Li Peng's Audience Hall - Yangdi

[ann]

The first thing one might see upon approaching the administrative center of Yueyang is a foreboding wooden palisade, with a few guards patrolling it ever so often. The sheer amount of armored soldiers milling about the town and the complex, indeed, impresses itself upon a would-be visitor. The complex itself is a lot more welcoming than the inner security wall, with fine wood-and-stone construction, but there seems to be a lingering air of tension... In its spartan design, in the checkpoints and vantage windows, and the set of halls and doors that seem to form a defensible corridor... all leading up to an audience chamber that is well-appointed in only a minimalist sense of the word.

[Lurking Tyranny]

On a fearsome steed the hue of night, which neighed loudly and often, came the well armored figure of Bèigùde Shòu. Normally he was not one to go alone, but his army was not far away and his lack of return would bring potential disaster upon the superstitious villages loyal to this man Li Peng.

Pulling back on the reins of his steed when he came before the wooden pallisade, he called down to one of the soldiers. Shòu was a large man with a battle worn face and fiercely knit brow. He appeared heavily armed and armored, most of his gear actually appeared newly smithed.

"You there! Tell your master that Móushā zhě is here to strike a bargain with him." He said in a stern voice, the long single braid of his beard lashing back and forth as his horse moved under him.

He remained astride his warhorse, casually picked a bit of dried up snot from his left nostril as he waited for the soldier to comply with his demand. The magnificent beast he rode continued to neigh and bray loudly as it constantly moved about in agitation.

[Taishi Ci]

One of the guards went to fetch the new Prefect while the others eyed the man warily, having heard of his raid on Hongmen last month. Soon Li Peng himself appeared at the pallisade, accompanied by the impressively-built Chen Deng, apparently now working full-time as Li's bodyguard. Li Peng called down to the warrior.

"Master Mousha zhe, welcome to Yueyang. Although I learned of your group from my scouting parties, this is the first time we have met in person. Back then, you were a famished band and I a simple village headman; now I own a city and your group has grown wealthy from the stocks of Hongmen. How times change! What bargain would you strike with a man such as myself?"

[Lurking Tyranny]

Scouts? Why hadn't he been told about any scouts. His brown furrowed and he wiped his tongue across the front of his upper teeth. Someone back in camp would have to answer for the negligence of failing to inform him, but for now he tried to focus on the task at hand.

Leaning back in his saddle he looked up at Li Peng. Bèigùde Shòu's eyes were insolent and scrutinized the new ruler of Yuelang intently. "Then you have heard of my mercenaries. You know what we are capable of." He said gruffly. His horse fidgeted beneath him, moving him about in small circles below. Kicking his heels into the steed's flanks caused it to neigh loudly, but it finally seemed to remain still.

"I am told you have lands. They are spread out throughout Sai." He pulled on the long goat like strand his braided beard had been fashioned into as he spoke. "It will be difficult to protect them all and this city alone."

He let his words sink in as he stared up at the man on the pallisade. He was an arrant killer and while he had once considered himself a man of principles, he had crossed that line between honest mercenary and brutal highwayman and now he was merely Móushā zhě.

"My bargain is this: You pay my men and I one hundred coins a month and we will protect your lands from attacks." He gave a wicked smile that only made him seem all the more disreputable. "Who knows, if that relationship works out it could be my men and I will do further jobs for you."

He scratched at the back of his neck as he watched the soldiers and Li Peng's man. He didn't want a fight, but if they threatened to give one, he was prepared to deliver. "What say you?"

[Taishi Ci]

"You wish to defend my holdings for me, eh?" said Li Peng. "I'll admit you have a point about the difficulty of having eyes in every place I currently control. It's important for my men to remain here and secure the city." Peng stroked his chin in thought.

After a few seconds he seemed to have made up his mind. "Very well, Mousha zhe, I will accept your arrangement: one hundred coins a month in exchange for your men defending what I possess. But I have two conditions for you. First, if this city alone comes under attack, I request your aid here as well. And second, you must not harm any of the populace in areas I control. I will not fault you for your attack on Hongmen, but if you repeat such acts on my territory, you can consider our bargain null."

