My wife, Wei Gui, was 1.9 meters tall and fought against the Tang dynasty for the throne.

At the front of the Xia army's formation, as the flag gate opened, Dou Jiande rode out on horseback.

He was still bandaged, and the arrow wound in his left shoulder had not yet healed, but he sat upright on his horse.

"Send grain to the Gentleman's Pavilion to supply the imperial army and jointly defend against the barbarian cavalry."

Du Bi laughed.

"Li Ju and you are mortal enemies. You were besieging Leshou when he laid siege to the city for days, nearly killing you. Now you're sending him supplies—Dou Jiande, have you been beaten senseless, or have you lost your backbone?"

Dou Jiande looked at him but didn't reply.

Duobi stopped laughing, and her tone became more serious, carrying a hint of heartfelt sincerity.

"Li Ju is using the emperor to command the world, a story of a powerful minister acting like Cao Cao, which is known to all. The Khan's trip south this time is not intended to make things difficult for you—on the contrary, the Khan wants to help you get rid of this powerful minister, Li Ju."

He pointed to the Turkic cavalry behind him.

"If the King of Xia were willing to offer you provisions, allowing you to maintain your control over Hebei and continue as a regional ruler, wouldn't that be better than forming an alliance with your enemy?"

Dou Jiande's expression suddenly turned cold, and he said in a deep voice:

"Damn it! My conflict with Li Ju is an internal strife within the Central Plains—a struggle for the throne and for legitimacy."

"But you Turks have crossed the border to slaughter, plunder counties, and massacre the elders of the Lonely River region—"

His voice suddenly rose in pitch.

"This is an enemy of our own country! This is a foreign threat!"

"You claim to help me, but your hands are stained with the blood of Hebei people! Your true intention has always been to invade and occupy the Central Plains!"

Dubi's face darkened.

"Dou Jiande! I'm giving you good advice, don't be ungrateful!"

"I respect you as a hero of Hebei, which is why I am speaking to you so kindly. If you are willing to submit to the Turks, you can still retain a piece of land and establish yourself as king."

"If you remain so stubborn—my ten thousand iron cavalry will trample through this place, leaving not a blade of grass standing. Do you think your remaining troops, along with tens of thousands of laborers carrying shoulder poles, can stop us?"

Dou Jiande drew his sword, the blade reflecting the sunlight.

"I know that the disparity in strength is too great, and I may not survive this battle."

He stood with his sword drawn, staring at Dubi.

"Internal strife can be resolved, but external hatred is irreconcilable! To avenge the people of Hebei who perished—even if it means death, we will fight!"

Duobi slowly nodded and turned his horse around.

"Fine, then you can die here!"

Meanwhile, Ling Jing had already completed the defensive deployment during the brief pause in their conversation.

The heavy grain carts were pushed to the front of the battle line, one after another, linked end to end, and secured with iron chains, stretching for dozens of feet horizontally.

Shooting gaps were left between the chariots, with spearmen crouching behind them and archers standing on the chariot shafts.

The laborers were placed at the innermost part of the defense line, carrying arrows and delivering food, and the entire defensive line was erected quietly.

Duobi's attention was entirely focused on the conversation. By the time he turned his horse around and ordered a charge, a new siege tower had already been erected in front of the Xia army's lines.

Seeing that his persuasion had failed, he became enraged and swung his curved sword forward.

"All troops, charge!"

Ten thousand Turkic cavalrymen roared out.

Horse hooves trampled the withered grass on Boye Plain, and dust filled the sky.

But when they rushed to the front of the Xia army's formation, they were met with spears thrusting out from between the chariots and arrows shot from the chariot shafts.

The cavalry in the front row crashed into the grain carts, causing the horses to rear up and the riders to fall to the ground.

Spearmen behind the chariot thrust fiercely through the gaps between the chariots, while archers rained down arrows, and Turkic cavalrymen were constantly shot down.

However, the Turkic cavalry's charging power was truly astonishing. Men and horses charged forward one after another, crashing into the wagon fortresses with a creaking sound. The Xia army suffered continuous casualties, and the defensive line was forced to retreat step by step.

Seeing the critical situation, Wang Fubao gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and spurred his horse to Dou Jiande.

"Your Majesty! This humble general requests permission to lead a thousand cavalrymen out of the fortress and launch a counterattack to delay the barbarian cavalry!"

"This humble general does not seek to survive today, but only to kill more barbarians and avenge the lives of the people of the northern border!"

Wang Fubao's eyes were filled with fire, and Dou Jiande looked at him and remained silent for a moment.

"Come back alive."

Wang Fubao mounted his horse, raising his spear in his hand.

