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Overview[]
The beloved Yapo and how they came to be from the innocent blood spilled, and outcry of those oppressed.
Chapter 3: The Oppressed[]
Book 3: Earth
Chapter 3: The Oppressed
The sun slowly set as soon it reached just a tad bit behind the great, gargantuan walls that protected the heart of the Qiangda Kingdom. Only very specifics angles were kept very dark while most of the fields of the agrarian zone were hit by direct sunlight every day. There were some of the fields closer to the massive walls that received little to no sunlight. The crops from these farms were harder to maintain and often didn't grow either.
The walls of Ba Sing Se.
The Upper Ring was elevated compared to the rest of the city they still received a higher amount of sun than those in the middle or lower rings. Earth King Qiang Zhen sat at the edge of his throne that late afternoon while Lord Guwen stretched out his limbs and spoke with him. Qiang Zhen was filled with anger while Guwen attempted to calm the young Earth King down.
"I am angry myself, Guwen! I failed my people, I should've investigated into this guard captain further. Now those in the Lower Ring and Agrarian Zone hate me!" confessed Qiang Zhen.
"Your Majesty please, don't say that! You weren't too late you learned about Captain Fubai before he could cause too much damage," reasoned Guwen.
"No they all hate me, they loved my grandfather. He's rolling in his grave as we speak," disagreed Qiang Zhen as he shook his head.
He was down in the dumps, he felt failure overwhelm him. The man that replaced Captain Wei, was corrupt from the start. All those who became loyal to him with reason began to oppress the peasants and farms of Ba Sing Se. He believed he failed his people because this had gone unnoticed until the uprising of the Yapo.
"You may have failed but that doesn't mean you're a failure. Ta Po failed many times during his reign but he didn't his failures to define the Earth King he became," Guwen said.
"And now a new triad replaces the Mousha Quan under our very noses!" mentioned Qiang Zhen.
"Our intelligence agents say they're nothing like the Mousha Quan, from reports they seem to be more like a criminal vigilante group, Your Majesty," Guwen commented.
"With all due respect Lord Guwen, if they're vigilantes why are they robbing banks?" broke in one of the royal guards.
"That's a good question as any, that's why I said criminal vigilante group," Guwen repeated.
"Wasn't there a guy like that back during Earth King Ku's reign?" added another guard, Qiang Zhen remained silent while he drowned in his sorrows.
"No, it wasn't King Ku's reign, what school did you go to? It was during Earth Queen Meng of the Qian Dynasty's reign. His name was Luo Bin Han, he lived in the Upper Ring and stole from other nobles and gave to the poor," the first guard corrected the second.
"So you have a group of Luo Bin Hans, how do you resolve this?" the first guard added.
"We wait for the intelligence agents to give us more information," Guwen answered.
The royal guard captain entered with two royal guards who held on tight to a cuffed guard captain. His hair was dark brown, his skin was pale and his eyes were brown, he carried sideburns similar to that of a Fire Nation man. He still wore his guard uniform, the man held a scowl he had been caught and he wasn't too happy about it.
Qiang Zhen whose head was drooped lifted his head to meet eyes with the corrupted guard captain. He gazed upon the man and then spoke, "So you're the Fubai, the intelligence agents have told me about. Why? Why did you do it? You stained the title for years to come, after replacing a reputable man who was killed in foreign lands."
"You failed us, Your Majesty. You're a weak Earth King, you allow the Oma Kingdom's people to roam freely in our lands. Even the savages from the North waltzed into kingdom lands and assassinated the late prince. This is only the beginning," disclosed Fubai. He tried to spit on Qiang Zhen but the Earth King was too far.
A small chunk of earth ripped out of the ground and flew at Fubai's throat in the form of a glove of earth. Qiang Zhen rose from his throne quickly as Fubai was held by his throat in the air. He gasped for air Qiang Zhen yelled in his face, "How dare you tell me I'm weak, you should be begging for your life right now."
"I'm not afraid of...death...you'll get what's coming to...you. I'm not the..only one...against you," he uttered in between breaths Qiang Zhen squeezed the hold of the glove tighter.
"Who are the Yapo?" Qiang Zhen questioned him, Fubai responded, "You're own...people...farmers,...merchants... peasants...."
"...Ask yourself...what...y-you...did to deserve this..." he mumbled as he continued to gasp for air. Qiang Zhen's rock glove exploded into dust, Fubai dropped to the ground and he panted and gasped for more air.
"Hold him in the cells, he gets no trial. Tomorrow morning two hours passed dawn he dies," ordered Qiang Zhen, just like that he was judge, jury, and executioner. The two royal guards hauled Fubai out of the throne room.
"What did he mean when he said 'I'm not the only one against you'?" worried Guwen.
"It could mean many things, my gut tells me he's not the only one working against our king. There are more that need to be discovered. The people complained about the taxes rising, I'd check with Minister Dachen, he should investigate further," suggested the second royal guard who kept watch of the throne room with the first and eighteen other royal guards.
Meanwhile, at the same time, a fat, short, stocky man with tan skin, a small bundle of brown hair on top of his head where now a receded hairline sat, long brown hair on the sides. His eyes were a light green color, and he carried a small fu manchu stache which was neatly groomed. He wore lavish dark green robes with dark gold accents, the tunic underneath the robes was of a light minty green color, a dark green belt with the Qiangdian insignia was wrapped around his waist which held his tunic tightly at a level he deemed good. He wore light green slippers with gold accents on them as well, he carried very few wrinkles and looked in his early stages of middle age.
