General Roleplay Thread

[Chou Yu]

Open RP!!

As Yang Yu walked through the busy market street, his mind wandered into things much less menial than everyday transactions. It has not been long since Yu had joined Shi Tong in Jiaodong, throwing in his lot with him and his cause, for he believed that through him Yu and his younger brother Yang Xi would gain what they wish most out of this life, for their name to ring far and wide to the four corners of the land, to be known for their great and amazing deeds and to make their mark forever in the land's history. Since then, his mind had scarcely been occupied by something other than his Lord's cause and furthering his own ambition.

Walking pass a group of men to his side, Yu heard a conversation that sparked his interest and paused, not bothering to be discreet in observing the men and listening to their words.

"It's true, I was there when it happened." A short man carrying a large sack behind him said, "This Deng Yue incited a mob and ousted the late Governor of Zhu off his seat. The city is his now." Another from the group, a taller man folding his arms under his chest said with a troubled face, "First it was that Shi Tong in Jiaodong, now this. The same thing happened in Di I heard from my brother in law, the city of Beidi had forcefully changed hands into one dubbed Huang Fu. Just north of that in Wei, a battle occurred in the town of Shang Dang for the city, in which the old governor was slain, and afterward the rein of power shifted there." Another man leaning on a wall took up the conversation, "It's true it's true! I even heard that in Yan, one Wen Luan stirred the people to revolt against the governor there, and now she holds the city of Ji! Also, rumor has it that a masked man styled as Zhefu in Qi assassinated the governor of Linzi and took the city for himself." Hearing this, the short man with the large sack shook his head and said, "What is happening to the land? I had hopes that things would be more stable now as the Qin was defeated, but it seems like the land is rousing. What will become of us?" The man sounded troubled.

Unlike the short man, Yu never had any delusion that anything was ended with Xiang Yu's victory. The fall of Qin only marked the beginning of a new war, as men rise up realizing the chance to make a name for themselves, or to rise to power. Chaos was inevitable, and chaos is the steed in which Yang Yu will ride into glory, fame, and renown.

One thing did the men mentioned did trouble him however, and it was the one thing that occupies Yu's thoughts the most these days. This Zhefu fellow had risen up in Qi, and words had it that officers of talent had roused to join his ranks. Qi shared a border of Jiaodong, and should this Zhefu person feel unsatisfied with Qi, a clash between the two will clearly occur. There's nothing to it, we need more skilled men of ability in our ranks... While Yu believed that it was his own talent that shall be the key to the success of his Lord Shi Tong, he did not have any delusion that he could do it himself. But alas, would that be the case, then this matter would be so much simpler. Thought Yang Yu.

[Avenara]

((Open RP, Taking Chou Yu Up On His Offer ))

Yu will no doubt take note of Jia Fei the moment she notices him, as they both had been distracted by the talk of those people. She gives him a bit of an amused grin, tilting her head as if to ask why he cared about politics. In her normal, completely unshy nature, this lovely symmetrical woman crosses the street to converse with Yang Yu. "I see their talk caught your attention too. Judging by your face, something they said worried you. I'm curious, what makes a capable looking man such as yourself worry?"

Beside her is her white horse Jingzhi who is nudging at her mistress's pocket in the hopes for a sugar cube or an apple that sometimes resides in there, but much to the mare's frustration she only gets gentle pets on the neck. Fei is busy right now, inspecting a curious man who looks to be about her age. Apples will have to wait for later.

[Chou Yu]

Yu was so deep in thought that he had noticed the woman until she was on top of him. "Huh?" Yu started when the woman spoke to him. It took him some concentration to realize what she's saying when he was still deep in thought. When he got it, he did not reply right away, yet he observed the woman standing before him. One glance was enough to see that she was not anyone ordinary. That wasn't enough for Yu to divulge what he was thinking to a complete stranger however, "I was just thinking how easier life would be if you could do everything yourself, not relying on others to do so." He said truthfully without the revealing the source of the thought.

With a curious look on his face, Yu asked a question to the woman in turn, "What do you think about what those men were saying?"

[Avenara]

"I was thinking they shouldn't be so surprised that there is still the feel of war in the air. Things might be different under one ruler, but as long as there are two very powerful men fighting each other for full control of China, well, the underlings will follow suit." She chuckles at him, just as cautious as he, but knowing full well the only way to get someone else's opinion is to give your own. Jingzhi earns gentle strokes on her head once she puts her head on Fei's shoulder. The mare snuffs at the air to get a feel for Yu.

