[Falsum]

Well, i've had this story brewing in my head for awhile. I've thought out the entire story, and outlined it all, but the real work is translating my outline to words. This thread is the FanFic itself, (really more of a ficitonal story but whatever), and it will be long running, so enjoy!

Synopsis: Four young men, (based on real people), are transported to one of my favorite time periods, the Three Kingdoms Era in ancient China. The story starts around the year 190CE, and all events after their arrival are completely fictional, and some facts may be warped to better fight the story, but that's fiction, so... hah hah...

please read, and please critique and comment! Thanks in advance!


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Sky Piercer
By Chris_Falsum

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Chapter One: Arrival

He opened his eyes...

A calm sky with lazy clouds drifting slowly across his field of vision awaited him.
A cool breeze ran across his face, he grinned in the serenity of it all...

"Hey, you alright?" A young man whose voice he was all to familiar with
called out to him from his left. Not wanting to tear his eyes away from the blissful ignorance
the sky had granted him, he continued to stare up, until the young man's face invaded his view.
"Hmph." The young man grunted. Sitting up, he turned to look at the young man.
"Yea, I'm fine. You? Anyone else here?" he diverted his gaze to behind the young man. Two other
young men he knew very well were standing back there.
"You guys alright too?" he asked them.
Silently, they nodded in reply.
After a couple seconds of silence, he asked what was on all four of the young men's minds.

"Where are we? and what happened?"

No one answered.

No one knew.

"Ah... Shit." he sighed dejectedly. He began to think back, what was the last thing he remembered?


He was sitting at the table during lunch break.

"It was all normal then, right?" He asked the others. They all nodded in agreement.

He was sitting at the table during lunch break. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Nathan was on his
left like always, and John was on his right. Daniel was passing through on the way to class, he
didn't have lunch with the other three. All of them were in light spirits, cracking jokes and
just passing the time freely before they had to go back to the drudgery of class.


He thought and thought, what had happened?
"Shit." he said plainly. "We don't know what happened do we? We were just sitting there, and then
when we opened our eyes, we were here weren't we?"

"Looks like it." John replied.

"Well fuck, lets try and find out where we are first." he replied back.
After he stood up, he nodded at Nathan, Daniel, and John. It seemed that they were only ones
there. If anyone else were magicked to this place, they weren't in the immediate area. They began
to walk off to his left. They didn't really have a plan, they were just walking to see if they
could discern where they were.

"Well this sure as hell ain't Houston." he said, looking around. It was too quiet from the giant
metropolis they had come from. It was a light forest, with trees and shrubs all around,
and much colder than they were used to.

"Really? I thought I was still at school." Nathan replied with perfected sarcasm.
He started to laugh, he did see that coming. It was getting brighter from one direcion, and the
brush was starting to thin out.

"I guess we are getting to the edge of the forest." John observed.

"No joke." he replied back.

All four boys stopped dead in their tracks, and looked foward.

"Was that someone yelling?" Only Daniel managed to speak. Yell was really an understatement.
What they had heard was more like a roar, booming out in a coarse and enraged tone. The four
young men crept to the edge of the forest and peered out from behind a thick bush.

"This definitely isn't Houston," he said, laughing. On the left, were towering brick walls with
towers at even increments. There, archers with crossbows stood ready side by side with
no room on either side of any man. In the middle of the wall was a great gate, as big a house,
with a sort of covering on the top. Under the covering stood a man in some sort of colorful
robe, staring down. Following the robed man's gaze, he saw another man, whose appearance was
the very opposite of the man on the gate. Striding proudly on his horse, arrayed in full
battle armor. In one hand was a long, bloodied spear, in the other, the reins of the horse.
A large amount of bodies flanked him on either side, and a regimented, uniformed army stood
behind him. Standing in ranks calmly and silently, the soldiers awaited a battle. The man on the
horse, however, was the source of the noise. He was yelling at the man on the gate.

"Coward! Swine! Come down here to meet your death!"


"A siege," the young man said. "This is a siege, right?"
Without getting an answer, he saw in front of him a spear, still held tightly in the hands of a
soldier. Wresting the spear from the dead soldier's hands, he stood up.

"Well you're not gonna need this anymore," he said to the soldier. He turned to Daniel, Nathan,
and John.

"So let's just jump on in and see what happens," he said with conviction. Turning back around he
gripped the spear in both hands and leveled so that the spearhead was eye level. Taking a deep
breath, he started sprinting foward.

"W-Wha... Where are you going? You're going to get killed!" John stuttered out after him.
Although he was worried, he was also sensible enough to not go out there. John turned to look at
Nathan and Daniel. They too, were completely struck by surprise.

He keep running straight for the man on the horse.

Just a couple more seconds, he wished in his mind. Don't turn to me, don't turn to me...
When it was apparent that even if the man on the horse noticed him, it would be too late, he
smiled.

"GOOD-NIGHT!" he roared, and he jumped with all his might. Bringing the shaft of the spear to
his head, he angled the point right for the head of the man on the horse, and thrust it foward
as fast as he could.

Although shocked by the sudden arrival of what the man guessed as an enemy, his body remembered
combat experienced and learned reflexes, and he tried to lean back out of the way.

Although missing the head, the young man still pierced the front of the man's throat. It was
fatal, but not instant. Landing a couple of feet past the horse, and glancing back, he knew
that the blow did not kill him, and that he could still be stabbed. Without thinking, he quickly
recovered himself, and, stepping towards the man on the horse, swung the spear with his entire
body to the bleeding man on the horse. He misjudged the length of the spear and the shaft hit
the man directly on the arm. However, the man on the horse was still stunned at the sudden blow
that he lost balance and fell off the horse. The man hit the ground hard, and the young man
wasted no time. He grabbed the spear a few feet behind the spearhead, and stabbed it into the
older man's eye. The young man started laughing again. Pulling the spear out, blood began to
pour out of the man's eye, and the lifeless held rolls to the side, a look of surprise and
anguish still on his face.

Clank. A spear from the army that had backed up the man on the horse clatered to the ground. All
of the soldiers were in awe. How? How could their commander be killed so easily by a young man?
The young man pivoted his head to look at the soldiers, his arms hanging by his side casually,
with one hand holding a spear. One soldier on the front lines lost his composure and, with a
yelp stiffled by terror, turned and forced his way through the formation completely broken.

The other soldiers turned to look at the fleeing soldier, now wavering themselves, until a
soldier on the front line was pierced through the throat in one swift thrust. Turning back in
terror, the other soldiers could handle the pressure no longer. They too, began to rout.

