LFHYB -Chapter 210 The Li Shimin Nobody Understands

Once again, after a long raid without rest, they crushed the enemy.

Li Shimin refrained from fighting personally, leaving all the glory to his troops.

He stood on the war chariot, drumming for the soldiers.

The clash of the battlefield was loud, and Li Shimin’s drumming was drowned out. Yet to each soldier, it felt as if a thunderous drum was constantly beside them, overpowering all other sounds.

Especially for Tang troops, particularly the Xuan Armor Army under Li Shimin.

They knew well: if this battle were a major victory, Tang’s border troubles would be settled even before their lord ascended the throne.

Future campaigns would no longer be defensive but would expand the empire.

Li Shimin was “invincible,” and so was the Xuan Armor Army.

A previously undefeated army, led by a calm and wise commander with ample logistics, would find failure nearly impossible.

“Military strength” and “military spirit” were forged in countless battles.

Now, though the empire was not yet fully pacified, the Xuan Armor Army looked down on domestic wars. This land was already their lord’s; remaining opponents were mere bandits to be cleared. Li Shimin no longer needed to appear on the central plains battlefields, giving other generals victories to earn titles.

The Xuan Armor Army, his elite personal troops, would only follow him to decisive battlefields.

For instance, to pacify the current Eastern Turks, or capture the so-called subservient Xieli Khagan.

After this battle, even if the Xuan Armor Army did not sheath their swords permanently, it would be hard to operate as a structured unit in the short term.

Many would receive official posts, turning comrades into colleagues. Future appearances of the Xuan Armor Army might no longer concern them.

For this reason, their lord, who always led them in the frontlines, for the first time stayed behind to drum and cheer them on.

Even Shibi Khagan was present in the army.

After all, he was the formidable Türke khan who had once nearly destroyed the Sui Dynasty. The other steppe chieftains, influenced by the atmosphere of the Xuanjia Army, fought fiercely—even his foolish, battle-inexperienced younger brother threw himself into the fray as if he had become a mighty warrior—yet he alone remained calm.

Even though Shibi Khan now submitted to Li Shimin, someone who had once been a great khan could never be content with serving under another. Moreover, the steppe tribes and the Central Plains dynasties had always been at odds, constantly clashing and making up; no one truly believed in everlasting peace.

So he kept observing the Xuanjia Army—the strongest elite troops of the Tang.

But the more he watched, the less he could understand Li Shimin and his soldiers.

It was like this time after the long-distance march: Li Shimin merely glanced from his horse and then ordered the exhausted troops to face an enemy who was well-rested and ready.

Li Shimin did not promise rewards, did not explain his reasoning for choosing the battle moment, and did not lead the troops in person as he had before. Yet the Xuanjia Army obeyed without hesitation, their morale so high it hardly seemed they had just endured a grueling march.

What confused him even more was that, even though Li Shimin did not go to the battlefield with his personal troops, the Xuanjia soldiers still showed expressions of being moved and touched.

Shibi Khan could not understand. Moved? Touched? Why? How could Li Shimin staying off the battlefield inspire them more than leading the charge himself?

The most terrifying thing for people is not visible strength, but the unknown.

Shibi Khan knew Li Shimin was strong, and the Xuanjia Army was strong—but after observing them so long, he could analyze nothing.

It was as if Li Shimin were a god: always victorious, and soldiers who had fought alongside him multiple times found it almost impossible to be disloyal.

Shibi Khan watched many of his own Türke generals addressing Li Shimin as “my lord,” and it made his head ache.

A ridiculous thought crossed his mind: perhaps it would be right to give up his power now and help Khagan Jieli kill Li Shimin.

But on the battlefield of the final battle, an even more absurd thought immediately followed:

Even if he helped Khagan Jieli, could they really kill Li Shimin? More likely, he and Khagan Jieli would just panic and flee under the Xuanjia Army’s spear tips.

Shibi Khan let out a bitter smile and swung his weapon more slowly.

He felt, perhaps for the first time, that he was old.

Li Shimin, drumming energetically, did not know that Shibi Khan had entertained thoughts of rebellion.

Nor did he care.

