Huainan Provincial Roleplay

[Krimzon]

September 206 Battle at Xuyi!

Yi Guang's sharp eyes picked out the banners of Jiaoxi and Liang: Ma Dieu, Ma Su, and Hin Wu. He knew nothing of the twists and turns of politics between powers, except the ill-equipped host brought to Huainan seemed to outnumber, unexpectedly, by the tens of thousands. His experienced gaze ran over the battlefield as he trotted his horse south, keeping the opposing rag-tag army in range of sight. Such an army could not easily be stopped by a fraction of its number. It was a tactical problem and Yi Guang struggled with it. If he ordered thinner lines spread like a net, the opposing army would break through with a spear thrust. If he kept the depth of men, they could easily be passed on the flanks and surrounded each dogged step of retreat. Retreat... Yi Guang glared in frustration at Xuyi. To have come so far and be baulked at the final obstacle was infuriating. Only the month before, he had been congratulated on taking Huayin with no loss of life. He had believed then that the kingdom of Wu was unstoppable, that conquest would always come easily. His army certainly believed it. They whispered that the south was Li Jiachengs to take. Facing Xuyi, he could almost feel the Marquis' scorn at such ambition.

Yi Guang kept the cold face as he turned to his generals. "They will defend their supply lines with vigorous tenacity, and a frontal assault would be futile." his voice barely audible. Angdun Huan nodded uncertainly. He too could see the great sweeping conquest halted at the walls of Xuyi. Like Yi Guang himself, he had become used to the fast and exciting pace of taking cities. "How long will it take to organize the retreat?" Yi Guang demanded suddenly. Angdun Huan had no better idea than anyone, but did not want to admit ignorance. Yi waited long enough for a reply and dropped back into his saddle to whistle sharply. Two messengers galloped to his side. They were both bare-armed, wearing only cloth tunics and leggings to be fast and light. "Ghost Hawk and Phantom Hawk Banners bring pressure on their western flank. Do not let the enemy drift around us." Yi Guang snapped at first. "Take this order to Li Zongren. Grip the east wing, force them to funnel towards me. Use all the siege weapon ammunition if they must." The messengers raced swiftly away across the battlefield to relay his commands.

The siege weapons released with a snap that echoed across the battlefield to where Yi Guang watched. The volley of boulders tore great holes in the enemy lines, booming explosions that seemed to raise the ground beneath them. Specks of dirt and dust hurled high into the air around the charging enemy forces. Li Zongren has chosen his targets well as the opposing soldiers tried to hide behind shields as they were smashed to pieces. The outmost fringes met with swinging swords, and more men fell on both sides, the wounded were left in wailing, writhing heaps. Finally, the main armies came together. The Wu army discipline held, hardened in battle across the south. Yi Guang roared as his soldiers posed halberds and hit the mass surging towards them, each man keen to show courage and win their Field Marshals approval. "Fall on them as they come, for your Marquis!" he shouted. The order was repeated down the lines as a wave of crossbow bolts buried into the ranks. Yi Guang turned back to the enemy and saw fear in their faces. There was only vengeful fury in his own. "Advance!" he roared. "Clear a path and reinforce the center. Wraith Hawk and River Hawk Banners here!"

The charge was repelled and had brought down scores of the enemy coalition soldiers. The regiments of Wu were disciplined, but discipline alone could not win the day. Though they did not break, they were gradually cut down by the endless army. Yi's lines were hit so hard that he worried they would bow right back into a bloody cup. Horns sounded deep within the Wu army and thousands more ran forward, screaming defiance as they re-filled the formation perfectly. The Wu soldiers cut their foes down with efficient ferocity, matching blow for blow against a more numerous enemy. The keen halberds chopped and skewed them all along the line, cutting arms and heads free in single blows. The pi spears of the enemy could not pierce their bronze armour and Yi Guang exulted at the toll. The Field Marshal fought on foot in a frenzy. Blade and spear skidded off his liangtang armour before he fell the owners. He killed the next man who faced him, but then three more stabbed at him. He was grateful for the thousands of hours training that made him move before he begun to think. He stepped to the side of the outer man and shoved him into the others, giving up the kill for the need to entangle the rest. The man stumbled into the path of the second and Yi Guang took his throat out from the side, then lunged over his falling body to impale the heaving chest of the middle man. His spear wedged in the ribs before being heaved out free with a crack of parting bone. The third man facing him thrust his weapon at the Field Marshal only for it to be parried in an upward arc followed by a slash to the face in quick succession. The enemy's jaw slackened before he slumped down to mingle with the dead littering the field. As the day turned to dusk, the ground around Yi Guang was sodden red. Blood from thousands more soldiers had soaked the earth until the soil could take no more and it pooled.

