Li Zhu's Audience Hall - Zhaoge

[Big Grizzy]

An man and his entourage, bearing the flags of an envoy of Changshan, approached the gates of Shaoge. The man at their head looked old, older than his 42 years should have looked. The hair on his head and in his long beard was mostly gray, and his face wore many lines. His eyes, however, were sharp, and spoke of keen intellect.

"I am Zhang Mai of Ji in the employ of Prefect Xiong of Xiangguo in Changshan. I was sent by my brother, Jin Kai, Chief Magistrate of Prefect Xiong, to attain an audience with the King so that we could discuss matters of state."

[AaronH229]

A young man arrives at the audience hall in Shaoge. He looked similar to his older brother in all ways. Stopping before the guards he introduces himself.

"I am Li Zan, younger brother of regent Li Zhu, I have come here now to join the force and help him in his endevours. I consent to any necessary searches or similar."

[Royalspork]

The guard said simply, "I will show you to Commander Li if you come without your guard."

The man looked to the guard and arched a brow. "It is not as if bringing them in would eliminate any risk of death. It would merely give me a few more minutes of survival, I suppose." he answered folding his arms across his chest. "As I trust the Regent, I agree." he uttered before signaling for his men to stay behind. Now was a time for the man to take a risk once more and gamble with his life.

The guard nods in agreement, and leads Niu Xiong to the office of Li Zhu. Li Zhu stands behind a large desk with many files and maps spread across haphazardly, after Niu Xiong enters, Li Zhu looks up with a small delay and says, "Good friend Niu! How fairs the supreme commander of Chu? And uh....what happened to your other ear?"

An man and his entourage, bearing the flags of an envoy of Changshan, approached the gates of Shaoge. The man at their head looked old, older than his 42 years should have looked. The hair on his head and in his long beard was mostly gray, and his face wore many lines. His eyes, however, were sharp, and spoke of keen intellect.

"I am Zhang Mai of Ji in the employ of Prefect Xiong of Xiangguo in Changshan. I was sent by my brother, Jin Kai, Chief Magistrate of Prefect Xiong, to attain an audience with the King so that we could discuss matters of state."

The guard responds simply, "The best man that can see you is the Regent of Zhao and Yin, lord commander Li. Would you wish to see him?"

A young man arrives at the audience hall in Shaoge. He looked similar to his older brother in all ways. Stopping before the guards he introduces himself.

"I am Li Zan, younger brother of regent Li Zhu, I have come here now to join the force and help him in his endevours. I consent to any necessary searches or similar."

The guard, who had never seen Lord Li Zhu personally, eyed the man suspiciously, "A highly unbelievable claim, young master Li, I do hope you can prove it."

[Big Grizzy]

Zhang Mai nodded in agreement. "It would be only fitting to speak to the King's regent instead of the King himself, as I speak on behalf of my brother, who is acting in much the same regard for Lord Prefect Xiong. If you would be so kind as to take me to see him, as well as arrange some manner of entertainment for my entourage, as they will not be joining the discussion."

[Royalspork]

The guard looked at the man, and said, "It will take a little time to get arrangement set up for your men's entertainment. But if you will, follow me."
The guard leads the envoy to the office of Li Zhu who stands behind a large desk with many files and maps spread across haphazardly. Li Zhu then looked up at the man, "From where do you hail, good man?"

[Big Grizzy]

Zhang Mai bowed to the Commander. "I am Zhang Mai of Ji, currently in the employ of Lord Prefect Xiong of Xiangguo, and on errand from his Chief Magistrate, my brother Jin Kai. My brother is disturbed to hear that you, our staunchest ally, have sent your armies marching on Jibei, putting you at war with his former pupil, the Marquis Fei of Yan. He has sent me to both get an explanation of this action, and see if he can't limit the conflict in some manner. I does not do the heart well to see one's friends quarrel, after all."

[Royalspork]

Li Zhu sighs, and responds, "I do not see this fight with the barbarians in Yan as friendly quarrel, and indeed, I do not believe any wars should be fought on such terms. No, this fight is something all good men of China should aspire to wage. You see, it has become clear that the once proper kingdom of Yan in the old warring states era has become overrun by barbarians and bandits. My ears have not been deaf to the crimes of those villians, must we not forget the crimes of Zhao Khan, who brutally murdered his defeated opponents, and their puppet in Jibei, who has raided and raped the poor town of Anju."
Li Zhu leans in closer to the envoy, and continued, "Even the name of their bandit king betrays the foreign roots. Listen: Fai...Lak... That 'name' is devilish affront to our fair language, a curse on good Chinese tongues. Can you no see their crude mockery of our good ways?"
Li Zhu then leans back in his chair, stretching and puffing out his already wide shoulders, and finishes, "I mean to rid the fair kingdom of Yan from their influence, but even if I were to accomplish my amiable goals, it has come to my attention that they have an outpost in Changshan, one that would become their new hive, once I have ridden them from Yan. From that hive, they shall move west, and be able to swarm without fear of my retribution. So you see, their removal from Changshan is vital to the good of our greater people."

[Big Grizzy]

The ever calm face of Zhang Mai betrayed nothing of his thoughts. "My brother grew up in the same village as the Marquis, and never mentioned to me why the chief of that village gave his son so a different name. His family name, however, is Fei, which is not an uncommon one. To say that he is a barbarian would be to say that my brother is as barbarian as well, which is simply not the case."

"I have not come to defend the honor of the Marquis, but to attempt to bring peace to Jibei, as my brother wishes only peace in all places. The crimes of Zhao Khan are not the crimes of the people of Jibei, so to subject them to this constant battle is to punish the many for the crimes of a few. Thus far, my brother has done nothing but put down rebels and reform criminals in an attempt to pacify the north. He has been unsuccessful to this point in convincing his old student to make right the transgressions of certain of his followers, but that does not mean he will be idle in a war against the public interest."

[Royalspork]

Li Zhu responded boastfully, "The record of Yin has been nothing but that of settling regions and bringing peace to them. Look at Yin, it was primed to become a battleground between Chu and Qin, as bad as Sai is now, but through careful politics and clever tactics, Yin has been saved. Now Chu and Qin, once on a collision course, head in different directions, Chu south and Qin west. Now in Zhao, we were roped into attacking the province by Chu, through both the carrot and the stick. But, for the sake of peace in the province, we granted clemency to the King Wu Chen, and forged a pact with the Consort Lu Ying to keep the province at peace. It is in this record that I believe that Jibei shall come see peace, but I can not see that Fei Lak able to abide by it."

[Big Grizzy]

Zhang Mai rubbed his long beard. "Bringing battle to Jibei, means a full scale war with the Marquis. His record of winning wars should something of a concern. His forces have a track record of defeating larger, more well trained and equipped forces. He was outnumbered against the barbarian chief Li Lang, then again against the forces of King Tian Dan in Jibei. He also has not fully lost his support from my brother."

"Even now my brother is torn in half by his loyalty to his friend and student and the words of the people. He is in a position that is not favorable, being squeezed between a friend who is losing the support of the people and an ally he inherited from the wild, young prefect who dumped the situation in my brother's lap. He is obligated to support both, but can not. He currently leans toward his pupil, because you are the aggressor in the conflict, but continues to wrestle with the reputation the Marquis has acquired, fairly or not."