180 Confronting the dog

 There had been little rain and the road to Mudon was a dust bowl. The land was parched, bathed in a crisp cover of dead grasses, failed crops and deserted farmsteads. The only saving grace was the river bank, which was still lush and full of life. Although the river levels had fallen, the central flow was still deep and navigable. The shallows, however, had become nothing but a quagmire of stinking, green mud, leeches and snakes.

Niao eyed this as they passed. 'Good places to lose bodies', she nudged Xin, "Useful?" Xin nodded.

"I've plenty of venom, and a chest of darts. Think we need to deploy them and keep our distance until the final kill."

Niao nodded, "you're right. No point in opening ourselves up for attack unnecessarily. I'll go up to the front then, and run this method of attack past Băo. It'll be perfect once we arrive at the city gates." and with that, she trotted off.

Xin turned to the Blades who were walking with her. "How many of you are trained in using the sling or the catapult?" Most raised a hand. "Then we have a strategy. On the wagon, I have a chest full of darts and enough venom to go around. Tip the dart just before you fire it and, for goodness sake, keep your fingers away from it!" She laughed, "I'm not being held responsible for killing my own pack!"

Blades gathered and distribution began. 

Niao returned. "We deploy once the city walls are breached. Băo agrees with you, dart before blade. He pointed out water's edge. I agreed to take my pack plus another to cover this area. We can't use venom, not from the water, but we can use the darts and catapults." She held out her hand. "My pack, collect your darts and prepare to get wet again." They groaned, "yes, the leeches are awful but they'll be in the mud, not the deep water. We go in via a jetty."

Swords were up front already engaged, as were most of the Arrow contingents. It was the Blades who hung back. Their mercenary style of warfare would not come into its own until the reached the outskirts of the capital and then, as Xin had put it, "Its playtime."

The fighting was fierce, men falling on both sides. Those who sustained injury were swept up and brought back to the Blades and apothecaries. Some, if they were capable, were patched up and sent back. Those that had sustained serious injury were kept and treated, surrounded by the Blades who acted as body guards.

Slowly, Twin Hammers advanced. One member of the Swords shouted, "the Phoenix is rising above us! She is with us!"

"For our children and their future!"

"For the honour of of our fallen!"

"We fight a Righteous war!" 

Men's voices rang out, swords clashed, men fell, but the advance was like the tide coming in. Inevitable.

The waves of attack grew steadier and more fierce. Mu fighters fell, some ran only to be shot down by arrows raining down in curtains of death from above.

"I fight for my children!"

"My wife and my brother!"

"You all die today and Death will claim your souls!"

The advance became a tsunami of intent. Men scattered. They had no stomach for this. The white ribbons filled their vision. They lost focus, their lives, they ran.

Second Master collected his three most trusted Hammers, each bearing their crest swathed in white, and advanced towards the town gates, closely followed by the remainder of the Hammers, swinging their broadswords with one hand. Nothing, but nothing would stop them.

These were big men and they brandished swords, each caste by their owners. Their relentless advance took them up the main street to the very core of Mudon. With scouts guidance, they took out the gates of the Mu Palace and stormed inside.

Sitting on his dais, Old Man Mu sipped a tea, his trusted men circling him. He thought he was invincible. It meant nothing to Second Master. He looked at this old man, a relic of the past and snorted.

"You honestly think these men will keep you alive?"

As Second Master spoke, four of the Arrows entered the room and stood, bows raised and loaded.

Second Master looked at them, and gesturing, smiled, "I come bearing gifts."

Old Man Mu flicked a finger. One of Mu's elite stepped forward and raised his sword. An arrow found his arm immediately and the sword was dropped.

"I think not." Second Master responded, "not today."

Second Master looked around and spotting a chair, walked over to it and dragged it over, coming to rest directly in front of the dais. He sat down and leaned back.

