Gandhi Kahn the Wise

[bassman]

From the Big Book of Indian War Stories, Volume Three

[B] Aftermath [lB]
Every shooting pain made Mahavir angrier. Damn the Generals! Why hadn't they left a bigger force garrisoned in Lisht?

The battalion medics had claimed that his shoulder would heal with time, and, at any rate, they said, the wound would not prevent his marching. That had proved true while they were on the wide, even road to Giza, but the soldiers had spent the last weeks returning to Lisht, marching again in the mountains. Every second or third step, his shoulder had reminded him that it was unhappy. Now it throbbed full time.

Mahavir knew he wasn't the only soldier angry. They had all heard about the spoils being enjoyed by the battalions that had taken Alexandria, and had anticipated the gains to be made in taking Giza. Lisht was a backwater town, albeit an important one because of the iron deposits in the foothills, and had already been taken once. There wouldn't be much to gain for the soldiers, but there was much to lose. Mahavir tried to remind himself that the spoils of Alexandria were only being enjoyed by those that survived, for that city had been almost three times the size of Lisht, and had enjoyed sturdy city walls and a substantial garrison. Some of his contemporaries had not left the battlefields outside Alexandria.

For that matter, retaking Lisht might not be as easy as the last time, in spite of the reduced city size. The scuttlebutt in the ranks was that the Egyptians had developed pikemen now that they again had access to iron. From his experience with Indian pikemen during training, he knew they were much harder to defeat than mere spearmen. No one in his battalion was eager to resume the battle at Lisht.

The generals were wary, too. Rather than plunge directly into Lisht upon arrival, as they had previously, they had ordered the battalions to bivouac for the night.

The order for the assault rose with the dawn.

Once again, Mahavir raced for the half-finished walls, although much slower than his first time into Lisht. The insistent pain in his shoulder kept his running to about three-quarter-speed. Almost all of his company quickly pulled well ahead of him.

Suddenly, the ache in his shoulder was forgotten, replaced by one more extreme in his hip. He looked in astonishment at the shaft that centered a blossoming red pool on his right side.

"Skanda damn all archers to Nerg," he yelled, as he fell.

Then all was black.

-----------------------------------

He awoke to the sound of many groans and curses. A ceiling was over him, dimly lit by candlelight. Prajeet's head suddenly hovered into view over him.

"Welcome back to the living," said Prajeet, "or at least, to the land of the wounded."

"How long..." he said, trying to rise, but falling back with a groan.

"Several hours," said Prajeet. "It was a tough fight."

"We won?" asked Mahavir.

"Yes, but there are many who will never fight again."

"Damned archers"

Prajeet grinned. "Their aim is good when their target is slow."

"Or my luck just ran out," chuckled Mahavir.

"Your luck holds," said Prajeet. "You live. And more, the medic say you'll never march again with that hole in your hip."

"Well, that's something."

After a pause, Mahavir asked, "Narhari?"

"Alive. Battalion commander Dhirendra is dead, though.

"Damn!"

"The rumors were right. They had pikemen. Their pikes were two riyans long and they packed in shoulder to shoulder. We finally won out by attacking with two swords each - one to chop at the pike, and another to battle the pikemen and their close-combat axes. Even then, it cost a third our number to defeat them."

"But rest now, " continued Prajeet. "We will be garrisoned here for a while. The generals have learned they cannot just conquer and move on. After you recover, you'll have to find a new profession. You'll never again be quick enough to wield a sword." He laughed. "Perhaps you will become an archer."

But his teasing was in vain, for Mahavir was already asleep.

Tomorrow: More Gandhi memoirs - negotiations...

[bassman]

Gandhi Memoirs - Negotiations

"I feel my reputation as a conqueror is exaggerated by historians. Over the ages, all I desired was room for my India to grow. Others civilizations just kept getting in the way."
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Chronicles of Gandhi Kahn the Wise

The unannounced appearance of the Egyptian peace negotiators at my war palace had been a surprise to everyone but me. I knew it was only a matter of time before Cleo came crawling. No empire can survive while hemorrhaging cities at such a heavy rate.

