Chapter 126: Chapter 126
"The First Continental Army is overjoyed to be of service to her highness, Princess Azula." Hwa and Sho knelt and saluted in unison on the grasslands just off the main trade road, and the rest of their army behind them echoed the gesture. Before them, Princess Azula stood with a satisfied smile, while Prince Xing behind her wore a knowing smirk. It was like a ceremonial parade meeting between two army groups, like the changing of the guard or the induction of a new batch of recruits.
"Rise. It is I who should be grateful to have the loyalty of such loyal warriors." To the soft gasps of many soldiers, the princess bowed deeply before them. Even as a performance, it was a powerful gesture. Even Prince Iroh, back in his days as a gregarious and much beloved general, kept some royal distance from the common soldier. Here, the princess brought her head lower than her salute, diminishing her status before the army.
Then again, Hwa probably didn't have her family's lives drastically improved as some of the troops had experienced. She'd not witnessed her family fortunes reversed from impoverished obscurity, nor was she a colonist or refugee whose life was raised to rival the comforts of the home islands.
The soldiers were concerned because they owed their lives to her, quite literally in many cases. To these people, loyalty to the princess was a given thing, taken as much as granted as breathing.
For everyone else, Hwa included, Princess Azula's accomplishments and conduct was enough to keep them with the First Continental Army. Or they were simply loyal to Xing, like Sho. It amounted to the same thing.
"And on that note," Xing neatly cut in and stepped forwards. "It's come to our attention that the invaders from home islands have been far from compassionate in their so-called mission to restore order in the colonies."
Hwa's eyes widened as the bedraggled and bound figure of High General Bujing was pushed up to the front, similarly bound men following after him.
Princess Azula immediately fell into a scowl as she turned to the prisoners, while Xing raised his voice to address the First Continental Army. "High General Bujing has led his armies on a heartless march through many villages and towns. From the confessions we've taken so far, Wuzhai, Sei-Ro, Naorang, and other such settlements along the West Lake were sacked, the civilians that fled too late were tortured for cruel amusement before being massacred."
General Hwa immediately felt the cold hostility from her soldiers behind her washing past her. How many of these people might have friends or family in those regions? Probably not a lot, as the regiments and grand battalions under the First Continental Army mostly drew any colonial manpower from the proper colonies up until the civil war. Still, it was another slap to the face for any colonist from the callous fools of the home islands.
"Now, under the law set by Princess Azula, while she served as Colonial Minister, such wanton carnage would be punished most heavily, whether the perpetrators be noble or commoner, colonist or from the home islands. But with her removal from said post by the Fire Lord, the colonial territories have reverted back to its old laws."
The old laws meant nobles could, with varying degrees of spending, suffer at worst royal chastisement and some fines, just like what they'd face back in the home islands. Except that the lives of colonists and conquered Earth Kingdom natives were likely much cheaper to earn a slap on the wrist.
"Now, while Princess Azula holds no official authority-"
"No!" some soldiers immediately protested in outrage. "Princess Azula rules the colonies! The territories of the continent belong to Princess Azula!"
Xing let the protest carry on for a few seconds before casually waving a hand to regain silence. He gave a lazy turn of his head towards the princess, who took a step forwards to stand beside him and address the agitated crowd. "I am moved by your loyalty, but I cannot call myself ruler of the colonies. The colonies as we know it are mostly gone, its people now under the protection of Ba Sing Se. Those that remain are shackled by the home island invaders. Even after all this is done, after I've brought my father and his lackeys to justice, there might be little reason to rebuild the ruins as the Earth Kingdom comes to retake what they see as theirs."
The soldiers seemed ready to protest again, but Princess Azula raised both hands placatingly. "However! However, I am soon to be the Princess of Ba Sing Se. My most loyal prince, Xing, has already promised to resettle the refugees and offer them a new home. Offer me a new home. It is an offer I have accepted, so that I can continue ensuring the wellbeing of those who place their trust in me. There is still much room in that great city. It is my hope that we can all create a new home in Ba Sing Se, together."
