A/N: Hello All! I know this is late but happy new year! I hope the year has started off well for everyone. I forgot to thank one of my readers, darkassassin15, in my last author's note for kindly reminding me of Liu Bei's people munching ways. It inspired me to write the whole cannibalism bit so thank you Darkassassin15!
Here's the first chapter of the new year. I tried to make it a little bit longer since I took so long to come out with it. I hope it was worth the wait. Enjoy!
Zhao Yun – Zǐlóng
Zhang Fei - Yìdé
Zhang He – Jùnyì
Xun Yu – Wénruò
Xun You - Gōngdá
Liu Bei – Xuándé
Cao Cao – Mèngdé
Li Dian – Mànchéng
Xiahou Dun – Yuánràng
Xiahou Yuan – Miàocái
Guo Jia – Fèngxiào
Yue Jin – Wenqian
Xu Zhu – Zhòngkāng
Yu Jin – Wenze
Xu Huang – Gōngmíng
Guo Tu – Gōngzé
Tian Feng – Yuánhào
Shen Pei – Zhèngnán
Cao Ren – Zǐxiào
Cao Pi – Zǐhuán
Man Chong – Bóníng
Jia Xu – Wénhé
"We cannot delay any longer. We must leave tonight."
Murmurs of agreement came from many within the circle of men that huddled around the bonfire used to stave off the chill that came with the night. Light flickered across the faces of men mentally and physically worn from the last few weeks they had to endure under the leadership of their lord Liu Bei.
"But to leave lord Bei like this…it seems wrong," came a protest. A few murmurs agreed with this sentiment, but far fewer than the ones that agreed with fleeing.
"Wrong? What HE allowed was wrong!" The original speaker argued.
"I think you are mistaken. It was just regular meat—"
"Don't tell me it was just regular meat! I have been a hunter for all of my life as was my father before me and his father before him. We have eaten every animal in this land and not ONE of them tasted like that thing they were giving us."
A chorus of agreement rose from the group.
"And how could they find food when we couldn't?" Another voice argued. "We looked everywhere, there were just no animals to be found. That area was barren, yet they found enough to feed the entire army?"
More murmurs of agreement.
"They are smarter than us," the man argued. "That is why they are the leaders and we aren't!"
"Tch, smarter than you maybe," another man argued. "You seem to forget that the injured just suddenly started disappearing the same time the food appeared—"
"There is no proof of that!" he said cutting him off.
"There is! I had a friend in there that was injured. I would visit him all the time. Then suddenly he just up and disappeared."
"He fled! Just like the others! They grew fearful because of the situation we were in. Lord Bei said so. They should be grateful that in lord Bei's benevolence, he did not hunt them down."
"Lord Bei lied! My friend wouldn't have just left. Not without telling me. We grew up together. We joined together and we swore that we would make sure we would make it home together."
"I guess he lied then," the man replied with a sneer.
Angered, he lunged towards the man for speaking so ill of his friend, only to find himself blocked by the others in the group.
"Stop it! That's enough! Fighting amongst ourselves will not solve anything. Whoever doesn't want to leave just stay. I think it is foolish to do so, but it is your right. We are leaving…we only ask that you do not tell on us."
"What is going on here?" All men froze at the sound of a new voice. Guiltily, they turned to face Zhao Yun, his face masked by the darkness.
"M-Master Zǐlóng…we weren't doing—"
"They were going to flee!" exclaimed the man that had been defending Liu Bei.
The one being held by the others tried to lunge at him again, but they kept him restrained. They didn't need the matter getting any worse than it already was. Zhao Yun took a step closer, his face still obscured by shadow, but part of his body now illuminated by the bonfire.
"Who are the ones that wanted to flee?"
Quickly, those that were against the plan separated themselves from the others; their numbers far smaller than those that wanted to leave. Yun eyed the group.
"I will handle this. The rest of you leave us."
They did as they were told, heading back towards the main camp, whispering to each other their theories on the punishment they were going to receive.
"Master Zǐlóng," began the man who first suggested that they leave. "We will not lie to you. We did intend to flee. I know that it is shameful, but please, before you cast your judgment, hear us out."
Yun moved closer to the group. The orange flame of the bonfire fully illuminating his grim visage.
"I'm listening," he replied.
The man nodded and took a deep breath to steady himself. He looked at the others that stood around him, they gave him and nod, letting him know they stood with him. Feeling empowered by the support of his fellows, he faced Yun once more and pleaded his case.
"Master Zǐlóng, we believe you to be a man of honor and virtue. Knowing this, you have to see that something is seriously wrong here. The food that lord Bei and Master Yìdé gave us…it's not right."
Yun looked around to the people gathered. When not at war, these men were responsible for the hunting in the army. These men were hunters and farmers before they joined with Liu Bei and they continued to use their talents to support him. If there was something off with the meat, these men would know. They can confirm the suspicion he already had for weeks.
"What do you mean it is not right? Speak plainly."
"That's no meat I know of. I've hunted for years and had the benefit of eating many animals…and the misfortune of eating a bit of vermin too. I know for a fact— WE know for a fact, that isn't normal meat. That's why you haven't eaten it too, right?"
Yun masked his surprise at this declaration. He didn't think anyone noticed that he hadn't eaten the food. Indeed, he had avoided it. He knew something was off with it, so he stuck to eating rice and whatever else he could get his hands on to sustain himself.
"So what is it then?" Yun asked in place of answering.
"We think it is our fellow soldiers…the ones that have been injured. They've been disappearing. Lord Bei and Master Yìdé tell us they ran away, but I personally knew some of them. They wouldn't have run."
Yun's hands balled into tight fist. He already suspected this, but to hear someone else confirm his fears, it enraged him. He could scarcely believe that Bei and Fei would turn to their own soldiers as a food source.
"We can't keep serving a man like this, master Zǐlóng. He betrayed us first. If you must punish us, then do so, but I refuse to serve Liu Bei any longer."
The others standing with him agreed and now all eyes were focused on Yun as they waited for his reaction to their declaration. Yun turned from the group, he looked over his shoulder to them.
"If you are going to leave, do so now. My suggestion would be to stay out of Yuan Shao's territories if possible. Good luck."
They looked at each other, surprised and relieved that Yun chose to let them go.
"You truly are a man of honor and virtue. Please…don't stay here. A man like you…Liu Bei does not deserve you."
Yun did not reply. He walked away from the group in silence, disappearing back into the darkness from which he came. The group would not waste such an opportunity. They quickly tossed dirt over the bonfire to snuff out its flames and fled into the woods. They weren't sure what fate lay in wait for them ahead, but to them, it was better than anything they could get from staying with Liu Bei.
"Kind of you to let them leave," said Xun Yu as Yun got closer to the main camp.
"I am more surprised that you did not slink out of your hiding spot to object," Yun replied as he stopped in front of the Yu.
"Ha…So you did know that I was there. I couldn't very well blame them. To be honest…I have been pondering my place here as well. Lord Xuándé has been pushing the laws of decency far too many times for my liking."
"So you knew what the meat was then?"
Yu let out a soft sigh. "Unfortunately I did. The first and last time I tasted it, I knew something was a bit off with it. I asked the hunters, the very same that just fled, where they got it from. They said that it wasn't their catch, but Yìdé's. The minute I heard he was involved, I knew something was fishy. I followed him on one of his "hunts". The bastard indeed had been taking the infirm and using them as a food source."
"Lord Xuándé knows of this?" Yun asked. He feebly hoped that somehow, someway, Bei was ignorant of all this and it was Yìdé who masterminded this.
"I'm afraid he does," Yu confirmed. "He has even been attempting to help cover up the disappearances. It is Yìdé who does all the dirty work though. The only thing Lord Xuándé can claim innocence of is not knowing exactly how bad the people Yìdé have been selecting were. Yìdé isn't a fool. He knows that if our troops eat the sick, they in turn would become ill. He has been killing off those that were relatively healthy but had been disabled in battle."
That was it. That was all Yun needed to hear. Tonight his spear will taste the blood of Zhang Fei. He would pay for the death of Zhu Fa and countless others. Before Yun could even move a muscle Yu grabbed hold of his arm.
"Let me go," Yun said calmly, though his body was trembling with fury.
"I understand your anger and disgust, but I must ask you to stay your hand."
"They have killed our men and used them for food and you ask me to remain calm?!"
"They aren't the first people to eat another. In times of famine, many have turned to such tactics."
"So you justify this?" Yun asked in disbelief. Had everyone in this army gone insane? Where the last sane men the ones that fled?
"Not justifying…rationalizing. Desperate times call for desperate and highly unfortunate measures."
"I can't believe I'm hearing this. I thought out of everyone here, you would at least have some shred of decency—" Yun began only to be cut off by Yu.
"I look at everything. I do not let my sense of justice blind me," he snapped.
Yun glared at him and Yu knew this wasn't the way to reach him. He sighed and decided to try again.
"Your justice is admirable and in most cases, it is necessary…this is not one of those cases."
"I beg to differ," Yun argued.
"Hear me out, Zǐlóng. I am not condoning what Lord Xuándé and Yìdé have done. With the exception of the first time I tried it, I have avoided the meat as well. I find the practice of eating your fellow man abhorrent. I am simply saying they did the best they could in a bad situation."
From the look on Yun's face, it was clear he wasn't buying Yu's line of reasoning, but he would not be daunted.
"It is reprehensible that they used our men for this and there is no justification for it. The heavens will judge their actions. But something had to be done. If our men did not get that food, how many more would have died? Besides, we are with Yuan Shao now. They will not need to result to such barbaric methods any longer. The food we get will be from a true animal. We have passed that dark period."
Yun frowned. There was a ring of truth to his words, but he still felt as if it was wrong. He couldn't rationalize in his head that what Bei and Fei did was the best choice they could have made.
"I have given much thought to my position here as of late," Yu continued. "And I have given thought to the actions that Lord Xuándé has taken. After considerable thought, I still believe he is the best person to lead our land to an era of peace, but only if he has men like us at his side…we need to be here to keep him from making mistakes like these."
"Lord Xuándé's current failings are our own," Yu continued. "We were both so frustrated with his actions as of late, we have distanced ourselves from him. As a result, only Yìdé has held his ear and we both know that his words are venom. We need to stand by our lord…to prevent such things as this from happening."
Yun snatched his arm from Yu's grip. Yu may have been okay with the atrocities that have been going on, but he wasn't. This Liu Bei was not the man he joined. This was not the man of virtue he was willing to die for. This man was a wolf in sheep's clothing and he refused to be fooled by him any longer. He would stay his hand against him and Fei for now, but Yun's eyes were opened. He knew precisely the kind of men he was dealing with and he will not be taken by surprise by them again. As Yun walked away, Yu called out to him.
"Remember Zǐlóng, there are greater evils out there than Lord Xuándé. Had this been Cao Cao, he would have pillaged and slaughtered a nearby village to feed his men. He has no qualms at making other suffer to achieve his goals."
Yun did not reply nor did he stop to acknowledge Yu's words. While it may have been true that Cao would have done something like that, at least he was honest about the crimes he committed. In his mind, that was better than someone who hid his true nature like Liu Bei.
=#=
"Rejoice, Liu Bei. I have come up with a way for you to repay my kindness."
"Of course, Lord Shao. I am at your disposal," Bei said with a bow.
"My scouts have recently reported that Cao Cao has chosen to abandon Boma and all the forward camps he had captured thus far. He and his men are falling back to Guandu."
"I don't understand why would he so readily give up everything he worked so hard for?" Bei asked.
"What do you mean why, fool?!" Guo Tu hissed. "He obviously fears Lord Shao! He has wasted many resources on the last few battles. He knows that if he remains as he is, he will lose."
"Settle down, Gōngzé," Shao admonished.
His advisor bowed his head in repentance.
"What Gōngzé says is true. We have the advantage in numbers. Cao Cao may have won the last few battles, but he has expended much in supplies to do so. He needs to first regroup his forces at Guandu before he can make another attack."
"So what is it you need me to do, my lord?"
"I was getting to that," Shao snapped. "As I mentioned before, Cao Cao has abandoned Boma. He has a supply line heading from there towards Guandu. Your job is to stop those supplies from reaching him at Guandu."
"And kill as many of his men as possible as well," Tu chimed in.
"Well yes, do that as well. The main focus should be those supplies. It is absolutely imperative that they do not reach Cao Cao. This could be what turns the tide of battle in our favor," said Shao.
Liu Bei saluted. "I swear on my honor that my men and I will ensure that those supplies do not reach Guandu."
"Hmph, well forgive me for not having absolute faith in your "honor". To ensure that the mission will be completed, I am also sending Wen Chou. He is my best warrior and you will take your direction from him."
"As you wish, my lord," Bei replied humbly.
"When next we meet, the news better be satisfactory. Go on," Shao said with a wave of his hand, dismissing Bei from his sight.
Liu Bei bowed and excused himself from the hall. Just outside of it, was Zhang Fei, awaiting word on what just transpired.
"Well? What did he say?" Fei asked the minute he spied his brother.
"We have a battle to fight."
"Ha ha! Good. We get to strike out against Cao Cao!"
"Yes. We will be taking our orders from Lord Shao's general Wen Chou—"
"What? Who the hell is that? Why should you have to answer to someone else? Doesn't he know—"
"Peace, brother," Bei said as he put a hand on Fei's shoulder. Lord Shao was kind enough to give us shelter in our time of need. This is the least we could so."
