Chapter 9 The Dirtiest Tactic in History!
In mid-June, the Lady of Shang sent envoys to the States of Li and Yang, delivering the Shang Kingdom’s declaration of war. The size of Shang’s forces and the location for the decisive battle were confirmed. Once the three-state war was set, it quickly caused a stir across the land. And rightly so. This battle was utterly bizarre!
Facing the two states’ combined force of three hundred war chariots, how many troops did Shang dispatch? Two thousand. Not a single chariot.
In this era dominated by chariot warfare, to go into battle without any chariots against three hundred war chariots was either madness or idiocy. No one knew what Zhang Yang was thinking.
But just as few believed he could achieve ultimate victory.
First Year of the Marquis of Shang, 12th July.
At the Zhang Residence.
“Mmm~~ I saw it on the street and thought it suited you perfectly, so I bought it,” Nongyu said, her delicate fingers were covered in needle pricks, cradling a bright red cloak in her arms as her gaze flickered.
Zhang Yang took the cloak.
The fabric was soft, made from some unknown material that was quite good at blocking the wind and keeping out the cold.
He smiled and said, “Not bad, just a bit poorly made.”
“Hmph, take it or leave it.” Nongyu glared at Zhang Yang angrily, baring her small tiger-like teeth, then turned and left.
Zhang Yang watched her go and shook his head slightly.
This girl was carefree and occasionally threw little tantrums, but she wasn’t bad at all.
Rou’er stood to one side, sighing helplessly.
She reminded him, “Master, this cloak doesn’t look bought.”
“The fabric is a tribute reserved exclusively for the royal family, said to come from a small kingdom in the South, where it’s extremely rare.”
“If merchants got their hands on such material, they would treasure it dearly—there’s no way it would be treated like this, like this~~”
Zhang Yang’s eyelids drooped slightly as he glanced at Rou’er and said, “You mean, this was sewn by Nongyu herself.”
Rou’er parted her lips slightly, quickly understanding.
She whispered, “Master, you knew.”
Zhang Yang narrowed his eyes but said nothing. Of course he knew.
Having lived two lives and spent so many years on this earth, if Zhang Yang couldn’t see through Nongyu’s subtle intentions, then his life would have been meaningless.
But…
His great vengeance was yet to be fulfilled, and the whereabouts of his family remained unknown.
Right now, he had no energy to dwell on matters of love and romance.
Besides, he didn’t harbour much romantic feeling for Nongyu.
Zhang Yang left.
He led the army into battle, commanding a total of two thousand men.
Five hundred were disciples, and one thousand five hundred were temporarily conscripted infantrymen.
Speaking of those one thousand five hundred infantry, there was an amusing story behind them.
Since the news that Zhang Yang intended to face the combined forces of two states—three hundred chariots—with only two thousand men spread, many nobles and scholars of the Shang Kingdom went to the Lady of Shang to voice their complaints.
"Just two thousand men? There’s no way they can stand against three hundred chariots," they argued.
"This is a reckless gamble with the lives of Shang’s sons."
"In short, we will not be the ones sent to die."
"Either you replace them now on the battlefield and send out our Shang Kingdom chariots," one insisted, "or send whoever you like, just not us. We won’t be going."
"The lives of Shang’s men cannot be thrown away so carelessly."
In the end, the Lady of Shang bore the pressure and chose to place her trust in Zhang Yang.
As for the fifteen hundred infantry, since the nobles and scholars refused to enlist, a large number of slaves, merchants, and farmers had to be conscripted instead.
Ultimately, among the fifteen hundred foot soldiers, only a little over two hundred were properly trained nobles and scholars.
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15th July, overcast.
The Ying Territory, mostly plains with a few hills, served as the granary of the Shang Kingdom.
Although the States of Li and Yang had joined forces, they did not combine their troops into a single army but instead formed two clearly distinct groups.
The State of Li, possessing eight cities, had the larger force—one hundred and seventy chariots.
The State of Yang, with six cities, had fewer troops—one hundred and thirty chariots.
Together, the two states fielded three hundred chariots, totalling more than twenty thousand soldiers.
Over twenty thousand warriors stood across the vast grasslands, blades and spears like a dense forest, their presence imposing and formidable. Opposite the two states stood the Shang Kingdom’s army led by Zhang Yang.
Not many — just eight hundred men, all cavalry.