Relocating to Ba Sing Se? That sounded…well, not exactly ambitious, but bold. Settling in the conquered capital city state sent a strong message to both the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom.
Hwa found she rather liked the idea of moving there with Sho. Maybe they could get some dispensation from the young prince and princess to be removed from Ba Sing Se's political scene, so they could enjoy a peaceful retirement away from family and court life.
Many officers and common soldiers alike seemed to share the sentiment, as they cheered their approval at the princess.
Said princess silenced the crowd with a laconic wave of her hands. "Prince Xing has most kindly granted me now the responsibilities and powers I will soon gain. I might not be colonial minister, nor wield the full authority of the Fire Nation, but I can charge these…pillagers, these raiders, as princess of Ba Sing Se. What say you?"
The cheers were a roaring din this time, further solidifying Princess Azula's legitimacy as princess of Ba Sing Se. It was a masterful stroke, as the princess' usual standard.
Princess Azula waited for the roars to quiet down before turning to the prisoners. "Well then, with the powers vested to me as ruler of Ba Sing Se, for the crimes of encouraging raiding and preying on the innocent, I hereby sentence you lot-"
"You promised leniency!" one of the prisoners interrupted, which was a cry quickly echoed by his fellows. "We've done as you asked! Have you no honor?"
"That is true," Xing spoke up, drawing their desperate attention to him. "I did promise that Ba Sing Se will not harm you in exchange for your cooperation…" Hwa saw the flicker of hope flare to life in the prisoners, except for High General Bujing. At the same time, annoyance bubbled from the men behind her.
Xing made a show of turning to her and Sho.
"General Sho, General Hwa. Your army isn't pledged to me, is it?"
"No, Prince Xing," Sho immediately answered. "We've rebelled to support the princess, but that doesn't mean the First Continental Army is aligned with Ba Sing Se. Yet."
The flames of hope were cruelly snuffed as the bound commanders realized what would follow.
"Well then, is there anything I can do to persuade you to join me, as your princess has done?"
Sho played along and glanced over his shoulder to his troops for a second, and then glanced back at Xing. "Perhaps we might be convinced if we were allowed to dispense justice…"
Xing turned to Princess Azula with a lazy smile. "What say you, my princess?"
Her smile matched his. "As princess of Ba Sing Se, I hereby extradite you prisoners to the care of the rebels of the First Continental Army."
Defeat tinged the captured commanders' pleas for mercy, but Dao led a few men to drag them back.
"Colonel Dao?"
"Yeah?" The oaf paused and turned to Xing with a puzzled frown just as the prisoners were exchanged.
The prince wore a surprisingly somber expression. "That serving girl that you…sponsored? Siu-Fang? She was with her family in Wuzhai when Bujing's army hit. We found…her." He walked up and offered a small pouch to Dao, whose eyes were now wide with shock. His hands actually trembled as they gingerly received Xing's item, and heavy silence filled the air as the massive man, normally a loud and bloodthirsty brute, quietly opened the pouch to peer at the contents within.
"My condolences."
The pouch dropped from Dao's meaty hand, spilling out a simple silver necklace and a small string bracelet, more like an oversized ring actually.
"Siu-Fang…" Dao looked up to stare emptily at Xing, who gave a slow, regretful shake of his head.
Hwa knew things were taking a dark turn when Sho subtly nudged her back a few steps. The other officers also shuffled back, making space between Dao and the prisoners even as the troops escorting the prisoners hastily ran off and abandoned escorting the bound men. Even Xing's side were uncomfortably making some space, with only the Scorpion remaining rooted on the spot.
"SIU-FANG!" Dao's thunderous roar startled Hwa and many others. Flames burst out from the colonel as he turned to the closest prisoner. The hapless commander didn't get a chance to scream as Dao's hands quickly wrapped around his neck and pulled. With a sickening crack and squelch, the man's head was ripped free from his neck, and Dao kept roaring even as the fountain of blood sprayed him right in the face.
