BY: ChineseWarriorStories
Prologue:
Zhung Xun is my name, my build is burly and my hair is jet black. A long, thin beard runs down my face and ends in a point and my brows are as thick as hay stacks. Years ago the Chinese have lived happily in peaceful serenity and the kindness of others. There seemed to be no disturbance in the midst, however there were. No one knew that their peace and happiness will be washed away with agonizing pain and wars. The once peaceful land soon turned bitter and the beautiful towns once flourished with beautiful people were in ruins and littered with the corpse of its inhabitants. Kingdoms soon rebelled, and their only goal was to take over China and have their name be known throughout the land. My beloved city collapsed in the hands of evil men and vengeance is what I seek and aim for the most. All that is left of my city is its history and burning ashes.
I've recruited in the army, not because I wanted to but because I had to. I had to restore peace and order throughout the land. No matter the risk, no matter the conflicts, no matter the injuries I'd have to endure; my one and only goal will be encouraging me to move forward. Not only that but like the sun, it will be warming me and guiding me through my journeys with its light...
But, I won't do it alone. My men are all in it with me. My lord, Commander Liu Bei, promises me to refurbish the once peaceful China I know of from the past and considering the promise I will only stand by Shu's side and support them with the fullest of my extents.
My unit consists of 20 highly trained sergeants:
* St. Yue Fei* St. Xing Pi* St. Pang Wei* St. Ling Cao
* St. Xu Ren* St. Wong Lei* St. Dong Ai* St. Dong Bu
* St. Zhou Man* St. Wong Tai* St. Zhu Bei* St. Liu Xiong
* St. Dong Zhe Han* St. Dai Fan Ao* St. Jin Xe* St. Zhang Xun
* St. Zhou Hui* St. Jin Kai An* St. Zhang Man* St. Nie Gan
SOLDIER LOG 1:
Year 180 AD
Hour of the Monkey (3pm - 5pm)
My unit and I have advanced forth from our previous camp due to Lu Bu's ambush of which caught us by surprise. Our site was burnt down to ashes, tents caught flame quickly like mere paper and the flames were feeding on the timber so vigorously that the wood was unrecognizable. Many of my men were injured however none were killed from the assault. Our only hopes of survival was shelter and determination. Let's hope that fate's light will shine upon us and aid us in our road to restoration...
Afar from the swirling mist and the consistent snow fall one of my men, dressed in green clad armor, pointed towards the perfect spot for us to settle down, a shack. The building itself was murky due to fog but as we got closer the fuzzy object soon materialized and the round blurry house was crisp and clear. The shack was dilapidated from years of negligence and the planks of wood from the side of the building jutted out as a result from the dilapidation. The roof bore numerous cracks and holes due to the scorning winter and the materials were whitened and bleached. Despite the house's repulsive exterior the interior was roomy and cozy. All of us were able to fit in, we kneeled onto our knees and thanked the Gods for providing us shelter and rejoiced the irony.
I started a fire with my leathery hands, using a stone and two sticks. I rubbed them together, hoping that friction would provide us warmth and luckily it did. The flame started out small but grew in size as it started to devour the given grass and wood. The heat radiated the whole house. Everyone's face was bleach white, their noses were red as beets and their shivering was persistent and contagious. But, the heat curled around them and their skin tones regained their natural color, the shivering also ceased as well.
All, excluding me, set their weapons aside. I held my sword next to my chest, the blade gleamed from the flickering light proving all that my sword was as sharp as the moon's crest.
The same man who found this shack stood up, his hand gripped tightly onto the hilt of his sword. He took a deep breath and his mouth opened indicating that he was about to speak, "We're all lucky to have survived from the ambush. Now that our camp was revealed and destroyed our plans are foiled. How are we supposed to deliver a counter-attack to the heart of Dong Zhou's army?"
"Looks like we'll have to change our plans. Lu Bu knows that we are still alive and he wants no witnesses of the attack, he's still tracking us..." I said in a cool voice.
"So what are we going to do?"
All eyes turned towards me, their stares paralyzed me. Their relentless staring made me prespire from nervousness and a big lump in my throat averted me from swallowing.