"Not that you can blame them. If parents are too busy fighting each other to watch the children, the children happily run amok. If the parents aren't careful, their children will grow up not knowing a parent's love, and then, well, that never ends well for either parent, does it?" She giggles and rests her cheek against the mare's as she watches Yu just as intently as her mount.

"I met Zhefu once at a banquet he threw in Qi for nobles. My great Lord Kai Zoku was kind enough to take me. We were the only ones there from the Di Providence. He spoke out against Xiang Yu. I had wondered if that might have caught the ruler's attention, but if Zhefu has taken over Linzi I suppose not. I've also met Huang Fu of Di, under less friendly circumstances. Both men seemed very power hungry. I'm not one bit surprised they have drawn attention to themselves and become the object of news. It makes me wonder what will become of the towns and villages around them." Sometimes, it takes being very brave, even foolish, to find out if people hold the same values as you do. One might say Fei was being stupid, saying too much, opening up too far. Who knows if those people would be right?

[Chou Yu]

[I had class!]

"Of course, but the common people they care not think pass their daily needs. Indeed, most of them do not have the time to energy to worry about such things. Thus they choose to readily prescribe to common misconceptions." Yu started. Of course he himself never had any delusions that the chaos was over when Xiang Yu claimed hegemony through the emperor. "His conquest was a violent one, decorated with blood and aided by fear. Unlike conquests supported by the people and nobles, Xiang Yu's holds only until someone thinks that they can rebel without getting caught, or annihilated." Yu then laughed, "For Xiang Yu, it seems like it won't take long at all."

At first, her talk of parents and children did not make sense to Yang Yu, but as she continued he understood, "Or perhaps, in the first place the children are unruly bastards, each fighting for the inheritance." Yu smirked at what he said.

What she said next however, was as interesting as anything he'd heard for a while. She has met this Zhefu? Lord Kai Zoku? What was most interesting was her claim that the leader of the group in Qi spoke against Xiang Yu. It confirmed his suspicion of the man, but still Yu could not help but wonder, Is this man foolish, brave, or just very sure of himself? He needed to know more.

"I am Yang Yu of Jiaodong. May I have a name to put with a face?" Yu requested politely after introducing himself.

[Avenara]

"Jia Fei of the Di Providence." She puts her hands together and politely bows for the young man before her. It creates a cascading effect with her ebony hair that is quite pretty. "It is quite possible that they were unruly bastards." The way the curse rolls off her tongue is probably amusing, especially since she's a short little thing. Then her hand gestures towards an tavern. "Shall we get out of the sun and rest a little? It has been quite the journey for me."

Jingzhi snuffs, not wanting to be forgotten in all this talking. It has been a long journey for her too and what she wants now is water, food, and a nice stable. "Or...perhaps Jingzhi would rather we head to the stables for our chat." The pretty woman laughs, hoping her new friend will be too curious to mind.

[Chou Yu]

Lady Jia Fei... Yu committed the name to memory. Though he started as a solitary man, Yu is slowly learning that it's quite impossible to achieve his ambition without some sort of assistance from others. It was a bitter truth, hard to swallow, yet it was the truth. This woman knows of a noble that was influential enough to be invited to Zhefu's banquet. Having this connection could prove useful in the future.

Yu opened his mouth to ask further of this banquet, when she laughed and suggested they go to a stable. Wrinkling his nose Yu replied, "If we must. Though I'd prefer our stay there to be as short as possible." With that out of the way Yu got to the point, "My Lady Jia Fei. I wonder if it is too much of a bother if you could tell me of this banquet. Who was there and what things were said? You have mentioned that he spoke against Xiang Yu. Do you remember his exact words? This interest me so..." Anything he could learn about his new neighbor in Yu's opinion was worth as much as gold.

[Avenara]

So he was interested in Qi? That was a little fact she found interesting. Fair enough. The woman will start to walk her mare to the stables while keeping pace with Yu.

"When Lord Kai and I arrived, Magistrate Guan Yin She greeted us and expressed that we should talk to Zhefu. We weren't sure at the time what talks were going to happen, so he told us they would be about the "Blood Tyrant" and how our people would be extinct if we did not band together." Fei looks over to the other man, watching his reactions curiously. Faces, eyes, could tell you so very much about another person.

