LFHYB -Chapter 183 Li Xuanba Enters the Battlefield Personally

There were few warhorses in Nanyang Commandery, and even fewer that could wear full armor.

Although Li Shimin’s hundred personal guards were all Black-Armored soldiers, they did not go into battle in full heavy-cavalry formation.

Fully armored horses were consumed too quickly. Even if they survived, the physical strain made it impossible for them to fight repeatedly.

Moreover, after charging, the Black-Armored troops would remove their horse armor and become more mobile light cavalry. As a result, horses died easily.

So every time they went to battle, they had to change mounts—each soldier used three to four horses.

Li Shimin himself fought so fiercely that his horses were often shot in the rump or neck before he himself was hit. He would switch horses two or three times and continue charging into battle.

At present, there were no fresh warhorses to replenish their forces. Li Shimin had been defending the city for so long that all the fine horses he had brought with him were being rested and fattened up. He couldn’t bear to send them into battle.

This time, however, he finally led out his own warhorse.

Li Shimin patted the horse’s rump. “If you earn merit in this battle, I’ll give you a better-sounding name. No more calling you Little Red Date.”

The jujube-red warhorse snorted and lifted its head, as if unsure whether it understood.

“Wudi, don’t flap your wings at me,” Li Shimin said, grabbing the bird’s wing. “I’m the commander. Listen to me.”

Wudi chirped: “Chirp Chirp Chirp!”

Han Gou sighed.

Li Shimin said, “They don’t have many bows and arrows. You two can join the fight as well. Keep your eyes on Zhu Can and guide me to him.”

Hearing that it could go to the battlefield too, Wudi folded its wings, puffed out its chest proudly like someone putting their hands on their hips, and chirped, “Chirp!”

Han Gou nodded, his voice steady. “Chirp”

After calming the two golden eagles—who had been ordered by Li Xuanba and were trying to beat him with their wings—Li Shimin turned to Qin Qiong and Zong Luohu and smiled.

“This time, the three of us will charge out together. Let’s see who cuts off Zhu Can’s head first.”

Qin Qiong asked, “My lord, aren’t we just trying to scare them?”

Zong Luohu also grew wary. “My lord, that’s not what you said before.”

Li Shimin laughed loudly. “How can you plan everything in advance in a war? The situation on the battlefield changes in an instant. We must prepare for the worst—and also for the best. Right now, the best outcome is to finish things once and for all by taking Zhu Can’s head.”

Qin Qiong and Zong Luohu looked at each other.

Well… that actually made sense.

Li Shimin continued, “Besides, Xiangyang Prefecture is only a day away. Maybe A-Xuan is already on his way and will surround them with us. Luoyang is only four hundred li away. The people from Wagang Stronghold are probably coming too. They might arrive today.”

When Qin Qiong heard “Wagang Stronghold,” he thought of the days he had spent there with the strategist, and his expression softened. He would soon be fighting side by side with Xu Shiji and Shan Xiongxin again.

Zong Luohu laughed. “Then we really should work harder this time, or there won’t be enough merit to go around when they arrive.”

Li Shimin nodded repeatedly. “Exactly. Tell every brave warrior that reinforcements are almost here. Before they arrive, hurry up and grab some military merit! There’s no strategy for this sortie—just kill!”

Zhu Can’s subordinates were nothing more than a mob of unruly civilians. They had no tactics, and Li Shimin didn’t need any either. Three words were enough:

“The brave prevail.”

Because mobs fought without order, when the court suppressed bandits, ten thousand well-equipped and well-trained Sui soldiers only needed to withstand the first few waves of attacks to easily drive off so-called “armies” of several hundred thousand rebels.

Most other large rebel forces had already absorbed powerful clans and former officials and were transforming into regional powers, developing proper military organization.

But Zhu Can was different.

From beginning to end, he was nothing but a rabble leader—a bandit.

…

“Zhu Can’s troops are less like civilians and more like wild beasts,” Li Xuanba said. He had already arrived near Nanyang Prefecture and secretly set up camp, waiting to encircle the enemy when his second brother attacked.

“By making them eat human flesh, he raised a pack of ruthless beasts with no bottom line. Their individual combat strength is no weaker than elite Sui troops.”

