Chapter 116: Reinforcements from the North!

"Giddyup!"
"Giddyup!"

On the vast plain, over three hundred warhorses galloped in a frantic escape. As the soldiers pressed forward, they kept glancing back at the dust clouds behind them, clearly seeing a terrifyingly large cavalry force closing in.

"Oh no! There are ambushes ahead as well!"

At the cry of a soldier, Li Shimin, mounted on his horse, saw clearly that a massive cavalry force was already lying in wait up ahead.

Seeing this, Li Shimin’s heart sank. Zhen Jie’er was indeed cunning—he was the rebel commander who had famously clashed with the veteran general Yang Yichen in the north.

Today, it seemed he would die here.

Even for someone like Li Shimin, facing a force dozens of times larger, with his men exhausted from days of continuous fighting and the enemy fully rested, he could not help but feel that his end had come.

"Gentlemen! We break through!"

Li Shimin spurred his horse, drew his heavy cavalry lance, and roared at his men. In his heart, he was determined: if he was to die, he would drag as many rebels down with him as he could.

Glancing back, his face streaked with dry blood, Li Shimin fixed his eyes on the enemy cavalry, searching for a weak point. He identified his target almost instantly.

"Charge!"
Li Shimin held the reins in one hand and hoisted his lance high with the other, shouting his command.

"Charge!"
"Charge!"

Behind him, the soldiers, ignoring their own peril, followed Li Shimin without hesitation, charging headlong into the oncoming sea of cavalry.

Dust filled the air. Li Shimin was the first to clash with the enemy.

Amidst the swirling chaos of the charge, he wielded his lance with both hands, cutting down rider after rider. Facing the relentless tide of enemy soldiers, he gripped his horse’s flanks tightly with his legs, parrying lances and blades while striking back with lethal precision.

Beside him and behind him, his loyal soldiers fought with equal ferocity. As rebel riders were unhorsed, the Sui soldiers also began to fall—either dying instantly or being finished off by the rebels' long spears.

"Charge!"
"Charge!"

Watching the battle unfold, Tang Zhenhao, who had been hunting the three hundred horsemen, split his massive cavalry force into two wings to outflank the battlefield.

"Charge!"

Li Shimin took an arrow to the shoulder, the shaft piercing his armor, but he ignored the pain, swinging his lance to knock a rebel soldier from his mount.

Yet, even at the weakest point of the enemy line, the sheer number of foes was overwhelming. Li Shimin’s own horse was struck by two arrows; blood could be seen streaming from the wounds as it labored to run.

"Quick!"

After cutting down a rebel, Li Shimin noticed one of his own men fall. He kicked his mount forward, slew another rebel, and then used his lance to strike the rump of his own horse, driving it toward the fallen soldier.

Seeing the man scramble onto the horse, Li Shimin felt a weight lift. In this battle, if he could save even one man, he would give his all to see it done.

However, after the chaotic clash, as Li Shimin led his remaining men through another charge, he saw that Zhen Jie’er had arrived with the main body of the rebel cavalry.

Li Shimin looked around at the two hundred men still standing and wiped the blood from his face.

"Gentlemen! It is I, Li Shimin, who has failed you! Today, I shall use this life of mine to carve a path of blood for your escape!"

Li Shimin’s eyes were filled with remorse as he spoke to his men.

"How can you say you have failed us!"
"That’s right! Even if we die, we’ll drag these rebel dogs to the underworld with us! Am I right?"
"Right! Charge!"

Hearing Li Shimin’s words and seeing his grief-stricken face, the soldiers shouted back defiantly. Facing thousands of rebel cavalry, they knew death was certain, but they felt no regret, held no grudge against their leader, and feared no end.

"Charge!"

Though there were only two hundred of them, and more than half were wounded, their combined roar and their utter lack of fear stirred the spirit of every man present.

"Good! Good! Today, I, Li Shimin, am honored to die alongside you all! I have no regrets in this life!"

Li Shimin shouted with fervor. Seeing the rebel cavalry he had just fought turning back to surround them, he gripped his reins, leveled his lance, and spurred his horse one last time.

"Charge!"

