December 206 Provincial Invasion of Zhefu

[Kymvir Raemiz]

Qing Bu grunted, and waved his hand at his bannerman who had started to angrily tell Baihu who Qing Bu was. "I am the tattoo'ed general of Chu, and Commander-in-Chief of the army you see before you."

Qing Bu paused for a moment, as if considering if he really was going to do this, and then he growled, almost too quietly for Baihu to hear, "The Hegemon King has betrayed me and these men who follow me. Perhaps your master and I can come to an accomodation. What would he offer me, should I order my men to carry their arms to the side of Qi?"

[King Tao]

"Your men would be welcomed into the ranks of Jiaoxi's Provincial Army under the eyes of our Viceroys and regional Supreme Commander." Baihu stated, "There would be no ill will, they would simply be helping to guard the land that was guarded by the men who died here this month. You will travel with me to Linzi, our capital in Qi, and talk to my father. We will ride ahead of the army, just you, me, my wife, and my personal guard. In Qi you shall denounce Xiang Yu and my father shall accept you into our ranks and give you a proper rank, I shall petition him for a rank befitting your experience and ability, which we can discuss on the road to Linzi. Are these terms acceptable?"

[alexoren]

Letting out a light cough the large man that Baihu had claimed was his bodyguard stood firm with his weapon sheathed and his somewhat foreign looking body armor covering his body and a small cape flowing back behind him with a bloody red color with the words 'White Demon' in Chinese imprinted on the cape with white silk. His golden and white armor glistened somewhat. This was unusually for this man to be looking so much like a proper general but it appears this day was something special.

His eyes were fixated on Qing Bu while his mouth seemed to be sewn shut. Hearing that this man that they had just fought hard against was requesting to join us was an intriguing turn of events. Maybe Jupiter was indeed watching over this large towering foreigner and his cousin.

[Kymvir Raemiz]

Qing Bu's eyes were cold, but he was clearly thinking hard, considering his position. His breath steamed in the cold, December air. The silence stretched for a moment, and he then shook his head. "I retain command of my army, or we sow the fields of Jiaoxi with the blood of both our soldiers. I will also expect suitable marriage arrangements be made for me, as I expect my women in Chu will not long outlast whatever happens here in Jiaoxi. I will also not be ever asked to work with that toadstool-licking horse's ass, Tian Rong. I had enough of he and his ilk when he refused to aid us in Zhao in putting down the Qin."

"Do you accept my demands?" Qing Bu growled.

He paused for a moment, and then continued, "And I expect 1000 taels of gold to be delivered to me upon my arrival in Qi. To set up my household, you see?"

[King Tao]

Baihu chuckled at the mention of Tian Rong in an insulting manner, nice to see a man who agreed with him concerning the man. "I am in place to accept a fair share of those demands, but certain ones are out of my reach of influence. As for not working with Tian Rong, I will grant you that and you won't need to answer to the man, I'll have you placed out of his influence and into the group of officers I deal with. We can work out marriages with you and some daughters of noble families in Qi, but the details of that are for discussion with my father as he knows the nobles of the province better than I. The gold for your household is a matter to discuss with my father as my keys to the kingdom coffers have long since been removed. Retention of your army is also to be discussed with my father, as it is up to him as to whether you are to be in Qi or Jiaoxi in the coming months, yet your troops shall be most definitely stationed in Jiaoxi to protect the land from Chu. Agreeable?"

[Mikal]

OOC Question: I assume Qing Bu was being supported by Ma Su in the KT as an Independent force correct? So his saying he was abandoned by Xiang Yu is pointing to the fact that Ma Su is no longer such a force, so Qing Bu is now a standard Independent Force, and as such may no longer retreat to another province, and is thus stuck until the Civil Phase, correct?

[Jin Shi]

Never supported him. He didn't answer my letters or rps.

[Kymvir Raemiz]

Baihu chuckled at the mention of Tian Rong in an insulting manner, nice to see a man who agreed with him concerning the man. "I am in place to accept a fair share of those demands, but certain ones are out of my reach of influence. As for not working with Tian Rong, I will grant you that and you won't need to answer to the man, I'll have you placed out of his influence and into the group of officers I deal with. We can work out marriages with you and some daughters of noble families in Qi, but the details of that are for discussion with my father as he knows the nobles of the province better than I. The gold for your household is a matter to discuss with my father as my keys to the kingdom coffers have long since been removed. Retention of your army is also to be discussed with my father, as it is up to him as to whether you are to be in Qi or Jiaoxi in the coming months, yet your troops shall be most definitely stationed in Jiaoxi to protect the land from Chu. Agreeable?"

Qing Bu straightened in his saddle. "It appears that you do not understand my demands - or perhaps you are so tightly under the thumb of your master that you can not make guarantees of your own. This army is mine, and I command it. Do you not command a massive army of your own on this field? It sounds like you do not feel this army is yours to command - that it is at the beck and call of your father in Qi. A man in the field determines his own fate, as I am doing now."

Qing Bu made a sharp gesture to his men, and wheeled his hrose. "I cannot work for a man who would seperate me from my forces. This army is mine, and I will not buckle under without a fight. We will end this on the field of battle, and we shall see if I cannot break your daddy's army."

((Tactics on the way!))

[King Tao]

"I'll see you in the prisoner lineup then..." Baihu muttered as he motioned his horse to turn. "Alexandrus, cousin, if you find him in the field and take him alive, I'll see to it that you are well rewarded..." He said to his massive cousin before galloping back to the lines. When he reached the main camp, he entered the command tent he was in earlier and addressed the commanders, "Commander Zu Shi, Marshal Shao Xie, prepare the troops. They seem intent on fighting us. My father wants the opposing commanders alive, take them prisoner and bring them back to the camp so I may bring them back to Linzi or reunite them with their army in death."

[alexoren]

Grumbling at the incompetence of this high and mighty fool Alexandrus turned his gaze over to his cousin and nodded in response to his statement. "I'll bring him down myself if I have to. He won't be able to defeat me this day or any day." he stated with a large grin as he mounted his horse and made his way back to camp.

He entered the command tent along with his cousin and nodded towards the other generals. "He believes himself better than us. Let us drive him below the dirt!" he roared as he slammed his fist against his chest.