Unity (Battle For Bei Ping Optional Reward)

[Shen Pei (Tuvlan)]

OOC: Mm... time for a srs post. Maybe. ---Thanks at least for the opportunity for troops and whatnot, Steve. Hope no one else at amongst the Yuans mind me taking a little initiative here, too... *cracks knuckles*

Also, if others Yuans wish to, feel free to join in on this thread, so we have some sort of continuity going on.

One Step To Unifying He Bei

...Gongsun Zan's troops never came within range. The arrows were never given a chance to be loosed, the catapults and trebuchets still waiting to launch their loads. Even Shen Pei's archers gave pause, releasing the grip on their bows.

White flags.

Even from a distance, it was apparent that there were dozens of white flags up and about the walls, raised amongst the troops, almost in a disgraceful manner. Had Gongsun Zan reconsidered and decided to talk? No, then Gongsun would have come out first with a white banner on his horse, riding out with a small host to re-open negotiations with Yuan Shao's forces.

Had Wen Chou's leaflets taken affect? No... that too would not make sense. As much of a stronghold that Gongsun Zan had made Bei Ping, there would still be a number of illiterate people. That, and Shen Pei was still oblivious as to which audience Wen Chou was requesting ears from. Slowly cupping his hand to his still bleeding chin, he (painfully) stroked his bandaged chin. Turning his head to one of the Axemen who was busy constructing a war drum still, he trotted on over.

"ALL TROOPS, MAINTAIN FORMATIONS AND POSITIONS. WE DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS A TRAP OR NOT," Shen Pei suddenly cried out, watching as the orders were yelled out and repeated by all the Division captains. His horse trotting closer to the Axemen from before, he nodded his head to get the man's attention.

"A white flag. We shall get to the bottom of this," he said, extending his hand out for one. With a quick "Sir!" the Axemen made a quick skip, hop, and dash to the supply crate to fetch a flag. Not one of surrender... but of negotiation. Grasping it tightly in his hand, Shen Pei painfully reached over to the back of his horse while applying the banner. Riding quickly from the left flank, he waved his right hand in a beckoning motion to the 100 Bei Cavalry to accompany him, lest things get dicey.

Waving back in recognition, the left flank Bei Cavalry division pulled at the reins of their horses as they brought their horses to a full gallop, after Shen Pei.

By the time of their arrival, the small host of Shen Pei's came upon what was the gradually decreasing forces of Gongsun Zan. Shen Pei knelt on his horse's saddle, left hand over his eyes to peer for someone who was still assuming charge. One of the soldiers with a white flag of surrender quickly dashed to him, nodding his head, before resolutely smashing the bottom of his flag's shaft to the ground.

"You come to negotiate?" the soldier said, with a strange twist of vigorous fatigue.

"I come to make myself aware. What possess you all?" Shen Pei began, suspicion ingrained in his voice.

"...Sir. At the realization of what was going on or perhaps in a stroke of madness, our lord, Gongsun Bogu has... Sir, he has surrendered us, his White Riders! And I hear news from the inside that he has taken his son and child to the highest tower to..."

There was much pain on the soldier's face. So too, were the eavesdroppers of the nearby also in a similarly wretched state. One of Shen Pei's men rode up to to his side, looking questioning at his commanding officer.

"...Sir, he has---"

Holding up a hand, Shen Pei closed his eyes. Taking that same hand, he took it to his face, gently ripping off the bandages, strand by strand, as the surrendered soldier watched. A former comrade, however arrogant, had fallen. So pitiful was this situation. His eyes gaped a little at the site of Shen Pei's beat up face, but found a scowl in return.

"Truly then, Gongsun Zan was not fit to lead you. Truly, he shames you, his brethren... This is not how a warlord should act!"

The white flag at the soldier's side fell from the man's hand, as he broke down in frustration, being forced to surrender by their own lord, abandoned as they were. Still, were the forces of Yuan to continue, it would proceed in a slaughter---

"Sergent Hao Hu. Report back to Yuan Tan and Wen Chou. The bloodshed has ended prematurely. Then, send for ten of our fastest Bei Scout Cavalry riders to Gao Gan so that he may understand our plight. Send ten more to Ye and ten to Nan Pi to inform them of what has become of this place."