The heavyset man lounged around in a chair while he drank a porcelain cup of water. He stared at the cup while he also kept his eyes on the sun which had set half away behind the impenetrable walls of Ba Sing Se. A man in rags arrived and picked up the now empty cup of the man and bowed before he left. The sun itself now behind the walls of Ba Sing Se everything had gotten dark. He entered his now largely expanded home, a fire began anew in the fireplace. He sat down on his ta in nomad position, a boy sat down on a pillow near him. The boy himself was no a little guttersnipe now he was a clean, and well-dressed kid over ten-years-old.
The boy carried his hair in a topknot with a golden sangtuwan which held it in place with a pin. The boy was skinny and he resembled similar features to the man. The boy stared at his father usually when he sat on the floor and his father on the ta, it was storytime.
"Fear, fear is what brought my people to rebel against the guards. The tyranny of the rich and those in power made the poor rise," began the fat man.
"Greed, the greedy were being paid so little they became tyrants and terrorized the poor. Eventually, they too dropped their jobs and became part of my people," he continued.
For some reason, he had a bit of a sweat on his forehead. He snapped his fingers again the old man in rags padded forward with a dry cloth. Which the man used to wipe his forehead of sweat before he gently placed it back into the old man's hands. The old man bowed and backed away quickly.
"Heroes, these so-called people who promised to protect my people from being terrorized by the rich and powerful. I pity them they too are tyrants, finally comes the day that the victims themselves have become their heroes," he said.
"My people grow more and more each day, a new head comes to my doorstep. Tattooing the word 'oppressed' somewhere on their bodies as if that proved to me they are dedicated to this lifestyle. My people have been oppressed by the guards that have ordered by the powers above them. We are the oppressed..." he mentioned.
"...we are the Yapo," he finished.
The man carried a menacing vibe to those who didn't know him of course, although he was a fair man. Rings hoarded all ten of his fingers each one a different rare ore from across the Earth Kingdom. The boy's eyes lit up as his father continued to tell the story. He was interrupted by a man in black clothing who bowed before the rich man.
"Sunhuai, the guards are abusing the citizens again, what should we do?" asked the man in black.
"Send in some of the recruits to take care of it, I trust they will do a good job. Now leave me I wish to speak with my son alone," replied Sunhuai. The man in black bowed his head to the fat man and left the room.
"Father how did the Yapo begin?" the boy inquired to his father. He continued to stare at his father with his innocent light green eyes. The boy has heard the story many times but he liked it overall except one part of the story. Sunhuai smiled and closed his eyes where he remembered a flashback of memories.
Autumn, 658 BG
The hot autumn sun beamed down a hard-working man who raked leaves from the tree near his home. His field's crops carried plants that needed a bit more time to grow into what was planted. They grew slowly, however, because his farm was near the massive walls of the city-state. Very little sunlight reached his crops which made it hard for them to grow. There was a specific time in the day that certain crops received enough sunlight each day to help them flourish.
The failure of his crops crippled the profit he made monthly, with the new Earth King in power the taxes rose a bit. The farmer wiped his forehead of sweat he tilled the fields alone without his farmhand who reported ill in the morning via bird message. A chubby woman nipped out of the home with a wooden cup of water and handed it to her husband.
"Sunhuai that's enough work for today, you should rest.
The balding farmer with a receded hairline took a swig of the ice-cold water his wife gave him. She returned inside her home where a small child waited for his meal. She fed him some stew in the late summer, early autumn. The news from two weeks ago spread like rapid wildfire Sunhuai and his wife Mu'ai couldn't believe that the Earth King was assassinated in his sleep.
Sunhuai.
The city feared for their lives once their old king was murdered, the authorities and conspiracy theorists screamed that the Great Betrayer escaped prison and sought his revenge. But most of that has been quieted down by the guards and soldiers in the city. Up until the city was riddled with wanted posters for the Great Betrayer himself.
He even remembered a few days ago when explosions could be seen from somewhere in the Lower Ring. The guards were unaware of the cause to the explosions but there were supposedly several dead daofei scattered about in the northern Lower Ring. It baffled many, what was even something that baffled the entire city, the Great Betrayer escaped prison with the use of metalbending. A sub-skill that was deemed too rare to even have existed. History has only shown an Avatar having that kind of power as if Shanshen could've given a mere mortal the ability to manipulate metal. The god of earth would've made a mistake.
When the guards returned to their routes and posts after the order to present themselves at the coronation. A gang war occurred while the rest of the city was busy as they witnessed the coronation of the 42nd Earth King. After the coronation, it was still a bit rocky but the taxes rose to an all-time high, like during the reign of Earth King Yao. Everyone had it easy in the Lower Ring when Ta Po was in power, the Lower Ring only paid fifteen copper a month. It was easy money to make but now? Now it was difficult how could this farmer make fifty copper if his crops failed?
"Sunhuai please come inside, my love. You look very hungry I made some stew," his wife suggested.
"Mu'ai, the walls of Ba Sing Se have done it yet again, no crops this year. Damned walls won't let our crops grow! I don't even know how my grandmother even grew her crops on this land! If there's no money coming in then the city will kick us onto the streets!" ranted Sunhuai.
"I will never allow Qingbai to live on the streets!" added Sunhuai, Mu'ai hugged her husband and held him.
"Don't worry, Sunhuai we'll figure something out. We'll make enough money to feed our son and to pay off the taxpayers," his wife Mu'ai reassured him.
Sunhuai carried a light smile and said, "You always seem to make things feel better, Mu'ai."
"Come inside let's have stew like a family, if we continue to talk out here our food will get cold," mentioned Mu'ai.
When night came, his wife and child were asleep but Sunhuai remained awake in bed. That's when all of a sudden he heard his neighbors outside. The men were riled up and they carried their pitchforks in their hands and various other farming tools. He quietly opened the doors that closed the aperture to view the outside of his home.
