Dong Bao, Tyrant of the Guan

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My delectable bounty off this dynasty sees no end. Kneel before the Vassal King of Zhi! Before the wielder of Jian Juya! Before this land's next emperor!
~ Dong Bao ~

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Many know the name behind the Tyrant of the Guan, and few feel no fear hearing it. Dong Bao was the Vassal King of Zhi who ruled over the commandery with an iron fist that wielded the famed Jian Juya, and mastered the vicious warrior, Ton Po. A man of gluttony, greed, and opportunity, Bao coveted the imperial throne, manipulating its young emperor until the opportunity to seize it arrived. Bao was a cruel, greedy, and arrogant tyrant.

Vassal Prince of Zhi

Despite his reputation, Dong Bao was the son of the former Vassal King of Zhi, Dong Yuan. Under his father, Bao lived an extravagant life, reading from scholarly sources like the Book Chuilao and Zhanwushu, watching his father lead the Qi Imperial Guard of the capital, and even meeting Emperor Guan himself as a small child. Servants to the Dong clan would often remark of his eating habits, as Bao would eat lavish foods every day. He ate so much that by the time he came of age, he was larger and heavier than his own father.

Death of Dong Yuan

In the year 160 AC, Dong Yuan was commanded by Emperor Guan to lead an army up north to assist Vassal King Guan Bei of Mu against a large force of raiders from the steppes. Yuan was killed in the fighting — as was the Champion of Zhi, Chunyu Ka — and his signature sword, Jian Juya, was brought back to Jiangjiang. At the time, a messenger was carrying it and showed it to Dong Bao. In Yuan's dying words, he had instructed the next king only to be the one the sword was to be given, and Bao's name was what his father had spoke.
Bao received the blade and mourned his father's death, along with the rest of the commandery. Then, ceremonies were set in place and Bao was raised by imperial edict, because of the emperor's sympathy for Yuan, as the next Vassal King of Zhi.

Vassal King of Zhi

Seeing the power he held with his new title, Dong Bao lavished in it and it grew on him like an addiction. To give an order there, and a decree there, and for it to happen without protest was more delicious than the choicest foods he had eaten. Bao maintained his standing as the Vassal King, but continually set to manipulating the commandery in the shadows, and laundering in as much intimidation, coercion, and authority as he could. He wanted more power, and so long as he could get away with it, what was there to stop him?

Corral at Cheng Pass

Years after earning his title, Bao had traveled south to Cheng Pass with an entourage to monitor a caravan of choice of elephants — from the Ta commandery — being moved to be added to the imperial palace's viewing grounds. But, during the exchange through the pass, as rain poured, a freak flood from the Hou River swept the land above and below the pass and sent the creatures into a fearful rampage. They crashed through buildings and persons, and everyone could not reign them in.

Even Dong Bao, as an elephant struck the wall, was knocked from it and fell to the ground. The elephant reared and charged at him, and Bao would have been crushed that day if not for the strength of a single man. The warrior known as Hua Rong sprang forth from nowhere, and with a grand two-handed mace, fought off the beast and helped Bao to his feet.
"Never have I seen such strength!" Bao exclaimed. In the chaos, the Faguan of Cheng Pass had been killed, but seeing in Hua Rong a mighty warrior, he instated him as its replacement for a reward.

Dong Bao named him the Defender of Jiang (or Jiangbang) for his efforts.

Recruiting Ton Po

Later on, sitting within the Zhi palace, Bao cried and threw a goblet across the room, for he had grown tired of not having a Champion to call his own, like his father had. "I wish for someone strong to protect me, so that this life of mine can continue!" But when others urged him to take on Hua Rong who had saved his life, Bao said, "His place is in Cheng. Someone even stronger than he must take its place."
He had servants summoned and sent out to monitor the land of select people. But of the reports Bao heard, all of them disinterested him. However, one such report caught his attention.

In the Shui commandery to the north at To'An, its governor, Kuai Zhen, beheld for himself a Bronze Protector who was a spectacle of a man. He was a warrior many referred to as a man without equal named Ton Po, and Bao grew jealous such a man was serving a meager governor. After learning Diao Fan was a man who had held the title before but had been replaced by Po, Dong Bao had the man quickly summoned.
As it turned out, Fan had a grudge against Kuai and wished to exact revenge. Seeing opportunity, Dong Bao promised to ensure Kuai Zhen's death and petition Fan as the new governor, and Fan

promised in return to guarantee Ton Po's shift into Bao's service, but forming ideas proved difficult, because Ton Po was at Zhen's side day and night.
But, then Diao Fan said, "Ton Po is a primitive man deprived of civility. He is a slave to his own bodily instinct. I have with me my daughter, Diaomei. She is of age and is very beautiful. Ton must only look upon her, and then she will take care of the rest and surely he will come to your side." Dong Bao enjoyed these words. The plan was put in place.
After some time, Bao began to doubt Diao Fan's plan and the skill of his daughter, when suddenly news from the north came of sudden in-fighting which had resulted in the death of Kuai Zhen at Ton Po's hands. No sooner had he heard this news than did Ton Po himself suddenly enter into the court of the Vassal King! He came no longer as a man under service to Kuai Zhen, and asked to join in service under Dong Bao's administration.
Elated, Bao rose and honored Ton Po greatly, gifting him an exotic halberd, bow, and steed for Po to call his own. Then, he was ceremoniously honored as the Champion of Zhi.
But, when this news spread north days later, the Champion of Shui, A Chao, led a small force into Zhi demanding Ton Po be stripped and handed over for the crime he committed. But, using connections, extortion, and silver words, Dong Bao dissolved the issue and calmed the people, convincing them Kuai Zhen had been a criminal secretly conspiring against the Guan; Po deserved to be rewarded, not punished. Then, the people left, and after some time, by Dong's personal request, Diao Fan was enfeoffed as the new governor of To'An.