"Tch, you are too kind brother."
"So you keep telling me. Can you please assist in getting our men ready for battle?"
"You mean the ones that are left?" Fei replied with a frown.
Bei let out a small sigh. "I do not blame them for their desertion brother, neither should you. We should just be thankful to the ones that have remained. We have gone through a dark period, but it will get better for us. You must believe that."
"As you say brother. I'll go get em' ready."
=#=
"Is it just me or does something seem different between Mèngdé and Guan Yu?"
The man who posed the question was Xiahou Yuan. He had been mulling over this particular topic since Cao Cao first returned from Guandu. Cao Cao immediately called a war council and to everyone's surprise, Guan Yu was not invited. Not only was he not invited, he was not even brought back from Guandu. When Cao returned, he returned alone with Dian Wei to keep an eye on him. Yuan tried to ask Cao what the deal was between them, but Cao brushed the question off and sent him, Xiahou Dun and Li Dian to scout for signs of Yuan Shao's forces while the troops from Boma moved their supplies toward Guandu.
"Yeah," Dun said in reply to this brother's inquiry.
"Do you think something happened between him and Guan Yu while they were in Guandu?"
"Dunno."
"I mean it has to be, right? He didn't even ask him to be part of this mission. He seemed so enthusiastic to flaunt him around before," Yuan said as tossed a stick he had been fiddling with to the ground.
"Probably," Dun replied.
Yuan let out a sigh. "Are you even paying attention to me? Why do you keep glaring at Mànchéng like that?"
Li Dian stood a few feet away from them a top a cliff keeping an eye out for Yuan Shao's forces.
"Do you think something is up with him and Xiaolian?"
Yuan's brow furrowed. "Where the hell did you get that from?"
"I dunno. I just get a feeling. The two of them–well you know Xiaolian, she doesn't like anyone that isn't family, but Mànchéngshe seems to like him. They seem pretty close."
"So what if they are? It's not like Mànchéng's a bad guy."
"That's not the point," Dun said with a frown as he finally turned from Dian to face his brother.
"Oooooh, you thinking the kid might wanna marry her or something?"
"As chummy as they apparently are you never know."
Yuan let out a little chuckle. "Oh-ho-ho-ho, I am so glad I don't have any daughters to deal with this kind of shit."
"Thanks a lot for your contribution to this conversation, really helped me out with your advice," Dun replied flatly.
Yuan laughed and gave his brother a pat on the back. "Sorry brother, It's just kinda funny seeing you like this. Look, the way I see it, this is a good thing. You gotta marry her off anyway, right? She could do a hell of a lot worse than him. You know he's a good kid."
Dun frowned, he knew what his brother was saying was true, but it didn't make it easier to accept.
"If I had a daughter, I wouldn't mind it if Mànchéng was the one to marry her. At least it would be someone you know and trust, right?" Yuan added.
"I suppose so, still not in love with the idea though."
Yuan laughed again. "What father would be? Who could take care of their little girl better than they can?"
"Master Yuánràng! Master Miàocái!" Both men turned their attention to Dian who was running from his perch on the cliff towards them.
"I spotted Yuan Shao's cavalry."
"So the dumb ass actually took the bait huh?" Yuan said as he folded his arms across his chest. "Any idea how many?"
"Way more than we have," Dian replied with a frown. "They look to be numbered in the thousands…"
"How many thousands are we talking?" Yuan asked with a frown. The fact that the number was even in the thousands didn't sit well with him.
"I don't know it's hard to tell. Maybe two or three? More of them looked to be coming."
"Tch…what do you think brother?"
Dun rubbed his chin. "Saw any generals worth note?"
"Yeah. Liu Bei, his sworn brother Zhang Fei. I also saw Zhao Yun and Xun Yu."
"Well shit, a full house," Yuan remarked.
"So that's where the little rats ran to after the last battle," said Dun. "Anyone else?"
"There was also a big guy there too that I didn't recognize. Seemed pretty imposing though," Dian replied.
"Hmm…probably the remaining half of Yuan Shao's fearsome duo. If we spotted them here, they are only a few days away from the Boma supply line. We don't have much of a lead on them. Let's get back to Mèngdé and see how he wants to play this out."
=#=
"If I may, my lord?"
"If this is what I think it is about, you may not."
"You seem a bit irritable since your return from Guandu, did something happen?"
Cao leveled Guo Jia with a glare. "I was not aware that 'you may not' meant yes please continue."
Jia chuckled. "Between friends it does. Tell me, what happened in Guandu."
Cao sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He wanted to avoid this. He was a proud man and it was hard for him to admit when he was wrong.
"This stays between us."
"Of course," Jia said with a smile.
Cao frowned, but he continued.
"I'm sure you guessed that my purpose for brining Guan Yu with me to Guandu was to sway him to our side."
"I gleaned as much," Jia confirmed.
Cao let out an annoyed sigh before continuing. "And as everyone had been kind enough to inform me, it was a pointless gesture. That man is unreasonably faithful to Liu Bei. There was nothing I could offer him…nothing that would even make him consider joining us permanently."
"Hmm," was the only reply Jia gave. He resisted the urge to say "I told you so" as it looked as if Cao was doing an adequate job of kicking himself while he was down.
"So it was all a waste…the titles, the gifts, the teals…all of it…and I am left looking the fool. If I didn't think it was such a tremendous waste I would kill him."
"Perhaps you should kill him," said Jia.
Cao regarded Jia in silence for a few moments then shook his head. "I did ponder doing so…but it would be dishonorable. He has served me just as he promised, he has earned his life."
"If you say so, my lord–but we both know that his death would cripple Liu Bei greatly. There is also the fact that letting Guan Yu go may cause you unnecessary trouble in the future."
"I know…I have considered all of this, hence my mood. But I cannot bring myself to unjustly kill him. When he leaves, he shall be allowed to leave without harassment, is that clear?"
"As clear as the sky above us," Jia said with a smile that would remind anyone who saw it of a fox.
"It's cloudy out today," Cao replied flatly.
"Oh…so it is," Jia replied, his smile growing wider.
Saving Jia from Cao's reproach was the timely arrival of Dun, Yuan and Dian.
"We got trouble cousin," Yuan said the minute he was within earshot.
"Report."
"We spotted Yuan Shao's men. Liu Bei and his generals are riding with them—"
Cao's eyes narrowed at the mention of Liu Bei. Once Guan Yu got wind of this, he would definitely look for the opportunity to leave.
"We also believe that Yuan Shao's second special general is with them—"
"Wen Chou," Jia added helpfully.
"Whatever," Yuan said with a wave of his hand. "They have troops that number in the thousands—"
"Looks to be about two or three but more were on the way," Dian added.
"What he said," said Yuan as he waved in Dian's general direction. "So what's the plan Mèngdé? We have less than six hundred Calvary with us."
"Fèngxiào, call a war council immediately. We need to come up with a solution as soon as possible."
Jia saluted and left to summon the other generals and advisors. In less than twenty minutes Cao Cao's war council had been assembled.
On Cao's order, Jia relayed the information they had received from the scouting party to the council.
"Suggestions?" Cao asked once Jia had finished.
The other generals and advisors exchanged glances. Xun You stepped forward and saluted. "I may have a solution, if you would permit me."
"Speak," Cao commanded.
"A direct fight is obviously out of the question. It would be best if we use the terrain to our advantage in this fight."
"Explain."
"There is a ridge known as the southern slope that is south of the yellow river. I took the initiative and had Wenqian scout it out. Our men could hide and be undetected by Yuan Shao's forces.
"So if we divert our supply line towards that area, we can lead Yuan Shao's forces right into our trap," Cao mused aloud as he rubbed his chin.
"Correct."
"We'll have the element of surprise, but we are still outnumbered," Yuan reminded the group.
"Then we'll have to put the terrain to further use," said Jia. Dropping boulders on them from atop the ridge should do nicely."
"That'll take time. They would have already crossed the Yellow River so we can't even depend on that to slow them down. How are we going to keep them in place long enough for us to drop boulders on them?" Dun asked.
"We'll distract them," Cao answered. "Fèngxiào, how many horses do we have from Boma?"
Jia tapped his chin with a finger as he mulled over the question "About two hundred," Jia replied.
"Good, we'll need one hundred of them. Strip them of their saddles. Make it look as if we have abandoned them. They would be fools to let good horses go to waste."
"So while they're being greedy, we'll hit them with the boulders," Yuan said with a smile.
"And when they try to flee out of our trap, they'll run right into us," Dun finished.
"An admirable plan, my lord. Please tell me what role you would have me play," said Yu Jin as he saluted Cao Cao.
"You, Wenqian and Zhòngkāng will be in charge of the boulders. I want the three of you to leave now and go to the ridge to begin preparing our trap. Our victory depends on your success. See that you do not fail me, Wenze."
"Of course, my lord," Jin said as he saluted once more. He looked to Xu Chu and Yue Jin.
"We have much work ahead of us. I will not have you two fall behind. Let's move!"
Without another word, he strode away to prepare for their journey. Xu Chu gave Cao and the others a big smile and salute and bounded off happily after him. Wenqian saluted them as well, albeit much less enthusiastically than Chu. Dian gave his friend a pitied smile and wished him luck and patience for what was sure to be a trying ordeal to come.
"The rest of you will be used in the ambush. We have our plan, get to work."
A resounding cry and salute followed Cao's words as his generals prepared for the battle ahead.
=#=
"Master Chou?" Bei began as he urged his horse to catch up to the man in question. "We haven't sent a scout ahead to look for Cao's forces in sometime. I think we should—"
"Did I ask for your opinion?" Chou barked.
Bei frowned. "No, you did not," he replied sullenly.
"Then shut up and get out of my way. We'll get to them soon enough."
"As you wish," Bei replied, slowing his mount so he would fall behind Chou.
Bei took a few breathes to calm himself down. He couldn't allow himself to look distressed lest Fei would catch wind of it and want to fight Chou. Truly, he had to do something about his brother's short temper.
Bei's generals finally caught up to his position. Bei greeted them with a forced smile and fell into place with them, galloping at their pace.
"So what did he say? Are we going to send a scout out?" Fei asked.
"Um, no. He didn't think it was a good idea," Bei replied carefully.
"Didn't think it was a good idea? What an idiot!" Fei exclaimed loudly. A few of the soldiers around them turned back to them and Bei urged his brother to calm down.
"Please, Yìdé! Remember where we are!"
"I don't give a shit about these fools! I dare them to say something!"
"You are making yourself and our lord look bad. Please be quiet," said Xun Yu.
Just as he told Yun, he refused to let Zhang Fei be the only voice Bei heard any longer. To steer Bei into the right direction to be the leader he knew he could be, he would step up and be a voice he can rely upon.
Fei's eyes nearly bulged out of their socket in shock at hearing Xun Yu speak to him in such a defiant manner. The man had actively avoided him for months and suddenly he was telling him what to do?
"I don't remember giving you permission to talk to me maggot," Fei snarled. "Before I deal with Wen Chou, I'll be happy to deal with you."
"And now you are threatening a fellow general in front of Wen Chou's men? Do you think this will not be spoken about amongst them? Do you think this will not reach Yuan Shao's ears? How much shame do you plan on heaping upon our lord's feet? Do you ever stop to think of how your actions make him look?"
"Wénruò, this isn't necessary—" Bei said in an attempt to defuse the situation, but Yu would not be daunted.
"It is necessary, my lord. He needs to understand that his actions have rippling effects and being your sworn brother, you are the most affected by his foolish antics."
By this time, Fei was seething. He wanted to lash out at Yu but something in his words gave him pause. Instead of giving into his base instincts and thrashing the man, he looked to his sworn brother.
"Is this true, brother? Do I cause you trouble?" he asked through gritted teeth.
Bei sighed. This was certainly not what he wanted to deal with at the moment.
"Brother, you are a good and loyal man. There is no one else I would have at my side…but sometimes your temper…if you could just control it a little more."
Fei regarded his brother in silence for a few moments then shifted his gaze to Yu and back to Bei.
"Fine," he said finally. He kicked the side of his mount a bit harder than necessary and urged it forward, leaving the others behind.
Bei winced. It was clear Fei hadn't taken that well. It needed to be said, but he wanted to do it in a better way and at a better time.
"Wénruò, it wasn't your place to—"
"It seems like Wen Chou is calling for your attention, lord Xuándé," Yu interjected. Bei frowned but turned his head to the direction Yu had been looking in and indeed Wen Chou was signaling for him.
With a sigh, Bei stirred his beast to gallop towards Chou.
"Took you long enough," Chou said with a frown once Bei was at his side.
"My apologies. I was looking speaking with my generals—"
"I didn't ask you what you were doing. In the future, when I call for you, you come, got it?"
Bei's fist gripped the reigns he was holding in his hands tightly. Today was turning out to be a truly vexing day. He nodded his head in reply, not trusting himself to speak.
"We are coming up on the yellow river. I'll take point; you and your men will be stationed at the back of the army to ensure we aren't ambushed from behind."
Bei opened his mouth to protest this order but he quickly closed it, not wanting to draw any further ire from the irritable general. Instead he nodded in response, keeping his opinions on this foolish plan to himself.
"What are you still here for? Go!"
Without another word, Bei galloped back to his men and relayed the new orders. Without complaint, they moved their forces back to protect against any possible ambush Cao may launch against them.
=#=
Bei looked out over the sea of forces, slowly crossing the yellow river with their mounts. So far, there hadn't been any signs of ambush.