Just beyond the gate, he saw guards with torches one of them tossed a short, stocky old man to the ground. He had a well-rounded face, he was bald but his short bushy beard was white like the snow of the North Pole. He shook in complete fear as the guards pointed their weapons at him while another stood in a fighting stance.
"You had all week to collect the fifty copper we're demanding from you!" shouted one of the guards. "There's not enough crops to give me the kind of money needed for it. Please extend my deadline I will try my best to gather all of it," the old man begged on his knees.
"We already gave you enough time, Neng" chuckled one of the guards. The old man reached into his pockets and pulled out a few copper coins and some pocket linen and raised his hand and offered the taxation guards the money he carried.
"Here this is all I have," Neng cried, the guard shouted back in his face, "This is an insult to the Earth King! You dare try to give us five copper pieces? This isn't a joke!"
The guard smacked the old man's wrinkled and boney hand out of his face, Neng began to sob. The guard pointed at the old short man and ordered the others to arrest the poor farmer, "Slap cuffs on him, he'll be spending time in prison until the Minister of Justice decides to see him."
The men tied a rope around the old man's wrists, another guard backhanded the old man across the face. He scrambled to the floor, the one who held onto the rope cackled and tightened the rope around his wrists. The lonely old man cried out for help as he attempted to cry out for help. The earthbending guard punched him so hard it knocked the old man out and broke his nose. They dragged his unconscious body to a carriage, it took them to the prison in the middle ring. Every ring but the Lower Ring had a prison for obvious reasons.
Sunhuai stared at the coins in the middle of the dirt road he glanced behind him to see Mu'ai was still asleep. He snuck out of his home and over to the coins on the floor, he realized the money shouldn't be wasted and could be used to pay his taxes and feed his family for the month.
Six Months Later, Spring, 657 BG
The next morning, Mu'ai sent Sunhuai to the market to purchase ingredients for dinner in the evening. The market stands in the southern Lower Ring near the gates of the Agrarian Zone were empty today with only a few people about. Sunhuai dropped his son off at the schoolhouse owned by a sweet old woman. She taught the children of the Agrarian Zone in an old barn, that's how she made her living.
"Ever since Qiang Zhen took his grandfather's throne the taxes have surged ridiculously high. Half of the Lower Ring can't pay their monthly taxes," commented a man to a merchant.
"Yeah, but have you realized in the last six months the crime rates also have drastically dropped? With the guards and the Qiangdian soldiers roaming about there hasn't been crime in well over half a year. It's strange I somehow weirdly miss being held by rockicle point while a random guy steals my produce," agreed the merchant then reckoned, that crime was non-existent for six months straight and that for some reason he awkwardly missed being robbed.
Sunhuai approached the merchant stand where both men held a conversation then they carried the exchange into their inside voices and begun to whisper. Sunhuai joined the discussion in a whisper as well, "The old farmer who lived across the street from me was beaten and arrested six months ago for not paying his taxes on time. The tax collector didn't even want the money and considered it an insult when he tried to pay less. I haven't seen him in six months," he disclosed to the men.
"That's terrible, my friend. I'm sorry you had to witness that, I haven't seen my brother in a few months either. That would explain why the streets are so abandoned as well, usually, you couldn't even extend your arms out in fear you'd accidentally poke someone's eye out," whispered the other man by the stand.
"Poor bastards I hope someday someone puts a stop to everything going on here in the Lower Ring. The people won't deal with this tyranny forever. Someone will snap and create a rebellion...you'll see," the merchant commented.
A guard whistled as he strolled down the street alone on another route for duty when he turned to face the three men who held a discussion. He pointed at the two men in front of the merchant stand he yelled, "Hey! You two know it's illegal to solicit in front of a merchant stand?"
Sunhuai, the man and the merchant exchanged looks at each other, they were confused as to what was happening because they innocently held a conversation with the merchant. Who wasn't bothered by them at all, he was glad he finally had company for once in weeks.
"No, no they're just...bartering items. We're making a negotiation!" the merchant attempted to convince the guard to save the two strangers from being fined.
"Shut your trap, fatso. I'll do the talking here!" he barked at the merchant who quickly zipped his mouth shut and stayed silent.
The merchant that discussed current events with Sunhuai and the stranger.
"You know what? That's twenty copper each of you, come on hand over the money!" said the guard, he changed his mind and now the merchant owed the guard a fine. Others stood by and watched quietly as they witnessed the obvious shakedown but refused to move a muscle.
Two innocent men were being fined for 'soliciting' in front of the merchant stand, and the merchant himself was being fined for back talking to the guard. The situation in the Lower Ring had gotten worse over the past six months. Sunhuai's neighbor being hauled away was just the beginning. Sunhuai sighed as he pulled the coin purse his wife gave him for the groceries.
"Hand it over nice and easy and I won't arrest you for hesitation," shouted the guard.
"This is a shakedown and you know it!" argued Sunhuai.
"Yeah? And what are you going to do about it?" taunted the guard he got in real close and personal with Sunhuai. Sunhuai stared him down then he realized he couldn't afford to get arrested because his wife and son needed him. He looked away from the guard, who added, "That's what I thought." The guard spat in Sunhuai's face and took his coin purse, along with the merchant's and the stranger's. He wiped his face in anger and disgust, the ultimate disrespect.
The guard wandered off as he cackled and tossed one of the coin purses between each hand. The merchant felt terribly for his customers that he permitted both men to grab anything from his stand that they came to buy for free. Sunhuai grabbed the necessary ingredients needed for his wife while the other man roamed somewhere else with a large squash under his arm.
