Azula did not expect the return to Zilang and then the home islands to be quite as fast as they had just gone through. With only a lone carrier tank, Xing drove her, her two friends and their combined bodyguards back with a speed that was almost nauseating. Ty Lee of course was fine with it with her whole circus training, but pretty much everyone except for her and Xing were just about ready to throw themselves overboard to void their stomachs.
They made it to Zilang in half the usual time thanks to the reckless driving, and the tank’s engine all but melted by the time Xing was done feeding his white flames into it. But still, it served as additional proof of Xing’s firebending prowess.
The same thing happened to the ship they chartered. Xing went down to the engines to speed things up, and had to be chased out because the sudden speed was putting an uncomfortable strain on the hull, nevermind the combustion system.
Azula didn’t know why he was in such a hurry, but considering his track record so far, the princess surmised that it was a time sensitive matter, whatever it was. Maybe the weakness in the walls would be covered up by Ba Sing Se in time. Maybe it was related to the Avatar’s appearance.
“I’m seizing the initiative, or trying to. We still have time to win Ba Sing Se over to you.” Xing’s answer was cryptic, but she let it be. He was going to capture the massive city, and that was ultimately all that mattered to the Fire Nation for its crown princess to go along with him.
On a more personal level though, Azula had some suspicions on his urgency, which likely involved politics. After all, Ba Sing Se was content to leave the drill to be evacuated, so their laconic defense couldn’t possibly change up too rapidly. He probably found a way to take the walls and kick down the rival court factions at the same time.
If that was the case, then Xing would have her full support. The more positions they cleared up from this debacle, the stronger her position as crown princess would be.
The ship docked, again in half the usual time, and Xing was almost fidgeting with hurry as they went through the usual rituals of seeking the Fire Lord’s official attention. While Ty Lee and Mai took off to enjoy whatever they could of the capital city’s markets, Azula led Xing towards her small wing of the palace. Hopefully to get more information out of him for the coming court, but even more hopefully to reap something from the little privacy they could.
Unfortunately, certain formalities got in the way, like meeting new hires. Azula had to leave Xing in a guest room for most of the first day while she met with new servant-spies and life-indebted courtiers. There was one staff meeting though that she called her colonel to join her in.
“Crown Princess Azula. Your servant is most grateful for the opportunity to be of service, despite my advanced age.” The old woman was prostrated very cleanly, as if she was an etiquette tutor. Very impressive considering her time in exile.
“Rise, Lady Su-Wei. And you can ignore the courtesy of groveling in private. Saves both of our time and breath.”
“You’re most gracious, your highness.”
Interestingly, Xing was noticeably uncomfortable in Su-Wei’s presence, which was strange considering she was here on his recommendation. For her part, the old lady’s eyes flickered towards him for a second before returning to stare right before Azula’s feet, as was proper.
“Su-Wei, I’m not sure if you’ve met Colonel Xing.”
“We’ve been acquainted,” Xing answered a bit stiffly, and then turned to actually bow at Azula. “If I may be dismissed, princess.”
With an eyebrow raised, she threw him a querying look, which he answered with an awkward cough. “Lady Su-Wei is…discomforted by my presence.”
Before he could bow his way out of the room, the widow stood straighter to stare at him. “Stay, boy.” And Xing froze.
Very impressive. And very interesting.
Su-Wei let out a soft sigh as she glanced over to Azula. “If your highness would allow me to address the…colonel frankly?”
“Feel free,” she answered with an amused nod.
“I was wrong to begrudge you for my husband’s attention. It was…unbecoming of me to blame you and your soldiers for faults that were not yours.” Su-Wei let out a heavier sigh. “I’m sorry for my ugly and unwarranted hatred, Colonel Xing.”
Xing practically snapped his spine bowing over to match the new servant’s gesture. “N-No! Not at all! I fully understand, Lady Su-Wei.”
“Don’t patronize me, boy,” Su-Wei snapped, and Azula couldn’t hide her smirk. “You’re being too considerate to an old and bitter hag.”
