Disclaimer: All characters in this story are the rightful property of Disney, except for Luo Jin, Captain Hsiao Tso-liang and Captain Ma Yuan, who belong to icedragon6171 and Captain Wo Chen and Huo Feng who belong to me!:)

I wanted to make a little correction to the last of the Historical Notes, something that was kindly corrected by Chaotic Serenity. Here I'm pasting what (s)he posted on his/her review:

"A minor correction to your author's note - while human sacrifice was a fairly common practice in the early periods of Chinese culture, it was more or less abolished with the rise of the Qin Dynasty. It shows up a couple more times historically here and there, but not on the widely practiced scale that it was before. The extravagance of early Chinese burials was rather fiercely criticized by a number of later philosophers, so renewal of the practice was limited to few emperors after Qin. Not to necessarily suggest that what you're saying is incorrect; merely that Shang and Mulan are more likely living in one of the latter dynasties, where the practice wouldn't be as common."

As it will be explained in more detail in later chapters, for those of you who are curious, this story is set during the Tang dynasty. To be more specific, during the reign of emperor Taizong (4 September 626 – 10 July 649), who is typically considered done of the greatest emperors in Chinese history. Around this time (bit of artistic license here and there), there were several campaigns against the Turks (the Eastern Turks), which would be later continued by his son and successor emperor Gaozong (against the Western Turks). I decided to change the timelines a bit and have the campaign against the Western Turks during Taizong's reign because the portrayal of old and wise emperor we see in both the Disney movie and icedragon6171's chapters agrees more with the figure of Taizong than Gaozong, who was generally viewed as a weak ruler.

Towards the Setting Sun

Chapter 21

Cries, screams and shouts could be heard throughout the whole camp. The gong situated atop one of the vigilance towers was restlessly giving the alarm. The ambushing Turks had not only broken the silence of the night, but they had also broken through the walls of the Chinese camp and were destroying everything they found in their paths.

Mulan searched hurriedly around her tent for her sword and any other weapon she could find before she exited to face the enemy.

"Captain! We need you! The troops are a disaster! No organization whatsoever! If we don't do something soon, they are going to take over in no time!" A soldier suddenly bursted into the tent without even bothering to ask for authorization, however the situation excused him from any rules of etiquette towards commanding officers.

Mulan gave a curt nod and grabbed her bow and quiver from a corner of the tent, belted her sword to her waist and exited hurriedly after the soldier. 'It will have to do', she thought looking at her training tunic. She hadn't had time to put on her armour, and suddenly she shivered when a Turk killed one of her men right in front of her eyes. She hoped the lack of body protection didn't become too great an inconvenience during the fight.

"Come on, men!" She said after having killed her first opponent. "Try to get the higher ground! Go up to the watch towers and shoot your arrows from there!"

Some distance away she was able to spot General Su ordering his men to stay together no matter what. It didn't matter. Whatever they tried to do, the Turks seemed to be always one step ahead.

It had not yet been two weeks since they had arrived to the camp after attaining victory in the last battle, the "Battle of the Canyon", as it was now called among the men, nonetheless many men had been injured, and two weeks was barely enough time for all of them to heal. Even if the Turks were not much better off, they had taken their chance after many lost battles. They knew that not one soldier of the Chinese Army would have ever expected an ambush. So they took a chance and attacked when they knew that the Chinese would be too weak to effectively retaliate.

Mulan fought without stopping. She had lost track of time, and the sky refused to give her any signal of the hour, for the moon was covered by thick clouds, as if foreshadowing bad omens. She had already earned herself several wounds due to her weak defense. She could almost hear Shang's voice shouting to her not to raise her arm too high and to firmly hold her sword in front of her torso, to protect her weakest points. She thanked her ancestors for letting those wounds be nothing but superficial, but she made a note to practice more often to correct all those mistakes Shang spent so much time pointing out. She tried to assist her men in every way possible, but she was having difficulties herself to stay on her feet. Two times had she already been thrown to the floor by her opponent due to her lack of balance, and it was only thanks to the presence of some of her men that she had been able to stay alive.

Mulan observed that, no matter how many men she killed, another one was right behind to replace him, whilst the numbers of the Chinese Army were dwindling quickly. She was tired. She had barely slept during those few days after the battle, instead taking the time to assist the injured and helping the Generals with the reports, and it was all taking a toll on her now. The sword felt heavy in her hand, heavier than usual, and the warning cries from her men beside her seemed like eerie voices from some other strange world.

