The Two Armies Are Fighting
（34）
After the Martial King finished his preparations, he gave the order to attack. The drums of the Zhou army rang out.
Not long after, Lei Zhen and Song Li led a small group of war chariots and rushed straight to the center of the Shang formation.
The front of the merchant formation was a square formation of slaves. When Ray Zhen's chariot approached, the slaves retreated and gathered together, forming a denser human wall. In front of the Grim Reaper, these slaves relied on their human survival instincts to automatically resist. In the middle of the battle formation where the enemy was charging in front and the Shang army was holding the line, they were fighting desperately to stop the chariot team led by Lei Zhen who had already rushed to the front.
Ray Zhen drove the chariot forward desperately. The convoy was scattered. Some chariots rushed in bravely and were immediately surrounded by the dense crowd. Ray Zhen's chariot took the lead. He commanded the coachman to control the four horses to stomp on the dense human wall, but the retreating Shang army was getting closer and closer. These people waved the weapons in their hands in an attempt to protect their lives. One of Lei Zhen's horses was stabbed and immediately fell to the ground, dragging the chariot along. The other three horses also began to panic and gallop around. The slaves in front of him surrounded him tightly again. They were using this pause time to rush over and fight back. They surrounded Ray Zhen's chariot and his soldiers in a small circle. The other two armored soldiers on the Thunder Zhen Chariot fought with all their might, not letting the Shang army get close to the chariot. The soldiers behind them also lined up in a circle to resist the Shang army in front of them. The soldiers of the Shang army pushed and pushed the slaves forward. Seeing the bravery of Lei Zhen and the others, the slaves did not dare to approach them. They kept a certain distance and shouted.
At this critical moment, Lei Zhen cut off the ropes and reins of the dead horses, drove the remaining three horses, and led the soldiers to attack bravely. Finally, they broke through the dense crowd. When he turned around to look, he saw that some of his carriages had overturned, and some of the cars behind had collided with the cars in front. Many of the armored soldiers had died, and some of the armored soldiers were fighting on foot. There were even more casualties among the soldiers, and there were not many left. When Lei Zhen saw this, he was so angry that fire rose from his head. He grabbed the reins, shook the car violently, and turned around to charge.
At this time, Song Li's chariot rushed to Lei Zhen's chariot and shouted,""Look, the Martial King is ordering us to retreat. Quickly get ready to retreat. I'll go and cover the rear to save those armored soldiers who are still fighting on foot after their vehicles have overturned.”
Lei Zhen looked up and saw Hu Sheng waving a small green flag beside King Wu. Seeing that the convoy was in disarray and had suffered great losses, he angrily turned his horse around and charged forward again. He rescued the armored soldiers who were still fighting when they landed and led his disciples to break out of the encirclement with Song Li. This attack had caused heavy losses. Only half of the war chariots could successfully exit the merchant formation.
The Shang soldiers shouted, not daring to chase.
Lei Zhen came to the Martial King and Lu Shang and reported angrily,""These wild rabbits from the Shang army are a bit difficult to deal with. I was just about to charge in with all my might. How could I retreat?”
King Wu patted Lei Zhen's shoulder and comforted him,""Can't you tell? Even though the Shang army's formation had moved a bit, it was still difficult to charge in. The phalanx in front of you are all slaves and prisoners. When they are in a desperate situation, they will fight with all their might. Therefore, your attack will encounter a particularly strong resistance.”
"I'll try again. I must rush in.”Lei Zhen said, eagerly requesting.
"There's no hurry. The slaves were caught in the middle. The Zhou army was charging in front, and the Shang army was supervising the battle from behind. They had no choice but to save themselves from the danger and resist desperately. Think of a way to deal with it later." King Wu stopped him.
"Then I'll have charged in for nothing this time. I even lost so many armorers.”Although Lei Zhen was anxious and resentful, he had no choice but to suppress his temper and listen to Martial King's advice.
