The King of Yue felt a little weak.
He had a hundred percent chance of winning this battle.
But he dared not win.
King Zhou had suddenly turned on him and attacked precisely because the Yue Army could win.
Why could the Yue Army easily defeat the Shang Army in a naval battle? Because they had ships.
As long as they had large ships, even after repeated battles and losses of men and officers, they could still resist the Shang Army, who were poor at fighting on water, with only a handful of soldiers.
King Zhou could not possibly allow such a threat to remain. Today, the Yue Army had sailed downstream, abandoned their boats, and proceeded on foot. Advancing, they could launch a surprise attack on E City; retreating, they could hold the River-Mouth Settlement. Even if E City belonged to Shang, as long as the Yue Army still had ships and the Shang Army remained poor at naval warfare, the Yue Army could repeat this strategy and easily threaten E City. There was simply no defending against it.
Besides, King Zhou was going to confront the King of Wu and the other southern Feudal Lords. Ships were essential.
Only by letting King Zhou take the ships, losing his leading general, and drastically reducing the Yue Army's fighting strength could he, the King of Yue, hope to preserve the Yue Territory. This was an exchange.
Moreover, he had launched the surprise attack on E City in the first place to seek King Zhou's protection against the King of Wu. If he defeated King Zhou, who would help him resist the King of Wu?
Even victory would bring losses. Having first offended the King of Wu and then King Zhou, with the Yue Army severely weakened after two battles, he