8 Battle in the Southern Forests

Narration PoV

An army of 200,000 went Under great general Kyou to take Jiangxia and Runan of Chu. Most notable of them was General ChouTou and General KouRyu . Riding on the previous success of Jiangnan, Qin army had a high moral as they marched towards the Chu heartlands.

Before the Qin army arrived at the battlefield, General KouRyu requested to keep his 40,000 troops as reserves to be used only if there's an emergency and General Kyou accepted. So they moved away from the main army and followed them from a distance.

This would later prove to be the decision that saved their lives and their remaining army as Chu brought down their whole might on them surprising most of the states. The battle of Jiangxia would be later known as one of the bloodiest battles of Qin's history.

KouRyu PoV

We were almost at Jiangxia, that's when i could sense we were being watched. I thought they were just scouts but the way the camouflaged themselves, it seemed more like an ambush corp. I asked my army to search around but they hid themselves too well.

When nobody could be found, I immediately went to see General Kyo. I was avoiding her as she acted like a nagging older sister and would tease me. So when I went to see her, I had to suffer for a while. When I spoke about my plan to be the reserve army.

She accepted without any protest. It feels bad that she'll die within 2 years, maybe I can save her but that could drastically alter everything and my plans will need to be altered a lot. Let's see what happens.

I ordered my troops to stop at Nan city, the first city we took at this campaign. Although I'm staying here, I sent my flags with the Kyou army so everyone thinks I'm with them. I did all these because I knew this would be a bloody ambush.

I discussed it with Both ChouTou and and Kyou but they said they have both scouted ahead to check but found no signs of such. I just told them to be careful and left. I guess I will have to wait and see what kind of trap KouEn has set.

After I mentioned the ambush and we discussed it, General Kyou approached me before leaving. I sighed as I thought she would again try to spoil me or something. To my surprise she smiled gently and spoke," You know little Ryu, one of my fellow generals told me once, that you are too similar to him. Only difference between him and you is, he chose the darkness while you chose the light.

Before his death, he told both me and OuKi sama to help you become better than him. He believed you would be the one who would replace him as Qin's greatest ."

I kinda realized who she was talking about but still asked anyway," who was that person?"

General Kyou smiled and ruffled my hair and spoke as she left the tent," Well, it was none other than our leader, Bai Qi"

The ambush and trap set by Chu felt odd for some reason. This kind of plan, very few in the Chu can paln this..... wait a minute!

Didn't Chu had both Sun Ce and Zhou Yu too? This is bad, Those two work so well together, if this is their plan then we will be besieged by at least 300,000 soldiers and get slaughtered. They might have pulled this because of me and Zhuge Liang ruining their 100,000 army.

We need to consider our every move before making any plans. Hopefully I can figure something out. According to my calculations, they will strike as soon our army goes to Jiangxia. I'll be prepared to move accordingly. I don't know why but I have a feeling that there is something going on.

Zhuge Liang PoV

My lord has left for Jiangxia leaving KaRin, me and Lu Meng in charge. The lad named Ma Jung was also promising so I left some duties to him to relax a bit. I hated doing paperwork as My lord went out to battle.

But there was a person who was more unhappy than me. I looked at KaRin who was in a bad mood and her soldiers were suffering due to it. She is a talented woman and I could see the looks she gave to my lord.

But He apparently seemed not interested in matters of love currently.

A messenger broke my chain of thoughts as he entered and spoke, " Urgent message from Jiangxia. The Qin army of 200,000 was ambushed by General KouEn, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu with 350,000 troops. Qin army lost almost half of the troops and The whereabouts of General Kyo, ChouTou and My lord is currently unknown.

I sat up in shock as I heard the news. KaRin wasn't in a better condition as she started shaking the messenger and yelled," What the hell did you say? There is no way something would happen to him. Tell me you are lying."

