Chapter 31: Destiny
As expected, Shen Hou did not back down, and Luo Cheng began to prepare for the aftermath.
There is a high probability that the capital city of Hao cannot be defended.
If the capital city of Haojing is really breached, Jine’s life or death will be a trivial matter.
The biggest problem is that the emperor’s sacredness will plummet.
Even if it was recaptured later by the army supporting the king, it would be an indelible stain.
Therefore, under the watchful eyes of all Zhou people in the entire Haojing city, Luo Cheng had to offer sacrifices to heaven to cause natural changes and prove that the Mandate of Heaven for the Zhou State was still stable.
It would be even better if we could protect Haojing at the same time.
We must plant a seed in the hearts of the Shen people, the Rong people, the loyal army, and the Zhou people.
All the previous failures and humiliations were caused by Jine's stupidity, so God ended his life with a failed war.
The major affairs of the country are war and sacrifice. As the chief patriarch, Luo often organizes sacrifices on behalf of the emperor.
Luo Cheng stood on the altar for offering sacrifices to the sky, offering various sacrifices one by one. He looked into the sky, as if the King of Heaven was looking at him.
"Grandfather, I am really unwilling to accept this, please forgive me."
Ji Zhao remained silent. Everyone has his own ideas, and his descendants are not his puppets.
[The ancestral blessing has been withdrawn, and the luck points have been returned. 】
Since Luo Cheng is a determined man, let him be.
Withdrawing the ancestral blessing and making his life more difficult may inspire more of his potential and bring more surprises to the family.
Anyway, Luo State has a strong foundation, and unless there is internal strife, it will not be defeated within a few hundred years.
Everything was ready. June Snow's magic weapon was ready. Luo Cheng knelt directly on the altar and began his performance.
"The spirit of the Su Wang is in the sky, so bright and glorious.
Your descendants on earth will inherit the mandate of heaven and establish a new dynasty.
Your good name will be passed down from generation to generation, and your descendants will be passed down from generation to generation."
After Luo Chengsong finished singing the first time, all the dukes and nobles began to sing along, and slowly the whole palace was filled with the sound of praising the emperor.
"Sukuni, your spirit is in heaven, and your descendants are suffering.
Vicious bandits are attacking, and he says Zhou's destiny is crumbling.
Your descendants respectfully request you, please ask the gods in heaven to show your power.
The destiny of the Zhou Dynasty is like the sun and the moon, eternal and unfading. "
It has been said in Bang Zhou that King Wu's successor is King Su, which is also the origin of the Luo family holding the Mandate of Heaven.
King Su is the spiritual totem of all the old Zhou people and an undisputed saint, especially in the land of Haojing, where his prestige is extremely outstanding.
Countless Zhou people followed the chanting, and the scene was very solemn.
Countless snowflakes, in large flakes, seemed to appear out of thin air, and the previously clear sky became dark in an instant.
"The Su King has appeared!"
"King Su! Save your people!"
Countless cries of grief were heard around the altar, even among the nobles.
A trace of blood flowed from the corner of Luo Cheng's mouth, and he shouted: "Gentlemen.
Our ancestors said that the destiny of the Zhou Dynasty is clear.
We should cheer up. Don't you feel ashamed if King Su sees you like this?
The Rong are just outside the capital. If we don't resist their invasion with all our heart, how can we face our ancestors and gods in the future?"
Although the Zhou people did not believe in ghosts and gods as much as the Shang people, they were even more devoted to ancestor worship.
Luo Cheng's words excited everyone. Su Wang was a deity serving the Lord Haotian, and they all wanted to see Su Wang after they died.
Although King Su did not directly punish the rebels, the people of Zhou at least felt more confident.
Especially the soldiers, who were originally very frightened when they saw the rebels coming like a tide, but now they are brave enough.
Even if this cannot make up for the absolute gap in strength, at least there is hope in everyone's hearts.
Luo Cheng prayed secretly in his heart, hoping that with the help of the heavy snow, he could survive the most difficult first day of the city defense battle.
The atmosphere in Shenrong's camp was completely different from the high spirits in Haojing City.
Everyone stared blankly at the suddenly dark sky and the snowflakes that appeared out of nowhere, and those snowflakes fell in the camp and bypassed the city of Haojing!
