LFHYB -Chapter 149 How Could a Sickly Man Command Troops

Li Xuanba smiled and said nothing, and Li Zhiyun couldn’t be bothered to ask further. He wouldn’t let Third Brother’s mystery tactics succeed. Once the outcome was revealed, he would naturally know.

“Even if I’m not as capable as Second Brother, I can still serve as the vanguard!” Li Zhiyun declared proudly.

Li Xuanba immediately retorted with disdain, “Stop copying Second Brother’s habit of charging at the front all the time. Too many injuries—you’ll regret it when you’re older.”

Li Zhiyun agreed verbally, but had no intention of listening.

Though he would never disobey military orders, if he encountered the enemy, he would definitely charge first and never show fear. Otherwise, Second Brother’s teachings would have been wasted.

Seeing Li Zhiyun’s expression, Li Xuanba knew his younger brother hadn’t taken it to heart.

He was deeply worried—surely his brother wouldn’t start imitating Li Daoxuan? That was something one absolutely should not imitate.

When he saw Second Brother again, he would definitely have Second Brother give Little Five a proper talking-to. Second Brother’s way of leading troops suited only Second Brother—anyone else copying it would only end up ruining themselves.

To divert Li Zhiyun’s interest from always charging at the front, Li Xuanba carefully taught him about the various battle formations currently in use.

Battle formations are not better the more complicated they are.

On the battlefield, messages can only be conveyed through signal flags, musical instruments, and shouted orders, and the quality of ordinary soldiers is not particularly high. Once a formation becomes too complex, miscommand is inevitable.

Thus, whether now or in the future, warfare in the cold-weapon era never strays far from the same core principles—offense relies on variations of the square formation, and defense relies on variations of the circular formation.

As stated in The Art of War, battlefield conditions change in an instant, and formations must be constantly fine-tuned in response. Formations themselves are rigid; commanders and soldiers are alive.

Holding a branch, Li Xuanba drew on the ground. “There was once a monarch who thought himself exceptionally skilled at warfare. He devised a so-called ‘Perfect Pacification Formation,’ believing it could handle all wars. That formation required a total of one hundred and forty thousand troops…”

Before Li Xuanba could finish, Li Zhiyun interrupted in surprise, “On how many battlefields could you even spread out one hundred and forty thousand men evenly? It’s not like everywhere is vast open plains. And he called it ‘perfect’? It’d be useless the moment you reached mountainous terrain.”

Li Xuanba laughed. “Little Fifth, you’re far more capable than that monarch. What other problems can you see?”

Li Zhiyun squatted down and studied the intricate formation Li Xuanba had drawn. “Even now, when armies of several hundred thousand set out, they’re divided into smaller units, all using the simplest square and circular formations. Large formations contain smaller ones. The flag bearers in each formation obey the main commander, but they’re also allowed to issue orders on their own if they can’t see the main signal flags. But this formation of one hundred and forty thousand…”

He rubbed his chin and laughed. “He actually demands that all subordinate commanders obey only the main commander and are forbidden to act independently. How is one person supposed to command one hundred and forty thousand men?”

Li Xuanba nodded repeatedly.

Li Zhiyun picked up a small twig and pointed at the gaps between the sub-formations. “Also, aren’t the gaps in each formation far too large? The enemy would have to be blind to charge straight in. They could just slip through the gaps, couldn’t they? Why are the spaces between formations so wide?”

Li Xuanba replied, “For the sake of visual beauty and neatness. Each formation is separated by gaps of several to more than ten li. Look—doesn’t this formation diagram look very aesthetically pleasing?”

Li Zhiyun burst out laughing. “As a painting, it really is beautiful. But was there really such a foolish emperor?”

Li Xuanba said, “There was. He bestowed the formation diagram and demanded that frontline commanders arrange their troops strictly according to it. As a result, before the formation was even fully set up, the enemy attacked, and the army was defeated.”

Li Zhiyun stood up and stretched lazily. “Ignoring actual battlefield conditions and issuing formation diagrams purely based on imagination—this isn’t the fault of the diagram alone, but of the ruler himself. No, not even that—the diagram is completely wrong too. A formation isn’t good just because it’s refined, complex, or visually pleasing. The foremost requirement of any formation is that soldiers can deploy it quickly.”

