Crossing the River with a Chariot
(9)
In the middle of the tent, there was an altar. The tablet of King Chinese in the fire was particularly eye-catching. There were two stools on the left and right of the table. King Wu sat on the stool on the left, while Lü Shang sat on the right. Two groups of people stood on either side of the tent. Duke Dan of Zhou, Uncle Cai, Uncle Guan, Duke Shuang of Zhao, Duke Gao of Bi, Lei Zhen, Marquis Chen, and the others stood on one side. On the other side, there were various marquises and some chiliarchs from the main headquarters of the Zhou Kingdom. The tent was filled with people, all the way to the entrance. There were also some small lords outside the tent.
King Wu looked around at the crowd and summarized,""I inherited my father's position and shouldered the heavy burden of completing his will. This time, he led the army to the east mainly to overcome the difficulties of the Yellow River. The army was now gathered on the shore, waiting to cross the river.”There was silence in the tent. He paused for a moment and raised his voice slightly."We will start crossing the river tomorrow morning. The troops of the main division had to listen to the orders and enter the designated ferry to cross the river. When moving, do not rush to create chaos. The details were arranged by the officials on duty. They were not allowed to act without authorization. Those who made mistakes in military orders would be punished by military law.”He turned around and looked at Lü Wen.”Seeing Lu Shang nod, King Wu continued,""The army that has gathered on the shore now has a total of more than ninety thousand people and more than three hundred chariots. The most difficult part of crossing the river tomorrow was the movement of chariots and horses getting on and off the ship. They had to obey the rules and obey the command. Now, let's talk about the preparations for crossing the river and the things that we should pay attention to.”King Wu gave a detailed explanation of the details of tomorrow's crossing of the river. Then, he asked everyone,""Is there anything you're not clear about?"
"It's all clear." Everyone answered, and there was a buzz.
"Alright, tomorrow's duty officials will be Bi Gonggao and Zhou Gongdan. Now, please tell them about the plan.”As the Martial King spoke, he gestured to Bi Gonggao.
Bi Gonggao was a capable general. He was good at fighting. No matter what, he could grasp the propriety and handle things well. Usually, if there was any major action in the Zhou Country, he would take the main responsibility. When he heard the Martial King's order, he stood in front of the crowd and said,""Now, let's arrange the order. According to the troops of the various departments and the various marquises who have arrived…”Bi Gonggao announced the sequence and designated the crossing point. He divided the troops into two groups and boarded at two nearby ports at the same time. Then, he said to everyone,"This crossing of the river emphasized two principles. The second was to pay attention to safety and avoid accidents. We will cross the river at dawn tomorrow. Everyone, be careful. When they reached the other side, the team immediately left the ferry and turned onto the main road.”He also gave the order to cross the river tomorrow morning and then said,"Duke of Zhou will coordinate the boarding of the ship on this side of the ferry, and Duke of Zhao will be in charge of the disembarking troops on the other side. Uncle Cai was responsible for guiding the disembarking troops into the main road. That's all." After saying that, Duke Bi nodded at King Wu.
King Wu emphasized,"Tomorrow, all troops will act according to the instructions. The key to whether the river crossing could be successful or not was the proper use of the river crossing tools. The troops had to cooperate well with the boatmen.”Then, before announcing the end of the gathering, he instructed the old boatman, Lei Zhen, and Uncle Guan to stay behind.
After everyone else left, Martial King said to the few people who stayed behind,""You can't be careless when crossing the Yellow River. The question now is whether we can cross it tomorrow. As for these, everyone should re-discuss and see what needs to be supplemented and perfected. The more careful one was, the less likely problems would arise and the safer they would be. Father Shang, what do you think?"
Together with the old boatman, Lu Shang carefully re-checked the matters regarding the boats that would cross the river tomorrow, and then let everyone make suggestions.
"If the test raft is successful tomorrow, should we immediately make a new raft?"”
"Let's try it out, just to see if this method is feasible. There was no need to build a raft. When testing the raft, you must pay attention to safety. Don't let people fall into the river and be washed away by the water.”King Wu emphasized and continued," After the test, if you can use them, you can officially use these five rafts to help ferry a portion of the rear troops.”
"Lei Zhen, you can't just rely on the drive and courage of a young man. You have to use your brain when you encounter problems and think things through." You have to be confident before you can use the raft to transport people. The last time they crossed the river, many people fell into the river in a hurry and were washed away. We have to learn from this lesson."
