Supreme Golden Palace

Chapter 179 Conquest of a Nation (Part 1)

As dawn approached, the bugle call for retreat finally sounded.

Three hundred armored soldiers in the vanguard cleared the way with halberds, and the bronze chariots at the gate rolled over the bloodstains that had not been cleaned up the night before.

Lu Shang sat in the carriage, with the "Lianshan Yi" (a book on divination) that had been searched from the treasury of Lord Tongqiu on his lap.

The Lianshan Yi is Lianshan!

The Lianshan and Guicang are two of the most treasured gems among those who study the I Ching, and can be considered the mother scriptures of the Great Dao in the vast wilderness.

The Lianshan is said to have been created by Fuxi, who observed the heavens and the earth and created the Eight Trigrams. Later, it was completed by Shennong.

The "Guicang" was created by the Yellow Emperor, Di Hongshi. Di Hongshi created the "Guicang" in order to better govern the world and to understand the laws of the Great Dao and the changes in the universe.

Both of these scriptures are extremely precious. Lü Shang's ancestor, Lü You, was a great sage and virtuous man renowned throughout the land, but his family only had one copy of the Gui Cang (Returning to the Treasury), while the Lian Shan (Connected Mountains) was nowhere to be found.

Thinking of this, Lü Shang thoughtfully put down the *Lianshan Yi* and said softly, "Ji Hao, the Ji surname, truly worthy of being the most noble surname in the world, its heritage is indeed profound."

"Your Majesty, the sorcerer's and evil spirits have been loaded onto the carts," a squad leader rode up and asked, "Should we transport them back to Xuchang now?"

Lü Shang said, "Let the supply corps set off first, with the infantry escorting the people in the middle, and the chariots bringing up the rear."

He paused, his gaze fixed on the palace corner tower gradually receding into the mist, and said, "Depart immediately."

"promise,"

The squad leader responded,
After leaving Tongqiu, the caravan snaked like a long snake, heading southwest in the morning mist. The creaking of the oxcart wheels, mixed with the footsteps of the armored soldiers, made the earth tremble slightly.

------

After the Xu Kingdom's soldiers withdrew from Tongqiu, leaving behind an empty city, several days later, the two Ji-surname states of Nan Yan and E finally realized that something was amiss.

Inside the palace of Southern Yan, wisps of smoke rose from a bronze animal-head incense burner, swirling between the pillars carved with phoenix candle patterns. Bo Ji Shi of Southern Yan angrily slammed the bamboo slips presented by the scouts onto the steps, while a jade paperweight struck the dragon-patterned floor tiles, sparks flying.

"The treasury of Lord Tongqiu is empty, and all the people have moved to Xuchang? Lü Shang, you little brat, is trying to stab us in the heart!"

The person below, Ebo Ji'an, sat with his hand on his sword. His rhinoceros-hide armor gleamed in the candlelight. He said, "Last year, when Tongqiu murdered his brother, I sent a messenger to inquire about it. His ruler said, 'It is not convenient to air our family's dirty laundry.'"

"Looking at it now, he doesn't need to worry about family scandals anymore. This guy has already been taken advantage of by Xu Boshang, so what family scandals does he need to worry about?"

The fall of Tongqiu infuriated Ji Shi and Ji An. No matter how perverse Tongqiu Jun's actions continued, he was still their vassal.

Moreover, the Southern Yan and the State of E had always regarded Tongqiu as a buffer zone between the two countries. Now that Tongqiu has been destroyed, there is no buffer between the two countries, and it is inevitable that there will be discord in the future.

Ji Shi walked to the map with his hands behind his back, pressed his palm heavily on the Juze area where Tongqiu was located, and sneered: "The little brat Lü, under the guise of 'denouncing the wicked,' is actually stealing the country. This matter cannot be left like this."

"If we set this precedent, Lü Shang can just find any excuse to plunder those small and weak states. How can you and I still have the face to lead the Ji clan states?"

Upon hearing this, Ebo Ji'an said, "Brother Shi is absolutely right. This matter cannot be left like this. Now, Xu Bo Shang is merely offering empty words, but he is actually engaging in blatant robbery." "If we continue to tolerate this, what authority will our Ji clan lords have in Henan? If other states follow Xu's example in the future, what will become of us?"

