LFHYB -Chapter 148 I Am Sui General Li Shimin

Small tribes on the grasslands often drove their cattle and sheep to the yurts of the Turkic khans to pay tribute, seeking the protection of the khan.

The Tiele tribe had originally been a vassal of the Eastern Turks, but because the Eastern Turks extorted excessively, they rebelled and eventually joined the Western Turks.

At this time, the Uyghurs were also a branch within the Tiele tribe. However, “Tiele” was just a collective name used by outsiders for tribes like the Uyghurs. They themselves did not consider themselves of the same kin as the other Tiele tribes. But when dealing with the Eastern and Western Turks or the Sui dynasty, they had no choice but to act together under the name “Tiele,” otherwise, the other side would just give them a “Who are you?” look and ignore them.

After Ye Hu befriended Li Shimin and Li Xuanba, he became the Uyghur tribe’s chief liaison with the outside world, and was forced to memorize the genealogies and customs of the other tribes collectively called “Tiele.” Now, pretending to be the leader of a small Tiele branch that had escaped from the Western Turks was effortless for him.

Xue Ju, attempting such a risky act for the first time, asked Qin Qiong nervously, “Do you think they’ll actually believe us? What if they don’t?”

Qin Qiong replied, puzzled, “If they don’t, they don’t. We’re going to fight them anyway.”

Scratching his long-unwashed head, Xue Ju asked, “Then why pretend to be the Tiele tribe if we’re going to fight them anyway?”

“I don’t know,” Qin Qiong said bluntly. “We follow the orders of our lord.”

Xue Ju: “……Could you at least use your brain! When you command your own troops in the future, won’t you think then?”

He didn’t realize that Qin Qiong had never thought about commanding an army independently.

Though Qin Qiong came from humble origins, his ancestors had some standing, and if his family supported him, he could read.

In fact, Qin Qiong could read and write, barely enough to be considered a scholar from a modest household.

However, books gave him headaches. Even if he bit his teeth and read, he knew with clear self-awareness that studying was not his strong suit.

After enlisting, he gained the notice of Hu’er and Zhang Xutuo and had opportunities to follow generals and listen to military strategy.

Then, with clear self-awareness, he realized that his mind wasn’t particularly sharp—he always reacted a beat too late. He could serve as a deputy commanding troops in battle without issue, but when it came to making strategic or tactical decisions, Qin Qiong was completely at a loss.

Recognizing his limits, Qin Qiong focused on honing his martial skills.

Few people in this world could become main commanders; those positions were mostly held by aristocratic families. He only needed to become an irreplaceable fierce general.

Historically, Qin Qiong was exactly like this.

He had served as a deputy by Li Shimin’s side for many years. Others like Luo Shixin had commanded independent armies, but he never became a main commander. Even at Li Shimin’s side, he never learned to lead troops alone; Qin Qiong simply had no talent for it.

A self-aware Qin Qiong made himself an irreplaceable warrior, surpassing many main commanders and earning the emperor’s favor.

As for absurd speculations that Li Shimin had neglected Qin Qiong—some even cited his last rank among the Lingyan Pavilion meritorious officials as proof… Well, the order of the plaques in Lingyan Pavilion was based on the rank of the officials in the 17th year of the Zhenguan era, when the pavilion was built. If ranks were equal, the deceased took precedence. This is clearly recorded in the historical texts.

Qin Qiong had suffered multiple serious injuries early on and, after the Zhenguan era, spent time recuperating. Even attending court was difficult, leaving him no chance to earn merit. After his death, he was only posthumously granted the title of Governor of Xuzhou. Li Jing, whose merits should have ranked in the top five, was still alive and therefore outranked by colleagues posthumously promoted, ranking eighth. Fang Xuanling, also alive, had his portrait placed after deceased officials, following the principle that “the dead take precedence.”

This had nothing to do with whether they had exerted themselves in the Xuanwu Gate Incident or whether Li Shimin was petty.

This simple glance at the Lingyan Pavilion records could quell many debates, yet it remained a hot topic among early Tang enthusiasts online—mostly because most history buffs, even hardcore fans, were too lazy to read the actual records.

In this timeline, Qin Qiong had also planned his future early and didn’t waste effort on things he couldn’t do well. Xue Ju asking him was pointless.

But Xue Ju only felt comfortable asking Qin Qiong. He was embarrassed to ask anyone else and could only fidget and wait for Li Shimin’s orders.

Li Shimin’s next order left Xue Ju even more confused.

The young lord actually commanded his subordinates to cut trees to make enclosures for cattle and sheep, acting as if he truly intended to pasture them here.

Precipitation is scarce on the grasslands, and trees are rare. The Erhun River near Yanran Mountain was a relatively moist area, with trees growing on the riverbank and mid-slope.

