Restless (Members of Wu)

[Sun Ce]

Sun Ce entered the large building that was his kingdom.

Gold streamed from a indoor waterfall, the curtains made of a deep purple silk. Servants immediatly greated him with plates flowing with exotic new fruits and foods. He was then met by royal guards who led him up to a large throne that was placed high enough that out a window he could view the entirity of Jiang Dong, his home, his kingdom.

Letting out a sigh one of his servants looked at him with concern, however Ce quickly began to laugh, leaving the servant appeased that he was alright.

His light laughter soon became histerical, and histerical turned into what appeared to be insane laughter.

After a few minutes Ce finally calmed down enough to say to his guard
"How have i, such a young and handsome Bachelor of Jiang Dong, come to rule both Jiang Dong and the entirity of China. My rule is powerful and ever lasting!"
The Guard nodded as Ce stood and yelled out to his servants and guards
"You all, do your work and you will be paid double today!"

Cheers could be heard as they began to chant his name.

Our Lord Sun Ce

Praise be to our savior

The one who brought us freedom

Rejoice

THUMP



Suddenly awaking to his harsh reality, Ce rubbed his head and looked up at his Lead Royal Guard Dong Xi.

DX: Master Ce, it is time to wake up, you have already missed lunch.

Caught day dreaming again Ce frowned and stood up stretching
"Xi, one day i will take over for father, one day all of china will be united under Sun Ce as the grand reining emperor"

Xi sighed and nodded
DX: Of course you will sir, now please lets go.

The two walked into the main hallway.

[link]

Wu.

The doors of the palace flung open. Fully donned in battle armor and well-equipped with the trusty pike strapped onto his back, Han Dang strode into the finest building of the city, in fact the finest of all Jiang Dong, in his personal opinion. Well, not that he's been to all the other palaces of the land to make enough of a proper comparison, but a man believes what he will. Standing proud and tall, Han Yigong marched straight into the main hallway of the palace. Where was he heading? Not a clue, both for the passing officials and for Yigong himself. He simply enjoyed spending his free time doing just about nothing.

At least today he was moving about instead of falling asleep.

Stepping into the main hallway, the long and wide passageway that was the main trunk of the palace halls, the rest mainly branching out from the one they were standing in now. Enough space had been built for so many officials bustling about, especially at this time around noon, attending to their daily routines as well as other important businesses that Yigong had neither involvement nor interest in. Passing by numerous officials and servants scuttling about, Yigong noticed that he was the only one among them who was dressed in an orderly fashion for war. Where was everyone?

And then one of the doors opened, and in stepped the young man.

"Lord Sun Ce."

How could he not recognize the man? None in the entire land did not know of his name and the rumors that preceded him. Of course, being the son of the Tiger of Jiang Dong, the eldest, did have its natural benefits. But the prince-like character was a talented prodigy nonetheless, his skill unmatched on the battlefield, possible surpassing or at least holding a great potential to surpass his father. An honor to have such a worthy man waiting upon the position of leader.

"Greetings, my lord."

[Sun Ce]

Ce was clearly not in the mood to talk with others, however Dang was one the more respected generals in the province of Jiang Dong, and deserved the attention of Sun Ce.

"Yigong, What a pleasure, i assume that you have been killing men in my fathers name"
He said with humor in his voice. he grabbed hold of Dang's right shoulder, and gave a light punch to his right
"You know, the Han is lucky my father is on their side. With generals like yourself, and a son like myself, there is no way that the Han could stand a chance"

Dong Xi Leans over next to Ce and whispers
~My lord, you should not speak ill of the Han~

Ce laughed Releasing Dang's shoulder and turned back to Xi
"Please, the han is dying, the people can tell who is in control. All we need is for father to take action and we could own china before the year 200"

[link]

"Yes my lord, I indeed have been eliminating many foolish bandits who dare to oppose the forces of Wu. Of course, my skills would be nowhere near yours on the battlefield."