The negotiators were much more submissive than they had been during the last peace talks. While their low opinion of our culture led to a pompous, overbearing attitude, our continuing success at war had deflated much of their arrogance.

The chief Egyptian negotiator was a particularly oily sort of man. I appreciated the bald look of the Egyptians, but their attempt to cover their pates with braided hair was simply absurd. Part of the 'high culture' I keep hearing about, I suppose. He practically drooled on his robe, trying to keep his head bowed while making Egypt's offer.

"Our great leader, Cleopatra, has authorized us to offer peace at any price."

"Look," I explained patiently, "this entire war has been your idea. We had barely eliminated the Chinese threat when your precious Cleopatra started parading her troops on the border in those ridiculous war chariots. We didn't push you into war, we sure didn't force the continuation of the war, but by the many arms of Vishnu, we intend to finish it."

"Egypt did not desire war, either. We were merely transferring troops to Busiris, Athribis, and Avaris."

"You know," I said, feigning concentration, "in looking back, we were bound for war, cuddling up around your borders on the west and south like that. You had nowhere else to go but through us. I suppose Cleo wanted a corridor to connect Egypt on our north side to your three cities to our south."

"Exactly!"

"Declaring war on India wasn't a smart way to go about it, though," I growled.

"It was just a transfer."

"So you claimed, but there were plenty of alternatives to pushing the troops through our sovereign territory unannounced," I said, ticking off the points on my fingers. "You could have requested a Right of Passage. No request was made. You could have shipped the troops by sea. You made no effort. You could have complied when we requested removal of your troops. Instead, the so-called 'transfer' troops had all the equipment necessary to immediately lay siege to Bangalore. Only one response was possible."

"Regardless of who started the war, we wish now to end it.

"You didn't feel that way during our first attempt at negotiations. Cleo refused to treat with my envoys."

"Egyptian hopes were buoyed by seeing Lisht and Alexandria change hands several times," he replied.

"Even after we took Lisht, and Alexandria for the final time, and Busiris, Avaris, and Hierconpolis, when Cleo finally cried for peace, she refused to grant any concessions. She even convinced the Japanese to join the war against us."

"Yes, yes, we know all that! Now that you have taken Thebes and so many other cities, we beg for peace and offer any concession you ask."

"Any?" I said, seeing the opening I wanted.

"Yes, any."

"Then I require justice over Egypt's main war criminal. I demand Cleopatra's death."

One of the Egyptian attendants gasped.

I continued. "You can behead her, drown her, poison her - entomb her alive for all I care, but she must be dead before I agree to terms."

The chief negotiator sputtered, "That is not a concession. That is an impossibility!"

"You are in a poor position to refuse. Our new war elephants are an awesome sight, and nothing you can put up for defense will hold against them. How many Egyptian cities must become Indian before you give in?"

"We offer you more cities, without the shedding of Indian blood. We offer money from our treasury, as much as you require. We offer any technological research we may have recently completed, or may discover in the future. But to betray Cleopatra would be to betray our own selves. We cannot give you that."

"You do not understand my problem," I said, signaling for the guards. "You offer concessions too late in the war. Your Egyptian civilization enjoys a great advantage over India in cultural achievements. This creates envy and encourages revolt since so many of India's newly acquired Egyptian cities are as large as my greatest city, Delhi, the First City of India. Therefore, I have only one chance of preventing the citizens of your former cities from hoping for a return to the Egyptian Empire. I must eliminate that empire."

As the protesting Egyptians were dragged out, I turned to Devon for a private conversation.

"Where is Cleo now?"

"My intelligence operatives believe she is in a frozen northern hamlet called Asyut. There is no Egyptian town farther from the front."

"Make sure Cleo is eliminated and that her predictions of future glory die with her."

"It shall be done as you command." He grinned, "Bet Miss Cleo's soothsayers weren't able to see the future on that!"

"You, my military friend, have a wicked sense of humor."

He turned to go, but I stopped him. "I don't want a repeat of the Chinese incident," I muttered.

