"Lord Sun Quan, I think we should discuss this further before putting this offer out there." Zhang Zhao interrupted as Sun Quan was about to finish what he was saying.
"It is my family and I will use this to tie us closer together." Sun Quan countered, whilst the rest in the room looked on in confusion other than Sun Ce that seemed to understand what was taking place.
"Riverside seems a great ally, but their distance is far away. Allies of this nature need to be closer to home." Zhang Zhou countered, there was no malice in his words as he was just trying to look out for what was best for Sun Quan and their people.
"Then, let them prove how good they are." Zhou Yu explained, also seeming to now understand the conversation, "I would rather a friend I can trust who is far, than someone with ulterior motives who is close."
"I do not know what you are offering." Dom interrupted, "But I am honoured by your hospitality and the friendships we are building. As General Zhou Yu has stated, we are about to embark on a significant battle that will define the future of your state. Let us leave any serious conversations until after, where we can cement our alliance further."
"Thank you Lord Lazarus." Sun Quan replied, "You have come to the rescue between me and my own men, saving us from disagreeing and embracing ourselves in front of our allies, a true friend."
The meal continued until late in the night, before everyone departed in preparation for the following day. The Riverside group all headed back to their camp, including Sun Ce who had been offered a place within the Sun families part of the camp. However, Sun Ce had trained some of the crews on the Trireme and wanted to spend some time with his fellow Riverside Officers so he didn't seem like he had other intentions.
"Was he offering what I think he was going to offer?" Subutai asked Sun Ce as they headed inside their part of the camp.
"I am pretty sure that he was, however I think we avoided the conversation for now." Sun Ce laughed, "We don't want a repeat of last time."
"If we are discussing a marriage and dash situation, I agree." Dom laughed, "Meritamen is enough for now."
"For now?" Subutai teased, causing grins to form on Sun Ce and Xun You's faces.
"You know what I mean!" Dom argued back with mock hurt.
"It could be a worthwhile deal if we can get some valuable resources out of it." Xun You countered, causing them all to look at him seriously. "In all honestly, you could have negotiated much more rewards from Rameses as part of the brides dowry such as population, riches or goods. We are in a similar situation here, where we could benefit from it and these are valuable allies."
"I don't disagree, but isn't it reward enough to be related to me?" Sun Ce teased, trying to loosen the conversation.
"Let's discuss this after the battle." Dom replied seriously, understanding Xun You's point but not wanting to commit.
....
Dom awoke in his tent and quickly began to dress himself in his armour. He strapped on his Zhan Lu sword on his waist, and grabbed his slaying spear as he left the tent, where Actumerus his guard was waiting for him.
"Good morning Lord, your horse is ready for you." Actumerus declared in his deep voice as he tightened the straps on Dom's armour, in a much less gentle way than Meritamen normally did. Dom then headed towards his Red Hare that was now wearing a thin layer of armour, similar to that of the Lancers.
"General Cheng Pu and General Subutai are waiting for us at the north gates." Liao Hua said as he appeared beside Dom on his own horse, the Cavalry unit behind them all prepared and ready to go. Some of the horses had small packages tied to their sides, which where mainly bed roles or parts of the tents that they would sleep in tonight. Liao Hua was wearing armour similar to the Sun family Generals, but it was made from better materials and was newly produced by one of the Blacksmiths in Riverside.
"Then let's not let them wait too long." Dom replied, as he ate some dried meats and fruits that had been handed to him by Actumerus, who mounted his horse with the Batavi Guard that were flanking them.
"I'm looking forward to some action." Tomoe said from the other side of him. Her thick armour intimidating those that they passed. She had her swords strapped to her waist and held her Naginata loosely by her side.
They travelled through the camp and headed towards the North Gate where Cheng Pu was stood with Subutai, Sun Quan, Zhou Yu and a young tall warrior. Cheng Pu's five thousand men were gathered. There was five hundred cavalry, much smaller than those from the Riverside forces, that held a combination of spears and swords. There was also around two thousand warriors who wielded small Gou-rang shields and swords, two thousand that wielded spears and around five hundred Archers.
"You look prepared." Dom commented as he rode his horse past the waiting Sun army that had positioned themselves at the side of the pathway. The Sun units were lined up in neat formation and all looked well trained and ready to depart.
"I didn't want them to embarrass me." Cheng Pu replied honestly as Dom and his commanders appeared beside those waiting. "I will join you up front when we depart, and my son Cheng Zi will lead the troops that are following us."
"It's a pleasure to meet you Lord Lazarus." Cheng Zi, the young tall warrior stated with a bow. He looked very similar to his imposing father and seemed to be around eighteen years old. Dom was impressed by him, as his armour was gleaming in the morning sun and his attitude was perfect for a junior officer.
"I look forward to seeing how you perform." Dom replied to Cheng Zi politely, before turning to Sun Quan. "We will see you tomorrow then."
"We will meet in Jiangxia's Governor's office." Sun Quan laughed, "After our victory."