Although Li Shimin could get along with the steppe peoples, at heart he was still a noble scion of the Central Plains dynasty, born with a golden spoon. He looked down on the barbarians of the steppe and never believed they could truly submit.

Perhaps among the barbarians there were a few worth befriending, like Ye Hu, but looking at the barbarian masses as a whole, living in harsh lands, they would inevitably covet the prosperity of the Central Plains. Once the Central Plains weakened, even those who appeared loyal would rise again.

So all he needed was to make Tang impregnable—then no barbarian schemes could frighten him.

Li Shimin’s sturdy arms, used to drawing a bow, were also strong for drumming, both in power and endurance.

The orderlies taking turns drumming beside him had changed shifts, but Li Shimin continued, seemingly tireless.

When he occasionally faltered, he would shake his arms, drink some cheap wine from a skin flask to warm himself, and continue drumming.

When the Xuanjia Army led the allied steppe forces in a charge, Khagan Jieli was still putting on armor—not to mention the other Türke generals.

Moreover, Li Shimin and his Xuanjia troops had already been “demonized” in the eyes of the Türkes. When they saw Li Shimin’s banner fluttering before them, knowing he had no habit of killing prisoners, their will to resist weakened greatly.

Within just half an hour, the battle reached its final stage.

Li Shimin, however, had been drumming on the war chariot for a full half-hour.

Changsun Wuji, Pei Xingyan, Qin Qiong, Zong Luohu, Xue Ju, Luo Shixin, and other close friends and old subordinates noticed this. They handed the pursuit task to their deputies and spurred their horses toward Li Shimin.

Hearing their shouts, Li Shimin turned and smiled at them, as if noticing the discomfort in his arms for the first time. The drumsticks slipped from his hands, and he could barely stand.

The nearby guards scrambled to climb the chariot to support him and help him down.

Li Shimin wanted to wave them off, but his arms wouldn’t rise, and his body swayed, the strength suddenly gone.

The soldiers crowded together, jostling and helping him down, finally getting him to rest.

Changsun Wuji and the others didn’t even wait for the horses to stop, leaping down and stumbling toward Li Shimin. Changsun Wuji, too nervous, fell along the way.

“Li Er, are you alright?!” Pei Xingyan ran fastest and shouted the loudest.

Li Shimin’s spirit remained high, his voice booming. He laughed and replied, “I didn’t expect drumming to be more exhausting than battle. Tch, I should have made you all line up and drum while I went to fight.”

The soldiers around him cleared a path. Pei Xingyan took a swift step forward, half-kneeling before Li Shimin. He slid forward a little due to speed, nearly bumping into him.

“Don’t you know how to rest?!” Changsun Wuji’s voice reached them before Pei could speak.

Pei Xingyan, scolded by Changsun Wuji, forgot what he was about to say. He smiled wryly: “Even when there’s no trouble, you find a way to scare everyone. Hurry back to Chang’an and let Li San and the Empress Dowager keep an eye on you.”

Li Shimin corrected him seriously: “What Empress Dowager? My father hasn’t abdicated yet.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle at his own words: “Because Li Jiancheng rebelled, I had planned to ascend the throne in December, but now it’s delayed. Hopefully, by the time I return, Teacher Gao will have taken Luoyang. Then I can ascend the throne with peace of mind.”

The generals finally surrounded him.

Li Shimin, exhausted, sat cross-legged against the war chariot on the grass. Pei Xingyan, Changsun Wuji, and others either half-kneeling or sitting faced him.

Before the battle had fully ended, the camp soldiers saw that the group of generals had already gathered and sat together. So they simply went with their comrades to bring over the Turkic people’s cattle and sheep, preparing for the victory banquet.

“Later, let Zhuniang take a look at you first. Then have her write a letter to Li Sanlang and scold you fiercely,” Changsun Wuji said as he rolled up Li Shimin’s sleeve, looking at his swollen arms with distress.

Li Shimin said in disgust, “You learned from A-Xuan to become a little tattletale, and now you’re even dragging my sister-in-law into it? Are you also going to make Guanyinbi write a complaint letter too?”

Changsun Wuji replied, “I’ll have my younger sister write to the Empress Dowager.”

Li Shimin: “…Shut up. Guanyinbi is getting more and more impatient with me now. It’s all because you taught her badly!”

