Supreme Golden Palace

Chapter 177 Provocation (Part 1)

On the day of Jiawu, at the third quarter of the Yin hour,

The Jiawu day was an auspicious day in ancient times. The four days that were considered auspicious were the Wuyin day in spring, the Jiawu day in summer, the Wushen day in autumn, and the Jiazi day in winter.

The so-called Heavenly Pardon is a day when Heaven forgives transgressions; war and hunting are forbidden during this time.

The drill ground outside the East Gate of Xudu was already shrouded in morning mist.

The bronze horn tore through the dim light of dawn, and the thirteen armored brigades lined up like a black tide flooding the rammed earth drill ground.

The armor gleamed coldly in the mist. Lü Shang stood on the command platform, his hand on his sword. His black cloak fluttered in the morning breeze. The breaths of the 6,500 armored soldiers below the platform merged into a deep, resonant sound.

"Taiyi Zhaozhao, the traitor of Tongqiu murdered his brother and usurped the throne!"

Lü Shang's voice, accompanied by the clear ringing of a bronze sword being drawn from its sheath, said: "In the past, Emperor Yao yielded the throne to a worthy successor, and Lü Zu washed his ears to clarify his intentions. Our Lü family has upheld righteousness for generations, a fact known throughout the nine provinces. Now, these treacherous officials have seized the state and greedily enjoyed the land. The gods of the world should jointly punish them!"

After speaking, Lü Shang poured a bowl of sacrificial blood onto the battle flag. The large banner with the character "Lü" on the black battle flag suddenly rose with a red light, and the Taotie pattern embroidered on the flag seemed to have the power to swallow wind and thunder, emitting a booming sound.

Prince Chong, as the vanguard, had already led a brigade of armored soldiers to stand ready outside the gate.

Dew clung to his armor, and the bronze sword hanging at his waist was a gift from his late father, Xu Bochu. The coiled dragon pattern on the scabbard had been polished to a shine by him.

"Drum roll!"

Lu Chong raised his arms and shouted, and twelve drummers behind him struck the bronze war drums, which were echoed by forty-eight alligator drums, creating a powerful sound.

The five brigades of armored soldiers set off in turn, and the vanguard scouts had already been sent out thirty li.

"send troops,"

Lu Shang sat on a four-horse chariot, the wheels rumbling as they rolled over the gravel road.

Fifty chariots marched out of Xudu together, their imposing presence crushing the clouds at the edge of the land, emitting a sharp, mournful cry. Each bronze chariot, drawn by four horses, gleamed with a blood-red luster.

The armored soldiers on the right side of the chariot carried command flag boxes. Every ten li, they would change to a red command flag to indicate that the entire army should maintain the five-sided battle formation.

Lu Shang sat on his chariot, directing and commanding the two thousand armored soldiers as if they were his own arms, their military bearing impeccable.

You must know that he participated in the Northern Sui's conquest of the north in the Yanfu world and truly experienced the battlefield. Compared with the large-scale battles of hundreds of thousands of soldiers during the Northern Conquest, he was naturally more than capable of handling the few thousand armored soldiers in this vast wilderness.

Although the warriors of the Great Wilderness are far more powerful than those of the world of Yanfu, military strategies are similar. Just as Lü Shang could command thousands of troops in Yanfu, he could also command thousands of chariots and cavalry in the Great Wilderness.

As evening approached, the vanguard army entered the edge of Juze in the Tongqiu territory.

The term "Juze" refers to a marshland overgrown with water and grass. As Sun Tzu's Art of War states in the chapter "Military Maneuvering": "He who does not know the shape of mountains, forests, dangerous terrain, and marshes cannot lead an army."

The sound of water birds taking flight could be heard from time to time. Gongzi Chong rode up to report, saying, "Your Majesty, the outer city of Tongqiu is three miles ahead. The shallows of Juze can be used by war chariots, but we must be wary of Tongqiu's ambush."

Lu Shang raised his hand and pressed down on the carriage, focusing his gaze on the city that was faintly visible in the distance. After a while, he said, "Order four brigades of armored soldiers to form ranks. You will immediately lead one brigade of armored soldiers to attack the city."

"promise,"

Gongzi Chong drew his sword and obeyed the order. Immediately, a troop of armored soldiers behind him surged toward the shallows of Juze like a black iron torrent.

