Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 182 Your Majesty, we won!

The silver moonlight shines on the grasslands of the Karluk tribe.

At the southern end of the tribe, there is a winding river that looks like a giant black snake under the moonlight.

There was a small snake next to the giant snake, coiling around a prey.

No, upon closer inspection, it was not a snake, but a snake-like woman tightly wrapped around a man.

Both of them were naked, one body was as white as crystal, the other was as bronze as a mountain, they were tightly entangled together, unable to be distinguished from each other.

After a long time, the two finally separated and lay flat on the grass.

The bronze-skinned man laughed and said, "No wonder Bi Li Du said you are the most terrifying snake. Even the most powerful eagle can be entangled by you."

The woman laughed and said, "Chief, are you afraid of me?" Her voice was so charming that it seemed to scrape against one's bones.

The bronze-skinned man laughed and said, "There's no woman we Karluk men can't conquer! I'm just a little surprised that Bilidu was willing to give you to me."

The woman sighed softly and said, "Can't you see that he's going to rebel against the Tang Dynasty?"

The man smiled and said, "Of course I can see it."

The woman stared at him with her dark eyes and said, "Are you also planning to follow him and rebel against the Tang Dynasty?"

The man smiled and said, "If he can really fight the Tang army to an equal strength, I can go over and help him and put an end to the Tang people's prestige. If he can't do that, then I'm sorry, don't blame me for breaking my promise."

The woman chuckled and said, "No wonder people say the Karluk tribe is the smartest wolves on the grassland."

A fiery light flashed in the man's eyes, and he said, "Not only the smartest, but also the bravest." He pounced on her again and bit her soft breasts hard.

The woman suddenly looked up and said, "Look, there's a huge fire over there."

The man suddenly raised his head, took a look, and his face changed drastically. He said, "That's the direction of the tent!"

The woman tucked her hair and said, "Look at the fire. It seems someone is attacking your tribe."

The man was shocked and angry. He quickly put on his clothes and was about to return to the tribe.

The woman suddenly said, "It's better if you don't go back."

The man asked angrily, "Why?"

The woman crouched on the ground like a cat, her ears pressed tightly to the ground, and whispered, "The sound of horse hooves is getting closer. There are cavalry coming. The hooves are heavy, and the riders are wearing armor. They are not from your tribe."

A look of fear appeared on the man's face.

The woman walked to the water's edge, began to wash her body in the moonlight, and sang a song with a beautiful voice.

However, the man found it extremely harsh and said sternly, "Shut up!"

The woman glanced at him and chuckled, "I wonder how the wisest and bravest wolf king on the grassland would deal with this situation?"

The man roared, "Give it to me..."

Before he could finish his sentence, his voice was drowned out by the sound of horse hooves, a low sound like thunder, coming closer and closer.

The man drew his machete and looked in the direction of the sound with a look of horror.

Just as the woman said, the warriors who came were not from his tribe.

The shining armor gleamed in the moonlight. There was no such exquisite armor on the grassland.

The ones coming are the Tang army.

Xue Rengui, holding a silver halberd, took the lead and quickly came up to the man.

The man recognized him and shouted, "Grand Protector Xue, my Qarluk tribe has always been loyal to the Tang Dynasty. Why did you attack my tribe?"

Xue Rengui looked at him coldly and said, "Shu Li, are you worthy of saying that you are loyal?"

Zhou Zhidu laughed and said, "Chief Shuli, your men have already admitted that you colluded with Bilidu, so why bother to quibble?"

Shuli's face changed drastically. He fell to his knees with a plop and said anxiously, "He really wanted to bribe me and send me women and gold, but I didn't agree!"

Xue Rengui waved his hand and said, "Tie him up and take him away."

After Shuli was taken away, everyone looked at the woman by the river.

She was still naked, washing her body and hair by the river, as if everything happening around her had nothing to do with her.

In this situation, she was like an elf in the dark night. Even though the Tang army soldiers were all determined people, they couldn't help but be stunned by her.

Xue Rengui stared at her and asked, "Are you Shu Li's woman?"

The woman finally stood up, walked towards Xue Rengui step by step, and said with a smile: "Not now, I am now your trophy." Her Tang language was even more fluent than Shu Li's.

