The Wu palace was in a state of constant panic. Reports were flooding in daily about another Shu attack. Shortly after Sima Yi took Jiangling, Zhuge Liang reinforced his positions at Hanzhong and Baidicheng. After all, the Shu army had successfully annihilated Liu Zhang and Zhang Lu in record time. Sima Yi, realizing that an attack on Shu was impossible, considered attacking Wu, but Zhou Yu's threat had made him nervous, so he decided to sit back in Changan and wait.
Because of this, Shu immediately attacked Jiang Ling and seized it for themselves. Zhuge Liang, with Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, Wei Yan, Huo Jun, Wu Yi, Guan Ping, Guan Xing, Zhang Yi, and Jiang Wei, marched through Wu, burning several territories along the way. Lu Xun tried to hold him off at Ba Qiu and Changsha, but Zhuge Liang simply overwhelmed him, using Pang Tong as his backup advisor. Kan Ze and Lu Xun tried what they could, but they could not resist the wrath of the Han forces.
Zhuge Liang had Zhang Yi chase Kan Ze to Nan Chang, where the former fisherman was able to disappear among the sailors there and eventually flee to Jian Ye. Zhuge Liang had Pang Tong surround and ensnare Lu Xun at Jiang Xia, making it impossible for the younger strategist to retalitate. With a few brave warriors like Lu Meng and Huang Gai making frantic attempts to hold him off, Zhuge Liang found himself victorious over the Wu army. Slowly the Shu army inched closer and closer to Jian Ye.
Xu Sheng defeated Zhang Yi at Hu Kou, a naval camp east of Chai Sang, forcing the General to retreat. By the time Kongming was able to retake this lost ground, Xu Sheng had already fortifed Lu Jiang. It was the only vital Wu city located north of the Chang Jiang, and if Kongming had his way, it would be the only city left in Wu control.
With all these things happening, Sun Quan found it a headache to keep track of what was going on. As China's communication system was quite slow at that time, it took a while for him to receive the latest news:
"Lord Sun Quan, I am here to report that Chai Sang has fallen to the Shu army." A messenger bowed before the Marquis.
"Where is Lu Xun?!" Zhongmou demanded.
"His last report declared that he was under seige in Jiang Xia, surrounded by one Pang Tong of the Shu army." The messenger replied.
"Boyan... Has been ensnared by Pang Tong? Do I have any semi-competent strategist who can hold off the Sleeping Dragon or the Young Phoenix, or are all of you people total idiots who can't even do what I ask you to do?!" Sun Quan groaned aloud.
"You had Zhou Yu." Zhang Wen bitterly pointed out.
"Ah... Yes, you're right... I did have Zhou Yu... And because of my sister, Shu is attacking us, and I lost Zhou Yu. But what could I have chosen? Let my sister be with Zhou Yu, and have the entire Shu army at my neck, or marry her off to Liu Bei, and lose Zhou Yu but gain a powerful ally?" Sun Quan sighed.
"You chose the worst path, and now Shu is after our heads and Zhou Yu isn't here to help us." Zhang Zhao snapped.
"You're right... But... How could I convince Zhou Yu to return?" Sun Quan wondered.
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Kan Ze had just made it safely into his home. The Shu general Zhang Yi nearly claimed his head, but, using his naval wits, Kan Ze disguised himself as an ordinary sailor, and thus was able to reach his home safely. But, before he could settle down, he had a visitor.
"Kan Ze, please listen to me. Wu is in danger, and there is one man who can save us." A voice called from behind him.
Kan Ze smirked: "Let me guess, you want General Zhou Yu to return to service."
"Of course." Lu Su nodded earnestly, entering the cottage.
"Well, let's just say that I can't give you that information." Kan Ze replied.
"But... But his majesty..."
"Bad move. Now I'm really not going to tell you. The last thing Zhou Yu wants is for him to return under the obligation that he has to help Sun Quan. Zhou Yu's changed, he's not going to be Sun Quan's lapdog anymore. All he wants is to be happy with Shangxiang. He doesn't need to deal with curs like you." Kan Ze snapped.
"Yes... I am a worm... But what I say is for the good of Wu's people! Who knows what will happen if some terror like Ma Chao is ordered to govern over them?"
"Well, we know that Pan Zhang and Zhuge Ke aren't much better than Ma Chao."
"Yes, Kan Ze, but what should we do to save Wu? Zhou Yu is Wu's greatest mind, and thus, he should be here in our darkest hours! Where could he be?"
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The town of Tai Ping, located on the banks of the Chang Jiang, was a town surrounded by beautiful waterfront scenery. Many people agreed that it was the perfect place for one to retire. Huang Gai himself noted that, in a few years, the first place he'd try to find real estate in would be that little town.
So it was no surprise that Zhou Yu and Sun Shangxiang were in the town. Of course, the couple was well disguised. No one knew that it was them. They had their suspicions, of course, especially when Shangxiang (or her disguised form), was drinking alcohol and Zhou Yu was practicing with his sword. There were few ladies who would dare drink, and though most men knew how to use weapons, only a soldier would be so precise in his strokes.
But thankfully, Shangxiang was a light drinker, nothing close to Gan Ning, and Zhou Yu tried his best not to make himself look too suspicious, so the couple were able to keep their disguises. The two found themselves strolling in the marketplace, when they both overheard a conversation as they walked past an open bar:
"Hey, barkeep, got any news?" One of the customers asked.
