Post by Bai T'seng on Jul 17, 2010 17:43:25 GMT
This was a strange turn of events for Bai T'seng. Strange indeed. Following his escapades in Jingbeizhou he had gained something of a reputation around Xin Ye. Apparently the merchants that had contracted him were bigger than he thought. This is quickly turning out to be a repeat of his entry to serving Yuan Shu at Wancheng. No matter though, he needed to stay active. The money was not so much the point of his trade, so much as it was the activity. An idle mind is a demon's workshop as they say, the idle hands are his tools.
To keep his boredom at bay, and his hands on pay, he had taken another contract. This one with a slightly more well-known merchant, to what T'seng could tell anyway. The contract was irregular, as far as what T'seng was expecting, which was to guard another caravan. However, this one was more, involved, one could say. Not that T'seng didn't enjoy that type of work though.
Two Weeks Ago...
"So, will you help me? You see, I am a philanthropist after all, the same as you."
"So, let me get this straight. You want me to go south to Chang Sha, along with a large company of others you've hired for the same purpose, and wipe out some bandits, as well as some regional warlord?"
"He's not really a regional warlord, per say. He's more of a bandit lord that has managed to take over the city, somehow. It would seem these bandits are getting bolder by the day, what with the revolt in open swing and everything. Anyways, the reason I ask you to do this is because I've heard of your skillful work dealing with the raiders on the road from Xin Ye to Wancheng."
"I thank you for your regard, but why exactly do you need to oust this man? If he is lord of the city, then shouldn't you just do business with him? I do not see the need to hire out several hundred fighting men, short of an army I might add, and march down there to start provoking them, won't that just make problems worse?"
"You may not see the need, but then again, you neither see the whole picture, nor have much to lose from his retaining control of the prefecture. I control the major trade from Xiang Yang through Gui Yang out to Nan Hai. This fool, and I assure you he is such, since he openly insulted me, has made my trade difficult. His men exact heavy tolls on travelers, my caravans have been forced to hand over half their goods every time they go. Do you know how much money this has cost me? Not to mention my clients are becoming irate, he is becoming a bother in my side. And not to mention, since my trade is so enormous, it also affects many in every city along the route. If he is left unchecked, not only will Chang Sha suffer, but all the people in my employ, and all those depending on my goods will suffer as well. So you see, it is about more than simple control."
I get it, sounds like this guy's on a power trip, but if his trade is so large, surely he'll pay well. I'll bite. "So you have much to lose, and so do the people. Forgive my scrutiny. And you came all the way out to Xin Ye to find me?"[/color]
Playing the role of a peacock always had some benefit, the bird always loved to have its feathers admired, thus enticing more of a display.
"Yes, the men you aided a few days ago were actually some of my associates. I sent them here to expand trade. Since the deliveries are proceeding smoothly since the eradication of the bandits, I have much to owe you. They told me as well about how you handled them, I believe you may be the key to breaking this brigand's hold on Chang Sha."
"Very well. How exactly do you propose to go about this operation?"
"Fortunately, my men do not take tit-for-tat with the brigand's men, so they come through alive. I have many agents as well, and a large surplus of gold coin, so bribing my way into the city and his ranks has been simple. Given that they are prone to greed, that is," Greed? Hah! I bet this man could serve as the textbook for greed,[/color] "So I have been able to ascertain that there are still a great many bandits out there that are not loyal to him, rival factions you could say. I also know he is out on a campaign to assimilate them. The guard on the city is weak, but the people do not fight back because of fear. If he returns with a bolstered force and battle-hardened, the peasantry will not hold the city. So inciting revolt against him will do no good. That is why I have hired a force of 600 men to go and destroy him while he is on campaign. It will be simple, my agents are spread throughout the area. You will take direction from them once in the area, lead the company to him and wipe him out. He must die! The other bandits are weak, so this is our chance to get all of them while we can."
Quite the schemer, this man. He's going to become a threat sooner or later. I wonder how long it is until he tries to overthrow lord Liu Biao?
