Gods 035: Feeling the Heat
The action and the weather get hot as the Zhou and Shang continue to clash.
Transcript
Welcome to the Chinese Lore Podcast, where I retell classic Chinese stories in English. This is episode 35 of Investiture of the Gods.
Last time, Jiang Ziya ran into trouble when Grand Tutor Wen sent four of his Daoist friends from Nine Dragons Island to attack Western Qi. So Jiang Ziya called for a temporary cease-fire while he “quote unquote “considered” his foes’ offer of terms. During the cease-fire, however, he went to see his master, Heavenly Primogenitor, who set him up with a weird hybrid creature for a mount and a God-Smacking Staff, and pointed him to the North Sea, where he collected a funky dragon-tiger creature named Dragon Beard Tiger as a disciple. With those new power-ups in tow, Jiang Ziya returned to Western Qi and prepared for another clash against his foes.
Outside the city, the Shang commander Zhang Guifang had waited five days for Jiang Ziya’s response to his terms, which included demands that he come reward the Shang troops and turn over Flying Tiger and his family. When he got no response, Zhang Guifang asked the four Daoists whether Jiang Ziya had lied to them.
The leader of the quartet, Wang (2) Mo (1), scoffed, “He won’t dare to break his word, or we would make rivers of blood flow in his capital and fill it with a mountain of corpses.”
But then three more days went by without any word from the city, and one of the other Daoists, Yang Sen (1), said to Wang Mo, “Brother, Jiang Ziya hasn’t come out in eight days. Let’s go demand a meeting and ask him what’s up.”
Zhang Guifang, however, advised caution. “The other day, Jiang Ziya saw that the tide was against him, so he played nice. He may look like a loyal and honest man on the outside, but he has a deceitful heart.”
“Even so, we should go,” Yan Sen said. “If he’s playing us, then we’ll just unleash our powers and you get to go home early.”
So the Shang forces marched out to the foot of the city and demanded to speak with Jiang Ziya. Jiang Ziya went out with Nezha, Flying Tiger, and Dragon Beard Tiger while seated atop his new ride. As soon as Wang Mo saw them, he flew into a rage.
“Damn you, Jiang Ziya!” he cursed. “You fell off your horse before, so you ran off to Kunlun Mountain to borrow the Four-Not-Like so you can go head-to-head with us?!”
As he spoke, he raised his sword, spurred on his ride, and made straight for Jiang Ziya. Nezha shouted, “Wang Mo, don’t you try to hurt my Daoist uncle!” and he intercepted Wang Mo as the two engaged in a fierce battle.
In the midst of this fight, one of Wang Mo’s fellow Daoists, Yang Sen, was looking on and saw that his comrade was struggling to hold his own against Nezha. So Yang Sen reached into his leopard-skin pouch and took out a Sky Breaking Pearl and hurled it at Nezha’s face. It struck Nezha and knocked him off his wheels. Wang Mo was about to kill him, but Flying Tiger raced out on his magic cow and rescued Nezha. He then turned around to pick up the fight against Wang Mo.
But as they were trading blows, Yang Sen again was up to no good. He launched another pearl, and this one struck Flying Tiger and knocked him to the ground. But suddenly, there was a loud roar from Jiang Ziya’s lines. “Don’t you dare to harm our general! Here I come!”
Wang Mo looked up and was taken aback by the sight of a bizarre looking dragon-tiger thing coming at him. “What demon is this?” he said to himself.
This, of course, was Dragon Beard Tiger. But as he charged at Wang Mo, one of Wang Mo’s other comrades, the Daoist Gao (1) Youqian (3,2), took out a Universe Muddling Pearl from his pouch and threw it. It struck Dragon Beard Tiger right on his neck, sending him fleeing the other way.
If I were Jiang Ziya, I would probably be thinking, “Really? I went through all that trouble to get this guy, and that’s all he’s got?” Nonetheless, this little distraction with Dragon Beard Tiger did give time for others to rescue Flying Tiger, but now, Wang Mo and Yang Sen rode forward to capture Jiang Ziya. So Jiang Ziya had no choice but to raise his sword and defend himself. By now, all three warriors who had accompanied him were injured, and he was alone. Suddenly, he felt something strike him in his chest. It was an Earth Splitting Pearl launched by the fourth Daoist, Li (3) Xingba (4,4). It made him teeter, and he almost fell out of his saddle. But he managed to hang on and flee on the back of his Four-Not-Like toward the North Sea.
