Paying in their own coin

Pinaka's army incurred heavy losses.. this was the first time they suffered such huge casualties... hundreds of soldiers fell.. Pinaka didn't eat.. or sleep.. he sent a message to Zaffar that there would not be a war the next day.. he felt completely let down.. in three days time Zaffar got new weapons designed.. this was extraordinary.. he felt responsible for all the lost lives.. he underestimated the enemy.. it was his fault.. Samyukta entered the tent.. she could understand his state of mind.. she felt let down too.. many soldiers were burnt alive.. the thunderous sounds of the canisters were still resounding in her ears...

Samyukta went and hugged him... she was trying to ease his pain.. she said, 'if you sit mourning for the lost lives.. who will think about the living?people die in wars.. some lose their limbs.. and get confined to bed for the rest of their lives.. but we can't stop living.... if we stop here.. the enemy would not spare us.. he would penetrate into our country... but every soldier today died fighting for his motherland.. blessed are their souls.. if we stop fighting now.. it means that we don't honor their sacrifice.. Pinaka.. please.. act like a leader.. our men are lost.. help them.. 'she kissed his forehead and said, 'be strong.. ' and went out of the tent..

Pinaka let out a sigh.. Samyukta was right.. only striking back with more force would help.. he gathered all the soldiers and addressed them.. 'brothers, today we lost our brothers on field.. each one of them fought for the safety and glory of our beloved country Hindustan.. each one who died today is a hero.. I will make sure that their families are taken care of... now is the time for us to raise.. the only reason I designed strategies was to minimize the casualties.. but the enemy doesn't know how capable we all are in hand to hand combat.. once he realises that his men are incapable of plucking even a single hair off your heads he will understand.. I will make him regret his decision.. let's all fight for our brothers.. let's take revenge! ' every soldier cried.. 'revenge! revenge! revenge! 'in response..

Badshah Khan came to see Pinaka.. he had a sketch.. he showed it to him and said, 'Prince.. I was able to study the canister they used.. this is the design.. now.. building those huge catapults might take time.. but I have an idea which is much simple and effective.. ' and he showed some drawings to Pinaka.. .his eyes shone with excitement..

The next day completely went in preparation.. Pinaka summoned every general and explained the strategy he wanted to implement.. they nodded.. it was simple but effective..

Sun rised.. painting the sky crimson.. everyone was ready.. each soldier had one thought.. to take revenge.. to honor their brothers who died... Zaffar's men were excited.. the huge catapults were ready.. Shadab commanded to load them.. Pinaka said, 'get ready.. ' there were rows of men who were ready.. holding huge lances..

Pinaka blew the conch and Samyukta cried, 'now! ' all the men bearing lances ran forward.. so did the entire army...cavalry..infantry everyone charged forward..even the war elephants being controlled by mahouts were running in organized lines... Shadab commanded.. 'load and loose.. ' before his men could load, there was a 'SWOOSH.. ' followed by.. 'BANG... ' one of the huge catapults burnt.. everyone was shocked.. Zaffar studied intently and saw a heavy lance struck to the catapult..

The lance was almost eight feet.. it was bearing the debris of the gunpowder cannisters... each lance was bearing a small gunpowder cannister tied securely, the cannisters were similar to the ones they used... as the lance traversed a projectile path.. the fuse of the cannister got lit due to reaction with oxygen.. though it cannot cause the same amount of damage as the huge cannister thrown using the catapults... they were much easier to handle.. this was the Hindustani army paying them back.. in their own coins..

Zaffar's face became ugly with rage.. he has given a new design to that Prince.. this was the worst thing that happened.. the time taken to load the huge catapults was the minus point.. once the cannisters were shot, reloading was again tedious.. but cannisters tied to lances was genius.. the lance was heavy and long..it helps in stabilizing the path of the trajectory..similar effect on a smaller scale achieved with lesser effort..

As Zaffar was thinking,another lance was launched and one more catapult got burnt...now they had eight catapults... now Pinaka's army was charging forward.. three catapults were loaded and shot.. since the army was charging forward, the cannisters could cause limited damage.. only few dozen men fell.. Shadab commanded the men to adjust the angle of the catapults and shoot once more.. this time fifty men fell on Pinaka's side.. as they neared, Zaffar said, 'load once again.. ' Shadab said, 'your majesty.. this is too near.. if we shoot in this range even we might suffer few casualties.. ' Zaffar looked enraged.. he said, 'cavalry.. infantry.. charge! attack! ' his men charged ahead..

Pinaka cried, 'engage! ' all the soldiers cried, 'Jai Bhavani! '