"Our king is a supreme sage, yet he fights to the death! Who are we to cherish our lives more than he?"
Ever since Zi Shou joined the melee, every man in the Shang Army had charged into battle without a thought for his life, fearless of death.
The soldiers were not blind. They could see.
King Zhou could have stayed atop the Beacon Tower with a beauty in his arms, watching them fight for their lives. Instead, he had trodden the scorching stone path down to the ground and fought alongside his men.
A hundred speeches to raise morale could not compare with stepping onto the battlefield himself.
Yin Pobai felt stronger than ever. His enormous bulk made him an obvious target, and he faced more enemies than anyone else, but he was not afraid.
Our king is fighting right beside us. What reason do we have to retreat?
Watching King Zhou's heroic figure, Yin Pobai, a former member of the Royal Guards, felt an indescribable sense of honor.
Only Zi Shou himself knew the helplessness beneath that heroic bearing.
Zi Shou watched his soldiers fight as though pumped full of stimulants, his heart sliced by knives.
Who knows how long it will take for tonight's impression to fade from these soldiers' minds? One wrong step really does lead to another!
This is a complete loss across the board.
That was how things worked in ancient times. To the soldiers, King Zhou was incomparably exalted, yet he was willing to share their robes, their hardships, and their deaths. They had to give something back.
But they owned nothing. All they had was hot blood and loyalty, so those were all they could offer their king.
Zi Shou had no choice, either. They were already at a disadvantage, and the enemy had aerial forces and Magic Treasures. If he did not do this, what if the rebels won?
Suddenly, something utterly unbelievable happened.
A tremendous wave of energy blasted out. In an instant, sand flew and stones hurtled through the air, blotting out the sky and sun, with what sounded like wild beasts roaring within. The rebels fell into chaos. Moments later, their banners toppled, and their entire army was wiped out.
Even Deng Zhong, Xin Huan, Zhang Jie, and Tao Rong were not spared. All were swept into it.
No one knew how long it lasted. The Feudal Lords summoned earlier by the beacon fires finally reached Chaoge after hurrying as fast as they could. They immediately noticed the fighting near the North Gate and arrived one after another, all witnessing this bizarre scene.
Once the dust cleared, they saw nearly ten thousand rebels sprawled on the ground. Even those unstoppable cultivators could not get up.
A Precious Sword hung alone in midair, then flew straight into King Zhou's hand.
A female Daoist descended from the sky on an Azure Luan, wearing a Fish-Tail Golden Crown, a crimson robe patterned with the eight trigrams, hemp shoes, and a silk sash. She bowed to King Zhou and said, "This humble Daoist is Shi Ji, an unaffiliated cultivator. The sword in Your Majesty's hand is named Tai'a. This sword has neither form nor trace, but its sword energy has long existed between heaven and earth, waiting only for the right moment to take shape. When heaven's timing, earth's advantages, and human harmony unite, this sword is born."
Zi Shou had gone numb. He did not know why Shi Ji was here, nor why the Tai'a Sword had flown into his hand. He only knew that this chain of moves had made the situation even worse.
People in this era believed in immortals and gods. With so many witnesses to that blast of energy and those flying stones, plus an immortal riding an Azure Luan to vouch for him, everyone present had probably raised him to an exceedingly lofty position.
Archmage Zi Shou, perhaps?
Even setting aside these people's worship of him, the Foolishness Value earned from the Mandate of Heaven Theory would probably shrink by a huge amount.
The Mandate of Heaven Theory targeted the lords and nobles, and the Feudal Lords had arrived just in time to witness this scene. Was this not precisely "I am the mandate of heaven"?
Even primordial sword energy had helped King Zhou quell the rebellion. Was that not harnessing heaven for his own use?
Zi Shou still wanted to put up a struggle. The corner of his mouth twitched as he said, "You jest, Daoist. How could this sword possess such power?"
He raised his voice as much as possible so all the Feudal Lords could hear. He had to dump this blame onto Shi Ji!
How could Shi Ji understand what Zi Shou meant? She considered it from the perspective of a normal sovereign and replied, "The sword itself did not possess such might, but the Tai'a Sword is a sword of sovereign might. Today, Your Majesty stood unyielding in adversity. The might within your heart manifested itself, unleashing the Tai'a Sword's power and subduing the rebels!"
