Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Pan Zhang took the moment to marvel at himself.
Here within his camp, the Wu general delighted in his wealth, and was ecstatic to observe the wealth he had dressed himself with. His armor was lined with gold, every one of his fingers were adorned with valuable rings. Every bit of his wardrobe from the bottom of his foot to the top of his head exemplified his wealth.
Not all of his wealth was acquired in the most moral fashion. Pan Zhang was not above assassinating someone, even an ally, to steal their wealth. After a battle, he confiscated as many war spoils as possible, not letting his soldiers or his peers have any of it. Though rumors were spreading in Jianye, Pan Zhang was not concerned. So long as he could prevent concrete evidence from leaking out, Lord Sun Quan would not have him executed.
On top of the wealth he adorned himself with, was the wealth he adorned the walls with. All across the walls was gold, silver, weapons crafted of such material, as well as the weapons of noted enemies. Perhaps most notable of all was the most recent addition to his collection.
Blue Dragon.
Not long ago, Wu had allied with Wei to attack Shu at Fan Castle. It resulted in the death of a famed Shu general by the name of Guan Yu. His weapon, a guandao named Blue Dragon, fell into the hands of Pan Zhang. While the weapon itself was not as glamorous as the other items that adorned the walls, this one had a different meaning. Guan Yu was known as the 'God of War', it was a great joy to take possession of the weapon of a human who had been deified thanks to his strength and valor.
"Lord Pan Zhang." Pan Zhang frowned, disliking to be interrupted when he admired his wealth. Especially when his troops were always forbidden from coming into this room. He turned to see two men, Mi Fang and Fu Shiren. Former members of Shu, they happily defected to Wu at Fan Castle. They were now soldiers in the kingdom of Wu, and they likely would never again have any place in Shu due to their involvement in Guan Yu's death. Neither one of them had any particular wealth and currently had very low ranks, and so neither was of any note to Pan Zhang.
"Speak." Pan Zhang ordered, wanting this interruption to be as brief as possible. "What was so urgent that you had to come in here?"
Fu Shiren was the one who responded. "A Shu army is approaching this very fortress. They appear to be led by Guan Yu's children."
Pan Zhang scowled, the two former Shu generals flinched. Pan Zhang was a very violent general, and his anger gave all of his subordinates pause. He turned to Blue Dragon still on the wall. It was obvious why a child of Guan Yu would be coming to this particular camp. "They want to steal this from me. They think that stealing from me will avenge their precious God of War." He clenched his fist, the rings on his fingers clinked together. "We will crush them and take whatever valuables they brought with them. Understand that all spoils of war are mine. The soldiers cannot take as much as a single coin."
The two men nodded, somewhat fearfully.
With the sun high in the air, Guan Xing surveyed what would soon be a battlefield. More of a strategist then his siblings, he wanted to take in the battlefield and consider what they should do to win. He had been given the responsibility to lead this battle in Shu's name by Emperor Liu Bei himself, and while Guan Xing felt more comfortable fighting solo, he had no intention of failing the Shu Emperor.
The man inside the Wu camp was Pan Zhang, who had pilfered Blue Dragon after Guan Yu's death. Xing could not stand the thought of his father's weapon being held by someone from Wu. Especially after Wu had shown its true nature at Fan Castle.
"Xing." Guan Suo and Guan Yinping came alongside their brother. Guan Suo, the speaker, continued. "Everyone's ready to march. We just await your orders."
Xing nodded. Alongside himself, he also had his younger brother, Guan Suo, and his sister, Guan Yinping, aiding him in this battle. Suo did not have his usual light-heartedness, and Yinping did not have her usual cheeriness, they were wholly focused on this battle. They would attain some manner of peace if Pan Zhang fell and they took back their father's weapon. Though they wouldn't feel any sense of closure as long as the kingdom of Wu still existed.
"Not only is the one who stole father's weapon in that camp, but also Mi Fang and Fu Shiren. If they hadn't betrayed us, father would still be with us, and..." Yinping trailed off. She didn't need to add 'and Ping would still be alive'. Xing and Suo could easily hear the unspoken words.
"We'll reclaim father's weapon. After that, we'll follow Lord Liu Bei and bring the fight to Wu." Guan Xing took out his Wingblades. "We should move now, before Wu can build up too much defense. We'll let Pan Zhang and the rest of Wu know that they have no business holding onto Blue Dragon."
"A single, blind assault." Pan Zhang appraised the approaching Shu army with nothing but disdain. "Guan Yu's children may have their father's valor, but not the strength to back it up. This battle will be over quickly." He turned to the side. "Mi Fang, Fu Shiren, oversee the defenses. Let Shu break themselves before us. If your defensive line breaks, you're dead. If the enemy manages to pilfer anything of mine, you're dead. If any of your soldiers steal any of my war spoils on your watch, you're dead."
