Zhang He smiled out at the world from the branches of his thinking tree, he came there once or twice a day to marvel at the beauty of nature and think about what had happened recently. He certainly had a lot to think about. The beauty that he had seen in this kingdom was fading. The officers were petty bickering men, with the exception of the, admittedly rather ugly, but somehow likable lug Zhu Xu and of course the ever wonderful Zhen Ji, but even with those two saving graces, there were not enough good men in this place. What he had originally thought was so beautiful was paling into the same shades as the world around it. He sighed a little and bit his lip.

"Still," he said to himself, he would have said it to someone else, usually Zhu Xu, although the butterfly doubted the big man ever knew what he was actually talking about. However he couldn't, because there was no one else there. "Wei has one advantage."

"And what is that?" came an amused tone from across the garden. The musical quality of Zhen Ji's voice made him smile as usual. "What is that advantage our home has?"

"Simple," he didn't let his shock show. "It could be anywhere else."

The noble lady let out a small laugh, imperceptible to anyone who hadn't known her. "This is true," she agreed. "It could be," she settled against the tree next to his, letting her clothes rustle in the breeze. "It could be Wu, or Shu and where would the fun in that be?"

"Exactly," He laughed, he closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. "What can I do for you on this beautiful day oh great Lady?"

Zhen Ji sighed. "Nothing, I simply feel like I was born a generation too late. Lord Cao Cao may have nine wives, but his son has something worse. He has an obsession."

General Zhang He looked down at her. "Don't we all?" he said simply. He fell from the branch onto his feet. "Farewell dear Madame."

"Farewell general Zhang."

Zhen Ji pondered this, her mind far away. Everyone had their own obsessions. Cao Pi wanted power beyond all else, Cao Cao never stopped wanting something, women, power, money, as soon as the man saw it he wanted. As for Zhang He, his obsession was obvious, beauty. So what was hers? What was the thing she would give everything for?

She shook her head and walked away. There was no point wondering, she had a husband to get back to.

*** ***

Wei Yan smiled as he ran a smile of satisfaction. There were flies everywhere, buzzing all around him. The temperature was about twice the normal comfortable range for anyone but a Nanman and the heat was so wet and sticky that it seemed twice that again. The Shu forces had been running through these swamps for days, following the only way through to the cities of the natives. Wei Yan found it tiresome and uncomfortable and the only thing that made him smile about the whole affair was the knowledge that if he was uncomfortable, then Jiang Wei, Zhuge Liang and the others were in hell.

"Faster," he grunted at his men. "They,, keep,,, up," there was a disadvantage to putting all the scouting parties in one squad, especially when the leader of that squad hates you and can survive things you cannot. Soon Zhuge Liang would realize this flaw; the men stepped out in double time without complaint. Serving under the beast of destruction had taught them discipline and stamina, the hard training Wei Yan subjected them all to was paying off.

*** ***

Meng Huo had received detailed scouting reports on the armies of Shu, on the numbers as opposed to the numbers of the Nanman tribesmen. He'd studied field positions and the best places for ambushes and battles. He'd examined useful trap locations and the best things he thought the army should do, then slapped himself on the forehead and dropped his hands onto the desk.

"Bring me my wife," he closed his eyes and sighed. "I can't make heads or tails of this!"

When Zhu Rong entered she smiled over at her husband, she was used to having to deal with little problems like this. He was a good man, a strong leader and he commanded respect, he just wasn't the brightest individual in the kingdom. Luckily for him, she was.

But even Zhu Rong, with her formidable intellect was finding it difficult to craft a victory out of this. Even if her enemies had no tactician it would have taken quite a mind to trap their enemies into enough problems to give her people a victory. She shook her head after about twenty minutes and looked up at her husband.

"I apologize Huo," she said, shamefacedly. "But the bottom line is there is no way we can win this battle with the forces you currently command. With careful planning and attention and not a single mistake on our part, we could stand a chance, perhaps, but since that seems almost impossible. We need more fighters."

The big Nanman got up and walked over to his wife. He wrapped his arms around her and placed a surprisingly gentle kiss on her lips.

"I was afraid you were going to say that," he confessed. "Where can we find more men? I mean, it's hardly as if we ever made friends with any of our neighbours did we? Most of them would be just as happy to invade us as our enemies," he bit his lip and hung his head. "We provoked a lot of anger in our time. So where can we go for support?"

Zhu Rong thought about this, and then nodded. "There may be one place we could look."

Meng Huo's face lit up with hope. "Where? Who?" it was amazing. Zhu Rong always knew what to do!

"The bandit clans that control our borders, with them at our sides we could outnumber the strike force our enemies have sent for us."

"That's ridiculous!" he laughed. "I'm sorry dear but there is no way we could control that rabble. They are not a force, or an army. None of those men will listen to authority or follow an order. What use are soldiers that can't take orders?"

"They would," Zhu Rong replied. "If we gave them a figure they knew and respected. You are a stranger to them, what you tell them will mean nothing," she looked at him seriously, her fiery eyes piercing him to his core. "We both know who we need."

Huo shook his head and walked away, sitting back down on the bed with his arms stubbornly folded across his chest. "No!"

"Huo, there's no other way!" she shook her head. "Honestly there is no harm in asking!"

