The Mandate of Heaven rested with Zhou

As expected, Marquis Shen refused to back down, and Luo Cheng began preparing for the aftermath.

Haojing City would most likely be impossible to hold.

If Haojing City really fell, Ji Nie's life or death would be a minor matter.

The greatest problem was that the Son of Heaven's sanctity would plummet.

Even if an army coming to the king's aid later retook it, this would remain an indelible stain.

Thus, before the eyes of every Zhou person in Haojing City, Luo Cheng would offer sacrifices to Heaven and summon a celestial change, proving that the Zhou State's Mandate of Heaven remained secure.

If he could protect Haojing in the process, all the better.

He needed to plant a seed in the hearts of the people of Shen, the Rong People, the army coming to the king's aid, and the Zhou People.

All their previous defeats and humiliations had resulted from Ji Nie's incompetence, so Heaven would end his life through a lost war.

The great affairs of a state lay in war and sacrifice. As Grand Clan Head, the Luo Clan often organized sacrifices on the Son of Heaven's behalf.

Luo Cheng stood atop the altar to Heaven as the various offerings were presented one by one. He gazed into the distant sky, as though the Sage King were watching him.

"Ancestor, I truly cannot resign myself to this. Please forgive me."

Ji Zhao remained silent. Everyone had thoughts of their own; his descendants were not his puppets on strings.

[Ancestors' Blessing has been withdrawn. Fortune Points have been refunded.]

Since Luo Cheng was determined, he would let him proceed.

Withdrawing Ancestors' Blessing would make his life more difficult. Perhaps that would unlock more of his potential and bring the clan more unexpected gains.

In any case, the Luo State had deep reserves. Without internal strife, they could not squander them all even in several centuries.

Everything was ready, including the divine artifact for June Snow. Luo Cheng knelt directly on the altar and began his performance.

"The Sage King's spirit dwells in Heaven, so radiant and glorious.

Your descendants dwell among mortals, receiving Heaven's Mandate to found a new dynasty.

Your illustrious name endures through the ages; your descendants carry on through the generations."

When Luo Cheng finished the first rendition, all the high ministers and nobles began chanting along. Gradually, the whole palace rang with praises of the sage.

"O Sage King, your spirit dwells in Heaven, while your descendants suffer.

Vicious rebels are attacking, declaring that Zhou's Mandate of Heaven totters on the brink.

Your descendants humbly beseech you: let the spirit in Heaven reveal his divine might.

The Zhou State's Mandate shines like sun and moon, enduring for ten thousand generations, never to fall."

Throughout the Zhou State, it had long been said that the Sage King was King Wu's successor. This was also the origin of the Luo Clan's stewardship of Heaven's Mandate.

The Sage King was the spiritual totem of all the old Zhou People, an undisputed sage whose prestige was particularly immense in Haojing.

Countless Zhou People joined the chant, creating a deeply solemn scene.

Countless snowflakes appeared in great, thick flurries, seemingly out of thin air. The previously clear sky darkened in an instant.

"The Sage King has manifested!"

"Sage King! Save your people!"

Countless mournful cries rose around the altar. Even the high ministers and nobles were no exception.

A trickle of blood ran from the corner of Luo Cheng's mouth as he called out, "My lords.

Our ancestor says that the Zhou State's Mandate of Heaven shines clear.

We must rouse ourselves. Are you not ashamed to let the Sage King see you like this?

The Rong People stand just outside our capital. If you do not resist their invasion with all your hearts, how will you ever face the spirits of your ancestors?"

Though the Zhou People did not venerate ghosts and gods as fervently as the Shang People, their devotion to ancestral sacrifice surpassed even theirs.

Luo Cheng's words stirred everyone's spirits. The Sage King was a divine spirit who served August Heaven, and they would all meet him after death.

Though the Sage King had not directly punished the rebels, the Zhou People at least gained confidence.

The soldiers in particular had been terrified by the rebels surging toward them like a tide, but now their courage swelled.

Even if this could not bridge the absolute gap in strength, everyone at least had hope.

Luo Cheng prayed silently that, with the help of the snow filling the sky, they could survive the first day-the hardest part of defending the city.

The mood in the Shen-Rong camp was entirely different from the soaring spirits inside Haojing City.