With a roar, he led his men toward the approaching rebel horde. The two hundred horsemen followed without a moment's hesitation.

As he galloped, Li Shimin’s thoughts turned to his wife, Guanyinbi. The only regret was that they had not yet had a child! All these years, she had cared for him so diligently and stayed by his mother's side day and night until the end.

Pushing these thoughts deep into his heart, he steeled his grip on his lance as the arrows began to rain down.

"Charge!"

In the moment of impact, Li Shimin swung his lance, felling the first wave of rebels. The pace was so furious he dared not let his focus slip for a second.

Yet, no matter how valiant he was, in such a hopeless situation, the first to give out was his horse.

As the beast stumbled and collapsed, Li Shimin rolled onto the ground. A veteran of the hunt, he rose instantly, drew his sword, and hamstrung the horse of an attacking rebel before finishing the rider off.

Pulling his blood-stained blade free, he looked around to see his men rushing to protect him as the rebel cavalry swarmed in to tighten the noose. Gasping for breath, Li Shimin knew death was at hand.

On the battlefield, Tang Zhenhao watched the dark mass of his troops surrounding the Sui soldiers with a cruel smile.

But before he could savor the victory, he spotted a group of cavalry emerging from a nearby hill.

*Wait, how are there more horsemen?*

It was an instinctive thought; he could not fathom a second ambush. But then, he saw the banners carried by the newcomers—a giant "Sui" character.

*The Sui army!*

Tang Zhenhao’s heart skipped a beat. Across the field, every rebel soldier realized the same thing.

As the endless tide of Sui cavalry charged down the hill, the rebels abandoned the siege of Li Shimin. They knew that in a large-scale cavalry engagement, if you fell behind, you would be surrounded and crushed.

"Kill them!"

Tang Zhenhao drew his sword and ordered his forces to meet the new threat.

"Charge!"

On the hill, Fu Zihou, leading Hu Jingyuan, Yin Tianzong, Cao Yong, and Xue Hong, charged with all his men toward the rebel army. Though they were outnumbered, these soldiers, having won victory after victory, felt no fear. They had prepared themselves for this moment when they decided to follow Fu Zihou out of the city.

"Charge!"

Amidst the thunder of war, Fu Zihou galloped, his eyes locked on the dense mass of rebels.

"Charge!"

He ducked a lance, countered with his own to strike a second rider, parried a third, and leaned back to avoid a spear from a fourth, all while dodging a blade from a fifth. His horse never slowed.

Behind him, his officers fought with desperate, lethal intent. In the thick of the fray, Fu Zihou was the fastest of them all. Guided by an uncanny instinct, he dodged every strike and arrow, while his own attacks were relentless, cutting down rebel after rebel. Seeing his fearlessness, the other Sui soldiers fought with savage intensity.

In the chaos, Fu Zihou caught sight of the young Sui commander who had been surrounded, now without a horse. Seeing the man's predicament, Fu Zihou veered his mount toward him. He thrust his lance into the ground and vaulted off his horse, dodging a spear and kicking a rebel from his own mount.

As the rebel fell, his horse reared high.

"Charge!"

Amidst the deafening roar of battle, Fu Zihou regained his balance, grabbed the reins of the riderless horse, and looked back at the charging rebels.

Seeing the young Sui warrior's gesture, Li Shimin, who had been shouting in alarm, watched in shock. He was stunned to see the youth not only survive a lethal attack but also seize an enemy mount.

*Who is he?*

This cavalry force bore the Sui banner and had come from the north. The only major city in the north was Jinyang. Seeing the youth's age, a thought crossed Li Shimin's mind, followed by an uncontrollable wave of excitement.

*Could it really be him?*

Li Shimin never expected that Jinyang, surrounded by rebels, would send reinforcements. As the youth’s horse galloped toward him, Li Shimin’s eyes burned with a mixture of hope and kinship. He longed to rush forward.

Knowing he had to wait for the battle to subside before they could speak, he stepped forward, grabbed the reins of the galloping horse, and swung himself onto its back.

In that moment, amidst the cacophony of the battlefield, as the young Sui warrior cut down another rebel, Li Shimin and the youth locked eyes.