"It's safer to cross the river here this time," said the old boatman. The water flow here was much slower than the last time they crossed the river, but if a person fell in a place where the water was fast, they would be easily swept away by the water. They had to take precautions. Our boatmen have already prepared it. Tomorrow, four more oarsmen would be added to each boat to speed up.”
The next day, the sky had just brightened, and the river bank was already very lively. As soon as the vanguard entered the ferry, the crossing of the river began. A team of chariots drove up the river bank and boarded the ship in an orderly manner under the command of the commander. The river roared and surged. As soon as the first batch of ships left the shore with the morning wind, they were immediately swept into the whirlpool. The ships sank with the waves and were carried downstream by the current. The oarsmen waved the big oars neatly according to the command, one up and one down, pushing the ships to the other side with difficulty. The two forces collided and pushed the ship forward slowly.
King Wu and Lu Shang went up to a higher riverbank and watched the ferry gradually drift diagonally to the opposite bank. The dense group of ships cut through the waves. The white waves stirred up by the bow of the ship gradually moved further away, but they could still be seen clearly. Their emotions were like the river, surging and deep. King Wu pointed at some moving black dots on the opposite shore and said,""That should be the vanguard. They will welcome the first batch of troops ashore. Look, the crossing fleet has begun to dock.”His voice was mixed with the excitement of a victor.
Lu Shang silently calculated the time to cross the river and the distance of the route. Then he put his hand on his forehead to block the sunlight from the eastern sky. He looked at the chariot that was disembarking and said,"It takes more than an hour to get there one way. Including the time to get on and off the ship, the fastest round trip will take nearly an hour. I can only make three trips a day, and at most four trips. Every time the boat was washed down by more than half a mile. Although this section of the river was relatively slow, the water flow was still very fast. The Yellow River was indeed a natural moat.”
The ferry returned. When the second batch of troops boarded the ship, the sun was already high up in the sky. When the ships left the shore, Lu Shang said to King Wu,""I'll go to the beach to take a look. You go back and have breakfast first. I'll go back later.”
"I'll go with you."
"No need, you should go back to the tent first." Lu Shang replied. He wanted to see if there was anything he could do and make some arrangements. The troops he had arranged yesterday could not be transported today, so he asked the troops behind him not to remove the tents for the time being. He would make a decision in the afternoon based on the specific situation.”
"Alright, that's it. I'll go back and make some arrangements first. Shang father also returned to his tent early. We still have to discuss what happens after we cross the river.”As the Martial King spoke, he watched as Lu Shang walked down the slope and walked away along the gravel beach. He sighed at his agile and steady steps. It was simply unbelievable that this was an old man who was already close to eighty years old. A sense of respect rose in his heart.
"Big brother." King Wu was about to walk back when Lei Zhen ran up excitedly and panted,""Big brother, the raft can be crossed. We've already made a smooth trip back and forth.”His tone was filled with the pride of a successful person." We have already started loading the carriages and preparing to officially transport the troops across the river. Big brother, look at this…"
"Go tell Father Shang. Ask for his opinion. He's at the ferry." King Wu reminded Lei Zhen," Be careful. This water was no joke. She might look soft, but if something went wrong, her temper would be so bad that it would kill people. This was the first time he was using a raft to transport carriages and horses. He had to be very careful.”
"Let's be on high alert and pay attention to accidents.”Lei Zhen jumped down the embankment." I'll tell Father Shang."”With that, he turned around and ran towards the ferry.
King Wu glanced at the ferry and returned to his tent.
Lu Shang came to the bustling ferry and watched Uncle Guan, Duke Bi, and Duke Zhou command the troops and chariots to board the ship. The soldiers, especially the servants, worked hard to pull and lift the chariots onto the ferry. It was orderly, tense, and not chaotic. He stroked his beard with satisfaction, looking here and there, carefully watching every chariot that passed by. The chariot jerked violently over the gravel. Most of these chariots had the same structure, but their exterior decorations were different. There were all kinds of patterns, especially the outer cover of the protective shield. There were all kinds of decorations. There were leather of various colors, including sheepskin, cowhide, and all kinds of animal skins. They were also woven with rattan. There were all kinds of materials that could be used for protection. Lu Shang watched as a chariot drove past. Suddenly, he thought of his torn robe. He couldn't help but look down at the fluttering hem of his robe. Although Yan Shi had sewed it up for him at that time and he had sewed it seriously later, he could still clearly see a long crack. He thought of the carriage. The chariots that passed by in front of him were not equipped with a carriage. The shaft of the chariot was exposed, making it look clumsy and unsightly. Lu Shang then thought of how to assemble the exterior of the car to increase its defense and offensive power.
