Chapter 4 Battle of Luoshui
In the eyes of most princes, the coalition forces of Guan, Yong, Bei and Song are not weak. The three supervisors once followed the previous king and were a strong branch of the royal family. The strongest of them, Marquis Guan, even has nearly 10,000 soldiers. Together with the two marquises of Yong and Bei and the remnants of the Shang Dynasty, their soldiers alone cannot be underestimated. Of course, they still believe that the army to suppress the rebellion can win, but it may be a little difficult.
Their analysis was correct, but Ji Zhao had a cheat. He made ten consecutive draws with luck points and drew two yellow-level items, one of which was a guaranteed item. Among them, [Borrowing the East Wind] was very suitable for the upcoming battle.
[Huangjie·Borrowing the East Wind (The east wind is not favorable to Zhou Lang, and the two Qiao sisters are locked up in Tongque Spring): You can borrow a strong wind at a specified time, place, and direction.]
The so-called favorable time, favorable terrain and favorable people, celestial phenomena had a huge impact on the outcome of ancient wars.
The two armies refused to give in to each other and prepared for a field battle. Two hundred thousand people confronted each other on the north bank of Luo River and set up camps respectively. The area was endless. This is why the two armies chose the bank of Luo River for a battle, because there was no other place to deploy so many troops and chariots.
Everyone knew that the war was coming, so they began to prepare more intensively. Ji Zhao summoned the princes and soldiers and went on stage to offer sacrifices to the heavens. "My king is here to shepherd the people by the command of heaven. We accept the gold, silver, grain and silk from the emperor and assist him in governing the world.
The Eastern thieves have offended the king and attempted to defy the will of heaven, so they will certainly be punished. If we don't do our best, will heaven give up punishing us?
By that time, the result will be something we cannot accept.
I have received instructions from the heavens. The heavens will send strong winds to help our army. We will surely win this battle!"
The rebels also held a ceremony to offer sacrifices to heaven and carried out pre-war mobilization.
With the sound of drums, the vanguard of the enemy army slowly moved forward. The armored soldiers in Ji Zhao's army defended with shields. He looked up at the sky from time to time to judge the time.
When the two armies were only a few hundred steps apart, the clear sky suddenly turned dark. Suddenly, a strong wind blew up, blowing straight over the land on the north side of Luo River. The force was so great that it even blew up broken trees and some unsecured tents flew up. Needless to say, the dust on the ground covered the sky and the sun. The doomsday-like scene made everyone stunned. What was even more strange was that there was not a single wind on the south side of Luo River!
Everyone in Ji Zhao's army realized that God had really sent down a strong wind to help them, and morale instantly rose to the extreme. Even the princes believed that it was really God's blessing when faced with such a strange situation.
It is really beyond human control to control such strong winds!
"The storm is coming, beat the drums to cheer!"
Ji Zhao shouted loudly, brandished his sword and laughed, "The heavens have responded to my request. The troops will ride on the wind and move forward. We will surely be able to wipe out the rebels in one battle!"
The west wind blew from behind the king's army and hit the rebels directly in the face. With such strong wind carrying sand and stones, it was difficult for the archers to open their eyes. Even if they could shoot arrows, their accuracy would be greatly reduced and the power would be greatly reduced. It would be a disaster for the rebels!
During the battle, Guan Hou saw such a strange thing, and several people turned pale in an instant, "How could this be? Could it be that we really defied the will of heaven, so heaven wants to kill us?"
Wu Geng held the sword and shouted, "What is the destiny? The black bird gave the Shang Dynasty 600 years of rule. I have never heard my father say that the Shang Dynasty's destiny has ended, but when King Wu arrived, the Shang Dynasty was defeated in an instant. This is the exhaustion of human power, not the loss of destiny. As long as we can win this battle, the destiny is ours!"
Guan Hou's minister also shouted loudly: "Your Majesty, the two bandits Qi and Luo will definitely take advantage of the opportunity to attack, and our army will be defeated. Now we can only form a defensive formation and wait until the wind dies down before making any plans!"
"Your Majesty, we cannot form a defensive formation. It is impossible to hold on. The most urgent task is to have the elite guards protect you and evacuate here first. There are still people in the country who can regroup and fight again."
The rebels were in a panic, but the princes on Ji Zhao's side were in an uproar. Even Tai Gong Wang was a little excited and said, "It is a gift from God. If we don't use it, there will be disaster. Archers will throw arrows to disrupt the formation, and prepare chariots to charge the opposing infantry."
The archers of Wang's army moved forward and shot arrows with the help of the wind. The auxiliary soldiers started a fire, and countless smoke and dust blew to the opposite side. This time, it was not only the power of sand and stones, but also a burning sensation. The fire was driven by the wind, and the thick smoke made people miserable.
Under such circumstances, how could the rebel army maintain a neat formation? There was panic on their faces, especially the slave soldiers and the Dongyi tribes. Their discipline was already very poor, and in such a situation, some of them actually dropped their weapons and ran away!
When Wu Geng saw this, his face turned pale instantly, thinking of the situation in the Battle of Muye. The sharp armored soldiers of the Shang army did not even have a chance to engage in a fight with the Zhou army, and were directly defeated by those slave soldiers.
Each prince led his retainers, raised their flags and charged forward. The drum beats of King Ji Zhao's army became more and more frequent, and rounds of arrow rain continued to cause casualties. This one-sided killing was too fatal to morale.
