Xiang Kai's Audience Hall - Dingtao

jinx · Post by **jinx** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 8:53 am

Late in the month of December, after the battle in Jiujiang over Heaven's Orchard's holdings, a simply dressed young man arrived in Dingtao in the province of Liang. Though simply dressed, the man was fine of appearance and exudes a small scholarly aura. Despite having some fame in Jiujiang, the man was a total unknown in Liang but he could only hope it would not work against him.

Leading his horse by the reins, he approached the guards in front of the audience hall. "Magistrate Sun Ming of Kaiwang town in Jiujiang humbly requests an audience with any officials of the administration please."

Naxr · Post by **Naxr** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 9:19 am

BobPalindrome

"Yes," Kai nodded to his new friend. "One of our guards here will lead you to your new quarters. I look forward to working with you, as we have much to do."

A guard from beside Xiang Kai stepped forward to lead the man to his quarters.

jinx

A Magistrate, eh? the guard captain thought to himself. He stepped forward to welcome him, "Marquis Xiang Kai is taking audience currently. Follow me if you would like to meet with him."

Assuming he follows, he is led into the hall, through the large entrance doors. Soon the two will find themselves at the far end of a large room. At the other end sat a man on a throne atop a dais, with many guards flanking either side of him. The guard captain led the visitor to a spot about twenty feet away from the man on the throne before stopping to announce, "Marquis Xiang Kai," he said with a bow, "Magistrate Sun Ming of Jiujiang wishes to speak with you."

A serious expression came across Kai's face. "You come from Jiujiang? What brings you here to Liang?"

jinx · Post by **jinx** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 11:34 am

Seeing the man on the throne, Sun Ming bowed politely. While he was well-schooled and better travelled than anyone from his village, it was still his first time meeting a marquis in person. He wondered nervously if this marquis would be the same as Marquis Yi since he had invaded Shou Chun without prior warnings just as Yi Lian had wordlessly waged wars across Jiujiang. Still, this was a visit which was essential for the safety of his people.

Taking a deep breath to compose himself, Sun Ming replied as eloquently as he could. "Thank you for receiving me, Marquis Xiang. On behalf of my friends and fellow villagers in Jiujiang, I have travelled here to enquire about the Marquis's intention for Jiujiang for we have heard that an army of Liang has marched upon Jiujiang. In the past, we have never concerned ourselves with matters of the cities for the cities have always been able to defend themselves against the bandits and outlaws of the region. It was the towns and villages that needed our help in fending off raids. But we found that power struggles among the cities also left an impact on the countryside just like how Marquis Yi Lian launched an invasion across half of Jiujiang without so much a warning."

Taking a brief look at the marquis, Sun Ming sighed and continued. "To be honest, I am worried, terrified even, to be here but my friends and I would really like to know if we can continue to maintain our neutrality in the countryside and focus on fighting off the bandits."

Naxr · Post by **Naxr** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 12:16 pm

His serious expression was soon replaced by one of perplexity. "What? To my knowledge, no Liang men are in Jiujiang. And I do like to think I'm kept up to date as to where my armies go," he laughed. "I'm afraid that someone may have given you false information."

jinx · Post by **jinx** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 12:36 pm

((OOC: Oh shit. Wow. Major stupidness on my part.

There are too many Xiangs!))

Sun Ming squirmed. Fairly visibly. Uncomfortably. He was not sure if he had made a mistake or if the marquis was messing around with him. Regardless, he was not about to question a marquis. After a short moment of awkwardness, he found his words.

"Indeed, I'm sure the marquis does. I must have made a bad mistake then. I beg your pardon for wasting your precious time. If the marquis would excuse me, I would need to return home to reread my intelligence reports."

If permitted, Sun Ming would scamper home.

Charlemagne · Post by **Charlemagne** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 12:42 pm

Shadow wrote:"Ah, yes." Shang said as he recalled what he was told about the audience the previous month. Dong Ke didn't look like a fool and seemed to show it almost outright. "Well, I've called you here to try to avert possibility of war with Lord Liu. As I stated in my letter, Xiang Kai was a bit over the boundaries of his own power when he chose to cut off talks with Lord Liu. We are civilized men and would rather not resort to war at every given opportunity," he said as tried to rationalize with the man.

"Truth be told, this Yi Lian is more on my mind. We encountered a force sent by the wench upon our entry into Jiaoxi. It seemed small, but still a matter that remained in my thoughts. There is no telling if she will renew her plans for Jiaoxi, and I'd rather we have the support of the other major power in the province on our side than as an enemy."

"I want to know what Lord Liu intends to do or is planning at the moment. Also, I wish to know what is his relationship with those who border Jiaoxi, such as the King of Qi, those false bastards of Jiaodong, and the wench herself. I do hope I'm not asking a lot of you, Lord Dong."

The lieutenant smiled. "You are asking all that would be expected, had I even expected this conversation to take place. I have no issues with your line of questioning." The man paused to think and compose himself. "As for Lord Liu's plans, it is his intent to watch over his flocks in Jiaoxi. He has something of a personal stake in their welfare, and as such, he will be very diligent in making sure that they are treated properly. If it is Lord Xiang's intention to live peaceably as his neighbor, then that is all well and good. If it is his intention to bring war to Jiaoxi, in any manner more than he already has, I believe General Liu will resist him. But the same is to be said for Yi Lian. Her armies are not welcome in Jiaoxi, either, unless by invitation."

Dong Ke smiled and relaxed a little bit. "My lord has no concern for neighboring provinces, or towards expansion. He is a man of the people. And his people are in Jiaoxi."

jritch · Post by **jritch** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 2:35 am

The still battle weary Soto Fukudome walked into the city of Dingtao, the fatigue and strain showed on his face and still blood stained armor. He walked through the city and took everything in and eventually made his way to the audience hall of Xiang Kai were he met the guards. He then acknowledged them in a hoarse voice.

Soto: I am Soto Fukudome I am here to meet with your leader Xiang Kai.

Naxr · Post by **Naxr** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 6:54 am

By this point the guards had become quite familiar with many different men and women coming to visit the Marquis. A guard nonchalantly stepped forward to greet him, "Welcome to Dingtao. Please follow me."

Assuming he follows, he is led into the audience hall. After some walking they find themselves in a large room, with people flowing every which way across the room. The guard leads the visitor up to a spot which is about twenty feet away from a man sitting atop a throne on a dais, with many guards on either side of him. The guard announced, bowing, though with some trouble pronouncing the visitor's name, "Marquis Xiang Kai, Soto Fukudome has come to see you."

The man on the throne, Xiang Kai, nodded to him, before addressing Soto, "I am glad you have come. What did you think of my letter?"

Shadow · Post by **Shadow** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 1:33 pm

Charlemagne wrote:...

The man standing by window snorted and spit outside, perhaps, in an act of defiance or he just had something in his throat. However, he did nothing to show any other indications. "I see," Shang said with a brow raised. He looked unconvinced of Liu Bang's reasoning and Dong Ke's method of saying it; nonetheless, he needed to ensure that war war avoided. "We've taken the corrupt Magistrate of Pei out power. The man squirmed like a woman conceiving, but he saw his situation perfectly after about a day in captivity." The young man said.

"I was wondering what Lord Liu's business with the bandits of Jiaoxi is? We've had some reports telling us there are a few bandit holding here such as in Lingbu. Can you confirm this? They seem to be responsible for some raids with the province if I'm not mistaken."

jritch · Post by **jritch** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 1:58 pm

Soto looked at Xiang Kai and anwsered.

Soto: Your letter was intriguing enough for this battle wounded warrior to travel many miles to see what a powerful ruler like yourself had to offer.