Dynasty Warriors: A Love Worth Fighting For
Chapter 7 of my Dynasty Warriors story, enjoy.
Reviews
Diao Lover: Yup, things have taken a drastic turn with those two now. Unfortunately they don't have the manpower for that yet.
KaiAbelinda: Yup, you bet :)
kkman57: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)
Now onto the story.
Disclaimer: Dynasty Warriors belongs to Koei.
Chapter 7: Secret Plans
Liu Shan was naturally restless at the news that they had just received. Zhang Fei was enraged, he knew that his now ex-wife had pushed for this to happen now. A far more sensible solution would have been to wait until the war was over to avoid any problems. But it was clear that, despite knowing this, Dong Zhuo's libido overtook his common sense.
"I don't believe this...curse that Dong Zhuo." Zhang Fei remarked as he paced up and down the main hall. "What are we just sitting around for?"
Liu Shan nodded. "I agree, we can't just leave Xingcai to that monster."
Liu Bei sighed.
"Rushing and moving quickly are two different things." He explained, "If we try to attack and stop the wedding with what strength we have, we might as well send Dong Zhuo our heads."
They both stared at Liu Bei shocked, but then Zhuge Liang spoke up.
"Lord Liu Bei is right. We have neither the strength nor the resources to face Dong Zhuo." He paused and then continued. "If we plan to save Lady Xingcai and restore the Han Emperor to power...Then we must ensure we have more land from which to draw troops and resources from."
Liu Bei sighed.
"Yet the only land that can be claimed is Jing and Yi, both are in the hands of kinsmen of mine."
Zhuge Liang nodded and then whispered something in Liu Bei's ear that shocked him. However it was clear he wasn't going to share it with anyone else, leaving the others wondering what Zhuge Liang had planned.
It later transpired that, despite Xingcai's best efforts to avoid or delay the wedding and any attempt to escape she made, that the wedding carried on as normal, before the Emperor which meant that Dong Zhuo could have all his guards present. Not just for his own protection but to prevent Xingcai escaping. So the wedding ended and, knowing about her plans Dong Zhuo had Xingcai sent back to the dungeon. The Regional Lords that had been invited all returned home. Some, like Liu Biao, with heavy hearts as they knew Xingcai was not a willing participant in the marriage. Meanwhile in Wu things had changed. Following their devastating defeat in the battle of Xuzhou, they had since rebuilt their troop numbers and had in fact expanded them. Thanks to Sun Ce and Zhou Yu's combined work and leadership they had also gathered several more officers. Several notable ones included Lu Meng, Lu Xun, Gan Ning and Ling Tong. All powerful warriors and, in the case of Lu Meng and Lu Xun, excellent strategists. Zhou Tai had just recovered from his injuries and they were waiting for news on Sun Jian, both of them had been treated by the legendary surgeon Hua Tuo.
It wasn't much later that Sun Jian entered the room and found his family and retainers waiting for him, including the new officers. He smiled as they all bowed and welcomed him back as he walked down to the end of the large room. Sun Ce smiled and stood from his seat at the head of the room and bowed.
"It is good to have you back father." Sun Ce stated.
Sun Jian smiled and took his seat as Sun Ce returned to his. He looked out over the large group assembled before him.
"Now." He stated, "Wu is back on her feet...Once more we shall stand for what is right, defend our families and throw the tyrant off the pedestal he has created for himself!"
The room erupted with cheers that were silenced when a messenger came into the room.
"My lord." He cried out, "Xu Huang of Cao-Cao's army is at our gate."
"He intends to fight?" The messenger shook his head.
"No my lord, he...After the battle of Guan Du, the Yuan's fell, Lady Shangxiang was taken by Cao-Cao's forces and...Now at the instruction of Cao-Cao, Xu Huang is returning her to us."
"What...What is Cao-Cao planning?"
Sun Jian accepted the terms announced and Xu Huang returned Shangxiang to her family before riding back to Cao-Cao.
Once back in the comfort of her own family Shangxiang detailed her ordeal and also Cao-Cao's plans.
"He is only pretending to aid Dong Zhuo. He is willing to fight against anyone Dong Zhuo sends him too. But only so he can trick Dong Zhuo into trusting him."
"But for what purpose?" Quan asked.
Shangxiang sighed, "He means to turn against Dong Zhuo and take him down when it will cause the most damage."
This surprised the Wu forces, but now that they knew Cao-Cao's plan they decided to play along. Therefore, until proper communication with Liu Bei could be restored, Shangxiang remained in Wu with her family. Meanwhile, in Jing Liu Bei heard about the recovery of Sun Jian and looked forward to reaffirming his alliance with him. Just then however he received terrible news. Just as Zhuge Liang had predicted. Liu Biao had died of illness; the Prefects of the four southern Jing Districts had rebelled and were causing trouble. Those in the remaining northern districts however were now all clamouring for Liu Bei to take over Liu Biao's position, just as Zhuge Liang said they would.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.
