World Conquest Online

"Tell me more about Tongpai Town." Dom asked Meng Gao, having the prisoner sit on the floor in front of him. Dom sat on a stool that had been supplied for him and had a serious look on his face.

"What would you like to know?" Meng Gao asked seriously, looking around the room at the stern Subutai who was stood at Dom’s shoulder and the intimidating Octavian who was stood behind him in silence, with his hand on his swords hilt.

"Where are you based, how many people are there, are there any key geographical features I need to be aware of?" Dom started, asking many questions at once to put Meng Gao under pressure.

"Also the command structure, the warrior make up, and the city defences." Subutai added, causing Meng Gao to pause his response.

"I am willing to answer the questions." Meng Gao replied, worried about the response to his reply, "But what will happen to me and my comrades?"

"We haven’t decided yet, but if you help, that can direct us on our decision." Dom replied, maintaining his serious face.

"In our times, there are two options for a defeated army." Meng Gao started, "Death or absorption. The defeated army, if caught after retreating are usually killed or released to find farmlands and start anew. If the defeated army surrenders, they have either of the options I stated, or the option to join the enemy forces."

"So are you saying that for this information you want to join us?" Dom asked.

"I can’t speak for everyone." Meng Gao replied, "But yes. You are a superior force, if we can train and become as strong as you, we can have hopes of making a name for ourselves in history. We would rather fight for the winning side than die a meaningless death. Also, if we are honest and give you the truth, we can never return back to Tongpai Town or we would be killed as traitors."

"I will make no promises." Dom replied seriously, "But if the information you provide is good, and my advisors agree, we may be able to come to an agreement. What would you do if I allowed you to join us, and then ordered you to fight against Tongpai Town?"

Meng Gao stayed silent for a second, thinking through his options. He looked past Dom at Subutai who was glaring at him and decided it was best to answer their questions the easy way, rather than being put through torture and giving the same answers anyway.

"We would follow your orders." Meng Gao started, "I’ll give you the information, and I hope the Lord will take us in to his service. Tongpai Town is around a days march to the north. We have been growing steadily for a few months, there must be around two thousand people, including our Warriors. Our Town is based inland near a small inland lake."

"What other geography is around Tongpai Town, give me key details?" Subutai asked.

"There is a slight hill to the south, where we discovered the location of a Copper vein, followed by open dry land. The lake to the north we use for fishing, this is fed by a stream further to the north beyond it. To the west we have our farmlands and our cattle, whilst to the east is open land followed by a thick forest that we have not explored." Meng Gao replied, "We have towers situated at all corners to see any incoming forces or merchants. We discovered the Nomadic Tribes when exploring to the south."

"Have you had much contact with other people?" Dom asked, hoping the answer was no and it was just the Nomadic Tribe.

"We have, as well as the Nomadic Camp to the south and now yourselves, we have met with some merchants from a large state to the north, I am unaware of any more information as that is for the leaders and I am but a Warrior." Meng Gao stated. "However Commander Guthrum was both excited and nervous about the encounter."

"What is the Command Structure?" Subutai asked, catching Octavian’s eye who was mentally taking notes of the key questions and answers.

"We have the Lord, her Commanders and Chief Advisor, who run both Civil and Military matters, and then the Warriors such as ourselves, followed by the Civilians and then the Slaves." Meng Gao replied.

"How many slaves are there?" Dom asked seriously.

"We must have around five hundred slaves on top of the two thousand Civilians and Warriors of Tongpai Town." Meng Gao said.

"How many Commanders are there?" Subutai asked, "And what is your Military situation?"

"We have the Lord Da Qiao, a woman with intense strength and passion. She treats her people as her possessions and keeps herself to her drink and her Commanders company. Some say she was a beautiful woman once, but lost herself due to pain. The three Commanders are Guthrum, Aelfred and Zuberi. Each Commander has their own force, with Guthrum being for offensive force, Aelfred for defensive duties and Zuberi for scouting the land." Meng Gao continued, "You have killed Guthrum and defeated the offensive army, however there will still be around three hundred warriors or more, with around two hundred in the defensive army and one hundred in the scouting force. The Chief Advisor is called Bagoas a Eunuch and he is a man who seeks nothing but power for himself. There is no love for Bagoas and his schemes."