"That came to nothing," replied Devon, coloring slightly, as he was forever embarrassed by his previous lack of foresight. "Yes, Mao escaped with a settler and a single squad of spearmen, but the subsequent city was obliterated by Japanese troops so quickly I don't think it ever had a name."

"Even so," I said, "public opinion fell while we sought a quick end to the war. Chinese hopes remained high while that colonization force existed. If extermination had been completed earlier, we would have been even better prepared for Egypt. No Egyptians may be allowed to escape. Either they become Indian or they die."

"As you command, O Mahatma. Namaskar."

Tomorrow: back to the war stories - Asuyt...

[ChrisiusMaximus]

That last chapter was brilliant,I'll nominate this for the contest when you finish or sooner if you like.

[bassman]

Thanks for the praise, Chrisius Maximus. I would love to be nominated, but let's wait for the end of the story.

So far, the Indians have only faced down the Chinese and Egyptians. There are still the Japanese, Persians and Russians to go. Plus, War Elephants!

[bassman]

From the Big Book of Indian War Stories, Volume Three

Asuyt

Vidyacharan hated this duty. This was not the reason he'd joined the Indian Army.

Being posted in the frozen northland was bad enough, but his father's tales of army life had prepared him for that possibility. What he hadn't expected was being assigned to search scared, hungry refugees for contraband. Most were afraid and nervous, having from childhood been stuffed with exaggerated stories of Indian atrocities. Some were belligerent over the delay. A few were downright dangerous.

Manning the checkpoint was a difficult and hazardous job. Difficult, because honest citizens were justifiably exasperated when their business was held up in a fruitless examination of their goods. Hazardous, because sometimes the refugees were actually members of the extensive network of Egyptian guerilla forces that shared weapons and information, and who continually fomented revolt in former Egyptian cities. Vidyacharan wasn't sure which was harder, quashing the rebellions in the cities or catching the saboteurs between them.

Any border guard had to be equal parts counselor, diplomat, counter-terrorism expert and self-entertainer, to deal with the frightened refugees, exasperated businessmen, determined terrorists, and extreme boredom that constituted the job.

Boredom was not a problem today. The backup leaving Asuyt already reached well over fifty people, with more approaching. Vidyacharan guessed that the dice game would not resume until late in the afternoon, which was unfortunate, since he had already collected a pile of sungas from last night's gaming.

He was experiencing a dilemma over the current detainee. This Egyptian would be especially hard to process. Examining all twenty-seven rolls of carpet in the cart could take well over an hour, delaying those behind. The sooner he could get the dealer processed, and those behind him, the sooner he could return to fleecing the other border guards, at least, while his luck held. The rug dealer was urging him to just wave through the cart after a quick examination.

On the other hand, the carpets were the ideal length to hide the long-handled pikes now being used by the Egyptians. His Captain would have his head if any of the new weapons were found to have come through his checkpoint. Moreover, some of his friends had been wounded or killed by Egyptian pikemen. He didn't want any more of the deadly weapons to get through the cordon.

Discipline and professional pride won out over expediency and avarice. "Sorry, folks," he said, turning to the long line, "we'll have to go through them all."

The crowd groaned as he motioned for the first rug to be pulled off the stack in the dealer's cart. Each one would be unrolled in its turn for examination.

"Look out!" shouted Yashwant.

Vidyacharan turned towards the warning, which saved his life. The rug dealer's dagger entered the lacing joint of his leather body armor at an angle that blunted the thrust. The tip sliced into his skin, but his turn prevented it from digging in deeply enough to penetrate a vital organ.

Vidyacharan continued to turn, bringing his left elbow quickly up and back to hit the assassin in the head, his other hand grasping for the hilt of his sword. Still turning, he pulled the sword free of its scabbard, reversed the arc of the blade, and sliced deep into the rug dealer's upper arm. As the Egyptian howled in pain, Vidyacharan dragged the blade back towards him, then thrust it deep into the Egyptian's ample gut. The man mustered the strength to spit at Vidyacharan before he collapsed to his knees and then his face.