Yi felt a wave of weariness replace the thrilling energy of fighting. He could hardly believe he had walked without fear. He had faced his enemies first charge, outnumbered, and survived unmarked. For just an instant, a heartbeat, pride swelled within him. Even so, he had failed. The order of retreat was now in motion and gradually the Wu banners began to pull away from the battle-lines. The sudden silence was like a pressure and Yi Guang rode slowly along the lines of his own men, his face flushed and sweating. If Li Jiacheng wanted Xuyi badly enough it would not be this month. The young Field Marshal swallowed, working his tongue around a mouth so dry he thought he would choke. He gestured to a messenger and the man brought him a skin of red wine. It moistened his lips and he gulped at it, sucking desperately on the leather teat. "This is foolhardy." Yi snapped, "There will be another time to avenge the dead. Form the men up to go back to Huayin, with haste, but not too visible, do you understand?" The messenger bowed. No commander liked to be seen retreating, but the men would understand far better than Yi Guang realized. They could see the wall of Imperial soldiers as well as anyone. None of them were clamoring to be first against that solid wall.

As dawn came, the Wu army crossed the river before Huayin came into view. The men had jogged and marched for more than forty miles and Yi Guang was about finished. He had marched every step of the way with his men, horse in tow behind him, knowing his example would force them to keep going. Such small things mattered to those he led. In spite of blisters, the men gave a ragged cheer at the sight of the sprawling city, moving easily into the faster pace for the last time. "Tell the men they have eight hours of sleep and a feast to bulge their bellies when they wake. If they're as hungry as I am, they won't want to wait, so have cold meat and bread served to them to take the edge off. I am proud of them all." Yi Guang said to his messengers, sending them away to the other generals. His thoughts were soon allowed to return to the fallen commanders, Lil Chi Xi, Zheng Mingshun, and his trusted friend Pan Shaozu. Yi cursed under his breath at the ill-fortune and terrible fate of Shaozu. A great funeral pyre would be lit and his name honored as a hero, but first there was the matter of informing the Marquis of the defeat at Xuyi...

[Phailak]

Lai had not been in Huainan for a while now, despite his affection for Xuyi. He had set up a meeting with Chu Ming Sing.

He waited patiently with his small escort of eight guards at the appointed place, Chu Ming Sing's wits would be key in the coming battles, especially if Ma Dieu's forces faced multiple fronts...

[GreenFabre]

"You're here.." came a lazy voice from a tall figure, just coming off from the woods. He was wearing a wide brimmed hat and a calm demeanor in his eyes.
Most noticeable of all was the leaf that dangled precariously on his mouth, yet never quite falling off as he talked. His clothes were plain, brown and he looked like the everyday farmer out on his afternoon break, except that this farmer's brown eyes hinted at something far more than the ordinary peasant could ever understand.

"Chu Ming Sing. How can I help you?" pulling off a merchant's shrug, and a practiced smile as if Lai was entering into his shop. There was a strange accent that slurred his words yet seemed to trail off just as fast as it was heard, and off go he mumbling, half-talking to himself as he counted the guards around.

"Eight. Eight's a good number, don't you think?" Chu Ming Sing smiled, munching the leaf on his mouth..

[Phailak]

Lai raised an eyebrow and smiled. When his brother had tasked him to find more talent so that they could have enough officers to lead two armies, Chu Ming Sing was top of the list. Lai was not fooled by the relaxed pose the man before him adopted. His scouting reports were all very flattering, though they had left out the man's peculiar habits.

