Jiaodong Provincial Roleplay

[Shi Tong]

The answer was clear as crystal, allowing Hu Kang a glimpse inside of the mind of Shi Tong, of whom probably only Fang Ai and Yang Yu have seen in the past.

"All of that, and more. I will not stop, I will not rest, and will not falter. I will do everything that I can to ensure this result."

The honor guard escorting Shi Tong immediately lowered their heads at the profound words of their lord while Shi Tong stared forward, beyond Hu Kang and Zhu Ping, towards his envisioned future.

[Shi Tong]

AT A SEPARATE TIME


It was September 206. And just seven months into his reign as ruler of a single city, the young and cold Shi Tong had now command of three of the provinces of the Middle Kingdom: Yan, Jibei, and Jiaodong. Within these three provinces, the administration had domain over seven cities, nine towns, and ten villages. Hundreds of thousands of people could see the banners of Shi Tong flying high over city walls, town barriers and village barricades. But as Shi Tong stared out from his veranda, overlooking the capital city of Gaomi, a darkness was beginning to pervade him. This darkness was not one of evil intent, but one of his innermost self, a man with a grand ambition. He could claim now to have one of the largest administrations known throughout the Middle Kingdom today. But what was he now, but a mere servant of some supposed "higher authority."


The truth was cold, calculating, and simple. Shi Tong held himself to no such higher authority. He was his own man, and he made his own decisions. Those that had decided to follow him since his ascent seven months ago understood this and supported him in his grand endeavor. The Chu? They thought themselves the Kings and Kingmakers when they were only pawns on a much grander scale of importance for the one man for whom it mattered. News had spread that the Emperor of Chu and the Prime Minister had been banished from the Imperial Court, on orders from the Hegemon-King. And now Shi Tong would take this opportunity and grasp it, making it his and turning the entire Middle Kingdom upside down.


Early the next morning, preparations had already begun. A large clearing had been set inside of the city while numerous attendants had taken to decorating the area in large swaths of gold and purple. The Gaomi garrison took to the city, creating a boundary and stood at attention to block viewers from coming closer than necessary to the now being built dais. Flying from the dais itself were the personal banners of Shi Tong, seven in total each representing the cities under his control. Upon the large dais were places set for each of Shi Tong's officers, divided into civil and military courts. At the middle would be the stepping staircase, leading up to the first layer of the dais for the officers, a second level would be made available for all the subordinate rulers that Shi Tong had created during his rule. Finally, at the top of the dais, would be a single placement for the young administrator himself.


As the day progressed, more and more people began to travel to the construction area, whispers abound as to the exact nature of what was going on. Of course, they wouldn't know. Shi Tong had kept this close to his heart at all times, wary of letting out the demon that was inside. Now, with the leadership of Chu in question and he being in control of a territory as large as one of the Warring States of old, there was little doubt in his heart now as to what he was going to do. As the sun rose to midday, the officials of the administration were invited to take their places on the dais, before the Marquis would make his appearance, having already been informed that on what today's performance would be about.

[Aisha]

Shi Tong and Kayfen

Most likely destroying the poignancy of the moment completely; Ping gave aloud and awkward laugh as he scratched the back of his head. "Man, you guys are so serious." He grinned, seemingly unaware of how inappropriate is response was or simply not caring, then he stuck a finger in his ear and twisted it to sate an itch. "Anyway..." He inspected the finger after pulling it out of his ear and then wiped it on his pants as he continued. "I kinda like what you said. A herd needs a strong leader so it won't panic and break up if predators strike. Heh, an' maybe you're the predator...I kinda don't wanna be on the receiving end of what Pyu got, haha!" Another awkward laugh and he hooked a hand around the back of his neck with his elbow close to his chest.

He shrugged and let his hand flop to his thigh again before looking at Kang, though he may not have seen the youth's attention turned to him. "It's nothin' personal with Yan, I know. We woulda done the same to you guys, if we could have, that's just how the world works. Gotta protect what's yours. I'mma do a better job of that next time." He rested his forehead against the back of the taller man's shoulder, in a strange gesture which could have meant any number of things, and was still for a moment before he straightened and smiled carelessly.

