Zebrican Warlord

by Arelak

Chapter 60: Planning

Slowly surveying the neatly organized military camp which was nestled inside the low ridges forming a perfect screen against prying eyes, Halim gazed out counting the sections and tallying the numbers. In his left hand a parchment on the current force numbers were clearly written but he wanted to be certain of more than just the troops at his command. Arriving in the early morning hours before the sun had risen his entourage had taken up residence in the larger tents provided which served as his headquarters until the campaign began anew, but there was so much more to do and so little time left. Supplies were being brought in on the backs of the soldiers, while the normal logistical train that accompanied his forces hid during the day and traveled at night along marked corridors while the moon was still full.

The soldiers had to eat at least twice a day while sitting in garrison, immobile and quiet. This meant a constant supply of food was needed and that had already been accomplished by using fake trade caravans following a shorter secondary road, a small detail largely forgotten or ignored by all but his father and himself. It was a simple but useful route that few used during times of trouble, yet now that the cessation of hostilities was in effect it looked from an outwards appearance that trade had picked up again. Such was far from the truth however, the wagons were exclusively military wagons while the real merchants were far to busy scurrying along the direct route from Paje to Enuba as it was the most secure. It had been quite true a week ago, the main road was indeed the safest route but his striped mercenaries from the south had made short work of any rebels and bandits who hid in the ridges while acting as the perfect screen against prying eyes. From the view of an outside observer bandits still roamed free.

Getting the troops in had taken some effort but his fathers plan had worked with perfect precision, a testament to his skill's in planning both long and short campaigns. Bwani had once maintained a series of watch towers along their North Eastern border but as decades passes and their only purpose was to draw bandits, the towers were abandoned one by one until finally the trade road was hardly used. Not that it was anyway, and their north easterly neighbors had never shown any interest in them nor conducting trade. Being cost prohibitive the system had finally been abandoned entirely, quickly fallen into disrepair and was now nothing more than a series of ramshackle, rotten or collapsed timbers or overgrown paths.

Which made it perfect for moving his forces to within a few mere days march of Bwani, they enjoyed the luxury of sitting just outside both Enuba and Bwani's normal patrol routes as Enuba had given up the region some time ago. Instead, it now fell to various petty chieftains who had in turn abandoned it to the bandits after battling each other to a bloody standstill, but now it was claimed by Halim as his corridor of attack. Any fool could see a military build up at Paje and while the road between Paje and Bwani was good it would also alert his enemy long before he arrived at the first fortified town or fortress. What was to come would not be a campaign of seizing ground, consolidation and then moving to the next bigger target but this time it was running in reverse. The gem was to be seized first and the rest would fall as they marched home in a reverse conquest.

There was no need nor reason to draw things out, no need for posturing along the borders with armies and fortifications which was exactly what they expected. No, this was to be a swift, bloody stroke to their unprotected belly that had been utterly ignored for far too long. Bwani had enjoyed being at peace with their northern neighbors for far too long and focused all their attention on one single strip of border: his fathers.

Halim blinked slowly and walked into his tent, laid down the paper and after taking a seat looked at the map. Peace made everyone soft and forgetful as eyes would always turn to the biggest and loudest enemy while ignoring the rest who remained quiet. His own kingdom was the loudest and so Bwani focused every moment of their attention on the border but in so doing had given them an excellent opportunity. They had wrongfully assumed that all attacks would come along the same stretch and not from a completely different direction, after all moving an army, equipment and supplies would be obvious assuming one marched the army at all. After all, to attack from anywhere else was to leave ones supply lines far behind, risk being surrounded, cut off and also draw the ire of all those in the area. Normally that would be true, but no longer.

What had been long planned was the opposite of expectations. His last campaign was merely to keep their attention drawn to the border and thus keep those prying eyes set in place so the army could funnel forces secretly to a new location. A terrible gamble some would say, by breaking ones forces up and moving them piecemeal it invited disaster as the enemy could fall upon them and destroy them in detail. But only if the enemy knew to look for them, every night the soldiers marched and during the day hunkered down and slept on the open ground without fires nor protection. Heavier equipment was put onto the wagons masked as merchants and moved normally but the real danger was the heavy infantry he had brought in with him on the last march.

Four columns had been needed in order to mask the movements properly and the full moon had remained long enough to pull it off before slipping once more into darkness. Rationing was in full effect to preserve the bulk of their supplies, constant mercenary patrols made it appear as if the bandits were still operating while in reality keeping questioning eyes away, few fires were kept and those fires prepared food on a far larger scale than normal. At night no fires were permitted save what they had found when the bandits had been cleared out, everything was normal, everything was fine. All was normal.

