The Battle

[Sun Quan]

Shu's heading out for the west, what shall become of this expedition?

Battle Mod: Either me or Cao Cao

Battle Map:
Cao Cao will put one up when he gets on.

[Zhang Fei]

Zhang Fei's scouts enter the area and search for possible threats. No life-threatening traps could be found and Zhang Fei's unit appears on the battlefield.

[Zhao Yun]

A messenger rides up to Zhang Fei bearing a message of importance to the battle. It states that Zhao Yun is on his way to reinforce Zhang Fei's unit and will arrive soon. Upon entering the battlefield, he will await orders.

[Zhou Yu]

Note: I shall handle this battle on behalf of The Three Kingdoms staff.





Defender: Fu Shu
Troops: 4000
- 2000 Swords
- 1000 Spears
- 1000 Bows


Zhang Fei and his army had arrived on the battlefield to find their enemy already formed up for combat. Fu Shu had heard of Shu's dash for land as of late and it made him cautious. He had been correct in his assumption that Liu Bei's greedy hands would reach out for Jiang Zhou as well.

With the 'free' general were 4000 soldiers who were willing to fight to the end. Their leader, Fu Shu, rode forward to abuse the enemy.

"You scum! How dare you enter into my land with weapons drawn? Do you know who I am?"

Fu Shu was a former general to someone who was cousin's with Liu Zhang. The point is he was no one, but nonetheless he had control of Jiang Zhou with a decent size army.

"Men, prepare for battle!"

The defenders yelled out in defiance of Shu!

Formation:

---------FRONT---------
-----SpSpSpSpSp------
SwSwSwSwSwSwSwSw
-----BwBwBwBw-------
--------Fu Shu-----------
----------REAR-----------

[Zhao Yun]

(OOC post:

We hadn't post the attacking army yet, so I'm going to do that now in an OOC post

4,000 Bowmen
4,000 Swordsmen
2,000 Spearmen
3,000 Veteran Swordsmen
3,000 Veteran Bowmen
200 Scout Calvary
4,000 Lancer Calvary

This was decided by us before the battle began and has nothing to do with the previous post. So to be fair, I guess the number of troops defending should be edited.)

[Zhou Yu]

Fair Enough.

New Troop Count: 6000

- 2000 Swords
- 2000 Spears
- 2000 Bows

I am in the same formation as previously posted.

Enjoy.

[Zhang Fei]

Zhang Fei was a bit surprised to find an army ready for battle ahead of him. Even though he had send his scouts out for dangerous traps, an enemy army waiting for his arrival could also be counted among such traps. Anger was taking control of his mind and without seeing anyone of fame or importance, his focus lowered even more the moment Fu Shu dared to open his mouth. Bold words to bolster his soldiers' morale, but perhaps even more important: his own. However, as Fu Shu yells over the battlefield, Zhang Fei can hardly spot him behind the enemy lines. Barking dogs don't bite.

Zhang Fei was about to send out his oders to his officers until Zhao Yun's arrival. Attacking from two sides is always better then one and so Zhang Fei orders his 3,000 Veteran Bowmen, 200 Scout Calvary and 4,000 Lancer Calvary under the command of Zhao Yun. He would know what to do. Fu Shu could clearly see the splitting up of Zhang Fei's main army but without fast, mounted troops, he would not be able to counter upon this move. Zhang Fei, knowing that battles are decided in the split of a second quickly orders his remaining forces to get in fighting formation. The 4000 Swordsmen and 2000 Spearmen mingle their ranks and form a line as wide as Fu Shu's widest rank. On the right side of Zhang Fei's main army the 3000 Veteran Swordsmen gather up and begin to make a maneuvre under the command of Bao Zhao, out of range of Fu Shu's bowmen, but still close enough for the entire army to see they are marching to face Fu Shu's left flank.