I opened my dry-cracked lips, "This was all too sudden, my men. You'll have to give me some more time for me to think up for a new plan."
Their eyes soon turned in different directions, I sighed, relieved that the moment had soon perished in thin air. I didn't know where Lu Bu or how far away Lu Bu was from us. But that tingling sensation of fear, of being discovered still lingered in the air for I knew that Lu Bu was tracking us down like a blood hound. We kneeled once more and prayed to the Gods for their protection. The flame soon died out, the glowing ember was all that was left of the flame. It glowed ominously and soon after died out as well. Hope and the sense of being together was all that illuminated us from the dreary darkness of despair and bleakness. A wave of drowsiness overcame me...
SOLDIER LOG 2:
Year 180 AD (Winter)
Hour of the Ox (1am - 3am)
The cold, blistering winds seeped through the tiny cracks in the building and the contempting breeze woke me up. I did not know what time it was and how long I was sleeping until I gazed up in the sky. Although the fog and the thick veil of snow obscured my vision, I was still able to see that the there was no moon or any source of illumination in the sky. I glanced at my partners who were sleeping soundly, I called out to them but their snores drowned out my voice. I called them again except this time I made sure my voice was bold, loud and thick. All the sleeping soldiers soon bustled about and thrashed around, alarmed and shocked by my booming voice.
They woke up and stood up like any other obedient soldier would. One man stepped forth with concern quivering in his eyes, "Something wrong sir?"
"It's about the hour of the ox. Looks like we slept through the night, we'll have to keep moving on. Something is telling me that Lu Bu is getting nearer." I announced, I tried to conceal my fear. Just the word "Lu Bu" gave me uncontrollable fear and it was practically impossible to hide fear itself without letting out the slightest trace of it. No matter though, even if I did let my fear escape it seemed like none of my men sensed or saw it. My unit bowed before me but I denied such praise and notified my group that we were all equal regardless of one's rank and history.
We prayed once more before venturing out into the untamed blizzard, the icy winds pounded against our armor and the coldness was slowly overwhelming us one at a time. In spite of the harsh weather all my men followed me like faithful dogs, entrusting me with leadership. Such quality in men gave me a sense of pride and honor and I was thankful for having loyal soldiers by my side. The sound of metal clanging and banging onto eachother echoed in the distance and shrieks of agony and pain cut through the snowy air; we were near the war zone. Alas fate's light did indeed guide me and I bathed in the warmthness of the light, I hugged my fellow companions and told them to stay here while I ambled out to the battlegrounds.
My weapons jangled as I dashed and each step I took I saw at least two bodies lying in the knee-deep snow, all were still as statues and cold as the snow they were laying on. I tried to fight back the tears for some of the bodies were my colleagues but my emotions overcame me and warm, gloomy streams of sorrow water poured out my eyes. They were like waterfalls, they were continuous and it was difficult to halt the crying. But, soon the weeping stopped and fiery anger replaced my melancholic state.
I progressed forth until I saw the battlefield, the area was littered with corpse of fallen soldiers and laid around the ground like trash and feces. I dashed back to my group of whom were ready for battle, I told them to get out their bows so that they wouldn't have to be involved in hand-to-hand combat, frightened by the thought that my companions would die as a result. I marched and so did my men, our bravery matched that of a dragon and we marched and marched until the battlefield came into sight. We held our bows high and aimed for Li Jue and his men, as soon as the words "FIRE!" fled from my mouth, a shower of arrows rained down onto Jue's soldiers. Thanks to the snow and heavy fog, the two elements veiled the arrows. The adversaries fell down one-by-one, each being hit by invisible projectiles. Li Jue was the last to fall, atop from his horse he froze and seconds later plummeted down to the snow with all his other men.
The furrows of my brows creased and curved, "That's for killing my colleagues..."
As soon as everyone saw the tall, lean figure drop form his steed we all charged into battle. All of us, including me, held our swords high as we dashed into adversity...
