Gen's planning

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

I recently re-read the King of Attolia. I had to limit the number of books I could bring on this long family trip I'm on... so of course I ran out of books three and a half weeks into the five week trip. KoA was the last one I read, so I tried to stretch it out by thinking about it alot. One of the main questions I found myself asking myself is, which parts did Gen plan, and which did he merely take advantage of when they came? How much of it was he making up as he went? (Has this been discussed before?)

For example, at the end he tells us he was baiting Costis when Costis hit him. But did he actually know that Costis would lose it enough to punch the king in the face? Was Gen just testing Costis to see his reaction and ended up getting punched and using what happened to benefit him afterward or...?

I'm interested in your thoughts. :)