Saluting, the Sergent rode off, taking with him a large portion of the escorting host, leaving half of the hundred behind with Shen Pei. The man looked curiously at the soldier, nodding in respect.

"Very well then. As you appear to be the only fellow here in a nearby radius to accept, you shall do."

The man looked questioningly.

"...The forces of Yuan Shao, led by Yuan Tan, shall accept the surrender of the forces of Gongsun Zan that still stand. We shall let those who have fled flee. In turn, we shall take hold of this city, and your people will recognize Yuan Shao as its ruler and protector."

"...Yes."

Folding his arms into himself, he looked around. There were in the confusion of the time, so many soldiers who looked about with a disillusioned look of despair on their faces. No soldier, Shen Pei thought, should ever have to face a fate as this. Yet, it happened more often then one would like to even play upon. Unsheathing his dao suddenly, he turned it so that it would reflect the sun, giving a mighty, "HOST OF THE FORMER GONGSUN ZAN... TO ME."

Shen Pei was tempted to make a poetic comment of something akin to 'lend me your ears', but that sounded rather strange and foreign. Waiting for a fraction of the host to gather about to about him, varying looks and expressions on their eyes, Shen Pei finally sheathed his sword. Standing as high as he could on his horse's stirrups, he nodded to all that came.

"...Truly, a tragedy upon a tragedy has fallen upon us. We, as former comrades have come to bear arms against one another. So too is it sad that your lord, Gongsun Bogu has taken a route to which many would defer. To that many would call 'cowardly'."

"My host, my 'enemies', my 'foes', hear me. For in this act of shame, your lord Gongsun Bogu has in fact sacrificed himself for you, assuring you your lives as well as our own. FOR THAT, HE IS A LEADER, WORTHY TO BE FOLLOWED. I applaud that late Gongsun Bogu."

The cogs in the middle-aged man's mind had been playing since first sign of the white flags... These were men of pride he was addressing... what he was about to suggest would require a mandatory honoring of their apparent late lord.

"...Scorn me, hate us... but while you are of You and I of Ji, we are both of He Bei. And THAT is something that we have not forgotten. We have not forgotten the time in which you have ridden with us against the diabolical acts of Dong Zhou. We have not forgotten how valiantly you have died, bled with us, laughed with us. We may fight, we may have killed each other, but OUR BLOOD... is of the same ancestry."

...To which, Shen Pei's voice became slightly... quieter, his brows playing about with emphasis, a warning, a calling.

"So, it is good we have not taken much of one another. So, good it is that while tragedy befalls us, though we may have assailed you, that we can stop, talk like civil people of He Bei."

OOC: The following is said with limited IC-knowledge. Shen Pei is not completely up to speed on Cao Cao's control of Luo Yang or attack on Xu Chang, nor aware of Lu Bu's rapid expansion. These are primarily words of incitement and of rallying.

"...Cao Cao arises in the south in Chen Liu. He encroaches upon the Emperor of the Han with sly words and carefully planned out devices. And word of the wind is that of Lu Bu, traitor of his adopted father Ding Yuan, traitor of Dong Zhou. A traitor in general who musters his forces!"

"I come to you with a proposition of the future. Our future, if you will have it."

"Join under the banner of Yuan Shao. You shall be paid. You shall be fed. You shall be taken care of. In turn, we shall have you take care of He Bei. In turn, we shall treat you as you deserve to be treated as: our fellow countrymen."

"Come, pick up your sword, pick up your axes, your spears. Ride your horses, I call upon you, the host of the late Gongsun Zan," now drawing out his sword with a sense of purpose (though others would better tell of dramatic effect), "We fight to give ourselves purpose, to give you purpose, to enrich ourselves and our families! Come, join us, and think of the songs to be sung that will be passed down from your children to your children's children. I beg and ask as fellow countryman..."

"...My lord shall not abandon you. My lord is strong and has strength to spare. My lord shall give you opportunity and purpose... And in turn, you may share in the glory that is to be had."

A smile on his injured face.

"Let us work now, to put aside the shames of the past."

"Let us be of one banner, so that we may know, at last, at long last, true comradeship, oh children of He Bei."

A hand, beckoning to all that would approach.

"Come. Time is short. Legends are forever."

His anus bled a little.

Edit: The last line. JUST BECAUSE.

