The Great Tang's King of Provisions

Chapter 43: Li Xuanba, Unable to Intervene?

In contrast to Cheng Yaojin, Wei Chi Gong, and the others, who remained in a constant state of rage, the “God of War” Li Jing appeared much more composed. He cast a cold glance at the location on the map marking the Turkic position, then looked expectantly at Li Xuanba. “Deploying 300,000 troops—how much money and provisions would that consume? Besides, the Great Tang cannot muster that many troops. In my opinion, giving the Prince of Tang just a thousand soldiers would be enough to subdue the entire Great Grasslands within ten days!” “Whoosh!” As soon as Li Jing finished speaking, Li Yuan, Li Shimin, and the others all turned their gaze simultaneously toward Li Xuanba, who was also seething with anger. Li Yuan and Li Shimin even slapped their foreheads—in their anger, they’d forgotten that their son (and third younger brother), renowned as the “Number One Hero Under Heaven,” was a man capable of single-handedly crushing a million-strong army on horseback, wielding just two hammers! Seeing the hopeful looks on Li Yuan, Li Shimin, and the others’ faces, Li Xuanba rolled his eyes and waved his hand. “Don’t look at me like that. It’s simply impossible for me to lead the army into battle directly. I have no intention of vanishing after fighting just one battle.” Li Xuanba could certainly go into battle; he could even ride out alone onto the vast grasslands and take down Khagan Jieli and Khagan Tuli one by one with a single blow of his hammer. But what then? Even though those two were nothing more than tiny grasshoppers, he might be nothing more than a grasshopper himself. If he killed them and was then swept away by the forces of history, where would he go to seek justice? “People vanish?” Upon hearing Li Xuanba’s words, Li Yuan and the others didn’t even need him to explain—they immediately filled in the blanks on their own. Yuan Tiangang even shuddered slightly and sighed, “I, Yuan, had forgotten His Highness the Prince of Tang’s status. Apothecary, don’t even mention asking His Highness the Prince of Tang to go to war—let’s figure this out on our own!” Li Jing nodded vigorously, his gaze fixed intently on the map, and declared proudly, “Very well! We’ll figure it out ourselves. Our Great Tang has wise civil officials and valiant military commanders. Since we’ve learned of this in advance, I refuse to believe that Khagan Jieli and Khagan Tuli can run rampant.” “Exactly! Since we’ve learned of this in advance, we’ll figure it out ourselves. I intend to sweep across the Great Steppe and bring back Jielu Khan’s head.” “Hmph! Since we got wind of this in advance, we can strike him first. I’ll just have to see if Khagan Jieli and Khagan Tuli will still be standing when the Great Tang crushes their vast grasslands.” Watching the fierce generals of the Tang Dynasty radiating a murderous aura, Li Xuanba smiled with satisfaction. Excellent! This was the Tang leadership he envisioned—and the one he hoped for: men who dared to defy the heavens, battle the earth, and take lives. These were the very foundations upon which the Tang Empire’s golden age would rise. While Li Jing and the others began discussing the deployment location, troop numbers, and route of advance, Li Xuanba turned his gaze to Qin Qiong—also known as Qin Shubao—who stood nearby with a waxy, sallow complexion. The two had already exchanged courtesies during the coronation ceremony, but given the timing and the formality of the occasion, they hadn’t been able to speak freely; they’d merely exchanged a few glances as a gesture of greeting. Once the coronation ceremony concluded, seeing that Qin Shubao seemed on the verge of collapse, Li Xuanba did not dare disturb him. It was only now that he had the opportunity to truly take in this man—the Tang Dynasty’s foremost warrior and general—who would take the lead after his own passing. Qin Qiong had now passed the age of fifty, and having fought in over two hundred battles, large and small—during which he had likely shed several hu of blood—he now looked waxy and gaunt. Even as he sat on the ground, cushioned by soft mats, he was still clad in several layers of thick clothing. After all, it was the height of summer, and the night air was still stiflingly hot. Name: Qin Qiong Gender: Male Age: 45 Title: Grand General of the Left