As he thought about it, Lei Zhen found him and reported that the raft had successfully crossed the river. He was preparing to start loading the carriages. At this moment, the Duke of Zhou also came to Lu Shang's side. He gestured for Lei Zhen to stop talking and said to Lu Shang,"Shang father, big brother sent someone to bring breakfast. It's getting late."
Lu Shang was very touched. The Martial King still remembered that he had not eaten breakfast and had even specially sent someone to send him to the beach." Alright, I'll go now." Lei Zhen, continue."
Hearing Lu Shang's request, Lei Zhen was about to continue. Suddenly, there was a shout," A boat has capsized. A boat has capsized."”Everyone looked in the direction of the sound. The troops on the shore were somewhat out of formation and crowded to the shore. It was obvious that it was the location of the accident.
"Quick, let's go take a look." Lu Shang stopped Lei Zhen's report and ran forward while saying,"Maybe something happened to the raft.”
"Father Shang, you…" The Duke of Zhou shouted and quickly pulled the stunned Lei Zhen, saying,"Quickly follow. Let's go and see what happened first.”
The three of them broke through the crowd and squeezed to the front to look into the river. " A raft just flipped over," someone said to Lu Shang." The people on the raft all went into the water.”
"Oh." Lu Shang's face flashed with a trace of unnoticeable surprise, and then he whispered to Lei Zhen," You've returned from the test raft. You just said that you were going to load the carriages and horses. Why are you crossing the river so soon?……。”Lei Zhen opened his mouth and was about to explain. Lu Shang waved his hand to stop them. He asked the people beside him," How many people are on the raft?”
"I'm not sure. We couldn't see clearly from afar. The raft has already crossed the river." the man replied apologetically.
The Duke of Zhou was behind Lu Shang. He pulled him and pointed at the boatman who was standing not far away from him. The three of them moved from the crowd to the old boatman's side.
"What happened? Do you know the reason?" Lu Shang asked.”
Seeing that it was Lu Shang, the old boatman said with a heavy heart,""State Preceptor, I didn't expect the raft to capsize. This was the second raft that was loaded onto the chariot. After crossing the middle river, for some reason, it suddenly flipped over, and all the people and horses went into the water. Look," the boatman pointed to the middle of the river," that's the part of the river where the current is the most rapid.”
Looking at the direction of the boatman's finger, the river water was surging. The waves on the river surface that the raft had flipped over overlapped with each other, rising high waves and surging downstream. Occasionally, they would see a chariot flipping in the water. From time to time, a part of the chariot would emerge from the water, as if it was calling for help from the people on the shore. The upturned raft was swaying up and down on the water.
At this moment, the sharp-eyed people on the shore shouted again," Save them! Save them!"”They all pointed at a boat that was crossing downstream and shouted, as if they were anxious and excited.
Lu Shang looked over and saw a horse sticking its head out of the river a little downstream. It raised its head high and swam diagonally along the current towards the opposite bank. Not far behind the horse, there was a small black dot that was fighting with the waves. It was sometimes hidden and sometimes visible, and it was also slanted. The ferry turned slightly and drifted downstream toward the small black dot. Three to five people on the boat stood up and stretched out their poles to save him. The little black dot was fished onto the boat, and the horse followed the current and went straight down. Half a mile downstream, it struggled to land.
An armorer ran over to report to Lu Shang. There were three armorers, six servants, and four oarsmen on the raft. Including the two boatmen, there were a total of fifteen people. Because it was the first time they were loading chariots, only one chariot and two horses were on board.
"Oh." Lu Shang let out a long sigh. Only one horse and one man were rescued from the raft, while the rest were swept away by the waves. Everyone stood silently by the shore, staring at the river, hoping that a figure would suddenly appear from the water. However, the river continued to flow, ignoring the wishes of the people. The waves crashed against each other and flowed quickly.
Lu Shang turned around and said to Lei Zhen,"Young man, this is the price of blood. He should have observed carefully and considered it before taking action. Remember this lesson." He did not care about Lei Zhen's mood and reprimanded him seriously. Then, Lu Shang said to the old boatman and the Duke of Zhou,"When I saw the chariot board the ship, I thought about the raft. The raft was flat, and it looked easy to transport carriages and horses across the river, but whether it could withstand the waves still needed consideration. As for transporting people and vehicles, they had to pay more attention to safety. In particular, the chariots and horses needed to be reinforced. He was thinking of gathering everyone to study it later. I didn't expect the carriage to be transported so quickly.”