Pan Zhang turned and walked away, heading toward the center of the camp.
Mi Fang and Fu Shiren shared a look after their superior left. Eventually Mi Fang broke the silence after the general was well out of earshot. "Master Pan Zhang is not an easy man to serve."
Fu Shiren nodded. "The highest authorities of Wu must not trust us. We are traitors, after all. They must think it's not a stretch to assume that we'd betray them as well if it's convenient for us. That's why we're left under a man like Master Pan Zhang."
In that case, the solution to their problem was clear. Serve well, serve loyally, and eventually their superiors will come to trust them. They might someday have the luxury of serving under a famed general like Zhou Tai, or even under Sun Quan himself.
"Then let us see to the defenses. Our first step as soldiers of Wu is blocking Guan Xing from taking back his father's weapon."
The defense was formed quickly. Barricades, ballista, and over five thousand men were ready to meet the Shu army that had been drawing ever closer. Pan Zhang was waiting in the center of the camp, safe and protected by a legion of soldiers, meanwhile Fu Shiren and Mi Fang would be fighting fiercely to keep the Shu forces at bay. With all their preparation, they should be able to hold the line easily.
Perhaps some last minute checks would have been wise, but there was no time for that. Shu's offense had begun.
Guan Xing led his forces into battle. He was driven by thoughts related to his deceased father and brother, and those emotions carried him to meet Wu's defense. With his Wingblades, tearing through Wu's initial defense was trivial. Many of the enemy soldiers died before they could even begin to realize how outmatched they were against him. Taking advantage of the terrain, Xing moved his army in a way that prevented the ballista of Wu from ever striking at the main body of the Shu army. However, the terrain prevented complete protection from the machines, here and there a Shu soldier fell with his body filled with arrows shot by the machines.
Meanwhile, Xing's siblings, Suo and Yinping, did their part in the battle. Fully focused, Suo's nunchaku flipped around the battlefield, striking hard on the Wu soldiers. Cracks were heard all over as Suo's attacks tested the strength of the bones within the Wu soldiers. Yinping's weapon, being much heavier then Suo's, did not merely test the strength of bones, and she left scores of broken bodies behind her.
Wu's barricades were crushed and tossed aside. Seeing the tables starting to turn on them, fear seized many of Wu's soldiers. At once, the commanders of the defense tried to control the situation.
"Do not give in to fear, men." Mi Fang ordered. "Shu is a weaker nation then Wu. Its generals are made of weaker stock. Its tactics are inferior. For what reason are you growing afraid?"
Guan Xing turned to the voice to see one of the reasons why he lost family at Fan Castle. Mi Fang was coordinating the defense, and was working hard to not let his troops' panic consume them. Next to him, Fu Shiren was speaking similar words.
Almost in response to Mi Fang's words, the ballista began firing again, and a score of exposed Shu soldiers suddenly fell from the arrows. Wu's defenses managed to tighten as Xing backed away to distance his army from the ballista. Wu had managed to force back Shu's first offense.
However, the mere sight of Mi Fang and Fu Shiren made emotion boil in Guan Yu's children. Shu's second attack came only seconds later. Guan Xing took note of the position of the ballista and skillfully moved his army in a way that none of the arrows reached them. After they were past the weaponry, the Shu forces slew the ballista pilots before they could properly turn the machines around. With the weapons that had forced Shu back now no longer an issue, Wu's defense was sent back, and back.
This time, Mi Fang and Fu Shiren could not control the fear their soldiers felt. Everything was falling apart at the hands of Guan Yu's children. Wu's defenses were crumbling, and Mi Fang and Fu Shiren remembered that Pan Zhang had promised to penalize them with execution if this happened. Even if they managed to turn the situation around, which was probably impossible at this point, it likely wouldn't mitigate Pan Zhang's anger in the slightest. All their thoughts of someday attaining high, luxurious positions in Wu vanished in light of this turn of events. If they continued to fight, they would be killed by the Shu army, if they retreated, they would be executed for their failure. They only had one hope for survival.
They could only trust in the benevolence that Liu Bei and his allies spoke so frequently of. Mi Fang and Fu Shiren both, without even discussing it between themselves, fell onto the ground, kowtowing before the Shu army.
"I surrender." Fu Shiren declared. "Please, Master Guan Xing, have mercy on me for my foolishness. I shall return to Shu and serve with all my heart." Next to him, Mi Fang spoke nearly identical words.
