novelBattle of Muye (10)
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Chapter 208 - Battle of Muye (10)
Translator: TeamTWO
Editor: Jun
They tracked the ruts that the chariots left behind. Ouyang Shuo and the 1, 700 cavalries that survived tracked them down along the Wei River, all the way down to the south. They were very determined to kill or capture the main leaders of the Zhou dynasty in one attempt.
King Wu and Jiang Shang did not even have the slightest clue that the enemy would have horses like the Qingfu warhorses—horses that had such incredible speed and magnificent mobility. The Qingfu warhorses could catch up and even outrun them. However, they did not know this, so they did not even bother to cover up their tracks.
When it was close to noon, the enemy chariots that had fled were already in the vicinity of Ouyang Shuo and his army.
Ouyang Shuo suddenly raised his hand to signal for the party to stop. When he signaled them to down, they cavalries that were still traveling at high speeds abruptly stopped. It was like they had pressed down hard onto the brakes of a car. Their movements were united and flawless.
"Wang Feng!" Ouyang Shuo called to his elite guard captain
Wang Feng, who had always followed behind Ouyang Shuo, immediately rode to the front and said, "My lord, your orders?"
"Come here."
The always cool captain now had a face of confusion. He had no idea what his lord was trying to do again. Ouyang Shuo whispered something to Wang Feng. For a quick moment, Wang Feng showed a surprise expression, but he soon returned to his usual cool expression. Although his face slightly changed, no one saw anything. As such, none of them had any idea what kind of task their lord had given him.
Wang Feng returned to his position and signaled to the elite guards. Then, he said, "Elite guards, come with me!" Then, they headed toward a small path at the side.
"Yes sir!" said the elite guards. They swiftly followed their captain with no unnecessary thoughts.
All of the other cavalries, including Lin Yi, did not raise a question at all. There were rules in the armies. Things that should not be said shall never be said, and whatever should not be asked shall remain unasked.
As the head of all the Shanhai City's armies, Ouyang Shuo's orders would always be kept as the top secret information at all times.
"Keep moving. Remember, I want both King Wu and Jiang Shang alive. Capture them and make sure not to hurt them, " Ouyang Shuo specifically reminded his cavalries, as he was worried that they might carelessly hurt King Wu and Jiang Shang.
"Yes my lord!"
After a short moment of waiting, the army continued their advance and caught up with the enemies that had fled in front.
The sounds of galloping horses were just like rumbling thunder. It alerted King Wu about his pursuers. The now frightened King Wu turned his head. What appeared in his sight was wave after wave of fierce cavalries that advanced toward them with immense power and incredible speed.
The Mingguang armor on each and every cavalry was just so obvious, as they brightly glimmered under the sunlight.
The golden rays reflected from the Mingguang armor was just way too iconic. Therefore, King Wu recognized that these cavalries were the ones that had mercilessly slaughtered the alliance forces. The faces of the other lords turned even paler. In their eyes, these cavalries were the shadow of war that rode beneath the fog of war. These cavalries would cut down and trample their foes under their iron hooves, despite the shiny armor that made them resemble holy knights.
"Even the heaven wants me dead!" King Wu lamented.
Right after the lamentations of King Wu, s a non-stop heavy arrow rain traveled toward them at high speeds.
Every chariot had two or four horses pulling it. Among the four horses, the two horses in between were called 'two fu. ' They were tied with the yoke used to balance the two shaft of the chariot; the left and right horses were called the 'two can. ' They were tied in front of the chariot with leather, collectively known as 'si. '
Every chariot carried three soldiers that stood in a horizontal line.
The soldiers that stood on the left plays the role of an archer, also known as the head of the chariot, called 'che zuo' or 'jia shou. ' The one on the right was the halberdier, his main priority was to cut down enemies with his halberd and clear away any obstacles that blocked the chariot, called 'che you' or 'can cen. ' The charioteer stood in the middle, and he only carried a short sword for self-defense.
The cavalries aimed the arrow rain at the che zuo and the charioteers. Their purpose was to shoot down and disable these threats, which would prevent return fire and stop the chariots. Of course, this would really require extremely good archery skills.