Han Dang smiled as Sun Ce gave him a light punch on the shoulder. He was in no position to return such an action, but he was delighted by the sight that Ce was a straightforward, outgoing man, much like himself, and most likely one who took the offensive upon the field. His close comrade Cheng Pu would simply look at the lord's eldest and sigh upon the figure, looking down with his "veteran" eyes. Yigong found nothing but a fierce and enlightening warrior and leader within Ce, exactly what he looked for.

And his frank honesty. His wide open and transparent opinion on the matters at hand. It was what a true man would do, state his thoughts, instead of being all "politician" and try to cover his words with sweet sugar, only later to pop out and bring a knife to the back. No, things would happen clear and well-known, they knew the Han would fall. Yigong couldn't help but silently scoff at Dong Xi's conservative actions.

"Hahaha, do we even really care whether anyone listens or not? The Han will crumble soon enough, and the land will quickly be united under the crimson banner. All of this, and much more, will be all ours, ours to roam, ours to luxuriate upon."

[Sun Ce]

Ce BEgan to laugh openly once more. Yigong had once again made him laugh through his open words and actions.
Dong Xi was clearly not pleased with Dengs words however he was not about to say or do anything about it due to Ce's reaction. so long as Ce was appeased as was Xi
"Come friends, let us go to the courtyard and enjoy a drink in this moment of pece, Pu, Xi, the two of you should lighten up and be merry as it will not be long before the Tiger can roam free among the capital, and the little conqueror can shed his sword in the blood of our enemies. The Yellow dragon has fallen, long live the tigers of Wu"


During this small speech Ce moves towards a small cabinet in the main hall, from which he pulls out a fine Red Liquid, and began to pour into small oval cups

"Let us drink the blood of those who oppose the Tiger, whom lurks in the dark of both the forest and the soul of our very being!"
He hands a cup to each man standing before him and raises the cup into the air as if proposing a toast
"Let this be the first of many victorious drinks in the province of Wu"
Dong Xi reluctantly took the cup and made the toast, however he only takes a small sip before he sets it down, he was on the job thusly he would only drink enough to show respect to the toast, and nothing more.
Xi wasnt much of a drinker, or for that matter a fan of boasting small victories, or even large ones. He was a Humble General whom until now could not even stand next to generals like Yigong or Cheng Pu.

"Ah and let us also celebrate the promotion of Dong Xi here, who will be joining all of us in battle as a general next month!"

[link]

Han Dang gladly received the cup of red liquid, most likely the substance well-known as wine. But whatever it was, it was sure to be some variation of alcohol, and if it was alcohol, it was welcome. Yigong wasn't a heavy drinker, but he did more than a usual man's quantity. Pouring the entire contents of the cup into his mouth, he quickly drained every single drop of the liquid down his throat. A bit of a bitter taste, but wasn't that what he drank it for? He remembered blood to be more salty... But then, Sun Ce's remark had only been an expression.

"To the prosper of Wu."

Emptying his cup, Yigong placed it on the table before him with a light clank, the porcelain clanging on the wooden table and leaping in its place just a slight bit before spinning back into its original position, ready for some passing servant to collect and bring it to the kitchens to wash and replace in the cabinet.

"Well, congratulations to Dong Xi! Let's all give a round of applause for his success!"

Upon the loud voice of Han Yigong, all the officials suddenly burst to their feet, breaking out of their trances of work, and automatically began to clap for Dong Xi, whether they knew why or not. Such was the appeal to fear, and of course, respect.

[Sun Ce]

Sun Ce began to laugh, then puts two fingers in his mouth and let out a shrieking whistle. He then began to clap and cheer with the rest of the servants and guards. Ce found Yigongs choice of action very humerous.

Dong Xi on the other hand looked less content with his actions. as the men began to clap they were very quickly quelled by the deadly stare immited from Xi. If looks could kill, the entire kingdom of Wu would have burst into flames.

He then turned to YiGong. where most would expect a rain of curses and threats, the only words muttered from his mouth were "Thankyou, but today is not my day nor will it ever be"

At that he took a seat. his face not changing from the serious and clearly un entertained look of despair.
Ce sighed and sat down next to Xi
"Ah come on old man, live a little, this is a large accomplishment for you,,,,and Deng, put down that cup, we have servents for that" On those words several servants came out, took the cup and immediatly left the area, leaving the generals now completly alone.