The look on Sunhuai's face wasn't fear but the pure rage that he now had for the corrupted guards of the Lower Ring. He returned home with everything in his hands when in the distance he saw his wife while she spoke with a guard. The guard lightly pushed Qingbai toward his mother, as the guard left, he and Sunhuai bumped shoulders. The guard glimpsed back at Sunhuai with a shrewd face but continued to pad back toward the Lower Ring gates.
When Sunhuai approached within earshot of his wife he heard her as she scolded their son, "Qingbai don't you ever something like that again!"
The little boy sobbed while his mother scolded him, he protested, "Mommy I didn't do anything!"
Sunhuai handed the ingredients to upset wife, he defended his son. He retold her the event that transpired this morning, "Mu'ai whatever he was accused of, it's not true. I believe him. The guards are getting more aggressive. Earlier today, a man and I were accused of soliciting a merchant stand by a guard and he fined us twenty copper each. And when the merchant defended us he cited the merchant for talking back!"
"I'm just glad the merchant was kind enough to give us what we needed for free," finished Sunhuai.
Mu'ai placed the ingredients on the dinner table, Sunhuai stood outside and stared at the walls of the city. He shook his head and kicked the dirt but something popped into his head because now he remembered what his grandmother grew in the fields. He grabbed a hoe and had begun to till the soil tomorrow morning he'd buy the vegetables that didn't need sunlight to grow.
The fire crackled and popped inside Sunhuai's compound as he and his son relaxed and watched the fire in its nature. He took a sip from tea that his servant brought him his lips were chapped because he hadn't drunk anything in the hour he retold his son the story.
"As you can see, my son. When King Qiang Zhen rose to power, that's when the Kingdom had a rocky road. High taxes, drastically low crime rates, guards corrupted to the brim, it was later that in the next few months it only got worse," said Sunhuai.
Six Months Later, Autumn, 657 BG
It was late one afternoon six months later, in the autumn he remembered his crops succeeded this year. As for the last several months, he grew crops that didn't need sunlight to prosper. The guards' corruption had gotten worse several others were now exhausted of the horrible way they've been treated over the past year and a half by the guards.
Not a single solution from the Upper Ring, many complaints have gone up to the Upper Ring with no response from the Earth King. As if he completely forgot about the peasants and farmers or as if the Da Xianzhang which applied to the rule of all future Earth Kings' wasn't extended to the Lower Ring or the Agrarian Zone.
That didn't matter any longer because now there had been a revolt in the Agrarian Zone. Farmers across the zone carried torches, pitchforks, hoes, shovels, and some had weapons. A line of guards from the Lower Ring stood in different defensive stances ready to have an excuse to murder citizens in cold blood.
"We want freedom! We want lower taxes, we want equality!" they shouted in unison this was repeated every ten seconds as the farmers neared the line of guards who tried to quell the uprising.
The guard captain in the middle was Fubai he barked at the farmers, "Stay back! Go home or we will be compelled to use deadly force!"
A man who hid quite well in the crowd of farmers chucked a rock at one of the soldiers. It came at such a speed that it hit him in his right eye. He fell back on his rear he covered his eye with his hands as he wailed in excruciated pain. His eye was forced shut and he might not be able to see from that eye ever again. This angered the line of guards one of the farmers or someone completely unrelated to the protest assaulted a guard. The guards charged and attacked the protestors, some of the farmers fled as they screamed terrified for their lives.
Sunhuai and his family viewed the event from the safety of their home. It happened to be just down the street, a few dropped their weapons as they ran for their lives. Earthen cuffs propelled through the air to capture the slow runners, while one of the farmers a lanky middle-aged man was impaled on a stalagmite that burst out of the ground. The guards believed in an eye for an eye, except they took a bit further.
Mu'ai covered Qingbai's view of the man who murdered in cold blood. Sunhuai flinched as he saw the stalagmite that punctured through the farmer's body like charcoal through parchment. Mu'ai was mortified she held in her shriek or else the guards might find an issue with that as well. After the event two of the men crafted a slab of rock to lay the injured guard on and took him to an infirmary nearby. Others stayed behind to gather up all of the protestors they caught, so they could be shipped off to jail.
The sunset behind the walls when this all occurred one of the guards who picked an arrested protestor to her feet. He turned his attention to Sunhuai and his family and nipped briskly up to their fence. He pointed and shouted at them, "Get inside! There's a curfew now!"
"What? Curfew? We haven't done anything wrong and it's only the sixth hour passed noon," argued Sunhuai he found this new curfew to be extremely ridiculous. Mu'ai and Qingbai retreated inside their home while Sunhuai swallowed another argument with a guard and turned over and then headed back inside as well.
Meanwhile, in the Earth King's palace, the young Qiang Zhen sat in his palace with Guwen. Guwen and Qiang Zhen ate inside the throne room normally they ate their dinner in the dining hall of the palace. But this afternoon was a long and eventful evening that dinner in the throne room was the only option available.
The Queen Consort arrived she was with child and was about nearly six months pregnant with Qiang Zhen's offspring. She stood with her back positioned as if she leaned back a bit, she either transitioned from having her arms around her belly or on her back to support her. Her womb had expanded into the size of a small boulder as if she carried the child of Shanshen himself.
With her size, she refused to kneel before her husband instead she was permitted to bow her head to her husband, the Earth King. She bowed her head to her husband and said, "May I bring his Holy Highness some company?"
Qiang Zhen swallowed his rice, smiled, and nodded, "The Queen Consort's request has been accepted yes you may."
Qiang Zhen snapped his fingers one of the royal guards formed a chair out of the ground it was positioned near the platform which the badgermole throne sat on. Yi'an had to look upward to meet her husband's eye level, the chair was in front of the platform but besides the steps, there were about five paces between the first step and the Consort's chair.
Qiang Zhen smiled again that he questioned Guwen, "How do the citizens of the Lower Ring and the Agrarian Zone favor the taxes I've lowered about five percent for them?"