"This is fucking boring," Fei muttered to no one in particular.
Bei looked over to his brother. He had been mostly quiet since the last talk they had and Bei had been trying to think of what he should say to his sworn brother. Yu was right. Fei's demeanor had caused trouble more often than not, but he still felt bad at the way it was addressed.
"Brother," Bei began, but that one word uttered was all he would manage to utter before chaos erupted around them.
=#=
-Moments leading up to the chaos-
'Soon, very soon I will have my vengeance.' This is the thought that played itself on an endless loop in Wen Chou's mind. Consumed with rage, Chou wanted blood for the death of his partner and soon that vengeance would be at hand. He lead troops of six thousand cavalry strong against Cao and he swore that before this battle was done, he would have the head of Yan Liang's killer in his hands.
Chou was thankful that Yuan Shao had finally given in to his constant demands to lead troops against Cao to get revenge on Yan Liang's killer, but he could have done so without the help of Liu Bei. Why did Shao saddle him with that idiot? He wasn't useful for anything other than catching a wayward arrow in Chou's opinion. This was why Chou had sent him and his useless generals to the back. Liu Bei would not be the one to get in the way of his vengeance. He would be the one to avenge Liang's death.
So far, the trip had been uneventful. Chou had expected Cao to try something when they crossed the yellow River since they would be at their most vulnerable, but to his surprise, nothing happened. Chou managed to lead the front line across with no issue and was now traveling south along the river, following the trail of the supply line from Boma. The majority of his forces were still crossing the Yellow River, as passage was slow on horseback, but if the trip continued to go the way it had been, he knew he had nothing to worry about.
To his delight, they finally caught signs of the elusive supply line. He now understood why it had been so hard to catch up to them. It seems Cao had abandoned several of his horses in an effort to lighten his load. Chou grinned. They were getting close to their prey and as a bonus, they got fresh horses.
"Hey!" Chou shouted out to his men. "Round up those horses. Make it quick."
They shouted their acknowledgment and hurried off to wrangle the wayward steeds. Chou watched, his large arms folded across his chest and his mouth twisted up into a smile. This was a good sign. This battle was going to go their way.
It was less than a minute that the thought has filtered through his mind that Chou heard strange rumbling sounds around him. In confusion, his eyes darted back and forth looking for the source of the foreign sound. It seemed a few of his men had noticed it too. The only ones seemingly oblivious to it were the men gathering up the horses.
Chou's eyes narrowed as the sound got louder. 'Where the hell is that coming from?' he asked himself, his teeth clenched tightly in frustration.
"WATCH OUT!" Came the cry of a soldier, but the warning was a few seconds too late. Massive boulders bounded down the ridge towards he and his men, picking up speed as it traveled towards them.
Chou yanked his the reigns hard and kicked the flank of his beast causing it to jolt forward and out of the way, narrowly missing being crushed by one of the boulders. Over the sounds of shouting and the hooves of his horse, Chou could have sworn he heard the crushing of bones from those unfortunate bastards that was not fast enough to move out of the way.
His eye swept the battlefield as took hold of this weapon in his hand. That was a bit too convenient to be an act of nature. His fears were confirmed when he heard cries in front of him. The men that had been gathering the horses fell from their own mounts with arrows jutting out of their throats, chest and eyes.
Chou shouted out to his men to prepare for battle, but a deafening cry swallowed his words. Like a tidal wave Cao's forces came flooding over the ridge on their mounts and crashed into his forces. His ranks thrown into chaos from the earlier attacks, they were as helpless as babes during the beginning onslaught. Scores of Chou's men fell to arrow, sword and spear before they were able to put up resistance.
Chou roared out to his men in an attempt to get them focused but it was hard to know if his words fell on anything but deaf ears. He couldn't ponder this any longer because he soon found himself under attack.
The soldier thought to catch him unaware as he tried to scramble his forces. It was a mistake, the last one he would ever make. Chou blocked the foolish strike and thrust his pike into the jowls of his adversary. The strike flung the opportunistic soldier off his mount to the ground. Chou wasted no time urging his mount forward into the battle. The fallen soldier given one final humiliation as the hooves of Chou's horse trampled his body as they passed over him.
"FIGHT YOU FOOLS! FIGHT!" Chou commanded as he thrust his pike into the chest of another enemy. His men tried to rally around him, but Cao's forces were relentless in their assault.
With a growl, Chou ripped his pike out of the chest of his enemy and lunged for an attack on another, only to find himself blocked by a thick metal rod. Chou pulled back and eyed his new opponent. It was clear he was not one of the common rabble. This man was cut from a different cloth.
The soldier he saved Xiahou Yuan thanked him profusely and quickly navigated his horse out of the way of the impending battle.
"I'll have your name before I kill you," Chou demanded.
"Well then I'm not going to tell you," Yuan replied with a grin.
"You do not think me worthy of knowing your name?" Chou asked angrily.
"Nah, nothing like that. You said you'll have my name before you kill me. I don't tell you, you can't kill me right?" Yuan replied with a bark of laughter.
Chou frowned, realizing he was now the butt of a joke he did not find funny in the least.
"Funny, really funny. You got a big mouth; I'm going to enjoy shutting it."
"Well I would wish you luck, but ya know...I'm not because I want to win so how 'bout I just say uh, have fun?"
"I had no idea Cao Cao had a fool in his midst. Tell me before we begin funny man; are you the one that killed Yan Liang? No. A fool like you couldn't have been."
"Now that's just hurtful. I don't think we can be friends now."
"Like I would ever be friends with the likes of you!" Chou roared as he thrust his pike forward.
In an instant, the jovial glint usually found in Yuan's eyes went out, replaced by the cold glare of a general that has seen his fair share of battles and survived each one. Yuan smacked the strike aside with his rod, but Chou rebounded with another quick thrust. Yuan parried this move as well, but Chou followed up in quick succession once more. It was becoming apparent to Yuan that at the range they currently were, Chou was at an advantage. Yuan either needed to get further away so that he could effectively use his bow or he needed to get closer so he could use his rod.
Yuan chose the latter and when Chou assaulted him with another quick thrust, Yuan's rod was there to block the blow, but instead of batting it away, Yuan merely defended against it. With his rod now struggling against Chou's pike, Yuan kicked at his horse's flank urging it forward.
Yuan moved closer to Chou, his weapon scraping loudly against Chou's pike as it slid forward along with him. Chou could see what Yuan was attempting to do. Knowing his strength was in maintaining a distance, he tried to get his horse to back peddle away from the approaching Yuan. His mount awkwardly tried to comply, moving backwards in slow clumsy steps, but Yuan's forward motion was much faster and much too soon for Chou's comfort, Yuan was in range to effectively strike at him and he was no longer at an effective range to retaliate with his pike.
Yuan smacked his pike to the side with his rod and released his hold on his reigns. He quickly switched his rod into the now free hand and grabbed the shaft of the rebounding pike with the other. He yanked it forward; attempting to pull Chou into his awaiting rod, which if it hit would most certainly bash his head in. Out of options, Chou chose to abandon his pike, releasing his hold and leaned back, narrowly avoiding the swipe of Yuan's rod, though he certainly felt the gust of wind that accompanied the blow.
While Chou's quick thinking had helped him avoid a particularly deadly headache, he managed to put himself in another unfortunate situation. Chou wound up leaning a bit too far back throwing himself off balance. With flailing hands he grabbed onto anything it could to maintain his balance. The thing he happened to grab on to was the horse's tail. His horse, who was already still awkwardly back peddling, did not take kindly to suddenly having its tail yanked. It reared back in defiance to throw the offender of this crime off its back.
Unfortunately for the poor beast, this was a poor decision. Feeling himself suddenly weightless due to the horse's efforts, Chou's other hand scrambled for whatever it could to keep from being thrown unceremoniously to the ground. His hands fumbled for the saddle, but the sweat covering his palm made it slip right off. The only thing left was the mare's tail, which his other hand still had a firm grasp on. Now having its tail yanked by two powerful hands, the horse neighed loudly in pain and fell backwards along with its rider.
Chou hit the ground first. He felt the wind knocked out of him the moment his back connected with the ground, but the injury was minor. He would be able to rebound from this error—that was until his horse came crashing down atop him a second later. Once again the wind was knocked out of him as the heavy beast collapsed onto him. The sudden impact made Chou feel like vomiting. He struggled to suck in breaths but doing so brought about a sharp pain in his chest. He needed to get this damnable beast off of him. With all his strength, he struggled to push the fallen horse off of him, which only served to make it frantic to get back on its feet. It began kicking out wildly as it struggled to stand. The movement made Chou evacuate the contents of his stomach and those contents wound up slipping into his nose, the sides of his face and down his chin.
Finally the horse had managed to get up but the misfortune for Chou did not end with this relief. The horse, unaware and uncaring of where its hooves landed, landed straight on his crouch, not once, but twice. The flustered horse finally galloped off and in its wake, curled up in the fetal position was a broken Wen Chou.
Chou wasn't sure how much time had passed after the horse had gotten off of him. He was very aware that he felt perhaps the worse pain he had ever felt in his life. The first thing he was going to do once this fight was over was find that damn horse and kill it.
'Wait' Chou's mind dully thought as he forced himself to lay flat on his back. 'I was in the middle of a fight, what happened?'
He opened his eyes and immediately wished he hadn't. Glaring down at him, from atop his steed was his enemy with a bow notched with an arrow that was aimed straight at his head.
"So the funny man is going to kill me. Might as well have just done it when I was curled up in a ball after that damn horse stomped my balls to shit. Would've been happy to be put out of that misery."
Yuan's shoulders rose ever so slightly in a shrug. "A man should know how he dies so he has nothing to tie him to the realm of the living."
Chou laughed which caused his stomach to contract, which in turn caused the pain from his groin to remind him that he shouldn't find anything funny at present. His chuckles devolved into a pained groans, but he fought through and looked at Yuan defiantly.
"Of course the funny man is superstitious. Why wouldn't he be? You are an idiot for believing in that shit."
"Maybe," Yuan replied. "But if I'm not wrong, you'll thank me when you go on to meet your ancestors and you aren't stuck here."
"I doubt I'll thank the man who's about to kill me asshole. Before you do, tell me truly, did you kill my friend? Did you kill Yan Liang?"
"It wasn't by my hand. It was Guan Yu who did the deed," Yuan replied.
Chou cursed loudly. His sworn brother was in his grasp too! He could have slew Liu Bei and got some semblance of revenge…wait…where the hell was Liu Bei?
"You waited to kill me…you had time enough to do that. I guess we lost this battle. No reinforcements came?"
"You ask a lot of questions for a soon to be dead man. None of this information is going to help you later on, you know."
"It ain't gonna hurt either. Tell me. Did that bastard Liu Bei even attempt to help us?"
"Nope. He ran sometime after we dropped the boulders. In his defense, if he would have tried to cross that river, his forces would have been slaughtered, so probably a good call on his part."
Chou spat. He didn't care if it was a good call. He abandoned him and his men. He was about to die and that coward just ran away with his tail between his legs.
"That bastard is a coward! And you funny man, don't think you defeated me! A twist of fate defeated me, not you! If you were a real man, you would let me get to my feet and fight me fairly! But you aren't a real man are you. You are a co—"
Chou's ranting was stopped abruptly by Yuan's arrow, which he shot into his throat. Instead of threatening words, all Chou could muster was gurgled protest as he clasped his throat in an effort to keep the blood that was spilling out in an alarming rate from flowing from its wound. It seemed Chou finally realized the futility of his actions because he stopped trying to stem the blood and instead reached bloodied fingers towards Yuan. What was he trying to say? What was he hoping would happen? He wasn't sure. Things were getting dark…it was hard to focus. The last thing that filtered to his mind before it became a pool of nothingness was that he was wrong, getting kicked in the balls by a horse wasn't the worst pain he had felt.
Wen Chou was dead. Yuan shouldered his bow and ordered his men to take the head of his fallen enemy as proof his victory. He spared one final glance at his Chou before turning his horse away and galloping towards the place where his comrades waited.
"Took you long enough," Dun remarked as Yuan dismounted and joined him, Zhuyue, Li Dian, Xu Huang and a few other generals.
"I like to take my time when I do things. You should take a note from me, don't want my dear sister to be dissatisfied with you in your bed chambers. Am I right Gōngmíng?" Yuan asked with a grin as he gently prodded the man in question with his elbow.
"Uh," was the only thing Huang could manage. He was not use to being dragged into Yuan's foolish antics.
"Don't drag, Gōngmíng into your stupidity," Zhuyue replied as she folded her arms across her chest. Huang threw a thankful glance her way.
Yuan winked at her. "I'm only trying to help you out dear sister," he replied.
Zhuyue rolled her eyes as her husband slapped his brother in the back of the head. "You had to know that was coming," she said with a sigh.
"I did, and it was still worth it," Yuan replied with a grin.
Their banter was interrupted by the sound of hooves in the distance.
Cao and the rest of their allies had come to join them. Cao came to a stop before them, his eyes sweeping over the battlefield. More men donning golden armor littered the battlefield than those dressed in blue and it brought a small semblance of relief to Cao. It was still unfortunate to lose any of their number, but he knew it could be worse than it was.
"Report," Cao said as he kept his eyes focused on the battlefield, his eyes taking in the dark red blood that stained the trampled grass. It will take some time before anything could grow in this area again. The animals that once foraged here will be forced to find a new feeding ground. Battle always left a mark and rarely was it a good one.
