Battle of Tianshui 228 AD

Liu Bei died within the confines of Baidi Castle. The imperial throne was taken over by his son Liu Shan, and Zhuge Liang was made Prime Minister. First, Zhuge Liang looked to repair the fractured relations with Wu and revitalized their alliance. And when things worsened between Wei and Wu, he took the opportunity to eliminate a different threat.

Word of impending rebellion in Nanzhong Zhuge Liang himself led the campaign south and forced the Nanzhong king, Meng Huo to surrender. With his rear flank secure, Zhuge Liang was ready to lead the three armies on his northern campaign. He aimed to finally eliminate his long time nemesis of Wei. The Shu army moved north from Hanzhong, heading for the three cities of Nan'an, Tianshui, and Anding.

The world of virtue which he sought together with Liu Bei; He could not let this dream simply vanish among the pages of history. The Shu military, joined by numerous peasant volunteers, marched north to strike at Wei. For Zhuge Liang and the rest of Shu, a long and arduous battle was just beginning.

My Lord… your highness, the battle is about to begin." Zhuge Liang spoke to his new Lord, Liu Shan.

"Yes."

"To fulfill the wishes of your father, I have dedicated my life to this cause, but should that not be enough this time…" Zhuge Liang began again to his young Lord.

"What's the matter?" Liu Shan began kindly, "you sound like it's all coming to an end. I would say that our battle is just beginning. Is that not so?"

Zhuge Liang looks at the young man and smiles at him along with a small chuckle. "Yes, My Lord, I apologize." He said as he left the main tent of the camp.

"Lord Liu Bei… your son has your spirit of benevolence. He and I will give our lives to fulfill you dream." Zhuge Liang spoke to himself as he turned back to the camp.

He saw Zhao Yun with Nao Hong and Diao Yue. He also saw Guan Suo, Xing Cai, and Nao Ding standing together talking.

He knew that they were not exactly happy with the fact that he and reestablished their alliance with Wu, but he knew it was for the best.

Nao Ding, Nao Hong, and Diao Yue were heartbroken at their loss, but deep down they knew that they should be allies with Wu.

Guan Suo, Guan Xing, Zhang Bao, and Xing Cai were also unhappy but they were talked to by the other young officers and they were beginning to show signs of recovering.

"Master Zhuge Liang, now is our opportunity to realize Lord Liu Bei's dream. To restore the Han dynasty and build a land of piece and virtue. And to do so, we must first strike down Wei!" Zhao Yun said to him as he approached the group.

"I agree with him." Nao Hong said to him with determination, "I will make Lord Liu Bei's dream a reality as well as making my passed father proud."

"I will fight by my father's side and aid him with my grandfather's dream." Nao Shu, one of the newest additions to the battle field spoke up getting a huge grin from his dad and his aunt, Diao Yue.

Nao Shu followed the path of his father and grandfather by wearing a lot of armor. He wore a dark golden chest piece that covered his whole upper body along with shoulder guards that went down his biceps as well. Like his uncle Nao Ding, he also had a cape but his was a dark green color with no decorations on it. His brown hair was a bit spiky and uncontrolled so he had tied it back with a green headband. He also decided to honor his fallen grandfather by using the very same twin axes that Nao Yun used as they had been recovered. (Think Fu Xi from the wiki page without the weird head piece thing and the armor will be a darker golden color with green outlines and he uses twin axes)

"I will be with you every step of the way Hong, Shu." Diao Yue began, although she was still very sad that her parents were gone as she loved holding on to them and the feeling of safety she got from them. "I will never give up on my father's dream and the dream of our passed Lord, Liu Bei."

"I will help you too in realizing grandfather's dream, mother." Diao Xing, the other new addition spoke up seeing the sad look on her mother's face. "I will stay close to Nao Shu and help you with everything I have." She finished getting a loving smile from Diao Yue.

