Plot Summary (52 years)

[Lyle]

From Heaven to Hell.. it came and went. Civil wars, new ideals and corruption slowly crept into Zhutai's grand Kingdom. Zhao would be the largest, and Zhao would be the strongest. Yet only for so long, as its past catches up to it..

208 AD-Zhao unites the land under their banner with several Dukes at the top, each in control of one province or the Army.
208 AD-Emperor Zhutai claims new orders and laws about the land, all are happy and this part of the world turns a new leaf, the ideals of expansion upon the horizon.
209 AD-Barbarian tribes grow restless, it is rumored that one certain tribe in Bei Ping has had their eye out for Ye.
210 AD-Both the Duke of Nei Bei and the Emperor are targeted in two strange assassination plots, both barely escaping an early death.
210 AD-One man is captured and was said to be from the Xiongnu. A state of war is declared on the north.
210 AD-The land joins together, anger in their eyes as they march north, troops from all over Ba Shu, Jing, Xi Liang, Wu Yue, the Central Plains and Nei Bei march upon Bei Ping and the barbarian forces, and army that numbers some eight hundred thousand armed men. The armies fight a long battle, but victory soon comes from a decisive blow by a Templar General (Lu Kai Li).
211 AD-The Barbarian forces in Bei Ping held tightly, and their nomadic, loyal people fallow their warrior's and protectors to the grave, mass suicides are committed.
211 AD-It is later in the week announced by a scholar that these mass suicides were actually mass killings, some eight hundred thousand civilians falling by the death of the Royal Army's hands. It is not uncommon for eight hundred thousand people to die, but when peace flows all around and citizens are the ones to die, people begin to worry.
211 AD-The Royal Army commander Shibo is sentenced to exile, the Emperor covering his tracks in doing such a move, sending the man to the south immediately after the battle, where he went directly upon the front lines of the Nanman warriors.
212 AD-Shibo fights the good fight and secures half of the province. He dies eventually of an arrow wound, the sheer 2 to 1 ratio leading up to his death.
213 AD-The Emperor secretly mourns the death of his general, and disappears from the publics eye momentarily.
213 AD-Sima Mao is dispatched to replace Shibo, and trouble brews in the northern Xi Liang, Ba Zeng begins to pool his forces.
214 AD-The people remain calm, knowing like any great Empire war will never rid itself, more land up for the taking, their lives constantly being effected by such decisions. A wise teacher appears before the land and speaks of the evils of the Emperor. The man is quickly dispatched by Sun Jiang, and the small rebellion is squashed under the Emperor's foot.
215 AD-Ba Zeng marches against northern Xi Liang, only to learn he was tricked, the Qiang armies moving around him and using their horses to flank his unit. They attack An Ding, the first trouble brews but is held off quickly as a force of eight hundred thousand men repel and obliterate the forces, Sun Yuan Ci, the horse lord, their commander.
216 AD-Kong Suo is given a letter, informing him to move west while Nan Man falters, the other tribes will also weaken. He does so and launches a grand campaign, yet a secret one at the most.
216 AD-Yang Shi is formed from Kong Suo's ambitious movements, yet the world moves on without noticing.
216 AD/217 AD-Sima Mao finds difficulty in the south, while the Duke of Si quickly dispatches the barbarians in his area, sending their naval fleets packing back to indo China. This victory is considered a grand one, and people talk of Si's power and how it has only strengthened since the merge.
216 AD/218 AD-The Qiang are beaten back in the north as Sun Yuan Ci marches after them, successfully making one of the grandest campaigns ever know by any china man. He rips the north a new one, establishing the northern Xi Bei colonies and the land west of them, above An Ding. His power is said to be grander than Zhang Liang, a man from the Summer and Autum period.
218 AD-Xi Liang prospers, yet many have died in the war, just like in Bei Ping. The north mourns, while a state of prosperity exists in Wu Yue. The battle torn Jing keeps moving, just like the large Ba Shu. Southern Ba Shu however crumbles as battle after battle erupt, Sima Mao never capable of pushing every savage back. Resources are being exerted at a rate which the economy can barely keep up.