Grassland people need wood for tents, fences, cooking, drinking, and weapons. This place had both expansive pastures with abundant grass and harvestable forests—making it a coveted “capital” for grassland rulers through the ages.

Li Shimin personally led men to cut wood for fences, set up tents and campfires, and even built a simple wooden bridge on a shallow riverbank, deliberately moving to live on the far side of the river, leaving only a few men to watch the cattle and sheep.

He also had them repair bows and weapons looted from other tribes.

Grassland tribes lacked iron, so most of their bows and weapons were made of wood, cow horn, sheep horn, deer antlers, and other animal materials. Their accuracy and power were far inferior to iron weapons and couldn’t pierce armor.

Shibi Khan ordered his subordinate tribes to assemble over a hundred thousand soldiers, claiming tens of thousands of troops would march south to Yanmen Commandery. The Turkic yurt still had elite armored soldiers with iron weapons, while small tribes could not even gather a few intact iron swords.

This was why Li Shimin, with only three thousand elite troops, dared to traverse the grasslands boldly.

The Turkic yurt sent messengers saying that the nobles were resting and would receive an audience tomorrow. The messengers lingered near Li Shimin’s camp, arrogantly observing the tribe and reporting back to the nobles in the yurt.

“They only brought elite soldiers and cattle and sheep. The old, weak, and children are likely hiding nearby, too cautious to show themselves,” the report said. “They deliberately display many weapons to show their fighting capability, but few of their bows or spears are made of quality iron—they just have large numbers.”

After Shibi Khagan marched south, his younger brother, Ashina Silifu, stayed behind at the command tent to manage affairs together with Princess Yicheng. The rest of the brothers followed Shibi Khagan on the southern campaign.

Silifu asked Princess Yicheng quite directly, “Do you think these people are spies from the Sui?”

Princess Yicheng lowered her head and replied, “I live in the inner palace; I don’t know what Sui soldiers should look like. Young Khagan knows the Tiele people and can observe them personally. Even if they are Tiele, if Young Khagan dislikes them, they can simply be killed.”

The Eastern Turks oversaw many tribes, each managed by different royal family members and given titles such as “Nibu She.” When communicating with the Sui, they collectively addressed these leaders as “Young Khagan.” Silifu was one of the powerful Young Khagans, and the Tiele tribes of various surnames originally fell under his jurisdiction.

When the Tiele tribes defected to the Western Turks, Silifu became furious and fell seriously ill out of anger, gnashing his teeth. He knew the Tiele tribes very well.

Silifu hesitated.

Normally, he shouldn’t care if a small Tiele tribe came to submit.

There were still 10,000 elite cavalry in the command tent, and tens of thousands of able-bodied herders capable of fighting. A single arrow from each man could turn the entire small tribe into a spiky “porcupine.”

But the Tiele had once betrayed him and now shamelessly came to surrender, which rubbed him the wrong way. He wanted to find a reason to pick a fight.

Still, with his elder brother fighting in the south, Silifu was greedy but not foolish. Rationally, he knew it was best not to stir trouble near the tent. Accepting the tribe would be most beneficial.

A few tens of thousands of cattle and sheep were already the maximum a medium-sized tribe could offer as tribute. On this steppe, there were fewer than five major tribes, so a medium-sized tribe could significantly boost one’s power.

Silifu said, “Not many Tiele tribes can offer forty or fifty thousand cattle and sheep. The Sui wouldn’t be able to provide this either, especially when their emperor is trapped—they don’t even raise cattle and sheep. Bribes would usually be in gold, silver, or silk. If they can offer this much livestock, it should be a sincere submission. Still, we should observe them for a few days, see how genuine they really are.”

Princess Yicheng said, “All according to Young Khagan’s decision.”

Silifu was very pleased with her tact.

When his elder brother went south, he had worried that Princess Yicheng might cause trouble and told Silifu that if she sided with the Sui, she could be executed.

After testing her several times, he realized he had worried too much.

Once Silifu left, Princess Yicheng breathed a sigh of relief.

She had her servants massage her shoulders for a while and said leisurely, “Just as I was nodding off, someone brings me a pillow. Send a few people to stir up trouble for that Tiele tribe—better if we can kill a few nobles.”

The accompanying guards who had come with her for the marriage took their orders and left.

A mocking expression appeared on Princess Yicheng’s face. That greedy fool Silifu wouldn’t even notice if she killed someone right under his nose.

Once the Tiele tribe clashed with the Turkic command tent, she could convince Silifu to write a letter claiming that chaos had broken out within the Turks, prompting Shibi Khagan to withdraw.

The Sui must not fall. If the Sui fell, how could a marriage princess like her have a good life?

