"What do we do now then?" Zhou Yu exclaimed to Sun Quan and the officers that were gathered in front of him, Xun You was stood beside him, whilst the other Senior Commanders that could be gathered were brought here, including Dong Xi, Lu Meng, Ling Tong, Sun Ce and both of the Gan Nings.
"We either rest and pull our forces back and repeat this again tomorrow. This way they suffer a loss today and realise we won't fall for their tricks" Dong Xi replied, "But if we do that, we lose the initiative and expose our allies on the hill."
"We already have lost the initiative, they knew we were coming." Zhou Yu declared, his mind in thought, he seemed to already have a solution but wanted those around him to add theirs. "However, we can get the control of this situation back. We just need a decent plan."
"The message we received from Liao Hua was that the enemy was prepared for us and had an ambush in wait, but we had captured the hill. Ignore previous arrangements, re-plan." Lu Meng explained to the group, "We are not totally on the backfoot. They definitely wouldn't have expected us to take the hill."
The Masked Gan Ning whispered in Sun Ce's ear, being technically the most experienced one here but no one other than those in the know knew that. Sun Ce was nodding as he spoke to him, and the other officers went quite as they waited for the idea.
"We should attack again today." Sun Ce offered, repeating what he had been told and agreeing with the plan. "Zhang Shao has been captured and that would not have been in their plans. They also would have expected a warning from their own watch towers and hadn't received one, putting our Land forces at risk. We will refresh the Vanguard and attack again, but not pushing much further than the hill line so we have support from up there. We should hide the two Riverside Trireme in our Vanguard and once we clash properly, we'll release them around the flank, allowing them to cause chaos in the enemy before they can even think of an ambush."
"Why rely on your ships so much in a battle with hundreds of ships?" The young Gan Ning asked.
"Because they are fast, powerful and easy to manoeuvre." Sun Ce replied seriously, "If they can have a good run, they can easily plough through the enemies ships and cause enough chaos to give us openings to push through the main forces."
"So you want to go straight in to the tiger's mouth, and pull out it's teeth?" Sun Quan asked with a raised eyebrow, as Zhou Yu stroked his chin in thought.
"Pull out it's teeth and then throw a fist down it's throat." Sun Ce replied with a grin. "We attack, release our ambush on their ambush, and then push all our forces through the gap we create for a full collision."
"Are you planning to do this so the land forces can attack Jiangxia as originally planned." Zhou Yu asked, agreeing with the plan, it seemed the older more experienced Gan Ning had definitely matured.
"Exactly that, if we can cause chaos in the City, then the back lines will have to retreat, giving us the chance to push through. The land forces will now be exposed, and we need to continue with our advantage. The Trireme's and our Titanaconda's are our secret weapon, let's use them. If they can cause some disruption on the flank, we can use what ever space is created to push through" Sun Ce stated with excitement.
"I will have the main force ready to follow the Trireme's, it's a risky tactic, but we can always pull back if needs be." Young Gan Ning added, "Are the enemy aware that we have the hill?"
"The message didn't say so, so if we want to use that as our advantage then I agree we should attack sooner." Lu Meng added.
"Agreed, it is a key part of their ambush, but it is actually ours. We are already behind enemy lines so let's use this opportunity." Zhou Yu agreed. "We do not push past the hill unless we are confident."
The Officers quickly dispersed back to their own ships and positions, whilst Xun You wrote a note for the messenger that he could return to Dom via Liao Hua. Nerves were in the back of Xun You's mind, however he trusted in Sun Ce, Gan Ning and Tomyris to do their roles and keep themselves safe. The captured Zhang Shao was currently imprisoned on the Louchuan they were on and his capture was seen as a big victory to start the battle win.
.....
Dom watched as the Sun forces began to move in force towards Huang Zu's navy. The Huang Zu forces, even though they had lost the initial clash, had reinforced their front line in preparation for a follow up attack. Dom watched in anticipation, whilst thinking back on what Cai Mao had said beside him.
"If we haven't reported back and there has been an initial clash, Huang Zu will know that something has gone wrong, which may make him retreat the Navy back towards the city." Cai Mao explained, "The other option is he will send a land force to check on us, before sending a full attack both by land and water."
"Who will he send?" Dom asked, also worried about the same things Cai Mao had explained.
"Guan Yu and Zhao Yun were both expendable, if anything he would be under a similar thought as me to get rid of them. But he'll keep Guan Yu close as he is still an exceptional warrior and a potential barrier between him and defeat if everything goes wrong." Cai Mao said, his mind thinking. "This General Li Shang requested the presence of General Huang Zhong who is an excellent archer. Huang Zhong also brought Liu Pan with him, so Huang Zu could potentially send them as reinforcements."
"How many Warriors will he send?" Subutai asked from beside them, as everyone prepared themselves to get involved with the ambush on the navy, who would also begin to suspect issues above them by now if Huang Zu had passed the message on.
"We had three thousand here, so if you defeated them, he'll suspect the number to be higher. Anything from Seven to Fifteen Thousand." Cai Mao replied honestly, knowing that the five thousand Warriors here would struggle against those numbers.