Peng directed a messenger to approach Mousha zhe with a small bag of coins, and a small scroll with the terms quickly scraweled out on them. "If you agree, make your mark there and this advance payment will be yours."

If Mousha zhe inspects the bag he will find 50 gold worth of coins.

[Lionheart]

((OOC: Bleh, we need to post in the AH now? ))

Ba Zhan raised his arms above his head, stretched and yawned. He didn't even bother to bow to the gate guards. Quite the contrary, in fact, he scratched his backside and even looked to be completely disinterested in these men. "Take me to Li Peng," he said. "I've done my patrol of the city. I wanna talk to him about what happens now."

[Ren Zhe]

The slightly obese and awkward young man living in Lousang for the last month strolled up to the gates of Yueyang one day.

"Hey there, I'm Liu Changyu. I usually hang out with Mi Zhe and Chen Deng, but they told me they're now working here. My mother's been bitching to me about getting a job that doesn't involve bagging groceries, and I'm wondering if they could use a little help around here."

[SwissStopwatch]

Approaching Yueyang on foot, Wan Zhai paused for a bit to catch his breath, and collect his appearance at best he could. After a few seconds, he seemed to decide that it was rather a futile effort; his physique wasn't at all impressive, his face more or less average (if well-groomed) and his robes, recognizable as that of a style favored by scholars a few years ago, weren't particularly fancy, or new.

Deciding that appearances weren't really his strongest suit anyway, he approached the gate entrance and got the attention of a guard on duty. "You. I'd like to speak with the new governor. Tell him I'm Wan Zhai; he might be interested in seeing me."

[Taishi Ci]

Lion

One of the burly guards gave Ba Zhan a quick onceover before nodding. "Alright, follow me." The pair ventured inside the halls to a room where Li Peng was standing around with a few of his new city officials, probably going over civil affairs. Chen Deng stood off to one side, bored at the discussion.

At Ba Zhan's arrival, Peng turned to greet him. "Ah, you're back. Well? Impressed with Yueyang? It has a lot of nice locations, I think... Anyway, what questions did you have for me at the moment?"

RenZhe

Mi Zhe happened to be passing by the entrance around that time, and he noticed the arrival of his recently-met friend. He rushed over to the gate, smiling. "Ah, Liu Changyu! I was looking for you. How was the trip from Lousang? You know I was just at Chang'an earlier this month with those Forest Hands people or whoever, and now, Yueyang! C'mon, I'll go introduce you to Li Peng himself." Mi Zhe then leads his friend into the room where Li Peng is writing out some figures on a scroll. He looks up at their entering.

"Oh, Mi Zhe. Who is your friend here?"

SwissStopwatch

The guard knew he had heard of this Wan Zhai before, but for the life of him couldn't figure out from where... but no matter. The Prefect was summoned and soon arrived with a couple of ministers with him.

"You are Wan Zhai? I've heard of your famous activities. Please, come in and we'll discuss a contract for your... whatever it is you do."

[Lionheart]

One of the burly guards gave Ba Zhan a quick onceover before nodding. "Alright, follow me." The pair ventured inside the halls to a room where Li Peng was standing around with a few of his new city officials, probably going over civil affairs. Chen Deng stood off to one side, bored at the discussion.

At Ba Zhan's arrival, Peng turned to greet him. "Ah, you're back. Well? Impressed with Yueyang? It has a lot of nice locations, I think... Anyway, what questions did you have for me at the moment?"

Ba Zhan wiped some perspiration from his brow that had been gathering on his head due to the summer heat. Once more he didn't care much for formalities, going so far as to even wipe the sweat out from under his nose--to anyone catching that, they would have probably made him out to be nothing more than a child wiping some snot from his nose. He walked toward Li Peng a bit, but he was smart enough to know when to stop walking, when to keep a healthy distance. After all, he wasn't stupid.

"My question's simple," Ba Zhan said with a slight smirk. "Right now, I've been hired by you for...well, I really don't know--I ain't been doing much more than waiting to get paid. But now that you've got this nice little city 'ere, I was wondering...you want me on in a more full capacity? Like...oh, whatddya call 'em...like a 'vassal'? I think that's the name, yeah.

"So how 'bout it? As long as th' money's good, and the chance at fame and fortune is there, I'll be more than happy."