Vidyacharan turned back to his comrades to find them dispatching several other ersatz 'merchants.' One had gotten the better of Gopan and was attempting to mount the rug-dealer's cart. Vidyacharan sliced a head blow at the Egyptian, at the same time grabbing for the horse's bridle with his free hand. The Egyptian ducked the blow, but could not fend off the backstroke, which knocked him from the cart. As soon as he hit the ground, Yashwant was there to skewer him with a spear.

The battle was quickly over, and only a few of the refugees remained, the others having melted into the scenery, perhaps fearing Indian retaliation. Vidyacharan caught his breath, then called to his comrades, "Let's find out what they were hiding."

The twentieth rug off the cart was heavier than the rest and unrolled to reveal not a cache of contraband weapons, but a very attractive Egyptian woman.

A gasp from the few remaining Egyptians told Vidyacharan all he needed to know.

"Get those people out of here!" he yelled to the other soldiers.

As the spectators were being shooed away, he helped the woman to rise and escorted her to the guard quarters. He found it difficult to watch his step, because his eyes continually strayed to the shapely body next to him, barely concealed and sometimes tantalizingly revealed by her diaphanous costume.

Vidyacharan was sad that the duty had fallen to him, but the orders were clear: if found, Cleopatra was to be beheaded. He was saved from the dirty business when she collapsed after 40 steps. The deadly asp slithered away from the body, leaving him to wonder where she had concealed it.

After a few moments contemplation, he decided to roll up the body in the carpet that had transported the late queen. As he worked, he suddenly realized that the death of the Egyptian queen would mean the end of her Empire, and the collapse of the insurgent network. That would spell the end of his guard duty here in the frozen northland and a change in assignment.

"I'd better start learning Japanese," he muttered.

Tomorrow: Osaka...

[bassman]

Please accept my sincere apologies for not meeting the deadline for today's episode. Personal matters have interrupted my research of elephant warfare. With a bit of luck, tomorrow I will be able to post a somewhat accurate and hopefully exciting account of the assault on Osaka, as India continues to aggressively defend itself against continental rivals.

[dnassman]

I have to congratulate you on a great story bassman. I read it in one attempt and it was excellent. Hope you keep going.

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Here here one of the best Ive read!

[bassman]

Thanks. Hope today's episode was worth the wait.

[bassman]

From the Big Book of Indian War Stories, Volume Three

Osaka

Although he would never admit it to a living soul, Mahavir was almost - almost - thankful to the Egyptian archer that had nailed him in the hip. Archers were still high on his 'disgust' list, but marching had been there also.

When he had been a swordsman, marching had been a tedious means of getting to the end - fighting. Marching on roads or over level terrain had been strenuous, at best. Marching in the mountains had been exhausting. He had heard tales of marching in the cold and snow of the northlands, of how the snow clutched at your feet and the icy wind tugged the breath out of your mouth. He was glad to have avoided that campaign.

Marching in the jungle, though, was the worst experience of all, or so he was told. The heat and humidity quickly sucked energy out the marchers, requiring frequent stops. Struggling through the overgrowth was tiring, dirty job.

Mahavir's uncharacteristically kind thoughts towards archers came as he rolled gently over the tangled growth as on a ship rolling gently on the ocean. Since his reclassification out of the ranks of swordsmen, he had received extensive training in the care and driving of war elephants, India's latest weapon. [Ed.: I know, I know - swordsmen don't upgrade to war elephants in Civ III. Chalk it up to dramatic license!] As a mahout, his longest march of the day had been the twenty paces to his elephant.

Being above the undergrowth, he avoided the tedious struggle through it. Gajanana, his elephant, could push through all but the most tangled growth. Also, his perch on Gajanana's neck was high above the ground level where the elephant dung ended up. From his tending of Gajanana, he knew how massive and smelly that could be. Many of his former comrades from the swordsmen ranks had commented on the odor.

In fact, the only thing that bothered him about his new occupation was having to consort with Indian archers. The wooden howdah strapped to Gajanana's massive back could carry four soldiers with missile weapons. Usually, that consisted of two javelin throwers and two archers.

Still, he couldn't let his prejudices get in the way of his job. Maybe the archers would prove useful.

