Six months after the Peace Accords...

At Emerald City Castle, Shingen, Honda, and a few other noblemen were carefully watching a group of men plying their trade. One of them was talking steadily, eagerly explaining about each step of what his fellows were doing.

"This weapon, is what we call a cannon. It weighs considerably, but as we have shown you it can be attached to a horse drawn carriage, or lifted to be pushed a short distance, given it's enormous wheels. The barrel itself is made out of bronze."

"Why don't you use iron?" interrupted Honda.

"Iron is more expensive and is heavier than bronze. But this is one of the latest version that we make in the Fire Nation. What they're doing now is taking a probing the barrel to make sure there are no debris left in the barrel. Now they're is sponging out the barrel, to make sure that there is no flammable materials left in there when they load the powder cartridge. At the same time they take a small thin rod where they place the fuse, to make there is no obstruction when they stick the fuse in. After prepping the weapon, they ram the cartridge home with a ramming pole. And then they load the actual shell with the ramming pole. Each shell is also designed and engineered for specialized purposes. Solid shot for penetrating solid targets, grapeshot for firing at approaching enemy formations, or fused shots that explode in midair, spreading shrapnel in all direction. Now we're ready to fire the weapon. For demonstration purposes and for safety purposes, we will firing what we call a blank salvo without any shell. Please cover your ears," ordered the merchants as one of the men pulled a cord to ignite the fuse. The very moment the cord broke off, the cannon fired with a thunderous roar, making the ground momentarily quake and jolt from its place.

"A well trained gun crew can fire their salvo as far away as one mile," the gun merchant said with a triumphant grin.

Shingen whistled. "How fast can they reload and fire?"

"Three salvos in one minute. But the advantage of this weapon is not speed, but the technology behind it. It takes only a few months to train a crew of eight to fully operate it effectively."

"Same with those muskets and rifles that you showed us," commented Honda. "What about those ones over there?"

"Yes, I'm glad that you mention those other ones. The weaponology is very straightforward, the difference between this cannon here, compared to the bronze cannon, is one is that it is made out of iron. Iron is more tolerant to heat than bronze. When older bronze cannons are used so many times, the metal would expand, eventually making it less accurate. Another significant difference is that the iron cannon has been rifled. Like the rifle that I have shown earlier, this cannon can fire further and more accurately, than the bronze cannon which is smooth in the inside of its barrel."

"But these weapons seem to be too heavy and unwieldy. They may be good enough to give them to conscripts, but are unnecessary for professional warriors. All the enemy needs to do is move fast enough and evade to get enough to use their swords," commented a young nobleman. "Why didn't the Fire Nation use them if they're so advanced?"

"Because their generals thought it was an insult to their military traditions, despite successful examples of massed musketry, and cannon giving them a tremendous advantage on the battlefield," Mao interjected. "Ultimately, it was because the Fire Nation had too many of the old guard, in their upper echelons of their military high command, who all thought it was uncivilized to use them. Likewise the Earth Kingdom felt the same way and ended up only using them in very limited roles."

"When were they first used effectively?"

"During the first siege of Ba Sing Se by General Iroh. Because he had a smaller army than the Earth Kingdom's, and still been ordered to attack, Iroh massed all of his one hundred guns and demolished a part of the outer wall. Swiftly taking advantage of the situation, he spearheaded two thousand musketeers, and one thousand Firebenders to secure a foothold in the city. And supported with a screen of heavy cavalry, they soundly defeated Ba Sing Se's numerous counterattacks while the guns redeployed racking the enemy lines with grape shot. With their position established, the rest of the army was able enter the city with relative ease."

"YES! Exactly so!" exclaimed the gun merchant. "The Dragon of the West General Iroh saw the guns' true potential and pioneered their uses! He practically wrote the book on tactics that are still being used today!"

"But after the siege was broken, and Iroh defeated and discredited, the higher echelons of the Fire Nation's Imperial Army dismissed the gun's critical role in the battle," finished Mao.

"Why?" asked the young nobleman.

"They said it was a fluke," shrugged the merchant, "they all thought that it was the Firebenders who were doing all of the work. They thought that the siege was broken, because the Firebenders were too tired to mount an effective resistance."