As expected, those che zuos' on the chariots tried to retaliate. However, their shooting range was quite a joke when compared to the shooting range of the cavalries equipped with composite bows. The che zuos' arrow just fell down before they could hit any of the cavalries.
"Stop now or die!" Lin Yi loudly shouted under Ouyang Shuo's hint.
When he heard this, it was like Jiang Shang had suddenly grown older. He felt like he had become a weak old man. These players were always doing things outside of his expectations. He was indeed smart and wise, but the amount of information that the parties held was completely different. The existence of his opponents was out of this era's understandings. Although he had tactics and tricks up his sleeves, he could not do much at all.
"My king, we should stop. We can't escape anymore, " said Jiang Shang bitterly.
King Wu remained silent, but he signaled for his army to stop.
Ouyang Shuo and his cavalries quickly surrounded the 300 war chariots once they came to a stop. Even so, the cavalries did not let their guards down and remained vigilant. In fact, they raised their bows and aimed at each and every one of the enemies in front of them, preventing them from doing anything stupid.
"Weapons on the ground, please!" said Ouyang Shuo in a threatening tone.
The surrounded soldiers could only look helplessly at their king with pale faces. King Wu did not dare to look into their eyes. He just looked down and gestured for them to do as Ouyang Shuo had demanded. With that, the soldiers threw their weapons onto the ground and stopped their resistance.
These people were now sheeps in a slaughterhouse. They waited to be slaughtered, leaving their fates in Ouyang Shuo's hands.
Jiang Shang stood on the chariot without any fear, and he said courageously, "Your army and your skills decided that you are not an anonymous pawn! Tell me your name. Let me die knowing who defeated us."
Ouyang Shuo nodded, and he walked out of his army with Lin Yi and a few other subordinates. Then, he said, "I am the player representative under the Shang dynasty, and my name is Qiyue Wuyi. I am here to take you as prisoners under the orders of the King of Shang! Stop your futile resistance at once!"
Jiang Shang was no ordinary person. Judging by Ouyang Shuo's strange behavior, Jiang Shang could tell that he was plotting something. Otherwise, Ouyang Shuo could've just killed them all in a flash. Instead, he decided to ask them to yield instead.
Jiang Shang suddenly managed to keep his cool, and his heart started to pump at a calm rate. He said to himself that maybe there was still a chance and intentionally said, "Di Xin is a violent, greedy, and unethical king! He has wasted so much of the country's resources on unnecessary aspects! Why is someone like you still willing to work for him?"
Ouyang Shuo smiled and said, "Tai Gong, you must be joking. After all, we are serving different kings." Ouyang Shuo did not budge against Jiang Shang's accusations, as they both served a different king. Because of this, their opinions were fated to be different.
Jiang Shang became speechless for a moment, and he realized that Ouyang Shuo was a man of determination, so he became straightforward with him and asked, "Then, what do you want? Since our lives are in your hands, why not just make things clear to us? Why are you still hesitating?"
Jiang Shang was indeed a true utilitarian. He was able to directly strike the main points
Ouyang Shuo saluted him and said, "The thing is, I came here for you, Tai Gong."
"Oh? I'm just a dying old man. What an battle contribution for you to come for me, " replied Jiang Shang with barbed words.
"I am sure that Tai Gong knows that players like us will not be able to stay here for long. Wuyi admires Tai Gong's wisdom and personality. Therefore, Wuyi hopes that Tai Gong will follow me back so that I can listen to your teachings every day, " said Ouyang Shuo, as he boldy revealed his intentions.
Jiang Shang remained determined and replied, "A loyal vassal will never serve two lords. Besides, you are an enemy to us."
Ouyang Shuo shook his head and said, "Tai Gong, please don't reject me so fast. Perhaps, after listening to my conditions, you might change your mind."
"Say no more. No matter what your conditions are, I will not yield!" said Jiang Shang without any sign of giving in.
