Two years had passed since the death of the Military god, Gaku Ki. The only living son who had managed to survive the purging of the Gaku clan at the hands of the Yan King and Tian Dan of Qi. Took on the mantle his father left behind for him and became the Lord of Dai.
The world did not pause for the death of the Military god Gaku Ki, as the Qin army continued to push deeper into Zhao territory with the hopes of taking Kantan and finally conquering their most bitter enemy besides the state of Chu. With Ren Pa no longer holding back the might of Qin, and Chou Katsu of Zhao having been slain by Ou Ki, the monstrous bird of Qin. The situation had become more than critical for Zhao, and chaos was beginning to ensue.
King Xiaocheng gave an edict, a rallying cry to all able men of Zhao to raise up arms and bring their fighting spirit with them in hopes it would both raise morale and the number of fighters Zhao could field. All of this was against the sound counsel of his own uncle Lord Pingyuan, 1 of the 4 Lords of the Warring States era.
"Nephew, I would say it is not best to allow free rein for men to raise armies. Even if it means they will come to the aid of Zhao, the damage in the long run would be…" Lord Pingyuan knew he had to tread carefully around the subject, for his nephew found himself between a rock and a hard place.
"And what else can I do?!" King Xiaocheng bit back, "I made a mistake by taking Lian Po away from the frontlines and appointing Chou Katsu as commander, even going so far as to dismiss his mother's own concerns. I will not hand over my Kingdom to Qin. Did you not see what they did at Chou Hei? What do you think they will do to Handan… to my family… to my sons… and to me?"
When a man becomes desperate, any decision looks like a good decision so long as it causes change….
Looking at his nephew, Lord Pingyuan understood his nephew would not be moved by this idea. So, as a loyal minister of Zhao, he accepted the consequences of the King's decision and gave a shallow bow. "I will mission both the capitals of Wei and Chu, with the help of Lords Chunshen and Lord Xiling… The Qin will be brought to their knees." There was silence as both men resolved themselves for the journey ahead…
….
STATE OF ZHAO: DAI
"Father," His voice was starting to transition from that of a boy to a man, as he spoke from the heart and his truth. "I have learned much more under your care. All I have, I owe it to you… But now, I must leave and head out to my first battle as you have once done." Gaku Shi, Lord of Dai and the head of the Gaku clan, stood before his father's tomb.
Behind him stood his retinue, some of whom had followed Lord Gaku Ki in the past when they were young and inexperienced in war. Now they were veterans, with a wealth of experience to them. Though there were others who looked fresh-faced and bright eyed, those who would be fighting in a war for the first time in their short lives. Still, the retinue was formidable and stood tall and strong as they watched their young master bid farewell.
Gaku Shi glanced towards the heavens, his golden eyes taking in the shifting clouds and the rays of sunlight that occasionally pierced them. "Watch over us, father." A smile graced the young Lord's face, "I will bring glory to the Yue name and Yue clan… And once we reunite, I will tell you of my trials and tribulations." Gaku Shi kept his head tilted up to the shining heavens, and with one last military salute to his father, he turned on his heels before the retinue that would join his first military march joined him half a step behind.
"To have 4,000 soldiers in our first battle…" Beside him, Gaku Jou commented as he glanced over his shoulder, the edict King Xiaocheng sent out had benefited many and one among the many was Gaku Shi, for he decided to use it to train and bring a good amount of soldiers to his first war.
…
It would not be far from the truth to say Qin had placed the sword at the throat of Zhao; they were already at the gates of Kantan and all that was needed was to breach the gates, and the Qin sword would plunge into the heart of Zhao. After the Chouhei massacre by the hands of Haku Ki, Zhao found itself on the brink of annihilation. The carefully cultivated military built by King Wuling and improved by his two sons King Huiwen and Lord Pingyuan was in shreds.
Seeing this Qin decided to press the sword, and offer no chance for a Zhao uprising. Commander in Chief and Qin 6 Great General Oukotsu, sent prodigy of warfare and grandson of Shiba Saku. Sima Geng, a general touted as the next in line for a space among the Qin 6 Greats. The task set for him was to take and hold the Zhao city, Rokan.
By this simple move, Qin would've blocked a retreat path towards the north of Zhao for the current Zhao King Xiaocheng. All Zhao could do was gather up a motley crew, and pray to the gods they were able to defend Sima Gengs incursion whilst also calling back as many soldiers to help defend their capital.
…
General Kou POV
He had been named the commander of a Zhao force, that was tasked with taking back the city of Rokan from the hands of Sima Geng, a general who had distinguished himself the year before in 259 BCE by taking the city of Taiyuan from Han and pacifying the regions surrounding the former Han fortress. Zhao high command had named him the Commander of a 50,000 strong army, but it was still not enough to match the Qin in numbers.
The Qin boasted an army of 80,000, all of them high on morale from the previous victory against the Han. Even with his 50,000 strong army many of the commanders were not noteworthy or inexperienced but still it was General Kou's job to make it work and take back Rokan from Qin hands. Looking at the Qin set up, he understood the Qin commander Sima Geng was arrogant and possibly overexcited. And that for the experienced general of Zhao was something to exploit.
