Chapter 27: I Admit Defeat to You

  Seeing Li Shimin's appearance, Du He knew that his guess was not wrong.

  Li Shimin, after all, was a man who had seen the world, and in just a moment he regained his composure. He nodded to Du He and said: "As you said, my Tang Dynasty cavalry is severely lacking. I have been worried about this matter recently, but I don't know how you saw it?"

  Du He smiled calmly and said, "Actually, this is not a problem at all. My China has been an agricultural nation since ancient times, with the people mainly engaged in farming, not skilled in riding and shooting. It's just that my Tang Dynasty is even more superior. Uncle Li, think about the life of the common people in my Tang Dynasty. From birth, they either study or do farm work during their childhood, and after getting married and starting a family, they become militia, working in the fields during busy seasons and training in the government offices during idle times. In their lifetime, how much time can they spare to learn riding and shooting? Unless it's those brave warriors who like riding and shooting, who would use their limited time to practice riding and shooting? So, guessing this point is not surprising."

  Li Shimin nodded in agreement, Du He's words were simple and easy to understand, but they were eternal truths that had not changed for thousands of years.

  "The nomadic tribes are different from us, they are a nomadic people, everyone grows up on horseback, extremely skilled in riding and shooting. Even if someone is born with a mental disability, let him ride a horse for twenty years, he will still be a first-rate cavalryman, this is the biggest difference between our agricultural nation and the nomadic nation."

  Li Shimin was also quite clear about this, so he would be worried about it.

  For no one knew better than he the importance of cavalry.

  Li Shimin was a born king and a natural military talent.

  At the age of 18, Li Shimin began his campaign for the throne, leading the Tang army in battles across the north and south.

  Li Shimin had a characteristic in battle, which was to seek victory through stability and to move only after careful planning. Whenever he fought against the enemy, Li Shimin mostly took defense as the main strategy, putting himself in an invincible position, and then sought opportunities to launch a counterattack.

  When attacking, Li Shimin had another characteristic. He liked to let the main force go forward and fight, then led a small team himself, personally charging and breaking through the enemy's camp.

  This troop is precisely the mysterious and powerful Xuan Jia Army that shakes heaven and earth.

  "The Book of History" records the Xuanjia Army as follows: "King Qin Shuming selected over a thousand elite cavalrymen, all wearing black clothes and dark armor, divided into left and right squads, with Qin Shibao, Cheng Zhijie, Wei Rui and Di Changsun leading them separately. In every battle, Shuming personally wore the Xuanjia armor to lead as vanguard, advancing at the right moment to attack, wherever they went, they crushed the enemy without exception, and the enemy feared them. The imperial court's emissary, Qu Tutong, and Duke of Zanhuang, Dou Gui, led troops to inspect the camps, suddenly encountering Wang Shichong, but the battle was unfavorable. King Qin Shuming led the Xuanjia Army to rescue them, Shichong suffered a great defeat, capturing his cavalry general Ge Yanzhang, taking prisoner and beheading over 6,000 people, Shichong fled back.

  Although this text is short, the combat effectiveness and role of the Xuānjǐa Army can be seen. Li Shimin almost always led by example in every battle, wearing his black armor himself, leading the cavalry like a dark cloud pressing towards the enemy formation, with an overwhelming momentum, plus the elite of the Xuānjǐa Army itself, almost invincible.

  In addition, the most brilliant campaign of the Tang Dynasty against foreign tribes was Li Jing's war to destroy the Eastern Turks.

  In the third year of the Zhenguan era, in August, Tang Taizong accepted the suggestion of Zhang Gongjin, the military governor of Dai Prefecture, and decided to launch a campaign against the Eastern Turks. He appointed Li Jing, the Minister of War, as the commander-in-chief of the Dingxiang campaign, with Zhang Gongjin as his deputy, and launched a powerful military offensive. He also appointed Li Ji, the military governor of Bing Prefecture, Chai Shao, the prefect of Hua Prefecture, Xue Wantche, the grand general of Ling Prefecture, and others as commanders-in-chief of various routes, leading an army of several hundred thousand soldiers to launch a pincer attack on the Turks.

