Chu Provincial Roleplay

[Jin Shi]

The guard looked at the man quizzically at first, then taking the offered letter. He looked at it, and, forgetting he didn't know how to read, he called over one of his soldier friends who could. After the literate one did verify the authenticity of the letter, the first guard lead Shu Yuan to Ma Su's office. He knocked on the door several times, but no one responded. "He must be out training, please follow me."

Shu Yuan was then lead to a large, stone laid plaza, with soldiers drilling in unison. There was one officer drilling them and another overseeing the other officer's technique, both standing on a podium overlooking the scene. Shu Yuan was lead up to the podium and introduced to the officer who was just watching. "General Ma, Shu Yuan is here to speak with you."

Su scrutinized the man for a moment with a cold gaze, but his demeanor soon changed into one of gregariousness. "Master Shu, it's good of you to come. Do you approve of officer Fan's drilling?" He motioned to the man barking out orders to the troops.

[SunTzu]

@Jin Shi

Shu Yuan looked at the men drilling in the plaza as he was led to the podium. They were highly trained and skilled or so he deduced by how each man's actions were in unison with the rest of the battalion. Shu Yuan bowed and said, "It is honors to meet you Master Ma."

He looked at the men who were still continuing their training, before he said, "It appears that master Fan's drilling techniques are skilled though he should have the men practice more one on one combat for in battle that is the deciding factor in a fight. The solders that can fight as a group and alone are the ones that shall bring victory to your army. Even in a battle with large armies, does not the fighting become a one on one affair?"

[Jin Shi]

Ma Su smiled and nodded in agreement. He looked at officer Fan, who was watching the two talk about him. He stopped, saluted the two of them individually, and ordered the troops to break ranks and start sparring. Su turned back to Yuan and said "You are correct. If the unit is comprised of many weak parts then it will break under pressure. A reed shield in comparison to a metal one is far weaker. Come."

He motioned for Yuan to follow him off the podium and start walking around the barracks. "So, Master Shu how can I help you?" He asked simply. He wondered how Shu Yuan would react to such an open ended question.

[SunTzu]

@Jin Shi

Shu Yuan was surprised by the question; he had thought that the reason, Ma Su had sent him a letter offering to give him a post in Chu was that he needed is skills. In truth, he had no idea how the Ma Su could help him, he had came to the barracks expecting to find work of some sort. He began to become uneasy for he did not wish to steal Ma Su's very important time, after all the man was a general and by how he had stood on the podium, Shu deduced him to be one of high rank and great importance.

After a minute of walking around the barracks, Shu Yuan thought of a question to ask. He took a deep breath which released the uneasy feeling that had been held deep within his body as he said, "I was hoping that you could tell me on how I would be used if I were to join the Emperor’s cause?"

[Jin Shi]

Bowing his head slightly before speaking, Bei Tianmeng smiled softly at the words Ma Su spoke. "Now I understand where you are coming from and what you would ask of me, and I can respect the task you would require. I asked since there are sometimes men who would seek to change an individual to suit their purpose, instead of asking an individual to perform that which they are more capable of doing. Often, I worry that one might expect me to perform more nefarious deeds that I do not think I could complete."

When Ma Su mentioned hearing of Bei Tianmeng's experience of doctoring, he couldn't help but blush and let out an audible sound of surprise as if he had forgotten about all about it. Bei simply nodded before replying, "I have, at times, been required to fulfill the role of a doctor. It is part of the reason there are a handful of men who follow me, because I can assure you that the pay and the food is not even close to being worth it!" He flashed a quick grin, then continued. "Seeing to the health of one man, makes me understand the need of the land itself. When a person is sick, sometimes careful watch and support of another is needed to see them back to health. I think the same can be said of our country. Sometimes one must sacrifice their time or even dedicate themselves completely to nursing this land back to recovery.

"I suppose this rebellion you speak of can be spoken of in the relation. It is a symptom of a greater ailment that plagues us all, and before we can see recovery, we must first treat the symptoms. It is good to see that there are some willing to take the risk to see it through. Whatever my decision is, I will wish you the best of luck in your endeavor. If a cry for rebellion cannot spread further than the lips that speak it, then I am not sure it can be justified for the turmoil it creates."

