Li Zhu's Audience Hall - Zhaoge

[Xiang Zhuang]

Lin Xin

"Nations?" the King replied, bemused. But that was not the end of the curious language. "Well, I assure you, I am no nation," he replied. "I'm not sure what you are getting at, however. I am the King of Yin, with control of Zhao as well. I'm not sure what negotiations here would do to aid peace in either of our lands. I mean, I don't think we are exactly at war at the moment." He chuckled softly. "Not that I want to be. You mention nation and Jiujiang, two words that would seem to imply the King of Chu more than myself. Do you desire for me to speak to the King of Chu and persuade him not to continue the attack upon the province? But you yourself do not possess land in the province, that I can tell, unless one of those supposed bandit lords I hear about is one of your vassals.

"I feel like you are asking something of me without saying it, and addressing a situation without explaining it. But perhaps you were using coated language to precursor these things. Please, go ahead and explain these matters in more detail."

<hr>
Phailak

Lin Huan is lead from the edge of the city ((where I believe you RP'd yourself)) into Zhaoge until they reached the audience complex. When there, a messenger was sent ahead to inform the King of their arrival. After about a minute's wait, they resumed their trek, entering the audience complex and by-passing a number of aides and guards who were in the main hall. They reached the center of the building, and entered the large audience chambers.

There, behind a large, full-fronted desk at the rear of the room, sat Xia Xi and his daughter. The desk lay upon a dais a couple of feet off of the ground, with stairs to either side. A guard stood by each stairway, and one was stationed on either side of the main entrance. A scribe sat in the corner of the room, preparing to write down whatever was said. An attendant came in, and with a slight nod to Lin Huan, said, "King Xia, announcing Lin Huan, emissary of the Marquis Fei of Yan." He gave the king and his daughter both a deep bow, then moved to the side.

The King gave the envoy a nod and said, "Welcome to Zhaoge, servant of the Marquis of Yan. It has been too long since our administrations have spoke; something I regret, considering the topic of our last discussion. I hope your journey here was pleasant."

[Phailak]

Huan bows low to his majesty and the princess.

"Your Majesty I am honored my Lord chose me to travel to visit you. The trip was indeed pleasant, we were able to enjoy the fresh weather if not the warmth. The Marquis shares your regret about communication and sends his congradulations for your incredible succes on your campaign in Zhao, if the initial reports are to be believed, you have achieved a great victory with minimal loss."

[Xiang Zhuang]

Huan bows low to his majesty and the princess.

"Your Majesty I am honored my Lord chose me to travel to visit you. The trip was indeed pleasant, we were able to enjoy the fresh weather if not the warmth. The Marquis shares your regret about communication and sends his congradulations for your incredible succes on your campaign in Zhao, if the initial reports are to be believed, you have achieved a great victory with minimal loss."

"That is correct," Xi replied. "I must admit that I was even a bit surprised at how total our victory was. But none of it would have been possible without the direction and the assistance of the King of Chu. It would be foolish of me to claim that I single-handedly overtook a king, and a king in a land as large as Zhao is. Yet, now the province is firmly and safely under my control."

[Phailak]

"The Marquis is most impressed, usually such campaigns will hold nasty surprises and such that cost soldiers their lives. Of course I mean no disrespect towards those that gave their lives for your cause, I speak only from a logistics standpoint, he felt it was important that I convey that during this visit, since he is a student of warfare and strategy."

The envoy paused for the slightest of moments.

"When Magistrate Baixa last visited in hopes to forge a relationship with your kingdom, Lord Fei had yet to establish himself in the North and we were at best distant neighbours. As both of your influences grow, the Marquis wishes to ensure his majesty that he has the utmost respect for you and acknowledges your supremacy over your domain. My main purpose here is perhaps to establish, if possible, some more permanent communication between us so as to avoid any conflict in the future."

Huan hoped he wasn't stretching this too much, he tried to let appear in his words that he was getting to a point but did not want to spring his Lord's thoughts on the King either. He also gave the King an opportunity to add or expand on any of the subjects he had touched before he continued.

[Xiang Zhuang]

"The Marquis is most impressed, usually such campaigns will hold nasty surprises and such that cost soldiers their lives. Of course I mean no disrespect towards those that gave their lives for your cause, I speak only from a logistics standpoint, he felt it was important that I convey that during this visit, since he is a student of warfare and strategy."

