THE DAWN OF EMPIRE
What did the king ever do for us?" The small woman shuffled away, leaving the encampment of the large crowd of beggars without any progression, without any food, without any money to buy food. The large crowd had formed on a small hillock outside of the small hamlet of Garena, one of the many villages near Kurukshetra, a village with a terrible history.
The night prior, the village had been attacked by the fearsome horsemen of the neighboring kingdom of Panchala. These horsemen had been raiding their village for years, but never before had they committed such atrocities. And the kingdom was to blame. The harsh and tyrannical King Dhritarashtra had caused this, as he took a heavy toll on his people as a part of his tax collection. Yes, King Dhritarashtra caused the problems of the village and his own brother, King Pandu, was not much better. So, the crowd and their disgust stood here, the crowd facing the King's grand city of Hastinapur, where King Dhritarashtra had lived in wealth and luxury with his brothers, his wives and his children.
When the crowd arrived at the city that was a mere 20 kilometers from where they stood now, they looked up to the walls of the city. " That's his plan," they said. This was his way of boosting his popularity. The huge offerings, the grand celebrations, the pomp and splendor, the grand arches and the cavalcades. This was all his show of power, the show of a seemingly kind king enjoying his life.
"Did he ever happen to stumble across the many graves of the homeless and the jobless?" The small woman asked.
"Did he ever realize how his excessive taxes were leaving thousands of families starving?"
"Did he even once bother to look at his brothers, his wives, his children? Did he ever doubt the sanity of being so vain?"
The small woman was shot by thirsty looks of hatred from the faces of the crowd. But she didn't care. She only had one wish, to leave this place and never return. She was a simple woman, a proud woman, and proud women were difficult to deal with on a level she was not prepared for. And so, she attempted an escape.
"Oh no, I'm not trying to escape. I have a duty to complete." She said before promptly exiting.
What could she do? She had no other place to go, no money to stay. The small group stood in front of the gates of the city and started to shout. The small group of individuals gathered in front of the imposing gates of the city and raised their voices in unison. Their shouts echoed off the walls of the city, reverberating and carrying the message of their protest. This small gathering had come together to express their grievances, to make their voices heard in the hopes of enacting some form of change.
They were the underprivileged, the homeless, the jobless. They were the people who had been left behind by a society that was rapidly progressing. They were angry and they had every right to be. The large crowd of beggars shouted and chanted, their anger palpable as they demanded to be heard.
"What did the king ever do for us?" they cried. "He only knows how to take, take, take!"
The large crowd continued to shout and chant as they made their way towards the city gates. They wanted to make their presence known, to let the king know that they would not be silenced. As they got closer and closer to the city gates, they could see the guards on top of the wall, watching them warily. The king had not expected this kind of uprising and was now preparing for retaliation.
The large crowd of beggars reached the gates of the city and started to bang on them, demanding to be let in. The guards were not going to let them in and they were getting increasingly agitated. The situation was starting to turn volatile and it was only a matter of time before things turned violent. The guards threatened to use force if the crowd did not disperse. However, the protesters were determined to make their voices heard and refused to back down. In a last attempt to get their demands met, the crowd started to chant louder, and their cries could be heard from all around the city. In the end, their pleas were heard and the king listened to their demands. The king knew this and he had to do something to defuse the situation. He sent out his most trusted advisor to speak to the beggars and try to negotiate a peaceful resolution. The advisor spoke calmly to the crowd, convincing them to turn back and go home for the night. After much persuasion, the crowd eventually dispersed and the situation was diffused.
Seeing this, the king stepped out of his palace and made an announcement: he promised to take care of all the beggars in the kingdom, to provide them with food, shelter, and money. This declaration was met with a deafening cheer and in that moment, the crowd of beggars finally felt heard and understood. With a newfound hope, they dispersed, leaving the king and his guards to ponder what had just happened. Knowing that he had to act quickly, the king called for a meeting with all the beggars in the kingdom and promised to make things right.
The king had been warned about the beggars' plight but he had not done anything to try and help them. It was clear that he was not going to do anything and so the beggars had taken matters into their own hands. The guards could now see the desperation in the eyes of the crowd and they were starting to realize that they were not going to be able to control them. The king was now forced to intervene, his guards had no other choice but to let the beggar's in.
As the beggars continued to call for the king to hear their demands, some of the more courageous among them began to climb the walls, determined to make their way inside the city and make their voices heard. Seeing this, the guards knew that they had to take action and began to order the crowd to disperse. With no other option, the beggars reluctantly began to move away from the gates, vowing to return when the time was right. The king had been warned, but it remained to be seen if he would listen. The night in the kingdom,the king made a decision to help the beggars in his town and put an end to the endless riots and please.The next morning the king made an announcement that he would give everyone money, clothing and shelter as an apology for not taking action before. The townspeople were so relieved to hear this. They were glad they wouldn’t have to live in poverty anymore .
First book: The false prince
Second book: The runaway king