Back during the interstellar war, I knew we were in trouble whenever I heard the words 'strategic regrouping'. The list of euphemisms for the simple word 'retreat' gets longer by the day…
-Zheng De Zhao
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Yue Ying pulled up her horse, looking tiredly at the distant dust cloud behind her and the other women. They all leaned over heavily in their saddles, tired from the relentless chase.
Sympathizers on the way had provided fresh horses at regular intervals, often passing on important information about the movement of the Dong Empire's military to the noble ladies to help them escape. Their progress thus far had been rapid, but still they were unable to shake their pursuers.
Yue Ying had thought their escape was too easy, and her worst fears seemed to be confirmed. They wanted us to escape. But for what purpose?
The information they had gained on the run for the past four days answered the question for her. They wanted us to escape, so that they can kill us and demoralize Sun Ce. She frowned. Ruan Shi. He's the one behind this. My dear husband wasn't wrong when he claimed Ruan Shi was the most dangerous man in the land, even more so than Lu Bu.
She made a quick calculation. They were not more than three days' ride left from the river Chang Jiang and the city Jiang Xia. Cross the river, and they would be safe in Wu territory. Time to take a gamble.
"Listen up!" She shouted to get their attention. "We are going to split up!"
"What?" The others were surprised at her instructions. "That's crazy!"
"No!" Yue Ying insisted, "If we split up, it increases the chances that Da Qiao, Xiao Qiao, and Shang Xiang will be able to get back to Wu. That's all it matters. The fate of Wu rests on Sun Ce and Zhou Yu's ability to fend off the coming assault, and they cannot do it if they miss their loved ones!"
"No. We're safer if we stick together." Shang Xiang argued.
"We're no less safe if they catch us." Zhen Ji pointed out. "Yue Ying is right."
The Qiao sisters seem torn between the options, until Zhu Rong and Diao Chan came down squarely on Yue Ying's side. That settled matters.
Yue Ying quickly formed them up. "Da Qiao, Xiao Qiao, you're in one group, and head down straight to Jiang Xia. If I remember rightly, there should be a bridge for you to cross. Zhen Ji, Diao Chan, you're a pair. Head to the west to throw off their pursuit. Shang Xiang, Zhu Rong, go a bit to the east, but not too far. Shang Xiang needs to return to Wu."
Zhu Rong disagreed this time. "And you go it alone? No, I think you should move with Shang Xiang. I can find my own way. Besides, the two of us are too hot headed, and this might be a problem."
Yue Ying stared at the warrior queen, then nodded. "Very well." She kicked the sides of her tiring horse. "Let's not waste time, and start moving now! See you all in Jiang Xia!"
They rode off in 4 different directions, with tears in their eyes. They knew that some of them would probably be caught. They dare not think of the fates in store for those who failed to escape.
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Captain Han Rao was one of the officers tasked to hunt down the fleeing women, and his unit of thirty men had tracked their movements down to an area near the river. He communicated with his superiors by means of messenger pigeons and strategically placed fires, ideas devised by Lord Ruan Shi.
He had been told to move his unit to a small pass where they would be able to spring a trap from which there was no escape. And after he had subdued the women, his orders had been to enjoy himself, and let his men get a share of the spoils as well. The only caveat was that Ruan Shi wanted the dead and defiled bodies of the women to be preserved so that he could display them during the assault to drive the defenders of Wu into madness.
Han Rao loved his job.
The sound of galloping horses made him gesture to his men to keep their heads down. They laid in wait, making not a single sound as Han Rao peeked out from his hiding spot to see two women riders approach the pass. One of them, a woman with flowing long hair, was dressed in green and white armor, wielding a long barbed spear. The other, with her hair cut short, wore a red and beige blouse, with two circular blades on her back. Chakrams, he had heard them called.
He and his men waited tensely as the women rode into the pass, not suspecting a thing. Then he shouted, "Now!"
His men stood up and flung nets over the women. The horses reared up in fright at the sight of flashing steel and the shouts of battles from all around them. The two women brandished their weapons, only to find themselves stuck in the nets.
"Get them!" Han Rao leapt down from his hiding spot down to the pass, and then running forward with his cudgel. Most of his men were armed with blunt weapons as well. Take them alive, had been the orders.
