Chapter 25: The First Day(1)
I spotted Duke Hyou, or Father, atop his horse, on the tallest point of our defense, overlooking the entire portion of the mountain facing the 120,000 Zhao Troops.
I walked up to him, my arms crossed.
I stood in a formal outfit, a kimono. It was mostly black, but it had a golden dragon running up the middle part, which could be opened. And the waist-belt had silver outlining.
With a black hoari over it, with silver outlinings again.
"Where Is your armour, Ren?" Hyou asked me as I approached.
"I have no intention of fighting today, just as you are at the frontlines, motivating the troops. The Officers require a calm presence, without the desire to fight, risking their lives. To keep them organised, and not wearing amor suits that goal." I said, and Kou just shrugged.
"Either way, I have the armour close by." I said, not getting a response from my father.
"I´ll remain atop and spectate the battle, you know what the different arrow-sounds are, I hope?" I asked Kou, resulting in a fit of laughter.
"Hahahaha, of course my boy! When it comes to things such as this, I am quite serious. I have even gotten all my commanders to memorise them!" He exclaimed.
Well, that's good. I suppose.
"TO ALL MEN OF THE CHU ARMY. THE PRIVILEGE OF STARTING THIS WAR-" I said, as the Chu General's Army began shouting, his voice carrying over all the battlefields, with his booming voice and motivational speech.
"WHO MAKES THE EARTH CRUMBLE?"
"CHU"
And so on, cringe ass motivational speeches, but It was unavoidable. But as he was shouting, I turned towards Kou.
"You know, it'd be quite the boost to morale if Qin started this war." I said, as my Father's eyes widened.
"Hahhahaha, you truly are my son." He said, which was him agreeing.
"Very good, I´ll prepare the men." I said, turning around.
"Raise the flag." I said, to one of the flag-signallers, and he nodded. Raising the Qin-flag, which meant prepare to charge.
"Oh? So you've made signals according to my character. HAHAHAHA" Hyou Kou, noted from the side.
"Of course, you charging forth isn't even a prediction, it's a certainty." I said, earning me another chuckle from my father.
I then heard the finalizing of the speech.
"WHO MAKES THE HEAVEN TREMBLE?"
"THE CHU ARMY!!!"
"NOW, MY HEAVENLY ARMY, TREMBLE THE EARTH AND HEAVEN, AND-" He tried, but my father's voice surpassed his own, and his voice boomed over the entire battlefield.
"NOW! ATTACK!" He shouted, as he rushed forward, his horse jumping over the cliff and began riding down the dangerous mountainside, and I couldn´t help but chuckle.
Our force was small, for a reason. We had been given the perfect troop-type to suit my father's fighting style.
Namely charging, into everything and everywhere.
And as such, our 42 000-man force, consisted of 30 000 men on horse, and 12 000 on foot.
"Keep the infantry back on base, and order the men to form up." I shouted, as messengers ran off.
I knew this would happen, and as such. I had devised an actual formation.
Lord Hyou would lead the charge with his 10,000 men, split into 3 waves, followed up by 10,000 from the various units put in his army.
Lord Hyou would lead the first wave, a wedge which would clash with the centre of the Zhao Lines, with 4000 of his men. Which was organised into 3 squares, 10,000 each, with 4 such lines in total.
Following behind him, would be Ga Ro, leading another 2000 horsemen in a wedge right behind them, followed up by his brother-from-another-mother, Gaku Rai, with an additional 2000. And lastly, the last 2000 of Hyou´s 10 000 man unit was led by Man Dou.
The Hi Shin Unit would form a wedge to Father's left, and the Tiěfēng Qí would lead a wedge on his right.
The Tiě Qí meaning the Iron Unit, led by Han Xiu, was a veteran 1000-man unit, not quite an elite unit. But they had witnessed many battles throughout their time, and they were composed of purely cavalry.
The lines smashed against each other. The Zhao Army, having predicted the cavalry charge, had formed defensive positions, using heavy shields and long spears to counter the cavalry.
But, similar to the Hi Shin Unit, Duke Hyou´s men adored him, his easygoing nature, his strength and even his compassion. And it resulted in each man fighting 10 times harder when Duke Hyou was there with them.
Their lines were quickly disrupted, Han Xiu and Shin led their units from the front, their glaive and sword crushing the Zhao Lines.
Now then, my major problem in all of this was Kei Sha, the commanding general of Zhao. He was a general of the instinctual type, inferior to the types of Shin and Duke Hyou, but what made him dangerous was his calm mind.
He was of the instinctual type, intending to set up the largest fire. But unlike Duke Hyou, who simply created a fire wherever he passed, his pure strength creating it.
Kei Sha manipulated his surroundings to make his fire, letting the enemy start a fire beneath themselves, without them knowing.
Kei Sha used tactics and strategy to create his fire. And it made him dangerous, her instinctual mind let him see the perfect place, and her tactical mind let him throw oil into the fire, or create a path of oil, for the fire to pass through.
In short, he needed to die. Though it wasn't explicitly stated in the manga, but after Hyou and Shin left to attack Ri Boku with his elite army, the Duke Hyou Army still fought him, and I doubted it worked out well.
I had 15 days until Ri Boku and his army set out, and I needed to have her killed by then. For with her gone, and Ri Boku out to kill Ei Sei, it would allow for our troops to counter the Zhao Army easier.
However, I was brought out of my thoughts. As I saw my father, Hyou. Shift out his troops, his tired vanguard shifting out with the energised middle.
"Wave the Ginryu Tai flag." I told one of the flag-signallers, who nodded. Bringing up our flag, and waving it a few times.
Which was followed up by our cavalry charging forth, and with them, my officers rode.
Ishiro, Roku, Ryo. The 3 veterans, followed up by Gankou Gei, our newer officer. And in addition, Tetusji, Hozu, and Shiba Dan rode with them, 3 cavalry officers, including the commander. And 3 infantry officers, 2 veterans and 1 of the newer sort. Led by Ishiro.
"This will be their first real test, let's see how they do." I said, as Ishiro led his 1000 men, heading towards the entrance which Father had used to reach the middle of the enemy formation.
Whereas they had been halted by the sheer number, and were engaged in a brawl. But they would gather the momentum for their second wind once they had shifted their men out.
And with that, I saw the left flank beginning to shift slightly. Which often signaled a counter-attack.
Duke Hyou often enjoyed striking whereas nobody predicted he'd strike, and attacking an organising counter-attack, was almost as Duke Hyou as the colour yellow and gold.
But this one was a trap, and I couldn´t explain that it was a trap. As that was impossible to predict, so. I had to come up with my idea.
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Hyou Ren: 40+ (soon, gotta fix a few things)