"Take her with you." Xue Rengui gave the order, reined in his horse, turned around, and returned to the Qarluk camp.

The battle has just begun, and the next one is the most important one.

……

Bi Li Du was awakened from his sleep by the faint sound of trumpets and drums.

He had just sat up when a general rushed in from outside and said anxiously, "Captain, the scouts have reported that the Tang people have raided the Qarluk tribe and are heading towards us. I'm afraid the whole thing has been exposed!"

Bi Lidu felt a chill on his back and said coldly, "Don't panic. Pass on my order. Gather all the tribes immediately and fight the Tang people to the death!"

At dawn the next day, more than 100,000 Uighur cavalry gathered at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains, hoping to take advantage of the favorable terrain to fight against the powerful Tang army.

Bi Li Du knew that the surprise attack plan had failed and that the chances of success if he took the initiative to attack were extremely slim. He could only use his numerical advantage to fight a war of attrition with the Tang army near Tianshan Mountain.

When the sun rose to the zenith, the Tang army could be seen in the distance. They were ready for battle, wearing armor and helmets.

There were only 20,000 Tang soldiers, but the Tang soldiers in front were all wearing armor, holding spears, carrying bows and arrows, and approaching in an orderly manner.

No matter which tribe the Hu people belonged to, sweat would break out in their palms when they saw the Tang army approaching.

When the two armies were about one mile apart, the Tang army stopped.

Bi Li Du, wearing a suit of chain mail, warned his men, "Be careful of Xue Rengui's bow and arrows. He's a formidable archer. All chiefs, wear your thickest face armor."

Immediately, several personal soldiers handed the wolf-head mask to Bilidu, and several other Uighur generals also put on the masks.

"Woo——"

The command flags were flying and the drums were beating loudly.

The Tang army began to charge.

The Yanran Protectorate was home to the elite Tang army. The 20,000 cavalry were mostly veterans, with a few new recruits following behind. The cavalry were already familiar with the Tang army's formations, and as the bugles continued to sound, they slowly accelerated, separating and closing in.

Xue Rengui did not take off the silver halberd hanging on the saddle, but took out his specially made hardwood longbow.

They were still a hundred steps away from the enemy, out of the effective range of the cavalry's archery, but Xue Rengui had already pulled the bowstring.

He pulled the bowstring casually, and it was fully stretched, making a buzzing sound.

His strong thighs tightly clamped the horse's belly, and his whole body seemed to be attached to the horse's back, rising and falling with the horse's bumps.

"call out!"

The bowstring vibrated, and the sound of breaking through the air was loud.

Xue Rengui did not spend too much time aiming and shot an arrow. The arrow was like a meteor chasing the moon. In the blink of an eye, it hit the visor of a Tiele general.

The general fell down without a word and was no longer able to make a sound.

At this moment, all Tiele people felt a fear from the bottom of their hearts.

Bi Li Du shouted loudly, comforted his tribesmen, took out his bow and arrow, and shot an arrow back.

Unfortunately, although the arrow was powerful enough, its accuracy was a little lacking. It hit the shoulder armor of a Tang army soldier and bounced off.

At this moment, another arrow came through the air and hit the head of a Tiele general. Just like before, it pierced through the visor and was fatal.

At this time, the two armies were already charging towards each other. The first few rows of cavalry of the Tang army were already holding lances and long spears, charging forward with roars.

Only the cavalry after the fourth column used upward shooting to attack.

The Tiele soldiers also tried to fight back with bows and arrows, but the Tang army's frontline soldiers were all wearing armor, like steel monsters, so the bows and arrows had little effect.

"call out!"

As the arrows flew, a sound of breaking through the air that was obviously louder than the other arrows was heard again, and Xue Rengui shot the third arrow.

This time the one who was hit by the arrow was the chief of the Pugu tribe.

The Pugu tribe was the second largest tribe among the nine Tiele tribes. With the death of its leader, the tribe fell into panic.

The fighting spirit of the Tiele people of the other eight surnames had also reached its lowest point. Some of them began to slow down their horses, causing chaos in their formation.

Xue Rengui finally raised his silver halberd. Before the two armies collided, the cavalry in front of Xue Rengui separated to both sides like a splash of water.

No one had the courage to fight Xue Rengui.

However, there are still some people who cannot dodge in time.