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Sun Shang Xiang tried unsuccessfully to quell the fear running unchecked through her body as she struggled to free herself from the net that had entangled her feet and arms. She had managed to hold out her chakrams, but she had barely enough space to bring it round with enough speed to cut through the net. She could try sawing through them, and it was taking too long.
Yue Ying was in even worse trouble. She had been leading the way into the pass, and the men had reached her first. Her horse had collapsed onto the ground, almost trapping her if she had not managed to roll away in time. But to no avail, as the men descended on her with leering smiles and cruel weapons.
Sun Ren screamed for her friend as Yue Ying was being beaten into unconsciousness. The men smashed down with their cudgels and staves, while Yue Ying struggled to free herself from her own net.
Then it was her turn as five men surrounded her. Shang Xiang swore and cursed with all the anger she could muster as they hit her again and again. A blow to her chest left her breathless, while two powerful blows to her back sent her sprawling to the floor.
She lifted her head up in time to see Yue Ying freed from the nets, but being carried up into the air by a big soldier with both his brawny arms. He brought Yue Ying's body and slender waist down across his knee.
"Arrghhh!" Yue Ying shrieked in pain, then dropped to the ground in defeat, barely awake.
Shang Xiang didn't think it could get worse, but it did. They pulled her up painfully by her hair, then one man proceeded to drive his staff with incredible force into her belly. Shang Xiang gasped, all the air in her lungs driven out by the attack. She fell to her knees, her limbs drained of any resistance.
They pulled the nets off her, and started to tear off her armor. "No! Please stop! You can't do this!" Lady Sun screamed in fear, begging for help and pleading for them to stop, but their sneering glances at her chest and the area between her legs left her with no illusions as to their intentions.
Yue Ying was in similar straits. An officer, by the looks of his uniform, was eagerly grabbing pieces of the green armor over her torso and pulling it off roughly, alternating it with more blows to her damaged waist, right in the middle of the golden buckle that adorned her waist.
Shang Xiang hung her head in defeat. They had failed in their escape, and now they would pay the price. She tried to prevent them from pulling off her clothes, but it was half hearted and with the knowledge that it was useless. She was left with only one short shirt on her as protection.
"Bring them along first!" The officer shouted in victory. "We'll enjoy them away from this place!"
His men agreed heartily, scaring Sun Ren out of her wits as they fondled her body while binding her arms and legs with rough rope. She found herself carried by another large man over his shoulder. The same was done to Yue Ying, who was by now clad only in the barest of undergarments after her armor and outer clothing had been removed.
Shang Xiang groaned. Is this how it is going to end? With our rape and defilement? And then death? Oh please, Heavens, kill me now and spare me the agony and humiliation!
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"Come one, come on! Vroom, vroom!" Zheng De Zhao said while his hands mimicked the movements of driving a car, while he rode the wagon being pulled by two horses. "We're shifting into fourth gear already and you're still so slow! Can't you boys pick it up just a little bit?" He griped at his horses. Two almost identical neighs answered him.
They were moving at not much faster than walking speed.
Zheng flung his hands up in resignation. "I am fucking bored!" He shouted out in English. "This is fucking slow, and I'm fucking tired of having my fucking route changed every few fucking days!"
It had been a long two weeks of travel, since his departure from Xi Tou with his cargo of wine and Kuo Fan's letters. From An Le he had wanted to get to Xin Ye, and then to cross Chang Jiang at Jiang Ling, but severe flooding of the Yu river near Xin Ye had forced him to veer away and go toward Yi Yang.
Then rumors of some large scale military movements blocking the routes from Yi Yang to Jiang Ling forced him to continue east towards Ping Chun. At Ping Chun, he thought he would have an easy run down to Jiang Xia, but then some sort of landslide blocked many of the roads from Ping Chun. He had been forced to detour yet again along the Huai river before he was able to turn south.
And now he was still a week's worth of slow and excruciating ride away from Wu.
He reached down to his pouch, as he often did when he had nothing to do. He opened the pouch, taking out the jade necklace, and stared at it sadly. He continued looking at it for an entire hour, engulfed in his memories.
