Chapter 7


Disclaimer: I own nothing except my original characters.


"Yang Jin" dialog.

'Yang Jin' thoughts.

Normal POV

As Zhao soldiers approached Yang Jin wondered if his plan would work. If it worked, it would let him destroy 50,000 Zhao soldiers in a matter of three days. If it didn't work, then Kwan would be conquered and its citizens killed, since Zhao's aim is not to conquer but to destroy. But soon he had to concentrate back on the battle, Zhao soldiers started to reach the maximum range for Javelins.

"Iacera Pila! (Throw Pila/Javelins!)" commanded Yang Jin.

"Haaa!" roared soldiers of Kwan as they rained death down upon Zhao soldiers.

While defenders of Kwan rained down javelins upon Zhao forces, Zhao soldiers fired arrows upon Kwan defenders.


During this time period, javelins in all of it's forms, was not widely used by military. It was used mostly by "barbarian" tribes scattered throughout the China. Javelins were looked down upon due to their poor range compared to bow, being effective only at mid range and taking more time and resources than making bow and arrows. But what they did not realize is that what javelin lacks in range, it makes up for in pure deadliness. If thrown right, especially from elevated position, it has potential to pierce any shield and armor. And Yang Jin made sure that every one of his soldiers learned to properly throw a javelin. This fact can be heard in screams of pain that echoed throughout the battlefield and the bodies that were scattered below the walls.


But the big shield and metal armor proved their worth when most of the arrows were either blocked or bounced off. While most of the arrows were blocked, it did not mean that they were totally useless. Several Kwan soldiers that were not fast enough to put up their shields after throwing the javelin, fell prey to arrows.

"T-those bastards! Kill them! Kill them all!" screamed Li Chang after seeing and hearing his soldiers die in droves while crying out in pain.

"Keep firing! Don't stop until they retreat or you ran out of javelins, whichever comes first!" commanded Ma Cong while throwing some javelins himself.

"Zhu Fa, prepare for ladders." commanded Yang Jin while overlooking the battlefield.

"You heard our lord! Prepare for ladders!" ordered Zhu Fa while looking at his men. As soon as the ladders started to come closer to the walls, Zhu Fa and his men came to the front.


While Zhu Fa was by no means a formidable warrior in close quarters like Ma Cong and Yang Jin, he was the best marksman among the three by far. It does not matter what he used, whether it was javelin, arrows or simple rocks, he hit his target every time. The men in his unit were personally trained by him, to be as close to being as good as him as it was possible. The part of Zhu Fa and his men was crucial during this siege, their task was to take down all the ladders and any other siege equipment together with anyone who tried to operate it. They did their part splendidly, no ladders made it anywhere near the walls and any soldiers who tried to pick them back up were swiftly killed.


"General, we must retreat! We are taking heavy casualties and we can't take the city without ladders making it to the walls!" said Zhao lieutenant with plea clear in his voice.

"Grrrr, retreat." said Li Chang through gritted teeth.

"Retreat! Retreat!" commanded Zhao lieutenant with urgency in his voice. As soon as the soldiers heard the command they started to scramble to get as far away from the walls as possible. While they were trying to retreat, defenders of Kwan kept raining javelins down upon them. With their undefended backs turned to city walls, even more of them kept dying.


Several hours later - Zhao camp

"How many did we lose?" asked Li Chang with a sad tone lacing his voice.

"15,000 men." said lieutenant.

"15,000 men died, all because of my pride." said Li Chang with regret clear in his voice.

"We'll make them pay sir!" said lieutenant with angry voice.

"We'll make them pay indeed. Now leave me! I need some time to think." said Li Chang with dismissal in his voice.

"As you command." said lieutenant and exited the tent.

'What was I thinking? To let some brat provoke me and lose my cool? Becoming a general has clearly made me too prideful and my men paid the price in blood!' thought Li Chang as he repeatedly hit the desk.


Same time - Kwan

"Ma Cong, Zhu Fa, report!" commanded Yang Jin while looking at them.

"30 soldiers died right away, 45 soldiers died soon after from wounds and 35 soldiers are seriously injured and won't recover anytime soon." said Ma Cong in a sad voice.

"They did their duty. Gather their bodies and burn each one separately. Make sure to write down the names of those who died, after this battle is over I will pay personal visit to their families to give their ashes and make sure that their families are well taken care of." said Yang Jin with some warmth in his voice.


While burning bodies of soldiers to prevent spread of disease during this time was common, the situation in Kwan was different. Yang family believed that they were descendants of an ancient sun god, who was a founder and protector of their family. Due to this they burned the bodies of their dead, in this way they liberated the spirit from the body and let it ascend to the realm under the protection of sun god. This tradition was later adopted by citizens of Kwan due to being under the Yang family for so long.


"You generosity knows no bounds lord Jin." said Zhu Fa with a bow.

"Over 15,000 dead on day one, not too shabby, don't you think so Zhu Fa?" asked Ma Cong, amusement clear in his voice.

"Hmph, how did that fool become a general still puzzles me. Zhao's standards for their generals have clearly fallen, they're truly getting desperate if they let a man like Li Chang become a general." said Zhu Fa with disdain in his voice.

"We got one over him this time, don't let it go to your head." said Yang Jin reprimand clear in his voice.

"Come on lord Jin, a little pride won't hurt us." said Ma Cong in a cheerful voice.

"A little pride is how it starts and soon it grows into full blown arrogance. Li Chang thought a little pride was fine and look where it got him and his men. No, lord Jin is right, I defer to your wisdom." finished Zhu Fa with a bow towards Yang Jin.

"I'm glad you understand Zhu Fa. Now let men eat and drink to their fill, they deserved it. Just make sure that they drink no alcohol, in case there's going to be a night attack." said Yang Jin.


Several hours later

Yang Jin was eating and drinking with his men, hoping that seeing their commander among them will give a small boost to their morale. As they sat around the campfire Yang Jin heard a song that he remembered he taught to Ma Cong. This song brought a smile to his face, while it's meaning was anything but cheery, it helped men mourn their fallen and lifted their morale. He was sorry that he couldn't give them more time to mourn their battle brothers, but there was no time for big ceremonies. They all had to be ready at a moment's notice in case enemy attacks.

"Another day nearer the battle
So drink up lads and look brave.
For another day nearer the battle
Is another day nearer the grave."


AN

Hoped you like the battle this far, let me know what you think in your reviews.

Some of you might want to go back and read this story from the beginning, since I updated all chapters to be a bit better. Some changes are minor, some are major.