Changsun Wuji snorted, “Isn’t it because you’re always dragging her into discussions about posthumous titles and your own faults?”

Li Shimin raised his chin. “I’m the Emperor. How could I be wrong? If I’m wrong, then none of you confidants will escape either. You’ll all be ‘purged to cleanse the court’!”

Changsun Wuji rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, sure.”

Pei Xingyan twitched at the corner of his mouth. “How did I become a treacherous minister?”

Xue Ju, Luo Shixin, Qin Qiong, and the other lower-ranking generals couldn’t help laughing.

Although the Crown Prince called himself the emperor and said others would ‘cleanse the court’ and kill them all, they still couldn’t stop laughing.

Seeing that they were no longer wearing bitter expressions, Li Shimin stopped joking and turned serious.

“Although you’ve all worked very hard, I’m sorry, but you still can’t rest yet. After we capture Jieli, we’ll head straight south to Luoyang. If Teacher Gao has already taken Luoyang, we’ll rest there. If not, we’ll have Jieli persuade Yang Xuangan to surrender.”

Every time Changsun Wuji heard Li Shimin explain his strategies, he felt that all those years he spent studying under his father had been wasted.

How could a Turkic khan go to Luoyang to persuade Yang Xuangan to surrender? These things were worlds apart… Wait. Maybe they weren’t.

Without letting his subordinates keep guessing, Li Shimin explained directly:

“Right now, there’s no force in the Central Plains that can compete with us. Their only confidence in refusing to surrender is relying on submitting to the Turks, trying to use Turkic troops to coordinate inside and outside attacks on Tang.”

“Most people in Luoyang are former Sui nobles. They don’t have much determination to fight to the death. If they see that Jieli has already been captured and the Turks are defeated, they’ll have no support left. Even if Yang Xuangan himself wants to resist stubbornly, his subordinates won’t.”

While Li Shimin was explaining, Changsun Wuji also sorted out the core of this strategy in his mind: it was simply identifying the opponent’s reliance and removing it.

It sounded simple, but even he—who prided himself on being able to succeed his father as the new Western Regions commissioner—hadn’t immediately connected the Turkic khan with Luoyang.

After all, Yang Xuangan had only sent gifts to Jieli Khan like other rebel leaders to maintain relations. There had been no real alliance.

Compared to other rebels who openly submitted to Jieli, Yang Xuangan, as a top Sui noble, still cared about his reputation. He hadn’t accepted the minor khan title Jieli offered him, so his ties with the Turks were even weaker.

After Li Shimin’s reminder, Changsun Wuji reviewed the situation in his mind and realized that, whether they were close to the Turks or not, and whether they admitted it or not, the only external force the rebel kings could rely on now was the Turks.

As for Goguryeo? After being attacked three times by Yang Guang, it had dragged Sui down but had also suffered huge losses itself. It was now busy recovering and didn’t dare provoke the Central Plains.

By the time Changsun Wuji understood this, the other generals had also figured it out, sooner or later.

Given enough time, they could have worked it out themselves. But Li Shimin surpassed them because, while they were still thinking, he had already been contemplating it for a long time.

Coming back to his senses, Changsun Wuji sighed.

“Li Sanlang scolded the entire court in his letter, even complaining about Fang Xuanling and Du Keming. He said governing a country means taking many steps and seeing many steps ahead.”

“I think you brothers have the same habit. When you take the first step forward, you’ve already figured out what posture you’ll use to reach the finish line.”

Li Shimin said, “Changsun Silang, what nonsense are you talking about? A-Xuan and I are twin brothers. Isn’t it natural that we’re similar? We even look exactly the same!”

Everyone carefully compared their lord with the image of Li Xuanba in their minds.

“Not alike.”

“Where do you look alike?”

“My lord, I don’t think you’re exactly the same.”

“Prince of Jin is clearly a whole size smaller than you.”

“Even ignoring body type, you’re totally different.”

Li Shimin was angry. “How are we different? We’re obviously the same!”

Everyone shook their heads. How were they the same? They were clearly different!

These undefeated battlefield generals were now arguing over such a trivial matter like childish kids.