The young man, pulling his spear out of the recently killed soldier's throat, began to run and
roar as loud as he possibly could, chasing the routing soldiers. Wildly swinging his spear left
and right, he rampaged like a barbarian through the soldiers. Cleaving in and out of the mass of
bodies, he cut a bloody swath leaving only bodies and blood behind him. Finally, when he was out
of breath, and his muscles could barely move, he stopped pursuing the soldiers, who by now had
completely scattered in every direction except towards him. He rested the spear on his shoulder,
and he walked back to the town, following the path of bodies. When he finally reached the
giant walls, John, Nathan, and Daniel all rushed out to him.

"You see that? You saw that right? Oh HELL yea!" He shouted with the utmost pride in his voice.

"I don't believe it man, that was crazy!"

"That was freaking awesome!"

The four young men cheered excitedly, until the sound of the great gate creaking open caused
them to stop and turn to look at the gate. The robed man that was on top of the gate earlier
strode out to them. A man directly behind the robed man held an umbrella covering the colorful
man. Behind the umbrella bearer and on either side walked two more men holding great flags.
One read "Honorable Han Fu", and the other "Magistrate of Ye".

"China..." the young man muttered quietly, "Ancient China... that's where we are..."

[Falsum]

I'm very sorry for double post!

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Chapter Two: Ye

It was silent for a few moments. Han Fu quietly observed the four young men, each individually,
with his hands behind his back. An air of nobility seemed to eminate from him, he was definitely
of a high status.

"Well, I don't know who you three are," Han Fu motioned to John, Nathan, and Daniel.

"But you, warrior, what is your name? Your style? Where are you from?"

The young man opened to his mouth to speak, a trained response, but stopped himself. His name?
What relevance would his name have here? His name was from 1800 years in the future, in a land
yet to be discovered. His real name would alienate him from these Chinese, he would be an
oddity. So he remained silent.

"You don't know your own name?" Han Fu laughed. The young man knew full well his name, but giving
that would be pointless and detrimental for him.

"We are from the mountains. Our parents didn't care for us, so we have no names." Everyone turned
to look at Daniel. Daniel was thinking quick, he too understood that their real names had no
place here, and so he lied.

"Hah hah, well then, we will have to give you names, won't we?" Han Fu laughed in a kind manner.
With a warm smile on his face, Han Fu raised his head to the heavens, thinking. Finally, he
calmly lowered his head, and began to speak.

"You, we will call Xiang Ji." He pointed to the bloodied warrior.
"You, will be Han Xin." Han Fu swung his finger till it rested on Nathan.
"You, shall be named Li Feng." The finger swung again till it chose John.
"Finally, you, will called Li Ji." The finger pointed at the final man, Daniel.

Han Fu brought his hand back behind his back, and waited a couple more seconds before speaking
again in his casual, calm voice.

"Well now, with that out of the way, let's move on to more serious matters. I am Han Fu, the
magistrate of Ye. I have come to offer you a proposal," Han Fu smiled, "Xiang Ji. I would like
for you to serve me. Of course, you will be given a rank as an officer for this victory." Han Fu
shifted his gaze past them young men, and observed the massacre, this time from a close distance.

"If I may, lord, could I request a few conditions before I server you?" Xiang Ji asked in the
most respectful tone he could muster. He didn't want to offend anyone just yet, his situation
was still precarious. Knowing when and the country where they were didn't help, he needed more
information, and Han Fu could help.

"Hm... you may." Han Fu agreed after a couple seconds of thought, although the smile was gone
from his face.

"First, I'd like my friends to accompany me in serving you. Second, I'd like a map that marks the
territories and lords of each province. And third, I don't have my own armor, so if you could,
could you please make me a set?" Xiang Ji responded slowly, thinking carefully about each word
so as not to seem like he was demanding anything.

Han Fu's smile returned.

"Is that all? Well then, those requests will be granted. Come! It's time to see your new place of
service." With those words, Han Fu quickly turned completely around in place. The umbrella bearer
and the flag bearers quickly sprinted around to resume their original positions behind their
lord. When they were all set, Han Fu and his retinue started to walk slowly back to the great
gate, and Ye. Waiting awhile before following, the young men were a few paces behind the retinue,
out of hearshot.

"Why did you agree to serve that guy? Shouldn't we be looking for a way home?" Li Feng whispered
quietly.

"You killed that captain this time, but if serve him, won't you be put into danger again? Us as
well!" Han Xin added in, again in a whisper.

"No, this is best. Think about it, this way we have a rank and some status, and a whole city who
could give us information. Not only that, but this way we have a place to live, and meals. And
here, with an army, we probably have a better chance at living than out on the roads where we
would be killed by thugs or highwaymen." Xiang Ji whispered back, confidently.

"Yea I guess you're right, we'll get familiar with this time period first, before we chose our
next move." After a couple of seconds of thought, Li Feng whispered a response. An immediate
course of action decided on, the four young men nodded at each other, and quickly caught up to
Han Fu and his retinue. After a couple minutes of silent walking, the group crossed the gate into
Ye. A great clamour and a surging crowd awaited them. Different smells of food and people bleed
through the air. Wooden stalls stood side by side all along the side of the path, and people
going shopping would stop here or there, browsing or buying. Without stopping or turning his
head, Han Fu addressed the four young men following him.

"This is the marketplace, the heart of the commoners of Ye." Han Fu laughed. When the crowd
noticed the group of men coming through, they instantly stopped what they were doing and split
the road, leaving a path for the men to walk through. Passing through the market place, and
a large residential area, they arrived at a much nicer section of the city. The group finally
stopped. A large ornate building at the top of a wide stone staircase was what attracted the
gazes of the four young men. A large crowd of painly dressed people were standing quietly and
motionless at the bottom of the stairs.

Following the gaze of the young men, Han Fu spoke.

"This is the magistrate's residence, and these people out front are my attendants." Han Fu
motioned for one of the attendants to come over, and he quietly gave some instructions to the man.
"This man will show you to your new residence, hah hah." Turning away from the four young men,
Han Fu called the rest of the attendants over, and immediatly set to work.

"I will send a messenger soon to call you to the magistrate." Han Fu addressed the four young men
one more time, before completely going to work.

The man assinged to them, held one hand out to indicate to follow him, and nodded. Xiang Ji and
the others nodded as well, and they began to walk off. Passing the magistrate, they arrived at
another residential district, but this one was obviously nicer than the one they had passed
before. After a couple more minutes of walking, the attendant leading them obviously began to
head to a certain house. There was hardly any difference between it and the houses around it,
plain, and in their eyes, crudely built. A solid structure of white stone and a thatched roof,
and a wooden door on the front. The windows were merely holes left by gaps in the stonework.
Once more, the attendant stood to the side of the door and held out his palm to indicate that
this was their destination.