There was noise only for a moment longer as the last few Wu soldiers retreated back into the camp, then silence settled. Guan Xing was standing across from the two men. He had several understandable reasons to want to kill them, the minds of Mi Fang and Fu Shiren flooded with anxiety.
The silence was broken by the hard thud of Guan Xing's boot coming down. Both of the surrendering men trembled in fear. Had it of been anyone besides Guan Yu's children, they could have been more confident that their surrender would be accepted. Yet who they surrendered to was a man who lost two loved family members on account of them.
"It's because of you that my father and brother died at Wu's hands." Guan Xing said. He was trying to keep his voice calm, but there was a slight tremble to his words as his anger manifested. "You betrayed father, betrayed Shu, and caused Shu to be defeated when we were nearly within striking distance of Xuchang, where we could have brought this war to an end."
Mi Fang suddenly put his hands over his head, as though he feared he was about to be struck. The pathetic display made Guan Xing take in a calming breath. His hatred for these two hadn't diminished in the least, but he began to think more logically.
He turned. "Bind them and take them back to our camp. We'll bring them to Chengdu and let Emperor Liu Bei decide their fates."
Two Shu soldiers came forward, tying Fu Shiren and Mi Fang up and leading them away. There was a certain look of hopelessness on their faces as they were marched away. With that, the outside of the Wu Camp had been secured by Shu. There was only the matter of dealing with the Wu forces inside their base.
"Brother. Please, give the order to advance." Yinping urged. The desire to strike at Wu was so apparent in her tone. A desire Xing completely shared.
"Forward!" Xing yelled. The Shu soldiers surged forward into the camp.
"It seems that the extent of Mi Fang's and Fu Shiren's poverty was matched only by their incompetence." Pan Zhang observed Shu's advance even as one of the soldiers that had been under Mi Fang and Fu Shiren was explaining what happened. He presumed his two subordinates had already been killed by his enemies. However Shu chose to execute them, it was undoubtedly a merciful end compared to what he would have done to them. "Very well. I'm prepared for Shu's offense." He turned to two messengers standing near him. "Give the troops the orders to move. Catch Guan Yu's children in a pincer attack."
As the Shu forces charged forward, Wu soldiers suddenly appeared. They were pouring from both the left and the right, charging at Shu from two directions. Guan Xing called for a counterattack, trying his best to coordinate his army to face enemies on two separate fronts. The Wu soldiers were well trained, and with the Shu army divided into unequal halves to deal with the pincer attack, they held a clear advantage.
To the credit of the Guan children, their martial prowess prevented it from being a complete slaughter in favor of the Wu forces. Everywhere one of them went became a wasteland of strewn around Wu corpses. Yet no small amount of Shu soldiers fell as well, and more Wu soldiers were coming. If this continued, Wu would eventually prevail. There was only one solution, they had to destroy Wu's morale by killing Pan Zhang.
Guan Xing could see the Wu general in the distance. While an overwhelming amount of Wu soldiers were attacking the Shu army, Wu's general was relatively unguarded.
"Suo, Yinping." Xing spoke. "Continue to hold back the Wu army. I'm going after Pan Zhang himself." Without waiting for their reply, Guan Xing raced off.
As the fight against Wu and Shu's army progressed, Guan Xing charged toward Pan Zhang. The wealthily dressed Wu general saw the advance and raised his hand. At his command, a trio of Wu archers came up in front of their general and nocked arrows on their bows. The arrows flew straight toward the Shu youth, but he effortlessly dodged them.
Pan Zhang scowled as Guan Xing cut down the archers. Guan Xing turned his attention to Pan Zhang and pointed a blade at him. "You stole my father's weapon. Your hands are not worthy of it. Return it at once."
"You want the weapon?" Pan Zhang responded nonchalantly. "If you want it so bad, I'll shove it through your chest." He took out none other than the weapon of Guan Xing's father. Blue Dragon gleamed in the sun as Pan Zhang pointed it at Guan Xing. "I would have been content to simply leave this on my wall. Yet, I suppose I can enjoy seeing it used to let Guan Yu's children join his father."
Pan Zhang charged, swinging the guando with the intent of ending the fight immediately. Guan Xing jumped back from the attack. Pan Zhang swung again, and by that point it was painfully obvious that the man of Wu was nowhere near Guan Yu's level of skill. He seemed reasonably proficient with the weapon, but it clearly wasn't his preferred weapon. He had chosen a weapon he was less skilled with for the sake of psychological warfare, and perhaps for the poetry of slaying Guan Yu's children with the man's weapon.
And that was a fatal mistake.
"Your fighting style is riddled with holes." Guan Xing ducked under another swing of his father's weapon and then struck the weapon out of Pan Zhang's hands. Pan Zhang's eyes widened in horror and he reached out for the weapon, only for Guan Xing's weapon to tear across his chest.
