night.
Zhou army camp.
Although they suffered a defeat during the day, the Zhou army quickly adjusted. After all, these Zhou troops had fought all the way from Haojing to the East, experienced countless battles, and had sufficient experience.
The night was dark, and except for the soldiers on patrol, the other soldiers were already asleep. In the Zhou army's tent, Shan Hou was discussing tomorrow's battle strategy with several lieutenants.
Although blocked by the Huai River, the remaining Yin Shang army only numbered 600 people. The Zhou army could completely rely on their numerical superiority to cross the river from multiple locations. When the time comes and the army is surrounded, the remaining Yin and Shang troops will have no way to escape.
At this moment, a rumble suddenly came from the distance, like thousands of horses galloping. The Zhou army camp was suddenly alarmed, and countless people woke up from their sleep and looked around in panic.
"Is this the sound of rolling chariots? Where do so many chariots come from?"
"No, this is not a chariot!"
Outside the big tent, Shan Hou shouted loudly and asked: "Light the torch and set up the formation quickly."
Soon a large number of torches were lit, illuminating the camp clearly. At this moment, everyone finally saw the torrential flood sweeping in like a mountain, destroying everything in its path.
"Flood, it's a flood, run!" the sharp-eyed soldier shouted, and suddenly the surrounding Zhou troops panicked.
"It's a flood, Shanhou, leave quickly." Shanhou's retainers shouted loudly, desperately pulling Shanhou and rushing out of the camp. However, at the critical moment of life and death, the entire camp was already in chaos, and tens of thousands of people swarmed out. , trampling on each other, there is no way to escape.
At the same time, the surging river flowed down the river, and waves several feet high crashed down. The camp wall was swept away like straw in front of the landslide-like flood. But in the blink of an eye, the camp turned into a swamp, and a large number of soldiers and supplies were submerged in the water. Even the soldiers who could swim disappeared when they were caught by the ferocious waves.
The rolling flood came overwhelmingly, and everything that stood in the way of the flood, whether it was tanks, camps, or soldiers, was submerged. Only a few were lucky enough to find a raft and hold it in their arms to escape.
When Shan Hou saw this situation, his face instantly turned pale. Tens of thousands of elites were killed by him. How could he have the face to meet Dazai and King Cheng? He immediately drew his sword and wanted to kill himself, but was stopped by his subordinates.
Tens of thousands of Zhou troops were washed away by the floods, and countless people wailed in the floods. The entire both sides of the Huaihe River have become a marshland.
On the south bank of the Huai River, Zi Jue watched the floods surging down, overwhelming the Zhou army camp, countless campfires were extinguished, and screams and shouts could not be heard. But in the blink of an eye, it was completely submerged by the flood.
The sky was getting brighter, and the morning sunlight pierced the darkness. Looking around, I saw that the surrounding area for dozens of miles was completely transformed into a vast land.
As for the Zhou army's camp, it had long been washed away by the flood, and the tens of thousands of troops were all fed to the fish and turtles. However, there were also some lucky people who escaped by running to higher ground.
Zijue pulled out his sharp sword and shouted: "The Zhou army is defeated, we will attack immediately, kill the defeated troops and collect supplies!"
"No!" The surrounding soldiers responded in unison, and then immediately controlled the raft to pursue them.
Six hundred soldiers and thousands of old and weak were dispatched on dozens of rafts, and began to surround and kill the remaining soldiers of the Zhou army who were trapped on the isolated island, while collecting supplies. Although these materials have been soaked in water, many of them can still be used after drying.
After a night of floods, tens of thousands of troops were washed away by the floods. Shanhou finally gathered more than a hundred soldiers. However, because of the flood, almost all of these people were unarmed and without armor. If they had worn armor, they would have been long gone. Drowned.
Seeing Dan Hou, everyone couldn't help but feel sad and cried loudly: "Your Majesty, it's over, it's over, all ten thousand troops were lost here..."
Hearing this, Dan Hou was also sad, but he still comforted: "The Yin thieves are already declining, so what if they win this time? After all, they will still be like these fallen leaves, blown down by the autumn wind, and our country will be like the sun. ....”
But before he finished speaking, he heard several soldiers nearby shouting: "Look, Your Majesty, the Yin thief is coming!"
"The Yin thief is coming after me!"
"Your Majesty, please leave quickly. I will bring people to stop them!"
Shanhou hurriedly turned around and saw hundreds of Yin warriors coming with dozens of rafts. Seeing this situation, Shanhou knew that he could no longer hesitate and immediately boarded the raft with a few soldiers to try. get away.
