The next morning, Zhou Kao woke up and opened his eyes to see that the sky was still dark; He turned over and sat up, but saw that Zhou Chang was already standing on the side of the road, directing the guards to pack up.

Zhou Kao hurriedly got up and came to his father's side and greeted him. Zhou Chang nodded and said, "Go and call your mother and Fa'er to come over, and we will set off after the morning meal." ”

Zhou Kao went into the camp to find Tai Ji, but saw that Tai Ji had already woken up and was sitting next to Zhou Fa, but he couldn't bear to wake him up. Zhou Kao walked up to Tai Ji lightly and whispered, "Mother, you're about to leave." ”

Tai Ji had to wake up Zhou Fa, Zhou Fa was young, and it was the first time he went out with his parents, he was already exhausted, and he couldn't sleep well at night. Tai Ji called several times in a row, and Zhou Fa answered in a dazed voice, opened his eyes a slit, and muttered a complaint in his mouth: "Leaving again so soon?" I haven't slept enough. ”

Zhou Kao said to him: "Father has been awake for a long time, if you don't get up again, be careful of being scolded." ”

Zhou Fa reluctantly sat up. On this trip to the court, Zhou Chang was not going to take Zhou Fa with him, but Zhou Fa kept pestering him, and he couldn't stand Taiji and Zhou Kao to help intercede, so Zhou Chang reluctantly agreed. Zhou Fa muttered in his heart: I knew that the journey was so difficult, and I really shouldn't have begged my father to take him out.

Tai Ji helped Zhou Fa comb his hair, tied a pigtail on his head, and straightened his clothes for him, before leading him to ask Zhou Chang for peace. Zhou Fa bowed to Zhou Chang and said, "Father is fine." As soon as he raised his head, he saw the bear coming out of the bushes, grinning and saying, "Mrs. Taiji, two sons, I just went out." ”

Zhou Kao and Zhou Fa also shook the bear to the ground, and said in unison: "Lord Huoshi is fine." The bear returned the salute and saluted the princess. Tai Ji has never minded the bear's informality, but smiled slightly and returned the salute.

At this time, Zhou Kao took out some bait from the carriage and handed it to Zhou Fa and Taiji. This bait was a dry food made from millet and rice, which was often prepared by armies and travelers at that time. While eating, Zhou Fa looked at the guards who were busy by the carriage, and asked curiously, "Big brother, what are these cars covered with felt cloth on?" ”

Zhou Kao replied: "The middle two vehicles carry the tribute we have given to the king of Shang, and the last two vehicles are loaded with some luggage. ”

Zhou Fa said: "We offer these tributes to the king of Shang, is it that in the future, when the dog Rong comes to grab food, the king of Shang will send troops to protect us?" ”

Zhou Kao nodded in approval, but Mane Bear snorted disapprovingly, and said, "The king of Shang is still too busy to take care of himself, where will he send troops to protect us?" In the past, when the earthwork entered the Kou Shang realm, the king of Shang also asked us to send troops to reinforce it. Besides, the merchant army was all foot soldiers, and when they arrived, the cavalry of the dog Rong had already disappeared. ”

Zhou Fa asked puzzledly, "Then why do we still have to send tribute to the king of Shang?" ”

The bears were speechless for a while, and Zhou Kao was thinking about how to explain to Zhou Fa, but he heard Zhou Chang say: "When you grow up, you will understand, we are on the road." ”

With Zhou Chang's order, everyone was still in their places as yesterday, marching towards the first dawn of the sky. Zhou Kao looked at his father, only to see Zhou Chang's eyes slightly closed, not knowing what he was thinking. Suddenly, he remembered what Zhou Fa had just said, and asked, "Father, I heard Master Huo Shi say that we will go to Chaoge to participate in the enthronement ceremony of King Shang this time, and it will take at least three months to go back and forth. You haven't been in Qizhou City for so long, if the dog Rong comes to attack, shouldn't it really matter? ”

Zhou Chang raised his eyes and looked at Zhou Kao and said, "There is Lord Nangong in the city to guard it, and there are sufficient reserves of grain, grass and dry firewood. Although the Inujung are good at field warfare, they lack siege equipment. As long as Lord Nangong does not go out of the city to fight with the dogs, Qizhou City is enough to deal with it. ”

Zhou Kao nodded, and said: "This time, even my mother went to Chaoge together, regardless of the fatigue of the journey, thinking that the enthronement ceremony of the King of Shang must be extremely grand, and the grand occasion is unprecedented." ”

