The Tale of Two Cities

There once was a King. He was a mighty King.
The mighty king lived in a great kingdom.
In this kingdom he built, he surrounded himself with things that were useful to him.
Things that caught his fancy and could make his kingdom greater.
This mighty King had all the power in the world to dictate the fate of whoever he so wishes.
And he did so with great relish.

There once was a General. He was an efficient General.
The General worked for the mighty King in his great kingdom.
In this kingdom, the General was the second most powerful person.
He was one of the mighty King's favorite and he made the kingdom great for the King.
This efficient General was given the power to decide on matters of the state.
And he did so whenever the King was unavailable.

One day the King decided to reward this General.
He decided to give the General full rein of one of his states.
The General was delighted. It was his long time dream to own a state.
And what a state it was! It was one of the best states amongst all the King's.
The land was fertile, the people were happy, the weather was ideal.
It was a premium piece of estate and the General had great plans for it.

"Go ahead! Make the best out of it," the King gave his blessing.
So the General did. He grew the land into a great state.
He appointed abled men to help him run the state.
They built a strong fortress and they contributed greatly to the King's kingdom.
The land was fertile, the people were happy, the weather was ideal.
It was a premium piece of estate and that's the start of the problem.

One day the great King and the efficient General had an argument.
There was a disagreement on how the kingdom should be run.
The mighty King wanted his kingdom to be even more efficient and powerful than before.
He wanted to conquer the world. He wanted more power.
The efficient General advised against it as it would mean war and unrest amongst the people.
This made the King very unhappy. The King did not like to be disagreed upon.

A cold war started.
It spread throughout the kingdom.
The mighty King became wary of the General.
He stopped listening to him and turned to the other minister of his states.
They were only too glad to oblige.
Long had it been that they were jealous of the attention that the General was receiving.

Finally the King decided to remove the General from his state.
The General was sad, his people were upset.
They couldn't understand what they had done wrong.
They paid their taxes on time and they contributed greatly to the Kingdom.
All they wanted was to carry on as they had before.
Why would the King do this to them. Why?

A war started. It was a short war but many were hurt.
Finally, being the great kingdom with many resources, the mighty King won.
The General was banished forever from his beloved city.
The state was in ruins. The land was destroyed. The people were miserable.
There was nothing left to stay for and all his abled men decided to leave with him.
They were escorted out of the city while the people watched them march out sadly.

What became of the ruin city? What will happen to the people?
There was whispering and fear in the eyes of the people.
The land was no longer fertile, the people were miserable, it rained everyday.
It was a sad piece of estate and the King had no plans for it.
It was an empty victory and who really win in the end?
Those that walked away or those that stayed?