The remaining 4000 Bowmen form up safely behind the mingled lines of Spearmen and Swordsmen, with Zhang Fei and his personal army right behind them. Seeing his troops are all ready for the engagement, he signals the order to march forth. All but the 3000 Veteran Swordsmen begin to close in on Fu Shu's army. And as they draw closer, Zhang Fei turns his head to Zhao Yun and points at Fu Shu's right flank. He would know what to do.

"Soldiers, destroy those pity farmboys!"

The frontline clashes with the enemy ranks, and being mingled clearly throws the opponents in some sort of confusion, not knowing what kind of weapons they are up against. With the contact made, the bowmen are also ready to get in action and they start firing their arrows at the enemy swordsmen. Bao Zhao's troops now also start moving towards Fu Shu's left flank and will hit when Zhao Yun's men probably hit the enemy's right flank.

[Zhao Yun]

Upon arriving on the battlefield, Zhao Yun was quite startled to say at least. He was expecting to lay siege to a city, a battle that could take several days, but instead, the enemy chose to meet them in the open. Some might have seen this as a rather poor decision, but to Zhao Yun, these men were brave soldiers, ready to fight their enemies head on.

It was with pain in his heart that he took command of the troops Zhang Fei sent to him. Surely he knew that a battle would be inevitable here, but he felt there was more to do than just fight. Yet he did not have any time to think about it, or even say something, as Zhang Fei furiously charged the enemy line with his men. No matter how much Zhao Yun would want this to end peacefully, he would never allow harm to come to his own men because of poor decision from his side

"Archers, spread out wide and run like you never have before! Cavalry, protect these men with your lives"

As ordered, Zhao Yun moved to the enemy flank. They outnumbered the enemy and Zhang Fei had already matched the enemy battle line in length, so there wasn't much they could do to counter a flank attack. While moving, Zhao Yun and his men made sure to stay out of range, to not get hurt by arrow fire as they made their approach.

When they reached the flank, Zhao Yun ordered the elite bowmen to get within range of the enemy, while staying out of their range. It seemed this time it would pay of to have experienced units in the battle, as the enemy would not be able to do alot of damage from this distance, while the veterans of Shu would suffer almost no penalty.

"Archers, fire!! Decimate the enemy flank, but watch out not to hit Zhang Fei and his men! Cavalry, as soon as the first volley is fired, we charge!"

Zhao Yun shouted his orders across the field, seemingly very determined and ready to fight, yet those who knew him best would notice that something troubled his mind. Nevertheless, the bowmen fired their first volley and quickly reloaded, while the cavalry begun their charge towards the flank. The archers would fire one more time, in a wider arch, to not hit the charging cavalry, while Zhao Yun and his horsemen, 3,000 in number would charge into a weakened enemy line.

"Fu Shu, please come to your senses...."

Summary
Zhang Fei forms a battle line equally long to Fu Shu's and meets the enemy head on, using a mix of swordsmen and spearmen to get into melee, with archers for support. The veteran units stay behind
Ba Zhao flanks the enemy from Shu's left flank, attacking simultaniously with Zhao Yun
Zhao Yun attacks the right flank, using his veteran bowmen to weaken the enemy line from a distance and his cavalry to assault the flank. 1,000 lancers stay behind.

[Zhou Yu]

Fu Shu almost soiled himself when he witnessed the size of Shu's army arrayed in front of his own. The defenders of Jiang Zhou were outnumbered more than 2 to 1 and up against a few of Liu Bei's finest generals. It did not look good, to say the least.

"My my, he is a beast of a man" Fu Shu thought to himself, not wanting to say it aloud and scare his soldiers. They were all thinking it, though.

The front line quivered a bit when Zhang Fei yelled out to his soldiers, something about farm boys, but they were still ready to defend Jiang Zhou with their lives. The natural instinct to defend ones home would be the key contributor to their morale. Well, that and if somehow Fu Shu could inspire them.....

They watched as the Shu forces split between Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun. The former on their left side and the latter on their right.

"Hold strong men, do not let those dogs sense any fear within you!"

Zhang Fei's army started to advance and as soon as they were within range Fu Shu's bows opened up with a volley. It was one of the advantages while defending; the enemy moves into range first allowing the defender the first shot.

