Post by Sun Dao on Feb 4, 2011 6:40:32 GMT
Sun Dao had been travelling for days; while it seems such a short distance on a map, the road from Luo Yang to Pu Yang was actually quite long. It didn't help that it rained and Dao's horse refused to move at any reasonable speed through the mud.
Damn dirt roads.. I suppose I'll have to make that one of my projects. One of my extremely expensive projects. I don't even want to think about how much it costs to cobble a stretch that long.. Dao quickly distracted himself by turning his attention to the city at hand, Pu Yang. Formidable walls, he thought, admiring the obvious craftsmanship that had gone into their construction, I wish I could have met the architect behind their construction, no doubt I could have learned a thing or two from him. Riding on, he passed through the gates a few minutes later and headed straight for the government office.
There weren't many ranking officers here at the moment, and Sun Dao was here to take charge and turn this city into a place that Wei, and Cao Cao himself, could be proud of. This city was well situated in a strategic position, had a respectable population and an army large enough to hold the walls. Maybe.That had yet to be proven to Dao, but he preferred to be optimistic on such matters.
Before long the government office was before him, and he would have passed it by save for the group of guards out front. Dismounting, Sun Dao passed the reins of his horse off to a guard, ordering him to take it to a stable hand to have it cared for. The guard began to move away and Dao made his way up the stairs. He had been sure to wear the robes of his office today,so that all would recognize him as an officer of Wei, and none would question his authority.
The entryway was already open, and he was met shortly after entering by a young scribe, who bowed awkwardly and introduced himself. "G-Greetings, my lord." he managed awkwardly attempting a smile, "Who may I announce to the senior official?" Dao kept himself from laughing, the boy obviously had not dealt with officers much before. "I am Sun Dao, thank you, but no need to introduce me, show me to whoever is in charge." Dao motioned down the passageway with his arm, but the boy's smile had faded, and he was staring quite intently at the ground.
"The.. The Darkstar." the boy whispered, "Right this way my sir. My sire. My lord!" he squeaked the last two words, spinning on his heels and walking quickly down the corridor muttering something that was supposed to be intelligible. "This way" was Dao's best guess. "Take it easy, child. My reputation isn't that bad." The boy kept walking. At least, I didn't think it was that bad.. he thought to himself, now slightly worried.
The scribe led him down a few corridors, through a few rooms, and finally to the personal office of the senior official, though the man was not the senior of many. The room was as lavishly decorated as a man of such middling importance could be, making the room actually quite comfortable. This particular man, Rong Yun, had gained his status on the combined grounds that his family was influential in the city, and that Rong never shies away from slander or threats to eliminate or intimidate his rivals and those lower in rank. Despite the man's shortcomings as a decent human being he was actually not a half bad administrator, for times of peace. But this was not one of those times, this was a time that requires a strong hand to issue orders and keep the wheels running smoothly.
Rong was sitting behind a desk in a rather plush chair, reading a novel that Sun Dao couldn't recognize, which was extremely rare. At least until he realized that the novel wasn't actually what it seemed, and probably contained some form of images inappropriate for the eyes of company. Dao was tipped off by the way that Rong Yun slammed the book shut and dropped it behind him in his seat as he leapt up, rounding his desk red-faced and screaming, "Damn you boy! How many fucking times do I have to tell you not to bother me unless I call for you!" the young scribe seemed to be actually shrinking in size, "B-b-but I" he tried to explain but was cut off by the round-faced Rong who clearly didn't know that his (semi) full beard did not actually make him look more impressive.
"No, I don't care, I'll have you on the streets by sundown. And who the SHIT is this bastard?" Rong turned on Sun Dao, now face to face. Well, to be honest it was more face to chest, Rong Yun was actually quite short for the volume of voice he could muster. Sun Dao smiled slightly but did not speak, hoping to get a few more colorful obscenities out of the man before he noticed the symbols on the robes. "What the hell are you smiling at, you overdressed piece of garbage? Do you even know who I am!? Rong Yun! Rong. Yun! I could have you jailed the for the rest of your pathetic inbred life! In fact, I think I'll.." He trailed off suddenly, looking down at the symbols printed on Dao's clothes, face paling noticeably.
