Chapter 36 The highly skilled "polo champion"

Twelve-year-old Li Xuan became emperor. He was still a child, so he didn't know anything about state affairs, so he handed over all state affairs to "father" Tian Lingzi, and went to play with himself.He thought he was the only one in the palace, no one would play with him, and it was too lonely, so he often went to various palaces to find princes who were about his age to play, and learned a lot of "skills" in the process of playing.To say that he is also very smart, he is proficient in everything from riding and archery, swordsmanship, arithmetic and temperament.As far as this method is concerned, at that time it included "Sun Tzu", "Zhou Bi", "Five Classics", "Zi Shu", "Ji Gu" and many other subjects. Since Tang Xizong was proficient, it can be seen that he still has a lot of knowledge. Talent as a mathematician.It's a pity that although he has learned so much, he still doesn't know anything about his main job of being an emperor.He also likes to gamble, especially cockfights and geese. He has repeatedly asked local officials to recommend people who specialize in cockfights to the palace to accompany him in cockfights.He also fought geese with the group of little princes, and the price of geese skyrocketed for a while, and one of them could be sold for half a million yuan.He also likes Cuju, and he is very devoted to practicing Cuju, even for two or three hours. Sometimes he even forgets to eat, and the eunuchs and maids around him are so anxious.However, among these many hobbies, his favorite is playing polo.

Polo is a sport with a long history. As the name suggests, it is riding on a horse, playing with a stick, and winning by hitting the ball into the goal, so it is also called kicking.The ball is only about the size of a fist, and is made of light and tough wood, hollowed out in the middle, and painted with colors on the outside, usually red or painted.The sticks for playing polo are called "ball sticks" or "ju sticks", which are made of wood or rattan, and are wrapped in cowhide.According to records, the sport of polo first appeared in the Three Kingdoms period, but it was the most prosperous in the Tang Dynasty and was widely loved by all walks of life.In particular, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty had a special liking for this sport, and even built a stadium in the palace for the emperor and dignitaries.Tang Xuanzong Li Longji was a polo lover.During Tang Zhongzong's time, Tubo sent envoys to Chang'an to welcome Princess Jincheng.Zhongzong invited the Tubo envoy to watch the polo match. The envoy saw that those people were not good at playing, so he went forward and reported to Zhongzong that he wanted to play against the polo team of the Tang Dynasty. Zhongzong agreed to him.As a result, after a few rounds, the Tubo envoys all won, which made Tang Zhongzong feel ashamed in despair.At this time, Li Longji, who was still the king of Linzi, took the initiative to ask for a fight, and wanted to compete with the Tubo envoys.After the start of the match, Li Longji galloped back and forth, waving his club like wind and lightning, invincible, piercing through the opponent's gate again and again, and winning a complete victory.The Tubo envoy praised him again and again, saying that he did not expect the prince to have such good skills.Tang Zhongzong was also overjoyed and rewarded the winner.Later, when Li Longji became emperor, he still loved polo very much. In the sixth year of Tianbao, he was already 62 years old, and he wanted to participate in the game. He was dissuaded by others, so he sat on the sidelines to watch.He also played polo with his beloved concubine Yang Gui. Li Gonglin of the Song Dynasty had a picture scroll of "Ming Emperor Hitting Ball", which is the scene painted.In addition to Tang Xuanzong, many emperors of the Tang Dynasty also liked polo. For example, in the tomb of Li Xian, Prince Zhanghuai of the Tang Dynasty, there are murals depicting playing polo.Counting, among the 22 emperors in the 300 years of the Tang Dynasty, 18 were polo enthusiasts, but Tang Xizong had to be the "champion scholar" among them.

