The Day continued on with more training between the two forces, before everyone returned in the late afternoon. After having a catch up with his officers, Dom and Subutai agreed that the day had gone exactly to plan so far. Cheng Pu had expressed being impressed by the Riverside forces and wanted to learn more from them so as to improve his already impressive unit. Dong Xi had been overly impressed by the Triremes and the Titanaconda's, whilst Tomyris had used some terms and hinted in certain ways as explained by both Sun Ce and Gan Ning to entice him. Dong Xi was already loyal to Sun Ce so the group felt that they were succeeding with laying the groundwork for that.
Sun Ce hadn't had chance to speak with Ling Tong much, so their progress hadn't progressed on that side yet and he also explained how he felt that Zhang Zhao was now fully loyal to his brother rather than him. Xun You felt that there was still a chance and he would try and talk with him over the coming days. Their greatest success however had been with Lu Ji, the young clerk was very interested in some of the things that Xun You had mentioned. Xun You hadn't openly explained that Shang Yang was in riverside, a Legalist against the Confucian minded Lu Ji, but he had explained that their were many intellectual and interesting people in Riverside that he could learn from. Lu Ji in Xun You's opinion, and with the information given from Gan Ning and Gu Kaizhi, was wasted in his life and never met his potential.
Dom and Sun Ce had agreed to broach the conversation of poaching Lu Ji during the next few days, with the hope that if they caught some enemy commanders that they could agree to poach a few others as they progressed.
Tomoe had expressed that she had been impressed with Cheng Pu's unit, compared to any of the other units they had faced so far. Dom felt that it was a back handed compliment as they hadn't really thought against any powerful enemy units as of yet.
After having an internal meeting, Dom, Sun Ce and Subutai headed towards the Command tent to meet with the senior officers from the Sun Family. The others were told to prepare themselves and to make sure that the Riverside forces were all well fed, the horses and tigers cleaned and the weapons sharpened.
...
Dom listened in as Zhou Yu explained the plan, the land forces would depart in the morning and head inland, these would be led by Dom, Subutai and Cheng Pu. Dom would also take Liao Hua and Tomoe, whilst Cheng Pu would take some of his sub commanders. They intended to march most of the way, with some transport ships ferrying them across the River. They would make camp and then depart early the next day with the intention to wait for the naval clash before taking the hill.
The Navy would depart in the afternoon, staying on their boats overnight in an inlet. The naval force would be the main part of the attack force, with the two Riverside Trireme being part of the initial ambush. Sun Ce and Ling Tong would lead the Vanguard, with Tomyris, Masked Gan Ning, Dong Xi and Xi Sheng leading the ambush. Once the ambush was launched, Young Gan Ning and Lu Meng would bring in the main force with their sub commanders, with Zhou Yu, Sun Quan and Xun You bringing up the rear with the remaining forces to secure the battlefield.
With the plan agreed, the different commanders departed to prepare their necessary troops. Dom stayed behind with Subutai and Sun Ce, whilst the rest all left the room.
"You should stay with us!" Sun Quan bemoaned to Dom, frustrated that he had decided to take part in the land assault.
"Honestly the temptation is there!" Dom replied with a laugh, "However, if I did that I wouldn't be able to watch the naval battle from the best vantage point."
"I am actually tempted to join you for the same reason." Zhou Yu laughed back, "Cheng Pu will be taking some signal fire starters with him, hopefully you can help direct us from the top."
"We will do." Subutai agreed, "We'll have it taken in short time and once the battle is in full flight we will attack the city and cause some distraction and chaos from the rear."
"We'll have to have a smaller feast tonight." Sun Ce offered, "To cement our relationships, as we won't all meet again for a couple of days"
"I agree!" Sun Quan expressed excitedly. "Less drinking, but more food and talking sounds great."
"Then we shall prepare our men and we will see you later." Dom replied with a smile.
...
The Riverside Officers prepared their Warriors and the ships for the following day, with the Masked Gan Ning having one of his subordinates shout the orders so his voice wasn't recognised. The Riverside forces had found it entertaining seeing Gan Ning have to act secretly, but they all understood the importance of doing so. Tomyris was similarly getting her ship in order, but had to trust Gan Ning and the others due to her lack of experience in a Naval situation.
The Titanaconda's and their Spartan Riders had spent most of the day getting themselves used to the water currents and temperatures, whilst trying out different tactics now that they had some test ships to play with. The Spartan's were also given test tridents and their armour had a thin layer of leather on the insides to make it more comfortable against their wet skin.
Centurion Banas had so far had a difficult day, as the many of the Sun Family male sub commanders were all impressed by her martial might and had been showering her with attention. She had expressed to Subutai that he owed her one when they returned to Riverside, whilst her fellow Archers had expressed similar feelings. Subutai had encouraged her, saying that if they were able to recruit anyone of calibre in this accidental honeytrap, the related Warriors would be rewarded. Banas had argued back saying that she doubted any of them were of any calibre and that Subutai should get back to his task. The greatest honeytrap taking place was that of Xiao Qiao who was spending the majority of her time with her husband Zhou Yu.
Dom enjoyed seeing Subutai's relationship with the Warriors he trusted, as at times when it was peaceful it felt like there was little hierarchy. However, when he was serious the whole situation changed. The Lancers, Tomoe, Liao Hua and the Tiger Cavalry were also preparing themselves for the following day and Dom was impressed at how fresh they all looked. It was obvious that those that had been in the south under Tomoe and Liao Hua had gone through vigorous training during Dom's absence.