Diao Xing was a bit nervous to be on the battlefield but she knew that her family would be near by to help her. She wielded a green staff as her weapon and she was quite skilled with it. (Think Lu Lingqi from the wiki page but with mostly green instead of black and a regular green staff)

"Yes. We must do all that we can to realize they're dreams." Zhuge Liang said sadly, as he did miss Liu Bei as well as Nao Yun.

"You two should stick together in this fight Shu, Xing." Nao Hong spoke up, getting their attention. "Your mother and I make a great tag team and I know that you two have the same potential."

"He is right you two. Fight together and you should be perfectly fine." Diao Yue said after her brother.

"Of course, I will stick by her." Nao Shu spoke up determinedly making the two adults smile as well as Diao Xing.

"I guess we'll just have to show you that we will be a great tag team as well." She spoke up making the adults smile wider.

Zhuge Liang smiled at the family interaction as he then went to walk passed the group of younger officers just to the right of him.

"Lord Liu Shan is a kind and gentle ruler. Those who call him feebleminded simply don't know him like I do.' Xing Cai said to her best friends who nodded with her.

"Yes, Liu Shan is one of my greatest friends and I know that he is a capable ruler." Nao Ding said to them getting smiles from them.

"Well, this battle is important for the future of Shu and Lord Liu Bei's dream is coming close." Guan Suo said to the group.

"And Lord Liu Shan has inherited that very same dream." Xing Cai said with a determined smile on her face. "That means that we will have to do all we can to make it a reality."

"Well, I'm with you guys in this fight. Like our fathers taught us, we should stick together until the end." Nao Ding told the group as he held up his axe.

"To the end." Zhang Bao and Guan Xing said at the same time as they raised their spears to meet with Nao Ding's axe.

"To the end." Guan Suo said as he put his Nunchaku in the air as well.

"To the end." Xing Cai said in lastly, as she also raised her sword to meet with the other weapons.

"For our fathers' and Lord Liu Shan's dream." Nao Ding said again, getting the same in reply from the others making Zhuge Liang smile happily as he passed them.

Zhuge Liang then spoke to the guard in front of the gates to the battle field. "This is one battle we must win at all costs. If only for the sake of our former Lord. All units, prepare to march." He called out at the end as the gates opened.

"This land will be valuable as a foothold for our push north. We must begin by defeating Xiahou Mao's vanguard." He said getting nods from the other officers.

Nao Hong and Diao Yue head out into the battle together like always except this time they have their children with them and they run into Han Yao, Han Ying, Han Qing, and Han Qi, all who seemed pretty similar making the two oldest kids of Nao Yun think they are all brothers.

Together with their kids Nao Shu and Diao Xing, along with Guan Xing and Zhang Bao, they all defeat the four officers with only a little difficulty.

"My Lord, Xiahou Mao has fled to Nan'an Castle, I suggest we give chase." Ma Su said to Zhuge Liang back at camp.

"There is no need for that. Let him go for now."

Zhuge Liang then decided to carry out a new plan that he came up with and called for Ma Su. "Send a messenger to Cui Liang. Tell him that I have headed south in pursuit of Xiahou Mao."

"Ah, you intend to use Xiahou Mao as bait. Cui Liang will surely come forth from his castle." Ma Su said impressed as he did what he was told while he and Zhuge Liang then decided to go to Cui Liang themselves.

Liu Shan also decided to join the battle as he and his two most trusted bodyguards, Nao Ding and Xing Cai moved down the hill they were camped on and towards the closest northern garrison.

Back with Nao Hong, Diao Yue, Nao Shu, Diao Xing, Guan Xing, and Zhang Bao, as they all decided to stick together, they had moved forward and saw another officer Han De.

"You dare to lay you hands on my sons? You will pay for that." The man yelled at them confirming Nao Hong and Diao Yue's thoughts.

The six Shu officers quickly battled the man and with the numerical advantage over him, they beat him quite easily. After beating him, what they didn't know was that the southeaster garrison of Anding Castle opened, clearing a path for Zhuge Liang and Ma Su to head over to attack Cui Liang.

