Burning Ambition

9. Fan Castle (The Death of Guan Yu)

~~~ Sorry for the long wait, again. This one is also short and shitty because my writing skills seem to be getting worse for some reason, but thank you for continuing to stick around. Your continued support means a lot to me, and I thank you for that. Anyways, I hope you still get some sort of enjoyment out of this. Bye, for now. ~~~

Time: Late 219 (Autumn)

A heavy rain fell over Fan Castle and the nearby areas, and the river quickly overflowed and flooded the castle. Supplies were washed away and troops on both sides were swallowed whole by the raging waters; however, despite the already grim circumstances, both sides continued to hold their ground with steadfast determination. Guan Yu towered over the soldiers and officers under his command, and he looked through the crowd at each and every one of them with those cold eyes that everyone knew all too well. He was known to be cruel to his men and was often, put bluntly, an ass, and, choosing to remain as stubborn as usual, he refused to believe that anyone would ever betray him. He then gave the command to charge on the city of Wan, which was reclaimed from several mutineers by Cao Ren and Yu Jin of Cao Cao's army.

After recapturing the city, Cao Ren re-positioned himself at Fan Castle, while Yu Jin chose to remain in Wan and bolster its defenses, with a demoralized unit that was decimated in the flood. Soon, word of Pang De's death at the hands of Guan Yu spread, and that certainly didn't help to boost their confidence either. Meanwhile, the enemy continued to score more victories and their morale continued to grow. Supplies were running low in Wan since most of them were swept away in the flood, and, as a result, the morale of the forces under Yu Jin's command plummeted. Several soldiers clutched their growling stomachs, they were desperate for something to eat, and Yu Jin entertained the idea of surrendering to Guan Yu. He couldn't stand seeing his soldiers in such a terrible predicament and considered the option of surrender because of it, despite knowing how much it would hurt his honor and reputation.

As he pondered the best action to take, he came to the conclusion that surrendering would be the right thing to do, so he could spare his men and avoid causing them any more grief. Eventually, Guan Yu's boats rolled up to the city and demanded that they surrender or suffer the consequences, and Yu Jin agreed to surrender, much to everyone's surprise and dismay. Yu Jin was kept as a prisoner in Guan Yu's camp at Jing, and his men were spared due to his surrender. Word of Yu Jin's surrender spread quickly, and many lamented his actions, none more so than Cao Cao, who said that Pang De served honorably until the end, while Yu Jin dishonorably chose to surrender. The news came as quite a shock to Cao Ren as well, since Yu Jin had served loyally for approximately thirty years, but he couldn't afford to let his concern show, lest the troops begin to panic and fall into disarray.

Cao Ren, along with Man Chong, prepared the troops to defend against Guan Yu's impending attack; however, neither of them knew what to expect and were filled with immense worry. They knew that they couldn't afford to lose Fan Castle because that would leave Xuchang open for attack, and then all of their hard work would have been for naught. When they saw boats drifting up to the castle walls, they knew that they were in for a long battle, and Cao Ren and Man Chong ordered the troops to prepare and give it their all if they wanted to secure their safety and the future of Cao Wei.

Meanwhile, in Shu Han, Liu Bei sat at a desk filling out paper work with Zhuge Liang close at hand, in case he needed help filling something out. The task was so boring and tedious, he allowed himself to audibly sigh, and Zhuge Liang gave him a look, like he knew what he was thinking. He ignored the look, wondering why he ever agreed to do this job in the first place. His mind slowly wondered off, becoming distracted by thoughts and a vague feeling of uneasiness that was slowly eating away at him, and he allowed himself to give voice to those thoughts.