Chapter 8: The General Changes Direction and Heads West to Attack Ba-Shu, a Great Battle at Fongjie, the Spear Strikes Down the Marquis of Shu

  In 327 BC (the second year of King Hui of Chu), King Hui of Chu was about to lead his army northward to attack the State of Wei and reclaim justice for Chu when an urgent report arrived from the western border: The Shu state (present-day Mianyang and Chengdu in Sichuan province) had mobilized 150,000 troops to march southward, capturing Bazhong and approaching Wushan and Qincheng. It turned out that Hou Hui, the Marquis of Shu, had taken advantage of the recent death of King Wu of Chu and the young age of King Hui, who was still unfamiliar with state and military affairs, and the instability of the army and people's hearts, to launch a surprise attack on Chu. He led an army of 150,000 soldiers, including 30,000 cavalrymen and 120,000 infantrymen, to invade Wushan and Bazhong, intending to annex Qincheng from Chu as well. Upon receiving the report, King Hui immediately put aside his plan to attack Wei and ordered Zuo to lead a large army to defend against potential invasions by Wei and Han states. He personally led an army of 200,000 soldiers (60,000 cavalrymen and 140,000 infantrymen) westward, accompanied by the great general Tang Mei. The 200,000-strong Chu army set out from Jingzhou, marched through Yichang, Zigui, Badong, and entered Wushan to attack the Shu army. This battle was not only King Hui's first war since his accession but also his first war to establish his authority throughout the country.

  The Chu army marched from Ba Dong, entered Wu Gorge, and met the 100,000-strong army of the Marquis of Shu at Fengjie County. Both sides formed their battle arrays, and King Hui of Chu rode his horse forward to ask: "Are you the Marquis of Shu?" The Marquis of Shu replied: "I am." King Hui asked: "Why have you raised an army to invade our territory?" The Marquis of Shu said: "When did Wu Ba become part of Chu's territory? I've never heard of it before." King Hui asked: "Why are you invading my Qianzhong region?" The Marquis of Shu replied: "Qianzhong was taken by your ancestors from others, and there is no clear boundary. How can you say that I am invading your Qianzhong?" King Hui became enraged, drew out the Chu king's sword, and felt a cold light radiating from it. This was not an ordinary sword but a heavy one-meter-long sword made of high-quality steel, extremely sharp. The Marquis of Shu saw that the Chu army was too strong, and as the battle began, he said to King Hui: "If you want to fight, let's have a one-on-one duel; don't use your numerical superiority to bully me." King Hui listened and then put his precious sword back into its scabbard, saying: "Tang Mei, take command of 3,000 cavalry and 2,000 infantry and retreat. Do not come forward to support us; anyone who disobeys will be beheaded!" Tang Mei led the 5,000 Chu soldiers to retreat and formed an array to watch the battle. King Hui waved his hand, and the 30,000 Chu cavalry and 120,000 infantry divided into three routes: left, center, and right. The infantry formed three ten-layer square arrays, while the cavalry formed a horizontal line and two vertical lines.

  King Huai of Chu held a long spear, 2.5 meters in length, much thicker and heavier than the spears of ordinary soldiers, made of high-quality steel, with a glossy black finish. As soon as both sides were ready, King Huai shouted "Beat the drums!" The war drums of the Chu army boomed, and King Huai galloped forward, spear in hand, charging straight at Marquis Hou of Shu.

  Marquis Hou saw this and hastily urged his horse forward to meet King Huai. He wielded two steel spears, like a hunter hunting, brave and unmatched among the three armies, only 38 years old, with a strong build and dark complexion. Just as King Huai's spear approached, Marquis Hou raised both spears to block it, but all he heard was a loud clang! The steel spear in his left hand was knocked to the ground, its tip shattered, and the one in his right hand almost flew out of his hand, leaving his hands numb.

