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

Chapter 753: Killing Wu Sangui

Outside Hengzhou City, the early summer sun scorched the earth, and the air was filled with the smell of blood and rust. Wu Sangui stood on the makeshift tower, his fingers unconsciously stroking the hastily made golden crown. The crown was crudely made, and there were even burrs on the edges that had not been polished smooth, which hurt his temples.

"Your Majesty, the Tang army is ten miles away!" A messenger knelt on the ground to report, his voice trembling undisguisedly.

Wu Sangui squinted his eyes and looked into the distance. He could already see the dust rising on the horizon. He suppressed the discomfort in his stomach and pretended to be calm as he adjusted the ill-fitting dragon robe on his body. The robe was made overnight by the best tailor in the city, but due to the rush of time, there were still a few threads hanging from the cuffs.

"Why are you panicking? I have a hundred thousand elite soldiers. Why should I be afraid of a little Li Zheng?" Wu Sangui shouted sternly, but his voice uncontrollably rose a few decibels at the end.

The counselor Fang Guangchen standing behind him lowered his head to hide the worry in his eyes. He knew that most of the so-called "100,000 elite soldiers" were farmers who were forcibly conscripted temporarily, and only 20,000 to 30,000 of them could really fight. The Tang army on the other side was an iron-blooded army trained by Li Zheng.

"Report!" Another scout came running over, "The vanguard of the Tang army has reached five miles, under the banner of 'suppressing the rebellion'!"

Wu Sangui's face darkened, and he suddenly drew the sword from his waist: "Pass the order, the entire army will go out of the city to meet the enemy! I want to chop off Li Zheng's head with my own hands!"

The city gate slowly opened, and Wu Sangui's troops filed out, barely forming a battle formation outside the city. The sun shone on their messy weapons, reflecting uneven light. From time to time, low complaints and coughs were heard in the team, and the morale was terribly low.

At the same time, five miles away in the Tang army formation, Li Zheng was sitting on his warhorse, slowly wiping the long sword in his hand with a piece of flannel. This sword was personally bestowed by the emperor, with a narrow and long blade, a cold light on the edge, and four small characters "loyal and brave to defend the country" engraved on the back of the blade.

"General, the scouts report that Wu Sangui has led his troops out of the city." Deputy General Wang Yong stepped forward to report.

Li Zheng nodded and sheathed his sword: "Order the entire army to advance in the A-shaped formation. Remember, I want Wu Sangui's head."

"Got the order!"

The Tang army began to advance in an orderly manner, with armor colliding and making neat clanging sounds. This army was well-trained and maintained a strict formation even while marching. The flags fluttered in the wind, and on the large banner in the front, the word "Tang" shone brightly in the sun.

The two armies finally met three miles outside Hengzhou City. Wu Sangui rode a white horse and went out under the escort of his personal soldiers, shouting loudly: "Where is Li Zheng? Do you dare to talk to me?"

A path was opened in the Tang army, and Li Zheng rode out slowly. He was wearing Mingguang armor, his face under the helmet was as cold as iron, and his eyes pierced Wu Sangui like a knife.

"Wu Sangui, you betrayed the court and proclaimed yourself emperor. Your crime is unforgivable! Today, I am ordered by the emperor to take your head!" Li Zheng's voice was not loud, but it was clearly heard in front of the two armies.

Wu Sangui laughed loudly upon hearing this, but his laughter was full of bluffing: "Li Zheng! The world is ruled by the virtuous. The fate of the Ming Dynasty has come to an end. I am following the will of heaven. What crime have I committed? If you know what's best for you, why don't you submit to me? It won't be a problem for you to be made a marquis and a prime minister!"

Li Zheng said no more and slowly raised his right hand. The war drums in the Tang army suddenly thundered and the horns shook the earth.

"kill!"

Following Li Zheng's order, the Tang army rushed towards the Wu army like a tide. The heavy armored infantry in the front row raised their spears, forming a steel jungle; the cavalry on both wings were like sharp swords drawn from their sheaths, piercing the enemy's weak points.