...
"Your Majesty had help from heaven to defeat Zhou's army, but we failed to achieve even an inch of success! I really envy them that they can follow Your Majesty to kill the enemy." A young man with a childish face said enviously.
"Ming, you will be sixteen next year, and then you can follow Junshang to fight." Yu comforted him.
Although the flood washed away the Zhou army, it also scattered the supplies and soldiers. Yu led dozens of soldiers and hundreds of old and weak men to collect supplies. If they encountered Zhou soldiers who were not dead, they would take them back and make them slaves. .
"Brother Yu, look, there is someone there, it seems to be a general!" Another young man said excitedly.
"Where? Where?" Yu quickly looked in the direction that the young man was pointing. Sure enough, on a mound, a group of Zhou troops were hiding in a panic, and one of them was obviously of high status.
"It's Zhou Jun, haha, brothers, we are going to make a contribution!" After seeing those people, Yu quickly called on everyone to paddle the surrounding rafts.
Their arrival obviously alarmed the Zhou troops. After seeing them, these people hurriedly jumped on the raft to escape.
"Quick, they want to escape, catch up with them, don't let them go!" Yu divided some of them to attack the remaining Zhou army on the mound, while the rest continued to pursue the raft.
The Zhou people were not good at boating, and their rafts were not fast, so they were soon caught up. Although they were just old and weak, the Zhou people had no weapons, and had been soaked in floods all night. They were tired, sleepy, and hungry, so they were no match for them. But everyone looked at what seemed to be a general on the raft and wanted to capture him alive.
"Ming, you lead people to harass with bows and arrows, while I, Pan, and a few people swim over there!" Yu immediately ordered, and after speaking, he led a few people to jump directly into the water, and the remaining people opened their bows and set arrows.
The next moment, arrows rained down like rain. The raft was not big, and there was almost no place to dodge. People who were running for their lives took cover one after another. The raft was in a mess, and some people even accidentally fell into the water. The speed of the raft, which was already slow, was even worse. Almost stagnant, drifting with the tide.
At this moment, the water surface suddenly churned, and the raft suddenly shook violently, almost overturning, and the people on the raft fell into the water one after another.
At this moment, several figures suddenly emerged from the water. Like water ghosts, they moved quickly. They grabbed Shan Hou and others and pushed them into the water without any explanation. Shan Hou and others had already been unable to stand steadily and did not resist at all. The force was dragged into the water. Everyone was terrified and struggled to escape, but they were unable to do anything.
After all these people rolled their eyes and no longer had the strength to resist, Yu arrested them all.
...
Qufu, the capital of the Yan Kingdom.
Grand Prime Minister Zhou Gongdan and Taigong Wang once again summoned the princes from all parties to prepare for the enfeoffment of princes in the east.
This time, Shang was defeated for the second time, and a large number of heroes needed rewards. The Zhou Dynasty army could not be stationed here for a long time. In order to prevent the remaining forces of the Yin Shang from rebelling again, enfeoffment was the best choice.
In the main hall, Dazai Dan was discussing matters with Taigong Wang. The purpose of this eastern expedition had been achieved.
Now that the Fang State, the most powerful state of the Yin Shang Dynasty in the east, was defeated, the Yin Shang Dynasty in the world no longer had the power to resist. However, although the rebellious Yin Shang Fang Kingdom was destroyed, there are still a large number of Yin Shang remnants that need to be dealt with.
It is not advisable to let things go their own way. Those rebellious nobles have been wiped out. The soldiers who participated in the Eastern Expedition this time have not yet been rewarded. These lands are just given to soldiers and nobles, allowing them to establish a state. In this way, the nobles can be rewarded and It can also disintegrate the Yin Shang remnants, and at the same time, these feudal princes can also guard the remaining Yin Shang remnants nearby.
It has to be said that the enfeoffment system is indeed the most suitable system for the current situation.
"The Emperor Yin was unruly and brought chaos to the world. The phoenix sings in Qishan, and the state of Zhou is prosperous."
Zhou Gongdan acted as the king, while Taigong Wang presided over the heaven-sacrifice ceremony, once again reaffirming that Zhou was the common master of the world, and all rebellious Yin and Shang remnants needed to be punished.
"The King of Zhou is the son of God. He is sacred and noble and inviolable. It is the destiny of Zhou to conquer the Yan Kingdom this time. The Yin Shang Dynasty has lost the favor of God."
