[centre][h2]Letters from the Duke of Zhou 1 - The Tale of Chu and Ba[/h2][/centre] [hr] [indent][i] To the respected duke of the Song warrens, Allow me first to express my most gracious greeting to a fellow, worthy duke - many difficulties plague our lands and lives, so pleasures such as these are too few and too far in between. It has come to my attention that the lightfurs of the Lower Warrens under Your esteemed leadership have grown rowdy and rebellious of late, yet nothing your peacekeepers do seems to mend the situation. As such, our mutual friend, the venerable duke of Qin, made contact with me on your behalf so I may offer my counsel in this matter. It is in times like these that I remember what happened in the warrens of Chu and Ba. As I’m certain you know, the warren of Chu once had a wealthy gentleman named Sima Wen, and he was beloved by all of Chu. Likewise, the warren of Ba had a virtuous huntress named Zeng Yun, and she, too, was beloved in all of Ba. The day then came when the warrens of Chu and Ba both fell into unrest, darkfurs and lightfurs, warrens high and low - all in a great rumble. So the lords of Chu sent word to Sima Wen, while the lords of Ba sent word to Zeng Yun. Sima Wen and Zeng Yun were both tasked with bringing peace to the Warrens, for theirs was great love and respect among the people; however, Sima Wen could only convince the high warrens to settle down, while Zeng Yun only calmed the low warrens. Thusly fell the great warrens of Chu and Ba into decline. For you see, respected duke - the wealthy gentleman Sima Wen, while beloved in all the warrens shafts and tunnels, knew not the squalls and hardships of the lightfurs, and thus could not relate to them; likewise, while the virtuous huntress Zeng Yun was beloved in all the warren’s caves and holes, she knew not the rituals and customs of the darkfurs, and thus could not speak to them. The lesson we as scholar-gentlemen - as proper junzi - must take away from stories such as these, is that we cannot expect those of great fame and renown to simply bypass our societal customs. In order to reach out to our warrenmen - all of them - we cannot rely on status alone; a leader with titles and no charisma cannot even lead the bees to nectar. My proposal to you, respected duke, is therefore to recall your peacekeepers - funnel instead your resources into understanding and learning from your lightfurs. Gain their trust, their respect, their love, but make certain that you do not lose the support of your darkfurs in the process. Do this, and the warrens of Song will no doubt last longer than any hare can live. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavours, and may the gods forever grant you fortune. With great respect, Duke Kong Rui of Zhou. [/i][/indent] [hider=SummaREE!] Kong Rui the rabbit duke offers advice to the duke of Song, telling him that if he can get to know his peasants better, they won’t rebel as badly. [/hider]