"Thanks."

"Yea, thanks."

"Thanks man."

"Thanks for the help."

One after the other, the young men walked into the house thanking the attendant as they passed.
Once inside, the men began to investigate the house. Delegating where each would sleep, and
determining what each room exactly was. It was not long till a sharp knock echoed through out the
house.

"Yea, come on in." Li Ji called out at the door, and in response the door swung open. Five men
walked through the door. The four young men gathered in the front room, and the first attendant
through the door held out a rolled piece of rough parchment.

"This is a map the captain requested, and these men are here to take your measurements. The
magistrate will provide garments for you other than those odd, mountain clothes."

After taking the map, Xiang Ji and the others were silently surrounded and measured with knotted
ropes. The attendant who had spoken earlier now turned to walk out, after opening the door, he
turned around and gave a final announcement.

"Oh yes, after you are finished getting measured, the magistrate would like to see you, please
don't delay." And with that, the attendant promptly turned back around, and walked out of the
door.

[Falsum]

Well! I didn't expect Chapter Three to be finished so quickly, but here it is. Sorry, this chapter doesn't have much action either and it's shorter than the others, but it's still pretty important to the storyline. As always, please read/critique!

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Chapter Three: Practice

The magistrate's office was highly ornate. Guards stood at the entrance, immobile and silent,
spears at the ready. The room had beautiful woodwork columns, scrolls of elegant poetry and
incredible landscape painting hung from the walls. Sitting on a corner of the desk was a
marvelous jade statue of a crouching tiger. After a quick glance at the decoration, Xiang Ji
focused his gaze to Han Fu, who had his back to the door, looking out the window.

"I've assigned you to the rank of Captain. It's a minor post, but you are still young, and I'm
sure you will prove yourself worthy of promotion." Han Fu turned around to face Xiang Ji.

"Seeing as you are from the mountains, I will explain the current situation in China. The power
of the Son of Heaven has been shattered due to the Ten Eunuchs and Dong Zhuo. However, they
have been rightfully punished. Now, the power is divided all across the land between rival
warlords, vieing for power." Han Fu took a map from inside his desk, and unfurled it on the
floor. It was a massive, sprawling map, taking up most of the free space of the floor. Han Fu
pointed at the words Ye, written on a province in the northern parts of China, north of a great
river.

"This is where we are." He then pointed at a Province to the north west of Ye. "That is Zhang
Yang's province, we are currently at war with them. The man you killed was Wang Kuang, a minor
officer. Soon, there will be another battle. Your armor will be ready soon, so make sure you're
ready to fight. This time, it won't be so easy." Han Fu turned to look at Xiang Ji, then turned
back to the map.

"You can go now." Han Fu said without looking away from the map. Xiang Ji balled his right hand
into a fist, and placed his other hand on top of that and made a quick bow.

"Lord." He said quickly, and then turned around and headed back to his new house. After returning
to the house, Xiang Ji pulled out their map, and began to explain their situation to Han Xin and
the other, beginning with their location, and ending with news of the upcoming battle with
Zhang Yang's forces.

"Hey, I don't think it's fair that you're the only one fighting out there. I bet I'm just as good
as you are at fighting!" Li Feng boasted to Xiang Ji. "Let's go spar right now, I'll prove it!"

"Alright then, let's go," Xiang Ji responded just as confidently. "You guys wanna come too?"

"Hah hah, sure. Why not?" Han Xin replied with a laugh.

"Yea I'm in, nothing else to do..." Li Ji added in. The four young men walked out of the house,
and getting a native guide, were directed to the military barracks. The military barracks had
quite a different look than the rest of the city. Buildings that looked like huts surrounded a
large, open dirt field. Spears and Swords and armor racks were scattered throughout the field,
and archery targets lined one side of the field. Walking up to a weopan rack, Xiang Ji picked
out a spear that was pretty heavy comparatively, and as long as he was tall. Li Feng, also picked
out a spear, but one that was shorter and lighter than the one Xiang Ji had chosen. The trainees,
recognizing Jiang Xi as new Captain who had routed an army by himself, quickily cleared a section
of the field for the two fighters, and then formed a ring around them, eager to watch the fight.

"Ready?" Xiang Ji asked. He readied his stance, his left hand at the base of the spear, and his
right a little shorter than mid-way. He held the spear out towards Li Feng, bringing the
spearhead to eye level with himself.

"Hell yea," Li Feng responded. He too, readied his stance. His left and right hands were close
together, and he held the spear diagonally across his chest, and close to his body.

"Then let's start!" Xiang Ji shouted as he started to run straight at Li Feng, without adjusting
the position of his spear. Li Feng, surprised at the sudden start and oncoming spear, stood
completely immobile as Xiang Ji thrust his spear foward, stopping right in front Li Feng's eyes.

"I thought you said you were as good as me! Hah hah..." Xiang Ji began to laugh. Li Feng quickly
recovered his confidence and readied his spear again.

"You merely caught me off guard this time. I can beat you in a fair fight!" Li Feng shouted back.
A look of anger now on his face.

"All right then, you start this time, hah hah..." Xiang Ji responded while he readied his stance
again, not losing an ounce of confidence. Li Feng then rushed foward holding the spear above his
head, with the spear point straight back, in an obvious attempt at a down ward stroke. Xiang Ji
braced himself, spreading his feet out a bit, and lowering his body. When Li Feng got in range,
he brought the spear down with all his might, using just as much might, Xiang Ji intercepted
the oncoming spear with a side stroke that hit Li Feng's spear to the side, not losing any
momentum, Li Feng let it fall from the force of the hit, and then began to bring it back up for
an upward slash across Xiang Ji's body. Xiang Ji, seeing the slash coming, brought his spear
straight down from where he deflected the first hit, and pinned Li Feng's spearhead to the
ground with his own spear.

Li Feng's face grew red with frustration. All of his attacks had been blocked. Xiang Ji saw this,
and smiled. Confident in his skills, and wanting to tease Li Feng, he playfully blocked and
deflected every single one of Li Feng's slashes and thrusts. Sensing that Xiang Ji was just
toying with him, Li Feng grew even more enraged. He put every all of strength and anger
behind every stroke, and with every parry, he grew more and more frustrated. Xiang Ji, however,
grew too confident. As swung his spear in a slash to deflect Li Feng's spear, the spear slipped.
The shaft hit Li Feng's spear, and slid straight foward. Li Feng had a complete look of horror
on his face as he realized that the spear was headed straight for him, and he could do nothing.
Attempting to jump away, the spear on pierced his upper right arm. Xiang Ji, stopping the spear
as fast as he could, managed to let the spear tip get only halfway in Li Feng's arm.