T'seng scratched his chin, pondering the contract. There wasn't much to ponder, it was very straight forward.
"Alright. Consider your pitch caught. You're very good at sales, haha! Considering I'm the one who needs to be retained."
"Hehehe, well, I do have a lot of practice and experience. Thank you, Bai T'seng."
"No, thank you, Lang Dengwei."
The two shook hands, and that was how T'seng became contracted for this.
At the present...
The force that had been hired was mostly militia, but against bandits the tides would be even. Hunters accompanied his unit, so the force was not without some firepower. T'seng had to expect that this bandit lord would have something of a force if he had managed to seize control of a city. But if he could be caught in the middle of a battle, surrounded, and then killed. Then the rest would surely surrender. T'seng also suspected that Lang Dengwei was to have his men incite a rebellion within the city once word had been dispatched that the bandit lord had been killed.
So for two weeks they had marched southwards from Xiang Yang, through the prefecture of Jiang Ling and crossed the mighty Changjiang He, to land at Chibi. From Chibi they traveled southwards still to Chang Sha. Dengwei's agents were indeed present, they had prepared the ferry for them, and had been guiding him through Chang Sha until finally they came upon a plained area with hills at the west edge and forest to the east. There were some rolling hillocks to the north where T'seng and his men camped. The visibility across the plain was good, and it seemed that the agents had led him favorably. His force and camp, hidden by the hillocks, allowed him to survey the field before him. It seemed to stretch off endlessly to the south, where the southern Heishan rose to the sky. Somewhere back in those mountain passes was Ling Ling, Wu Ling and Gui Yang. Now T'seng understood the problem, Chang Sha was the choke point.
Fires glowed at the base of the hills to the west, and along the trees to the east other glows could be seen. It seemed the armies had been camped and preparing to do battle out here. He had no way of knowing how many men were on either side, but he couldn't figure it'd be more than 1,500 each.
With the pitiful force Dengwei gave me, I'd best hang back and wait for the opportune moment to strike. These guys won't last in a hard fight against two pissed off bandit commanders, he thought, looking back towards his own camp. Make the best of a bad bargain, it seemed was what T'seng would have to do. Luckily, the land provided them with the perfect place to remain unseen.
"We make camp for the night, and wait for them to engage, whenever that will be. Until sunlight tomorrow, keep the fires low. Eat light and be ready, if we are found, we will have to fight for our lives. I want some of you hunters to take the watch, keep the field surveyed. Inform me if the enemy moves."
With his orders received, the men went to business. The camp was established and the fires kept low. The smoke would be hard to detect without seeing the glow of the flames. The hunters set up a network of scouts throughout the hillocks to keep watch of the enemy forces on either side of the plains.
Night went by, hour by agonizing hour, the clouds blowing overhead, to the north away from the mountains, the moon, though waning, providing just enough light to see with the fires put out. T'seng sat outside pouring over possible methods of attack.
If the bandit lord attacks his enemies, we can swoop in from his flank and overtake him. But what if he runs? Then he will raise the alarm at Chang Sha and be on guard against assault. Even if we ally ourselves to his rivals, that is no guarantee of victory in a siege, especially with our pathetic forces. Our best bet is surely to kill him here, but how? Well, he's going to be coming from the east, that much I can assume faithfully, since he is control of Chang Sha. Perhaps if we attacked his camp in the night? But I do not know what the lay of it is, nor what he looks like. Hmmm. If he attacks his enemy tomorrow, we can take his camp while he is in battle, then we can assault him from behind. If he is a fighter, he will be stuck in the middle of the melee, if a commander type, he will be overtaken from the rear. Either way, he will die in these plains. Haha, T'seng, you've done it again! Now, to sleep.
He retired for what was left of the night, energy pouring through him like a river pours through a canyon. Truth be told, he probably could have stayed awake and still been vigilant enough to fight and lead tomorrow, yet still, he'd not take chances under these circumstances.
The next day came, at dawn his men stirred in the camp, and he ordered them to eat fast. With the sun out, smoke would be seen easily. Rice porridge was all they could take given the circumstances, it cooked fast and was filling. They'd have enough energy to do the work of the day. The hunters reported back to T'seng in the camp during the late morning.