"And this assessment came from a military that was the first to use tanks and war balloons?" commented another young nobleman.

"But only three shots per minute? I'd sooner take my chances with a shield and longsword," said the first young nobleman.

"The musket's gun design was also improved to accommodate the use of a bayonet, should the enemy come close enough for it. For something like a cavalry charge, musketeers would 'fix' bayonet, form a square to defend themselves from all sides. And they would use the musket as a spear," the gun merchant pointed at the muzzle of the musket. "Not to mention it's easier to train a soldier how to use it, thereby shortening the training period. It takes an average of fifteen years to fully train a bender to reach a satisfactory skill level. Likewise it takes ten years to train a swordsman. Five years for a bowman. And as you Air Nomads know, it takes considerable skill and practice to master horse archery."

The young nobleman, now convinced of the merits of the guns nodded in acknowledgement.

"Then I assume that you have a gun suited for cavalry then?" inquired Shingen.

"Yes. For Dragoons. Here, I'll show you…"

On the other side of the castle, mercenaries from the Fire Nation were instructing their students on how to operate a tank, a war balloon, and an experimental flying machine made of cloth and wood, called an aeroplane; which never saw active service before the war ended, afterwards the project was scrapped by the Fire Nation military high command in favor of the massive airships. Mao later joined the class and took a ride on the aeroplane, and who was grinning ear to ear when his feet touched the ground.

"What a marvelous machine! With this we can rule the sky!"

"What a terrible racket those things make," said Lady Yodo as she stuck a needle into a cloth watching the whole spectacle at her window. She saw Mao fly by the castle as he waved like a child at her which amused her as she fondly waved back. But she was more annoyed as the other noblemen started to noisily fire rifles at some targets.

"Yes they do make a lot of noise," agreed Yumiko.

They were sitting at the top floor of the castle, allowing them to see everything from their perch. Yumiko, along with other noblewoman were there as social call, on the part of Lady Yodo who invited everyone. Respecting Lady Yodo sense of tradition and decorum, everyone came fully dressed with long-sleeve dress, cloth boots, with a hat and shawl. After some poetry reading, lunch, and drinking tea, they settled down to do embroidery; which is a time-honored practice and a practical skill for women, in which afterwards they planned on giving them to their husbands or sweethearts. No one smoked or drank alcohol, since it was unwritten rule by Lady Yodo who thought it was unbecoming for women to drink or smoke.

"Oh, I like this pattern," said one of the young woman.

"That's a bit small, is your family expecting a new addition to the family?" asked another.

"Yes. I'm making clothes for my niece and nephew, two of my cousins are pregnant. We already have the charms ready for them."

"The first three years are the hardest. Shichi-go-san are the happiest for me."

BOOM! The blank salvo rang out frightening everyone.

"All this hurry to get the newest things from the Fire Nation," Lady Yodo said with displeasure, "we should be concentrating on rebuilding our culture, just as the Avatar commanded, not chasing after the deadliest weapon."

"Yes. But not everything from the Fire Nation is bad. Take for example their trains and steam engines," said Yumiko.

"Yes, but we have benders who can do what those machines do, only better. It goes to show such traditions will never go away. Who needs such abominable machines when you have your God-given talent?"

Yumiko stopped sewing and put her embroidery aside. "That maybe so, since I am a Waterbender and I find that things are a lot easier for me. But consider this Yodo-dono. How many of our people can say the same? My great uncle Aang-sama, Shingen-dono, Mao and his family, and my brother are the only Airbenders that I've met in my travels. Benders only make up a small portion of the population in Kanto. And I've been to the Fire Nation. In the Fire Nation, they don't need Firebenders to stoke the fires in their steam engines, or Lightningbenders to create electricity. They don't need Earthbenders to move earth, or plough and till their fields. As much as I hate to admit, since I have my pride as a Waterbender, they don't need Waterbenders to flood their fields for their rice paddies. Now they have flying balloons and flying machines to soar through the sky. So now they don't need the air bison or dragons to fly. They all have machines to do that. Here in Kanto, they even invented what they call a sewing machine to help us do embroidery, rather than do it by hand. Times are changing Yodo-dono. We must change with it. We cannot allow our pride or our traditions on bending hinder us."