After finishing his analysis, Li Zhiyun asked in confusion, “But Third Brother, the formation you arranged is very complex too.”

Li Xuanba shook his head. “It only looks complex when viewed as a whole. Break it apart.”

He began drawing again on the ground.

Though the three-dimensional formation was complex in design, it was not complicated for the soldiers to execute.

The troublesome part of this formation was that it had to be arranged in advance; it could not be used in an unexpected encounter.

If successfully deployed beforehand, each small formation functioned independently, each with its own strategic objective. They didn’t need to see the main commander’s signal flags—so long as they completed their assigned objectives, they had succeeded.

“The execution of this formation is simple. What’s complex is the deployment. You have to arrange it according to variations in terrain elevation. Not only must you be thoroughly familiar with the terrain, you also need a fairly high level of physics knowledge.” Li Xuanba had previously explained the meaning of physics to Li Zhiyun, so he understood. “What’s the effective range of crossbows? Of bows? Of trebuchets? How long does it take cavalry to charge to a target location? What about infantry?”

“Only by understanding everything can you know what kind of square formation to place on each terrain feature, what task each formation should carry out, and when that task should be executed.” At this point, Li Xuanba’s expression grew somewhat complicated. “It requires an enormous amount of calculation.”

So if what Teacher Gao taught him really was a variant of Zhuge Wuhou’s Eight Trigrams Formation, it was no wonder the original had been lost. Commanders with Zhuge Wuhou’s breadth of knowledge were exceedingly rare.

Zhuge Wuhou might even have been standing at a vantage point on the battlefield, observing the situation while simultaneously performing mental calculations to adjust the formation.

In later eras of hot-weapon warfare, similar formations would still be used, but precise adjustments would basically rely on information systems.

Zhuge Wuhou’s formations were certainly not as large in scale as those of later generations, nor as precise in adjustment—but later generations used computers, while he used only his own mind.

Li Xuanba did not believe he could reach the legendary level attributed to Zhuge Wuhou. However, Zhuge Wuhou’s opponents had been the equally well-trained Wei army, whereas Li Xuanba’s opponents were merely Turks who had already fallen into disorder through plundering and had no intention of fighting the Sui Dynasty to the bitter end.

After reducing Yanmen Commandery to nothing but Yanmen City, many Turkic commanders had stationed themselves in the already-captured cities of the commandery, indulging in plunder and pleasure.

Qimin Qaghan himself probably never expected to surround Yang Guang so easily, and thus had not prepared mentally for a full-scale war with the Sui. The cavalry under his command were still operating under a “grab and run” strategy and had not formed tight battle formations.

Through observation, Li Xuanba concluded that the Turks’ morale and cohesion had already scattered. They were merely waiting to retreat whenever the Sui army arrived. Even Qimin Qaghan himself was busy looting spoils. Cavalry units led by different Turkic nobles often even fought among themselves over loot.

The Turks claimed to number several hundred thousand, but most were elderly, weak, or herdsmen filling out the ranks. The truly elite troops numbered only about one hundred thousand. Many of these had already been killed by the Sui army, and most of the rest were now gathered around Yanmen City. Other areas were thinly defended.

Li Xuanba had no intention of directly lifting the siege of Yanmen City. His plan was to first attack the cities of Yanmen Commandery that had already fallen, lure the elite Turkic troops besieging Yanmen City into coming to their aid, and then ambush them along that route.

After Li Xuanba explained his strategic intentions to Li Zhiyun, Li Zhiyun said, “But we don’t have enough men.”

Li Xuanba replied, “For an ambush, the troops I have now are sufficient. As for attacking the cities… the men should be arriving soon.”

Li Zhiyun’s eyes lit up. “Third Brother means reinforcements? Then will I be the one leading the troops?”

Li Xuanba said, “Of course Shixin will command the siege. If you really want to go, can you obediently serve as a deputy general?”

Li Zhiyun sighed. “Fine. Hmph, sooner or later I’ll make Shixin serve as my deputy.”

Standing behind Li Xuanba and jostling with Chen Tieniu and Xiang Gu for position, Luo Shixin shot Li Zhiyun a disdainful look.

Li Xuanba laughed. “Then you’ll have to hurry up and grow up. Alright, it’s time to go meet the reinforcements.”