"Loose" he yelled, waving his sword forward.

The arrows buzzed through the air and came down into Fei's mixed unit of swordsmen with spearmen. On Fei's right side, further out, were his veteran swords and he also had bows behind his main line which was moving forward. The veterans were staying back though, probably to finish off the enemy if their lines broke apart.

Fu Shu noticed Zhao Yun's side start to mobilize and it was a mix of cavalry with some bows. Well, a lot of bows but nonetheless he ordered 1000 of his spears to cover the right flank. They got pelted with arrows once in position, but whoever was left did their best to form up for the enemy charge.

Both front lines clashed and weapons exchanged like words at a local tavern. Only this was for keeps and not two drunkards fighting over the last glass of wine. However, something unexpected was about to happen.

*SIGNAL BOMB*

To Zhang Fei's right, a bomb exploded and from the forest came forth a group of Scout Cavalry! The soldiers were lead into battle by a warrior named Ze Lao. He too was a large specimen, roughly the size of Zhang Fei, but not quite as fat or ugly.

"Do not run, stinking drunk, for we have plenty of rat piss for you to drink in the prison of Jiang Zhou!"

The warrior rushed forward with his cavalry who plunged into Zhang Fei's vet swords from behind. He continued to abuse his foe, while chopping down swordsmen, hoping to raise morale for the overall army.

"You are probably drunk right now! You filth" he barked, trying to get Fei's attention away from his leader. He parried an attack and mauled the enemy with a vicious boot to the face!


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Actions:

- Fu Shu and Zhang Fei lines engage.
- Fu Shu volley
- Zhang Fei volley
- Zhao Yun volley
- Zhao Yun charge
- Ze Lao ambush

Troops:

- 2000 Swords
- 2000 Bows
- 2000 Spears
- 2000 Scout Cavalry


Losses:

- 250 swords to Fu Shu
- 350 spears to Fu Shu
- 50 scout cavalry to Ze Lao

- 50 cavalry to Zhao Yun

- 100 swords to Zhang Fei
- 75 spears to Zhang Fei
- 100 veteran swords to Zhang Fei

[Zhang Fei]

Cries of death and glory of brave soldiers fighting to the death filled the sky. Blood and gore was flowing on the soil around Jiang Zhou and arrows went flying into all directions. For any common man, this sight would result in total chaos and confusion. But these men were trained to behave well in this kind of situations. These men lived for moments like this. Zhang Fei knew it and was about to order Bao Zhao to unleash hell upon Fu Shu's left flank while Zhao Yun's was taking care of the right. But it seemed that Zhang Fei was right when he was thinking about punishing his scouts. Not being able to spot Fu Shu's waiting army, they had also neglected the ambush party parked in the woods.

The ambush party was a mounted group of men and a bold warrior was leading them. His taunts could be heard over the battlefield and Zhang Fei, being pissed his incompetent scouts, was not going to tolerate such words from an unknown bastard. Tactics and talking could only go this far, it was now time to get himself personally involved in the battle for Jiang Zhou.

"Let's save Bao Zhao and the others, CAVALRY, FOLLOW ME!"

His personal army yelled out a mighty roar and the mounted men eagerly follow Zhang Fei towards the enemy ambush. The cavalry form up in a V-formation while moving towards Ze Lao, with Zhang Fei somewhere in the middle, but his eyes set on Ze Lao only. His men could take care off the rest. This man had insulted him and would pay. Bao Zhao and his veteran swordsmen were now in a battle with the enemy cavalry was not giving them a chance to withdraw from the battle before Zhang Fei and his cavalry could come and save their day.

Meanwhile the unleashing of arrows continued at Fu Shu's main army with the frontlines turning more bloodier ever second. Perhaps Zhao Yun could capture the leader and get it over and done with? Zhang Fei was determined to capture and humiliate Ze Lao and as no more then 20 meters were separating them he aims his Serpent Spear at Ze Lao's torso.

"I'll show you how real men fight! YEEEEAAaaaargh!!"