"According, to the reports brought by Minister Dachen, the citizens are satisfied and they adore you, Your Highness," Guwen reported.
"That's good to hear, I'm glad the people can admire me as they did my grandfather," commented Qiang Zhen.
"Have you recently checked in with Minister Dachen?" he inquired again, Guwen shook his head, "Minister Dachen wasn't present when I arrived at the Ministry of Finance building. One of his employees said he was off doing important work for you, Your Majesty."
"What of Minister Zhang Youlang? How fares his tour of the western provinces?" Qiang Zhen asked about Yi'an's father. Her ears perked up when she heard his name escaped the lips of the Earth King.
"Minister Zhang has returned from his tour around the western provinces, he says the governors continue to hold support for His Highness. He mentioned that the province of Wulong requires monetary aid to buy more tools to cut the lumber from the forest that surrounds the outskirts of Mingyang," replied Guwen, he remembered what Youlang reported to the Grand Secretariat that he mentioned it to Qiang Zhen.
"I need to remind you, Your Highness, but Minister Zhang said he would stop by tonight. He's brought Your Majesty's unborn child a gift from Mingyang," added Guwen.
"That is fine, I will welcome my father-in-law back from his trip with open arms," said Qiang Zhen.
Three Months Later, Winter, 657 BG
Three months have passed by, a new year approached the world soon they will celebrate the Kingsmen New Year. A holiday that was celebrated since the Kingdom of Qin, long before the Warring Kingdoms of Earth, before the unified Earth Kingdoms, even before the civil war that ravaged the continent for over 1600 years.
The same crime rates that remained non-existent for Qiang Zhen's first six months of reign, which were called the Six Months of Darkness amongst the daofei. Once again tore the Lower Ring and Agrarian Zone except instead of the daofei, who were hunted daily it was the corrupted guards that committed crimes themselves. The answer to the suffering of all of those in the Lower Ring and Outer Ring lies within the Minister of Revenue.
As it turns out, according to rumors or who you've bothered to ask, Minister Shuishou Dachen, plotted against the new Earth King's reign with a shady third-party faction that wished to dethrone the Earth King. One that over the three years that the Avatar spent in the North Pole as he mastered waterbending was discovered by the palace.
That evening, Sunhuai made a large sum from the crops he grew from the harvest he was able to pay his taxes on time as he did last year. No longer did he struggle he was one of the few farmers who prospered in the Agrarian Zone. Sunhuai planned this evening for a few months now he treated his wife and his son to dinner at a restaurant.
This restaurant was in the middle Lower Ring where the crime rates weren't so bad. The center was near the southern tip of the Lower Ring which led to the Agrarian Zone where they lived. While they were in a neutral zone amongst the daofei. The restaurant happened to be near the Hei Shichang Triad territory.
The building was medium-sized about the size of two Lower Ring homes, the dining area was outside while the kitchen was a few feet beyond the dining area. The building itself had another building expanded into it. But the public was unaware of what went on there.
They finally received their meals from the waiter who attended to their needs for the evening. Qingbai's order made by his mother was noodles with diced carrots and steamed broccoli. While Mu'ai ordered a stew and Sunhuai ordered boiled lobster crab.
They continued to eat their food for the evening when Sunhuai and Qingbai, finished their meals they waited for Mu'ai to eat all of hers. Sunhuai allowed his son to order a dessert, after all, they deserved desserts after Sunhuai's hard labor paid off.
Suddenly, an explosion occurred two streets down from the restaurant the fire burst into the air before it was extinguished. The guards that patrolled the nearby area by the restaurant scattered in different directions. Sunhuai frightened along with his family after another explosion went off, Qingbai ran over to his father and hugged his leg scared. He thought they ran off to the street but wanted to circle the criminals from different angles.
Everyone in the restaurant was terrified of the explosions as well that some stood up and were ready to make a run for it if whatever happened over the two blocks spilled into this street where the eatery was located in. Two large men ran out of the room connected to the kitchen that was locked for most of the business hours of the restaurant. An average height, a lanky, tan-skinned, green-eyed fellow with decent clothing and brown hair marched out of the room as well.
Dufan emerged when he heard the blast of explosions.
"Dufan!" shouted one of the large men.
"What's going on? Who's scaring off my customers?!" he screamed he was concerned for the safety of his patrons. He hopped the railing that fenced around the dining patio of his restaurant. Another explosion hit it clicked in his head it was his triad.
"Well what are you waiting for?! Come on!" Dufan yelled at his bodyguards they ran toward the clouds of smoke.
Sunhuai believed this was the business owner, his head darted to his right where he saw an older gentleman as he prayed to a painted portrait of a man in his mid-sixties, with gray hair, a braided goatee, a dark green left eye and a blind right eye with a scar that ran vertically across it. He was baffled to see that the man prayed to the portrait of a daofei as if he would have saved these people.
The daofei were just as bad as the guards that patrolled the Lower Ring and Agrarian Zone. The man screamed as he hoped this daofei would've come to save everyone's lives. But what he didn't know the heist that currently went on, was due to the Hei Shichang heist that went overboard. He screamed, "Ying Xiao, fanzui de laoban of the Hei Shichang! Save us!"
Mu'ai was scared more now than ever, she was worried about the man who went crazy and screamed the name of a daofei as if he were some kind of god. She faced her husband and said, "Let's get out of here!"
Guards fled from the streets beyond the restaurant the fighting between the daofei of the Hei Shichang and the guards spilled over near Dufan's restaurant. A sword flew into the air as it spun closer to Mu'ai she flinched as she thought this was her end. She peeked as she shook her husband stood in front of her the sword lodged onto a wall of earth he rose out of the ground. Sunhuai was an earthbender but he never used his bending for fighting. Most of the skills he learned for earthbending were for farming purposes even though sometimes he used farming tools.
