Chapter 573: Return of the Victors
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
It was not apparent who the heavens had favoured in the Battle of Dongyi.
According to what Fang Yuan knew about the general trend, the Shang Dynasty had exhausted all of its brilliance and luck to secure in this battle what would be the regime's final victory.
When the Western Zhou state begins its assault on the Shang Dynasty, the fall of the Shang would become irreversible.
Fang Yuan and the War God Chi has planned to weaken the strength of the other party while it was not yet clear who the heavenly mandate was with. They had wanted to trick Nuwa into altering the course of nature personally, which would have resulted in divine retribution for Nuwa and increased their chances of victory in the future.
However, Nuwa had only made a small move to test the firmness of heavenly will and did not act at all after that. Fang Yuan and the War God Chi felt like their efforts had all been for nothing.
At the same time, they felt the chills.
An enemy that practised self-restraint was formidable indeed!
Nuwa's inaction now meant that they would have to deal with Nuwa in her peak condition during the final battles between Zhou and Shang!
"Of course...things don't have to be this way. We should continue being passive observers no matter what. Let the mortals struggle for power and go along with the general trend. We'll only intervene as a last resort and even so, we might not have to do it ourselves…"
Fang Yuan pondered silently. He was beginning to come to a realisation about this sort of conflicts.
"Conflicts between deities are but extensions of the conflicts between mortals...what I should be doing now is to rush Prince Pan into returning to the capital and strengthen Shang's energy of destiny such the heavenly will might be changed!"
Ever since Fang Yuan had begun to plot, although the general trend remained the same, many of the little details had undergone large changes.
For example, not only had the Battle of Dongyi been a glorious victory for the Shang army, but the victors also did not suffer huge losses.
If this large number of elite soldiers could make it back to the Shang capital in time and reinforce the strength of the Shang army involved in the coming war between the Shang and the Zhou, there was no saying what the result might be.
Fang Yuan turned his gaze to the battlefield.
...
The setting sun bathed the plains in a golden light. Corpses and other remains littered the battlefield.
The Shang soldiers cheered their hearts out as they bundled their captives with rope.
These captured soldiers were now their slaves, their loot, their personal property!
The Shang army camp revelled in song and dance as a large amount of food and wine were being served to the tables. Prince Pan and his officials offered toasts to each other in the commander's tent and made merry together.
Suddenly, Ge Nie stepped forward on the pretext of offering Prince Pan a toast and whispered into his ear.
"Prince Pan, according to my teacher, the Western Zhou state has already become a fully developed threat and is marching on the Shang Dynasty as we speak. He advises you to return to the Shang capital immediately or there will be dire consequences!"
"What?'
Prince Pan did a double take.
"My lords!"
He slammed a fist on the table and put down his wine vessel before turning to the officials present.
"I propose...that we pack up and make our way back to the capital immediately!"
"What?"
The announcement caught everyone in the tent by surprise and they quietened down.
"Pardon me for being rude!"
A gentleman-minister frowned as he stood up to speak.
"Why the sudden proposal, my Prince?"
"I have information that the Western Zhou state has dishonourable intentions and has already launched an invasion on the Shang Dynasty!"
Prince Pan gritted his teeth and shared the news with everyone present.
"Impossible!"
"No such news has arrived from Shangyi!"
The officials were all engaged in frenzied discussions among themselves.
"If these are Ge Nie's words alone, we seriously doubt the credibility of this message!"
Prince Pan could feel a rising anger as he observed the scene.
He was more than aware of why these people were so unwilling to leave immediately for the capital.
After all, the spoils of this victory included the lands surrounding the battlefield, the nearby city as well as the slaves.
Prince Pan might be the commander-in-chief, but if he forced the army to give up their loot and rush back to the Shang capital, there was bound to be disobedience or even defection on a large scale!
However, Prince Pan's eyelids had twitched upon hearing Ge Nie's warning. His sixth sense told him that Ge Nie's information was reliable.
'Damn it... a bunch of fools! If Shangyi falls into trouble, of what use would all the gold and slaves in the world be?'
Prince Pan was seething with rage but he knew that he could not fall out with his subordinates.
If Fang Yuan had been present at that moment, he would have understood that the heavenly will had begun to take effect.
The Battle of Dongyi was supposed to be the Shang Dynasty's last victory. After this battle, they would immediately lose the heavenly mandate.
The five aggregates of the nobles had been placed under a spell. They were all no longer able to make rational decisions in the face of greed.
"The Prince has spoken and we will obey his orders!"
A gentleman-bureaucrat slammed his table with a hand and shouted.
"So many excuses. Are you people going to rebel?"
It was Gentleman Lian who had spoken. Er stood behind him silently. He was holding a halberd and glared at everyone else in the tent.
Although Lian was only a gentleman m-bureaucrat of the first class, he had contributed much to the Shang victory over the Dongyi tribes and would definitely receive a promotion to gentleman-minister upon his return. Additionally, his son Er had demonstrated tremendous courage in battle and had even killed the King of Dongyi personally.
