Chapter 1: Wu vs. Wei

Zhou Yu sat on his white horse watch the army move silently up the mountain. He was one of the generals of Sun Jian's army. He was an excellent strategist and a formidable Soldier. Unlike most men he had a soft side, but that would not come between him and his duty. His choice of weapon was a one-handed sword with a wide blade. Its handle was scarlet red embedded with gold.

The breeze flowed threw his hair and moved the pebbles along the mountaintop where he stood. Below the wind rustled the trees and they shed their leaves as if welcoming autumn. He saw the enemy below him in the city of Jung Yi; there in the castle was the leader of Wei - Cao Cao. He heard the noise of hooves on the rocky earth. Sun Ce rode up beside him. "I am ready, so is the rest, we await your orders." "My army is getting into place now. Tell my Lord Sun Jian it is almost time."

Sun Ce nodded and rode off. It was weird for Zhou Yu having Sun Ce treat him like a general, but this strategy was his original idea and he was in charge of this battle. With the help of Zhuge Liang, they made it into a workable plan.

Zhou Yu watched the horizon turn shades of purple and light blue; his army was in place. He saw the smoke signal and he rode towards his men, "Men, this new day brings death, but not for us. You are the soldiers time will remember when human minds have forgotten; you are the soldiers that are going to defeat Cao Cao. Let us show Wei the furry of Wu." A great cry rose up from the army, "FOREWARD!" He shouted and raced down the hill, with his army behind him.

Wei was prepared they had seen their weak point and set up traps. The Slope had hidden pits with spikes, and high towers every few feet with archers on their decks. Zhang He couldn't just watch them die in the traps and by arrows that rained down on them. His metal talons itched for a fight so he charged up the mountain with his army.

Zhou Yu rode fast and carefully through this deadly mountain. His one-handed blade was held high above his head; he sliced left and then right. His horse knocked down another man and then reared as a spear stabbed the ground before him. It threw Zhou Yu off, but quickly got to his feet. More and more soldiers came up the mountain.

He signaled for the next wave, a rush of soldiers led by Lu Meng came down the mountain and pushed back the enemy. The soldiers had gotten the idea of the deadly mountain and had used it to their advantage, they pushed their enemies in the pits they dug for themselves. Lu Xun led a team of the best archers in the tree kingdoms to the top of the mountain. They took out the enemy's archers and were replaced by Sun Ce's own archers. The tide of war was turning in their favor, Zhou Yu smiled; this was only the beginning.

"Come on men, keep them at bay." Zhang He shouted as he killed three soldiers. Then he saw him, the general Zhou Yu. A great fighter and even better strategist he had expected to see him here. He raced towards Zhou Yu and jumped in the air. Zhou Yu sliced a captain nearly in half when, out of the coroner of his eye, he saw a flash of light. He turned around and brought his sword up just in time to block the attack of Zhang He.

The force of his attack made Zhou Yu take a step backwards. "Crumbling under my strength, general?" Zhang He asked him while they circled each other. "Not today, Zhang He." He replied and rushed forward, Zhang He jumped up and all Zhou Yu's sword caught was air. He landed gracefully and slid his foot along the ground to try and trip Zhou Yu, but Zhou Yu was faster than Zhang He had expected and he moved out the way.

Zhang He was back on his feet and jabbed at Zhou Yu, he dodged left and it missed him. Then with the side of his blade he hit Zhang He on the back and he feel face down in the ground. Above the noise of the battle a shout could be heard, "Take Cover" immediately all of Wu's forces dived for cover. Lu Xun shouted, "Fire!" and the archers from every corner of the battlefield fired their arrows. Zhang He was still on the ground when a rain of arrows came down upon the mountain. In the arrows he saw death coming for him. Zhou Yu moved fast, he stood in front of Zhang He and blocked the arrows as they came towards him with his sword. Soldiers fell down five, ten at a time. If the arrows didn't hit them then they died when they fell into their own traps.

Just as quickly as it had begun the rain of death was over. Zhang He stood up and looked at Zhou Yu, "Why did you do that?" "You are far to good a warrior to have death by arrows." Zhang He looked at him and at his men, many were dead or injured from the barrage of arrows. "Men," he called, "Fall back to the city." A huge cheer went up from Wu's army as Wei's army retreated to the city.

Zhou Yu smiled and whistled his white horse; Storm; came to him. He mounted Storm and raised his sword high above his head; all men turned their attention towards him. "Well done, men. The mountain is ours and next the city of Jung Yi." The soldiers cheered and ridding down the mountain was Sun Jian, his son Sun Ce and the young general Lu Xun.

They all congratulated him, Lu Xun the most respectful of all. Then cheering from a distance came the loud voice of the pirate, Gan Ning and his friend Lu Meng. Lu Xun often surprised him, in body he was still young only 15 but in skill he surpassed the best of generals. Rumors were that he was the only one capable of holding ground against the strong Lu Bu. They would soon find out, after they rule Wei and Cao Cao then comes Shu and Liu Bei.

Zhang He was knelt before Cao Cao ruler of Wei. "I'm sorry, my lord, I failed you." "Cao Cao ran his fingers over his small black beard. Sima Yi stood next to Cao Cao, he was after all the kings' adviser and strategist. "My Lord, might I remind you that Zhang He wasn't the only one to fail." "This is true, Sima Yi, You all have failed even I have failed, but Zang He, you promised." The Generals bowed before Cao Cao, Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, and Xu Huang. Zhang He remember back…

"Do not fail me, Zhang He. If we lose the mountain we lose our greatest defense. I heard rumors that Zhou Yu is leading this campaign and he is no fool." Cao Cao said a few days earlier. "I promise, my Lord, the mountain will stay ours…

"My lord, if you wish it we can try to reclaim the mountain…" Cao Cao held his hand up, "No what's done is done and what's lost is lost. We must look towards the future and see if we can't save Jung Yi." Cao Cao stood up, "Go all of you."

Sima Yi approached him, "Tomorrow, Sima Yi, Jung Yi will be lost." He said as he looked out from his window. On the mountain slope fires were lit and high up on the mountain stood the enemy's camp. Then to the west was a cliff, which dropped down into the sea, and to the east were Sun Ce's forces. "It is true my lord, we are surrounded but our defenses are great here, because they have to come to us." "You are right Sima Yi, but I feel like a caged tiger." He turned back to his seat. "Send men along the forest, have them cut a way though. Tell the men when they hear a horn blow three times the city is lost and they can run or fight." Sima Yi bowed and left.

Zhou Yu looked at the city as the sun set in the west; something was not right, "Lu Xun." He called and the general emerged from his tent. "What is it, Zhou Yu?" "Bring me the map, I have to see something." Quickly the map was before him. The map showed the mountain, the slope, the sea, and the pass way into the city. "What are you looking for?" Lu Xun asked him. Zhou Yu looked to the right of the city. "There look, the forest, it touches the city and goes right around our defenses." Lu Xun looked at the map and at the forest. "Your right, we need to get word to Sun Ce." "No wait, put spies there, the best you have. That way we can follow them and give them a false sense of security." The general nodded and left. "I just found your trump card, Cao Cao. You will not elude us for long." Zhou Yu walked to his tent, he could hear the roaring laughter of Gan Ning; he was drunk again. Zhou Yu was no mood for celebrating this war has only just begun.