"My lord," Huang begin as he saluted Cao. "We have achieved a decisive victory over Wen Chou's forces. Your plan worked admirably."
"How many did we lose?" Cao asked as he shifted his eyes from the bloody battlefield to his generals.
"Still doing the count, but I would say around one hundred…maybe more, maybe a little less," Dun replied.
Cao nodded. That wasn't bad, considering they went against thousands.
"Were any of Yuan Shao's generals slain?"
As if on cue, the soldiers Yuan commanded to take Wen Chou's head arrived. Yuan took hold of the head by the hair making sure to hold it at arms length to avoid getting any blood on him.
"I took down this surly fellow," Yuan remarked as he gave a light pat to Wen Chou's face with his free hand. Surly indeed. His mouth was twisted up into a grimace and his eyes looked frozen in a mixture of surprise and anger.
"Well done, cousin," Cao said. "It will look good next to Yan Liang's head on the gates of Guandu. What of Liu Bei and his ilk?"
=#=
-Liu Bei's group, the moment of the attack-
Something was wrong. Zhao Yun wasn't quite sure how he knew it, but he did. He felt restless. The hairs on his neck stood on end and his muscles were taunt as his fingers toyed with his horse's reigns. From the inane conversations happening around him, it seemed that no one else had this feeling. Was he just over thinking things? Given all that has happened with Liu Bei and the others, Yun had to admit that he was a bit more on edge than normal or maybe it was the fact that it had been a bit too quiet for Yun's liking.
Liu Bei on the other hand was oblivious to the concerns that plagued Yun. His mind was currently on his brother. Some part of him agreed with Xun Yu. Fei did need to be checked, but Bei had a soft spot for his sworn brother and thought it should be addressed in a less public manner. He stared at his brother whose mouth was fixed in a scowl. He felt compelled to ease his anger.
"Brother—" Liu Bei was cut off by panicked shouts coming from the Yellow River.
"What the hell was that?" Fei asked giving voice to the very thought that had been in Bei's mind.
"I'm not sure," Bei replied.
They would not be left in the dark for much longer as soldiers had turned away from the yellow river and was now riding towards them.
"What's going on!" Bei asked, but the soldiers were not under his command, they didn't respond and seemed rather insistent on getting out of there.
"I will go investigate," said Zhao Yun.
Bei nodded his head in agreement and Yun took off through throngs of confused soldiers to the source of whatever made them panic.
"In the meantime, we should stop the soldiers from fleeing," Yu suggested.
"Hmph, for what? They aren't our men. If Wen Chou can't handle his people, that's his problem."
"Brother," Bei said with a sigh. "We are allies. His loss is our loss."
"No, his loss is his loss. We are under orders from him, remember?"
Before the debate could go on any longer, Yun returned and from the look on his face, Bei could guess that the news wasn't good.
"Wen Chou has been ambushed," Yun reported.
"Does he still live?" Bei asked.
Yun's frowned deepened. "I do not know. I dared not cross the river. The bodies of Wen Chou's soldiers served as a warning to anyone who attempted the journey."
"So crossing the river isn't advisable," Xun Yu mused. "My lord, a decision must be made. As we are currently cut off from Wen Chou, you are in command. His forces need to be reigned in. Please, tell us your command."
Bei frowned. It was jarring to be suddenly thrown into this situation. He carefully weighed his options and he knew that there was only one alternative.
"We retreat," Bei replied.
"What? But brother!" Fei objected.
"Brother, you know as well as I the wrath of Cao Cao. They have caught our forces unaware and they have us at a disadvantage. It would be unwise to continue as we are. We will retreat and report back to Yuan Shao."
Fei let out a cry of frustration. Being made to run so many times was wearing on his warrior's spirit, but he would stand by his brother's side, even if he did not like it.
So Liu Bei and his forces rounded up the remains of Wen Chou's army that hadn't crossed the river and fled.
=#=
-After the battle, Cao Cao receiving the report from his generals-
"What of Liu Bei and his ilk?" Cao asked upon hearing the news of Wen Chou's demise.
"Good question," Yuan replied as he scratched his chin with his free hand. We didn't see any sign of them. Seems like they didn't even attempt to cross the yellow river to help Wen Chou."
"Such a pity. I would have preferred to be rid of those particular nuisances sooner rather than later."
Cao's eyes swept over his generals. Splotches of blood and dirt adorned their armor in various places and for several of them the same was smudged across their faces. After a battle, the only thing a warrior wanted to do was peel off the constricting, dirty armor and clean themselves and rest their weary bones, but Cao could not have that. He could feel that the final battle between him and Yuan Shao was rapidly approaching and he refused to be caught unawares. He would push his men for the sake of his ambition and he would not apologize for it.
"I know you are all exhausted after the battle, but Yuan Shao will not take this defeat lying down. We need to get to Guandu and fortify it as soon as possible. Break down the camp and catch up with the supply line. It is my wish that you remain as rear guards in case Liu Bei and his men figure out that it is safe to cross the river. I will be in the front with the others."
His generals saluted him showing their acknowledgement. If they had a complaint about his command, they swallowed it and that was just fine by Cao. Cao gave them a short nod and tugged on the reins, maneuvering his horse towards the direction from whence he came.
"I will see you all in Guandu," he said. Without waiting for a reply, he snapped the reins and gave a kick to his horse's flank sending it into a gallop.
"Tch, no rest for the weary," Yuan said as he thrust Wen Chou's severed head towards a soldier for them to take it.
"I hope he's right about this battle almost being over," Zhuyue said as she lifted her arms and stretched, rising on her tip-toes for emphasis. She heard a pop and rested back on the flat of her feet while lowering her arms.
"It has been a while since it started," Li Dian remarked as he folded his arms behind his head. "I bet you miss Chong and Xiaolian."
His mind wondered to Xiaolian, a common occurrence as of late. He wondered what she was doing at this moment; wondered if she had thought about him at all since he left. He shook his head and gave an inward self-depreciating laugh. What a stupid thought. They were only friends. Why would she think about him? Why was he thinking about her?
"I do miss them," Zhuyue replied with a wistful smile as she thought of her children. She completely missed the conflicted look on Dian's face as he thought of her eldest.
"You are fighting in service for our lord and for a greater goal. There is no place for your complaints. If you miss your children then you should be with them, not on a battlefield," said Yu Jin as he eyed both Li Dian and Zhuyue.
One of Zhuyue's brows rose in mild surprise at Yu Jin's comment. She had of course heard the stories of Jin's attitude towards other generals and she had seen his abrasive nature during war councils first hand, but this was the first time he had ever taken such a caustic tone with her.
"It was merely a comment, Wenze. There is no harm in expressing an opinion," Zhuyue said carefully. She knew Yu Jin was extremely easy to antagonize and she wanted to avoid doing so, but she refused to let him get away with complaining about simple comment.
"Such comments can lower the moral of our soldiers. You are supposed to lead by example," Jin replied.
"If such harmless words can lower morale, there is an underlying problem that should be addressed somewhere else."
Jin gave a disgusted snort making it clear that he did not agree with Zhuyue's sentiment.
"What would a woman know of war? Discipline is the core foundation of any army. Without disci—"
"Shut up."
"Excuse me?" Jin exclaimed in surprise and anger; his nostrils flaring as if to emphasize his disapproval.
Zhuyue had enough. For him to take such an inconsequential comment and turn it into something like this was ridiculous. She understood that he was some kind of big bad wolf in the army, but she wasn't going to put up with his shit or anyone elses.
Li Dian and Yue Jin's mouth's dropped open in surprise. They would never have the balls to speak to Yue Jin in such a way, despite how much they wanted to and boy did they want to.
"I said shut up," she repeated as she mounted her horse. "I cannot stand to listen to someone talk out of their ass for too long. It gives me a headache."
Yue Jin was sputtering in anger as his brain tried to formulate a response to such insubordination. Zhuyue had no intention of waiting for it as she gave her horse a light kick sending it galloping off towards the camp.
Jin could only watch in fury at her retreating back, his fist balled at his sides. His fury was only compounded by the boisterous laughter of Yuan.
"There is no reason to get so upset, Wenze," said Xu Huang. He could see the anger coming to a boil within Yu Jin and if it boiled over, he would take his revenge out on Zhuyue. He wanted to try to calm that man to avoid a potential disaster later on.
"That woman has no respect," Jin spat out angrily. "Since she obviously hasn't been taught, I will be more than happy to be her instructor."
"You are welcome to try," said Dun.
Jin's eyes shifted over to him seemingly having forgotten that the man was even there. There was a frown on Dun's face as his eye focused on Jin. He made no effort to hide his dissatisfaction at his comment.
"She is a member of this army and she is expected to follow a code of conduct that we all follow."
"She is under my command and that lesson isn't for you to teach. Like I said, you are more than welcome to try to step over me and teach her if you want, but I guarantee it'll be the last thing that you do."
"Is that a threat, Yuánràng?" Jin asked.
"I don't make threats, Wenze."
"Woah, woah, woah, this just got way too serious," said Dian as he stepped in between them.
"Remove yourself boy or be removed," Jin growled.
"He's right. We need to calm down. We are on the same side," said Yue Jin in an effort to stand in solidarity with his friend.
"This is exactly what I am talking about," Jin spat. "She shows disrespect to her betters and now the others think they have right to ignore orders from their superiors."
"Yeah, well you aren't my superior and I'm saying to calm the fuck down," said Yuan as he put himself between his brother and Jin. "You are way too high strung man. That's why no one likes you."
"I don't care if no one likes me. They only need to respect me," Jin replied.
"Ha, they barely do that. You need to learn to take a joke man," Yuan replied.
Jin could see he wasn't going to win this argument. With a tsk, he turned away from Dun and the others.
"I will bring this situation up to lord Cao. We will see what he thinks of this."
Dun let out a snort of laughter. "Good luck with that."
Jin fist tightened, but he offered no verbal reply. He mounted his own horse and looked towards Li Dian and Yue Jin.
"Since you two have so much time on your hands, you can go to the camp and break it down. MOVE IT."
Resigned, Dian and Wenqian were about to comply with his demand when Dun rose a hand to stop them.
"Last I checked, these two were under my command as well. Once again, you over step your boundaries, Wenze."
Jin tsked and kicked his mount a lot harder than necessary to stir it into a sprint. "Do what you will then!" He called out over his shoulder as he left the others behind.
"Geez that guy needs to relax," Yuan said with a shake of his head.
"He only wants what is best for the army," Huang said. He agreed that Jin's tactics were a bit…excessive, but he believed they came from a good place even if executed horribly.
Yuan clapped Huang on the shoulder. "He's an asshole, you know it, I know it, pretty much everyone knows it. His own soldiers fear him and no one wants to work with him. He is good at his job, don't get me wrong, but the guy is an asshole."
Huang grimaced. Yuan's words weren't far from the truth. In fact, they were pretty damn accurate, but Huang did not want to admit it. He respected Yu Jin and while the two of them had never clashed, he could see why others might and he couldn't really fault them for it.
"Alright enough," said Dun. "We've sat around long enough. Let's get to the camp."
"Whatever you say, Master Yuánràng!" Dian said happily. "Oh and um, thanks for standing up for Wenqian and I."
"Shut up and get to the camp," Dun muttered as he mounted his horse and galloped away.
Dian grinned as he watched him go. "That's just his way of saying your welcome."
Yue Jin shook his head but couldn't hide his smirk. He preferred Dun's surliness over Yu Jin's any day.
=#=
Zhang He stared with unfocused eyes at the bamboo culms that made up the bars of his cell. They had been locked up for their transgressions against Yuan Shao for weeks now, or has it been over a month? It was hard to tell anymore. Was Yuan Shao even still angry at them or had he simply forgotten the hell he condemned them to?
Jùnyì lifted his right knee to his chest and wrapped his arms around it to secure it in place. Closing his eyes, he rested his head against his knee. His nose now so close to the fabric of his pants, he could smell the stench trapped within it. It didn't matter though, the whole cell smelled foul being close or far to the smell made little difference at this point. He felt something crawling up his arm and he lazily lifted it to see what it was. A black beetle had seemed to have mistaken him as part of the filth in this cell and took to crawling on this new interesting addition. Had it been a mistake? Perhaps it was right after all. Jùnyì certainly felt filthy. He could feel the dirt itching at his skin and hair. He itched all over and had he scratched each itch, he surely would have peeled the skin from flesh and ripped out his hair. Instead he chose to endure the discomfort in hopes that he would be free of this filth one day and regain his former beauty. Beauty…a concept he held so dear but seemed so abstract to him now. He wasn't beautiful now. Nothing in this cell was.
Jùnyì heard stirring from one of the corners of the cell and knew that his friend and fellow cell mate Ju Shou was waking from his slumber. Jùnyì guided the bug that had been crawling on him to the floor and watched it scurry off to another corner away from the noise as Shou let out a loud yawn and shuffled over towards him.
"Did you sleep well?" Jùnyì asked as he rested his chin back onto his raised knee.
"How can anyone sleep well in here?" Shou asked bitterly. Jùnyì did not reply and Shou let out a defeated sigh.
"I'm sorry. I did not mean to take out my anger on you."
"Think nothing of it," Jùnyì replied. He could understand the frustration he felt.
Shou came from a well off family. He had never had the misfortune of sleeping on anything other than silken sheets and a comfortable bed. This was far removed from anything that the man had known.