"I have come to end this stupidity, with or without sparing your life. Either way, it is of no interest to me, but probably much interest to you." Second Master looked over his shoulder. Turning back, he looked at the Old Man. "Expecting back up? Sorry, I doubt any will come." 

The thwang of an arrow leaving a bow cut through the silence, followed by a cry and a clattering as yet another of the Mu men died somewhere in the corridor outside.

Second Master grinned, in that way he reserved only for his father,"you honestly think I would come with just three Hammers and four Arrows? Honestly, that's just naive." He laughed a brutal laugh which carried malice not mirth.

The Old Man eyed him, then spoke. "So, what are you demanding?"

"The cessation of this vendetta." Second Master stood up, leaning on the hilt of his sword. "My father was a fool, a gambler, a drunkard and a philanderer. He managed to produce two legitimate sons, about the only decent thing he did in his life. He is dead. He is in an unmarked grave and will not appear in the ancestral record or hall. His wife, my mother, is dead. Her tablet is in the Hall, soon to be joined by my wife and my two children." The anger now grew and his Hammers took a step forward as he closed in on the Old Man. The Mu elite watched Second Master, but also watched the Hammers. They were caught and they knew it. There was no way they could defend the Old Man and stay alive. They chose sense, and backed off. The Hammers watched them, broadswords ready.

"So, Old Man, you have two choices and I don't really care which one you choose. Your dogs have taken everything from me, so I have nothing to lose, do I?" He paused and raised the broad sword, ready to strike. "Either, you capitulate here and now. Sign a peace treaty with all the surrounding nations, or you die and the surrounding nations break up your little empire and subsume it into their own. Either way, you have a count of three to decide."

Old Man Mu went white. He was cornered and saw the writing on the wall.

"One!"

The count had begun. He thought rapidly. Could he get out of this? Could he rebuild? Would he have any friends to support future campaigns...

"Two!"

Could he ever take the Chen land in the future? Did he still have leverage?

"Three!"

As the sword started its swing downward, he realised the man was not bluffing. In a panic he protected his head and blurted out at the top of his terrified voice, "I agree! I agree!"

Two of the Hammers stepped forward and, grabbing him, his hands were brought together in front of him and the irons were clamped in placed.

Second Master lowered his sword.

"Where is your son!"

"Here." a frightened young man came out of a side chamber and shuffled toward Second Master. "Here Sir. I am his grand son, my father died of plague a few years back. I suppose I am the heir to the Mu province now." He looked at his grandfather with a mixture of relief and worry. "He's not a bad man, just a foolish one who just refuses to let go. I'm sorry you had to lose your family. No doubt my grandfather will be held accountable for many more atrocities, he always has been a hard man to please."

This young man was probably no more than twenty. Slight of frame, light in features. More a scholar than a fighter. He had a poisoned chalice to hold and no-one envied him that.

"Your name?" Second Master asked.

"My official name is Wen Cong, and my last name is Yang. Yang Wen Cong. I am the second born so I took my mother's last name. My elder brother died when he was young. He too succumbed to the plague. I was lucky. I was away, studying." there was an edge of bitterness in his voice, but no malice. He was unlike his grandfather in every way.

"Nice to meet you Master Yang. I suspect we will be meeting one another a great deal in the future." Master Yang nodded.

Second Master's civility stopped as he turned to the Old Man. "You will be escorted to Chenxi and then onto the capital where your crimes will be laid out in front of the Judiciary. They will decide your fate."

"What will happen to Mudon whilst this is all processing?" Master Yang asked politely. "Will Chen take over or will there be another province in charge?"

General Li Xian walked into the room, "We will organise members from Shipao and Lui province to support you in your transition to becoming a peaceful member of the area and perhaps set up trade, shipping and other collaborations with your neighbours. This warring has to come to a close, and we all hope you will move toward peace, now the final piece of this complex puzzle has been removed."

Master Yang nodded. "I would like to set up an interim council to work with you, but I wish to follow my grandfather to the trial. I want to hear for myself what he has caused through this. If that is agreeable to you , of course"