Zhou Chang smiled slightly and said, "The enthronement of the King of Shang is a great ceremony of the country, and it is inevitable that the ceremony will be cumbersome. Emperor Yi, the first king of Shang, ascended the throne more than 20 years ago, and his father was still young at that time, so this kind of grand event was the first time that even his father had experienced such a grand event. As for your mother, it is also rare to take this opportunity to meet your grandfather. ”

Zhou Kao thought to himself, it turned out that even his father was participating in the enthronement ceremony of King Shang for the first time, and it was really a blessing that he could experience such a big event at such a young age. He then asked, "What kind of person is Lord Shang Shou, who is about to ascend the throne?" Has my father seen him before? ”

Zhou Chang thought for a while and replied: "I go to Chaoge to pay tribute every year, and Lord Shang Shou is the crown prince, so he has naturally seen it as a father. However, we, the local princes, are foreign officials, and we can't have any deep friendship with the prince as a rule. I've just heard that Shang Shou is gifted and well-read; He is also skilled in arching and horses, and is still good at shooting and hunting. In short, in the song, everyone praises Shang Shou as the best of the people and the pride of the sky. After all, he should be thirty years old this year, which is the time of his prime. ”

After hearing this, Zhou Kao secretly sighed and said, "It's not a loss, it's the crown prince of Dayi Shang." With such a man of all-round civil and military talent succeeding to the throne of Shang King, the world will be peaceful, and it will be a blessing for the people like us. ”

How do you know that Zhou Chang shook his head: "Since my father received the news that Emperor Yi died and the new king was about to be established, he had calculated a hexagram, but there were signs of the decline of the business room and the end of the army in the hexagram. Therefore, the accession of the king of Shang to the throne is now unpredictable. ”

Zhou Kao was shocked and said, "But why is this? ”

Zhou Chang was silent for a long time before he said to Zhou Kao with a solemn face: "The way of heaven is unpredictable, and I can't fully understand the true meaning of the words. But you must not say a word about what I say today, you know? ”

Zhou Kao nodded very seriously, and Zhou Changcai said again: "I deduce the Lianshan Yi passed down by the Xia Hou clan, and it is a sign that the destiny of heaven is in the west and the saint is born; And it is easy to calculate that the merchant uses it to return to Tibet, but there is also the image of Wang Li in the east corner and defeating the attack. The results obtained by these two easy techniques are often diametrically opposed, and the father has not been able to unify them for many years, presumably because the father has not learned the way of mathematics. He sighed with a look of frustration.

Although Zhou Kao knew that his father had been studying mathematics in recent years, after listening to these words today, he realized the breadth and profundity of mathematics. He didn't know how to comfort Zhou Chang for a while, and after thinking for a while, he said: "The child also wants to learn mathematics, but I hope to help my father." ”

Zhou Chang categorically rejected Zhou Kao's request: "I studied the principles of mathematics for my father, because there was no one to solve the confusion in my heart, so I turned to God for guidance and enlightenment." Now that you have a master to teach you in literature and martial arts, and your parents to teach you in the world, why bother to go to academic mathematics? For example, the hexagram shows that this year is the year of great abundance, but if the spring is not sown and the autumn is not harvested, it will be no harvest after all. So is it because the hexagram is inaccurate, or is it because people are guilty of things and offend the heavens? ”

Zhou Kao immediately understood: "What children should learn now is the way of cultivating crops to make the people abundant, and the way of attacking and defending war preparedness to make the country stable." ”

Zhou Chang's face showed a look of relief, and the father and son talked all the way, unconsciously in the middle of the day. The convoy was now on the plains, surrounded by unobstructed wilderness.

Zhou Chang was about to give the order to rest the horse, but he heard someone in the back team shouting:

"Cavalry is approaching in the rear!"

Zhou Chang was surprised, stood up in the car and looked back, and sure enough, he faintly saw dozens of horsemen and horses hurrying towards this side.

The bears had also turned their horses' heads at this moment and came to Zhou Chang's side. Zhou Chang asked, "Who is here?" ”

"They didn't raise the flag, and they certainly weren't our cavalry," Mane Bear paused, "it looks like a dog man, there are about forty or fifty horsemen, probably a scout force." ”

Zhou Kao saw that Laiqi came straight from the rear and said, "They seem to have found the rut marks we left and chased them all the way. ”

Zhou Chang took a deep breath and said loudly to the guards: "It seems that the person who came is indeed not good. Now we can't escape, there is only one battle at this moment! When all the guards heard this, they let out a roar of rage and raised their long ges to show their determination to fight the enemy to the death.

