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The old man sat in the sun with his eyes closed and a cheerful smile upon
his face. The councillors and the soldiers waited impatiently believing that 
the old man was pondering the king's question. The sun rose high into the sky 
then began to sink towards the mountains. Finally the old man opened his eyes 
and looked surprised.

"Why are you still here?" he asked.

And now the continuation...

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"We are waiting for an answer to the kings question," the general shouted 
rudely.

"Oh that is easy, I thought you would have worked it out by yourselves by 
now. The old king of the Northern Kingdom is dying; his son is very young. 
King Rama is the prince's uncle, if he were to take his army into the 
Northern Kingdom to protect his nephew's throne, who could argue with his 
motives. Once the army is there who will dare protest. Then all the little 
kingdoms will be caught between the king and his army and the mighty Empire 
of Siam. There will be no resistance and Rama will gain all he wishes without 
shedding his family's blood or displeasing the gods. 

The councillors were delighted with this answer. They began to move away from 
the Sage anxious to return to the palace and give the king his answer. As 
they mounted their horses the sage spoke in a quiet carrying voice.

"Evil is as evil does and evil shall always be answered with destruction." 
After he had watch the councillors and their escort ride down the mountain 
the old man picked up his walking staff and spoke to it.

"Well old friend, it seems that we have work to do."

The old man left his cave with nothing but his trusty old staff and a 
beautiful smile. He moved with a confidence and speed that belied his age. 
The old sage didn't walk towards the capital of Siam but walked north at a 
steady and stately pace.

King Rama was not a man of poetic nature, his favourite pastime was war, and 
nothing pleased him as much as a good battle. That was of course a battle he 
won after inflicting terrible injuries on his opponent. So the king was very 
displeased with the answer his council brought back from the sage. He soothed 
his displeasure by killing a pair of the councillors. One he roasted over a 
slow fire, the other he chopped up with the Royal Sword. 

"Nothing like a bit of killing to make a king think straight," Rama thought 
as he swung his trusty blade at the unfortunate second councillor. The reason 
for the king's displeasure was that the sage's solution did not include a 
really big messy battle. However as the king chopped and diced the second 
councillor to the tune of the roasting councillors screams, the King decided 
that he actually liked the sage's advice very much. If he gained control of 
the Lao Kingdoms without a war he wouldn't lose any soldiers nor would the 
Lao Kingdoms. King Rama could then conscript all those fit and healthy young 
Lao men into his mighty army and train them towards his ultimate goal, the 
invasion and conquest of China. "Yes!" Rama thought, "I like it." 

In fact he liked it so much that he killed a few more councillors just to 
celebrate.

So it was that the kings messengers were dispatched to all the little 
kingdoms of Laos, instructing the kings that the mighty Siamese army would be 
passing through their lands. A special messenger was dispatched to the 
Northern Kingdom to inform the council of the dying king of the army's 
approach. These announcements caused fear and panic among the kings of the 
little kingdoms. 

Even if they had armies to command all knew that they would never be able to 
stand against the might of the Siamese army.  All knew the real reason for 
Rama's sudden interest in the nephew he had never met; the kings all 
understood that the independence and prosperity of their kingdoms would soon 
pass away under the iron heel of Siamese oppression. 

The messenger King Rama sent to the Northern Kingdom was his favourite son 
who Rama hoped would one-day rule Siam. The Prince informed the Royal Council 
of the Northern Kingdom of King Rama's concern for his nephew's safety and 
told them that the king would lead his army into the northern Kingdom as 
protection against anyone who might deny his nephews rights. Sadly the old 
king of The Northern Kingdom was too ill to attend the audience with the 
Siamese messenger so he sent his son disguised as a court page to observe the 
audience and report all that happened to the king. 

The young prince was aware of the danger he and the nation faced. His father 
had hidden nothing from him. The prince knew that he faced a life of bondage 
under the ruthless control of the uncle he had heard so many terrible things 
about. He loved his country and its peaceful happy people. The thought of his 
beautiful country and her people under the terrible rule of King Rama, upset 
and angered the gentle young prince. The council audience his father had sent 
him to and the conversation with his father that followed the audience had 
plunged the prince into a mood of despair. His mood was not improved when the 
chamberlain gently informed him of his father's death a few hours after they 
last spoke. Now nothing and no one stood between the young king and his 
terrible uncle. 

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To be continued.....