Meanwhile the last siege equipment had been brought in for the siege of Bwani and had long been broken down and packed up, and it would take mere hours to assemble it upon arrival. If the time table was kept to they could lay siege on the same day of their arrival and perhaps even storm the city before nightfall. However, he was somewhat dubious about this particular part of the plan. After all, anything could happen along the march even though they had long since set about quietly cleaning up the long abandoned supply road that had once kept the border guards fed.

Halim sat quietly a moment as his staff officers waited quietly to one side and satisfied that the camp preparations had been met he reached out and drew the latest report on Sibusiso closer. Unrolling it and glancing over the paper one more time he shifted his eyes to the map laid out before him. Originally, his father had planned on Sibusiso being at least half intelligent and dispatching his raiders just prior to the harvest season, this would give them time to travel, raid and also a means of living off the land. However, the glorious and most blessed king had instead passed it off to his son, Isibuso; who had an entirely different perspective on how the raid should be handled.

Gone was any logic from their already ill conceived plan but instead they had delivered a new opportunity to him, one that had nagged both his father and himself: If an early harvest occurred there was a good chance a long siege might be required should the opening objectives not be met. Their enemy could barricade themselves and try to hold out just a little while longer as their army marched to their aid. However, by attacking far too early it meant this was now an impossibility. No crops would be ripe and the city would be running low on its already sparse supply, even now one of his fathers spies kept track of their granaries and things were already being cleared out in anticipation of the coming, though still wayward, harvest. They had counted their chickens before they hatched.

He would be besieging a city that had already run low on food, was in the process of selling off the old stock save a handful that were kept for "emergencies," which actually meant feeding the nobles and a handful of city guards. Meanwhile their army would be racing desperately across the countryside to beat off a "full scale invasion" by Sibusiso which was actually just a passing raid with too great a number involved. The hilarity would be that a diplomat would most likely be in Paje arguing with one of his fathers ambassadors about their invasion, but it was not they who were invading. Sibusiso was not one of theirs and neither were his mercenary forces, to back this up would be the complete and utter lack of military buildup on their part along their south eastern border giving credence to this. But, when the army fell upon Bwani it would be timed with the second month of the expiration of duly signed cessation of hostilities that had ended the fighting months ago.

It was complete and utter insanity now.

Still, this meant that once the city fell all the crops would now fall directly into his hands and no one else's. Such a boon would mean the logistical lines that had to swing wide and far would be removed entirely as the city and its new garrison became both storehouse and launching point for the next phase of his campaign. Sibusiso's marauding mercenaries would serve their purpose one way or another and those he had brought with him theirs.

His eyes looked up as the tent flaps opened and a shaggily dressed mare entered with two accompanying guards, all eyes turned to her as she quickly bowed and held out an envelope. Halim looked at her and the note carefully before motioning to a guard to bring it to him, and after receiving it he looked at the wax sealed and blank exterior with narrowed, suspicious eyes.

"Who is this from and whom are you? I know the faces of all the couriers and you are not one of them." Taking another look at the paper he glared wondering how she got past the patrols without proper markings for a courier.

Slowly lifting a hand and reaching down into her sweat soaked tunic the mare removed a crude string and held up a small signet. Watching her carefully Halim nodded to one of his officers who removed it and examined it before nodding.

"Is that how you got past the patrols?"

"No my lord, I followed a small, dry creek bed that ran through some rather thick and... Brambly brush. The mercenaries seem none to keen on fighting their way through it to perform a proper patrol."

"You will show the captain here where this hole is. Captain, take a patrol and plug the hole, then find out who is responsible for leaving the gap open and deal with them."

Giving a quick bow the captain turned and the courier waited until he had departed. "The note is directly from the kings ambassador in Paje, he said it was most urgent. My signet proves who I am and the seal on the letter as well."

"Thank you, now go with the captain." Watching them depart as he took a quick glance at both before he unfolded the document and read it, a smile began creeping onto his face. "It would appear Isibuso is not only inept but also a talker and braggart. We now know not only the exact day he will set march but also the final route he has decided upon for both columns, and he will be joining the Sebanwi column apparently. And see that this signet is returned to the courier." Halim rolled the marking across the table before looking the message over once more.

The oldest of the staff officers gave a small nod before speaking. "Everything is prepared and ready for the march, the wagons are lined up and can be moved within the hour."

"Good, but we are not leaving so soon, I hope my small collection of hand picked mercenaries are doing better than the other ones who left the door open."

"We have mixed our patrols to keep others out but their laxity has grown unfortunately, as it stands we limit our own patrols to the inner perimeter while they control the outer layer."