Li Feng's spear clattered to the ground, his right arm hung limp at his side. Clutching his wound
with his left hand, Li Feng fell to his knees and raised his head and started to scream in pain.
Xiang Ji took a step towards Li Feng, but he was quickly surrounded by the recruits, who
congratulated him on his fight. Trying to see if Li Feng was alright, he tried to force his
way through the crowd, but to no use. After Li Feng's pain had subsided, he looked up and saw
Xiang Ji in the crowd. Assuming he didn't care he was hurt at all, he stood up and started to
storm off.

"That asshole only cares about himself, and his big head..." Li Feng muttered angrily as he turned
away from the crowd. Li Ji, likewise, believed that Xiang Ji did not care about their injured
friend. He soon followed Li Feng away from the military barracks. Han Xin, on the other hand,
noticed that Xiang Ji had tried to get to Li Feng, but couldn't. After checking that Li Feng
was alright, he stayed with Xiang Ji.

"You can beat an amatuer easy enough, but how about me?"

The sudden voice immobilized and silenced the everyone in the barracks. Finally with a calm moment,
Xiang Ji looked to where Li Feng was. Only a blood stain and the spear remained. Xiang Ji, disappointed
he could not get to Li Feng, sighed. A man in his early twenties was making his way through the
crowd toward Xiang Ji. Picking up Li Feng's spear, he stood across the ring from Xiang Ji, and
readied his stance.

"I am Zhang He, an Officer in this army." The man addressed Xiang Ji with a smile.

"I am Xiang Ji, Captain. Guess you're my superior." Xiang Ji responded, also with a smile. Then,
he too readied his stance. In an instant, the two were already clashing. With horrendous clangs
of metal crossing metal, Xiang Ji and Zhang He were already fighting round after round. Xiang Ji
would go for a side sweep aimed for the throat, and Zhang He would immedietly block that and
aim a thrust for Xiang Ji's eyes. Recovering from the blocked hit, Xiang Ji quickly side
swept Zhang He's spear aside and away from his face. This frenzied dance of spears lasted for
a couple of minutes, spears clashing at incredible speeds. However, the untrained Xiang Ji soon
began to tire, his moves got more and more sluggish as his body was nearing it's limit. Zhang He,
trained as a fighter since he was born, was still in prime condition. Eventually, Xiang Ji
faltered, and Zhang He took the chance to disarm him, and end the duel. The crowd, speechless at
the intense fight before their eyes, now began to cheer as loud as they possibly could.

(Continued next post... Sorry!)

[ZEE]

umm romance of the three kingdoms much ^^

[Duratrix]

Ok the third chapter contains more action then the second one, which I like.
You should check the text again cuz I found a couple of grammatical faults in the text that at certain points make it a bit harder to read. I remember there was one in the beginning of the text and you wrote Jiang Xi somewhere, there were more but I can't say everything here.

You say it's shorter then the others, well read and look at it and you'll see that it is about the same size if not larger. The previous 2 chapters contain a whole lot more 'enters'.

Hmmm maybe put more tension in it. Also if Li Feng is enraged, mostly someone gets hurt accidentally. He gets disarmed and the spear gets trown away into the crowd...

For the rest, nice story so far.

[Falsum]

Well, ZEE, it should be very similar to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. That is a great source of inspiration and reference to me. However, the story is all mine hah hah.

At Duratrix: I guess you're right, it is just as long. I dunno why i thought it was so short... and don't blame me too much for the misspelling of the name. Jiang Xi is pronounced (jee-awhng shee), while Xiang ji is pronounced (shee-awhng jee). Very similar when pronounced with the correct accent hah hah... and i'll check for those errors you mentioned...

At any rate: here is chapter four. Chapters 2 and 3 didn't have much action, but Chapter Four is the start of the campaign against Zhang Yang, Han Fu's rival(in my story at least). Enjoy!

Clarification: "winded" in the first sentence, is meant to be read as "whine-did", like a toy. It's meant to emphasis the fact that the hills are scattered everywhere, and the wind(win-duh) has to wind(whine-duh) to get through them. hah hah...

(Continued from previous post(obviously))


"Not bad, but your style is as wild as a tiger. Unfocused strikes relying merely on raw power and
instinct. However, you do have great potential." Zhang He critiqued Xiang Ji as he helped the
beaten fighter up. Xiang Ji, although defeated, laughed as he gladly accepted Zhang He's help.
Li Feng, still enraged at his humiliation, stormed off towards the house. Li Ji followed after
him, a little envious of Xiang Ji's natural fighting ability. Han Xin, however, rushed through
the crowd to cheer on Xiang Ji. After a couple hours of eating and celebration, Xiang Ji and
Han Xin seperated from Zhang He and the rest of the crowd, and headed back to their house.

Awaiting them at the house were sets of clothes in piles designated for each person, and a suit
of new armor. A rolled piece of parchment sat next to the suit of armor. Xiang Ji took it and
unrolled it. It read: "The battle is soon. In 7 days, we will march out and meet Zhang Yang's
troops at Hu Gate." Xiang Ji placed the piece of paper back down on the table, and smiled.



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Chapter Four: Trial

A cool breeze wound it's way through the hills. Xiang Ji looked behind him. 3,500 troops marched
behind him, in perfected rank and file. Stoic faces, calming themselves before the battle, the
troops marched to the beat of war drums, holding their spears against their shoulders. Xiang Ji
too, marched. He didn't quite like horses, and he didn't trust his riding abilities enough to
fight on one. Xiang Ji turned back around to face foward. He had to march from Ye a few days
early, scouts had reported Zhang Yang's troops, under the command of Mu Shun, were already
marching towards Ye, and had even crossed Hu Gate. Xiang Ji was dispatched immedietly to
respond to the threat. Xiang Ji never even got to apologize to Li Feng for stabbing him.

Xiang Ji was incredibly nervous. He didn't have the confidence yet to command troops, and he only
had a days worth of training at Ye. The area around where he was, was also very uneven, with rolling
hills in all directions higher than a man. Xiang Ji held up his left hand, and the force behind
him ground to a halt. A few people were running up the path to the army. Advance scouts.

"Mu Shun's troops are just up ahead. They number around 5,000 men strong," One of the scouts
heaved out, completely worn out. Xiang Ji turned around to address his troops.

"Umm... set up camp..." Xiang Ji looked around nervously, he still wasn't used to giving commands.
"There, in between those hills there." Xiang Ji pointed to a small valley created by three hills.
Immedietly, the troops began to shuffle over to the designated spot, and unpack supplies, pitch
tents, and relax from their long march. Xiang Ji after observing for a couple of minutes, climbed
to the western most hill, and looked out. The enemy army was setting up camp a couple of miles
away. Xiang Ji turned and started to walk down the hill to the fledling camp.