"Sir, the enemy has moved, the forces from the east are crossing the plains to attack the camp in the hills. A smaller force has mustered from the western camp to meet them in battle."
"Can you estimate the numbers?"
"No sir, I'm sorry. You'd best come to observe them yourself."
T'seng nodded, taking note of the limitations of privateer armies. That was one thing he did enjoy about serving at Wancheng, the troops were professional. Mayhaps he was more of a general than a simple mercenary captain now? He would see at the conclusion of this contract whether or not he still wished to remain a privateer.
T'seng mounted his horse and rode out to observe the forces mustering. They met about halfway across the plains, no cavalry to be seen amongst either of them, Good, at least we will stand a chance in a field battle now, should our plan fail.[/color]
T'seng made out the bandit lord clearly, he sat atop a charger, the only one out there, wielding a spear sitting behind a few hundred men. His expectations for there armies was off by a lot. They had only mustered, all together, about 1,500 men to do battle here. While the bandit lord had his enemy outnumbered, and would probably be taking control of the rest of the survivors upon the end of the fight, this meant T'seng's forces stood an even better chance in a stand up fight.
He rode back to camp and assembled his forces, they'd march on the bandit lord's camp as soon as he engaged. Which was not long, T'seng could not hear, but it looked like the two leaders were exchanging heated words, this was the best time to attack. He ordered the men, "Forward, teach these bandits how to plunder! Sack the enemy camp, burn it to the ground, then, we take them both!" There was a dull roar of cheering from his men.
On the Field...
"Haha, surrender you dogs! I control these lands now. You know my prowess, so why do you fight me?"
"I fight you because you're a back stabbin' bastard! You promised me and my men joint control of Chang Sha for helping you with the guards, you hyena! Now you come here to tell me surrender or die? Fuck you!"
"Fuck me? Haha," the laugh was drawn out, dripping with sarcasm, "I think you just fucked yourself. I'll give you one last chance to surrender, but this time, you must kiss my toes!"
"Pfft, you'll kiss my ass before that happens," the rival bandit caught sight of T'seng's men moving against the bandit lord's camp. What the hell? Is that? Hahahaha! Yes it is! My friend Ou Xing has come to aid me! Now we must attack! The bandit's face turned to a smirk, "OH yeah, and while you're down there, tell your mother what I like cleaned, gayboy. All units charge!!"
The bandit lord's face twisted with abject rage, gayboy?! He'd be cut to pieces for such a remark. But the rage turned to surprised as the outnumbered rival charged his lines, his troops following him, riled up by their leader's witty reproaches. Melee erupted there on the plains, the cracks of iron against iron being heard throughout the place, as the winds died down. The mountains apparently desired to watch the battle.
Meanwhile...
T'seng's army ran upon the bandit lord's camp, the scant guard force he left behind was characteristic of overconfidence. T'seng rode through the camp, swinging his Crescent Spear, up, then down, left to right, killing any man who did not promptly get the hell out of dodge. The militia and hunters swarmed the perimeter, following after T'seng's wild charge. Time was of the essence, if the camp was not seized and destroyed now, the other bandits may be destroyed. And while T'seng knew that the enemy would be weakened from battle, and without supplies, he still did not trust the ability of the militia to out fight them.
Torches were knocked over and tents lit ablaze. Food and weapons were carried off from the bandit lord's store tents as the rest of the camp was drown in a sea of fire.