"That's very insightful of you, Yumiko-chan. But does that mean that we should forsake whatever is inconvenient? What are we without our traditional values? What principles should we hold dear if we are to change?"

"I didn't mean that."

"Then what do you mean?"

"I am saying that we should not turn away from progress."

"Then what is progress?"

Yumiko sighed and stared at the floor. "I don't rightly know my lady. But the machines that I have mentioned are the drivers of our country's progress. The Fire Nation is the strongest in the world and for good reason, by trading with them and buying their machines, they have offered us help in resisting the Earth Kingdom."

"That is very true," said Lady Yodo quietly, turning to face the window she said, "the clouds look ominous. It looks like there will be a terrible storm tonight."

In the Earth Kingdom, the situation was taking a change for the worse. Despite the promises of change, peace and prosperity, the land was rife with discord and unrest. As the soldiers returned home to their towns and villages, they quickly found themselves unemployed, and the reality immediately sunk in that hard times were ahead of them. In the cities, at a casual glance the markets were busy, but with a more observant eye the patrons shoppers and merchants have downcast eyes, and worried brows. To make matters worse forces were at work that no one seemed to be able to comprehend.

"Fifty coppers for a bag of rice? Have you gone mad?" asked an elderly woman to her merchant peer. "It's normally half that price a year ago. Why are you making them more expensive?"

"I'm sorry. The prices have gone up. Instead of twenty coppers it's gone up to forty last week. I have to sell it higher just to make ends meet."

The old shopper turned and left to go to shop at another grocer only to find that the prices were more or less the same.

"You-you greedy bastard!" yelled a young man. "How is anyone going to feed their family? Your prices are extortion!"

"Hey calm down!" The son of the vendor yelled back. "I have family I have to feed too you know! I pay forty coppers for my goods, and I still have to pay for rent, and everything else! I can't afford to sell them any lower!"

"Greedy merchant!"

"Cheapskate!"

"Excuse me?" asked an older gentleman.

"Yes?" asked the vendor.

"How much are you selling rice?"

"Fifty coppers a bag."

"Price is a bit steep isn't it?"

"Price has to justify the cost. And this is my livelihood."

"So it is. Do you have anything cheaper?"

"Yes, over here." The vendor ushered the older gentleman to more bags of rice and opened them to be inspected. "Mind you though, that they're cheaper and not as good a quality as the others. And they're a lot harder to sell, if you're looking to turn around, and sell them yourself."

The older ran his hand through the grain, evidently coarse and unrefined. The boy was right, it would difficult to resell them in terms of quality alone.

"How much?"

"Forty-five coppers."

"If I buy half of your inventory, can you give me a discount? Say thirty-five per bag?"

"…Forty-one and you got yourself a deal."

"How about we meet halfway, say forty?"

The young merchant rubbed his chin, "...You got yourself a deal."

"Done." The older gentleman extended his hand to the vender and they shook on it, and then he turned to his companions who were by a cart and motioned them to load the bags onto it.

The other patron watched the bags being whisked away in front of him.

"Hey, I'll buy some of that," said the first patron hurriedly.

"That'll be forty-eight coppers per bag."

"Fort-Forty-eight?!"

"Hey, I'm running out of inventory, and the price for rice keeps going up."

"WHAT?! You have lots of rice! You greedy bastard!"

"Pretty lively today," a currency merchant said as he weighed a tray of coins with his counterweight. The young vendor and his belligerent patron were having a shouting match, as the keepers of the peace waded through the crowd to break them up.

"Everything seems to cost more. The price for a bag of rice has doubled from last week," replied the patron of the currency merchant. "Is there a famine?"

"No. All the farms are being worked, what with all of the soldiers going home. But the problem is that it also means that there are more mouths to feed. The farmers and merchants can't keep up, so there's a shortage. Things were better during the war."

"But wait, isn't that a good thing that the war had ended? With the soldiers coming home and working their farms again, wouldn't that mean we can produce more food?"