Ma Su took the map of Liang in his hands and held it before himself as he listened to Tianmeng's response. While he had the map in his hands he still kept his gaze on Tianmeng. Rocking slowly back and forth on the hind legs of his chair, he replied "A man of good morals is one I can respect. And it sounds like you are one of those rare men. And one of those populist types as well." He smirked a little. "At heart I am similar, but a military commander cannot oftentimes publicly show affection towards those who he governs, and has to make compromises sometimes. I joined Chu during the war four years ago because I wanted to protect my village, and look at me now!"

He smiled a wide smile. He rolled up the map into a scroll, and put it back on the table. Still rocking, he continued "The trouble is that the validity of a rebellion does not lie in how quickly its words can spread. A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth can get its pants on, my friend. And this links back again to your own skills, to verify whether a man has spoken the truth by verifying his background and asking what his neighbors think of him. I did that footwork at Dingtao, and it was dangerous, but I found the Governor to be greedy, his officers were ready to betray him because of his cruelty, and his walls were reinforced with many archer's arrows and his gates with many spears. I almost got myself and my party killed because I am not an expert in such matters. I have been frank with you so far, and continuing that, that is the kind of work I would ask you to do for me when we are not marching."

He paused a moment to let that sink in, looking at Tianmeng with a serious expression as he did. He changed back to a lighter tone as he said "Do you have any questions?"

@Jin Shi

Shu Yuan was surprised by the question; he had thought that the reason, Ma Su had sent him a letter offering to give him a post in Chu was that he needed is skills. In truth, he had no idea how the Ma Su could help him, he had came to the barracks expecting to find work of some sort. He began to become uneasy for he did not wish to steal Ma Su's very important time, after all the man was a general and by how he had stood on the podium, Shu deduced him to be one of high rank and great importance.

After a minute of walking around the barracks, Shu Yuan thought of a question to ask. He took a deep breath which released the uneasy feeling that had been held deep within his body as he said, "I was hoping that you could tell me on how I would be used if I were to join the Emperor’s cause?"

Ma Su looked around at the troops sparring, others eating in mess halls, inspecting the men, as he waited for Shu Yuan's reply. He was not worried by how long the man took, it was not a "regular" type of question that he had asked. Once the response did come, Su nodded to himself once and replied as they continued walking

"From what I have heard of you, you are skilled in "specialty" oriented missions. I believe that is correct, yes?" He looked at him briefly for a nod or something of that sort. If he received recognition, he would turn back ahead and continue "The Son of Heaven, as well as our Hegemonic King, need people who are skilled in all sorts of things: politics, warfare, diplomacy, cooking, you name it, in order to have a well functioning state. Chu stands for order, and without Chu functioning well, disorder will follow. There are certain people within and without of Chu that wish our people harm, and we need to protect our kingdom with every tool we can gather. Take for example, a leader of another city, that wants to go to war against Chu but his people do not. Without that leader, the people would be free to continue living in peace, no foreign armies having to come in and occupy their ancestral land for months, if not years."

He smiled at Yuan, and stopped for a moment. "Of course, not everything would be preemptive. There are others who hire people with your skills who wish to threaten the Emperor's servants, maybe even the Emperor himself, to bring chaos to the land and use that time of anarchy to expand their power. You would be both a sword and shield in defense of our way of life, much the same as a politician builds walls to keep the enemy out and the general orders the army to keep watch. Or does this not appeal to you?"

[Vanguard]

Ma Su took the map of Liang in his hands and held it before himself as he listened to Tianmeng's response. While he had the map in his hands he still kept his gaze on Tianmeng. Rocking slowly back and forth on the hind legs of his chair, he replied "A man of good morals is one I can respect. And it sounds like you are one of those rare men. And one of those populist types as well." He smirked a little. "At heart I am similar, but a military commander cannot oftentimes publicly show affection towards those who he governs, and has to make compromises sometimes. I joined Chu during the war four years ago because I wanted to protect my village, and look at me now!"

He smiled a wide smile. He rolled up the map into a scroll, and put it back on the table. Still rocking, he continued "The trouble is that the validity of a rebellion does not lie in how quickly its words can spread. A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth can get its pants on, my friend. And this links back again to your own skills, to verify whether a man has spoken the truth by verifying his background and asking what his neighbors think of him. I did that footwork at Dingtao, and it was dangerous, but I found the Governor to be greedy, his officers were ready to betray him because of his cruelty, and his walls were reinforced with many archer's arrows and his gates with many spears. I almost got myself and my party killed because I am not an expert in such matters. I have been frank with you so far, and continuing that, that is the kind of work I would ask you to do for me when we are not marching."