"This is called impact reconnaissance." Lu Shang interrupted at this moment,"When facing the enemy, we must first understand the enemy's actual situation. We can then attack according to our own strengths. This is the only way to win. Lei Zhen, you have made the first contribution.”
"That's not a big deal. I've lost all my face.”Lei Zhen said a little angrily. He paused for a moment and said,"Father Shang, the next time I attack, I will definitely attack fiercely. I won't stop until I get in. I must kill all of them…”
"There will definitely be a time when you use force." Lu Shang turned to face the Martial King. "We have to break the Shang army and break the Shang formation before sunset.”
"Yeah, I think we should do it this way…" The Martial King waved his hand and signaled for everyone to gather around and regroup.
Once King Zhou of Shang returned to his base camp, his anger had not subsided. He said angrily to Fei Zhong and the ministers behind him,"Everyone, get ready to destroy the Zhou army before dark.”As he spoke, he sat on the head of the tent.
Fei Zhong added,"My king is wise and wise. He is blessed by the heavens. He will definitely slaughter the Zhou army before nightfall."”He bowed to King Zhou of Shang and turned to the civil officials and generals."Right now, the Zhou army is already exhausted. If we wait a little longer and let them exhaust their energy, we can counterattack.”
Just as King Zhou of Shang was discussing with his subordinates, the sounds of killing could be heard from the front. The messenger reported that the Zhou army had come to charge. King Zhou of Shang pondered for a moment before saying,"Just in time. Pass on my order. The entire army will fight back." Those who make contributions to the army are rewarded, and those who forgive sins are pardoned. Then, wait for my order to counterattack and defeat the Zhou army.”
After the messenger left, Fei Zhong said,"My king, I reckon that the Zhou army will come to charge at the formation as the heavens have predicted. It seems like we have victory in our hands today and Great Shang can show off West Earth.”As he said that, he started laughing.
King Zhou of Shang originally doted on Fei Zhong the most. When he heard what he said, he also laughed. In the tent, all the ministers laughed. While the soldiers in the front line resisted desperately, the central tent of King Zhou of Shang was filled with triumphant laughter. Not long after, the shouts from the front gradually weakened. The messenger reported that the Zhou army had been defeated and had retreated.
When King Zhou of Shang heard this, he became ambitious. He said to the ministers in front of him with satisfaction,"How about it? If I say I want to defeat the Zhou army, I will definitely be able to defeat the Zhou army. With the strength of our army, we can surround them to death, let alone counterattack. Don't you think so?"
Fei Zhong immediately added,"My king personally came to command the battlefield, so of course he would win every battle."”
Fei Zhong's words struck King Zhou's heart. King Zhou smiled in satisfaction. The ministers laughed again. A second wave of laughter rang out in the tent.
Just as he was laughing, King Zhou suddenly stopped laughing. The ministers also stopped laughing. The bustling tent fell silent for a moment. Everyone was surprised and looked over together. They saw a beam of sunlight shining on King Zhou's face from a skylight in the front of the tent, making King Zhou unable to open his eyes. He tilted his head angrily and looked up at the top of the tent. The beam of sunlight moved to King Zhou's right shoulder. King Zhou of Shang was considering that the sun was already setting in the west and the decisive battle was about to arrive. Victory was at this moment. He believed that his battle formation would definitely be able to defeat the Zhou army that had come from afar. This pillar of sunlight was the sign of victory. The Shang army was invincible. For decades, they had been conquering the east and the west, winning successive battles. Even though the Eastern Expedition to Huai Yi had taken many years, exhausted the national treasury, and lost many soldiers and generals, they still obtained a complete victory in the end. Didn't they receive good news yesterday? Today, the Zhou army had arrived. Although they came suddenly, how could a small West Earth country withstand the impact of the Great Shang army? He tilted his head and thought, using this to gather his courage.
