Sun Ce had now taken control of Yuzhang and preparations were being made to attack Danyang.
Sun Ce sat on a boulder overlooking a river, contemplating whether Zhou Yu would ever return. It had been months since their parting. Questions ran through his mind. This battle was an important battle, a battle Ce could have done with Yu by his side, guiding his troops from every angle. Instead this was left to Zhang Zhao. Zhao had done a good job until now but they had only encountered small battles, this battle would include the renowned Tiashi Chi, if there were to be any challenges in this battle it would be Chi.
Sun Quan, Ce's brother, appeared. "Brother, this tide ... " Quan announced.
"Yes, it's fast. Much like time itself." Ce replied.
"What is on your mind? You seem distant."
"This battle, without Yu I fear we will have overwhelming losses even if we win. That will set us back in our quest to unify the land. What should I do?"
"I cannot advise you, it is not my time to rule, you are doing a perfect job as it is. I'm sure Zhao will have come up with plans on how to win, I think it's that Tiashi Chi that's really playing on your mind. If it's really that much of a concern, fight him, one on one. You'll always have me and Zhou Tai not far away to support you. It's your destiny to take back Wu, for our father." Ce nodded at this. Quan offered Ce a hand to which he accepted and was pulled to his feet. They went back to camp, Zhao deployed the troops on Ce's orders and the battle was begun.
The battle was going according to plan, as soon as they had crossed the river they had taken the two bases. However, Ce knew Chi was close. Ce was fighting in the space in between the two bases, there weren't many enemies and most of his troops were defending the bases, he had to make sure enemies didn't try to flank the bases. A small break occurred so Ce turned to look at his ships to make sure supplies were still rolling into the bases. Zhou Yu was stood at the landing platform of where a new boat had just arrived with fresh troops, vitally important reinforcements that would inevitably help during and after the battle.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Yu exclaimed.
"I couldn't help starting without you, this should be a lot more interesting now that you're here."
"No problem, allow me to relieve you of some of this burden." Yu replied. Ce nodded and Yu ran to Ce's position. Chi appeared in the distance. "Go, fight him, I shall take over troop deployment from here." Zhou Yu left for one of the bases.
"Zhou Yu's come through for us." Ce muttered to himself, a group of troops were now running at Chi, he hacked away and defeated them within seconds.
Chi continued running until he was near enough to speak to Ce.
"Master Sun Ce, I request a battle with you."
"Tiashi Chi. Your strength surpasses my greatest expectations. I'm going to enjoy this. Come and face me."
"Very well, I will defeat you, bringing an end to this battle." The two men started running towards each other. One of Ce's tongas met with Chi's spear.
The battle was won, Danyang was now Ce's. His empire was shaping up and he finally had a decent base under his banner. Zhou Yu had finally rejoined him and Tiashi Chi had been defeated.
"Victory is ours, the land of my father is returned to us." Ce shouted to his soldiers and they cheered in joy. "But the true battle is only just beginning. We will fight and we will win!" Ce shouted. "Have faith and follow me." More cheers roared from his soldiers.
"Incredible, he has the people's ear." Sun Quan stated to Zhou Yu.
"Yes, this battle has given him confidence. His passion is now married with strength and charisma. This base will be a foothold for which his empire will grow. If that is not enough to move the people, then I suppose nothing will." Yu replied.
Tiashi Chi appeared, walking towards Sun Ce. He didn't falter as he got closer, even with troops staring upon him. Finally, he stopped in front of Ce. He bowed his head, a symbol of his wish to join Ce, Ce nodded. Chi smiled and Ce's troops cheered once more.
"The magnanimity of a true leader." Yu continued.
"May I ask, what persuaded you to change your mind?" Quan asked.
"Who said anything about me changing my mind? The whole point of me leaving was to find reinforcements. I wanted to give Ce a reason to realise why I'm important to his cause. He will start asking and taking my advice more from now on. This was all part of my plan."
"You are quite weird Zhou Yu, quite weird indeed. Remind me to put your in prison when I take Ce's position one day." The pair started laughing. Ce and Chi walked over to them and Chi shook both Quan's and Yu's hand.
"He's a tough fighter, isn't he?" Quan asked Chi.
"He's alright, I thought I'd go easy on him so I didn't embarrass him in front of his troops." They all laughed, Ce punched Chi's arm.
"It's certainly good to have you on our side."