Chapter 27: The Queen Surrenders

  The Moon Princess King regained her composure, let out a long sigh and said: "People all say that the Great King is a reincarnation of a heavenly god, his three books make the world surrender, but who would have thought there was such a talented person? It's simply impossible for gods and ghosts to match. That I, Dong Yi, encountered such an opponent in the Great King, it's truly heaven not blessing me... The other day when you raided our army's rear, it must have been one of the Great King's clever plans?"

  Zhang Zixing did not deny it, and sighed: "It's embarrassing to say that the commander was too eager for merit at the time, which led to being besieged by the Wu Shen army. This plan should be my fault. Today, in the battle of Pingyuan, I also miscalculated, causing casualties among the soldiers..."

  "Victory and defeat are common occurrences in the military, Your Majesty. Why must you be so concerned? If it weren't for that commander's mistake, this clever plan would have cut off our clan's roots. Thinking about it now, I'm still afraid...” Princess Yueji spoke out, only to realize she was consoling the enemy, and quickly shut her mouth.

  Zhang Zixing saw it in his eyes, but didn't say a word, and continued: "Just now the queen said 'Heaven does not favor the Eastern Barbarians', which is really wrong! I'll ask you one question first, if I, the king, were to conquer the Eastern Barbarians, what do you think I would do with the various tribes of the Eastern Barbarians?"

  "The Dongyi and the Great Shang have been sworn enemies for generations. If the Great King truly achieves a complete victory... our tribe will only have one path to extinction..." Princess Yueji thought for a moment, then spoke out the answer that was in her heart, although it was something she did not want to face."

  "The Queen's words are utterly wrong! If it were an ordinary king, perhaps it would be so, but who am I? How can you compare me to those mediocre ones?" Zhang Zixing's eyebrows revealed a hint of arrogance: "Using killing to stop killing is the most foolish method. If there is any leftover, it will only make hatred accumulate for generations and never be resolved. I ask you again, why have the Eastern Barbarians repeatedly invaded the borders of our Great Shang Dynasty?"

  "I am from the eastern Yi region, located on the border. Although I am near the great sea, the land is vast and wide, but it is a poor and barren place, desolate beyond compare. The various tribes live in hardship, and countless people die of hunger and disease... When we take up arms to invade neighboring territories, one reason is the accumulated hatred over the years, another is the suspicion of having wild ambitions, but the main reason is still to plunder grain and cloth." Princess Yueji sighed: "My tribe is good at attacking but not defending, and we also have a clear understanding of ourselves. Throughout history, we have only seized material goods but never dared to occupy cities."

  "If I were to bring civilization to the border regions, alleviate the suffering of various tribes and make the Eastern Barbarians live a rich life, what would happen then?"

  The Moon Princess's body shook violently, her eyes wide with excitement, as she gazed deeply at Zhang Ziyu: "If Your Majesty can truly lift the suffering of my people after a thousand years of hardship, I, the Moon Princess, will persuade all nations to make the Eastern Yi forever vassals of the Great Shang!"

  "If it were truly as you said, everyone would be overjoyed," Zhang Zixing shook his head and said: "But the situation is stronger than people, at present our army has just suffered a defeat, and the various tribes of Dongyi are not united in their hearts, each having their own plans. How can they willingly surrender? Even if I have long-term plans, there is no way to implement them. The current plan is to first use military force to intimidate the various countries, so that they dare not rebel, and then use thick virtue to transform them, only then can they be made to submit."

  Of course, Zhang Zixing still has a layer of meaning that hasn't been said, with the current combat power of the Eastern Yi, it is still quite threatening, especially those two magical beasts, if they are not eliminated, they will always be his heart's worry, only by completely defeating the Eastern Yi's reliance, using both might and benevolence to make them thoroughly surrender, can the external threat on the eastern border of the Great Merchant be truly eliminated.

  Facing the probing inquiry of Moon Princess Wang, Zhang Zixing spoke fluently, bringing up various "advanced" concepts such as economic theories, ethnic integration, and cultural integration from later generations. However, when it came to specific measures and details on how to help the Eastern Yi people escape poverty, he remained tight-lipped.