No sooner had Li Xuanba mentioned reinforcements than they arrived. The relief force led by Tunwei General Yun Dingxing reached them—five thousand men in total.

In the original history, Yun Dingxing had also been the fastest to arrive with reinforcements, but his numbers were small. That was why the sixteen-year-old young general Li Shimin, who had gone to seek refuge with Yun Dingxing, proposed using a feint to make the Turks believe that a massive Sui army had arrived, scaring them off and lifting the siege of Yanmen.

Now, however, the situation at the Battle of Yanmen was even more perilous. Yun Dingxing arrived just as quickly as before, but when he was about to reach Yanmen, he hesitated.

Although Yun Dingxing held the title of Tunwei General, he had never actually commanded troops.

He had rushed forward so quickly in hopes of seizing credit for rescuing the emperor, but when truly faced with hundreds of thousands of Turkic troops, he was terrified.

If he hadn’t been completely lacking in confidence, in the original history he would never have listened to the advice of the then-unknown sixteen-year-old Li Shimin.

Now that Li Xuanba promptly sent Li Zhiyun to find him and produced Emperor Yang Guang’s edict, Yun Dingxing did not hesitate at all. He handed over command of the troops immediately, thumping his chest as he promised to follow all instructions.

Yun Dingxing did not mind in the slightest that Li Xuanba’s nominal official rank was currently lower than his.

Li Shimin had already been appointed Pacification Commissioner of Longyou Circuit. Since Li Xuanba was still alive, the vacant post of Deputy Pacification Commissioner was surely his. In terms of real authority, Li Xuanba far outranked Yun Dingxing, and he also enjoyed far greater favor from the emperor.

Yun Dingxing was the father of Consort Yun Zhaoxun, the most beloved consort of the deposed Crown Prince Yang Yong. Yang Yong had treated Yun Dingxing as a father-in-law, even more closely than the Crown Princess’s own father.

Yang Yong’s excessive favoritism toward Consort Yun Zhaoxun, which drove the Crown Princess into depression and death, became the fuse that led to his deposition. When Yang Yong fell out of favor with Emperor Wen of Sui and Empress Dugu, Yun Dingxing had vigorously assisted him, sending rare treasures and using Yang Yong’s influence to amass wealth for himself—playing no small role in Yang Yong’s downfall.

After Yang Yong was deposed, Yun Dingxing’s entire family was reduced to slavery. Yet he continued to present rare treasures as before, while also urging Yang Guang to kill his own grandson. Coupled with his genuinely refined aesthetic sense—his supervision of armor and other equipment perfectly suited Yang Guang’s tastes—his official rank eventually rose even higher than it had been during Emperor Wen’s reign.

Although Yun Dingxing had already been appointed Tunwei General, he knew exactly how capable he was. He also knew that his identity as the “former crown prince’s father-in-law” remained a thorn in Yang Guang’s side. He could not compare with Li Shimin and Li Xuanba, the emperor’s nephews whom Yang Guang had cherished since childhood.

Accustomed to flattery and unconcerned with his own dignity, Yun Dingxing naturally ignored the fact that his official rank was higher and eagerly fawned over Li Xuanba.

Besides, he truly did not dare to lead just five thousand men against hundreds of thousands of Turkic troops.

Li Xuanba understood Yun Dingxing’s character well. Knowing that Yun Dingxing would, just as in history, be the first to reach Yanmen Commandery, Li Xuanba was confident that with Yang Guang’s edict in hand, he would surely obtain command of the troops.

If it had been another veteran Sui general, even with the emperor’s edict, they would not have relinquished command so easily.

After taking over command, Li Xuanba had Yun Dingxing remain with him in the rear, while Luo Shixin, Li Zhiyun, and Xiang Gu led troops to attack the cities of Yanmen Commandery that had already fallen.

Yun Dingxing asked in confusion, “Why don’t we directly go rescue His Majesty?”

Li Xuanba replied, “The main Turkic force is camped near Yanmen City. With only five thousand men, attacking them head-on would be like smashing a rock with an egg. But after capturing the other cities of Yanmen Commandery, the Turks didn’t bother to properly repair or fortify them. Even with just five thousand troops, we can easily retake those cities. Once we do, we can conscript soldiers and requisition supplies locally to expand our forces. We can also force the Turks to lift the siege of Yanmen City and split their troops to deal with us, easing the pressure on His Majesty.”

