Chapter 1 :
The sun shone brightly over the grassy hills in the Shu territory. It was late March and a warm wind blew quietly as Ma Chao and Zhao Yun sat under an apple tree talking to each other. The surrounding area was calm, no one was around them. Zhao sat back against the tree as Ma was leaning back resting his weight on his elbows against the ground. Zhao looked over at Ma with a strange look on his face. Ma looked confused on what the facial expression was for.
"Ma Chao, my good friend, have you ever wondered if trying to keep the Han dynasty alive was really the right thing to do? I mean, if you really think about it… why not just make a brand new dynasty? We can claim all of China for ourselves Ma!" Zhao laughed at the thought of that.
"Zhao, our Lord Liu Bei is an honorable man… would you want to just leave him? That would not be a very wise thing to do. With him we have a place to stay, a kingdom to call our own… It may not truly be ours but we can make it ours by putting our lives on the line for it and working hard to keep it alive. We will claim all of China under the name of Han! With Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang, The Five Tiger Generals, and other generals, do you really think Wu or Wei could stop us?" Ma raised his eyebrow.
"Ah… I suppose you are correct, I think I will just need to take time to get used to having to serve under a man like Liu Bei. As long as I am with friends though, it shouldn't be too bad." Zhao smiled at Ma. He sat up and looked at Zhao.
"That's the spirit! We can take all of China sooner or later. Hey, you know what? We should make an oath of brotherhood, right here and right now, let us swear an oath that we will not leave each other to die and will not allow the other to be left behind! We shall be brothers until our dying day!" Ma and Zhao both stood up and raised their spears into the air. "Let it be known that Ma Chao…" Ma Chao started.
"And Zhao Yun swear an oath of brotherhood. We will pledge to help the other in any way and make sure that they do not perish before their time has come…" Zhao continued.
"And in the end of our time we will both die together, as brothers and as friends." They lowered their spears and shook hands. The two sit back down under the tree looking outward to the horizon. Zhao sighed quietly. Zhao had an odd feeling in his gut that something was not correct but could not put his finger on the problem. The wind slightly picked up and blew around the trees branches. An apple fell between the two of them. Both instinctively went for the apple, but once they saw the other going for it they stopped.
"Go ahead Zhao, you take it." Ma told him handing the apple over. Zhao shook his head in disagreement. Zhao tossed the apple in the air and sliced it in half with his spear. Ma caught one half and Zhao the other. Ma laughed, "Ok, I suppose splitting it will be just fine! Zhao, what do you think it will be like when we take over China? I hope to get a nice land for myself and whoever I decide to marry. Just think, a bunch of little Ma Chao's running around a big open field playing. Hah, I can imagine that." Ma Chao laughs and so does Zhao Yun.
"Yeah, and I thought one is bad enough!" Zhao said jokingly to get punched in the arm. "Well I am going to live in a small area, maybe have a farm and when I have kids they can help out in it. I would like to see peace in these lands; I don't want my kids to have to suffer through all the fighting and wars that we have to go through so many times. They don't need to go through the pains and deaths like these times. If there is a way to guarantee their safety I would do anything!" Zhao looked up into the sky after saying that.
"There will be peace throughout the lands one day my friend, all we have to do is make sure that Wei and Wu do not take over China. If we can do that then I can almost promise that all of China will be ruled under Liu Bei's caring grasp. He will not let this land go into the hands of a dictator or a tyrant. As long as everything goes fine then there shouldn't be anything to worry about!" Ma said reassuring Zhao. Zhao nodded and finished the apple that he got.
"Well I guess it won't be overly difficult, I mean who do they have in their kingdom that is of equal to the power of us? They can not withstand our attacks when we come to take over their lands, and once we do China will be closer and closer to becoming ours for good!" Zhao stood up and stretched. As he did that a villager runs over to them and bows.
"Lord Liu Bei wishes to talk to you both. He asked if you would meet him in the throne room as soon as possible." The man bows and makes his exit. Zhao and Ma looked at each other confused. What could Liu Bei want with them crossed both of their minds. They stood there for a moment looking at each other in shock that they were requested to meet with him at such a random time when no chaos or war had been going on. After a moment they went off to the throne room.