"Don't remove your armor, and don't put away your spears just yet," Xiang Ji shouted out, then he
spoke individually to the advance scouts, telling each one to stand guard on a different hill
of the ones surrounding the camp.

A couple of hours passed, and night had begun to fall. Xiang Ji, once again on the hill, was
observing the enemy encampment and the terrain.

"Captain, aren't you going to rest with us?" an assistant officer asked Xiang Ji. Xiang Ji,
deep in thought, waited for a couple minutes before responding.

"Ready about 1000 of our best troops. We are marching as soon as it is dark. Prepare oil and
torches." The assistant officer ran off to fulfill his orders.

Xiang Ji and his troops crept silently through the hills, crouched low, stifling as best they
could the clang of their equipment, on the watch for scouts. After a couple of hours of this
covert march, the sounds of the enemy camp grew louder and louder, and then, softer and softer.
Xiang Ji had passed the enemy camp, and were circling to behind the highest hill in the area.
Getting an archer to shoot the scout at the top of the hill, Xiang Ji, brought his troops up to
the top of the hill as quietly and as low to the ground as they possibly could. At the summit,
Xiang Ji looked down. This hill was perfect, it perfectly overlooked the enemy camp.

"Alright, let's do it." Xiang Ji whispered. Without regard to being noticed now, the soldiers
stood up in groups holding vats of oil. Half of the groups, with great effort, heaved the oil
down toward the camp. Opening mid flight and oil flying in all directions, they crashed into the
camp on the close side to the hill. The other half rolled the roil vats down the hill, hurtling
through tents before breaking on something hard. The entire enemy camp was in a panic, scrambling
to get their weopans and gear, and locate their enemy, they didn't even notice what was in the
vats. Shortly, it started to rain fire on the camp. Xiang Ji and his troops were quickly lighting
and throwing their torches onto the enemy camp, lighting up the entire night sky, deep red flames
blazed across the camp, black smoke climbed to the heavens. Soon, Mu Shun had rallied some of his
troops, and were starting to retreat north.

"CHHAAAAAARRGGEE!!!!" Xiang Ji roared as he pointed at the enemy troops fleeing for their lives.
Their footsteps shook the ground as Xiang Ji and his thousand troops stormed down the hill like
wild boars, running to gore their prey. With Xiang Ji taking the point, the Ye troops slammed
into the flank of the fleeing troops. Spears flashing, thrusting, swinging, any of Zhang Yang's
forces unlucky enough to meet a Ye soldier, was promptly killed. Xiang Ji as well, without care
for his own safety, once again ran as fast as he could through the fleeing troops, swinging
his spear wildly at any thing withing in his range. Before too long, Xiang Ji met Mu Shun,
fleeing with soldier's around him. When Mu Shun noticed Xiang Ji, he stopped his flight and turned
around.

"You men keep on going," Mu Shun ordered some troops who had stopped with him. "Well, you routed
us this time, but we won't give up so easily!" With that, Mu Shun drew his sword, and rushed Xiang
Ji. Xiang Ji, who was incredibly tired after running through the troops as he just did, could
barely block Mu Shun's sword. Xiang Ji jumped a few paces back, before the next sword stroke cut
him in two. At a much safer distance, Xiang Ji readied his stance, the same stance he used
during training. Taking a step foward at a time, he advanced slowly. Relying on the length
advantage his spear over Mu Shun's sword, xiang Ji made short, quick, swings keeping Mu Shun at
his spear's length. With Xiang Ji sluggish from exhaustion, Mu Shun could easily deflect the
spear sweeps with his sword, but Mu Shun still could not advance a single step. Xiang Ji
relentlessly attacked Mu Shun, stopping only long enough to run a soldier who was fleeing too close
to the duel through. Very soon, Ye troops caught up to the duel between Mu Shun and Xiang Ji.
Mu Shun, although he could not advance towards Xiang Ji, had no trouble escaping in the opposite
direction. Xiang Ji stopped his troops from pursuing any longer. Mu Shun had escaped, and had
probably gone back to Hu Gate or Jin Yang, which was where Zhang Yang was magistrate. Returning
to camp victorious, Xiang Ji and the Ye troops celebrated their victory, and rested the rest of
the night.

The next day, Xiang Ji gave the order to break camp, and they marched onto Hu Gate, the first
objective of the campaign. Xiang Ji held no fears now. He completely routed the Jin Yang troops,
and he was much more confident in his ability to lead. He was sure that the next fight would be
at Hu Gate. Which is why Xiang Ji was so surprised when he and his troops rounded a curve in the
road that went around a hill. Tents and flags belonging to Jin Yang troops were pitched further
down the road.

I guess they didn't retreat all the way back, Xiang Ji thought. Confident in his abilities,
the morale of his army, and the lack of morale in the enemy army, Xiang Ji marched straight
toward the enemy camp. After awhile, Xiang Ji grew un easy. He saw very little people, and the
ones he did see, where not moving very much. He ordered a halt, and called two of his advance
scouts to go check the enemy camp. Waiting nervously, Xiang Ji couldn't help feeling something
was wrong. Just as he ordered his troops to retreat a mile, the two guards came running back.

(Continued next post... Sorry!)

[Falsum]

(Continued from previous post(obviously))

"IT'S A TRICK! THEY'RE STRAW PEOPLE! RUN!!" They shouted with fear. Suddenly, a couple of arrows
came from the nearby hills and took out the two advance scouts. The surviving Jin Yang troops
from the previous nights assault started to pour down the hills, surrounding the Ye troops.

Xiang Ji merely smiled.

"They aren't as numerous as us!" He shouted to his troops, as he waited for the troops to reach
him. "They are tired, and desperate!! Stick together, and they will die like dogs!!" The first
person to reach Xiang Ji was Mu Shun, who leapt foward and swung his sword at Xiang Ji. Xiang Ji
held his spear in both hands and deadlocked Mu Shun's sword.

"You bastard! I'll make sure to avenge my loss here!" Mu Shun shouted through the weopans. Then,
he leapt back and readied his sword again.