Manipulating the Emperor

In the year 183 AC, the Imperial Adviser to the emperor, Chen Fan, met with Dong Bao. When asked the circumstance, he said, "A time is coming when the emperor is going to summon you and request your aid in many matters, most you already know well about."

"Why do you tell me these things?" Dong Bao asked. "You are an extravagant and powerful ruler who wields great power, and I have lost faith in such a youthful and naïve emperor. Should you be willing to aid me, I shall ensure even greater power is delivered into your hands by imperial action, such that you may supersede even the emperor's one day!"
Dong Bao was greatly intrigued by this proposal. The thought of having more power than Emperor Guan himself greatly tempted Bao, and he agreed to work with Chen Fan.

True to Chen Fan's words, Dong Bao was one day summoned by Emperor Guan and asked his view on the state of the land. Bao responded saying it was a detestable sight that ran ripe with corruption which needed to be uprooted. Thinking the same, the Emperor moved to have Bao granted higher reaches of power for the express purpose of combating this corruption.
With this power, Bao proceeded to have forty-five of the fifty eunuchs executed, an act which startled the emperor. But, convincing him of his intentions behind such radical action, Bao retained what power he had out of faith from Emperor Guan.
From then on, Bao was granted higher offices over many things as new conflicts — ruses on Chen Fan's part — arose. With each new degree of authority he earned, Bao's control over the land grew, not just within Zhi, but extending out to other commanderies as well. He sent generals to battle, commanded ships everywhere, and many other things. Dong Bao laughed in gluttony with the power he held. He ate even more than he used to and gained another hundred pounds.

Dong Bao's Insurrection

Chen Fan met once again with Dong Bao long into his greater reign. By now, Dong Bao's control was as strong and deep as the emperor's himself. Bao asked Fan his reason for coming, and Fan said, "Months have gone by, and just as I promised, your realm of those you command have increased." Dong Bao laughed. "Yes, good friend! My power rivals even that of the emperor!"
"The day has come," Chen Fan said, "as you have superseded his reign as I mentioned some time ago. Now, there is a grand chance which looms before you, my lord." Bao asked, "What such thing?"
"You rule with power, but you do not rule with the imperial rings that the emperor does. So long as that is the case, your rule will never truly be absolute. But, even now the land still remains in turmoil. Dissidents cry from the north, south, east, and west, and even voices from within the capital detest the current rule. Should these voices be itched, you might raise up a force of your own that can oust the emperor as the culprit of the land's rule under Tilesh. With all at your back, you may even bring in a new dynastic cycle."
Dong Bao loved what he heard, and at once worked to muster a great force led by Ton Po. It was a fateful day in 184 AC when Bao marched the force into the imperial palace grounds against the emperor's guard. Bao denounced the emperor and called for his removal from the throne peacefully. But, after rejecting the ultimatum, the insurrection turned violent and the palace became a battleground.
Dong Bao fought his way from the gates to the dragon throne room where the emperor was, and with Jian Juya, fought the emperor who wielded the ten imperial rings. Dong Bao and his overwhelming force overpowered the emperor and managed to rip a ring from a finger. Victory — the rings — was within his grasp, and with them the imperial throne.
But, in Emperor Guan's final moments, he heaved a last shuddering sigh. “May the heavens bring these rings to the one who is worthy to be Emperor in my place…” A bright golden light flared from the rings, filling the room. As it faded, so too did the last rattling breath from the former Emperor. The rings were no longer anywhere to be seen except for the one Dong Bao held — they had vanished to different pockets of the land.
“The rings, they’re gone!” Dong Bao’s face contorted with fury. “My throne…” Without the rings, Dong Bao could not make his dynastic claim official before the Dachian body. So instead, he framed the sudden death of the emperor in a different light, and used his sphere of influence to claim regency in his absence, feigning a promise to step down once a new emperor brought forth the imperial rings to bear.
Meanwhile, Bao set to work on finding the other nine rings. He held the Ring of Huihuang, but no others. He would have the rest of them, and his iron rule would be realized.

Dong Bao rules as the regent of the Guan from the capital of Jiangjiang. The only one who truly knows what happened with the imperial rings, he coerces spies and other rogues into scouring the land and finding the other rings. One of them, found and recovered, was the Ring of Gengzu. Eight more and he would begin his reign as Dachi's new emperor. Until then, he leads with magnanimous power alongside Ton Po and Chen Fan, and disposes of those who conspire against him.

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Gwahahaha! The rings and the splendor of this land shall all be mine!
~ Dong Bao ~

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Alignment

Neutral Evil

Species

Human

Ethnicity

Dachian

Year of Birth

140 AC

Aligned Organization

Guan Dynasty