As he guided Gajanana through the jungle, they came to edge of the clearing that marked the outer reaches of Osaka. Their target was a mere town, surrounded by jungle. There was evidence of recent work towards clearing the jungle growth, but all the workers had fled for the relative protection of the town.

The Japanese spearmen had set up a defensive line at the outskirts of the town, and even from this distance, Mahavir could see the line waver at the sight of the war elephants ranged against it.

At the command from his commander, he and the others in his company goaded their war elephants forward at a smooth, easy pace. Some mahouts urged their elephants to trumpet through their trunks, an impressive cry. The Japanese horsemen, ranged in front of the line to attack the Indian foot soldiers, had trouble controlling their mounts. Several of the frightened horses broke and ran, one dragging its rider beside it, his foot stuck in the panicking horse's stirrup. Some of the Japanese spearmen on the flanks were already beginning to melt away.

The Indian archers enjoyed a height (and hence, distance) advantage over their Japanese counterparts and began to rain down arrows on the hapless defenders, especially the Japanese archers supporting the spearmen. The ranks of the defenders were thinning quickly, with only a few returning shafts coming remotely close to their marks.

As they closed the distance to the Japanese forces, Mahavir grinned. This would be an easy fight. He loosened the guard on the sheath concealed in Gajanana's barding; on his command, the elephant grasped the specially designed hilt of a gigantic sword and drew it forth. The huge blade made a singing metallic sound as it emerged from under the plate-and-fiber armor.

The sound riveted the attention of the Japanese soldiers upon whom Gajanana was rapidly bearing down. Gajanana began rhythmically waving the sword back and forth, back and forth. The center of the line gave way, those in front scrambling to crawl over those behind. The javelin throwers were finding easy marks in the terrified and fleeing spearmen. The archers, having run out of Japanese archers to target, had begun to concentrate on the remaining soldiers.

A few brave Japanese horsemen had managed to control their mounts and attempted to dash in to attack the elephants in their unprotected bellies, but Indian swordsmen quickly cut them down.

In less than an hour, the Indian standard was raised above Osaka's town center, and the captured workers were returned to clearing jungle.

Mahavir was tending to a slight arrow wound in Gajanana's hide when Narhari hailed him.

"Ho, Mahavir," he called, "How was battle from an elephant's back?"

"Magnificent," grinned Mahavir. "Not a scratch. I though the Japanese were a military race."

Narhari laughed. "They are. This is just an outpost. They'll figure out how to defend against elephants soon enough, then you'll see."

"When we hit Kyoto, there will just be more of them to run."

"Perhaps," said Narhari, thoughtfully. After a pause, he continued, "Join us for our meal. Prajeet asks after you."

"Sorry, I can't. Less work in battle means more work between."

"Ah, then, some later time. Namaskar, Corporal Ibhanan."

Preoccupied with the wound, it took a few minutes for the meaning of the farewell to sink in. Ibhanan meant "Elephant Face!"

Mahavir finished his treatment, then goaded Gajanana forward.

"Let's go visit Nahari's tent," he said with a chuckle. "I have a job for you to do."

Tomorrow: Edo

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Glad to see the next part up but Ive got to go to work now so Ill read this later and post then.

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Once again fantastic, well worth the wait, keep it coming.

[bassman]

From the Big Book of Indian War Stories, Volume Four

Edo
The trumpeting of the elephants broke Xiao's concentration and the four knives he had been juggling clattered to the ground around him. No one booed, as they had early in his career as an entertainer. All attention was locked on the threat building at the edge of Edo.

There was no point in continuing his act. The meager crowd was melting away, drawn by curiosity to the scene of the impending battle. Being an entertainer was a tough living, in some ways harder than being a worker, but at least he was his own boss. He packed up his equipment and followed the crowd toward the jungle.

By the time he reached the city outskirts, he could not see through the thick crowd. He dropped the handles of his prop cart and climbed atop it for a better view.