  In the first month of the fourth year of the Zhenguan era, a strong north wind was blowing. Li Jing led three thousand elite cavalrymen out of Maiyi, advancing towards Eyang Ridge despite the severe cold. The Qaghan did not expect the Tang army to suddenly appear, and his generals were shocked and lost color in their faces. They judged that if the Tang army had not come with all its might, Li Jing would not have ventured so deep into enemy territory alone, and thus they were "startled several times a day". When Li Jing learned of this, he secretly ordered his spies to sow discord among the Qaghan's inner circle, and the Qaghan's trusted advisor Kangsu Mi came over to surrender. Li Jing immediately launched an attack on Dingxiang, and under cover of night, he stormed into the city and captured Yang Zhengdao, son of Emperor Yang of Sui, as well as Empress Xiao of the previous emperor. The Qaghan fled in panic to Hetuo.

  This battle directly decided the outcome of this war. Although later Qilian Khan repeatedly defended, he was always struggling in desperation.

  Although this battle was attributed to Li Jing's military talent that was beyond ordinary human capabilities, the contributions of the three thousand cavalrymen were undeniable.

  Cavalry is used well, three thousand can decide the outcome of victory or defeat, but if there are thirty thousand, or even three hundred thousand, would they not be invincible in the world?

  So, Li Shimin always attached great importance to the development of cavalry, and the Tang Dynasty was the only dynasty in history that never lacked horses. According to historical records, in just one place, Longxi, Li Shimin raised 700,000 military horses. Every time he went on a campaign, not only did the cavalry have several horses each, but even the infantrymen could afford to be assigned one warhorse per person to ride and hurry along the way.

  The Great Tang Dynasty lacked not war horses, but knights who rode them, and the knights who could conquer the world for the Great Tang Dynasty.

  "Now that you understand this point, is there any way to solve it?" Li Shimin didn't have much hope in his heart, but since they had already talked about it, he just casually asked.

  "There's no good way... but there is a stupid way!" Du He had already thought of a backup plan and smiled mysteriously.

  Li Shimin initially showed a hint of regret on his face, but after hearing the last part, he revealed a hint of expectation: "A stupid method is still better than no method at all!"

  "Does Uncle Li know polo?" Du He asked.

  "It is well known that in Cao Zhi's 'Mingdu Pian', there is a poem that says: 'Riders strike the ball, cleverly pushing it to all sides.' I also play with it when I have nothing to do, and I think it's quite interesting, it really tests one's horsemanship." Li Shimin said, his eyes suddenly shining brightly as he understood Du He's intention. Delighted, he exclaimed: "You mean to popularize the game of polo?"

  "Uncle Li is wise and powerful, Du He is impressed!" Du He also patted Li Shimin's horse slightly and smiled: "The advantage of nomadic nations, we can't compare at all. But we can vigorously promote polo, let polo enter thousands of households, everyone learns, everyone will play a few rounds, after a long time, the people will naturally be skilled in riding, with some training can become cavalry. In this way, it may not be comparable to those horseback nations, but at least there is a good foundation, and it's not that we can't even get on horseback."

  Li Shimin immediately fell into thought, his fingers tapping on the table in sequence, making a "dang dang dang" sound.

  "This idea is indeed good, but there are big problems. Firstly, the horses in the common people's homes are mostly short and sturdy for farming, secondly, this horse ball game is after all a form of entertainment, wanting it to sweep across the entire Tang Dynasty is not easy."

  Li Shimin is indeed Li Shimin, and with just a little thought, he has asked the two questions in the most critical places.

  "This matter is difficult to say, yet it's quite simple! Du He had already made up his mind."

  "Come on, tell me quickly!" Li Shimin's tone was somewhat excited.

  Du He smiled and said, "The key still lies with you, Uncle Li. As long as you take the lead in organizing a polo league, issue an order to all the prefectures of the Great Tang, let them proclaim it to the world and call on polo teams from all over to participate in the competition. Let each place select two teams to come to Chang'an for the final match. The winner will receive a trophy designed by Uncle Li himself, as well as a generous reward. Through this competitive method, let polo become an integral part of the people's lives."

  Du He was talking with Li Shimin about the NBA league's progress, and at the emotional moments, he even danced with joy, describing a beautiful blueprint.

  Li Shimin listened with his eyes wide with wonder and couldn't help but applaud and exclaim "Bravo!"

  Finally, he sighed and said: "Xian nephew, you are indeed a genius, I admire you!"