The Empire Long United Chapter 6
Yong, Yi, Xu, and Qing strike: The alliances first skirmishes
'Ji Jia's army approaches!' A soldier yelled. Chen Fu looked up from his scrolls, mildly interested. 'They are being lead by the traitor Liu Huang. I desire a volunteer to battle them.' Chen Fu said. One man stepped forward. 'Allow me to punish the traitor.' Chen Fu eyed the speaker. He wore entirely silver armor and had long black hair held back in a ponytail. He wielded a giant halberd. 'Are you sure you are up to the task Lu Xi?' Chen Fu asked. 'I am not known as the hero of the west for nothing. I shall return with Liu Huang's head by the end of the day.' Lu Xi boasted. 'Give me ten thousand men and they shall scatter!' Chen Fu approved, and Lu Xi rode out of Yong An with his ten thousand men. 'Why do you invade our province?' Lu Xi yelled. 'I bear a mandate from Ji Jia to conquer Yi! Surrender now!' Liu Huang replied. Lu Xi rode out. 'He wants to duel me? He has no idea who he's up against.' Liu Huang said. Liu Huang waved his hand, and another officer rode out to challenge Lu Xi. 'Who are you to fight me?' Lu Xi asked. 'I am Cai Liang!' The officer replied. 'You're a traitor that's what you are!' Lu Xi said, charging Cai Liang. Cai Liang raised his spear and uttered a battle cry. The two warriors passed, and Cai Liang fell from his horse, dead. Liu Huang snorted. 'He's better then I thought.' He muttered. 'Who shall fight me next?' Lu Xi said. Liu Huang rode forward and pulled his sword out. 'You shall fall by my blade!' He yelled. 'A weakling like you stands no chance against me!' Lu Xi said. The two locked blades and began to battle, all other troops forgotten. 'You've some skill for a riverlander.' Liu Huang said. 'I have more skill then you could possibly imagine.' Lu Xi said. Lu Xi then turned and began to retreat towards his own line. 'Coward! Come back and fight!' Liu Huang said, chasing after him. Lu Xi grinned, and allowed Liu Huang to catch up to him. 'He's dead now!' Liu Huang thought. At the last possible moment, Lu Xi swung around, swinging his halberd. Liu Huang had no time to block as the halberd cut into him. Lu Xi pulled the halberd from Liu Huang's lifeless body and raised it above his head. 'Press the slaughter!' He yelled, charging for the Song troops. Demoralized and without a leader, many of the soldiers surrendered.
Cao Li looked down on the advancing Song force. A slight wind shot by, blowing Cao Li's long black hair into her face. 'Quite a few of them eh Guo Xun?' She asked. 'Indeed milady. There are many of them. Though they are easily routable.' Guo Xun said. 'So I'll assume then you have a plan.' Cao Li said. 'Of course milady. I would be useless as a strategist if I didn't.' Guo Xun said with a laugh. 'I should've known.' Cao Li said. Hoof beats were heard and Cao Li turned. 'What kind of leader leaves their troops right in the middle of a battle?' The rider said. 'One must always be aware of the battlefield. That's why I left the troops under your command Xiahou Jue.' Cao Li said. 'Ji Jia's troops are advancing rapidly! We have to defeat them and reclaim the capital!' Xiahou Jue said. Cao Li nodded and looked up towards the sky. 'The sun will set soon, and with it so shall Song.' She said. 'This would be an excellent time to put my plan into action milady.' Guo Xun said. 'Might I ask for your permission to carry it out?' He asked. Cao Li nodded 'Let's see what you've got!' She said. Guo Xun nodded and rode off. 'I shall be ready in one hour. Then you shall see the method to my madness.' Guo Xun said. 'Let's return to camp Xiahou Jue.' Cao Li said. 'At last she's making some sense.' Xiahou Jue thought. Cao Li entered her camp and heard a yell from the sentries. 'Three riders approach milady!' Cao Li laughed. 'What's so funny?' Xiahou Jue asked. 