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

The guards brought him the medicine, but he pushed it away and refused to drink it, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve.

Kang Qiaoli took half a step forward, his brows furrowed.

"Khan, with the loss of Lingqiu, there are several things we must consider."

"Li Jing is skilled in cavalry raids. This time, he succeeded in capturing Lingqiu and seized countless warhorses. If he leads his troops westward, he can launch a surprise attack on the Dingxiang headquarters—"

"The military camp is thousands of miles away, and alarms are slow to be transmitted. Although the garrison is sufficient, Li Jing's military tactics are always unpredictable. What if..."

"What if what?" Shi Bi's voice turned somber.

"If the military camp is lost, the Khan will be like a tree without roots in Hebei."

A series of low gasps rose from inside the tent.

Lipher stepped forward.

"Khan, what Kang Qiaoli said is one thing, but there are deeper hidden dangers."

"We suffered heavy losses on our southward expedition. Once news of our defeat spreads throughout the northern deserts, the Xueyantuo and Tiele tribes, who already harbored rebellious intentions, will surely seize the opportunity to break away from the Turks after seeing the Khan's setback in the Central Plains."

Shi Bi slowly raised his hand to wipe away the bloodstains remaining at the corner of his mouth, his eagle eyes surging with endless resentment.

Forty thousand cavalrymen marched south, crossed mountains and passes, and entered Hebei.

At that time, he was full of vigor and thought that the heroes of the Central Plains were fighting for power, and Li Ju was coming to the north alone. Everything was under his control.

Li Ju is trapped in the Gentleman's Pavilion. If the enemy in front of him is defeated, the gates to the Central Plains will be wide open.

Who would have thought that Li Jing's small force would dare to venture out alone and wipe out Chi Ji's Lingqiu camp overnight.

Even more unexpectedly, the 10,000 cavalrymen of Duobi who went around to attack the grain supply were actually surrounded and annihilated.

What about the Junzi Pavilion? Li Ju relied on the dikes and embankments of the lake and lake to set up defenses layer by layer, with trenches and barricades one after another. He launched several strong attacks, but suffered heavy losses and could not make an inch of progress.

They advanced, but the dikes were like an impregnable fortress; no matter how many soldiers they filled in, it would be a bottomless pit.

The retreat resulted in the loss of more than half of the 40,000 cavalry, and a fruitless return north. Where was the prestige of the Ashina tribe now? Seeing this, which of the other tribes still took him, their Khan, seriously?

Just as they were in agony, the tent flap was suddenly flung open, and a scout scrambled in.

"Khan! Urgent report from Jundu Pass—Luo Yi led all the elite troops from Youzhou in a surprise attack on the pass, and the entire defending force was killed in battle! Ashina Misha has been killed in action! Jundu Pass... is lost!"

The tent exploded with a deafening roar.

"Jundu Pass lost? The main road back north is cut off!"

"Wasn't that old dog Luo Yi supposed to be keeping the city under lockdown? Why did he suddenly send troops out!"

"With our escape route cut off, won't we be trapped in Hebei?"

After finishing, he slammed his hand on the table: "What's the panic!"

Everyone shut up, but their faces grew increasingly grim.

Kang Qiaoli took a deep breath, stepped forward, and stood in the tent.

"Don't panic, everyone. There is only one way to go now."

"With Feihu Pass in Li Jing's hands, this road is impassable. The mountain passes of Puyin and Jingxing are winding and narrow, making it difficult to transport grain and cavalry to maneuver. Ambushes can be set up everywhere along the way."

"Now that our rear is cut off and supplies are hard to come by, if we stay here for too long, we will be in dire straits once our food runs out."

"Your Majesty, I implore you to make a decisive move—abandon the assault on Junziguan, withdraw the entire army, gather the troops from all units, reorganize the supplies, and choose a strategic pass to slowly retreat north, thus preserving the remaining fresh troops."

"As long as the core of the royal family remains, the foundation of the grasslands will not collapse."

The tent remained quiet for a long time.

Shi Bi's cheeks were taut, and resentment felt like a thorn stuck in his chest.

But with multiple crises looming ahead, he couldn't afford to gamble away his last remaining resources.

"Order—all units to break camp, with Ashina's main force covering the rear. Send out more scouts ahead of Puyin Pass to investigate ambushes along the way, and withdraw in batches when the opportunity arises."

"yes!"

As military orders were issued one after another, the Turkic camp began to quietly prepare for its breakup and retreat.

Gentleman's Pavilion, the central military camp.

A scout hurried inside.

"Reporting to the Grand Chancellor, the Turkic camps have begun to gather their troops, dismantle the barricades outside their camps, and the scouts are no longer coming to probe. Judging from the signs, they are about to withdraw."

Both the civil and military officials in the tent breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Baiyao was the first to cup his hands and say, "Prime Minister, you have already accomplished a great feat by forcing the Turks to retreat, saving the counties of Hebei from slaughter, and saving the people. We should not pursue the fleeing enemy further and need not take any more great risks."