Pan Zhang gasped in sudden pain. "No..." he clutched at his chest as he fell to his knees. "This can't... I don't have, enough wealth... I can't die yet, I-" He was cut off by the sound of Blue Dragon landing with a metallic clink beside him. He groaned as the pain intensified, and then he fell backwards onto the ground and breathed his last.
"The general!" One Wu soldier shouted at the sight of Pan Zhang's death. At that point, the will of the Wu soldiers at the camp broke. Someone shouted for a retreat, and though it likely came from someone who didn't have the authority to give the order, all of the Wu turned and began to flee.
Guan Suo looked ready to give chase, offering no mercy to Wu, but Guan Xing's hand fell on his shoulder.
"We slew Pan Zhang, took back father's weapon, and captured Fu Shiren and Mi Fang. We've attained enough victories today. The real fight with Wu is in the future."
Guan Suo looked like he was about to argue the point with his brother, but after a moment he relented. The battle had been a resounding victory for Shu. Now all that was left was to take the traitors to Chengdu. Guan Xing turned to retrieve Blue Dragon, putting his hand around the weapon that his father had used so often, but would never use again.
Fu Shiren and Mi Fang were brought before Liu Bei immediately upon the Guan children's return to Chengdu. And it was a startling sight to see a man normally as gentle as Liu Bei erupt into such anger. The moment the two were brought before him, the Emperor of Shu rose from the throne.
"These are the ones who betrayed my brother to his death!?"
No one, not even Liu Bei's allies in the room, dared to speak. Eventually Fu Shiren made a response.
"P-please, forgive us. It was... it was a moment's madness. We'll not do it again. We'll serve you with all our hearts. We can replace Master Guan Yu and Master Zhang-"
"Replace my sworn brothers?" Liu Bei roared at the audacity at what Fu Shiren spoke. It seemed like Liu Bei would take one of his swords out and slay the men right then and there. Fu Shiren and Mi Fang trembled in pure terror, sure that their fates had been sealed.
Standing at the side, Zhuge Liang was silent. The Sleeping Dragon had tried to advise Liu Bei to not let his anger control him, but neither did he have any intention of defending these two men. And so he quietly held his feather fan before him as Liu Bei wasted no time in deciding the fate of the traitors.
Liu Bei gave the order that they be tied up in front of an altar dedicated to Guan Yu. After that, he gave Blue Dragon to Guan Xing to carry out the sentence. Mi Fang and Fu Shiren would be among the few individuals that Liu Bei would order the execution of without any hesitation.
Many people had gathered to witness this. All three of Guan Yu's children were here, as well as both of Zhang Fei's children. Zhou Yun, Wei Yan, and Huang Zhong, who were now the only surviving members of the Five Tiger Generals, were also here.
The two men struggled against their ropes as Guan Xing raised Blue Dragon and readied to swing. They continued to try and break free of the ropes up until the moment that Guan Xing swung, ripping through their guts with Guan Yu's weapon.
The traitors died on the order of Liu Bei, and the Emperor of Shu had attained a piece of his vengeance for Guan Yu. The campaign into Wu would be the next piece.
With the execution over, Guan Xing had much to think about. As he stared at his father's weapon, he realized the gravity of what it meant for the weapon to be his now. With his father and his elder brother dead, he was now the patriarch of the Guan family. The responsibilities that his father once took care of would now be things he would have to handle. Guan Yu had been one of Shu's finest generals, a man so powerful that entire stratagems were made specifically to counter him, and many of them failed. How could Guan Xing possible live up to that? Guan Yu had treated his second oldest son well, but he had never been grooming Xing specifically to become the heir of the clan.
He felt unworthy of the weapon he was holding. His father's weapon was clearly not something he deserved to wield. As the sunlight gleamed off of it, he wondered what words his father would speak to him at this time. His eyes drifted skyward.
"Father, are you watching? I shall fall heir to your house, and I shall serve Lord Liu Bei with all my heart." He raised Green Thunder, as his father often did. "I will avenge your death, and I will carry on your purpose. I will give my everything in pursuit of the land of benevolence you strove to create."
The concept of this story was inspired by ROTK, the fiction that Koei primarily pulls from for Dynasty Warriors. Specifically the story of Guan Xing hunting down and killing Pan Zhang for stealing his father's weapon, along with killing Mi Fang and Fu Shiren for their treason. DW8 actually subtly referenced this story, but only in how Xing's second ground Musou has him pull out his father's weapon.
In the novel Xing was backed by Liu Bei and Zhang Bao. Yet I kinda prefer the idea of this being the business of Guan Yu's (surviving) children.
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