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Zanyu was overjoyed about the end of the war, he really was. Still is, in the broad sense, as a citizen, as a decent human being. That doesn’t correlate to the narrow point of view he has as the minister of industrialization. Which, very abruptly, is becoming a much, much more important role on the international arena than he signed up for six years ago.
Sure, being a minister in Ozai’s cabinet was not a safe position to have, to an extent. But with a bit of skill, humility and inherent talent of not standing out in a crowd, Zanyu’s life had been surprisingly simple back then. All he had to do is oversee internal laws that were pretty much locked down for years now, make sure that nothing too untoward pops up to anger the Fire Lord - who, in all honesty, wasn’t really interested in internal politics.
Right now any ministry that has anything to do with international trade is very much in the spotlight. To be more precise, in the spotlight of Fire Lord Zuko’s interest. And oh boy, is the young ruler’s interest intense.
Everything Fire Lord Zuko does seems to be intense.
Zanyu, this is an opportunity to shine, his wife said to placate his panic about them possibly needing to leave the country after the abrupt power shift in the palace. You can do so much good now, help lead us into a better future.
His poor, naive wife. Soon to be a widow, perhaps.
Fire Lord Zuko’s entire focus seems to be on the scroll in his graceful hands. The scroll containing Zanyu’s proposal for reform regarding the demilitarization of the smelting industry. And it makes the demure minister’s skin crawl, it makes him shiver with anticipation of fire engulfing him any second now. Because judging from the boy- no, the man’s scowl, it is a real possibility. Zanyu is no stranger to the sight of people being burned to death for far less bold proposals.
He tried to be careful when he and his team created the document. He made sure to highlight the prospects, to include statistics and graphs, anything that might soften the message of impending economic crisis. It doesn’t change the fact that, from the point of view of nobility and the rich, this is a shitty prospect. Losses would be immense, investments would hinge on other ministries and their proposals for international commerce. But Zanyu had to try. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he didn’t at least attempt to create a reform that wouldn’t ruin thousands of lives of workers, their families, the backbone of their nation.
Even if it meant risking his career and possibly his life.
The Fire Lord is sitting ramrod straight on his throne, imposing in his layers of gilded robes. He has the scroll spread out on his knees, head bower as he pours over the content. Zanyu doesn’t think he’s ever seen Ozai this focused on anything, really. Maybe attack plans, but even then, the old Fire Lord seemed almost casual about the decisions he would be making for millions of his people. This young man, so imposing on his dais, with a fierce crease of his brow, looks like he’s weighing everything he is looking at. And even though he is terrified of the outcome, Zanyu can’t help but admire the patience their new leader shows in spending so much time on one single proposal. There is so much to do, so much to establish, and yet his Majesty is taking the time to weigh every single decision he is making. At sixteen, he seems to already surpass his predecessors in wisdom.
Zanyu can’t help but feel inspired in the face of his immensely intense experience.
Zuko is staring blankly at the scroll in his lap.
He feels so absolutely out of his depth, it’s not even funny anymore.
His entire body hurts, the bandages around his torso making him sit uncomfortably straight on the too-soft cushion of his throne. The fever makes him still feel cold, despite the plethora of fabric he hastily swaddled himself into this morning and frankly, he wishes he’d be anywhere else than here.
The ministers are all staring at him and he can’t make himself look up. Because then he’ll probably need to speak on the matter at hand and he has no idea what to say.
There are so many numbers. And graphs. Who the fuck puts graphs in a reform proposal? Minister Zanyu, apparently. Sure, Zuko was taught the basics of economics, macro accounting and all that but damn, the minister of industrialization is seven levels above the basics here and it all just… doesn’t make sense.
Zuko is absolutely gonna make a fool of himself if he doesn’t think of something intelligent-sounding really soon, but he’s just so exhausted. And hurting. And anxious. Because this is all taking him so long, every scroll he reads takes him way too much precious time to decipher, even more so to form an opinion on. Not to give Ozai credit, but he made it all look so easy. But even though Zuko chose the smaller (still enormous in their impact) reform proposals to tackle while he’s getting into the swing of this whole decision-making thing, he’s already vastly overwhelmed.
Focus Zuko. You got this, he tells himself. Just wing it. Winging it never failed you before.
He internally chides himself for such a nasty lie.
He raises his gaze from the scroll to look at minister Zanyu. He frankly likes the guy. He likes how citizen-oriented he’s always been, how he never speaks down to people of lesser status. But damn, is he making life difficult right now.
Just as he’s about to sputter an ill-formed opinion on a topic he barely knows, Zuko is struck by an idea. It’s a dumb one, monumentally idiotic, but he has nothing to lose. Because he needs to at least try understanding what he just read, even if he can’t show anyone how ignorant he is. And honestly, he has nothing to lose by trying. If they dethrone him for being a moron, at least he’ll get some sleep.
The Fire Lord is looking at him. Zanyu lowers his own gaze immediately, not daring to meet the intense glint in those golden eyes. The ruler has clearly thought this through and from the looks of it, Zanyu’s fate is already set.
”Guard,” the Lord says in his raspy, quiet voice. “Face minister Zanyu.”
Oh Agni, Zanyu thinks. He’s not even gonna kill me himself. My insolence doesn’t even deserve that much.
That’s what he gets for trying to do the right thing. He steels himself, thinking of his wife’s hopeful smile, as the royal guard towers over him.