Martial Guard, Duke of Yì Level: 35 Status: Weak Personality: Brave, Loyal, Decisive, Wise [Base Attributes]: Strength: 1000 (-900) Intelligence: 12 Command: 200 Political: 18 Seeing Qin Qiong’s weakened state and his Strength stat reduced by 900, Li Xuanba let out a soft sigh. He sat down right next to Qin Qiong and gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder. “Brother Qin!” “Prince of Tang!” “Ah! Brother Qin, we’ve known each other for a long time—why be so formal? Just call me Xiaoyao,” Li Xuanba said, furrowing his brow and waving his hand upon hearing Qin Qiong’s formality. To Li Xuanba, the title of “Prince of Tang” meant nothing. What mattered to him was witnessing the rise of the Great Tang’s golden age, ensuring the people lived in prosperity, and making sure that the civil and military officials who had served the Tang Dynasty with distinction would not be taken from them so soon. “All right! Then I’ll call you Xiaoyao.” Seeing the earnest look in Li Xuanba’s eyes, Qin Qiong nodded and replied to him. For the Tang Dynasty at that time, there really weren’t that many rigid rules. Commoners could even address the Emperor as “Your Majesty,” and for military commanders like them—who had fought side by side with Li Shimin through life-and-death battles—such formalities mattered even less! “Ah! With this war breaking out, the common people’s lives will surely grow even harder. That Khagan Jieli and Khagan Tuli truly deserve to die! Cough, cough…” Thinking of the people under the Tang Dynasty’s rule having to endure another period of turmoil, Qin Qiong cursed bitterly. But no sooner had he finished cursing than, overcome by anger, he coughed twice, revealing the frailty of his current physical condition. Seeing that Qin Qiong had begun to break out in a cold sweat, Li Xuanba quickly patted him on the back and comforted him: “Brother Qin, don’t let those two petty, self-serving scoundrels ruin your health. This time, we actually got wind of the news ahead of time. Even if we can’t take the dog heads of Khagan Jieli and Khagan Tuli, we won’t let them off scot-free!” “Right, right! This time, we’re at a disadvantage, so we’ll just teach them a lesson. Next time, we’ll definitely take the two of their dog heads! Cough, cough…” Qin Qiong narrowed his eyes and waved his hand with boundless heroism, as if he could already see the dog heads of Khagan Jieli and Khagan Tuli lying before him, then began coughing dryly once more. Noticing that Qin Qiong was struggling to hold up, Li Xuanba hurriedly took his pulse. After a moment’s thought, he rose to his full height and walked out the door. “Clang! Greetings, Your Highness the Prince of Tang.” Upon seeing Li Xuanba emerge from the Taiji Hall, Cheng Huai’mo, the commander of the imperial guards stationed outside the hall, hurriedly bowed to him! Li Xuanba waved his hand. “No need for formalities. Have the Imperial Kitchen send over some roujiamo, and also bring some hot water and tea leaves—make sure the tea leaves aren’t ground.” “Yes, sir!” Without asking why Li Xuanba needed these items, Cheng Huai Mo acknowledged the order and turned to fetch them for him. “We can set up ambushes here, here, and here. As long as we split our forces into several columns and launch a pincer attack, we’ll only need 200,000 troops to easily wipe out their 30,000 to 40,000 cavalry. As for the remaining 100,000 or so, we can intercept and kill a portion of them along the way. That way, even if we can’t completely annihilate the Turkic army of 200,000, we’ll still deal them a crushing defeat—one that will ensure the Turks never dare to underestimate the Great Tang again.” “Exactly! Give me 10,000 elite troops, and I’ll fight to the death—I’ll definitely cut down 5,000 of their Turkic soldiers!” Li Xuanba was waiting for the imperial guards to fetch something for him when he heard the calm yet menacing analysis of Li Jing and the others from behind him. However, it was clear from their words that, when comparing the military strength of the Tang Dynasty and the Turks, the Turks held the advantage. This was because their forces consisted almost entirely of cavalry, whereas the Tang Dynasty could likely mobilize only three or four ten thousand cavalrymen from the vicinity of Chang’an for the time being. Pitting infantry against cavalry would certainly put them at a disadvantage.