The envoy paused for the slightest of moments.

"When Magistrate Baixa last visited in hopes to forge a relationship with your kingdom, Lord Fei had yet to establish himself in the North and we were at best distant neighbours. As both of your influences grow, the Marquis wishes to ensure his majesty that he has the utmost respect for you and acknowledges your supremacy over your domain. My main purpose here is perhaps to establish, if possible, some more permanent communication between us so as to avoid any conflict in the future."

Huan hoped he wasn't stretching this too much, he tried to let appear in his words that he was getting to a point but did not want to spring his Lord's thoughts on the King either. He also gave the King an opportunity to add or expand on any of the subjects he had touched before he continued.

"Understood," he said, nodding slowly in response to the envoy's words. "Indeed, it would seem that while we are not exactly neighbors, we do share an interest in the happening in the north. I am open to what the Marquis has to say."

[Phailak]

"As your majesty already knows, we have a holding in Changshan and there is peace in that province under the guidance of the Marquis as well as Prefect Xiong. Yan of course remains under our banner. My Lord's ambitions have now nudged him towards Jibei. With the Lady Lu abandoning the province in favor of Zhao's defense, the Marquis attempted to assert his influence into the province by broking a deal with the Magistrate Cai at the time. The deal was for the armies of Yan to purge the province of the King of Qi's men, only for unknown reasons, the Magistrate betrayed the agreement and decided to join King Tian, the same King he had requested we push out of the province. The Marquis had no previous hold on Jibei and so withdrew before their combined forces. Now some of his contacts within Jibei are asking him once again to intervene, not to mention that the King of Qi has chosen to ignore my Lord's hand in friendship, thus causing the Marquis to suspect perhaps the King has ill intentions towards Yan."

Huan cleared his throat.

"I do not wish to bore his majesty with any more details, what the Marquis wanted to establish was if his majesty would oppose our armies marching into Jibei? He wishes to punish the traitor in Donga and knows well that as such might incur the wrath of the King of Qi. What is important to the Marquis is to not make an enemy of you by perhaps invading unknowingly one of your allies or going against your own plans in any way."

[Xiang Zhuang]

"As your majesty already knows, we have a holding in Changshan and there is peace in that province under the guidance of the Marquis as well as Prefect Xiong. Yan of course remains under our banner. My Lord's ambitions have now nudged him towards Jibei. With the Lady Lu abandoning the province in favor of Zhao's defense, the Marquis attempted to assert his influence into the province by broking a deal with the Magistrate Cai at the time. The deal was for the armies of Yan to purge the province of the King of Qi's men, only for unknown reasons, the Magistrate betrayed the agreement and decided to join King Tian, the same King he had requested we push out of the province. The Marquis had no previous hold on Jibei and so withdrew before their combined forces. Now some of his contacts within Jibei are asking him once again to intervene, not to mention that the King of Qi has chosen to ignore my Lord's hand in friendship, thus causing the Marquis to suspect perhaps the King has ill intentions towards Yan."

Huan cleared his throat.

"I do not wish to bore his majesty with any more details, what the Marquis wanted to establish was if his majesty would oppose our armies marching into Jibei? He wishes to punish the traitor in Donga and knows well that as such might incur the wrath of the King of Qi. What is important to the Marquis is to not make an enemy of you by perhaps invading unknowingly one of your allies or going against your own plans in any way."

"Well," the King replied, "I believe the reason for the Magistrate's change of heart was likely self-preservation. While the numbers were rough, it certainly sounded like the King of Qi sent a much larger force. For somebody with such a small amount of land, it'd likely take him months to recover from a tight battle. Besides, Qi is a more established force than yours in Yan. In terms of immediate survival, the choice seemed obvious."

He paused for a moment, and decidedly shifted his tone. "Ah, yes, Marquis Xiong. He seems to be an intelligent man. I am very thankful for his help in Zhao this month. All of the reports I've heard of him are positive, which makes me happy to share a border with him. This, of course, is similar to the nature of your own master.

"As for Jibei, the territory now ruled by the King of Qi has been gained through retreat, not any real battle. The Prefect of Yanyu is unlikely to abide by this loss for long. I believe that, if she had broached immediate battle with Qi, she would have stayed her ground. Her forces are still large enough to rival that of Qi's, should she choose to take back what, in some sense, is rightfully hers."