"I am glad you came, as you know, we need your help. I was hoping to convince you to join our cause, a man of your talents would do wonders for our main army. You were discreet in our communications, I am unsure what is needed to convince you."

His hands spread out in supplication, Lai waited with a smile.

[GreenFabre]

Chu listened quietly as he could as Lai spoke to him. Whether by choice or force of habit, he seems to be avoiding eye contact most of the time, and instead prefers to stare at body gestures and lip movements.

"Sounds like fun." he said with the usual sleepy voice, almost as if he wasn't really there with them. munching the leaf on his mouth slowly. His eyes seems focused on one of the guard's helm, as if trying to pierce it by his mere gaze alone, thinking about something perhaps. "Actually, I was just about to go there myself to visit a good friend.. but since you're already here.. with your offer.. " he rubbed his nose ".. Yes, I think I might be able to help. Just lead the way. Being lost, it's just too troublesome."

Chu Ming Sing joins Ma Dieu's gypsy kingdom :>

[Li Dao Wen]

(Closed RP for Xiahou Ping!)

The month of November saw a lull in Ma Dieu's southern activities, and renewed ones storming out of elsewhere. King Xiang had finally moved on someone, though it proved to be a nuisance for his greatest vassal, as the man he removed from power was Dieu's cousin Ma Su. At the least it was an inconvenience, at the most a dire threat. Qi was looming in the distance, and the advisers in Dieu's court were silent in their plans.

Growing tired of waiting for action, the Black Ogre, freshly recovered from several months' worth of wounds, rode out of Xuyi to roam the countryside for awhile. Being out in the wilds was second nature to him prior to becoming a full-fledged general, and stemming from his now-intimate knowledge of the area, he never ran out of things that served his brutal fancy. Hunting bandits was a favorite pastime, a legal one at that, and he enjoyed conducting one-man power raids upon unwitting hooligans. Tigers were also quite the fancy, though they were much harder to kill, and even more difficult to find and surprise.

That day, however, Xun Jiang could scarcely find a soul to kill. He had ridden long and hard away from the imposing walls of Ma Dieu's capital, and all he had to show for it was a single quarry: a boar he had killed with his bare hands. It remained tied behind him as he rode along the off-road, thus its rather pitiful and battered state. It was already missing some patches of skin, and the noose around its bloated body was squeezing the entrails out of the gaping wound on its side.

Yet a mere boar was not what he was looking for, and what he was actually looking for was not to be found at the moment. Finding nothing but rolling plains and lush undergrowth all around him, he ground to a stop on his tracks. He was growing more and more irritated.

He dismounted from his damnably huge steed, unloaded his infamous halberd, then began to hack at the poor animal out of sheer frustration. First he chopped off its limbs, then pulled the head from the carcass, throwing it high into the air, letting it crash into a shard of rock with a sickening thud. To complete the beast's indignation, he cleaved it from the top of the head with a heavy swing of Twilight Mourning.

Growling his slight satisfaction, he sat down on the bloodied rock and brooded over the future, thinking of the battle heat he craved to wade into. It has been some months since he was last in a battle, and though the last one was less than memorable for him, it provided him with a boost of thrill at the least. Secretly he wished for something violent to happen, so he could test the strength of his arm once more.

[Xiahou Ping]

All these months stuck in Changshan had finally begun to take its toll on Zhang Ze as the young warrior was beginning to get itchy feet. He had heard tales of people gaining gold and glory during his months of isolation in Quni, and he now wanted to claim some of that for himself. So one night, he bid farewell to the few friends he had, unchained his horse from the stable and round off into the night; his destination unknown.

Ze travelled for weeks, stopping only to replenish what little supplies he needed and to keep his horse fed and watered. The majority of food he ate he had hunted himself. The exhilaration of the chase and the thrill of the kill was still oh so exciting for him. He had forgotten how good it had felt to feed yourself after all those months locked up in Quni. However, even the excitement of the hunting did not detract from the fact that he had yet to come across anyone of importance in his travels.

