Chapter 205 The Battle of Makino (7)

On the tenth day of the Battle of Muye, Chaoge, the capital of the Shang Dynasty.

Chaoge City means singing the dawn, welcoming the rising sun, and flourishing day by day.

Facing the rising sun and bathed in warm sunshine, the army of the Shang Dynasty set out from the south gate and marched to Muye in mighty strength. The army that went out included more than 40,000 alien legions, 100,000 slave crossbowmen, 10,000 old guards, 6,000 royal guards, and 12 war elephants, with a total strength of more than 150,000.

The first appearance of war elephants from the Shang Dynasty brought great shock to Ouyang Shuo and the other lords.

War elephants are clad in armor made of rhinoceros hide and hardwood, with bronze face shields on their faces, and sharp spears strapped to their tusks. On the back of the war elephant is a wooden battle tower shaped like a chariot, on which there are a driver, two archers and two spearmen.

Such a giant beast armed to the teeth is simply a human bulldozer on the battlefield. No one can block its edge. Wherever the elephant passes, it will leave a trail of blood.

The only regret is that there are too few war elephants, and most of the elephants are still fighting fiercely with Dongyi in the east. Otherwise, Zhou Jun's chariot troops are nothing to worry about.

If the Suwei army is the elite of the dynasty, then the royal guard is the elite of the elite. They followed Emperor Xin, the king of Shang, and went to the south for hundreds of battles, making great achievements in battle. The members of the guard are all the children of nobles, they are the real soldiers of the Shang Dynasty, and they are loyal to the King of Shang.

The soldiers of the Suwei Army and the Royal Guard were filled with righteous indignation at the rebellion against the Zhou State and the alliance of princes, and their shameless act of taking advantage of the vacancy and ignoring the threat of foreign aggression. They were determined to resolutely defend the Shang Dynasty with their spears and spears. of glory. Their morale is high and their fighting spirit is boiling.

The people of Chaoge lined up at the city gate to see off the soldiers. Whether it is the Suwei army or the royal guard, they are all Chaoge's soldiers, they are the real members of the Shang clan, and they cannot be compared with the slave army.

Emperor Xin, king of Shang, marched in person in a chariot inlaid with gold, silver and precious stones.

The mighty army, the banners fluttering, the spears and spears everywhere, the military appearance is strict. Row after row of troops passed through the south gate and walked up the official road leading to Muye City, stirring up waves of dust.

The people on both sides of the road spontaneously danced to pray for the gods to see the army off. They prayed to the ghosts and gods to protect their sons who went to war so that they could return safely. Because in the city, there are their parents, wives, and young children waiting to be fed, waiting for their sons, husbands, and fathers to go home and reunite.

Sitting on the golden chariot, Di Xin waved to the people, which drew bursts of cheers. Although their kings were cruel, stubborn, and moody, their kings made great military exploits and did not abandon their own people. Instead, they marched on their own, which was enough to be supported by the people.

When rows of slave legions equipped with powerful crossbows appeared, the common people cried out in surprise. As the last slavery dynasty in Chinese history, slaves had a very low status in society. They were captives, commodities, goods, and livestock, but they were not regarded as "human beings."

It is conceivable that when such a group of non-"human beings" are distributed with powerful crossbows and trained into an army, what kind of impact it will have on ordinary people, businessmen, nobles and slave owners.

If it wasn't for the Shang Dynasty's life-and-death moment, then there would definitely be a large group of people who would stand up against the Shang King's approach, because it had violated the vital interests of the nobles and slave owners.

Those who can be selected from among the 700,000 slaves are stronger and more obedient slaves. They walked in the formation cautiously, terrified and uneasy, and felt very uncomfortable when they looked at the eyes of the people around them, as if they were walking on the street naked.

They are still far from adapting to their new identities.

General Elai, who was born as a slave, was at the forefront of the Crossbowmen Legion. This general with a fierce face, superb martial arts skills, and incomparable strength was also warmly welcomed by the people.

Walking at the end is the Alien Legion. Although the cavalry unit suffered some losses in the previous battle, it was still the most powerful unit and was at the forefront of the legion.

Immediately after the cavalry unit was the 20,000 sword and shield troops, one after another, stepping on the same rhythm, passing through the south gate. The military appearance and exquisite armor are all moving.

The army walked on the official road, with no end in sight. The front army has arrived in Muye, and the rear army has not yet passed through the south gate of Chaoge City. On the official road, there are all rows of troops, and there is no room for any pedestrian.

It wasn't until three o'clock in the afternoon that the last row of sword and shield soldiers barely reached Muye.

Muye is just a small city with dilapidated and low walls. It is simply built with loess and has almost no defensive capabilities. It is only as the last gate of Chaoge in the capital that Muye is so crucial.

The army did not enter the city at all, and set up camp directly in the southern suburbs. The tents one after another occupied all the plains, high slopes, and valleys in the southern suburbs, densely packed, and almost surrounded the entire Muye City.

At this time, the southern suburbs have already changed beyond recognition. There are trenches one meter wide and two meters deep covering the entire front of the southern suburbs. The distance between each other is less than 100 meters, and the overall span reaches 1,000 meters, which almost prevents chariots from charging. possible. And such a trench will not affect the cavalry's attack.

Emperor Xin of the Shang Dynasty entered Muye City's Yamen and used it as the temporary headquarters of the army.