The hot afternoon sun beat its scorching rays mercilessly down onto the ground, but Zheng barely noticed.
Then his ears suddenly picked up something. Zheng tucked the necklace into the pouch, and halted the wagon, jerking on the reins of the horses. He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on the sounds.
I can hear the laughter of men, the sound of weapons. He frowned. Is it my problem?
His curiosity getting the better of him, Zheng got off the wagon, and crept slowly towards the direction of the sound, coming from a patch of forest just to the left of the road ahead.
He saw a group of men, cavorting wildly in their camp. But of far more interest were the two women bound by their hands and feet in the middle of the clearing. The leering faces cast the women's way made the situation entirely clear to Zheng.
Those bastards! He was already reaching for his sword before his brain caught up with his hands in time. No, if I fight, the women might be harmed. I must devise some ploy…
Then he thought of the wine. And his supply of sleeping pills.
I hope this is worth it, Zheng grumbled to himself as he dumped his entire supply of sleeping pills into the urns of wine. Here goes my sleep, and hello to eternal insomnia for the rest of my days.
He took a small stick from the ground, and gave the contents of the urns a few stirs. Water soluble sleeping tablets, what a wonderful invention, he thought.
Okay, he started the wagon moving forward, here goes nothing.
When he reached the point of the road near the camp, he shouted out upon coming into clear view of the camp, "Wine! Huamei Wine from Xi Tou!"
Almost immediately, a soldier blocked his path, a spear in hand, its business end pointed at him, "Who are you?"
"Wha… What?" Zheng pretended to be surprised. "Just a merchant passing through! Would you like a sniff of my wine?"
The soldier stared at him, then grinned, "Yeah!"
"Come on! Come on!" Zheng smiled as he lifted up one urn for the soldier to smell. Delight over the man's face told him the rest. The soldier reached for the urn, but Zheng held the urn back. "Wait! If you want, help me get these urns to your fellow soldiers!"
"All right!" The soldier clapped his hands in glee.
"What's this?" An officer came up to them as Zheng was lifting up two urns.
You can never be too polite, especially to officers. "Oh, great lord!" said Zheng, "I see your men need some refreshments! I am willing to part with my load of wine in return for a favor!"
"And that is?" The officer's eyes glinted suspiciously.
"Oh, just some time with those two fine women over there!" Zheng gestured to the two bound women. "Nothing special, but they're so pretty…" Zheng threw in a perverted leer, "As long as my lord allows me some time with them, I would consider that payment in full for the wine!"
The officer blinked, and Zheng could hear the wheels spinning in his brain. Oh sure, why not? They're prisoners. Nobody gives a damn about prisoners. They can't be anyone important, because important people aren't left with only one layer of clothes while being leered at by a bunch of horny soldiers.
The officer grinned slowly, "Wine and women together. What could be better? Come on, bring up the wine!"
"Of course, my lord!" Zheng smiled, lugging the urns up to the camp along with the soldier helping him. He ogled the two women looking at him, and he gave them a wink and a leer as he walked past them, which made them stare at him in disgust. One of them, a short haired girl, muttered, "Lecher." The other woman, a long haired woman, simply spat at him in the face.
Zheng slowly wiped off the spittle on his face with one sleeve. "Aw," he taunted, playing his part of the lecher to the hilt, "Such beauty should not be paired with such attitude!"
"Hah!" The officer laughed, "These girls have attitude all right! But it'll be beaten out of them, and forced out of them very soon!" His men laughed along, and Zheng laughed as well, while trying to clamp down on the warm feelings in his groin. After all, I'm still a man, and those ladies are really beautiful.
He poured the wine from the urns into their bowls, and soon every man had a bowl of wine. Zheng toasted them, lifting up his own bowl, "To the brave men of Han Rao! May all of you achieve victory in battle!"
They roared with approval, and drank down their bowls eagerly. Zheng made a quick motion and threw his portion into the ground without anybody noticing. Then he started pouring out more wine for them, encouraging them to drink more.
Han Rao shouted, "Since I've had my taste of wine, I think I should now have a taste of woman! As officer, I should be first!" His men laughed, and Han Rao started walking towards the women.
Then he suddenly stopped, one hand reaching up to his head, "What? I feel so tired…" Then Han Rao fell to the ground in a heap.