T'seng was caught between a wall of fire and six bandits. They brandished axes and spears, apparently not all were cowards, or perhaps this men just had a death wish. Two thrust at him with the spears, T'seng reared the horse up and pulled back to the left, he swept downward, snapping the spear hafts with the force of his slash. The other four charged, as his horse came down he spurred it through them, trampling one man to death. The other three turned to chase after him, the spearmen having run off. T'seng turned around and thrust his halberd at one man, he tried to block with his sword, but just had his wrist broken as the halberd careened past him and impaled him through the breast. T'seng pulled the halberd back and swung the butt of it at another's head, it clocked him hard, dazing him. He then made a diagonal slash across his chest, killing him, the man feel to the ground, dead before the thud even sounded. The last swung his sword at him, T'seng blocked it deftly with the blade, still pointed downward. He shimmied it forward a bit, reversed the halberd blade and yanked back. The fool's sword was caught and thrown from him, himself being pulled forward a bit towards T'seng, whom now sat with his halberd pointed down at him. A quick thrust and sickening gush sounded, the man fell to his knees, a gaping hole in chest between the collarbone and the ribs. He slumped there, dead. The other two were shot dead by hunters as they tried to flee.
As the camp burned T'seng rallied his men to move onwards, this was it, the time to strike the death blow!
"Forward, charge the enemy's rear! Kill their leader, I give my share of the plunder of this camp to the man whom manages to take his head!"
There was another cheer as the whole force now ran across the plains towards the battle in the middle. It was now midday, the noon sun beating down on the field. Almost as if on cue the wind resumed, blowing the fire out away from the forest and onto the grass of the plains. The smoking waving northward, like a banner for T'seng's army.
In the melee...
"Hyyeargh," the bandit lord screamed as he cut down an enemy soldier. The fight seemed to be going well, he had lost many men because of the sudden charge, but his enemy was hurting far more than he. He caught sight of his rival cutting down two of his soldiers and called out to him, "Now I have you, prepare to die idiot!"
The rival looked up and laughed, the response from the bandit lord was puzzlement, why would he laugh in a situation like this? He's gone crazy! "Look behind you, idiot!"
The bandit lord turned his head to look behind him and saw the fire raging at the location of his camp and horde of 600 armed men charging at him. WHAT?! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? He turned back to his rival, his jaw dropped. "Haha, looks like the trickster got tricked!" Though for all his rival's gloating, he would not live to see the end of it, "YOU," the bandit lord shouted at him. He thrust his spear, fueled with rage, killing his rival in one blow. "TURN AROUND NOW, NOW DAMMIT," he yelled at his men.
This was turning into a quagmire quickly. His rage subsided, and suddenly fear set in. He was going to die here if he didn't run, he was trapped between two forces, his camp destroyed. His only hope was to run for Chang Sha's walls and hold out in the city. He spurred his horse on and bolted southward, hoping the charger would outrun his pursuers.
T'seng caught sight of the coward's flight and yelled to his men, "Kill the bandits! I'll take care of their leader, go!" He broke away from the throngs of charging soldiers and spurred his own horse on to intercept.
He caught up to the bandit lord whom had yet to have his horse reach full speed, it was tired from the fight, but could still run faster. T'seng stabbed out at the man from behind who proceeded to bat the halberd away with his spear. T'seng tried again and they began duel on horseback, their slashes met evenly, though the bandit was beginning to pull away. T'seng had to end this and now, or else all this would come to nothing.
T'seng whirled his halberd overhead and slashed at the charger's rear legs, clipping them with the blade. The horse stumbled and fell to the ground, the bandit lord being thrown forward from his mount and skidding to a halt on the ground. His spear had snapped in the impact and all he held was broken haft in one hand. His face bled like fresh grapes being squeezed, little bits of stone embedded in the skin. He yelped in pain as he struggled to his feet and tried to run. T'seng slowed his horse ahead of the bandit, who turned and ran in the other direction. He rode up to him and with a sweep of the halberd decapitated him. He'd take the head back as proof of his success. He looked back, about 350 feet to the battle and saw his men overtaking the combined rabble of bandits. They'd be successful now.
He rode back over to lead the forces to victory, participating in the slaughter of the scum of the earth. When all was said and done, they reformed at their camp, and rested the night. One of Dengwei's agents came to T'seng and congratulated, having seen the whole affair. He told T'seng that Dengwei would be very pleased with this work, and the liberation of Chang Sha from bandit hands would soon follow. The men were allowed to keep the plunder, from having looted both bandit camps. About 300 of them were left alive, all the bodies being discarded in the plains. Undoubtedly the carrion birds and dogs would be well fed for months to come.
