Threads Of Destiny(Eastern Fantasy, Sequel to Forge of Destiny)

Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
[X] Accept the offer, you can convince Renxiang and sponsorship from even a faction of a count house is a valuable thing.

At this point, the only way out is through.
 
Adhoc vote count started by Blademaster on Sep 22, 2020 at 7:58 PM, finished with 98 posts and 28 votes.


Me: Wow, thats a tough choice.

SV:nah, it is actually a consensus
 
[X] Accept the offer, you can convince Renxiang and sponsorship from even a faction of a count house is a valuable thing.
 
[X] Accept the offer, you can convince Renxiang and sponsorship from even a faction of a count house is a valuable thing.
 
I don't imagine that the Meng would dare to send anyone useless, because Shenhua ordered this expedition and her daughter is going. Sure, in light of CRX's little sister, no one can be sure exactly how important CRX is to her. Even so, from the point of properly executing her duties as a lord, it's important that it never look like she's hanging CRX out to dry without damn good reason, because looking like you don't care about your people is how you end up with the Bai's social problems.

Anyone who's in green or higher has been around enough to have at least a basic reputation, and we're meeting in public; if people have any reason to dig, they'll connect the dots. Sending a known layabout on a mission that might end badly for CRX means you might end up holding a part of the hot potato if something bad happens to her, and why take that risk? And the possibility it'll affect the mission is the only thing I'm worried about, really.

[X] Accept the offer, you can convince Renxiang and sponsorship from even a faction of a count house is a valuable thing.
 
[X] Accept the offer, you can convince Renxiang and sponsorship from even a faction of a count house is a valuable thing.

isnt it a cultivation death flag to be a guy and friends with Ling Qi? RIP new guy
 
Hanyi's recital is more exciting then I figured it would be. Everyone goes to support Ling Qi and Hanyi and it ends up with Ling Qi doing politics in a dark corner where nobody can see.

[X] Accept the offer, you can convince Renxiang and sponsorship from even a faction of a count house is a valuable thing.
 
[X] Accept the offer, you can convince Renxiang and sponsorship from even a faction of a count house is a valuable thing.

People have been bringing up the idea that accepting this might take away a spot on the team from one of our friends like Xuan Shi or Bai Meizhan, but it's probably not going to work out like that. I wanted to get Xuan Shi invited along back when we first got given this mission, but I'm 90% sure yrsillar shot that down already. Meizhan is probably too important to come, Li Suyin is busy inventing stuff for the Sect, Su Ling and her predictions are too valuable for the Sect to part with, Shen Hu just died, Liao Zhu is in a coma, and most of the other people we're close with are stuck in the Outer Sect.

If we're headhunting from people we actually know we're pretty much limited to Ruan Shen, Bian Ya, Wang Chao, Alinnge, Hanyi's music rival, and maybe Sword Guy? And of those people the only ones I think we can both get and might actually want along are Alinnge and music rival.

Edit: not dissing Ruan Shen, but he's recovering from last mission and Bian Ya probably doesn't want him running off on an adventure like this.
 
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[X] Accept the offer, you can convince Renxiang and sponsorship from even a faction of a count house is a valuable thing.

As said before, the Meng wouldn't want to send anyone completely useless when they want to build more connections. Don't think they would get much by screwing us over. Besides, sponsorship = more money = more drugs for LQ.
 
[X] Accept the offer, you can convince Renxiang and sponsorship from even a faction of a count house is a valuable thing.

You do realize they are trying to install a permanent bypass so they can ignore us right? That's their ultimate goal, since if CRX got a Meng retainer the Meng would never have to talk to us again. So making a deal with us once is nothing compared to all the future deals it'll save them if it goes right.
The Meng binding themselves closer to our liege would create more reasons for them to deal with us as a clan than brushing off their clan head here would. This is a great deal for us, from their PoV. Why would they bother trying again to bargain with us if we won't even take a deal like this? They don't have to go through us to talk to CRX, it's just something that they think may be easier. If we prove it isn't, they won't come back to try again, and any deals we'd want to make with them for ourselves get harder.
 
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[X] Accept the offer, you can convince Renxiang and sponsorship from even a faction of a count house is a valuable thing.
 
[X] Decline, you can't afford to involve internal politics in something as delicate as diplomacy with an unknown faction.

