Conquer My Heart

Chapter 1 - I Promise

Hangeng’s blood felt frozen and his feet had been rendered hopelessly numb as he marched through the bitter December snow

Each step, each footprint  molded into the snow was exhausting,
And it was all Hangeng could do not to collapse into the frosted ivory

There was one thing that kept him going in the present situation:
The promise of a double ration of rice when they reached the border and successfully set up camp

The Icy wind sliced his ears like a sharpened blade, along with the exposed part of his neck,
Not covered by his raven black black hair now tied up in a topknot,
Nor by the thick fabric of his winter battle uniform

The light armor offered a slight sense of comfort and security for Hangeng,
Though he could not deny how difficult he found it to breathe
The bonded leather scales pressed against his back and chest, slightly suffocating him
The altitude, weather, and endless marching seemed to worsen the effect to an even greater extent

His ears received little else over the the sounds of piercing wind.
Occasional orders from mounted authorities,
The soft shifting wooden sound of Hangeng’s arrows in the quiver attached to his back,
The labored grunts of men,
The snorts of horses,
The endless trudge of a hundred thousand boots into the pure white powder,
A stark contrast against the solid darkness of sky

Hangeng gazed up at the black expanse,
His eyes reflecting the million specks of stars studded into the ebony ocean
If Hangeng’s lips were not so chapped and frozen, he would have smiled


Hangeng’s gentle gaze was instantly drawn to the brightest star of all
The speck of glitter shined brightly with a graceful radiance, piercing through the midnight chill

This very star spoke of a promise
One Hangeng had reminded himself of every single night for the one hundredth,
Thousandth,
Millionth time

He would come back home
He would return to his precious mother and father once again
He would finally be finished with this wretched conquest
Unfortunately, it had just begun

Hangeng had no wish to participate whatsoever
It hadn’t been his choice, after all
Nevertheless, the Imperial Qing Army of Manchuria demanded expansion,
Thus requiring the service of every able male body

Hangeng was reluctant to say the least, but he had no choice in the matter
And he was anything but a coward

He was graceful, enduring, patient, swift

He was an avid archer,
Finding love for the bow at at early age
Hangeng had a steady hand and a sharp eye,
The plethora of arrows stuck deep into the oak trees near his home had been sufficient proof of that

Hangeng was also skilled with a knife,
His uncle was a butcher and thus was highly knowledgeable on vital areas,
Cutting, slicing, and stabbing styles,
And the quality of the blade

Hangeng had mastered his uncle’s techniques quickly,
The two of them training secretly after hours in the back of his uncle’s shop
However, Hangeng never was and never would have a thirst for blood or glory
He clung to the deep roots of family tradition, which held fast to sacred virtue of peace
The weapons training was really more of self-defense than anything else,
Since bandits tended to be prevalent around Hangeng’s village

He had promised his parents not to kill unless absolutely necessary,
Though the more he marched, the longer he heard the rumors, the briefings,
He honestly didn’t know if that was possible

He remembered pulling his weeping mother into a gentle hug for the last time
Hangeng had told her to look up at the North Star each night,
To be reminded of him,
The promise that he would return

Hangeng had left it all behind that day,
Leaving the words “I’ll miss you” to linger in the balmy Autumn breeze
He gave bowed low and silently,
Followed by shaky steps forward, towards the small group of mounted men in federal uniforms in the distance

That one last glance would be forever etched into his memory
His father’s embracing his mother, her tiny frame shaking in his arms, her tear-streaked face buried in his chest
That man’s gentle eyes never left his son
Hangeng would never forget his smile as he spoke,
His voice but a rich, deep whisper
“Go. We shall await your return.”

Hangeng surely would return
He repeated this to himself as he took in the last images of his home,
The surrounding forest which somehow seemed so much greener as he distanced himself further and further away

He would return
Therefore, he would do his best
Only then would he be worthy
He would give it his absolute all
For his family, for the Emperor, but most most importantly, for himself

Hangeng’s heart begun to throb harshly as the troop continued on, snapping him out of his state
Unfortunately, Hangeng’s attention was still fixed on the the stars above instead of the path before him as his numb legs now began to march involuntarily
A man in front of him had slowed, the brutal cold and his heavy armor beginning to take its toll
Hangeng ran straight into the man, wincing as his frozen face smashed into the man’s muscular back covered by cold, unbreakable iron
If he had not known better, Hangeng would have guessed he had walked directly into a stone wall

“Hey! Watch it, kid...” the man snapped gruffly, turning his head just enough to reveal a nasty scar along his jawline
The sharp bite in his eyes is enough to kill, and somehow Hangeng fells the chill on a whole new level

“A million apologies, sir.”
The young man bowed low, managing to keep moving forward, briskly passing the perturbed man,
Losing himself in the restless current current of panting, shivering bodies
Hangeng supernaturally managed to somehow trudge even faster when he heard Scarface yell behind him, obviously searching for him

