Chapter 1
A light breeze whipped strands of long dark hair across the youthful face of Zhao Yun as he stared down into the pass.
"I count 100 of them, sir," the officer mounted next to him said.
Down in the gorge, whipping a cloud of dusk high into the sky was a parade of mounted soldiers moving slowly up the winding path. Zhao Yun and his men had almost certainly been spotted, but the caravan of soldiers paid them no heed.
"Do they truly not see us?" Shin Mai asked in disbelief.
"They see us," Zhao Yun answered softly, almost to himself. "The Roman arrogance knows no limits."
"We should report back to Master Zhuge Liang. This is merely an expeditionary force, just as he suspected."
Zhao Yun made no reply and showed no sign of preparing to depart. His eyes remained fixed on the procession of cavalry snaking leisurely past them.
"Sir…"
"This Roman force has trespassed far enough into Shu-Han territory. I will go down to confront them." He spun his horse around roughly and set his cold gaze upon the young officer. "Set the archers along to Northern ridge to await my signal."
"It is not my place to disobey sir, but Master Liang…"
"Master Liang trusts my judgement." His tone was harsh, harsher than Shin Mai had ever heard the general speak. "I am in command here!" He kicked his steed hard, and dashed off with his bodyguards falling in behind him.
Shin Mai watched as the general galloped off toward the slope in the distance that led down into the gorge. The small band of Romans stood no chance against the 2000 strong force that surrounded them. Should the signal be given, a slaughter would no doubt ensue. "Lieutenant," he commanded. A man ran up next to him and dropped to one knee. "Prepare your bowmen along the northern ridge."
"Yes sir." The man ran off and Shin Mai watched as Zhao Yun and his men poured down the slope toward the Roman forces. Their fate now rested in his hands.
"Are you going to end it here Zilong," he whispered to himself. "Will the death of one hundred Romans satisfy your lust for revenge?"
Zhao Yun could see that the procession had come to a halt as he raced toward them. They made no sign of preparing for battle, but Zilong knew what each and every man in the procession knew. If a battle were to erupt, it would be a blood bath.
The general continued toward them at top speed and skidded to a halt when he was only a dozen yards from the leader of the van. He wheeled his steed around wildly and locked eyes with the Roman general.
He was young and Zilong guessed him to be in his early twenties. He showed no sign of fear and if anything seemed annoyed with the sudden appearance of Zhao Yun and his two-dozen cavalry bodyguards.
Neither spoke for what seemed an eternity. Zhao Yun stared at the man with a fiery hatred in his eyes that the other man must have understood. Finally, the Roman general spoke quickly in Latin to the young Chinese boy who stood next to his horse. The boy stepped forward and proclaimed: "In the name of the Holy Emperor of Rome you are ordered to step aside and allow passage of this van."
Zhao Yun balked. "Who is this man and under what authority does he bring soldiers into our land? Shu-Han forbids the presence of Roman soldiers here and this incursion is nothing less than an act of war."
The Roman General stepped forward and replied without waiting for the translation. The young boy listened silently and then spoke again to Zilong. "Roman trading posts within your territory have not been adequately protected and the military reserves the right to protect its interests here."
"We will deal with Roman trading posts as we see fit," Zilong replied sharply. He could barely contain his rage any longer seeing this Chinese slave-child speak for the murderous regime of Rome. He lifted his spear and pointed it straight at the enemy general. "Turn back now or your head will be the only part of you to return home."
He boy turned to his master and began to explain in Latin, but the general lifted his palm up and silenced him. Again he stared straight into Zilong's eyes. Neither man seemed ready to back down and the tension on both sides built to a climax as Zhao Yun lifted his spear into the air and the archers upon the ridge pulled back their bowstrings.
At the last minute though, the Roman general signaled to his men and they all began to turn their horses around. The general waited though, perhaps memorizing Zhao Yun's face. Finally, he declared something forcefully in Latin and turned to follow his men. No translation was needed though for Zilong. He was sure the two were to face each other again. Soon.