Before the battle had even begun, the soldiers of the two states couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Ha ha ha, the Shang Kingdom has truly lost its mind. How many have they got? A thousand?”
“Not a chance it’s a thousand. If you could count, you’d see it’s no more than seven or eight hundred.”
“Wait, didn’t Shang say they’d send two thousand troops? How come it’s only seven or eight hundred then?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Anyone with a shred of sense would have legged it by now — there’s no point coming just to be slaughtered.”
“That’s true. If Shang sent just a hundred chariots, they might stand a chance. But only two thousand troops— not even a single chariot? They’re asking for death.”
Such taunts echoed across the armies of both the State of Li and the State of Yang.
Even the nobles leading the armies of the States of Li and Yang couldn’t help but laugh.
“How could this battle possibly be lost?”
The war drums thundered as three hundred chariots from the two states charged towards Zhang Yang’s eight hundred men.
Their momentum was overwhelming, unstoppable.
Horses neighed, chariots rumbled.
The enemy’s shouts tore through the sky.
Despite this, Zhang Yang showed no fear and issued his orders.
“Fight while retreating.”
At his command, the eight hundred cavalry responded without hesitation, spurring their horses back while firing arrows.
Their aim was squarely at the warhorses pulling the chariots.
Each chariot was drawn by four horses. But it only took injuring one horse to incapacitate an entire chariot.
The Shang Kingdom’s longbows, improved by Zhang Yang, had a much greater range, capable of inflicting effective damage on enemies two hundred metres away—double the range of contemporary longbows.
The elite archers could shoot beyond three hundred metres.
Facing the retreating Shang soldiers, the two states mocked them and pursued with even greater enthusiasm.
However!
That joy did not last long.
At five hundred metres, some soldiers began to gasp for air.
By one thousand metres, the distance between the chariots and infantry widened, with ordinary foot soldiers already panting heavily.
At fifteen hundred metres, the chariots continued their charge, but the infantry lagged behind by over a hundred metres.
The rear ranks were even more scattered, no longer maintaining their formation. When they had pursued for three kilometres, the commanders of the States of Li and Yang both sensed something was wrong.
Although a chariot was drawn by four horses, not to mention its weight, there were also three men aboard.
How could its speed compare to cavalry?
Under normal circumstances, Zhang Yang, leading eight hundred cavalry, should have escaped long ago.
Yet he consistently maintained a distance of about two hundred metres from the two states’ armies, harassing their combined forces with arrows.
After chasing for three kilometres, not a single Shang Kingdom cavalryman was caught, while the two states lost seventy-eight chariots and more than three hundred and seventy armoured soldiers.
This battle left the commanders of the two states both furious and disheartened.
They had finally realised one thing. If they kept chasing, they’d soon be bled dry.
The two states made their decision in succession: retreat!
“We’re done chasing.”
“That bastard! What kind of disgusting tactics are these?”
But just as they tried to pull back, Zhang Yang wouldn’t let them have it their way.
As the two states halted and began a slow withdrawal, Zhang Yang led his cavalry in pursuit.
No charges this time—just relying on longbows firing from a distance.
After chasing so far without even brushing a single soldier from the Shang Kingdom, their morale was already battered.
Now, harassed during their retreat, they were seething with anger and gripped by fear. How the hell was this fight supposed to go?
The two states had barely retreated two li (about a mile) before losing more than forty war chariots again.
Everywhere along the way, abandoned chariots from the two states littered the ground.
In just two hours of battle, they had lost nearly half their chariots, while the Shang Kingdom had suffered no casualties at all!
The infantry from the two states had long since been left far behind by their chariots. When they saw the returning chariots, they quickly realised the numbers didn’t add up.
Out of three hundred chariots, they had lost nearly half — how could that not be obvious?
Before the infantry could even react, two Shang Kingdom units charged out from the woods beside the road.
Leading them were Zhang Yang’s disciples.
Heitu and Guan.
At the rear of the army, dust billowed as the thunderous sound of galloping hooves approached — it was impossible to tell how many riders there were. Heitu led the charge on horseback, piercing through a Li soldier with his spear as he shouted, "Men, the two states have already been soundly beaten by the general. Follow me and capture the enemy commander."
Seeing this, the infantry from the two states no longer had the time or energy to determine if it was true.
Rout!
A complete and utter rout!
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