"Well this has been fun, say Deng is there not a scheduled attack on Luo Yang in order to combat Dong Zhuo? father is giving me several hundred troops, perhaps i could take part in the slaughter of these yellow bastards"
He said with a arrogant smirk, the one the generals of Wu knew as his determined look, one that when used, would cause him good fortune, and would make losing often impossible.

[link]

Han Dang was clapping and cheering along with the crowd when he noticed that everyone had all of a sudden stopped, only to creep back into silence and slowly step away, attempting to quietly resume their work routines, and of course for the most of them trying to forget what had just happened in the revered halls of Wu, and pretending not to have been any part of whatever might just have happened. Yigong, confused, turned around to face Dong Xi, and there he was, with his cold two eyes, staring straight at Yigong and speaking his modest, yet mood-dampening words.

"Man, this is a thing of a lifetime. No need to be such a wet blanket about it."

Pulling out a wooden chair from the table, Yigong also placed himself in a seat, signaling to Dong Xi to join them in the continued conversation. He had no idea why in the world Xi had to act so strange all his life, but oh well, Yigong didn't really understand a lot of people anyway. The servants scurried forth and carried all the empty cups away, and Yigong leaned back in his chair and relaxed.

"Dong Zhuo? No, we are fighting the Yellow Turbans. And yes, we are indeed going to set out to join the battle at Luo Yang. The Turbans are marching upon the Han capital, and we cannot miss out on the attack. It would be great to have you on the battlefield with us, my lord. You would be the great slaughtering machine.

"Though honestly, I have to say: If the Han is to fall, why save the capital anyway? It'll only elongate the time we have to wait until the proper rise."

[Sun Ce]

On the mentioning of the Turbans Ce immediatly spat on the ground, his eyes narrowed and he scoffed a cold light laugh.
"The turbans are just an excuse for minor Prefects to slowly steal land from the emperor. i say we are combating Dong Zhuo, because we fight along side Lu Bu. Surely Gongsun Zan will be there as well, and whomever does better will inevitably be rewarded by the emperor. Jiao is doomed, the question is who will prove their worth, and who will take the capital"

This had brought tension to the room, Ce had actually suggested that these lords were commiting treason, not actually aiding the government at all. He had even accused his own father of this treason, however at the same time he seemed to be accepting this as a reasonable action.

Xi again seemed as though he wanted to say something, but stopped due to Ce's arrogance on the subject. Once Ce set his mind on something there was no way to change it.

"Besides that, it wont matter when Cao Mengda Cao moves into the capital. he holds the majority of the emperors troops. and if Yuan Shao has the gal to join with Mengda they can conquer the north, while I....We conquer the south"
It almost appeared that this conversation had turned into a planning session for the future.

[link]

Strange statements to make on the lord's part... It was no offense, but even Han Dang knew better than that. Where in the world did Sun Ce get all this information? Or were they from his well-known daydreaming and visions? It did make sense, however, as Dong Zhuo was infamous for his tyrannical personality and his clear greed and lust for the throne and endless power; he would be a target in the near future, a possible threat becoming a common enemy for taking down. As well, Cao Cao had the potential of taking much power with his own craftiness...

"I apologize, my lord, but you must be misinformed. He Jin holds all the power in the court right now, and the Emperor is nothing, absolutely nothing. Though I will agree with you that Dong Zhuo is pretty much a despicable tyrannical man who should be taken down as soon as possible, but for the moment he is still residing with silence in his residence far to the northwest, and is in fact inactive in Luo Yang.

"And, of course, I very much agree with you that whoever takes over the Han court will gain the most power. But it will be difficult for us to do so, I'm afraid. Luo Yang is in the north, and we would rather be in an advantage if we simply took over all of the south and establish our own land. Jiang Dong will soon be our kingdom.

"As for Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, they are old friends, and can easily take battle hand-in-hand. However, Shao has few supporters, I believe, though he is constantly on the lookout for men. Both are talented men, they should be taken down and crushed into the dirt.

"I've also heard of that shoe maker, what was his name... Liu Bei? What do you think of that peasant?"

