Chapter 34: Battle of Gaojing
The atmosphere in Haojing City was somewhat stagnant.
The troops supporting the king arrived several days faster than Marquis Shen had expected. Counting from the time the beacon fire was lit, it would have been impossible for them to arrive that fast even if they traveled day and night.
Ji Yi and Shen Hou had not expected that the impact of the June frost would be so great. Now there is an undercurrent in the city of Haojing.
Gao Qing said to Ji Yi: "Your Majesty, there are rumors everywhere in the city that the late king was not killed by the thieves, but you killed the late king, and you are not worthy of ruling the world."
Ji Yi was very angry, because he knew in his heart that his grandfather had really murdered the king, and his throne was indeed stained with his father's blood, so he would not allow others to say so.
In order to prevent people from saying bad things about him, he sent a lot of people to wander the streets, and if they heard anyone saying bad things about him, they would immediately arrest that person.
However, in just a few days, hundreds of people were arrested and all put into prison. In this way, no one dared to say bad things about him.
Gao Qing did not expect Ji Yi to do this, so he said to Lord Shen: "Lord Shen, when King Shun was in power, there was a flood. At first, we tried to block it, but it didn't work and it caused even greater danger.
Later, the flood was successfully solved by dredging the river.
Not allowing people to speak and criticize is more serious than causing floods by blocking rivers.
If speech is not guided but is blocked, it will lead to unimaginable consequences. "
Shen Hou knew that this was not a solution, but he couldn't find a solution either.
Now that we are facing a powerful enemy, we can only hope to defeat the army that is supporting the king, and then slowly ease the public opinion in the city.
Although the heavy snow had disappeared under the scorching sun, it had left its mark in everyone's heart, like a seed. Ji Yi's atrocities were the catalyst, and everyone believed that Ji Yi was not the real king.
Not to mention the ordinary people, even the nobles who were dragged into the situation were secretly preparing to abandon Ji Yi and Shen Hou.
As long as Shen Hou's side shows any sign of defeat in the decisive battle later, they will immediately turn against them.
Lord Shen was also aware of this, so he did not allow these princes in the capital to lead troops into battle, but instead put them under house arrest.
There have been countless victims of the vanguard turning against the enemy in the middle of a battle, which ultimately led to the collapse of the entire army. The most famous ones are the Battle of Muye, in which King Wu defeated King Zhou and decided the fate of the country, and the Battle of Luoshui, in which King Su launched his eastern expedition.
…
On the vast land outside the city of Haojing, more than 200,000 troops gathered here.
The coalition forces of the western princes confronted King Rong on the west side, while Lord Shen personally led most of the troops to fight against the main force of the King's reinforcements on the east side.
Shen Hou was wearing armor, carrying a bow and arrows, and holding a long spear beside him. He looked very heroic. He drove up and asked loudly, "Is Luo Hou here?"
Of course Luo Cheng would not meet him again. He saw the queue separate and Duke Zheng standing on the chariot, dressed almost the same as Marquis Shen.
He drew out his long spear and pointed at Lord Shen, cursing angrily, "Shen thief, you killed the king and the queen. How vicious you are! Even the wolves and tigers in the wild land are not as vicious as you.
Even if I use all the water in the Jingwei River to wash you, I cannot wash away the sin of royal blood on you.
Luo Gong is a descendant of King Su, he has a noble status and is very loyal to Bang Zhou.
A sinner like you, do you still want to see Lord Luo?"
Duke Zheng's words directly hurt Lord Shen, who was also angry and said, "Duke Zheng, you are distorting right and wrong and slandering others like this. Aren't you afraid of the punishment from the gods of mountains and rivers?
My legitimate daughter is the queen, and my grandson is the crown prince. The king was deceived by the treacherous people and decided to abolish the legitimate wife and enthronize a concubine's son. This is a violation of the patriarchal system of Zhou.
I led the army of Shen State to Haojing to purge the court of evil officials. It is really sad that Marquis Luo did not believe in my intentions and slandered me like this.
When I see Lord Luo, I will make it clear to him that the king was murdered by a traitor and it has nothing to do with me."
The two exchanged words, neither of them was able to gain the upper hand, so they returned to their formations, ready to decide the outcome on the battlefield.
The two armies began to beat drums to cheer, and the generals led their troops to collide with the enemy in accordance with military orders.
As for the battlefield in the west, there was nothing much to say about the loyalist army and the Rong people, as they had been fighting each other very early on.
On the vast land of the Three Rivers Plain, more than 200,000 troops and thousands of chariots were rumbling forward.
Arrows were flying and shouts of killing filled the entire land. The soldiers of both sides had already been fighting each other. With the current means of communication, it was impossible to pass the general's orders to the grassroots level. They could only have rough control, and the real combat depended entirely on the grassroots generals' own sense of smell.
The generals who were able to leave their names in history were all extraordinary people who were able to seize opportunities on the battlefield. This is what is called "winning by using the right tactics and the unusual tactics."
