[b]士子曰：強之時、是攻之時。弱之時、是變者為、變者其燼鳳凰重生[/b] “A master-scholar once said: A time of strength is the time to strike. A time of weakness is a warning to change, for he who changes shall rise again, a phoenix reborn from the ashes.” [b]Tenth of Last Seed, 146th year of the [i]Myosong[/i] Era[/b] The sun was just beginning to rise as the roar of cannonfire split through the early-dawn skies, sounding in substitute for the cries of the roosters. Ahead of them were green plains stretching as far as the eye could see, bare save for the occasional tree, and well-erected clusters of tents and campfires. The shrieks of cannonballs fired en-masse reverberated in the air as they flew towards their target. The field bursted into a cloud of smoke and debris shortly thereafter. Bones broke, men were ripped asunder, torn into shreds by the sheer firepower of the barrage. The soldiers of Ye-hyun Province, those were not killed instantly by the thunderous bombardment at least, rose from their tents in a panic. They scurried about their destroyed encampment like ants, shouting and screaming of an attack as volley after volley of roaring cannon-fire descended upon the plains. [i]Kaein[/i] Mu-Go’jun surveyed the devastation with his [i]li-tomi[/i], an effective if rather crude form of spyglass. The destruction wrought by the engines of war left him in awe. Indeed, he did not expect the initial barrage to have been either so potent, or so accurate. Go’jun was a mere provincial aristocrat, his family descended from Scholar-Bureaucrats who manned the extensive and utterly byzantine civil service that formed the backbone of the Imperial Administration. His father had mastered the ancient classics of the Erudite Scholars and Solar Disciples, deriving from them the arte of good governance, filial piety and the stratagems of war. In turn, he was assigned the governorship of Jin’zen Province, to protect its peoples and enact the will of the esteemed Myosong Empress. Status brought with it opportunity for the advancement of one’s kin, and it was through the influence of his father that Go’jun was allowed to rise through the ranks of the Imperial Banner Army as quickly as he did. A [i]Kaein[/i] at the age of 24! Twenty four! It took the average officer a decade to rise to the same rank he did in four, promoted on the basis of fine tactical knowledge instead of actual experience. Of course, his first assignment as a newly appointed [i]Kaein[/i] was to lead a regiment of Imperial Forces to quell a provincial revolt in Ye-hyun. The province had long been a source of discontent against the reforms of the Myosong Empress, its scholar-bureaucrats most opposed to the ideas that built upon and expanded what they perceived as the "inherent perfection of the Imperial system". The truth was quite plain to see however, they were simply annoyed, annoyed at the chafing restrictions placed upon them in recent years to avoid nepotism, corruption and patronage. And then, through some honeyed words or miracle of luck, had convinced the province's governor and [i]Kaeins[/i] to rise in revolt for independence from the Empire. And now, he stood on the hills overlooking the plains and the panicked men below. His artillery officers stood to attention, awaiting the signal to let loose another volley. Go’jun raised his hand, ordering for the cannons to cease their fire. Below him, the rebel forces were beginning to recover from the devastating barrage, forming into haphazard line formations and slowly marching towards the hill. Their formations were not packed close enough to each other to warrant additional bombardment. Prior to the battle his scouts had already reported the size of the rebel force, around 6000 men all native to the province armed with muskets and halberds as well as a force of atleast 400 cavalrymen. They were supported by carts of [i]H'wa-myeon[/i], a cart capable of firing hundreds of explosive arrows propelled by a gunpowder charge towards the enemy. The devastation capable of being wrought by such weapons on his own forces, both physically and psychologically was something he factored in when deciding upon his plan of attack. That was why he struck at night, hoping to destroy their [i]H'wa-myeon[/i] in a surprise attack, saving himself and his men the terror of dealing with their sheer firepower. "[i]Kaein[/i]! Shall we move to meet them on the field?" The question raised by his subordinate brought his mind to the battle that was about to commence. He surveyed the advancing enemy forces one last time before turning to face the group of [i]In-chi[/i]. He observed his own force. 8000 Bannermen, 800 horsemen, eighteen cannons. It would have to do. "Begin the advance. The bannermen shall take the centre in line formation. Have the horsemen skirt their flanks and wait for openings. The cannons will fire smoke to conceal our advance in the style of [i]Bi-heng Fei'wu[/i]. These are your orders. Now go! To your posts at once!" He commanded in a harsh tone. The officers before him scurried away one after the other with another wave of his hand. The infantrymen began descending the hill as the galloping horses kicked up clouds of dust on their way down. Artillerymen reloaded their cannons with new shot as quickly as they could to support the advancing infantry. The waiting was the worst part for Go'jun. The heat of battle left no time for fear or hesitation, merely an adrenaline-driven dance of death, kill or be killed. When waiting, all he could feel was the palpitations in his chest and the sweat on his palms whilst his tail weaved to and fro behind him. Did his plan work? Will the arrows he so feared never materialize? Were his troops competent enough to win the battle? These doubts continued to gnaw at him until he could see his infantry advance through wall upon wall of smoke towards the rebel forces. In no time at all, the battle was afoot. The musketmen moved close enough to fire at point blank, sending shots flying a scant 30 meters towards the rebel lines. The traitors began to panic as the infantry closed in for melee, and the thundering of hooves could be heard from their flanks as the cavalry converged on their isolated formations. Go'jun looked through his spyglass yet again to observe the battle more closely when he heard the screams of [i]something[/i] as it arced through the air. The spyglass fell to the floor, his eyes widened as he saw what was flying towards his troops; a cloud of death, streaking black across the morning sky. He realized...they were aimed too high to impact his men engaged in a frenzied melee. He realized... [b]that they were flying towards him.[/b] [hider=Amrean Dictionary] Myosong - Eternal Prosperity Kae'in - Roughly equivalent to the rank of a Major General H'wa-myeon - Cart fitted with tubes for rocket arrows, basically a Hwacha In-chi - General term for an officer below any "General" rank Bi-heng Fei'wu - Translates to 'Leaping Tiger' [/hider]