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Emissary of the Khargat Khanate[/center]

Before the light of the sun crept through the window of his new chambers, Chugo's desk was illuminated by a candle. The Bey had his many vices, yet never had he lacked diligence. In his new position he had no time to dawdle, and so he had been long at work on his desk scrawling out letters to report back to the Khan, continuing to manage his estate, reading what news was sent to him, and formulating and rethinking his plans.

So when an attendant came to rap upon his door early in the morn, the man might have been surprised to find the Bey on his feet and opening the door within a few seconds. Already Chugo wore a garb of some of his most exquisite robes, and when the servant relayed the king's summons Chugo thanked him and closed the door. Not two minutes later, the door opened once more and Chugo strode confidently out. He was not the first to arrive despite having been perhaps the most prepared, for he had enjoyed a slow walk through the halls to admire the various tapestries and decorations throughout the castle.

So it was that he walked in precisely on time and seeming as carefree as one could imagine, for he didn't even bother to look around the room to observe his fellow advisers or either of the two faces that had not made an appearance the day prior. But appearances were deceiving; in reality the Bey was very perceptive to his surroundings and he took in every detail and examined every person...he just made a conscious effort to hide how he was sizing them all up. Slowly he walked around the table before he arrived at a seat directly opposite to that of Bastien de Warenne. He would not hide on the opposite side of the table from that fool, and after the incident in which the knight drew his sword, Chugo would just as well be sure to never let the Dieuporteillan out of his sight in meeting such as these.

The King began the meeting with a short oration that then transitioned into an introduction to the Gran General and some hag that they took for a holy woman. The Bey nodded in respect to the Grand General for he had heard of the man before, and he remained emotionless towards Tirgana. Chugo was not the most zealous man to begin with, and he knew all too well that a second 'insult' to the Faith of Man would be a grave mistake indeed. The king finally moved on to an awkward lecture on why the table had its shape, and then at the behest of Rurik's whisper the king abruptly stopped and moved on. [i]'Fools.'[/i]

Chugo attempted to keep his face placid as Elendin went on, but when mention of rebellion in the west came up his interest was visibly piqued. [i]'I had not heard word of that this morning...'[/i] he thought, but in the end such news was hardly surprising. If ever was a good time to rebel, it was now. Though he would speak nothing of it, indeed he knew that many voices among the Khanate agitated for independence as well.

Chugo was silent and gathered his thoughts for a moment after the King demanded his counsel from the advisers. Layna opened her mouth to spew out a few words that amounted to little more than useless drivel, and Chugo felt a mild longing to put the useless girl in her place, for women had no place in politics. And then came another courier, and Bastien was at once recalled to his homeland!

[i]'An unexpected development and a welcome respite,'[/i] Chugo thought smugly, [i]'and I wonder if my men could make sure that he never reaches home...the fighting pits would pay well to own a man like him! No, too easy...let him slowly toil to death as a galley slave...'[/i]

Laxion meanwhile began his speech, and Chugo quickly snapped back into attention and listened. Afterwards, he shook his head in disagreement and spoke, [color=Gold]"What the scholar speaks of is nothing less than treachery. To be sure, it would work and you'd kill them all. But never again would men trust your amnesty and never again would men dare surrender to you, for they would know that doing so only guarantees their death. You wind up with desperate men that will fight you until the bitter end.

The best approach is to offer them all the chance to show their loyalty, and then ruthlessly suppress those that would rise up. Why sully your reputation with betrayal and treachery when you can instead show your strength and win through brute force? I suggest that you simply send an army to the west to collect this year's taxes in full. The ones that pay will have proven their loyalty to the crown, or else funded the armies of the very empire that they intend to rebel against. I think the little lords will all be inclined to pay with an army at their doorstep, but should they dare refuse, simply execute them for traitors and seize their lands. Perhaps their holdings would be a suitable reward to those lords that [i]do[/i] show their loyalty through gold."[/color]