ANK 4
A/n: Sorry for the very long wait, I mean, it's been months since I last updated! Real life has been hectic and crazy... And this chapter is very hard to write. I have never written battles before. Well, I hope it's not that bad and... this is the longest chapter I have ever written! xD I hope you all like it.
Chapter 4: Battle of Guan Du Castle
Cao Cao's army had marched to Guan Du right after the post-party briefing, but they found no traces of Yuan Shao's army attempting to attack them. The troops had been confused, but Cao Cao only frowned and said nothing. He dismissed his soldiers and told them to get some rest.
A week had passed, and there were still no signs of Yuan Shao's army attacking. Yuan Shao's camps had been spotted the second day Cao Cao arrived in Guan Du, but it seemed as if Yuan Shao had gone there for camping instead of for conquering a castle. Privates had been sent over to spy and observe Yuan Shao's soldiers, but they gained nothing. On the eight day of their wait, a gate guardian reported to Cao Cao the nothingness he saw just like the days before.
Cao Cao thought hard for several minutes, and suddenly, laughter erupted from his moustache-covered lips. Cao Cao's advisors, strategists and soldiers who had gathered in the room stared as if their leader had lost his sanity. What if… What if Lord Cao Cao were becoming insane after the long wait? But Cao Cao stared back at his men as if they were the one turning crazy, not him. Then he boomed into another wave of laughter.
"Let's wait some more time," he said to everyone present in the room, "Yes, let's wait for old Yuan Shao's strategy, and he'd see that it wouldn't work on us! It would never!"
If the men weren't convinced that Cao Cao had turned insane, now they were. Their lord just didn't sound like himself today… Maybe he'd caught a sickness? They looked at Cao Cao worriedly. But Cao Cao said nothing more and dismissed them all.
The troops waited as Cao Cao had told them to. Cao Cao had said to act as if they were waiting for nothing and to do the household and security business as on normal conditions. Everyone obliged, though none understood what Cao Cao meant or wanted. But there were no questions asked, and all did their duties as though Cao Cao was only paying a holiday visit to Guan Du.
A month had passed, and nothing happened. More weeks passed by, and soon enough, everyone in the castle had forgotten their initial reason to be in Guan Du. Soon it had been two months, three months, and no one had realized that six months had finally passed.
On the second week of the sixth month, Cao Cao assembled all his soldiers.
"My soldiers," he said. "I know it seemed like we've been wasting our time – maybe we really have. We shouldn't have rushed here since it was what Yuan Shao wanted, but anyway, we should be glad that we did not come back to the capital because that would be when Yuan Shao would overtake this castle."
He looked sharply at his soldiers before he continued, "Yuan Shao is now waiting for us to go from here – he wants to look as if he is not intending to attack us. But his approach tells us all, and by the observation we have done in the past six months we can tell that this is one of his useless tactics. As I said, he wanted to attack this castle when we are not here and by the time we arrive here if we had went, it would be too late. But unfortunately, we have messed up with his plans."
He paused, looking at the men once more.
"Now I want several of you to disguise as Yuan Shao's soldier and infiltrate their defenses. You should become spies and report to us. After we have the information we want, in one or two months I hope, we will commence attack to his camp in Wu Chao."
He then called the names of his generals and told them to select one hundred and fifty men for this mission.
The selected soldiers went to Yuan Shao's camp, infiltrated it, spied it and sent the information they gained to Cao Cao. In two months, Cao Cao was satisfied with the amount of information he received, and he told his spies that they were about to commence the attack. He ordered more soldiers to disguise as Yuan Shao's men and attack from the inside, while preparing the frontal attack himself. Sun Ce was among the men that would be participating in the battle.
In the battle overview, Cao Cao announced that he would be taking his now-eldest son Cao Pi to the battle. "My eldest son is now almost fourteen years of age, and he should know what a battle his. He should witness what his father does." In the age of thirteen years and six months, Cao Pi was an intelligent and witty young man. He was adept in sword fighting, and his father had promised to take him to his next battle. Cao Cao assigned him as a member of the defense team, and Cao Pi was very proud and happy. His late elder brother Cao Ang had never gotten this privilege.
Soon, Cao Cao's men found themselves on the battlefield. Yuan Shao's army was much larger than theirs, but no one was afraid. They were sure with the leadership of Cao Cao and the spies sent to disrupt the army, Yuan Shao would have no chance to win. Sun Ce, too, found himself on the battlefield.
My first battle as a part of Cao Cao's army… Sun Ce thought. This is a chance for me to prove myself and my abilities.