The Indians were still arranging their forces around the city. War elephants, each with a driver behind the head and a tall wooden howdah strapped on its back, stood every 40 feet or so, with pikemen and swordsmen drawing up ranks between. That seemed to verify the buzz Xiao had heard about the effect elephants had on horses. If horses wouldn't come close to an elephant unless they had been specially trained, the well-spaced picket of pachyderms made an effective screen. Looking at the skittish Japanese horse squadron, Xiao didn't think the defending horsemen would have much influence on the battle.

A murmur went through the crowd as the Indian line began its advance. The elephants trumpeted again and again, causing two Japanese horses to rear in fright. Both dumped their riders and raced towards the crowd, shying away at the last moment and plunging into the jungle south of the city.

In the confusion, a small dog had escaped from the crowd. Why would people bring pets to a battle, thought Xiao, forgetting the folly of bringing one's self. He watched as a small girl, the pet's owner, was restrained by her parents. The dog she was desperate to retrieve was one of those wiry little terriers so popular in the city for their ability to catch rodents. Xiao had thought the breed smart and fearless, but this one appeared a bit too brave, or not very smart. It was attacking one of the war elephants, apparently trying to protect its young owner.

The elephant, which should have been able to squish the pint-size mutt with one huge paw, was becoming very disturbed by the small, active creature that darted in and out of its legs. The cheers of the crowd grew as the barking champion evaded the elephant and the Indian warriors who scurried to trap it. The elephant added to the drama by continually trumpeting and shifting from foot to foot trying to avoid the brave little dog.

Suddenly, the elephant turned back into the Indian line and bulled into it at full speed. The warriors in its howdah were hanging on for their lives, and Indian spearmen and swordsmen were being crushed by the elephant's mad dash for freedom. The elephant's mahout had been one of the first soldiers killed in the rampage.

A huge cheer rose from Edo's citizens as the hole in the Indian line widened. The Japanese horsemen still in control of their mounts pressed forward to exploit the crumbling line, and the foot forces fell in behind.

The Indian forces were scrabbling to plug the opening in their line as the Japanese horsemen plunged into it, using their lances on the attack. The horsemen's number was thinning, though, as Indian javelin throwers and archers found their range. The Japanese swordsmen and spearmen were severely outmatched by the Indian pikemen that flowed in to stop the gap in the line. The tide of battle was quickly turning.

The Japanese force, realizing its peril, began falling back, but it was too late. The Indian center fell on them in earnest, while the wings of the force advanced on the city.

In horror, the crowd abruptly realized its own danger and surged back towards the safety of their homes. Xiao was trapped atop his relatively stable cart. He realized that stepping down into the fleeing crowd would only result in a crushing death beneath the rabble's feet. Occasionally, someone would smash into his cart, which would cause it to pitch and scrape for a few feet along the wall of the building. He decided that as long as he could maintain his balance, he would be all right.

The last of the crowd was followed closely by the advancing war elephants and pikemen. Xiao clung closely to the building, trying to blend into its rough surface. A few Indians looked his way, but seeing his lack of arms, they turned back towards the city center, eager to begin looting, no doubt. A few looked at his precarious perch and smirked.

Finally, the stream of citizens and soldiers fell to a light trickle and he climbed down from the cart.

"You, there!" hollered someone.

Xiao turned to find himself face to face, or rather head to eye, with a huge elephant. For a moment, he thought the animal itself had called to him, until the mahout cried out again, "You, there!"

"Yes?" said Xiao, "what do you want?"

"Can you use those knives?" said the mahout, pointing to the glossy sign on the cart's side which advertised him as 'The Great Xiao'.

"I've had some experience," said Xiao, warily.

"Great!" said the mahout. "I lost my charkattas when that elephant ran amok. You just changed professions."

"I don't understand."

"I need a grass-cutter. You're it!"

"Do I have a choice?" asked Xiao.

"None," said the mahout, grinning.

"Well," said Xiao with a shrug, "so much for show biz."

[bassman]

Tomorrow: Tokyo...

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Well never mind I thought Xiao might become a Samurai but it was not to be,my what an interesting career path hes had,you could write another story based on his autobiography.Anyways on with the story Im thinking the little dog thing will prove to be significant later but I was wrong about our Xiao.