"The mistake will be solved soon."

A younger mare raised her hand a little before speaking softly. "Is this why the bulk of them have been left behind?"

Halim looked over at her as did the others who glared but instead of glaring he nodded. "They would only get in my way here so it is better to leave them far away and forgotten till needed. It is of little surprise they are incapable of keeping secrets for long but the distance I am keeping them at is not insurmountable for them either." Tapping the marker where the mercenaries waited he then drew his finger across the map. "Even though they have very loose lips they make up for it with their incredible speed, ferocity and bravery in battle. They will act as the bulwark in keeping an eye out for the enemy armies return while the other chases ghosts."

"I do not trust them sire." The old stallion had cowed the younger officer down with a burning look before returning his attention to the map.

"Of course not and why should I trust them? However, they are still useful in certain... Capacities. As scouts, raiders, skirmishers and other trivial matters they are perfectly suited but not against our target. They have no ability to handle engineering, siege equipment, lack even the most basic understanding of walled fortifications save a palisade which is the best they have ever managed... No, it is better they stay out of our way, this is a battle for true soldiers and not light infantry. Their talents would be utterly wasted assaulting walls, they will remain on our flanks keeping interested parties at bay so we can do our job."

"There is no disrespect intended my prince as I have come to trust in your ability to command without reservations, but todays incident could happen again on a larger scale. I agree they are faster than any force I have ever seen on the march and brave but they are also... Disloyal fools. Their only interest is coin and should the danger outweigh the reward..."

"Which has been planned for, I only expect them to keep watch and not fight the battle on their own. I fully expect them to flee in droves from the returning army as it races to save their capital and our wayward mercenaries will provide the warning needed. A courier from within their ranks travels at more than twice the speed as one of our own and a reward given to whichever force spots the enemy army first and returns intact to our siege camp. They will then be sent out once more either with the whole of our my army to destroy them, but should that not be possible they will be joined with the rest and sent out merely to harass the enemy while denying a formal engagement. We are buying time, not battles."

"The rains may waylay them more than anything including us."

"That is a non-issue, our route will be unhindered by the weather. We need only set out and we will immediately command the high ground and march down and into our target area using the terrain to mask our movement."

"Flooding at the siege camp?"

"They enjoy neither moat nor river, the water which feeds the city is a collection of creeks, streams and wells. Flooding only affects the northwest side, outside of the city, and we are assaulting them from the east. There are a few bridges here and there which will be destroyed if need be but their destruction will only slow the enemy and not stop them, until then we will control them and isolate the city further but only temporarily."

"If the siege camp is not affected by drainage it must be at a higher elevation, most unlikely considering whoever built the city would have leveled the terrain and thus deny any advantage."

"Whoever founded the city either never got around to it or ignored the issue. There is a low running ridge to the eastern side and we will be camping there, it is also well within range for the catapults and provides a graceful, downward slope to move the battering rams and other equipment."

"Can we assume that a gate happens to be at the base of this slope?"

"You would be correct. The primary gate is on the south side of the city but secondary gates sit on the west and eastern sides, we will be breaking through the less defended and watched of the two." Halim unraveled a map of the city and pointed the gates out. "It also lacks a proper gatehouse and the walls are slightly lower."

"Very good my prince but what of the enemy?"

"Standard garrison of roughly one thousand at most, city guard, militia and not front line soldiers. Most of those are sent out on patrols along the roads so the actual garrison will be lower. At the moment the bulk of their army remains near the border in a blocking capacity while keeping an eye on Isibuso's host as it gathers, and now that I know the date of his departure and have a small idea of his route..." Halim picked up a few tokens and placed them on the map marking a path. "Isibusi will follow this route before branching off here, from there one column goes north east while the other travels due north with his own personal detachment of enforcers."

The officers gathered around the table to stare as Halim laid out a handful of differently colored tokens and continued. "Our enemy must then chase them along a smaller road that runs through the interior of their borders, it is an old military road granting them the ability to rapidly march from one end to the other without having to return here, to this fortified intersection."

Scratching the side of his face the eldest officer stared at the map before touching one point. "Would that not bring them dangerously close to us at some point?"

"It will but not before shifting them in the wrong direction for a few days or more. Once they realize their mistake and of course correct it, they must then take this road on the western border in order to double back. They will have passed over the last major road by at least a day so they will not be using it to march directly to us. Their arrival will happen here on the southern end of the city at the primary gate which is where they assume we will be, there are also two small bridges that allow them direct access over one dry riverbed and a wide, rocky creek. By destroying both, if they arrive ahead of schedule... We can slow their arrival by a day at best unless they leave their supplies behind."