  After the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, King Wu enfeoffed the vassals and divided the land of Dongyi to Jiang Ziya, which became the State of Qi. The land of Qi was barren and sparsely populated, extremely desolate. Jiang Ziya took office as the ruler of Qi at the age of over 90, on the one hand leading people to cultivate the sea and raise fish, and on the other hand vigorously developing commerce. More than a decade later, Qi became the richest place in the world with two harvests of fish and salt, so Zhang Zixing had absolute confidence in developing and transforming Dongyi.

  The Moon Princess King was moved to tears, and for the first time believed that this Shang Dynasty king truly had the ability to change the future of the Eastern Yi. She immediately knelt down: "Please, great king, put aside past grievances and save my Eastern Yi people from their suffering... I, Moon Princess, am willing to be a slave or servant, and will serve you for the rest of my life..."

  Zhang Zixing knew that the Eastern Yi beauty had finally surrendered, and smiled as he walked forward to help up Wang Yueji, personally untying her bonds and pulling her into the tent to sit down: "Wang Yueji's words were too serious; if my great plan can truly become a reality, then Wang Yueji will be my arm in governing the Eastern lands - what nonsense is this about being a slave..."

  "Your Majesty..." The Moon Princess's hand was grasped by him, and she trembled lightly, but did not struggle free.

  "'King' is my title for the great merchants or nobles, I am the ruler of the world, should be revered as 'Emperor', you can call me Son of Heaven or Your Majesty." Zhang Zixing sensed her tension, pulled her down and immediately let go, solemnly inquiring about the military situation of Dongyi, Princess Wang also stopped hiding, answering one by one.

  The basic situation of the Eastern Yi is roughly the same as what Jiang Huan Chu knows. There are five major forces among the Eastern Yi: Youmengshi, Youhushi, Yousishi, Zhen Guan and Zhen Xun. Among them, Youmengshi is the strongest, while Zhen Guan and Zhen Xun have always supported it. The two tribes of Youhushi and Yousishi have a particularly close relationship.

  The Witch King was the direct descendant of the Jiuli tribe, and had been in control of the mineral resources of the Eastern Yi and the secret smelting methods passed down by the great demon Chi You for generations. The equipment of the witch gods under his command had all undergone secret refining, making them extremely sharp, and he also possessed forbidden treasures that could control two ancient magical beasts. Therefore, although he only had a small territory, he was the absolute spiritual leader and authority among the various tribes. This time, the invasion of the Great Merchant was proposed by King Wuguang Jie and launched after being decided by the Witch King at the tribal conference.

  Zhang Zixing thought of the sharp long knives of the Wu Shen Army, which far surpassed the refined copper weapons of the Great Merchant. A glint of determination flashed in his eyes, and his resolve to subdue the Eastern Barbarians became even more firm. Currently, the Great Merchant was still in the Bronze Age, with iron tools rarely appearing. Those long knives must have been made from iron or some kind of alloy. With the supercomputer's database available, the technical aspects were a piece of cake. The most pressing issue was resources. If they could large-scale mine those deposits and combine them with the supercomputer's modern smelting technology, not only would it greatly enhance the combat power of the Merchant Army, but also manufacture even more era-transcending items...

  As for today's defeat of Shang Jun and Jiu Yin, it indeed gave Zhang Zixing a headache. According to Yu Ji, the reason why Wu Jiwang was able to control the two beasts was because of the small flag in his hand, which is one of Chi You's two great treasures, "Chi You Flag". However, Wu Jiwang's use of forbidden magic to activate the Chi You Flag today must have caused significant damage to his spiritual energy. It will take at least a month or more for him to recover, and each time he uses this forbidden magic, it will cause irreparable damage to his spiritual energy. If accumulated to a certain extent, it will drive the practitioner mad and eventually lead to death.

  Zhang Zixing let out a sigh of relief, it seemed that the Dongyi army would not have the strength to fight again for the time being. As long as they could defeat those two powerful magical beasts, they would be able to subdue the Dongyi in one fell swoop and completely eliminate the hidden danger on the eastern border of the Great Merchant City.