[Yuan Shao]

Yuan Tan rode up as Shen Pei's speech was in full swing. He stood behind the man as he walked up and down the ranks, watching as he tried to rabble rouse the soldiers of Bei Ping into switching sides. Tan was more than proud of his 'uncle', and watched in silent admiration as the speech finished.

He walked up and shook his 'uncle''s hand, before walking off towards the city. Plenty of soldiers were still inside, no doubt helping take care of the injured, and the civilians. He rode in, a group of cavalry surrounding him, as he picked his way through the ravaged city. Boulders had flattened homes, bodies lay strewn about almost haphazardly. He stifled a yell as he came across a girl that was literally torn in half.

Barbarism. But necessary.

He trotted on, coming into the market where a large part of the Civilian populace stood, reined in by a bunch of former Bei Ping soldiers. He took to a makeshift stage, little more than a large plank of wood supported by two former shop stalls. He raised his hands in the air to quiet the crowd, and began pacing the stage back and forth.

"People of Bei Ping! I am Yuan Tan, son of Yuan Shao, and Grand Commander of the army sent against you."

Immediately boos and hisses were issued forth from the crowd, even a few vegetables hurled at him, an especially rancid cabbage amongst them. He quickly diced it in half as it flew towards him in the air, it falling to pieces on either side. The crowd quickly silenced.

"I came with the intent of killing most of your sons and fathers, your brothers and uncles. However, your lord, Gongsun Zan, decided the battle for me, and took his own life, to protect each and every one of you. It is not a ringing endorsement, but he obviously saw that your well being under my rule was worth more than the pain that you would suffer at the hands of my men.

He is a saint for taking this route.

My first proclamation as lord of Bei Ping is to have a statue erected in Gongsun Zan's honor, and for his Ivory Tower to be disassembled. There is no reason for that blight on Bei Ping to continue. It's material shall be used to rebuild the houses of the city that were damaged by my assault.

You must all understand that I did not intend to harm any of you. We came to liberate you from a despotic tyrant who held little grasp on reality. You all saw as he slowly devolved into paranoid acts, arresting innocent people, and culminating in his Ivory Tower.

So I release you all from this tyrant. Or, he has released you. Either way, the only expectations I have from you all is taxes, and obedience. Should you want to join our armed forces, I will gladly take you. We must convince your neighbors in Ji that Zan released you to us, and that we together are the only hope for China to be unified, and united.

So join up, and together, we'll conquer the world!"

His men, and the crowd, cheered heartily as he raised his sword in the air with each successful cheer. He removed himself from the make-shift stage as recruiters began setting up, lines forming in front of them. He rode out of the city, and rejoined his army. They would rest for one day, gather their new recruits, and then move onto the next city.

[Kyle]

Gao Yuancai's unit found itself stopped before the open south gate of Bei Ping. By some miracle they had suffered no casualties, something that Yuancai and all of his men were very thankful for. Yuancai called together the leaders of his units to discuss the situation. They were isolated from the other forces, so they did not know exactly what was going on. All they were cognizant of was that Gongsun Yue had turned tail and fled before their forces had clashed and that the gates were now opened, and the soldiers lining the walls of the city were disappearing from sight.

"Well, I believe it is safe to assume that something has happened to Gongsun Bogu, what that is, I am unsure. I suppose we'll have to dispatch some riders-" Yuancai cut off his sentence as he saw riders wearing the Yuan colors approaching very quickly. "Nevermind, looks like we're about be updated as to what the situation is. I am curious as to what that fool Bogu has done." The riders approached and the leader of the ten man unit quickly dismounted and bowed down on one knee. "Sir Gao! Gongsun Bogu has chosen to commit suicide, taking the lives of his wife and son as well. The city has surrendered, but there are still many men on the field, unsure of what to do, or what their fates will be. Strategist Shen Pei has sent us to inform you of these events.

Yuancai's eyes widened as he listened to the scout's report. "So that was what Bogu thought was is last recourse. Hmm, the man was more incompetent than I had previously thought. Oh well, less work for us. Thank you for informing us of the situation, you may return to Master Shen Zhengnan now." With his dismissal, the riders took off to report back to Shen Pei. Yuancai then ordered an aide to bring him parchment and the necessary utensils for writing. Once he had acquired them, he began to write furiously, his face showing his focus on the task at hand.

