World Conquest Online

"There is a further Pillar that needs creating, and all of you can help in it’s creation." Shang Yang began, "Intelligence is the key to any victory, the control of intelligence even more so. Knowing your enemies and knowing yourself are both key aspects to the art of war. Therefore we need to set up an intelligence department that looks both at home and away. Crassus and Lady Meritamen have already been working on this in the background, with the ex-gladiator Crixus having set up a growing base in the Trade City to the North. This now needs expanding and formalising."

"Lady Xu, you have proven yourself as skilled in this. I was hoping you could aid in it’s growth." Dom added, looking towards the new unexpected Hero that had joined him.

"I am more than happy to help if it creates a safer home for my son." She replied seriously. "My experience probably doesn’t cover everything that you need, but I have my strengths."

"Cicero, I would like you and Umako to manage this department in the background. Xun Yu will give you a second set of eyes over everything that is taking place, whilst Crassus and Meritamen can continue to build on their initial success." Shang Yang continued, "I do not know what is the best way to create this, nor do I know how to make this successful. But, with the amount of knowledge in this room, I suspect we can create something."

"I have been thinking on this for a while." Meritamen stated, "There are multiple arms to this, from the internal side to the external. Externally, Crixus is setting up a network with those he can bribe or persuade, it is a good starting point in competitive cities and enemy locations. However, we also need to look at a higher level with high level diplomacy."

"I think we can use some of Chandra’s fellow Concubines who have high intelligence, as well as some of the newly arrived priestesses of Neferure, to create a diplomatic team to support Meritamen. They can gather intelligence and will be the least likely to be suspected." Crassus added, "With these two arms, we can manage the top and bottom of society."

"At lot of Chandra’s fellow Concubines have found new direction with the freedom they have been granted, so we will need to see if they are interested." Meritamen replied, "Another option could be retraining some of the freed slaves that Crassus purchases for us."

"Once we have secured the south, we will need to expand our exploration for more places to trade, then we can look at doing that as well." Crassus agreed.

"Internally, we could also train specific guards or citizens to become our internal version of these agents, vigilant against external influence." Cicero remarked, his hand stroking his chin.

"Or internal influence, morale is high now, but that may not always be the case." Umako added, "The Temples and Taverns are key places to put ears in. Any signs of dissent or betrayal can then be dealt with."

"I will trust you all to deal with it then." Dom smiled in response, "Our Military is growing and we are aware that even with our smaller numbers, we are an elite compared to those we have faced so far. However, our intelligence and spread is seriously lacking and is something we need to prioritise going forwards."

"Once this department is fully built and functioning, we will make this a designated pillar, however for now we will place the trust in all of you." Shang Yang ordered the Heroes, who all nodded in agreement, the understanding that this was an important arm of their Kingdom wasn’t lost on any of them.

The Heroes were then dismissed, so that they could return to their own homes to either rest or change their outfits. With them all due to return later for a small Civilian celebratory Feast in the Palace Hall. Ban Jieyu was in charge of preparation and Dom and his two wives headed upstairs to their private living space whilst the food and the room was prepared.

The three of them spoke for a while, mainly about Meritamen’s health, as well as the excitement for the progress of the Kingdom. Sun Shangxiang was apprehensive about what her role would be, whilst Meritamen reassured her that a role would be found for her in time. Dom enjoyed their company whilst time quickly passed.

...

The invited Heroes all arrived when the sun had set, with food and drinks from across the growing Kingdom being provided. Most of the crops were still growing, but there was a large selection of meats and fruits. Lots of food had also been imported by the Market. The head of the Market, Cassius, was working closely with Crixus who was based in the north, under Crassus they were a huge force in making Riverside a profitable city.

"When will the Zoo be complete?" Dom heard Umako asking Crassus, whilst Hatshepsut laughed loudly beside them.

"I don’t think it will ever be complete, he keeps adding to it!" Hatshepsut stated with another laugh.

"I can’t disagree." Crassus laughed as well, "But we have a good plot to the West of Riverside, and as long as the trees keep getting cut down, then we’ll always have space."

"It has caused a lot of chaos with our future town planning!" Hatshepsut added, "There is a limit to how long it can go, if it keeps going it will hit our most western forts!"

"It’s not that big yet!" Crassus pushed back with a roll of his eyes. Dom was listening in and laughing inside, Crassus seemed to be a collector of creatures, with his animal collection growing. Meritamen had already argued with him that he should keep his hands away from her Dire Wolves that were kept in their own small area behind the Palace. They were well trained and she had introduced Sun Shangxiang to them earlier, with one of them taking a liking to the new Lady.

Other similarly unimportant conversations took place around the room as the different Civilian Heroes talked amongst themselves. It was a great place for Sun Shangxiang to meet them all properly, and she was constantly swarmed by someone, with Meritamen beside her to support.