Everyone stared blankly at the suddenly darkened sky and the snowflakes appearing from nowhere. Worse, those snowflakes fell into their camp while pointedly avoiding Haojing City!

Though Marquis Shen had decisively suppressed the news and destroyed the stone stele, it had been useless. Such rumors could not be contained.

Everyone passed along increasingly distorted stories, and the entire camp buzzed with discussion. Shen State's ministers and officials were especially unsettled, for they had witnessed the whole affair.

They had seen that stone stele with their own eyes, and none would forget its inscription.

"Rebels raise arms and plunge Zhou into turmoil; snow shall fall in June to proclaim Heaven's might!"

Someone could not help reciting it. An icy sense of foreboding crept into his heart, and he shuddered involuntarily.

The snowflakes drifted gently down their collars. Whether it was the chill of the snow or the chill in their hearts, everyone shivered.

Marquis Shen now felt somewhat fortunate that he had marched with the Rong People. Otherwise, Shen State's soldiers in their current condition might not have been capable of fighting at all.

Even the Rong King, who stood outside the Zhou State's order, could not help rubbing his arm, which was covered in gooseflesh.

"Is it really this uncanny?" he could not help asking. "Is this Sage King of yours truly so divine? Our tribe's chronicles contain many accounts of him too. He seems quite ordinary."

The Rong Tribe's chronicles did indeed contain numerous accounts of the Sage King. Generally, their greater defeats went unrecorded.

Their lesser defeats were embellished and called draws.

As for victories, since there were none and they could not simply invent them, none were recorded.

Marquis Shen himself was also utterly horrified. Among the current feudal lords, he was indeed a formidable man.

But how could he not feel apprehensive before Heaven?

This was the Sage King, the ancestral spirit said to serve the supreme god, August Heaven.

Once the shock passed, his pragmatic side surfaced. Forcing down his unease, he smiled at everyone. "My ministers.

The Son of Heaven has been seized by treacherous ministers. Heaven is shedding tears for him.

Let us brave the snow filling the sky and forge our own glorious history, making our ancestors proud.

Soldiers, the time has come to win merit and distinction. Fight your way into Haojing and rescue the Son of Heaven.

Then I shall hold a grand sacrifice to Heaven in Haojing, so Heaven may hear of your achievements.

I promise that the first soldier to enter the city, citizen or slave, shall receive a fief and establish a state!

For every soldier in this campaign, rewards for military merit and heads taken shall be tripled!"

Heralds carried Marquis Shen's orders throughout the camp, restoring some cohesion to its scattered spirits.

For the slave soldiers in particular, the Sage King was practically an enemy.

They cared nothing for his miracle. All they wanted was to obtain Marquis Shen's promised reward and escape slavery.

Marquis Shen then told the Rong King, "Rong King, begin the attack at once. The longer this snow falls, the colder it gets.

Once our soldiers cannot even stretch their limbs, they may suffer grievously against the Zhou defenders."

The Rong King answered briskly, "Very well. I shall give the order."

With the two in agreement, they began besieging the city according to their previously established battle plan.

Boom, boom, boom!

After three rounds of drumming, the soldiers of the Shen-Rong alliance began their advance.

The first attackers were naturally the expendable slave soldiers. Almost none wore armor, only coarse hemp clothing. Carrying crude blades and wooden shields, they swarmed like locusts toward Haojing's walls. Both sides knew their purpose: to exhaust the city's defensive resources.

Creeeak-

Rumble!

The heavy bronze gates suddenly opened, and rumbling war chariots raced out. Clad in bronze armor, Guo Shifu stood majestically atop a chariot, holding the Long Halberd.

Haojing's military strength was indeed limited, but it still had enough war chariots.

Though many impoverished citizens no longer knew how to fight from chariots, the lesser nobles who possessed fiefs were all well-trained warriors.

Guo Shifu led the chariot force into the slave soldiers' flank with a brutal crash. Beneath the immense force of horses and bronze chariots, flesh and blood flew instantly, and piercing screams filled the surroundings.

Red and white flesh carpeted the ground. No one could tell which body parts had spilled those multicolored things.

On such broad, level ground, chariots wielded decisive power. The slave soldiers could not even reach their riders with their battered blades, while the long halberds designed for chariot warfare easily reaped their lives.