"You obey the destiny and break the Yin Dynasty for the second time. The state of Zhou will be favored by heaven. The phoenix sings on Qishan Mountain. King Wu conquers Zhou. The people of Zhou get the destiny. The destiny of Yin and Shang falls. Our state and Zhou gain the world. This is the flow of destiny."
"Today we destroy the country of Yan, but there are still a large number of Yin and Shang remnants in this land who are rebelling. Although the state and Zhou army are strong, they cannot stay here for a long time. Therefore, I have been ordered by the king to divide the meritorious ministers here and let you and others act on behalf of the emperor. Herdsmen, guard one side.”
Many nobles kneeling below heard this and suddenly became happy. At this time, the Yan State, the most important country of the Yin Shang Dynasty, had been attacked and destroyed. The survivors of the Yin Shang Dynasty had suffered heavy losses. The next step was to divide the feudal country according to merit. .
Next, the feudal state was established. Because there was also the Yin Shang Fang Kingdom that had surrendered nearby, Taigongwang and Dazaidan enfeoffed a large number of meritorious people around the Yan Kingdom. At the same time, Taigongwang was enfeoffed in Pugu's hometown, and the state of Qi was founded. Dazai Dan entrusted the old land of the state of Yan and established the state of Lu. In addition, this time more than a dozen states were enfeoffed to guard this place.
In order to prevent the Yin Shang remnants from rebelling, the two deliberately built their feudal state here. Of course, as the three princes, the two of them need to return to Haojing to sit in charge and assist in becoming king. King Cheng is young and needs the support of Taigongwang and Dazaidan, so he cannot be separated for a long time. He could only leave his eldest son here to build the country.
But just as the enfeoffment was about to end, a herald rushed in. Seeing the embarrassed look of the herald, the two of them felt something bad in their hearts.
Immediately Dazai Dan gently waved his hand, and an attendant next to him quickly stepped forward to take the herald to the side hall. Fortunately, the rewards in the main hall had come to an end, and after a while, Dazai Dan and Taigong Wang hurried over.
"What happened?" Dazaidan asked directly.
"Shan Hou pursued the Yin Shang rebels. On the bank of the Huai River, the enemy attacked halfway across the river. Shan Hou was frustrated. It was the Yin people who dug up the Huai River at night. The army was flooded and only a few hundred people escaped..."
After hearing what the herald said, Tai Gongwang and Da Zaidan looked a little ugly. After asking the herald some more questions, they asked the attendants to take him down to rest.
"Shan Hou was defeated, and the emperor's six armies lost thousands! The army has been on an expedition for two years, and the soldiers missed their hometown, but they could not delay it any longer. But who will deal with those Yin and Shang rebels?" Dazai Dan asked.
Taigong Wang understood Dazai's dilemma. Although the army was invincible after having traveled thousands of miles and been out for two years, although it was invincible, it had reached its limit and needed to go back for repairs. However, the Yin and Shang rebels also needed to deal with it. He immediately said: "Since the princes have been entrusted to guard them, then Let these princes join forces to encircle and suppress the rebels. There are more than 5,000 rebels and they are as diseased as mustard moss. An occasional victory has nothing to do with the overall situation."
"Our country has won the destiny of Zhou, and the Yin and Shang rebels will eventually be completely crushed!"
After hearing Taigong Wang's words, although I still had some doubts in my heart, as Taigong Wang said, Bang Zhou had received his destiny, and those Yin and Shang rebels were just clowns, leaving it to the princes to deal with it. After thinking about it for a while, Dazai Dan felt a little worried.
He immediately said: "As far as the sea in the east, the river in the west, Muling in the south, and Wudi in the north, the five princes and nine uncles can actually conquer it."
After saying this, Taigong Wang was shocked in his heart. This was giving him part of the emperor's rights.
Dazai Dan continued: "There are four poles and eight wildernesses in the world. The emperor is in the middle and commands the four directions. However, in the four directions are Dongyi, Xirong, Beidi, and Nanman. Qi, Yan, Sui, and Shen are the strong branches among the states of Zhou Dynasty. The emperor We need you to guard the four directions and conquer the Yi and Di."
Under this king's order, envoys need to be sent to visit the emperor every year and present prisoners and goods to the emperor. This king ordered to move every three years. If the merits are not enough, he will be transferred to other princes.
Dazaidan originally planned to announce these things after returning to Haojing, but after Shanhou's defeat, he handed over the right to conquer Dongyi to Qi in advance.
But after making this decision, Dazaidan suddenly felt something strange in his heart, but he didn't know why.