Yuan Shao was attacking Guan Du Castle full force, just as how the soldier had reported to Cao Cao in the middle of the banquet. And Cao Cao's army had just arrived in time to defend the castle. Sun Ce immediately gained Cao Cao's trust and gained command over 200 soldiers, under his own banner.
In the midst of the battle, Sun Ce stood proudly, holding his spear in hand. Neither Cao Cao nor Xiahou Dun had given command for him and his army to attack, and Sun Ce stood there, waiting. He heard news that the much renowned Guan Yu, a general from Liu Bei's army, had joined the battle to assist Cao Cao.
An order to attack was given, and Sun Ce commanded his men to move.
Sun Ce grinned as he saw Yuan Shao's soldiers running forward, shouting their battle cries and swinging their swords and spears around. He lunged forward himself, signaling for his troops to do the same. As he came face to face with several foot soldiers, he swung his spear, slashing one of the foot soldiers from his left shoulder to his right stomach. The soldier collapsed.
One, Sun Ce counted inwardly.
He then turned around as another soldier attempted to wound him with his sword. He quickly stabbed that soldier in his abdomen with his spear, pulling his mighty weapon in a second. The second soldier fell.
Two, he thought.
Before another soldier had the chance to attack or even attempt to attack him, Sun Ce turned swiftly and killed two soldiers at once by slashing his spear at them, slitting their necks.
Three, four, he added two more people to his enemy death count. And quite soon enough, the amount of enemy soldiers in his death count had multiplied and was continuing to multiply. Sun Ce grinned. It's not like he enjoyed killing and watching the people's deaths, really, he just enjoyed the fighting in a way. And tonight, he was enjoying it even more (the fight), as it was the really perfect time to loose all his tensions.
On a different part of the battlefield, the famous "God of War", Guan Yu, was swinging his very famous Guan Dao at Yuan Shao's troops. He wore a frown on his face which made him look like he was thinking very deeply. Once in a while he would stop swinging his blade to stroke his famous long beard, stroking it like a wise old man, his frown deepening, while he observed the battlefield with a facial expression like a philosopher's.
Whispers of "It is the renowned God of War, Guan Yu! It is Liu Bei and Zhang Fei's brother!" could be heard among Yuan Shao's troops. They were delighted to see and face such a famous enemy, but scared for their lives at the same time. Nevertheless, the soldiers lunged forward bravely, still shouting their war cries enthusiastically while attempting to land an attack on Guan Yu's muscled body, although that was almost impossible, for Guan Yu was the "god of war". Until now, there wasn't a foot soldier who had successfully given him a scratch.
Guan Yu's face twisted into something weird-looking, like a combination of a frown and a very wide smile. Once again, he swung his large odd-shaped blade, killing several foot soldiers in one move only. The other soldiers gasped as they saw their comrades getting killed only in one swift movement. Some of them had their eyes flashing in anger and lunged at Guan Yu. But unfortunately, they were just not strong enough to oppose the mighty war god.
The angry soldiers died before they had the chance to blink or even squint. At this sight, several soldiers ran in fear of their lives, leaving their comrades behind.
"So chicken-hearted and unfaithful," Guan Yu grunted under his breath, commenting on what he just saw.
And while Guan Yu continued to kill and wound Yuan Shao's troops, an enemy general stepped forward boldly. His right hand was gripping a sword tightly. Calmly, he said, "So you're the renowned god of war, Guan Yu."
Guan Yu discarded the blood from his blade by swinging his blade away, and turned to face the person who talked to him. His eyes narrowed. Yan Liang of Yuan Shao's army, he thought. He then replied, "Yes, I am."
The famous general, Yan Liang, frowned for a while, and spoke, "I am truly honored to be able to face you in battle like this." His right leg stepped a bit forward, making a fighting stance.
Guan Yu tensed at this movement. He prepared his own stance, still narrowing his eyes. He didn't seem to be troubled even the slightest bit. He seemed a little too confident to Yan Liang's likeness. Even so, Yan Liang didn't say anything more.
After a moment of silence of studying the enemy for both parties, Yan Liang finally spoke up again, "So, shall we begin?"
Guan Yu made a sound that sounded like an annoyed snort, but nodded nevertheless. He spun his Guan Dao elegantly (and almost arrogantly) and prepared a stance himself. The two men walked in a circle, still in their stances, observing each other with glares that would definitely murder the person they were glaring at if looks could kill. They continued walking in circles and glaring at each other for a while, before Yan Liang finally lunged forward and tried to slash Guan Yu with his sword.