"Yes, it should. In theory. But I have relatives in the neighboring villages and their having a tough time working the farms there. A few of them are going through a drought and a bad harvest. I had a relative who was killed by bandits during a raid who wanted to grab what they could get. In fact my relatives have been raided so many times, that they packed up and moved to the city; otherwise they'd starve. But everyone else had the same idea. And with the Fire Nation's withdrawal from the conquered territories, it's only made things worse. When the soldiers left, the volunteers forces that raided the armies of the Fire Nation, are now raiding the villages, since their homes were destroyed by the invaders in retaliation."

"It's kind of hard to tell that things are so bleak. The market places are lively again."

"Yes it is. But even if it was a simple matter of sending more soldiers to keep the countryside safe, it wouldn't stop inflation."

"Inflation, what's that?"

"It's a phenomena that occurs when there are significant changes, that affects everyone's buying or selling behavior. These changes then affect the prices in the economy. Theoretically, when there is a rise in demand there would be a corresponding rise in prices as goods become more scarce; thus causing prices to rise higher. Eventually, if conditions are right, there will be response from producers who would produce enough goods to keep up with demand. In a perfect world, prices would go back to normal levels, with the difference is that there is increased output. But because of the demands of fighting a world conflict, and a lot of the country's infrastructure destroyed, increased crime rates, and the difficulties of rebuilding; prices keep being driven up. Likewise there is a strong anxiety or uncertainty about the future price of goods. So people are hoarding."

"Why would uncertainty affect a price of a good, shouldn't people keep prices low until they have to sell it higher when they cost more?"

"Yes, but it's because we don't know how much the goods will be selling for tomorrow. Say for instance I paid one copper for this orange, and I sold it for three coppers. But tomorrow, the price of the orange jumps to three coppers, the same price that I was selling it for. Wouldn't it make sense to raise my prices when I am running out of inventory to make sure that I stay profittable if prices rise again? Or look at what just happened just now at that vendor. He was selling rice forty five coppers, but now he has only half of the inventory than what he had started out with. If prices rise again, would he have enough money to refill his inventory? If he doesn't, then he would have to sell even higher."

"Hmmm...nowadays, I don't even how much bag of rice a sovereign can buy. It used to be ten bags. Today it's only eight. Hey, how does Kanto or the Fire Nation deal with inflation?"

"Well, they use promissory notes called 'bonds'. They're essentially loans that the issuer of the bond would promise to pay the full amount with a modest interest rate. If the government issues enough bonds, they effectively reduce the amount of money circulating in the economy, and make prices more stable."

"So how is that different from going to a moneylender?"

"Well, bonds can be bought and sold on the open market. They have whole brokerage houses dedicated to this sort of business, and there are a lot of people making a living off of it."

"Why doesn't the Earth Kingdom do that?!"

"Because the idea came from the Fire Nation. The stubborn fools in Ba Sing Se don't want to copy them. Except for the Air Nomads who're doing it to supplement their tax revenue."

"That's stupid. Why can't our province do that?"

"Because our provincial government is not allowed to make economic policies on their own. All of our commerce is controlled by Ba Sing Se, who have resorted to redistributing money. But it's only a band aid measure."

"Redistribution? As in redistributing wealth?"

"Redistribution in terms of circulating money. It's when Ba Sing Se asks the provinces to borrow their money, and then give it to the more needier provinces to pay for whatever goods, and services they want. But money is flying out of people's hands at a rate that it's not even funny, which indicates the the currency is losing its value. But if Ba Sing Se starts hoarding the currency to cause deflation, they would trigger a recession. And the provinces that are already in poor shape would be worse off, and may drag the rest of the Earth Kingdom down with them."

"What else does Kanto to keep their prices stable?"

"They use what they call a gold standard."

"What's a gold standard?" the patron asked restraining his eagerness. The merchant took out a crisp, twenty yuan note and held it up.

"There is a law in Kanto that says that only their government may be allowed to mint and print their country's currency. This piece of paper is one such currency that they issue, that allows people to use as money in all of their business transactions, and pay their taxes with. But the value of the notes is set by a fixed exchange rate for an ounce of gold set by their government. The value of the gold and the note is guaranteed by their treasury and can be exchanged at the banks. If the government sets the exchange rate at say, twenty yuan for an ounce of gold, then an ounce of gold is worth twenty yuan. And one yuan is worth one-twentieth of an ounce of gold. It's what they call fixing prices."