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Yue Ying stared in amazement as the men who had captured them all fell to the ground, dropping their weapons.
Then she saw the wine merchant, the only one still on his feet, walk over. He simply wants to take advantage of us first! She hissed at him in anger, "Go away, scum!"
He was a tall, lean but strong-looking man, standing even taller than General Zhao Yun, with a thin beard and moustache on his face. He looked not much more than thirty years old, though the beard and moustache made him look a bit ridiculous. But the leering grin on his face was gone, replaced by a deadly seriousness. His eyes were like chips of black steel, with hidden depths in them. His clothes were that of a peasant, but he carried himself with a grace and authority that did not suit his poor attire.
"I'm here to help." He said without preamble, leaning and cutting away her bonds with a single flick of the dagger in his hand.
Yue Ying immediately swung her hand up to strike him, but he caught her hand easily, twisting it in his grasp and moving up behind her, her arm pinned to her back. She could feel his warm body against her rear, and Yue Ying blushed angrily at her compromising position. He could defile me…
"I said I'm here to help." He repeated, without any anger in his voice. He then released her arm.
Yue Ying spun around, reaching down to the ground for a nearby sword. She held it out in front of her, only to find the man had turned his back to her and was now cutting Sun Shang Xiang loose. Shang Xiang, for her part, looked totally bewildered at this turn of events.
He turned to Yue Ying, "I just lost a great deal of money on that wine to rescue you, and this is what you think I am?" He rolled his eyes as he started to walk towards a part of the camp. "Sheesh."
"What?" Yue Ying asked, as she ran over to Sun Shang Xiang to help her up. "Who are you?" If he's not the enemy, then who is he? He doesn't seem to know who we are, or else he would have been a lot more respectful. That rules him out as one of Zhang Zhao's agents.
"That's the first good question you asked today." The man replied, his dagger prying open a chest, and revealing some men's clothing. "I'm Zheng De Zhao. Vagrant, merchant, ne'er do well."
He handed them the clothes, "And you two ladies are?"
Yue Ying stared at the bundle he held out to her, then shook her head to focus herself. She took the clothes, even though they were for men. Right now, anything was better than running around almost naked. Sun Ren was still slightly in shock over the rapid turn of events, leaning against a tree.
"I am Huang Yue Ying, wife of," her throat caught for a moment, "Zhuge Liang of Shu. And the other lady is Lady Sun Shang Xiang of Wu. If you know what's good for you, you'd treat us with more respect from now on."
"What?" Zheng had been walking around the clearing, slitting the throats of the sleeping men. It was his turn to be the one in disbelief now. He gaped at her and Lady Sun, who were pulling over the extra clothes over their thin layers.
"Yue Ying? Sun Shang Xiang?" He asked, shaking his head and clearly not believing her. "Then what are you doing here?"
"We were captured by Dong Zhuo" Shang Xiang spoke now. "He forced us into his dungeons and tortured us for weeks. We managed to escape Luoyang, and were trying to get to Wu, where my brother Sun Ce could offer protection and future vengeance on the usurper and his bandits." Her voice was heavy with barely controlled rage. "Touch us and you will die, lecher."
He gazed at them for a while, before he went back to killing the men of Han Rao's troop. "Okay, assuming you are who you claim you are, what are you going to do now?"
Yue Ying looked at Sun Shang Xiang, and Sun nodded slightly. Yue Ying walked silently up behind Zheng, who was killing the last of the troop, and knocked him unconscious with a vicious blow to the head using the hilt of her sword.
"That's for ogling us when we were helpless," Lady Sun started to run for the wagon. "Come on, Yue Ying, he had horses, two of them. We can use them to ride to my brother. The other troops must be getting near. We have to start moving, now!"
Yue Ying stared down at the man at her feet. He had killed the troop, so he should not be in any immediate danger unless a patrol passed by, which seemed unlikely as most of the patrols they had to dodge were arrayed to block them. But she did feel a pang of regret for repaying his aid with harm. She knelt down beside his body, and said, "I'm sorry. One day, or in a future life, I'll repay this debt to you."
She then stood up, and ran for the horses, which Sun Shang Xiang had detached from the wagon.