The roaring scared even his own soldiers who dash out of the way, making way for him to charge Ze Lao unopposed and make his neck meet the point of his spear.

[Zhao Yun]

As Zhao Yun was charging together with his cavalry, he noticed the enemy spearmen taking up formations against them. Thankfully, the first volley from the veteran bowmen under his command had already weakened their formation and reduced their number. Zhao Yun looked behind him and could vaguely spot the bowmen releasing their second volley, high into the air. The timing wouldn't be perfect, but the arrows would definitely strike the enemy spearmen before the horsemen reached them

"Watch out for those spears men! Find the gaps in the enemy formation!"

And so, when the arrows struck the line of spearmen, the cavalry concentrated their efforts and tried to avoid a head on collision with the enemy spears, using the gaps between some men to their advantage. A body of 1,000 horsemen moved slightly more the the rear while they were charging, avoiding most of the spear formation and going for the enemy bowmen, who would be defenseless against a quick cavalry dash.

"Fu Shu, can't you see you cannot win this battle? For the sake of your men, surrender and all those innocent lives will be spared!"

Zhao Yun, having charged into the enemy lines, cried out to Fu Shu. It wasn't as much of a threat as it was a plea, almost as if Zhao Yun was begging him to stop the battle. Nevertheless, the battle would go on for now and Zhao Yun cut down men left and right, rallying his men to push on and fight harder. If many lives were to be lost, he would make sure it weren't his men that paid the higher price

Summary
-After a final volley over the charging cavalry, the charging horsemen meet the enemy
-1,000 horsemen go after the enemy bowmen
-Zhao Yun ask Fu Shu to surrender

[Zhou Yu]

Ze Lao's ambush was successful, but due to the fact his troops were outnumbered and not as skilled as the enemy, it was not that effective. His horsemen were getting pulled from their steeds by hardened veterans and their numbers were falling rapidly. At least they were able to surprise the enemy and deal initial damage while offering Fu Shu some time with the main defense. Unfortunately, Fu Shu was not fairing too well.

"Do not break!"

Fu Shu yelled to his spears that were about to get crushed by Zhao Yun's cavalry. They did all they could to kill as many foes as possible, but another volley rained down into them first. Whoever was left would be run down by the enemy.

Fu Shu could hear Zhao Yun yell to him and he was very close to giving in. Still, he did not know if Liu Bei was as viruous as the stories claimed. For all he knew, all of the people he loved could be murdered.

"Release another volley into Zhang Fei's men" he yelled, waving his sword forward.

Some swordsmen that were part of Fu Shu's main line broke away to attach Zhao Yun. They could not let him close to their lord. If they did, there was no doubt Fu Shu would be annihilated. He could never match the prowess that Zhao Yun had in personal combat.

While Fu Shu had his hands full, so did Ze Lao. He had a rhino steaming towards him and after talking much sh*t he had to back it up.

Zhang Fei's initial stab was countered by Lao's spear as he brought it up to defend. He then urged his horse forward so that he could move away, turn, then charge.

"If I slay you, I will be famous and known throughout the land!"

Slowly around the duel, a death circle started to form.

Chants of Zhang Fei on one side could be heard followed by chants of Ze Lao from the other.

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Actions:

- Fu Shu rejects the call to surrender!
- Fu Shu volley at Zhang Fei
- Zhang Fei volley at Fu Shu
- Zhao Yun volley at Fu Shu
- Zhao Yun charge
- Ze Lao / Zhang Fei fight

Losses:

- 150 swords to Fu Shu
- 250 spears to Fu Shu
- 100 scout cavalry to Ze Lao

- 20 cavalry to Zhao Yun

- 75 swords to Zhang Fei
- 60 spears to Zhang Fei
- 30 veteran swords to Zhang Fei
- 20 cavalry to Zhang Fei

[Zhang Fei]

The battle was almost won, but the enemy refused to surrender. Good, because Zhang Fei could never let these fools that dared to trick him alive. His first strike was luckily defended by his opponent who immediatly turns and runs or so it seems. He suddenly turns again to face Zhang Fei again, while the common soldiers around them start to make a ring for the two leaders to fight in.