She grabbed Qingbai and ran while Sunhuai lowered the wall and ran as well. An explosion took place in a building near them. The force of the blast knocked Sunhuai and his small family, no damage was caused to them but the blast force petrified them. The wall Sunhuai rose in time protected them from further damage.
Dufan along with his bodyguards lifted off a massive chunk of the earth which took out a few guards. Walls of earth rose as more daofei from the Hei Shichang arrived at Dufan's aid, those who committed the heist were given a huge distraction to flee the scene with the goods.
An earth tremor caused by a daofei earthbender was mistakenly directed at Mu'ai who fled with her family. Sunhuai carried his son when the child bawled for his mother, a large stalagmite shot out of the end of the tremor and impaled Sunhuai's wife.
She gasped for air and then fell dead on the spike, Sunhuai darted his head back and took a gander at his dead wife. He dropped his son who landed safely on his two feet, Sunhuai sprinted to the body of his wife impaled by the stalagmite. He roared so loud and fell to his knees and wept over the horrific death of his wife.
Qingbai ran near a building and cried his eyes out he trembled with fear as his father mourned the loss of his mother. Soldiers from the nearby area were deployed to fight back the daofei, normally the guards handled most things but when things turned sour real quick. The Qiangdian Provincial Guard were deployed to handle the situation.
These men were the defensive force that is to protect the city-state if the Oma Kingdom were to invade Ba Sing Se. But since that hasn't happened yet they were used for other things, a female soldier rushed to the little boy.
She picked him up and dashed to safety while Sunhuai continued to mourn his wife more soldiers came. One of the stopped by Sunhuai, "Sir! You need to go now!"
"Qingbai!" he yelled, he was now more frightened than ever because he thought he lost his son as well.
"QINGBAI!" he wailed, the soldier pointed at the female soldier who ran with the small child in her hands.
"Is that small boy your son?" he shouted at Sunhuai as another explosion burst nearby a cloud of dust engulfed the men.
The earthbender dispersed it, Sunhuai repeatedly nodded his head, "Go to your boy! We'll take care of this!"
The soldier smashed a boulder to bits.
A boulder came toward them the soldier smashed the boulder with both fists, the wave of dirt fell to his sides. Sunhuai covered his eyes from the smashed boulder's bits, he rotated in the opposite direction and bolted to his son Qingbai. He fought through the tears as his feet carried him to the female soldier who carried the sobbing child.
Seven Months Later, Summer, 656 BG
Walls of earth surrounded a large area in the Agrarian Zone where a compound was constructed by several men. One of the men forged the signature of the Minister of Works, they received an official document to build apartments near Sunhuai's farm. This is where his people chose to live and he was okay with it.
Posters of propaganda filled the Agrarian Zone, these posters were of Baotu and Ying Xiao, the fanzui de laobans of the Dixia Triad and the Hei Shichang Triad. The posters were put on walls by those who devoted their lives to them as if they were living gods. The Yapo Triad, however, vandalized the posters with red paint which they painted large Xs' across the posters.
Propaganda posters filled the Agrarian Zone. Posters of Baotu and Ying Xiao, which were later vandalized by the Yapo.
The training grounds where a fat man watched his nine-year-old son being taught earthbending by a master. He drank tea while his boy practiced different forms with his master a young daofei who joined Sunhuai's ranks. The tyranny and the abuse from the guards continued and worsened in the Lower Ring and Agrarian Zone. But as a new triad rose to power and completely took control of the Agrarian Zone, the other daofei fanzuis have discovered this new triad doesn't work with other daofei.
In those seven months, the case finally reached the Earth King's ears he was infuriated, as was Lord Guwen. But Sunhuai didn't care anymore about what the Earth King thought, the Earth King took too long to save them. They saved themselves, this triad stole from the banks and the rich and gave to the poor. While the farmers failed to pay the Ministry of Revenue, they gave their tax money to Sunhuai who protected them from the guards.
Most of the population of the men who once patrolled and guarded the citizens of Ba Sing Se were terminated and arrested for their crimes against the people. A small number, however, remained as they cut back a bit with having to enforce their wicked laws. The citizens in the Lower Ring and Agrarian Zone eventually lost hope in Qiang Zhen. Now they relied their hopes on whatever crime lords gave them.
Shrines, candles, and incense were crafted in homes with pictures of either Baotu, Ying Xiao, or Sunhuai. These were constructed and placed near areas of worship where the Kingsmen pantheon was also worshipped. These people committed blasphemy against Tiandi and the Kingsmen pantheon. However, Lord Qin continued to bless the poor something that the commoners and the rich never understood.
A man approached Sunhuai and knelt, "Lord Sunhuai, the guards are at it again, they've harassed people in the third quadrant of the Agrarian Zone. Some are being arrested for no reason we need to do something about it."
The man kissed Sunhuai's rings which were hoarded on his fingers, Sunhuai smiled the people loved him. They saw him and his triad like the famous thief known as Luo Bin Han, who lived during the Qian Dynasty long ago. He stole from other nobles and gave to the poor before he was captured and hung, he was ousted by his men.
Luo Bin Han has returned in the flesh when the people needed a savior most Sunhuai became their Luo Bin Han. Even though for some reason he stayed a mystery to the Middle and Upper Rings of the city. Sunhuai rose from his seat his son turned his attention to his father and asked, "Dad where are you going?"
"I'm moving out with some of the men right now, Daddy needs to protect his people," he answered the boy's question.