Another pause led to another shift of tone. "Regarding Jibei, I have no ill will for the King of Qi, nor for the now-Prefect of Donga, and none even for the Prefect of Yanyu. These three, along with your master, all desire portions of Jibei for their own. As the province of Jibei is within the traditional state boundaries of Qi, it would be disrespectful of me to the King of Qi to interject myself into this matter at all. Yet, I know that I am going to be solicited for assistance in some shape or form, so true neutrality in the conflict is nigh impossible. The Prefect of Donga desires to side with the force that will involve him the least and reward him with the most. The King of Qi invaded in retribution for the death of his envoy at the hands of the Prefect of Yanyu. I do not know that he would risk his army to keep the territory in a well-pitched fight. The Prefect of Yanyu likely wants nothing more than to regain the territory she lost."

Through his speech, the king had looked around the room at various times, searching his mind as he spoke. However, at this point, his attention was firmly back on the envoy. "The motives of the Marquis of Yan," he said, "are less obvious. You mentioned ambition. That might be some of it. But you have already been misleading. Your master's forces this month were sent at the city of Boyang, which was under the control of the Prefect of Yanyu. There's no indication that they were there to attack the Qi forces, then leave the city under the control of the Prefect. So, you see, for me to believe that the army was there for the purpose of fighting Qi does not seem to add up. But then again, you said that you were entered into a deal with the Prefect of Donga. That the Prefect would betray your cause to Qi makes me question what he was actually getting out of the deal, considering siding with Qi ensures that he exists as their vassal. I imagine the Prefect of Yanyu may wonder the same thing."

He shrugged. "I do not mean to offend the Marquis of Yan or his envoy by articulating these thoughts aloud like this. Yet, it seemed like the Marquis desired to know my thoughts concerning Jibei, and accordingly I have expressed them. They are not whole, and they are without a conclusion, but it is all I have to offer. Many of these issues do not warrant answers, and for some I would not ask them, as they are outside of my influence. That the Marquis of Yan has been able to work with the Marquis of Xiangguo over the control of Changshan shows that he is a man more concerned with proper administration of lands as opposed to his administration of lands, which, of course, is what would concern me with Jibei. For after all, when the current situation in Jibei comes closer to resolution, it is unlikely that one administration will control all of it.

[Lin Xin]

Lin Xin

"Nations?" the King replied, bemused. But that was not the end of the curious language. "Well, I assure you, I am no nation," he replied. "I'm not sure what you are getting at, however. I am the King of Yin, with control of Zhao as well. I'm not sure what negotiations here would do to aid peace in either of our lands. I mean, I don't think we are exactly at war at the moment." He chuckled softly. "Not that I want to be. You mention nation and Jiujiang, two words that would seem to imply the King of Chu more than myself. Do you desire for me to speak to the King of Chu and persuade him not to continue the attack upon the province? But you yourself do not possess land in the province, that I can tell, unless one of those supposed bandit lords I hear about is one of your vassals.

"I feel like you are asking something of me without saying it, and addressing a situation without explaining it. But perhaps you were using coated language to precursor these things. Please, go ahead and explain these matters in more detail."

The envoy bowed and he replied, "Then I will state my intentions bluntly Majesty. The unprovoked invasion of Jiujiang by Xiang Jun with the blessing of the King of Chu has put Marquis Lin in a difficult position. Alone, he cannot effectively end the slaughter that will continue."

With a visible sigh, the envoy looked at the King of Yin. "Chu has great ambitions, as Your Majesty knows, and presents a threat to all of China. After he conquers the south, I am certain he will turn his forces north. If Yin and Yue cooperate, we can stop this threat and establish peace and stability for the people."

[Phailak]

"Well," the King replied, "I believe the reason for the Magistrate's change of heart was likely self-preservation. While the numbers were rough, it certainly sounded like the King of Qi sent a much larger force. For somebody with such a small amount of land, it'd likely take him months to recover from a tight battle. Besides, Qi is a more established force than yours in Yan. In terms of immediate survival, the choice seemed obvious."