When the grassland chiefs who had returned from battle gathered around, they felt both awkward and somewhat envious at this scene, so out of place with the battlefield.

At this moment, Ye Hu couldn’t stand it anymore and shouted at Li Shimin:

“My lord, go back and ask Lord Sanlang. He’ll definitely say you don’t look alike either! Lord Sanlang is elegant and pure like a banished immortal, while you’re as black as charcoal. Where do you look alike?!”

In his excitement, Li Shimin’s sore arms suddenly felt usable again. He propped himself up and ran toward Ye Hu.

Ye Hu turned and ran, shouting as he fled, “Don’t get embarrassed and angry! My lord, you’re already an adult—why are you still hitting people when you lose an argument like before?”

Li Shimin didn’t care that many grassland people were watching, or that Jieli was being dragged over dejectedly by his elder brothers.

Once his temper flared, he ignored everything.

“Catch Ye Hu for me! I’m going to whip him hard a few times!”

“My lord, forget it, forget it.”

“Li Er, are you crazy? Whipping a subordinate over something so small?”

“Second Young Master Li, just wait to be scolded after you return to the capital.”

“Ye Hu, why are you dodging? Let the lord beat you—only then are you a loyal minister!”

“Stop running. The lord won’t really hit you.”

“Yes. At most, Second Young Master would just kick you a couple of times.”

Jieli Khan said aggrievedly, “Big brother, I’ve been captured, and they don’t even look at me. Being a Turkic Khan is really boring. It’s nothing compared to you.”

Shibi Khan: “…” When it comes to being captured, I don’t want to compete with you.

…

“I wonder how Second Brother’s battle is going,” Li Xuanba said, rubbing the space between his brows. He looked at Sun Simiao’s urgent report, his face heavy.

Sun Simiao truly lived up to his reputation as a famous physician. As soon as he arrived in the epidemic area, he identified the main disease spreading in this outbreak—Bone-Steaming Disease.

Bone-Steaming Disease was tuberculosis, a severe infectious disease caused by tubercle bacilli. It could affect the whole body, with pulmonary tuberculosis being the most well-known form.

Although tuberculosis is a chronic infectious disease, in an age without antibiotics, it was essentially incurable. Once someone contracted it, they could only wait for death. In places where cases were concentrated, the disease worsened much faster. If a patient developed a high fever, they might suddenly die within days.

Historians once speculated that Empress Changsun’s suddenly worsening “respiratory illness” was likely due to tuberculosis infection, which triggered her previously unhealed lung disease.

Many of Emperor Taizong’s children also suffered from “respiratory illness.” If it wasn’t hereditary, then it was very likely that although the tuberculosis epidemic had been suppressed, scattered cases had never truly disappeared. Whenever natural disasters struck and people’s immunity weakened, new outbreaks would appear—much like smallpox in the Qing court.

Although medicine at present could not cure tuberculosis, certain lung-clearing medicines could suppress the condition, delay its onset, and restore it to its former “chronic” state.

Li Xuanba told Sun Simiao what little he knew about tuberculosis, then turned to deal with another epidemic he could still suppress—smallpox.

He had just been thinking about the “respiratory illnesses” in the early Tang court and the “smallpox” in the early Qing court when the imperial physicians sent to the grasslands brought bad news: the northern epidemic was “Lu Chuang”—smallpox.

After consulting ancient texts, Li Xuanba found that people still didn’t take smallpox seriously enough. The earliest record of it appeared in Jin dynasty books, which recorded events from the Eastern Han: “(Ma Yuan) obtained it while fighting the barbarians in Nanyang during the Jianwu era,” hence the name “Lu Chuang.”

Because children with weak immunity were most likely to contract smallpox—and some survived—common people lacked sufficient understanding of the disease. They believed only children got it and did little research. The only treatment was to endure it, perhaps apply ointment and drink detoxifying medicine. It wasn’t taken seriously.

It wasn’t until the fourth year of Yonghui (653 CE), when smallpox caused a massive epidemic across the country with a mortality rate as high as 80%, that people truly began to pay attention.

Although records claimed that the Yonghui epidemic came from overseas, this was probably based only on the original origin of “Lu Chuang.” For such a major outbreak to occur, the disease must have been circulating among the people for a long time.