“I'm not finished with you! Come back here!” He barely the voice over his own breath,
Becoming shallower every minute
He didn't know how long they had been marching, and he had no clue when they would cease
But worried him in the most was his unease of how much longer he could endure

A millisecond later, he heard a powerful voice thunder into the icy air
“Silence! You there, come out and step forward!”
Hangeng stole a lightning quick glance behind him to see what was transpiring
It was much too dark to see yards away,
He could barely see his own steamy breath

Nevertheless, Hangeng instantly recognized the voice
It was Zheng Fei, one of the battalion's three generals
He had pulled the man aside from the rest of the troop,
Many of whom subtly stopped or slowed, turning their heads to make out the scene'

“Who told you to stop marching?
If anyone stops or slows down so as much as a pace, I will personally use you for target practice!”
The dim torch light gripped in the General's clenched fist shone on his face,
Illuminating his features that flashed the seriousness of his threat
The pace instantly quickened and everyone's head immediately snapped forward
Except Hangeng's
He could hardly make out the situation,
But realized the general had towered over the man from his solid black stallion that blended with the night

“Now, what's all this about?” Ji Xiao asked sternly, holding the torch between him and the man

“Someone... someone ran into me!”

The word exchange was becoming more distant and difficult to hear
Now Hangeng internally filled in the blanks of what was said next, only a few scattered words were clear
“Are you ill? You were in direct violation of the command to remain absolutely silent, because of something so petty?
Are you a man or a dog? Get back in line and start fun moving. NOW!”

The stream of soldiers shuttered as one at the thundering voice
Hangeng couldn't help but feel guilty
It was his fault,
But what was done was done
He had to somehow find the strength to continue on

He heard the metallic sound of General Ji's reigns and the quick canter of hooves fast approaching
The torch passed like a flash of lightning,
And Hangeng thought he just might have seen the General biting his lips against the cold,
So he wasn't the only one\

Ji Xiao was astonishingly young for a general, only surpassing Hangeng's sixteen years by six more
Nevertheless, he demanded a considerable amount of respect.
He seemed to breathe the morals of discipline and honor
However, despite his severe demeanor,Hangeng knew that the man could show occasional hints of remaining youth and even kindness

He had been the one that had knocked on the door of his house those three months before
The one who had promised to look after him
If General Ji had not been there, Hangeng would have never made the brutal training
Sure, he was brave and strong, but the camp had been suicide

It had been such fortunate that Ji Xiao had taken a liking to him,
Sneaking him an extra piece of bread, a half ration of rice, a bar of soap
The young General had mentored him throughout those harsh months,
Training Hangeng to be disciplined, polite, bold, strong- the perfect warrior

The young soldier could not deny that he was eager to fight under such a man
He was didn't know much about their objective,
Except in order to further the sovereignty of the great Qing dynasty,
The conquest of the small neighboring country known as “Korea” was imperative

Hangeng shuttered as he remembered the rumors amongst the men
“Those Koreans are ruthless,
They'll kill anyone and anything in sight if they don't like the look of it.
They probably even feed on Chinese flesh!”

The sixteen-year-old wondered how people could be so cruel
He had no idea what to expect, and just like the other men,
No experience on the battlefield whatsoever

Hangeng was afraid, yet anticipating,
His mind in subtle conflict
He honestly had no idea how he felt,
The cold had seemed to freeze his rationality
Or maybe it was the hunger

He continued pushing on, focusing blankly on the empty, endless horizon
His left boot suddenly came into contact with something hard and heavy, almost tripping him
He instantly caught himself, glancing down at what his foot had just hit

Shock flooded his body when he had realized what it was

A man who had been in front of Hangeng had fallen, now a frozen corpse
The moonlight revealed a young man, not much older than himself,
His face twisted in determined and painful torment
Hangeng felt his knees grow weak
And his head beginning to spin

Desperately, the Chinese warrior tried to pull himself together and regain the oxygen that had evaporated from his lungs
Not now, he willed himself
You promised, you promised...

Somehow, by an unknown force, Hangeng obtained just enough strength to press on,
Panting and grunting violently, dragging wearily through the snow along with thousands of other men, just like him

He looked up once again, his eyes fondly fixating upon the North Star
Hangeng realized that his entire present exsistance relied solely on promises
He just hoped with all his heart that none of them would be broken

Despite the ocean of faces all around him,
Hangeng felt so alone
He missed his home, his parents, his village companions

Here, he had no name
He had no value
He was merely trying to survive each moment

Hangeng could hardly believe his ears when he heard a distant yell and scattered whispers of soldiers surrounding him
“We're here!”

The last thing remembered as he collapsed into the icy darkness was a silent message to his mother
Goodbye, I miss you
It has just begun, but do not worry,
For I will return...
I promise