Bumi lounged on his throne as his court went on with the really boring stuff. Reports on repair work, production updates from the other southern states, the stabilizing frontline with the Fire Nation…
Meh.
He had hoped that there'd be more of a fight, that he would get to break out a bit more of his earthbending. But alas, the enemy had quickly withdrawn from Omashu, allowing its neighbors to quickly seize upon the moment and liberate about two thirds of the Fire Nation's recent gains before a proper response was formed and things went back to a familiar stalemate.
Since there was no huge army to crush, Plan C it was.
Of course it had to be the most boring plan of all.
Bumi yawned loudly, interrupting a returning envoy's assurances of some eastern states' assistance.
"That's all well and good, my lad, but we all already know that. Some yuans, the extras off their armories, maybe a few conscripted criminals… Is there anything new?"
The envoy quickly bowed. Smart guy, he could read the room. "N-No, your majesty."
Bumi stretched his arms, his shoulders popping loud enough to echo in the throne room. "Anything about our dear Earth King, then?"
Again the envoy shook his head. "News from the north is still…muddy, my king. Some say that Lord Guo Shang hosts him, others that Lord Shiku took up stewardship. There are also rumors of impostors sent by the Fire Nation to claim King Kuei's name to seize power."
"Hah!' Bumi exclaimed with a bright grin, startling his court.
He told the young Scorpion such a thing would happen! Ah well, it's just one missed opportunity. The scammed lords would eventually find out the impostors weren't sent by Fire Nation at all, but all that sweet, sweet drama of publicly exposing the fact was gone now. Such a shame, really.
The old king would wager his jennamite stores that at least half of the lords being infiltrated by impostors would have sent their own agents to play King Kuei's role. The young lad was barely seen beyond Ba Sing Se, after all; it's easy enough to just drape some young-ish actor in rich silks, maybe mess him up a bit, and then toss him in front of a city's gate seeking refuge.
"Ah well…" he sighed, deflating back into his throne. He gave his envoy a bemused look. "I suppose that means our northern friends are all in a tizzy because of Ba Sing Se? Let me guess…because of the great capital city falling into enemy hands, they're too busy gearing up to recapture it, so all those promises of their men coming down to happily help us push the Fire Nation back to their teeny islands has to be put on hold."
The envoy nodded deeply, not at all trying to dress up the already lame excuse. "Y-Yes, your majesty. It's as you say." Definitely a smart one. Bumi would have to look into the lad's records later…or send someone to do it, more like. He'd need a decent diplomat to send to Xing when the time came.
Presently, the old king gave a loud sigh and got off his throne. "So. With Ba Sing Se captured, our friends north of the Si Wong Desert finally have to get off their lazy bums and put away their trinkets and ledgers to finally dust off their armors and check to make sure that their troops still remember which way the pointy ends of the spears should go."
Not a few unkind chuckles broke out among the courtiers along with the bobbing heads.
"And to make things all the more fun, there's still not a whiff of repudiation-"
Oh, that's a nice word, wasn't it? 'Repudiation'. How often did he get to use that?
"-of what went on in Ba Sing Se. The people who fled our lands seeking shelter in that supposed greatest city of the Earth Kingdom, mothers and sisters and daughters, kidnapped and brainwashed to be made into spies and favors."
There was no laughter this time, only glowering scowls and bared teeth. Not a few minor lords who now stood in Omashu's court had sent their people northwards as they were forced to abandon their holdings to the Fire Nation advance. To hear of the Dai Li's dark program, to know that your people would have likely been victims of such foul deeds…
If such a thing was allowed to happen all this time, who knew what else went on in the impotent Earth King's court? What else might the Dai Li have taken advantage of from the states that have been enduring the brunt of the Fire Nation's hostilities?
Bumi dropped the sarcastic joviality and swept a more concerned gaze across his court. "And now, the Earth King has still yet to establish a court in exile. While the eastern states squabble over the privilege to puppet him and panic over having a Fire Nation controlled Ba Sing Se by their doorstep, we my friends, are forced to pick up the slack. Again."
A general from Sufang stepped forth, one of the first to send troops over after Bumi evicted the squatters. "We of the southlands have kept the Fire Nation at bay without northern and eastern help. Your leadership, King Bumi, is proof enough that we do not need Ba Sing Se."
