Jin Kai's Audience Hall - Xiangguo

Post by **Phailak** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 8:35 pm

Lin Huan bowed, he knew little of the relationship between his Lord and Master Jin but he accepted the offer.

"That is very generous, please ensure they do not embarass the Marquis of Yan, thank you."

Huan entered the office and bowed low, noticing all the reports or maps scattered. Lord Fei was often found in the same manner, it made the envoy smile.

"Master Jin, I must apologize if I am interrupting. I can obviously wait for a better opportunity to present itself if needed."

Big Grizzy · Post by **Big Grizzy** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 10:05 pm

Jin Kai did not recognize this envoy, but he did not recognize many around his former pupil now. "It is fine to speak to you now. I assume the Master Fei sent you here for a purpose, but as the Lord Prefect is unavailable, I will hear it in his place."

Post by **Phailak** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 11:07 pm

Huan nodded.

"I understand. It was important for Lord Fei that we try to ciment our relationship with Lord Xiong, though I doubt a man such as yourself that already knows the Marquis would have much use for pretty words and endless compliments. The Lord of Yan knows that Lord Xiong has a deep care for his people. This inspired Lord Fei to wish to donate some funds in hopes that perhaps one of the great towns in Changshan flourish under Lord Xiong's guidance into a bustling city. He would also offer military support should it be needed to solidify the remaining assets in Changshan under their proper rule. It is such between men of nobility it seems, between us, if you would permit, maybe I can cut to the chase. For that though, I would need to know if you hold such authority that I may deliver into your hands my Lord's proposal without checking with him first."

The envoy produces a document from his robes.

"I hold here a special request, directly from Marquis Fei. I was told that I should bring back a response if possible for we are pressed for time, would you Master Jin accept the responsibility of bearing this request on behalf of your Lord or should I inform the Marquis that we will need to be a bit more patient? Bear in mind, if you read the document, I must have a yes or no answer immediately."

Huan bows humbly awaiting an answer.

Big Grizzy · Post by **Big Grizzy** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 2:45 am

Jin Kai looked over his documents before looking at the envoy. His eyes had dark circles under them and his voice was strained and cutting. He seemed very much not himself. He tapped a paper with financial figures on it as he addressed Lin Huan.

"Shortly before Lord Prefect Xiong went missing, he delivered to Fei 1000 taels of gold. This is more than the city of Xiangguo produced the previous month. Am I to understand that Fei plans on giving part of this money back? I know that Little Fei sticks to his word, but I do not know what word it was that he gave the Lord Prefect in exchange for this immense sum of money."

"The Lord Prefect did not leave details of this arrangement in a place easy for me to find before he went off to chase women or fertilize the soil or whatever it is he decided to go do. As such, I have been forced to try to hold together the young lords holdings with little previous knowledge of them. You may as well give me this request of Fei's. I am the only one who has any clue in the administration at this point. I should be able to give a response."

Post by **Phailak** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 9:42 am

Huan smiled.

"Give back? No, no, no, from what I understand and I wasn't briefed fully on that situation as it was an arrangement between the two Lords themselves, is that it was money given for destroying the army that resided in Quni. Basically, it was 1000 gold for letting Lord Xiong take Quni while Lord Fei's army crushed the rebels. We thought the rebels might try to take Quni but in their stupidity, they decided to set foot in Yan. Either way, the army was destroyed and Lord Xiong took the city without a fight."

Huan gave the document to Jin Kai with a nod of respect.

OOC: PM sent

Big Grizzy · Post by **Big Grizzy** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 4:33 pm

Jin Kai took the proffered letter and read through it quickly. He began shaking his head shortly into it. He obviously didn't like what he read. Looking back up at the envoy, he handed the missive back. When he spoke this time he voice was cool and collected.

"Tell Little Fei that we can't aid his warmongering at the moment. Our current situation is far from stable. Even if we could, it would require a better payment than what is written here. This state gave him 1000 taels of gold for a battle he did not participate in, and quite frankly one that could have been won without him. This agreement would require more from us, yet give us less. Even if the state could afford such a military action, and we were adequately compensated, we still would not go to war without the command of the Lord Prefect. It would just not do for me to sign such an order while there is still hope the prefect yet lives."

Post by **Phailak** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 4:46 pm

Huan frowned, ignoring the man's belittling his Lord since they were acquainted.

"I see, your take on the situation is interesting. I fail to see how you believe you took Quni without a fight, you took it because Lord Fei granted it. Surely you do not believe your small armies that you sent there could rival Marshal Lu's own trained and armed men? Had there been no payment, he would of stayed and taken Quni while our home armies dealt with the rebel. What the payment allowed was for the rebel to be destroyed with minimal losses on the Coalition's part while you took the city peacefully as was Prefect Xiong's wish at the time. Not that it matters now, you seem to have a bad opinion on the Marquis and you seem to be in charge. Well, I guess the Marquis will have to put his plans on hold for now, it is a shame we could not count on our closest ally. Pay our respects to your Lord should you see him again."