Yun Dingxing worried, “Wouldn’t that put us in danger?”

Li Xuanba smiled and shook his head. “Yanmen Commandery is vast, and to the south lies Sui territory. If we can’t win, we can always retreat south. Both the general and I will remain in the rear—danger won’t reach us here.”

Only then did Yun Dingxing relax and flatter him. “Worthy indeed of the title ‘Li Third Young Master Who Never Misses a Calculation.’ Your reputation is truly well deserved.”

Li Xuanba clasped his hands modestly. “It’s only because we’re dealing with barbarian Turks that it’s easy to lead them by the nose. General Yun, leading five thousand brave warriors to be the first to rush to His Majesty’s rescue—that is true courage and loyalty. If this battle succeeds, General Yun should receive the foremost credit.”

Yun Dingxing said with satisfaction, “I wouldn’t dare.” No wonder General Yuwen had praised Li Xuanba repeatedly—he truly knew how to handle people.

After pacifying Yun Dingxing and leaving him in the rear to eat, drink, and enjoy himself without worrying about the front-line battles, Li Xuanba accelerated his own deployments.

Just as he had anticipated, the Turks had never planned on holding the cities. Capturing forty cities in Yanmen Commandery had already exceeded their expectations. Thus, although there were garrisons stationed in those forty cities, hardly any thought had been given to defense.

When Luo Shixin and the others attacked the fallen cities of Yanmen Commandery, the city gates weren’t even closed.

Luo Shixin easily captured the first city. The Turkic garrison inside barely resisted at all—carrying off their loot, they fled, utterly lacking the ferocity they had shown while attacking cities.

Li Zhiyun wiped the blood from his face and sneered. “Third Brother was exactly right. They’ve already grabbed their spoils and are just waiting to withdraw, so they have no fighting spirit at all.”

Luo Shixin asked, “Do you still have any strength left? If not, then stay—”

Li Zhiyun cursed, “Cut the crap! Let’s hurry to the next city!”

Luo Shixin sighed. He recalled Third Young Master’s complaints—Jihong’s temper really was getting worse and worse.

Luo Shixin recruited a thousand brave men locally, then gathered several hundred remnants of the former Sui army who had been hiding in the city, and marched toward the next city.

These hastily assembled recruits had little combat power. They merely shouted and cheered behind the troops Luo Shixin had originally brought, creating an illusion of strength.

The Turkic commander of the second city looked down from afar. Before Luo Shixin even arrived, he packed up his valuables and fled.

Who didn’t know that the Khagan had never intended to defend these cities? He had already looted most of the wealth inside. Only a fool would waste the lives of his tribal warriors here.

Luo Shixin recruited more soldiers on the spot and moved on to the third city.

The Turkic commander of the third city fled even faster than the one in the second. Before Luo Shixin arrived, he had already received news that the Sui army was coming and was retaking Yanmen Commandery, so he packed up his valuables early and ran.

If his hard-earned gold, silver, and silks were damaged in a fight with the Sui army, it simply wouldn’t be worth it.

Xiang Gu couldn’t help but curse, “This is an army of hundreds of thousands? This is a band of hundreds of thousands of bandits!”

Li Zhiyun said, “According to what Erlang and Sanlang taught us, when numbers are exaggerated like this, you usually halve them and then halve them again. So Shibi Khagan brought at most a bit over a hundred thousand men, and half of them are just there to pad the numbers. It’s really that His Majesty is too weak… ow! Shixin, you actually hit me with your horse lance?!”

Luo Shixin said speechlessly, “I just lightly tapped you. What do you mean ‘hit’? If I really hit you with a horse lance, do you think you’d still be sitting safely on your horse? Watch your words, watch your words, watch your words! Do you want someone to report you?!”

Li Zhiyun said, “I was very quiet—only you all could hear… okay, okay, let’s hurry to the next city. We’ll also scrape together a hundred thousand men and face off against Shibi Khagan!”

Luo Shixin said irritably, “Shibi Khagan has probably already brought his elite troops to chase us. Don’t forget Third Young Master’s orders.”

Li Zhiyun said, “I haven’t forgotten. We still haven’t gotten news of Shibi Khagan yet, so we can take one more city. Hurry up—otherwise there won’t be enough time!”