The king gave an approving nod at that rather flattering point, letting the rousing words spread for a bit before raising a finger. "We do not need Ba Sing Se, true. But we also do not need a hostile Ba Sing Se."
That cut the mood down rather nicely, so he threw in a wry smirk. "Though I have to admit, at least now its people won't need to worry about the Dai Li."
"They have the Scorpion in their midst instead," someone said.
"Maybe it's an improvement," Bumi replied with a casual shrug of his shoulders. "After all, that princess is tidying up their side of the continent rather well from what I heard."
A girl who tidied up the occupied lands to the extent that more than a few Earth Kingdom refugees were fleeing west instead of east or north. Her fairer hand also resulted in less information leaking from the colonies as people were actually less incentivized to flee from Fire Nation rule.
Interesting, and dangerous too.
Maybe he shouldn't have completely dismissed Xing's promise to make things better for the conquered lands.
Also, the king made a reminder to congratulate the boy the next time they met; to be a ladies man at such a young age, already wooing princesses…
Ah, right. He was still in the middle of holding court.
Shaking his head to make it seem he'd finished pondering something really serious, Bumi glanced at a gaggle of officials, the ones who had ears well beyond Omashu. "Any word if there's a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth coming that way?"
"No, your majesty, by all accounts Ba Sing Se's occupation has been far less…transformative than Omashu's." Hinting at the foundries and factories the Fire Nation set up in their short tenure here. The stupid smoke stacks really ruined the aesthetics.
"Though there have been rumors of a failed attempt to depose the…prince."
There was a hesitant pause before the official continued. Must be interesting news if he's squirming that much. "Some sources say that the Kyoshi Warriors were involved in the Scorpion."
"Oho? How many of them are saying that?"
"Enough that we cannot simply discount the possibility, my king. They… Those same sources also made mention that the Scorpion had freed the Kyoshi Warriors from the Dai Li's…ministrations."
As disconcerted murmurs broke out, Bumi's raised eyebrows slowly lowered into a frown. The boy's really a ladies man, eh? If he's got the Kyoshi Warriors on his side, that should make it easier to get Aang to cooperate, and give him some security he could trust in.
And they were captured by the Dai Li? Damn, this was getting really interesting…
Why couldn't all of this happen a few decades ago when he was more sprightly?
Bumi straightened and raised his voice to quiet the shocked and disbelieving din. "So. Not only has the brat won over a bunch of Kyoshi Warriors, he did so thanks to the Dai Li. Our Earth King's guardians. Way to drop a rock on your own foot, huh. All King Kuei's people need to do now is to betray the Avatar to complete the set." At this rate, there was going to be little space to sow any further seeds of discontent.
Well, he was still going to anyway. No way was he going to waste weeks of prepwork during his captivity.
"Well, it looks like we got a lot of work ahead of us, folks. Our Earth King and his Dai Li left a right mess for us to clean up, but we've dealt with worse."
Heads bobbed with new resolve, with some scowling faces. Bumi cracked a grin to lighten the mood.
"But considering all we've faced and all we'll be facing, perhaps we should…reassess what we owe our exiled liege." The nods this time were filled with far less scowls and far more approving grins. "While we reorganize and rebuild, I suggest a council between the lords of the southern states. Ba Sing Se has fallen, we no longer owe it or its exiled monarch any tribute. Not with survival on the line, and especially not after what the Dai Li was allowed to do to the people we entrusted to their care."
He cast his gaze across the throne room, studying the steely gazes before raising a fist. "I say we will not be beholden to a feckless ruler any longer. Who's with me?"
Obviously, everyone present was. As he basked in the cheers and affirmations, Bumi's grin grew as he recalled the next phases of his little conspiracy with Xing. More boring preparations, for sure, but it only made the endgame all the more satisfying once it came time to it.
But he had to admit, it was rather funny how Omashu got its industries a boost simply by letting the Fire Nation take over it for a bit. The foundries and factories they built now provided Omashu and its allies a glimpse into the Fire Nation's industrial secrets. He now had the infrastructure ready to upgrade his forces.
All Bumi needed now was to find some craftsmen who understood the secrets of Fire Nation metallurgy, who knew how to build their weapons, who understood the most efficient means of running the factories.
A good thing he knew a certain Scorpion who could help him with that matter, eh?