He paused for a moment, and decidedly shifted his tone. "Ah, yes, Marquis Xiong. He seems to be an intelligent man. I am very thankful for his help in Zhao this month. All of the reports I've heard of him are positive, which makes me happy to share a border with him. This, of course, is similar to the nature of your own master.

"As for Jibei, the territory now ruled by the King of Qi has been gained through retreat, not any real battle. The Prefect of Yanyu is unlikely to abide by this loss for long. I believe that, if she had broached immediate battle with Qi, she would have stayed her ground. Her forces are still large enough to rival that of Qi's, should she choose to take back what, in some sense, is rightfully hers."

Another pause led to another shift of tone. "Regarding Jibei, I have no ill will for the King of Qi, nor for the now-Prefect of Donga, and none even for the Prefect of Yanyu. These three, along with your master, all desire portions of Jibei for their own. As the province of Jibei is within the traditional state boundaries of Qi, it would be disrespectful of me to the King of Qi to interject myself into this matter at all. Yet, I know that I am going to be solicited for assistance in some shape or form, so true neutrality in the conflict is nigh impossible. The Prefect of Donga desires to side with the force that will involve him the least and reward him with the most. The King of Qi invaded in retribution for the death of his envoy at the hands of the Prefect of Yanyu. I do not know that he would risk his army to keep the territory in a well-pitched fight. The Prefect of Yanyu likely wants nothing more than to regain the territory she lost."

Through his speech, the king had looked around the room at various times, searching his mind as he spoke. However, at this point, his attention was firmly back on the envoy. "The motives of the Marquis of Yan," he said, "are less obvious. You mentioned ambition. That might be some of it. But you have already been misleading. Your master's forces this month were sent at the city of Boyang, which was under the control of the Prefect of Yanyu. There's no indication that they were there to attack the Qi forces, then leave the city under the control of the Prefect. So, you see, for me to believe that the army was there for the purpose of fighting Qi does not seem to add up. But then again, you said that you were entered into a deal with the Prefect of Donga. That the Prefect would betray your cause to Qi makes me question what he was actually getting out of the deal, considering siding with Qi ensures that he exists as their vassal. I imagine the Prefect of Yanyu may wonder the same thing."

He shrugged. "I do not mean to offend the Marquis of Yan or his envoy by articulating these thoughts aloud like this. Yet, it seemed like the Marquis desired to know my thoughts concerning Jibei, and accordingly I have expressed them. They are not whole, and they are without a conclusion, but it is all I have to offer. Many of these issues do not warrant answers, and for some I would not ask them, as they are outside of my influence. That the Marquis of Yan has been able to work with the Marquis of Xiangguo over the control of Changshan shows that he is a man more concerned with proper administration of lands as opposed to his administration of lands, which, of course, is what would concern me with Jibei. For after all, when the current situation in Jibei comes closer to resolution, it is unlikely that one administration will control all of it.

"Your majesty's insight is very accurate. To note though that my Lord's intentions in Jibei were to indeed fight the King of Qi, seeing Prefect Lu withdraw into Zhao and King Tian's offensive against Jibei, he decided to intervene after making arrangements with Prefect Cai, at the time the magistrate of Donga. He correctly guessed King Tian would move against Prefect Lu's last remaining city in Jibei and so devised a plan with the Magistrate. The Marquis informed Prefect Lu of his intentions and that if he was wrong he would end up taking her city to establish his influence in Jibei and drive the King out. The Marquis also firmly believes that the Magistrate would of won no matter the side he chose in the conflict, but he acknowledges that that is perhaps his ego speaking since it can now never be proven."

Once again the envoy pauses, but briefly.

"My Lord wishes to be honest and forthright, he has accumulated some power in the north and will not shy away from using it to expand his influence. He knows he is very ambitious, but he is also a logical man. He will not request your neutrality in the conflicts in Jibei should they occur, but he would humbly request that you consider it. Of course, that is unless you are allied with King Tian or have a claim over Jibei the Marquis is unaware of, in which case he would like to know so that he may adjust his plans. As I have mentioned, he has no intentions of meeting your formidable armies in battle and such a possibility would be an important factor on what he does next."

[Xiang Zhuang]

Lin Xin

"What you may label as a threat, others might see as hope," he replied, "hope for a united China. As the land stands now, there's nothing good about the status quo. The King of Chu desires that Qin be defeated and the land be brought again to peace. It would seem that, if Yin sided with Chu, it would help bring peace and prosperity to the people, and likely in a quicker fashion than if Yin turned against them."