Luo Shixin sighed, but still listened to Li Zhiyun. He took another city, recruiting until they had around fifty thousand men before withdrawing.

Before leaving, he even specially sent someone to Shibi Khagan with a message, arrogantly declaring that he would cut Shibi Khagan down beneath his horse.

After receiving the letter, Shibi Khagan did not behead the extremely arrogant Sui envoy. He simply told the envoy to get lost.

Those around him immediately realized that Shibi Khagan also didn’t want to fight anymore and was preparing to return to the grasslands with the plundered wealth and slaves.

Before leaving, however, Shibi Khagan wanted to teach the arrogant Sui army a lesson—make them suffer another defeat and raise the prestige of the Turks.

“Who is leading the troops?” Shibi Khagan asked.

Someone who had fled back to him replied, “It seems to be Li Shimin, Pacification Commissioner of the Longyou Circuit.”

Shibi Khagan was puzzled. “If it were Li Shimin, such results wouldn’t be surprising. But Li Shimin is in Zhangye—how could he arrive so quickly?”

There were strategists around Shibi Khagan, many of whom were originally Sui people.

After whispering among themselves, one strategist said, “It’s said that Li Shimin has a younger brother whose whereabouts are unknown. Could it be that he didn’t die, but was recuperating in the Central Plains, and is now borrowing Li Shimin’s name to scare us off?”

A Turkic general who had been driven away by Luo Shixin angrily said, “I personally saw two young commanders—one wielding a horse lance and long spear, the other with superb archery. I fought them myself! This wasn’t intimidation! How could Turkic warriors be scared off!”

Other Turkic commanders, who hadn’t fought Luo Shixin and Li Zhiyun at all, also shouted angrily, “That’s right! Are you Sui people insulting our Turkic warriors?!”

The strategist: “……”

Shibi Khagan said in a deep voice, “Enough.”

How could he not know how much effort these Turkic warriors had truly put in? By now, their daily attacks brought no more loot, only the needless loss of Turkic lives. Many tribal leaders had long wanted to leave with the plunder.

These people had no real intention of conquering the Central Plains.

Of course, in truth, neither did he.

Shibi Khagan hadn’t expected that he would truly manage to surround the Sui emperor. He had only wanted to take the enemy by surprise and win a battle in front of the Sui emperor, washing away years of humiliation for the Turks.

Now that his goal had already been achieved, there was no need to keep wasting resources.

Shibi Khagan felt a bit of regret.

Had he known the Sui were so weak, he should have prepared more thoroughly. Perhaps he really could have continued south and looted the Eastern Capital, Luoyang—that would have been true vindication.

“Regardless of who’s coming, give them a head-on blow first,” Shibi Khagan said. “Half the men continue besieging Yanmen City—absolutely do not let the Sui emperor escape. I’ll personally go meet this ‘Li Shimin.’”

Even though he didn’t know whether the opponent truly was Li Shimin, Shibi Khagan chose to treat him as such.

If Li Shimin could capture the Tuyuhun Khagan alive, then if Shibi Khagan truly lost and the opposing commander was Li Shimin, that was understandable. If he won, then the Sui would no longer have a general he needed to fear.

Among the Sui, the famous generals were all old. In the younger generation, only Li Shimin stood out. As long as he defeated Li Shimin, Sui people would tremble at the mere mention of Shibi Khagan’s name.

Of course, even if he lost, it wouldn’t matter—after all, it would be to the “Peerless Under Heaven” Li Shimin. The Sui still had capable men.

Shibi Khagan was in a very relaxed mood now. He had looted enough, and his strategic goal before setting out—“to give the Sui a good scare”—had already been achieved. Whether this battle was won or lost no longer mattered.

He wanted to see just how capable Li Shimin really was and fight a satisfying battle.

So he led his personal guards and swaggered off in pursuit of the Sui army.

Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, the Sui troops fled. He didn’t pay it much mind and continued chasing them with his men.

He knew that when the Sui army attacked the first city, they had only a few thousand soldiers. Though they now seemed to have tens of thousands, all of them were locally recruited around Yanmen. Forget combat effectiveness—they might even become a burden.

He had scraped together a mighty force of one hundred thousand men, fifty thousand of them elite. Against a few thousand, even one arrow per man would be enough to turn the enemy into a pincushion.