"Fixing-what?"

"Price-fixing. It's when they establish a price for a good. Say this for this orange, if the government says that farmers can sell it for three coppers. Then that is price that farmers can sell it at."

"Where did you learn all this?"

"I studied at Kanto's First National University."

"Wow. Why doesn't the Earth Kingdom do that?"

"Because the Fire Nation thought it of it first. That and the Earth Kingdom is flooded with so many currencies from Ba Sing Se, Omashu, Hakuma, individual nobles, and the Air Nomads' Council of Thirteen; so it's one big confusing mess. But it's mostly because all these ideas came from the Fire Nation, that a lot of people don't want to adopt in the Earth Kingdom."

"Except for the Air Nomads. But that's stupid that the Earth Kingdom doesn't use these ideas."

"Yes it is. But those who makes the money makes the rules. And a big part of the problem is Ba Sing Se's militarism. The Ten Attendants shaped the economy, our culture, and our politics, to suit military policy. And spend less money and resources on civil policies. Now that the war is over, the industries that were used to support the war effort are now going through a slump; which is causing even more unemployment. And with inflation, it just makes running the army even more expensive."

"So having a big army would be the best thing for the Earth Kingdom right?"

"Not necessarily. If you spend more money on the army, there will be less money to spend to improve the government, or encourage more commerce. You can't have a proper army if you can't feed everyone."

Meanwhile in Ba Sing Se, inflation has also become a serious problem. Inflation has effectively made the cost of living higher than normal, in already crowded and crime ridden city. Some people strived to persevere and beat the odds. Some go through the motions at their jobs, worrying about tomorrow of whether they will have a job still. Others become desperate enough to resort to anything get by. What was most disturbing was that vagabonds and orphans were also becoming a common sight.

At the Council of Five's headquarters, General Fong peered at the map of the world that illustrated the geopolitical situation. The Fire Nation colonies on the west coast of the Earth Kingdom were becoming an eyesore. But these territories are surrounded by the Air Nomad countries, because of their close economic and diplomatic relationships with the Fire Nation, they have effectively become buffer zones for the colonies. More alarming for the general, is the Air Nomads also surround a few individual kingdoms and principalities that still answer the edicts from Ba Sing Se. It would require little effort for the Air Nomads to besiege them, and deny the Earth Kingdom's far flung garrisons supplies and reinforcements.

In the event of open hostilities with the standoffish Air Nomads, he would have to send more troops to reinforce the isolated local garrisons, if they are to hold out long enough for reinforcements to arrive. But that would put more strain on an already volatile situation, which would put the anti-Ba Sing Se provinces in a corner, and may force the ones sitting on the fence to choose sides. But if he does sends more troops, the army would be in a more advantageous position in the event of war. However, he would need permission from the king to mobilize the troops, who has continued to insist on reducing the army.

By reducing the army, that would mean that there would less troops available for rotation. Which means more longer periods of active deployment, that would negatively affect moral. By having more troops, the lower number of rotations they would have go through. And if anything unforeseen were to happen, the less overwhelming the situation would be for the troops and their officers. On a strategic level, this would give the Earth Kingdom more flexibility in implementing the Harmony Restoration Movement. And the Air Nomad countries would be forced to reconsider their political stance on the issue. If the Earth Kingdom were to have a big enough army, they may pose a big enough threat to persuade a few countries to abandon the Independence Movement.

No. That would not happen, thought General Fong. The Earth Kingdom would have to be prepared to march on their capitals. And dictate the peace terms in their own palaces and parliaments. Are we prepared for such an outcome?

A dark though entered the man's mind.

Actually, things were ironically better during the war. War had united the Earth Kingdom against a common enemy. Dampened social unrest, and political dissent was considered to be unpatriotic. It also provided a convenient excuse to take measures that would otherwise considered to be too heavy handed. And what better adversary to have now than the Air Nomad countries, and the colonies? We can easily say that is all in the name of enforcing the Harmony Restoration Movement. Yes. All I need to do is talk to the Ten Attendants to bring up the matter with the king...

