Jin Kai's Audience Hall - Xiangguo

[Big Grizzy]

"Very well," replied Xiong Xushou, rising from his seat. His guards seemed to tense for a moment, but they relaxed when the young prefect gave a slight bow in return. "Then, for now, you have earned my trust. It is not right for a man to seek dominion over other lands when he cannot even bring peace to his own."

Resuming his seat, Xushou gave a little shrug, "I would have been more likely to accept Fei Lak's wish for an alliance had he not included threat of invasion. I was appalled when his general, Ma Dieu, came to me and informed me of the prefect's decision to march on Quni despite this most recent bout of turmoil in Yan."

"Should Fei Lak go forward with that plan, I will be forced to act against him - for the good of the people of Changshan," the young man repeated adamantly. "I fear that his reckless acts will leave the province weakened and ripe for conquest by Zhao. I hope that our desire for peace will sway Wu Chen. If it does not, he will have shown his true colors as well."

"I, too, fear the coming months will not be pleasant. I hope that, together, we few who truly stand for the people will be able to lead them through these difficult times."

Jin Kai nodded. "I would speak with Wu Chen about his goals, but I fear that is above my station. Should Fei secure Yan, would you still oppose his expansion?"

[Xushou]

"It would depend on many factors," Xiong Xushou answered with a casual shrug. "I have visited Shanggu; thus, I have shown I am not against cooperation with Fei Lak. However, he may have to do more than simply reconquer Ji to prove to me that he seeks more than his own glory."

"It may be that my opinion of him is premature, but I have been given little evidence to the contrary so far. If he can secure Yan and bring its people stability and prosperity, then I would not be so quick to judge him harshly for seeking to spread that stability and prosperity. For now, he has done neither, and so he will spread neither - only chaos and bloodshed."

"As for the King of Zhao," Xushou sighed, considering what he did know of the man, "I have sent a messenger to his court, but I have yet to receive a reply. I cannot simply abandon my duties here to visit him; not, at least, without knowing first that it will not be a wasted effort."

[Big Grizzy]

"I have known Fei Lak since his birth. His heart is in the right place, but he often lacks foresight. His diplomatic ability leaves something to be desired as well. He most likely slipped in that hint of a threat because you were an unknown to him and he wanted to cover all bases. As for your man's meeting with Wu Chen, let me know how it goes. I would much like to know his intentions for Changshan."

[Xushou]

"If he means to be an able leader, then he must learn to not make enemies of men before he has even met them," Xiong Xushou sighed. "For the time being, he is not my concern as long as he remains in Yan. Should his fortunes there change, so too may his fortunes change here. We shall have to wait and see what future Fei Lak chooses for himself."

"And, of course, all that I learn of Wu Chen's intentions for the north will be revealed," he agreed. "If he means to conquer Changshan, it will take a great coalition to stand against him."

[Phailak]

A small group of horsemen could be seen approaching the city, numbering near 250. At their head was the Prefect of Shanggu, Fei Lak. It felt good to travel once again and despite his officers' warnings and misgivings, he had made this trip. He looked back at the escort Ma Dieu had formed and sighed. He addressed the captain.

"You are to stay here and camp, I don't want any of you near the city. I suppose a small bodyguard of 12 men is sufficient."

He entered the city under guise of a noble, he did not want to attract attention. Once at the administration complex, he stepped forward and announced himself.

"Good day, I am Fei Lak of Yan to see Master Xiong. These are my bodyguards, they will follow any protocol you deem necessary, I of course am not armed."

Lak spread his arms in revelation, he knew he had a reputation outside of Yan, no matter how hard he tried to tame it.

[Xushou]

Shang Xiao, captain of the gate guards, stepped forward to meet Fei Lak and his men. He did not bother to hide the suspicion in his glance over the entourage, but it was not his place to judge the dealings of his lord - only to follow his command. However, he had not been told to expect the Prefect of Shanggu, either, and so he proceeded as he would with any uninvited petitioners at the gates of Xiangguo's citadel.

"Hail, lord Prefect!" Shang Xiao replied with a surprisingly polite salute to the man and his men. "If you seek an audience with Prefect Xiong, you and your men must forfeit their weapons and submit to a search of your persons, as must all who wish to pass this point."