Wu Sangui hastily responded to the battle and hastily ordered his troops to meet the enemy. The moment the two armies met, blood gushed out like a fountain. The Tang army was well-trained and well-coordinated; while the Wu army's formation soon fell into chaos, with the front row soldiers constantly retreating and huddled together with the rear.

Li Zheng led his elite guards and stabbed the Wu army in the heart like a sharp knife. Every time he swung the long knife, an enemy soldier would fall. Blood splashed on his armor and soon condensed into dark red patches. "Protect your majesty!" Wu Sangui's guard captain shouted. More than a dozen elite guards fought desperately, but they could not match Li Zheng's sharp edge.

In the center of the battlefield, Li Zheng and Wu Sangui finally faced each other. Wu Sangui had lost his previous arrogance. His golden crown was crooked, and his dragon robe was covered with dust and blood. He held a jeweled sword in both hands, but the tip of the sword was shaking.

"General Li, let's talk it over." Wu Sangui's voice trembled, "No, I can give you half of my country."

Li Zheng sneered: "A traitor is qualified to talk about the country?"

Before he finished speaking, the long sword in Li Zheng's hand had already slashed out like lightning. This sword condensed the essence of his lifelong martial arts, and it was so fast that even the sunlight was frozen on the blade for a moment.

“Squeak—”

With a slight sound, Wu Sangui's expression froze on his face. The ridiculous golden crown first split in the middle, and then his head - from the center of his eyebrows to his jaw, was neatly cut in half. Brain matter and blood spurted out like a fountain, forming a strange rainbow in the sunlight.

"The traitor Wu Sangui should be executed!" Li Zheng raised his blood-stained sword high, and his voice resounded through the battlefield like thunder.

Time seemed to stand still at this moment. All the Wu soldiers saw the headless body slowly falling down, and the half head rolling into the dust. The golden crown bounced twice on the ground, and finally stopped in a pool of blood.

"Victory! Victory!" The Tang army burst into earth-shaking cheers, and their morale was greatly boosted.

The Wu army completely collapsed. Some dropped their weapons and knelt down to beg for mercy; some turned and ran away like crazy; some of Wu Sangui's diehards drew their swords, shouted "I will serve your majesty with all my heart" and rushed towards the Tang army, but were shot like hedgehogs by arrows.

"Surrender and you won't be killed!"

"Those who surrender will be spared!"

The Tang army soldiers kept asking for surrender. Most of the Wu army soldiers chose to surrender, as they had long been unwilling to work for Wu Sangui. A few stubborn elements either drew their swords and committed suicide, or hit their heads against the wall and died, while more were chased and killed by the Tang army.

Wang Yong led the cavalry to pursue the fleeing enemy, and blood and flesh flew everywhere where the iron hooves passed. Those Wu soldiers who tried to escape back to the city found in despair that the city gates had already been closed - the defenders in the city had raised the white flag of surrender when they saw that the situation was hopeless.

In just half an hour, this decisive battle ended with a complete victory for the Tang army. Under the city of Hengzhou, corpses were strewn all over the ground and blood flowed like a river. Wu Sangui's incomplete body was randomly piled on top of other bodies, just like an ordinary soldier. The once powerful rebel ended up with his head and body separated.

Li Zheng stood on a high place, overlooking the Shura Field. The setting sun dyed the earth bloody. He slowly took off his helmet and let the evening breeze blow away the bloody smell on his hair.

"General, in this battle, we killed more than 37,000 enemies and captured more than 50,000. Our casualties were less than 3,000." Wang Yong came to report, with an unconcealed joy on his face, "All the main officials of the Wu traitor's pseudo-court have been captured, and there are mountains of food, fodder and weapons in Hengzhou City."

Li Zheng nodded: "Pass the order down, properly place the prisoners, and do not kill them indiscriminately. Pickle Wu Sangui's head and send it to Chang'an together with the victory report."

"Yes!" Wang Yong took the order and left.

(End of this chapter)