After a few minutes, the original was completed, he then had several of his aides then copy his message onto more parchment. After several more minutes, all of the copies were completed. Yuancai had the parchments handed out to several of his his scouts. "Ride out now, with this message in hand, you shall herald these lost souls to us. Ride throughout the city, throughout the battlefield and reciting what I have written. Make haste, the more time wasted, the more potential men we will lose. This is a golden opportunity to capitalize on. While the riders are out delivering this message, the rest of the army will move to rejoin the main force to the east. Now go."

The message that Gao Yuancai wrote read thus:

Abandoned soldiers of Bei Ping,

This day, you rose up with much ferocity and determination to defend your home, and to defend your honor against myself, and my comrades. You were prepared to take many lives, and you were also prepared to lose your own. Such men are the soldiers that all soldiers wish to be, and that all commanding officers wish to have under them. Despite this, your supposed leader, the coward Gongsun Bogu, has chosen to leave you alone in this world, without direction, without anything except for feelings of betrayal and bitterness.

It is a shame that a man once so great that the Wuhan trembled in fear of him had degenerated into such a worthless lout over these past few years. His crimes are many, and we were willing to destroy him for them, but he has done the task for us. This leaves a question, what of you, his loyal men? What happens now to you now that he has left you for dead in this world? Well, the answer is simple, you start anew.

I may be of noble lineage, but I am a soldier first and foremost, and I shall always be so. I understand how you must all feel at this moment, and I wish to give you a new life under a banner and under men worth serving. There is no need for you to become lost souls, senseless casualties of your former lord's arrogance and ineptitude. I, Gao Gan, general of the Yuan armies and nephew of the great lord Yuan Shao, invite you to join under our great banners; so that you may know how soldiers should be treated, and how they should be respected for their great deeds. I urge you not to let this opportunity pass you by, brave White Riders.

With the riders sent about Bei Ping and its surrounding territory, Yuancai and the rest of his army made their way over to where his cousin and comrades were stationed to the east of the city. Upon reaching their location, he ordered his men to set op camp and ordered his unit leaders to accept all men coming into the camps that were willing to answer his call. With everything in order in his camp, Yuancai then set out for the main command tent, where Yuan Xiansi was likely to be.

He approached the tent and addressed the guards. He knew he did not need to, but Yuancai knew that he must do everything in his power to show the authority of Xiansi. Despite being four years his junior, Yuancai was a much more confident commander than Xiansi was, and Yuancai planned on helping his cousin grow into his own as much as he could. "I have come to speak with my cousin, Commander Yuan Tan. Is he available for audience?"

[Wen Chou]

There were no cheers as they entered Bei Ping. The entire city froze. Everyone was quiet in disbelief as to what just happened. Their lord, Gongsun Zan had committed suicide with his family. No one wanted to believe, but it had happened. And now the city lay in an uneasy state of limbo as the Yuan host entered the abandoned streets. The soldiers went back to their families to grieve, there were some stragglers, but they quickly dispersed.

Wen Chou looked at the Ivory Tower. It was with the knowledge that Gongsun Zan's body was up there somewhere, that sent a shiver down his spine. Captain Yuang Hai was riding beside Wen Chou, "...orders sir...?"

Wen Chou looked at the man with an absent face, there were no orders to be given out. The unit continued to march further into the city when they came upon Shen Pei giving a speech in full swing. It was then that Wen Chou turned to Yuang Hai, "We are to act as security." Yuang Hai nodded, ordering poeple around in hushed voices as to not interrupt Shen Pei's speech.

Wen Chou made his own way towards the makeshift stage where then Yuan Tan raised. Wen Chou decided to stay partially incognito and did not ascend the 'stage' but merely became apart of the crowd. Wen Chou listened to this little conqueror's speech. And indeed Tan was the shadow of Yuan Shao's ambition. Even after Shao had long past, his ambition would live on in Tan.

[Zhu Jun]

Rewards:

+ Beiping City has fallen to Yuan Shao!

+ Through all the speches 200 He Bei Militia join each Officer present at the Battle of Beiping.

+ Increased Loyalty with the order of the construction of a Stature for Gongsun Zan!

+ Remaining troops of Beiping forces yield to Yuan Shao!

[Wen Chou]

Collecting the 200 Miltia.