Too hasty, Guan Yu thought. He grunted his annoyance once more and swung his blade at Yan Liang's waist, slashing the man into two. Guan Yu looked at the dead body once more time and thought, when they said Yan Liang was one of Yuan Shao's best generals, I thought he would be more challenging. Who would have thought he would be this shallow? Guan Yu snorted and turned his back away from Yan Liang's dead body, looking for another enemy.
Meanwhile, Sun Ce had killed or wounded about two hundred soldiers tonight, and he came face-to-face with the leader of the soldiers he fought: Yuan Shao's well-known Wen Chou.
"Well, if it isn't the young and famous Sun Ce," Wen Chou greeted with his rough voice, "Why are you in Cao Cao's army?"
He's very blunt, Sun Ce thought. Anyway, he did not want everyone to know Sun Quan's plan so he only said, "It's none of your business. And what do I owe to have the honor to face the famous General Wen Chou? I was told that nobody could equal your fighting skills other than General Yan Liang."
Wen Chou laughed. "Ha-ha, I am stronger than Yan Liang," he said. "Back to the topic, why are you fighting for Cao Cao? Aren't you on good terms with Lord Yuan Shao?"
"Whether I am on good terms with Lord Yuan Shao or not is not the matter, it's not important," Sun Ce replied.
Wen Chou said, "Maybe it isn't. Well, do I get the honor of testing your famous skills? People say that you are young yet strong and good in combat."
"I am honored to be praised such by General, but I'm afraid you have to test my skills by yourself, since I can't measure my own skills," Sun Ce replied humbly.
"Well then, shall we?" Wen Chou said. He signed the rest of his men not to disturb his and Sun Ce's fight.
Sun Ce said nothing. He also signed for his troops not to take part in the fight. His troops eagerly engaged combat with Wen Chou's, leaving some space for Sun Ce and Wen Chou.
Both spearmen walked in a circle just like how two combatants usually began their fight, but none of the two were as patient as Guan Yu or Yan Liang from the previous fight. Wen Chou soon lunged himself at Sun Ce, swinging his spear which was parried by Sun Ce.
"Ho, not bad," Wen Chou complimented, grinning.
"Thank you. And you too," Sun Ce replied.
The two continued to have a fight of basic moves, until Wen Chou surprised Sun Ce with an unexpected slash. Sun Ce wasn't caught off guard, though, since he dodged the attack.
"That was quite a dodge for a young man," Wen Chou commented as he nodded. "Most wouldn't have known the attack was coming."
"I'm different from most young men," Sun Ce said. "I mean, I've been trained."
"So are the other young men I was talking about," Wen Chou said, still complimenting the younger warrior, attempting to distract him from the fight as he thought of another surprise move.
"Then I am honored for the compliment," Sun Ce said.
Soon Sun Ce began using his special moves too, and the older man began to tire. But Sun Ce, having the advantage of his young age, was still strong, fit and prepared.
"That's quite a stamina for an old man to have," it was Sun Ce's time to compliment the older general. "I'm sure my late father did not have such stamina."
Wen Chou replied shortly, "I've been training."
"Sure you have been," Sun Ce responded. "Honing the skills is important, so my dear friend Zhou Yu often says."
"Zhou Yu? Oh, I've heard of him," Wen Chou said, still blocking Sun Ce's easy but powerful attacks. If this were to continue until one more hour, he wouldn't have the stamina to continue. "He is a strategist, isn't he? He is quite a topic in our castle."
"He'll be happy to hear that," Sun Ce grinned. If he could ever meet Zhou Yu again, he would definitely tell him the praise, although he was sure it was not a sincere one…
The two men were concentrating seriously into their fight when an order to fall back was issued by Cao Cao. Yuan Shao's larger army had made moves that would destroy Cao Cao's in no time if the castle was not defended.
Sun Ce bade the opponent he hadn't a chance to defeat farewell, "Well then, I must go now. I hope I will have another chance to face you next time!"
"Likewise," Wen Chou replied. "That fight was quite impressive. I can't wait for the chance to witness and fight against it again."
Weirdly enough, Wen Chou let Sun Ce go instead of attempting to finish him like normal generals would do. But Sun Ce gathered the remaining of his soldiers and quickly left the place, just in case Wen Chou would change his mind...
They had to take a detour as Yuan Shao's troops blocked the main way to the castle. When Sun Ce arrived and blended with the defense soldiers, he was quickly filled in of what had happened.