Wang Mo, however, gave chase and was closing fast. When Jiang Ziya heard him getting nearer, he tapped the horn of his ride, and the Four-Not-Like took to the air. But Wang Mo scoffed, “What? You think I don’t know how to fly? It’s just another Daoist trick!”
So he gave his ride a pat, and it, too, took to the air. And when he got close enough, Wang Mo launched a pearl and it struck Jiang Ziya squarely in the back, sending him off his ride and tumbling down a mountainside. When he finally rolled to a stop, he was lying face up, motionless, and breathless. Jiang Ziya was dead.
Wang Mo now dismounted to come cutt off Jiang Ziya’s head. But just then, he heard someone singing and approaching from the mountain. The song went:
Breezes stir the willows on a pool,
And petals fall and float on the water.
Should anyone ask me where I reside,
My home’s in the depths of clouds so white.
Wang Mo looked up and saw that it was the Chan Daoist master Wenzhu. This was the guy who, back in episode 14, intervened in Nezha’s vengeance quest against his father. Wang Mo recognized him and asked, “Daoist brother, what are you doing here?”
“My friend, you must not harm Jiang Ziya,” Wenzhu said. “I have been waiting here on a decree from the Jade Emptiness Palace. Jiang Ziya is on a mission from our master. My friend, as a member of the Jie (2) sect of Daoism, you lead a carefree existence, with no restrictions. So why are you so vicious and involve yourself in others’ affairs? Don’t you remember the words that your master left on the wall of his Green Touring Palace? He wrote, ‘Close your cave door and read the sutras; set foot on western soil and you’re on the List of Creations.’
“You may have killed Jiang Ziya, but the dead can be brought back to life. Friend, listen to me and go home while your moon is still full. Otherwise, you’ll regret it.”
But Wang Mo scoffed, “Wenzhu, you’ve got some gall! You and I are both disciples of the Dao. How dare you lecture me? Do you think you’re the only one who had a powerful master?”
As he spoke, an enraged Wang Mo raised his sword and made straight for Wenzhu. But from behind Wenzhu, an acolyte dressed in gold popped out and shouted, “Wang Mo, stop your vicious ways! Here I come!”
This was Wenzhu’s disciple Jinzha (1,1), Nezha’s eldest brother. He raised his sword and started to tangle with Wang Mo at the foot of the mountain. While they fought, Wenzhu took out one of his sacred treasures, the Invisible Dragon Stake, which had three golden rings on it. Wenzhu tossed the stake up in the air, and when it came down, Wang Mo was bound to the stake by the three rings, unable to move. Seizing the opportunity, Jinzha brought his sword down and killed Wang Mo.
Wenzhu now retrieved the stake and bowed in the direction of Kunlun Mountain, where his master resided, and said, “Your disciple has broken the prohibition on killing.”
He then turned his attention to the corpse of Jiang Ziya. He had Jinzha carry the body up to the top of the mountain. There, Wenzhu dissolved a pill in water and poured the solution into Jiang Ziya’s mouth. Within moments, Jiang Ziya blinked and came back to life. When he saw Wenzhu standing there, he asked, “Daoist brother, how did we come to meet here?”
“It’s heaven’s will, not something that man can control,” Wenzhu answered in the most cryptic way possible.
After Jiang Ziya rested for a few hours, Wenzhu told Jinzha, “Escort your Daoist uncle back home and join his forces. I will come join you soon as well.”
While Jinzha and Jiang Ziya went back to Western Qi, Wenzhu buried Wang Mo’s corpse.
Back in Western Qi, all of the Zhou officers were panicking because Jiang Ziya had disappeared from the battlefield. They sent out men to look everywhere. But then, Jiang Ziya showed up, accompanied by Jinzha.
“Minister Father, where did you go? We were all worried about you,” Flying Tiger asked.
“If not for Jinzha and his master, I won’t be alive right now,” Jiang Ziya said as he recounted what happened. Jinzha then paid his respects to Flying Tiger and went to reunite with his younger brother Nezha.
Meanwhile, outside the city, the Shang forces were feeling good about their victory that day until it got late and Wang Mo still had not returned from pursuing Jiang Ziya. Yang Sen did a little divination and suddenly shouted, “Dammit!”
His fellow Daoists asked what’s wrong, and Yang Sen said angrily, “Pity our brother. He spent a thousand years cultivating his Dao, and yet he has met his end on Five Dragon Mountain!”
The three of them were enraged and restless all night. The next morning, they rode out to the foot of the city and demanded to speak with Jiang Ziya. Jiang Ziya was still recovering from having died the previous day, but Jinzha said, “Uncle, you have me to protect you. Go out and meet them, and we will succeed for sure.”
