When Pan Geng moved to Yin, I initiated Jian Shang

Biyang, also called Liyang, is surrounded by mountains and rivers, has a flat terrain and a large population.

It was a tribal gathering place at this time.

And people from Huai River have been fishing and hunting nearby for a long time.

The King of Shang and the main force from the north have launched an attack on Liyang.

Inside the city, four or five hundred young and strong men were fighting back.

However, due to the difference in numbers and equipment, it took less than half an hour for the people in Liyang City to be killed or injured, and a large number of people paddled their boats and rushed out quickly to the south.

Escape to the mountains in the south.

In the flat land of Huaishang, mountains are rarely seen, but to the south of Liyang, there are mountains.

The people from Biyang fled here, and Zihu had just cleared out a camp on the mountain and captured these people on the spot, then arranged for them to dig the soil and do some work.

Just give the stutterer some food so that he doesn't starve to death.

As for Zigeng's order for him to just test it out, he did not take it to heart.

Now that you are here, there is no reason not to fight!

As a result, the mountains and the banks of the Huai and Yi rivers were crowded with people.

King Shang was standing on the chariot. He saw Zihu's flag and frowned, saying, "Call the wizards and prepare for the sacrifice."

Everyone took action.

After the human sacrifice, the people at the top of the mountain also began to offer sacrifices, just like those at the foot of the mountain.

Before the battle even started, both sides had already started competing with the Emperor.

After the sacrifice was completed, the next day King Shang ordered Zhuo clan to send troops.

Although Zhuofeng was defeated in the battle with Fengfu last time, Zhuo clan has always been the trusted clan of King Shang. Even without Zhuofeng, there are still Zhuoliu, Zhuozhuo and others.

After all, in most of the time in this era, for tribes with the same surname and relatives, as long as they did not completely offend the dead, they would at least be spared, or at most exiled.

Or find an excuse to migrate away.

Population has always been the most important existence in this world. Conquest does not mean the destruction of a tribe. At most, more than half of the tribe will be killed or injured, and then they will be annexed and dispersed, gradually evolving into servants.

Zhuoliu and Zhuozhuo led the attack, and the two sides soon clashed head-on at the foot of the mountain, soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals.

So this is the personal quality of the soldiers.

Not everyone is as unethical as Xin Qu!
The two sides fought each other.

The weapons of the nobles of Yan Shang are quite sophisticated. If it were before, it would definitely not be a problem for them to fight against the soldiers and generals like Er Zihu who are mainly Huaiyi.

But because of the fatigue from the long journey, after a short fight, it turned into a one-on-one war.

After the three drum beats ended, both sides stopped fighting.

Zihe frowned as he looked at the people he brought back and the number of casualties, and couldn't help but asked with an unpleasant expression: "Is this your strength?"

"King, we have done our best. After all, we came too hastily."

"Hmph!" Zihe snorted coldly and said no more.

He knew he came too hastily, but what could he do?
If we delay any longer, Zixun will come back.

Given his ability, if I want to march south again, I will inevitably be dragged down by him.

If Zixun were to decide to replace Li, he would have no way to resist while he was still on a southern expedition.

So this battle must be quick.

A quick battle, a quick decision! "My king, let's wait for a few days, wait for the subsequent food and grass to arrive, and then we can attack!"

"Yes, yes, yes! We also need to send half of our troops to the rear to sweep the Huaiyi, to prevent the destruction of the waterways and the looting of food and grass."

Everyone was talking at once. Zihe thought for a long time and finally had no choice but to agree.

On the other side, here is Zihu.

He brought the prisoner up, searched him, and made sure that there was no one he knew, so he could only ask him a few questions.

After getting the answer, take him away and put him under guard.

The war within the Shang clan was still rather sentimental.

At this time, apart from Xinqu's forces, the only other forces that could go to the battlefield were either nobles, blood relatives, slaves, etc., and half of them were nobles' followers.

The form of warfare is still a relatively primitive system of one master and many followers.

This is a typical manifestation of feudal vassalage.

Only the nobles need to be retained, and the remaining followers will be gathered together as sacrifices at the first opportunity, or taken away as rewards before they have made any contributions.

This is why only nobles could go to the battlefield, but a large number of slaves participated in the war.

Because strictly speaking, these slaves are private soldiers of each family, and when their combat effectiveness is calculated, they are counted as nobles.

Slaves and the like are just consumables.

This mode of warfare did not gradually disintegrate until the Spring and Autumn Period.

After all, in the increasingly harsh war of annexation, it is impossible to survive the war of annexation if we continue to cling to the distinction between the Chinese and the barbarians.

Now, the war between King Shang and King Geng of Shang is more of a war for the throne between uncle and nephew and the continuation of control over the Huai Copper Channel.

The last time the King of Shang and the Demon King took advantage of the King of Shang's illness to launch a surprise attack and seize power, they did not fight honestly. This battle is to make up for the previous battle between the two.

At the same time, King Shang needed to open up the Huai Copper Channel so that his prestige could be fully enhanced.

Therefore, after confirming so much information, Zihu went to find his nephew.

"Li Gui, can you contact Xue Wushang?"

Zi Hu's nephew, a 30-year-old strong man, heard this and thought for a moment before saying, "Xue Wushang... I am familiar with his father Xue Jun, but I have only met him a few times. What does your uncle want to do? Do you want to join forces with Xue Wushang to launch a surprise attack on King Shang?"

At this point, Li Gui looked strange: "If you do this, aren't you afraid of being laughed at by the world?"

"Laughed at?" Zihu sneered, "Didn't the Beibo in the north also succeed in a surprise attack? Have you ever seen him being laughed at all along the way? Besides, I don't want to fight for the position of King of Shang. Do you think I'm afraid of being laughed at?"

"Ah? You don't want the position of King of Shang?" Li Gui obviously didn't expect Zihu to say that.

"That's right. The position of King of Shang is of no use to me." Zihu nodded solemnly. "First of all, our maternal clan is the Si clan. To be honest, we have a close relationship with the Xiahou clan. Compared with other Shang nobles, we are naturally weaker than these guys.

If I had the right identity and wanted to fight for it, would I have let Zimin and Zimao, two useless people, fight for so long? Now, I have enough savings, but I lack an opportunity to make a name for myself.

I grew up with Zi and Zixun. I know their personalities very well.”

Zihu stood up and looked at the bonfire with burning eyes: “Zihe is sending troops south now to establish his authority.

As long as Zihe's army is defeated head-on, I think after the conquest of Shang, Zihe will be sidelined by Zixun and will be powerless.

If Zihe wants to remain undefeated, or if Zixun wants to replace him, Huaishang needs to be stable.

And I can give them this opportunity!"

"Can we give them this opportunity?" Li Gui looked at his uncle suspiciously. (End of this chapter)