Chapter 40 Zhuxia Defeats Xu Huai
Xuyi, the city lying across the east bank of the Yingshui River, was like a nail, firmly pinning the Huaiyi army here.
Without removing this nail, no one would dare to cross the Yingshui River to attack Luoyi.
People always say that the setting sun looks like blood, but Luo Zhongshu feels that it is not as good as the current Xuyi. The soldiers in the city privately call it Bloody City.
From the attack on Xuyi to now, Luo Zhongshu had no idea how many times he had repelled the attacks of the Huaiyi people. He had killed no less than a hundred elite Huaiyi soldiers with his own hands.
The foundation accumulated by the Huaiyi people over the years is really strong. They have not retreated even with such heavy casualties. They must take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to completely overthrow Bang Zhou.
Luo Zhongshu himself didn't know how long he could hold out. Only the elite troops of Luo State could withstand the elite troops of Huaiyi.
Therefore, there have been great casualties in recent days. These are all young laborers, and they are also the best people in Luo State. If this continues, Luo State will need at least decades of recuperation before it can recover.
As for those nobles, if their descendants had not been sent to Luoyi, the cruel consequences of their escape would be the deprivation of their titles, extermination of their kingdoms, and the extermination of their entire clans.
I'm afraid these nobles have already fled.
The elite troops of Luo State became braver and braver as the battle went on. The casualties among their fellow tribesmen only made them treat the Huaiyi people more cruelly, especially the brave warriors of Luo State, the strongest soldiers on the entire battlefield. Their fighting power had reached a point that even scared the Huaiyi people.
He once again repelled the Huaiyi people's attack and heard the law enforcement officer crying in his ear: "General, another thirteen brave warriors died in the battle, and your... eldest son was among them."
During this period of time, he has heard these reports many times. He has prayed to King Su countless times in his heart, asking for the blessing of his ancestors.
Hearing that his eldest son had died in battle, Luo Zhongshu felt sad and waved his hand helplessly, "Give him compensation according to the old rules."
When a brave warrior of the Luo State died in battle, in addition to the pension allocated by the Luo State from the national treasury, the public office would also give an extra portion.
Moreover, the children of the brave warriors would directly enter the public school with free food and accommodation, which basically eliminated all the worries of the brave warriors.
But the grief caused by the casualties of loved ones could not be forgotten. He had already lost three sons in the battle, and two of his eldest brother's illegitimate sons had also died in the battle.
There were not many adult direct descendants of the royal family, and they could not afford these casualties, because their ancestors had strictly stipulated that there must be at least five direct descendants alive in the world at the same time.
Luo Cheng sent his eldest son and younger brother out of his own selfish motives.
News came from Ying State that Luo Ren, the next generation heir of Luo State, was seriously injured and had a high fever for several days. He is now bedridden and in critical condition.
In fact, if Ji Zhao had not spent his luck points to use the ancestor's blessing, Luo Ren would most likely have been dead.
Luo Zhongshu has managed to hold on until now thanks to his strong physical fitness, but he is mentally exhausted.
The people with the highest status among these royal families have already reached this point, so one can imagine how brutal the battle is.
"General, there's a letter from Luoyi!"
Luo Zhongshu Huo De sat up straight, thinking that the support people and supplies from Luoyi had arrived again.
The fact that we have been able to hold out during these days is not only due to the bravery of the soldiers, but the support of Luoyi is also very important.
When he unfolded the bamboo slips, Luo Zhongshu burst into laughter and wanted to jump up.
"Zhongdi: You have worked hard in Xuyi these days, and the men of Luoguo have worked hard too.
Yan'er was sent as an envoy to the State of Chu and has successfully reached an alliance with the State of Chu. The State of Chu withdrew its troops from the States of Shen and Sui. I have issued transfer orders to the States of Shen, Sui and Tang, ordering them to bring their armies to the States of Ying and Xu to support you and Ren'er.
The Chu State will also send an army to go around the Huaiyi people and cooperate with you. If you hold out for a while, the Huaiyi will be defeated soon. "
After hurriedly reading the letter, Luo Zhongshu was completely unable to suppress his excitement. Finally, he no longer had to listen to the law enforcement officers reporting to him every day how many Luo people had died in the battle. It was simply too much torture.
"Immediately announce the contents of this letter to all soldiers. Hold on for a while longer, and a large number of reinforcements will arrive soon. Then we can seek revenge on those Huaiyi people!"
As the letter spread, thunderous cheers rang out throughout Xuyi.
Hope is something more precious than gold.
The reinforcements from the three kingdoms of Shen, Sui and Tang arrived faster than Luo Zhongshu had imagined. Luo Cheng gave them a death order that if they dared to delay, even if they were marquises of the Ji clan, they would be tied up and beaten in Luoyi.