Tang Xizong's golf skills are very high. He can ride on a galloping horse and hit the ball hundreds of times with a stick, which is as fast as thunder and lightning. Even the veteran players are amazed.Once, he played polo with Lingguan Shi Yezhu.When he was happy playing, the emperor couldn't help being proud of his superb skills, and said to Shi Yezhu very conceitedly: "If there is a polo Jinshi section in the current imperial examination, I will definitely be able to take the first prize." Seeing the absurdity of the little emperor, I wanted to stab him, saying: "If you let a sage like Yao and Shun take the exam, I'm afraid your majesty will be eliminated." The implication is that the emperor Tang Xizong is not qualified.However, after Tang Xizong heard it, he didn't know whether he didn't understand at all, or if he was too thick-skinned, so he didn't get annoyed, of course he didn't change it, he just smiled and passed.

"Thousands of gates of the palace are open in daylight, and Saburo returns from playing ball drunk. Nine-year-old Han Xiu has died, and there will be no remonstrance tomorrow." This is a poem written by Chao Wujiu, a man of Song Dynasty, on the "Minghuang Hitting Ball Picture Scroll" , obviously satirizing Tang Xuanzong's obsession with polo and ignoring state affairs.But such an accusation is a bit unfair to Tang Xuanzong. When he was young, he loved polo very much, and he still made a "Kaiyuan Prosperous Age"; although he messed up the country when he was old, he really couldn't play polo with him. relationship.But this "polo champion" Tang Xizong really turned his hobby of playing polo into an act that harmed the country.Once, Xichuan Jiedu was vacant, and the court wanted to choose one of the four candidates.At this time, the little emperor made full use of his strengths and came up with an ingenious trick.Let them stand on the court, sit next to the goal to supervise, and announce that whoever shoots the ball first will be the Nishikawa Jiedushi.As a result, Chen Jingxuan won the position because of his skill in the game, replacing Cui Anqian, who had made great achievements in this area.Later, according to the shooting situation, the position arrangement of the other three people was decided.Thinking about it, in the little emperor's mind, he couldn't figure out what this Jiedushi was supposed to do.As for this Chen Jingxuan, he was just a big cake seller, and he only got this opportunity by following Tian Lingzi's path, and became a high-ranking official by virtue of his football skills.However, the emperor didn't care about this, maybe he thought that he could be the emperor if he was proficient in the game, and if the minister was proficient in the game, it would be nothing to be a Xichuan Jiedushi.

In fact, playing polo is not only an entertainment sport, but also the best way to train riding skills and horse slashing skills.As Yan Kuan of the Tang Dynasty said in "Wentang Yuqiu Fu", "The actor who shoots the bow is the skill of using soldiers. Wuyou exists, and righteousness cannot be given up." Polo was so popular in the Tang Dynasty because it was for the military. purpose of training.The emperors of the Tang Dynasty loved polo, which also meant advocating the spirit of martial arts.Moreover, playing polo is still a very dangerous sport. The speed of a horse is very fast. fall down.For example, Tang Muzong even got injured because of playing polo and lost his life.So later some people used donkeys instead of horses to conjure up a kind of "donkey bow". However, in the eyes of real polo players, this is too unexciting, so it is only popular among women.Tang Xizong likes this sport and is very proficient, which shows that he is still very adventurous, and his coordination skills are also good. If he is trained well, he may be able to become a powerful general.It's a pity that fate made him the emperor, and let him use this talent on major national affairs, so he had to mess up the country. Even his favorite polo game was also affected by this, and he was infamous as an act of subjugation .

Polo was still very popular after the Tang Dynasty and lasted until the Ming Dynasty, but it was never as grand as the Tang Dynasty.Since modern times, with the eastward spread of western culture and the impact of introduced western modern sports, it has gradually disappeared.At the same time, Britain created the modern polo game, which soon became popular in Europe and the United States and was regarded as an aristocratic sport.There is a brand called "POLO", whose original meaning is to play polo.The polo sport currently being developed in our country was also introduced from the West, and it is still in its infancy.Recalling the grand occasion thousands of years ago is really embarrassing.However, if the playful Tang Xizong was born today, he would definitely be able to become a polo star with his superb skills, which is much better than him being a subjugated emperor.