"You will only lose again!" Xiang Ji shouted back. Xiang Ji rushed foward toward Mu Shun. No
longer tired, he didn't restrict his swings at all. The first swing headed straight for Mu Shun's
left side, He blocked in time with his sword, but only with one hand. The power and leverage the
spear had forced Mu Shun completely to the ground. Rolling quickly to the side, Mu Shun brought
his hands up in enough time to block Xiang Ji's next stroke, which was a vertical swing. Even
though Mu Shun was holding the sword in both hands, and he was physically stronger than Xiang Ji,
the leverage advantage of the spear pushed the sword back. Xiang Ji quickly brought his spear
back up and swung it down again full strength at the same spot before Mu Shun could recover.
Blocked again, Xiang Ji brought down the spear again and again, until Mu Shun was the one starting
to tire out. Finally, a swing of the spear pushed the sword back far enough that the spear cut
halfway into Mu Shun's right shoulder. Mu Shun, screaming in pain, dropped the sword in his now
useless right hand, and clutched his shoulder with his left hand. Xiang Ji brought his spear back,
and swung it horizontally, slicing cleanly through Mu Shun's neck, severing the head. Taking the
head as a trophy, he hung it from his belt, and joined his soldiers, who where fighting the
Jin Yang ambush troops, in the fight.

Not long after he joined the main battle, the Jin Yang troops were completely wiped out. Taking
only a few casualities, the Ye troops morale really hit peak. The troops rested for the rest of
the day, and the next day, they marched out again for Hu Gate. Xiang Ji sent the head of Mu Shun,
as well as a report of the battles, with a messenger back to Ye. Before long, the hills on the
far left and far right of the troops turned into mountains, and as they got closer to Hu Gate,
the mountains grew closer and closer together, bottlenecking the plains. As dusk drew near,
the Ye troops morale had hit rock bottom. The moutain ranges keep growing closer and closer
together till they met. At the meeting point of the moutains, was Hu Gate. Dark, ominous,
forboding, the gate stood up a steep climb of plains just to the gate it self. It was most
definitely a gate built for war. It appeared to the men, an impreginable fortress, with no
way around it, and no way through it.

The hardest part of the campaign was about to begin.

[Falsum]

in media res is the best thing ever!

this one might be shorter than the previous chapters, but the paragraphs are much longer, so i can't really tell.

Well! it took awhile, but i finally wrote chapter five. AP tests and stuff you know... any way... Enjoi! thanks hah hah

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Chapter Five: Breach

Xiang Ji overlooked his camp, and sighed dejectedly. It had already been a couple days since his
troops had arrived at Hu Gate, and he had no luck in getting through. His men, recuperating from
their latest failed attempt at breaking through the gate, were resting in the camp. He didn't have
any ideas on how to break through the gate. He thought of spies or false defectors to attempt
to open the gate from the inside, but he just couldn't think of a way to get them in. The watch
wasn't lifted at any during the day, and getting through the incredibly steep mountains would
require a long and dangerous walk around the immediate mountains, past the gate, and around more
mountains just to get into the enemy camp. If he moved the whole army, spies would instantly
report what was going on, so a surprise attack like on Mu Shun was out of the question. Plus, there
was the chance that the Jin Yang troops had thought of the enemy army using the mountain paths,
and set up traps and watches for any one going through. Also, he didn't feel like risking his
men's lifes to try a false defection. There is too high of a chance of them seeing through it,
he didn't quite know how to pull one of succesfully.

Xiang Ji's thoughts were cut short by a long, low, drawn out sound coming from behind him. Turning
around, the gate was creaking open once more, and Jin Yang troops were immediately marching forth
in a steady rhythm. This had happened a few times before as well, without their commander, the
Jin Yang troops fought for a short period of time, and then retreated back into the gate. Due
to their strong rear guard, well timed retreats, and his troops' low morale, Xiang Ji was unable
to gain any ground from their assaults. The constant raids took valuable Ye lives, supplies, and
made them unable to rest, either cutting their sleep short, or scaring them into fearing the next
assault.

"Troops! Ready your weapons! The Jin Yang troops are attacking!" Xiang Ji screamed back toward
his camp. The troops, looking up quickly, rushed to prepare for battle. Xiang Ji waited anxiously
for his troops to assemble, the Jin Yang troops were getting close. Xiang Ji addressed the soldiers
who had quickly gotten ready, and were already gathered around him.

"First group, Let's go! Follow my lead!" Quickly turning back to the rest of his army, Xiang Ji
began to shout in a great, booming, urgent, voice. "Fully assemble the rest of the army, and come
to my aid! Don't keep us waiting!"

Xiang Ji turned back around, and, taking the first group of about 700 soldiers who were ready,
Xiang Ji ran for the enemy lines. Crashing headlong into the Jin Yang troops, Xiang Ji and his
troops began the assault. Bravely swinging his spear in wide strokes from left to right, Xiang Ji
cut down anyone who got into his range. After a couple minutes of fighting, Xiang Ji turned
around to see the rest of his army marching full speed to join the fight. Addressing the first
group of soldiers again, Xiang Ji pointed at the gate.

"The gate is still open! Now is our chance! Rush with all your courage, and let's take this gate!"
Xiang Ji then began to take off full speed straight through the middle of the massive army
from the gate. Not stopping for everything, Xiang Ji and his small force cut their way through
the crowd, running any solider in their way through with their spears, and parrying any attack
directed towards them. Eventually, the back ranks of the Jin Yang troops realized that Xiang Ji
and his Ye troops were going to make it to the gate. Fearing for their lives, they turned and
started to run back to the gates. However, the gates began to close. Xiang Ji saw this, and
ran as fast as he possibly could, hoping to make it through the gate in time. Arrows and bolts
from ballistas began to rain down on the Ye troops from the top of the gate. Xiang Ji, braving the
fire, quickly caught up to the fleeing ranks of the Jin Yang troops, ran them through, and approached
the gate. The gate had been slowly closing for awhile now, and it was barely more than enough to
get through. When Xiang Ji reached the gate, it was already too late. The massive wooden door
was sealed shut once again, and the Jin Yang troops who had recovered from Xiang Ji's mad dash
had turned around and had him surrounded, with the gate at their back. Still not discouraged,
Xiang Ji shouted out to rally his troops.

"We still have this fight! We have a place to escape to!" Pointing over the heads of the surging
tide of Jin Yang troops, Xiang Ji marked their camp. "But these dogs, have no where to run to!
The gate is sealed! They can't return to camp! Steel your hearts, your resolve, and let's
slaughter every one of these bastards!!" Emboldened by their commanders words, the troops rushed
forth and began to engage the army which vastly outnumbered their own. Xiang Ji, too, joined the
fray, cutting down great amounts of the enemy. Although he was losing men fast, the fact that
they were surrounded gave great courage to the Ye troops. Each man fought like a demon, knowing
that the only way to live was through the enemy troops. Eventually, the main body of the army
had broken through the front lines of the Jin Yang troops, and surrounded the back rank who
in turn had surrounded Xiang Ji and his small force. The tides turned, the Jin Yang troops
began to falter, and after a couple more minutes of slaughter, surrendered. The battle now over,
the guards on top of the gate began to fire arrows and bolts down onto the Ye troops once more.
The surrendered Jin Yang troops and the Ye troops alike fled as fast as they possibly could back
to the Ye camp.