The messenger was sweating as he replied, " I'm sorry ma'am, but the news is true. When the main army got ambushed, my lord went to rescue them but He was ambushed as well by General KouEn who was supposed to be at the Chu Capital.

He managed to get out with half of his troops. General Zhao Yun and my lord was injured but its nothing serious. General Zhang Liao sent this messages as they were resting but it doesn't say anything about their whereabouts or next plans."

I rose up and asked," is that all the news? " To which the messenger nodded. I told the messenger to leave. and get rest as I looked towards KaRin and spoke," We predicted there might be an ambush and planned as such. But they hid the news about KouEn being there, quite clever."

KaRin stopped me from talking and yelled," This is no time for your musings. Since Zhang Liao sent the message that means we need to go there, with speed."

I shrugged and spoke," The time required for such an endeavour would be too long and by then, it would be all over. It would be a futile attempt which my lord would disapprove."

KaRin slammed the table hard and asked," Then are we supposed to just do nothing? Why would Zhang Liao send us a message then? KouRyu sama is unconscious, as well as Zhao Yun, which is a good enough reason for me to go with my army to provide assistance."

I merely covered my mouth with my feather fan and joked, " Oh my, it seems you have fallen hard for my lord. Maybe you should go and nurse him, take care of him like a proper wife...."

I couldn't finish my sentence as I had to duck to avoid the oncoming flower vase. KaRin was blushing furiously and yelled," Don't joke around! He needs us."

I changed my aura and exuded seriousness as I spoke," I have specific instructions that says if things don't go as planned, we will be retreating and strike back once we are in a better position.

My lord even instructed specially that the Lu Meng army and KaRin army must not move even if his entire army is lost. He always has a plan to win, if he doesn't, then he will just retreat and wait That's why he is so scary as he never considers a battle as lost, but merely a setback for him to counter.

Not to mention, The numbers we possess aren't enough to assist him currently. So let us do our duties and wait for his good news. "

She just sighed and sat down with a huff. She must really care for him huh. But I think she has some fierce competition as there are quite a few woman who has already set their eyes on my lord.

Flashback (Zhuge Liang PoV)

It was the Autumn of 255 BCE when the mountain tribe king along with his ambassadors came to visit our lands and see how the families were doing. So Lord KouRyu himself greeted them and took them to the city.

As his face was covered in mask, we couldn't see his expression, but his advisors were surprised to see their tribal children going to school and playing with the normal kids as if they were the best of friends.

Even the older ones were engaged in several trades and communicated with the others normally. There was literally no discrimination and it looked like a utopia for everyone.

This is the reason why I follow my lord with my whole heart. He accepted everyone despite their background and treated everyone equally. He also gave them hope and a fair chance to be whatever they wanted to be. Every child be it poor or noble, they all would recieve free basic education so they can read and write.

We could see how the people loved their young lord as everyone who saw him bowed with a smile and would offer something from their shops or farms. Ladies would give him handmade handkerchiefs and pillows, whatever they could make by themselves .

I never saw him without a smile when he talked with the people. Even the criminals, when he would talk with them to see why they did it and punish accordingly. The mountain folks were surprised to find such a beautiful city and their people living in harmony with the others.

Once we finished touring the city, my lord asked them have supper with us and stay the night. I saw the mountain king take off the mask when we reached home and I was surprised to see a beautiful woman underneath.

She smiled so brilliantly even I was flustered for a second. But my pord acted like he knew already and didn't care. They were talking about the future and hopefully all of Qin becoming one again like the time time of Duke Mu. They had a lot in common as they talked and drank for a while.

I kinda fell asleep after a while and when I woke up in the morning, I couldn't see them. So when I went to look for them, I saw my lord sneaking out from his room like a thief with dishevelled clothes. I almost splurted out the water I was drinking when saw the mountain king, or Queen rather, also sneaking out behind him with a blush and barely clothed.

I smirked as I see them and they saw me. Both of them looked like they've been caught stealing something as I laughed and left them to freshen up.