SOLDIER LOG 3:
Year 180 AD (Winter)
Hour of the Ox (3am - 5am)
Once again adrenaline had coursed my veins with such speed that I had uncontrollable lust for killing. I dashed towards the enemy like a lion chasing after its prey, and with one swipe of my sword managed to cut down one soldier. My unit formed a spiked barricade which killed many soldiers who idiotically ran into them, I laughed and cursed at the dogs. A soldier lunged toward me and sent me flying to the ground, luckily the snow cushioned my fall. I was immediatley angered, how can a measley soldier like him attack a major like me!? Infuriated, I kicked the damn soldier and stomped on the impudent fool. I stopped until the scent of bitter blood entered my nose and I stared down to my shoes. They were splashed with red as if I had just stepped into a pool of mud. I gazed at the stiff body, cold, lifeless eyes froze me with tingling guilt.
"What have I done?" I muttered to myself.
For a moment, questions had drowned me with overwhelming guilt. And, for a moment everything in the outside world seemed to have faded away. All of life's color was washed away and I was in an emotional condition. Dark, tedious, blackness had swallowed me up and for a split second I thought a tear drop had escaped my weary eyes. A strong blow to my head exited me from the dark place and I was back in reality. Although reality had came back to me it seemed to have faded away again. Soon after I was conscience the voices and sounds of the battlefield blurred and my vision began to be engulfed with a thick blanket of darkness.
I awoken on a bed, my vision was blurred and all I could see in my field of vision was orange and yellow mixed together. My eyes soon got used to the dim-lighting and I was able to see as clear as crystal, I was in a tent. The stuffy air in the pavilion made breathing hard, I was happy to see someone enter because the cool air from outside swam through the hot atmosphere like a fluid river. The breeze curled around my face and I took in that air and held my breath as long as I could before letting it out. It was one of my men who entered the ornate tent.
"Sir, I see that you have recovered from your wound." he said relaxingly.
My eyes fixated on the man and I could see that his face, including his eyes, were red. Were they from concern and crying or from the cold weather? I didn't know and I didn't want to think anymore because my body was weary and exhuasted both mentally and physically. I tried to get off the bed (of which I was laying on.) but my aching arms and legs prohibited me from doing so. Suddenly I remembered about the war and with sudden tension I asked, "The war!? Did we win?"
All soldiers in the tent held their helmets waist-level and looked down to the ground with such sorrow that I could feel the somber auras surrounding them. I decided to rest. Flashes from the grisly murder I had just commited awhile ago haunted me but I shook them off, thinking that they'd go away, but they didn't.
The next few days were miserable and devestating. I was mentally being tortured with the ghastly flashbacks and wanted to end the line of my life, but one of my loyal men knew about the psychological problem and sought a therapist for me. Fortunately the flashbacks no longer poisoned me and I became immune to the toxic (at least that's how I felt.), I paid tthe therapist extra and continued my duty as major in the Shu Army.
SOLDIER LOG 4:
Year 180 AD (Winter)
Hour of the Sheep (1pm - 3pm)
My entry for today must be short because today is just binded with strict rules and regulations. This whole entry is a tactic and strategy overview so my perceptions and perspectives of the war will have to be cast aside for now. All soldiers are to report to the podium because apparently our former enemy, Dong Zhuo, had occupied Luo Yang and is planning to take over the Nanyang Province which is south of Henan. The whole point of the gathering was to come up with a strategy to thwart the tyrant's rule. Yuan Shao stepped up to the podium with dignity, pride and authority, he was burly in figure and his gold-decorated armor gave him the appearance of a majestic ruler. I'll skip what Yuan said throughout the gathering and define his plan through my own, limited knowledge of words. We are planning to barricade the enemy force by sending support units ahead of them. The Shu army will cut through the center of the army to make a surprise attack that way it will scatter the enemy and disorganize them. There is a small chain of mountains that run along the pass to Nanyang, Wei and Wu archers will hide among the rocks and lie in wait for the projectile assault.
Yuan's small unit will stay close behind the opposing army and infiltrate the rear flanks. The whole plan slowly detoriorates the army so that even if they reach Nanyang, only a few soldiers will be lucky enough to meet their destination. We've warned Nanyang about Dong Zhuo's bold approach, so their men are ready and fit for battle...
My men need me right now, so my duties are preventing me from righting anymore for now...