Liu Hongji stood to the side, watching all this with a smile. This young man had both courage and strategy, capable of both fighting and enduring. He believed that this time, Li Shimin would fight a beautiful victory just as he had at Yanmen Pass, making all under heaven firmly remember his name.

The next day, Li Yuan selected skilled cavalry archers from the ten thousand troops he had brought and placed them under Li Shimin’s command. Every day they rode and hunted at the border. Being at the border naturally meant encountering Turks, but they had all changed into Turkic clothing and made their food, drink, and daily life consistent with that of the Turks. When they encountered Turks, they acted as if they hadn’t seen them, continuing to do whatever they were doing.

Under these circumstances, the Turks thought these were people from their own tribe and paid them no attention at all.

Li Yuan did not inform Wang Wei and others of this matter. The latter, seeing that Li Yuan had not engaged the Turks in battle for a long time, kept urging him. In reality, they wanted to see Li Yuan defeated so they could write a memorial to Jiangdu and severely accuse Li Yuan. Based on their understanding of Yang Guang, once Li Yuan was defeated, Yang Guang would definitely not spare him – at the lightest, he would be dismissed from office; at the worst, his head would not be safe. Either outcome would be something they would be delighted to see.

However, no matter how much they urged, Li Yuan refused to send troops, consistently claiming that the timing was not yet right. Now it had been dragged on for over ten days. After yet another failed attempt at urging, Gao Jinya lost his patience and said coldly: “The Regional Governor keeps postponing again and again. Are you not planning to counterattack the Turks according to His Majesty’s decree?”

Li Yuan said with a gentle expression: “Brother Gao misunderstands. I also want to counterattack the Turks as soon as possible to avenge the arrow at Yanmen Pass, but now is not yet the right time.”

Gao Jinya said sarcastically: “Then according to the Regional Governor’s opinion, when will be the right time? A year and a half from now?”

Li Yuan smiled: “It won’t take that long. It should be in the coming days.”

Wang Wei raised an eyebrow: “When I went to the military camp yesterday, I discovered two thousand soldiers were missing, and Second Young Master hasn’t been seen these past days. Has the Regional Governor sent them to do something?”

“It was my decision to have them go handle some matters.” As soon as Li Yuan finished speaking, Wang Wei immediately asked: “What matters?”

Li Yuan smiled: “No rush. In a few days, you two brothers will know.”

Wang Wei’s eyes narrowed slightly: “Although Your Excellency is the Regional Governor of Taiyuan, we two are also Deputy Regional Governors personally appointed by His Majesty. Before Your Excellency mobilizes troops, should you not inform us two?”

“Brother Wang is right. This matter was indeed my oversight. However, I also want to win this battle.” With that, he said: “I still have matters to attend to. Please excuse me.”

Looking at Li Yuan’s departing figure, Gao Jinya said: “What do you think that old fox is selling in his gourd? He’s hiding it so tightly.”

Wang Wei sneered: “We’ll know by watching. Two thousand troops… Hmph, even if he throws in all those ten thousand-plus troops, I don’t believe he can win this battle. As soon as he’s defeated, we’ll immediately report to His Majesty and see how that old fox and young fox die!”

While these two were plotting against Li Yuan and his son, Li Shimin was leading two thousand soldiers galloping at the border. Unlike when they first arrived, now those soldiers no longer feared the Turks and considered them nothing special.

After hunting for a while, they came to a riverside to drink water. Duan Zhihong walked to Li Shimin’s side and said in a low voice: “Second Young Master, look ahead. There’s a group of Turkic cavalry watching us. I recognize them – this isn’t the first time they’ve been sizing us up. I’m afraid they’ve seen through our identity.”

Li Shimin had already noticed that group of cavalry when they first appeared. Using the motion of wiping water stains from his lips, he said: “Watch them carefully. Don’t act rashly.”

While they were talking, other soldiers had also successively recognized that group of cavalry. While staying alert, they whispered in groups of two or three. After a while, one soldier walked to Li Shimin’s side: “Deputy General, aren’t we supposed to counterattack the Turks? Why don’t we use these Turkic soldiers in front of us for practice?”

Another soldier also walked over: “That’s right. Watching these Turkic soldiers swagger back and forth before our eyes every day is truly an eyesore. We might as well take this opportunity to kill them to our heart’s content.”

More and more soldiers gathered around Li Shimin. Without exception, they were all actively requesting battle. This situation delighted Li Shimin. Master Liu’s strategy had indeed worked – these soldiers now had the courage to fight the Turkic soldiers!

Li Shimin did not answer immediately but calmly observed the cavalry in the distance. By rough estimate, there should be over a thousand of them – just the right number for practice.

Thinking this way, he nodded emphatically: “Good! Let these Turks know our might and see if they dare invade our borders again!”

Seeing Li Shimin’s agreement, those soldiers were all extremely excited. They hurriedly mounted their horses and gathered around Li Shimin. At his command, they charged toward those Turkic soldiers.

The Turkic soldiers initially didn’t react, thinking they were going hunting. Only when the soldiers charged at them brandishing steel sabers did they realize what was happening, but it was already too late. They could only hastily engage in battle.

Battle cries filled the sky, and sabers flashed continuously. The Turks were firmly suppressed by the Sui army they had always looked down upon, suffering heavy casualties. Although another group of over a thousand Turkic cavalry later joined the battle, they could not change the declining situation.

This battle ultimately ended with a great victory for the Sui army. With two thousand men, they decisively defeated the Turkic cavalry, beheading over a thousand enemy heads and capturing over a thousand warhorses – the first great victory in many years.

When Wang Wei and the other received the battle report, they could hardly believe their ears. After repeated inquiries, they finally confirmed they had not misheard. Long after the soldier had left, Gao Jinya finally came to his senses and murmured: “I wondered where those two thousand men and Li Shimin had gone – turns out they disguised themselves as Turks. This Li Yuan… truly has great ability!”

Wang Wei’s chubby cheeks trembled as he said coldly: “He’s not only capable but also extremely scheming. With just two thousand men, he fought such a great victory, and beforehand he was watertight, keeping all of us completely in the dark.”

Gao Jinya frowned: “Now that he’s won the battle, we have no reason to accuse him before His Majesty. Are we just going to let it go?”

Wang Wei narrowed his eyes: “Of course not. This is just the beginning of the war – there’s still more fighting ahead. Unless he keeps winning, as long as he makes the slightest mistake or suffers a defeat, we’ll immediately report to His Majesty.”

Regardless of how unhappy Wang Wei and Gao Jinya were, this victory had a positive impact on both boosting morale and stabilizing public sentiment. Moreover, this great victory intimidated the consistently fierce Turks, who for a long time dared not harass the Central Plains, allowing the people who had long suffered from Turkic harassment to escape the Turkic threat. This made them extremely grateful to Li Yuan and his son. For a time, their prestige in Taiyuan was greatly shaken – Taiyuan was like a second Honghua Prefecture!