“I understand the unfairness of loss,” he replied, earning a soft hum from the old woman before she snorted.
“Hah, you’ve definitely been spending time with him.” Su-Wei began to shake her head slowly, and Azula could sense the pain and sadness in the movement. “So understanding, so soft… Too soft…”
The princess took the opportunity to defend her colonel. “Yet from what I understand, the colonel here has managed to continue his mentor’s - your late husband’s - teachings, and few would even think of calling Xing soft.”
“That’s because he’s clearly got more sense than Lidai,” Su-Wei said, almost snapping the words out. She fixed her gaze on Xing, who remained amusingly uncomfortable at the angry praise. “I’ve kept up with what you’ve done, boy. Nasty work, but clever. You know where your real enemies are at least.”
He finally managed a resolute nod at that. “Col- Your husband’s enemies are mine, and they’re all back here.”
“Yes, the political power plays of the inept,” Azula faux lamented before smirking. “Which we’ll hopefully change in time.”
Su-Wei nodded at the words, but her gaze didn’t waver from Xing in the slightest. Then she took a step towards him, and just as Xing sought his princess out for assistance, the woman’s arms reached out and pulled him into a tight embrace. Her voice cracked a little with emotion. “Thank you, Xing... I’m sorry for my words back then. You have every right to say his name, to pay your respects to him…”
Azula let the touching moment draw on, wondering to herself just how bad was their initial meeting that Xing was spooked so much, and Su-Wei had denied him even uttering her husband’s name in her presence. Watching Xing out of his element was also entertaining, the boy looking helpless as his arms slowly, awkwardly moved to return the hug.
The woman moved away from the embrace after a second and snapped a glare at Xing. “Now stop slouching! The princess is gracious enough with your sloppy attitude, but I’ll not have my husband’s grandson, adopted or not, keep up such rude behavior. And close your mouth unless you’re trying to trap flies.”
Maybe Su-Wei could be honed as a reserve weapon in case Xing needed to be brought in line…
Su-Wei then turned about with unexpected smoothness and grace to bow before Azula once more. “I apologize for my distraction, your highness.”
“It’s not an issue.” Having a stunned Xing was well worth the tangent. “Now, onto your duties… I have several positions that could use someone of your…veterancy.”
“Your highness need not pretty up your words for me. I’m old, and I’ve been around and suffered long enough to understand the darker realm of politics.”
“Good. Your observations might be invaluable for several…operations I have in mind. I’m sure you’d be interested in some of the names I want to look into for egregious corruption. Countess Ming Li, Baron Chao, and several others?”
Azula approved of the dark edge in Su-Wei’s grin. “I would be more than happy to provide you with what information I know of their inner workings.”
“I’m sure you would. If they’re as corrupt as I suspect, I’m sure my father would be more than happy to reclaim the wealth wrongly held back from him…and I could use someone to ensure that the liquidation of their assets proceeds smoothly. Make sure that they pay up what’s owed with interest.”
The old woman chuckled as she bowed once more. “Your highness is most generous.”
“Consider it a signing bonus,” Azula said with a wave of her hand. “I find it better to have my underlings grasp what I’m trying to do, and if they get to enjoy some justice or vengeance along the way, all the better.”
*****
Iroh did not know what his niece was playing for this time, but it was undoubtedly interesting. A good number of courtiers and generals were muttering nervously about the crown princess’ unexpected and quick return. Ozai sat on his throne in passive silence, with his new favored courtiers standing closer to him than the High Generals.
The shift in power had not been subtle, but it had been inevitable, in Iroh’s eyes. With the disgrace of Zhao and failure of other commanders within the traditionalist faction, opportunistic nobles within it had easily redirected the full blame on the Fire Nation military rather than its sponsors, which split the High Generals along invisible lines.
Those that entrenched themselves in the faction to save their political career had no choice to go along with the frankly ridiculous lobbying by the civilian nobles, like supporting the use of the Great Drill. Others, particularly Bujing and Shinu, were forced to the sidelines and wisely chose to keep silent, save for particularly critical operations where a delusional mistake could cost a whole theater of war.