[Kayfen]

Kang tensed at...pretty much everything Ping said and did. Quickly he spoke up before either Ping or Shi Tong could be given a chance. "So, that much is decided, then. We know who you are, you know who we are. We are still interested in serving. Are you interested in the same?"

[Shi Tong]

@Kayfen and Aisha

Shi Tong nodded slightly.

"Indeed. So long as you have no qualms for whom you work for, I shall accept you into my service, the both of you."

Zu Ping and Hu Kang have joined Shi Tong! Please post in OI and Status Changes!

[Kayfen]

That Other Place and Time!

Hu Kang had taken his seat, arriving early. Few would know who he was, and for this he was grateful. He didn't want a reputation as a general, despite what he had done the month before. This would be further cemented by sitting in the civil council section. A pleasant smile softened his features as he watched interest build. He said nothing, and waited.

[Chou Yu]

It has been awhile since Yang Yu had visited Gaomi; months infact. The general had been too busy with his task to pacify province after province in the name of the Marquis of Gaomi. Just recently, him and many others had took control of the entire province of Yan in one swift assault, winning a glorious victory against the forces of Wen Luan. It was not a challenging battle, yet Yang Yu had nonetheless felt satisfaction in the aftermath of the battle. That victory would only serve to spread the name of Yang Yu even more as a military general.

Walking through the city of Gaomi, Yang Yu noted how the streets were much less crowded than how they looked the last time he was here, and the traffic all went onto the same direction, the direction that Yang Yu was heading to. He would not be surprised if every citizen were going to the same spot. Yang Yu could not blame them, what was going to take place that day is something that would go down in history, something that would be etched in the minds of the whole land. And Yang Yu would be part of it. More than that, Yang Yu had played a key role to the events leading to that day with his military prowess. It would not end here however, not by a long shot.

There were many reasons why Yang Yu was elated about what will happen today, but one of the main reason is because it will mark the end of the need for him to pretend. It will end the need for him to act diplomatically, to portray Shi Tong as an individual of middling ambition. The general scoffed. Like I would serve someone like that...

Yang Yu saw the ring of troops surrounding the clearing signaling that he was indeed at the right place. Mingling and crowding around the troops were curious citizens, murmuring and gossiping wondering what was going to take place. The throng of crowds was large and tight, however as Yang Yu neared, men stepped aside to let him through. Even for those that did not recognize him by face, they could see that he was a man of import from his appearance.

Yang Yu was dressed in a full military armor of polished steel. His hair was tied in a bun inside his helmet, framing a slender face with sharp features. Over his armor he slung a robe of deep purple and gold. It was a lavish robe decorated with golden embroidery and lining, clearly something that he did not have seven months ago. It signified how far he had come since he first set out on his goal.

Yang Yu navigated through the crowd, pleased as he heard some of the citizens spoke of his name in awe, and reached the ring of soldiers. The garrison recognized him and saluted, proceeding to to open the way for him to go through. As he stood in the clearing looking at the dais a small frown appeared on his features. A small kink in an otherwise perfect day was that he had to sit lower on the dais, for the spots closest to Shi Tong was reserved for the nobles under him. Yu wasn't interested in a noble rank himself, but it galled him that they are getting a more prestigious spot despite Yang Yu's merits far outweighing them.

The kink was not enough to dampen his good mood however as he took a seat on his spot, adopting a regal pose and waited for the coronation to begin.