"We need the Archers to support the Navy, but if we can draw them out here for a battle, it will make our attack on Jiangxia easier." Cheng Pu stated. "If we can't attack Jiangxia because we are forced to defend here, the enemy here isn't fighting against the naval marines when they land."
"We should take all of the Cavalry and find a place outside of the Fort for them that is hidden." Dom said to Subutai, who agreed with him straight away, his mind thinking the same thing.
"Keep the Archers and some of the physically strongest infantry here." Subutai agreed, looking at the stones that were pilled nearby, "And send the rest to defend the Fort."
"We can move the Archers when needed." Cheng Pu added in understanding. "I will defend the Fort, the Archers here can be left to my son."
"I'll take the Cavalry then with Tomoe, and we can leave Liao Hua to defend the fort with Cheng Pu." Subutai explained, "Are you joining us or staying here?"
"I will stay here and watch the battle below." Dom replied, "I will then assist the defence of the Fort."
"Very well, I'll have them depart immediately." Subutai smiled, "We will attack, retreat and repeat. Sow as much chaos in to their flanks as possible so that they can't put all of their forces against this terrible wall."
"Be wary of Huang Zhong." Cai Mao suddenly stated, surprising them all. "He is a dangerous Archer, he's old, experienced and intelligent."
"Thank you Cai Mao." Dom replied honestly, grateful for the warning whilst also surprised.
"I have agreed to work with you for mutual benefit." Cai Mao laughed, "Huang Zhong isn't a bad man though, so if you can spare him, please do."
"And Liu Pan if they both come?" Subutai asked as he was about to depart.
"A potential hurdle for my nephew." Cai Mao replied honestly, a not so subtle request. Subutai looked at Dom for confirmation, who nodded his head, with no interest in hiring him and suspecting that Sun Quan would be of a similar opinion.
"Is there anything else we should be aware off?" Dom asked Cai Mao, liking the General, but also wary of him.
"There is one group of reinforcements that hasn't arrived yet, General Wen Pin is in the north, guarding our lands from Cao Cao in the north. There is chance that he could arrive, but when is a different answer." Cai Mao stated, as he turned back to the battle that was about to begin below.
"We will be seriously outnumbered." Cheng Pu lamented loudly, grunting in frustration. "We should have brought more men."
"The situation has grown more than expected." Dom agreed, his mind thinking for a few seconds. "Promise gold and rewards for any enemy Warrior that joins us, and then either mix them in to our units or put them at the front."
"We are already doing it." Subutai agreed, "But I'll push harder, if we can gain another thousand men, it could give us a better chance."
"We need Zhao Yun to join and his surviving Cavalry to join us." Dom bemoaned as he signalled for them to all begin to depart and do their tasks.
"There could be a way!" Cai Mao declared loudly, knowing that after this if Dom didn't pry Zhao Yun away the he would return to Liu Bei and strengthen that frustration once again.
"His honour wouldn't allow him to betray his current Lord." Dom replied seriously, "Nor fight against Guan Yu when we attack Jiangxia, which I am confident we will."
"You have the Zhan Lu, a legendary sword of a benevolent Leader. Promise him that you won't harm the people of Jiangxia if he joins you, and he will." Cai Mao replied honestly, "I have some information that can draw a wedge between him and Liu Bei, and therefore Guan Yu. If you will allow it. He hasn't served him long enough to have total loyalty, unless he is an idiot."
"How confident are you?" Subutai asked seriously, knowing that the Warriors they had defeated would have been powerful had they not been ambushed so easily by much better equipped Riverside forces.
"Fairly, bring him here to watch the battle and I will talk with him." Cai Mao offered. "As Prisoner to Prisoner who serve Liu Biao."
"Do it." Dom ordered Cheng Pu, who was stood by, who quickly arranged for someone to bring Zhao Yun back, whilst Subutai departed to begin preparing the Cavalry.
The forces within the Fort quickly prepared themselves, with many of the defeated Warriors not originally from Jiangxia and happy to switch sides if it meant keeping their lives and lining their pockets. The majority of them were peasants who had limited training and had been drafted quickly to join this battle. Dom wondered that if they were recruited in this way, if they would return to Riverside with him, where he could gain them as additional population for his different Cities, especially if they could bring their families with them.
Dom looked below as Zhao Yun was brought back, with Cai Mao explaining that he had begged Dom to allow him to watch the Battle alongside him. Zhao Yun didn't know Cai Mao other than what had been said about the senior Liu Biao General, but showed respect to him for his higher rank, his earlier frustration vanishing. Cai Mao whispered in his ear and pointed to different parts of the battle below, whilst Dom switched his attention to the oncoming Sun Navy.
Drums could be heard beating from the Vanguard, their thick formation allowing the Riverside ships to remain hidden and ready for their flanking manoeuvre, not that Dom was aware of this information yet or could see the Riverside ships. They came on fast, giving Huang Zu's forces little chance to re-position for the approaching much larger Vanguard than expected.