"Yea. There was some fightin' over at Jiang Xia not too long ago. General Lu Xun got beat by some freak named Pang Tong." The barkeep answered.
"Well, wanna here even worser news? I hear that the Sleeping Dragon fella broke past Lu Meng's defenses west of Hu Ling." A second customer spoke.
"That would mean that they're heading this way! A bit further and Jian Ye's history!" The first customer gasped.
"Yep, but think about it, Sun Quan'll be kicked out of buisness, and imagine all the profit we could make! Because of him, we can't sell that much beer, but once chaos starts, they'll be a lot of depressed folks. What do depressed folks do? They drink beer! So we'll be rich!" The barkeeper laughed.
Sun Shagxiang and Zhou Yu were both shocked. In their absence, so many things were happening. Shangxiang quickly dragged Zhou Yu away to some more private area so that they could talk.
"Gongjin..." She groaned: "What can we do? I thought your message reached Lu Xun."
"I'm sure it did. But, I did not predict that Zhuge Liang would attack so soon..."
"But what can we do? Zhou Yu, my brother is a bastard. But he's... He's my flesh and blood... And the people of Wu, they'll suffer when the war reaches the Capital." Sun Shangxiang sighed.
"Then I must come to their aid." Zhou Yu looked up, determination burning in his eyes.
"Wha-? But..."
"Shangxiang, I do this for the good of the Wu people... For the fact that I abandoned them for so long..."
"But you didn't really do anything wrong, Zhou Yu."
"That may be what we think, but is that how they feel? No, I must go to their aid, not for Sun Quan, but for the people of Wu."
"If that's what you really want, then I will support you all the way." Shangxiang nodded before her husband.
"Then we shall go!" Zhou Yu drew his sword.
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Zhou Yu and Sun Shangxiang entered the town hall. Since the balcony was public property (anyone could go there and have a view of the city), Zhou Yu quickly reached the balcony. Standing on the balcony, he threw off his disguise and yelled a war cry. The people of Tai Ping were shocked and looked up. There, they saw one of Wu's heroes staring down at them: General Zhou Yu.
"People of Tai Ping! I understand that the recent attacks by Shu have made you worried about the future, but rest assured, we are not hopeless! I hear that they are coming this way, but we shall be ready for them! We are the people of Wu. For years, our ancestors, the tribesmen of Fujian, made certain that no outside force could conquer and force us to submit. Thus, we are no weak people. The enemy conquerors won't have an easy time as they approach this city. Stand together, prepare yourselves, and the Shu forces will be forced out of here. We shall liberate our brothers and sisters who have been enslaved by these Shu bandits. We shall free our brave siblings who are still fighting the Shu forces as we speak. As the people of Wu, we shall prevail! Let us go and banish this foe from our beloved homeland once and for all!" Zhou Yu yelled.
Across the city, a cheer began to spread. Zhou Yu and Sun Shangxiang watched as the people of Tai Ping began to celebrate the fact that their hero emerged from the darkness. Standing side by side, the couple smiled at each other, happy that they both were finally able to return to the service of their beloved homeland.
Several people were eager to interview Zhou Yu and the woman by his side, whom they soon recognized as the Princess Sun Shangxiang. They quickly learned that Zhou Yu loved the Princess, but due to Sun Quan's cruelty and attempt to marry her to Liu Bei, Zhou Yu was forced to save her and thus betray Sun Quan. They already had doubts that Zhou Yu was a criminal, and those doubts were proven to be right. Now, with the Princess and the Legendary General on their side, the Wu people were confident that they could defeat Zhuge Liang. Quickly, out of a population of 8,000 souls, an army of 5,300 militia troops from Tai Ping was quite willing to help Zhou Yu.
Meanwhile, General Zhang Yi sent his army of 12,000 to strike Tai Ping, as the city was the next of a chain of towns blocking Shu's path. Zhou Yu, however, was ready for them. Placing several former hunters as archers in bushes, and having dug several pitfalls (among the traps of the day, the type Zhou Yu loved was the pitfall), Zhou Yu had set up a defense. Adding extra flags to make the army look much larger than it already was would help matters as well.
Zhang Yi approached the city, yet his scout and light assaulting calvary were all quickly destroyed by the well placed pitfalls. Zhang Yi was already quite worried, but continued marching forward. This was when Zhou Yu ordered his archers to fire. Their sudden strike stunned the advancing Shu troops, and, seeing the flags in the distance begin to wave, they feared that they were in a gigantic ambush, and thus, began to retreat. Zhou Yu and Sun Shangxiang emerged and quickly attacked, along with 2,000 of their troops. Upon seeing Zhou Yu, Zhang Yi let out a scream and began to run for his dear life. The General had earned Wu's first victory out of this chain of defeats.
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Zhang Yi fled back to Zhuge Liang's headquarters, where he told the strategist: "Zhou Yu has emerged." Upon hearing that name, Kongming's face turned white: "Zhou Yu?" The Sleeping Dragon realized that he had just lost his chance to conquer Wu. With Zhou Yu back in action, he might even be forced out of Wu entirely. The tables had indeed turned for the people of Wu.
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Back in Jian Ye, a messenger informed Sun Quan that Zhou Yu had emerged from the shadows at Tai Ping. Sun Quan closed his eyes contently, and cooed: "Zhou Yu... Ah... My power will not be taken from me... Give the General his rank back, and you can tell the troops who were under his command to reunite with him. With Zhou Yu by my side once again, Shu shall be destroyed." Sun Quan laughed.