"There is harm! I have a reputation to uphold and actually asking him for help, well," he punched the wall. "Well I just can't do it is all!"

Zhu Rong shook her head. Silly men and their little egos! She put her hand on his shoulder. "Well then, if I somehow disappeared for a week or so, then came back with him offering support, you would have another objection?"

"Well no," he looked puzzled. "But that could never work, because he would never do it. You know him; he's stubborn as an ox!"

Zhu Rong sighed, that was a little rich coming from her husband. "Leave it to me," she replied, a small smile on her face. She ordered a few men to follow along. She'd known for a while that it could come to this, but she had to do what she had to do.

*** ***

Diao Chan was getting used to this. It was far from what she was used to in her old life, in fact it was pretty much impossible for the two lifestyles to be any different. Before she had been pandered to and served by an entire castle full of staff. These days she slept in a hut or a tent and any food she wanted she took off the fire with the others. A majority of the rest of the camp were men, but they never discriminated or judged themselves higher than the women. They never demanded to be treated better than women or left the women out of anything, probably because the rest of the women in the camp were as tough and as eager to fight as any of the men. Shai told her he governed his clan based on the hierarchy of talent; his only restriction on women fighting was that he expected them to be very good at it. That went for Diao Chan as well, if she didn't think she could win, she wasn't obliged to fight, as long as she earned her keep some other way. She helped with taking care of the camp, although she was far from used to dirty work or doing most things for herself, she was perfectly happy to learn. Her life was pretty good here, she knew something like this could never be her life forever, but for now it wasn't so bad. It was certainly preferable to living on her own.

A few weeks into her stay Diao Chan volunteered to go on her first hunt, she'd never done anything like it before, but Shai hated to buy meat from anyone else, even if they had the money for it. It stood against his beliefs. So he sent teams into the jungles, this one he was leading himself. A few minutes after the hunt started they heard a snuffling sound in the bushes, Diao Chan, already jumpy and clad in jungle camouflage rather than her usual finery, jumped a little at the noise.

"What was that?" she asked Shai, her voice sounding impossibly loud in the silence.

"You'd call it a wild boar, I'd guess there's about three there, maybe four at a stretch."

"I'd call it a boar?" she looked at him. "So what do you call it?"

"Dinner," he grinned wide. "Or death, it depends on how well we perform now. Okay, three boars, three teams, if there's a fourth, ignore it, we only need three. You three, take the one on the left, Diao Chan will make the killing blow, the other two go around and herd him over, Diao Chan, between the eyes, just like we practiced.

"I understand," she was disconcerted by their cavalier attitude towards large angry beasts with tusks and part of her doubted that she could aim the spear point right to kill the creature before it gutted her, but she had no other choice.

Shai had delegated the remaining two men and one woman into the second team.

"So who is the third team?" she asked.

"Me," Shai smiled and pulled a large knife from his belt. "Remember boys and girls, the big one is mine."

Diao Chan looked at the barbarian like he was insane. "You're going to fight a boar with a knife?"

"Yes," Shai nodded.

"You're insane," she stated bluntly.

"Yes," Shai agreed. But there was no time to continue the conversation. The teams had set off and by now they had circled around the boars. Diao Chan and the other team's killer separated and Shai moved in on his own.

All of a sudden the smallest of the three boars was running at her, aimed right at her stomach. She screamed and lunged forward, a lucky and desperate attempt that skewered the creatures head; she dived to the side and was caught by the other woman, who had done the exact same thing, only deliberately.

"Well done," she smiled at Diao Chan. "Now watch Shai, you're in for a treat, he rarely hunts."

Diao Chan stared at the bandit as he slowly approached the boar, squaring off with the big creature, then, without warning, he leaped onto the creatures back, the boar ran and tossed around, attempting to throw off its unwelcome cargo, but Shai set his jaw and held on for dear life. Inch by inch the big man leaned down until he was level with the creature's neck, then shoved his knife hard into the creatures pulsing throat, he stabbed it five times before it stopped breathing.

"String 'em up," Shai smiled. "So we can go," he was interrupted by a panicked scout crashing through the underbrush, yelling his name.

"What is it man?" Shai grabbed him and shook him to calm him down.

"Nanman, ten of them," the man gasped out.

"Ten?" Shai laughed. "What's the problem then?"

"Their Queen is with them boss."

"Oh," Shai growled and looked at his men. "You lot, string 'em up and bring 'em back, Diao Chan, come with me," the two of them ran back to camp, Diao Chan occasionally almost losing sight of Shai before she caught him up.

"Arm up," he gave the command. "But don't do anything, we don't want to provoke them if they just came to talk, got it?"

The men and women armed themselves and stood ready to kill if a Nanman took a shot at them, but the tribesmen weren't being aggressive either. Shai rode out on Mylan to greet Zhu Rong.

"Lady Zhu Rong," he said contempt in his voice and eyes.

"Can we drop the formalities Shai?" she sighed.

"Whatever do you mean, Lady Zhu Rong," his face conveyed wide eyed ignorance, although he couldn't do it well.

"If you insist," she bowed mockingly. "I come here to request your assistance," she looked up at him and gave him a cruel smile. "Meng Shai."