The two women rode off, leaving behind the wagon, the camp, lots of dead bodies, and one seemingly unconscious man.
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Zheng De Zhao got up once he was sure they were out of sight, rubbing the back of his aching head with both hands, and smirked to himself, "Women with attitude indeed."
He had feigned unconsciousness, and he had been prepared when Yue Ying had hit him, rolling with the blow just enough to reduce the impact. Did they really thought they could sneak up on him?
He got up, and collected a bow and a quiver of arrows from the dead troop, as well as several more flasks of water and food. He then looked at the urns of wine, and decided to take along two small bags of the spiked wine as well. Something told him it might be useful.
He started walking down the road at a hard marching pace, following the tracks of the horses. It was a tough pace he was used to ever since training at infantry school, and he estimated he could still cover about 60 klicks per day. Of course, with it being so late in the afternoon, he had only a few hours of light left.
I suppose I could continue walking at night by moonlight. It's not as if I can sleep anyway, he reasoned. He pushed forward, moving fast and eating up the ground with his long strides. Sure as hell I'm moving faster than those damn horses were back there!
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The horses weren't very good. They weren't warhorses, just cheap quality horses, barely more than ponies, meant for menial tasks and lowly peasants. Sun Shang Xiang wanted to curse at Zheng De Zhao for supplying them with such lousy horses, but she supposed she should be grateful to him that they were out of that fix at all.
Yue Ying rode forward in silence, and Shang Xiang had been around her long enough to know that Yue Ying was regretting her actions back at the camp, and thinking if she really should have knocked out that blasted lecher. Second guessing herself.
"That lecher should be fine back there." Shang Xiang offered to her friend as they rode, trying to ignore the sounds of their pursuers close behind. But inwardly, she was still angry at him for not helping them from the very beginning. And he had the temerity to ogle them when they were tied up! To top it all off, he never apologized!
"I'm thinking we should have asked him nicely. He did help us, after all."
"But he could just be tricking us and then betraying us to Dong Zhuo for a reward. No, this was for the best."
Yue Ying was about to reply when her horse stumbled and fell to the ground. Yue Ying managed to land safely on her feet, but the horse laid panting, its legs moving weakly. Sun Shang Xiang had been around horses long enough to know when they had been pushed to the brink of death.
"Yue Ying, come on!" Shang Xiang reached out her hand, and pulled Yue Ying up onto her horse, despite her own exhaustion. Between the lack of rest in their frantic flight and the beating they had taken when they were captured, they were in no shape for any kind of battle.
"This can't last!" Yue Ying exclaimed. "Your horse isn't much better!"
"We have no choice!"
"Then leave me!"
"No!" Shang Xiang gritted her teeth. "I'll not leave you behind! We left the prison together, we're going to reach Wu together!"
More shouts from behind them warned them of the pursuit, spurring them on as desperation grew in their hearts. The tiring horse started to slow down despite their best exhortations.
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Going on foot is sometimes faster than riding, Zheng mused as he dashed through the dense forest. There are places a man can go where a horse can't.
He had cut through the dense forests, relying almost completely on his instincts and his internal compass for directions. A map told him the route which Yue Ying and Sun Shang Xiang were taking, the same route he had planned to take with the wine wagon to Jiang Xia. It was a bit winding, but that also offered him the chance to reduce the travel time drastically under the present circumstances.
The sound of cavalry patrols hot on the heels of the women had been his cue, and so Zheng, not knowing exactly why he was doing so, found himself running to catch up to the women on horseback.
He ran out of the forest in time to see the two women on a single horse ride towards him. He could see their faces of sheer incredulity as he gave them a jaunty salute. "Hi there! Did you miss me?"
"Watch out!" Yue Ying yelled at Sun Shang Xiang, who narrowly missed Zheng as she pulled the panting horse to a slower pace.
"What are you doing here, pervert?" Lady Sun snapped at him.
Just behind them were a troop of pursuing cavalry. Zheng narrowed his eyes, and did not answer Shang Xiang. He slapped their horse once to force it to keep moving and not stop, "Keep on riding forward, but slow down and don't kill the beast. I'll delay the pursuit."
"That's about fifteen cavalrymen behind us, and more than thirty soldiers! Are you insane?" Shang Xiang asked.