After her order, masked soldiers secretly crossed the river that night and attacked the “Tiele nobles.”

Scouts silently watched the Turks awkwardly cross the river, and as soon as they climbed the bank, they were captured and tied up.

The night guard, Zong Luohou, looked speechless at the dozen or so people caught. “This is the first time I’ve seen such a foolish night raid.”

He shook his head, woke Li Shimin, and reported the matter.

Li Shimin yawned, covering his mouth. “This is definitely Princess Yicheng. She wants to stir chaos between us and the Turkic command tent so she can write a letter to make Shibi Khagan retreat. How despicable! We sincerely came to surrender, and yet she slanders us! Hand these people over to Ye Hu and let him get an explanation from the Turks.”

Zong Luohou asked, “If we cooperate with Princess Yicheng, can we trick Shibi Khagan into coming back and lift the siege of Yanmen?”

Li Shimin wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and yawned several more times. “We didn’t come here to lift the siege. It’s the great Emperor of the Sui who is holding Shibi Khagan at Yanmen for us, allowing us to accomplish the grand feat of carving the Yanran inscription. Once we break through the command tent, we’ll bring Princess Yicheng back to the Central Plains. She must miss home a lot after so many years. It’s been hard for her—she’ll be touched to return home.”

Zong Luohou twitched his mouth. He thought that the princess, who was about to get tricked, probably wouldn’t feel very moved.

But Princess Yicheng had acted first, and although…

Wait, I’m not a Sui general, and we aren’t even on the same side. Zong Luohou completely let go of any psychological burden.

Princess Yicheng didn’t wait for news of the Tiele tribe’s chaos; she received Silifu coming angrily to demand accountability instead.

Silifu drew his sword in rage, cutting off a corner of a low cabinet in the princess’s tent. “You sent people to attack the leader of a small Tiele tribe?! What exactly are you trying to do?!”

Princess Yicheng remained calm. “What does that have to do with me? My guards are all here—do you expect me to use your soldiers?”

She had sent purchased slaves. Even if they were caught or killed, there would be no trace left to incriminate her.

Silifu was stunned.

He came in full of anger but had no evidence—just a gut feeling that Princess Yicheng was responsible. In this tent, only she had a reason to stir trouble.

“Explain it to the Khagan yourself when he returns,” Silifu said, calming down and sheathing his sword. “Once the Sui emperor is dead, let’s see if you can still be so brazen.”

For the first time, a ripple appeared on Princess Yicheng’s face. She clenched her nails in her palms.

Even without evidence, Silifu ordered her confined, not allowing her to step outside the main tent.

To appease the newly submitted tribe, Silifu didn’t keep Li Shimin and his men waiting, instead hosting a banquet for the tribal leaders.

Li Shimin had his men braid the hair of the Tiele and mixed-Hu soldiers early. But tall men like Zong Luohou deliberately didn’t change the Sui hairstyles, only wearing Hu hats. At the banquet, they wore silk garments, and aside from unkempt beards, they looked entirely like Sui people.

Their manner of dress instead put Silifu and the Turkic nobles present at ease.

The Tiele tribes had always been on close terms with the people of the Great Sui, and most of their aristocrats imitated Sui clothing. When the Sui was powerful, even the Turks dressed like Sui people.

To show respect toward the Turkic nobility, the Tiele nobles changed into their most formal attire. They did not shy away from Sui-style clothing—wearing the finest silk garments instead made their clear conscience all the more evident.

At the banquet, Ye Hu—posing as the chieftain—and Zong Luohou—posing as the second-in-command—raised cups and drank with the Tiele tribesmen. Xue Ju and Qin Qiong, disguised as noble warriors, were responsible for competing with the Turkic warriors. Xue Ming glanced at General Li beside him, who was dressed as an ordinary guard and was hugging a roasted calf leg, eating until his mouth was dripping with grease.

Xue Ming couldn’t understand what exactly his general was planning.

He had thought that being summoned to the banquet meant smashing cups as a signal and launching a surprise assassination of the Turkic nobles right there.

With such a perfect opportunity for an ambush, why was the general only burying his head in food?

What puzzled Xue Ming even more was that Li Shimin not only made no move during the banquet, but after returning he merely ordered everyone to continue repairing bridges and fences. In their spare time, they even chopped wood and made pushcarts and similar tools, as if they intended to live here long-term.

Silifu personally came to inspect the tribe. Ye Hu enthusiastically introduced their skills in raising cattle and sheep, and revealed that they had trading caravans traveling to the Western Regions and the Great Sui. Because of this, many in the tribe had learned woodworking skills from people of the Western Regions and the Sui. Taking them in, Little Khagan Silifu would definitely not lose out.