T'seng rode back to Xiang Yang, eager to present the stinking head of the bandit lord to Dengwei and clean his hands of this messy business.
END.
To keep his boredom at bay, and his hands on pay, he had taken another contract. This one with a slightly more well-known merchant, to what T'seng could tell anyway. The contract was irregular, as far as what T'seng was expecting, which was to guard another caravan. However, this one was more, involved, one could say. Not that T'seng didn't enjoy that type of work though.
Two Weeks Ago...
"So, will you help me? You see, I am a philanthropist after all, the same as you."
"So, let me get this straight. You want me to go south to Chang Sha, along with a large company of others you've hired for the same purpose, and wipe out some bandits, as well as some regional warlord?"
"He's not really a regional warlord, per say. He's more of a bandit lord that has managed to take over the city, somehow. It would seem these bandits are getting bolder by the day, what with the revolt in open swing and everything. Anyways, the reason I ask you to do this is because I've heard of your skillful work dealing with the raiders on the road from Xin Ye to Wancheng."
"I thank you for your regard, but why exactly do you need to oust this man? If he is lord of the city, then shouldn't you just do business with him? I do not see the need to hire out several hundred fighting men, short of an army I might add, and march down there to start provoking them, won't that just make problems worse?"
"You may not see the need, but then again, you neither see the whole picture, nor have much to lose from his retaining control of the prefecture. I control the major trade from Xiang Yang through Gui Yang out to Nan Hai. This fool, and I assure you he is such, since he openly insulted me, has made my trade difficult. His men exact heavy tolls on travelers, my caravans have been forced to hand over half their goods every time they go. Do you know how much money this has cost me? Not to mention my clients are becoming irate, he is becoming a bother in my side. And not to mention, since my trade is so enormous, it also affects many in every city along the route. If he is left unchecked, not only will Chang Sha suffer, but all the people in my employ, and all those depending on my goods will suffer as well. So you see, it is about more than simple control."
I get it, sounds like this guy's on a power trip, but if his trade is so large, surely he'll pay well. I'll bite. "So you have much to lose, and so do the people. Forgive my scrutiny. And you came all the way out to Xin Ye to find me?"[/color]
Playing the role of a peacock always had some benefit, the bird always loved to have its feathers admired, thus enticing more of a display.
"Yes, the men you aided a few days ago were actually some of my associates. I sent them here to expand trade. Since the deliveries are proceeding smoothly since the eradication of the bandits, I have much to owe you. They told me as well about how you handled them, I believe you may be the key to breaking this brigand's hold on Chang Sha."
"Very well. How exactly do you propose to go about this operation?"
"Fortunately, my men do not take tit-for-tat with the brigand's men, so they come through alive. I have many agents as well, and a large surplus of gold coin, so bribing my way into the city and his ranks has been simple. Given that they are prone to greed, that is," Greed? Hah! I bet this man could serve as the textbook for greed,[/color] "So I have been able to ascertain that there are still a great many bandits out there that are not loyal to him, rival factions you could say. I also know he is out on a campaign to assimilate them. The guard on the city is weak, but the people do not fight back because of fear. If he returns with a bolstered force and battle-hardened, the peasantry will not hold the city. So inciting revolt against him will do no good. That is why I have hired a force of 600 men to go and destroy him while he is on campaign. It will be simple, my agents are spread throughout the area. You will take direction from them once in the area, lead the company to him and wipe him out. He must die! The other bandits are weak, so this is our chance to get all of them while we can."
Quite the schemer, this man. He's going to become a threat sooner or later. I wonder how long it is until he tries to overthrow lord Liu Biao?
T'seng scratched his chin, pondering the contract. There wasn't much to ponder, it was very straight forward.
"Alright. Consider your pitch caught. You're very good at sales, haha! Considering I'm the one who needs to be retained."
"Hehehe, well, I do have a lot of practice and experience. Thank you, Bai T'seng."