He lightly tapped the map in front of him and said calmly, “But beasts are still beasts. They can’t compare to trained hunters. There’s only one strategy against beasts: kill.”

…

Li Shimin, dressed in his brilliantly polished silver armor, sat atop his tall horse, holding his helmet and smiling.

“My only order today is—kill!”

“What stands before us are not people, not enemy soldiers, but a pack of beasts!”

“What we are doing is not war—it is a hunt!”

“Grip your weapons tightly! Draw your bows!”

“Remember just one word—”

“Kill!”

Behind him, the cavalry in black armor raised their weapons high.

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

“Kill!!!”

Li Shimin put on his helmet and raised his hand.

The city gates slowly lifted.

He leaned forward, then dropped his arm.

Two clear bird cries rang out as Han Gou and Wudi were the first to soar into the sky.

“Charge!”

Li Shimin stamped on his stirrups and clamped his legs around the horse’s belly. As the steed burst out of the gate, his lowered body tilted backward from inertia.

He drew his powerful bow like a full moon. When his back formed about a sixty-degree angle with the horse’s back, he released.

Whoosh!

The arrow tore through the air.

“Ah!”

A scream rang out.

The arrow struck the face of one of the few enemy officers wearing leather armor.

The officer fell from his horse. The enemy ranks erupted in chaos.

“I am Li Shimin, Prince of Longxi! Scoundrels, meet your death!”

Li Shimin took a breath, his eyes blazing, his voice thunderous.

“Follow me—kill!”

The Black-Armored Cavalry raised their bows. After his first arrow, a rain of arrows followed.

“Kill!”

…

“It’s in chaos now,” Li Xuanba said, adjusting his arrows and taking a deep breath. “Attack!”

From the bushes, the banner of the “Prince of Taiyuan” rose.

Li Xuanba personally led two thousand light cavalry out of the forest, with infantry close behind.

After spotting the enemy, half of the cavalry dismounted instead of charging. They unloaded bundles from their horses and took out parts to assemble.

In less than fifteen minutes, they had put together five hundred powerful crossbows and formed ranks.

The remaining thousand light cavalry, led by Chen Tieniu, charged from the rear, loosing arrows like rain.

“The Prince of Taiyuan has arrived! Bandits, surrender at once!”

The infantry sprinted forward, overtaking the crossbowmen. After the cavalry disrupted the enemy with arrows, the infantry phalanx slammed into the mob, skewering them on long spears.

Under the command of signal flags, the infantry formation calmly maintained its structure, leaving a wide corridor—like a hunting enclosure—constantly allowing fleeing enemies to pour toward the crossbow line…

But when he pushed through the chaotic enemy ranks and saw someone on horseback slowly drawing a bow and shooting—someone who looked almost exactly like himself, just thinner—his calm expression instantly turned into horrified shouting.

“Help! Why is A-Xuan here?!”

Li Shimin cried out in panic. “Hurry, hurry! A-Xuan is on the battlefield! Damn it!”

Qin Qiong and Zong Luohu were so shocked they almost threw away their spears.

W-What? Am I hearing things?!

The Black Armored Soldiers also felt like their ears were playing tricks on them.

Was the “A-Xuan” their lord mentioned… their strategist, Li Xuanba, the Prince of Taiyuan?

Are you kidding me?! How could Third Young Master Li be on the battlefield killing enemies?!

Where is Chen Tieniu? Did you die in battle?!

At this moment, Chen Tieniu was busy fighting the enemy and had no idea that his usually timid master, who stayed in the rear, had now personally rushed to the front lines and was shooting enemies with his bow.

Li Shimin and the warhorse beneath him seemed to have taken some kind of speed-boosting medicine. They actually left the soldiers behind them, slipped into a gap in the enemy ranks, and rushed straight to Li Xuanba’s side.

Li Xuanba lowered his bow and shook his arm.

“Second Brother, I—damn it! What are you doing?!”

Suddenly, Li Shimin stepped on the stirrup, leapt onto Li Xuanba’s horse, and kicked Li Xuanba off.

Li Xuanba fell flat on the ground.

“I’m injured!”

Li Shimin cursed, “At least you’re not dead! If your leg breaks, even better—you’ll stay in a safe place!”