Dom and Sun Quan grasped arms, before Subutai ordered everyone to get in to position to depart. Tomoe took the lead with twenty of the lighter Horse Archers, whilst the rest of the officers followed behind with the heavier armoured Lancers. Following them were the other Horse Archers and the Sabre Tooth Cavalry, with Cheng Zi and the five thousand Sun Warriors following the rear.
They marched for around four hours, with conversations taking place between Liao Hua, Subutai, Dom and Cheng Pu. Occasionally Tomoe would rotate with Liao Hua and a different group of twenty Horse Archers who would take the front. They took several short breaks, so the units could take a drink of water or a snack when needed and kept a reasonable pace before they came to the pre agreed point where they would take transport ships across the River to the other side.
Dom was surprised to see that it was Sun Ce and Ling Tong that brought the Transport Ships, having not wanted to have the cavalry onboard for longer than needed. Both had been waiting and had departed before Dom had earlier in the morning. Dom was glad to see that the two of them were chatting happily on the shoreline when they arrived.
"Ready to load?" Sun Ce asked as they arrived.
"We are, but I don't think the sailors are?" Subutai had teased back, looking at the uncertain faces on some of them when they saw Dom's units.
They made five trips across the River, with the Cavalry heading across first, followed by the Swordsmen, Archers and then Spearmen. The Sun Sailors were a bit nervous about taking across Dom's forces, as both the horses and tigers were intimidating to them, however after Cheng Pu and Ling Tong's orders they did as told.
After they finished crossing, which took over two hours, they headed back towards the Fort, where they would follow the main forces that would be departing shortly. The two of them would lead the Vanguard the following day and their forces were already prepared and waiting for them with the main naval force.
Most of the Sun Warriors now carried some form of small sack on their back, after being prepared by Subutai the day before, carrying simple items that could be used for their camp, rather than taking a long baggage train that would make them less reactive. Sun Ce and Ling Tong had delivered them, so that they hadn't had to carry them the whole way.
"We have another four hours of marching and then we should be able to set up camp." Cheng Pu calculated as he looked at a rolled up map that Subutai had brought with them. He pointed at a particular location and explained that it should be well covered by trees but also open enough for the just over five thousand troops to rest for the night.
The rest of the march was uneventful, however Cheng Pu had definitely drawn closer to the Riverside Generals. Liao Hua at one point had stepped back from the senior group to travel with Cheng Zi, with the both discussing different techniques and Liao Hua was selling tales about the vast lands in the south of Riverside, that he had been exploring and explaining the Adventures he had been on since joining. Dom was impressed with how Liao Hua had gone out of his way to do this, and Subutai had commented that it would be a good way to draw in the father.
They eventually reached the point that Cheng Pu had mentioned, quickly dismounting from the horses and setting up a perimeter with the Sun warriors. Everyone began to set up the temporary camp with what had been took with them. There would be no fires or walls tonight, with the intention to keep them fully hidden until the morning, thankfully the season was warm and the skies clear of clouds. Subutai had a small command tent erected in the middle of the Fort, where he and the other Generals gathered for a briefing on the following day.
"We will need to depart shortly after the sun rises and march around three to four hours to this point." Cheng Pu explained as he pointed over the map in front of him. "We will wait here until our Naval forces appear and begin to call out Huang Zu for battle. We suspect that he will bring his forces out straight away as if he isn't aware of the ships arriving nearby tonight then there will be no need for a battle."
"I doubt he will be that unprepared." Subutai agreed. "Once the Naval forces appear and Sun Ce and Ling Tong launched their feint attack, we will then attack the hill here. We expect there will be some enemy forces, but not enough to overpower us as they shouldn't suspect a land attack."
"We take that hill, support where we can." Dom continued, "From our intel, there should be rocks that we can throw down on the enemy below as well as use our six hundred Archer units. Once our Navy has completed the ambush and is on the attack, we will then head in land to take Jiangxia from the rear."
"It is a walled town, but it shouldn't pose too many issues. We just need to keep the momentum and cause as much disruption so the navy can crush Huang Zu's forces." Cheng Pu stated.
"We also can not let any enemy officers escape." Subutai concluded. "Liao Hua and Cheng Zi, you will be on standby for that duty with half of the Cavalry, a mixture of both Riverside and Sun forces. I want you in wait outside blocking any escape roads and capture any escapees alive. Where as myself, Lord Lazarus, Tomoe and Cheng Pu will attack the city with the rest of the forces."
"We want Huang Zu and Jiangxia captured before the Navy land." Dom ordered, "Let's show them who the real warriors are."
Cheng Pu and Cheng Zi laughed loudly at the final order, exited to be fighting alongside Warriors of a much higher level than they were used to. After finishing the briefing, they all dispersed and ate before finally heading to sleep. Shifts had been arranged so that their was a constant guard across the camp, however Dom had purposefully arranged Sabre Tooth Tigers to be around the edges as their senses were better than any humans.