"Alright, that's exactly what I've been waiting to hear, Brother An."

Ji Shi frowned and said, "However, it's not so easy to punish the Xu Kingdom. It is said that in recent years, the Xu Kingdom has been expanding its army. When Lü Chu was in power, the Xu Kingdom only had six brigades of armor. In less than four years since Lü Shang took the throne, it has become thirteen brigades, and the number of armored soldiers has more than doubled."

"The military might of Xu is not to be underestimated!"

Ebo Ji'an said in a deep voice: "Although the Thirteen Armored Soldiers are numerous, the country has 8,000 households to support them. This means that every household has been deported, leaving nine out of ten households empty. I have heard that the young and strong in the country are organized into the reserve force and trained every five days. This is clearly a bluff. If it really comes to a prolonged war, it will not last more than half a year."

Ji Shi gritted his teeth and said, "Brother An sees things clearly. The Xu Kingdom is militaristic and aggressive, seemingly showing off its strength, but in reality, its foundation is unstable. Now, it has relocated 1,700 households of its people from Tongqiu, which is precisely the time when it is not yet able to digest the situation."

"In that case, I intend to unite with the Qi and Yin states, with each of them contributing three brigades, the Southern Yan state leading six brigades, and the E state contributing five brigades as the right wing, for a total of seventeen brigades."

“I want that brat Xu Boshang to vomit up everything those 1,700 households of people ate.”

Before Nan Yanbo Ji Shi could finish speaking, the soft tinkling of jade pendants came from under the eaves.

The palace attendant bowed and entered the hall, saying, "Your Majesty, the envoys from Yin and Qi are here to pay their respects outside the palace."

Upon receiving the report from the palace servants, Ji Shi laughed and said, "See? They don't need us to look for them anymore. The envoys from Yin and Qi have already arrived."

A moment later, the bronze animal-head door knocker rang, and the envoys from Qi, Prince Xu, and Yin, Prince Qiao, crossed the palace gate together and walked to the foot of the steps. The two said in unison, "Our lord, having heard of the chaos in Tongqiu, could not sleep at night. He has now specially dispatched his foreign ministers, leading three armies, to join you two lords in 'fighting the injustice'."

Upon seeing this, Ji Shi immediately knew they had been in cahoots all along. Unsurprised, he clapped his hands and laughed, saying, "Good! It seems the fate of the Xu Kingdom is sealed."

Ebo Ji'an, with his hand on his sword, laughed loudly and said, "Just now I said that we needed to send envoys to persuade them, but I didn't expect that the two uncles, Qi and Yin, had the same idea as us!"

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's hold a rally and attack Xu!"

Ji Shi declared loudly, "Yes, let's swear an oath and attack Xu!"

The power of the four Ji clan regional governors was beyond imagination. At least in one corner of Henan, there were very few things they couldn't do if they joined forces.

Three days later, before the morning mist had even dissipated, the seventeen armies of soldiers from the four major states had gathered like an iron torrent on the banks of the Ju River.

The black bird banner of Nan Yan appeared first in the mist. Beneath the banner, Ji Shi, dressed in a crown and robes, rode in a magnificent carriage with four reins. On both sides of the carriage stood short halberds with carved feathers, and twelve guards holding banners stood in formation to protect him.

The E State formation following closely behind was like dark clouds pressing down. Ji An was wearing a rhinoceros hide armor, and the scarlet lining peeking out from between the armor plates looked like congealed blood. The five infantry brigades behind her all carried long spears and were wrapped in animal skins. With each step they took, the riverbed pebbles trembled and rolled.

The chariots of Qi and Yin surged in from the southeast. The banners of both countries were embroidered with cloud patterns. It is said that the cloud pattern was created by the Yellow Emperor Di Hongshi, who also created the world's first dance and music, "Yunmen," based on the cloud pattern.

The Ji surname is the ancestral origin of the Yellow Emperor's Di Hong clan. Most of the states with the Ji surname in the world like to decorate their banners with cloud patterns.

Prince Xu and Prince Qiao stood on a chariot, leading the armored soldiers of Qi and Yin, and gathered their troops at the Ju River.

(End of this chapter)