Zhan Shi and Zhan Yuan stepped forward expectantly, though they seemed less suspicious of the gathered petitioners. Of course, the twins also knew little of politics and Fei Lak was only a name they vaguely recognized.



Assuming the weapons were turned over and the searches allowed, Fei Lak and his men were led down a long hall to a large set of doors. There, Captain Shang informed another set of guards of Fei Lak's desire for an audience. They were led inside by the younger of the two guards, who announced: "Lord Prefect, I present the Prefect of Shanggu, master Fei Lak."

Xiong Xushou rose from his heavy throne at the entrance of Fei Lak and his men. Immediately, guards stepped forward, seperating the dais he stood upon from the bodyguards. Spreading his arms in a friendly gesture, the young prefect gave a slight bow and greeted, "Welcome, master Fei, it is an honor to receive you. Please, if you wish, do sit." He idly gestured toward the simple tables and chairs set between the entrance and the dais as he went on, "I hope that your visit will set to rights the petty issues that have come between us so that we may focus on the problems of our people and the more pressing concerns that threaten to swallow us."

[Phailak]

Lak took the invited seat, bowed slightly.

"Thank you for the welcome. I have come for several pressing matters of state but I must insist that I first apologize for any insult or affront my good friend General Ma might of caused. He is at heart a warrior and I fear my lack of capable diplomats might have forced my hand in using warriors instead of men with the proper etiquette. Matters in Yan paralyzed me within its borders though I fear I also lack the talents required to follow proper code of diplomacy. Still they are poor excuses and I present you now with my personal apologies."

The Prefect from Yan bowed and waited to see if the discussions could continue amicably.

[Xushou]

A smile appeared on the young prefect's lips as Fei Lak spoke, and, for a change, it seemed a genuinely friendly smile. As the lord of Yan finished his speech, Xiong Xushou stepped down from his dais, passed his own bodyguards. An attendant rushed forth to bring a small chair to the other side of the table at a gesture from Xiong Xushou, and the young man quickly sat. He bowed his head and replied, "Your words are more than I could have hoped for, master Fei; all is forgiven and forgotten. Your man, General Ma Dieu, is an upright and noble man, and our differences were only matters of perspective."

"Your words are overshadowed by your actions, however," Xiong Xushou went on seriously, though his expression changed little. He seemed content that the meeting had begun amiably, and he was not going to try and turn them back down the path of distrust. "Long I feared that you had sought to expand your lands and influence but for the glory of your own name alone. Your intentions remained clouded and veiled to me, and I could not see the clear picture of your goals and ideals."

"You have been watched very carefully, master Fei, as many are as interested in you as I," Xushou informed. "It was master Jin Kai who cautioned me to wait. From the words of your men, I had feared you meant only to take land in Changshan to fuel your war machine. When I saw, instead, that you sought to first bring prosperity and peace to the lands of Yan, my opinions were changed. Had time not been against us, I would have expected your noble acts to continue, but I fear Wu Chen has changed a lot of things."

"I have bought myself time, but little more, with the King of Zhao, and I believe he will only use that time to bring more suffering to your people," Xiong Xushou surmised aloud. He stroked his chin thoughtfully, and his expression had finally sunk into a more melancholy state. "I am certain that this must be part of the reason for which you have come."

[Phailak]

Lak seemed very relaxed and seemed to enjoy their conversation.

"Some of what you say is true, actually I believe my honesty will be my undoing. Everyone knows I am a very ambitious person, though I like to believe it is for the good of the people and those that serve under me, it is something that is hard to prove and only myself may know in my heart. I will not lie to you or paint you a pretty picture, as you may recall I am a man that is straight forward with his thoughts. I have too many officers serving me to be able to sustain them and the army that has amassed under our banner with two cities. I know this is not your problem, but my main purpose in coming here is to ask for your advice on my situation."

Lak paused to arrage his thoughts.