Accept doesn't need my help, so I'm just lounge in this ship in the meantime :V

More seriously, wow what an update. I can't say that I predicted this outcome. I didn't think the Meng would make a move such as this since I would think we're too strained with each other. That political vote had a bigger impact than expected. Guess the Meng decided to it's time to lift their heads out of the swamp and talk to the ignorant Cai retainer who's friends with a Bai. This is gonna be good. *Eats popcorn*
 
[X] Accept the offer, you can convince Renxiang and sponsorship from even a faction of a count house is a valuable thing.

Finally, the political horse trading that I wanted when I voted for the Cai route has begun. Woo.
 
[X] Accept the offer, you can convince Renxiang and sponsorship from even a faction of a count house is a valuable thing.

This a moment of outreach by the Meng and a chance to "get in on the ground level". Should this "Grandson" fail in backing Ling Qi up, and he cannot be seen as overreaching during this mission given to Ling Qi specifically by the Duchess, then it is in fact a situation where the Meng suddenly are in the red as far as Face is concerned after pushing a candidate forward and being dismissed with cause.

And this is a Count level faction that CRX is interested in getting at least vaguely on her side, being able to establish a back-channel with some externals will be nice as this grandson won't be someone who needs the support of the Cai so much as he needs their good grace and ear. The grandson will be required to invest his efforts but he will always have that split loyalty that Ling Qi doesn't, keeping Ling Qi's position as one of the primary retainers well in hand. Plus this will give CRX a resource and contact that isn't entirely subject to her mother's whims which is something we've seen bite her in the butt more than once in terms of both resource access as well as information.

Besides the favor we are being asked is to give the Meng the opportunity to prove himself capable, CRX will be the one to determine how long his "probationary" status will be and how useful he will be. Ling Qi have always been only an average fish in an small pond as far as politics has been concerned due to the sheltering nature of the Sect, someone realizing what was going on and wanting in was going to happen one way or the other. Best that Ling Qi seizes this moment to have input and discuss the matter with CRX who will likely have more information about the who/what/when/where/why of the person we are being asked to recommend.

As other's have said, the only way out here is through, and should it be necessary we might be able to vote to step on this Johnny-Come-Lately's toes a few times should he get uppity with Meng family politics over CRX's goals.
 
Woo I finally caught up.

[X] Accept the offer, you can convince Renxiang and sponsorship from even a faction of a count house is a valuable thing.

There are no particular downsides at this point in time to this action. It's not like Ling Qi is going to lie about this to Cai Renxiang after all. But with events unfolding, she really needs more high level retainers besides Ling Qi and GG. Having a Meng associate is also beneficial as a signal to the rest of the Emerald Seas court that Renxiang's positions is still secure and worth investing in despite the birth of a younger sister and potential rival. And beyond Lady Cai, Baroness Ling herself needs to establish higher level political connections, and given her associations with Bai Meizhen, it's possible she will in the long term be involved in inter-provincal relations to Thousand Lakes, as Bai Suzhen ascends to the ducal seat. Having the Meng hostile to her work in that regard would an enormous problem, whereas elevating Lady Meng's apparently more conciliatory faction would be very helpful.

The only potential downside would be if the Meng were actually traitors playing both sides of the war, and this man was being sent to sabotage negotiations. It's unlikely, but worth keeping in mind. None of Ling Qi's arts are really able to detect treachery. Would be a good skill to acquire in the future.

There is also probably no reasonable way for our Baroness Ling to refuse Lady Meng at this point without giving offense.
 
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Also on the move of the different factions, I personally think that the Diao won't make a move. Rather than investing in CRX, they may instead switch targets and go for Tienli. It will create this political bloc that will serve to rival the other. The only thing that may against this theory on the top of my head is if Shenhua would tolerate the political drama going on in her family, or if she's just gonna sit back and watch.

The Wang and Bao are probably good in that they're already making efforts making an in by interacting with Ling Qi. The Jia may or may not follow along with the Diao depending on how patient they are. The only one I'm more uncertain of is the Luo, who may or may not make a move as well. According to CRX's description, they were neutral in the conflict against the Hui. On the other hand though, the two Weilu followers apparently don't like each other. Now we don't know if their type of grudge goes into actual hate, or fellow rivals trying to one-up each other like how the Bai and Zheng are, which makes me wish we know more about the Luo.

In any case, it's good for CRX to have a noble retainer imo (though I wouldn't have expected it'd come from the isolationist one). She has had two commoner retainers through GG and Ling Qi. It's good that she's building her own power bloc, but it's also good imo to leave an opening for some nobles, otherwise they'd feel too left out.
 
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