Dynasty Warriors: The Corruption of Wu
Chapter 1 of story 2 of my Dynasty Warriors Wu trilogy, hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Dynasty Warriors or its characters.
Reflections
Standing atop the walls in Jianye, looking out over the Changjiang, Sun Quan sighed.
'Eight years, it's been eight years since my brother died...eight years since I became the ruler of Yang Province, of the lands of Wu…' He reflected sadly. 'So much has changed…'
He knew this was true in more ways than one. He had reversed his brothers original decision to side with Yuan Shao against Cao-Cao, instead he placated both messengers and stayed neutral. Instead he focused on restoring peace and order following his brothers death and then, once the mourning period was over, he focused on maintaining and growing the strength of his new lands. He worked on improving agriculture as well as the finances of the lands under his control.
'All of my brother's former officers remained, but I also managed to add some new people to our ranks, people who have proven themselves to be rather skilled.' He recalled with some relief.
Indeed, aside from the old Wu veterans who had served not only his brother but also his father, Huang Gai, Han Dang and Cheng Pu, he also retained the services of Zhou Tai, Zhou Yu, Taishi Ci and Xu Sheng. He was relieved that his sister Shangxiang had also stuck by his side, along with her handmaiden, who he had to admit he was finding himself drawn too, Lianshi. Despite her grief, which stopped her from returning to the battlefield, Daqiao, his brother's widow, still supported him, along with her sister, Zhou Yu's wife, Xiaoqiao. There were others who had supported him too, like Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong, Zhu Zhi, Ling Cao, Yu Fan, Zhuge Jin and Pan Jun.
Turning away from the sight of the river, Sun Quan walked along the wall as he pondered.
'That was, until we lost Ling Cao five years ago...but before and after that event, we recruited a fair number of other officers.' He thought to himself.
This was true as since his brother's death, Sun Quan had been joined, first by Lu Su who had previously helped his father, along with Lu Meng and a refined warrior called Ding Feng amongst others. The loss of Ling Cao had happened in 203, when Sun Quan attempted to lead his army against Xiakou to claim revenge for his father, as Huang Zu was Liu Biao's officer that controlled Xiakou as part of the lands he was prefect for.
Sun Quan shook his head sadly. 'The pirate Gan Ning ambushed and killed Ling Cao...now his son has sworn revenge…'
This was true, upon his father's death, Ling Tong had officially joined the army and was burning to meet Gan Ning again in order to claim his head in return for the death of his father. Amongst some of the newest recruits over the past five years after that were two promising recruits whom he believed would be two future bright new stars of their army, Lu Xun and Zhu Ran. Now it was 208 and the land had changed considerably, something which made Sun Quan glad he hadn't sided with Yuan Shao as Sun Ce had planned to.
In 200, shortly after Sun Ce's death, Cao-Cao had defeated Yuan Shao's massive army at Guandu before forcing him back into his own lands. Two years later Yuan Shao would die of illness and his oldest son Yuan Tan and his youngest son Yuan Shang began feuding over the succession. Taking advantage of this, Cao-Cao made a gradual campaign which led to him slowly taking over the Yuan lands and defeating the brothers, including the middle brother Yuan Xi, until the year 207, where finally the Yuan's were vanquished and Cao-Cao now had the most land and largest army in the land. He was clearly aiming to begin a southern conquest to aim for controlling the whole land.
'Which means we must make our move soon, if we are to stand any chance of not simply being swallowed whole by Cao-Cao's army.' He realized. 'Let us try against Huang Zu again, we are stronger now. Yes, let us tackle Huang Zu, right in his home castle this time, Jiangxia.'
With his decision made, Sun Quan left the walls and began making his way to the main castle, he began to send out messengers and call some of his closest supporters and officers. It was time to start forming their plans for their attack on Jiangxia.
XXXXX
In the audience hall, Sun Quan sat at the head of the room, looking around at his assembled officers, both military and political, his chief advisor Zhou Yu was training troops elsewhere and would not be present, but Lu Su was stepping into Zhou Yu's position as strategist for this upcoming battle.
"Everyone, the time has come. We are stronger now and we are ready." He announced. "We are going to claim Huang Zu's head, to attack Jiangxia."
There were gasps, whispers, then Zhang Zhao stood and bowed.
"My Lord, are you sure about this?" He questioned. "This is...we cannot take undue risks and after what happened at Xiakou, we-"
"We have all the more reason to attack." Ling Tong cut in. "My Lord, this is my chance for revenge too, please. Let me lead the vanguard."
Zhang Zhao shook his head. "Reckless young Ling Tong, you-"
Sun Quan however knew Ling Tong had great potential and was not as reckless as Zhang Zhao assumed.
"It is fine Zhang Zhao, I understand your concern, but we have all the means to succeed." He said reassuringly. "You shall lead the Vanguard, Ling Tong."
Ling Tong bowed. "Thank you, My Lord."
"Lu Su...I am entrusting you to be the Fort Commander to regulate the campaign, Lu Meng, you will be the naval commander." Sun Quan announced.
They all bowed and agreed as they discussed their plans of attack and how each officer would be split between the two main forces and what they were to do, where to attack and how to carry out their campaign against Jiangxia. It was time to finally claim vengeance for the death of Sun Jian.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.
