"He can't know about this." It was the only thing I could think to say. I needed How. Without him, the inner district would have been lost days ago. The war, the Earth Kingdom would have been lost days ago. He was one of the few things keeping this city together. He was needed. And I would need him one last time.
"I-I don't know where to start with you." He was angry. That much was obvious. If I could have used the Dai Li alone for this, I would have, but that would only be solving half the problem. We had two semi-useless generals lost to the latest attack and only lower ranking commanders stuck in the inner ring trying to command what was left of our forces. They lacked any real knowledge of the situation outside the walls and were all the same giving orders.
I'm not out there. I can't say what's going on for certain out there either, but if there's one thing I know, it's that proper command can't be handled miles away from the field. That's why we've been losing this war. Because while Fire Nation generals lead their men onto the field, it's our generals and our war councils hiding in a stone city giving directions to soldiers hundreds of miles away. And it wasn't just leadership the men were lacking, but soldiers too. My Dai Li wouldn't cut it. Not out there. They had different objectives for this war.
"You can start by telling me whether you can do it or not."
"No. That's not where I'm starting. How about we start with the fact that you burned your own city. Starved their own people?"
"It stopped being my city when it was occupied by traitors. And they stopped being my people when they turned their arms on their King."
"The same King you now plan on leaving in the dark."
"Precisely. He is my King, but he is too sentimental. That sentiment will get us all killed. It's the reason these riots grew and why we're now trapped in our own city."
"What do you even want from me? Why come to me at all? You have your Dai Li. They're more than capable of delivering my remaining commanders to the front."
"Because it's not just generals we need. We need soldiers out there."
"Yes. I know. I saw the casualties for the last battle. Damn it. Sung is Missing in Action and Sodhru is reported dead. How did they get the jump on us?"
"Did you not get the report?"
"I got A report. Said they came out of the night itself and had new tanks come out of the ground to take the camp and destroy our defenses. I'd be stupid to believe half of that. I imagine you got something a little less colorful?"
"No new tanks, but modified ones. Painted black and interior insulated as well as treads modified to reduce noise and visibility. They waited until the new moon to attack. They failed to keep proper watches and secure perimeters. They're morale is falling and they're becoming lazy. My Dai Li tell me of deserters they've found fleeing the city."
"Were they apprehended?"
"My men have more important duties to see to than apprehending cowards."
"I'm sure they do." He noted with contempt.
"General. I understand that you view it as necessary to remain in the city, defend your king, and tell him all you know of my dealings, but know that to tell him of what I'm doing to save Ba Sing Se, to save the Earth Kingdom, would doom us all."
"So why tell me in the first place?"
"A show of trust. We are some of the few men left to defend our Kingdom on the edge of its defeat. I would not be surprised if we were in fact the only two capable of doing anything about it."
"A show of trust?" he scoffed. "I cannot deny your effectiveness, Grand Secretariat, but burning the food stocks, assassinating political activists, and sewing dissent among our citizenry are strange ways of demonstrating your desire to save this Nation."
"In times such as these, desperate measures become the norm. And I'm afraid I am running low, but you've said you do not deny what it's done. You do not deny the dying down of their protests?"
He sighed. "I don't."
"Then trust me one last time. I need you to divert some of your men from the inner district to the front. Those who are left and have not already deserted are failing in willpower. They will surrender soon and all that will stand between the Fire Nation and us are rioters who will sooner see their sprits brightened by the Fire Nation, seeing them as heroes, than stand in our defense. My agents have already thwarted many of the Dragon's efforts to sneak weapons and supplies to the rioters and I hear whispers of collaboration between outer ring citizens and the Fire Nation. If the Dragon's forces make it to the inner city, it's over for us. The Fire Nation cannot reach the inner wall."
He uncrossed his arms, nodded, and said "You're right. I'll go out there myself. I'll lead the defense and drive them back."
I tried to suppress the smile. Perfect.
"Are you sure that's necessary? I'm sure the defense of the inner district requires your aid. The Earth King would certainly feel safer with your presence."
"Then you'll have to comfort him for me. You said it yourself. The rioters are near broken. Your strategy to kill our own people worked. Right now, I intend to save my people because you presume too much about the Fire Nation. When they come past these walls, they will kill every man, woman, and child. I'll make sure that never happens."
"How many men will you be bringing with you?"
He was already gathering his armor from where it had been placed atop the map of Ba Sing Se in the council war room. "All but 500. I trust those 500 along with your agents should be sufficient to defend the palace until the Fire Nation is repelled?"
Why was it so hard to not smile? Had it been too long without having the desire to express one that it's now nigh impossible to suppress? "They will serve fine. Upon your return, the rioters will have been quelled and the city will be back in our hands."
He turned around mid-equipping his right gauntlet, hearing my claim as a challenge of sorts. "And when I return, and the Dragon of the West is repelled, I will have a conversation with the Earth King. I'll make sure that every parchment you ever signed or read over will be uncovered. Your Dai Li will be dissected, and you will answer for what you've done. Justice always comes sooner or later."
"Indeed it does, General How. I wish you luck in the war to come."
He glared at me one last time and left through the chamber doors, leaving me alone as he undoubtedly went to gather his best men for one final expedition to the front. Likely his last. General How would not survive the battle which would hopefully come sooner rather than later. The Fire Nation will defeat him and slaughter his men.
And from that point, with the army eliminated, it would seem as though all would be lost for us, but such wasn't the case. There was no question who my opponent was. It had been known for nearly the last 580 days. General Iroh. The Dragon of the West. Killer of the last of the dragons, hero of the steamed river and the glass desert. A bona fide war hero, but every soldier has a weakness. For Iroh, that was his men. He was sentimental. He sought to minimize casualties whenever possible unless absolutely necessary. It made all the more dangerous, as a matter of fact. He lost less men, he had their absolute loyalty, and his plans were more planned out and sure to succeed, but every strength is a weakness in disguise.
How would lose the coming battle. He would put up a fight. He would give the Fire Nation a battle to remember. Hell, he might even see the rest of my plan through. Unwittingly of course. But he wouldn't survive. He wouldn't surrender until he himself was dead and when he was, the Earth Kingdom Army would fall and logically, the Earth Kingdom, but such wasn't the case.
General Iroh was on a campaign to earn the loyalty of Earth Kingdom civilians, using them as security and sources of food for his men, and so far, it was working, but it wouldn't forever. I would take the trust they've put in their neighbors, and I would use it to not defeat Iroh, and defeat one person in particular. One person on whom this war depended upon. Who without him, this war would be over.