"Great work Shu." Nao Hong spoke to his oldest son with clear pride making the younger boy smile happily as his father. "You too Xing."

"I'm proud of you my daughter." Diao Yue spoke to her and she looked to Nao Shu. "You did very well in protecting your cousin, Nao Shu. Good work."

"Thank you father, aunt." Nao Shu spoke up with a bit of a blush on his face at their praise.

"Thank you mother, uncle." Diao Xing spoke up after with a similar blush on her face. "We did team up quite well together though, cousin Shu."

"Yeah, we did. You did a great job for our first battle." Nao Shu said to her getting a smile from her and their two parents.

"You did really well too. Just wait; in no time at all we'll be just as strong as our parents, maybe as strong as grandfather was."

"You have a long way to go before you are as strong as we are, not to mention our father. I don't think I would even beat my father if he were still here." Nao Hong spoke up to them sadly at the fact that his father was gone.

"Yeah, he was a great warrior." Diao Yue added in sadly making the kids feel a bit sad as well as they had really loved their grandfather and they didn't like it when their parents were sad.

At the same time, enemy officers Xue Ze, Dong Xi, Pan Sui, and Cheng Wu all charged forth from separate garrisons and headed to attack their leader, Liu Shan.

Inside of the garrison where Liu Shan, Nao Ding, and Xing Cai were now staying at, the four enemy officers arrived in groups of two from both of the two entrances.

"Lord Liu Shan, we're under attack." Xing Cai said to her leader as she and Nao Ding chose a side to defend against.

"Don't worry though, Lord Liu Shan, we'll deal with these guys." Nao Ding said getting a smile from Liu Shan as he was truly grateful to have such good friends.

"We will fight together." Liu Shan said simply as he attacked the enemies with his rapier alongside Nao Ding's axe and Xing Cai's sword and shield.

Together, they knew that they could do a lot of damage to their opponents and the determination of both Xing Cai and Nao Ding to protect their friend and Lord, they knew they would win.

A short time later and just as the two officers thought, they beat back the four officers of Wei and sent them into a retreat.

"Good work you two. I am honored to have such good friends in my ranks." Liu Shan said softly to them getting smiles from them.

"Of course, our fathers were sworn brothers of each other so we should always fight together." Xing Cai said to him with a smile.

"Yeah, and our fathers were sworn allies, maybe not brothers but my father always stuck by Lord Liu Bei, so I will stand with you." Nao Ding said getting a smile from the other two officers.

"Either way, I am grateful for you assistance." Liu Shan said and he led them to the next garrison that they would occupy.

Nao Hong and Diao Yue though had just left that area and were headed over to their own garrison to the east to wait for their chance to capture Nan'an Castle.

Zhuge Liang and Ma Su had finally made their way to Anding Castle and saw that the gates were open with the troops inside beginning to move.

The two Shu officers then enter the garrison frightening the officer inside.

"Zhuge Liang! What are you doing here? I thought you'd headed south?" Cui Liang said to the man as he began to battle the two officers.

"That was a lie. I was waiting for you to emerge." Zhuge Liang said as he too began to battle his enemy.

Together with Ma Su, he beat Cui Liang and captured Anding Castle. "You have out-thought me. I have no choice but to surrender." Cui Liang said as the Shu forces captured him.

"My Lord, more enemy forces have appeared, and they are marching right toward us." Ma Su said to the man in worry.

"No, their target will be Lord Liu Shan. We must send word to Nao Hong and Diao Yue to assist him." Zhuge Liang said as he and Ma Su headed over to Nan'an Castle.

The additional forces of Shu then moved to surround Tianshui Castle as that was the plan that Zhuge Liang had made.

"It looks like we're needed somewhere else sister." Nao Hong said to her as he had just gotten word of enemy reinforcements."

"Where too, Hong?" Diao Yue asked him.

