Chapter V: The Defense of Chang Sha Pt. 2

After the first wave against Chang Sha was a victory, Liang Xiu set out to undermine Sun Ce's power by going after his officers. Soon Cheng Bing was able to acquire Hua Xin, a capable strategist that soon took over Yong Chou and Zhao Yun's positions as lead strategists, and Lu Xian from Sun Ce. Then Liang Xiu acquired the services of strategist Ma Liang.

Lu Kuang and Lu Fan arrived too late as reinforcements for Zhou Tai only to find Liang Xiu and Cheng Yi completely fresh and ready for retaliation. The battle didn't last long and Liang Xiu and Cheng Ying worked together phenomenally. Lu Kuang and Lu Fan were sent from two separate cities. And while their goals were the same, they had never fought together in battle up until this point and didn't know each other. Their lack of experience together was their downfall. Liang Xiu and Cheng Ying wiped them out and captured Lu Fan.


Sun Ce grew impatient and sent once again Zhou Tai and Zhuge Jin from Chai Sang to Chang Sha in hopes that he would take it back. Liang Xiu was slightly worried, but he knew he could always regroup behind the walls. Liang Xiu, Jin Xuan, and Cheng Ying marched out with a collective of 20,000 troops to meet Zhou Tai and Zhuge Jin. While the battle swung in Liagn Xiu's favor, Hua Xin witnessed a dimming star in the sky... It was Liang Meng's star. Liang Meng could feel it in his bones, even though he was only thirty eight he knew he would die soon. But he was confident in his son's ability to rule his lands when he was gone. He only hoped Yong Chou and Zhao Yun would stand by his side.

The relentless assault Sun Ce had started had still not let up. After the initial defense it became a constant struggle against gaining ground. Docks Lu Xian and Wu Ling were constantly being fought over. No one side gained the upperhand. Liang Meng grew restless, he hoped to put a chink in the Sun's reputation, but it seemed he was unable too. Zhao Yun was unable to hold Lu Xian and fell back to Chang Sha. Then, in a bold move, Liang Meng ordered his men to fall back to Gui Yang and abandon Chang Sha.

Zhao Yun cried out, "NO! We must hold the city! We have to win! We cannot let Sun Ce win!" Liang Meng smiled sadly at his sworn brother. It wasn't time for fighting. Liang Meng waited quietly for the objections to quiet down. Once they were done he nodded, "It's time that we go to Gui Yang. I do not like it as much as you, but we must." Zhao Yun swallowed his pride and nodded. Liang Meng's army abandoned Chang Sha. Despite the victories, Sun Ce still came out on top. Liang Meng knew that he couldn't win alone. He couldn't beat Sun Ce without an ally. And Liu Zhang was the perfect candidate.