Fei Zhong, who was at the side, saw King Zhou's expression and thought that King Zhou was angry, so he said loudly,"The pillar of sunlight covers my king, which means that my king has received the will of the heavens and will definitely be able to defeat the Zhou army. Now, the sun has set in the west, and the light pillar has informed us that the heavens want us to launch a counterattack. This is a good sign of our victory. All the troops are ready to attack.”As he spoke, he took another step towards King Zhou of Shang and bowed." I am willing to go through fire and water for my king and lead the troops to lead the vanguard.”
As a result, all the ministers, especially the generals, bowed to King Zhou and said in unison,""We are willing to work for our king to defeat the Zhou army and consolidate our territory.”For a time, the atmosphere of the battle was overflowing in the tent. After a pause, there was an even more solemn silence, as if the air had frozen.
After a while, King Zhou of Shang said,"I know that you are loyal." I already have a way to defeat the enemy. We'll go outside the tent to observe the formation first, then we'll attack.”As he spoke, King Zhou of Shang stood up and left his seat, taking the lead to walk out of the tent.
King Zhou of Shang had just walked out of the tent when the messenger came to report. The Zhou army moved to the left and right and rushed out of the carriage. King Zhou looked left and right and saw dust billowing from the two sides of the Zhou army formation. It was like two tornadoes, like a pair of pincers, that clamped down on the two wings of the Shang army.
The ministers also walked out of the tent and spread out behind King Zhou. They watched as the two tornadoes approached the Shang formation. They were secretly anxious, but they did not dare to make a sound. They kept glancing at King Zhou.
King Zhou of Shang looked to the left and then to the right with a calm expression. Then, he silently watched the central formation of the Zhou army.
Fei Zhong reminded King Zhou softly,""My king, the two sides have already contacted each other.”
"Oh.”Just as King Zhou of Shang was deep in thought, he responded. At this moment, there were shouts from the left and right sides of the formation. It was as if they did not let one's ears idle. Two winds pierced through one's ears, and it was too late to respond.
The ministers couldn't hold it in any longer and began to make a ruckus.
King Zhou of Shang turned around and glared at the ministers behind him in dissatisfaction. He continued to observe the central formation of the Zhou army in front of him. Not long after, King Zhou of Shang suddenly said loudly,""That was a feint by the Zhou army. We don't have to worry. We have to be careful of the Zhou army's tricks and pay attention to strengthening the defense of the central formation.”
"Yes." Fei Zhong immediately replied. The ministers were shocked, only to hear Fei Zhong say flatteringly,"My king is wise and has divine foresight. The Zhou army will not be able to take advantage of our army. Reinforce the defense of the central formation." When the generals behind them heard the conversation between the two, they began to move and some of them began to set up.
The battle cries became intense again. The Shang army on the left was locked in a fierce battle with the Zhou army charging at them. Heads were moving, blades were flashing, and dust was billowing. Following that, the army formation on the right could also be seen, with billowing dust rising into the sky in waves.
King Zhou of Shang was still in deep thought. A centurion rushed to King Zhou and reported that the Zhou army on the left was charging fiercely and could not hold on any longer. He asked King Zhou to send reinforcements to support them. King Zhou of Shang heard it and looked to the left. Another wave of battle cries sounded, confirming the report of the chiliarch. "Go back and hold them off. I'll send reinforcements immediately.”
King Zhou of Shang gave the order. Looking at the figure of the chiliarch who turned around and left, the corner of his mouth twitched. A general on the right also ran over to report the news, requesting for more troops. King Zhou of Shang impatiently dismissed the general, then turned to look at the ministers around him and asked,""Which one of you is willing to reinforce the two armies?”
None of the ministers were willing to take the lead and die. They all lowered their heads in silence.
King Zhou of Shang asked again,"Which one of you is willing to support the two sides?"”His voice was filled with anger, and his tone was especially terrifying.
When the ministers heard this, they were shocked and replied in unison,"Wait for my king's punishment."
King Zhou turned around and said to Fei Zhong,"It seems that we have to send reinforcements to reinforce the defense on both sides." Otherwise, if both sides lose, it will be disadvantageous to our army.”