"Don't worry," Zheng said seriously. "I know what I'm doing."
Shang Xiang shook her head and turned away, "Stupid lecher. Go on and die then, idiot!"
"Stay alive," Yue Ying added.
"I will." He answered solemnly. The two women rode off.
I cannot stop all the horsemen if they decide to ride past me. I have to block their passage somehow… De Zhao took the two water bags filled with wine out, and doused a rag with the alcohol, then wrapped it around an arrow. He scattered the remaining alcohol on the ground, then ran further down the road, lighting up the raghead arrow with a tinder. He stopped about 60 meters down the road, then notched the arrow to his bow.
"Cry havoc! And let slip the dogs of war…" Zheng De Zhao muttered to himself as he timed their approach. Now.
He fired the arrow, letting it travel in an arc and down to the ground, on the spot where he had scattered the wine. The ground burst into flames, seconds before the horses reached the flames. The horses suddenly reared back in panic, unwilling to dash through the flames.
Zheng took out normal arrows from the quiver, and he was shooting them off quickly at the enemy cavalrymen while they were momentarily stuck and trying to get their mounts under control. He took out ten of their number before the wine was burnt away and they moved forward again.
Dropping his bow, De Zhao took out his sword. His left hand remained empty. He stood in the middle of the road, a silent, menacing presence. The cavalrymen, caught up in the chase, were too far gone to notice that they were going to be dead. Five cavalrymen? No problem.
"Die!" One horseman yelled as he charged Zheng with his spear, but De Zhao swung up his sword right in the face of the horse. The horse automatically twisted its head away, and the movement was enough to distract the rider that Zheng was able to grab the spear around the tip and the middle of the shaft with his left arm, unbalancing the cavalryman and toppling him from his mount as he pulled hard on the weapon.
One quick stroke from his sword ended the man's life.
The four remaining cavalrymen charged him, and Zheng stabbed forward with the spear while leaping into the air and slashing with his sword. Two more cavalrymen fell from their horses, dead from fatal wounds. The last two riders circled around him, with him in the middle, trying to split his attention, but Zheng charged one side with his sword. As the other cavalryman attacked his back, he suddenly reversed his grip on the spear, pointing its tip behind him and letting the horseman ride straight into its tip, impaling him right through.
"Get him!" An officer yelled at his unit of infantry, but Zheng smiled. He remembered what Talon Zahn had said of him.
Talon Zahn shifted forward in his seat, staring intently at Zheng, "Above all, this is the best for you. All creatures cannot abandon their natures, and yours is to kill. You're never meant for piloting a desk. This mission will offer you what you need most, what you have been missing."
Talon said the next words softly, but somehow enhancing the emphasis on them, "The thrill of battle."
He was right. Zheng rampaged through the ranks of the footmen, his weapons a blur of steel as he cut through Dong Zhuo's soldiers. After they had lost more than half their number, the rest broke, running away in fear. So did the cavalrymen. I am a killer. It's my nature. I can no more ignore it than a tiger could avoid eating meat.
Grinning at the success of his plan, Zheng dropped the spear and quickly mounted an available horse, then grabbed the reins of two of the freshest looking horses. He started the small group of horses moving quickly down the road. Another troop of soldiers were on the way.
He caught up with the tiring horse, and shouted to Yue Ying and Sun Shang Xiang. "Extra horses, courtesy of Dong Zhuo! Come on, get on them!"
They stared at him, soaked with blood from the men he had killed in close combat and looking a real mess. Sun Shang Xiang and Yue Ying quickly got onto the new horses.
"You defeated the entire troop?" Sun Shang Xiang asked incredulously as they raced down the road to Jiang Xia.
"Oh no, not all of them. Just enough to break their morale for a while." He grinned. "Now, I want you two to leap off your horses to the right. The bush will cushion your fall. We're going into the forest."
"What? Has the sun addled your brain, lecher?" Sun Shang Xiang shook her head, "It's too difficult to find our direction in there. We could get lost easily!"
"I know the way," Zheng said. Or at least I hope I do. "And if it's difficult, the same goes for those chasing us. The horses will continue running down the road. This will throw them off our tracks. We can cross the river anywhere near Jiang Xia when we come out."