After all, Zhou Chang has experienced a hundred battles, and although he is outnumbered at this moment, he is not panicked at all. He ordered all the carriages to be enclosed in a circle, and the guards stood in the circle, surrounding Taiji, Zhou Fa and others in the heart.

The mane bear asked, "What to do with our horses?" Zhou Chang said: "The horses are left here, and if they are hit by arrows, they will run in all directions, and you ask the coachmen to drive all the horses into the distance." Then the coachmen took away the horses and the mounts of the guards, and fled far away.

Zhou Chang bowed his head slightly. The mane bear understood and shouted, "Bow up!" The guards immediately took off their horned bows and faced the direction of the enemy, and prepared their bows and arrows to attack.

Zhou Chang said to Zhou Kao: "You and Fa'er also take two bows, and let you practice diligently on weekdays, and today is where they come in." ”

When Zhou Kao heard this, he found two hunting bows and a pot of arrows from the carriage, picked a lighter bow and handed it to Zhou Fa. Zhou Fa took the bow, put an arrow on the bow, and pulled the bowstring, looking a little eager to try.

Zhou Kao has been following his father to take care of internal and external affairs for the past two years, although he has never fought in battle, but he has always experienced a few battles. However, Zhou Fa was in the battle formation for the first time, and he was excited but also a little nervous.

Zhou Chang said to one of the guards, "Fetch my sword." The guard offered Zhou Chang's sword in both hands, and Zhou Chang took it and glanced at Tai Ji, signaling that she didn't need to worry.

Although Taiji has never been on the battlefield, in this era when fighting and killing people are commonplace, she is not panicked because of this. She didn't believe that this man, who could make Emperor Yi afraid of three points, would be defeated by these dozens of dog cavalry. All she thought in her heart was: If Kao'er and Fa'er are in any danger, I will fight for my life and protect them.

As the pursuers approached, the bears kept a close eye on them, and could clearly see how they were dressed, and saw that they were all dressed in animal skins and fur hats. Sure enough, it's a dog hybrid, phew! He cursed in his heart. Mane Bear calculated, although his side was in a headwind, the range of the bow and arrow was greatly reduced; However, the horn bows used by the Zhou people were well-made, far from being comparable to the bows and arrows of the Inujun, and were more than enough to offset the disadvantages of the headwinds. Besides, the dog Rong people are galloping on their horses, and they will inevitably miss their heads. So he waited patiently for the Injung to get closer.

At this time, the Inujon had also noticed that the target they were chasing had stopped advancing. They began to shout loudly, and the shouts came and went. This is a common trick used by the Inujon people, in order to make the enemy panic and lose the will to resist.

Just as they were about to launch the final charge against their prey, they suddenly saw an arrow flying out of the Zhou people's defensive array, and the dog Rong people hurriedly dodged, but the arrow was not strong enough, fell from the air, and plunged diagonally into the snow. The dog Rong people burst out into laughter, and they were even more sure that the strength of these Zhou people was not enough to fear, so they rushed straight over without any scruples.

It turned out that this arrow was released by Zhou Fa. He has only shot arrows at the shooting range on weekdays, where has he ever come into contact with the real enemy? When he heard the shouts of the dogs, his heart was divided, and the hand holding the arrow loosened, and the arrow came out. Zhou Fa shot an arrow into the air, and he was immediately ashamed of himself, but everyone was concentrating on the enemy at the moment, and there was no time to comfort this little boy.

At this moment, the bear suddenly shouted in a deep voice: "Release the arrows!" In an instant, more than twenty feathered arrows shot out in unison. The Inujung did not take it seriously when they first saw the arrow, until four or five of them were shot off their horses, and they were still stunned. When they came to their senses, a second round of arrows swirled again.

However, this time, the dogs learned to be obedient and hid on horseback, because this time only two people fell from their horses with arrows, and several people were wounded by arrows. The dogs were frightened and angry, and shouted a few words loudly for the leader, and the dogs and cavalry immediately dispersed, trying to outflank them from both wings.

Seeing that the enemy was scattered, the bears ordered the guards to aim and shoot on their own, and the dogs approached and began to shoot arrows back. It's just that the Dog Rong cavalry moved too fast and it was difficult to hit, on the other hand, the Zhou guards were all standing in place, and they were all gathered together, which was even easier to shoot than an arrow target. All of a sudden, the dog Rong people had the upper hand and circled around the convoy of the Zhou people.