"We're headed to intercept enemy reinforcements before they can get to Lord Liu Shan and our brother." He said determinedly as he and his sister got on their horses. "Nao Shu and Diao Xing, let's go. We are heading out to intercept enemy reinforcements." He yelled to them and saw as they got their own horses and they all headed out.

The four loyal officers of Shu moved to save their Lord and their younger brother and they quickly spotted the enemy.

They were led by Zhang He, someone that Nao Hong really didn't like dealing with at all. He also saw someone his father had told them about a few years back.

Their cousin, Nao Feng dressed just as his father had described all those years ago.

"Cousin Nao Feng." Nao Hong calls out which gets his attention.

"I'm guessing you two would be Nao Hong and Diao Yue then, along with your kids." Nao Feng said calmly as he and the other enemy troops halt. "Where is my other cousin, Nao Ding?"

"He's somewhere else, guarding our Lord." Diao Yue said to her cousin as she watched him suspiciously. She had also heard stories about her cousins and her uncles and she knew that Nao Ren and Nao Feng were very ambitious and a bit cold.

"Ah, well I guess I'll see him later then." Nao Feng said to them a bit arrogantly as he thought that he was better than them.

"Ha, as if. You'll have to get passes us first cousin Feng." Nao Hong said as he spun his elongated axe around like it weighed nothing.

"Give it up! Drop your weapons and surrender." Wang Lang spoke up next to Nao Feng as he was tired of hearing their small talk.

"Shu is but a small pebble lying in the path of the rolling boulder that is Wei. Why do you continue to resist?" Zhang He spoke up as he watched them carefully.

"We fight for our father's dream and the dream that was passed down from our former Lord, Liu Bei onto Lord Liu Shan." Diao Yue spoke up angrily at them.

"We will defeat you in the name of Shu." Nao Shu spoke up as he and Diao Xing charged into the battle with their parents.

"Yes, and we will never give up until that dream is realized and you are defeated." Nao Hong added in as he was right next to his sister, charging into the battle.

"Then you will have to be defeated." Nao Feng said as his officers attacked his cousins.

The fight was quite long and difficult for the four Shu officers as they were outnumbered. In order to beat back the enemy Nao Shu and Diao Xing had to fight two enemies with their teamwork and they quickly beat Wang Lang and Cao Zhen.

Nao Hong and Diao Yue were forced away while they used their superior teamwork skills to beat back Zhu Zan and Zhang He leaving Nao Feng.

"Those guys were pretty tough sister."

"Yeah, Nao Feng is more skilled that I thought he would be and that feminine guy was also pretty good, even if he was creepy."

Nao Feng was a bit tired from the fight and also impressed with Nao Shu and Diao Xing's skills. He was also very frustrated at the retreating officers on his side. He hated when he was beaten and this battle was not going in his favor.

"Give up cousins. You can't defeat Wei and you never will." Nao Feng said as he held his curved sword in a defensive stance, hoping that they would retreat.

"I will never give up on my Lord's vision." Nao Hong spoke out angrily, "I will make my father proud of me and I will help to make the world a safer place for my children and my sister's children, like he would have wanted."

"Yeah, I will make the world a better place, where the fighting is over." Nao Shu spoke up to support his father.

"Well if he goes, then I guess I'll have to follow my tag team partner." Diao Xing spoke up teasingly.

"I will follow my family wherever they should go." Diao Yue spoke up determinedly alongside the others.

Nao Feng didn't look very convinced but he did seem to think about it for a while.

He knew that he could not defeat his two cousins in this battle let alone them and their kids.

"Well then cousin Hong, Yue, I suppose I will have to retreat for now." Nao Feng said as once again he did not want to kill his opponent as their father, Nao Yun was closer to him than even his own father. He truly cherished family more than his father did and he didn't want to kill them and so, he decided to retreat.

He got onto his own horse and turned away from the battle while looking over his shoulder. "This is not the end of our conflict cousins. You can be sure of that." Nao Feng told them as he retreated from the battlefield.