Lucius was heard complaining about the additional work, but Dom could tell that he was enjoying that he still had key importance in a Kingdom that he had been helping to build since day one. He also seemed to spend a lot of the evening behind Hatshepsut, and her newly arrived Daughter seemed to be watching with a knowing eye. Dom wondered that if the two of them did become an official thing, if they would be a new power couple in the Kingdom. He felt it wasn’t a bad thing as it would unite different cultures slightly, evening out some of the current disproportion.

Dom also saw Shang Yang discussing things with the new young Hero Lu Ji, seemingly impressed by the young man’s intelligence. Dom could see that Xun Yu may have a challenge in keeping hold of him in the future, as Shang Yang was clearly enthused.

The lower Grade, or recently upgraded Heroes such as Gu Kaizhi, Hua Tou, Ou Yezi and Sostratus seemed to be in their own little group, happily drinking and chatting. Whilst Elder Qiao seemed uncomfortable as he was surrounded by his daughters, Lady Xu and Artemisia for a while.

Umako and Cicero were also travelling around the room, but were normally caught chatting with Crassus or Hatshepsut, the four powerful brains full of great ideas that most Governments would be grateful to have. Dom wondered what the four of them would have been like as Military Commanders, especially Umako and Crassus who were known for the battles they had fought in as much as their normal duties.

The night soon came to a close, with Dom heading to bed with Sun Shangxiang, an agreement between his two wives that seemed to benefit him. The conversations about Meritamen’s potential pregnancy had now spread across the Heroes, and Dom realised that some of the others such as Subutai and Xun You were probably aware as well. Sun Shangxiang seemed to feel that it was important for her to follow in Meritamen’s shoes, however Dom had reassured her that their Kingdom would be fine if they waited. Internally though, he just didn’t want the game to be him bringing up children and having to explain the situation to his friends.

....

Dom awoke in his bed at the Palace, Sun Shangxiang had already left, but had placed his Zhan Lu Jian at the bottom of his bed. He looked across at his Weapons rack and saw that the Harpe was missing, his mind wondering if Sun Shangxiang had taken it with her.

He quickly got dressed and strapped the Zhan Lu to his waist, the blade seemingly having been cleaned. Part of him worrying how someone could clean his blade whilst he slept. Thankfully he trusted Sun Shangxiang and Meritamen, but he probably needed to think about security within the Palace in the future, especially now that only a portion of those in Riverside had spawned from the Town Centre. Dom knew that Sun Shangxiang was a warrior, and expected that she had been the one cleaning the weapons for him, so he hoped to track her down and see her in action.

He headed downstairs and grabbed some food that had been prepared for him, with one of the maids confirming that both Meritamen and Sun Shangxiang had left earlier together. Dom then left the Town Centre, with Actumerus and another Batavi back on duty today, the tall and imposing Batavi’s seemed intimidating from a distance, but they all seemed very fun people and Dom enjoyed their company.

In the afternoon they would have the full Military reorganisation, but for now Dom decided to head to the training grounds at the Legionaries Warrior Hall to train himself, knowing that he didn’t have much else planned today. He also planned to swim at some point and train himself further, any opportunity to improve his personal and characters strength before the Battle of Mycale.

As he approached the Training Grounds, he was surprised to see a large number of Warriors already gathered. There was a collection of different Warriors, from Archers such as the Female Horse Archers, the new Wudang Archers as well as some of the Forbidden Guards Archers. There was also Infantry such as the Legionaries, Hoplites and some of the Batavi’s, as well as some of Cheng Pu’s elites. Dom pushed his way through the crowd, seeing that Subutai was sat on a seat, with Meritamen and Sun Ce beside him.

In the middle of the Training Ground, with the Harpe strapped to her waist. Sun Shangxiang fired arrow after arrow in to a target, with her personal guards stood to one side, watching on with pride. Beside her, the best of the Archer Units and Hua Rong also shot arrows. Whilst Huang Zhong tapped her elbow with a cane, pushing her arm up slightly.

"Not quite, try again!" He ordered, as she let loose another arrow.

Beside Sun Shangxiang’s personal guard stood Tomoe and Cheng Pu, who both watched on in interest as Sun Shangxiang challenged the Archers of Riverside.

"Breathe!" Huang Zhong ordered her, whilst Hua Rong let loose an Arrow of his own, splitting her last one in half.

"I want to do what he can do!" She grumbled, frustration on her face.

"You are an excellent Archer, one of the best young ones I have seen." Huang Zhong explained as she lowered her bow, whilst Hua Rong patted her on the shoulder and took it from her. "If you keep practicing, you can be as good as the Elite’s."

"I may be able to beat you with a bow, but I have heard your sword skills are excellent." Hua Rong said to her kindly, causing a grin to appear on her face.

"Let me show you!" She smiled, as she took a step back and was ready to pull out Dom’s Harpe.

"Let’s get some practice swords!" Cheng Pu shouted from the side, causing her to lower her head in embarrassment, whilst Hua Rong nodded towards a recognisable Spartan that Dom hadn’t seen for a while called Cleombrotus to step forwards and train with her.