Parno's Gambit: The Black Sheep of Soulan: Book 3

by N. C. Reed

  “We are going to have to detail at least one division into the central highlands north of the Cumberland, however,” he mused. “To guard against an incursion by Imperials by boat.”

  “I had thought of that,” Davies surprised him. “There is a separate brigade of Mounted Infantry in General Freeman's Corps, the 31st, made up about evenly of regulars and militia. I was going to send them across the river and into that territory.”

  “That's a good start,” Parno nodded, “but I'm afraid a group that size would be overrun without support.”

  “We can send other unattached units with them, of course,” Davies nodded. “We have a number of individual battalions that are part of either General Herrick or General Freeman's commands. Attaching them to the 31st would both give them added strength and allow units that have no parent division to serve as patrols in strength in the highlands.”

  “Good idea,” Parno nodded thoughtfully. “Since it's your idea, I 'll leave it to you. Which reminds me, have you selected someone to replace you at 2nd Corps?”

  “My second in command, General Gavin, is a good man, milord,” Davies nodded. “He's been with the Corps long enough to know all the commanders and many of the men quite well. He is an excellent tactician, at least on a tactical scale, and has managed the command well since my movement to command 1st Army. He lacks true experience in leading so large a command, but I will be leaving him my Chief of Staff to assist him. And at that level you can really only learn by doing. ”

  “True,” Parno agreed. “Well, if you're sure of him, give the job to him,” Parno told him. “I have faith in you, General. Just make sure he's the right choice and will do a good job. As to the 31st and their attachments,” Parno mused, looking again at the map which showed the Central Highlands, “that's going to have to be someone who can exercise independent command and use good judgment in absence of orders. He 'll be supervising patrols of the area as well as some other units that will be similar to the artillery units we're using here. Unusual in other words,” he smiled thinly. “He 'll need to be able to work with the River Guard, and with the unusual application of the new weapons against a possible river incursion. That will include reacting to any incursion by either boat or land.” Parno faced Davies.

  “His prime marching order will be to slow any large incursion while notifying us and Nasil of the enemy's approach, and crushing anything small enough to handle himself. So he 'll need to know his own limitations, but not be hamstrung by indecision.”

  “I 'll need a bit to ponder that, milord,” Davies admitted. “I would suggest that we send the independent units combined under that one person's command. That will prevent any possible competition or friction between the unit commanders.”

  “I am singularly uninterested in dick beating, General,” Parno surprised everyone with his coarse description. “I 'll kill any man, regardless of rank, who endangers this Kingdom because his feelings were hurt or he was trying to make someone look bad. Or good, for that matter.” He paused and looked at the collection of me around him. “Be a good idea to make sure that message spreads I suppose,” he told them after a moment's pause. “No sense in me killing someone for being ignorant and stupid instead of just stupid. See to it,” he ordered Davies abruptly.

  “I will, milord,” the General promised.

  “I 'll be in my tent if you need me,” Parno wheeled abruptly and departed, having issued all the orders he felt were necessary for the time being. Davies shot a glance at Enri Willard, who shrugged, shook his head, and then followed his commander out of the tent.

  “Well, you heard the man,” Davies told the assembled staff. “As you talk, make sure everyone knows the penalty for 'dick beating'.”

  Muted murmuring accompanied by affirmative head nods met with the statement as the staff returned to work. The new Lord Marshal was interested in results. Nothing else.

  Good to know.

  ~*~

  Imperial General Gerald Wilson read the response to his query to the boat commander, his face tightly controlled. In no uncertain terms the man informed the General that while yes, he and his men were still on station, not having been recalled as yet, he had no orders from the Admiral to assist further downriver, and in the absence of said orders could not in good faith abandon his assigned post to assist him in getting his stalled offensive moving again.

  In other words: No.

