After much thought, I have decided to revive this AAR. I've decided to change the writing style slightly while still using the original idea. There won't be any gameplay until later on and it will be ahistorical. I don't want to spoil too much so we will begin (or continue) with Han Zhao.
Chapter 17
[Pingyang, Han Zhao]
(June 2, 313)
Wu ran through the empty streets trying to get home without encountering any patrolling soldiers. As a Han, Wu feared what would happen to him if he was caught out in the streets. The Xiongnu has became the overlords following the chaos resulting from the War of Eight Princes. The Han, while making up the majority of the population, had little choice but submit to the vicious and warlike Xiongxu. Many months before, the soldiers that valiantly fought against these invaders were all massacred before the populace when the invaders broke through the gates. The ruler of the Xiongnu declared to the civilians that he wouldn't tolerate resistance or betrayal and, for those foolish enough to challenge him, would suffer the same fate as the soldiers. Since then, the Xiongnu had many soldiers patrolling the streets and, anyone that they suspected had connections with the enemy, would be executed at the spot without a trial. Those that tried to insult the soldiers often suffered a similar fate if not worse. The people have grown to fear the Xiongnu and, without a strong leader, they felt they cannot hope to challenge the invaders. Wu, like many youngsters at his age, were frustrated with their powerlessness in dealing with their enemy. The elders stated that they were fortunate to be spared a death but they argued back that the rise and fall of a nation concerned everyone.
Running through the streets, Wu used his sharpen senses to check if anyone was nearby. The new ruler of Pingyang, Liu Yuan, has proclaimed himself the King of Han. Wu didn't care what title the man chose as long as his family wasn't harmed. So far, his hopes were dashed many times with the many deaths happening everyday throughout the city. Since the Xiongnu took over the city, their soldiers patrolled the streets suspecting nearly any Han to be a spy. If anyone was foolish to catch their attention, they would be arrested and executed. Wu narrowly avoided that fate by hiding in the crowds but there was no one around now. Wu hated that he lost track of time at his friend's house and missed the bell signaling the curfew. The new ruler has set up a curfew and any civilian out at the stated hours would be executed. It seemed like the new ruler was paranoid but his decisions have made the lives of everyone harder. If someone was ill during curfew, the physician couldn't arrive in time to save lives. Just a few days ago, Wu's friend got real ill at home and, because of the curfew, he eventually succumbed to his illness. For that incident, along with many others, Wu couldn't forgive the Xiongnu and vowed to take part in expelling them from the city walls.
Wu thought back to a slightly better past when no one had to fear the idea of walking the streets. Those were happier times despite the fact that many were starving. Wu believed that having more freedom was a good price to pay, especially when his family could barely fill their bellies under the current ruler. Lives have gotten far worse and Wu couldn't do anything about it. The new ruler made things much worse by continuing his expansions against Jin. The conflict has directed much of the food to the soldiers and ordinary civilians had to compete for what little was left. Food supplies were low in all the cities under Xiongnu control and, for poor families like the one Wu was in, they could, assuming they were lucky, get one complete meal every other day. Wu was already used to poverty and he still grew up like all his friends. He never felt disgraced about his family's financial struggles and always wanted to help his family get ahead one day. Seeing his family members struggling more under the Xiongnu, Wu felt his heart broken. Wu's father was a soldier that defended the walls and Wu was unfortunate enough to see his execution. His grandparents had all starved to death as they saved their scraps of food for Wu and his siblings. Wu's mother seemed to age more and her once beautiful black hair has been turning to a light shade of grey.
Wu, preoccupied by his thoughts, tripped over a piece of wood and tumbled a short distance. Just as he was about to get up, he heard some voices nearby and decided to lay low. He crawled towards the voices to see what was happening. Making hardly any sound, Wu closed the distance and looked around the corner.
"What are you doing here? Did you not know about the curfew?" asked a soldier holding a torch.
Wu recognized the soldiers as part of the local patrol that terrorized the neighborhood. The unfortunate man to be caught out was Li who was Wu's neighbor.
"Well, I guess this one isn't willing to talk," said another soldier. "I would assume he is a spy."
Li was shaking in his boots and the soldiers laughed.
"Look at him! He's definitely a spy. We cannot risk him telling the enemy our secrets, right?" suggested someone in the patrol.
Wu wanted to look away but his eyes refused to close. He saw the soldiers all take out their swords before slashing away at the vulnerable man with his back to the wall. The man screamed from the pain but no one answered. At least, no one dared to answer. After a few minutes, the Xiongnu soldiers walked away from Li and Wu waited a few minutes before checking on his neighbor. As expected, Li was already dead and his body was hacked down. Wu was disgusted by the fact that Xiongnu soldiers killed a Han so easily and left the body behind like it was nothing. As much as he wanted to get his friend's corpse home, Wu didn't want to risk a similar fate.
"Goodbye, friend," said Wu before leaving behind the body.
Moving swiftly through the dark alleys, Wu made it to his home in good time. After checking the streets and finding no patrols, he dashed to the wall encircling his home and scaled it with ease. Wu was a mischievous child who liked to sneak out of the home at the middle of the night. To get back in, he learned how to quickly scale the wall while not making a single sound. Entering the courtyard, Wu took a deep breath and walked towards the compound his family was living in. Many compounds were cramped into the small space surrounded by the wall and each were above capacity. Each compounds were nearly touching each other and the families all shared the same washroom and kitchen. Fearful that he may awake his neighbors, Wu tiptoed to his compound when the door of the neighboring compound suddenly opened. Through the small crack, Wu saw Li's son, Tian. The creaking door also brought Li's wife, Hua, to the door.
"I'm sorry if he woke you up, Wu," Hua apologized.
"Hua, your husband was killed by the Xiongnu," Wu responded before quickly getting inside.
Wu stood against the door and heard Hua close the door. He then heard her weeping as quietly as she could. The compounds were so poorly made that sound travel easily through the walls. Hearing the weeping, Wu tightened his fist and wept himself. Li was always there for him but, when he was helpless, Wu failed to give him a hand. The combination of the weeping and the settling of the fatigue saw Wu fall asleep while leaning against the door. The streets were silent except for the occasional footsteps of the patrolling soldiers. Inside the compound, Wu felt safe and he slept without a care in the world.