Mi Zhu listened intently as Shin Mai explained what had occurred in the gorge at Jian Wei to the emperor Liu Bei. The emperor listened listlessly and Zhu was sure he couldn't see the urgency of the situation. He stood from his place next to the Emperor to interrupt the young officer. "Your majesty, a force should be sent to Jian Wei immediately."
Liu Bei, never before sensing such urgency in his advisor before, seemed perplexed. "Send a detachment to Jian Wei? Excuse me for saying, but I believe you are overestimating the importance of this confrontation."
"The Roman army would never send a simple force of one hundred soldiers out this far into China," Mi Zhu responded. "You can be sure that where you see one hundred, there are in actuality thousands."
"Impossible," Liu Bei stated simply. He was not one to disagree with his trusted advisor, but it was unfathomable that a Roman invasion force was approaching them. "Between them and us lies the Parthian dynasty."
"It is possible, my lord, that the Roman army has traveled faster than news itself."
"You're saying they have conquered the Parthians and now they've come for China?" It was too much to believe.
"I do not know the motives of these foreigners, but I know that a detachment of so few soldiers would not have come all this way alone. Precaution must be taken until this matter can be explored and understood."
"Zhu," Liu Bei explained. "Wei currently approaches from the East, and Wu would seize on any opportunity to capture Jingzhou from us. A detachment simply cannot be afforded.
"Master Zhuge Liang, what say you?" Mi Zhu said, turning toward where the man sat in the corner of the room among the shadows. He remained seated for a moment, perhaps lost in thought. Eventually he stood and stepped into the light.
"Guan Yu is to be removed from Jingzhou and placed in control of Hanzhong. I myself will go to Jian Wei with Zhao Yun to face this new threat."
"Guan Yu will never accept," Liu Bei replied plaintively. "His honor is at stake in Jingzhou."
"This is what you will do," Zhuge Liang stated, more as if he were foretelling the future than as if he were putting forth advice. "Send a messenger bestowing upon Guan Yu the title of General Who Promotes Peace in the West. At the same time tell him that a replacement will be sent so that he may see to the most important task of protecting the empire at Hanzhong. His honor will be maintained and his replacement will fulfill the task of evacuating Jingzhou."
"Sacrificing Jingzhou for an invisible enemy Zhuge Liang?" Mi Zhu asked. "I don't think a force the size that you request will be needed to protect Jian Wei. Why must we abandon Jingzhou?"
The slightest of smiles crept across Zhuge Liang's face. "For our gift of Jingzhou, all we ask Wu in return is their help in defeating Wei once and for all."
Zhao Yun and Zhuge Liang relaxed in the Minister's tent as the last of the conscripts bearing his books left. "Master Liang," Zilong said after a time. "Did the Emperor tell you about… my past?"
"He did."
Zilong stared down at the chess set between them, never looking up to make eye contact with Liang. "Why have I been chosen to lead this expedition? My bias against the Romans will surely cloud my judgment as it did before."
"Zilong," the minister answered kindly. "Your bias is exactly the reason I have chosen you to lead here." Zhao Yun looked up and was surprised to see the Minister smiling at him warmly. "The warrior's struggle does not end when he leaves the battlefield. Just as winter and death are the harbingers of summer and life, the warrior must at once confront his demons while at the same time know that those same demons give him the very qualities needed to overcome them."
Zhao Yun smiled back at the Minster as he stared into his eyes from across the table that separated them. "Thank you Minister," he whispered.
The moment was interrupted by a commotion growing outside the tent. Both men rushed outside to see one of the scouts approaching. "Ten, maybe twenty thousand," the young man was saying as he jumped from his horse. He was panting for breath and pointing off into the distance. "They make their way through the pass now, stopping neither to eat or sleep."
The commotion throughout the camp was growing louder as word spread. Master Liang tilted his head back and looked up into the night sky. "So it begins," he whispered to himself.
With that, he turned to Zhao Yun and lifted his brilliant white fan up into the air. "Ready the troops. The Romans attack tonight!"