Nao Hong, Diao Yue, and their children then saw Zhuge Liang and Ma Su approaching them from their side and wondered what they were doing.

"I see you four defeated the reinforcements." Zhuge Liang said as he looked proud at the officers resting on the ground in front of him. "Ma Su and I were on our way to Nan'an Castle which is close by."

"We will accompany you two there." Diao Yue spoke up happily as she had regained her breath from the fight.

Nao Hong just nodded in agreement as they both congratulated their kids in an excellent fight and they all began to follow the two older Shu officers.

Guan Xing, Zhang Bao, and Zhao Yun all then moved to surround Tianshui Castle while Zhuge Liang and the others went to Nan'an Castle.

"My Lord, I have an idea how to break the Castle of Nan'an. What if we use Cui Liang as a messenger?" Ma Su spoke up as they neared the Castle.

"It is I, Cui Liang! Open the gates, please." Spoke the man as he traveled with them but just as he entered there was man troops and a few officers and Cui Liang turned on them.

"An ambush? It was a trick all along." Ma Su said in surprise as he and the other officers went to battle.

"You really thought I'd surrender to you." Cui Liang said with a laugh as he attacked his enemy.

"The time has come! All forces, forward! Claim Zhuge Liang's head." Xiahou Mao spoke up as he also went to battle.

"This never ends." Nao Hong said simply as he cut down five troops easily with his long axe.

The six Shu officers found themselves in quite the battle as Zhuge Liang and Ma Su were not fighters, but strategists.

This forced Nao Hong, Nao Shu, Diao Xing, and Diao Yue to pick up the slack while the other two provided support.

After a bit of fighting, the Shu forces were successful in their battle and they defeated Xiahou Mao, Cui Liang, Yang Ling, Chen Zao, and Cao Zun and all the defense captains, capturing Nan'an Castle.

"I don't believe that Xiahou Mao would have been able to outsmart Ma Su. Someone must have given him advice." Zhuge Liang spoke up to himself after capturing Nan'an.

"In Tianshui, there is a man called Jiang Wei. They speak of his as a genius." Ma Su spoke to him as they moved towards Tianshui Castle.

"Hmm… I would like to meet this man." Zhuge Liang said simple with a thoughtful look on his face.

As they make their way over to Tianshui Castle, the Central Easter Garrison gates open up revealing two more enemy officers that the six Shu officers quickly engage.

They are Liang Qian and Shangguan Zixiu. The six officers of Shu quickly overpower the enemy officers and head towards their next destination.

The officers then make it to the hill leading up to Tianshui castle as another ambush is then sprung on them.

"A second ambush… The strategy needs refinement, but it shows definite promise. This Jiang Wei interests me more and more." Zhuge Liang spoke mostly to himself.

The Shu forces working together quickly beat back the desperate attempts of victory of the Wei forces.

However, the combined might of the Shu forces beat back Xin Pi, Yin Sheng, Sun Li, and Liang Xu, leaving the remaining Guo Huai.

"I will show you no… mercy." He began before coughing a bit violently and then he finished his sentence.

"Is this guy really going to fight while being that sick?" Nao Hong asked the other officers of Shu

"Don't underestimate him because of that, Hong." Diao Yue said but she did agree with him. After all, he was outnumbered by quite a bit and their enemy seemed really sick.

Guo Huai didn't even stand a chance against the many officers of Shu as they did not hold back on the man although he was able to retreat from the battle.

Zhuge Liang and the others then went into the last Castle of Tianshui. Once they got inside more troops appeared and the gates closed behind them to where only Nao Shu and Diao Xing had made it inside, worrying their parents.

"More enemy forces lying in wait. True commitment to a plan – I like it." Zhuge Liang said to himself as he approached Jiang Wei who seemed to be pretty young.

"A most impressive strategy, my Lord." Jiang Wei began politely, "but I still stand in you path. The battle is not over yet." He said determinedly as he spun his spear around a bit and he got ready for battle.