Zi Shou was speechless.
No. I must stay strong.
Zi Shou forced himself to rally. "A sword is merely iron. How could it do such a thing? Surely you assisted me from the sidelines, Daoist!"
Shi Ji pondered briefly, then said, "Each age has its own workings. In the time of the Heavenly Sovereign and Earthly Sovereign, stone served as weapons, and trees were broken to build palaces. Stone was a divine substance. In the Yellow Emperor's time, jade served as weapons, and trees were felled to build palaces. Jade was a divine substance. In the time of Yu of Xia, bronze served as weapons. He cut through Yique, opened Longmen, breached channels to guide the rivers, and sent them flowing east into the East Sea. Bronze, too, was a divine substance."
"The realm was brought to peace through divine substances, but also through the strength of sage rulers! Now Your Majesty has used iron as a weapon to suppress the rebels. When the world hears of it, none will dare refuse submission. This is the might of Tai'a, and also Your Majesty's sagely virtue."
Shi Ji paused, then declared loudly, as though afraid someone might not hear, "The sword's might comes from Your Majesty's divine power!"
Zi Shou opened his mouth, speechless. I have to find a way to stop up your mouth. The more you yammer, the more mystical this gets. He put on a smile. "I understand."
Please, just shut up!
Zi Shou stopped paying attention to Shi Ji. He turned to escort Daji down from the Beacon Tower, ordered men to clear the battlefield, and returned to the palace.
Heaven only knew whether staying here would spread the effects even further. He had to get back to the palace quickly. At least what the eye did not see, the heart would not fret over. The soldiers' adoring gazes and the Feudal Lords' trembling expressions gave him the creeps.
What damned good is crushing a rebellion? If I can't thrash the Three Pure Ones and Hongjun, I'm still destined to burn to death!
The fire on the Beacon Tower wasn't even that big, and the soles of my feet are still hot. What would burning myself alive on the Deer Terrace feel like? I don't even dare imagine it!
After Zi Shou returned to the palace, the Feudal Lords came forward to help clear the battlefield.
The rebels were not dead; they had merely lost the ability to move. This strange sight only made the whole affair seem more unbelievable.
Ji Chang, the Marquis of the West, was among them.
He had arrived early. Though his domain lay farthest west, he had actually come before Su Hu.
That was because he had always kept spies watching for news from Chaoge.
Ji Chang still shuddered with lingering fear. Had he not reacted in time, the rebels lying here might have been his own army.
After all, he had nearly decided to rise up amid the chaos himself.
These rebels were all used! King Zhou knew long ago that they intended to revolt. He deliberately built the Beacon Tower, waiting for the uprising so he could summon the Feudal Lords to watch and intimidate them by crushing it!
His true target was the Feudal Lords!
Ji Chang sighed inwardly again and again. The current King Zhou was not an easy man to deal with.
But he had spent years building up Xiqi, choosing worthy and capable men and winning over the people. How could he give up so easily?
Still, King Zhou's move of subduing the lords with beacon fires had made many things troublesome. It seemed he would have to devise another meticulous plan.
Ji Chang thought it over carefully. King Zhou had obtained a heavenly sword and quelled the rebellion in one stroke. Once word spread, even those with ulterior motives would probably find it difficult to stir up another rebellion for several years. But if it were barbarians beyond civilization, people from distant lands...
For example, Gui Fang and Tu Fang to the northwest, the Eastern Yi to the east, and the Baiyue Tribes to the south were all forces he could use.
In an imposing residence somewhere in Chaoge.
Zi Qi, Zi Yan, Bi Gan, Mai Yun, Mai Zhi, and the others sat in a circle.
Lei Kai was gone.
They all knew now that the rebellion had failed, and King Zhou would soon come to call them to account.
Even hiding in the residence without participating in the rebellion at all was useless, because everything lay within King Zhou's grasp.
The expert writing Shang history is seriously awesome. A major arc is just about to end, too. Anyone up for compiling a Book of Shang to summarize these hundred thousand words?
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