"No, thank you, Lang Dengwei."
The two shook hands, and that was how T'seng became contracted for this.
At the present...
The force that had been hired was mostly militia, but against bandits the tides would be even. Hunters accompanied his unit, so the force was not without some firepower. T'seng had to expect that this bandit lord would have something of a force if he had managed to seize control of a city. But if he could be caught in the middle of a battle, surrounded, and then killed. Then the rest would surely surrender. T'seng also suspected that Lang Dengwei was to have his men incite a rebellion within the city once word had been dispatched that the bandit lord had been killed.
So for two weeks they had marched southwards from Xiang Yang, through the prefecture of Jiang Ling and crossed the mighty Changjiang He, to land at Chibi. From Chibi they traveled southwards still to Chang Sha. Dengwei's agents were indeed present, they had prepared the ferry for them, and had been guiding him through Chang Sha until finally they came upon a plained area with hills at the west edge and forest to the east. There were some rolling hillocks to the north where T'seng and his men camped. The visibility across the plain was good, and it seemed that the agents had led him favorably. His force and camp, hidden by the hillocks, allowed him to survey the field before him. It seemed to stretch off endlessly to the south, where the southern Heishan rose to the sky. Somewhere back in those mountain passes was Ling Ling, Wu Ling and Gui Yang. Now T'seng understood the problem, Chang Sha was the choke point.
Fires glowed at the base of the hills to the west, and along the trees to the east other glows could be seen. It seemed the armies had been camped and preparing to do battle out here. He had no way of knowing how many men were on either side, but he couldn't figure it'd be more than 1,500 each.
With the pitiful force Dengwei gave me, I'd best hang back and wait for the opportune moment to strike. These guys won't last in a hard fight against two pissed off bandit commanders, he thought, looking back towards his own camp. Make the best of a bad bargain, it seemed was what T'seng would have to do. Luckily, the land provided them with the perfect place to remain unseen.
"We make camp for the night, and wait for them to engage, whenever that will be. Until sunlight tomorrow, keep the fires low. Eat light and be ready, if we are found, we will have to fight for our lives. I want some of you hunters to take the watch, keep the field surveyed. Inform me if the enemy moves."
With his orders received, the men went to business. The camp was established and the fires kept low. The smoke would be hard to detect without seeing the glow of the flames. The hunters set up a network of scouts throughout the hillocks to keep watch of the enemy forces on either side of the plains.
Night went by, hour by agonizing hour, the clouds blowing overhead, to the north away from the mountains, the moon, though waning, providing just enough light to see with the fires put out. T'seng sat outside pouring over possible methods of attack.
If the bandit lord attacks his enemies, we can swoop in from his flank and overtake him. But what if he runs? Then he will raise the alarm at Chang Sha and be on guard against assault. Even if we ally ourselves to his rivals, that is no guarantee of victory in a siege, especially with our pathetic forces. Our best bet is surely to kill him here, but how? Well, he's going to be coming from the east, that much I can assume faithfully, since he is control of Chang Sha. Perhaps if we attacked his camp in the night? But I do not know what the lay of it is, nor what he looks like. Hmmm. If he attacks his enemy tomorrow, we can take his camp while he is in battle, then we can assault him from behind. If he is a fighter, he will be stuck in the middle of the melee, if a commander type, he will be overtaken from the rear. Either way, he will die in these plains. Haha, T'seng, you've done it again! Now, to sleep.
He retired for what was left of the night, energy pouring through him like a river pours through a canyon. Truth be told, he probably could have stayed awake and still been vigilant enough to fight and lead tomorrow, yet still, he'd not take chances under these circumstances.
The next day came, at dawn his men stirred in the camp, and he ordered them to eat fast. With the sun out, smoke would be seen easily. Rice porridge was all they could take given the circumstances, it cooked fast and was filling. They'd have enough energy to do the work of the day. The hunters reported back to T'seng in the camp during the late morning.
"Sir, the enemy has moved, the forces from the east are crossing the plains to attack the camp in the hills. A smaller force has mustered from the western camp to meet them in battle."