Yue Ying agreed, "It's a good plan. Nobody will expect us to go into the forest, and it's dangerous for them to chase us in there."
"Sorry, Lady Sun, you just got outvoted. Okay, get ready. On three!" Zheng counted out loud, then shouted, "Jump!"
They jumped off the horses into the bushes. Ignoring the minor scratches from the plants, Zheng was the first to get up, walking over to Lady Sun and pulling her to her feet as Yue Ying got up as well.
The three of them ran into the deep forest.
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Jiang Xia
Sun Ce took another look at the map of the region, trying to get his mind working. For the umpteenth time that day, he wondered where Da Qiao was. Where are you, my wife? Are you hurt? Injured? Hungry? If anything happens to you, I will tear apart Dong Zhuo with my bare hands!
Zhang Zhao had received several messenger pigeons from his spies three days ago, informing him of the successful breakout from the Luoyang dungeons. He had informed Sun Ce, who immediately mobilized the armies of Wu to Jiang Xia, where they would be in a position to assist his wife in her escape.
But then there came news of a massive enemy force on the march to Jiang Ling, which sent all his generals into a frenzy of preparation.
Sun Ce was stuck. If he was to oppose the enemy when the inevitable occurred and they attacked across the Chang Jiang, it was imperative that he march his armies to Chang Ling and make ready for battle.
But there was the matter of Da Qiao, his beloved wife…
"My lord, Lord Zhou Yu wishes to see you," an aide informed him.
"Send him in." Sun Ce stood to receive his sworn brother, closest friend, and advisor.
"Any news of the Qiao sisters?" Sun Ce asked anxiously, only for Zhou Yu to shake his head. Zhou Yu was clearly worried as well, his smooth face uncharacteristically lined with wrinkles from staring at too many maps and reports from the past few days.
Zhou Yu swallowed hard, "Sun Ce, I think we have no choice but to leave Jiang Xia for Chang Ling. Lu Bu is leading the attack across the Chang Jiang, and we will need every last warrior there if we are to stand a chance."
"And you would abandon Xiao Qiao and Da Qiao in their time of need?" Sun Ce asked slowly.
Zhou Yu's face was deathly pale as he spoke, "The survival of the Kingdom of Wu depends on our holding our side of Chang Jiang. Lose it, and we'll be overrun in less than a year."
The advisor closed his eyes in pain, "If anything happens to Xiao Qiao, I will grieve forever. But what is my grief compared to the grief of the common folk under Dong Zhuo's tyranny if he rules over all?"
Sun Ce nodded slowly in agreement. "I know, my friend, I know. I feel the same way, am torn just like you. I wish to stay here and wait for my sister and my wife, but I know my responsibilities."
The man the people named "The Little Conqueror" said, "We will wait another three days. If we receive no word, then I shall leave a detachment here, while we march to Chang Ling. Three days, my friend. It should not make such a difference."
Zhou Yu nodded. "Three days then. Let us hope for the best."
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Well, that's it for this chapter. I'd have to state flat out that the character of Zheng De Zhao is partly based by Xiang Shao Long from "A Step into the Past". I'll mix and match features from the games, the actual history, and the novelized version. So ages, abilities and looks would be an amalgamation of collated data. For example, Wei Yan would be the same gnarled warrior from the games, but he loses his stutter and speaks like a normal man. Characters still have their 'musou' attacks, although in this case I'll call them 'nei qi'(inner energy) attacks that require more energy than usual to set up and use., inflicting greater damage in a shorter amount of time.
The story timeline also differs significantly from the actual timeline, simply because Ruan Shi's meddling in 190 AD messed things up, and Dong Zhuo never had to abandon Luo Yang. For example, Chi Bi happened earlier in 203 AD, not 208 AD. Sun Ce didn't die. Yuan Shao met his end at Ruan Shi's blade early on in 192 AD, and the three(four, including Dong Zhuo's) kingdoms formed earlier than in actual accounts, because their competitors(Liu Biao, Yuan Shao etc) were wiped out fairly quickly. Again, Ruan Shi was behind many of the changes.
Bahamaboy-Glad you liked it! Now, if others would do the same and give me reviews…
