Chapter 202

The old man Jiang didn't even lift his eyelids, slowly replying:

"What I am fishing for is not the fish and shrimp in the water, but the princes on the shore."

This statement soon spread and became a joke.

It also reached the ears of Ji Chang, the leader of the Zhou State who was visiting sages everywhere—the future King Wen of Zhou.

Ji Chang's heart moved, feeling this old man was not ordinary.

He brought his guards and personally came to the bank of the Wei River, indeed seeing the strange old man fishing.

Ji Chang stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and asked: "Old sir, you are fishing here, what have you gained?"

Jiang Shang finally turned his head slowly and looked at Ji Chang.

With just that one look, Ji Chang's heart shook violently; the depth and calmness in those eyes seemed to be able to contain mountains and rivers, and see through the rise and fall of life and death.

"I have fished something."

Jiang Shang said, his voice hoarse yet clear.

"What?"

"A hidden dragon about to soar into the nine heavens." Jiang Shang looked at Ji Chang and said slowly.

Ji Chang took a deep breath, dismissed his attendants, and sat down on the rock by the Wei River to talk with Jiang Shang.

From the grand trends of the world to the tyranny of Shang Zhou, to governing the country and using troops, to the suffering of the people... the more they talked, the brighter Ji Chang's eyes became, and the more surprised he was in his heart.

This old man's knowledge, strategy, and pattern far exceeded any sage he had ever seen.

This was no fishing old man; he was clearly a divine weapon bestowed by heaven to the Zhou State to pry open the universe!

After the talk, Ji Chang stood up, straightened his clothes, and bowed to Jiang Shang: "My ancestor Taigong has been waiting for you for a long time!"

(My ancestor Taigong has been waiting for someone like you for a long time!)

He immediately appointed Jiang Shang as "Taishi" and respectfully called him "Taigong Wang."

Using the most grand ritual, he personally drove the carriage for Jiang Shang, carrying him back to Xiqi City.

On the way, the rope pulling the carriage broke; Ji Chang didn't let them change it, personally connecting it and continuing to pull to show his respect.

"Looking for a job at eighty, the interviewer is the future Son of Heaven, who personally drives and picks you up—this treatment is unprecedented."

【Act III: Secretly Cultivating Virtue and Governance, Secretly Clipping Wings】

Jiang Shang entered Zhou and didn't rush to shout "rebellion."

The strategy he set for Ji Chang was one word: "Secret."

Come secretly.

Internally, he urged Ji Chang to "secretly cultivate virtue, kindly care for the elderly, love the young, and provide relief to the widowed, lonely, and solitary."

The Zhou State already had a reputation for benevolence, and now it won even more hearts.

Many sages dissatisfied with Shang Zhou, escaped slaves, and people who couldn't survive flocked to Xiqi.

The power of the Zhou State rolled like a snowball in silence.

Externally, Jiang Shang personally went out, leading the army to conquer.

But he didn't attack the Shang main force, specifically picking on Shang's "lackeys" and younger brothers.

Chong, Mishu, Li, Han... these vassal states that surrounded the core area of the Shang Dynasty and were loyal to King Zhou were pulled out one by one by Jiang Shang.

He didn't pay attention to formation battles, mostly using strange stratagems, acting swiftly, often destroying cities and states before Shang reinforcements arrived, plundering wealth and population back to the Zhou State.

Every state destroyed was equivalent to cutting off a finger of the Shang Dynasty and clipping a wing.

Don't fight the tiger directly; first clean up the jackals and wild dogs around the tiger, making the tiger a lonely man.

By the time the tiger reacted, it was already too late.

【Act IV: Reviewing Troops at Mengjin, Thunder at Muye】

After Ji Chang died, his son Ji Fa succeeded him, becoming King Wu of Zhou. Jiang Shang continued to assist him.

1048 BC, King Wu, on Jiang Shang's advice, held a "Review of Troops at Mengjin," gathering eight hundred feudal lords in the name of reviewing the army.

It was actually a political probe and general mobilization.

To see how many feudal lords were truly against Shang, and to see Shang's reaction.

As a result, there were eight hundred feudal lords who gathered unexpectedly, filled with indignation, demanding to attack Shang immediately.

But Jiang Shang and King Wu believed the time was not right, as the Shang main force still existed, so they suppressed the crowd's opinion and returned to the capital.

"Can fight, but endure first. Wait for that one-hit-kill opportunity when the enemy is weakest."

This wait lasted another two years.

1046 BC, the opportunity finally came.

King Zhou of Shang sent his main army to conquer the Dongyi, leaving Zhaoge empty.

Even better, the internal contradictions of the Shang Dynasty exploded, Prince Bigan was killed, Jizi was imprisoned, Weizi fled, and Taishi Ci and Shaoshi Qiang defected to the Zhou State with Shang's ritual instruments.