"Is he still alive?" Shou asked as he inclined his chin towards Tian Feng, the elderly man who had been a thorn in Shao's side and was tossed into this hole along with them for daring to speak out against him.
"He was when I checked on him earlier," Jùnyì replied, not lifting his head to look at the elderly man that was still curled up into a ball in the corner, presumably asleep.
Shou nodded relieved to hear that the old man still lived. He already bore the guilt of getting them into this situation in the first place; he did not want to add the death of Feng to that.
"Jùnyì," Shou began as he looked at the man in question. Jùnyì did not lift his head to acknowledge Shou, but he could tell he was listening.
"I wanted to apologize…for getting you into this mess."
"Strange. I don't recall you doing anything to get me here at all. It was my own actions that got me in this predicament."
"But you would not have done so if not for our friendship."
"Ah, but there you are wrong," Jùnyì said as he lifted his head to look at Shou. "I saw a most ugly event unfolding before my eyes. As someone who prizes beauty above all, how could I stay silent? No, I would have done the same even if I did not call you friend."
"That…that is a relief to hear, though I can't help but think you are only saying it for my benefit."
Jùnyì did not reply instead choosing to rest his chin back upon his knee. Silence fell over the two leaving Shou with his thoughts. His mind wondered to his wife first. He wondered if she was being treated well, if she missed him and if she thought of him often. He thought back to the day that landed him in his pathetic predicament and wondered if speaking his mind was worth it; if he should have just held his tongue as he had done so many times prior. He had a sudden thought, a question that had been burning in his mind for the past few days.
"Jùnyì, there is something I have been meaning to ask you. That day, Gōngzé said "You best do what Lord Shao said or you know what will happen." That threat sounded very personal."
Jùnyì remained silent on the matter but he hadn't outright told Shou to mind his business so he decided to press him for an answer.
"Why did Gōngzé say that? Does he hold something over you?"
Jùnyì sighed and lifted himself to his feet. He didn't bother brushing off the dust that had gotten on his pants as he knew there was no escaping filth in their tiny prison.
"It is of no concern of yours."
"I disagree. If that serpent holds something over you, I can help you…or at least attempt to…once we are out of this dismal place." Shou sighed and amended his previous statement. "If we are ever let out of this dismal place."
"If I tell you, I would truly be dragging you into problems that were not your own—"
"Similar to what I did to you," Shou interrupted.
Jùnyì placed a delicate hand upon his forehead in exasperation. "I have already told you, that choice was mine and mine alone."
"And I do not believe that," Shou countered.
Jùnyì sighed. "What an ugly cycle we have found ourselves in. You will not let this go, will you?"
"No. I have nothing but time on my hands at the moment," Shou replied with a wry grin.
Jùnyì sighed once more. "Very well. Before I speak, do not bother telling me how foolish I am…I am well aware of it."
"I will not judge, my friend," Shou said reassuringly.
Jùnyì regarded him for a few moments to see whether his words were sincere or not. After deciding that they were, he shifted his eyes to the corner where Feng lay. He was happy to see that the man still slept. He knew he wouldn't be so kind had he heard the tale he was about to weave.
"Gōngzé overheard the fair Zhenji and I speaking—"
"Oh Jùnyì…tell me you weren't having an affair with her."
Jùnyì frowned. "You think poorly of me if you would think I would commit such an appalling act as adultery."
"Sorry, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."
"He overheard us speaking about my desire to leave."
"You wish to leave lord Shao's service?" Shou interjected once more.
"Truly, we will never get through this tale if you continue to interrupt."
"S-sorry," Shou said apologetically.
"To answer your question, yes…I wanted to leave and I offered Zhenji the chance to flee with me. Gōngzé heard me express this desire and thought I was conspiring to abscond with lord Xi's wife because I was having an affair with her…much as you did."
"But that is not the case?" Shou asked hopefully.
"No. That is not the case. You know as well as I how lord Xi treats her. His treatment of her is a foul thing and I only wanted to save her from it. I wanted to do so strictly as a friend…a man who looks upon her as a brother rather than a lover."
"So Gōngzé is threatening to tell lord Xi about your plans?"
"Yes. If I were the only person affected by this, I would not let this brute get away with this vile blackmail, but I am not the only person affected. You know as well as I that if he tell lord Xi, my beautiful butterfly will be killed."
"Idiot."
Both men were given quite a start at the sudden declaration from the no longer sleeping Feng.
"Ah, Master Yuánhào, you gave me quite the fright," said Shou as he placed a hand over his rapidly beating heart.
The man let out a derisive snort. "Big surprise," he said dryly.
Shou frowned and Jùnyì took the opportunity to step in. "We thought you were still sleeping, master Yuánhào."
"Ha! When you get to be my age, it is easy to pretend to be asleep. Even easier to pretend to be dead," he said as he pushed himself up to a sitting position.
"Why did you say idiot?" Shou asked having recovered from Feng earlier insult.
"Isn't it obvious? I said it because Jùnyì is an idiot!"
"Such an unseemly term," Jùnyì said with a tsk.
"Well if the boot fits," Feng said with a shrug.
Jùnyì did not reply, choosing instead turn his back to both men. This was precisely the situation he wanted to avoid and thanks to Shou's insistence, it was the exact predicament he found himself in.
"Please master Yuánhào, your insult is unwarranted. I can personally attest that Jùnyì is not an idiot."
The old man scoffed. "What else would you call a man who would risk his life for a woman that isn't even his? What did he think was going to happen?"
Feng looked towards Jùnyì and addressed him directly. "Did you honestly believe that you would have been able to whisk her away from her asshole husband and that no one would come after you? You would have subjected that girl to a life of being hunted which is no life at all."
Jùnyì lowered his head in shame. Feng's words had merit. In truth, he hadn't thought about that. It was a snap decision with little forethought.
Silence descended over the three men and none of them seemed eager to break it. Feng could see his words had affected Jùnyì and he didn't see the need to press the subject any further. It was a relief that someone would actually listen to the words of an old man that had lived and wanted to share his experiences; very much unlike their lord indeed. The silence was broken sharply by the sounds of feet shuffling towards their cell. Shou perked up, his stomach rumbling in anticipation of the meal he assumed was about to be served. To everyone's surprise, it was not the guard that normally served their meals that appeared outside of their cell, but Gōngzé.
He did nothing to hide his disgust as he looked over the men. His nose wrinkled in repulsion the smell emanating from the three of them.
"Be grateful," he said in a tone that showed he wasn't at all happy to be delivering the message he was about to make.
"Lord Shao has found it in his heart to forgive the three of you and return you back to service immediately."
Shou ran over to the bamboo bars wrapping his hands around them once he was there. Tu recoiled at the sudden action almost expecting Shou to somehow break through them.
"Truly?" he asked excitedly.
"You think I would be in this filthy hovel if it weren't?" Tu spat out angrily.
"We're getting out!" Shou said as he turned to his fellow cellmates happily completely ignoring Tu's obvious resentment to the situation.
The other men didn't seem to have the same enthusiasm towards the prospect, but Shou was so elated, he hadn't noticed that either.
Tu signaled for a guard to open the cell and the trio was escorted to the war council which was already underway.
"Good heavens, what is that smell?!" Shao exclaimed, interrupting a report from one of his advisors.
Shao's eyes fell on the trio and his face twisted in disgust. "Is it them?" He asked as he point an accusatory finger in their direction.
"Yes," Tu confirmed, his face mirroring Shao's own. "They haven't bathed in quite some time."
"Then why are they here?!" Shao asked angrily as he covered his nose with the sleeve of his robe in an attempt to staunch the offending odor.
"You said you wanted to see them as soon as possible," Tu replied, his brows knitting up in confusion. What exactly did Shao expect from men locked in a cell for weeks with no access to water to clean themselves?
"Fool! I obviously meant AFTER they were presentable. This is offending my delicate nostrils."
"I…um," Tu was at a loss for words.
"Idiot," Shao muttered. "They are here now, let us quickly fill them in so they can stop making my eyes water."
Shen Pei, the strategist that had been speaking earlier bowed and resumed his report.
"Cao Cao has retreated to Guandu. Morale amongst our forces is low following the death of Wen Chou—"
"Wen Chou is dead?" Shou interrupted.
"That's what he just said, isn't it?" Shao snapped. It was clear he was taking the death of his second favored general poorly.
Shou sighed and shook his head. It seems that in their imprisonment, they have missed much.
"If I may continue," Pei asked. Shao waved his hand and Pei bowed once more and began again.
"Morale amongst our troops is low following the death of Wen Chou, but we cannot let this deter us. Cao Cao fled to Guandu because he cannot sustain his army for much longer. This is supported by the fact that Cao Cao bothered to move his supplies from Boma to Guandu. It was a dangerous venture and only one in desperate need of supplies would do so. I propose we launch a fierce attack against Cao Cao. We have more troops and more supplies than he does and we will surely win this battle."
"Idiot!"
All eyes turned towards Tian Feng. Shao gave an annoyed sigh. Did he actually tell Tu to let him out of prison? For the life of him he couldn't understand why he would do such a foolish thing.
"Excuse me?" Pei asked with furious eyes glaring hole into the elderly man.
"You are an idiot and your plan is foolish."
"Care to elaborate or is your only purpose to sling insults old man?" Shao asked with a tinge of annoyance lacing his words.
"Tell me something, you say Cao Cao moved his supplies from Boma to Guandu?"
"Yes," Pei replied as he folded his arms across his chest. He felt his theory was infallible and looked forward to the elderly man making a fool of himself.
"And I'm guessing Wen Chou died because he went after him while he was moving his supplies?"
Pei sighed, annoyed. "Right again."
"Can't you see you moron? It was a trap to draw Wen Chou out! He knew the importance he had in this army and he knew that he would not waste an opportunity to get revenge for his best friend's death."
"Tch, you over estimate Cao Cao. He could not have predicted that is how we would have reacted." Pei argued.
"You underestimate him! Cao Cao and lord Shao have been friends for years. He knows exactly how he thinks!"
"Enough!" Shao shouted as he rubbed his temples with his forefingers.
"You are right about one thing, old man," Shao continued as he moved one of his hands back to his nose. "Cao Cao and I have known each other for years and I know him as a person. He is a conniving little maggot that constantly hung on the robes of his betters."
This earned a few snickers around the room.
"To say he planned the last battle as a means to draw out Wen Chou is a gross overestimation of his ability," Shao concluded.
"I could not have said it better myself, my lord," said Pei.
"Of course not," Shao muttered. Pei did not catch Shao's sarcastic remark and continued his explanation.
"The reason Wen Chou died is because of Liu Bei—"
"Liu Bei is here?" Shou interjected once more.
Pei gave an annoyed sigh. "Was here. Our lord should have killed him where he stood for his cowardice and ineptitude, but he is far more merciful than I."
"What do you mean? Where is he?" Shou asked.
"Our lord, in his infinite wisdom—"
Feng scoffed.
"IN HIS INFINITE WISDOM," Pei repeated angrily.
"Oh do stop barking so loudly, Zhèngnán. You are giving me a headache," said Shao.
"My apologies, my lord," Pei apologized quickly. "In his infinite wisdom, our lord has sent Liu Bei to join with the former yellow turban rebel Lui Pi to attack Xuchang."
"I see," said Shou as he rubbed his chin while processing the new information. "Why did you say Wen Chou's death was Liu Bei's fault?"
"I would have told you if you didn't interrupt me," Pei groused. "Liu Bei was with Wen Chou yet his group was the only to survive. According to him, they were ambushed and could not get to Wen Chou so he ran back here with his tail between his legs."
Shao sighed. "We questioned several of our troops that had survived and they confirmed Liu Bei's statement. They were ambushed and it was impossible to cross the yellow river."
"That proves my point! How would Cao Cao know to set up an ambush if he didn't plan on you following him?" asked Feng.
There was silence that followed Feng question so he pressed on. "Do not attack Guandu, lord Shao. You will lose the battle."
"Are you doubting the strength of our army?" Pei asked angrily.
"I am doubting the wisdom of our army," Feng retorted.
"It seems that releasing you from your cell was a foolish thing to do," said Shao. "You have done nothing but sown discord amongst our troops. I am beyond done with dealing with you. Throw him back in his cell."
"My lord! No!" Shou tried to argue, but Shao gave him a look that made his blood freeze.
"It is clear that his only purpose is to sow discord. I will not allow such an element in this army any further. Any who argues on his behalf will share his fate."
Shou clammed up. He wasn't proud to admit it, but he did not relish the idea of being thrown back into the cell just after being released. He lowered his head to avoid the judgmental eyes of Feng and remained silent.
"My lord—" Jùnyì began but he was cut off rather abruptly by Feng.
"I told you that you are an idiot, boy. Don't you have a reason to stay out of that cell?"
Zhenji…yes… if there was any hope for Jùnyì to save her from the predicament he got her in, he needed to be free. But to damn someone else's freedom just to save her, could he do that? Feng could see the indecision in his eyes and knew he needed to make the choice for him.
"Well? What are you fools waiting for? I want to get back to sleep. No one here is going to speak on my behalf so let's get on with it."
Shao waved a dismissive hand and the guards took Feng by the arm to lead him back to his cell.
"Jùnyì," Shao began, pulling the man's attention away from Feng and the guards that were leading him away. "You will be one of my generals in the upcoming fight. I have forgiven your earlier ignorance for this reason only. I hope you do not disappoint me again."