“Minister Zanyu,” The Fire Lord’s voice is surprisingly soft as he’s about to deliver the order of demotion, exile, or execution. “I would like for you to pretend that guard Tozu is a factory owner.”
Wait, what?
”Pretend he’s a minor noble, coming from a commoner background, making his way to good money with the newly opened weapon production. Explain this reform to him.”
Both Zanyu and the guard look at the Fire Lord in surprise. Neither of them expected this.
“Your Majesty?” Zanyu says uncertainly.
”The reform will touch the lives of his workers. Will change the entire structure of how… factory owner Tozu is running his business. Explain to him how this reform will impact all that. Use simple words, ones someone without your knowledge will understand.”
”C-certainly, your Majesty,” Zanyu stutters out. He faces the guard, who looks just as confused as he feels. Tozu shrugs minutely and nods his head.
“W-well, you see, your, uh, factory, will go out of business soon if we don’t shift your manufacturing into processing of metal in a post-war economically impactful-”
”Simple words for simple human, Minister,” the Fire Lord interrupts him. “Tozu here doesn’t care about world economics. He cares about himself and his workers. Right, Tozu?”
The Guard gulps. He obviously feels out of his depth, not used to speaking at all in the vicinity of their leader.
”Yeah, mister minister,” he says uncertainly. He sounds much younger than Zanyu expected. “My, uh, my people will, uh, starve… if I don’t, uh, give them work?”
”And that’s what we want to do,” Zanyu says. He feels slightly better about not being the only one in the spotlight. “You see, you can’t manufacture weapons anymore. Nobody will buy them. So you need to start producing something else.”
”And how am I supposed to do that, huh?” The guard retorts, obviously trying his best to play into the scene. “Do you know how much that will cost? It’ll, uhhhh it’ll ruin me!”
”See that’s the thing,” Zanyu responds. “We have a common goal here. The treasury will help you with the investment…”
Oh shit, it’s working. It’s really working, Zuko thinks gleefully as he listens to the minister and the guard he chose at random from the few in the room he knows the names of. The two of them seem to be really getting into the whole roleplay thing, speaking more and more confidently and passionately the more they get into the explanations. Credit given where credit’s due, Tozu turns out to be a great actor, once he’s over the shock of the situation. Since the guard knows absolutely nothing about anything, it’s basically smooth sailing for Zuko to absorb minister Zanyu’s simplified words. He grabs his coal stick and starts making notes on the scroll, minute adjustments to the proposal that will make it an easier transition, hopefully.
By the time the scene has played out, he has a solid understanding of the document. Both the Minister and the guard are now looking at him hopefully and Zuko has to stop himself from smiling because now Tozu seems just as invested in the topic as Zanyu.
“I see your point, your Majesty,” minister Zanyu says. “I think we should make the adjustment to-„
”The taxation percentage on the internal sales margins, yes,” Zuko says easily. “I made some notes for you.”
He extends the scroll out and a servant immediately transfers it to the minister’s hands. Zanyu looks down at it and his eyes widen at the amount of scribbles.
”This is more than generously thorough, your Majesty,” he says.
”As was your proposal, Minister,” Zuko answers. “Please transcribe it into a new document that we shall put to vote tomorrow.”
With that, he dismisses the gathering. He’s wiped and wishes for nothing more than to go lay down. Possibly right here, on the dais.
The Ministers’ aftermeeting is loud.
”I have never seen anything like this before,” the minister of agriculture says to his fellows.
”Such a genius move,” answers the minister of internal logistics.
”Not gonna lie, your statistics never made much sense to me, Zanyu,” the minister of education laughs, her ample bosom shaking. “But now I can actually say - you’re a smart man, friend!”
”It was like a fever dream,” Zanyu says, all posturing and decorum forgotten in the less formal setting. “I thought I was a goner when he called the guard.”
”Fire Lord Zuko is not his father,” agriculture says. “He is much too wise to get rid of a good man like you, Zan.”
”And all the wiser for the way he handles things. How graceful, to show you the small errors in your document like that. He really does make strides to be gracious about pointing out imperfections, doesn’t he?”
”You did so well, too, Zanyu, I could never!”
”Let us hope he does not lose his patience with us, because if we manage to keep him so lenient, we might actually do something productive for a change!”
”Now, Zanyu, let’s talk about the taxation impact so I can prepare, too.”
Next time Zuko calls on a servant to stand in as a merchant.
Then it’s another minister in lieu of a farmer.
The gardener turns out to be an amazing actor when it’s his turn to pretend to be an Earth Kingdom fishing fleet representative.
It takes a few weeks for the staff to get used to the idea of being called in as an impromptu sounding board. Zuko even allows a small commission for paid actors, not realizing how fast that takes the gossip outside the palace walls.
As time passes, everyone seems to really get into it. The ministers start to play out their own scenes in internal meetings to test out ideas. Zuko knows this, because he spies on them shamelessly.
Uncle Iroh nearly spills his tea, laughing, when he learns of the idea’s origin, months after the fact. He says he couldn’t be prouder. He makes Zuko swear on his honor to never, ever tell anyone of the true reason for the youngest Fire Lord in history changing the way internal politics of the Fire Nation ruling body have been irrevocably changed for the better with simplified language and more accessible information.
Thirty four years later, Zuko’s daughter couldn’t be happier when she takes over and is so out of her depth, she’d be completely lost without this system firmly in place.
To be fair, at least she has her father to explain more complicated issues, too. As always, she’s awed by his knowledge and wisdom.
Zuko may not fumble as much by then, but he still wings it way too much for his own liking.