Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

woo-

A muffled bugle call pierced the sky.

"Drink~~"

"Drink~~"

"Drink~~"

In front of the Laoshan Garrison, two armies, each with a strength of ten thousand men, stood three miles apart, arrayed in battle formation and confronted each other.

The shouts were deafening, chilling and menacing.

The battle flags fluttered in the wind, signaling the imminent outbreak of a fierce and irreconcilable war.

"The Luchuan army has such a military bearing? Tens of thousands of soldiers, all clad in uniform iron armor?"

Tang Zhao was shocked to witness the military bearing of the Luchuan Army; the scene before him was completely beyond his comprehension.

Recalling the scene where he had boasted to the Empress that his 5,000 elite soldiers could defeat Luchuan, he broke out in a cold sweat.

I was careless, really too careless.

Mu Yuanying, however, was already used to it and said to Shen Lang beside him, "Lord Shen, the people and soldiers of Luchuan are extremely martial."

Their infantry corps, equipped with forty-pound iron armor, could march over seventy li a day and still have the strength to engage in battle. This time, with the fall of Laoshan Garrison...

This was all due to our inadequate response to the invasion of Luchuan. We assumed that Luchuan, having just conquered Mubang, Myanmar, and Laos, was already weakened by the enormous expenditure of its national strength.

"We urgently need to rest and recuperate, which is why we neglected the defensive fortifications of the garrisons, and unexpectedly..."

Shen Lang interrupted him: "What's done is done, there's no point in saying anything more. What's lost, we'll just have to take it back with our own abilities."

woo-

"Ouch~~~"

Another muffled bugle call sounded, and howls erupted from the Luchuan army, their echoes resounding throughout the mountains and plains.

The garrison soldiers stationed in the area were used to this scene, but the newly enlisted soldiers all looked terrified.

This was all within Shen Lang's expectations. It was wishful thinking to think that a few days of training would turn them into real soldiers.

Only the servants and guards sent by Hu Haishan and his group of local gentry impressed Shen Lang.

Seeing this scene, they showed no signs of backing down. Instead, they gripped their weapons tightly, looking eager to try.

The shouts from Luchuan's front line continued, making Shen Lang feel inexplicably irritated.

"Lord Shen, this is Luchuan's front-line roaring tactic, which incorporates the manipulation of sorcerers to amplify the range of sound waves."

The shouts of the troop can demoralize soldiers; those who haven't undergone systematic training are easily influenced by these howls.

After listening to Mu Yuanying's explanation, Shen Lang nodded slightly.

"No, we can't win, we can't win, I don't want to die, I don't want to die!"

Just then, a soldier suddenly dropped his spear, turned around in terror, and fled out of the army formation.

puff-

But the next moment, a sharp bayonet pierced his chest.

"Anyone who deserts in the face of battle! Execute!"

Qu Yi's cold words echoed throughout the entire army formation.

He then drew his bayonet, letting the recruit's blood splatter all over his uniform.

Shen Lang didn't even turn his head, nor did he even frown.

Qu Yi and his five hundred guards were the supervisory team he brought to the front lines of Nanzhao. Anyone who dared to retreat in the face of battle or disobey military orders would be executed on the spot.

Of course, these five hundred guards also bear the heavy responsibility of directly resisting the enemy's offensive in the future.

Seeing the still-convulsing corpse lying in a pool of blood, the recruits who had previously harbored other thoughts no longer dared to have any.

Only the servants and guards were extremely disdainful of this.

They were scared away by just a shout; they deserved to die.

woo-

On the battlefield, another bugle call sounded.

"Boom-"

"Boom-"

"Boom-"

The previously noisy voices suddenly fell silent, but were quickly replaced by the heavy sound of war drums.

"kill--"

"kill--"

"kill--"

Finally, under the watchful eyes of Shen Lang and the others, the vanguard army opposite, consisting of about three thousand armored soldiers, finally moved.

They chanted in unison, with swordsmen and shieldmen in front, spearmen in the middle, and archers and crossbowmen at the rear, slowly approaching the garrison troops.

Mu Yuanying hurriedly said, "Lord Shen, the enemy has begun their attack. Among these three thousand men, there must be skilled archers hiding."

Shen Lang: "Let's fight."

"Yes!"

The next moment, military orders were relayed to every platoon.