'It's simple. They've come to try and make peace so they can divert more of their forces south-ward.' Cao Li said. She looked up at the sentries. 'We have guests. Mind you manners girls.' She said. 'Yes Ma'am!' They said. The camp gate slammed shut behind Xiahou Jue. 'Aren't you even going to speak to the man?' He asked. The riders rode up to the gate. 'My lord and master Ji Jia sends his greetings. He has no quarrel with the Yong province forces or their prefect. He wishes for there to peace between our two forces. Allow us to enter your camp so we may discuss the issue.' The rider said. One of the sentries spoke up. 'We can here you just fine from here!' She said. 'How impudent! You women need to learn some respect!' The rider said. 'Respect? What's that?' A sentry asked. 'We haven't had any respect since the day we were born!' Another said. At this point, the sentries began to fire arrows, and the three riders rode off. 'And don't come back!' A sentry said. 'You'll get more of that in the battle!' another said. 'Quite a bunch you've got trained cousin.' Xiahou Jue said. Cao Li just snickered and drank some wine. 'Ji Jia's forces won't stand a chance once Guo Xun puts his plan into effect.' Cao Li thought. Awhile later, Guo Xun returned. 'The units are in place milady. All we need know is for you to provoke the enemy and retreat.' Guo Xun said. 'All right then! We shall set out! We have to defeat them before their general arrives.' Cao Li said. Cao Li's force mounted their horses, grabbed their weapons, and charged towards the Song camp. 'Come out and fight us you cowards!' The troops yelled. All one hundred thousand soldiers charged out of the camp and began to chase Cao Li's forces. 'Pull back!' She yelled. Her troops complied, and they began to withdraw. 'Is this all that Cao Li can put up with?' The captain said, chasing after them. The chase lead them into an open field. The captain looked around and saw all sorts of large logs covered in tar. 'Odd. What can they hope to do with these?' He said. At that moment, a single fire arrow shot into the field. 'All units retreat!' the captain yelled. They turned to flee, but found their escape blocked by the flames. 'Damn them! They had this planned!' The captain yelled. Suddenly, Cao Li's troops attacked. They slew many, and the fields ran with blood. The captain managed to escape with five hundred men and retreated back to his fort, only to have arrows shot down at him. 'What took you so long? We captured your fort a long time ago!' Xiahou Jue called down. Xiahou Jue fitted an arrow to his bow and shot the captain. 'And we captured it without even drawing our swords!' Xiahou Jue said, allowing Cao Li's victorious men into the fort.
Liu Jin looked over the recently conquered city of Jiao. 'After this, all that stands between Xu Chang and us are a few villages. One final push and Song shall fall.' Liu Jin said. 'Ji Jia's army under the lead of Matriel is approaching!' Liu Jin grinned. 'Send out Song Chen to do battle. We shall crush them!' Liu Jin said. Song Chen rode with twenty thousand men to meet Matriel. 'Traitor! Upstart! How dare you raise rebellion!' Song Chen yelled. 'I never served that weakling Emperor, nor did I ever live under him, so how could I be a traitor?' Matriel replied, pulling his mace off of his back. He swung it around. 'This time, I shall not lose.' He thought. He charged towards Song Chen, who pulled out a set of twin swords. Matriel let out a shout as they passed, and Song Chen's head went flying through the air, leaving a bloody trail as it flew. 'Go!' Matriel yelled. Liu Jin's forces retreated into the castle, reporting to Liu Jin the rout and Song Chen's demise. 'We shall have to go through a change of tactics. We shall go on the defensive. The gates are not to be opened. We'll have to wait them out.'