After all, the great affairs of the country lie in military service and sacrifice, and it is said that only weapons and names cannot be faked. Although Dazaidan assigned some of the rights and status of conquering the four directions to the princes, which eased the military pressure on Emperor Zhou a lot, the authority of Emperor Zhou continued to decline in the long run.
Dazai Dan is well aware of the consequences of doing so, but this is also the best way at the moment.
The backward productivity and poor transportation could not support the Emperor Zhou to control the four extremes and eight wastelands, so this method of appointing princes from all directions was undoubtedly the best way. As long as the future Emperor Zhou does not cause chaos, Bangzhou's world will not be in chaos. It's a pity that this is just wishful thinking. The erosion of power and the degradation of carnivores are always unexpectedly fast.
...
At the same time, Wang Jue, who was far away by the Huai River, suddenly felt something strange, and then discovered that the luck column on the system panel had changed.
[Battle of Huai River: You successfully blocked the elite Zhou army with a thousand-man exhausted army, relied on water attacks to defeat the Zhou army, and captured countless prisoners! Your reputation has been improved, your enemies are more hostile to you, and the survivors of the Yin and Shang dynasties regard you as their hope. You have gained 2,000 luck points. The victory in the Battle of Huai River has allowed you to successfully establish a foothold in the land of Huai Si and have the ability to rebuild Fang Kingdom. foundation. More Yin Shang survivors came to seek refuge with you. 】
With the changes in the system panel, the Battle of Huai River is completely over. At this time, three days had passed since the floods flooded the Zhou army that night. The Huai River began to recede at dawn. After the rain stopped, the Huai River would soon recover. Taking advantage of the Zhou army's defeat, Zijue and his men began to capture Capture prisoners.
He is now preparing to re-establish the country, so it is not enough to just rely on the more than 5,700 Yin and Shang survivors in front of him, so he plans to capture these Zhou army prisoners and use them as slaves.
After a flood, most of the tens of thousands of troops were washed away, and countless people drowned. Even those who were lucky enough to survive were frightened by the power of God, and were captured by the troops sent by Zi Jue.
After the flood, Zijue not only sent a large number of men to capture prisoners, but also asked people to collect supplies for the Zhou army. Although these supplies had been soaked in water, there were still many usable things after they were dried.
When there was no more organized army except his army, the war was completely over.
After a flood, although they won the victory, they did not get much loot. They had 1,300 shi of food, most of which was soaked in water, and more than 2,000 people were captured. As for the rest, except for those who drowned, they were washed away by the flood. Yes, the lucky few who escaped are basically all here, and Shan Hou was also captured.
In this era, nobles could be redeemed, and Zijue wanted to exchange him for the survivors of the Yin Shang who were captured as slaves. Now that we are here, if we want to develop and grow, we must have a large enough population. The current population is only five to six thousand. It is simply too difficult to rely on this small population for development.
This Shan Hou also made a lot of contributions to Bang Zhou, so it would not be difficult to exchange for hundreds of Yin Shang survivors.
Although he won the Battle of Huai River, Zi Jue was not so arrogant that he thought he could defeat Bang Zhou and rebuild the Yin and Shang Dynasties. The general trend of the world has been said to be stable after Bang Zhou divided the world. If he insists on going his own way, he will eventually be crushed by the rings of history.
Now that he is weak, if the distance is too close, Bangzhou's army can attack and destroy him at any time, so he cannot establish a country here and needs to continue to the south.
In the land of Huaisi, the most powerful Fang State was Xu State. The state of Xu was granted by King Yu of the Xia Dynasty, and had nothing to do with Bang Zhou, and was even a bit bad. The relationship between Xu State and Yin Shang was pretty good, and Zijue was planning to re-establish Fang State in Huainan.
Of course, he originally wanted to cross the Yangtze River, but he heard that south of the Yangtze River was the territory of Wu State. This Wu State also has the surname Ji. It was founded by the brother of King Wen of Zhou and has been passed down for five generations. If he moves further south, he will definitely have a conflict with the Wu State. Although the Wu State is not strong, he is even weaker and cannot bear any more losses.
After defeating the Zhou army, Zijue did not stay long and began to move southward, preparing to settle down near Daze. And during this period, because after he defeated the Zhou army, many Yin Shang survivors who escaped after the collapse of the Xi Kingdom began to defect to him.
There were just a few people at the beginning, but later thousands of people came, and it was very lively for a while.
——
Zhou Gongdan formulated various rigorous systems and etiquette for the state to restrain the princes, support the state, and hope that the state would continue. It's a pity that history has already given us an answer. The erosion of power and the degradation of carnivores are always shockingly fast. "Ancient History of China·Western Zhou Dynasty"