The envoy waited to be dismissed.

Big Grizzy · Post by **Big Grizzy** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:24 pm

Jin Kai looked at the envoy as if he did not know what he was. "Master Lin, your 'Marquis' and I go back a long time. I was selected to be his tutor by his father. I do not have a bad opinion of him, just the opinion of one who has known him since his birth. He seems to have selected some less than honorable men to lead his grand armies." He put up a hand to stop the question that was obviously going to be forthcoming. "You think the sadistic executions carried out by his generals Lu and Zhao don't reach the ears of the people? His reputation has been sullied by the acts of his commanders."

"Also, a good ally would not fight his ally over spoils of war, something you imply Fei would have ordered done had there been no payment. I am not sure you are aware, but I think quite highly of my former pupil, and do not believe he would be foolish enough to fight an ally whilst an enemy encroached on his territory. Because of this, the payment should have been foregone, as it really meant nothing. The army sent from Yan did not fight at Quni, thus the reason for the payment is nonexistent. The rebels were from Wu Chen's army, but they planned on separating from it by taking territory in Yan, whilst those loyal to Wu Chen stayed in Quni. This break in the army was not caused by the payment, but it was the sole cause of the armies of Changshan being able to take Quni without a fight. I don't intend to ask for the money back, but our respected lords set a high precedent when they exchanged 1000 taels for a feint, don't you think?"

Post by **Phailak** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 9:30 pm

"Well, I might not be the best person to defend Lord Fei's position on anything, but obviously you seem to choose to either ignore certain facts or simply do not have all the relevant information. Lord Xiong and Marquis Fei both had holdings in Changshan at the time Quni was to be taken, the Marquis did not contest your Lord's claim to Quni so long as he was compensated for allowing him to take the city and for his help in disposing of the armies of Wu Chen at the time. The agreement was made for 1000 taels before the rebel announced his true colors. No one knew where the rebels were heading, the logical move would of been for them to secure Quni before heading north but as is often the case with radical men, he acted on passion instead of reason and was defeated quite easily. Your Lord, justly so, feared that the men might target the same city as he was targeting, so he decided to keep the deal with Lord Fei so long as no matter where that rebel army went, the Yan Coalition destroyed it. If it attacked Quni, our combined forces would destroy it, if it moved into Yan, it liberated you to take the city while we marched off to destroy it in our home province. If I recall, you were made aware of these terms and did not object to them or refrain from informing us if you did. As for the matters of the public acts of torture you refer to, it seems you let yourself be influenced by folklore, unless you were present at these sadistic rituals? Either way, the men that were executed were rebels in both cases and suffered the penalty of death that they deserved. You say you know Lord Fei Lak since he was small and claim to say you believe him to be a good man, yet you allow yourself to believe claims that men in the field have commited on nothing more than heresay? In my humble opinion, that harbors that you have always had some mistrust of my Lord and use this opportunity to slander him. You know of his armies, did he attack Lord Xiong in Changshan when he knew he could defeat him easily? Did he ever break his word to your Lord in any way? He made sure to inform him of his plans for Zhou Guo as he has just done now with that missive you have just read. Still, he is the one called a warmonger, a bloodthirsty noble, yet with every war that he has fought, he attempted peace before. He has the means and power to exert his influence beyond Yan and sees a good opportunity to do so, why should he stand by while he sees tyrants rise all around him?"

He sighed.

"I apologize if I sound a bit passionate about my arguments, I do not mean any disrespect. If you wish to continue this discussion, you should do so with your former pupil. I have your answer about our ambitions and I understand your position."

Once more, the envoy waited to be dismissed.

Big Grizzy · Post by **Big Grizzy** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 1:38 am

Jin Kai's frustration at his current situation and dealing with a single minded envoy did little for his current mood. He was visibly trying to calm himself.

"Listen, envoy, I do not wish you to leave and tell Little Fei that I hate him. I don't. I am a simple man. I speak what I hear. Fei Lak's generals executed those men quite publicly, thus there is talk amongst the common people about their savagery. They address Fei as warmonger, and I only called him that because I am angry at my current situation. It was a slip of the tongue. I submitted to Xiong Xushou and upon arriving at my new post, he was nowhere to be found."

"I am not being selective with the facts I have listed. I was not in the employ of Xiong Xushou when my army marched on Quni. I knew of the payment, but it was not my concern at the time. With the young Prefect disappearing like he did, I was forced to take over the administration of his territories. Having seen his finances, I now lament the move, but can do nothing about it."

"Now, Fei sends an envoy here for someone who is not here, and I am forced to see you. I would be very likely to agree to Little Fei's proposal if it came at a better time. If I could spare a moment to get away from here, I would return to him with you to discuss it further. As there is nothing you could say to change this fact, you are free to leave. You may tell Fei that he can come visit me here."