Volume Two: The Battle of Hulao Pass Chapter Forty-One: My Master Is the Grand Commander of the Black Armored Army

This battle was the first of Li Shimin’s campaigns at Tiger Gate Pass, and its resounding victory greatly boosted morale. Li Shimin served as bait, while five hundred elite armored cavalry lay in ambush and charged forth, slaying over a thousand enemies and capturing more than a thousand warhorses. Two principal enemy generals were taken prisoner. Counting also the Xia commanders killed by Li Shimin during reconnaissance, and those slain by Yuchi Gong, Li Xuanba, and others in their assaults on enemy outposts, Dou Jiande had suffered a significant, if not overwhelming, setback.

Dou Jiande commanded a force of a hundred thousand; the loss of a thousand men was negligible to him, but the loss of over a thousand warhorses still stung. Li Shimin, seizing upon his triumph, personally penned a letter and dispatched it to Dou Jiande.

Li Mingyu watched as Li Shimin wrote, under the pretense of “observing his second uncle’s calligraphy on Longsun’s orders.” They were all family, so Li Shimin made no effort to conceal his writing from his apprentice and his circle. His pen danced swiftly across the page, crafting a letter of elegant rhetoric and subtle diplomacy. With the expertise of flying-white script and a humble posture, Li Shimin’s words were neither injurious to Dou Jiande’s dignity nor lacking in firmness, deftly pointing out the futility of continued stalemate. For someone like Li Mingyu, half-illiterate in classical prose, simply grasping the gist was an achievement—he recognized every character, but their combination left him bewildered. With much guessing, he finally understood the letter’s meaning.

The letter essentially stated: “Our two sides once had good relations. Though you occupied our territory, you returned my royal uncle, so we are even. Wang Shichong is trapped in his city, doomed to perish soon. He has lured you here under false pretenses, persuading you to undertake a distant expedition and now you cannot cross Tiger Gate Pass—merely wasting provisions and resources. We have now engaged in battle, slightly diminishing your momentum. Since you cannot proceed, you might as well withdraw your troops and return. Peace between us benefits all and spares unnecessary conflict.”

“Second uncle, is there any use in sending this letter? I doubt Dou Jiande will withdraw his troops,” Mingyu queried as Li Shimin finished the letter and sent a messenger to Dou Jiande.

Li Shimin chuckled. “Of course Dou Jiande won’t withdraw so easily; he’s hoping to profit when Wang Shichong and I are both battered and exhausted, playing the fisherman’s game.”

“Then isn’t this effort in vain?” Mingyu frowned in confusion.

Li Shimin shook his head and smiled. “Not at all. The purpose of this letter is to help Dou Jiande resolve to keep watching and wait for the best opportunity to benefit.”

Even Li Xuanba nearby was puzzled and asked, “Second brother, Dou Jiande’s strategy of watching tigers fight is detrimental to us!”

Li Shimin rose and paced before the campaign map, speaking leisurely, “That’s true, but not entirely. If Dou Jiande, upon receiving the letter, holds his troops in place, it will grant us one or two months to catch our breath. I estimate that within three months, Wang Shichong’s city of Luoyang will fall!”

Li Xuanba frowned. “But didn’t you say before that Wang Shichong was trapped in a solitary city, unable to advance or retreat, and not to be feared? Our greatest threat is Dou Jiande!”

Li Shimin burst into laughter. “Indeed! But Dou Jiande’s forces are at their peak now, and a direct confrontation would be unwise. Though we won a small victory, it doesn’t change the overall balance. Now is the time to wear down Dou Jiande’s vigor. Last night, I sent a secret message to Yuanji, instructing Wang Junkuo to lead a thousand troops across the river north, harassing Dou Jiande’s supply lines. During this time, we will fight several small battles, continually striking at his morale. Small victories accumulate into great ones, and persistent setbacks, combined with disrupted supply lines, will throw Dou Jiande’s army into disarray. Then, we will strike with all our forces for a decisive victory!”

Li Mingyu listened to Li Shimin’s explanation and suddenly understood, marveling at how these ancients truly played a layered game, planning each step carefully. Who would have thought a small letter could have such a significant effect? Li Shimin’s letter to Dou Jiande made him believe the Tang army’s focus was on Wang Shichong, but the true target was Dou Jiande himself.

Li Xuanba nodded repeatedly. “Second brother, your foresight is impressive! I am in awe.”

Li Shimin waved his hand. “Whether it succeeds depends on how events unfold. But one must be strong to strike the iron! Xuanba, have you perfected the training methods you mentioned before?”

Li Xuanba clasped his hands. “Rest assured, second brother. Mingyu and I have discussed them thoroughly!” He then recounted the training methods he and Mingyu had devised.