"Captain Fa! Move away!" shouted a soldier warning her against an attack.

Too late. The Turk's sword sank into the skin of her leg. It wasn't too deep, but deeper than what it would have been if she hadn't lowered her guard so much. What was she thinking? This was a matter of life and death! She shouldn't be so carefree! Mulan couldn't believe the Shang-like turn her thoughts had taken, but even she had to admit he was right in that aspect, especially considering her current situation.

She watched as her own blood stained her clothing and was able to notice the distinct smell of blood. She had to walk away, gain some time to think about what the troops could do to overcome the situation. She suddenly realised that the infirmary wing was probably in need of all the protection it could get. She decided to head that way, using the darkness of the night and her fellow soldiers tents to avoid being seen, while she thought about what would be the best course of action.

…

Shang was successfully parrying all the attacks directed at him. It wasn't too hard since the majority of the Turkish ambushers were fighting near the main doors and the mess hall. He, on the other side was currently fighting a few opponents with the aid of some of his fighting his own men by the infirmary. Shang was perfectly aware of the fact that the wounded men were too weak to defend themselves, so someone else had to do it for them.

As he successfully dispatched yet another enemy, he saw how some of the men, who were atop the vigilance towers shot arrows at the space below. However it was not the arrows which Shang was most worried about. It was the fire the soldiers had used to ignite those arrows that bothered him. They could burn out the whole camp! Nevertheless, the strategy was proving to be effective.

It was true that the Turks had had the element of surprise, but after having lost the Battle of the Canyon, they had suffered many more losses than the Chinese, so the number of ambushing Turks was not too great, and that was the main advantage of the Chinese Army, one that they had only just begun to use. Shang saw that many of his men were situated in the vantage points: atop the vigilance areas (probably General Su's idea). The fiery arrows were scattering the Turkish troops, which made it all the easier to kill them, and some of them had even begun to flee.

'Or maybe they have just advanced towards the inner part of the camp.' Shang thought referring to his current position upon seeing that they were quickly being surrounded. One of his men felt limply to the floor, after one of the Turks cut his throat with his wicked curved dagger. He had only five men left. All of them against the horde of Turks that had just arrived.

He was standing back to back with his men, calculating and analysing every single possibility of attack.

"All together at the count of three." He whispered to his men with clenched teeth.

...One...

...Two...

...Three...

"NOW!" At Shang's command they all jumped into action. The General fought like a graceful feline, using both his sword and fists. He parried every stroke, blocked every attack, and was able to do so without even getting a scratch. Nevertheless he was distracted by the cry of agony of one of his men, who had been given a fatal wound. The author of said wound took the opportunity of Shang's distraction to render him harmless: he approached from behind and hit him in the head with the hilt of his sword. Shang's vision suddenly became all blurry, and then, just as he felt his own blood trickling from the wound and down his cheek, he blacked out.

...

Mulan had been able to stop the bleeding on her leg by tying a piece of cloth she had found inside a tent around her leg. After having taken care of her wound, she went to where the infirmary was located. What she saw when she reached her destination took her breath away, in the worst sense of the expression: two Turks were dragging an unconscious Shang away while some others, about six more, fought against Shang's men, not allowing them to approach their General. She knew she had to do something, but due to her wound she couldn't possibly join the fight, for she would be more of an inconvenience for her men than an asset. She would have to use her wit.

She slowly took an arrow from her quiver and placed it on her bow and then, instead of shooting from her hidden vantage spot, she did the unexpected...

"Drop your weapons!" She shouted to the Turks, as she stepped out, all the while pointing her arrow at the ones who carried the General. The Chinese soldiers quickly positioned themselves beside her, both to protect her (since she was wounded), and to threaten the enemy.

"You speak my language, right?" Mulan continued with a scowl. The Turk was too surprised to answer with words, so he just nodded. "Good, then you heard me, drop your weapons and lay him down, you piece of filth!" She continued in an angry tone.

The Turk she was talking to suddenly started laughing and said with a much accented voice:

"A mere girl is going to tell me what to do? I don't think so..."

He took a dagger out and placed on Shang's throat as if trying to prove his point. Mulan's heart rattled impatiently in protest; however she managed to keep a calm expression. The men beside her prepared to attack. She told them to stay down without moving her gaze away from Shang's body. 'They want to play hard?' Mulan thought. 'We'll play hard...'