  Marquis Hou never expected King Huai to have such divine strength, and cried out "Not good!" before turning his horse around and fleeing back to his formation. King Huai shouted "Where are you going?" and chased after him on horseback, the black stallion galloping like the wind, quickly catching up to Marquis Hou.

  King Huai thrust his spear forward, aiming for the back of Marquis Hou's head, but just as all hope seemed lost, Marquis Hou cried out "It's over!" and flipped over onto his horse's back. King Huai raised his spear to strike, but two Shu generals, one holding a long spear and the other a steel pike, rode up and blocked the blow with their weapons.

  The sound of clashing metal rang out as one of the steel pikes was broken and the tip of the long spear was shattered. Marquis Hou took advantage of this to escape back into his formation. King Huai swept his spear horizontally, but the two Shu generals hastily raised their spears to block it, only to have them knocked out of their hands.

  King Huai then thrust his spear upward, striking one of the Shu generals and sending him tumbling off his horse with a cry of pain. The other general was so frightened that he turned his horse around and fled in disarray.

  King Huai of Chu held a spear in his left hand and drew the sword of the King of Chu with his right, and the Chu army suddenly killed the sky. The 30,000 cavalry and 120,000 infantry rushed to the Shu army. First, the 10,000 Chu cavalry formed a horizontal line, and the Shu cavalry saw that they were in a hurry. The horse was urged to fight back, but the other 20,000 Chu cavalry formed two vertical teams and rushed to the left and right wings. The Shu cavalry quickly divided their troops to intercept, but the 10,000 Chu cavalry in front formed a horizontal line, almost running on the same line, while the Shu cavalry who came to fight back was uneven. Only saw the Chu army's 10,000 horses galloping together, and the 10,000 guns were raised at the same time. The uneven Shu riders who came up could not withstand the power of this simultaneous attack; suddenly, the Shu cavalry fell down 5,000. And the Shu riders who intercepted the 20,000 Chu cavalry on both sides were disorderly and rushed over, just intercepting the first ride of the Chu army, and the second ride, the third ride had already rushed past, and with a knife or a gun, they killed the Shu riders who were fighting, and at the same time, they took advantage of the speed and impact of the war horse's running, and rushed to kill the Shu infantry from the side wings. The Shu infantry was in chaos, and the casualties were heavy. At this time, the 120,000 Chu infantry had already formed three large ten-layer square arrays and rushed forward. This ten-layer square array is an attacking method with defense, when the Shu army wanted to use cavalry to impact the Chu infantry array, the first layer of the Chu army held up their shields with their left hands and swung their knives with their right hands. The first and second layers of the Chu army drew their bows and shot arrows in turn, so the Shu cavalry could not approach the Chu infantry array. A few who rushed to the front had already fallen off their horses, and the first layer of the Chu army cut them down with a knife. When the Chu infantry array met the Shu infantry, the Chu army was in the first layer, holding shields with their left hands and swinging knives with their right hands. The second layer held long guns, and the third layer held shields with their left hands and swung knives with their right hands. Each layer of soldiers took turns attacking, beating the Shu infantry back, killing countless people. Although the Shu generals were brave, they had never practiced the formation of 10,000 people, and their overall strength was not as strong as that of the Chu army. Moreover, King Huai of Chu was invincible, with one defeat, one branch of the long gun, sweeping across thousands of troops, no one in the Shu army could resist. The morale of the Shu army had already been low, while the Chu army saw the king's bravery and morale rose instantly, becoming more courageous as they fought. Therefore, the Shu army was able to resist for a long time at first, but later became a touch-and-run defeat. The Chu army took advantage of the situation and pursued them closely, not letting go. The Marquis of Shu led his 70,000 defeated soldiers and fled desperately from Fengjie to Yunyang, and then from Yunyang to Liangping, and finally escaped back to the capital of Shu (Chengdu) in one breath, without even daring to look back. After this battle, the Marquis of Shu was indeed frightened by King Huai of Chu.