Even though Shen Hou decisively blocked the news and destroyed the stone tablet, it was useless. Such rumors could not be blocked at all.
Everyone was spreading rumors, and the entire camp was talking about it, especially the ministers of the State of Shen, who had experienced the entire process.
I saw the stone tablet with my own eyes, and no one will forget the words on it.
"The rebels have raised their armies, cholera has spread across the country, and snow has fallen in June to show the power of heaven!"
Someone couldn't help but read it out loud, and then a cold and ominous feeling crept into his heart, and he couldn't help but shiver.
The snowflakes slowly fell into their necks. I don’t know if it was because the snowflakes were cold or because their hearts were cold, but everyone couldn’t help but shiver.
Lord Shen is now somewhat glad that he is going to fight together with the Rong people, otherwise the current soldiers of Shen State may not be able to fight.
Even King Rong, who was outside the Zhou system, couldn't help but rub the skin on his arms, which caused goose bumps all over his body.
"Is it so weird?" He couldn't help but ask, "Is your Su Wang really that godly? There are many records about him in the classics of my clan. He is a very ordinary person."
There are indeed many records about King Su in the Rong tribe's classics, but basically no major failures are recorded.
A relatively minor failure can be embellished by calling it a draw.
As for the win, I didn’t write it down because I didn’t have any and I can’t make it up.
Shen Hou himself was also extremely shocked. Among the current princes, he was indeed a hero.
But how can I not feel guilty when facing God?
That is King Su, the ancestral deity who, according to legend, serves the Supreme God Haotian.
After the shock, the reality showed up, and he suppressed his guilt and smiled at everyone, "My dears.
The emperor is being held hostage by treacherous ministers. This is God weeping for him.
Facing the heavy snow, we will build our own glorious history and make our ancestors proud of us.
Soldiers, the time has come to make achievements. Charge into Haojing and rescue the emperor.
When the time comes, I will hold a ceremony to worship heaven in Haojing, so that the heaven can hear your achievements.
I promise that any soldier who enters the city first, whether he is a citizen or a slave, will be granted a state and establish a nation!
All the soldiers who have made great achievements in this war will receive triple rewards!"
Shen Hou's order was passed on by the messengers, which helped to calm the scattered people's hearts.
Especially those slave soldiers, King Su was simply an enemy to them.
Faced with the miracles of King Su, they didn't care at all. They only wanted to get the rewards promised by Lord Shen so that they could escape from their status as slaves.
Shen Hou said to King Rong: "King Rong, start the attack immediately, the snow is falling and it is getting colder.
By then, the soldiers won’t even be able to stretch their arms and legs, and will probably suffer a great loss when facing the Zhou army defending the city.”
King Rong simply said, "Okay, I'll give the order right away."
The two men reached an agreement and began to attack the city according to the previously formulated battle plan.
“Boom boom boom!”
After three drum beats, the soldiers of the Shen-Rong coalition began their siege of the city.
The first group of attackers were of course the cannon fodder slave soldiers. Almost none of these slaves wore armor, but only clothes made of coarse linen. They held simple knives and wooden shields in their hands and swarmed towards the walls of Haojing like locusts. Both sides were very clear about their purpose, which was to consume the city's defense resources.
"Squeak~"
“Boom!”
The heavy bronze city gate suddenly opened, and a rumbling chariot rushed out. Guo Shifu, wearing bronze armor, stood on the chariot with a long spear in his hand, looking majestic.
Although Haojing’s military strength is indeed not large, it still has enough chariots and other things.
Although many bankrupt citizens no longer knew how to use chariots in battle, the small nobles who owned fiefs were well-trained warriors.
Guo Shifu led the chariot army and rammed these slave soldiers from the side. Under the tremendous power of the horses and bronze chariots, blood and flesh flew everywhere in an instant, and shrill screams resounded all around.
Red and white flesh and blood were spread on the ground, and no one knew where those colorful things came from.
On such a wide plain, the power of the chariots was decisive. Even the slave soldiers wielding broken swords could not touch the people on the chariots, while the long spears specially used for chariots could easily take their lives.
Guo Shifu stood on the chariot and laughed wildly. At this moment, he really felt that he was no less capable than his father. The Zhou soldiers on the city wall were also cheering.