"Siu-Fang!" He charged at another prisoner, and the new victim fell over as he tried to flee with his ankles still bound. Dao stomped on the man's back, visibly deforming the poor man's chest as spine and ribs broke. And the great Thunder continued stomping, roaring in insensate rage as blood stained the prisoner's silk robes, and bones tore through the attire.
Sho placed a comforting hand on Hwa, drawing her attention from the grisly scene. "Best to let him grieve. I'll have the army reorganize with Xing's people."
Hwa could only nod and watch as her husband gave the orders to the colonels, who were all doing their best to ignore the sorrowful roars and the sick cracking of bone and flesh. She too tried not to glance at Dao's way, nor the screaming prisoners who were trying to drag themselves out of his reach. A gesture from Sho had some men gingerly pushing back the prisoners towards the storm of rage.
Whatever justice Princess Azula or the troops might have had in mind, the prisoners' fates now likely far exceeded their imagination.
Leaving Dao to wreck bloody vengeance, Hwa followed Sho to meet with Xing and Princess Azula at a more comfortable and distant location.
This time, the salute Sho offered was far less formal. "Sad business, that."
Xing gave a single nod. "Dao will be blaming himself for not taking her in, or sending her to Ba Sing Se."
"I'll have to see that he doesn't drown himself in drink," her husband sighed. "Probably best to keep him from the front lines unless you don't want prisoners…"
"This is not the first time, I take it?" the princess asked with a half-worried look.
Xing shook his head ruefully. "Fourth, though it's the first to suffer from the Fire Nation. Dao might be too free in giving in to his passions, but he truly does care for those that catch his eye."
Sho nodded gravely. "It's quite a while ago since he lost a mistress. Koda had to throw his cavalry in to stop Dao from rampaging by himself the last time it happened. We didn't manage to keep many prisoners in that battle."
"And the stores of wine were emptied out in the course of three nights after that," Xing added. "We had to burn his tent and some of his belongings because of how…stained they ended up being."
"If he falls into such a state, why tell him now?" Princess Azula asked, looking truly appalled.
Both Xing and Sho shrugged. "He'll find out eventually," the prince answered. "He writes to his mistresses frequently. All of them. And sometimes he forgets to remind them he's on campaign, and their replies return to his estate, to be read by his wife." Hence Lady Dao's constant state of wrath at her husband.
"Better to tell him now than to have him find out later," Sho added. "Who knows where he'll be when that happens, and what kind of carnage he'll leave in his wake. Trying to stop him will only make you a target. Even Lidai kept clear of Dao rather than trying to calm him down the second time it happened."
It felt a little…dirty weaponizing Dao's grief, but Hwa had to agree with her husband. If this sort of rage was unleashed at the wrong time - in a town on the home islands, for example - the damage might be horrendous.
"If it cannot be helped…" Princess Azula began to say, waiting for earnest nods from Xing and Sho before continuing, "then we have no choice but to leave Colonel Dao to get it out of his system, and move on to other matters."
"Agreed, your highness," Hwa said, just a fraction of a second before her husband.
The young royals and the married generals assembled their subordinates to plan the next stages of the counterattack, hashing out the objectives they needed to hit. With the bulk of the punitive force broken, they could afford splitting up to retake the coast and pushing back the foothold from the home island loyalists. The first priority however was to hit the nearest enemy port to capture some ships, which allowed Xing and the princess to launch a counter invasion. It had to be done in a hurry, and Hwa found herself shuddering with distaste along with many others as Xing briefed them on the Day of Black Sun.
Further details were hashed out, as well as the reorganization from the reintegration of the First Continental Army into Ba Sing Se. All officers from both parties kept fully focused on the planning, ignoring the muted roars in the background.
Once the task was done, Hwa took her husband aside for a brief private talk. "I think it's best you tell me what other latent…issues your friends might have. So I can prepare myself."
Sho gave a chuckle. "I think Dao about covers it. Unless you have a pretty brother, then best to keep him away from Koda."
"What?"
Sho placed a gentle hand on her shoulders as he led her back to their camp. "Right, I forgot to tell you. You know how Koda is a bit overindulgent with his messenger boys?"
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