• Note: The following is not 100% historically accurate. Some events may have taken place differently and other people may have done other things.

    Prologue


    --Han Dynasty, Northern China, year 208 A.D.

    After many years of power and conquest, the Eastern Han Dynasty fell. Decades of corruption caused it to crumble from the inside. In the year 208, the powerful warlord and once royal retainer of the Han, Cao Cao (Tsao Tsao), overthrew the last Han Emperor and formed the great Wei Dynasty.

    Hearing this, many governors from all over China gained the motivation and confidence to end Cao Cao's evil reign and gathered army after army before becoming warlords themselves. Battles raged amongst themselves. After many bloody conflicts, three great warlords remained. Cao Cao of Wei, Sun Ce of Jiang Dong and Liu Bei of Hanzhong. Sun Ce showed great power and eventually established the Eastern Wu Dynasty while Liu Bei followed with the rise of Shu Han. The land is now split in 3. All striving for power, dominance, and maybe peace.

    Cao Cao was even with Sun Ce in terms of military strength. However, Cao Cao had superior equipment while Ce only had bandits and pirates. Still, Ce's spirit burned like a flame. This persuaded Ce to attack Cao's capital of Xu Chang while Cao was fighting another battle elsewhere. If the invasion is successful, the northern dynasty of Wei would be crippled, thus making it easy for Wu to deliver the finishing blow. All rests on this final push. As Wu prepares their armies, Wei stands strong. One of China's bloodiest eras begins.

    Chapter δΈ€

    The elegant peach blossoms gently glided through the air, side to side, until they silently rippled the water as they landed on the clear pond. Their sweet scent signaled something. Spring was finally here.

    My name is Huang Xu. I am a 17 year old boy, living here, in Wu with my mother and father. My father, Huang Gai, was a very skilled general for many decades. Sadly, he suffered a deep wound in battle and decided to keep his life while he had it. He has retired from battle ever since. Instead, he passed on his skills to me. Here in Jian Ye, my home town, if you didn't know how to wield a sword, you were considered crippled. Still, I really didn't like to fight. I thought it was a waste of time. I've fought before. My friend and I caught a thief fleeing from the scene. We had to help the lady he stole from so we subdued the thief. The struggle left him with ropes around his wrists and bruises on my face. To think, a little boy could cause so much trouble.

    "Xu!" I snapped out of my daydream. I looked up from the pond. Father was calling from the end of the yard. I slowly got up and ran over to father. "Come with me to the market. I hear plums are very good this year." Father said.

    I gladly accepted and trailed behind father as we walked to the market. We kept walking until we passed the imperial palace. The palace gates were tightly shut but I could faintly see the stairs in the courtyard. I wonder what emperors do during the day. They can't have meetings and councils to attend to all day, can't they?

    The market was particularly busy today. Shops were set up all over the place. I saw one product that was mostly in every stand, plums. Father happily selected the best fruits while I stood there and held the basket. Once father picked fruits to his heart's content, we started to head back. As we passed the palace again, something caught my eye. On the wall of the palace, a notice was posted:

    Jian Ye Citizens

    Recruiting of soldiers has began for the invasion of Xu Chang. The following officers must report to the council of Emperor Sun Ce during the day after the Spring Festival.

    Deng Ai
    Zhang Rui
    Lu Meng
    Zhu Ran
    Huang Gai
    Hou Che Er
    Fu Shiren


    I abruptly stopped and grabbed Father's shoulder. I directed his attention to the poster and asked.

    "Father, you're a part of this?"

    He gave a sigh of distress. "Xu let's just go.", He said quietly.

    "But Father, I thought you--"

    "I said let's go!", Father snapped.

    I was about to insist again but I decided not to. Why was Father still part of the list? He clearly retired four years ago. Also, there was no denying the palace commands. If Father did go, his wound would only cripple his ability to fight and therefore endanger him...

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    The sun's rays that went through a crack in my bedroom window woke me the next day. I still pondered about Father's bitterness towards the notice. I swung my legs to the side of my bed got up, and slowly stepped outside my room. When I got outside, I saw Father sitting at the table. He rested his head on his palm while Mother seemed to comfort him. When Father looked up, I saw tired eyes staring in my direction. I cautiously walked over.

    "My son," Father said, "I need to speak to you."

    "What is it?" I asked.

    Father slowly got up and sighed as he started to pace around the room.

    "This was not an easy choice to make, believe me," He coughed. "But there was no other way."

    Still puzzled, I just stood still. Father stopped pacing and glared at me with tearful eyes. "You will join the imperial army," Father sighed, "You will go in my place.

    My eyes widened and I took a few steps back. "Father, I don't understand!" I exclaimed.

    "You knew this day had to come," Father reminded, "It was just a matter of when.".

    I slowly walked over to him and asked, "Why?".

    "Xu please!", Father begged. "My age has taken a toll on me. I am not the same as I was ten years ago!"

    "I can't just go," I explained, "not alone."

    Father kept on pleading. I have never seen him so shaken up like this. Without any answer, my father dragged me to the garden where I had stayed. I looked up at the sky and saw it painted in different colors. This slightly calmed me but it did not lift up the tension. Once we stepped under the peach tree, Father turned around and pleaded once more.

    "Please."

    I looked at his distressed eyes again.

    "Xu, this garden is where I promised to my father that I would protect Wu, protect my people.", Father whispered. "Now, you must do the same."

    I finally gave in and said, "I'll do it.".

    Father gave me a sigh of relief. He told me to stay while he rushed back into the house. When he returned moments later, he carried with him a sheathed sword. He gently handed it to me. I looked at the markings on the sheath. This was the Huang family dao. It has been in our family for generations. When I unsheathed part of it, the setting sun gave it a faint glow. I looked up at him.

    "Father, I promise to defend Wu and to defend our people," I assured, "I won't let you down."

    Father smiled and hugged me. "Thank you." he whispered.

    On that moment, the sun set. Even though the day had ended and a lot has happened, this is only the beginning. My legend has only begun.