After Gentleman Lian had spoken, the selfish tendencies of the other officials somewhat cooled down.
It was indeed a tough choice between the acquisition of wealth and avoiding potential dangers.
"How about this?"
Prince Pan had considered his options for a moment and arrived at a decision.
"I will take 50000 men along with me. The remaining soldiers will focus on guarding the captives and reclaiming the lost lands. However, there will be no more advancement into the lands of the Dongyi. What do you all think of this!"
Practically speaking, given the scale of defeat suffered by the Dongyi army, they were in no shape to resist a Shang invasion into their lands.
However, Prince Pan wished for stability to be maintained before the Shang army made any further advancements.
"So? Who is willing to follow me back to Shangyi?"
Prince Pan had taken on a cold demeanour and flaunted the majesty of a royal prince, causing many of the officials to hang their heads.
"I am!"
Gentleman Lian was the first to step out, followed by Er and a few of the Prince's personal aides.
Upon seeing this, a few of the generals began to consider.
"What about our battle merits and the slaves we've captured…"
"Don't worry. All of these things will be recorded. None of you will be shortchanged!"
Prince Pan waved a hand.
"I swear it by my name!"
"If that's the case, we will follow your orders!"
These generals had made up their minds and bowed down to the Prince.
"We are all at your service, my Prince!"
Another gentleman-bureaucrat had stepped out and went on a long sycophantic rant. Prince Pan was growing more uncomfortable by the minute.
'Do they...think that I am going make use of my control of the army to usurp the throne? What…'
Still, the sudden return of a general to the capital at the head of a large army was a big deal.
Prince Pan suddenly got a chill to the bone.
"If this turns out to be a false alarm and Shangyi is safe...I…"
For a prince with military authority to end up in such a situation was political suicide. He would definitely face imprisonment by the Shang King and lose his claim to the throne!
Prince Pan was beginning to reconsider his decision.
'Is this a counterstroke from the heavenly will? It is powerful indeed!'
Fang Yuan entered the airspace directly over the camp and sighed as he watched the goings-on in the tent.
"War God Chi...let's see what you've got."
The War God Chi did not speak but let a blood-red ray of light descend upon the earth.
"Remember your promise!"
He glanced at Fang Yuan as his figure faded a little. It was apparent that he had exerted a large amount of effort.
"Don't worry!"
Fang Yuan nodded.
The aforementioned promise was to let Er's descendants attain the realm's kingship.
In actual fact, although the descendants of the Black Bird managed to regain the imperial throne, the Qin monarchs were descended from Er's brother and not directly from Er in the original course of history.
However, the War God Chi wanted the witch race to rule the world and supported Er's ascension to the throne. For Chi to alter Er's original fate, he had to join Fang Yuan's side.
At this moment, Prince Pan's heart was beating rapidly.
'If news of the invasion turns out to be real, my rescue of the King would be a legendary accomplishment. If it is a false alarm, why shouldn't I take the opportunity to launch a coup? Father's reign has incurred much displeasure from the general populace. With me in charge, we would be able to put an end to the unrest so that we can strengthen the hold of the Shang Dynasty over the world!'
An idea burned brightly within Prince Pan.
Of course, this was his greatest secret. No one could ever know about this.
Prince Pan waved a hand decisively.
"Alright, pick out 50000 men and we will leave for Shangyi first thing in the morning!"
...
"It is done!"
Fang Yuan nodded and landed in the middle of a forest.
Beneath a rotting tree, the two foxes looked slightly depressed instead of their usual lively selves.
"Big White and Little White, what's wrong?"
Fang Yuan threw them a glance and asked.
"Big brother…"
The two foxes had grown attached to Fang Yuan after they had gotten to know him better over time.
Crouching on the ground, the white foxes took on their human forms.
"We have received a message saying that we members of the demon race must do our best to aid the Western Zhou state and accumulate merit. This is a decree from the Lady Nuwa!"
"The demon race?"
Fang Yuan nodded his head. Nuwa was the creator of life and it was not surprising that she had established a command over the demons of the world.
Although the greater demons had decreased drastically in numbers after the final Xia war, the re-emergence of any one of them was enough to wreak havoc over the world.
"The demons of this world have affinities with water...many of the floods during the Xia period were caused by them...I have to say that this brings me to an interesting thought."
Fang Yuan turned to the direction of Shangyi with a strange look on his face.
As recorded from the Battle of Muye: "In the Battle of Muye, the frontline Shang soldiers turned on the Shang army. Batons floated on blood."
The battle had turned out to be so brutal that the aforementioned idiom was associated with it -- Batons floated on blood.
The baton was a weapon used on the chariot and even if it was made out of wood, it would require blood to flow like a river before it could float. It was not supposed to be literal!
However, what if one reinterpreted this saying?
"With the help of the demon race, Western Zhou might cause a flood. In that case, it would be possible for the flood to be stained red with blood and for batons to float on the rushing water..."
Fang Yuan had grasped the key ideas in an instant.
"Will Western Zhou attack with water?"