Conferred Gods: Start with a Phoenix clone

Chapter 113 Only Heavenly Altars Can Save the Shang Dynasty
Deng Chanyu also described the military benefits of doing so in the bamboo slips.

Ma Su's statement that "he relied on his high position to look down upon those below with unstoppable force" was actually correct in terms of military strategy. Being in a high position to look down upon those below did give him an advantage. However, he was so eager to gain merit that he completely ignored environmental factors. When he was surrounded and his water supply was cut off, he was completely dumbfounded.

Mount Qishan is located in the east, with its back against Xiqi City, which is close to the Wei River and has no shortage of water.

Just like Calabash Brothers saving his grandfather, the wave after wave of Shang army couldn't surround the city. A mountain, a city with a population of 700,000, and a river, how could they surround it?

Ji Chang was an agronomist and politician of his time, and he didn't know how to fight a war. He still had some doubts about the plan to move the mountain, so he asked his second son, "Is there really any advantage in doing this?"

Ji Fa was a natural commander. He said, "Father, if we withdraw all the troops on the southern front, I am confident that we can repel Beibohou Chonghouhu within a month. After that, it will be autumn, and we will have seven months until next spring to implement the mountain-moving plan. Once this line of defense is completed, it will be much easier for us to defend it."

Now is not too far away from the time of Yugong moving the mountain. If a mountain is moved suddenly, everyone will be shocked, but they can accept it. As long as there are enough manpower and material resources, and some immortal methods are used, these will not be a problem.

Ji Chang asked hoarsely, "How many people can the Deng family provide?"

Jifa replied: "The current promise is that we can have 10,000 slaves."

In the name of the sparse population in southern Xinjiang, the Deng family gradually abandoned the slavery system of the Shang Dynasty through meritorious service, redemption, rewards, etc. Now the people in the territory are basically civilians.

The 100,000 newly captured Shu slaves certainly cannot immediately enjoy the same treatment as the Shang people. Mining, fishing, and farming are all their jobs. Those who perform well and are willing to obey can be set free. Those troublemakers will be sent to Xiqi to contribute to Xiqi's mountain-moving plan!
Ji Chang shook his head: "Not enough."

Ji Fa said: "We can capture more of Chong Houhu's northern soldiers there."

"can."

The newly captured Hanzhong City was handed over to Deng Ai for defense, and Deng Chanyu also transferred Zheng Lun from Nanjun to serve as deputy general.

Deng Ai's loyalty was absolutely unquestionable. He left behind 5,000 soldiers, 3,000 of whom were direct descendants of the Deng family, and the remaining 2,000 were surrendered soldiers from the Shu people and southern princes.

Her mission for Hanzhong was to erode the Jinsha City in the south, mainly to seize population and food, accumulate strength, and wait for the Deng family to recover from the epidemic, and prepare an army of 100,000 before coming to attack Shu.

Sun He returned to defend Yongcheng, and the remaining generals followed her back to Nanjun.

Deng Jiugong had set out earlier than her, and had already defeated E Chongyu and returned early.

Deng Chanyu talked about the battle on her side and brought the high priest Jiu back to Nanjun to tell him the information about Jinsha City and Sanxing City in the south.

Deng Jiugong believed that conquering Shu would bring huge benefits to the Deng family, but it was indeed too far away and required long-term planning.

Deng Chanyu expressed her thoughts: "Father, our territory is long and narrow from east to west, more than two thousand miles. If we encounter a war, it will be difficult to rescue in time."

She has the ability to use the power of the Phoenix Clan to intimidate the goshawk, which is something that ordinary generals cannot do. As for sending messages by carrier pigeons, it is even more impossible. There are birds everywhere in southern Xinjiang. If the pigeons are released, they will be eaten after flying a hundred miles.

It is even more impossible to hunt and kill birds, as that will affect her own destiny.

Deng Jiugong also felt that this was a difficult matter, far less easy than killing someone. He rubbed his forehead and thought. "What are your thoughts, son?"