218 AD-An official edict for the Nan man is sent across the land. A price has been put on a man's head. This man's name is Meng Huo, a powerful King who rides elephants and fights on the front lines all by himself.
218 AD-The man is captured, and the serpent is destroyed, the head now gone. The remaining Nan man coalition is ordered to march forward across a small plain and to throw down their weapons. They do so, though they are all soon put to death, a false order given out by the grand commander, Sima Mao.
218 AD-Forty thousand hardened warriors die by arrow in this field, no chance of escape for a single one.
218 AD-Peace returns to China now, The Duke of Si having a daughter wed with the son of Emperor Zhutai, further increasing the two's relationship.
220 AD-Two years pass, and the south seems all too quite. Kong Suo continues to expand, though he has lacked to report to the Emperor for a long time now. Jing rises with the old feelings of Cheng, the Royal army is dispatched to keep order, they slaughter many and burn houses across the hill sides..
221 AD-Soon, the warrior god Lu Bu finds himself drunk with another, one Jia Xu from Nei Bei at an Imperial Party. They talk of Si, and others, their main conversation dealing with Si and the weaknesses of Xia Pi. Er Aorong is close by them, and is offended by such a statement.
222 AD-Remnants from Xi Liang and Bei Ping find a secret yet treacherous path through the northern mountains that defend Si Li. They break through and head to Xu Chang. The Grand warrior Lu Bu stands in their way, only a couple divisions under him. He fights 180,000 men, some armed to the teeth, others with nothing but their fists. Fengxian numbers 100,000 armed Zhao warriors, with 30,000 strong cavalry. They successfully hold the enemy forces at bay in southern He Nai. Another battle occurs in eastern Wenchang. Lu Bu steals the win, killing a thousand men himself. Yet something also steals him, a man with a saber from Tibet splitting the grand warrior in two. The battle if finished by Zhao Ping, a loyal vassal of Lu Bu. The barbarian forces retreat back north, their commander rumored to be dead.
222 AD/224 AD-The emperor mourns for two weeks, along with the rest of the country. Sun Yuan Ci struck out in vengeance, yet was beaten by his cocky attitude. The Zhao armies lose two hundred thousand troops to disease and battle itself. Zhao's tears can rarely be seen across the salty seas..
225 AD-The Duke of Si invites the Emperor's son to visit him with his wife, Shang's daughter. They do so. Word is cut off in the south.
225 AD-Zhang Zhao Lu is born to a mother who dies at birth. His father is part of a family nearly whipped out in the wars of Bei Ping. He will forever remember such days..
226 AD-All ties between Si and Zhao seem to have been cut off, a grand war starting in the blink of an eye. Civil war finally approaches Zhao, and the Emperor is terrified. Yet not beaten. He responds quickly to an attack on Shou Chun, which Si tries to take so Zhao can no longer block Wu Yue from Jing. Sun Yuan Ci is sent immediately and defeats the first wave attack, yet losses the next. The battles are later to be refereed to as the Grand Battles of He Fei Castle, where a very outnumbered Zhiyun outlasts the Si army the first time, and leads them to the chopping block. Numbers eventually prevailed, though Si was being attacked now from both north and west.
226 AD-The few remaining Zhao forces retreat north into Lu Jiang, where they blockade the rivers. Sun Yuan Ci is to be seen nowhere, a newer general has taken his place in the chaos of battle. It is the loyal Jiang Chao.
226 AD-Emperor Zhutai falls from his throne as he hears the news of his final brother in oath's death. He quickly returns to his feet though, sword in hand as he slays the messenger in an act of pure rage, effortlessly. After this show of events people begin to doubt his abilities, though he reassured some by taking up the main army and marching into Jian Ye and raining hell itself down upon the city as he taunted the green banners, hoping they would show themselves.
226 AD/227 AD-Storms brew in the north and south again. A mysterious fog arises off the southern coast, trading boats are reported to have left the southern harbors yet never come back. The war grasps the attention though, the people of both countries lost in the calamity and chaos of a civil war.