"The offense troops were fighting Yuan Shao's men pretty easily when suddenly a real big army marched and backed the enemy up. It appears that Yuan Shao's forces got reinforcement... Anyway, they fought real hard and we were forced to reinforce into the castle. The enemy was really quick and our defenses were easily penetrated, and that's how we ended up with the current condition: Yuan Shao's men hanging on the ropes, climbing the walls of this castle."
Sun Ce nodded, and begun to take position right behind the walls. The other soldiers were shooting arrows at the climbing soldiers. Sun Ce took his spear and began to cut as many ropes as he could. The soldiers started to fall and the defense team shot arrows at them, killing the fallen men.
Soon the attempt to infiltrate the castle ended, but that did not mean Guan Du castle was completely safe. Yuan Shao's men kept coming from everywhere, overflowing the battlefield like flood, and Cao Cao's army became concerned. Their arrow supply wouldn't last forever, but it seemed like Yuan Shao's men would. It really seemed like Yuan Shao had an everlasting amount of soldiers...
That was when the tide of the battle changed almost drastically. Suddenly, the rear soldiers of Yuan Shao's army cried, "Wu Chao was destroyed! Wu Chao was destroyed! It was burnt!"
The word spread very quickly on the battlefield, and Yuan Shao's troops were starting to lose their morale. An order to fall back was issued, and one-third of the soldiers began to retreat. Yuan Shao's soldiers' cries of down-heartedness and disappointment became Cao Cao's soldiers' cry of joy. What was left of the offense troops began to push forward and claimed nearly half of the battlefield in no time. Sun Ce's troops also moved forward, heading to clean what was left of Wu Chao.
The soldiers of Cao Cao were almost celebrating their victory when Liu Bei was spotted on the battlefield. It seemed he was aiding Yuan Shao. When Guan Yu heard of this, he quickly announced, "My debts to you have been paid, Lord Cao Cao. I owe you no more. Now I shall join my brother's side – I have been separated from him for too long."
No words could stop Guan Yu from defecting from their side. Cao Cao's troops lost a bit of their morale, but Cao Cao reassured them that they would be okay without Guan Yu. In fact, Guan Yu was not really needed anymore on their side, for he had defeated Yuan Shao's greatest general for them. Now that Yuan Shao's supplies had been reduced to ash, there was nothing much Guan Yu could help, even if he was known as the God of War. Very unfortunately he was not the God of Prosperity or God of Food (if there were one to begin with), as that would be very helpful for Yuan Shao.
Sun Ce and his men continued their march towards Wu Chao, and found Wen Chou and his soldiers wandering around the burnt place.
"It seems fate wants us to reunite and finish our unfinished fight," Sun Ce greeted.
"It seems so," Wen Chou replied, his voice sounding rougher than normal. He had realized that his master would not win in this condition.
"So, shall we continue the unfinished?"
"We should, given that we won't have a third chance to finish," Wen Chou said bluntly.
Sun Ce prepared his stance, and so did Wen Chou. The two of them walked in circles again, observing each other in every movement they made.
Sun Ce was the one to make the first move. He swung his spear at Wen Chou's left side, an attack which Wen Chou parried quite easily. Wen Chou returned the attack, and their attack-and-block pattern continued for a while, just like their first encounter. But Wen Chou did not have as much stamina as he did in the first, and Sun Ce got to wound his left arm. His spear pierced through Wen Chou's hard armor and Wen Chou's injured arm dangled uselessly by his body.
"Impressive," Wen Chou praised. "Up to now the only person to injure me in battle is Yan Liang, and none other has succeeded."
Wen Chou's attacks became weaker because he could only use an arm now, and the blood lost caused him quite an impact. In only twelve minutes, Sun Ce managed to pin the famous general on the ground with his spear.
"So this is it," Wen Chou rasped roughly. "I'm very glad to die in battle, not by sickness or old age that would leave me useless in bed. I am honored to have been killed by a man like you... Sun Ce."
Sun Ce did not finish him off because he knew that Wen Chou would die, even if he got helped. He had lost too much blood, not to mention the large spear wound only two inches away from his heart... Wen Chou perished as Sun Ce drew his spear from his body.
Yuan Shao retreated hastily into his camp in Wu Chao. It still stood on the mercy of the fire. He lost two of his best generals and gained nothing in return. All his food had been burnt and he would have to go back to his own area and recover his army's strength...
And so the battle of Guan Du had ended. This was Yuan Shao's first major lost, only to be followed by further losses in the future. And this was Cao Cao's first step to his powerful reign as well.
A/n: And so ends the chapter. I must say I'm quite proud with it... Er, is anyone still reading this? My humblest gratitude for all who stays with me because I know it takes a real lot of patience! And if it isn't too much... Review... please?