Except for the princes from the direction of Ying State, almost all the princes gathered in Xu State. There were three marquises alone, Marquis Shen, Marquis Sui and Marquis Tang. They were all small clans with the surname Ji and were canonized by Luo Su. There were also many other earls, viscounts, and vassals.
Luo Zhong was often in charge of the affairs of the concubines in Hanyang and commanded all the armies in the name of the General of the Expedition to the Barbarians. Even the marquises had to obey his orders.
Huaiyi has already sensed that something is wrong. The defenders in Xuyi are becoming stronger and stronger, and are completely not on the same level as before.
Until they received the news that the State of Chu was actually negotiating peace with the Zhou Dynasty, they sent troops to attack them.
Next, Luo Zhongshu waited for the grain to be shipped from the royal capital. After swearing an oath in Xuyi, he led all the troops out of the city of Xuyi for the first time.
This was not a battle of equal strength. Huaiyi was not strong enough to be stronger than the combined strength of most of the Hanyang princes. The reason they were able to be so powerful before was only because the Hanyang princes did not cooperate with each other, so they were defeated one by one.
Especially now that the new forces of Shen, Sui and Tang, who were responsible for guarding against Chu, have joined in, this strength has completely surpassed the strength of the attacking Huaiyi.
Especially since the State of Chu appeared behind them at the same time, Huaiyi was like meat on the chopping board under the double-sided attack.
When one's strength is enough to crush the opponent, one must proceed step by step and fight with hard power. Luo Zhongshu is well aware of this, and the attack formation is airtight. Moreover, he always likes to charge into the battle, but this time he will not go forward, but stay in the center of the army to command, allowing other warriors to charge into the battle.
"Each army should keep a distance from each other. No army should rashly break away from the team. No one should advance rashly. They should obey orders and march to the sound of drums."
“Boom boom boom!”
Three drum beats, each time the war drum sounded, there was a wave of rain of arrows. The shield soldiers in the front row covered the archers behind them, and the chariots were cruising behind them. As long as Luo Zhong gave a few orders, they would start to speed up and directly crush all the Huaiyi people.
The distance of dozens of steps was reached in just a moment. Before the archers could shoot a few rounds, they began to shoot at the rear army, and the front army had already collided with each other.
The vanguard was composed of elite troops transferred from the three kingdoms of Shen, Sui and Tang. They overturned the Huaiyi people as soon as they came into contact with them. Although the Huaiyi soldiers quickly stabilized themselves, the casualties still increased dramatically because bronze weapons were more likely to bend.
Luo Zhongshu looked at the situation of the front army. The reserve troops were constantly replaced. Now the number and elite level of the troops in his hands exceeded that of the Huaiyi Army. Relying on the rotation of battles, he could also wear down the enemy.
Most of the soldiers killed on the coalition side were shot by bows and arrows. Not many died in hand-to-hand combat, because in hand-to-hand combat there are very few warriors who can kill someone with one sword.
Luo Zhongshu estimated the soldiers' physical strength, and when their physical strength might affect their combat effectiveness, he would send one team down and replace it with another team.
This will ensure that the soldiers of the coalition forces always maintain strong physical strength. The Huaiyi side does not have so many reserve troops and will face the dilemma of becoming weaker and weaker while the enemy becomes stronger and stronger.
The chariot soldiers have not yet appeared on the battlefield, but the Huaiyi chariots are very impressive on the battlefield. If the Luo State had not consciously developed tactics to restrain chariots, the casualties would probably be at least two levels higher than they are now.
People kept asking Luo Zhongshu when he would go into battle. Luo Zhongshu kept saying that he would wait a little longer. He wanted to see the Huaiyi people in a state of decadence before he would use his chariots to deal a fatal blow.
This is how the advantageous party plays. Finally, he saw the opportunity!
The chariot soldiers of the Huaiyi people were obviously tired, the lethality of the archers on the chariots had declined significantly, the soldiers using long spears also swung their spears more slowly, and most importantly, the number of auxiliary soldiers equipped on each chariot had decreased significantly.
"All chariot soldiers, attack from the northwest and tear their formation apart!"
The soldiers, who had been impatient for a long time, rushed towards the Huaiyi people with howls. These soldiers, who were full of energy, whether they were drawing bows and arrows or wielding long spears, their fighting power was far beyond that of the Huaiyi people who had already fought a fierce battle.
The scene of the battle was like beating a drowned dog. The chariots of the entire coalition divided the Huaiyi people's team into two. The destroyed chariots made it difficult for them to move. The separated chariot soldiers were surrounded by shield-bearing soldiers and then died at the hands of archers.
The Huaiyi people, who were already in a critical condition, collapsed in a very short time after the first person collapsed, and they all fled in a rush. No matter how elite the army is, it will all be the same once it is defeated.
