The Sun Dynasty
Within the great walls of the Imperial City, men plot in the shadows. The Emperor refuses to leave his quarters in the Forbidden Palace fearing assassins and conspirators seeking to kill him. He sees spirits in the night they whisper his name. He leaves the rule of the Ying Empire to a trusted eunuch who as so far kept his appearance hidden in a web of lies and deceptions. The mysterious eunuch keeps order in Zhai Cheng, his dao agents spreading a tale of deception to its people, while he ruthlessly engages the Song in the south. All is well in Zhai Cheng the troubles of the war seem distant, and the people feel content and safe within the thick stone walls of the metropolis.
The Northern Dynasty
Battle cries tore through the darkened skies. The winter snows have melted, and spring has given new life to the land. The terrible hordesmen harbingers of death galloped from their steppes north of the Grand Wall. Like locusts, they swarm the northern provinces, pillaging and raping all that they can. In the mining town of Wu north of the Zhao capital of Feng, a horrid faith is in store for the miners. The elder of the town refuses to bow to the barbarians a battle ensues.
The Wu are defeated, their town is burned to the ground their fields trampled over, their men slaughtered and their women, enslaved. Scarcely before news reaches Feng, the Horde as departed feted by their seized wealth. They gallop eastward eager for new pickings. By the time scouts are sent to investigate the carnage, all is lost, the rotting bodies of the dead scattered across the fields. A town of thousands lost for the time being.
Warlord Zhao Zan raises a host and marches eastward to find the barbarians responsible. But the Horde is constantly on the move, their swift four-legged beasts giving them the advantage of mobility. Village after village is raided and burned. All that remains by the time Zhao's men arrive are the smoldering ruins of once prosperous towns and villages. The Horde will meet Zhao Zan on their own terms and that is what is most terrifying to the warlord. He orders the feudal lords to prepare for battle, for the war has just begun.
The Southern Dynasty
Countless crossbowmen and siege weapons of the massive host marched in unison, hard from the north. Their boots shook the earth, their numbers where legion. They soon reached the Song-held stronghold of Jinguan. The commandant shouted HALT.The Sun crossbowmen readied their crossbows, the earth-shattering sound of thousands of men moving in unison was deafening.
The defenders unleashed their own arrows, now that the host was within range. The resolve of the Sun men was disciplined even as their comrades fell around them no mere peasants from the field. The Sun crossbowmen shouted a battle taunt that shook the foundations of Jingaun. FIRE and they unleashed their wrath upon the Song. The skies were blackened as the harbingers of death pummeled Jingaun with all their might.
The great siege weapons where readied, and the projectiles launched sky high onto the fortress, on impact, men were sent flying like ragdolls across the land.Jingaun had faced far worst then this in its centuries-long life as a stronghold. To seize the fortress from the Song would not be an easy task, even with the full might of the host.
Song Zhi marched with his armies from the south to engage the Sun host. He was confident in his abilities and believed that today would be the day a major blow would be dealt to the Sun Dynasty.