He rode off on Li Xuanba’s horse. His own warhorse skillfully followed alongside, kicking enemies whenever it saw them.

Li Xuanba shot too slowly—after every arrow, he needed a long rest. More than half of his quiver was still full.

Now Li Shimin had more arrows. His strong bow hadn’t been damaged while smashing enemies earlier, so he was back in peak condition.

Two consecutive arrows hit Zhu Can’s helmet. They didn’t pierce the armor, but they made his head ring loudly, leaving him dazed for quite a while.

Li Xuanba pitifully climbed up from the ground. Looking at his scraped hands and then lifting his trouser legs to see his bruised thighs, he started cursing under his breath.

Two guards had been following him the whole time.

When Li Shimin charged over, they stepped aside. After Li Shimin seized the horse and left, they surrounded Li Xuanba again.

Li Xuanba had been sitting still on his horse while shooting. When he was kicked off, he was still holding the reins, so he wasn’t badly hurt. At worst, it would just be a cracked bone.

As Li Shimin put it: “Limp around, you little brat!”

A guard offered his horse.

“Strategist, I still have arrows.”

Li Xuanba raised both hands and cursed, “With my hands like this, how am I supposed to shoot?! The skin is all torn up!!”

The guard couldn’t help laughing.

Li Xuanba ground his teeth in anger.

Fortunately, the commotion in the rear lifted his mood a little.

“Your father, Shan Xiongxin, is here! Zhu Can, you dog, come and die!”

A fierce general charged forward. When he passed Li Xuanba, he looked surprised.

“Isn’t this Third Young Master Wei? Why are you injured?”

Then he rushed past.

“Where did this little general come from? Don’t block my way! Damn it! Why is there another Third Young Master Wei?”

“Wait, isn’t this Third Young Master Wei a bit sturdier? Which one is real? The thin one or the strong one?”

Shan Xiongxin was completely confused.

But Xu Shiji, who followed behind him, wasn’t.

He cursed, “Are you stupid?! Duke Gao and Duke Zhai already said that Third Young Master Wei is Third Young Master Li! The one who looks like him must be Li Shimin, the Prince of Longxi!”

Shan Xiongxin was still shocked.

“Can brothers really look this alike?”

Li Shimin was already furious because Li Xuanba had gone to the battlefield, and even more annoyed by Shan Xiongxin’s “your father” remark.

But hearing Shan Xiongxin’s amazement, his anger faded. He laughed and said: “A-Xuan and I are twins. Of course we look alike. Heroes, fight the enemies with me! Hey, don’t block my way!”

Shan Xiongxin: “……”

Xu Shiji gave him a complicated look.

You just met your lord and called yourself his ‘father.’ You’re impressive.

Shan Xiongxin obediently followed behind Li Shimin and fought, but two blood-covered generals kept stealing his kills.

Shan Xiongxin: “…Did you do that on purpose?”

Qin Qiong laughed. “Long time no see. You’re weak, and you blame me and Luohu for being too strong?”

Zong Luohu said, “Move aside. Don’t block the way.”

Shan Xiongxin yelled angrily.

Xu Shiji sighed. “We’re in a battle. Focus.”

Just as Duke Gao had said, if they hadn’t abandoned their infantry and rushed here on horseback, they probably wouldn’t even catch the tail end of the merit.

The troops under the Princes of Longxi and Taiyuan probably weren’t many. Fifty thousand at most? And yet they were fighting hundreds of thousands of rebels?

Looking at the situation, wiping them all out might be hard, but killing Zhu Can shouldn’t be a problem.

Xu Shiji was young, and hot blood surged in his chest.

His lord and comrades were all outstanding heroes. That pressure excited him.

Shan Xiongxin and Xu Shiji had only brought five thousand men. The infantry was still on the way.

But even these five thousand greatly eased Li Shimin and Li Xuanba’s pressure and increased the chances of annihilating Zhu Can’s forces.

All they had to do now was keep Zhu Can’s troops from collapsing too quickly and wait for the Wa Gang reinforcements to arrive and clean up.

Zhai Rang arrived with the main army. Gao Biaoren was also among the vanguard.

He had arrived a bit later. When he saw Li Xuanba, he stopped.