Seeing that the Huaiyi people were completely defeated, Luo Zhongshu ordered the entire army to maintain formation and pursue, making sure to keep as many Huaiyi people as possible on this plain.
Once an army is defeated, it is like cattle and sheep to be slaughtered. Under the coalition forces' killing all the way, there is no way to know how many Huaiyi people died on this land. Luo Zhongshu could only see the whole land dyed red with blood, and even the lake not far away was dyed red by the blood that gathered into a stream.
The casualties suffered by the Huaiyi people during their siege for so many days were not as great as today's. Countless corpses were lying everywhere, and almost everyone had an expression of fear on their faces.
Especially since the State of Chu was right behind them, it was impossible for them to escape. A battle of rout turned into a battle of annihilation.
As the Huaiyi people retreated, the seriously injured soldiers in the coalition were treated on the spot, and some were left to continue garrisoning Ying and Xu. Although it was basically impossible for the Huaiyi people to make a comeback, it was still necessary to take precautions out of caution.
The remaining troops, led by Luo Zhongshu, crossed the border of Chen State and arrived at the battlefield between Song State and Xu State.
Song, Zheng and Chen were all big countries among the Xia states, especially Song and Zheng, which were as powerful as Luo. The Marquis of Zheng was so brave that he could not resist thousands of men. However, they all suffered great losses at the hands of Xu.
The first reason is that the State of Xu was indeed very powerful, and with the support of many other countries, it had the ability to compete with the Three Kingdoms.
More importantly, the monarch of Xu State who usurped the throne was too powerful. Even Zheng Bo, who prided himself on his bravery, was no match for him. He was invincible with a long spear and his archery skills were divine. It was because of him that no general dared to charge forward.
On the contrary, the enemy generals led their elite troops to move back and forth in the battle formation, and they were able to tear open their own defense line every time, causing huge casualties. There was even one time when the enemy almost blew up the front army. After that, slave soldiers were never used again, for fear that the slave soldiers would be forced by the enemy to directly attack their own camp.
This was the situation Luo Zhongshu faced when he arrived here.
However, with the arrival of Luo Zhongshu, the strength of the coalition forces more than doubled, and they were able to crush the Xu army with their hard power.
King Xu was obviously different from Huaiyi. Huaiyi had no way to retreat and had to fight a decisive battle with Luo Zhongshu, who had superior military strength, hoping to win.
However, King Xu had a way out. As long as he retreated to Xu State, if the Zhou army dared to pursue him, they could use Xu State's geographical advantages to inflict heavy damage on the Central Plains troops. If the Zhou people insisted on fighting to the death, Xu State could retreat to the cities in the south and unite with the Huaiyi tribe. Separated by the natural barrier of the river, the Central Plains princes who were unfamiliar with naval battles could only watch and stay away.
At this time, King Xu had already received the result of Huaiyi's defeat, and even knew the reason.
"The King of Chu is so short-sighted. Will the people of Zhou really accept you?
They are so arrogant that they think they are blessed by God.
He greedily wanted to bring all the land under his rule and wanted all the tribes to bow down to the Zhou rituals.
Dayi Shang will never surrender!"
Prince Xu was venting his emotions in the military tent, but even though he was shouting loudly, he was still very clear about the current situation. He called the nobles without hesitation and asked them to prepare to withdraw.
A wise man never suffers a loss in front of him, and King Xu understood this truth deeply.
But Luo Zhongshu and his men certainly would not let King Xu retreat so easily, and immediately ordered the soldiers to chase and kill him. King Xu had to leave one third of the army behind, while he himself tried to leave here by ferry with most of the elite troops.
Unexpectedly, I heard shouts of killing behind me, and when I looked up, the flag flying first turned out to be that of the Wu Kingdom!
King Xu was so scared that he was scared to death. How could the State of Wu suddenly appear here? When did the Zhou Dynasty mobilize the State of Wu to come to the king's defense?
How could he, a descendant of the Shang Dynasty, understand the greatness of Zhou rituals?
The distinction between Xia and Yi that lasted for more than two hundred years created a clear divide between the Xia and Yi peoples.
Therefore, Luo Cheng only needed to send one of his young sons to make a case in front of the King of Chu, and he would be able to let the State of Chu put aside the century-long feud with the Zhou royal family.
Similarly, as long as he wrote a letter promising Wu to return to the camp of the concubines, he could make Wu send troops to attack Xu.
This is the kingly path followed by the King of Zhou!
…
Use rituals to guide their governance, music to harmonize their voices, politics to unify their actions, and punishments to prevent evil.
If rituals, music, punishments and politics are all in place and not contradictory, then the kingly way will be complete. - "Book of Rites"
(End of this chapter)
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