With all the armor changed and the plan clear, Gaku Shi placed some "Injured." Soldiers in carts they had taken from the Qin, with the flags raised, dashed through the gates of Rokan. To onlookers, it seemed as though someone was chasing them or was rushing with great haste.
"WHO ARE YOU? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Archers on the walls pinned them.
"OPEN THE GATES! OPEN THE GATES! WE BRING WORD FROM GENERAL YANG ZHU AND COMMANDER IN CHIEF SIMA GENG!" Gaku Shi shouted back.
"WHAT GREAT LORD SIMA?!!"
"OPEN THE GATES!"
"OPEN THE GATES!"
Gaku Shi kept his face neutral as he watched the gates of Rokan go up, before stirring his horse forward, passing the first threshold to his plan. As he continued in, he came across a man with spiky black hair dressed in finely made armour.
Gaku Shi jumped down from his horse and bowed to the man whilst clasping his hands, "Lord Ko Sui, Urgent report, Lord Sima Geng sent word to General Yang Zhu to ask for a relief force. They request your presence at the frontlines."
Ko Sui of Qin's eyes widened in shock, his bushy brows rising to his hairline; he could not believe this development. "What? For what reason?" The man asked in worry.
"I can not speak of Commander in Chief Sima's intentions, but from the words of some soldiers… Great Heaven Lian Po(Ren Pa) has been spotted alongside his four heavenly Kings; they're coming towards this battlefield." The man took a sharp intake of breath, as he seemed to grow pale and worried as the worst situation seemed to dawn on him.
"All of the information is in there," Gaku Shi presented a scroll with the stamp of General Yang Zhu, one of the soldiers in the Gaku Shi army who had managed to get their hands on it from their last raid. "My Lord, I ask for you to make haste, for Ren Pa is less than half a day's ride from the battlefield."
General Ko Shi took that all as confirmation and instantly began barking orders and harrying his soldiers to set out for the battlefield. "You have done a good job; I will certainly have someone reward you after we win this battle."
Gaku Shi only nodded, "I only did what I could with my battered men, General."
Ko Shi of Qin nodded, "Have you and your men rest here." Then he was off, and soon enough, he rallied the full 12,000 garrison and set out for the frontlines. Leaving my army as the skeleton force to protect Rokan.
"Hook... line and sinker." Gaku Shi whispered, "Now we kill that strike force that I suspect is waiting at the broken wall." With 500 of the 4,000 soldiers, he led a direct attack against the ambush squad.
…
SIMA GENG POV
The road was smooth with not a hiccup on the road, only those small units that scourge for food like rats, but they were easily dealt with. The night raids were only a little thorn in his side, which he had plucked out as soon as he focused on it.
Whoever it was had long run away from the battlefield, heading off somewhere else, shaking in fear.
Though they had the ability, and Sima Geng would've liked to recruit them in his army for Qin and his army, as Qin never turned down potential, but it seemed the person did not have the stomach for war. As the attackers only stole supplies and created a little chaos, they even managed to kill three one-thousand-man commanders, and a further 2,000.
He knew they were not of the Zhao general Kou's army and instead were a separate form of opportunist.
Sima Geng did not think it was worth his attention to look at such a thing, but rather would focus on why Zhao would want Rokan back.
It was a stupid decision for Zhao to do such a thing, when they didn't have the might they once boasted about. Haku Ki cut down their numbers at Chou Hei, and Sima Geng was even there alongside his late father.
So, what was it?
Why would Zhao, who should be crippled and broken, try to fight back instead of dying?
Why send General Kou… A man of little repute to come and face someone of his stature and reputation?
The tent flapped, and in walked a messenger who looked nervous and perspired as he spoke, "Urgent report! Lord Sima! The garrison under General Ko Shi rushed to our location in haste. The garrison at Rokan under General Ko Shi is rushing to our location in haste. The whole 12,000 have left the castle. There is no knowing why they have left at the moment!"
Great General Sima Geng had a moment of clarity, "So, those monkeys thought they could snatch back Rokan after so kindly giving it over to us! Scum! All of the Zhao are SCUM! AND I WILL FINISH WHAT BAI QI STARTED!"
However, in the back of Sima Geng's mind as he raged, a terrible thought sparked up, 'C-could it be that monster that held both Ouki and Haku Ki coming here. But that can not be possible. He was placed at the Yan border! Or did Zhao lie?'
'Is that why this General Kou has become so emboldened?' ' As his mind raced to find an answer, someone entered the war tent once more, "Great General Sima, is there a problem?" General Yang Zhu, a man who had served even his father, asked.
Though he spoke as calmly as he could, the telltale signs of trepidation were clearly shown on his face, "Order all troops to draw back and retreat towards Rokan. The castle has fallen back into Zhao's hands, and we must strike immediately; otherwise, the war will be lost. Whoever has taken the castle must die, for they cannot be allowed to grow. The very fate of our conquest of Zhao depends on this."