Mi Xu swung his lance and cut down another soldier. 'Let's wipe them out!' He yelled, cutting down another soldier. Mi Xu grinned. His men were all stalwarts, warriors who had experienced constant battles against the Qiang and Hun tribes. They wouldn't lose easily. Song's forces began to retreat, and Mi Xu's troops occupied the city. 'If this is all they've got, we will capture the capital in very little time!' Mi Xu said. As soon as order was restored in the city, Mi Xu feasted his men. 'To our upcoming victory against Ji Jia! And to the victory of the Emperor!' Mi Xu said, raising his drink. All others, troops and generals alike, did the same. 'Men, tonight, at the brink of our next battle, eat and drink to your heart's content! Come daybreak, we march on the enemy!' Mi Xu said. The next day, as he had said, Mi Xu marched to do battle with eighty thousand troops. 'Sir! A Song army under the command of Fei Daorong is approaching!' A soldier said. Mi Xu laughed, and the two armies faced each other. Fei Daorong rode forward, wearing a suit of black armor. 'Who shall fight me?' He said. A general from Mi Xu's side shot out, spear raised. Fei Daorong killed him with a single spear thrust. 'Pathetic.' He said. At that point, Mi Xu raised his lance and charged out. 'I shall be your opponent!' He said, twirling his lance. Fei Daorong looked at him once, and blocked Mi Xu attack. Mi Xu tried to attack again, but his attack was again blocked. Fei Daorong then began his offensive, causing Mi Xu to defend. They locked blades, and the two armies converged. Mi Xu broke off from Fei Daorong's attack, and managed to avoid him. Fei Daorong suddenly found himself surrounded by Mi Xu's men. Fei snorted, and twirled his Guan Dao over his head. Wasting no words, he stabbed it into one soldier's head, killing the soldier instantly. He pulled the blade out, and cut another soldier in half. Using the opposite end of the weapon, he hit one soldier in the stomach, then swung the blade around him, sending ten soldiers flying. 'He's Lu Bu incarnate!' One soldier yelled. 'No! He's worse! He's a demon!' Another yelled. Mi Xu heard this and drew his crossbow. He won't escape me this time.' He said. He loaded an arrow into it and began to look around for Fei. He saw Fei swinging his Guan Dao, cutting down any nearby soldiers. 'Heavens, guide my shot!' He fired the crossbow, watching the arrow pierce Fei's armor. 'Success?' He thought. Fei was on the ground, knocked over by the force of the blow. 'Did I kill him?' Mi Xu thought. Fei Daorong sat up, grunting in pain. 'Dammit!' He swore. One of Fei's men helped him up onto a horse, and the Song forces began to retreat.
For anyone who doesn't know, a Guan Dao is the weapon Guan Yu uses. Also, to answer the question of an anonymous reviewer, I'm sorry but you can't use Dark Wolf. Both it and Xiahou Shang belong to Dragonridley, so you need his permission.
Yong, Yi, Xu, and Qing strike: The alliances first skirmishes
'Ji Jia's army approaches!' A soldier yelled. Chen Fu looked up from his scrolls, mildly interested. 'They are being lead by the traitor Liu Huang. I desire a volunteer to battle them.' Chen Fu said. One man stepped forward. 'Allow me to punish the traitor.' Chen Fu eyed the speaker. He wore entirely silver armor and had long black hair held back in a ponytail. He wielded a giant halberd. 'Are you sure you are up to the task Lu Xi?' Chen Fu asked. 'I am not known as the hero of the west for nothing. I shall return with Liu Huang's head by the end of the day.' Lu Xi boasted. 'Give me ten thousand men and they shall scatter!' Chen Fu approved, and Lu Xi rode out of Yong An with his ten thousand men. 'Why do you invade our province?' Lu Xi yelled. 'I bear a mandate from Ji Jia to conquer Yi! Surrender now!' Liu Huang replied. Lu Xi rode out. 'He wants to duel me? He has no idea who he's up against.' Liu Huang said. Liu Huang waved his hand, and another officer rode out to challenge Lu Xi. 'Who are you to fight me?' Lu Xi asked. 'I am Cai Liang!' The officer replied. 'You're a traitor that's what you are!' Lu Xi said, charging Cai Liang. Cai Liang raised his spear and uttered a battle cry. The two warriors passed, and Cai Liang fell from his horse, dead. Liu Huang snorted. 'He's better then I thought.' He muttered. 'Who shall fight me next?' Lu Xi said. Liu Huang rode forward and pulled his sword out. 'You shall fall by my blade!' He yelled. 'A weakling like you stands no chance against me!' Lu Xi said. The two locked blades and began to battle, all other troops forgotten. 'You've some skill for a riverlander.' Liu Huang said. 'I have more skill then you could possibly imagine.' Lu Xi said. Lu Xi then turned and began to retreat towards his own line. 'Coward! Come back and fight!' Liu Huang said, chasing after him. Lu Xi grinned, and allowed Liu Huang to catch up to him. 'He's dead now!' Liu Huang thought. At the last possible moment, Lu Xi swung around, swinging his halberd. Liu Huang had no time to block as the halberd cut into him. Lu Xi pulled the halberd from Liu Huang's lifeless body and raised it above his head. 'Press the slaughter!' He yelled, charging for the Song troops. Demoralized and without a leader, many of the soldiers surrendered.