Smallpox originally came from livestock and had always been prevalent on the grasslands. Since the Turks had no official historians, records of early Tang epidemics were scarce. Now that it had been identified as smallpox, Li Xuanba was startled at first. After calming down, he felt it wasn’t surprising.

He even felt relieved that one of the epidemics was smallpox—one of the few diseases humanity managed to overcome before modern science.

Li Xuanba let out a breath. “In Physician Sun’s draft manuscripts, there’s preliminary research on Lu Chuang. By applying pus from human sores to the skin, there’s a chance of preventing it. Fortunately, we were prepared in advance.”

Sun Simiao was the first to seriously study smallpox, and his manuscripts contained early ideas about inoculation.

Later, in the Song dynasty, these ideas were refined into the method of “human pox inoculation.” However, this was still dangerous. Only after cowpox vaccination was developed was smallpox truly conquered.

When Li Xuanba saw Sun Simiao’s inoculation ideas, he had told him about cowpox. But both of them were busy, and smallpox was not yet widespread, so Li Xuanba had only been searching for infected cattle and had not begun experiments.

Now that the epidemic had arrived, there was no time to test anymore. Vaccinating the people with cowpox was better than waiting for death.

Sun Simiao was overwhelmed with work. After hesitating for a long time, Li Xuanba finally wrote to Yuwen Zhu, hoping she could take charge of the matter.

As Sun Simiao’s only disciple, the only officially recognized highly skilled female physician, well-known among the people, and also bearing the title of “Princess of Jin,” Yuwen Zhu would gain more cooperation if she promoted vaccination herself.

After finishing the letter, Li Xuanba hesitated again before sending it.

Rationally, he knew Yuwen Zhu was already in the epidemic area and would participate regardless. But writing to ask her still tormented him.

“I really don’t want Zhuniang to face any danger. She must feel the same about me,” Li Xuanba said bitterly as he watched the messenger disappear.

Because of the major epidemic on the grasslands, Li Zhiyun—who had been sent home by Li Shimin—folded his arms and said expressionlessly, “If you’re worried about Third Sister-in-law, just let me go. I’m tough, I’m not afraid of getting sick… Huh? Third Brother, don’t pull my ear!”

Li Xuanba scolded him, “Second Brother told you to come back and help me, yet you pretended to be sick and skipped court? Do you think anyone would believe you? Where did you learn these bad habits? Didn’t you love reading before? Now that I ask you to review documents, you say you have a headache? How did I raise you? How did I teach you into someone who can’t even read official papers anymore?!”

Li Zhiyun covered his ear. “Third Brother, easy, easy… Ow! I was wrong! I just wanted to slack off! Ow ow ow! Please stop pulling! I won’t run away, I won’t!”

Li Xuanba roared, “You’re about to get married, yet you’re still acting like a child! Second Brother told you to return to the capital, and you threw a tantrum and faked illness? Are you trying to anger me to death?!”

Li Zhiyun argued, “People aren’t that easy to anger to death… Ah, don’t be angry, don’t be angry, I was really wrong! I’m getting married soon—Third Brother, give me some face! Stop twisting my ear, it’s so embarrassing! Third Brother, let me tell you a joke, and you won’t be mad anymore!”

After Li Xuanba finished scolding, he released his grip. “What kind of joke is this?”

Li Zhiyun said, “Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law said that if they were to fall ill on the steppe, it would be best if Second Brother, Second Sister-in-law, and Third Sister’s whole family all died at the same time. That way, you could instantly be infuriated to death, sparing yourself the torment and letting you quickly reunite with them in the afterlife.”

Li Xuanba: “?”

Li Xuanba: “???”

I… no way! Every time I curse that bastard Li Shimin’s ancestors, isn’t it really just me cursing myself?!

Li Xuanba turned around. “Go home and reflect on yourself. You should have told me about this sooner.”

Li Zhiyun grinned ingratiatingly. “Second Brother forbade me from telling you. But after thinking about it at home, I realized I’m closest to Third Brother. Third Brother is the best!”

Li Xuanba glanced at Li Zhiyun, half-smiling, flicked his forehead lightly, and then, too lazy to even change clothes, went straight into the palace.

To lodge a complaint!