Sunhuai and some of the men prepared themselves as servants fitted them for their armor and handed the non-benders their weapons. One of the carried bandages he was a medic that joined Sunhuai a few months back. Most of their territory consisted of the Agrarian Zone and the northern Lower Ring, once held by the Mousha Quan Triad a few years back. Some of the recruits that joined the Yapo were formed Mousha Quan assassins who lingered in the city even after their triad was dismantled.
While they no longer used their skills to assassinate they served Sunhuai to the best of their abilities, where they could. Some of them were xinxian de rous, who hadn't been marked by the Mousha Quan, others who joined from the assassin's order carried the mark of the raven on their bodies. The Yapo also took in members from the Hei Shichang and Dixia triads, former rivals of the Yapo. Sunhuai although he built something illegal, he built a movement, a resistance of people who were against the tyranny of the guards, and those in power.
Sunhuai and eight others left for the third quadrant of the Agrarian Zone where they found themselves on a road. On this road were about five guards and arrested civilians, archers ran on the rooftops of barns and shacks. They hid well, notched their arrows on their bows, and waited for the guards to make mistakes. Warriors and earthbenders joined their fanzui de laoban and confronted the guards.
A guard faced the vigilantes and barked at them, "This is a restricted sector, move along or find yourselves in earth cuffs!"
"Release my people now! yelled Sunhuai.
"Not a chance!" cackled the guard he shifted into a Deing Kiu stance from there a chunk of earth block emerged from the ground beneath them. A hulking beast of a man stood in front of his fanzui and caught the earth block. This petrified the guard who attacked them first, he crushed the earth block with his huge hands and laughed it off.
"Fanzui...Taishan, ready to smash guards," hinted the hulking earthbender.
Taishan was brought along with Sunhuai and other Yapo.
Sunhuai gave a wicked grin, "Taishan can smash guards," he said, Sunhuai approved Taishan to destroy the guards. One of the guards tossed a cuff of earth at Taishan, the cuff only latched on to half of one of his wrists. This angered him he tore the cuff off and threw it back at the guard. At the same time, an arrow propelled through the air and crashed onto the same guard's forehead.
The arrow was tipped with a soft flathead knocked him out unconscious he hit the ground so hard with a thud. Another guard pointed at the rooftops, "Archers!" A guard tried to kill the archer with a precision strike before Taishan stopped it with his hands. He crushed the rock and levitated smaller pointed shards of earth at each guard.
"Taishan wants to kill guards," Taishan commented.
The guards were outnumbered by four. One of them was out cold while the other four stood by in a defensive stance. The leader commanded them to attack while he spun around and fled the scene like the coward he was. Sunhuai expanded the ground beneath two men and sunk them in the sand before he compressed it back in solid ground. He smirked at the trapped guards.
Their captain escaped on time or so he thought broadhead arrow flew across the sky and overarched toward the guard captain who ran. It pinned him to the ground one of the earthbenders that wasn't Sunhuai or Taishan bounded him to the floor on his stomach. The other ran for his life as well but Taishan shifted the ground and turned the guard back around toward him.
The terrified guard rotated around once more to find himself surrounded by daofei. He shrieked so loud he cowered in fear. His voice quavered with fear, "Wh-who are y-you?"
"We are the oppressed...we are the rebellious people against the corruption of the Lower Ring and Agrarian Zone. We overcame our fear...we ARE the Yapo," beamed Sunhuai.
Several cheers could be heard off in the distance followed by claps and praises from the defenseless farmers and peasants that ran about. Many shouted different praises, "Luo Bin Lan has returned in the flesh!"
"We are saved!" another yelled.
"The tyranny of the guards is over!" a woman shouted.
"For the Yapo!" another cheered, The archer on the roof signaled the archer across him on another roof.
He whistled like a bird to Sunhuai. Sunhuai signaled his ground troops that it was time to disperse. A small detachment of guards appeared, the came across the scene of the guards who were sunk into the ground, another one bound to the ground yards away, an unconscious guard and another one who cried by a fence.
"What in Qin's name happened here?!" the leader shouted to the men who were waist-deep in the ground.
"Some nutjob and his ragtag group of misfits attacked us after citizens assaulted others," reported one of the men who was trapped. The leader of the guards closed his eyes, slid one of his feet across the surface of the earth, and inhaled deeply.
"You're lying, what happened?" he caught the guard in a lie then questioned him further.
"I'm not lying!" protested the man trapped in the ground.
"You are, you either tell me what happened or you can find your own way out of the ground," declared the other guard captain.
"Fine, fine we harassed the citizens to get some money out of them. Then those band of misfits and their leader Luo Bin Lan attacked us," confessed the guard.
"Now get us out please," begged the guard. The other tried to force himself free but both of them were non-benders.
"I don't help corrupted guards," addressed the guard captain, he turned to face his men, "Make a record of who these guards are, detain them and send them to the dungeons. They no longer have a right to harass our citizens," he ordered the men who simply nodded to his commands. He removed the bonds on the earthbender who was trapped face down.
"How did you end up like this?" he questioned the other guard captain.
"I fled the scene like a coward," frowned the guard captain, the crowd continued to cheer for Sunhuai they chanted "Luo Bin Lan has returned!" several times.
The guard captain who was released from his bonds pestered by the citizens who praised Sunhuai chided the crowd, "You people and your precious fanzuis. They couldn't give an elephant rat's behind about you!"
He then eyed the man who arrested him, "Can you believe these buffoons? So gullible."
"Your precious Luo Bin Lan will be hanged just like the one from the Qian Kingdom!" screamed the arrested guard captain.
"Who the hell are you? We're supposed to be a team!" he yelled at the captain who arrested him.
"I don't align myself with corrupted guards, I serve and protect in the name of 42nd Earth King Qiang Zhen," stated the guard.
