Having made his decision, Li Yuan began actively preparing. Several days later, he set out with Wang Wei and Li Shimin to suppress the rebellion. Wang Wei had assumed that facing such a formidable enemy, Li Yuan would surely bring all his available forces. However, he only learned at the moment of departure that Li Yuan was taking merely five thousand men.

Five thousand men to suppress an army of one hundred thousand? It was absolutely ridiculous. Even a fool would know this was impossible, let alone him, Deputy Regent Wang, who was not only not foolish but extremely clever.

Could it be that Li Yuan had no intention of winning this battle and was merely using this as an excuse to kill him? The more Wang Wei thought about it, the more possible it seemed. He immediately went to find Li Yuan and said upon meeting him, “Does Duke Li truly intend to take only five thousand men to suppress that Zhen Di’er?”

Li Yuan was discussing future march formations with several generals. Seeing Wang Wei burst in, he signaled for the generals to leave, then said, “Correct. Is there a problem?”

“Is there a problem?” Wang Wei laughed coldly in his anger. “That’s what this subordinate should be asking Duke Li. Properly speaking, Duke Li is the Taiyuan Regent, and this subordinate shouldn’t say anything, but that Zhen Di’er has one hundred thousand troops. Even if all five thousand men under Duke Li could each fight ten enemies, it would still be impossible to suppress their hundred thousand army.”

Li Yuan smiled, “I wondered why Brother Wang was so agitated – so it’s this. True, that Zhen Di’er does have one hundred thousand troops, but he won’t deploy all his forces at once, because he’ll think like Brother Wang – that it’s merely five thousand men, and sending twenty or thirty thousand casually would be enough to crush them.”

“Even if it’s only twenty or thirty thousand, it’s still not something these five thousand can handle. I know there are over ten thousand troops in Taiyuan City now. Duke Li should at least bring them all.”

Li Yuan patted Wang Wei’s plump shoulder confidently, “Brother Wang, trust me – five thousand soldiers are sufficient.”

Wang Wei suppressed his inner resentment and said, “Duke Li should know how important Taiyuan is. Once Taiyuan falls… I’ve heard that Wei Dao’er has countless connections with the Turkic Khan Shibi. He might very well be the Turks’ advance force. Duke Li would then become a criminal for all eternity.”

“Rest assured, as long as I, Li Yuan, have breath in my body, I will never let the Turks ravage the Central Plains.” Seeing Li Yuan block his words completely, Wang Wei could only swallow his anger and say coldly, “Then this subordinate will watch with wide eyes to see how Duke Li uses five thousand soldiers to destroy Zhen Di’er’s forces.” With that, he walked out without even bothering with proper etiquette. Li Yuan merely smiled it off, knowing what Wang Wei was thinking. He indeed very much wanted Wang Wei and the other to die, but now was not the time.

However, Wang Wei didn’t give up there. He secretly sent people to spread words among the soldiers. It must be said that this strategy was quite effective. Not long after departure, some soldiers became fearful and petitioned Li Yuan.

In warfare between two armies, what was most taboo was unstable morale and fear before battle.

This day, after making camp, Li Yuan ordered all officers and men to assemble. After everyone had gathered, he swept his gaze over the mass of soldiers below and said, “I know you are all worried that we will be no match for the enemy in this battle.”

The soldiers looked at each other, and one bold one said, “General, the enemy has a full one hundred thousand troops. Even if their vanguard only sends tens of thousands, it’s not something we mere five thousand can match. We know we’ll lose without even fighting!” Li Yuan, besides being Taiyuan Regent, was also General of the Right Xiaowei Guard.

Li Yuan nodded, “You are all men I brought from Hedong. Some have followed me for only half a year, others for several years. In all these years, have I ever disappointed you?”

The soldier who had spoken earlier gritted his teeth and said, “It’s not that we lack confidence in the General, but the disparity between enemy and us in this battle is too great. We truly can’t see where hope of victory lies.”

This situation was exactly what Wang Wei wanted to see. He glanced at one of his trusted centurions in the army, who nodded secretly and called out loudly, “If the General truly wants to defeat the Flying General of Mount Li’s forces, he shouldn’t have brought only five thousand men!”

Li Yuan looked at him, then turned his gaze to all the officers and men, “In the eleventh year of Daye, our ten thousand men faced one hundred thousand Turkic troops – did we lose or win? In the twelfth year of Daye, our two thousand men faced Turkic forces – did we lose or win?”

The centurion said, “The General speaks correctly. We won both those battles, but mostly by luck. How can the General guarantee that this time we’ll have such good luck again? If we don’t, then these five thousand lives will all be lost in the General’s hands.”

“Although Zhen Di’er has one hundred thousand men under him, these are all bandits who only recognize money. How can they compare with our elite forces? Sending five thousand troops to meet them is already giving them too much credit.”

The centurion’s eyes narrowed slightly, “Does the General truly have such confidence?”

“I’ve said they are a group of bandits. As long as we deploy properly, let alone a mere tens of thousands, even if all one hundred thousand attack together, they are no match for us.” At this point, Li Yuan smiled, “I’m more worried that when I prepare to battle them, they’ll flee!”

The soldiers below burst into laughter upon hearing this. After the laughter died down, Li Yuan called out loudly, “So, are you willing to trust me once more?!”

After a brief silence, someone responded first, then the voices grew louder and louder. Finally, the entire army shouted in unison, “We trust the General and are willing to follow the General to pacify the bandits! Pacify the bandits!”

“Good!” Li Yuan drew his sword from his waist and shouted, “As long as we engage in battle, I guarantee this battle will be won!”

“Victory! Victory!” Amid the soldiers’ passionate voices, the previously unsettled hearts calmed down and once again became solid as iron.

Wang Wei watched Li Yuan with an expression that shifted between dark and bright. Since the latter insisted on using these five thousand men to dash themselves against a rock, he had no choice. If this battle was won, so be it; otherwise, he would make Li Yuan bear all responsibility!

During the march, Wang Wei also began intense preparations – though what he prepared was not battle formations, but his own escape route after encountering battle. He had no intention of seeking death!

Two days later, the two armies met at Sparrow and Rat Valley. This was the necessary route for advancing from Jiexiu to Jinyang, making it a strategic location that military strategists must contest. The valley stretched for dozens of li, filled with towering cliffs, strange rocks, and a Fen River flowing through it.

On the eve of the confrontation, Wang Wei climbed high to observe and immediately broke out in cold sweat. The enemy forces stretched from front to rear for over ten li, with at least thirty thousand men by his estimate. This meant they would need to achieve roughly six-to-one odds to win. Was it possible?

Wang Wei felt daunted, and after seeing Li Yuan’s formation, he nearly fainted. Li Yuan divided his five thousand men into three formations: the old and weak soldiers were placed in the center, waving the army’s banners, with all the army’s supplies behind them as the center formation. Then he divided the remaining elite troops into two parts, positioned on the left and right as small formations.