The Dragon Slayer’s first act was to slay one of the first ten kings, and with it he laid the foundation of his dynasty. From this beginning, great events followed. The kings of the Zhou dynasty became conquerors, and expanded their territory across China and beyond. The Zhou defeated the Shang, who became vassals. Eventually the Zhou kingdom extended all the way to the western border of the Eurasian continent, where today is called the land of Shu. Although only a small part of this territory was acquired by the Zhou, it contained all that they needed for what would become a civilization that would become the template for many others. In the beginning of their reign, the Zhou found that what they had was not enough.
The Youthe [Japanese: 京倭] was a large area of grassland that stretched from central Asia all the way to Japan in the north, and Korea in the south. This area, which the Chinese called the “wild fields,” was populated by nomadic tribes who lived in their herds, and were little more than bands of thieves and brigands, who fought over land and water rights. But this banditry was a useful training ground for the future monarchs of China. They had to fight over this grassland and the tributary states that occupied it.
The Zhou king Wen decided to go to war with the nomadic tribes, and he ordered his troops to cut the grass and burn the forest in an effort to clear the land. However, this only angered the tribes, who became even more aggressive. When they attacked, the king’s men stood no chance. The tribes had armor, bows, and swords which they used to great effect. They would ride around their opponents’ formations and attack from the flanks, causing chaos and disorder. The men of the Zhou were unprepared for a new kind of warfare.
However, as the Zhou military became more experienced, the tribes learned that aggression would only result in their defeat. So they changed their tactics to try to trick the Zhou into surrendering. This was one of the earliest examples of what is known as guerrilla warfare, where a group of enemies go out of their way to avoid combat, and attack the enemy from unexpected and vulnerable locations.
The tribes would gather in small bands of 10 or 15 men and women who would go out into the countryside. During the daytime they would work on their farms, using traditional implements and techniques, and at night they would slip into enemy camps and steal equipment and weapons. This meant that when the Zhou attacked, the tribesmen were unprepared and had no defensive weapons.
The Zhou became highly skilled at tracking down nomads, and they were usually able to chase off the warriors. However, they weren’t always successful, and so the nomads became even more adept at countering the Zhou’s raids. This forced the Zhou to find ways to counter the guerrilla warfare, and in the end, it led to their military technology advancing greatly.
The Zhou learned that if they were able to build strong walls, it would prevent the nomads from capturing their villages. However, this prevented trade and commerce with the nomads. In response, the Zhou began to use their advanced technology to make weapons that could be thrown from a long distance. These were known as “sky knives,” because of their ability to slice through anything. The Zhou also made weapons that were designed to be thrown from a distance, and they could easily pierce armor.
The use of these weapons by the Zhou in an attack gave them a great advantage. It was like throwing spears from a large distance, or the use of a sling with tremendous power. To defend against these weapons, the nomads had to use the same strategy they used in the beginning: they attacked by surrounding the opponent and then cutting them down. This was a difficult tactic, and was even more difficult when the opponent was able to attack and retreat without the fear of retaliation. The Zhou found that they were able to defeat the enemy by surrounding them, or they could cut them down using spears and other handheld weapons.
The nomads soon learned that if they ran away, the Zhou would pursue them and give up their safety. Soon, the nomads stopped fighting back, and began to withdraw to areas where they could keep attacking and retreating. But the nomads soon found that if they kept retreating, they lost the chance to loot and take resources, because they could not go back to get them. In turn, the Zhou began to set up fortified towns and fortresses, and to build large walls. They tried to trap the enemy by establishing a walled city with a population inside, while maintaining a small force outside to harass the enemy. In this way, the nomads were unable to raid because they could not get into the area.
As the nomads became increasingly frustrated, they had no choice but to fight the Zhou, and they found they were no match. The Zhou had new weaponry that allowed them to wipe out the nomads easily. Their war tactics improved, and they took over many areas of the world.
The power of the Zhou king was increasing, and he became known as the Great Lord of Zhou. His dynasty was becoming stronger than ever before. However, the Zhou dynasty had grown too powerful, and there was a growing resentment among the people of the world. The king feared revolt, and wanted to return to a more modest lifestyle that was more in keeping with his humble origins. But this was not an easy task, because he had conquered so much territory and gained so much power. He couldn’t imagine a time when there might be a coup or invasion, and that he might be killed or imprisoned. But he knew that his people would revolt.
The Zhou dynasty was extremely violent and the Zhou kings did not care for the welfare of the people they had conquered. They used the fear that the king of Zhou represented to ensure their power. Their dynasty had come to rule the world, and they felt that they could do as they pleased. They ruled by fear, and this was enough to keep the common people obedient.
If people felt that their king was unfair or evil, and that he was oppressing them, then they had the right to revolt. But to do so, the king’s power was a great obstacle. The king had only a small army that he could call upon, and many of the subjects owed him taxes and were not going to support him if he rebelled. The Zhou dynasty existed in a dangerous era of great change and growth, and if the king didn’t control his people, they would revolt and kill him.
The king also knew that although he was feared and revered by many of his subjects, there were people who wished to bring him down and kill him. His palace was like a fortress. It was built on high ground, and was a maze of rooms, and it was heavily defended. There was only one way to enter or leave the palace, and that was through a gateway in the back. A few men were stationed at the gateway, but there were many others behind them, hidden in the dense forests. The king also had spies and had his officers monitor all people who came into or left the palace. Anyone who was suspected of treason, he killed.
Therefore, if the Zhou king were to have a revolt against him, he would be extremely vulnerable and vulnerable to his enemies. He was in an impossible situation, and there was no way to get out of the palace without being detected. Although the king felt trapped, he also knew that he must maintain his power at all costs, because it wasn’t so long ago that he was a mere herdsman.
It wasn’t until much later that the Zhou dynasty fell. The Zhou were a highly innovative and creative people, and they developed so many new things that other cultures would be unable to understand for many years to come. For example, the Zhou were able to create a system that would cause gunpowder to burn faster than previously known, which would have tremendous consequences in the coming years. They were also capable of creating new tools and techniques, and it is possible that if the Zhou hadn’t fallen so soon, there would have been no Industrial Revolution in the West. They pioneered many things which were unknown at the time, including the use of gunpowder, which began their war of retaliation.
In 1046 BC, ten years after his triumph at the Battle of Muye, King Wu of the Zhou dynasty decided to return to his home in China. He was exhausted after months of fighting and many battles, and his heart was sad. He thought to himself: “I have conquered a large empire and expanded my borders all the way to the ocean. It is time for me to rest.”
The king was a highly intelligent man, and had realized that although he had greatly increased the size of his territory, there were still many problems facing his people. The Zhou dynasty was beginning to grow stagnant, and there was a growing resentment towards the king. There were already a few rebels among the noble families who were willing to support them. However, the king knew that if he weren’t careful, he could lose everything. If he was to lose his empire, he would be a slave or a serf, with no power. He decided to return to his palace, but not to live there. Instead, he would live in a large house in the capital city of Luoyang. This would make it more difficult for him to be found by his enemies, or would allow him to return without being seen.
In the months that followed, the