Zhaoge had become an empty city of anger and despair.

King Wu gathered the feudal lords again.

In the military tent, everyone was excited, but some feared the century-old prestige of the Shang Dynasty, and divination showed "great ominousness."

King Wu also hesitated, looking at Jiang Shang.

Jiang Ziya stood up, this white-haired old man, his eyes shooting essence at this moment, he swept the turtle shells and yarrow used for divination to the ground, crushing them fiercely with his feet, his voice like a bell:

"Dead bones and dead grass, how can they know good or bad fortune! King Zhou is without Dao, heaven and man have abandoned him; if we don't attack now, when will we?"

He pushed aside the crowd's opinion and firmly advocated sending troops immediately.

King Wu was infected by his decisiveness and finally made the decision.

Jiang Shang was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the entire army, titled "Shi Shangfu."

The Zhou army and the coalition of feudal lords, forty-five thousand people, marched rapidly across the Yellow River, heading straight for Zhaoge.

At Muye in the suburbs of Zhaoge, they met the hastily assembled Shang army (about 170,000, mostly slaves, prisoners of war, and Dongyi captives).

On the eve of the decisive battle, Jiang Shang gathered the generals again, giving instructions:

"Although the Shang army is numerous, their hearts are scattered, and most are forced."

"Tomorrow before the battle, don't rush to charge; first beat the drums and shout, proclaiming King Zhou's crimes and the Zhou army's benevolence, declaring that only King Zhou will be executed, and those who surrender will be spared!"

【Act V: The Vanguard Turns Their Spears, Blood Flows to Float Pestles】

The next day, Muye Plain, the two armies stood against each other.

The Shang army formation was huge, but chaotic and disorganized, morale low.

In front of the Zhou army, Jiang Shang, with his white hair fluttering, stood on the war chariot, personally beating the huge war drum!

"Dong! Dong! Dong!"

The drum sound shook the sky and the earth.

At the same time, a mountain-shaking shout erupted from the Zhou army formation:

"Tyrant King Zhou, harming the country and the people! King Zhou attacks the crimes, saving the people from fire and water! Only execute the chief evil, those who are coerced will not be questioned! Surrender and be spared, resist and be executed!"

The sound wave was higher than the last, impacting the psychological defense line of the Shang army opposite.

Those slaves and prisoners of war who were already resentful, listening to this shout, looking at the orderly Zhou army opposite, and thinking of King Zhou's tyranny and the suffering their families might be enduring... the psychological defense line collapsed instantly.

Don't know who shouted first: "Rebel! Don't sell your life for King Zhou!"

Like an avalanche, the slaves and prisoners of war in the Shang vanguard suddenly turned their spears and charged toward the rear!

They were not charging at the Zhou army, but at the Shang nobles and direct troops who were supervising the battle.

"The vanguard turns their spears!"

The situation was completely out of control.

The Shang army trampled on each other, killing into a ball.

The Zhou army didn't even spend much effort charging, just advancing steadily, expanding the results.

The Shang main force collapsed in an instant, blood flowing like a river, it is said that wooden pestles could float.

King Zhou saw the army collapse from the Deer Terrace, knowing the grand trend was gone, put on his most magnificent treasure jade clothes, and burned himself to death.

The Shang Dynasty, which had ruled the Central Plains for nearly six hundred years, collapsed with a bang.

In a decisive battle to change dynasties, the real slaughter only happened inside the enemy.

Jiang Shang used psychological warfare to the extreme, subduing the enemy without fighting, subduing the enemy's soldiers.

【Act VI: Dividing Land and Enfeoffing Qi, Simplifying Rituals and Benefiting the People】

The Zhou Dynasty was established, and feudal lords were enfeoffed.

Jiang Shang, who had the greatest merit, was enfeoffed at Yingqiu by the eastern sea, establishing the Qi State.

That place, at that time, was not a good place: the land was barren, the Dongyi were not yet subdued, and it was far from the Central Plains.

The white-haired Jiang Taigong set off again to manage his enfeoffed state.

He didn't copy the cumbersome ritual and music system of the Zhou Dynasty; when he arrived in Qi, the first order was: "Simplify the rituals, follow the customs."

Rituals were as simple as possible, and local customs were respected.

The Qi land was close to the sea, with the benefit of fish and salt, but land was scarce and people were few.

Jiang Shang encouraged the people to develop handicrafts and commerce, especially boiling salt and catching fish.

He reduced taxes and recruited refugees; soon, the Qi State became prosperous, becoming a great power in the east, laying the most solid foundation for Duke Huan of Qi to achieve hegemony later.

Relying on strategy to win the world, relying on flexibility to govern the world.

Jiang Ziya could both stabilize the tripod and lay the foundation; he is an all-around master.