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

"Get out of here! All of you, get out of here! Do you hear me?!"

Faced with the charge of the cavalry, the Luchuan army was thrown into chaos.

A strong and robust warrior from Luchuan cut down his companions who stood in his way and ran five ranks away in one breath.

Just as he was about to raise his knife against his next companion, a series of urgent horse neighs sounded behind him.

puff-

The next moment, a sharp saber mercilessly sliced ​​open the back of his neck, and after spinning two and a half times on the side, he fell into a pool of blood in an extremely contorted position.

"Oh no—"

Another Luchuan swordsman and shieldman saw his comrades in front of him turn into a pile of minced meat as the cavalry charged at close range. Terrified, he quickly crouched down and used his shield to cover his face.

boom--

The next moment, accompanied by a deafening roar, his body was thrown uncontrollably into the air, then fell into the dust and was engulfed by countless giant feet.

"Come here you go!"

At the front of another line, a veteran from Luchuan, in his forties, skillfully pulled a new recruit whose legs were already trembling with fear to stand in front of him.

He attempted to use this method to stop the cavalry charge.

Having joined the army at sixteen and survived more than twenty years on the battlefield, the veteran naturally possessed a wealth of survival experience.

However, reality is far from the truth.

When a cavalryman was only five paces away from the two men, he stepped up from his horse in the stirrups and hurled a javelin as thick as a bowl at them.

puff-

The heavy javelin first pierced the recruit's chest, and then, with its momentum undiminished, it pierced through the recruit's back and into the veteran's heart.

"Uh--"

The veteran, his face filled with disbelief, let out a low groan before slowly kneeling down with the new recruit in front of him. Finally, they both fell sideways into a pool of blood.

Completely crushed, truly completely crushed.

When cavalry groups approach and charge at infantry, the sheer pressure alone is enough to break a person.

Not to mention, the Luchuan army had virtually no experience in anti-cavalry tactics, since they did not have any organized cavalry units in their country.

After several cavalry charges, the Luchuan army finally collapsed.

On the Laoshan Plain, everywhere you looked, there were fleeing Luchuan troops.

"Hahaha, charge, charge, charge!"

Faced with this scene, Tang Zhao was so excited that he almost danced with joy.

I thought we would have to fight a fierce battle against such an elite Central and Southern Infantry Corps, but to my surprise, we won the first battle so easily.

The fierce swordsmen at the Rokugawa headquarters were immediately shocked to see such a scene.

"General, retreat immediately! If the fleeing soldiers charge, it will cause chaos in our own ranks. If the cavalry continues to crush us..."

The adjutant beside him advised him to stop there, barely daring to think any further.

"Sound the bugle! Retreat! Retreat immediately! Quickly!"

Realizing what had happened, Meng Dao hurriedly ordered a retreat.

However, he underestimated the speed of the cavalry and the terrifying effect of a mutiny.

"Damn it, let us in, damn it!"

"Move the antlers away quickly!"

"I'm talking to you, didn't you hear me!"

The Luchuan soldiers who retreated to the front lines were blocked by a large number of deer antlers and roadblocks, and they were so angry that they cursed.

Some even drew their swords and started slashing, while others planned to climb over the obstacles and return to their own camp.

"General Meng has ordered that anyone who charges into battle shall die!"

"Screw you! What time is it? Why are you still talking about military orders! I'll ask you one last time, are you letting us through or not?"

"Don't let it go!"

"Damn you, you xylophone, you dog hit me!"

Soon, the routed soldiers and the soldiers of the main force began to physically fight each other across the deer antlers.

Upon witnessing this scene, Meng Dao was instantly drenched in cold sweat, which poured down his face like a fountain from inside his helmet.

"It's over, it's over..."

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Meng Dao saw billowing dust ahead, heading straight for the central army's main camp.

"Retreat! Retreat quickly..."

His voice sounded so weak and feeble in the noisy battlefield that he could only sigh helplessly in the end, abandon his army, and with a few warrior guards, quietly retreat to the Laoshan Garrison.

Meng Dao's escape immediately triggered a chain reaction, and the army, now without command, scattered in all directions like headless flies.

boom--

Suddenly, the deer antlers were overturned by the combined forces of the frenzied Luchuan defeated army.