"Can you estimate the numbers?"
"No sir, I'm sorry. You'd best come to observe them yourself."
T'seng nodded, taking note of the limitations of privateer armies. That was one thing he did enjoy about serving at Wancheng, the troops were professional. Mayhaps he was more of a general than a simple mercenary captain now? He would see at the conclusion of this contract whether or not he still wished to remain a privateer.
T'seng mounted his horse and rode out to observe the forces mustering. They met about halfway across the plains, no cavalry to be seen amongst either of them, Good, at least we will stand a chance in a field battle now, should our plan fail.[/color]
T'seng made out the bandit lord clearly, he sat atop a charger, the only one out there, wielding a spear sitting behind a few hundred men. His expectations for there armies was off by a lot. They had only mustered, all together, about 1,500 men to do battle here. While the bandit lord had his enemy outnumbered, and would probably be taking control of the rest of the survivors upon the end of the fight, this meant T'seng's forces stood an even better chance in a stand up fight.
He rode back to camp and assembled his forces, they'd march on the bandit lord's camp as soon as he engaged. Which was not long, T'seng could not hear, but it looked like the two leaders were exchanging heated words, this was the best time to attack. He ordered the men, "Forward, teach these bandits how to plunder! Sack the enemy camp, burn it to the ground, then, we take them both!" There was a dull roar of cheering from his men.
On the Field...
"Haha, surrender you dogs! I control these lands now. You know my prowess, so why do you fight me?"
"I fight you because you're a back stabbin' bastard! You promised me and my men joint control of Chang Sha for helping you with the guards, you hyena! Now you come here to tell me surrender or die? Fuck you!"
"Fuck me? Haha," the laugh was drawn out, dripping with sarcasm, "I think you just fucked yourself. I'll give you one last chance to surrender, but this time, you must kiss my toes!"
"Pfft, you'll kiss my ass before that happens," the rival bandit caught sight of T'seng's men moving against the bandit lord's camp. What the hell? Is that? Hahahaha! Yes it is! My friend Ou Xing has come to aid me! Now we must attack! The bandit's face turned to a smirk, "OH yeah, and while you're down there, tell your mother what I like cleaned, gayboy. All units charge!!"
The bandit lord's face twisted with abject rage, gayboy?! He'd be cut to pieces for such a remark. But the rage turned to surprised as the outnumbered rival charged his lines, his troops following him, riled up by their leader's witty reproaches. Melee erupted there on the plains, the cracks of iron against iron being heard throughout the place, as the winds died down. The mountains apparently desired to watch the battle.
Meanwhile...
T'seng's army ran upon the bandit lord's camp, the scant guard force he left behind was characteristic of overconfidence. T'seng rode through the camp, swinging his Crescent Spear, up, then down, left to right, killing any man who did not promptly get the hell out of dodge. The militia and hunters swarmed the perimeter, following after T'seng's wild charge. Time was of the essence, if the camp was not seized and destroyed now, the other bandits may be destroyed. And while T'seng knew that the enemy would be weakened from battle, and without supplies, he still did not trust the ability of the militia to out fight them.
Torches were knocked over and tents lit ablaze. Food and weapons were carried off from the bandit lord's store tents as the rest of the camp was drown in a sea of fire.
T'seng was caught between a wall of fire and six bandits. They brandished axes and spears, apparently not all were cowards, or perhaps this men just had a death wish. Two thrust at him with the spears, T'seng reared the horse up and pulled back to the left, he swept downward, snapping the spear hafts with the force of his slash. The other four charged, as his horse came down he spurred it through them, trampling one man to death. The other three turned to chase after him, the spearmen having run off. T'seng turned around and thrust his halberd at one man, he tried to block with his sword, but just had his wrist broken as the halberd careened past him and impaled him through the breast. T'seng pulled the halberd back and swung the butt of it at another's head, it clocked him hard, dazing him. He then made a diagonal slash across his chest, killing him, the man feel to the ground, dead before the thud even sounded. The last swung his sword at him, T'seng blocked it deftly with the blade, still pointed downward. He shimmied it forward a bit, reversed the halberd blade and yanked back. The fool's sword was caught and thrown from him, himself being pulled forward a bit towards T'seng, whom now sat with his halberd pointed down at him. A quick thrust and sickening gush sounded, the man fell to his knees, a gaping hole in chest between the collarbone and the ribs. He slumped there, dead. The other two were shot dead by hunters as they tried to flee.