Dom was sat in his command tent with Sun Ce and Xun You whilst the others prepared things. Sun Ce would be departing with the Sun family Vanguard and was trusting Ling Tong and Zhou Yu to have everything prepared, before he checked over the forces himself later. Xun You was joining the battle as a spectator and therefore had little to do than oversee the preparation of the small number of Riverside Forces, however he had already briefed all of the Generals and trusted them to oversee the simple task.
"My brother has always been the serious and calculated one." Sun Ce explained to Dom and Xun You. "It's why I chose him as my heir just in case, which I'm happy I did! He was thoughtful and always looked in to the detail before making a decision. I tasked Zhang Zhao to tutor him, as Zhang Zhao is strict, strong headed but fiercely loyal to the people. He is a mentor that we needed and I am glad to see that he trusted Sun Quan in my place, as I gave him the right to replace him if he was not worthy."
"Zhang Zhao is an interesting person." Xun You agreed, "I had heard of him myself, the two Zhang's are known for their intelligence and loyalty to the people."
"What surprises me the most though, is that Sun Quan seems so different to what I expected him to be." Sun Ce smiled in reminiscence. "I can still see the Sun Quan I know, but he seems more at ease and happy."
"Maybe that is due to you being alive and returned?" Dom asked.
"And that you have no interest in taking your old place back." Xun You agreed.
"That does sound true!" Sun Ce laughed loudly, "I also think he has seen a fellow Leader in our Lord here, He wasn't known for having many friends, but it seems that he sees you as one."
"And I him." Dom stated seriously, he had grown a real liking for Sun Quan who seemed to not have the ego that most Leaders had. Dom felt it was a real shame that he couldn't persuade him to join them in Riverside, but hoped that if they did join the map like Song Jiang had, that they would be closer.
"He would be a good person to invite as one of the Leaders who accepts the Kingdoms founding." Xun You said, as if he was reading Dom's thoughts.
"I expect he would be glad to do so." Sun Ce agreed, "If that is possible."
The day soon passed and Dom joined the Senior Commanders for a more relaxed meal. Rather than sitting together around a long table, they sat on more comfortable chairs in a semi circle. Dom was joined by Subutai, Xun You and Sun Ce, whilst Sun Quan was joined by Zhou Yu, Zhang Zhao, Cheng Pu and Dong Xi.
The conversations were friendly and were not deep, mainly about things such as the officers families and backgrounds. Subutai explained that he was from a northern steppe where the way or the horse was the key to life, which caused a lot of praise from the southern officers whose life were mainly based around the rivers. Zhang Zhao spoke about his opinions on Confucianism and Legalism, which caused some mock yawns from Sun Ce. The mock yawns however caused the normally stern Zhang Zhao to smile and the whole group laughed in response.
"So tell me more about your wife?" Sun Quan asked Dom, after Sun Ce and Zhou Yu discussed how they met their wives, the daughters of Elder Qiao.
"She is called Meritamen." Dom explained, "She's from a country far from here called Egypt and was the daughter of the king."
"You married a princess? She must be a beauty!." Dong Xi commented, the naval officer having a similar relaxed style that Dom was used to from his own Generals.
"She definitely is." Dom replied with a laugh, happy to be having normal conversations with this group of people. It felt a much more relaxed quest compared to the others he had been on so far.
"Does she compare to the beautiful Qiao sisters?" Sun Quan teased.
"As my wife is currently not here, I would have to respond and say that she is at that level." Sun Ce laughed, causing the others to laugh as well.
"I expect the ceremony will be huge when you eventually have one!" Sun Quan asked, his mind seemingly in thought.
"Have you not yet cemented the marriage?" Zhang Zhao asked in surprise.
"I am pretty sure they have cemented the marriage." Subutai laughed, causing the rest in the room to laugh when Dom went slightly red in the face.
"She is an impressive woman, I doubt Riverside would have become what it is without her." Xun You added, turning the conversation back to normality.
"I would agree with that." Subutai smiled, "Lord Lazarus likes to disappear at times and she keeps the Civil and Military branches in check from one another."
"So are you actually married if you haven't had a ceremony?" Sun Quan asked in a serious, but teasing tone, the question loaded and seemingly prepared.
"I hadn't really thought about that." Dom replied, having just accepted it for what it was due to Shang Yang, Lucius and everyone else referring to her as that. They had also stepped up their relationship, even if it was a game, so Dom also accepted her as his in game wife.
"Maybe it is something we should finalise when we declare ourselves." Xun You mentioned, the group already being aware that Dom and his forces intended to declare themselves as a Kingdom in the coming months. Sun Quan and the others had all offered their congratulations in advance and promised to support if anything was needed.
"Lord Lazarus, I see us a two petals on the same flower." Sun Quan exclaimed, "There are hundreds of flowers, but we happened to be the on the same one. My Brother is your general, and we shan't discuss your Masked General further than this room. I have seen the whispers taking place and know that my brother intends to recruit some of my commanders, as he has admitted himself."
"Only the best ones." Sun Ce replied proudly, which caused a ripple of laughter in the room, but Sun Quan put his hand up for silence and everyone stopped.
"I will allow it, within reason, on the previous promise that you will capture capable generals that can supplement them. But I also want to grow our families closer." Sun Quan declared, "I would like to declare you as my Sworn Brother."
"Lord that is a serious offer!" Zhang Zhao exclaimed, wanting Sun Quan to take back his words.
"However." Sun Quan continued, putting his hand up to stop Zhang Zhao. "That is a serious commitment, where I believe my Senior Advisors would disagree, even though Sun Ce and Zhou Yu are!"
"Yes, but they are within the same forces." Zhang Zhao countered seriously.
"Were in the same force." Sun Quan pointed out, which caused silence in the room as Zhou Yu and Sun Ce shared a look of understanding. "Therefore, I want to propose another way to draw our forces closer, so that these movements will be accepted and my brother has more reasons to visit home."