"Damn it, these bastards are just standing by and watching us die, we're going to die anyway! Let's fight them!"

"Fight!!!"

A roar came from the fleeing soldiers, and instantly a large group of people rushed in and mingled with their former comrades.

The once orderly main camp instantly descended into chaos.

Shen Lang, who witnessed this scene from the rear of the Chu army, would certainly not miss such a golden opportunity. He decisively ordered, "Mu Yuanying! Take your troops and charge forward! Make sure to wipe out these beasts in one fell swoop!"

"As ordered!"

Mu Yuanying was filled with excitement. After receiving the order, he immediately led his troops to launch a surprise attack.

Faced with a predicament both internally and externally, the once arrogant and fearsome ruler of Luchuan, which struck fear into the hearts of people in Central and Southern China, finally revealed his cowardly side.

"Those who kneel down and abandon their troops will not be killed; those who surrender will not be killed!"

"We are willing to surrender! We are willing to surrender!"

The entire Luchuan Legion knelt on the ground, dropped their weapons, and for the first time raised their hands to their enemy…

As dusk fell, the generals in the Chu army camp were filled with excitement.

"According to statistics, today's battle completely annihilated the main force of Luchuan, and beheaded more than 4,800 Class A soldiers."

With over 13,000 prisoners captured, and only a few hundred Luchuan soldiers remaining in the Laoshan garrison at most, they are no longer a threat. This is truly a great victory!

Mu Yuanying could not hide his excitement. He really did not expect to annihilate the main force of Luchuan in one battle. He had never encountered such a feat in his thirty years of military service.

Tang Zhao was also trembling: "Such a great victory should be reported to the court, and we request that the court reward us. Our dynasty is facing difficulties on both the west and the north."

The people have begun to doubt the fighting capabilities of our Chu army, and now is precisely the time when a resounding victory is urgently needed to stabilize public morale.

This battle at Laoshan served as a reassurance to our dynasty, demonstrating that the Chu army's military might remained intact and that they were capable of defending our territory!

Shen Lang, however, remained silent, seemingly deep in thought.

"Lord Shen, you deserve great credit for this great victory. I will report the truth to the court when I return."

"Lord Shen, I, Mu Yuanying, have offended you in the past, and I hope you will forgive me. If it weren't for your excellent command, Lord Shen, how could we have achieved the great victory of annihilating the Luchuan army!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang coldly replied to the two men, "The great victory at Laoshan was entirely due to the efforts of the two generals (prefects), and has nothing to do with me, Shen Lang."

My identity is that of the Pacification Commissioner of the Great Chu, not your commander-in-chief. I will personally write the memorials reporting the victory to the court.

"It's all thanks to the two of you; Shen didn't make any military-level decisions from beginning to end."

The two were stunned, looking at Shen Lang in disbelief.

If he doesn't want such a great achievement, then what is he after?

Shen Lang continued, "But I don't want to do a losing business, so for now, I can't return the command of the army to you, because the battle is not over yet."

Mu Yuanying: "Yes, Lord Shen is absolutely right. The Laoshan Garrison has not yet been taken back, so..."

"Lord Mu, who told you I was going to attack the Laoshan Garrison?"

"what?"

Mu Yuanying and Tang Zhao were both taken aback.

"If we don't attack Laoshan Garrison, where should we attack?"

Shen Lang smiled cruelly: "Naturally, we will take direct action within Luchuan's territory, and before they can gather their army again to seek revenge against Nanzhao, we will bring the flames of war to their borders first."

As for the Laoshan garrison, all that is needed is to build a few earthen and wooden fortifications at key entrances and exits, cut off its water supply, and the Luchuan troops within the garrison will inevitably collapse within ten days.

"This……"

Tang Zhao and Mu Yuanying exchanged glances, unable to believe that Shen Lang was so bold as to dare to attack Luchuan with only a few dozen people hastily assembled.

"I've already said what I meant. This is an order, not a discussion!"

"But what if the imperial court knows that it has violated another country's borders..."

"This is not your concern. You only need to guard the Laoshan garrison to prevent the enemy troops inside from breaking through. The rest is up to me."

This time, I'm going to let Luchuan experience firsthand what it feels like to have his country destroyed and his family ruined!

Looking at Shen Lang's cold face, Mu Yuanying and Tang Zhao felt a chill run down their spines...