From turning Liu Wuzhou to capturing Wang Wei and his companion, then to raising troops at Jinyang Palace – everything was within Li Yuan’s calculations. But what happened next exceeded his calculations.

On the seventeenth day of the fifth month, the Turks attacked!

Tens of thousands of Turkic cavalry came with fierce momentum, camping outside Taiyuan City. For Li Yuan, this was both bad news and good news.

The Turkic attack – if they couldn’t withstand it and the Turkic soldiers broke into the city, wiping them out completely, then his just-launched rebellion would become a laughingstock. This was the bad news. But the Turkic attack also completely confirmed the charges against Wang Wei and his companion for colluding with the Turks to advance on Taiyuan. Even if he didn’t kill them, countless common people would petition demanding their execution.

Of course, all this was for later. The most urgent matter at hand was how to resolve the siege crisis.

The Turks sent several thousand cavalry to provoke outside Taiyuan’s outer city. Li Yuan didn’t blindly engage in battle but, following Li Shimin’s suggestion, once again employed the empty city stratagem. However, this time was different from all previous occasions – he had people throw open the city gates wide and removed all soldiers and banners from the city walls. All citizens were to remain in their homes, not permitted to go outside, nor to open windows or doors or speak loudly. In this way, the entire city of Taiyuan appeared like an empty city.

Seeing Li Yuan arrange such a formation, the Turkic people were momentarily stunned, uncertain whether to advance or not, not knowing what Li Yuan was plotting.

After much deliberation, the Turkic general decided to retreat first, rejoin the main force, and then make a decision. As they rode out one after another, they didn’t know that a troop of soldiers was secretly watching them.

“Second Young Master, it’s about time – we can make our move now,” said Yang Mao, the deputy general of this troop.

Li Shimin shook his head, “No rush. Let’s wait until they’ve all passed, then we’ll act. Only then can we catch them completely off guard and try to seize their horses. Before coming, Father also instructed this.”

Yang Mao said anxiously, “I’m afraid by then it will be too late!”

Although Li Shimin repeatedly stated that would be the best timing, Yang Mao still couldn’t feel at ease, especially when seeing a large group of cavalry racing farther and farther away, he became even more restless. He bit down hard and drew his waist sword, saying, “Brothers, follow me and charge! Kill these Turkic barbarians!”

Li Shimin hadn’t expected Yang Mao to be so impetuous. It was too late to stop him. The originally retreating Turkic cavalry halted their forward rush and came toward them, while the Turkic cavalry that hadn’t yet passed also arrived, putting them in the disadvantageous position of being attacked from front and rear.

This time they were truly doomed by Yang Mao. Despite his anger, the most urgent matter was to repel this group of Turkic cavalry. Although Yang Mao was very brave and the soldiers below were quite capable, they were ultimately too few in number and in a disadvantageous position. Even though Li Shimin tried every means to remedy the situation, they still couldn’t match the Turkic cavalry and were forced to the banks of the Fen River. Later, they only escaped with their lives by jumping into the river and swimming to the opposite bank.

They hadn’t seized a single horse and had lost so many men. This result enraged Li Yuan greatly. He ordered twenty military lashes for Yang Mao, who had disobeyed his military orders. Since a great enemy was at hand, this would be recorded temporarily and dealt with after repelling the enemy.

Although this empty city stratagem temporarily intimidated the Turkic people, preventing them from rashly attacking the city, it didn’t mean they could rest easy. The Turkic people didn’t attack the city but didn’t retreat either. They seized the common people’s grain, horses, and even committed acts of violating women outside the city, causing Li Yuan extreme anxiety. He summoned all generals for a meeting at Jinyang Palace.

One general said, “General, let’s fight the Turks to the death!”

Liu Hongji glanced at him and said coolly, “Having finally assembled our forces, to waste them on the Turkic people like this – what about Liu Wuzhou? What about Li Mi? What about Dou Jiande? What about Yang Guang in Jiangdu?”

The general was left speechless by his words and said helplessly, “If we don’t fight them, they won’t withdraw their troops. Are we just to let them run wild outside the city? The General once said that popular support is the foundation of victory. If we ignore the common people outside the city, won’t we lose all popular support?”

Liu Hongji gently waved his folding fan, “Fight we must, but not through brute force!”

Li Yuan said, “Does the Master already have a good strategy?”

“I do indeed have a strategy that might force the Turks to retreat.” Speaking thus, he explained his conceived plan in detail. Before Li Yuan could speak, the previous general was already full of suspicion, saying, “This… this will work?” Not only him, but other officers and soldiers, and even Li Yuan himself, showed doubt, thinking Liu Hongji’s plan was like child’s play and inappropriate.

Just as they were hesitating, Li Shimin stood up and said, “Father, your son believes in Master Liu. Since he has proposed this plan, it must be feasible. In any case, we have no better strategy right now, so let’s try this. At worst, we’ll commit all the city’s forces and fight the Turks to the end!”

Under Li Shimin’s persuasion, Li Yuan finally made up his mind, slapping the table heavily, “Good! We’ll act according to Master Liu’s strategy. I hope we can force the Turks to retreat.”

Since Li Yuan had agreed, the others naturally wouldn’t object further. They went to arrange things according to the strategy. Liu Hongji and Li Shimin walked at the back, and after the others had gone far, he said, “Does Second Young Master truly trust me so much?”

Li Shimin understood his meaning and smiled, “As I said before, since we have no better method, we might as well take the gamble. Moreover, in my impression, Master seems to have never disappointed anyone.”

Liu Hongji laughed, “With Second Young Master saying this, I’ll have to be twelve times more alert in everything I do and say from now on, lest I disappoint Second Young Master.”

Li Shimin smiled, then said, “Master Liu, if we were to fight the Turks head-on, what do you think our chances of victory would be?”

Liu Hongji pondered for a moment, “The General has long experience in battle, rich experience, and uses troops like a god. Our chances of victory are at least seventy percent. But in my view, it’s best to avoid fighting if we can.”

“Is Master worried that after a great battle, we’ll be severely weakened?” Facing Li Shimin’s words, Liu Hongji said, “That’s only one concern. Most frightening is that after this battle, the Turks, Liu Wuzhou, and Wei Dao’er will understand our true strength, which would be extremely disadvantageous for Lord Li. So direct confrontation is the worst strategy!”

“I see.” Li Shimin’s realization was accompanied by even deeper admiration for Liu Hongji, “Master’s considerations are thorough – taking one step while thinking of the whole board. This truly makes me admire you.”

“Second Young Master flatters me. Since I’ve come to this matter, I will certainly do my utmost to assist you and Lord Li.” Speaking thus, he sighed, “Our greatest weakness is insufficient troops. Even exerting all our efforts, we have only tens of thousands of men, far from comparable to Li Mi and others. If attacking just one place, relying on Lord Li’s military talent, we can still manage. What’s most feared is being attacked from front and rear.”

Li Shimin frowned, “Master Liu’s meaning is…”