A few days later in the Earth Kingdom throne room…

"Your Majesty," bowed one of the Ten Attendants. "Your provincial governors have reported of increased banditry in the countryside. They ask for reinforcements to root out the brigands and end their lawless raids."

"But I've promised to reduce the size of the army, and make civil policy and rebuilding our top priority," Kuei frowned.

"Your Highness, it is actually be cheaper to keep the army, then it would be to discharge them with full benefits. Because we have been reducing the army, these brigands have been acting with impunity with lawless raids on defenseless villages. Not only are the people's homes being destroyed, the people will not be able to pay their taxes. Which reduces the country's treasure. With less taxes to collect, it weakens our country."

"Who are responsible for these raids?"

A few of the Ten Attendants smirked aand glanced at each other.

"They appear to be Air Nomads Your Majesty."

"What? What proof do you have of any of this?"

"There have been survivors who account that the men who attacked them were Air Nomads," said Li Su, "these are rogues who refuse to accept the Harmony Restoration Movement. We believe that the raids are timed so that they weaken their neighbors. So as to strengthen their position as independent countries."

"They flaunt your laws and your edicts," said the large attendant, "they have the presumption to reject all of your ministers, denying them the right to enforcing our laws. The treasonous scoundrels go as far as spread even more dissent, and put thoughts of treason amongst the ignorant populace."

"Why hasn't this been reported to me sooner?" asked Kuei.

"We thought it best if we took proactive measures in keeping their malign influence in check. We have blockaded their ports, stopping ships, and seizing cargo that came from the Fire Nation-"

"The Fire Nation?! They should be buying all of their goods from the Earth Kingdom as I had planned!"

"Yes sire. But they give special preference when they trade with the Fire Nation over the Earth Kingdom. They are also inviting citizens from the Fire Nation to live and work in their countries, and encouraging them to live in the colonies. In fact, as Minister of Foreign Relations, the Air Nomads nor the colonies, have any intention of cooperating with the Harmony Restoration Movement," added the handsome attendant.

"They are not cooperating with the Harmony Movement?! What of the goods that we have shipping to the Air Nomads, haven't they been buying them?!"

"They have been accepting them. But they are imposing tariffs; which is also against your edicts of free trade in the dominion. They are also embracing Fire Nation culture by building their abominable factories, power plants, and railways. And they are importing trains from the Fire Nation, instead of from Ba Sing Se," replied the weasel faced attendant.

"But our trains are just as good as the Fire Nation's. Why haven't they buying them?"

"They don't want them. They claim that they are too expensive and inferior to the Fire Nation's. They say the ones from the Fire Nation are better because they move much faster, pull larger freights, and anyone can use them, not just Earthbenders."

"I was opposed to building those infernal contraptions from the beginning!" Interjected the eldest attendant. "If we build more trains, then the wealth of the country would flow out of the country that much faster. The slower money moves, the longer our wealth will stay in our country."

"It gets worse," Li Su continued.

"How?" asked Kuei.

"They are doing what they call, land reform."

"Land reform?"

"They are imposing higher land taxes for those who own land. The hardest hit are the big estates."

"But without the estates, their economy will collapse. Are they mad?"

"It's forcing the landlords to sell their property to the peasants. They're also imposing their so-called reforms on the Earth People who are living amongst them."

"Why?"

"Because Kanto is a republic," said the handsome attendant, "in which the people elect and choose their leaders. And only those who own land may vote. They also allow the people the right to vote when they create laws. It's a rule of a mob."

"Peasants being allowed to have a say in government? That would lead to chaos. We need to go there and sort out their troubles for them."

"What is worse is that they are a nest of heretics," said the eldest attendant. "They are spreading heretical beliefs that reject the divine, with their so-called science. They even go as far as reject the divinity of the Avatar, and the Son of Heaven with their blasphemy. We should not only save them from themselves, but also purge their wickedness, lest they corrupt the world."

"Wait, just a moment…" objected Kuei. "I can see the force of your argument, but I will not declare war. Our people need a respite."