Looking at the wooden parts scattered all over the ground, Silifu didn’t know what these Tiele people were planning to make, but from the individual components alone he could tell that their craftsmanship was indeed exquisite.

Satisfied, Silifu said, “When my elder brother returns, I will personally introduce you to him.”

Ye Hu was moved to tears. “Thank you, Little Khagan, thank you, Little Khagan! These cattle and sheep will all be presented to the Khagan.”

Ye Hu didn’t specify which Khagan, but Silifu knew that most of the livestock would go to Shibi Khagan. He would have to wait until Shibi returned to receive his share, which made him feel rather regretful.

However, Ye Hu soon quietly told Silifu that he would additionally gift him ten thousand head of cattle and sheep. Silifu gave Ye Hu a knowing look and permitted him to graze in this area.

Reassured, Ye Hu said, “The tribe’s herdsmen are already on the way, numbering tens of thousands. Once they arrive, we will choose another place to graze and won’t trouble the Little Khagan.”

Silifu was even more pleased with Ye Hu’s tact.

Tens of thousands of herdsmen—this truly was a decently sized tribe. It absolutely had to be brought under his own control.

The next day, Ye Hu informed the Turkic guards and sent ten men to meet the herdsmen.

On the third day, those ten returned, bringing back dozens of craftsmen, who continued with the woodworking.

The people Silifu had sent to observe yawned, reported the matter to him, and then went back to sleep.

After monitoring them for so many days and seeing nothing but diligent herding, woodcutting, and carpentry work day after day, they were utterly bored.

“Alright. We’ve rested for so many days—your energy should be fully restored by now.” After several days of eating, drinking, and entertainment, and even taking people hunting nearby, Li Shimin finally pulled the armor out from under the haystack. “We attack tonight. After eating meat for so many days and standing night watch on the grasslands so many times—and since tonight is a full-moon night—you should be able to see the road clearly even without torches.”

Pei Xingyan, who had been too lazy to deal with the Turks and had been sleeping in camp every day, pinched his arm. “If we don’t fight soon, I’m going to grow fat.”

Xue Ju was stunned. “A night raid on a full-moon night? Shouldn’t it be a moonless night?”

Li Shimin looked puzzled. “Of course we choose a full-moon night. On a moonless night you wouldn’t be able to see anything.”

Xue Ju: “?”

That wasn’t what the military manuals he’d read said!

He helplessly looked toward Pei Xingyan, who should also be well-versed in military texts.

Pei Xingyan explained, “The purpose of a night raid is to catch the enemy unprepared. As long as that goal is achieved, any night will do.”

Xue Ju still didn’t understand. Then what did that have to do with choosing a full-moon night?

But since General Pei had explained it, asking further would not only seem like disobedience, but also make him look foolish. He could only obey the order for now, waiting for nightfall with a head full of doubts.

The observers had long since left. Li Shimin convened a brief meeting and laid out the plan for the night assault on the khagan’s tent.

“We will strike before dawn, when they are at their most exhausted.”

“The craftsmen will tie carts filled with thunder bombs behind the strongest cattle and sheep. I will lead the cavalry and ignite the thunder bombs with fire arrows. Before igniting them, you will first drive the cattle and sheep toward the khagan’s tent.”

“You should already be familiar with the nearby terrain from all this grazing. When I reach the Turkic khagan’s tent, the infantry will form a circular formation here.” Li Shimin pointed to a spot on the map he had drawn on the ground.

The place he indicated was where they usually grazed the sheep. Many fences had already been erected there, artificially creating a circular horse-blocking enclosure.

Although the two thousand infantrymen had seized many horses for transport, those horses were only for movement. They were originally trained as elite infantry anyway, and would still fight on foot.

While cavalry had strong mobility, not everyone riding a horse could be considered cavalry. Moreover, when it came to killing unarmored Turkic warriors, spear-wielding infantry were far more efficient than cavalry.

The circular formation was a defensive formation. With fences built all around to reduce the speed of cavalry charges, the front ranks raised shields, the rear ranks lifted two-meter-long spears, and archers and crossbowmen were set up behind them. As long as morale didn’t collapse, it was a complete nightmare for cavalry.

“Pei Shoujing, can you command infantry combat?” Li Shimin asked with a smile.

Pei Xingyan replied irritably, “Who are you looking down on? Do you think we had many cavalry back when we were suppressing bandits? Leave Qin Shubao to me.”

Li Shimin said, “Xue Rengao, the Xue family’s ‘lesser ten-thousand-man foe,’ will also stay with you. The Xue family’s ‘greater ten-thousand-man foe’ and Luo Hou will charge with me.”

Xue Ju looked excited; Xue Ming felt dejected.

