Chapter 51

"Chose to believe!"

Princess Pingyang's words gave Luo Shixin a small shock; the feeling of being trusted was truly wonderful.

Luo Shixin joked, "Princess, aren't you afraid I might let you down, unable to withstand the Turkic attack, and retreat to the previously agreed ambush site, resulting in no ambush and the total annihilation of the army?"

Princess Pingyang smiled confidently and said, "Everything is under control. General Luo has been through many battles and is not an easy opponent. If the Turks can defeat you, their leader must be quite capable. I have already ordered my subordinates to lead a hundred men each to ambush on both sides of the mountain path. When the time is right, they will wave flags and shout, creating a false show of strength. I believe the enemy will not risk entering the valley to face an ambush for the remnants of your defeated troops."

Luo Shixin, who had only heard about Princess Pingyang's deeds and knew she was very capable, now personally experienced her wisdom and bravery. He sincerely gave her a thumbs up and said, "Impressive, truly impressive. Your Highness's strategy is both effective and elegant. I admire you, General Luo."

Princess Pingyang shook her head and said, "This is just a bit of cleverness. General Luo's victory over ten thousand Turkic troops with only two thousand five hundred men, including fewer than three hundred cavalry, is truly remarkable. To be honest, it feels like a dream to me, and I find it hard to imagine how such a feat was accomplished."

"Actually, it's not that complicated. Just like Li Mu of the Warring States period used chariots to defeat the Xiongnu, the key is to make targeted preparations. The Turkic cavalry is skilled in archery, so I countered them with strong crossbows. The Turkic cavalry has strong impact power, so I used long swords to block them. When they can neither shoot nor charge effectively, they are like tigers without claws or fangs." Luo Shixin said this with a bit of pride, although the long sword formation was historically created by Li Jing, he only knew the general idea and had to figure out many details himself. Achieving such results was a recognition of his efforts.

Princess Pingyang, intrigued, asked Luo Shixin to describe the process of defeating the enemy.

Luo Shixin, whose original intention in creating the long sword formation was to give the Tang Dynasty a fighting chance against the powerful Turks on the plains, did not keep it secret and explained the intricacies of the formation in detail.

Princess Pingyang listened in awe and sighed, "If this long sword formation is widely adopted, our Tang Dynasty will no longer fear the Turks in open battle." At this point, she suddenly stood up and bowed deeply, saying, "The contribution of the long sword formation created by General Luo to our Tang Dynasty is beyond words. On behalf of the Li Tang, I pay tribute to you, General."

"I just got some inspiration from books and made some improvements," Luo Shixin quickly stood up, waving his hands to indicate that Princess Pingyang should not be so formal. He felt a bit embarrassed: the long sword formation should belong to Li Jing, but Li Jing was currently in the south with Li Xiaogong, and had not yet faced the Turks or developed the formation. So, he wasn't lying; he did learn the long sword from books, just from a later era.

Seeing that Luo Shixin was not only wise and brave but also humble and courteous, Princess Pingyang developed a strong liking for him. During their rest, they chatted in detail.

Luo Shixin, more talkative and experienced than the historical martial fanatic, chatted about various topics, and their relationship became much closer.

Luo Shixin also took the opportunity to ask for advice on archery: it was strange, as archery and horsemanship were often used to describe the martial skills of generals throughout history. Luo Shixin was extremely brave and had excellent riding skills, but his archery was mediocre, which was quite disappointing.

When Princess Pingyang pursued the Turkic troops, she could shoot arrows from both sides or in rapid succession, hitting targets from a hundred paces away, which made Luo Shixin envious.

As their relationship grew closer, Luo Shixin couldn't help but ask for her guidance.

Princess Pingyang laughed, feeling quite pleased: getting a renowned general to ask for advice was no small feat.

Princess Pingyang did not keep it secret and explained the archery techniques in detail.

The Li family, a generation of military families, had extensive research on archery. Several generations of the Li family were known for their archery skills: Princess Pingyang's great-grandfather Li Hu was famous for his horsemanship and archery, her grandfather Li Bian could hit a coin from a hundred paces away with perfect accuracy, and her father Li Yuan could shoot through the eyes of a peacock screen from a hundred paces away. Her two younger brothers, Li Shimin and Li Yuanji, were also famous archers, especially Li Shimin, whose arrows were recorded in history as being unique and extremely powerful, making even the skilled Turkic archers consider him a god.

Their family's archery training methods were extremely effective and reasonable.

Luo Shixin memorized them and decided to put in more effort in this area in the future.

After resting for a while, Luo Shixin and Princess Pingyang rode back, gathering the stragglers along the way.

After the final tally, only a hundred or so Turkic riders managed to escape, while the main force was almost completely annihilated, suffering heavy casualties.

The Right Brave Guard Army only lost about five hundred men, and the surprise troops led by Princess Pingyang only suffered a hundred casualties, making their victory both easy and impressive.

They rested on the spot for a night, organized the captured war spoils, and then headed back to the Hebei war zone.

Due to the delay caused by the encounter with the Turkic troops, they increased their marching speed.

After passing through the Jingxing Pass, they headed straight for Dingzhou.

When they reached Hengzhou, Zhen Ding, Luo Shixin received news from the front lines of Dingzhou. Of course, the battle report from Luo Yi was not intended for him, but he happened to be nearby and overheard it.

Luo Yi, the dim-witted and boastful general, proudly reported his achievements: he had mobilized ten thousand cavalry from Youzhou and had driven the Turks out of Dingzhou three times, securing over three hundred heads. The report was filled with self-satisfaction and disdain for the Turks, stating that the Turks would flee at the sight of his banners.

Luo Shixin laughed, thinking this old man was shameless. After hearing his analysis, he shamelessly rushed to the front lines to claim credit, only managing to secure a pitiful three hundred heads after a long time.

In contrast, not long after the old man left, ten thousand Turkic cavalry came to them, and they managed to kill nearly ten thousand.

"Your Highness, look at how hard this Luo Yi works. Why don't we be generous and give him a thousand or so heads to make his report look a bit better? It would prevent the old man from feeling too unbalanced," Luo Shixin, already in a good mood, felt even more pleased.

Princess Pingyang couldn't help but roll her eyes. After a few days of interaction, she found that Luo Shixin's unpredictable personality had a bit of mischief, especially towards those he disliked or who had offended him, he would not hesitate to smear and mock them.