[Lyle]

227 AD-The Former Duke of Si marches out of his castle, a field battle the only way he could win against Zhao, his forces in Jing under Wei Yan being held at bay by Kong Suo and the mountainous terrain.
227 AD-In the heat of battle, Shang Xiliang is mortally wounded, a stray arrow finally finding its target and embedding itself between his rib bones. He falls from his horse and the Si army holds for another day, Shang eventually dies in the night. Er Aorong had fallen too in the battle, his life taken by Zhutai's armies. Xia Pi soon fell without its grand master able to defend it.. Ashpharr had seized the structure finally, "All in the name of the Emperor", of course.
227 AD-As upon request from Shang upon his death bed, all of Si returns to Zhao, the country united once again under one sun, one army and one Emperor.
228 AD-Yet all is not the same. The traitorous acts were not so horrifying. What was was the war itself. Blood stained both Jing, the Central Plains and Wu Yue. Lands that had been untouched for nearly twenty years. The country had nearly split, a civil war almost causing the death of all. The two leaders had become weapons of mass destruction. Men, women and children were caught up in the heat of battle, the actions of war spreading far from the field and into the villages and towns that littered the region. Hell had truly shown itself, some two million people dead. The ideals of Shang Xiliang had caught attention as well, his address to the country stating that life could not be ruled under one single man. But several, or possibly more capable leaders. An older generation had been killed off in the wars, and the seeds of rebellion began to sink into the newer ones. Many returned to Zhao in the end, yet many didn't as well. Zhao was effectively ruined from Lu Jiang to Chai Sang to Jian Ye. Jing was 'burning' now finally and Wu Yue had been obliterated, with the Central Plains being hit time after time again. Many went into hiding, many ran about the country and far away lands.
228 AD-Zhutai is truly troubled, he commands martial law placed upon Jing. Sun Jiang is given control of the area. He is assassinated the week he enters office Jing, his Duke crown falling from grace by a talented marks man. Wu Yue is given a Duke finally soon at the same time, the talented Wei Yan leading it all too well. Jing is forgotten about, nearly given up on as well.
229 AD-The southern coast is set ablaze, and the east is attacked. Japanese flags were rumored to be within the grand fleet, but nothing was certain anymore. Jing rises to the occasion for once, a factory simply sending more and more meat shields to battle. Wei Yan repels the enemy for ten days, and then the Royal Navy sails south, crashing into and destroying everything in sight. Their losses however are heavy, and it seemed that they faced experienced sailors who were obviously not done.
229 AD-Nei Bei is soon attacked also, yet not how one would think. The Zhao Empire prided itself with its dukes, who had lead the land in the previous years before unification. Aspharr had replaced his father a long time ago, and had befriended Zhutai in Wenchang when Cheng attacked from Jing, attempting to destroy Zhao. This grand man who had one of the largest armies in the Zhao armies met his match finally, death upon its grand black steed finally catching up with him. The battle was one of wills, and the former lord of Nei Bei died in his sleep, painlessly.
229 AD-Two grand giants would fall this night, though. Some say just minutes after Aspharr passed from this realm, the old, tired body of Zhutai became limp as the Emperor fell from grace. His son found him, and quickly took up the crown, crisis averted, even though he did so through tears.. The Emperor was 61 years old, his son only 20.
229 AD-The nation mourned for months as all became uncertain of what was to happen. Gongsun Ren, the man who was close to the former Duke of Nei Bei, took to Ye and captured it, keeping order under his thumb while another party member in the north, son of the famed Lu Kai Li fought with him over the role of Duke.
230 AD-Again Civil war broke out, and Zhutao, Zhutai's son, would have nothing to do with it. Peasants came from far, walking, riding and escaping the war. Life truly was declining now, yet the Empire remained somewhat strong, though just inches away from destruction.
230 AD-In the end Gongsun Ren took his claim of the land, and was awarded the title of Duke as he formally agreed to 'join' Zhao, the land united, once again...
237 AD-Kong Suo finally finished his goals in western Ba Shu, effectively doubling the size of his lands. He was the strongest man in the Kingdom right now, the new Grand Commander Jiang Chao not even possessing such numbers and talented men. They called him Kong the Great, mimicking a name from a far away land.
237 AD-He died shortly after, his last words recorded by a near by scribe: "From Chang An to Cheng Du, no one man could stop the might of my armies, and those of my Emperor. Sad, that I did not get to see my lord one last time.. We have broken the boundaries of all, and created an Empire befit our lord, life is just, if only the people could see it..."
237 AD-New faces came into Zhao, and a new edict as well. New laws, new orders and a strange Emperor. Life became meager compared to the earlier days, as the economy no longer bustled and the armies weakened.
238 AD-Japan became quite for a year, as did the borders. A small battle occurred in western Ba Shu. The invaders were defeated by Kong Suo's son, who had taken over as Duke of Ba Shu in his father's place. The people began to express their morales more and their ideas about the Emperor though paid the price after. In one such event, thousands were put to death, their ideals far from those of Zhutao's liking.
239 AD-Japan broke it's silence, an old Samurai turned Shogun wielding two Katana's against Zhao, one named Wo, the other named Arukei. He blockaded the Japanese coast. Zhutao took up this taunt and set forth his navy, leaving his borders weakened and in some cases undefended.
239 AD-The rebel Shogun was named Sun Fei, a former Sansu general, son of Sun Jian the grand traitor of Zhao and friend of Gan Ning, killed by Sun Yuan Ci long ago. He lived and breathed hate for Zhao.