"My lords of Hebei, follow me—to your deaths, to slay the barbarians!"

More than a thousand cavalrymen charged out from the flank of the wagon fortress with a roar like a tsunami.

Wang Fubao charged at the forefront, his spear swirling like the wind, taking down several men in succession.

The cavalry behind him charged desperately, and the Turkic flank was forced to retreat.

But ten thousand cavalrymen were far too many. When Wang Fubao's thousand men charged in, it was like a knife plunging into water; once the water closed in, the knife was gone.

Wang Fubao was struck by several arrows, and his thousand cavalrymen fell one after another, their warhorses neighing mournfully, their swords breaking and their men exhausted.

This counter-charge was ultimately swallowed up by the Turkic iron hooves, and Wang Fubao and his horse were scattered.

Although Xia Jun's chariots and fortifications were brave, they could not withstand the repeated attacks of ten thousand cavalry. The defensive line was on the verge of collapse and was in imminent danger.

Just then, dust suddenly rose from the side and rear of Boye Plain, and a Sui army banner rushed towards them against the wind.

Li Xiuning arrived with three thousand female soldiers.

When Dubi saw the flag in the distance, he was startled.

But when the dust settled and they saw that only three thousand riders had come, they couldn't help but feel relieved, and a smile appeared on their lips.

"Li Ju is so cowardly! With a formidable enemy at hand, he only dares to send this small force to their deaths?"

He turned around and said to a general beside him.

"Ashina Nima!"

"exist."

"I'll give you three thousand cavalry; go and crush this reinforcement army!"

Ashina Nima accepted the order and led three thousand cavalrymen away from the main force to meet Li Xiuning in the direction he was heading.

Li Xiuning stood at the front of the formation, her precious carved bow already fully drawn.

Two thousand archers lined up behind him, galloping forward to meet him.

Before the Turkic cavalry could even get out of range, she gave the order first.

"Release the arrows!"

Two thousand bows were released simultaneously, unleashing a rain of arrows. The Turkic cavalry charging ahead were caught off guard and were shot off their horses one after another.

Ashina Nima was greatly alarmed—he never expected that this cavalry force from the Central Plains would be so skilled in mounted archery.

In his understanding, most of the cavalry in the Central Plains were used to charging with weapons, and very few were skilled in mounted archery.

But amidst his astonishment, a glint of greed appeared in his eyes: those who could ride and shoot must be the elite of the elite.

Li Ju's decision to send out such an elite cavalry force alone presented him with a golden opportunity to annihilate them and achieve merit!

"Full speed ahead! Fire back!"

The Turkic cavalry spurred their horses into a charge, firing back as they charged.

But after Li Xiuning finished firing a volley, he immediately turned his horse around, and the archer cavalry retreated en masse, widening the distance again.

All the arrows fired by the Turkic cavalry missed their mark.

Upon seeing this, Ashina Nima did not get angry but laughed instead.

"The Sui army is elite, yet cowardly as mice! Pursue them! Don't let them escape! Annihilate them all, and it will be a great achievement!"

Three thousand Turkic cavalrymen pursued relentlessly, galloping all the way.

After chasing for a while, the fleeing horse archers suddenly parted to the left and right, clearing the way ahead.

As the dust settled, eight hundred heavily armored infantrymen wielding longswords were already arrayed and blocking the road.

Their armor gleamed in the sun, their formation tight, like a moving iron wall.

Kan Leng stood at the front of the formation, holding a long sword in each hand. The blades were broad and thick, with a cold, menacing edge.

Ashina Nima's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Recall the horse! Recall the horse quickly!"

That's too late.

The Turkic cavalry charged too fiercely, their horses unable to stop, and crashed straight into the formation of long-handled swords.

Kan Leng shouted loudly.

"Slay the barbarians!"

Eight hundred Mo swords slashed down simultaneously.

Where the blade flashed, men and horses were shattered, and blood mist splattered everywhere.

Most of the Turkic cavalry wore only leather armor or even no armor at all, and were no match for the heavy longswords.

The Turkic cavalry who charged into the formation fell like strangulation cages, one after another, never to return.

At the same time, Li Xiuning's archer cavalry, who had previously feigned retreat, had already turned their horses around and were flanking and encircling the enemy from both sides.

Arrows rained down from both sides, trapping the Turkic cavalry in the middle, unable to advance or retreat, making them easy targets.

Dou Xianniang charged at the forefront of the horse archers, her eyes bloodshot. She saw the Turks as if they were her enemies, and she charged into the battle like a madwoman.

With a pear blossom spear, he thrust left and right, stabbing several riders in succession.