Jùnyì saluted Shao, Feng's words resonating within him still. 'You have a reason to stay out of that cell.' For her, he would stay out and he will find a way to liberate himself and her from the clutches of the Yuans.
=#=
-A month later -
Cao Ren walked along the wall of Xuchang. His armor clanked loudly with each step, but the clatter was drowned out by the battle raging not far from the city. Ren should have been out in that battle, but he had something to address first. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for. Cao Chong sat in his wooden chair, his caregiver standing dutifully behind him as he gazed out towards the battle field.
"Lord Cangshu, you should not be out here," said Ren, sparing no time in getting to the heart of the matter once he was in earshot.
"I cannot see the battle from the safety of my room. How do you expect me to make a strategy for the battle if I cannot see it?" Chong asked as he kept his eyes trained on the battlefield.
"It is dangerous here," Ren argued.
"Is it dangerous because I am chair bound? Had I still had use for my legs, I would be in the battle. Would that make it less dangerous?"
Ren frowned. He could not dispute that point, but perhaps he could make another. "If you do not wish to think for the safety of yourself, think of the safety of your lady. She is not use to battle and I am sure she is scared."
"Hmm," Chong said as he finally turned his attention from the battlefield to Ren. "You may have a point there." He looked up to his caregiver. "Tell me, my dear, are you afraid?"
"No, my lord," she replied. "If this is where you wish to be, I shall stay here with you."
"Ah, you see? The only person who is worried is you, Zǐxiào."
Ren threw up his hands in defeat. He knew he wasn't going to win this argument. "Fine, do what you will."
"I planned on it. Now if you are done trying to act like my nursemaid, I have some information that might be useful for you regarding the battle."
"What is it?"
"It is a sizable force, but look at them," Chong gestured to the enemy forces as he spoke. They aren't together. It seems that they are under two different generals and they don't quite know how to play nice with each other. It should be easy to disorient them. I already have Anmin and Biao waiting to execute a pincer attack. They will do so once they have seen that you have engaged the enemy."
"Hmm…," Ren said as he observed the enemy troops. Truly there did seem to be dissent amongst the ranks. They seemed as likely to fight each other as they did their enemies.
"You will of course have to be wary of Liu Bei. As you well know, his men are skilled. The other general is a complete unknown so be careful around him as well."
Ren nodded. "I will. Please do not worry. I will ask one more time, to ensure your safety, please withdraw from the wall."
Chong let out a soft chuckle. "You are tenacious, I'll give you that. If you truly want to protect me, I suggest you kill them before they get close enough to harm me."
Ren could have guess that would have been the answer, but he had to try.
"Very well," he said as he walked to the edge of the wall and leapt over it. He landed on the ground below with a force akin to that of an earthquake, forming a small crater beneath his feet.
"Show off," Chong said with a scoff as Ren charged into battle, using his shield as a battering ram to smack away any unfortunate fool that stood in his way.
"Charge forward! Attack him you fools! Attack him!" Liu Pi shouted to his soldiers.
He couldn't keep out the mounting frustration he was feeling in his voice. Since Liu Bei showed up, he lost what little power he had. His troops looked to Liu Bei as their leader and it was a constant power struggle between the two. They may have shared a family name, but family they were not. Enemies was a more apt description.
"No! Don't follow that command," shouted Liu Bei.
Pi turned to him with a snarl. "How many times do I have to tell you?! This is my army!"
"Listen to reason," Bei replied in a calm tone that just frustrated Pi more. "There is only one general coming towards us. Don't you think that is strange? If we focus all of our attention on him, we leave ourselves open to an ambush."
"Don't YOU understand that the majority of Cao Cao's forces are with him in Guandu? There aren't any generals left to face us! That is exactly why I chose now to attack. You claimed that you came here to help but all I see you doing is trying to take over! Your help is not wanted nor needed. Leave!"
"Liu Pi, be reasonable. You cannot accomplish this task on your own."
"I knew it! I knew you looked down on me! You don't think I can do it so you want to come here and steal all the glory! Well you won't get a chance! LEAVE!"
Liu Bei sighed and turned back to his men.
"You heard him. We are not wanted here."
Zhang Fei spat as he glared at Liu Pi. "Have fun dying idiot. Remember when you suck in your last pathetic breath that my brother tried to help you."
With those parting words, Liu Bei and his people withdrew from the battle.
Satisfied, Liu Pi turned his attention back to his men. "CHARGE!"
And so they did. They rushed at Cao Ren, their focus solely on the general before them. Ren accepted them gladly, charging at them head on with his shield raised. He hit the initial wave of enemies, the bulk of them knocked away from the sheer force of his ramming attack. Ren suddenly shifted his footing and planted himself in place. He whipped out the blade tucked into the fold of his shield and swung it at his nearest foes. Keeping his attack high, he managed to slice through the throat of two of his enemies. The others managed to block the attack or at least dodge out of the way.
Ren did not let this stop him. With a smooth movement, he slipped the blade back in its sheath within the shield and proceeded to swing at his enemies with the shield itself. His enemies couldn't understand how a man weighed down by so much armor could move so fast. He slammed into them with frightening speed; their attacks bouncing harmlessly off of his armor. Ren grabbed one of his foes and tossed the flailing man into his allies then leapt into the air. His enemies' eyes widened, fearful of when this mountain of a man would come down. They tried to scramble out of the way but Ren landed and struck the ground with a force that shook the earth beneath them, knocking them off balance and leaving them vulnerable to the attacks of his forces that swarmed in behind him to take advantage of their fallen foes.
"GET UP! GET UP YOU FOOLS!" Pi cried out to his forces. They were getting slaughtered by this one general whom even without the help of Liu Bei they clearly outnumbered.
Ren continued to toss his foes about, sending one of them hurling towards Liu Pi knocking him off his horse. Groaning, Pi tried to shove the unconscious soldier off when he heard the panicked cries of his men.
"Ambush! We're being ambushed!"
Finally having gotten the soldier off of him, Pi brought himself to his feet. He looked around to see the fluttering blue flag of Cao Cao's forces coming from the east and the west. A pincer attack; Liu Bei was right. Liu Pi began to laugh aloud at the situation his pride had gotten him in. Wiping a tear from his eye, he threw his weapon upon the ground.
"Give up fools. We'll not win this battle."
Seeing their commander give up, they slowly followed suit, tossing their swords and spears to the ground. Seeing that they have surrendered, Ren held up a hand stopping his forces from attacking.
"Do you surrender?" He shouted out to Pi.
"Do people who intend on fighting typically throw their weapons to the ground?" he replied.
Ren frowned at the sarcastic remark, but he couldn't begrudge him his anger. Had he been caught in a similar situation, he doubted he would be in a pleasant mood.
"Very well, you will be taken prisoner."
"Get on with it then," Pi said with a sigh.
Cao Ren gestured to his troops and they took Liu Pi and his forces as prisoners. The men were led to Xuchang and taken into the town square. Chong, having seen that the battle had ended, had his caregiver wheel him there. Pi looked down to Chong with utter disdain as he was brought before him.
"What is this? I am to be judged by a cripple? I demand to see the emperor!"
Chong brow rose in amusement as he looked up to Pi. "You truly think you are worthy of seeing the emperor? What delusions of grandeur you have."
"I will not be judged by someone that isn't even fully a man any longer. I heard one of Cao Cao's sons is here. Fetch him boy."
"Show respect," Ren snarled as he grabbed Pi by the collar and lifted him a foot off of the ground. "You speak to lord Cao's son, lord Chong. He is in command while his father is away."
Pi's eyes widened as he realized the grave error he had committed.
"M-my apologies, my lord. I did not know," he muttered out. Hearing the apology, Ren dropped him back onto his feet. Pi stumbled but managed to maintain his footing.
"Think nothing of it. I am not one to hold a grudge. I promise you I will not let that your stupidity sour my impression of you."
"That…is most kind of you, my lord," Pi said in surprise. Had it been him, he certainly wouldn't have been quite so generous.
"Now, as to the matter of your fate," Chong began. He looked up to his caregiver and offered her his hand. She took it and Chong led her around the chair until she was in front of him. With a swift motion, he pulled her into his lap. She let out a squeak of surprise as wrapped her arms around his neck.
"My dear, I'll let you decide this man's fate."
Pi's eyes widened once more. What foolishness was this? Chong would leave his fate in the hands of a mere woman? 'I won't take it personally my ass,' Pi thought bitterly as the caregiver looked up at him, her nose wrinkling as if she had smelled something foul.
"I don't like him," she said with a pout as she turned to face Chong once more.
"I don't like him much either," Chong agreed with a grin. "Should we imprison him, or kill him?"
Her head turned back to Pi. The gentle, flirty eyes she had suddenly grew cold as she looked at him anew.
"I don't like people who insult my lord. You may not take it personally, but I do. Kill him."
"Mmm, your wish is my command," Chong said with a smile as he looked at Ren.
"You heard the beautiful lady. Death it is."
"Wait! This is bullshit! She can't decide my fate! She is a nobody! She is nothing!"
Chong merely shook his head. "This is exactly why she wanted you dead. You aren't a very nice person."
Ren signaled for the guards to take the screaming Pi away. With a frown, he returned his attention to Chong.
"Are you certain about this, my lord?" Ren asked.
Chong's caregiver removed herself from Chong's lap and took her place behind him once more. He looked up to Ren and chuckled.
"I never intended on letting him live, Zǐxiào. This act we put on was solely for our amusement."
"You do not feel as if he would be useful?"
"Useful? Let's count up his sins, shall we?"
Chong held up a hand as he began to tick off each of Pi's offenses. He joined a stupid cause such as the Yellow Turbans. He attacked the heavily fortified Xuchang without any siege weapons. From what I saw, he turned away help offered from because he couldn't play nice with Liu Bei and he insulted the person who held his fate in his hands. He is an idiot. My father has no use for men like him."
Ren couldn't argue with those points so he didn't even bother. "What do we do with the rest of his troops?"
"Well we could always use more men. If they willingly join us, let them. Keep them under watch to ensure that they truly are loyal. If they wish to be foolish, well then they can share the fate of their general."
Ren saluted and left to go fulfill his order.
"Where should we go now, my lord?" asked the sultry voice of Chong's caregiver.
Chong did not reply, seemingly staring into the distance, his attention diverted elsewhere.
"My lord?" she called again.
"He's right, you know," Chong said, his gaze still focused on the distance. "I'm no longer truly a man."
"He was a fool, my lord," she said. "You are a better man than most I have met."
"Am I?" Chong asked as he finally pulled his attention back to her. "I cannot protect you. I cannot care for you. You are the one that cares for me. I don't even know if I am truly satisfying you intimately. You do the majority of the work in that regard as well."
She took hold of Chong's hands and gently stroked the fingers she had become intimately familiar with over the course of their relationship. "You satisfy me plenty…sometimes several times a night," she replied with a smile.
"I do not even know if I can give you a child," he replied as he pulled his hands away from her.
"I do not need one as long as I have you," she replied as she put her arms around him.
Chong often did this. He would doubt himself because of his disability. It was a hard adjustment to go from someone that could walk with the power of his own two legs to suddenly being unable to even go to the bathroom on his own. It gave him bouts of frustration and depression and through it all, she was there.
"Jun," he murmured softly as he felt her place a soft kiss to his neck. "You were only hired to care for me…yet our relationship has become more than that. Why? You have nothing to gain from this relationship. I will not succeed my father. I will never gain fame in battle or become a general of renown. Why do you bother with a broken man?"
"Do you really need to ask?"
"Yes," he replied.
Jun let out a soft laugh. It was a foolish question. Of course he did. That was just Chong's nature. "Because you are my life. Taking care of you is my reason for living…and in my eyes, you are not a broken man. You are my man and I will always be here for you."
Chong closed his eyes and smiled sadly. "I wish I met you…when I was whole."
"You ARE whole," she replied. "You may be confined to this chair, but you aren't less because of it. I will remind you everyday if need be."
Chong chuckled softly. "You remind me of Zǐhuán. Sometime I swear the two of you are conspiring together to make sure I do not slip into depression. Thank you for your words Jun. You are a good woman."
Chong put his hand on her arms and led her around till she stood in front of him once more.
"This may be selfish of me, but I find it difficult to let you go…even though I know it might be better for you to find someone else…I want you all to myself. So indulge me in my selfishness Jun…become my wife?"
Jun gasped as she searched Chong's face for any hints of deception. "Y-you aren't lying to me? You truly mean it?"
"I do," Chong replied with a lopsided smile.
"This is a foolish question to ask, my lord," she said as she wiped a tear that had formed in the corner of her eye, her face nearly splitting from the wide smile she wore. "I already told you, I am eternally yours. You only need claim me."
Chong pulled her down and kissed her gently which she gladly indulged. Their bliss was rudely interrupted by a cough beside them. The both of them turned to the source of the cough and saw Cao Anmin standing there with a lecherous grin.
"What do you want, cousin?" Chong asked annoyed that he had been interrupted.
"Ooooh just wanted to check on my favorite cousin," Anmin said with a grin that only got wider.
"Since when am I your favorite?"
"Oh stop it! You always were…so um tell me…do you think I can get the services of your caregiver sometime? She seems…very thorough."
"Don't speak of my wife like that you mongrel," Chong replied flatly.
Anmin blinked. "Wait…what? Since when?"
"Since I asked her a few minutes ago. The kiss you just interrupted was us celebrating it."
