206 The Battle of Muye 8 (1/2)
Second day, before daybreak, the two forces stood in formation on the field of Muye.
Drops of rain started to drizzle down from the gloomy sky, as dark clouds covered the top of the battlefield.
For the Zhou armies, the trenches forced them to place the war chariots at the rear. They could only act as reserve units. There were mostly Zhou homeland soldiers in the middle. 3,000 royal guards stood at the forefront, and 45 thousand armored soldiers followed them.
The kings stationed their troops at the left wing, while the players’ troops were at the right wing.
The arrangement of the Zhou armies was a typical attack formation.
Before the battle, the Zhou armies had made an oath. King Wu stood in front of the formations and condemned King Zhou for all his crimes.
On the other hand, the 100 thousand crossbowmen were the core of Shang dynasty. Therefore, they had decided to take on a defensive strategy. 20 thousand shield-sword infantries formed defensive lines, as they raised their shields to form a wall of metal.
Behind them were naturally the 100 thousand crossbowmen, who stood in a fan-like formation. This formation could allow them to fire arrows from both sides. With such a three-dimensional defensive system, they could directly shoot or project arrows from three directions, front, left, and right, which greatly increased the lethality of the crossbows.
Every formation of a thousand crossbowmen was divided into three groups. The first group would aim and fire, the second group would aim and get ready, while the third would raise their crossbows and wait. They would take turns firing, which allowed them to continuously maintain fire.
The guards and war elephant were on the left wing, while the 10 thousand players’ calvaries were on the right wing. In order to leave enough charging space for the cavalry, they stood slightly behind.
The arrangement of the Shang armies shocked Jiang Shang. A few days before, he had a bad premonition when the spy they sent to contact Weizi did not return. Now, looking at the well-equipped and strictly disciplined soldiers in formation, rather than noisy and disordered slaves, his foreboding had come true.
But there was no turning back now, so their only option was to put in their best effort and win this war.
Jiang Shang walked to the war drum, and he personally played the drum beats.
As he beat the drum, the Zhou armies moved on beat. One after another, they steadily marched in formation across the trenches toward the Shang. They were like waves of torrents.
The soldiers moved across the field of Muye like sea waves flooding a beach. They trod toward Muye, slowly swallowing it.
King Wu personally led the troops. The imperial guards surrounded and protected him, as he moved in front of the formations.
The soldiers maintained the formations under King Wu’s orders, and they marched together. Above the formations, pikes and spears pointed upright, as the flags and banners of various countries fluttered.
“Raise your shields!” As the general swung his command flag and gave this order, the imperial guards raised their shields and chanted in unison. They knocked their weapons against their shields, “wu..wu...wu...” along with this sounds, they pushed forward in unison.
When the distance between Shang and Zhou closed to 300-meters, the Shang took the initiative.
Under the lead of the experienced team, the 100 thousand crossbowmen half-kneeled down on the ground. They raised their crossbows and pulled the triggers. Words of the massacre of the 600 thousand slaves had reached them. Since Zhou showed them no mercy, what more did they need to hesitate about?
Volleys of arrows poured down onto the Zhou armies. Every volley could reap the lives of more than thousands of soldiers, which caused their blood to spurt into the air. The Shang army heavily suppressed the archers of Zhou. They could only passively defend themselves.
Rows and rows of brave soldiers fell; they would never stand up again. Whether it was the elite imperial guards, the soldiers of the kings, or the players’ troops, all of them mourned as the unstoppable arrows rained.
King Wu tried his best to maintain the formations so that it would not venture into chaos. Under the encouragement of King Wu, the rear army continued to fearlessly push forward. They stepped on the corpses of their comrades, eventually turning them into mashed meats.
If they retreated, the only ending for them would be death. None but the brave can live to the end, as long as they crossed the 300-meters firing area, the crossbowmen would be theirs to reap.
At least, the Zhou armies believed it would be so.
The arrows took down the soldiers, and the wounded soldiers fell and filled the trenches. Their blood overflowed and trickled out of the trenches, and the land was once again painted red. Their bodies became bloody, as they stepped on the corpses and blood. However, they bravely moved forward through the rain of arrows and continued on. They were an army of revenge without retreat.