Flashback ends

Present Time - Chu Camp

The Chu camp was on a somber mood after yesterday's battle. The army of 350,000 ambushed the Qin forces led by Great General Kyou and ChouTou. Their general KouEn was very cautious after last time and carefully planned the ambush.

Sun Ce and Zhou Yu army ambushed 160,000 strong army and killed almost 100,000 troops but KouRyu wasn't among them. This was also considered as KouEn purposefully hid himself and his 100,000 army waiting if he showed up. They waited there even before the battle begun.

Even without KouRyu, the Qin army put up a hard fight and killed a lot of Chu soldiers. The soldiers of General Kyous showed why she was one of the 6 greats and the ChouTou army assisted them by defending their backs. They focused on one side and tried to pierce through.

They almost broke out but Zhou Yu's clever schemes stopped them and They slowly began to chip away at them. They fought bravely but they had the numbers against them. KouEn knew, if KouRyu was going to make a move, it would be now as half of the Qin soldiers were dead.

His suspicions proved true as KouRyu came to rescue the troops and almost got them out without losing many, that's when the KouEn army which was waiting for the chance pounced on him took him by surprise.

They took out the two generals with him named Enkei and Aizen and also trapped their soldiers. As the situation looked dire and everyone thought they got them, KouRyu and his generals burst into action with their main army and slaughtered almost over 100,000 chu soldiers.

The formation breakers under Gao Shun were particularly devastating as they didn't let Zhou Yu to play his tactics. To prevent them from destroying the Chu soldiers, Sun Ce challenged him to a duel to which he accepted. During their duel, Han Ming rushed in and suddenly it became a two on one and KouRyu was pushed back.

As KouEn thought they would take him out and he would finally wipe that disgrace off, KouRyu suddenly burst out with incredible strength and single handedly pushed them both back. He matched both of them with skill and strength and went head to head as his troops were also got their moral boosted and they started pushing the Chu army back.

But he started losing stamina after an hour or so. He was on the brink of collapsing but he kept fighting, even viciously wounded them both. Just then One of his Generals, Zhao Yun who was encircled by the trap broke through and Rescued him but had to take a blow from Han Ming on his back.

Although they escaped, both of them were injured. The other general Zhang Liao coordinated their escape with general Kyou and ChouTou along with the survivors. Qin managed to escape with about 70,000 troops or so despite being encircled bu 450,000 soldiers.

Chu army lost over 200,000 troops which was as severe as Qin. a The battle of Jiangxia was won but Chu didn't consider they would suffer so much despite the advantages. Although they can attack with the 250,000 army, it would not be wise for them to pursue a wounded tiger. They still had Kyou leading them.

So it was decided that Sun Ce and Zhou Yu would pursue them with 100,000 troops with 50,000 troops of Han Ming following right behind while keeping some distance to make sure they have actually retreated and something like last time doesn't happen.

There was some minor skirmishes in the next days between the two army as Qin returned to Nan and regrouped. Once KouRyu woke up, they would be discussing their next course of action. They have lost a lot and this campaign could end up as failure if they returned like that.

But they lacked the soldiers for counter attack. Unknowingly, all them looked towards the young general with hope to find a solution even in this mess. If anyone could, it would be him.

Unknown PoV

It was quite boring without him. Although he was a target, for the first time in my life, I hesitated that day. Watching him playing with those kids and smiling without a care made me sad as I never had that childhood. But watching them would unknowingly put a smile in my face.

Ever since then, I have watched him, looking for a fault, a single hint of evil and darkness, but every time he would disappoint me. Even alone, he would just play some foreign music which would always make me want more.

I didn't know why they wanted him dead, but I can't let him go. He was a great person but I still had to my duty. Feelings and emotions are traits found only on the losing side.

I have convinced myself that the next time I see him, I would finish my duty and go back. I won't fail, like I have never before.