"Oh…oh shit! I'm sorry. I mean no disrespect, honest."
Chong waved his cousin's apologies off. "Forget it. I know you aren't dumb enough to do that on purpose. All is forgiven."
"There was an insult in there, but that's fine. Since you are celebrating such good news, I'll let it slide. I'll let you two lovebirds go, but maybe you might want to go somewhere a little more private to celebrate your engagement, rather than in the middle of the square?"
Chong looked around as if he had forgotten where they were. Indeed there quite a few people that had stopped to look at the happy couple. "Indeed, it seems we gathered quite the crowd. Come, my love. Let us go back to my room. We can play the naughty caregiver and the surly cripple."
Anmin nearly choked on his spit when he heard that. "Are you serious? Is that…really something you two do?" He had to hold his tongue to prevent the follow up question of HOW do you play it.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" was Chong's reply as a smiling Jun wheeled him away.
=#=
Cao Cao stood at the head of his war council. He looked at the faces of his generals and could see they were tense. There had been whispers of the upcoming battle for weeks now, but Yuan Shao hadn't made a move. Cao had his troops on high alert and made them prepare Guandu's defenses for any possible attack he felt Shao would think of. The wait, however, was wearing on everyone. No one knew when it would come and being on constant alert was beginning to wear on everyone's nerves.
There was also the matter of time. The battle between Cao and Shao began almost nine months ago. That is nine months husbands have been without their wives, parents away from their children. Every warrior knew the demand this life required, but none were immune to its effects. Eventually they would long for home and if a war dragged out long enough, that longing would start to affect morale. Yuan Shao troops were probably going through the same thing which aided in his decision to move now.
"Yuan Shao has finally made his move," Cao announced.
"Finally," Yuan said and many of the other generals agreed to this sentiment.
"This will most likely be our final fight against him. I will not broker any failure in this battle. I will accept nothing less than Yuan Shao dead at the end of it."
There was a resounding cry of acknowledgement at Cao's words.
"Reports show that they are advancing slowly from Yangwu in the south. They seem to have siege weapons in their midst."
There were murmurs amongst the generals at this news until one of them finally spoke up.
"My lord," Xu Huang said as he saluted Cao. "May I speak?"
Cao nodded his head, granting Huang permission. "Will you have us attack them as they march?"
"No. Their forces are great indeed and after the suffering so many recent defeats, they have learned to be cautious. We will not be able to lure them into an ambush so easily. We will use the defenses we have set up here," Cao replied.
Cao looked around the room waiting to see if there were any further questions. When he saw there were none, he continued.
"It will be some time before they arrive. I want our troops prepared for battle when they do."
His generals saluted and Cao gave a wave of his hand, dismissing them. Everything hinged on this next battle. Either his blood or Yuan Shao's will stain the ground.
=#=
Yuan Shao arrived at Guandu with siege weapons in tow. Cao's forces were bunkered down in trenches they had dug in preparation for the battle. The trenches prevented Shao from using the siege weapons to breach the walls of Guandu so he decided to use them in a different way. He had his forces stand atop the siege weapons and with the advantage the height afforded them, they rained arrows down to Cao's forces in the trenches. In the initial attack, Cao's forces took losses, but Cao rebounded quickly. He had his forces take cover in the trenches with shields making Shao's attack ineffective. Cao did not stop there, however. He launched his own siege weapons in the form of traction trebuchets and had his men take aim at the archer platforms completely destroying them.
Frustrated, Shao changed tactics. He attempted to dig a tunnel to Guandu and circumvent Cao's forces completely. Unfortunately for him, the trenches Cao dug were deep indeed and Shao's forces ran into them and were beaten back quite handily. This left both forces at a standoff, Shao unable to surmount Cao's forces and Cao maintaining his defense and not striking out against Shao.
Time wore on and another month passed with no progress made on either side. With a lull in the battle, Cao decided to call a meeting with his advisors to get an update on the status of the army.
"To put it bluntly, we are probably going to lose this war soon," said Man Chong.
"As tactfully as ever, Bóníng," said Jia with a sigh.
"Huh?" Chong asked as he ran a scratched his head.
"Nothing, though I suggest you give a bit more detail. The look on lord Cao's face shows he isn't too happy about what you just said."
"No. I'm not," Cao confirmed. "Explain."
"Oh, sorry about that. I meant to say that we are probably going to lose this war soon because we are running dangerously low on supplies. We won't be able to feed our army soon."
"What are our options?"
"If you want my advice, we retreat," said Chong.
"I am against that decision," Xun You interjected.
"As am I," Jia concurred.
"I assume that means you have a plan on how we can get more supplies then?"
"Yes. We will steal them from Yuan Shao," Jia replied.
Cao sat up slightly at hearing this news. This piqued his interest. "I'm listening."
Jia gestured to Xun You who stepped forward and saluted. "Our spies have discovered that Yuan Shao has been storing supplies at a depot in the village of Gushi."
"Hmm…perhaps we can use the people to turn on Yuan Shao and turn over the supplies to us."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible," Jia replied with an uncharacteristic frown. "When Yuan Shao moved his troops in…I guess he considered the residents a nuisance. He…he slaughtered them all."
Cao shook his head, his expression one of disgust and disappointment at the man he once called friend.
"Such senseless violence. That is just another thing he has to pay for. Fine, if the villagers aren't an option, we take it by force."
"I agree," said Jia.
Chong gave a labored sigh. "I still think retreating is best."
"Your opinion is noted, Bóníng," Cao replied.
"But ignored," Chong replied moodily.
"I suggest we use a small cavalry unit to attack the village," said You, eager to move the conversation forward.
"But that's not enough," said Jia Xu as he threw an arm around You's shoulder making him nearly jump out of his skin.
"Ahahaha, really, you are too easy to sneak up on," said Xu with a grin that made You want to punch him.
"I don't expect grown men to sneak around like cats, especially in the middle of a war council, Wénhé."
This little outburst only made Xu laugh more.
"Enough," Cao said. "What did you mean, Wénhé?"
Xu saluted Cao. "We need to distract him with a frontal attack so our troops can get to the village unmolested."
"Do the same thing we did at Boma? Won't he be expecting something like that?" asked Chong.
"I don't think so. We've been playing it pretty passive since the beginning of the battle. If we go out in force, he would think we have simply decided to make a move. By the time he realizes what we've done, it should already be too late…provided our distraction forces do an adequate job distracting that is."
Cao rubbed his chin as he considered Xu's proposal. After a few minutes, he nodded in agreement.
"We will follow Wénhé's plan. Gōngmíng will lead the cavalry unit that will attack the village and I will personally lead the distraction unit. Prepare our troops for battle. I do not wish to waste anymore time."
With their plan set, Cao's advisor set off to prepare the troops for battle.
=#=
The attack commenced in the dead of night. Instead of flags, Cao had his flag carriers equipped with lanterns. They took their place at the front of the army to light the way for the others. Shao's attention was immediately drawn to the row of lights charging at his army and he sent his forces out to meet them. The diversion underway, Xu Huang was able to slip by with his group, only a single lantern carrier lighting the darken path leading them to their destination.
It was their fortune that the person selected for the job of lantern carrier was the spy, Shi Huan, who had discovered the depot earlier. He led the way mostly from memory and got them there with no trouble at all. Huang ordered the lantern to be snuff out once they came within range of the rickety wooden gates of the village. Huan easily shifted back into his designed role of spy once his job as guide was done and went out to scout the village defenses. He returned quickly and relayed his report to Huang.
"From what I can see, there is only one general within. I've seen him before. I believe his name is Han Meng. He won't be hard to face in battle. I'll leave that up to you."
"How do we get in?" Huang asked.
"With a diversion," Huan replied. I'll set fire to the grain carts. While they are busy trying to put that out, I'll open the gate and let our forces in. From there, you take out Han Meng and we have ourselves a lovely bounty."
Huang nodded. "It is a sound plan. Go, and be safe."
Huan saluted the other man and disappeared into the night. Huang and the others waited patiently for Huan. Time seemed to creep by agonizingly slow and some began to wonder if he was captured. This thought was dispelled by the sudden cries coming from within the village. Huang looked to the sky and could barely make out the plume of smoke against the backdrop of the night sky. The sentries that had been stationed on the wall left their post to assist with dousing the fire and before long; the gates swung open giving Huang and his forces access.
Huang wasted no time riding into the village. With Han Meng's men preoccupied with the fire, they barely had time to react to the sudden attack. Huang led the charge, his massive axe cleaving through his enemies as if they were sheaf of wheat falling easily under a sharp blade. Whatever managed to survive his initial attack was finished off by his forces.
Huang found Han Meng still standing by the burning grain carts. His face drained of blood as he saw the carnage being wrought around him.
Huang dismounted and set his massive axe beside him on the ground.
"I challenge you to one on one combat. If I win and your men surrender, you have my word no harm will come to them."
Meng's eyes shifted to the massive axe that Huang held at his side and froze there. "This scenario you have painted…I would be dead in it, correct?"
Huang's brows furrowed, confused by the question. "It would be a duel to the death…yes."
"I see. In that case, I surrender," Meng said as he threw his sword to the ground. "We all surrender, right men?"
There were murmurs of agreement as his soldiers tossed their weapons to the ground. Huang's face went from one of confusion to outrage.
"What is this? You cannot surrender! We have not had our honorable duel!"
"Yes, well, I have never seen an axe that large and I have no want to feel that anywhere on my body. We surrender."
"But…don't you want to fight for the honor of your lord? Or to test your own mettle in the forge of battle?"
"No. Not really," Meng replied nonchalantly.
Huang's mouth dipped into a deep frown. He certainly did not see this outcome. He couldn't understand how someone would pass on an honorable duel. Did this man have no honor?
"Haha, it looks like he took the wind out of your sails, Gōngmíng," said Huan as he gave him a slap on the back.
"There is nothing humorous about this situation. They have surrendered and we are honor bound to accept that surrender and treat them justly."
Huan couldn't help but laugh again. While Huang spoke as if he accepted the situation with dignity, the look on his face was one of someone that had just been denied his favorite toy. Huang was really looking forward to a duel and Meng's cowardice had truly denied him his prize.
"Enough," Huang said. "If you have time to laugh, you can help us put out the fire. You went a bit overboard."
"That is just called good work, my friend," Huan replied. "But yes, I will assist. We best hurry. It wouldn't do to have all the supplies we went through the trouble of capturing burned up, right?"
"On that we agree," Huang replied.
=#=
Sounds of Yuan Shao's irate ranting filtered through the tent flap. The recent loss of his depot in Gushi incensed him and he was going to let his generals know it. Zhang He hung around outside of the tent. He wasn't invited to the war council, but he was interested in what was going on. Luckily enough for him, Shao was speaking loud enough that he didn't need to be inside to hear what was happening.
The yelling continued. After awhile, Jùnyì found the whole thing tiresome. Screaming in such a fashion was so unbecoming of a noble lord. Finally deciding to take his leave, Jùnyì was surprised to see Ju Shou walking towards him. To say he looked disheveled would have been an understatement; with his hair hanging loose and his robe sloppily tied. Jùnyì eyed his friend in confusion; the man seemed to be walking hunched over and in a bit of a daze.
"I thought you were already inside," Jùnyì said quietly as to not let the inhabitants in the tent know they were outside.
Shou looked towards the tent with unfocused eyes. His eyes seemed as if they were about to water and Jùnyì touched his shoulder to snap him out of his stupor. Shou recoiled from the touch and he glanced at Jùnyì as if realizing for the first time he was there. His eyes suddenly hardened and he started at him with renewed determination. Shou suddenly grabbed Jùnyì's arm and pulled him away from the tent. Jùnyì was befuddled by his friend's peculiar actions, but he allowed himself to be dragged away.
Once they were a safe distance away from the tent, Shou spoke in sharp hushed whispers.
"Do you still wish to leave Yuan Shao's service?"
Jùnyì tilted his head and stared at his friend. The lack of title was definitely noticed.
"Has something happened?" Jùnyì asked carefully.
"Answer me, Jùnyì!" Shou demanded as he grabbed his arms imploringly.
"Friend, what has happened to you? What has you so riled up? You look almost as bad as when we were in that cell."
Shou turned his back to Jùnyì. He was having trouble controlling his emotions and he didn't want Jùnyì to see him in such a pathetic state. He sucked in a deep breath and tried to steady himself.
"That cell," he said bitterly. "It was the beginning of the end for me."
Jùnyì remained silent and let Shou tell his story.
"I thought I would be sent back to Hebei. I had plans for when I returned home. It was all I thought about when we were imprisoned. When I got home, everything would be well. I couldn't wait to see my wife…heh I planned to have her wash me, you know? I could already see her wrinkling her nose and running away when I tried to hug her with my foul smell. I can still see her face…"
Jùnyì heard a sniffle come from Shou and it took a bit before he was able to start again.
"Yuan Shao…that bastard…" Jùnyì could see Shou's fist balled at his sides and he was visibly shaking.
"Yuan Shao allowed Zhèngnán to have her arrested. She…she had no money!" Shou said as he suddenly turned to Jùnyì and grabbed his arms pleadingly. "They wouldn't let her access any of my fortune while I was imprisoned and she needed to eat!"
Shou felt his knees buckle and if not for Jùnyì's quick reflexes, he would have fallen to the ground.
"Zhèngnán knew she was my wife…but when he got word of her crime, he still had her arrested. All he had to do was pardon her. It would have been so easy, but no, he had her arrested."