Yang Zhu was quick to rush off and fulfil his orders.
As Sima Geng clenched his hand into a tight fist, more and more he continued to think about the Zhao legend while watching the Yan border. 'It can't be Ren Pa of those damned 3 Great Heavens, the last the spies spoke of him was that he fell out with the Zhao court… Then could it be that Rin Shou Jou or even Chou Sha are not dead but have gone into hiding!!!' Sima Geng's overly cautious and overthinking nature took over him, so much so that he did not notice the blood leaking from his clenched fist.
….
GENERAL KOU POV
The mood of General Kou was one of gloom and doom; the man knew another loss would be very bad for him.
He had already estimated he was two losses away from facing demotion; he had started the first day with a full fifty thousand under his command, and by the time night had come, one of his wings was crushed and the other hanging by a thread.
He had 14,000 dead with a further 10,000 casualties. 8,000 of the 10,000 casualties were heavily injured to the point they could only just stand if pushed further. (Zhao ARE DOWN 28,000.)
All this happened in just one battle, a single battle, and everything went to hell. And there was still the fact that Qin held at least a 70,000-strong army just waiting to sink their teeth into the remains of his army.
He needed to take Rokan, but without a lot of casualties, as Zhao was already walking on a thin line and now look at what happened. His army was near the brink of destruction, with only 28,000 relatively fresh soldiers.
Whatever morale the soldiers had was shattered in one battle. To battle against a Qin Great General who is only a step away from becoming one of those accursed 6, was madness. DAMN THE QIN DOGS FOR SENDING SIMA GENG!! General Kou of Zhao cursed in his heart.
How could he take Rokan now, when the Qin have such high morale, and they're all lusting for blood? It was the most perilous position he had ever found himself in; only a full-scale retreat was available to him, but if he were to retreat... General Kou knew that should he retreat, the Zhao court would make an example of him.
So, as the men lined up for the next day, he resigned himself to either demotion or execution when he reached the capital after this enormous loss.
However, contrary to what he believed, the Qin army began to turn around and form an orderly retreat. General Kou of Zhao could not believe his eyes. Qin had them outnumbered, and they were the ones to retreat?! He had to blink three times to make sure his eyes were not deceiving him. This made no sense.
He wished to pursue and reduce their numbers, even if just a few. But he stopped himself, thinking Sima Geng had placed a trap in his retreat. He needed more information. Why was Qin retreating?
That's when he saw an amazing flag of black, red and gold making its way towards his location. The flag read, "YUE" A few soldiers accompanied what looked like a messenger.
General Kou knew who the flag belonged to: the young master who had recently become heir to the Yue clan of Zhao. The last living son of Gaku Ki, the military God, Gaku Shi, apparently had come to the battlefield to see how it was. The boy looked like a good-for-nothing dandy who only wanted to profit from the downfall of Zhao. Even bringing an army of 4,000 when the brat had yet to be ranked.
Even though his father had only needed to use his name to get a coalition formed and bring Qi to their knees, it did not mean the son was the father. And General Kou had seen so many up-jumped dandies who only came to war and die.
Seeing the boy's flag, he was shocked as he had thought the boy had died in the initial charge.
The person bowed, "My Lord Yue Si and his army tallied the remaining survivors of the left flank and made a night raid to steal Qin armour, along with flags and food.
He then launched an assault on Rokan and has taken the castle. Currently, there is no other force other than my Lord's sitting in Rokan, waiting for General Kou. He asks the Commander-in-Chief Kou of Zhao to aid me and bear witness to Zhao's mighty triumph."
'HE DID WHAT?!!!' General Kou shouted internally as he heard the words of the messenger and looked back at the retreating Qin army. Immediately, he turned to a soldier of his personal retinue, "Send word to Ryuu Ka. We are heading to Rokan!"
The Qin army was the only confirmation Kou needed, and he wanted to pay them back for what they had done to him. For the humiliation they had put him and his army through.
He started giving out orders and organising his army to chase after the Qin troops that had retreated. Inwardly, he was also thanking the heavens, the sages and the Chiyou(The God of War) for this miracle.
His mind then went to the youth called Gaku Shi, and he could not help but feel cold sweat run down his back.
Could this be the birth of another one of the Great Heavens? Has Gaku Ki left Zhao, a Military God, to take his place! He asked himself... even though it was so early in the youth's military career. His mind could not help to make the comparison.
No, it is too early for that! He shook his head. Oh, Gaku Ki, Oh Military God, if this boy is to be as great as you! I dearly thank you!
General Kou had seen many talents before, and many of them had been lost at the massacre of Chou Hei, and he wondered if this was the forging of another.
Has another one of those monsters started his journey...