Transmigrated into Li Chengqian, he effortlessly ascended the throne and became emperor.

Li Shimin's roar was like a boulder thrown into a deep pool, stirring up ripples in the deathly silence of Wulongban.

There was no expected barrage of arrows.

On the contrary, an uncontrollable commotion arose in the originally solemn Turkic army formation.

Those men who grew up on horseback, those grassland warriors who believed in the Eternal Heaven and the scimitar, were now craning their necks through the misty rain, eager to see the figure standing on horseback before the mud.

"The King of Qin...that's the King of Qin of the Tang Dynasty?"

Whispers carried on the wind and rain, tinged with a trembling almost awe.

A person's name, a tree's shadow.

Even in this remote border region, the name Li Shimin has long been a living legend.

At the age of eighteen, he raised an army, defeated Xue Ju, pacified Liu Wuzhou, and captured Dou Jiande. Every inch of the blood-stained soil on this Central Plains seems to tell the story of this young man's illustrious military achievements.

To the Turks, who worshipped the strong, Li Shimin was not prey, but a fierce tiger worthy of the wrath of all wolves.

On Wulong Slope, the black wolf-head banner swayed slightly, as if it too was shaken by the imposing aura.

Li Shimin reined in his horse and stood still, letting the rain drip down his cold, hard jawline.

He heard the commotion and saw the hesitation in the eyes of the Turkic cavalry.

This is exactly what he wanted.

"Are you scared?" Li Shimin sneered inwardly.

At this moment, the hundred armored cavalrymen behind him had long since turned into clay statues, with only their heavy breathing revealing their inner tension.

It was a deathly silence.

Li Shimin knew that the timing wasn't right.

Simply standing here is not enough to completely shatter the Turks' psychological defenses.

He needs to go further and make this bet burn even brighter.

Thus, under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands of people, the King of Qin of the Tang Dynasty made a move that left both sides breathless.

Li Shimin gently squeezed the horse's belly.

"drive."

The warhorse neighed loudly, its hooves crushing the mud and shattering everyone's moral bottom line.

step.

Two steps.

Li Shimin did not retreat or hold his ground, but instead advanced once again towards the vast Turkic cavalry covering the mountains and plains.

"Your Highness!" The adjutant behind him cried out, his eyes wide with fury, almost rushing out of formation. "No! That's within firing range!"

"Step back!"

Li Shimin didn't even turn his head; he simply flicked his riding whip backward to stop anyone from following.

And so, all alone, on this stormy afternoon, he charged toward ten thousand enemies who could shoot him into a pincushion at any moment.

However, the pace of the charge was very slow, as slow as a leisurely stroll.

One hundred and fifty steps.

One hundred steps.

Eighty steps.

This distance was practically handing their necks to the blade for the Turks, who were skilled in mounted archery.

If any Turkic soldier on the hillside were to twitch a finger, the history of the Tang Dynasty would be rewritten.

The air seemed to freeze.

The sound of raindrops hitting the armor now sounded as deafening as war drums.

Li Shimin could clearly see the taut muscles on the faces of the Turkic cavalrymen in the front row, and the curve of the bowstrings being pulled taut in their hands.

The aura of death was so strong that it was almost impossible to breathe.

But he was still smiling.

He made the right bet.

Because he dared to venture out alone, because he dared to expose his chest to the enemy's arrows without any defense, the naturally suspicious Turks dared not move.

"Is he courting death? Or... is it a trap?"

Once this idea took root in the minds of the Turks, it spread like a plague.

As they watched the man slowly approaching in the rain, they felt, for a moment, that he wasn't a person at all, but an insurmountable mountain, a meticulously laid trap.

If it's a trap, are tens of thousands of elite Tang soldiers lying in ambush all around in this muddy area?

If it wasn't a trap, where did the confidence on the King of Qin's face come from?

Fear stems from the unknown.

Li Shimin used his own life to weigh a tremendous weight on the hearts of the Turks.

Finally, he stopped just sixty paces from the Turkic formation.

Li Shimin slowly raised his head, his gaze passing over the trembling soldiers in the front row, and accurately locking onto the person surrounded in the center—Tuli Khan.

The man wearing a tiger skin was now looking at him with suspicion and uncertainty.

"Tuli!"

Li Shimin spoke.

"How long are you going to hide in there and keep watching?"

Li Shimin pointed his horsewhip out as if it were pointing not at the enemy commander, but at a subordinate who had made a mistake.

On the hillside, Tuli Khan's face turned extremely ugly.

Although the Turkic tribes nominally served as the rulers of Khagan Jieli, each tribe still maintained a great deal of independence, and Tuli and other special agents wielded considerable power.

Moreover, Tuli was Jieli's younger brother and commanded several tribes. According to the Turkic custom of succession by brother, Tuli was Jieli's legitimate heir, making the relationship between the two quite delicate.

Li Shimin was clearly aware of this.

"I remember now..."

Li Shimin suddenly laughed.

"Back then, on the banks of the Wei River, you also made a bold statement, vowing to become brothers with me, to share joys and sorrows, and to never betray me!"

These words immediately caused an uproar in the Turkic camp.

Sworn brothers?

This is the most sacred vow on the grassland.

Although for politicians, an alliance is nothing more than a piece of paper, being publicly exposed as a traitor in front of a vast army is nothing short of a resounding slap in the face for a steppe Khan who values ​​his reputation above all else.

Tuli felt his face burning, and his palms, gripping the saber, were covered in cold sweat.

Of course he remembers.

But he didn't expect that Li Shimin would dare to bring up this old story in public at this time, in such a desperate situation.

Li Shimin's eyes gleamed even brighter as he watched Tuli's ever-changing expression.

He spurred his horse forward again, taking a dozen or so steps closer.

These dozen or so steps completely shattered Tuli's last psychological defenses.

Li Shimin is now completely within the absolute killing range of the Turkic cavalry.

Even a child could be hit with an arrow from this distance.

But no one dared to make a move.

The battlefield, which once housed tens of thousands of people, had now become Li Shimin's stage all by himself.

He stood proudly before the army, his black armor gleaming from the rain, like an invincible war god.

"Tuli Khan!"

Li Shimin's voice suddenly rose in pitch.

"You swore an alliance with me, promising to come to my aid in times of emergency. Why are you going back on your word now?!"

This question was righteous and full of conviction.

Inside the command tent a few meters away, Jieli's eyes flashed.

Could it be that Li Shimin dared to launch a solo attack, or was he plotting something with his younger brother?