"You need to be ruthless Your Majesty! The time to act is now! Before it's too late! They are a cancer that is poisoning Your Dominion! Those conniving rabble rousers need to be purged of their heretical teachings to maintain the Earth Kingdom's purity! You are the Will of Heaven incarnate! The need to act is now! And you can start by burning those heretical books from Fire Nation and the nomads!"

"We shouldn't burn all of the books," objected Kuei. "Not all of their knowledge can be bad."

"No. That would be a mistake Your Majesty," the eldest attendant asserted, almost shouting, "we cannot leave any stone unturned. We must burn all of their books, and punish the blasphemers. Only then will their heresies will truly be purged. It is the Will of Heaven."

"I did not think it was important at the time," interjected the large attendant. "But I also believe it to be all an elaborate plot, hatched by the nomads to spreads lies that slanders Your Majesty, and your friends and allies, and your ministers. I also suspect that the nomads have been conspiring with the Fire Nation, as they support any province who wish to break away from the Earth Kingdom. It would not be long before the nomads will demand your abdication and dethrone you."

"Dethrone me?!" King Kuei rose to his feet and his attendants drop their knees and bowed to him. "They wouldn't dare! I am their Emperor and Lord Protector! Don't they see that I am their friend and ally, as well as their king?! And they go as far as persuade others to betray me?! After all my people had done to save their miserable hides?!"

"They are dissidents and traitors your highness! An example must be made of them!" said one of the Attendants.

"Yes," Kuei agreed. "Starting with Kanto! Summon the Council of Five!"

"Yes sire!"

The order was passed down and the Council of Five assembled in the throne room. General Fong was the last in enter, swaggering in, relishing the moment. When his eyes met the king's, he straightened up and bowed low to him with his fellows.

"Your Majesty," the five said in unison.

"My Attendants have told me that my people are being attacked by the Air Nomads! I want you to punish their treachery! I want you to gather your armies and crush Kanto!"

General Han looked warily to the other generals.

"Your Majesty. My spies have reported that Air Nomads have nothing to do with the raids."

"Are your own spies deceiving you General Han? Or are you certain that your spies are what they claim to be?" General Fong asserted.

"I trust these men with my life," General Han replied coolly.

"Your spies, are Air Nomads, and members of the Kazekage! They have keeping you deaf and blind this whole time!"

General Han was dumbstruck.

"It is as Your Royal Attendants have reported sire!" Fong boldly spoke, "the Air Nomads plan to destroy the Earth Kingdom one province at a time! These raids are just to have us running after shadows, until they will catch us unawares, and attack our scattered armies en masse!"

"But General Fong," interrupted one of the Attendants. "We do not enough troops to assist the local militias and keep the country protected."

"Then we will make more. I advise His Highness to make military spending the country's top priority."

"But shouldn't we make civil policy our top priority?" asked Kuei, "we should give the people a respite."

"What good is it to collect taxes from the poor, when we do not spend it on the army to protect them?"

"You are right general!" chimed in the weasel faced attendant, "My Lord Emperor, I agree with General Fong! We need more men!"

"I agree with Your Majesty's Royal Attendants and General Fong," General Song said abruptly and then turned to General Han and asked, "Wouldn't you agree General Han? That we need the army more than ever to strengthen and protect our country?"

"I am uncertain. But General Fong is right. We cannot afford to make half measures. We need to place more emphasis on the army to safeguard our overland trading routes, and to protect our country."

Kuei sat silent as all eyes fell upon him, it seemed apparent to Kuei that he had made a mistake, and that it has cost countless lives.

"It all makes sense…" thought Kuei aloud with a low dangerous tone, "Kanto has been spreading treason in my dominion, and making every effort to undermine our efforts in the Harmony Restoration Movement. Those ungrateful bastards have the gall to try to pull a fast one on me. I will make them pay for their treachery!"

"And we shall, sire. We have the army," said the handsome attendant, "we have the money. We have the divine right. And we have the righteous fury of the people. All we need to do is to remove those pompous nomad lords that are poisoning the minds of the ignorant."

"More importantly, I believe that the Avatar will support your cause Your Majesty," offered the weasel faced attendant, "he is but an ignorant child. But his heart is pure and compassionate. He will not turn away from those who are in trouble."