Ouyang Shuo did not feel disappointed, as he had expected such a reaction. Jiang Shang only said these things because he wanted to fight for more benefits and rights. It is unlikely that he would not surrender at all. Ouyang Shuo continued, "What if my condition is that I'll let King Wu escape alive if you joined me?"
Jiang Shang's face immediately changed as King Wu was his weakness. He could die to atone his sins, but he could never let himself see the extinction of the bloodline of the western Zhou in front of him. If this happened, how could he still have the guts to face King Wen when he died?
"You are saying that if I yield and go with you, you will let King Wu go?" Jiang Shang confirmed again.
Ouyang Shuo nodded and said, "That's right!"
"Then, how about the others?" Jiang Shang was definitely not satisfied with saving only King Wu.
Ouyang Shuo smirked coldly and said, "Tai Gong, letting King Wu run away alive is the most I can do. I still have to go back and receive the punishments of my king. Please don't force me to do it."
As soon as Ouyang Shuo ended his speech, other than King Wu, the other people's faces turned incredibly pale as if there was no more blood anymore. Without a doubt, Ouyang Shuo has already pronounced their deaths.
Jiang Shang remained quiet, and many thoughts ran around in his mind. He knew that Ouyang Shuo was not a soft-hearted man, "If that's the case, I'll promise you. However, I have already grown tired of all these things and have no intentions of becoming a vassal anymore. I'll just stay hidden away from politics forever."
The first half of his sentence made Ouyang Shuo excited, but the second half made Ouyang Shuo only able to bitterly smile. However, he did not feel frustrated. He knew that such a legendary historical figure was not so easy to recruit.
It would be a lie to say that the idea of recruiting Jiang Shang did not tempt Ouyang Shuo.
He chose another way of recruiting Jiang Shang in order to realize his wild wish. However, Gaia did not let his wild wish come true after all.
Ouyang Shuo sighed in his heart. In the end, there were still some gains no matter what. Even if he did not help Ouyang Shuo in anyway, as long as Jiang Shang agreed to settle down in Shanhai City, some other historical figures will be attracted to Shanhai City because of his influences. As for the other benefits, it would wholly depend on how Ouyang Shuo manipulated it.
"System notification: Congratulations to Qiyue Wuyi for successfully recruiting Jiang Shang. Due to the fact that Jiang Shang was forced, player does not fulfill all the requirements. Jiang Shang shall remain in the state of retirement."
"System notification: Congratulations to Qiyue Wuyi for becoming the first player to recruit a legendary historical figure. 4, 000 battle contribution points and 20, 000 reputation points are awarded to him."
This was an unexpected gain. Ouyang Shuo cleared away his unnecessary thoughts. He kept cool and ordered his men to isolate Jiang Shang's chariot from the others. Ouyang Shuo was also worried that Jiang Shang's old body might not be able to sustain the excessively bumpy conditions of the chariot.
As for the chariot of King Wu, Ouyang Shuo allowed it to be released, but King Wu refused to leave. He said loudly, "I cannot let myself get away by sacrificing my prime minister, my people, and my allies for my life! I refuse to yield and I will fight to death!"
Sadness started to spread around the surrounded soldiers and the hearts of everyone.
On his chariot, Jiang Shang bowed to his king and said, "My King! You must secure the royal bloodline inheritance of Zhou. This is your responsibility and your duty! Please do not let us down."
King Wu lamented, "But without you, I can never achieve anything even if I manage to get back alive. What can I do without you?" The young King Wu suddenly felt clueless and perplexed about the Zhou dynasty's future.
"In the country, you still have Zhou Gong. He can help you in many ways. My King, you shall never give up and you must restore the glory of the Zhou dynasty!" said Jiang Shang.
"My King! Please leave us here and get home safe!" all of a sudden, King Wu's soldiers kneeled down and begged their king to escape and stay safe.
Although Ouyang Shuo couldn't stay emotionless about this scene right now, he could not do much about it. This was war and war had always been cruel and bloody. Besides, one must have the psychological preparation of losing if they ever started a war against someone.
King Wu let out a long sigh of lamentation and boarded his chariot. Then, he swiftly left.
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