The old boatman patted Lu Shang's shoulder and said,""Since something has already happened, it's useless to talk about it. Let's go over there and take a look first." Pointing at the boat that was returning to shore, he said,"Ask the people who were rescued and you'll know what happened.”
As soon as the boat reached the shore, a person stumbled towards the boatman. He ran to the boatman, hugged his legs, and knelt down, crying loudly. The boatman patted him on the shoulder and let him cry for a while before pulling him up and saying,"Get up, Frog. There will always be blood in battles, not to mention the raging Yellow River. You still have to pay the price." The old boatman was like a kind old man, comforting the young man, patting and persuading him. There was a peaceful look on his face, but tears were falling from his eyes.
Seeing this, Lu Shang was shocked. Could the other boatman be…He didn't dare to think too much. The boatman saw Lu Shang's confusion and quickly said,""The child went to look for King Wen first. He finally had something to say to King Wen.”
"Ah!" It really was the old boatman's son. Lu Shang couldn't help but turn back to look at the turbulent river.
The old boatman continued," State Preceptor, for the sake of King Wen's cause, for the sake of defeating King Zhou of Shang and saving the people, the price he sacrificed is worth it." I, the old boatman, have been on the Yellow River for decades and have seen many people capsize and die. However, the price he paid today had a different meaning. It was something to be proud of.”As he spoke, he patted Lu Shang's shoulder, as if he was using this to express the grief in his heart.
Lu Shang seemed to be infected and remained silent for a long time. The river breeze blew, and a pair of white beards that reached his chest fluttered as they caressed each other.
After a while, the old boatman said to Lu Shang,"Let's ask the reason to prevent similar accidents from happening again. Experience and lessons are the wings of success." Frog finally restrained his grief and told the two of them about the situation when he flipped over the raft.
When King Wu heard that there was an accident with the raft, he rushed to the riverbank ferry where the accident happened.
The second raft had already been loaded with a chariot and four horses. The commander on the shore was so anxious that he stomped his feet and asked to be unloaded, pull the chariots and horses down, and stop crossing the river. However, the owner of the chariot, a middle-aged man, insisted on crossing. He said to the two boatmen who were hesitating,""Are you afraid of death too? Once the raft is overturned, you won't dare to move.”He couldn't be bothered to look at the boatman's bewildered expression and said,"This raft is fine. I don't believe it will capsize. In order to cross the river as soon as possible and enter the battlefield in the morning, I am willing to use my life as an experiment. He would try again, and he was sure that he would succeed.”He and the other two armorers shouted loudly, demanding that they leave the shore. However, the people on the shore pulled the rope tightly. The two boatmen still couldn't make up their minds, and the person in charge of the command didn't give in to stop them. The two sides were not giving in.
At this moment, the Martial King arrived. Seeing the stalemate, he was moved by the master's dedication. He asked the commander what had happened. Seeing that it was King Wu, the commander heaved a sigh of relief. He quickly gave a brief account of the raft capsizing, then pointed to the raft that was moving up and down in the water, and told them about the armorers 'insistence to try crossing again. When King Wu heard this, he turned around and said to his master,""I am deeply grateful for your help in the Eastern Expedition. However, when marching and fighting, you must listen to the orders of the commander. You cannot force yourself or violate military discipline. Avoiding unnecessary losses would increase their strength for victory. Let's try again after we find out the reason."
When the master saw that it was King Wu, he hurriedly bowed. After listening to King Wu's advice, he turned around and called everyone to go ashore while saying to King Wu,""Martial King, I suggest that I try again. I think that the raft must have encountered some accident. All of us on this raft should pay attention and be on guard. We can cross it.”He stood in front of the Martial King and listed out a bunch of necessary reasons to try again.
King Wu didn't care how he suggested it and didn't agree to let him try the raft, but he couldn't really convince him, nor could he use military orders to suppress him, because he was a marquis who came to support King Wu's expedition.
Lu Shang had also arrived with the Duke of Zhou and Lei Zhen. After Lu Shang asked about the situation, he said to King Wu,"" The frog that we rescued is good at swimming, young and strong. It was a narrow escape. He told us about the situation when the raft flipped over. It was mainly because the chariot slid and shifted, causing the warhorses to panic. They jumped forward and fell into the water, causing the raft to flip over. They were in the rapids again, and the people were all swept away by the water. It seemed that in order to strengthen the support and prevent the wheels from moving, he had to take good care of the warhorses. I came here for this. This raft could be used after some modifications.”