"Luckily for you, I do know who you are, Rong Yun. Also lucky for you, you will no longer have to worry about the problems of this city on your own, Administrator. He put extra enunciation on the last word, to make sure that Rong knew that his rank could not protect him. The other was slowly backing away bowing his head low, completely silent. "You have hereby been relieved of the extremely temporary command that the last provincial governor left you in before he moved on to greater things in the capitol. And as for who I am, I am Sun Dao. The squat administrator's eyes shot up, looking Dao in the face, before remembering his manners and staring at his feet once again.
"Sun Dao? Advisor to Lord Cao Cao? The same Sun Dao who led a small force in brutal slaughter of countless northern bandits?"
"The same" Dao responded impassively. He could see the scribe smiling out of the corner of his eye.
"N-not that there was anything wrong with that, my lord, you were right to do so, nobody quest-"
"Enough." Sun Dao exclaimed, cutting the other off mid sentence. "You know who I am, I know who you are. All that we need to establish from this point is that I am in charge, under direct order from Cao Cao himself. Boy," he turned to the scribe, pointing at a table containing parchment and writing boards, "Gather writing supplies for two, give the second to Administrator Rong, here." Rong Yun began to protest, but Dao waved him silent. The scribe rushed over to the table and was back quickly, passing the writing supplies to the administrator. "I never did catch your name, child."
The boy paused, "Me?" Sun Dao nodded, "Oh. Oh! Jing Shi, sir." He said, trying to sound confident. "Well, Jing Shi, Dao said, smiling, "I'll see to it you are compensated for having to deal with this man. And, additionally, any of my following orders that I dictate to the two of you that you correctly take down but Rong fails to.. A percentage of his salary this month shall be paid to you as reward." The boy was beaming, the administrator scowling through his patchy beard. "More to ensure that you write everything properly, Rong. Now, lead me to the barracks, and on the way I will tell you the first change I need to see."
Rong Yun stormed out of the room, followed by Sun Dao and Jing Shi, who was absolutely beaming at this point.
Damn dirt roads.. I suppose I'll have to make that one of my projects. One of my extremely expensive projects. I don't even want to think about how much it costs to cobble a stretch that long.. Dao quickly distracted himself by turning his attention to the city at hand, Pu Yang. Formidable walls, he thought, admiring the obvious craftsmanship that had gone into their construction, I wish I could have met the architect behind their construction, no doubt I could have learned a thing or two from him. Riding on, he passed through the gates a few minutes later and headed straight for the government office.
There weren't many ranking officers here at the moment, and Sun Dao was here to take charge and turn this city into a place that Wei, and Cao Cao himself, could be proud of. This city was well situated in a strategic position, had a respectable population and an army large enough to hold the walls. Maybe.That had yet to be proven to Dao, but he preferred to be optimistic on such matters.
Before long the government office was before him, and he would have passed it by save for the group of guards out front. Dismounting, Sun Dao passed the reins of his horse off to a guard, ordering him to take it to a stable hand to have it cared for. The guard began to move away and Dao made his way up the stairs. He had been sure to wear the robes of his office today,so that all would recognize him as an officer of Wei, and none would question his authority.
The entryway was already open, and he was met shortly after entering by a young scribe, who bowed awkwardly and introduced himself. "G-Greetings, my lord." he managed awkwardly attempting a smile, "Who may I announce to the senior official?" Dao kept himself from laughing, the boy obviously had not dealt with officers much before. "I am Sun Dao, thank you, but no need to introduce me, show me to whoever is in charge." Dao motioned down the passageway with his arm, but the boy's smile had faded, and he was staring quite intently at the ground.
"The.. The Darkstar." the boy whispered, "Right this way my sir. My sire. My lord!" he squeaked the last two words, spinning on his heels and walking quickly down the corridor muttering something that was supposed to be intelligible. "This way" was Dao's best guess. "Take it easy, child. My reputation isn't that bad." The boy kept walking. At least, I didn't think it was that bad.. he thought to himself, now slightly worried.