"Yes." Fei Zhong replied and then suggested to King Zhou in a low voice,""To strengthen the defensive strength of the central formation, we can only take a portion of the troops from the rear formation as reinforcements and split them into two teams to rush to the two sides.”
"Alright." King Zhou of Shang replied," Let's do that. The front line did not move, and the rear troops moved to reinforce the left and right army formations.”As he spoke, he urged Fei Zhong to assign tasks. Looking at the figures of the ministers leaving, King Zhou of Shang said to Fei Zhong,""Let's see how arrogant Zhou Jun can be. I am about to counterattack. Pass on my order, the front army is ready.”As he spoke, he laughed and pointed at the central formation of the Zhou army." Today, we must capture the Martial King alive and exterminate the West Earth barbarians. Prepare to take the credit." King Zhou's words brought a wave of vitality to the silent ministers.
From Lei Zhen's first attack, the Martial King had seen the weakness of the Shang Formation. Lu Shang also saw it clearly. After Lei Zhen retreated back to the main formation, the two of them regrouped and commanded the Zhou army carriages on both sides to cooperate with the infantry to launch a feint attack. On one side were the troops led by Uncle Guan and Uncle Cai, and on the other side were the troops led by Chen Zhuhou and Zhao Gongshuang. The two sides moved at the same time. The Zhou army launched a second attack. Uncle Guan, Uncle Cai, Chen Zhuhou, Zhao Gongshuang, and the others all knew their mission, but they remembered Lü Shang's instructions and acted according to the situation. If the Shang army did not send reinforcements and the Zhou army could charge in, they would turn the feint into a real attack. During the feint, they would act according to the signal given by the central army's command flag. Not long after, the feint troops on both sides of the Zhou army started to move. At first, they moved forward slowly, but as they got closer to the Shang army, they moved faster and faster. The two armies were about to come into contact, but there were no changes in the Shang army.
The Martial King silently watched the central formation of the Shang army. Ray Zhen couldn't keep his cool. He pounded his fists and shouted at Lu Shang,""Why are you feigning an attack? Let me charge again and charge forward. I will definitely be able to scatter the Shang army. Father Shang, look, both sides have already come into contact. The Shang Formation is still not moving."
Lu Shang watched as the two armies came into contact, and the sounds of battle erupted. He knew that King Zhou of Shang was also a man of military strategy and knew the tricks of battle. Without a certain amount of attacks from the Zhou army, it would be difficult to give King Zhou of Shang a false impression. He calmly observed the formation and did not issue an order for the feint troops to stabilize their position. Instead, he ordered the flag warriors to continue their fierce attack.
Chen Zhuhou saw the red flag waving and was very happy. He urged his troops to attack the left side of the Shang army. He had long forgotten about the feint mission. All he wanted to do was to break through the merchant formation and fight. He excitedly stopped Zhao Gongshuang's reminder and pointed at the red flag in the distance behind him, shouting,"Look, the Martial King wants us to attack fiercely?”
Only then did Zhao Gongshuang notice that the red flag was indeed swaying violently from left to right. This meant that the feint mission had changed, and now it really changed to feint as the main attack. He could only say to Chen Zhuhou,"Then charge forward. You also have to pay attention to the changes in the command flag."”As they spoke, the two of them led the chariot team and quickly rushed into the Shang formation.
Uncle Guan, especially Uncle Cai, didn't care about their original mission and urged their troops to charge straight into the Shang formation. For a time, the two teams were fighting with all their might, and the battle was extremely intense.
This situation worried King Wu. He said to Lu Shang,""King Zhou of Shang is indeed powerful. Maybe he saw through our plan. He didn't move. This is not good for us."
"There's no need to rush. A feint attack needs a certain degree of ferocity in order to become real. Let Uncle Guan and Chen Zhuhou fight for a while. We will pay close attention to the changes in the middle formation. " It seems," Lu Shang turned around," that this feint might become a real attack. Then, it would be very difficult to break through the middle formation. Lei Zhen, you have to be prepared to fight."