The petty nobles who had been serving for generations were the bravest. They were protected by their own soldiers since childhood and drove chariots across the battlefield.
The two sides have long been in a stalemate and are completely bloodthirsty. Even if the battle is called off, some people may not be able to stop waving their weapons.
In such a fierce battlefield, arrows were flying, swords were waving, and corpses were everywhere. Bronze weapons were not able to withstand long-term fighting, and the weapons in the hands of many soldiers were even rolled up.
Looking down from the sky, there were broken limbs everywhere, and the scene was extremely bloody and cruel.
Duke Zheng was the only one among the princes who personally went into battle. He could indeed be said to be the bravest of the three armies. He shot arrows left and right with his powerful bow, and almost every arrow could kill an enemy officer. He even shot three arrows at a time and killed three people in a row.
The eyes of the Crown Prince Ji Fu were shining, and Luo Cheng and others could not help but admire: "Zheng Bo has the courage of Xiong Dun."
The name of Xiong Dun, the human military leader, is known to everyone from the distant west of Haojing to the shores of the East China Sea.
Now Luo Cheng uses Xiong Dun to describe Zheng Bo, which shows how much he recognizes his bravery.
Duke Zheng felt that this war was tailor-made for him. Zheng's strength was very strong among the princes of the Ji clan, but it was still incomparable to Jin.
If he wants to take the lead, he has to play a role in the battle, and that's what he's best at.
Under the protection of Zheng's elite soldiers, Duke Zheng charged left and right in the battle formation. He didn't even need to swing the long spear in his hand. The high-speed chariot rushed forward and directly created a bloody hole.
Shen Hou was not much behind. The two of them each led their most elite troops to try to tear through the other side's defenses.
There was a sound of breaking air, and Zheng Bo felt his left arm go numb. He looked closely and found that it was an arrow stuck in the armor.
He was truly a man of great skill and courage. He was not afraid at all. Instead, he looked angrily in the direction where the arrow came from. He saw that it was Shen Hou himself who shot the arrow.
"A hidden arrow attacks someone, let me test your ability!"
Duke Zheng also bent his bow and shot an arrow at Marquis Shen. Marquis Shen was well prepared, and the arrow was swept away by the soldiers before it reached him.
"snort!"
Zheng Bo snorted coldly, ordered the driver to turn the chariot around, brandished his spear, and shouted loudly: "Follow me to kill the thief Shen!"
The two most elite armies on the battlefield were completely entangled with each other. Both sides were the best in the world and were wearing thick armor. It was impossible to tell the winner in a short time.
Luo Cheng and others stood on a high ground and watched the changes in the situation on the battlefield from afar. After watching for a while, they found that the situation had become stalemate.
In fact, if a war involving more than 100,000 people is forced, it will be like this. It is impossible to determine the winner in a short period of time and it will just become a meat grinder.
The ultimate test of a large-scale army war is the logistics of both sides, the psychological endurance of the soldiers on both sides, the command level of the generals, and the level of astronomy and geography.
"If the stalemate continues like this, I'm afraid there won't be any results today. Now we just have to wait and see who reveals a flaw first."
This battle, which consisted of countless small battlefields, lasted from morning to evening. Even the reserve troops had been replaced several times, and everyone had become numb.
As the sun gradually set, the soldiers were gradually exhausted, and both sides knew it was time to retreat.
The area surrounding the city of Haojing was littered with corpses, lying in disarray on the ground. Most of them were soldiers without armor, and countless of them had broken hands and feet.
This situation was already expected by the loyal princes. They are stronger and time is on their side. If the war drags on, the balance of victory will tilt towards them.
At this moment, startling shouts suddenly erupted from behind Shen Hou's army, and a large Ying flag was flying. The one in the lead held the Qin flag and held the head of King Rong in his hand.
"King Rong is dead!"
King Rong was actually killed in battle by this general with the surname Ying!
Marquis Shen felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. King Rong had gone through so many storms, how could he be defeated by an unknown minor noble?
Before we go back to the past, Zaofei was born into the Zhao clan of the Ying surname and was granted the title of Duke of Qin. He was a minor noble who was not even one of the fifth ranks of nobility.
However, this man is naturally brave and has been attacking everywhere over the years. He has also received the support of many bankrupt members of the Ying clan, so his strength should not be underestimated.
This time I came to support the king, hoping to make a splash in the process.
As soon as the war started, he kept his eyes on King Rong.
While fighting and moving, his keen sense of battlefield allowed him to seize an opportunity and rush directly to King Rong's chariot and flag.
There are only a thousand of the most elite Rong people guarding there!
This was the time when King Rong was at his weakest. Zaofei put almost all of his assets into the fight. Amidst the flying blood and flesh, he finally created a gap.
At the most dangerous moment, a long spear even pierced his chest directly, but his heart guard blocked it.
For this opportunity, almost all of his personal guards were killed or injured.