  Crumpling the paper in his hands, Wilson allowed himself a few seconds of unbridled fury before forcing himself to be calm and calculating. Fury would not help, at least not unless he could direct it at the right man. Which he couldn't. He needed someone to go and make the man see reason, that was all. Someone who could, if necessary, force the naval force to bring their boats here, or to a point across the small strip of land between the Tinsee and Cumberland Rivers, and prepare to take a force down river. Or up river, as it were.

  “Captain!” he called out, looking around. His aide was right beside him and flinched at the volume.

  “Sorry,” Wilson apologized, very uncharacteristically. “Has General Stone and his command returned yet?”

  “This morning, sir,” the man nodded.

  “Get him,” Wilson ordered. “I want to see him as soon as possible.”

  ~*~

  “So, you want us to go and make this Commodore, or whatever, bring his men and boats down this way?” Stone was looking at the map.

  “I want you to send enough men to make sure that they bring the boats and come here,” Wilson nodded. “I want you to take the rest of your command and whatever I can scrape up to go with you into the central areas, here,” he pointed to the region above the southern capitol and the river that flowed through it. “Threaten the capitol if you can, but be sure to be seen in the area so they 'll report it. I want them stripping men and resources from elsewhere to face a new threat.”

  “Like Brasher was supposed to be,” Stone mused, nodding slowly. “We 'll have to carry supplies with us,” he noted. “There won't be any kind of supplies we can seize in there. Be lucky to find enough grazing to feed our horses.”

  “I 'll give you until light tomorrow,” Wilson said flatly. “I want you on the road as soon as it's sunup. You 'll cross the rivers back there and proceed down once the boats are on their way to me. Make sure whoever you leave in charge there will get the job done.”

  “There's no way I can be sufficiently prepared for a campaign like this by daybreak,” Stone said simply. “My men and I have been in the saddle for the best of three weeks chasing ghosts. Our horses are exhausted and so are we. Our few wagons are empty other than empty barrels. It will take a day just to re-shod our mounts and refit our gear.”

  “Daybreak tomorrow,” Wilson repeated. “Or I find someone who can.”

  “You're sending us to fail,” Stone sighed but nodded. “We will not be able to fight effectively and in a major engagement We 'll be overwhelmed for lack of support. You're throwing us away for no gain.” He set his hat on his head and started for the door.

  “Had you been more efficient against the southern cavalry I might not need you to go,” Wilson shot at his back.

  “Had you given me the support I needed, we would have destroyed them in our first meeting,” was Stone's simple rebuttal. “We 'll be gone with the sun.” And with that he was gone.

  Wilson knew he'd just turned a loyal subordinate against him in all likelihood, but his options were extremely limited. He needed to make a move and he needed to do it soon. Stone had to be a part of that. His troops were consuming an enormous amount of stores and so far hadn't produced a single major accomplishment in return for them. Maybe a lean trip into the wilderness would get results from them that living well had not.

  Meanwhile, he needed those boats and Stone was available. Simple as that.

  He put the thought from his mind and returned to his maps.

  ~*~

  “I admit, milord, I don't see the importance of this new training cycle,” Herrick said. It
was well after dark now and the assembled Corps commanders were back in the headquarters area, talking to their Marshal over a simple supper.

  “The training regimen that I put my men through was strenuous, General,” Parno told him. “Strenuous and in some cases fatal,” he admitted. “But the results speak for themselves. My men are the equal of troops three and four times their number easily. With terrain on their side they can hold a position against even greater numbers, as they proved at the Gap. It's a matter of conditioning more than anything else. My men can march twenty-five miles in less than a day and arrive where they're going still able to fight. They can do that day after day for over a week, too. Their swordsmanship is second to none in most cases, and every man is cross trained on at least two other weapons in addition to whatever his primary weapon may be. My swordsmen can serve as archers, my archers can serve as pike-men, my pike-men can serve as swordsmen. My archers can hit targets at one hundred yards distant. My swordsmen can engage and defeat the enemy two-on-one. My lancers can pick up a tent peg with their lances from the back of a galloping horse. I could go on but I assume you're getting the idea?”

  “Yes sir,” Herrick nodded. “I am.”