The outskirts of Yanmen Commandery consisted only of small hills, with almost no natural defenses to rely on. Otherwise, he would not have been able to capture forty cities in succession in less than half a month.

Shibi Khagan had heard that when the Sui army retreated, their formations were extremely scattered, as if the newly conscripted soldiers did not obey orders at all, and even the cavalry—once well-organized—had fallen into chaos.

He sneered. “I think this commander fighting under Li Shimin’s banner really is Li Shimin’s sickly younger brother who’s never led troops before.”

…

Li Xuanba said, “You’ve worked hard.”

Luo Shixin and Li Zhiyun grinned smugly at the same time. “We did not fail our mission.”

Li Xuanba said to Li Zhiyun and Luo Shixin, “Do you know how Second Brother captured the Tuyuhun khagan alive back then?”

Luo Shixin and Li Zhiyun replied, “We’ve heard it countless times.”

Li Xuanba laughed. “Second Brother has bragged about it many times? Back then, I wanted to block the Tuyuhun khagan inside a mountain valley, but unfortunately I was too inexperienced and insufficiently prepared. Now my preparations are very thorough. I wonder if I can make up for that old regret.”

While Li Xuanba was chatting casually with Luo Shixin and Li Zhiyun, Shibi Khagan had already entered the ordinary, low-lying mountain valley.

Just as the Turks were about to exit the valley, a tremendous roar erupted from both sides. Not only did countless huge rocks tumble down from above, but the ground itself thundered with massive explosions.

Shibi Khagan nearly fell from his horse, his face draining of color. “What’s going on?! Thunder?! A landslide?!”

As he struggled to rein in his horse, massive boulders had already blocked the front of the valley.

“Khagan, it’s an ambush!” a strategist rushed up and said.

Shibi Khagan lashed him off his horse with a whip, roaring, “Nonsense! Rear army becomes the vanguard—retreat!”

No sooner had Shibi Khagan given the order than another thunderous crash erupted from the rear. Countless falling rocks smashed down, severing the tail of the Turkic army—which had already entered two-thirds of the valley—alive. Wails filled the air.

It was dusk, and the surroundings were still bright, so Shibi Khagan had never imagined the enemy would set an ambush in broad daylight.

He had a hundred thousand troops. In such a small valley, even hiding three or four thousand men would be the absolute limit. With no natural defenses to speak of, how could it possibly ambush his hundred thousand troops?

Yet he had never imagined that the Sui army could cause the entire valley to collapse in an instant!

“Go—cut off their tail,” Li Xuanba said. “Fifth Brother, take it easy and don’t get hurt. This time, you’re the main commander. Xiang Gu, help him out.”

Li Zhiyun rode off excitedly, while Xiang Gu called out with a wry smile, “Young Master Fifth, slow down a bit!”

“Shixin, can you fight without riding a horse?” Li Xuanba asked.

Luo Shixin said, “I can wear two layers of armor and still move like the wind!”

Li Xuanba laughed. “Don’t wear two layers—one is enough. I remember you followed a merchant caravan to the Eastern Turks and saw Shibi Khagan before. Can you recognize him?”

Chen Tieniu said, “I’m pretty good at recognizing people.”

Li Xuanba said, “Then go.”

Behind him, his men raised the commander’s banner. When the people on the mountain ridges saw it, they also raised numerous flags.

On the commander’s banner was not only a large character for “Li,” but also vertical writing:
‘Deputy Pacification Commissioner of Longyou Circuit, Court Gentleman for Consultation, Li Xuanba.’

The daylight was still strong, the valley not high, and Shibi Khagan could see the words on the banners clearly.

He felt dazed.

So the commanding general really was Li Shimin’s sickly younger brother? A sickly man could lead troops?!

“Khagan, the slopes aren’t high. Our cavalry can charge up!” another strategist hurried over.

Shibi Khagan lashed this Great Sui man off his horse as well, letting him be trampled into pulp by hooves. “More nonsense! Follow me up the mountain and break through! Charge!”

Li Xuanba stood atop the mountain, watching the Turks through a telescope polished from crystal lenses. Only when the Turks began charging uphill did he signal for the command flags to change.

Countless rocks and arrows rained down, along with gunpowder jars—deafeningly loud and powerful enough, at the very least, to blow apart horses.

The densely packed Turks in the valley instantly turned into collapsing swathes of flesh and blood.