They were originally at the back, but suddenly found that their Tiele compatriots in front of them separated to the left and right. Before they could react, they saw Xue Rengui rushing towards them, and were immediately frightened.

Before they could react, they were knocked off their horses by Xue Rengui's silver halberd.

Xue Rengui, like a sharp knife, led hundreds of the most elite Tang troops and divided the rushing Tiele people into two halves.

In addition to Xue Rengui, Zhou Zhidu also led another team of hundreds of people, charging across the battlefield and being invincible.

Zhou Zhidu clearly felt that the Tiele people's combat effectiveness was far inferior to that of the Turks, and this battle was no longer a suspense.

He began to actively look for the wolf-head banner that was more powerful than Li Du, thus achieving great success.

Unfortunately, before he could find it, the Tiele people had already begun to collapse.

The Tang army's preemptive elimination of the Qarluk tribe had already made the Tiele people feel uneasy.

Xue Rengui's three arrows took away their little fighting spirit. After close combat with the Tang army, they clearly realized the gap in strength between the two armies.

The Tiele people had been oppressed by major powers for a long time, and their fighting spirit was not strong. Knowing that they would die, they would naturally cherish their lives.

Xue Rengui's reputation of killing the surrendered had spread, and the Tiele people did not dare to surrender and fled to the west.

When Xue Rengui led the Tang army in pursuit, all that could be seen were their backs.

He showed no mercy and used the silver halberd in his hand to reap the lives of the Tiele people.

He was a man who believed in loyalty and hated betrayal. He led his army in pursuit and even Zhou Zhidu's persuasion was unable to stop him.

The Tang army pursued the Tiele people from the Tianshan Mountains to the north of Qi for two days and two nights. The hundreds of miles of grassland were littered with Tiele people's corpses.

There was a desert beyond the north, and Xue Rengui heard that a general had captured Bi Lidu, so he stopped chasing and ordered his troops to return.

In this battle, the Tang army beheaded more than 40,000 people, captured more than 200,000 cattle and sheep, and more than 40,000 horses. The nine Tiele tribes were severely damaged and could no longer be a force to be reckoned with.

This battle also brought Xue Rengui's prestige in the army to a peak. The soldiers all sang: "General Xue's three arrows scare the barbarians, and his one battle conquers Tianshan!"

……

In the bedroom of Ganlu Palace, Li Zhi was lying on the couch resting.

He firmly believed that health is the capital of revolution and took a nap at noon every day.

Wang Fusheng tiptoed into the hall, placed a document on the table, and stood aside with his hands hanging down.

He stood there for nearly half an hour before Li Zhi finally woke up. As soon as he sat up, he saw the official documents on the desk.

"Fu Sheng, what is this?" Li Zhi frowned.

Generally, official documents and memorials would be placed in the outer hall, and Wang Fusheng rarely took them to the inner hall.

Wang Fusheng chuckled and said, "Your Majesty, this is the victory report from the Yanran Protectorate."

Li Zhi was stunned for a moment and said, "Good news? Did we win?" He hurriedly picked up the document and looked through it.

Wang Fusheng smiled and said, "Yes, we won! General Xue won another great victory! He annihilated the Luolu tribe, severely damaged the nine Tiele clans, and captured Bilidu alive. Your Majesty, there are no more hidden dangers in Mobei!"

Li Zhi listened to him while reading the memorial, and was greatly surprised after reading it.

Although the war was brought forward, it was still surprisingly similar to history. Xue Rengui shot three arrows before the battle, and the story was widely sung in the army.

The only difference was that he failed to kill the surrendered soldiers. The Tiele people were afraid of him and did not dare to surrender, so they fled.

Later, because Xue Rengui kept chasing them, the chiefs of several tribes became frightened and joined forces to subdue Bi Li Du and sent him to the Tang army, hoping that the Tang army would stop chasing them.

Li Zhi couldn't help but sigh, "Well done! Xue Rengui is truly my lucky general!"

Wang Fusheng smiled and said, "Your Majesty, this is all thanks to your good vision, otherwise he would still be guarding Xuanwu Gate."

Li Zhi laughed heartily and said, "Issue an imperial decree to promote Xue Rengui to the rank of Duke. Have the Ministry of Rites decide on the title as soon as possible."

(End of this chapter)