He paused a moment to let that sink in, looking at Tianmeng with a serious expression as he did. He changed back to a lighter tone as he said "Do you have any questions?"

Withdrawing his hands from the sleeves of his robes, Bei placed them onto his lap. He kept nodding occasionally, agreeing on many of the points Ma Su brought up, especially when it came to the matter of collecting information. Bei then shook his head in reply to the other man's question. "I do not believe I have any more questions. Truth be told, I was approached by a Magistrate in the Hegemon King's charge for a position as well. It is something I shall be taking into consideration with your offer."

Bei Tianmeng then appeared as if he remembered something he had forgotten. "Actually, I do have a question based on that very topic. How are you set for your planned objectives? I mean, with your offer and the Magistrate's I am looking at a position of possibly preparing defenses and perhaps a more defensive position, and that of your offer where I shall be with a moving army for many months, obviously working on gathering intel. Do you have another capable scout or would you be lacking one without my service? I ask since I would hate to slight one side of the Hegemon King's forces unnecessarily. If you do not, then my decision will take that into consideration as well, for an army on the move without the aid of a scout may be in greater need than one who may be facing a threat later in the future, if at all, really."

[Jin Shi]

Ma Su was very interested to hear another Imperial officer, a magistrate no less, was also hiring new talent. He had not heard of any magistrates actively hiring during the past three or so months, so it must have been the newest one, Ying Ranzhen. Smiling a little, he replied "My friend, the more people that can work under me the more ability I will have to get things done quickly and effectively. As of right now, without an official commission I don't know whether any officers at all will be assigned to me. I have only a couple officers who have expressed a willingness to volunteer to come with me from within the kingdom, which is why I sent a letter to you and a few other capable individuals looking for jobs. I could potentially be traveling by myself. Or, if everyone were to join me that I invited, I could have around five or six with me. If you join me and I don't get the army, you can transfer yourself to wherever that other magistrate is and work with him, or you could stay here and work alongside me. You have many options."

He paused to let him process all that. "I will receive word on whether I do get my force any day now, for your information. And yes, I think you would be a very valuable person to have on my team." He smiled.

[Vanguard]

Seeing Ma Su smile, Bei Tianmeng couldn't help but do the same. "You are quite right, I have many options which makes the decision both a little more difficult and easier, but I shall make it. I promised the Magistrate an answer within the next few days and I shall do the same for you. Perhaps you will know the decision of your commission within in that time if it is to be any day now. I would be happy if you could keep me informed on what happens if you do not mind. I shall still be here in Chu and easily reached if that is acceptable?"

[Jin Shi]

Su nodded. "That is quite acceptable to me. Feel free to drop by and visit regardless of your decision. I wish you good luck."

He whistled, and the door was flung open by a guard. "You will have to be escorted out, standard protocol for guests, as you might expect."

The guard would lead him out of the compound should Tianmeng acquiesce and nothing else was to be discussed.

[Shen Feng]

Shen Feng was on Cloud Nine.

He had just finished meeting with the upper echelons of the Chu court, after presenting his plan to pacify the southlands. The meeting had gone better than expected. At first, he had been worried when Fan Zeng had declared him too important for the court to expend on the province, but he had swayed his opinion with his plans and promises, and a substantial army had been granted to him as a result. In addition, both Xiang Yu and even the unflappable Lu Chen had gifted him with extra men and supplies. The army now arrayed under him was a professional fighting force, better-equipped than almost all of the regional armies, and he had the funding to improve that even further. Truly, he must be blessed to have such generous patrons!

Still, there was far more that remained to be done. Xiang Yu had suggested he seize Linjiang, a frontier province in the south that was close to both barbarians beyond the kingdom's borders, and the potentially hostile Liu Bang. On sending for news, scouts had reported that an attempt had been made to overthrow the lord of Jiangling, an allegedly corrupt man, only to be thwarted by strong support from within the city. This was perhaps the opportunity Feng was seeking. As the army readied itself to march, the young minister penned several letters, sending them to those he hoped would be interested parties. While he knew he could conquer Jiangling handily with the force he had, more help could never hurt, and he would need all the able bodies he could get once he took control of the city.

As well, Feng put a call out throughout Chen, to see if there were other locals who might wish to accompany him. While many had already stepped up, there were always others who might not have had a chance yet, or even commoners from outside the court who may wish for their chance. Feng had been a commoner himself not that long ago, after all, so he wouldn't turn help away just due to their birth.