The people in Muye City, including 600,000 slaves, have all been transferred to Chaoge, so as not to consume the grain and grass stored in the city, and it is also a precaution against the careful work of the Zhou Dynasty. The entire Muye City suddenly turned into a military fortress, and apart from the soldiers, only the logistics personnel in charge of food and supplies were left.

The royal guard, taking over the guarding work of the government office, must ensure the safety of Emperor Xin of the Shang Dynasty.

That night, Di Xin called all the generals in the government office to discuss tomorrow's formation. Ouyang Shuo, as a representative of other people, had the honor to attend this military affairs conference.

In fact, at this time, Ouyang Shuo had already become a celebrity in front of Emperor Xin of the Shang Dynasty. His status had far exceeded the authority of a foreign representative. Many of his suggestions could be adopted by Emperor Xin.

Of course, many of Ouyang Shuo's schemes had the figure of Ju Shou behind them.

...

Meng Jin, Yong, Lu, Peng, Pu, Shu, Qiang, Wei, Mao and other princes finally arrived with their troops.

After gathering the princes from all walks of life, in Mengjin, King Wu of Zhou and the princes from all walks of life held an anti-business swearing-in meeting.

At the swearing-in meeting, King Wu of Zhou issued a call to discuss business, listing six crimes of the king of Shang: the first is drinking too much; In the sky; the sixth is not paying attention to sacrifices.

A small country in the west under the rule of the Shang Dynasty openly accused the lord of the crimes, even alcoholism and other life hobbies can be included in it, which shows how hypocritical the state of Zhou is. It is obvious that he is committing rebellion and conspiracy, but he wants to package himself as the embodiment of justice.

Afterwards, a grand sacrificial ceremony was held, and King Wu of Zhou and other tribal leaders swore to heaven to destroy Yin and Shang. The sacrificial ceremony is also a living sacrifice, but the sacrifice is replaced by the captives of the Shang Dynasty.

After the sacrifice, Bingfeng pointed directly at Muye.

The army dispatched in the Western Zhou Dynasty included 300 chariots, 3,000 royal guards, and 45,000 soldiers. These are real regular troops, with well-trained soldiers, rich combat experience, strict military discipline and excellent equipment. Coupled with the armed forces of the princes, the total force reached 70,000. In addition, there are more than 50,000 alien legions.

Even so, the weapons and equipment of the Zhou army were far inferior to those of the Shang army. The bronze smelting and manufacturing level of the merchants is extremely high, and the bronze weapons and armor they produce are of high quality, and their performance far exceeds that of the Zhou army.

This is especially true of infantry armor. The merchant army has popularized armor made of bronze and rhinoceros leather, especially the bronze helmet was the standard equipment for merchant soldiers at that time, and its structural design, manufacturing process, product quality and protection were second to none in the world even at the same time.

However, the Zhou army in the same period only had ordinary leather armor or even wooden armor, and even the noble officers and guards of the Zhou army did not have bronze armor. The two are not the same in terms of protection.

Of course, compared to the slave army with almost no armor and only a handful of bronze spears in history, although the Zhou army is not as good as the merchant army, it is much stronger than the slave army in history.

Zhou and Shang were feuds and old enemies.

Among them, there is the feud of the Shang royal family against King Wu of Zhou who killed his father, father, and brother for three consecutive generations, and the competition for territory, population, and ruling power between the two countries caused by Shang's repeated military attacks on Zhou.

Therefore, no matter whether it is between the royal families of the two parties or between the countries and the people, the two sides have always been dirty. By the time of King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty, the whole country of the Western Zhou Dynasty had a backlog of blood feuds against Shang for at least a hundred years.

This time, the Western Zhou Dynasty put all the available troops in the country at all costs and put all their eggs in one basket. Therefore, the Zhou people had no way out, and the consequences would be disastrous if they were defeated. In the army, from King Wu to the soldiers, the morale and morale of the army are extremely high and unified.

The princes dispatched are also the most elite and powerful regular army in their country.

Since the founding of the state, Shang has been constantly conquering neighboring countries, tribes and nationalities. The first purpose is to expand the territory, and the second is to plunder the population. In addition to increasing slaves and expanding production, plundering the population also had an important purpose of obtaining living sacrifices for theocratic divination and sacrifices, or obtaining living people for nobles to be buried.

The theocratic rule of the Yin and Shang Dynasties was extremely serious, and living people were often sacrificed. And these "materials" also pay attention to "quality", and most of them must be young and strong, which is destined to require a large number of living people. Therefore, the Shang Dynasty plundered the population very frequently and seriously. Moreover, the entire Shang clan overly advocates and believes in violence and force, and mostly adopts direct and simple violent methods against the surrounding tribes and countries, especially the western tribes and countries.

This eventually caused these peoples to be filled with deep-rooted hatred for Shang. Once the time is right, they will revenge blood hatred at all costs. The morale of their troops is consistent with that of the Western Zhou Dynasty.

The gentle and virtuous style of "benevolence, kindness and love for the people" of the Zhou royal family has led to the Western Zhou Dynasty royal family's considerable appeal both in the country and among the tribes and princes' royal families and people all over the Zhou Dynasty, so it can be echoed by everyone.

The mighty army came straight to Muye along the Wei River. The flags of the vassal states fluttered in the wind, showing the determination of the vassal states to fight against business. This is a group of enemies with bloody feuds.

In the gloomy sky, a group of birds flew by, leaving endless loneliness.