This one-sided crushing was a huge boost to everyone's morale, especially the Zhou people who had just experienced a miracle.
Teams of messengers kept delivering news from the front to Jinie, "Your Majesty, Duke Guo led his chariots to fight, and they were unstoppable. The Shen bandits suffered heavy losses and had no power to fight back."
Ji Nie was very happy and smiled at everyone in the hall, "Duke Guo is indeed my most trusted minister. He is indeed brave and resourceful."
In front of Haojing City, Guo Shifu was passing through the slave army, killing them wantonly, when he suddenly heard a loud shout, followed by the same rumbling sound of chariots, "Zhou traitor, tell me your name."
Of course it was impossible for the high-speed chariot to stop. Only after it broke through the ranks of slave soldiers did Guo Shifu control the chariot to look at the shouting man, but he did not recognize him at first glance.
"I am a member of the Guo clan, one of the three highest officials of the emperor. You are a thief, why don't you get off the carriage and surrender?"
Before going into battle, it was a very common practice in wars of this era to introduce oneself, talk about one's noble bloodline, and overwhelm the enemy.
Another very important function is that important figures are usually captured and ransomed so that they don’t lose their lives easily.
As expected, after Guo Shifu said this, the general on the opposite side, who was obviously a minister of the State of Shen, did not bring disgrace upon himself and report to his family.
He directly urged the soldiers driving the chariot to fight against Guo Shifu. Although Guo Shifu was a charioteer holding a spear, due to his status, even the archer who was the chief of the armor had to obey him.
Guo Shifu ordered his driver to drive forward as well, as there was no room to shoot arrows at such a close distance.
The two men rushed forward. He was tall and strong, and with one strike of his spear he made the opposing general's hand numb. With another strike of his spear he was directly pulled off the chariot.
With two casual swings of the spear, he beheaded the other two people on the opposite chariot.
Seeing Guo Shifu so brave, the soldiers who followed him cheered loudly and drove their chariots to frantically kill those slaves who had no ability to resist.
Lord Shen was not in a hurry at all. Slave soldiers were consumables. He did not expect that he could lure out a general from Haojing City.
"The tank is attacking without infantry cover. It's really courting death. Send the sharpshooter over and shoot him to death!"
Guo Shifu was ready to go back after killing a lot. He should not have gone to the battle in the first place. These slave soldiers were consumables, and the precious combat power of the chariot soldiers should not be used here.
The archers on the city wall were covering Guo Shifu's retreat. No one noticed that several burly archers, holding weapons that were obviously larger than ordinary bows, pulled their bows with all their strength and aimed at Guo Shifu's back.
“Puff!”
Several hidden arrows whizzed through the chaotic battlefield. Some of them were nailed into the bronze armor, but one of them passed through the gap between the armor and instantly pierced through Guo Shifu's body, and a sound of piercing flesh was heard.
This sudden change stunned everyone in an instant. The chariot rushed into the city of Haojing under the driver's control. Guo Shifu died with blood gushing out of his mouth.
The messenger brought this news to Jine.
"Report..."
"Your Majesty, when Duke Guo was returning to the city, the bandits of Shen Rong shot him with a hidden arrow, and Duke Guo died."
Jine couldn't believe her ears. They had just won a great victory, how could he die in the blink of an eye?
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Ji Nie forced himself to laugh: "Duke Guo was so brave, how could he die on the battlefield?"
The Shen Rong bandit army marched forward without stopping, and the slave soldiers swarmed in, stepping on the corpses that filled the open ground.
More than a dozen slaves were carrying a long ladder. Their morale was very high, and the promise that Lord Shen had just made was engraved in their hearts.
Those who have never been slaves will never understand how desperate this identity is. For generations, they are not even considered human beings.
They did not ask for the establishment of a state, nor did they understand what it was, but when Lord Shen said that they would no longer have to be slaves, they were willing to give everything.
Even life.
Slave lives are worthless!
Because they are living a life worse than death.
Under the temptation of freedom, after leaving behind many corpses, the leading slave soldiers rushed to the city of Haojing.
They all raised their shields above their heads to guard against the sudden arrows.
Long ladders were placed on the top of the city wall. At the urging of drumbeats, the slave soldiers began to climb up like ants. It was a spectacular sight.