Li Shimin nodded with delight. “Excellent! That Mingyu lad always surprises me. You two have full authority over the training; whatever you need, be it men or money, you’ll have it!”

With the commander’s direct approval, the elite armored cavalry began their rigorous new regimen.

Li Shimin designated a training ground on the northern side of Tiger Gate Pass exclusively for their use, forbidding any unrelated personnel from approaching under penalty of death.

Each day at dawn, a sharp bamboo whistle sounded, followed by Li Xuanba’s command: “Assemble!” Over a thousand armored troops immediately sprang from their warm beds, hurriedly helping each other don armor, fully armed, and required to assemble at the training ground within a third of an incense stick’s burn.

Once assembled, clad in armor weighing dozens of pounds, carrying sabers, spears, bows, and arrows, they ran a ten-mile armed cross-country around Tiger Gate Pass.

It wasn’t enough just to run in armor; Li Xuanba himself, in full battle attire, led the charge, shouting, “Elite Armored Cavalry—invincible wherever they go!”

Behind him, the thousand men echoed his cry as they ran, “Elite Armored Cavalry—invincible wherever they go!”

Li Xuanba called out again, “Elite Armored Cavalry—unbeatable with me!”

“Elite Armored Cavalry—unbeatable with me!”

“Prince Qin’s order is my command—I swear to serve him unto death!”

A thousand armored soldiers roared, “Prince Qin’s order is my command—I swear to serve him unto death!”

This string of stirring, brainwashing slogans was the handiwork of Li Mingyu, a modern man. Ancient armies had chants, but they were usually something like “Wind, great wind!”—which Li Mingyu felt lacked power and intimidation, and was not effective enough for instilling discipline. Indeed, his intent was brainwashing. There’s a saying: repeat a lie a thousand times and it becomes truth. Whether lies can become truth, Li Mingyu did not know, but he understood that shouting slogans loudly boosted morale, improved discipline and obedience, and, through repetition, ingrained them deeply in the soldiers’ hearts—a form of subconscious self-suggestion.

After the ten-mile armed run, the morning was spent on basic drills: practicing formations, standing at attention, shouting slogans, marching. These simple, monotonous actions were repeated endlessly, engraving the commands into the soldiers’ very bones. This was, in fact, a method from his previous life’s military, used to cultivate obedience and discipline; over time, soldiers would instinctively follow orders at the sound of a command.

Why did the soldiers endure such monotonous drills without complaint? First, Li Shimin governed the army with strict discipline and fair rewards and punishments. Second, Li Xuanba had his own methods.

As the saying goes, a new official burns three fires. Though five hundred of Li Shimin’s personal guard were old hands under Xuanba and obeyed him unconditionally, he still needed to establish authority. As was customary, Li Xuanba planned to pick out a few troublemakers for whipping, beating with military rods, or even executing them as an example.

Li Mingyu, as a modern man, could not bear such severity. Against enemies, he had no qualms about killing, but among his own, who shared the same pot and spoon, the death of any brother pained him. He suggested instead that troublemakers be stripped and hung on the flagpole for the whole army to mock, humiliating them into compliance. If anyone remained shameless, they would be locked in a small dark room for solitary confinement.

The small dark room designed by Li Mingyu differed greatly from modern confinement cells. Its walls were tightly covered with black cloth, letting in not a sliver of light. The room was only three feet in length, width, and height—too small to stand upright or lie down, forcing the occupant to crouch and huddle. Even trying to stretch would result in bumping one’s head. In such a cramped, silent, pitch-black space, with no sense of time, the psychological torment alone could drive a man mad. Even the most rugged soldiers could not withstand this; if someone lasted a day without weak legs upon release, he was already an extraordinary man.

In the afternoon, aside from regular training in horsemanship, swordsmanship, and formation charges, new competitive exercises were introduced. The thousand armored cavalry were divided into ten teams for paired combat. Spearheads were replaced with cloth bundles soaked in lime, sabers wrapped in lime-coated white cloth. Their armor was pitch black, so the lime marks stood out; any lime on chest, abdomen, or helmet signified “death” in the exercise.

To foster teamwork and coordination, they were grouped into teams of ten, carrying logs as thick as a man’s embrace, competing in relay races by hundred-man units.

To nurture courage, even in the face of fire and peril, a giant iron ring, ten feet high and six feet wide, was set up, blazing with fire. Soldiers had to ride blindfolded horses through the flaming ring and other similar trials.

Each team competed fiercely; the first place was rewarded with fine food and meat, while the last place had only dry cakes with pickled vegetables. If a team ranked last for three days in a row, the entire squad was stripped and made to run naked around Tiger Gate Pass.