"Then you should try and launch a blow at me, kiddo!"

Not patient enough to await an action from Ze Lao he urges his steed forth and charges at Ze Lao. His spear in his right hand he swipes a diagonal slash at Ze Lao, but not at his opponent, but at the steed under him. With a little luck, he could also cut Ze Lao's right leg and end this little skirmish quickly.

[Zhao Yun]

The battle seemed to be going good for the forces of Shu. Zhang Fei and his general handled themselves well, attacking both the front, a flank and the ambush party. In the meantime, Zhao Yun's cavalry forces also did their part. The cavalry attacking the flank had gained an advantage and managed to hold it, while the body sent to attack the rear, where the bowmen were positioned, had now reached their target. They rode on mercilessly, slaughtering the rather defenseless bowmen, forcing them to scatter.

"Fu Shu! ..."

Zhao Yun attempted to make the enemy lord surrender once more, but was silenced by an assault of several swordsmen. He now had to fully focus on combat if he wanted to avoid getting injured. As much as he wanted to end all this, he swung his spear left and right, attacking the men coming after him and his troops, while the cavalry close to him did their best to offer their general some protection.

Quickly glancing at Fu Shu, it crossed Zhao Yun's mind that he was rather close to him and that a quick dash might be enough to reach the enemy commander. Yet such a move would still be risky and on top of that, Zhao Yun did not require to meet the man in combat. If the enemy were to surrender, they would have to do it out of their own free will. Momentarily, Zhao Yun also looked back at his archers, who were currently idling. They had the opportunity to get into range of Fu Shu and release a devastating volley that would most likely injure, if not kill him. Yet they had gotten strict orders from Zhao Yun not to attack the enemy commander unless the order was given by himself. Still, if the battle would take too long, it was unsure if the troops would be able to keep true to those orders...

EDIT: forgot summary
-The horsemen sent to attack the enemy bowmen reach their target
-Zhao Yun and his horsemen fight on
-Zhao Yun's bowmen keep their ground
-Zhao Yun's attempt to make the Fu Shu surrender is interupted because of the attacking swordsmen

[Zhou Yu]

As the battle continued Fu Shu started to realize that victory was not possible. Had his ambush struck less seasoned soldiers, it would have been more effective. Unfortunately, Ze Lao had charged into Zhang Fei's veterans and they now found themselves between the mentioned swordsmen and newly arriving cavalry.

Inside the duel circle, the two generals had exchanged one bout with no advantage. Lao would not let on that he was quite frightened by the power of his opponent, but deep down he was. On the last pass, when he parried his foe, he was almost sent from his saddle.

Zhang Fei yelled out abuses at him and challened Lao to strike him. Right before Fu Shu's general was about to charge, Fei rode forth again catching him off guard. Ze Lao did all he could to ready himself for the attack, but instead of the strike coming for him it went for his horse.

"Gwaaaaah" Ze Lao yelled. The enemy's spear had sliced his horse but also his leg, sending the two slamming to the ground.

The Shu soldiers cheered and the Jiang Zhou soldiers feared. They started to flee the area of Zhang Fei's soldiers and dust could be seen as the remaining scout cavalry departed as quickly as possible.

Fu Shu witnessed his champion fall from his steed and his heart sunk. With Ze Lao's demise, there was absolutely no chance at victory. Lao was his last hope and now all was dashed.

Just then, Fu Shu was shook again due as Zhao Yun yelled out to him. In the heat of battle, along with the duel, Fu Shu had lost track of Zhao Yun's presence and the Shu general was much too close for his liking.

However, there was nothing he could do. His soldiers started to break.

"Fall back into the city!"

It was a mad dash for the front gate to Jiang Zhou. Fu Shu himself was almost tossed aside, from his horse, as soldiers fled the field of battle. Their natural survival instincts had them trampling each other in order to live.

Roughly a half hour later, a white flag could be seen rising from the ramparts.


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