A thousand infantrymen from the garrison, armed with swords and shields, led the way, forming a long line and advancing slowly.

Behind them were also spearmen and crossbowmen, their formation almost identical to that of the opposing side.

blow--

Suddenly, a sharp whistling sound pierced the air and pierced Shen Lang's face.

Shen Lang didn't even raise his head. He simply raised his right hand and grabbed a flying arrow, which immediately landed steadily in his gloved palm.

"A sharpshooter? Hmph."

With a cold snort, he tossed aside the arrow in his hand and continued to look at the battlefield ahead.

Upon seeing this, Qu Yi gave a wink to a guard soldier wearing a hat.

The guardsman immediately unloaded his rifle from his shoulder, quietly moved to a cover with a good view, set up his rifle, adjusted the sights, and began to search for the sharpshooter's exact location.

boom--

As the trigger was pulled, a gunshot rang out.

puff~

Four hundred meters away, a warrior with a bow hiding behind a rock suddenly had his forehead split open and fell silently to the ground.

Because the battlefield was too noisy, no one noticed the hidden struggle within.

At this time, the two armies were about two hundred paces apart.

"Release the arrows!"

"Release the arrows!"

The commanders of both sides gave their orders almost simultaneously.

Boom——

Swoosh swoosh swoosh—

Instantly, the bowstring snapped with a sound like a raging storm, echoing across the heavens and the earth.

A dense rain of arrows rose from both sides' formations and rained down on the opposing formation.

In an instant, the sounds of arrows piercing bodies, metal, and wooden shields rose and fell, and people from both sides cried out in agony as they fell to the ground.

In this standoff alone, dozens of people on both sides were injured.

But this did not stop both sides from moving forward.

After all, at this distance, the accuracy and power of a dense barrage are largely a matter of chance.

After three waves of arrows, although both sides suffered casualties, their formations remained intact and the advance continued.

But at that moment, banners fluttered in the Luchuan army.

The two wings, which had been stationary, suddenly began to move in unison.

Mu Yuanying hurriedly said, "My lord, this is..."

Shen Lang interrupted him: "A flanking maneuver, the Luchuan army wants to use its superior forces to first break through this infantry force head-on, and then wait for our infantry to scatter back to their main camp."

The Luchuan army could explain their strategy of seizing the opportunity to break through the enemy's main camp in one fell swoop. I had seen this tactic before when I was dealing with the Yan people in Bingzhou.

The only difference is that the Yan people used cavalry, while the Luchuan people used infantry, hehe..."

Mu Yuanying was taken aback: "Lord Shen is indeed worthy of being from the elite of Bingzhou. In the current situation, we should send reinforcements from the left and right flanks."

Shen Lang shook his head: "No, pass on my order: the main force shall continue to advance, and we need not concern ourselves with the enemy's left and right flanks."

"what?"

Mu Yuanying was startled.

"But……"

"No buts!" Shen Lang said sternly. "The terrain before us is simply not suitable for a large-scale military battle."

Even if Luchuan's flanks outflank and encircle the main force, 90% of their troops cannot immediately join the battle. The pressure on the front is not as great as you think.

If the garrison troops can't even withstand this much risk, they might as well be disbanded sooner rather than later. The imperial court spends a lot of military funds on you, not to watch you get beaten up.

Mu Yuanying wanted to persuade him again, but Shen Lang shut her down with a sharp look.

"General Tang."

"The general is here!"

"Form ranks and await orders; be ready to attack at any time."

At this moment, on the front lines of the battlefield, the enemy and our forces were already locked in fierce combat.

In an instant, soldiers from both sides surged toward each other like a tidal wave.

Weapons clashed, producing crisp sounds of impact, while shouts of battle and roars echoed across the azure sky.

The flashing of swords and the stench of blood filled the air...

Each swing of the weapon was accompanied by a piercing scream, and blood flowed onto the ground, staining the earth red.

The atmosphere on the battlefield was tense and fierce, as if time had frozen. Apart from the killing and death, all the scenery became a dispensable backdrop.

Behind the battle lines, Mu Yuanying and Tang Zhao were extremely anxious, frequently glancing at Shen Lang.

Shen Lang remained expressionless, his gaze fixed on the infantry advancing on both flanks.

The war has only just begun, what's the rush?