"We can build a beacon tower. Whenever there's a war, we can light the beacon fire and Nanjun can send troops to rescue us in time."

The logic behind the beacon towers wasn't difficult to understand. Deng Jiugong stroked his beard and pondered for a moment before saying, rather awkwardly, "We need money everywhere. Going to Xiqi to buy grain, their prices are getting higher and higher, and there's not much gold and silver left in the Nanjun treasury."

Nowadays, transportation is almost non-existent and the living environment is harsh. It is okay to build beacon towers around the city, but it would be very expensive to build them on uninhabited mountain tops.

Deng Chanyu had already thought about this: "It's okay, we can submit a petition and ask Chaoge to allocate funds for us to build a 'beacon tower'."

Deng Jiugong was a little skeptical: "Is there such a good thing?"

More than ten days later.

King Zhou's new favorite, You Hun, submitted a petition urging the construction of only one altar for offering sacrifices to heaven, saying this was disrespectful to the ancestors. The Shang Dynasty has so many ancestors, and yet they only want to build one? Who are they looking down upon?
"My dear minister, what do you mean?" King Zhou felt uncomfortable all over when he heard the word "altar of heaven", but fortunately he had some composure and signaled You Hun to continue.

You Hun was a man who would not stop until he made a shocking statement. He believed that building an altar to worship the sky was not enough.

He argued confidently, "Is the world the domain of the king alone? No, no, the world belongs to everyone in the world! The king cannot favor one over the other. Offering sacrifices to heaven is a grand event of the dynasty, a display of respect for our ancestors by the descendants of King Tang. The king cannot offer sacrifices alone; Bigan, the great god of destiny, must also offer sacrifices!"

Jiang Ziya was also among the court officials. He expressed doubts about the fact that the Great God of Destiny Bi Gan also participated in the sacrifice to heaven, but he strongly agreed with You Hun's words that "the world belongs to everyone in the world."

King Zhou understood a little: "My dear, do you mean to build two altars for offering sacrifices to the heaven?"

You Hun was very serious. "Your Majesty, I think two seats are not enough. What if Your Majesty doesn't recognize the previous kings when you arrive in front of the ancestors? It would be best if the old Prime Minister Shang Rong also came along. What if Your Majesty doesn't have military generals to protect you when you arrive at the ancestors' place? Then it would be best if King Wucheng also came along to offer sacrifices to the heavens."

He chattered on and on, and all the civil and military officials in the court were stunned.

You Hun ignored them completely and kept talking non-stop.

One reason is that the prime minister is old and lacks someone to take care of him, so his son has to go as well.

One moment, Huang Feihu was on the battlefield. How could a general not have his own soldiers around him? His relatives also had to follow him to offer sacrifices to the heavens.

Duke Dongbo, Duke Beibo, the Deng family, Duke Nanbo, and even Ji Chang of Xiqi, as long as you think that you are still a part of the Xia culture of "the beauty of clothing is called Hua, and the grandeur of etiquette is called Xia", then you have to follow along!

You Hun believed that it was necessary to build 10,000 altars for offering sacrifices to the sky in the five directions of east, west, south, north and center, and to light them at the same time. The entire court of the Shang Dynasty, as well as many princes, ministers and generals, would "set out" together to meet the ancestors of Cheng Tang!
"Absurd! It's sheer nonsense. Ten thousand altars for offering sacrifices to the sky?! And they have to be lit at the same time?" The old Prime Minister Shang Rong's eyes widened. How long will it take to build this?
Besides, what's the point of lighting the fire at the same time?

You Hun seemed frightened, his neck shrank, and he said tremblingly: "Then one thousand?"

The old prime minister was almost angry to the point of having a heart attack. This You Hun was talking nonsense. He wanted to open his mouth to refute, but You Hun kept saying that he was an ancestor on the left and a descendant of Cheng Tang on the right, and he kept putting big hats on him. He couldn't think of any good words for a while.

(End of this chapter)