The Tortoise in Asia Read Online Free PDF Page B

frivolous reason – building another palace while the country was being invaded! It was almost impossible to be civil to him. That such a man should be on the throne is a travesty. He himself should be there. The sense of injustice that he isn’t boils his heart, heats an anger that he can’t hold in. At the top of his voice, not caring who might hear, he shouts into the empty hall.
“Why, just because he’s king do I have to ignore his faults, suspend my judgement of his stupidity? Why do I have to extol virtues that don’t exist? No virtues whatever are there, none, none, none.”
    He leaves in a foul humour and rides immediately to the army which is encamped outside the city. After calling the senior officers together, he gruffly orders them to incorporate the reinforcements. They’ve seen him in bad moods before so say nothing and merely go off to carry out the command. Secretly he’s already made the selections, counting on getting the authority. Putting the finishing touches on that was the real reason why he was late for the conference.
    â§
    As soon as the new recruits are equipped, they link up with the main body. Fifteen thousand Parthians plus a few thousand allies begin the march towards Carrhae, a small town several days north east of the Euphrates as it approaches Armenia. It’s not far from the Road. There, he’ll wait for Crassus, for he’s sure the Roman general will continue his march east of the river. He has a plan to make certain of it.
    The troops make fast progress since they’re all skilled horsemen, trained to ride on the open grasslands since childhood, hardy and at one with their mounts. There’s no infantry to slow them down. He rides by himself, deep in thought, working out, rejecting, working out again surprises to spring on the enemy. This is the biggest challenge of his career; he must not fail. The whole nation’s survival rests on him, him alone, on his creativity, his ingenuity. To overcome this enemy, with its numerical superiority, he’s got to be unpredictable, even quirky. He’s up to it, no question – never known defeat. This will not be, determinably not be, the first one. Even so, though hard to admit and never to anyone else, the odds are against him.
    As he always does for his campaigns, he brings two hundred chariots filled with concubines. Special agents are charged with scouring the Empire for the prettiest. Freshness is assured by continual replacement. The current favourite is Daka, a sloe-eyed beauty from Tabriz
    Bringing so many on campaign is an indulgence politely ignored by the Supreme Magus and his entourage of priests which accompanies the army. The sacerdotal presence is required to convince the pious troops that Ahura Mazda is on their side. They need to be reminded that the single god is a far more powerful force than the disparate and often quarrelsome pantheon of the Romans. Besides, just before the battle, the priests will deliver the divine message that sacrifice of life in the name of the one true god will ensure a place in Paradise.
    Given the dire circumstances they’re in, the men can use a spiritual lift to animate to the fullest their natural desire to rid their homeland of the foreign infidels. These agents of the Evil One are reputed to be the best soldiers in the world; moreover they’re more numerous. They’ll test the power of Ahura Mazda as never before; it’ll be a primal contest between Light and Dark.
    At the end of the day’s march, which accomplished a good part of the distance to Carrhae, he calls Sillaces, his Second in Command, to the headquarters tent.
“Sillaces, here’s the strategy. After we deploy the secret weapon, we’ll hit them with a punch from the cataphracts. The Romans aren’t used to heavy cavalry, probably never seen it before. Then we’ll follow up with the light horse archers.”
“Yes, my Lord. Their