The Four Hills Dam
Following the loss of government control in Southern Bhustan the Sindri Basin was used as a garison for government troops. Agricultural initiatives were started almost immediately after the rebellion, within three years the area could hold the entire Bhustani army and several large mercenary companies. Over 10,000 troops were massed, and Southern Bhustan began to be brought back under government control despite an unprecedented alliance between the local warlords.
The eventual countermeasure for this was the construction of the Four Hills Dam to create a reservoir instead of a river. A temporary pile of stones was used at first, followed by a largely careless pouring of massive amounts of concrete. It was a haphazard job, but it was enough to cause the Sindri Basin to dry up.
Massive food imports to the area were initiated, both from other areas in Bhustan and from Calum and Esheni. However this was untenable logistically, as both imports and protection of convoys drained Bhustan economically. Ultimately the Sindri Basin garrison dwindled to about 1,200 troops, and all territory that had been reclaimed was lost.
Breaking of the Four Hills Dam
The eventual counter strategy to the Four HIlls Dam was extremely simple. A small strikeforce including several alchemists specializing in explosives was sent to destroy it. At the same time, mortar fire was begun en mass upon the border as a distraction. The alchemists on the strikeforce destroyed the dam by transmuting all the sand in the concrete into lithium, and lighting the resulting hydrogen. This led to a massive flood, which would have heavily damaged the Sindri Basin even had it been much the same as before the dam was erected.
As it was, the Sindri River had been mostly filled in by sand during numerous sand storms. The initial flood flattened the area where the Sindri River once was, and gradual snowmelt led to the essential eradication of civilization, due to the destruction of essential buildings connected to trade and what little agriculture was left. All troops were removed, and the nomads who considered this area the closest thing they had to a homeland all had to change their routines.
This led to a government cover up. The strike force was detained, the officers controlling them bribed or disposed of, and all documentation burnt. The story sold to the public was an attempt to recreate the river then break the dam, cut off by Southern Bhustani militaries that destroyed the dam prematurely. The strike force was rebranded as an elite troop that failed to intercept the dam breakers, and eventually deported to Aij with a large bribe to keep them there. Moreover, border security to Southern Bhustan was tightened, and funds sent to Kailla to do the same.
Nar Mirri
One of the largest holes in the coverup was a man by the name of Nar Mirri. He was among the oasis nobles that financed and knew about the operation, and was bribed heavily instead of executed. He was extremely sympathetic to the nomads, and always had been, and attempted to release the information. A crackdown managed to prevent that, but Nar MIrri gained a reputation as one who knew what really happened to the Sindri Basin, including an attempted assassination of Nar Mirri.
He managed to escape through one of the most reckless actions ever taken. He disguised himself as a nomad, and snuck into Southern Bhustan. He was deemed for execution by treason if ever found, a large bounty was placed on his head, and his location was revealed to facilitate the story, claiming that he defected. For years, this was enough to keep the secret.
Order of the White Star
Eventually it was an independant mercenary group that broke the secret. A group of Sindri caravan guards and a handful of wayfarers formed a group of alleged mercenaries called the Order of the White Star. They were given clearance to pass into Sourthern Bhustan on the promise that they would destroy at least one of the local warlords. Their actual objective was to find Nar Mirri and discover what happened.
As it happened, both of these measures succeeded. A pair of warlords were captured, both of which had hired the mercenaries to assassinate the other. They were brought to Kailla, circumventing Bhustani plans to execute the Order of the White Star upon their return, the order was disbanded, and the people in it spread the word of what actually happened to the Four Hills Dam.
Storming of Seimul
Following the break of the secret, a massive mob of nomads camped outside Seimul was stirred up by a handful of firebrands. They stormed the capital, attempting to bring the king to justice. The scant handful of troops in the city supplemented the guard, but the mob forced them back constantly. Eventually the fight progressed to the outside of the palace, and eventually even the place itself was stormed. King Abdul Shien II was forced to flee, and escaped wounded.
The city was claimed from a dispersed mob later, through some of the most brutal tactics seen in the kingdom. An evacuation of the city was ordered, leading to the fleeing of most everyone except the occupying force that had formed out of the mob. Seimul was then covered in poison gas for well over a week, and troops were sent in shortly after poison gas was no longer sent in and had mostly dispersed. After several short stints of brutal fighting the city was retaken.