Not only these slaves tried to attack the city wall directly, but also some slave soldiers held huge battering rams, broke through the blockade of arrows, and rammed the city gates while shouting in unison.
The bronze city gate was very solid, with wood chips flying everywhere, and it seemed to be standing still, but upon closer inspection, the entire gate was shaking slightly.
The soldiers defending the city were not idle either. The well-trained soldiers picked up the poles and lifted the long ladder on the wall down according to their training.
The slaves who were climbing on the ladders fell down one after another, like dumplings, causing heavy casualties.
These long ladders are not like siege weapons like ladders that cannot be pushed at all, so they are relatively easy to deal with.
However, as the King of Rong asked the Rong archers to join in to cover the slave soldiers who were constantly rushing forward, the casualties of the Zhou army began to increase.
The Dongyi people are definitely the best at archery, but these Xirong people are not bad either.
Hunting in the vast land of the northwest requires very high archery skills. These archers with precise archery skills put tremendous pressure on the Zhou army's defense of the city.
After all, from time to time you see an arrow suddenly piercing the face of your comrades next to you, and that feeling of being shrouded in the shadow of death does require a relatively strong psychological quality.
Haojing City is the second largest city in the entire Zhou Dynasty after Luoyi. While it increases the difficulty for the attacking party, it also requires extremely high manpower for the defending party.
The troops needed to completely defend the city would almost drain all the city's military reserves. Since reserve troops had to be left behind, the only thing they could do was to drive the slave soldiers up to the city walls.
Nowadays, wars are always fought with chariots in the field against the enemy, and there is rarely a situation where it is necessary to defend a city.
Those Rong soldiers and Shen slaves seemed to be endless and kept rushing towards the top of the city.
And seeing that the number of rolling logs in Haojing City was decreasing, they began to use ladders.
"Report..."
The messenger's voice came to Jine like a death urge.
The battle lasted from morning to afternoon. The Shen-Rong coalition forces did not stop for a moment and attacked at all costs.
Suddenly, thunderous cheers came from the city gate.
"Report..."
"Your Majesty, the west gate has been breached, and the Shen thieves have entered the city."
When this news came out, everyone's face turned pale instantly.
Luo Cheng sighed slightly, he still couldn't survive the most dangerous first day.
He looked up at the sky, remembered what his ancestors had said to him, and suddenly realized what it meant that God's will was as sharp as a knife and could not be defied.
…
The rebellion of Shen Hou exposed the weakness of the Zhou royal family to everyone. In theory, the capture of Haojing would cause great damage to the sacredness of the emperor.
However, information obtained from the ruins shows that although the Zhou people criticized King You of Zhou for angering heaven, a large number of poems praising the Mandate of Heaven for the Zhou Dynasty were unearthed during the same period.
This is a very strange phenomenon, just as an anonymous Tang Dynasty poet said: "What does the will of heaven show like a knife? The king's will is in Zhou, not in You."
All the blame for the capture of Haojing City was placed on King You of Zhou alone, and everyone, including the princes, had no doubt about the Zhou emperor's mandate of heaven.
According to historical records, the ancestor of the Luo royal family, Luo Hou, who was then the Grand Clan Leader of the Zhou Dynasty, held a ceremony to worship the heavens in the city of Haojing, which resulted in a miraculous heavy snowfall in June, which led all the Zhou people to firmly believe in the will of heaven.
Most scholars believe that this was forged later, but the materials excavated from tombs all record this incident, and even the ruins of the Rong people have this record. All signs indicate that this incident is true.
The Luo royal family is small in number and has always lived in seclusion. They are also very secretive about the various miracles recorded in history books. The core members never accept interviews from the outside world, so the author has not yet concluded whether this matter is true or not. - "The Rise and Fall of the Zhou Dynasty"
Brothers, 5,000 words, the number of words in this chapter is getting higher and higher as I write. I am really a treasure author. You must cherish it and read it carefully. This is the greatest encouragement to the author. Thank you!
I really feel the support from my brothers in the group. Before putting the book on the shelves, I will draw up a reward list to thank them. You can give any opinions on the book. I will adopt them as long as they do not change the outline or affect the plot. After all, crowdfunding for writing books is also good. My goal is to write books that readers like. My advantage is that I am not stubborn.
(End of this chapter)
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