"What are the town defences like?" Subutai continued, whilst Dom took note to investigate both Da Qiao and Bagoas the next time he logged out, "And are all Warriors the same as you, or do you have different unit types?"

"There is a small stone wall around Tongpai Village, it is around three metres high and has gates on all four sides." Meng Gao stated, "It is defended well by Commander Aelfred. All of the Warriors are similar to myself and those you have seen previously. We do not have the depth that you have. We all have our bronze swords and comfortable garbs. We have some hunters who can double up as Archers if needed for the cities defence, but they usually explore the woods for days at a time."

"And what Warriors are you?" Dom enquired. "What is your background?"

"We are Shang Dynasty Sword Militia." Meng Gao replied proudly. "We may not be robust with training or have the flexibility of your warriors, but we are passionate and will follow orders to the letter. I did not agree with Commander Guthrum’s charge tactic, but that is how he fights and we wanted to learn and make him proud. We are a sword unit, but I suspect our brothers in the Spear Unit, Axe Unit and Bow Unit must also be in the lands."

"Why would you want to join the enemy force?" Dom asked, "Having killed the commander that you wanted to make proud, and why should I trust you with the information you have given. Would you not just join our enemies in the future"

"It is common for the normal soldier to follow a strong leader. Your warriors are stronger, so we would follow you." Meng Gao said, "If you can train us and treat us with respect, we will be yours until our death. Under Lord Da Qiao and Commander Guthrum, we had neither."

"Any other questions Subutai?" Dom asked, wanting to wrap up the questioning.

"Plenty, however let’s bring in someone else and ask them first." Subutai replied, before nodding his head at Octavian.

"Thank you for your time Meng Gao." Dom said, "We will take you back to the camp for now and bring you back if we have any other questions."

Meng Gao bowed his thanks, before being escorted from the tent by Octavian and one of the guards, leaving Dom with Subutai.

"What are your thoughts?" Dom asked Subutai seriously.

"If this is the truth, then we have a serious opponent to our growth no more than two days away from Riverside. At our current growth levels I doubt we’ll encroach on their territory in the short term, however it is a threat if they can recover their numbers." Subutai answered honestly. "They seem more advanced than us and have a similar number of Commanders, even though we don’t know their level. This defeat today may trigger them to either push to attack in revenge or even potentially seek help from a larger state."

"That is some good insight." Dom commented, "What would you advise as next steps?"

"We need Lucius or Shang Yang, but I believe we have a few options." Subutai said seriously, holding his chin whilst he thought, "Option one would be to continue as usual, but keep a defensive force. We need to look at building our own wall and completing quests so that we can catch up to larger forces nearby. Option two would be to create a counter offensive plan with Gan Ning, looking at how we could take Tongpai Town in advance, we would need to do lots of scouting to come up with this plan. Option three would be to forceable absorb the Nomadic Tribe and have them disappear from the map. Tongpai Town does not know our location, and the loss of a force and their target in one night would cause shock and could put them on a defensive stance themselves."

"None of those options sound ideal, and Option four would be to meet with them democratically, but I am unsure if that would expose us to a force we are not ready for." Dom replied, "I wouldn’t want to force anything on the Nomadic Tribe. I believe that we should sleep on this first and concur in the morning."

"I would agree." Subutai stated, "You should get some sleep now as it is late, Octavian and I shall continue questioning some of the prisoners, they may seem more eager to talk now that Meng Gao has returned in one piece. However if I have any issues, they may not return that way in the future."

"I trust your judgement." Dom said, "I’ll get some sleep and catch up with you in the morning. We need to make sure that Gan Ning’s plan was a success before we decide on any route of action."

Dom left the tent and headed towards his own, where Cassius and Hua Tao were settled for the night after the chaos from the battle. He sneaked inside and noticed that they were both sound asleep and snoring from exhaustion. Hua Tou who was normally a man of formality was lay with his head on Cassius’s feet, and Dom wished he could take a photo and share it with the senior members of Riverside for a laugh.