Pei Xingyan grabbed Li Shimin by the shoulder and said, “Li Erlang, leading a thousand cavalry straight into the khagan’s tent as bait is extremely dangerous. Roaming outside the battle formation in search of an opportunity is even more like walking on thin ice. Such a dangerous task shouldn’t be done by you, the commander-in-chief. You should stay on the opposite bank with Ye Hu and issue orders with signal flares instead.”

Li Shimin threw Pei Xingyan’s words back at him. “Who are you looking down on? I’ve been preparing for this for so long—how could there be any danger? I give the orders, you carry them out. Who’s the commanding general here? Careful, or I’ll deal with you by military law.”

Pei Xingyan was speechless. “Fine, I’ll obey orders. Just make sure you’re careful.”

Li Shimin thumped his chest. “I’ll be the vanguard. Don’t worry.”

Qin Qiong and Zong Luohou sighed in unison. So why, my lord, do you insist on being the vanguard?!

Li Shimin naturally had his reasons for taking the lead.

If he didn’t personally command the charge, who would observe the flaws in the Turkic army?

That night, he tied grass to his silver armor, wrapped cloth around his horse’s hooves, and had himself and his soldiers bite wooden sticks. They quietly crossed to the other side via a pontoon bridge.

On the far bank, the soldiers guarding the cattle and sheep had already opened the pens and were driving the livestock toward the direction of the khagan’s tent.

Cattle and sheep made noise even at night, and the guards of the Turkic khagan’s tent didn’t pay much attention when they heard it. After so many days, they had grown accustomed to it.

The khagan’s tent was not a single tent, but a “city” formed by many large tents.

On the outermost layer were the herdsmen’s tents. After some distance came the military camps, then the nobles’ tents arranged by rank, and at the very center stood the royal tent.

The herdsmen on the outskirts of the Turkic camp also kept many cattle and sheep. With tens of thousands of unfamiliar animals arriving, the area had already been noisy for many days.

As Li Shimin and his men drove the livestock closer, no one reacted immediately.

Li Shimin tore the grass from his armor, and his silver armor reflected the light of the full moon.

When the subordinates saw the reflection from his armor, they immediately ignited the fire-starting blankets tied to some of the livestock on the outskirts.

Then, in silence, they followed Li Shimin—his entire body gleaming—as they moved around the herd, constantly lighting fire arrows and shooting them at animals that tried to veer off course, guiding the direction of the stampede.

Ever since Li Shimin had once driven fifty thousand head of livestock across long distances with only five hundred men, he and his subordinates had become masters of herding.

The arrows they used now were ones seized from the tribes—without iron arrowheads and in huge quantities—so they didn’t feel any reluctance about lighting them on fire.

When the burning cattle and sheep finally crashed into the herdsmen’s tents on the outskirts, the Turks at last realized they were under attack and rang the warning bells.

Li Shimin drove the cattle and sheep hauling small carts filled with thunder bombs straight toward the area where the Turkic troops were stationed.

His men didn’t need to think at all—they just had to follow that brightest suit of armor and keep their heads down while driving the livestock forward.

As Xue Ju followed behind Li Shimin, he suddenly understood something that had puzzled him before.

When the lord said we needed a full-moon night so we could see clearly—did he mean this blindingly bright silver armor?

Xue Ju suddenly grew anxious. That dazzling armor not only guided their own men—wasn’t it also drawing the Turks straight here?

Just as Xue Ju feared, the Turks quickly mounted up and assembled, charging toward the brightest armor under the moonlight.

“They’re finally here—go!”

Li Shimin spat out the wooden stick, slowed down, let the ox carts and sheep carts run ahead for a short distance, then shot an arrow that hit one of the largest carts.

Zong Luohou and Xue Ju followed immediately, leading the cavalry in a volley of arrows.

The thunder bombs weren’t powerful enough to shatter wooden carts, but their noise, smoke, and fire were immense. They crackled and burned nonstop, charging straight toward the assembled Turkic cavalry.

The Turkic cavalry had been roused in panic, their minds still foggy. Seeing cattle and sheep carts blazing with fire and smoke rushing toward them, they thought they were witnessing demons or monsters and screamed in terror.

The Turkic horses had never seen such horrifying things either. When their riders panicked and failed to rein them in, the horses turned and bolted.

The Turkic commanders didn’t even have time to regroup their disordered troops.

What in the world was that?!

“Kill!!!!”

The cavalry all spat out their wooden sticks at once and finally shouted the word they’d been holding in their hearts.

We weren’t holding it in for just one night—we’ve been holding it in for days!

Li Shimin seized the largest gap in the chaotic cavalry formation and led his riders straight through it, then cut diagonally back out of the Turkic ranks, herding the Turks like sheep toward the nobles’ tents.