Cao Li looked down on the advancing Song force. A slight wind shot by, blowing Cao Li's long black hair into her face. 'Quite a few of them eh Guo Xun?' She asked. 'Indeed milady. There are many of them. Though they are easily routable.' Guo Xun said. 'So I'll assume then you have a plan.' Cao Li said. 'Of course milady. I would be useless as a strategist if I didn't.' Guo Xun said with a laugh. 'I should've known.' Cao Li said. Hoof beats were heard and Cao Li turned. 'What kind of leader leaves their troops right in the middle of a battle?' The rider said. 'One must always be aware of the battlefield. That's why I left the troops under your command Xiahou Jue.' Cao Li said. 'Ji Jia's troops are advancing rapidly! We have to defeat them and reclaim the capital!' Xiahou Jue said. Cao Li nodded and looked up towards the sky. 'The sun will set soon, and with it so shall Song.' She said. 'This would be an excellent time to put my plan into action milady.' Guo Xun said. 'Might I ask for your permission to carry it out?' He asked. Cao Li nodded 'Let's see what you've got!' She said. Guo Xun nodded and rode off. 'I shall be ready in one hour. Then you shall see the method to my madness.' Guo Xun said. 'Let's return to camp Xiahou Jue.' Cao Li said. 'At last she's making some sense.' Xiahou Jue thought. Cao Li entered her camp and heard a yell from the sentries. 'Three riders approach milady!' Cao Li laughed. 'What's so funny?' Xiahou Jue asked. 'It's simple. They've come to try and make peace so they can divert more of their forces south-ward.' Cao Li said. She looked up at the sentries. 'We have guests. Mind you manners girls.' She said. 'Yes Ma'am!' They said. The camp gate slammed shut behind Xiahou Jue. 'Aren't you even going to speak to the man?' He asked. The riders rode up to the gate. 'My lord and master Ji Jia sends his greetings. He has no quarrel with the Yong province forces or their prefect. He wishes for there to peace between our two forces. Allow us to enter your camp so we may discuss the issue.' The rider said. One of the sentries spoke up. 'We can here you just fine from here!' She said. 'How impudent! You women need to learn some respect!' The rider said. 'Respect? What's that?' A sentry asked. 'We haven't had any respect since the day we were born!' Another said. At this point, the sentries began to fire arrows, and the three riders rode off. 'And don't come back!' A sentry said. 'You'll get more of that in the battle!' another said. 'Quite a bunch you've got trained cousin.' Xiahou Jue said. Cao Li just snickered and drank some wine. 'Ji Jia's forces won't stand a chance once Guo Xun puts his plan into effect.' Cao Li thought. Awhile later, Guo Xun returned. 'The units are in place milady. All we need know is for you to provoke the enemy and retreat.' Guo Xun said. 'All right then! We shall set out! We have to defeat them before their general arrives.' Cao Li said. Cao Li's force mounted their horses, grabbed their weapons, and charged towards the Song camp. 'Come out and fight us you cowards!' The troops yelled. All one hundred thousand soldiers charged out of the camp and began to chase Cao Li's forces. 'Pull back!' She yelled. Her troops complied, and they began to withdraw. 'Is this all that Cao Li can put up with?' The captain said, chasing after them. The chase lead them into an open field. The captain looked around and saw all sorts of large logs covered in tar. 'Odd. What can they hope to do with these?' He said. At that moment, a single fire arrow shot into the field. 'All units retreat!' the captain yelled. They turned to flee, but found their escape blocked by the flames. 'Damn them! They had this planned!' The captain yelled. Suddenly, Cao Li's troops attacked. They slew many, and the fields ran with blood. The captain managed to escape with five hundred men and retreated back to his fort, only to have arrows shot down at him. 'What took you so long? We captured your fort a long time ago!' Xiahou Jue called down. Xiahou Jue fitted an arrow to his bow and shot the captain. 'And we captured it without even drawing our swords!' Xiahou Jue said, allowing Cao Li's victorious men into the fort.