Having reached the camp, the surrendered Jin Yang troops prostrated themselves towards Xiang Ji,
asking for their lives. Having been granted their lives, and taking into account that their
own troops had fired on them without regard for their safety, the troops decided to defect and
serve Xiang Ji. After a couple of hours of rest, a messenger arrived from the direction of Ye.

"Captain Xiang Ji! Reinforcements led by Zhang He will be here shortly. Please be prepared to
meet him." The messenger recited sharply.

"Understood." Xiang replied to the messenger. Giving details of his last assault on the gate,
and the events of the previous days to the messenger, Xiang Ji sent the messenger back to Zhang He.
After another couple hours, Xiang Ji rode out and met Zhang He a mile from his camp. Walking next
to Zhang He, who was on his horse, Xiang Ji lead the entirely cavalry unit and supplies to his camp.

"So you have had no luck breaking through the gate? But you did get some troops to surrender,
that is good," Zhang He casually discussed the recent events. "The tides will really turn now
though, My force is 6,000 strong, and we brought seige equipment for this battle. We didn't
expect you to break through Mu Shun's forces so quickly, so to contruct some seige equipment for
our troops, we took longer than expected to send reinforcements."

"It is all right, Zhang He. At least you made it before we were wiped out. Now, we can take Hu Gate
and push all the way to Jin Yang!" Xiang Ji responded boldly.

"Well then. You have been in control so far, so you will remain in charge for the next battle.
I am eager to see what you will do to breach Hu Gate." Zhang He laughed casually. Just then,
Xiang Ji, Zhang He, and the reinforcements arrived at the camp. Stopping, Xiang Ji looked up
confidently at Zhang He.

"No problem. I already have a plan." Xiang Ji smiled. He then walked into the camp and began
giving instructions to his troops.

(Continued next post... Sorry!)

[Falsum]

(Continued from previous post(obviously))

Under the cover of night, a large amount of darkly dressed archers approached Hu Gate. Reaching
a good distance, they set tall black shields in the ground facing the wall to protect them from
return fire. Suddenly, fires sprung up all down the archer line, as every archer lit the arrow
on his bow.

"NOW!! FIRE! It doesn't matter if you can't see it! Shoot enough and it'll hit their camp!!" Xiang
Ji shouted from behind the archers. Darkly dressed soldiers with hooks and rope stood gathered
around him. The first step of the plan, was to fire fire arrows over the gate, hoping to hit
the enemy camp and hopefully set it ablaze. If that didn't work, then the fire arrows would at least
confuse the enemy. However, soon the night sky lit up and smoke rose high into the sky.

"Well! Whatever is burning, it's enough! Start to bring the ram up! Archer's keep firing! Wall
troops, let's go!" Xiang Ji, motioning the dark soldiers around him, began to dash as fast as he
possibly could towards the gate. At this point, the gate troops had spotted the archers, who
were lit by the fire on their arrows. Advancing in the dark, the wall troops made it all the way
to the wall without being spotted. Waiting a couple of seconds to get ready, Xiang Ji gave a
signal, and every soldier threw up a rope and attached it to the top of the gate, and began to
climb. Those whose ropes didn't hook, ran to a rope that had hooked, and climbed up behind the
person already on the way up. Reaching the top, Xiang Ji as fast as he possibly could pulled his
body up onto the wall, stood up on the edge, and giving a fierce shout, jumped high above the
archers on the wall, and immediately began slaughering the surprised archers. Running down the
line, killing every archer and meeting with soldiers who had either got on the gate or had just
reached the top, Xiang Ji and his troops disabled the ballistas, and killed every archer.
Blocking the top of the stairs that led to the top of the gate, Xiang Ji and his troops
held off the enemy force as the fire arrows continued to rain over the gate, and the ram
approached the gate unscathed. Soon, the whole gate began to shake, and a great noise was heard
over the din of the battle. Xiang Ji all the other troops, foe and friend alike, had to steady
themselves to keep from falling off. As soon as the fighting was about to commence again, another
shudder ran through the gate, as the gates creaked and the ram rhythmically pounded the great gate.
Very shortly, a great crashing noise was heard, and huge fragments of wood shot out from where
the gate was, knocking soldiers unlucky enough to be behind the door to the ground.

After a short pause as every soldier on the Jin Yang side of the gate turned to look at where the
gate was. A dull rumble was heard in the distance, it grew louder and louder till it was a full
stampede. All 5500 cavalry troops and 2000 foot soldiers, led by Zhang He, poured through the
gate all at once, like the waters of a lake released after breaking through a dam. Xiang Ji took
no time, and in one sweep, sent the soldier within spears reach of him on the stairs sprawling to
the ground below. Starting to run as fast as he could down the stairs, Xiang Ji and the troops with
him either ran through or threw off the gate every soldier on the stairs. After reaching the ground,
they joined Zhang He in completely routing the Jin Yang troops, slaughtering every one they could
find. Standing in the ashes of the enemy camp and the blood of the enemy soldiers, Zhang He and
Xiang Ji looked north.

The path to Jin Yang lay clear, the campaign was nearing it's final battle.

[Falsum]

WHOO another update! Chapter 6 is finally out! The end of the Jin Yang campaign is nigh, how will Xiang Ji, Zhang He, and the Ye troops end it? Will they capture Jin Yang and return victors, or will they be crushed, having to return to Ye losers? Read on!!

At any rate, ridiculousness aside, I have made changes to chapters One, Two, Four, and Five, (There are mostly grammatical, and the changing of Zhang He's reinforcements to purely cavalry and supply). And HUGE changes to Chapter Three: Practice. I HIGHLY suggest(to thoose still reading this) to go and re-read chapter three. I think It's much better now.

Without further ado, here is chapter 6...

enjoi! thanks! hah hah...

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Chapter Six: Seige

Xiang Ji's troops and the surrendured Jin Yang troops took the vanguard as the Ye forces marched
toward their goal. The seige equipment and supplies in the middle, and Zhang He and his cavalry
bringing up the rear. After a couple days of uneventful marching, the Ye army came upon a great
river, wide and with a strong current. Directly along the path, however, was a land bridge, wide
enough for about 10 people to stand side by side. Looking past the bridge, the outline of Jin Yang was visibly in sight.
Xiang Ji halted the army, and soon enough Zhang He trotted up to the front on his horse.

Without saying a word, Zhang He realized the situation when he got to the front.

"Well, you are in command. Just remember, that current is too strong to build anything, the river
too deep and wide for our troops to cross. Also remember that our supplies won't last forever,
the sooner we can capture Jin Yang the better."

