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

Chapter 762: Fierce Battle with Mongolia

The north wind howled, blowing up the fine sand from the Gobi Desert, which made a slight rustling sound when hitting the iron armor. Li Zheng reined in his horse and stood on a hill, looking down coldly at the Mongolian cavalry approaching like a black cloud in the distance. His armor shone with a cold metallic luster under the midday sun, and the sword on his waist did not move at all, as if it had solidified into a sculpture together with its owner.

"Report!" The scout came on horseback, his horse's hooves raising a trail of dust. "The main Mongolian army is less than five miles away. Mengge is leading the central army with about 20,000 cavalry!"

Li Zheng nodded slightly, his eyes still fixed on the gradually clear black line on the distant horizon. Behind him, 30,000 Tang troops had already formed up, with flags fluttering and swords and spears like a forest. This army was terribly quiet, with only the occasional snort of war horses and the slight sound of armor rubbing against each other.

"Uncle, the Mongols are really coming out in full force!" Young Li Kan rode closer on his horse, unable to hide his excitement. The lance in his hand trembled slightly, not knowing whether it was because of nervousness or anticipation.

Li Zheng did not look back, his voice was low and steady: "Kan'er, remember, the most important thing on the battlefield is not to be impatient. Mengge is not an easy person to deal with. The outcome of today's battle is still unknown."

Li Kan pursed his lips and forced himself to suppress the restlessness in his heart. He followed Li Zheng's gaze and saw that the Mongolian cavalry in the distance had spread out like a tide, and the sound of horse hooves was like thunder, shaking the earth slightly.

The Mongols were skilled riders, able to maintain neat formation even at full gallop. They wore leather armor, held bows, and their sabers gleamed coldly in the sun. The light cavalry at the front had already started drawing their bows and arrows, ready to strike the Tang army with the first wave of blows as soon as they were within range.

"Pass the order down, proceed as planned." Li Zheng finally spoke, his voice was not loud but it shocked the messenger beside him, "The front army changes formation, archers get ready."

The order was quickly spread throughout the army through flags and drums. The Tang army's formation began to change, and the heavy infantry at the front separated to the sides, revealing three rows of archers behind. These elite archers calmly checked their bowstrings and quivers, ignoring the Mongolian cavalry that was getting closer and closer.

Three hundred steps, two hundred and fifty steps, two hundred steps
"put!"

Following the order, thousands of arrows flew into the air, drew a deadly arc in the air, and then poured down like a rainstorm. The Mongolian light cavalry at the forefront were thrown off their horses, their horses neighed and fell to the ground, and their riders were thrown far away. But the cavalry behind them were not afraid at all, and instead rushed forward more fiercely.

"Round two, let's go!"

Another wave of arrows rained down, and the Mongolian cavalry fell again. But they were very fast, and in a blink of an eye they had rushed within a hundred steps. The Mongolian archers also began to fight back, and arrows whizzed towards the Tang army line. Many Tang soldiers were shot and fell to the ground, but the formation was not disrupted at all.

“Shield!”

The front row of Tang soldiers quickly raised their tall shields to form an impenetrable shield wall. The Mongolian arrows "tick-tick" nailed to the shield surface, but it was difficult to penetrate. At the same time, the third wave of arrow rain of the Tang army was ready.

"put!"

This time, the arrows were shot at close range, flying towards the Mongolian cavalry like locusts, almost sticking to the ground. At such a close distance, the arrows had extremely terrifying penetrating power, and many arrows even penetrated the first cavalryman and then pierced into the bodies of the cavalrymen behind them. The Mongolian charge was stagnant.

But Mengge was a veteran after all, he immediately changed his strategy and ordered the cavalry to split into two groups to encircle the Tang army from the left and right wings. The mobility of the Mongolian cavalry was fully demonstrated at this moment, tens of thousands of cavalry separated like flowing water, and in a blink of an eye they formed a semi-encirclement of the Tang army.

"Uncle, they've taken the bait!" Li Kan said in a low voice, his eyes flashing with excitement.