The direction from which Li Shimin had come was already engulfed in flames. Both men and horses among the Turkic soldiers instinctively fled toward areas without smoke or fire.

Which happened to be the center of the circular “city.”

The ox carts and sheep carts—still occasionally popping with thunder bombs—also raced straight toward the center, crashing into the private guards defending the nobles’ tents.

“Demons!”

A chorus of wailing cries erupted.

Li Shimin burst into loud laughter.

Behind him, Zong Luohou and Xue Ju led the soldiers in laughing just as loudly.

The Turks were already panicked by the terrifying monsters; now the monsters were laughing. On a night filled with fire and smoke, it was even more horrifying.

The nobles panicked as well and hurriedly mounted their horses, fleeing toward the royal tent.

They didn’t know what good running to the royal tent would do, but with monsters chasing them, what choice did they have?

When Li Shimin drove the routed troops into the royal tent area, the royal tent had already learned of the attack.

But it was just before dawn, and the nobles inside were extremely sleepy. Not all of them had ever fought in battle; at least half of those accustomed to comfort hadn’t even managed to don armor and mount their horses.

Silifu had managed to armor up and mount, but as the weakest physically among the brothers—and someone who had never commanded troops—he had been left behind in the safest place, the khagan’s camp, by Shibi Khagan.

Of the ten thousand elite cavalry Shibi Khagan left to guard the camp, two thousand were stationed around the royal tent, patrolling day and night in shifts. These men hadn’t slept at all.

Silifu could have ordered these two thousand elite cavalry to charge out, but in his panic, he missed the best moment to form up. Without his command, the elite troops dared not move, and could only watch helplessly as the routed soldiers, civilians, cattle, and sheep all surged toward them.

Princess Yicheng donned her armor and mounted her horse in time, intending to take over command in place of Silifu—only to see a shockingly bright suit of armor charging straight at her.

Then she was knocked unconscious with a single blow.

After knocking Princess Yicheng unconscious with the shaft of his horse spear, Li Shimin didn’t bother to check whether he’d killed her or not. He turned and ran, shouting as he ran:

“I am Li Shimin, general of the Great Sui! Shibi Khagan dares to besiege our Sui Emperor—I’ll burn down his royal tent and wipe out his whole clan!”

Before Princess Yicheng hit the ground, guards who had hurriedly dismounted caught her. They watched Li Shimin’s dazzling retreating figure with complicated expressions.

Behind them, the palace maids who had accompanied her in marriage gaped in shock. “Is… is he really a general of the Great Sui?”

The guard hesitated. “Mm…”

The maid asked, “Then what should we do?”

The guard sighed. “Hide first. If the Sui general loses and the princess is attacked, we probably won’t be blamed.”

The maid let out a sigh of relief. “General Li is really a good man! He’s so considerate of the princess!”

The guard glanced at Princess Yicheng, who now had a huge bump swelling on her head, and nodded against his conscience. “Yes.”

After Li Shimin announced his identity, the Turks finally realized that their enemy was the Sui army—not demons.

That realization only made them more terrified.

The Sui army had already reached the royal tent?!

Who exactly was this Sui general Li Shimin?!

The panicked Silifu froze for a moment, then suddenly remembered who Li Shimin was.

Wasn’t he the Sui dynasty’s Pacification Commissioner of the Longyou Circuit—the killing god who had slain Tuyuhun Khagan Murong Fuyun at the age of eleven?!

Wasn’t he stationed in Zhangye Commandery? How had he ended up beneath Mount Yanran?!

Fake. This had to be fake!

“Little Khagan, what should we do?!” a general could no longer hold back. “Give the order already! They’re about to kill their way right up to us!”

Silifu snapped back to his senses. “That’s the Sui Pacification Commissioner of Longyou, the youngest general of the Great Sui! He killed the Tuyuhun Khagan at eleven! When he went hunting with the Heavenly Pillar King, he slaughtered all the remaining Tuyuhun forces just because their regent blocked his way!”

Turkic intelligence gathering was solid—but…

The general said speechlessly, “Little Khagan, whoever he is, he’s about to charge over!”

Silifu panicked. “Then why aren’t we running?!”

The general grabbed Silifu’s horse. “We have tens of thousands of troops. They don’t have many men—we can kill them!”

Silifu asked, “How do you know they don’t have many?”

The general: “……”

How would I know? But I had to say that to boost morale!

Silifu wasn’t stupid. Seeing the general’s expression, he realized he’d asked a foolish question and immediately made the correct decision. “You take command.”

The general swallowed his frustration. “As you command!”

I’ve been waiting for you to say that for ages! Couldn’t you have said it the moment you woke up?!