  “I'm not bragging, and I'm not putting anyone else down,” Parno explained to the four men, plus Davies. General Darrel Gavin had replaced Davies as 2nd Corps commander and had joined them for this meeting in his new position. Graham was still in command of 1st Corps for now, but was silent in the presence of the Marshal.

  “My men aren't superior to any of yours in strength other than what they've learned,” Parno continued. “They aren't supermen and they die just like yours. Too many of them already have,” he added grimly. “It's just a matter of conditioning, as I said. Training. We developed an entirely new training regimen at Cove Canton, an I think the results speak for themselves. That regimen was developed by experts in every field, including Colonel Nidiad before his untimely death at the Gap. All I did was gather the right people and tell them what we needed.”

  “Your artillerymen will be trained in using and handling the special ordnance by Major Lars, my Artillery Chief. He helped develop the protocols we use for them and was there from the beginning of their development. Short of having the inventor or one of his chief assistants with us, which we can't at the moment, there's no one better to train them, I promise.”

  “The best archers from the Black Sheep will serve to train your archers to a higher standard of conditioning using the techniques taught to them by Whip Hubel. If you've not heard of him, he's known as the Archer of the Apples. He is without a doubt the finest bowman in Kingdom and that is not hyperbole. I've seen that man do things with a bow that will keep you awake at night.”

  “For the swordsmen, again some of the finest blade handlers in my regiment will serve as instructors and they've earned their positions in battle. They know their business. Know what works and what doesn't. In many cases taught by my adviser Cho Feng himself. If you haven't seen him handle two swords at once, it's a sight to see I assure you.”

  “In addition to everything else, your men will learn a series of hand-to-hand combat techniques that Cho taught to the entire regiment. Even disarmed my men are capable of taking on an armed combatant and prevailing. It's not ideal of course, but far better than seeing a man run through because he lost his grip on his sword or bow.”

  “This sounds like a very involved process, milord,” Gavin noted.

  “It is that,” Parno agreed. “I 'll be pleasantly surprised if your men can finish it in less than six months. It took my men a year, but much of that was spent in basic training and even in basic horsemanship. You can't tell it now, but many of them had only the most basic horseman skills at the start and some had no skill at all, having never owned a horse. That's how effective what we've done can be, gentlemen. I took criminals and poachers and thieves and turned them into a regiment of soldiers that could fight a division of Imperial troops and hold. I trained them to the point that just over four hundred of my men attacked and defeated a force of some eight hundred Tribal warriors on horseback, inflicting roughly three hundred casualties on them at the cost of four men wounded and four horses lost.”

  That got a stir from all of the assembled generals.

  “Tribals?” Herrick voiced their amazement, or disbelief, for all of them.

  “Attacked the rear units during our cavalry engagement as they tried to canvas for wounded,” Parno nodded, leaving out that the rear units were defying orders to do so. “My men were watching the flank, and hit the Tribals before they could get in range, tearing their number to shreds. Believe it, gentlemen; this new regimen will put your men on par with anyone, on foot or horseback.”

  “Assuming they survive,” Freeman noted wryly.

  “Assuming that,” Parno didn't disagree. “General Gavin, you 'll be heading to Cove Canton with your Corps. You 'll have an easier time integrating your new troops into your units without the distraction of what's happening here. In the event of an incursion into the Highlands, you 'll serve as a strategic reserve while there, so always be prepared for that.”

  “Yes, milord,” Gavin nodded.

  “General Graham, when your men come off the line, they 'll pull back to an area that my regimental commander has selected and make camp. Their training will be here. Your losses, while in no way light, are not nearly so grievous as 2nd Corps. You should be able to work replacements into existing units without much difficulty during the training and your presence so close to the front will let you serve as the reserve for this area. As it grows hotter you will need to warn your officers to guard against heat stroke since it will be warmer here than in the higher elevations of Cove Canton. And while in normal camp we don't train in inclement weather, there are no such rules here. We don't train in lightning, but otherwise we're in the field. Regardless.”