Liu Jin looked over the recently conquered city of Jiao. 'After this, all that stands between Xu Chang and us are a few villages. One final push and Song shall fall.' Liu Jin said. 'Ji Jia's army under the lead of Matriel is approaching!' Liu Jin grinned. 'Send out Song Chen to do battle. We shall crush them!' Liu Jin said. Song Chen rode with twenty thousand men to meet Matriel. 'Traitor! Upstart! How dare you raise rebellion!' Song Chen yelled. 'I never served that weakling Emperor, nor did I ever live under him, so how could I be a traitor?' Matriel replied, pulling his mace off of his back. He swung it around. 'This time, I shall not lose.' He thought. He charged towards Song Chen, who pulled out a set of twin swords. Matriel let out a shout as they passed, and Song Chen's head went flying through the air, leaving a bloody trail as it flew. 'Go!' Matriel yelled. Liu Jin's forces retreated into the castle, reporting to Liu Jin the rout and Song Chen's demise. 'We shall have to go through a change of tactics. We shall go on the defensive. The gates are not to be opened. We'll have to wait them out.'
Mi Xu swung his lance and cut down another soldier. 'Let's wipe them out!' He yelled, cutting down another soldier. Mi Xu grinned. His men were all stalwarts, warriors who had experienced constant battles against the Qiang and Hun tribes. They wouldn't lose easily. Song's forces began to retreat, and Mi Xu's troops occupied the city. 'If this is all they've got, we will capture the capital in very little time!' Mi Xu said. As soon as order was restored in the city, Mi Xu feasted his men. 'To our upcoming victory against Ji Jia! And to the victory of the Emperor!' Mi Xu said, raising his drink. All others, troops and generals alike, did the same. 'Men, tonight, at the brink of our next battle, eat and drink to your heart's content! Come daybreak, we march on the enemy!' Mi Xu said. The next day, as he had said, Mi Xu marched to do battle with eighty thousand troops. 'Sir! A Song army under the command of Fei Daorong is approaching!' A soldier said. Mi Xu laughed, and the two armies faced each other. Fei Daorong rode forward, wearing a suit of black armor. 'Who shall fight me?' He said. A general from Mi Xu's side shot out, spear raised. Fei Daorong killed him with a single spear thrust. 'Pathetic.' He said. At that point, Mi Xu raised his lance and charged out. 'I shall be your opponent!' He said, twirling his lance. Fei Daorong looked at him once, and blocked Mi Xu attack. Mi Xu tried to attack again, but his attack was again blocked. Fei Daorong then began his offensive, causing Mi Xu to defend. They locked blades, and the two armies converged. Mi Xu broke off from Fei Daorong's attack, and managed to avoid him. Fei Daorong suddenly found himself surrounded by Mi Xu's men. Fei snorted, and twirled his Guan Dao over his head. Wasting no words, he stabbed it into one soldier's head, killing the soldier instantly. He pulled the blade out, and cut another soldier in half. Using the opposite end of the weapon, he hit one soldier in the stomach, then swung the blade around him, sending ten soldiers flying. 'He's Lu Bu incarnate!' One soldier yelled. 'No! He's worse! He's a demon!' Another yelled. Mi Xu heard this and drew his crossbow. He won't escape me this time.' He said. He loaded an arrow into it and began to look around for Fei. He saw Fei swinging his Guan Dao, cutting down any nearby soldiers. 'Heavens, guide my shot!' He fired the crossbow, watching the arrow pierce Fei's armor. 'Success?' He thought. Fei was on the ground, knocked over by the force of the blow. 'Did I kill him?' Mi Xu thought. Fei Daorong sat up, grunting in pain. 'Dammit!' He swore. One of Fei's men helped him up onto a horse, and the Song forces began to retreat.
For anyone who doesn't know, a Guan Dao is the weapon Guan Yu uses. Also, to answer the question of an anonymous reviewer, I'm sorry but you can't use Dark Wolf. Both it and Xiahou Shang belong to Dragonridley, so you need his permission.