Xiang Ji nodded. Zhang He nodded as well, in understandment, and trotted back towards the cavalry
unit. Xiang Ji stood still for a moment, considering his options. All the soldiers watched their
captain in anticipation.

"We don't have time to wait! Let's cross now!" Xiang Ji motion foward with his hand, and soon the
army was marching at the same steady pace once more. When Xiang Ji was about halfway across the
land bridge, he felt the ground shake. Looking around anxiously, he noticed dust clouds from
behind a rather large hill. Xiang Ji quickly threw up his hand and shouted quickly to his troops.

"Brace yourselves! Troops incoming!" Quickly pulling out his spear, Xiang Ji looked behind him.
His troops were packed close together on the land bridge, and there was absolutely no room to
maneuver. Turning back foward, Xiang Ji grit his teeth in determination. However, that determination
soon gave way to fear, as the enemy troops, were all cavalry. If the cavalry rushed them while
they were on the bridge, his troops would get massacred.

"RUN! HIT LAND! LETS MOVE!!" Xiang Ji once more shouted out orders to his soldiers. This time,
the fear was tangible in his voice. The Ye troops took off at full speed towards landfall and
safety. It was apparent, after a couple feet, that they would be unable to reach the land.
Grounding the troops to a stop, He had his troops all crouch and hold their spears out towards
Jin Yang. Xiang Ji stood in front of his troops in a similar pose, and braced himself for heavy
loses. He knew that it was do or die here. On this limited bridge, and in this limited time,
it was impossible for Zhang He and his cavalry to aid them. Also, right after the ground troops
were the supplies. If he died and his soldiers died here, the supplies would be wrecked. The
Jin Yang have no chance to live, but they can effectively end this campaign here and now.
Emboldened by that fact, Xiang Ji dispelled his fear, and hardened his resolve.

Just as Xiang Ji stood a couple of steps ahead of his troops, the enemy commander was a couple
of paces ahead of his troops as well, and he was headed straight towards Xiang Ji.

"MY NAME IS SUI GU!! I WILL KILL YOU AND AVENGE OUR TROOPS!!!" The enemy commander screamed as the
distance between him and Xiang Ji grew closer.

"BRING IT!! I'LL RUN YOU THROUGH!!" Xiang Ji angrily shouted back. He and Sui Gu were almost in
range. Not stopping his horse, Sui Gu ran his horse to the right of Xiang Ji and thrust his lance
downwards as he approached Xiang Ji. Xiang Ji ducked, and the lance barely missed the top of
his. He also thrust, but his spear didn't miss. He pierced straight through Sui Gu's heart, and
lifted his lifeless body off the horse. Throwing the body into the river, he barely got set in time
for the rest of the Jin Yang cavalry. Ducking, dodging, and parrying enemy lances, Xiang Ji fought
like a demon. His spear was like the river he fought over, pushing strongly foward without stopping,
laying everything in his path to waste. Piercing many Jin Yang riders as they passed, knocking
them off their horses only to be trampled by their allies, killing their horses so they drop to the
ground, Xiang Ji was soon surrounded by bodies and blood. Xiang Ji didn't have time to wonder how
his troops behind him were doing. He knew that he didn't stop all the riders, and that even one
cavalry man could decimate quite a bit of his troops. After what seemed like an eternity of endless
cavalry flowing from the Jin Yang, the last cavalry in their very back rank dropped to the ground,
a hole the size of a spear in his throat, blood flowing from his mouth and throat. Xiang Ji
stood motionless for awhile, his spear still thrust foward towards the heavens. Breathing heavily,
Xiang Ji silently brought his spear back down towards him. He was afraid of what lay behind him.
Looking down at the ground for a couple of seconds, he braced himself and quickly turned to check
on his troops.

The sight was much better than he had hoped for. The frontline troops right behind him had down
better than he thought. The first couple of ranks were decimated, and a couple of streaks of
bodies where the cavalry burst through the line and ran through the army where here and there,
but all in all, loss were much lower comparatively then the Jin Yang troops. He smiled in relief,
then He held his spear in one hand above his head.

"HOOOO-AH!" he shouted triumphantly. Still smiling, he dropped his spear back to his side and
began giving orders to his troops.

"Lets hurry. If someone is alive but can't move, carry him with the person next to you and lets
move. Take the weapons of the dead, and lets hurry. Sorry we can't bury them, but we are in a bad
position, and I don't want to be attacked again." Xiang Ji then waited for his troops to get
ready to march again. The troops as well, were in high spirits. They had just miraculously held
off a cavalry force on a bridge where they couldn't move. Once the troops had gotten ready,
They began to march towards Jin Yang once again. Getting ever closer, they encountered no further
resistance. Finally, they had reached the giant stone walls of Jin Yang.

"Let's start the seige!" Xiang Ji shouted to his troops. "Surround the city, block all the gates,
set watches, and pitch your tents. I have a feeling this is going to be awhile..." Xiang Ji looked
up towards the giant walls. He felt the same sense of dread he felt at Hu Gate. Sighing dejectedly,
Xiang Ji walked off to supervise his troops.

After a couple of days, the seige had gone no where. The Jin Yang troops refused to come out to
battle, and the Ye troops had no plausible plan of action. Eventually, at one war council, Xiang
Ji had thought of a plan.

"It's probably impossible for our troops to sneak in, but how about we go to the nearby villages
and get their aid? If they fail, it will be no loss to us, but if they succeed, this seige will
be over!"

"And if you cannot convince them to help you?" Zhang He questioned.

"No problem, I'm sure I can pull this off." Xiang Ji responded back, confidently. Zhang He nodded,
and gave the order for Xiang Ji to get aid. After awhile, he and a couple troops made it to the
closest farming village to Jin Yang. All the villagers stopped what they were doing, and observed
the Ye troops. Xiang Ji raised his hand and addressed the villagers.

"We mean you no harm. We are just looking for some people to aid us who are familiar with the
city of Jin Yang." After a short silence, a couple of young men approached Xiang Ji and his
troops.

"Who are you? You're just a kid! and what's in it for us if we help you?" One of the young men
asked. Xiang Ji only confidently smiled back towards the villager.

"I am a captain in Han Fu's army," and after a pause, "and acting commander of the Ye army
beseiging Jin Yang." The young men drew in their breath at the realization of who was in front of
them.

"And as for a reward? I will give you men prefect status over Jin Yang and the rest of the province."
Completely shocked by the last couple of sentences, the villagers stood motionless for a couple
of moments before responding.

"Yes! Yes! Of course we will help you!" They replied eagerly. Xiang Ji smiled a much darker
smile, and lead them back to camp.

(Continued next post... Sorry!)