So Jiang Ziya rode out, and as soon as the three Daoists on the other side saw him, they all started cursing him, “Damn you Jiang Ziya! You’ve killed our Daoist brother! We must settle the score!”
And so, the three of them rode straight at Jiang Ziya. But Jiang Ziya was flanked by Jinzha and Nezha, and they both charged forward to take on the three Daoists. As the five of them were fighting, Jiang Ziya thought to himself, “My master gave me the God-Beating Staff. Why not use it now?”
So he tossed the staff skyward, and with a clash of thunder, the staff came down and struck one of the Daoists, Gao Youqian (3,2), squarely on his head, spilling his brains on the ground and killing him instantly.
Seeing another of his comrades bite the dust, Yang Sen let out a shout and charged at Jiang Ziya, but Nezha’s Universal Ring came screaming through the air at him. Yang Sen was just about to seize the ring, but at the same time, Jinzha unleashed the Invisible Dragon Stake, and Yang Sen instantly found himself bound to it. Jinzha then brought his sword down and cut him in half.
Seeing two more of their Daoist helpers get killed, the Shang generals Zhang Guifang and Feng Lin now galloped out to join the fight, while the remaining Daoist, Li Xingba (4,4), also pressed forward. Jinzha and Nezha took the three of them on. As they scrummed, an explosive suddenly sounded inside the city, and out charged a bald-headed young warrior, clad in silver armor, seated atop a white horse, and wielding a long spear. This was Flying Tiger’s fourth son, Huang Tianxiang (1,4).
As he charged through the lines, Huang Tianxiang showed such valor that it lifted the spirits of the troops, and his spear danced like rain. With one thrust, he stabbed the Shang general Feng Lin off his horse and killed him.
Figuring the day was lost, the Shang commander Zhang Guifang now called a retreat and his forces fell back into camp. The last remaining Daoist, Li Xingba, told him, “The four of us came to help you, but who knew that we would suffer such a defeat today and my three Daoist brothers would be dead. You must send an urgent message to Grand Tutor Wen and ask for help, so that we may avenge this day.”
Zhang Guifang did as he asked and sent a messenger to the capital at once. Meanwhile, Jiang Ziya returned to the city, and all the officers came to report their merits in the day’s victory. Jinzha then advised him, “Uncle, we must not rest on today’s laurels. If we fight and win tomorrow, we can destroy Zhang Guifang’s forces.”
Jiang Ziya agreed, so the next day, he led his army out of the city and called out Zhang Guifang by name. Zhang Guifang was incensed. “I had not never lost since becoming a commander,” he fumed. “Yet today, I’ve got these nobodies humiliating me!”
He now led his forces out of camp. From Jiang Ziya’s lines, the young warrior Huang Tianxiang (1,4) rode out and engaged Zhang Guifang in a dogged fight that went 30 bouts without a winner. Jiang Ziya now ordered his army to beat drums and charge forward. Dozens of generals led the way, and they surrounded Zhang Guifang. Yet Zhang Guifang showed no fear and instead whirled like a tornado and a fierce tiger, fending off all comers.
While this was happening, Jiang Ziya told Jinzha, “Go fight Li Xingba, and I will back you up with my God-Beating Staff.”
So Jinzha charged forward on foot. Li Xingba, seated atop his beast, saw this young Daoist acolyte coming at him, so he swung his iron staff at Jinzha, who countered with his twin swords. After a few exchanges, Nezha came flying in on his hot wheels and stabbed at Li Xingba with his spear, while Jiang Ziya came in on his Four-Not-Like and unleashed his God-Beating Staff. Seeing that he was outnumbered, Li Xingba smacked his mount, and the beast took to the air and fled.
With Li Xingba gone, Nezha now turned his attention to the other fight and joined the scrum against Zhang Guifang. In the midst of the struggle, the two Chao brothers, who had recently surrendered to the Zhou, shouted, “Zhang Guifang, dismount and surrender now, and you will be spared, and we can all enjoy peace together!”
“You treacherous traitors!” Zhang Guifang cursed. “To give one’s life to repay the country is the duty of every loyal officer. How can I act like you cowards and soil my reputation?!”
And so the fight went on. It lasted from early morning until noon. By now, Zhang Guifang was exhausted. Recognizing that there was no way out, he shouted, “King Zhou (4), your servant could not repay the country with victory, so I will fulfill my duty with my death!”
As he spoke, he turned his spear and ran it through himself. He fell out of his saddle and died on the battlefield.
With all their leaders either dead or fled, the Shang soldiers fell into total disarray. Some surrendered, while others ran away. Jiang Ziya returned to the city in triumph and celebrated with his officers.