As soon as Lu Shang finished speaking, Lei Zhen immediately ran over and replied,"I will definitely show off my might and let King Zhou of Shang know how powerful I am. This is no longer the time when father was still alive. Just now…"
"Now it's up to you young people." Use your strength."
"I've long prepared. Father Shang, let's charge straight at the central formation."”Lei Zhen said and turned to leave.
"Wait, it's not time yet." Lu Shang shouted. I'll try again later."
Lei Zhen looked at Lu Shang's stern expression and stomped his feet. He stood still and didn't retreat back to his original position. Instead, he hurriedly observed the Shang formation. Soon, he became excited and shouted,"Big brother, Father Shang, look, the Shang Formation is changing.”
Zhou Gongdan added,"That was only the movement of the rear formation of the Shang army. The front formation did not change."”
When the Martial King saw the changes in the Shang Formation, he was excited at first, but he immediately realized that the changes were not what he had expected. Now, it was even more disadvantageous to the Zhou army. The feint troops on both sides would fail under the resistance of the Shang reinforcements. The central army was still standing guard. He turned around and glanced at Lu Shang.
Lu Shang said softly,"I didn't expect there to be so many Shang troops. King Zhou of Shang is indeed intelligent." It seemed that a tough battle was right in front of them.”
Right now, the two armies were facing each other. Neither side moved.
King Zhou of Shang had already seen the disadvantage of the Zhou army. He smiled at Fei Zhong and the ministers behind him and said,"As I expected. When our army counterattacks from both sides, the Zhou army will become something in a jar that can be grabbed easily. All the officials were working hard to advance and kill. They would definitely succeed.”In front of the central tent of the Shang army, the atmosphere of victory quickly spread to the faces of the ministers of King Zhou of Shang.
At this moment, King Wu and Lu Shang were thinking hard about what they should do next and what method they should use to salvage this situation that was gradually becoming passive and unfavorable. Time was tight. Before the fake attack troops on both sides were counterattacked by the Shang army reinforcements, they had to take measures. Or, the Zhou army would fall into a passive position, trapped in Muye and completely annihilated.
King Wu thought that if this was the case, his father's life's efforts would go down the drain. The marquises of West Earth would suffer the same fate as the Zhou army. The Martial King was deep in thought. He paced over and looked at the Merchant Array. He walked over and looked at the Merchant Array again. He walked back and forth, looking at it again and again.
The afternoon weather cleared up, and the clouds split into large pieces. Sunlight from the west often streamed out from the clouds and shone on the Zhou and Shang armies in Muye. At this moment, the sunlight reflected the huge figure of the Martial King, which swayed violently as it swept across the army formation in front of the slope.
Lu Shang could not sit still anymore. Originally, he had been sitting on a rock not far behind the Martial King. Now, he had walked to the edge of the circle where the Martial King was pacing. He stood at the most exposed place, observing and thinking. He saw that the Shang army had a large number of people. The rear army split up and formed a horizontal formation, pressing down on the Zhou army. The next situation would be that the Zhou army would be surrounded by the Shang army because they had fewer people. He thought of Bi Gonggao and San Lei's troops that were sent to attack the vanguard of the Shang army. If there was a stronger force, it would be easy for them to rush to the command center from the back and disrupt the Shang army's deployment. With a frontal attack, they would be able to break the Shang army. I wonder where Bi Gonggao and San Lei are at this moment. The two of them were experienced generals who had been through many battles. They should know when to appear. Lu Shang thought about it and didn't place much hope on it. He didn't expect the situation to change so badly. Now that Bi Gonggao and San Lei had returned, they would not be able to achieve their goal due to their small numbers. Time was pressing, and there was no time to think too much. It was time to come up with an idea. He was a resourceful person, and the people of the country had pinned their hopes on him. King Wen therefore entrusted me to fulfill King Wu's achievements. To complete King Wen's will, victory and defeat depended on this move. It seemed that all his wisdom and common sense were useless at this critical moment. His mind spun rapidly and intensely as he pondered.