"From there my Lord and I took a seat and enjoyed some food. The talk around us was nothing but trivial pleasantries. Soon Zhefu entered, and greeted us. Nothing interested, just the common welcome and eat. He sat down beside his wife and they whispered to each other a little. Before long he finally stood up to address us all. As you can imagine, interest burned his speech into my mind."

Finally, they reach the stables where she pays one of the hands to tend to her dear horse. Then she starts back towards the tavern as it was clear Yu didn't enjoy the idea of sticking around there by the face he made.

"He was honored with an alliance with the Guan clan in Qi. That was the first thing he spoke of. They had created a base to heal the land. Then he went on to say the Middle Kingdom was always full of strife, which is quite true. He said that we assume we are unbeatable, that the Great Wall would defend us from any attack. Then he told us, that wasn't the case. With a hand he gestured towards a small group of men, and told us one of them was his adopted son. They were from another land that had luxuries and power. Except while the Middle Kingdom fights among themselves, these people fought together to expand their borders."

"Zhefu believed that one day, those same people would reach the border of China, and what would happen then is we would be too busy fighting each other to fend them off if we remain under the rule of Xiang Yu."

Pointing a finger to the sky, Fei will quote Zhefu, "This is where he says the most memorable thing possible that night: 'Together, we can forge a new age, a new way. Together, we shall unite Qi, and the Middle Kingdom itself. We will no longer look inward. We will look outward. We will expand. And we will crush any state that dares oppose us! Will you join us? To create a new way, a new order. One that creates true stability?' "

While not nearly done recounting the whole night, Fei looks to the man curiously, wondering what he is thinking. No doubt, she is a wondrous source of information. The question is, why is this information so interesting to him? Perhaps, she should ask a few questions of her own before telling anymore.

[Chou Yu]

To Yu's delight, the Lady Ji Fei did not mind recalling the event for his sake. As she started, Yu put all thoughts from his mind and focused solely on her words, hoping that he could glean some sort of useful information for himself and his Lord Shi Tong. The first part of her recollection was not of much interest to the Chief Aide of Jiaodong's Army. Though... Blood Tyrant? Extinction? Is this Zhefu individual some sort of doomsday prophet?

His eyes lighted up when she spoke of Zhefu's words of the Middle Kingdom, and the group of men, the foreigners. "What of Zhefu himself, is he a foreigner too?" So he adopted one of them huh? Yu thought curiously. Then he chuckled at the claim that the land the foreigners had came from was one of luxury and power, suggesting that they were more advanced then their own land, "If it's true that they fight to expand their border... Shouldn't we be worried of their presence in the Middle Kingdom? Zhefu might be planning to take over the land for this foreigners." Yu pointed out, planting a seed to see what the lady thought.

More valuable information left Ji Fei's mouth as she told Yu how he thought that the Middle Kingdom was in danger under Xiang Yu. The gem was his words that they were going to unite Qi and the Middle Kingdom under him. Jiadong was part of Qi was. If what the lady was saying is true, then their borders were under threat, "So what he's saying to the other states is to surrender or be destroyed? That's a fast way to make enemies." Yu observed.

When the Lady was finished, Yu bowed to her in heartfelt thanks, "You have given me much today by ways of this information. I wish I could pay you back. Is there anything you need of me? If I deem it possible and reasonable, I will try to give you it."

[Avenara]

"Zhefu seemed more worried about the foreigners taking over China. If anything I think he would set his sights on them. The men he pointed to were exiled from their lands. As for what you said about surrendering or dying, I believe that is true. Not to mention I believe it was quite foolish of him to invite many people he didn't know and tell them all this. There was one man there that challenged him by the name of Bai Rui of the Yi clan. Rui visited my lord and I. He is a crafty one, well spoken, and all around agreeable in my opinion. Anyone who wishes to keep their own town is an enemy of Zhefu. He has set his sights very publicly on ruling the Middle Kingdom. If he is not challenged early, there will be no stopping him."

The woman pauses, putting a hand to Yu's shoulder to stop him as well. "You wouldn't be so interested in this party if you weren't in danger from Zhefu. Are you from the Qi providence?" His offer to aid her gone unanswered for the moment as other things are on her mind. Such as possibly gaining an ally.