Ze's food had run out. He tied his steed to a tree, and went off in search of another boar, his billhook in hand. Off in the distance, he could here something. It definitely wasn't a boar, but it sounded as though flesh was being hacked at or ripped off, a tiger perhaps? Clenching his billhook tighter, he followed the sound until he came across its source. Raising an eyebrow, he questioned the man.

“Got out of bed on the wrong side this morning, did we?” There was a tone of arrogance and sarcasm in his voice, but he also laughed as he spoke. Obviously someone or something had rattled this man's cage quite badly. Ze stood defensively with his weapon in hand, unsure of what would come next.

[Li Dao Wen]

Just as his thoughts had begun to drift into the clamor of clashing swords and breaking spears of battle, upon the memorable trail of his conquests at Xuyi, a voice rang out from the wilderness. His thoughts slowly started to drain, and within five seconds he was back to reality, with Zhang Ze's cocky youthfulness facing his.

Xian Long Rui's eyes narrowed for a moment, looking dangerously at the young man of 21. "You have no idea," he growled between his teeth, getting up on his feet to make his seven foot frame more apparent to the man. Swinging his halberd over his shoulders, he eyed the man from top to bottom. Xun Jiang's tightly clenched jaw began to unwind into a bizarre hybrid of a smirk and a frown, and an unreadable emotion washed over his chiseled features. Sharp, roving eyes could clearly identify the ready billhook in the man's hand, and from the look and sound of him, he was a warrior of note.

Looking back and forth between the boy and his own handiwork, the black-clad giant smiled grimly, wiping a bead of pig blood that wet his rapidly relaxing temple. His anger had started to abate from his pleasant surprise, and he was in the mood to let the man's sudden interruption off easy. "Animal lover, are you? What is your name, warrior?"

[Xiahou Ping]

The face of the young warrior showed no expression as the man sat on the rock spoke for the first time, although as he stood up Ze could not help but take a step back. He certainly didn't look like a giant whilst he was sat down. Ze was a strapping figure himself and bigger than the average person, but this man was something else.

He scanned quickly over the stranger. The armour, and then that weapon all looked so expensive, and Ze was in now doubt it wasn't all for show. This man could obviously do some serious damage if he wanted to. No doubt all of his victims would remember him, any that had been luck enough to survive anyway. In contrast, Ze had just some basic dull-grey armour on. The only thing of note, other than his bill-hook was a blue coloured helmet he had found whilst out hunting in Changshan.

“I am Zhang Ze of Changshan,” replied the youngster confidently. “And no, not particularly. They have their uses, just don't expect me to get all watery eyed over a dead dog in the back streets.”

“And who are you? I'm guessing your not a lowly pig butcher given your rather impressive weapon and armour." He glanced over toward the mutilated boar as he spoke.

Ze began to relax slightly, easing his grip on his weapon, but still holding it tightly enough to react to any act of aggression. His face remained emotionless, still unable to decipher which way this conversation would be heading.

[Li Dao Wen]

"Zhang Ze of Changshan," Xun Jiang repeated the name, yet made no attempt of trying to imprint it upon memory for now. He may have the look of a warrior, but he hasn't proven a thing to him yet. Often he looked at youngsters with disdain upon meeting, but at the least Zhang didn't make a bad first impression.

Sitting back down, he looked squarely at Zhang. He was no man for pleasantries, simply not the kind of man to invite someone to sit down and chat. A dangerous man he was to anyone who met him, having been known as a bandit and a terrorist for such a long time. Much to his own surprise, his mood was very quaint. The boar had done him well, or so it seemed."Men call me by many names. I prefer to be called Xun Jiang," he started, looking away for a moment when he heard the sound of birds fluttering from the thick leaves. "General Twilight for the army of Ma Dieu. Perhaps you have heard of that particular warlord." He smirked lightly, seeing no reason for the man to be unaware of Ma Dieu's exploits -and to a lesser degree, his in consequence. His expectations were lighter, however, due to the distance of Changshan from Huainan. Eying the young man again, he found something to peruse about him.

"That billhook. How skilled are you with that weapon?"