[Sun Ce]

Ce began laughing at the mention of liu bei, clearly Deng had not heard of the most recent transaction.
"Yigong, you are aware that my very own sister SSX was traded to Liu Bei to ensure peace with the northern lords?"
Ce looked out the window from where they were at, the sun was setting over the horizon. he almost seemed to have a pained look on his face with these next words, one taht Ce would never admit, but was clearly present.
" And as for Yuan Shao having supporters....it does not matter, as Cao Cao has the smartest, most talented general to ever grace this world on his side. A Man whom even the might of Wu should fear. A man whom has created a title through such grand efforts of both mind and spirit, that he should be commended with gold and silver"

His pain turned into anger quickly as it often did to cover up and look of weakness
"However now is not the time to gawk at the enemy, now is the time to build up our own Moral, our own strength. We can and will be the future of china!"

[link]

Ah, Zhou Yu...

He was indeed a very talented general, considerably the best strategist of Jiang Dong. A close friend and possibly even a sworn oath brother to Sun Ce... The young prodigy, it was a pity that his service in Wu had been so short. For what reasons he had moved to Wei, under the leadership of that crafty imbecile Cao Cao, it was really unknown, and most likely unrevealed to men such as Han Dang forever. But he knew that now Zhou Yu was an enemy, even Zhou Yu, and he would eventually have to be eliminated from the face of the earth, just like all of them.

But he sat in silence. He did not wish to provoke Ce any further with mentions of his lost friend as well as his sister, such a worthy woman traded over to a lowly peasant, a man simply beginning to rise from his small village somewhere in the north and proclaiming himself to be a relative of the Son of Heaven... Ait was a true pity again that Sun Shang Xiang had been forced to marry such a man. Was she happy with it? Yigong doubted it. And if she was, well... that would be really odd.

But now for the positive thinking, the better of situations. Rising from his seat, Yigong smiled at Sun Ce as he said:

"I propose another toast for the prospering future of Wu, our lord and his son, and all the people that live in his grace."

[Sun Ce]

Ce could tell that this was a swift way to change subject. However he could also tell the conversation had become Ackward for most participating and nodded raising his glass in the air for yet another toast. This one he seemed to feel even more than the last. no doubt that he would be forced to fight his dear friend Yu, or even his loving sister of whom he had not seen in years, since she was five and sent north to be Married to one of the Northern lords.
The toast seemed to be cold, yet somehow deeply satisfying, or even humbling to the gentlement who sat around it. Dong Xi once again forcing himself to take a light sip of the drink, and from there setting it down.
"Hell, we might have more troops than the entire han army huh?"
Ce laughed a little at his own change in conversation. being only 16 he was clearly a light weight at alcohal. he was slightly buzzed on the red whine.

[link]

Sun Ce seemed to grow just a bit drowsy on the wine, but it might as well be one of his earliest tries on the alcohol. As for Han Dang, it was just his second cup, and these miniature bowls carrying the red liquid only contained a few sips, one or two gulps at the most. Glugging the entire contents of the cup once again, Yigong set it back down on the table and laughed along with Ce as they commented on their own large army. It was humongous indeed, and they might as well soon actually match the force of the Han itself.

"And once we are certain that we are strong enough, we shall crush everyone who oppose. Every man standing against us, yes, even the court of the Han if they choose to die. Of course, we would preferably have the emperor safe, but if he decides to die, then let the Son of Heaven die. A new crimson era of the Sun shall rise!"

[Sun Ce]

"Silly Yigong, the sun will always rise, it always has and always will!"
Now using a play on words Ce breaks into hysterical laughter.
Dong Xi lets out a sigh now clearly aware that Ce was going over the hedge with his drinking.
DX: Master Ce, perhaps you should consider stopping your drinking, you do have a defence planned for later today
Ce kinda snorted with his next laugh as he stood and nodded
"You are right Xi, it would be in my best interest to actually be able to see straight when i pound some heads"
Cracking his neck Ce began to walk forward, somehow still maintaining his ability to walk.
DX: Well Yigong it has been a...pleasure
Xi said rising and aiding Ce towards the door.
(Sorry for short post. kinda couldnt think of any way to expand this...)