The central army general, Viscount Shan Yi, led his troops to attack the chariot where Guan Zei was. He had the ability to hear sounds and relied on his strong memory, so he was able to find Guan Zei even in such a dark and chaotic memory.
He was originally a slave who herded horses for King Wu. His given name was Yi. He was born with supernatural powers and was extremely brave. He could withstand the charge of a fierce horse. Ji Zhao granted him the title of Viscount and enfeoffed him in Shandi. He had long been eager to repay Ji Zhao's kindness.
Pushed by the wind, the soldiers were moving so fast!
Guan Zei and Wu Geng looked at the suddenly appeared army in horror. The armored infantry and chariots rumbled through the battlefield. The sound of drums suddenly rang out rapidly. This sound of drums made the enemy army terrified. Their lord was actually in danger!
But where is the enemy?
Looking around, he saw his own people lying on the ground, arrows raining down one after another, and armored soldiers with shields approaching in an orderly manner. Some of the people around him were dead, and some had run away. Screams and shouts were heard incessantly, and the command system had been partially paralyzed.
Shan Yi led the army and broke through the heavy defense lines almost instantly. The charging chariots were far beyond the ability of the infantry to resist. The flesh and blood bodies were directly crushed, leaving a pool of blood on the ground.
As the intensive war drums continued to beat and the bull horns sounded on the battlefield, everyone rushed towards the direction where the sound came from. Bronze spears were broken directly, and sharp swords chopped on the armor, finally leaving gaps.
Shan Yi wielded the spear with one hand and changed three spears in a short period of time. No one could match him.
The danger was before their eyes, and the princes who came with the army immediately retreated with their retainers. Dan Yi saw a few people were about to leave, and immediately sped up. He knew that the big banner was too heavy to be taken away, and if he could not capture and kill the thief, he would have to cut off the big banner.
“Boom!”
The sound of the banner falling to the ground was so loud that the rebels, who were either fleeing or resisting, no longer had the will to resist when they saw the banner fall to the ground. In an instant, the battle formations that could have resisted the impact of the slave soldiers collapsed.
Once the army was defeated, no one was able to gather them. Everyone fled to the east with their backs to the strong wind. Some even jumped directly into the Luo River in an attempt to swim across the river to survive.
But on the battlefield, whether they were facing away from the enemy or flooded, they were just sitting ducks. The chariots of the king's army rumbled over them, and the chariots of the rebels also ran over their own people without hesitation, with archers killing them all the way. Facing the chariots, the rebels jumped towards the Luo River one after another, and arrows shot at them, and the blood that flowed out almost dyed the river red.
The sky gradually cleared up, and the chariots of Guan Hou and Wu Geng were extremely conspicuous. If they did not drive the chariot, they would die. However, driving the chariot would not help them escape the pursuit. They were almost in despair and could only drive the chariot in vain, hoping to escape Ji Zhao's sight.
"boom!"
No one expected that Guan Hou's warhorse was not stable and directly carried the entire chariot flying out. Guan Hou was hit heavily to the ground, with half of his head caved in, and he died instantly.
Wu Geng and his companions looked at the war horses in front of their chariots that were also panting with horror in their eyes. The two marquises Yong and Bei hurriedly stopped their chariots and prepared to surrender. If they continued to run like this, they would surely die. Only Wu Geng refused to give up, but it was all in vain. Their war horses were no match for the ones Ji Zhao brought from Haojing, and they were eventually forced to stop and tied up.
The battle has been won, but there is no time to rest. The eastern region is densely populated and there will be tough battles in the future. Killing as many people as possible is a good thing.
Ji Zhao got off the chariot, dragged Wu Geng to a makeshift platform, and performed a rather simple ceremony.
"The Shang Dynasty lost the Mandate of Heaven, and the Zhou Dynasty took its place. The former king Fa destroyed the Shang Dynasty, but did not allow the sacrifices of the former king Tang to die out. The king gave you the old land of Yinxu and let you govern the old people of the Shang Dynasty. What a grace this is? But you openly rebelled and disobeyed the command of Heaven. This is your failure. Today I will offer your head to Heaven as a warning to those who do not obey the Mandate of Heaven."
“Wow!”
Ji Zhao's announcement of the direct execution of Wu Geng was beyond everyone's expectations. They all thought that Wu Geng would be taken back to Haojing to be presented as a prisoner.
Without waiting for everyone's reaction, Ji Zhao raised his sword and beheaded Wu Geng, shouting: "This expedition is not just to quell the rebellion, but to march east. The army will continue eastward to destroy all the troublemakers and tribes. When the expedition is over, the emperor will once again enfeoff the princes and grant them gold, silver, grain, silk, and slaves!"
"Long live the emperor!"
"Long live Bang Zhou!"
Ji Zhao continued to move eastward, while a small group of envoys brought the leader of the rebellion back to Haojing City. Cheng Hou presided over a large-scale sacrificial ceremony. The officials who stayed in Haojing worked more attentively and did not dare to delay the food and fodder needed by the army.
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The yin and yang of the army follow the time, promote virtue, fight and win, and rely on ghosts and gods for help. This trend probably originated from the battle of Su Wang against the enemy at Luoshui. - "Records of the Grand Historian: Records of Arts and Literature"
(End of this chapter)
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