“Adding cane sugar really does make a difference—but it’s expensive,” Li Xuanba said as he put down the telescope and shook his head regretfully. “After looting several cities, we only managed to make twenty sugar-added gunpowder jars. Before industrial sugar production exists, this formula has no real practicality.”

After his lament, he turned to Physician Sun behind him and said, “Physician Sun, are you still refining elixirs with saltpeter and glycerin?”

Physician Sun’s mouth twitched. “No more.”

Li Xuanba said with relief, “That’s great.”

He turned back and continued signaling with the command flags.

War drums and horns sounded. The falling rocks and arrows abruptly stopped, and shouts of battle surged from both sides of the valley. Banners covering the mountainsides advanced downhill.

At that moment, another thunderous crash came from the front of the valley where the first collapse had occurred. Earth and stone crumbled away, revealing half a passage.

The Turks had been utterly terrified by the thunderbolts from the sky. When they saw a road appear ahead, they fled madly toward the opening without waiting for orders from Shibi Khagan or the Turkic generals.

Those who escaped first even shouted, “There’s no ambush ahead!”

Mounted commanders also saw that the road beyond the opening was wide open indeed, with no enemy in sight.

“Brother, run! The thunderbolts are coming again!” one of Shibi Khagan’s brothers shouted as he led his personal guards charging forward. He had no intention of covering Shibi Khagan’s retreat—he just yelled once and fled.

Shibi Khagan sensed something was wrong, but the thunderbolts had been truly terrifying, and his brothers were already fleeing. If he did not escape and died here, his wives and tribe would be carved up by his brothers anyway. He could only lower his head and run.

The personal guards of the khagan and the lesser khagans did not hesitate. They turned their weapons against their own people ahead, shouting for them to fall back while cutting down anyone who blocked the way, clearing a path for Shibi Khagan and the lesser khagans.

With the khagan and the lesser khagans fleeing, the other commanders completely lost the will to fight and also fled toward the valley passage that was half-buried in earth and stone.

Physician Sun, though a physician with a benevolent heart, did not regard the Turks who had invaded the Central Plains as human beings. Calmly, he asked, “Why not block the road ahead?”

Li Xuanba replied, “I deliberately opened half the passage to let them escape. Even if it were a hundred thousand pigs, it would be hard for my few thousand men to capture them all. Letting them flee as a routed army is the only way to make the Turks’ tens of thousands—well, hundreds of thousands—of ‘elite troops’ stop fighting the Sui to mutual destruction and hurry back to their grasslands.”

Physician Sun sighed. “Shibi Khagan also escaped.”

Li Xuanba said, “Only if Shibi Khagan escapes can he order the Turks to retreat quickly. The emperor can still hold out, but the common people of Yanmen can’t endure any more turmoil. If the Turks were to become leaderless bandits, they would cause even greater harm to the populace.”

Physician Sun sighed again. “It’s still a pity.”

Li Xuanba smiled. “As the saying goes, know when to stop—bite off more than you can chew, and you’ll choke.”

He got down from his wheelchair, strolled forward a few steps, and leisurely stretched.

“Besides, once Shibi Khagan withdraws back to the grasslands, do you think he can really escape?” Li Xuanba lowered his arms and rotated his shoulders. “Second Brother has probably already burned down the Turks’ khagan tent.”

Physician Sun asked curiously, “Even if Second Young Master Li burned the khagan tent, could he still travel thousands of li south to Yanmen Commandery?”

Li Xuanba replied, “If Second Brother won too easily and didn’t suffer heavy losses, he would definitely come. I guess that although Shibi Khagan led several hundred thousand troops south, Second Brother shouldn’t have had much difficulty defeating them.”

…

“Changsun Wuji, you’re way too slow. I finished fighting long ago, and only now has your army arrived?” Li Shimin stood on the ruins of the Turkic khagan tent. Behind him was the pale-faced minor khagan, Ashina Silifu.

Ashina Silifu had fled in time, but still failed to escape.

Changsun Wuji was speechless. “After receiving your letter, I arrived in just four days!”

“Anyway, I’m already done fighting.” Li Shimin said with a grin. “Since your troops suffered no losses at all, let’s head south!”

Changsun Wuji asked doubtfully, “Head south? Where to? Yanmen Commandery? What if we run into Shibi Khagan’s main army?”

