I, the military god of the Tang Dynasty, have risen since I destroyed the Turks

Chapter 750: Sweeping the Rebels
The autumn wind blew up the yellow sand, sweeping across the two armies facing each other on the plain. Li Zheng reined in his horse and stood in front of the Tang army. His cold eyes penetrated the flying dust and stared directly at the large flag embroidered with the word "Wu" in the center of the rebel army. He was wearing Mingguang armor, and his face under the helmet was as firm as a knife, and his jawline was tight, revealing his unquestionable majesty.

"Your Majesty, the rebels' formation is loose, and the vanguard seems to be wavering." Hou Junji drove his horse forward and said in a low voice. The battle-hardened general's eyes flashed with fighting spirit, and the long spear in his hand was already thirsty.

Li Zheng did not answer immediately, his eyes swept across the rebel line. Although Wu Sangui's troops were equal in number to the Tang army, their formation was chaotic, with soldiers whispering to each other and occasionally looking back. This was in stark contrast to the neat and solemn formation of the Tang army - 20,000 Tang soldiers stood still like cast iron, with only the battle flags fluttering in the wind.

"Li Kan." The emperor suddenly spoke.

"I'm here!" A young general beside him immediately responded. His face was still a little green, but his eyes were as steady as a veteran.

"What do you think of the enemy?"

Li Kan thought for a moment and said, "Although the rebels are numerous, they have no will to fight. Wu Sangui hastily raised his army and forced more than half of them to join the army. These people are unwilling to fight for him. Our army only needs a thunderous blow and their formation will be defeated."

Li Zheng's mouth slightly raised, revealing his first smile since the war began, but it was so cold that it was frightening. He slowly drew out the sword from his waist, and the sword shone with a dazzling cold light under the autumn sun.

“Crush them.”

These four simple words struck every general's heart like a heavy hammer. Hou Junji's eyes lit up, and he immediately clasped his fists and accepted the order: "As you wish!"

The drums of war suddenly sounded, shaking the earth. The Tang army's formation changed rapidly, with the vanguard forming a wedge formation, spears like a forest, pointing directly at the heart of the rebels. Li Zheng did not retreat to the center of the army, but personally led the most elite black armor cavalry to the center of the formation. His bright yellow dragon flag fluttered in the wind, becoming the focus of the entire army.

"For the Tang Dynasty!" Hou Junji raised his spear and roared.

"For His Majesty!" Twenty thousand soldiers responded in unison, the sound was like thunder, shaking the mountains in the distance even as if they were shaking.

The rebels on the other side were clearly in turmoil. Wu Sangui could see it clearly from the central army tent, and his face suddenly became as dark as iron. He suddenly drew out his sword and chopped off the flagpole beside him.

"This will be the fate of anyone who dares to retreat!" he roared, but his voice was drowned out by the roar of the Tang army's charge.

The ground began to tremble. The Tang cavalry led the charge, their iron hooves crushing the dry grass and stirring up a cloud of dust. The infantry phalanx followed closely behind, their steps in unison. The most terrifying thing was the silence - except for the neighing of horses and the clashing of armor, this army had almost no extra shouts, like a group of silent death gods.

The archers in the front of the rebel army fired their arrows in panic, but the sparse rain of arrows had little effect on the heavily armored Tang army. In a blink of an eye, the Tang army's cavalry had penetrated the rebel line like a sharp knife.

"Hold on! Hold on!" Wu Sangui's trusted general roared in front of the battle line, but was pierced through the throat by a sharp arrow shot from nowhere and fell off his horse.

Fear spread like a plague among the rebels. The soldiers in the front row looked at the Tang cavalry approaching, and someone dropped his weapon first and ran away. This run was like the first domino to fall, and the entire front line collapsed instantly.

"Useless! All useless!" Wu Sangui's eyes were red, and he slashed at several deserters with his sword, but he could not stop the defeat. He turned to his deputy and shouted, "Move the central army forward! We must stop the Tang army!"

The deputy general took the order and left, but the central army did not move. Wu Sangui realized that his command system had failed - the messengers were either dispersed or had taken the opportunity to escape. What was even more terrifying was that he saw some generals in the central army actually gathering their troops, as if preparing to evacuate the battlefield.

"Marshal, the situation is not good!" A guard reported in a panic, "Li Benshen and Wang Fuchen's troops have retreated without authorization, and our right wing is completely exposed!"

Wu Sangui was struck by lightning. Li Benshen and Wang Fuchen were both generals he relied on, but now they were deserting the battlefield? He suddenly remembered the secret report he had received a few days ago - Tang's spies were active and had secretly contacted some generals in the army.