At last, the general received the command token from Silifu, planted it onto his banner, and began directing the troops.

Then an arrow flew over and snapped the flagpole holding the command token in half.

Li Shimin shouted angrily, “Zong Luohou! You’re stealing my credit!”

Zong Luohou replied flatly, “My lord, you didn’t say anything.”

Xue Ju fell silent. Isn’t it the lord’s fault for fighting his subordinates over merit?

Silifu and the general: “……”

Silifu said, “Maybe… we should still run.”

The general silently set the command banner upright again and blocked another arrow aimed at it, this time protecting it successfully.

Li Shimin, together with Zong Luohou and Xue Ju, switched from bows to horse spears, slashing left and right as they charged straight toward the command banner. Silifu and the Turkic general clearly saw him—his silver armor still dazzling even though it was splattered with blood—before he suddenly wheeled his horse around and fled.

Silifu shouted, “That’s Li Shimin! Kill him!”

The Turks immediately chased after Li Shimin.

The Turkic general: “……” I haven’t even given the order yet! Didn’t you say command was handed over to me?

That said, he had wanted to give that order anyway.

As long as they beheaded the Sui commander, this farce would be over.

Though he hadn’t clearly seen the man before him, the Turkic general had already guessed that this group was definitely connected to the Tiele tribe that had come to defect. Perhaps that so-called Tiele tribe was just this group in disguise.

They had known early on that the Tiele were close to the Sui—Little Khagan should have been more vigilant!

At this moment, he conveniently forgot that he himself had been convinced it was just an ordinary nomadic tribe.

After all, who would sneak-attack the Turkic royal tent while bringing tens of thousands of cattle and sheep?!

Li Shimin led his cavalry to withdraw in the direction from which they had first set the fires.

He had memorized the routes on the way in and knew which paths were not burning, allowing him to guide the cavalry smoothly out of the “city” of royal tents.

The Turks weren’t so lucky. Their formation became extremely chaotic due to the fires erupting everywhere among the tents.

Pei Xingyan looked at the distant torches and yawned. “Finally here. Half draw.”

The crossbowmen kneeling on one knee prepared themselves.

Li Shimin threw the cloak from his horse’s hindquarters over himself and led the cavalry across the river via the pontoon bridge.

It was still dark before dawn. With Li Shimin’s armor concealed, Pei Xingyan lit the torches, immediately drawing the attention of the Turkic pursuers to the Sui infantry standing in tight formation.

Just infantry?

Wasn’t that meat for the slaughter?

Li Shimin suddenly stopped reflecting light. The Turks, whose eyes had grown accustomed to chasing that gleam, instantly lost track of him.

They all knew a river lay ahead. Even knowing that Li Shimin had built a pontoon bridge, they dared not attempt a night crossing rashly.

After a brief consideration, the Turkic general led his troops to charge at the Sui infantry instead.

Clearly, this was the true main force of the Sui army. As long as they swallowed up these men, that fleeing cavalry would be nothing to fear. Let Li Shimin escape—destroying this arrogant Sui force would still be enough.

Pei Xingyan said calmly, “Raise shields.”

The command banner waved. The captains of each small unit understood the signal and issued their orders. Nearly two thousand men moved almost simultaneously.

With a thunderous crash, the cavalry—slowed by the wooden barricades—smashed into the shields.

“Raise spears.”

The spearmen behind the shield bearers thrust their two-meter spears diagonally over the shields.

“Crouch.”

The shield bearers laid their shields flat while the spearmen continued to thrust again and again.

“Loose arrows.”

A rain of arrows and spear thrusts pierced into the bodies of the Turkic cavalry.

“Raise shields!”

One wave of cavalry fell, and another wave charged in.

Seeing this from the rear, the Turkic commander immediately understood—these infantrymen were without question the most elite troops of the Great Sui.

The Turks had not fought the Great Sui for a long time, but more than twenty years ago, when the Turks had not yet split apart, he had once served as a warrior under the Khagan and had followed him to witness the Great Sui’s armies pacifying the Central Plains.

That was a force which, even without horses, could make Turkic cavalry charge in and never return.

“However, you are far too few.”

The Turkic commander spoke calmly and continued ordering the assault.

At that moment, Li Shimin returned, his armor gleaming once more, with a bloody, mangled head hanging from the commander’s banner.

“Ashina Silifu is dead! The Little Khagan is dead!”

“Turks, surrender at once!”

Hearing this, the Turkic formation fell into chaos.

The Turkic commander cursed loudly, “They charged over from the other side of the river! How could they possibly have killed the Little Khagan?!”

But taking advantage of the brief confusion among the Turkic cavalry, Li Shimin led Zong Luohou and Xue Ju straight into the command banner.