At this moment, Zhou Gongdan walked to Lu Shang's side and said,""Father Shang, Shang Zhen is protecting his chest and exposing his back. It's impossible for us to turn around and attack his back. What do you think we should do?"
With Duke of Zhou's reminder, Lu Shang focused his thoughts on the Shang formation. In the face of a strong enemy, one could only fight the strong with the strong, and victory belonged to the side that could use skills at the critical moment. He suddenly realized that the front line of the Shang army was a team of slaves and prisoners. These people were only trying to survive, not fighting hard for King Zhou of Shang. Yes, forcefully charge. If you scatter this layer of people, it will be easy for you to charge into the central army formation. If you scatter this layer of people, it will cause chaos. With the Zhou army's usual training, they can defeat the small square formations of the Shang army in a chaotic battle.
" I have an idea!" Lu Shang shouted to King Wu." We can move now." Everyone, come here."
Lei Zhen immediately ran back to Lu Shang's side.
Lu Shang said to King Wu,"Now that things have come to this, we can only organize a strong charge. I think this is a feasible and effective method. There were slaves and prisoners at the front of the Shang army. They could break them apart and then charge straight into the main tent of the central army formation. They would go straight for King Zhou and disrupt the command center. Capturing the dragon was the only way. Now, we can only rely on this gamble." After a pause, Lu Shang emphasized,"To be sure, I'll personally lead the team to charge into the formation." Lei Zhen and Song Li will follow me. King Wu, Duke of Zhou, you two will lead the army. As long as our vanguard breaks through the slave prisoner defense line, you will follow closely as our backup. When we charged into the formation, the Martial King shouted at the slaves and prisoners to weaken the morale of the soldiers. They cooperated with each other like this. Did everyone hear that?" Lu Shang looked around at all the generals and finally stopped at the Martial King's face.
The Martial King's face glowed red. He was worried that he had no time, but he did not expect Father Shang to plan the deployment with confidence. This increased his confidence and courage, and he was excited. "Alright, let's do it. However, Father Shang should stay behind to command the army and not charge forward. I'm young, let's be the vanguard.”
"Don't fight. You are the ruler of a country and everyone is looking at you. You can't make any mistakes.”Lu Shang said to King Wu with concern," Also, shouting is also very important. Only you can do this, and only then can you display the great effect of shouting.”
" You're the state preceptor," King Wu continued to argue." You're old too. We can't let any mistakes happen when we rely on you to plan and command the battle.”
Zhou Gongdan interjected,"Big Brother, Shang Fu, you can't leave your command post." Let us youngsters charge forward.”
"Although I'm old, I'm still in good spirits and I still have my strength. You can rest assured about this. It was enough for the central army to have a Martial King commanding it. There was no need for any planning now. Victory and defeat depended on this gamble. Therefore, I should go to the most crucial place to grasp the changes in the situation and strive for victory. You don't have to fight." Lu Shang stopped the few people who were about to join in the argument." If we can't win, I'll let King Wen down, let the people of Zhou down, and let the people of the world down. So, time waits for no man. Let's act according to the plan. Martial King." Lu Shang then turned to King Wu." The sun is leaning to the west, which is advantageous for our attack. The sunlight is shining on the faces of the Shang army. Hurry up and attack now. It's settled then."
"Alright then. They would act according to Father Shang's plan. Everyone, work hard." the Martial King ordered in agreement.
The second attack was decided. This was a struggle that determined success or failure. Everyone had their hearts in their throats, betting their lives on this final gamble. Everyone got on the car excitedly and drove to the designated position, waiting for the signal to attack.
Lu Shang bid farewell to King Wu, boarded the carriage, and drove down the hill. He drove through the gaps between the small formations to the front of the army. Lei Zhen and Song Li were already waiting there.
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