Fortunately, the guards of the Zhou people were all wearing leather armor, and the arrows used by the Dog Rong people were mostly polished from stones and animal bones, and even if some arrows could penetrate the leather armor, it was difficult to cause serious damage. The arrows of the Zhou people are all cast in bronze, and the middle ones are either dead or wounded. Therefore, after the dog Rong people shot indiscriminately, except for one Zhou guard who was shot in the neck and died, the rest of the people were only slightly injured although they were hit by several arrows, and the loss was much smaller than that of the dog Rong side.

Seeing that the encirclement tactics had little effect, the dogs began to shrink the encirclement. Seeing this, the mane bear shouted, "They're coming!" ”

As soon as the words fell, a dog Rong man suddenly rode his horse straight to the front of the Zhou people's formation, turned over and dismounted. I saw that he was strong and strong, holding a stone axe, jumped into a carriage, picked up the axe, and cut it. The axe was so powerful that one of the guards couldn't dodge it, and was being slashed in the shoulder, and his entire arm was cut off together! The guard screamed, blood splattered out from the broken arm, and although Zhou Chang, Taiji and the others were in the heart, their faces were also stained with blood.

Seeing that the enemy was approaching, several guards next to him hurriedly threw away their bows and arrows and stabbed at the strong man. The strong man opened the stone axe, blocking the left and the right, and no one could help him for a while.

Zhou Kao glanced back and shot an arrow without thinking; The strong man was concentrating on resisting Changge's attack, and he didn't notice an arrow that hit, and he was immediately shot in the left knee. His legs went limp, the stone axe he wielded in his hand slowed down, and Zhou Kao saw the opportunity, followed by another arrow, which hit him in the throat. The strong man wanted to open his mouth to scream, but he couldn't make any sound, and at last his eyes widened, and he fell on top of the carriage.

In just a moment, the rest of the Dog Rong people also attacked in front of the Zhou people's formation, and the Zhou people's guards also fought Changge to resist. Most of the weapons used by the Inurong people are stone axes, stone spears, and dozens of animal teeth embedded in a large wooden stick, which are far less powerful than the bronze Ge of the Zhou people. Whether the dog Rong people wanted to rush in through the gap between the carriages, or wanted to turn over from the top of the carriages, they were often pecked to death without even touching the corners of the clothes of the Zhou guards.

Zhou Fa didn't dare to release the arrow at this time, and was thinking about what he could do, when he suddenly found that a carriage was moving slowly. When he looked closely, it turned out to be a few clever canujon people trying to drag the carriage away. Zhou Fa wanted to give them an arrow, but he was short in stature, and the carriage was full of goods, blocking all the upper bodies of the dogs, and they couldn't shoot at all.

Zhou Fa had an idea, crouched down, and shot the enemy's legs and feet from under the carriage. A dog Rong man was shot in the calf by him, and immediately screamed and fell down. Several people around him were inexplicable, and they didn't know where the arrow came from.

But the carriage was finally pulled away by the dog Rong people, and the Zhou people's defensive circle suddenly opened a big gap, and all the dog Rong people swarmed towards this gap. A few Zhou guards fought in a chaotic manner, and the dogs who were huddled together could not avoid it, and several people who rushed in front immediately died under Ge. However, the dog Rong people behind continued to rush up by stepping on the corpses of their companions, and Chang Ge became no advantage in hand-to-hand combat, seeing that the defensive circle of the Zhou people was about to be breached!

At this critical moment, the bear suddenly let out a loud cry, like a thunderbolt in the clear sky. He pulled out the bronze sword at his waist with a thud, and everyone only saw a flash of golden light, and wherever the sword went, the weapons held by the dog people were all broken immediately, and often the heads and arms of the dog people were broken at the same time. The bears easily rushed straight into the crowd of dogs, and the dogs were afraid of the sharp weapons in his hands, and no one dared to approach.

Zhou Kao saw that the bears rushed into the encirclement alone, worried that he would make a mistake, so he turned back to Zhou Chang and said, "Father, can I borrow your sword?" ”

Zhou Chang only hesitated for a moment, and then handed the sword over. Tai Ji only had time to say "be careful", and Zhou Kao had already rushed out. When the Zhou guards saw that Shizi was taking the lead, their morale was greatly boosted, and they all followed desperately to cover up the past.

When the dogs suddenly saw that their opponents suddenly came over like hungry tigers pounced on food, they were discouraged. The remaining twenty or so who could still walk screamed strangely, turned around and fled. The mane bear shouted, "Hugh has gone one." "The dogs were caught up with all the accounts, and the remaining few who ran fast finally got on their horses, and were killed by the Zhou guards with arrows before they could go far.