While all that drama was playing out on the battlefield, Li Xingba, the last survivor of the four Daoists from Nine Dragons Island, was busy fleeing. After flying for a while, his ride descended onto a peak, and Li Xingba dismounted and caught his breath while leaning against a pine tree. As he rested, he thought to himself, “I had spent many years cultivating my powers on Nine Dragons Island. Who knew I would lose today. I’m ashamed to go back to my island and ashamed to meet my Daoist friends. I should go to the Shang capital and talk to Wen Zhong about avenging this day’s defeat.”
He was just about to set off again when he suddenly heard someone approaching while singing a Daoist song. It was a young acolyte. When the young man saw Li Xingba, he bowed and said, “Greetings, brother.”
Li Xingba returned his greetings, and the acolyte asked him who he was and where he’s from.
“I am Li Xingba, a holy man from Nine Dragons Island,” he said. “I was helping Zhang Guifang in his war against Western Qi but suffered a defeat. I was just resting here for a bit. Young man, where are you from?”
When he heard Li Xingba’s introduction, the acolyte thought to himself, “Well well, one can wear out iron shoes from all the searching, but then it takes no effort at all to find what you’re looking for.”
He told Li Xingba, “I am none other than Muzha (4,1), a disciple of Sage of Universal Virtue, who resides in the White Crane Cave on Nine Palace Mountain. I was on my way to Western Qi to help my Daoist uncle Jiang Ziya exterminate the Shang. When I was leaving, my master told me, ‘If you run into Li Xingba, capture him and present him to Jiang Ziya as a gift.’ Who knew I would actually run into you.”
And just FYI, this Muzha was also Nezha’s second brother. When Li Xingba heard his words, he laughed and scoffed, “You brat! How dare you insult me?!”
As he spoke, he raised his iron staff and attacked. Muzha quickly pulled out a sword and countered. Now, Muzha was actually carrying two swords on his back. While he fought with one sword in hand, he suddenly shook his left shoulder, and the other sword came flying out of its scabbard, twirled a few times in the air, and sliced across Li Xingba’s neck, cutting off his head.
Muzha now buried Li Xingba’s remains and then fast-traveled to Western Qi. When he showed up at the prime minister’s office, Jiang Ziya summoned him in and asked where he was from. Jinzha quickly cut in and said, “This is my brother Muzha. He’s been studying under the Sage of Universal Virtue on Nine Palace Mountain.”
“Ah, now you three brothers are all aiding our sage lord,” Jiang Ziya said. “Your names will be praised for all eternity.”
While the kingdom of Zhou continued its ascension, in the Shang capital, Grand Tutor Wen Zhong had been busy overseeing all the affairs of state, trying to put his kingdom back in good order. One day, an urgent report arrived. Now, this was the report that Zhang Guifang had sent the day after three of the Daoists had been killed, so it was just the tip of the iceberg as far as bad news was concerned. Wen Zhong took one look at it and immediately smacked his desk and lamented, “Oh Daoist brothers! How did you come to meet your end?! It’s only because I hold the highest office and have received immense kindness from the state that I did not dare to leave my post during this difficult time for our kingdom. But this news cuts me to the bone!”
He immediately assembled his officers and said, “I had recruited four of my Daoist friends from Nine Dragons Island to aid Zhang Guifang. But who knew that three of them would be killed, along with the vanguard general Feng Lin. Who can go help Zhang Guifang defeat the Zhou?”
Before he finished speaking, the old commander Lu (3) Xiong (2) volunteered. But Wen Zhong said, “General, you are getting up there in age. I worry you won’t be successful.”
Lu Xiong chuckled and said, “Grand tutor, Zhang Guifang is young, but he only sees his own skills and only knows how to fight force with force. Feng Lin was a mere ignoramus; that’s why he met his end. A true commander must first observe the heavens, the earth, and the people to identify favorable opportunities. He must defend calmly, attack with vigor, withstand destruction, turn weakness into strength, turn danger into safety, and turn disaster into good fortune. He must change strategies continuously and be able to win a war from a thousand miles away. He must be knowledgeable in all things and get the most out of every soldier. These are the ways of a true commander. I guarantee I will succeed. And if you can appoint a couple advisers, that will ensure victory.”
Hearing this, Wen Zhong said, “Lu Xiong may be old, but he has the talents of a commander, and he is loyal. As for advisers, we must send someone capable who can adapt quickly to changing situations. I know, why don’t I appoint Fei (4) Zhong (4) and You (2) Hun (2).”