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Despite the small number of higher officials in the latter category, the new disenfranchised faction had a sizable following among the lower officials and especially the field commanders. Iroh should know - he’d been approached by officials and generals alike seeking his involvement in royal politics. Some had dared insinuate that he should lead the faction and…purge the corruption within the palace.
Iroh had to reject their offers, not because of its treasonous implications, but because he dreaded the chaos that would follow. The older half of the disenfranchised traditionalists were unsubtle about their support for Iroh, while the other wanted to ‘restore’ Zuko from his wrongful disgracing.
Yet, the prince also knew that out in the public, neither he or his nephew garnered the most support. It was Azula, who had been consistently delivering tangible results, that held sway. Those in the colonies in particular were fanatically devoted to her, and as underrepresented as they were, their support was something the courtiers in the palace shouldn’t ignore.
A shame that most did, and those that didn’t were all in Azula’s camp.
Iroh dragged himself out of his thoughts as his niece knelt before her fire-obscured father, Xing doing the same just a few steps behind her.
“Daughter. You’ve returned faster than expected.”
“Yes, father. Unfortunately I bear bad news; the Great Drill was stopped before it could even reach Ba Sing Se walls. Saboteurs managed to infiltrate it despite the War Ministry’s defenses to cripple the whole thing.”
Iroh felt his brother’s quiet anger rising, the crowd present the only thing that kept him from lashing out.
“How was it possible?” a courtier asked, aghast. “I thought our tanks and soldiers-”
Azula cut him off with a glance. “They had the Avatar helping them.” She let the mutterings rise before continuing. “If not for my own regiment intercepting some of them, the subsequent damage might have been far more extensive and I might still be stranded on the bridge…which, coincidentally, was stuck high in the air because nobody thought to include an override in the design. As it is, we’ve evacuated most of the crew to safety, and Ba Sing Se is content to not hound us.”
Silence slowly descended as the growing pressure of Ozai’s rage smothered the throne room. He eventually spoke. “Once more, it seems that there are those in my court who are keen to make a fool of themselves.”
Iroh heard the shuffling of feet, and saw space being made around a quartet of confused and terrified courtiers. The poor souls had been condemned from the start then. Thankfully, Ozai did not shift his focus on them just yet.
“You said your regiment only managed to intercept a portion of the saboteurs, Azula.” Iroh frowned at his brother’s penchant for always finding fault in the achievement of others.
“Yes, father. Xing was on board the drill, thankfully, and he managed to scatter the saboteurs as they were about to split up. Unfortunately, the group he ran into were Ba Sing Se soldiers. The Avatar had managed to slip away earlier.”
“A shame.” Another heavy pause, and then Iroh saw Ozai’s head shift a little. “Colonel Xing. It seems that the spirits were not with you this time?”
“I misjudged the intruders, Fire Lord.” Hm. Admitting mistakes was an admirable thing…if Xing was not dealing with Ozai.
“First your escaped prisoners, and then having the Avatar slip past you… It seems that for every brilliant victory you bring us, you follow up with a careless mistake, colonel.”
Iroh huffed quietly, ignoring the looks he got from nearby officials. Really, to deem bad luck as a mistake… Even some high generals were frowning at that. If Xing’s poor fortunes were a mistake, what did that make the rest of the Army’s and Navy’s performance?
“I offer no excuses, Fire Lord.”
“Hm. At least you attempted to stop the sabotage…”
“If I may, father?” At his silence, Azula continued. “The War Ministry’s lack of unity is leading to wasteful expenditure of resources and manpower. Perhaps, if they were professional enough, making them compete for the post of minister would be the right choice.”
“So…these men are too…unprofessional?” Ozai asked, obviously mulling over his daughter’s take.