As they approached the marshland, Gongzi Chong raised his hand and waved to the guide. Three scouts dressed in buffalo hide armor darted into the reeds of the marshland like fish.

A short while later, three scouts returned and reported: "The defenses at the east gate of the outer city are weak, and the moat is shallow enough to wade through. However, there is a dense forest behind the south gate, where there may be an ambush."

"it is good,"

Gongzi Chong drew his sword; the bronze blade reflected the flickering fire in his eyes.

"You all, quickly go and convey my orders to attack the East Gate with me. After the city is breached, you can take any money and grain you need from Tongqiu Marsh. If you present the head of the regicide, I, Lü Chong, will guarantee his family five generations of wealth and honor!" The blessings of a virtuous person last for five generations before being cut off. Although ordinary people may have divine blood, unless they become true immortals, their divine blood will gradually become thinner after five generations. Although they will not be reduced to savages, they will only be slightly better than savages.

After the order was given, the armored soldiers in the formation responded in unison, and led by Lü Chong, they waded through the muddy swamp and headed straight for the east gate of Tongqiu.

Not far from the east gate of Tongqiu, the first row of armored soldiers immediately took up their shields and blocked the front of the formation. Lü Chong also abandoned his horse and took up his shield in the formation as well. The five hundred armored soldiers advanced side by side.

As they approached the east gate of Tongqiu, Gongzi Chong seized the opportunity to raise his arm and shout, "Taiyi protects! Kill!"

Behind him, a hundred armored soldiers simultaneously drew their bows, but the arrows were not ordinary feathered arrows; they were specially made fire arrows. As the command flag fell, a hundred streaks of fire pierced the twilight.
"kill!"

The soldiers of Tongqiu on the city wall cried out and raised their wooden shields, only to have them pierced by fire arrows.

bump!
The rocket exploded with a roar, sending sparks flying, and the East Gate Tower crackled and popped as it burned.

"it is good,"

Seeing the towering flames rising above the East Gate, Lü Shang stood on the central chariot, gazing at the thick smoke, and nodded slightly.

"It's done!"

Lü Shang waved to the flag bearer beside him, and the flags were raised one after another. As the war drums sounded, the four brigades of armored soldiers began to advance towards Tongqiu.

When Lü Shang's chariot arrived at the outer city of Tongqiu, all that could be seen was ruins, and the sounds of battle shouts could still be heard from inside the city.

Tongqiu was defeated far too quickly by the military might of Xu.

After all, Tongqiu was just a weak state among small states, and its strength was not as great as that of Xu. Xu's military expedition was also based on a surprise.

Even Tongqiu Jun probably couldn't have imagined that someone would choose to launch a surprise attack on the day of Tianshe.

The shouts of battle gradually subsided, and as dusk settled, the armored soldiers of Xu Kingdom slowly occupied the outer city of Tongqiu.

Lü Shang climbed the makeshift watchtower and looked out over the inner city palace of Tongqiu.

Gongzi Chong arrived at the city gate with a torch in his hand, the firelight making his face turn red.

He stood below the city walls and shouted, "Lord Tongqiu, listen up! You have murdered your brother and killed the heir, a crime that has angered both gods and men. Why don't you open the city gates and surrender? Do you really want to force my lord to massacre the palace?"

His response was a hail of arrows raining down from the palace. After dodging the arrows, Prince Chong snorted coldly and prepared to lead his troops to continue attacking the palace.

Lü Shang said in a deep voice, "Beat the drums to cheer them on!"

The order was given from the left and right, and three drums sounded first from below, their sound like deep thunder rolling across the wilderness, shaking the wooden pillars of the watchtower.

Using the flickering light of the torches, Lü Chong watched the bustling figures in the palace.

"Kill!" Five hundred armored soldiers lined up, led by Lü Chong, the true man, as they charged into battle.

The entire force surged toward the palace gates like a savage beast, while the palace guards hurled logs and stones from the walls, interspersed with spells.

The armored warriors raised their shields high, and with the power of divine blood, the wood and stones that struck the shields only sent up a few sparks.

"Break down the door!"

Gongzi Chong roared and leaped up, using the momentum to slash at the bronze ring of the palace gate with his bronze sword.

As the sword fell, the bronze door knocker, about a foot in diameter, snapped in two, and a dull thud echoed from the door latch. The next moment, twenty armored soldiers in the back row charged forward, carrying a battering ram as thick as a human arm.

(End of this chapter)