[Infernal Dragon]

THAT OTHER PLACE AND TIME

Xunnüfashi, like other officers had received an invitation from the lord of Gaomi and like them she went ahead and accepted the invite. It had been several months since she joined Shi Tong and not much as changed since then. She still didn't call him "lord," only by name or rank. Though she wasn't the sort to socialize, she felt that something was in the air. A dark cloud seemed to hover over the land. She had her about what happened in Chu but like most political matters, it wasn't something she cared about. She arrived in her traditional Crimson robes with her sword strapped to her back. After passing through the typical security measures, Xunnüfashi took her place and looked around. Though it was still rather hot, something seemed to chill her deep down. What was it that was bothering her so? Unless approached, the young woman kept to herself.

[Aisha]

Dressed in his usual plain cotton shirt and rough hemp pants, looking more like a farmer peasant than an officer of the local administration, the youth made his way through the crowd and made no attempt to hide his curiosity. That interest didn't extend merely to the event which was being set up - he also shamelessly stared at anyone of the elegantly dressed people among the mass of less richly dressed peasants. If any should look his way he would give a grin of greeting and move on through the crowd. He noted a woman in red and started toward her until he noticed a more familiar face and his dark brown eyes lit up with happiness. "Kang! Brother!" He waved an arm above his head and hurried through the crowd toward the scholar, no one around him making an concessions for him, but he bumped into someone hard when he was just a half dozen paces from his destination.

"Sorry!" He yelped before she even hit the ground and blinked as he found his arms automatically come up as she lost hold of what she was carrying. He looked down at the woman and then at the bundle in his arms and blinked as he noted it was a baby. "I'm real sorry, miss." He held the child easily with the support of one arm and offered her the other to help her up. "He's a cute one." The young horse trainer complimented her before handing the baby back and then smiling before more carefully slipping through the crowd toward Kang. "Kang, hey, sorry I'm late." He placed a hand on the seated man's shoulder and gave it an affectionate squeeze before glancing around at the scene about them. "This place is crazy, I never seen so many people! And you seen the nobles? They look like flowers and peacocks, I bet one hat from their head's worth more than ten men earn in a year, it's amazing! Dunno how they walk around in those big robes." He slipped past Kang into the seat next to his and slung his arms over the back of the chairs lazily before rolling his head to look at the scholar. "You feelin' all right now?" He slipped a hand to the scholar's far shoulder and rubbed it a little before letting his hand hang limply from the back of the seat with his arm still behind him.

[Xun Xiao]

Xiahou Cao's mount strutted into the city bearing the man himself, and which emulated the gait and bearing of the other could have been anyone's guess. A small group of attendants circled around the dark spectacle, though unlike the general, they appeared a bit worse for wear. Apparently it fit the general's sense of humor to make the walking men run alongside his horse, from time to time, on the trek from Yan. Perhaps they simply required the exercise, yet now their stained and worn garments were ruining his entrance. Before moving onward into the city, he put up his hand and addressed the attendants without bothering to stop.

"Excellent, we have arrived in Gaomi," he began with a smile that quickly turned to a look of puzzlement. "But it appears you have all lost your horses along the way! Quite a shame, that. I should perhaps reconsider leaving my horse in the care of those who cannot keep their own, yet every man is deserving of redemption, no?" asked Cao with what appeared to be genuine concern in his voice.

"So, I shall go on to the Lord Shi's ceremony. You may all wait here and watch my horse," finished the general before picking up the pace of the horse he had just told the men to watch. They stood back, a bit dumbfounded by the odd man, and the most loyal of the bunch began to follow before Xiahou Cao called back, "Any who follow are more than welcome to bear me to the ceremony in place of my forsaken mount," which stopped the final retainer in his tracks. Xiahou Cao kept on without any sign of noticing.

Finally, the Black Horseman of Changshan, his attire grandly reflecting such a nickname, arrived at the dais. Word had surely traveled of his exploits in pacifying Yan, and ever the contradiction, no one was to mistake the mysterious man's identity. At last, he dismounted and approached a guard near the entrance.

"I trust a seat has been prepared for my horse?" questioned the general, who paused only briefly before leaving his horse outside and moving to his own prepared seat. Once seated, the general awaited the ceremony patiently yet with little interest evident to those who may have observed him.