"I think she is. Especially considering that the arrow belonging to this "mere girl" is currently pointing at that part of your anatomy that makes you such a man. So if you want to keep your virility, I advise you to do as I say." Mulan replied mirroring the disdain she had previously detected in his voice.

The man swallowed hard, but he didn't waver.

"Do you want me to prove it? I advise you, my aim is perfect. Having said that she threw her arrow at the soldier standing beside him. It went straight through his throat, and before the arrow even managed to reach its destination, Mulan had already placed a new one on her bow. "Believe me now?"

"That was a big mistake. We outnumber you, not to mention you are wounded and you want what I currently have. I don't think you are in any position to make demands, much less to kill my men." The Turk said in an eerily calm voice.

Mulan knew he was right. She had to think of something! For the obvious reasons that the Turk himself had stated, they could not possibly attack, so the only possibility left was...

...to improvise.

It was their last hope, especially Shang's, so she prayed for it to work.

"Do you really think I'm in no position to make demands? I wouldn't be so sure... I've got men positioned all around us. You are currently surrounded, my friend. As soon as I give the order, they'll shoot the arrows and you will be no more than history. However I'm feeling compassionate tonight. I'll give you the chance to leave alive if you lay him down."

"Why should we trust you? How do we know that you are not bluffing, that this is not some scheme to get rid of us?" The Turk asked, but doubt was written all over his face.

"You don't, I suppose. But if I'm telling the truth and you don't do as I say, it will mean instant death for you and your men. Is that what you want? After all, each one is free to choose how to die." Mulan replied with a confidence she was not feeling at all.

That last sentence managed to convince them. They accepted the deal and Mulan signalled the man to her right to retrieve the unconscious General. Once he was retrieved Mulan said: "Now you are free to leave. Go before I change my mind.

"Captain."Said one of the men once the Turks had left. "What you said about the men posted all around us, ready to shoot at your signal wasn't true, was it?

"Indeed, it wasn't"

"Then why did you risk so much? What if they hadn't believed it?"

Mulan was too tired to reprimand the soldier for questioning her authority so she just answered: "But they did. That's what strategy is all about: knowing when to take a specific course of action and when not to do so," she looked pointedly at him. "In that moment, the best thing to do was to improvise, so I did. Sun Tzu says in his "Art Of War": 'the skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting.' You'll do well to remember that, soldier. Now let's get the General to safety before we assist the rest of the troop."

...

The results of the ambush had been catastrophic for the Chinese Army. Now they had even more wounded men, whole sections of the camp to repair and not to mention an unconscious General who, after several hours hadn't even given the slightest signal of waking up.

In conclusion: the situation was a disaster.

After having more or less organised the camp, taken the wounded to the medical tent (Shang was placed in his own tent, which offered more privacy), and having done all the things which required an officer's supervision, General Su called an emergency officers meeting in the mess hall.

"We cannot continue like this. If we want to return home any time soon, we have to find some sort of solution." Said General Su once all the men were reunited. This ambush has had disastrous consequences for our troops. No matter how many battles we win, more importantly, how many battles we make them lose, they always find a way to counterattack."

Mulan slowly stood up signalling that way that she wanted to say something.

"Captain Fa, please, anything you'd like to add?" General Su said motioning for her to stand beside him facing the rest of the men.

Upon standing before them, Mulan couldn't help but feel slightly overwhelmed. These men were waiting for her to talk. They had an interest in what she might say. She was considered an equal. Despite the current situation she felt truly amazed by that.

"Fellow officers." She started in an authoritative tone she didn't really know she possessed. She supposed it was due to Shang's influence. "As General Su just said, no matter how many battles we win, they keep charging back. We were able to see tonight that they know our weak points, and that even if we dominate them on the battlefield, they do so in the matters of strategy. So I think it's time that changed, don't you? And for that I think I might have a plan..."

...

It was already dawn when General Su called Mulan to his tent. Even though she was very tired she knew she had to obey, and also everything had to be ready in order to carry out her plan in time.

"General." She called from outside to signal her presence.

"Come in, Captain, and sit down." Mulan did as she had been asked to. "Your plan..." The General continued. "Even if I think it might be a bit risky, I support it. I think it might be the only solution right now."

"Actually, General, what I explained back there was only part of the plan." Mulan said looking straight into his eyes as if to show him just how crucial the matter was. "The rest is what I'm going to explain now, however in order for it to be successful; you cannot tell any of the men, especially not General Li..."