"You mentioned the mercenaries acting as skirmishers for this..."

"Here." Halim put his finger on the map. "The bridge leads into a narrow valley with high ridges on both sides that will slow them and force their army to spread out in a longer column until they emerge, the road is of poor quality and severely rutted. At this point their supplies will have run out unless they seize from the locals which is what I expect them to do. This seizure if it goes according to my records, will grant a force of their size at least two more days if rationed carefully."

"It sounds like you are baiting the mercenaries with a promise of loot."

"Of course I am. Their supplies are merely bait on a hook and the terrain narrows in till it forms a dense scrub brush which is perfect for an ambush befitting their tactics. They have the speed to make it well ahead of them, array their forces and then lay in wait. Whatever force enters the valley will be assailed from both sides and forced to either retreat or deploy in full to do battle in order to drive out their assailant."

"How long will we have assuming they move as anticipated?"

"Five days."

"That is not long enough my prince..."

"Five days is the base I am operating with, anything beyond that will either subtract or add to my time table. Waylaying them will add a day, ambushing them here will add one day further assuming the mercenaries do not break and run. Should they take a detour, here, it will add another two days and force them to leave their wagons behind. Of course this assumes they travel at double their pace or better."

"What if Isibuso moves at full speed? Or dare I say... Meets an unfortunate end?"

"He is not smart enough and after reading this note he has no intention of traveling at a quickened pace, his mockery of a plan will keep them moving slow enough for the enemy to keep up and give a general pursuit. Should the prince die, the plan proceeds according to plan as the enemy will spend their time chasing down the scattered remnants. Though I would prefer it if he lived long enough to at least leave the region before dying."

"What if..." Halim looked up at the old stallion and narrowed his eyes to which the stallion raised his hands before tapping the southern road leading to Bwani. "What if, they decide to not give chase, the enemy is aware of the speed at which the mercenaries can move. They may just give up the region and move to fortify other positions elsewhere against incursion."

"Such has crossed my mind and should they stop at the main road and march north it cuts our time table in half. I am affording us five days to lay siege, seize the city and then move on. In truth my fathers plan dictated that we would have at least nine days before they turned around but I firmly believe we can do better under the circumstances. The forces outside are not green but hardened veterans who have experience in storming palisades and walls, they know how to march for a few days at at a double march. A trait they picked up from marching with our... "Allies." However, should we need to move at a faster rate of speed it is feasible to still seize the city and turn around in time. I remind you that the purpose of seizing the city is to remove their leadership and hamstring the army, without a capital to defend and their leaders slain they will lose heart and become more willing to persuasion. If nothing else the power vacuum will mean civil war as they fight over succession."

"You intend to force a surrender from their army?"

"When an army is commanded by nobles that are now without a city and under the jurisdiction of an enemy, who has proven their power by utterly defeating them several times, they are far more likely to surrender in the hopes of being granted clemency. They shall of course not ultimately accept, but their soldiers shall and those soldiers will serve as auxiliaries in future conflicts content in knowing their families are safe and that they shall be paid on time."

"Some will rebel."

"A few always will, however by keeping them paid, fed and well kept the likelihood of desertion becomes minimal. Those who are insistent will be dealt with properly by being rounded up by the mercenaries, tried and then hung for desertion in private and away from prying eyes. Seeing their former brethren hung by a foreigner will only spur them to rebellion, at least until power has once more been consolidated."

The officers gathered nodded as Halim beckoned them forward to look at the map of Bwani. Each would have a part to play in the siege. Their tasks would have to be accomplished quickly and without internal disruptions caused by confusion or lack of knowledge. However, as Halim began explaining the role each was to play he kept one detail from them: that his father had long put infiltrators in the city under the guise of traveling workers in the employ of merchants. Should the plan go well the gates would already be in their hands but if not then they never needed to know that. If too many hopes were placed on the infiltration teams then laxity may result, but by denying their existence greater speed would be at the forefront of all minds gathered for all anyone knew, they would only get one shot at this before it failed.

But Halim knew the truth and as he spoke that truth remained silent, that the first attempt would take place before the camp was prepared and the siege itself was the true plan B. One way or another, Bwani would fall within five days. In doing so he would not only expand the kingdom in the biggest leap ever conceived but also permanently cement his place as future king. Stopping himself he looked up from the table and out the open flaps of the tent to stare at the camp.

"Commander, have the wagons put on the road one day ahead of schedule as I have serious doubts as to whether or not Isibuso can keep track of his own time table let alone the time of day or week. It would be best if we were moving ahead of schedule just in case."

"At once my prince."