"I need to expand by necessity as has been the case since the coalition was born. As I believe I once told you, we have a reputation as warmongers because of the many wars we have fought in Yan, but for each of those wars, I truly did try to avoid the bloodshed. I will not go into details since I have no other proof than my word, but attempts at peace were made with Li Lang and simply failed despite proving our prowess at several different occasions. Even the towns we took by force, surrender terms that were very generous were made, refused despite the odds against them. Shanggu was another example, the city was taken quite brilliantely by Zun Yan, yet he refused to acknowledge our strength. Ji was the worst of it, instead of presenting my vast superior army, I negotiated with Kung Xian for the surrender of the city and was met with contempt and his men killed, so what other choice did I have but to impose myself."

Lak shrugged.

"I know, our means of diplomacy are not great, but our strength is. I do not mean to boast by saying this, I merely try to explain our actions. I did not simply move into Changshan, I approached you for a solution a long time ago as I had foreseen this situation. I asked Jin Kai for his advice. Had I moved against Quni, I would have a foothold in the province but would have more enemies that I care to have, yet now the King has decided he thirsts for more and more territory. What of Zhou Guo, the man in charge there I am told is beyond incompetent and his force could not even hold out against my second field army, are we to let the King take that city as well?"

Lak opened his arms as if to reveal his intentions.

"So I present you with an opportunity to suggest something to me, any advice you can come up with. Should I leave my armies idle and wait for someone to give me an excuse to attack them while others around us with far greater ressources become stronger? Do you have a suggestion for what we should do next? Can we work together to a common goal?"

Lak gave an apologetic smile at the length of the speech, hoping he was not getting on the Prefect's nerves

[Xushou]

"I believe the people of Zhou Guo will suffer, no matter our actions in the coming days," Xiong Xushou sighed. The conversation would continue smoothly, for which he was grateful, but the topics on which they would discuss were proving troublesome for the young man. He quietly considered his own actions, both past and possible future, finally bowing his head from the effort. "I lack the resources to liberate Zhou Guo from the incompetance of its current lord. In another month, maybe two, I would have the strength to move west, but I fear it would be too late. If Wu Chen does not assault the city this month, then his intentions will be made quite clear - to prepare for an invasion of Yan."

"Had you yourself claimed Quni before the king had his chance to strike, the situation might be much improved," Xiong Xushou conceded, though he went on even more seriously, "but the people would have doubted you. For a man to set his sights on another land while his own is still rife with war is not a signal of a wise and benevolent leader. That you stayed your hand in the matter spoke volumes about your character, even if it put us into a terrible predicament."

"By the end of this month, Wu Chen or Yiye Shan will move against Zhou Guo, I believe. I am afraid I do not know the latter, and my eyes have been drawn to your lands more than that distant western province - due, of course, to our shared border and intertwined fate," Xiong Xushou said honestly. With a little shrug, he made a gesture toward the still waiting attendant, who quickly returned with tea and wine. After pouring a cup of the tea for his master, the attendant offered teacups or wine goblets to Fei Lak and each of his men.

Taking a slow sip of the tea to soothe his mind, Xushou leaned forward and spoke in a hushed tone, "Wu Chen is a threat to all the land. The people believe he has allowed the murders of much of his family, ordered the killings of the rest. Even if these things prove false, they work in the favor of any who would stand against him. For the moment, he considers me no threat - as I have appealed to his overgrown sense of self worth. In truth, I seek to rise against him. My own forces are too small and ill prepared for such a task on their own."

"I cannot offer you any good advice on these matters," sighed the young man before he took another sip of his tea. "Any words I can offer will only lead to more bloodshed. Your course of action is limited to the same choices I have: stand against the king or submit to his tyrannical reign. And time is not on our side, lord Fei. The king will see through my ploys soon enough, and his hunger has already led his eyes to Yan; it will not belong before his belly follows, and he eats his fill."

"For you, things can improve with proper judgement," Xiong Xushou nodded slowly. "If you strike against the king in Quni - with, of course, my aid of General Zhang Kui's Black Dragon Army - he will be unable to counter your western front. His vassal, Lu Ying, however, could then lead a force against Yan directly - something the king would surely order. This would be an advance you could withstand, I think."

"My own position is far more precarious," the prefect sighed. "Even if I am able to expand my influence further into Changshan, I will face the full force of Zhao's mighty armies here in Xiangguo. I cannot bring this kind of suffering upon my people, and so, I have stayed my hand thus far."

"Simply," Xiong Xushou concluded sadly, "unless the king dies, we face a dragon that I fear none in the north can stop."