Azula nodded curtly. “If I remember right, four separate parties have left the Fire Nation in search of the Avatar. Six engineers are occupying laboratories and war factories in pursuit of a weapon that would win your favor. Two officials have been pestering me for my attention, as if that would tilt the balance to their favor, and one chief engineer had almost thrown away scores of trained engineers in trying to break Ba Sing Se… To say nothing of the amount of metal he’s just parked in front of the city for its defenders to steal from us, or the wreckages of tanks that they might salvage to create their own variants. Their need to show off instead of getting the job done is wasting precious resources and time.”
The crown princess knew her father well, wording her complaint purely as the fault of the War Ministry’s aspirants instead of reminding everyone that it was all done on the Fire Lord’s directive. Already Ozai was shifting in his throne, ready to use this opportunity to put people down so that he could remain on top.
“You might be right, daughter. No, you’re right. I’ve overestimated the competence of the War Ministry’s staff. Let it be known that I am immediately putting an end to the competition for War Minister. Have all candidates recalled to the palace within a month’s time. A private court will be held at a later date to determine the best candidate for war minister.”
Murmurs followed after the proclamation, but nobody dared to object. The War Ministry hopefuls were left to fend for themselves now, their court sponsors immediately wiping their hands clean to be free from Ozai’s and Azula’s attention.
“Is that all, daughter?”
“Not fully, father. Due to his accomplishments, I have…granted Colonel Xing here the chance to petition you.”
“Is that so?” Iroh could imagine his brother’s eyebrow rising from that. “Colonel Xing. You have my attention. Make it worth my time.”
Xing nodded once, subtly exhaling as he did. “Yes, Fire Lord. I humbly request for permission to break Ba Sing Se’s walls and capture the city.”
Well, that wasn’t too surprising, considering what Xing had accomplished so far-
“And I wish to use my claim by conquest on the city-”
Hm. Bold, but again unsurprising…
“-so that I might become a suitable candidate for an engagement to Crown Princess Azula.”
“What?!” Azula’s head snapped around to Xing, and only now did the courtiers murmur away to create an annoying drone.
“A…bold request, colonel.” Ozai was amused, probably at his daughter’s reaction. He probably had his wry, unlikeable smirk right now too.
One general stepped forth, looking utterly affronted. “After all the talk of wasteful expenditure earlier, you dare ask to throw the lives of more men at the wall to undeservingly request an engagement? Such insolence!”
A well-groomed noble joined in. “You forget your place, boy. As many as your achievements are, you are still a colonel. You do not get to lead our armies for the sake of your vanity.”
Xing’s response was to turn his head over his shoulder and smirk, which sent a cold tingle up Iroh’s spine. The boy had come prepared for this.
“I would like to point out that, while those are legitimate arguments, and the Fire Nation should not needlessly throw away men at the walls of Ba Sing Se… I did not mention anything about sending or leading armies.”
Silence struck the throne room. Iroh’s jaw fell. Azula looked like she was about to fall over. Generals and courtiers alike stared incredulously at Xing as he turned back to bow once more before the curtain of fire.
“Fire Lord, I request your leave to personally breach the walls of Ba Sing Se. Both Outer and Inner ones. The armies can march in after me to secure them, where they would have to endure less attrition. I will break open their walls, and I will step into their palace to claim the city for the Fire Nation.”
“In exchange for a betrothal to my daughter.”
“And your approval to govern Ba Sing Se.”
“Xing, are you craz-”
“Azula.” Silence returned for a few seconds before Ozai spoke again. “How is this different from Zhao or the War Ministry’s foolishness?”
Xing managed to shrug even in his kneeling position. “I am only one soldier. If I fail, your armies suffer no further losses, and your majesty would have gotten rid of another overambitious fool. My success will be due to my own efforts, not from the expenditure of your kingdom’s resources.”
“Hm. Well said. Still, it is…a deluded request.” More silence, and Iroh noticed how everyone was carefully watching with anticipation as the scene unfolded.
“But as you said, it is no major loss to us. Colonel Xing, you have my approval. By your own words, you will breach Ba Sing Se’s Outer and Inner Walls, and seize its palace in our name. Achieve that, and you will be made prince of Ba Sing Se, and betrothed to my daughter.”