So, it’s been a while since we mentioned those two names, but these were the two sycophant officials who had been leading King Zhou astray. Wen Zhong had wanted to execute them once upon a time but was talked out of it by the king, so you know this was a cloak-and-dagger move on his part to appoint them as advisers on this campaign. He now summoned the two sycophants and said, “Zhang Guifang is running into problems on the front lines, and his vanguard general has been killed. Lu Xiong is going to help him, and I would like for the two of you to accompany him as advisers. When you return in triumph, you will have rendered immense service.”
Fei Zhong and You Hun were scared out of their minds when they heard those words. They said, “Grand tutor, we are just civil officials. We don’t know anything about waging war. We worry that we would not be able to fulfill this important responsibility.”
“You two are skilled at adapting to changing situations on the fly, so you are perfect advisers,” Wen Zhong said. “You can take care of whatever General Lu Xiong cannot do. We must all do our utmost to help our lord and the country in this urgent hour. You cannot shirk your responsibilities. Men, bring them their seals of authority.”
So, Fei Zhong and You Hun had no recourse but to accept their appointments. Wen Zhong then mobilized 50,000 troops to go help Zhang Guifang. Lu Xiong picked an auspicious date, offered the appropriate sacrifices, and then headed out.
It was now the end of summer and the start of fall, and the weather was still scorching hot. The army was having a rough time of it on the road, marching in their heavy gear under the unrelenting sun. But they made their way through the five passes and headed toward Western Qi.
But soon, scouts came back with more bad news: Zhang Guifang had died in battle and his head was now hanging outside the gates of Western Qi. Lu Xiong was stunned and said, “Well, if Zhang Guifang is dead, then there is no point in us pressing forward. Let’s pitch camp.”
He asked what lay ahead, and the scouts said it was Western Qi Mountain. Lu Xiong then ordered his army to pitch camp in the woods on the mountain while he sent an urgent dispatch to let Wen Zhong know the even worse news.
Meanwhile in Western Qi, Jiang Ziya soon got word that another Shang army was camped in the woods on Western Qi Mountain. He thought to himself, “I got word a few days ago that the Terrace of Creation was complete. I need a sacrifice to sanctify the terrace, so this is perfect.”
So he ordered the officers Nangong Kuo and Wu (3) Ji (2) to lead 5,000 men and go cut off the passage coming out of Qi Mountain so that the enemy could not get through. They set out right away. When they got to Qi mountain, they found where the Shang army was camped and set up their own camp across the way. Their army, however, was suffering under the sweltering heat.
Wu Ji said to Nangong Kuo, “My master sent us here to pitch camp, but there’s no water source nearby and no trees for shade. I worry our men will start to complain.”
One night passed, and a messenger arrived and told them, “The prime minister is ordering you to move your army to the top of the mountain.”
The two officers were stunned. “The heat is already unbearable down here,” they said. “If we go up and get even more exposed, we’ll die soon.”
“Those are your orders; you must comply,” the messenger told them.
So the two officers had no choice but to move their army to the top of the mountain. The soldiers were panting the whole way, and when it came time to cook, it was hard to fetch water, which only added to the men’s grumbles.
On the other side, Lu Xiong had his army camped out in the shade of the woods. When he saw the enemy pitch camp on a peak, he laughed and said, “They’re pitching camp on a peak in this heat? They’ll be dead in three days without a fight.” And so, he just kept his army in camp and waited for reinforcements before engaging the enemy.
The next day, Jiang Ziya arrived at Western Qi Mountain with 3,000 men, and was greeted by Nangong Kuo and Wu Ji. They convened atop the mountain, where the heat was so intense that all the willows had withered and there were no signs of wildlife.
Jiang Ziya sat down in the command tent and told Wu Ji to go build a three-foot-tall earthen terrace behind the camp. He then ordered the men to unload the contents of the many carts he had brought with him. When they unpacked the cargo, all the soldiers were flabbergasted. It was loads and loads of thick winter coats.
Jiang Ziya now ordered that a coat be distributed to every soldier. This made the men snicker and joke, “If we put these on, we’ll die even faster.”
Presumably, Jiang Ziya isn’t trying to quicken his army’s demise. To see what he’s really up to, tune in to the next episode of the Chinese Lore Podcast. Thanks for listening!
Music in This Episode
- “Sao Meo” by Doug Maxwell / Zac Zinger
- “The Quiet Aftermath by Sir Cubworth (from YouTube audio library)
- “Ravines” by Elphnt (from YouTube audio library)
- “Dark Toys” by SYBS (from YouTube audio library)