Guo Shifu stood on his chariot, laughing wildly. In that moment, he truly felt himself no less than his father. The Zhou soldiers atop the walls likewise erupted in cheers.

This one-sided crushing of the enemy greatly lifted everyone's morale, especially the Zhou People who had just witnessed a miracle.

Teams of heralds continually delivered news from the front to Ji Nie. "Your Majesty, the Duke of Guo has led the chariots into battle and is unstoppable. The Shen rebels have suffered grievous losses and cannot fight back."

Delighted, Ji Nie smiled at everyone in the hall. "The Duke of Guo is worthy of being my most trusted minister. He truly possesses both courage and strategy."

Before Haojing City, Guo Shifu tore through the slave soldiers, slaughtering freely, when he suddenly heard a shout followed by the same rumbling of war chariots. "Treacherous Zhou scoundrel, give your name!"

A chariot moving at full speed could hardly stop. Only after breaking straight through the slave soldiers' ranks did Guo Shifu turn his chariot toward the shouting man. One look told him he did not recognize him.

"I am of the Guo Clan, one of the Son of Heaven's Three Dukes, an exalted feudal lord and minister of the Son of Heaven. Get down from your chariot and surrender, you rebel!"

Announcing one's lineage before battle and overwhelming the opponent with one's noble blood was common conduct in warfare during this era.

It also served another important purpose: prominent figures were generally captured and ransomed, making them less likely to lose their lives.

Sure enough, after hearing Guo Shifu's declaration, the opposing general, plainly a minister or official of Shen State, did not humiliate himself by announcing his own lineage.

Instead, he urged his driver forward to duel Guo Shifu. Though Guo Shifu was the halberd-bearing chariot warrior, his status meant that even the archer commanding the crew had to obey him.

Guo Shifu likewise ordered his driver forward. At such close range, there was no room to shoot arrows.

The two closed in. Tall and powerful, Guo Shifu numbed the opposing general's hand with one halberd strike, then knocked him straight off his chariot with another.

Two casual sweeps of his halberd beheaded the other two men on the opposing chariot.

Seeing Guo Shifu's valor, the soldiers who had followed him cheered even more thunderously, driving their chariots through the helpless slaves in a frenzy of slaughter.

Marquis Shen was in no hurry whatsoever. The slave soldiers were expendable to begin with; he had not expected them to lure out one of Haojing City's leading generals as well.

"Sending chariots out without infantry cover-he's courting death. Bring up the Master Archers and shoot him dead!"

After making a circuit of slaughter, Guo Shifu was preparing to return. He should not have sallied out in the first place. These slave soldiers were expendable, and the precious fighting strength of the chariot troops should not have been wasted here.

The archers on the walls were covering Guo Shifu's retreat. No one noticed several broad-shouldered, thick-waisted archers holding weapons visibly larger than ordinary bows, drawing them to their full extent and aiming at his back.

Thwack!

Several arrows from hiding whistled across the chaotic battlefield. Some struck his bronze armor, but one passed through a gap between the plates and instantly pierced Guo Shifu's body with the sound of tearing flesh.

The sudden turn stunned everyone. The driver steered the chariot into Haojing City as blood poured from Guo Shifu's mouth, and he breathed his last.

A herald brought Ji Nie the news.

"Report..."

"Your Majesty, as the Duke of Guo returned to the city, the Shen-Rong rebels shot arrows from hiding. The duke has passed away."

Ji Nie could not believe his ears. A moment ago, it had been a great victory. How could the duke have died in the blink of an eye?

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Ji Nie forced a smile. "The Duke of Guo was so valiant. How could he possibly have fallen in battle?"

The Shen-Rong rebels never paused. The slave soldiers surged forward over the corpses carpeting the open ground.

A dozen or more slaves carried each long ladder, their morale soaring. Marquis Shen's promises were etched into their hearts.

Anyone who had never been a slave could never understand the despair of that status. Generation after generation, they were not even considered human.

They did not seek fiefs or states, nor did they understand what founding a state meant. But Marquis Shen had said they would no longer need to be slaves, and for that they would give everything.

Even their lives.

A slave's life was worth nothing!

For their lives were already worse than death.

Lured by freedom, and after leaving many corpses behind, the leading slave soldiers reached the foot of Haojing City's walls.