240 AD-Zhutao set across the sea himself, in a much newer version of his father's ship, the Precursor. He had hatred in his eyes, aware that his country was being destroyed by civil war, his people no longer smiling in the streets either. Japan would pay for such an act that diminished his society. Even if it was just a scape goat.
240 AD-Ten strange boats came with them, large and filled with few men upon the tops of the ships. Many catapults were set up upon the decks.
241AD-The navies met in several Harbors, victory given to the Japanese twice, yet on the third time Zhutao himself struck forward with his flag ship, the ten strange boats behind him with some 1000 assorted ships on their flanks. It was the last great rush of the Emperor, his body and soul a weapon, his father coming out in him. He decimated the enemy navy, landing upon shore as the ten boats split up into two groups, stalking the Japanese coasts.
241 AD-A land battle occurred soon, the Japanese pushing back the Zhao empire, sending them into the harbor where they attacked with siege weapons. Soon boats from all over Japan surrounded the harbor and blockaded the Zhao fleet. All hell was to break lose, surely..
241 AD-And it did, the heat of battle scorching thousands as warrior fought warrior in both hand to hand and will to will combat. Disease spread across the rear lines of the enemy soon, weakening and killing the Samurai softly. Indeed, Bio warfare had been brought forth yet again. Though outlawed by Emperor Zhutai long ago after it was used once on Han Zhong. It was here again in Japan, laying waist to the entire country.
241 AD-The Zhao fleet broke out and then destroyed the remaining fleet through sheer power, though Sun Fei put up a fight to the very last moment, his final words cursing the dark clouds above him, thinking that he would have been able to see the stray arrow if the sun was shining.. His family escaped shortly after, back to China they went.
241 AD-Japan was ruined as the Zhao fleet left, no more places hide from disease as the islands were taken by the biological warfare.
241 AD-Zhutao returned home, to find his country nearly in ruins. The people were falling from their perches of morality as barbarians ransacked the borders. He called out for the main army to seal one final battle with the enemy that was closest to them.
243 AD-From the south, the Nan Man appeared again in full force, wrecking havoc upon Jiang Chao who tried to defend the weakly protected south. His lines fell to the elephants, numbering some five thousand. He was pushed back to Nanzhong, the southern lands below him far too gone to defend now.
244 AD-Cheng Du fell soon, attack from both north and south as Zhao failed to rally its armies against this threat.
255 AD-In the north land disappeared quickly as the wretched Xiongnu and Mongolian hands grasped Shang Dang, Ji and Xiang Ping from the out numbered Lu Kai Li. It was later rumored he did surrendered the lands, yet nothing was certain anymore..
246 AD-Ba Zeng held out for two years as his comrades around him fell. He had some one thousand catapults, yet they failed him in the end as he was out flanked by three armies, and effectively pushed back into the walls of Chang An.
246 AD-Wei Yan fell from his own throne, the southern Shan Yue burning holes into his heart as they kept constant attacks upon his lands and people. They regained their homeland with numbers stronger than ever before.
247 AD-Jing was a hell hole already, and all knew it.
248 AD-Zhutao died, some said he claimed his own head, while others said a coupe failed yet also succeeded. It was rumored a very high up general killed the Emperor before being killed by guards.
248 AD-The country again mourned, less than one third of the people doing so. This was because it seemed that all was not the same. Life was truly ok in the surrounding areas which had been taken by the barbarian forces. The former Han dynasty's lands were all that was still pretty much sacred. Yet how long would that even last? The people were starting to turn the other way to death, and turn toward retribution and victory for the over all good, not just their country. People felt sad for the death barbarians that fell in that large field lonh ago, and thus they became them, blending into the culture as roles quickly disappeared and the rebellion really began to feed itself..
248 AD-Zhanglao was appointed Emperor, grandson of Zhutai, son of Zhutao.
250 AD- The land is stuck in a point of purgatory, the attacks on towns and commoners growing fewer and fewer as the military and Empire was targeted, its people even sometimes begging for help from the barbarian "Knights" that swarmed all around the culture. Yet all was holding, amazingly in the hands of a few select people, one being the Grand Teacher Ba Zeng.
252 AD-Several Warlords around the land begin to rise up, as the former dukes lose and gain power. China is now a land of revenge, the Zhao Empire once the aggressor now the defender as barbarians pour into their valleys, no true savage thing about them. They are civilized, and the last thing in this world that could one day unite China once again, and make it work this time. Only time could tell, of course.
258 AD-Zhang Zhao Lu rises up in the north, uniting a Mongolian tribe with a Qiang tribe, though his blood is of Xiongnu. He is famed to be able to gather a crowd no matter where he goes, and he is said to be of his own royal lineage, proud Xiongnu King's circulating and coursing through his veins. He wields several swords, one from Tibet, the blood of a legend upon it.. He rallies more troops in the north, preparing for something, preparing for nothing. It is odd, many tribes are ready to begin a battle, yet they lack the will..
260 AD-Zhao is crippling, and fast. It is clear to all that it is weak and lacks the will of the people anymore. It has a corrupt, young leader who has been known to use the country's own bank for his own private funds, taking his officer's money even. He spits at the north for weakening to the invasion and is annoyed with the great Jiang Chao, if he is even alive still! He could care less, a generation of men gone since the begging of this grand country, he knows he will be the last Zhao ruler, and he knows he will not be the last grand leader, like his father. He only hopes to feed his belly and pockets, living through life without a care, so long as his walls hold strong. The people are in distress, and thus the cycle must turn yet again, and the another Empire must go..