"Traitors! They are all traitors!" He gritted his teeth, but had to face the reality. The vanguard was defeated, the center army was shaken, and the right wing collapsed. The battle was already lost.

In the center of the battlefield, the black armored cavalry led by Li Zheng were like a no man's land, and the rebels avoided them wherever they passed. The emperor held a Fang Tian Hua Ji in his hand, and every swing brought a bloody rain. He was not a bloodthirsty person, but at this moment he had to use the most cruel way to destroy the rebels' fighting spirit.

"Your Majesty, Wu Sangui is trying to escape!" Li Kan suddenly pointed to the distance. Li Zheng looked up and saw Wu Sangui retreating eastwards under the protection of a team of personal soldiers. He sneered, "Want to leave? Not that easy!"

"Black Armored Army, follow me!" Li Zheng squeezed the horse's belly, and the warhorse rushed out like an arrow from a bow. Three hundred black armored cavalrymen immediately followed, piercing the rebel army's center like a sharp knife.

Wu Sangui looked back and saw the dragon flag approaching, his face changed drastically. He knew that Li Zheng was brave and famous when he followed Emperor Taizong to fight. Now his situation was hopeless, if he was captured alive, he would be tortured to death.

"Stop them!" He shouted to the last few dozen guards around him, and then he sped away.

The guards turned to fight, but they were no match for the black armored cavalry. They were scattered in a single encounter. Li Zheng ignored these soldiers and fixed his eyes on the fleeing figure in front of him.

"Wu Sangui!" Li Zheng shouted, his voice like thunder, "You betrayed the Tang Dynasty, your crime is unforgivable! Today is the day you die!"

Wu Sangui knew he couldn't escape, so he reined in his horse and turned around, his face grim: "Li Zheng! Do you think you've won? There are many people in the world who are dissatisfied with you, the Li family! If I die today, there will be thousands of me tomorrow!"

"He is stubborn and refuses to change his ways." Li Zheng said no more and rode his horse straight towards Wu Sangui.

The two horses crossed, swords and halberds clashed, sparks flew. Wu Sangui was also a brave general when he was young, but he was no longer as brave as he used to be after years of luxury. After three rounds, he was already out of breath, and his left arm was cut by the halberd.

"Surrender and I will leave you an intact body." Li Zheng said coldly.

"Hahaha!" Wu Sangui laughed wildly, "I, Wu Sangui, would rather die in battle than bow to you!"

After he finished speaking, he suddenly pulled out a short crossbow from the saddle and shot an arrow at Li Zheng. This happened suddenly, and the distance was so close that the arrow was about to hit the emperor in the face.

At the critical moment, Li Zheng suddenly turned sideways, and the arrow flew past his helmet, bringing up a string of sparks. Without waiting for Wu Sangui to make another move, Li Zheng's painted halberd was like a dragon emerging from the sea, piercing the opponent's chest.

With a "puff", the tip of the halberd pierced through the armor and came out from Wu Sangui's back. The once powerful rebel general widened his eyes and looked at the halberd in front of his chest in disbelief, with blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.

"You you." He opened his mouth but could no longer utter a complete sentence.

Li Zheng pulled back his halberd, and Wu Sangui's body fell off his horse. The emperor held up his bloody weapon and looked around: "The leader of the rebellion has been executed! Those who surrender will be spared!"

This sound was like the final judgment. Seeing that their leader was dead, the rebels who were still resisting dropped their weapons and knelt down to beg for mercy. The few diehards who resisted were quickly wiped out by the Tang army.

As the sun set, the battlefield was littered with corpses, and the Tang army began to clean up the battlefield and take prisoners. Hou Junji and Li Kan came to Li Zheng's horse and clasped their fists to report.

"Your Majesty is mighty! We have won this battle!" Hou Junji could not hide his excitement.

Li Zheng, however, looked calm as he swept his eyes across the devastated battlefield: "Victory is worth celebrating, but all those who died are the people of the Tang Dynasty. Wu Sangui's ambition alone cost the lives of millions of people."

The two generals' excitement subsided after hearing this. Li Kan whispered, "Your Majesty is benevolent. But the rebellion must be quelled, otherwise the world will be in chaos and the casualties will be even greater."

Li Zheng nodded: "You are right. Pass the order to properly bury the dead, whether they are Tang soldiers or rebels. As for the captives, except for the main culprit, the rest who are found to have been coerced can be spared the death penalty."

(End of this chapter)