Li Zheng's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a cold smile: "Tell all camps to shrink their formations according to the plan and let them in." The order was quickly passed down. The Tang army began to shrink towards the center in an orderly manner, and the two wings slowly retreated, seemingly forced by the Mongolian cavalry's encirclement. Mengge was overjoyed when he saw this, and personally led the elite cavalry to advance from the center, attempting to break through the Tang army's defense line in one fell swoop.

"Kill! Trample the Tang dogs!" Mengge waved his scimitar and led the way. The Mongolian cavalry behind him let out wild howls and pounced on the Tang army like a pack of wolves.

Li Zheng calmly observed the battlefield situation. Seeing that the Mongolian main force had all entered the preset area, he suddenly raised the red flag in his hand and said, "Surround them!"

In an instant, the Tang army's formation suddenly changed! The two wings that seemed to be in disarray suddenly stopped retreating, and instead closed inward like an iron clamp. The originally loose central army also quickly tightened up, with shieldmen in front and spearmen in the back, forming an impenetrable wall of death.

Mengge was the first to notice something was wrong, but it was too late. All his cavalry had already rushed into the "pocket" carefully designed by the Tang army. The surrounding Tang army was like a solid wall, trapping the Mongolian cavalry in a shrinking space.

"Release the spear!"

Following this order, countless short spears suddenly flew out from the Tang army. These specially made throwing weapons were more deadly than arrows, and pierced into the Mongolian cavalry with a terrifying whistling sound.

"Puff puff!"

The sound of short spears piercing leather armor continued. A Mongolian cavalryman was pierced through the chest by a short spear. The powerful impact took him off his horse and nailed him to his companion behind him. The warhorse was also pierced by the spear and fell to the ground with a wail. In the blink of an eye, thousands of Mongolian cavalrymen and horses were stabbed into sieves, and blood gushed out like a fountain, dyeing the dry Gobi sand red.

"Disperse! Disperse quickly!" Mengge shouted at the top of his lungs, but in this narrow space, the Mongolian cavalry could not move at all. Their proud mobility was completely restricted, the horses collided with each other, and the riders were in chaos.

The Tang army's encirclement was still shrinking. The second wave of short spears was ready, and with another order, the rain of death fell again. The Mongolian cavalry fell like wheat being cut, and the battlefield was filled with wailing.

"Your Majesty, your foresight is brilliant!" Li Kan's voice trembled with excitement, "The Mongols have completely fallen into our trap!"

Li Zheng remained calm and said, "It's too early to be happy now. Mengge is not that easy to deal with."

As expected, Mengge quickly recovered from the initial chaos. He saw that the weakness of the Tang army's formation was its slow movement, and immediately organized elite cavalry to concentrate their attack on one point in an attempt to tear open a gap.

"May the Eternal Heaven bless you! Follow me and charge out!" Mengge raised his scimitar and personally led his guards to charge towards the eastern front of the Tang army. These Mongolian elites were indeed extremely brave. They ignored casualties and continued to attack the shield wall of the Tang army.

"Hold on! Don't take even a single step back!" the Tang army captains shouted. The shield bearers in the front row gritted their teeth and endured the fierce attack of the Mongolian cavalry. Many of them vomited blood, but they still held on to their shields. The spearmen in the back kept thrusting their spears through the gaps in their shields, knocking the Mongolian cavalry off their horses.

The battle entered its most brutal phase. The Mongols fought desperately and showed amazing fighting power. Although the Tang army had the advantage of terrain, they also paid a heavy price. The bodies of soldiers from both sides piled up like a mountain, and the blood flowed into a stream on the dry Gobi Desert.

Li Zheng's eyes were sharp as torches, closely following every change on the battlefield. He saw Mengge's attempt to break out, and immediately mobilized the reserve troops to reinforce the eastern defense line. At the same time, he ordered the crossbowmen to concentrate their fire on the area where Mengge was, trying to decapitate him.

(End of this chapter)