'The right flank is being commanded by general Yuan Zhu; he will have 25,000 for this battle. The man has followed Sima Geng to nearly all of his battles, and has the favour of their Commander in chief.' This was a moment for himself, everything had been set and each commander had their orders leaving him alone in his war tent for final checks.
'The left flank will be led by Sou Yu, another General that has followed Sima Geng in all of his battles but this one will be troublesome as he has experience in fighting under Shiba Saku.' His eyes went to the Qin left flank, '20,000 troops all experienced, all have worked with each other many times over… and their morale is high.' This battle was looking more and more perilous to General Kou, as he continued to dissect the battle in private.
He had already shown a facade that everything will be well, and good when some of the soldiers had been shaken to the core by just facing a Qin army. Now, all alone he allowed a sliver of emotion to show. 'And last but not least, Sima Geng will hold his HQ in the centre, allowing himself to see and send out troops to each wing if need be. The grandson of Shiba Saku, famed and lauded as a General who only needs time before he becomes as good as his grandfather.'
'This will be a difficult battle…'
….
YUE SI/GAKU SHI POV
The battle was all Qin's favour, there was no doubt about it. General Kou, by simply looking at the numbers Qin had all the right to walk over the Zhao army. With General Kou possibly dying, but that was only if Sima Geng did not waste a single round in this battle. Gaku Shi had heard of Sima Geng, the man was a grandson of Shiba Saku, a famed Great General of Qin who was 1 of the Qin 6 Greats.
The man led a fearsome army, that name sounded across the middle plains and in every state. Sima Geng no doubt would've inherited some of his grandfather's army, there was no doubt about that in the mind of Gaku Shi as he and his army moved to the Zhao left wing.
"This wing will get crushed," He whispered grimly to Gaku Jou at his side, who had a similar grimace that both of them had been left less than impressed by General Nai Gen. "Their 20,000 against our 15,000. Some of the soldiers have already lost morale, Qin's dark art of war is something…" Gaku Jou replied, looking around at the nervous soldiers in the Zhao right wing.
With an agreeing nod Gaku Shi spoke, "Qin knows how to use fear to make others submit, one of the easiest methods of war but the foundation is not solid… Looking at this battle though, we will use the chaos to grab the prize." Qin had deployed their soldiers evenly, and Zhao tried to match it.
25,000 to the right, 20,000 to the left and another 20,000 thousand for the centre. The rest of the numbers were in reserve, waiting to be called up. General Kou tried matching it by going 15,000 on the right, 15,000 on the left and 20,000 in the centre. Yue Si already had a backup plan in his mind, should things turn out as he predicted he already had a way to get Rokan back into Zhao hands.
"Anway, it matters little in the grand scheme. This war will be my first step, the very first step to shock the world." A grin made its way to his face after he said those words, and seeing this Gaku Jou nodded knowing that his clan brother would bring victory to Zhao.
…
3RD PERSON POV
After Gaku Shi's grin, he battle for Rokan began in the very next moments, with General Kou being a traditional general he sent out his right wing to open the battle. The General charged with 5,000 at his back, hoping to open a chink in the Qin defence, but Sima Geng was cautious in his approach; he ordered for a defensive formation which did not leave a single opening.
The initial charge by the Zhao general showed slight promise but in the end was smited by Qin general Sou Yu, he called for his troops to group up and form shield walls that disrupted the Zhao charge. Once the Zhao charge was sufficiently separated, the Qin archers had easy pickings and fired at the disorganised Zhao soldiers.
The Zhao general tried to rally his soldiers and charge at a different point but that was when disaster struck. Without receiving any instruction to charge, and seeing his fellow General in a perceived perilous situation, General Nai Gen decided to commit all of his troops to forcefully charge one that had broken the Qin if they were not waiting for that exact moment.
The left flank of Qin committed everything they had to the charge, and upon seeing this fortuitous opportunity, Qin general Yang Zhu grabbed it with two hands. He quickly deployed his troops into a defensive formation that was weak in the centre but strong on the wings. The Qin allowed Nai Gen to charge through relatively unimpeded, as they picked off those who had followed him.
Seeing his trap working well, Yang Zhu smirked and said, "It's now time." General Nai Gen continued to roar for his troops to show no cowardice or fear against the Qin soldiers but it was not enough for him and once Yang Zhu a veteran of warfare who stepped out from his safe position at the Qin flank.
The prize was all too alluring for the bull headed General Nai Gen of Zhao to turn down, he decided to charge, wanting to reap all the glory and turn the tables on the Qin. Seeing this and that the Qin were encircling with another 10,000 from their centre army, Gaku Shi ordered for his 4,000 man army to escape at the very last moment.
Some of the Zhao troops not in his army tried to follow them, but some of them were cut down or cut off from escaping. When General Kou decided to move, nearly 10,000 Zhao soldiers were either dead or captured. Gaku Shi managed to get away with a little over 6,000 troops with his army included.
Yet even with his work, everyone on the battlefield except those who had followed Gaku Shi felt that… The war was all over on the first day.