Li Shimin loosed an arrow—the command flag fell at once.

The Turkic commander looked up at the fallen banner just as Zong Luohou’s horse lance pierced through the chest of the guard before him.

The Turkic commander snapped back to his senses, lowered his head, and raised his saber.

Xue Ju let out a thunderous roar: “Die!”

The Turkic commander’s ears rang. He was actually stunned into brief dizziness by the shout.

When he regained his senses, pain flared at his neck—then everything went black.

Xue Ju lifted the Turkic commander’s head and shouted, “The Turkic commander-in-chief is dead! Surrender at once!”

Li Shimin took the commander’s banner from horseback, drew his feet up, and actually stood on the horse’s back, personally waving the banner with all his might.

From afar, Pei Xingyan saw the banner and exclaimed in shock, “So fast?! Mount up!”

At the center of the circular formation were inferior horses seized from tribes along the way.

The formation shifted, opening a passage. Pei Xingyan and Qin Qiong led the charge out first, followed by the archers and crossbowmen, then the spearmen mounting up, and finally the shield-bearers discarding their shields, removing their heavy armor, and mounting lightly.

Li Shimin plopped back into the saddle and waved the banner. “Charge with me!”

Qin Qiong rode up and snatched the banner from Li Shimin’s hands. “My lord, take it easy. I’ll carry the banner.”

He tied the banner behind him, gripped his horse lance, and charged ahead of Li Shimin.

Pei Xingyan also rode past Li Shimin—both man and horse already exhausted—and turned back to tease him. “Did you hear that? Take it easy. Leave the rest to me—go rest. The Little Khagan’s head is mine.”

Xue Ming said nothing and quietly overtook both Li Shimin and his father.

Zong Luohou and Xue Ju: “…”

Why are they stealing credit?!

Li Shimin shouted angrily, “Luohou! Shaoxuan! Did you hear that?! They’re stealing our merits! Hurry up and charge!”

He turned back and yelled to the cavalry, “Can you still move or not?! They’re stealing our merits!”

The cavalry raised their bows—now without arrows—and howled.

Li Shimin laughed. “Let’s go! I’ll lead you to steal merit! Kill!”

The cavalry switched from bows to lances, spears, and sabers, and followed their once-again-glittering lord into another charge.

Even the exhausted warhorses seemed to pick up speed again, as if their morale had been rekindled.

“Pei Shoujing! Qin Shubao! Xue Rengao! Don’t run!”

Pei Xingyan: “Run, run, run! Li Er is catching up!”

Qin Qiong: “My lord! Stop chasing! Hurry and rest!”

Xue Ming: “Pfft…”

The other soldiers also broke into smiles.

Clearly this was a night raid where the enemy outnumbered them greatly, a dance on the edge of blades—so why did it feel so joyful?

…

Li Zhiyun watched as Li Xuanba deployed troops and banners at the foot of the mountain, along the slopes, and at the summit, and asked curiously, “What kind of formation is this?”

Li Xuanba replied, “The legendary Eight Trigrams Formation of Chancellor Zhuge, said to be lost—possibly a three-dimensional formation reliant on the terrain of Shu. This is a mountain formation taught to me by Teacher Gao.”

Li Zhiyun exclaimed in admiration, “Why have I never seen Second Brother use such an intricate formation?”

Li Xuanba laughed. “Because your third brother here is weak, so I can only use fancy formations like this. Second Brother uses only two formations: a square formation for infantry offense, and a circular formation for defense. He personally leads the cavalry outside the formation, roaming to provide support, ordering the infantry to change formations based on the enemy, or personally acting as the blade to tear open the enemy ranks.”

“Don’t be fooled by how fiercely Second Brother charges—what he’s best at is defensive counterattacks. It’s just that he’s always positioned either as support during defense or as the spearhead during counterattacks, so it looks as if he’s always charging at the front. When it comes time to capture cities and seize territory, you’ll see just how beautiful his defensive counterattacks really are.”

“In truth, Second Brother fights very steadily. If he doesn’t see a chance to win, he will never send out troops.”

He glanced at the banners covering the mountains and sighed. “If Liu, Guan, and Zhang were still alive, if Zhao Yun were still young, even Marquis Wu of Zhuge would probably be too lazy to use such a troublesome formation. I just hope Second Brother can discover the battle opportunity soon, smash through the Turkic khagan’s camp in one stroke, and head south to join me in a pincer attack on Shibi Khagan.”

Li Zhiyun’s eyes widened. “A pincer attack? Third Brother, aren’t we just setting up a feint to scare Shibi Khagan into retreat?! They claim to have several hundred thousand troops!”

Li Xuanba merely smiled without replying.