Shou's demeanor suddenly shifted. His sadness morphed into rage. "He knew what he did during the last war council and he didn't tell me anything! He knew what he did to her and he didn't say a word!"
"What do you mean? What happened?" Jùnyì asked softly.
"My wife…my beautiful wife. She is fragile, you know?" Shou shifted to sadness once more. His emotions were completely unstable and he was rambling, unable to admit to Jùnyì or himself what fate befell his wife.
"She isn't built for a life in confinement. She wouldn't have stolen if they just let her access my fortune…just a few taels and she would have been fine. She wouldn't have stolen but no one would help her, even though they all knew who I was…"
"What happened?" Jùnyì urged. He already had an idea, but he knew Shou needed to say it, needed to come to terms with it. Shou looked up to Jùnyì, tears in his eyes. He was no longer afraid to show it or perhaps he just didn't care if anyone saw it anymore.
"She…she killed herself. She couldn't take it. The solitude, the filth, not knowing if she was ever going to be released. She couldn't take any of it and she killed herself."
Tears freely fell from Shou and Jùnyì remained silent allowing his friend to vent his feelings. After a time, Shou sucked in a deep breath and wiped his eyes.
"They didn't know she was dead…at least that's what Zhèngnán claims. They were going to keep her imprisoned a bit longer to ensure that I didn't do anything stupid again, but when they went to check on her…she was dead. She…she hung herself…with the sash from her robe."
Shou sucked in another shaky breath and straightened his back. Since he learned of the fate of his wife Shou had been hunched over as if the despair had weighed him down. Having finally told the tale, a weight was lifted and he was able to stand straight once more.
"Zhèngnán…do you know that bastard asked me if this was going to be a problem? If I would still be loyal to Yuan Shao? He told me I could get another wife as if she were nothing. He wouldn't even let me go back to Hebei to properly bury her! To answer his question, I punched him. I punched him as hard as I could and I ran. They have been looking for me ever since."
"Then you shouldn't be here!" Jùnyì said suddenly alarmed.
"I…I was going to turn myself in. I was going to plead for death so I could be by her side. Then I saw you and I remembered what you said about wanting to leave and I suddenly didn't want to die anymore. I suddenly wanted revenge. I have decided to leave. I am going to defect to Cao Cao and I am going to help bring Yuan Shao down. You want to leave too, right? Come with me, Jùnyì."
Jùnyì hesitated. It was true that he wanted to leave and the offer Shou presented was an attractive one, but he couldn't flee without knowing that Zhenji was safe and knowing that he did everything in his power to protect her. Shou could see the uncertainty in Jùnyì's face.
"Zhenji, right? She still holds you here."
Shou sighed and shook his head. "My friend, she is not your responsibility. You need to look out for yourself. Mark my words, Jùnyì, Yuan Shao will lose this war. I do not want to see you go down with him."
"Don't worry about me. If it gets too bad, I'll be sure to make a stunning exit. Come, let me take you to my tent. It would be best if you flee at night. There are too many guards about now and you will be spotted easily if you try to flee. I will give you what food and funds that I can so you can successfully make your trip to Cao Cao."
"I can't allow you to do that. If Yuan Shao finds out you helped me—"
"He will not. Do not worry. Come, you look absolutely dreadful. You do not want to meet the warlord looking so pitiable, do you?"
Shou looked down at his disheveled appearance. He hadn't bothered to take stock in his look when he left his own tent earlier.
"I suppose not," he muttered.
"Good, come then," said Jùnyì as he led Shou to his tent for temporary shelter that he sorely needed.
=#=
-A week later -
Xun You entered a small tea house found in the city of Guandu. He stood at the entrance and scanned the surrounding area when he was greeted by one of the servers. She offered to lead him to a seat and he almost took her up on her offer when he spotted who he had been looking for.
"I hardly believed the message when I received it," said You once he reached the table tucked away in the corner far from the other patrons.
Ju Shou stood and embraced his old friend in a brotherly hug.
"It is good to see you, Gōngdá."
"And you," he replied as he took a seat across from Shou. You don't look well. What has happened?
Shou gave him a tired smile. He wasn't as disheveled as he was a week ago, but he didn't have the same bearing he usually carried with him. There were bags under his eyes and he lost some weight giving his face a thinner, unhealthy appearance. Being on the run for a week and sneaking into a city ruled by your former lord's enemy was not an easy task.
"I've had a rough week," Shou replied.
"It looks like it,' You mused.
"I won't beat around the bush," Shou began as he leaned forward on the table so his words could be heard by You and You alone. "I wish to defect."
You studied Shou's face. It was clear that he was absolutely serious. This came as a shock to You as Shou was one of the most loyal men he knew.
"I never thought you would betray Yuan Shao."
"Neither would I and I probably wouldn't have, if he hadn't betrayed me first."
"What happened?"
Shou sighed and leaned back, slumping in his seat. "He and Shen Pei caused the death of my wife."
"I'm…I'm so sorry."
Shou raised a hand. "I'm tired of being sorry about it. I want revenge. If Cao Cao can grant me my revenge, I swear my life to his service."
You nodded in understanding. "Well then, let's waste no time. Let's go see him immediately."
Shou regarded You in surprise.
"We can see him? That easily? Don't you have to request an audience?"
"Forgive me, but once I received your letter, I informed my lord immediately. I didn't want him finding out that I was meeting with you from someone else. I told him that you wouldn't have come all this way here if you weren't planning on defecting and he agreed to meet with you if that indeed was the case."
Shou gave a short laugh. "Shrewd as always, Gōngdá. Alright then, come, let us meet your lord."
The two men left the tea house and You led him to Cao Cao who was already awaiting their presence.
"Ah, Ju Shou, it is good to meet you," Cao said once Shou stood in front of him.
"It is good to meet you as well, my lord," Shou replied.
You saluted Cao. "I shall leave you two to talk then."
Shou reached out for You obviously nervous about being left alone with Cao, but You gave him a reassuring pat on the back. "Don't worry," he said and he stepped out of the room leaving the two men alone.
"Drink?" Cao asked as he gestured to a seat across from him.
Shou took the seat but shook his head no at the drink offer.
"Mind telling me how you and Gōngdá know each other?"
Shou knew You would have already relayed this information to Cao so his asking had to be a test of some sort. Perhaps to see If he would tell the same story or omit some of the facts in some way. It was a clever way to gauge if Shou was a liar.
"We met and became friends during the brief period Gōngdá served Yuan Shao. Unlike me, he was smart enough to see that Yuan Shao was not the lord for him and he left his service early and joined under your flag."
"Yes, Gōngdá told me much the same," Cao admitted. "Gōngdá also told me you wish to defect from Yuan Shao."
"I do," Shou said in agreement.
"I can't help but wonder why you would want to do such a thing. You are one of his top advisors, are you not?"
"Yuan Shao is a hard man to serve. He prefers to take the advice of fools rather than the sound advice of those that only want the best for his army, he constantly belittle those that are loyal to him and he holds his favored up on a pedestal. There are many who want to leave his service for those reasons alone, but you are correct in thinking that there is a more personal reason for my defection. Yuan Shao—it is because of him that I am a widow; my beautiful wife dead because of his carelessness. I swear to serve you to the best of my ability if only you promise me two things—"
"And what is the first thing?"
"Shen Pei's death," Shou replied.
"And the second?"
"Yuan Shao's death."
Cao smiled. "Well that won't be too hard considering that I already intended on killing him. I do not truly care for Shen Pei so if you wish his death, so be it. Are you certain there is nothing more you want? Taels? Silks?— "
"No. Just their deaths are enough for me."
"Well, this is the easiest deal I've ever had to make, Ju Shou. I have heard tale of your vast intelligence and your knowledge in the art of war. If what you say is true and Yuan Shao did not listen to your advice in battle well then he is truly a fool but I am fortunate because I may not have won as many victories as I have."
"Thank you for your kind words, my lord. I swear to serve you loyally till my dying breath."
"As long as I present Yuan Shao and Shen Pei's heads to you on a platter," Cao said with a hint of amusement.
"Yes," Shou replied solemnly.
"Well then, you are welcomed amongst us, Ju Shou. I will have someone set up temporary lodgings for you. You look as if you can use some rest—"
"My lord, thank you, but before that, I wish to tell you of information that can help your war efforts."
"Is that so?" Cao asked with a raised brow.
"Yes," Shou replied. "Though I do not know how long this weakness will be exploitable so you must act quickly."
Cao regarded Shou in silence for a few minutes. This could very well be a set up. He could have made up that entire story of his dead wife to lure Cao and his men into a trap and ambush them. It is certainly a tactic Cao would use. But there was something in Shou's demeanor that made Cao believe him. You could see the hurt behind his eyes. He did lose someone he loved and he was in pain. The flame of revenge burned so brightly within Shou that Cao couldn't believe this was all a clever plot. So he would take a chance and take Shou at his word, but before he made any further plans, he would let his advisors hear of this and see what they made of the situation.
"I will call a war council immediately. You can relay your information to my advisors. It would be a good time to meet your new allies as well."
=#=
The war council was called. Cao's generals and advisors were gathered, the only noticeable absence being Guan Yu. Cao stood at the head of the council and addressed them.
"We have a new member of our army," Cao said as he gestured to Shou. "His name is Ju Shou and he comes to us as a defect from Yuan Shao's army. He will serve as an advisor and it seems he already has a plan in mind."
Shou saluted Cao then saluted the other generals and advisors.
"Thank you, my lord. I will get right into it. After you attacked the supply depot in the village of Gushi, Yuan Shao had his general, Chunyu Qiong, escort a large reserve of food supplies from Hebei to make up for the loss. The supplies were then moved to Wuchao which is about forty miles away from Gushi village."
"Any idea how many this Chunyu Qiong has with him?" asked Jia Xu.
"He arrived from Hebei with ten-thousand men, but after he finished escorting the supplies, Yuan Shao had him send over half those men to him. As it stands now, he has only four thousand with him," Shou replied.
"Why would he leave his supplies so lightly guarded?" asked Man Chong.
"Because there is no way lord Cao would have known about it. Indeed, had it not been for me, he would still not know," Shou replied.
"I do not like the sound of this, my lord," said Yu Jin. "This is all a bit too convenient."
"Hmm, I admit, it does almost sound too good to be true, but we could use the supplies and taking them away from Yuan Shao would pretty much seal his fate in this war," said Man Chong.
"I mean, it sounds good, but how can we believe this guy? Did you get a chance to check him out?" asked Yuan.
"He comes recommended to me from Gōngdá," Cao replied.
"And can we truly trust him?" Jin asked. "His cousin betrayed us."
"His cousin betrayed us, not him," Zhuyue interjected earning a hate filled glare thrown her way by Yu Jin which she ignored.
"Gōngdá has done much for this army. If he trusts him, I say we do as well," Zhuyue concluded.
"I agree with my dear little sister," said Jia with a smile. "Gōngdá wouldn't bring him before us if he thought he was untrustworthy."
"You guys can keep all that mushy stuff, I say we do the plan because it'll be a great chance to destroy the morale of Yuan Shao's forces. Besides, no risk, no reward, right?" said Xu with a carefree shrug.
"I am for this plan too. We need supplies and denying Yuan Shao supplies in the process is a good deal," said Chong. "I also think Ju Shou is telling the truth because he has to know that if he lied to us, there is no way he's getting out of here alive so the chances of him doing so are low unless he actually wants to die."
Jia sighed though a wistful smile was still on his lips. "Bóníng, you could have cut that sentence off so much earlier."
"Seriously," Xu agreed. "Sometimes I just wish I knew what was going on in your head."
"What?" Chong asked as he looked between the two in confusion. "I am merely saying that if this is a trap, it is an ill conceived one that will result in his death."
"That is the part he is talking about you goof," said Yuan with a shake of his head.
"Enough," said Cao. He knew if he didn't stop this now, it would go on for hours. "I have made my decision. We will follow Ju Shou's plan. I will personally lead five thousand of our men to Wuchao."
"My lord, if you insist on following this ill conceived plan, I request that I am allowed to go with you," said Yu Jin as he saluted Cao.
"No. I will take Dian Wei, Wenqian and Mànchéng. Everyone else will stay and protect the main camp.
"Gōngmíng, you and Shi Huan recovered some of the enemy's uniforms when you raided Gushi village, correct?"
Huang saluted Cao before speaking. "Yes, my lord. Shi Huan insisted on bringing them. He said it may come in handy."
"I believe they will. Do you know how many?"
"I'm not sure, my lord. About three thousand or so?"
"Hmm, Cao mused while rubbing his chin. "That is good enough. Have them brought to me immediately."
Huang saluted once more.
Cao turned his gaze to Cao Pi. "I entrust our forces to you and Gōngdá. No matter what happens, Guandu cannot fall. All of our efforts will be for nothing if it does. I am entrusting this to you while I am gone."
"We will not fail you father," said Pi as he and You saluted Cao. Cao returned his gaze to his forces.
"It has been ten long months that we have been at war. I know you are weary and miss your families, but I selfishly ask for you to give me more. Give me more of your loyalty, your strength, your patience. Give me one final battle and I swear at the end of it, I will bring you home to your loved ones. Will you give me what I ask for?"
There was a deafening cry from his generals, each swearing then and there they were willing to fight, bleed and die if need be for Cao Cao and his ambition. Cao looked out to his men, satisfied with their reply. After ten long months of continuous war, their battle was almost at an end.