[Lyle]

Important

China is being rebuilt, by its people alone. The barbaric tribes were forced from their lands and pushed back to where their ancestors had appeared. Zhao effectively destroyed most of the thousands of tribes scattered across the north, only a couple of decades after their unification. The Kingdom was halted though as decline took its tole just as the civil wars proved to ruin the Kingdom.

Jing was filled with rebellion in 208 AD. It was a former Cheng colony, a state that had fought against Zhutai and his Empire before Japan was taken under control. Cheng had been Zhao's most deadly opponent, their lord Yuan Shu arming his people with not just weapons, but pride, courage and heart. They would forever love their lord for his compassion, and forever hate Si and Zhao; the two armies that destroyed much of Jing and Cheng through trickery and large battles. In 228 AD, Jing's rebellious nature was at its peak: Scholars had migrated to the area, Jing becoming what Athens was for Greece. New ideas were formed as the rebels from the civil war also entered the area, their battle hardened skills lashing out at the government. Martial Law was declared, and all turned to waste, open killings and brutal torture in the streets. Some soldiers and captains became corrupt in their ways and used what power they had to enhance their stay in Jing.

Thousands would flee from Jing and scatter all across the Zhao Empire. The most open spaces were the frontiers carved out by the Zhao armies. It was cheap to live there and easy to go un noticed. Further more, contact with tribes could be made, and the scholars, the warriors and people could finally fight back with the help of the Chieftains and Kings of Mongolia, Xiongnu, Qiang, Shan Yue and Nan Man.. The pot stewed for many years and eventually the races mixed, a generation of people appearing and a generation of people going. It was a harsh life, yet the tribes soon accepted the Scholars, the merchants and distinguished warriors. Their armies were bustling while Zhao was suffering, problems in Japan obscuring their eyes from the horizon.

With such, culture blended and people crossed, their lives becoming one grand soul, a soul to reunite China against its tyrannical Emperor and courts. Hate brewed in all of the tribal regions, everyone silently agreeing that something had to be done..

It was soon that something was done, the onslaught of the armies marching into weakly defended territories unbearable for the crippled Zhao. They retreated and the Tribes kept on. Each tribe had a King who was followed no matter what, yet each Chieftain had his own goals and mission in life. Kings would see other Kings move to attack, and Chieftains would see other chieftains attack. Of course, without a single doubt they would put their differences aside and follow them into battle. They hoped for something to cling onto, and their lands that their ancestors had fought for.

China was now a center of rebellion, a new age upon the horizon.

Many would choose to aid the tribes and Chinese people against the corrupted and tyrannical Zhao Emperor and the Empire that followed him. Others would simply start again like their fathers before them, taking to the land and its people, forming a new seat of power. One thing is sure, once Zhao falls, disputes will arise yet again and confusion will appear. The nations will war with all peoples who intend to not enlist in their banner. China may be united, but not after Zhao has been destroyed.


Good luck to you all.