Dynasty Warriors: To End the Chaos
Chapter 8 of my Dynasty Warriors story, enjoy.
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Diao Lover: Well, the attacks are about to begin, enjoy.
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Now onto the story.
Disclaimer: Dynasty Warriors belongs to Koei.
Chapter 8: Battle at the Gates
Cao-Cao marched his army towards his first destination; Si Shui Gate; the first of two gates which separated the city of Pu Yang from the capital Luoyang. Once in position he had his army array. Holding the gate was Zang Ba, Hao Meng, Cao Xing, Cheng Lian, Wei Xu, Song Xian, Hou Cheng, Bi Chen, Chen Deng, Chen Gong and Gao Shun. Cao-Cao regarded these men as they stood atop the wall.
"No sign of a commander." He mused, "He must be at Hu Lao Gate."
Cao Pi then rode forwards, up next to his father. "Father, these men, their banners are different from the rest of Dong Zhuo's army. It looks like we have some sort of special unit waiting for us."
Cao-Cao closely examined the flags and then nodded.
"Yes, you are right; these men belong to that wild beast; Lu Bu."
As he finished talking the men came down from the walls and rode out to meet with Cao-Cao. Zang Ba was up front and stopped in front of Cao-Cao's horse.
"Cao-Cao, what is going on here?" He questioned. "Our lord is away from the capital just now, he can't see you."
Cao-Cao smirked; "That was my intention."
With that he raised his hand and his archers began firing, shocking the officers that had come out and forced them to return to the gate. Once they were back inside Cao-Cao stopped the firing and then called out to them.
"You have until dawn tomorrow to surrender this gate and Hu Lao Gate. If you fail to comply, then I will lead my army and destroy you."
With that he fell back some distance and set up camp.
In the gate the officers called a council. Almost immediately Chen Gong spoke.
"We need to send a message to Lord Lu Bu." He stated, "He is still at Hu Lao Gate and has no idea what has happened."
Hao Meng however refuted that suggestion.
"No, Lord Lu Bu has been angry for some time; if we bring him this bad news, he'll likely kill us."
Chen Gong glared at his detractor; "Then what would you suggest?"
"We cheer Lu Bu up." Hao Meng replied, "By making him a gift of Cao-Cao's head."
The others agreed with that suggestion and, quietly fuming Chen Gong gave up.
"Very well;" He agreed finally, "But do we have a plan?"
"Indeed." Chen Deng stated. "Cao-Cao's men have camped in an area easy to surround. So, this night, we surround the camp and launch a raid."
"And if Cao-Cao's men are ready for such a thing?" Chen Gong questioned.
"Then we fall back and lead them into an ambush."
Satisfied the officers left Chen Gong to guard the gate while they headed out to carry out the plan. Song Xian, Wei Xu and Hou Cheng formed the ambush unit while the others went to attack Cao-Cao's main camp.
Zang Ba led the unit and, once the camp was surrounded he gave the signal, they all charged in but found that, as Chen Gong had predicted, the camp was ready. After hopelessly trying to carry out their raid they turned and fled towards the ambush point. They knew they were being pursued and pressed their advantage. The ambush was launched and the raiding party turned around. To their dismay however they realized they had only caught one of Cao-Cao's officers and his men. It was Cao Ren.
"An ambush?" He remarked, "A coward's tactic; why not face me like men."
The Dong Zhuo army attacked, gaining an advantage over the panicked troops until Cao Ren suddenly cried out.
"Men, to me, rally to me!" He glared at his opponents. "I am the shield upon which your evil will shatter!"
Buoyed by this Cao Ren's men recovered and fought back until Guo Jia arrived with reinforcements and the Dong Zhuo army was forced to flee. Cao Ren and his men returned to camp with Guo Jia. Cao Ren bowed to Cao-Cao.
"Forgive me my lord. I lost concentration." He said repentantly. "I didn't think about ambushes."
"There is nothing to forgive Cao Ren; you kept your head and in turn, your men kept theirs."
With that Cao-Cao's army assessed the damage and got some more rest before dawn broke, ready to make their attack.
When the Dong Zhuo army returned to the gates they spoke with Chen Gong and, realizing the full strength of Cao-Cao's army agreed with him that they should flee to Hu Lao Gate. They abandoned Si Shui gate and made it to Hu Lao. There Lu Bu received them and listened to their story. When they finished he growled.
"You fools; you should have listened to Chen Gong." He berated them, "If you had, you would've held Si Shui Gate, so be it. You fools stay and defend this gate; I'll meet Cao-Cao on the battlefield myself."
With that he mounted Red Hare; grabbed his halberd and, at the head of his unit; rode out. He stopped in front of the gate and arrayed his men, waiting for Cao-Cao. Cao-Cao had led his men forwards and taken Si Shui Gate; with the gate in their possession they stopped and recovered. They were soon ready for the next charge.
"We will have to be careful when dealing with that animal." Cao-Cao remarked, "Guo Jia, best plan carefully."
Guo Jia nodded in agreement and began working on his plan. It was then a messenger arrived and revealed that the rest of Cao-Cao's army was victorious and Dong Zhuo's forces had been pushed back. Now Dong Zhuo's only territory was Sili Province, which Cao-Cao was currently trying to take as it held the capital. Yong Province and Liang Province, both of which Liu Bei was attacking. Finally Guo Jia finished his planning and the army marched out, ready to take on Lu Bu at Hu Lao Gate.
They rode out and soon arrived at the gate; Guo Jia led his men separately, ready to carry out his plan. It was then they saw Lu Bu, ready for battle.
"Cao-Cao, so you betray us, no matter. Come and face me!" He bellowed.
Cao-Cao smiled. "Lu Bu, why do you still sere that pig, you are better than that. Didn't he steal your woman from you?"
"Silence!" Lu Bu bellowed, "Is there no one amongst you who can provide me with a decent challenge!?"
"Perhaps I can provide that challenge!"
With that shout Zhang Liao rode out; they immediately crossed blades and fought. The battle raged for fifty bouts but neither showed signs of backing down. Wanting a taste of glory and to fight this strong opponent Wang Yi also charged out to join the fray. The fight continued but still neither side backed down, not even when Cao Pi rode out and joined the fighters. Just then a cry distracted the fighters; Guo Jia's plan had worked, smoke was seen rising from Hu Lao Gate. Lu Bu knew then that all the troops and officers within were fleeing, he had no choice, he broke from the duel and joined them with his men. Knowing that Luoyang couldn't be defended they charged past it, heading for Chang An. They Wei army rode into the gate; Guo Jia's plot had been remarkably clever; by raising enough smoke he had put fear into the enemy, even though there was never any fire attack about to take place.
Following his victory Cao-Cao urged his army onwards and wrested Luoyang and the rest of Sili from Dong Zhuo's control. He sent messages to Sun Jian and Liu Bei and waited for them to arrive; the Emperor stated that he wished to see all three of them together. The Emperor however wished to reduce Dong Zhuo's power further and make it difficult for him to attack Sili province again. So Cao-Cao sent a contingent of his army out to ensure that the Emperor's wish was fulfilled.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.