"Yeah, yeah I heard you, idiots, the first time, the Oppressed. Unbelievable," screamed the arrested guard.
Present Day
Sunhuai extinguished the fire with the rest of the tea, it was time for his son to head off to bed for the evening. This was the time Sunhuai could have time alone and think of his late wife. She was buried in the nearby garden of remembrance. Her death anniversary was coming up soon it'd mark the third year since the time she was killed by a daofei from the Hei Shichang.
"Fear, fear is what brought my people to rebel against the guards. The tyranny of the rich and those in power made the poor rise," repeated Sunhuai.
"Greed, the greedy were being paid so little they became tyrants and terrorized the poor. Eventually, they too dropped their jobs and became part of my people," he continued.
"Heroes, these so-called people who promised to protect my people from being terrorized by the rich and powerful. I pity them they too are tyrants, finally comes the day that the victims themselves have become their heroes," he said.
"My people grow more and more each day, a new head comes to my doorstep. Tattooing the word 'oppressed' somewhere on their bodies as if that proved to me they are dedicated to this lifestyle. My people have been oppressed by the guards that have ordered by the powers above them. We are the oppressed..." he mentioned.
Qingbai memorized the words that came from his father's mouth, "We... are the Yapo!" he marveled.
Meanwhile, back at the palace Minister Dachen was brought to the palace by force. He was held in cuffs by the guards. He argued with them on the way there, "Unhand me you oafs, do you even know who I am?"
The throne room was empty Qiang Zhen burrowed underground it took them three years to investigate the third-party faction that worked to undermine the reign of Qiang Zhen. They removed him of his cuffs, he massaged his wrists. And scanned the room, a man dropped from the supports that held the roof of the throne room. He was dressed in a dark attire as if he was some assassin or a shady person.
"Chong, what's going on?" he questioned the plant.
"You're going to assist me in assassinating the Earth King, our leaders back at headquarters ordered me to take you along," responded the man.
"But I'm no fighter," said Minister Dachen.
"They don't care, you've been chosen to reign as regent lord until he's ready," commented Chong.
"You need to tell Lord Cuandao that I'm not qualified to be regent lord," declined Shuishou as he pointed at Chong, he revealed the name of the man behind all this. A cone of earth emerged to swallow Minister Dachen up to his neck, Qiang Zhen burrowed out of the ground while Guwen came out of hiding from behind the badgermole throne.
Qiang Zhen dusted himself off, "Your Highness" exclaimed the Minister of Revenue when he saw the Earth King.
"So Minister Dachen Shuishou, you conspired with others and Lord Cuandao to remove me from power eh?" Qiang Zhen questioned the minister.
Minister Shuishou Dachen was brought toward the palace as if he was going to assist an assassin kill the Earth King.
"No! No, I was simply infiltrating his group so that I can acquire enough information to report to Lord Guwen," claimed Dachen he was lying. His attempts to coax the Earth King failed.
"My grandfather and I gave you everything to you, how could you betray us?" Qiang Zhen implored.
"Your Majesty, forgive me but I was only doing good for the people and the Son of Tiandi. What I did, was so that I can bring him down," Shuishou tried to explain his actions but Qiang Zhen wouldn't listen.
"You disappoint me, Shuishou. You will be stripped of all your lands, businesses, titles, and your son will succeed you," said Qiang Zhen. When he spoke of this dreadful line many nobles or even criminals knew they were headed to the block.
"Please! I beg for mercy!" he cried out.
"All those citizens the guards killed over three years in the Lower and Agrarian Rings, cried out for mercy too. This is for them.." he mentioned all the citizens that were killed by the corrupted guards, he paused. "Send Minister Dachen to the dungeon, tomorrow he goes to the block along with Fubai," he ordered.
"What of Lord Cuandao?" asked one of the royal guards.
"I specifically ordered the royal guards not to arrest him. I don't want him in my palace he is unworthy to enter the Seat of the Son of Tiandi. By now they most likely killed him," answered Qiang Zhen.
At the same time, one of the men who assassinated the noble in his household several guards arrested or killed those who attacked them. A recruit approached his captain, "What do we do with the body, sir?"
"Throw his body in Agrarian Zone's community compost, they deserve to meet the man responsible for many of their own's deaths. Make a sign and prop it near the body, the only burial he deserves is carrion birds and animals tearing at his rotten flesh. May his soul suffer in the Fog of Lost Souls" ordered the captain.
"Yes, captain," he nodded.
The next morning came, Sunhuai was awoken by his right-hand man Taishan, "Lord Luo Bin Lan, royal guards found the culprit behind everything. They've tossed his corpse into the community compost." Sunhuai sighed and he quickly got dressed his son exited his room as well and headed to the training grounds.
From the watchtower within his compound, Sunhuai was given a spyglass telescope to view the corpse and read the sign. It read, "As a tribute to those who fell to corrupted guards in the Lower and Agrarian Rings. We haven't forgotten about you, this is the man who drowned in the blood of innocents. Lord Cuandao, may his soul receive eternal punishment, and may the carrion birds feed on his flesh in the plane of the living.
-- 42nd Earth King Qiang Zhen"
Sunhuai held a slight smile when he saw the Earth King hasn't forgotten about the farmers and peasants. A tear fell from his eye when he thought about Mu'ai, while his wife passed away others lost their loved ones as well. The revolt that created the Yapo was dedicated to all those who died, there was plenty of work to be done.
The two twin brothers who robbed a bank arrived at the compound another announced their arrival to the fanzui, "Lord Sunhuai, Bohai and Bojing have returned!"
Sunhuai turned around to see the short, stocky twins waltzed into the back of the training grounds with sacks full of gold pieces. Sunhuai felt something inside him, that he hasn't felt in a long time. Hope.
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