Xue Shou followed up, saying, "Chong Gui is right. The Central Plains are divided among warlords, and the local strongmen have not yet been pacified. Our elite troops are precious, and we cannot afford to waste them here fighting the Turkic cavalry. Let them retreat, and we can then focus on dealing with Shandong and the Jianghuai region. That is the proper course of action."

Pei Renji also spoke up: "This humble general has long been experienced in border affairs, and the Turkic cavalry is unparalleled in open field battles. Although our army has a numerical advantage, most of our troops are infantry. If we were to cross the dikes and engage in a decisive battle on the open plains, our casualties would be extremely heavy. Even if we were to win in the end, it would be a Pyrrhic victory, which would not be conducive to pacifying the world in the future."

Li Ju stood alone before the map, silent, his gaze sweeping over the Gentleman's Pavilion and looking north.

Xue Shou sensed this and tentatively asked, "Grand Chancellor... do you have other plans?"

"You have only seen the retreat of the Turks and the temporary peace in Hebei, but you have not seen the long-term disaster."

"Today, if Shi Bi were to escape safely with this fresh force, it would be like releasing a tiger back into the mountains."

"If he returns to the southern desert and consolidates his power, he can still rally the various tribes to march south again. The northern border will never be peaceful, and the Turks can intervene in the civil war in the Central Plains at any time, hindering our great cause of pacifying the world."

"Now is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—in the battles of Boye and Lingqiu, the Turks have already lost 20,000 cavalry, their morale has plummeted, and their retreat is restricted at every turn."

"If we can bury the remaining fresh troops of Shi Bi in Hebei, the Turks will be severely weakened and will be unable to launch a large-scale invasion to the south for at least ten years."

Pei Renji frowned and stood up: "Prime Minister, on the plains, infantry are no match for the Turkic cavalry. Forcing a battle will come at too high a price!"

"Who said we should go out from behind the dikes and engage them in open battle? In a decisive battle on the plains, our army is naturally no match for the Turkic cavalry. But to eliminate this force, we may not necessarily need to launch a preemptive attack—"

Li Ju tapped his fingers twice on the map, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"I have my own way of making them come to this Gentleman's Pavilion's embankment prison to their deaths."

-

At the Turkic camp, Shi Bizheng finalized the order of evacuation with the special forces.

A personal guard reported: "Khan, an envoy from the Sui army has come to request an audience on the orders of Li Ju, bringing generous gifts."

The chieftains in the tent were taken aback.

"Li Ju sent an envoy with gifts?" Silif stroked his chin. "Could it be that he wants to sue for peace?"

Shi Bi thought the same thing.

It must be that Li Ju, seeing that they were about to withdraw their troops, did not want to continue their deadly feud, so he specially sent an envoy with gifts to seek peace.

Having just vomited blood, morale in the tent was low. If Li Ju took the initiative to make amends, he could use this incident to salvage some face and appease the people of the various units.

"Summon all special agents and tribal chiefs to gather in the tent to receive the envoy."

Before long, the tent was packed with people, as leaders from various tribes came to see what was going on.

The Sui envoy was led in, followed by several soldiers carrying a large, ornately decorated wooden box. The box was painted with gold and colorful designs, making it look very valuable.

The envoy, dressed in a scholar's robe, appeared calm and composed, and performed his greetings with utmost respect, showing no arrogance whatsoever.

"Khan, my Grand Chancellor has sent me to present a small gift as a token of my respect."

The crowd gathered around, whispering amongst themselves.

"Li Ju is quite sensible."

"Is the box filled with gold, jade, and brocade? I've heard that the Prime Minister's mansion in the Central Plains is incredibly wealthy."

"Open it and see, open it and see!"

He was beaming with joy after finishing, his previous dejection completely gone.

"Unboxing."

Two guards stepped forward, unfastened the clasps of the wooden crate, and lifted the lid upwards.

The murmurs that filled the tent fell silent instantly.

There was no gold or brocade in the box, only a set of exquisite women's clothes, with hairpins and jewelry neatly arranged on top.

The chieftains, who had just been laughing and joking, were dumbfounded and looked at each other in disbelief.

Shi Bi's face turned from red to white, then from white to green, and his hand rested on the hilt of his knife.

"What is Li Ju's purpose in sending you this item?"

The envoy remained calm and composed, cupping his hands in greeting.

"My Grand Chancellor said: 'The Khan commands ten thousand cavalry in the southern desert and has always been renowned for his bravery and might on the grasslands. All the tribes around him regard the Khan as a role model for men. Now he has raised an army and entered Hebei, but has already stopped his troops at Junziguan. Before even engaging in a decisive battle, he is already planning to lead his troops far away.'"

"A true man should face battle and decide victory on the battlefield. To cower in fear and avoid confrontation, to dare not engage in a glorious battle—how is such behavior any different from that of a woman?"

"The Grand Chancellor has no other intention than to present this woman's garment to symbolize the Khan's womanly actions. If the Khan insists on leading his army back north—please wear this garment when you return. Go back to your tent in peace and be your womanly Khan, and need not mention the might of the steppe cavalry any longer."

After he finished speaking, the tent fell into a deathly silence.

Enraged, Shi Bi drew his sword and cleaved it in two from the wooden box, scattering the woman's clothes across the ground.

"That brat Li Ju—"