As the camp burned T'seng rallied his men to move onwards, this was it, the time to strike the death blow!
"Forward, charge the enemy's rear! Kill their leader, I give my share of the plunder of this camp to the man whom manages to take his head!"
There was another cheer as the whole force now ran across the plains towards the battle in the middle. It was now midday, the noon sun beating down on the field. Almost as if on cue the wind resumed, blowing the fire out away from the forest and onto the grass of the plains. The smoking waving northward, like a banner for T'seng's army.
In the melee...
"Hyyeargh," the bandit lord screamed as he cut down an enemy soldier. The fight seemed to be going well, he had lost many men because of the sudden charge, but his enemy was hurting far more than he. He caught sight of his rival cutting down two of his soldiers and called out to him, "Now I have you, prepare to die idiot!"
The rival looked up and laughed, the response from the bandit lord was puzzlement, why would he laugh in a situation like this? He's gone crazy! "Look behind you, idiot!"
The bandit lord turned his head to look behind him and saw the fire raging at the location of his camp and horde of 600 armed men charging at him. WHAT?! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? He turned back to his rival, his jaw dropped. "Haha, looks like the trickster got tricked!" Though for all his rival's gloating, he would not live to see the end of it, "YOU," the bandit lord shouted at him. He thrust his spear, fueled with rage, killing his rival in one blow. "TURN AROUND NOW, NOW DAMMIT," he yelled at his men.
This was turning into a quagmire quickly. His rage subsided, and suddenly fear set in. He was going to die here if he didn't run, he was trapped between two forces, his camp destroyed. His only hope was to run for Chang Sha's walls and hold out in the city. He spurred his horse on and bolted southward, hoping the charger would outrun his pursuers.
T'seng caught sight of the coward's flight and yelled to his men, "Kill the bandits! I'll take care of their leader, go!" He broke away from the throngs of charging soldiers and spurred his own horse on to intercept.
He caught up to the bandit lord whom had yet to have his horse reach full speed, it was tired from the fight, but could still run faster. T'seng stabbed out at the man from behind who proceeded to bat the halberd away with his spear. T'seng tried again and they began duel on horseback, their slashes met evenly, though the bandit was beginning to pull away. T'seng had to end this and now, or else all this would come to nothing.
T'seng whirled his halberd overhead and slashed at the charger's rear legs, clipping them with the blade. The horse stumbled and fell to the ground, the bandit lord being thrown forward from his mount and skidding to a halt on the ground. His spear had snapped in the impact and all he held was broken haft in one hand. His face bled like fresh grapes being squeezed, little bits of stone embedded in the skin. He yelped in pain as he struggled to his feet and tried to run. T'seng slowed his horse ahead of the bandit, who turned and ran in the other direction. He rode up to him and with a sweep of the halberd decapitated him. He'd take the head back as proof of his success. He looked back, about 350 feet to the battle and saw his men overtaking the combined rabble of bandits. They'd be successful now.
He rode back over to lead the forces to victory, participating in the slaughter of the scum of the earth. When all was said and done, they reformed at their camp, and rested the night. One of Dengwei's agents came to T'seng and congratulated, having seen the whole affair. He told T'seng that Dengwei would be very pleased with this work, and the liberation of Chang Sha from bandit hands would soon follow. The men were allowed to keep the plunder, from having looted both bandit camps. About 300 of them were left alive, all the bodies being discarded in the plains. Undoubtedly the carrion birds and dogs would be well fed for months to come.
T'seng rode back to Xiang Yang, eager to present the stinking head of the bandit lord to Dengwei and clean his hands of this messy business.
END.