The Marquis come here seemed to Zhenfeng to be missing important details about the land, and especially matters here in the Central Plains. It might not be surprising, considering the part of the land he is from, but it still seemed odd, and Xi did not want to condescend to him by repeating facts he was overlooking. He gave a weak smile and said, "The King of Chu merely wants a united land. If the reports I have heard are any indication, the Marquis Yi has been assisting bandit forces in various areas to overtake previous administrations. Now, it's quite possible these forces are better leaders than the previous ones. However, quite a few of these administrators were fellow rebels to the Qin, and it could be said that the King of Chu shares a sort of bond with them. You see, he doesn't see himself as the aggressor in this fight.

"Now, I see the situation as being one thing or another. The first is that Marquis Yi, without any real ambition herself, has contacted bandits and given them the means by which they can overthrow neighboring cities in exchange for some sort of monetary kickback. To think this way would be to think little of Marquis Yi as a person, and to believe that she intends to further the chaos that already exists in the south. It's a very negative way to think of a person, and I'd prefer not to. However, if she is not this person, then the King of Chu is even more qualified for his movements southward. For if she has been expanding into these areas purposefully, and setting up competent people in the place of others, then she is uniting the south for some purpose. This would then believe that everyone she has assisted in this process is aligned with her; Yi Tao, Zhi Cheng, Pang Ai, perhaps even Fu Tong. And, of course, this would include your master. With the provinces of Huainan, Wu, Yue, Jiujiang, and Changsha under her control, she stands a threat to anybody nearby if she is not aligned with them. And from what I understand, the King of Chu was never even addressed about these issues.

"Perhaps it is confusing to the Marquis of Huainan what this all means. But given that the second perspective is the correct one, she is holding the vast majority of the lands of the state of Chu. The King of Chu should certainly be concerned about this if those lands are not being managed the way he desires, and even more so if the person uniting the lands speaks nothing of the King of Chu's cause or assisting him with the defeat of the Qin. The onus for diplomacy is not on the King, since he already claims the lands under his loose control through his title. At this point, any real peace for Jiujiang and the rest of the south probably lies more upon the Marquis of Huainan more than the King of Chu, since, in his eyes, she is the aggressor. And your master, having received aid in a similar fashion, is likely believed to be a vassal of hers as well."

A short pause, and a glance over to what he assumed would be a very bored daughter, before he thought to add another thing. "As it stands, you believe the King of Chu will advance northward. Wu Chen, the former King of Zhao, was once his general, and I, the King of Yin, was crowned by the King of Chu himself. You see, Chu has already moved north, and has placed the administration of such business in my hands. It is because of me that he can even afford to look southward. So I'm not exactly sure what you are getting at. At first it sounded like you wanted me to speak with the King of Chu about his invasion of Jiujiang and, perhaps, counsel him to some other path. But just now, it sounded more like you desired me to raise arms and threaten the King of Chu, who has been quite generous to me in the past. Honestly, it sounds as if you expect me to risk my kingdom to encroach into my greatest ally's business. I'm really not sure what I stand to gain by doing this, or what I really lose if I do not. Pardon me for being frank. I can grant some assistance in this manner, but it might not be as you have asked."

<hr>
Phailak

"Well, as I said, neutrality is impossible." He tapped his finger to his lips for a second, then continued. "What I mean is, if without my intervention, your forces will prevail in Jibei, then my actions or lack of actions have proven favorable to you. Whatever I do or don't do will have impact on the eventual ruler of the greater portions of Jibei. And I cannot promise you what I will or will not do, for, as I have said, my thoughts are not thoroughly-formulated as of yet. But I don't desire to fight the Marquis of Yan, of course. Nor do I desire to fight any. The path of peace requires blood to be spent, but it is a difficult path to predict. I believe that I've told you enough today to give you an idea of when or why I would intervene. The Marquis of Yan is a man to be respected, but I cannot easily say that I would choose him as a neighbor, as both of our meetings now have involved talk of invasion and destruction, and both times, in regards to the overthrow of a king. However, there is little reason to desire any of the other lords in Jibei to be my neighbor, either. So, as it is, I have no real reason for or against intervention at this point, aside from internal matters that will stay internal."