  According to Yuè Jī Wáng, Fēng Chū and Jiǔ Yīn were both subdued by Hòu Yì after he shot down the sun. They were used for the purpose of protecting the tribe. Jiǔ Yīn was originally a powerful and ferocious primordial demon beast born in the depths of the mountains and marshes, where the primal energies of yin and yang intersected and transformed into its body. Its body was exceptionally strong, capable of spitting out toxic fire and muddy water. The nine heads were equivalent to multiple lives, and as long as one life remained, it could recover by gathering spiritual energy from heaven and earth. Hòu Yì knew that Jiǔ Yīn had nine lives, so after shooting one head, not only would it not die, but it would also quickly heal. Therefore, he used the linked arrow technique, and nine arrows almost simultaneously pierced the nine heads of Jiǔ Yīn, defeating it before it could recover. This Jiǔ Yīn was quite impressive, having cultivated for many years and managed to condense an internal elixir, allowing it to narrowly escape death. However, its primal energy was greatly depleted, and it was captured by Hòu Yì. Even after cultivating for many years, it only grew two heads, and its strength was greatly weakened.

  Bao Bo is also an ancient mutant, with incredible brute strength, skin as thick as steel, and a body that cannot be penetrated by swords or guns. Because he was easily captured alive by Hou Yi at the time, he suffered almost no damage, so his current strength is even greater than Jiu Ying's, making him extremely difficult to deal with.

  Zhang Zixing listened to Yuji's words and asked, "So, as long as I learn from Hou Yi the Great God, use two arrows to shoot at the same time, hit the nine infants' heads, and destroy their inner elixir, can I eliminate it?"

  "How can ordinary bows and arrows harm the Nine Infants?" The Moon Maiden shook her head, "Unless we find the divine bow that Hou Yi used to shoot down the sun and the arrow that shot down the moon, we might be able to kill the Nine Infants. However, these two treasures have been lost for many years, and their whereabouts are unknown... our clan has searched for them for many years but to no avail..."

  Zhang Zixing did not expect this and furrowed his brow, saying: "Since the Sun Shooting Divine Bow and the Setting Sun Divine Arrow have been missing for a long time, how can they be found now?"

  The moon princess thought for a long time and said, "There is also a treasure bow, which is the nemesis of Jiu Yin. This treasure was used by Emperor Huang Di to defeat the war god Chi You in the past - the Shocking Heaven Bow and the Piercing Cloud Arrow. If Your Majesty can find this treasure, Jiu Yin can be defeated."

  "Shocking Bow, Piercing Cloud Arrow..." Zhang Zixing felt a sense of familiarity as soon as he heard it, and muttered to himself several times. Suddenly, he remembered: wasn't this the bow and arrow that Nezha mistakenly shot at Shi Jing's brother in Chentang Pass? This time, Li Jing was summoned to go on an expedition, did he have a premonition?

  Zhang Zixing had a plan in mind, and after asking Wang Yueji some questions about the situation with the Eastern Yi, he ordered that she be given comfortable accommodations and assigned maids to attend to her needs. Then he summoned Li Jing for questioning.

  "How is General Li's injury?" Zhang Zixing's first sentence moved Li Jing's heart.

  Li Jing hastily replied: "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty, I am only slightly injured."

  "I have a matter, I'd like to ask General Li to explain." Zhang Zixing got straight to the point: "Is the Heaven-Shaking Bow and Cloud-Piercing Arrow left behind by Emperor Xuanyuan Huangdi in Chentang Pass?"

  "This treasure is indeed the treasure of Zhentangguan Town, and it has been here since I was appointed as the General at the end."

  Zhang Zixing nodded in satisfaction: "I need this treasure to defeat the enemy now, you quickly send someone to bring it back."

  Li Jing accepted the order, hesitated for a moment, and said: "I still have something to report to Your Majesty. The Heaven-Shaking Bow and the Cloud-Piercing Arrow are the secret treasures of the Xuan-Yuan Emperor, and so far no one has been able to use them..."

  Zhang Zixing didn't expect this twist and thought for a moment before smiling: "This riddle isn't difficult either... General Li, do you have three sons?"

  Li Jing's expression was momentarily stuck: "Your Majesty, I have only two sons. The elder is Jin Chui, who worships the Five Dragons Mountain Cloud Cave Manjusri Guang Fa Tian Zun as his master; the younger is Mu Chui, who worships the Nine Palaces Mountain White Crane Cave Puxian True Person as his master. His wife, Qin Shi, has been pregnant for three years and still cannot give birth. I am puzzled, why did Your Majesty say that I have three sons?"

  Nezha hasn't been born yet? Zhang Zixing was suddenly stunned, then who used the Heaven-Shaking Bow and the Cloud-Piercing Arrow?