  “Yes sir,” Graham said simply. He knew that the Marshal was looking for a reason or excuse to kill him and wasn't entirely sure the Prince would actually need one. As a result he was most careful how he spoke and acted.

  “Your men aren't expendable,” Parno told them. “We will suffer losses I know, but we will not lose a single man to carelessness or neglect. Warn your officers about that as well. They will be held personally responsible for the well being of their men. Losses to dehydration, heat stroke and other needless and avoidable problems will see them facing a court martial. Make sure that is understood. And you are not exempt,” he warned them all. “We're on the verge of annihilation. We need every man, and we need to be smarter than the enemy because every other advantage is theirs for the moment. Am I clear?”

  “Clear sir,” the men answered in unison.

  “Outstanding,” Parno nodded. “Please don't consider this a threat, or think I'm being needlessly harsh. Our soldiers are our greatest resource right now and they have to be well cared for. Not coddled, just taken care of. If we do that, then when we need extraordinary feats from them ordinary men will answer that call.” He stood.

  “1st Corps will prepare to hand off their place in line day after tomorrow. The two of you,” he looked between Graham and Freeman, “work out the details so that the hand-off goes smoothly and with the enemy none the wiser if possible. General Gavin, your men should be sufficiently rested by now?” he made it a question.

  “We can march on your orders sir,” Gavin nodded. “I would ask for a day's advance if possible, but we could be underway with less if absolutely necessary. Moving camp takes time however and the extra warning will enable us to do that with less difficulty.”

  “Then two days from now, once the line exchange is complete and we know things are going to stay static, I want you on the road to Cove Canton. Your replacements are in place?” he asked.

  “Yes sir,” Gavin sighed. “They're a far cry from the veterans we lost, but they have had their basics at least. We 'll get it done, milord,” he promised.

  “I'm sure you will,” Parno nodded firmly. “We've neve
r faced a threat like this, gentlemen,” he said flatly. “We have to be better. We have to be smarter. I depend upon you for that as does the King and every man, woman and child in this Kingdom. Remember that, and when your men are tired and complaining about how hard the training is, remind them of it as well.”

  “Are there any questions?” There weren't, and all five men stood.

  “All right,” Parno sighed. “Godspeed and good luck to us all. General, I 'll leave it with you,” he told Davies.

  “Aye, milord,” Davies nodded. Freeman waited until Parno was gone to look at Davies.

  “Now that, by God, is what a Marshal is supposed to look and sound like!”

  Not even Graham disagreed.

  ~*~

  “Are you in any better mood now that you've rode us all into the ground on the way here?”

  Parno looked up from the report he'd been reading to see Karls Willard standing in the entrance to his small 'office' tent. He frowned slightly as he tossed the report on his desk and leaned back.

  “Why is my mood of so much concern to all of you?” he asked rather than answer.

  “Well, for one thing you're our commander,” Karls entered the tent and sat down unbidden. “Moody commanders tend to make mistakes and those mistakes end up costing the soldiers. Secondly, the rest of the army will catch it sooner or later, and that's bad for morale. They're going to wonder what you know that they don't that's causing you to be moody and miserable and may just assume that it's something horrible and may lead to our defeat. And lastly, for many of us, you're a friend. We don't like to see you like this. It isn't good for you. You've got enough on you as it is.”

  “So it's self preservation, first and foremost,” Parno chuckled, though there was no humor in it. “Makes sense,” he nodded. “Well, first of all,” he replied in kind, “I don't command the regiment anymore, you do. Second of all, I'm not around the army that much anymore so it's unlikely they see my 'mood'. And if they're worried, they have every right to be. They aren't stupid, especially those who have survived the last two or three battles. We're facing an onslaught of massive proportions and turning it will be as much a matter of divine will as martial skill. And lastly,” Parno's voice might have softened the slightest bit, “I appreciate your concern, and I mean that whether is sounds that way or not. But my problems, one, are mine, not yours, and two, my problems aren't anything you can help me with.”