They raised their shields overhead to guard against the arrows suddenly raining down.

Long ladders were placed against the battlements. Urged on by the drums, the slave soldiers began climbing like countless ants, forming a spectacular sight.

Beyond the slaves attempting to storm the walls directly, other slave soldiers carried a huge battering ram through the arrow storm and struck the gates, chanting in unison.

The bronze gates were sturdy. Wood splinters flew, and the gates seemed immovable, yet a closer look revealed that the entire structure was trembling slightly.

The defending soldiers were not idle either. Following their training, the well-drilled citizens took up poles and pushed the long ladders off the walls.

The slaves climbing them fell in strings, like dumplings dropped into a pot, suffering heavy casualties.

Unlike siege ladders mounted on wheeled frames, which were virtually impossible to push away, these long ladders were relatively easy to handle.

But once the Rong King sent the Rong Tribe's archers to cover the continuously advancing slave soldiers, the Zhou army's casualties began to rise.

The Eastern Yi were undoubtedly the finest archers, but these Western Rong were no slouches either.

Hunting across the vast northwestern lands demanded great skill with a bow. These accurate archers put tremendous pressure on the Zhou defenders.

After all, seeing an arrow suddenly lodged in a comrade's face from time to time cast a shadow of death that required considerable mental fortitude to endure.

Haojing City was the Zhou State's largest city after Luoyi. While its size made attacking harder, it also demanded an enormous defending force.

Merely manning the entire city would almost exhaust its troop reserves. Since a reserve force still had to be retained, they could only drive the slave soldiers onto the walls.

Warfare in this age generally involved chariots fighting enemies in the open field. Situations requiring a city defense were rare.

The Rong soldiers and Shen State's slaves seemed inexhaustible, surging toward the battlements in an endless stream.

Moreover, seeing Haojing City's supply of rolling logs diminish, they began deploying wheeled siege ladders.

"Report..."

The herald's voice reached Ji Nie like a summons to death.

The battle lasted from morning well into the afternoon. The Shen-Rong alliance never paused, attacking regardless of the cost.

Suddenly, earth-shaking cheers rose from the city gates.

"Report..."

"Your Majesty, the western gate has fallen. The Shen rebels have entered the city."

At this news, everyone's face instantly turned ashen.

Luo Cheng sighed softly. They had still failed to survive the most dangerous first day.

He looked up at the sky, recalling his ancestor's words, and suddenly understood what it meant that Heaven's will was a blade that could not be defied.

Marquis Shen's rebellion exposed the Zhou royal house's weakness before everyone. In theory, Haojing's fall should have dealt a devastating blow to the Son of Heaven's sanctity.

Yet the evidence recovered from archaeological sites showed that, while the Zhou People criticized King You of Zhou for angering Heaven, numerous poems praising the Zhou State's manifest Mandate of Heaven were also unearthed from the same period.

This was a strange phenomenon, just as an anonymous poet of Tang wrote: "What did Heaven's blade-like will reveal? The royal mandate lay with Zhou, not You."

All blame for Haojing City's fall was laid upon King You of Zhou alone. Everyone, including the feudal lords, remained wholly certain of the Son of Heaven of Zhou's heavenly mandate.

According to the historical records, the ancestor of the Luo Clan Imperial Family, the Marquis of Luo, who then served as Grand Clan Head of the Zhou Dynasty, held a Heaven-Worship Ceremony in Haojing City and summoned a miraculous snowfall in the month of June. This led all the Zhou People to believe unshakably in the Mandate of Heaven.

Most scholars believed this account was a later fabrication, but materials excavated from tombs all recorded the event. Even the ruins of the Rong People contained records of it, and every indication suggested that it had truly happened.

The Luo Clan Imperial Family had few members and had always lived in seclusion, rarely venturing out. They remained tight-lipped about the various miracles recorded in the histories, and their core members never accepted interviews from outsiders. Thus, the present author has yet to reach a definitive conclusion regarding the truth of this event. -A History of the Rise and Fall of the Zhou Dynasty

Brothers, 5,000 characters! My chapters just keep getting longer and longer. I really am a treasure of an author, so make sure you cherish me! Please keep up with the latest chapters-that's the greatest encouragement you can give your author. Thank you!

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