Majesty.”
“The Horus Road,” Turi put in bitterly. “What a two-edged knife it is! A lifeline from the eastern trading centres straight into the heart of the Delta in times of peace but in times of war it becomes a channel along which every danger can flow. Your ancestor Osiris Senwasret built the forts of the Wall of Princes across it to control the influx of foreigners, Majesty, but now the Wall is in Apepa’s power and the Setiu pour into Egypt in a steady stream.”
“I know,” Ahmose said. “Go on, Captain. What did you see?” Kay crossed his legs, leaned forward, and again applied the whisk, this time to the insects seeking salt from the sweat that beaded in the crook of his arm.
“Setiu troops, heavily armed,” he answered promptly. “They do not march in formation, they advance in loose groups with much noise and little discipline, but they keep coming. They cannot all be contained in Het-Uart. There is no room in that pest hole for even another rat. They are camping in groups as close to the city as they can. The Delta is liberally sprinkled with them.”
“If Het-Uart is to fall, we must somehow clear the Delta and then hold the Horus Road,” Hor-Aha said. “Kamose did his best to scour the Delta, but during the Inundation the Princes of the East sent more reinforcements along the Horus Road.”
“Then the solution is obvious,” Ahmose summed up. “Kamose did not speak of this, but I think that in creating the navy and insisting on its competence, he was preparing to begin a full year of campaigning, not just during the dry months. We cannot afford to keep gaining ground only to lose it. We will move north at once, as soon as the last soldiers have arrived. Five divisions will deploy around the mounds on which the city rests and besiege them together with the Medjay archers. The flood plains are dry and hard. Chariots can be used to advantage. The other six divisions will patrol the Delta and engage the contingents of fresh Setiu troops wherever they find them. Again, the ditches and canals will hold only the merest trickles of water and movement throughout the Delta should be relatively easy. Kay, can you estimate the number of Setiu soldiers coming in from Rethennu?”
“Not really, Majesty. I am sorry. A few days spent watching the road were not enough to give me an accurate count. But they came with regularity.” He emptied his cup, setting it back on the table with a bang. “And what of the navy?” he asked with relish. “What is your desire for your most faithful fighting men, Majesty? The North is manned, equipped and ready for engagement!”
“The marines will become farmers until Thoth,” Ahmose replied firmly. “There are ten thousand men here, Kay, and a whole town to be fed. The harvest must be conducted as efficiently as possible. The infantry divisions will plunder the Delta villages as they go.”
“And at Thoth?” It was Paheri who interrupted this time, and Ahmose swung to him.
“Then if the gods will it, Isis will cry,” he said. “The Inundation will spread. But we will not go home. The navy will proceed into the Delta by water and we will give the Setiu no time to rest and regroup.” Paheri grunted and an expression of relief crossed Kay Abana’s face. “I wish to discuss the details now,” Ahmose went on. “Ipi, bring up the maps. Akhtoy, have the table cleared.”
By the time each General had received his orders, questioned them, and had them elucidated, the sun had begun to set behind the town in a flood of molten bronze. Ahmose finally dismissed them, and walking wearily to his tent he passed his guards and entered, lowering himself into the collapsible travelling chair beside the cot with a sigh and lifting his feet so that his waiting body servant could remove his sandals. “Your feet are swollen, Majesty,” the man commented as he wrestled with the ties. “I will bring warm water and a salve.”
He went away and for a time Ahmose sat alone
“The Horus Road,” Turi put in bitterly. “What a two-edged knife it is! A lifeline from the eastern trading centres straight into the heart of the Delta in times of peace but in times of war it becomes a channel along which every danger can flow. Your ancestor Osiris Senwasret built the forts of the Wall of Princes across it to control the influx of foreigners, Majesty, but now the Wall is in Apepa’s power and the Setiu pour into Egypt in a steady stream.”
“I know,” Ahmose said. “Go on, Captain. What did you see?” Kay crossed his legs, leaned forward, and again applied the whisk, this time to the insects seeking salt from the sweat that beaded in the crook of his arm.
“Setiu troops, heavily armed,” he answered promptly. “They do not march in formation, they advance in loose groups with much noise and little discipline, but they keep coming. They cannot all be contained in Het-Uart. There is no room in that pest hole for even another rat. They are camping in groups as close to the city as they can. The Delta is liberally sprinkled with them.”
“If Het-Uart is to fall, we must somehow clear the Delta and then hold the Horus Road,” Hor-Aha said. “Kamose did his best to scour the Delta, but during the Inundation the Princes of the East sent more reinforcements along the Horus Road.”
“Then the solution is obvious,” Ahmose summed up. “Kamose did not speak of this, but I think that in creating the navy and insisting on its competence, he was preparing to begin a full year of campaigning, not just during the dry months. We cannot afford to keep gaining ground only to lose it. We will move north at once, as soon as the last soldiers have arrived. Five divisions will deploy around the mounds on which the city rests and besiege them together with the Medjay archers. The flood plains are dry and hard. Chariots can be used to advantage. The other six divisions will patrol the Delta and engage the contingents of fresh Setiu troops wherever they find them. Again, the ditches and canals will hold only the merest trickles of water and movement throughout the Delta should be relatively easy. Kay, can you estimate the number of Setiu soldiers coming in from Rethennu?”
“Not really, Majesty. I am sorry. A few days spent watching the road were not enough to give me an accurate count. But they came with regularity.” He emptied his cup, setting it back on the table with a bang. “And what of the navy?” he asked with relish. “What is your desire for your most faithful fighting men, Majesty? The North is manned, equipped and ready for engagement!”
“The marines will become farmers until Thoth,” Ahmose replied firmly. “There are ten thousand men here, Kay, and a whole town to be fed. The harvest must be conducted as efficiently as possible. The infantry divisions will plunder the Delta villages as they go.”
“And at Thoth?” It was Paheri who interrupted this time, and Ahmose swung to him.
“Then if the gods will it, Isis will cry,” he said. “The Inundation will spread. But we will not go home. The navy will proceed into the Delta by water and we will give the Setiu no time to rest and regroup.” Paheri grunted and an expression of relief crossed Kay Abana’s face. “I wish to discuss the details now,” Ahmose went on. “Ipi, bring up the maps. Akhtoy, have the table cleared.”
By the time each General had received his orders, questioned them, and had them elucidated, the sun had begun to set behind the town in a flood of molten bronze. Ahmose finally dismissed them, and walking wearily to his tent he passed his guards and entered, lowering himself into the collapsible travelling chair beside the cot with a sigh and lifting his feet so that his waiting body servant could remove his sandals. “Your feet are swollen, Majesty,” the man commented as he wrestled with the ties. “I will bring warm water and a salve.”
He went away and for a time Ahmose sat alone
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