Lu Shang turned to the master and said,"Your devotion is admirable." Let's wait until the raft is reinforced.”
"Thank you, Imperial Preceptor, thank you, Martial King. I will definitely guard against any accidents and set an example for the army.”
Lü Shang said to King Wu,"The boatman's son fell into the water. He may have died in the line of duty."”
"Ah, it's him." The Martial King said sadly to his master,""Be careful, experiments always carry risks. I wish you success, but I'll have to try again tomorrow.”
"Yes, sir." The marquis responded loudly and turned back to smile at the commander. He made a face and said proudly,"I will wait here."
……。
King Wu stepped onto the riverbank and looked back at the last batch of troops crossing the river. They were still fighting against the wind and waves in the river and gradually approached the shore. After six days, the army finally crossed the Yellow River safely. This afternoon, the wind was blowing, each stronger than the last, and the waves were especially turbulent, each higher than the last. The ferry was very bumpy, making it very difficult and dangerous to cross the river. The speed of crossing the river slowed down. Fortunately, this was the last batch of troops.
King Wu said to Zhou Gongdan, who was standing beside him,""The Yellow River is not scary. This is our second time crossing the Yellow River. If we overcome the greatest chasm in the world, the road to the east will be unimpeded. The next step would be to see how our military strength would be used on the battlefield.”
"Big brother, it took six days to cross the river. If we encounter bad weather, we will need more time. Look, the last batch of troops encountered a strong wind. It was very difficult to cross the river, and their speed was also much slower. Looking at the weather, it wouldn't change, right?”Zhou Gongdan looked up at the gray sky and said worriedly. Among the brothers, only Duke of Zhou Dan knew the true purpose of this expedition.
King Wu replied,"The wind is blowing fast today, and it's blowing strangely." The weather did not change at all, but the wind started to blow. It was probably a dry wind, so it wouldn't rain.”
The boat reached the shore with difficulty. The people on the shore used all their strength to pull the rope in. The troops were disembarking. The boat shook violently, and a chariot that was getting off the boat was almost thrown into the water. The soldiers shouted and immediately surrounded it. They held the chariot in their hands and slowly and carefully unloaded the boat. When Duke Dan of Zhou saw this scene, he said to King Wu,""Our troops have been equipped with a large number of chariots. When crossing the river by boat, getting on and off the boat was indeed very inconvenient. It might be much easier if he used a raft. The next time we cross the river, try to use a raft.”Duke Dan of Zhou understood King Wu's intention for this expedition and knew that there would be another one, so he emphasized this.
King Wu smiled and said confidently,"I think so too."”
The old boatman brought a few boatmen to the Martial King.
King Wu said happily,"Old boatman, boatmen, you have worked hard." You have already made the first contribution to the victory of the east. I thank you." He kept bowing to the old boatman. "Old boatman, if my father's spirit in heaven knows, he will bless you with a long life. You have once again contributed greatly to Zhou Country and made a great contribution.”
"As long as King Wu needs boatmen, we will do our best." The old boatman smiled happily. We just want to help King Wu complete King Wen's career as soon as possible.”
"Soon." "However, we still have to work hard," King Wu said confidently. We were able to cross the Yellow River smoothly this time all thanks to your hard work and assistance. Finally, he managed to get there before the wind blew. Otherwise, it would be difficult."
"King Wen has a spirit. The weather will still be good even if the wind blows.”"What orders does King Wu have?" the old boatman asked.”
King Wu said in a low voice,"Take the boatmen and guard the Yellow River ferry." If the marquis 'troops came, they would help cross the river. We'll be back soon. See you then."
Zhou Gongdan also interjected,"The boatmen are really hard.”
"It's nothing for us boatmen to work a little harder. For the sake of King Wen's cause, we are far inferior to you soldiers who fight bloody battles on the battlefield and risk your lives. Our ancestors have lived on the banks of the Yellow River for generations. Only King Wen gave us a stable life and allowed us to unite and fight against nature. We are grateful for King Wen's benevolent government and righteousness. We are willing to make our due contributions to the conquest of King Zhou of Shang. Tell me, am I right?"
"Yes!" "That's it." "That's what we all mean." All the boatmen shouted in unison.
King Wu bid farewell to the old boatman and the boatmen, turned around, and followed the rear troops onto the main road. His car was parked on the main road not far away, waiting.
The troops of the Eastern Expedition had finally crossed the Yellow River and continued to advance. What was waiting for them ahead?
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