Arriving in the South

You had dispatched your vanguard into the front. As you walk amongst the rice fields, you gaze out at the green expanse. This was a beautiful land crossed with rivers and dotted with mountains. You had not been given a sizeable ****. The bureaucracy of your father's was stretched and corrupted. Only numbering around a few tens of thousands, this **** was no more than an expeditionary venture.

To make up for lost time, you had split your **** into smaller units and set a rendezvous point at a small mountain fort. You rode with your elite retinue of shock troops as you crossed rural roads. As you gazed out at the beauty, you thought of Yuqing. Your lover had sent word a month into the journey. She was pregnant with your heir, presumably. You hoped that she would be able to navigate her position as official concubine of the crown prince. Reassuring yourself of her fierce intelligence, you were abruptly interrupted.

Smoke rose in the distance, a few miles away from you. Far too much smoke. As you gathered your troops, you signaled your second in command, Zhao, to make haste. Hooves thundered against the dirt road as your party raced towards the sight.