The scribe led him down a few corridors, through a few rooms, and finally to the personal office of the senior official, though the man was not the senior of many. The room was as lavishly decorated as a man of such middling importance could be, making the room actually quite comfortable. This particular man, Rong Yun, had gained his status on the combined grounds that his family was influential in the city, and that Rong never shies away from slander or threats to eliminate or intimidate his rivals and those lower in rank. Despite the man's shortcomings as a decent human being he was actually not a half bad administrator, for times of peace. But this was not one of those times, this was a time that requires a strong hand to issue orders and keep the wheels running smoothly.
Rong was sitting behind a desk in a rather plush chair, reading a novel that Sun Dao couldn't recognize, which was extremely rare. At least until he realized that the novel wasn't actually what it seemed, and probably contained some form of images inappropriate for the eyes of company. Dao was tipped off by the way that Rong Yun slammed the book shut and dropped it behind him in his seat as he leapt up, rounding his desk red-faced and screaming, "Damn you boy! How many fucking times do I have to tell you not to bother me unless I call for you!" the young scribe seemed to be actually shrinking in size, "B-b-but I" he tried to explain but was cut off by the round-faced Rong who clearly didn't know that his (semi) full beard did not actually make him look more impressive.
"No, I don't care, I'll have you on the streets by sundown. And who the SHIT is this bastard?" Rong turned on Sun Dao, now face to face. Well, to be honest it was more face to chest, Rong Yun was actually quite short for the volume of voice he could muster. Sun Dao smiled slightly but did not speak, hoping to get a few more colorful obscenities out of the man before he noticed the symbols on the robes. "What the hell are you smiling at, you overdressed piece of garbage? Do you even know who I am!? Rong Yun! Rong. Yun! I could have you jailed the for the rest of your pathetic inbred life! In fact, I think I'll.." He trailed off suddenly, looking down at the symbols printed on Dao's clothes, face paling noticeably.
"Luckily for you, I do know who you are, Rong Yun. Also lucky for you, you will no longer have to worry about the problems of this city on your own, Administrator. He put extra enunciation on the last word, to make sure that Rong knew that his rank could not protect him. The other was slowly backing away bowing his head low, completely silent. "You have hereby been relieved of the extremely temporary command that the last provincial governor left you in before he moved on to greater things in the capitol. And as for who I am, I am Sun Dao. The squat administrator's eyes shot up, looking Dao in the face, before remembering his manners and staring at his feet once again.
"Sun Dao? Advisor to Lord Cao Cao? The same Sun Dao who led a small force in brutal slaughter of countless northern bandits?"
"The same" Dao responded impassively. He could see the scribe smiling out of the corner of his eye.
"N-not that there was anything wrong with that, my lord, you were right to do so, nobody quest-"
"Enough." Sun Dao exclaimed, cutting the other off mid sentence. "You know who I am, I know who you are. All that we need to establish from this point is that I am in charge, under direct order from Cao Cao himself. Boy," he turned to the scribe, pointing at a table containing parchment and writing boards, "Gather writing supplies for two, give the second to Administrator Rong, here." Rong Yun began to protest, but Dao waved him silent. The scribe rushed over to the table and was back quickly, passing the writing supplies to the administrator. "I never did catch your name, child."
The boy paused, "Me?" Sun Dao nodded, "Oh. Oh! Jing Shi, sir." He said, trying to sound confident. "Well, Jing Shi, Dao said, smiling, "I'll see to it you are compensated for having to deal with this man. And, additionally, any of my following orders that I dictate to the two of you that you correctly take down but Rong fails to.. A percentage of his salary this month shall be paid to you as reward." The boy was beaming, the administrator scowling through his patchy beard. "More to ensure that you write everything properly, Rong. Now, lead me to the barracks, and on the way I will tell you the first change I need to see."
Rong Yun stormed out of the room, followed by Sun Dao and Jing Shi, who was absolutely beaming at this point.