcha also laughed heartily. After laughing, he asked, “Wu, who is Li Chou Gong?”

“That’s… that’s…” Gao Wu suddenly forgot Li Qingan’s real name.

“That’s Li Qingan, the one who single-handedly shot down forty Turkic cavalrymen. I took him as my personal general,” Gao Xianzhi replied with a smile.

At that moment, someone softly snorted and muttered, “As soon as someone shows a little skill, they claim them as their own. If you didn’t know, you might think the Anxi Army belongs to the Gao family!”

Gao Xianzhi’s face turned dark. He stood up and shouted sternly, “Commander Cheng, clarify what you mean by that!”