Li Shimin folded his arms and laughed. “Are you stupid? This is the grasslands. If we see we can’t win, can’t we just run? If Shibi Khagan’s army is in chaos, we beat them up. If their formation is tight, we charge through, scare them a bit, then keep running south. If they’re still at Yanmen Commandery, even better—we can surround them together with the Sui army.”

Pointing behind him, Li Shimin added, “That man is Shibi Khagan’s younger brother. He says Shibi Khagan only brought about a hundred thousand elite troops—the rest are a rabble. We have forty thousand here, and we can claim ten times that to the outside world. They don’t have a numbers advantage.”

Changsun Wuji sighed. “Even though we have forty thousand men, elite troops…” He shook his head. “Forget it. You’re the commander—your call.”

Li Shimin turned around and patted Ashina Silifu on the shoulder. “Come, head south with me. Don’t be afraid—once I kill Shibi Khagan, I’ll make you the Eastern Turkic Khagan.”

Ashina Silifu’s face was deathly pale. He didn’t believe a word of it.

After reassuring Ashina Silifu, Li Shimin asked again, “The Western Turks haven’t mobilized yet?”

Changsun Wuji replied helplessly, “Take a look at the cavalry behind me—half of them are reinforcements from the Western Turkic Khagan.”

Li Shimin said, “Oh. Oh.”

He switched to Turkic and shouted, “Warriors of the Western Turks! I will lead you to defeat Shibi Khagan of the Eastern Turks, cut off his head, and kick it like a ball for your khagan! Western Turkic warriors will never lose to those Eastern Turkic trash!”

The Western Turkic cavalry—still shocked that the khagan tent had turned into ruins—were shocked once more, then erupted with morale: “Kill!”

Li Shimin laughed loudly. “Good! All of you are fine warriors!”

Pei Xingyan rode over. “Li Er, we found it, we found it! The stele commemorating Dou Xian’s ‘Inscription on Mount Yanran’ recorded in the Book of Han—it’s really here!”

Li Shimin grabbed Changsun Wuji. “Come on, let’s also carve an inscription at Yanran!”

Changsun Wuji said embarrassedly, “I didn’t earn any merit—can I really leave my name?”

Li Shimin laughed. “Then go earn some merit next. No need to feel ashamed. Zhou Da, you too.”

Zhou Da rubbed his hands excitedly. “Coming, coming!”

“My lord, what shall we write?”

“Whoever’s good at prose, compose a rhapsody.”

“My prose is definitely the best! But I can’t come up with anything right now.”

“Li Er, stop talking nonsense. What about Changsun Wuji?”

“Can’t think of anything.”

“Stop wasting time. Yanmen Commandery is still under siege. My younger brother might still be there waiting for me to rescue him!”

“Then, Li Erlang, what should we carve?”

“Well… how about ‘I was here’?”

…

“If Second Brother could easily capture the Turkic khagan tent, he would probably find the merit stele carved by the Han general Dou Xian on Mount Yanran before setting off,” Li Xuanba said, looking down at the battlefield below where victory was already clear. “Given Second Brother’s personality, he’ll probably erect another stele next to Dou Xian’s. I wonder what he’ll write.”

Imagining the scene, Physician Sun felt somewhat wistful.

Yanran Inscription… Li Erlang is only sixteen years old.

Li Xuanba stood for a while before growing tired, then obediently returned to his wheelchair.

He changed the command flags once more, ordering the battlefield to enter the cleanup phase, merging the troops and pursuing Shibi Khagan as he fled toward Yanmen City.

Although Shibi Khagan’s forces were still more numerous, once an army collapses into a rout, even eight hundred men can chase a hundred thousand. What’s more, Li Xuanba could muster fifty or sixty thousand men to wave banners and shout, creating overwhelming momentum.

With the outcome decided, after issuing his final order, Li Xuanba was lifted—wheelchair and all—onto a carriage, preparing to head to Yanmen City to await the Turkic withdrawal and report the good news to Yang Guang.

“Sigh. I hope Second Brother behaves himself and doesn’t carve his favorite palace-style boudoir lament poems onto the stele. That would be too embarrassing. I’d much rather he carve ‘I was here.’”

“Pfft—how could Li Erlang be so absurd? That is the Yanran Inscription!”