Seeing Li Xuanba covered in dust, with injured hands and a scrape on his face, Gao Biaoren felt heartbroken.

“You’re already weak and sickly. Why did you come to the battlefield? Was the situation really that desperate? What is Li Shimin doing?! Has he been eating for nothing all these years?! How could he let you fight?!”

Li Xuanba replied calmly, “I was just shooting from far away. It was very safe. These injuries aren’t from fighting enemies. My brother kicked me off my horse.”

Gao Biaoren: “……”

He said seriously, “Do you think I’d help you scold Li Erlang? You deserve this!”

Li Xuanba: “…” A miscalculation.

Gao Biaoren said, “I’m heading back to the battlefield first. You stay farther back. I’m going to write to my father and have him scold you properly!”

After lecturing him, Gao Biaoren left ten men to protect Li Xuanba before mounting his horse and charging back into the fight.

Li Xuanba turned his head aside and clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.

His guards wanted to laugh but didn’t dare.

They thought: Third Young Master is indeed a twin to Second Young Master—equally troublesome.

Li Xuanba was very cautious and had his guards carry simple medical kits.

He rinsed his wound with clean water, bandaged the scraped area with clean cloth, then, with a dissatisfied expression, led his guards back to the crossbow formation and continued directing the crossbowmen to mow down the fleeing enemy.

These enemy soldiers were beasts—kill as many as possible. If they missed this chance, the enemies would change their identities and become ordinary civilians, and then they could no longer be killed.

Li Xuanba calmly watched wave after wave of routed soldiers fall before the crossbows. Whether they cried, begged, or surrendered, none were spared.

“Kill them all.”

He issued the order indifferently. There was no cruelty or bloodlust in his voice—only the cold calm of someone hunting animals.

…

Since Li Shimin had led his troops out at dawn, striking when the enemy was at their weakest, a full day of fierce fighting had passed. Now, as sunset covered the land…

The so-called army of hundreds of thousands had been completely crushed. Even the common people of Nanyang Prefecture came out with clubs, following the soldiers to search for hiding bandits. Anyone they caught was beaten to death on the spot.

Seeing this, Lü Zizang hesitated.

Many of these bandits were strong young men fit for farming or skilled warriors who could be recruited. Killing them all seemed wasteful.

Moreover, if they were too cruel now, it would be difficult to persuade bandits to surrender in the future. If bandits feared surrender, they would only fight to the death, causing unnecessary trouble later.

Holding Zhu Can’s severed head, Li Shimin rubbed the bruise on his face left by his younger brother and said through clenched teeth:

“For inhuman people like Zhu Can, I don’t accept surrender. I want to tell everyone in the world: whether you’re fighting for power or just trying to survive in chaotic times, you must keep the bottom line of being ‘human.’ People like Zhu Can must die!”

“I’ve said it before—I am the bottom line of this chaotic age.”

Li Shimin threw Zhu Can’s head onto the ground.

“Hang it up for public display.”

Lü Zizang couldn’t help sighing in worry, yet he also smiled.

“Yes, my lord.”

“By the way, my lord, your face—”

“Waaah! I’m so angry! A-Xuan actually aimed for my face! Guanyinbi has told him so many times! Fighting is fine, but don’t hurt my face!”

“But, my lord, the Prince of Taiyuan’s face is injured too.”

“That’s why I didn’t block mine. I’m such a good older brother.”

“…Sigh.”

Lü Zizang felt helpless.

He remembered that Gao Biaoren had said he would write to Duke Qi, Gao Jiong, to scold his lord properly.

Gao Biaoren had also secretly told him that Lady Tang, the Former Duke of Tang’s wife, kept in touch with him. He planned to write her a complaint letter too and asked Lü Zizang if he wanted to add anything.

Lü Zizang thought this was ridiculous. How could a subordinate complain to his lord’s teacher and mother? That was overstepping.

Though his lord was capable, he was still young, surrounded by fierce generals and proud ministers who didn’t take his authority seriously.

This was bad! In the future, he would definitely impeach this group harshly!

But sometimes… his lord really did deserve to be scolded.

With his hands behind his back, Lü Zizang worried about the future atmosphere of court politics.