As Zhuge Liang and the others were fighting Jiang Wei, the castle suddenly went up in flames. "Lord Ma Zun has set the Castle on fire? He means to burn the enemy to death." Jiang Wei spoke up in surprise. "But our men will die too. It may bring victory, but I cannot sacrifice innocent lives." He said as he looked around quickly. "Open the gates! Men, run for you lives."

Jiang Wei then surrendered in front of the might of the Shu army as he got to his knees, knowing that he would stand no chance against such a large for single-handedly.

"Had you abandoned your troops before…" Zhuge Liang spoke up, getting Jiang Wei's attention, "then you may well have been the victor here today."

Jiang Wei just looked disgusted at that thought, "no man with a heart could ever do such a thing." He said getting a smile from Zhuge Liang.

"It seems you too are a man who knows the spirit of benevolence."

"Benevolence?" Jiang Wei asks confused as he looks at Zhuge Liang pointing to his right.

Jiang Wei looks over to see what he assumed was the leader of Shu walking in with two other officers. "Pillaging of the people is unacceptable. The injured must be tended to, even the enemy." Liu Shan spoke up as Zhuge Liang put his hand out to Jiang Wei to help him up.

Jiang Wei took the hand with no hesitation and stood beside Zhuge Liang as Liu Shan came closer. "We are the inheritors to my father's dream of benevolence. We must take pride in that." Liu Shan spoke up as Nao Ding and Xing Cai helped out any person in need.

Jiang Wei couldn't help but think that Liu Shan was a true leader.

Nao Yun - 56 years old. - Deceased

Diao Chan 46 years old. - Deceased

Nao Hong and Diao Yue - 30 years old. (Nao Yun and Diao Chan's kids, cousins of Nao Ling, Sun Dao, and Nao Feng)

Nao Ding - 22 years old. (Nao Yun and Diao Chan's youngest son, cousin of Nao Ling, Sun Dao, and Nao Feng)

Ming Fong - 30 years old (Nao Hong's wife)

Nao Shu - 12 years old. (Nao Hong and Ming Fong's son, Nao Yun and Diao Chan's grandson, and cousin of Diao Xing)

Nao Shuang - 10 year old. (Nao Hong and Ming Fong's younger son, Nao Yun and Diao Chan's second grandson, and cousin of Diao Xing)

Liu Feng - 27 years old. (Liu Bei's adopted son, Diao Yue's husband, and Nao Yun and Diao Chan's son in law) - Deceased

Diao Xing - 12 years old. (Liu Feng and Diao Yue's daughter, Nao Yun and Diao Chan's granddaughter, and cousin of Nao Shu and Nao Shuang)

Liu Bei - 60 years old. - Deceased

Liu Shan - 22 years old. (Liu Bei's son)

Guan Yu - 57 years old. - Deceased

Guan Ping - 25 years old (Guan Yu's adopted son) - Deceased

Guan Xing - 28 years old. (Guan Yu's son)

Guan Suo - 24 years old. (Guan Yu's younger son)

Zhang Fei - 56 years old. - Deceased

Zhang Bao - 28 years old. (Zhang Fei's son)

Xing Cai - 22 years old. (Zhang Fei's daughter)

Nao Ren - 37 years old. (Nao Yun and Nao Tang's older brother) - Deceased

Nao Feng - 38 years old. (Nao Ren's son, cousin to Nao Hong, Diao Yue, Nao Ding, Nao Ling, and Sun Dao)

Nao Tang - 45 years old. (Nao Yun's older brother and Nao Ren's younger brother) - Deceased

Nao Ling -34 years old. (Nao Tang's son, cousin to Nao Hong, Diao Yue, Nao Ding, and Nao Feng)

Sun Dao - 31 yeas old. (Nao Tan's daughter, cousin to Nao Hong, Diao Yue, Nao Ding, and Nao Feng)