He bent his bow and drew his arrows. These were the three sharpest arrows in the entire Qin city, capable of piercing armor. At this point, Zao Fei didn't care about wasting his arrows and shot three arrows in succession.
King Rong jumped off his chariot in response.
Zao Fei was so excited that he could not control himself. He shouted loudly: "King Rong is dead!"
“Boom!”
There was a sudden thunder in the space where Ji Zhao was standing, and he, who had been in a daze, suddenly woke up.
"The destiny has shifted? So quickly?"
He opened his eyes, and a brilliant golden light shot out, and then he saw a purple light that penetrated the sky and the earth shining on the heroic man!
As if stimulated by the purple light, two balls of light emerged from Ji Zhao's body.
In one ball of light, there was a flawless human figure floating up and down, and in another ball of light, there was a building that looked like a heavenly palace.
It is the incarnation of heaven and the Astronomical Observatory!
Ji Zhao stretched out his hands and grasped the two balls of light, looking at the purple light of destiny, ready to make a move.
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Ji Zhao felt his soul becoming increasingly powerful, and finally he took the two heavenly items back into his body and closed his eyes again.
When the Rong soldiers around saw that the king was no longer on the chariot, they were immediately frightened. They then remembered the rumor that had been circulating in the military camp a few days ago that the Zhou people had gods participating in the war.
This time even the king who was comparable to a god died and fled in all directions.
Zaofei was overjoyed when he saw this. He immediately drove his chariot over the chaotic Rong people, dragged up the body of the Rong king and placed it directly on the long spear. He drove the chariot around shouting loudly that the Rong king was dead.
In fact, it was not just ordinary Rong people who did not want to fight. Many Rong nobles, after looting Haojing and taking in the huge amount of treasures and the strange occurrence of frost in June, had already become frightened and wanted to leave.
Now that King Rong is dead, these people no longer care about anything and slowly retreat with their troops.
The Western Royalist Army did not stop them, but let them go directly, because they knew that the most important thing now was to defeat Lord Shen.
Once the Rong people retreated, the State of Shen would be attacked from both sides. As the saying goes, speed is of the essence in war, the princes did not waste a moment and marched directly towards the Lord of Shen.
The people who were originally preparing to withdraw were shocked by this sudden change. The current stalemate was actually broken because of King Rong's carelessness.
"Prince, the Royalist Army is about to win!"
"Haojing is ours!"
The princes excitedly reported the good news to Ji Fu. Although Ji Fu did not understand the situation, he understood it after listening to the princes' explanation.
I'm about to win.
What happens after you win?
Ascend the throne and become king!
Become the supreme emperor!
Ji Fu couldn't help but tremble, and he stared at the bloody battlefield.
When Shen Hou saw that the situation was not good, he wanted to flee to the city of Haojing and put up a last-ditch resistance. Unexpectedly, the people of Haojing City, together with the nobles, rushed into the palace, killed Ji Yi directly, and then closed all the gates of Haojing City, cutting off Shen Hou's retreat.
There is no way to heaven and no door to earth!
The army of Shen State was attacked from both sides and was stuck in a dilemma. They fell down in large numbers. The entire formation had already collapsed beyond recognition. More people were trampled to death by each other than those who died directly from the arrows and swords of the King's Defense Army.
Duke Zheng had already given up on killing Marquis Shen, but he did not expect that the princes in the west suddenly brought such a great victory news, and the entire army of Shen fled in all directions.
Shen Hou was only protected by his most elite armored soldiers, but the problem was that he also had armored soldiers, and there were many, many of them from Jin, Zhou, and Luo!
He gathered five or six officers to charge with him. Both sides were soldiers wearing thick armor, and ordinary bows and arrows were of no use to these soldiers.
The bloodiest collision happened right at the start, with horses wailing, blood gushing out, and organs, arms, and heads scattered all over the ground.
Duke Zheng rushed left and right. With his great martial arts skills, he easily killed several soldiers who tried to block his way, and rushed to Marquis Shen with a big laugh.
"Shen Hou, look at it, your failure is precisely because you did something that made the heaven hate you.
How sacred is King Su! How dare you disobey his oracle?
Can you not fail?"
Shen Hou originally thought that Zheng Bo would humiliate him, but he did not expect Zheng Bo to say these words.
He couldn't help but think back to what would happen if he had simply withdrawn his troops when Luo Hou came to persuade him?
“Su Wang!
I am a citizen who has made great contributions to the Chinese nation.
Ji Nei is so incompetent that he abolished the heir apparent and enthroned a concubine's son. Why don't you punish him?"
After saying this, he looked at Zheng Bo in front of him and stopped fighting. Instead, he drew his sword and committed suicide!
…
Prince Li was cruel and was slandered by the people.
When he was angry, he ordered someone to monitor those who slandered him, and if they did, he would kill them.
No one dared to speak, and they just watched on the street.
It is more difficult to guard against the mouths of the people than to guard against the rivers. The people of the country will betray you.
The destiny is clear, and clear is the destiny!
(End of this chapter)
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