"And by gaining the support of the Avatar, you will have the support of the Council of the Thirteen," added the handsome attendant.

Kuei closed his eyes and thought for a few moments. When he opened them he said, "no. Not yet. If we are to go to war, I want to know for certain that we can win. I want a swift and decisive victory, one that would make them never again question their emperor."

"At the very least sire," said the large attendant who bowed low. "Please revise your policy on reducing the army. If we are to implement the Harmony Restoration Movement, we need the troops to keep order. We also need the army now, more than ever, to stop the nomads that are plaguing the people. They are a bane to your people's existence."

"Make it so," Kuei said feebly, and then thought for a moment and added, "and I wish to send a personal letter to Fire Lord Zuko, to inform Fire Lord Zuko of our intentions. We are increasing the army for peaceful purposes," Kuei rose to his feet, the Council of Five and the Ten Attendants bowed low to him until he left the room.

As everyone filed out, General Fong and General Song followed the Ten Attendants.

"Good work, convincing the king to reverse his policy. You have done a great service for the empire," said Fong to the large attendant.

"But there is still the matter of the military budget," said the weasel faced attendant.

"The increased size of the army will also have an increased budget to support it. For a price," added Li Su, the leader of the Ten Attendants.

"What?!" Fong half shouted. Song could only stare in bewilderment.

"You should be grateful that we did what you had asked. It would only be proper, that we are paid for our troubles."

"How much are we talking about?"

"Five hundred sovereigns."

"FIVE HUNDRED?" Fong asked wide-eyed. Song went pale and looked like he was going to faint.

"Five hundred for a budget of ten thousand. That's a bargain," said the weasel faced attendant.

"All right fine! We'll get you your money. But it'll take me a month to get it all," said Fong submissively.

"Good, see that you do," Li Su said as the Ten Attendants left.

"If the nomad countries are giving us so many problems, why haven't we march our armies out there, and compel their obedience already?!" demanded General Fong when the Ten Attendants were out of earshot.

"Because we do not have enough troops, and because of the great distance that our armies would have travel before reaching them," replied General Song. "All of the nomad countries are on the periphery of the empire. Kanto is particularly hard to if we use a land route. The most direct route would require us to cross the great desert to get there. Which is also the most dangerous and formidable route."

"What about the railways? Haven't we commissioned to build more rails to be built across the desert?"

"We have. But we have completed only one railway. It would take us six months for us to get the army into position. Not to mention they would have to cross Kanto's formidable Gunma Mountain Range."

"Six months?"

"Not to mention the trains can only be operated by Earthbenders. It would require an army of well trained crews to efficiently operate the entire length of the rail-line."

"But the trains and the tracks are all made out of stone. It should require very little effort to operate them."

"We also have to take into account of inclement weather, accidents, terrain, and human limitations. And remember those recent rail union strikes here in Ba Sing Se? The biggest complaint from the unionists were the twelve hour work shifts. Working seven days a week without a break; people were getting killed from getting being overworked. Now imagine them working in the desert, not Ba Sing Se, where the working conditions are even worse. They would have to working all around the clock. We'll have more men dying from heat stroke than in battle. Not to mention we may have to fight off Sandbenders."

"What about the navy?"

"Destroyed or captured by the Fire Nation. Whatever scraps were left were either commandeered by local warlords, like in Sunpu or Sendai. Or they became brigands on the high seas."

"Then what about the provinces Sunpu and Sendai?"

"They have enough for coastal defenses, but nothing more. They both still have big land armies. But I doubt their lords would take any invasion into Kanto seriously."

"...Are you a defeatist General Song? Those infernal nomads are doing whatever they please, while all you do is make up excuses why we can't win!"

"You and I are like-minded in that regard. But the king has too stubborn and will find excuses to keep a smaller army. So even if we successfully conquer all of the nomad countries, we would not have enough troops to keep order. Not to mention the Fire Nation still have colonies in the rogue provinces; any military action will not go unnoticed."

"Okay then, what preparations do we have should something unforeseen were to happen? And the king has no choice but to retaliate?"

"I have some people working on that already." Song looked at Fong squarely in the eye.