The Egyptian Prince 27

'Do what you want, but be prepared in that case to be ruled rather than to rule others... Soft countries breed soft men. For it is not possible for the same land to bear both wonderful fruits and men who are good at war.' - Cyrus the Great

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-Margianan Valley, 465 BC-

The Margiana satrapy, a minor satrapy in the Empire, was largely made up of a system of interconnecting valleys and rivers sourced from the River Oxus. Due to this, armies prioritized bottleneck tactics, quickly moving from valley entrance to entrance in order to hold chokepoints should a battle take place.

Astride a black mare was a young man with caramel skin, black hair matching his eyes, and dressed in military robes. Looking like a dashing young prince, this man was Inarus, son of Psamtik, the last living descendent of the pharaohs of old.

"Sir, perhaps this isn't such a good idea. With the terrain making it difficult to raid enemy supply lines, we should withdraw to the highland plains and use the plains to our advantage." A horseman spoke, he was similarly dressed as Inarus, but visibly older and in his mid-40s. The duo wore ornate bronze armor with the imperial eagle forged and emblazoned onto their shoulder pads. On their armor and around their necks was an ornate gold chained necklace, attached with a Tyrian purple cape flowing down and covering the rear end of their horses.

The only men allowed to wear a cape in Artaxerxes' army were generals and senior advisors. They were also color-coded based on the general. Inarus was purple, Megabyzus was red, and Artaxerxes naturally donned gold, the symbol of the Achaemenid clan.

Listening to this, Inarus only gazed at his surroundings. Vibrant green valley slopes on either side of him, crisscrossed with flowing rivers and creeks creating a picture of paradise. However, this paradise had only been hell for Inarus.

In order to easily implement Artaxerxes plan of raiding logistical supplies, one first needed to be able to send advanced squads far ahead of the army to find the enemy and subsequently sabotage their rear.

Arriving at the Margiana province, Inarus soon discovered that traversing through valley after valley was a tactical nightmare. Sending scouts ahead had in fact found the Chorasmian army, but they could not find a way around the army to sabotage and intercept their supply line.

This was because the Chorasmians hugged the river Oxus as their lives depended on it, using the river to transport supplies via trireme. "Falling back isn't an option Dadarsi unless you want your head on a spike for failing the king... then, by all means, take what men will leave with you and go," Inarus said nonchalantly, still surveying his surroundings.

Gulping his throat after imagining himself on a spike, Dadarsi silenced his descent. "Regardless...should we advance on the enemy then we'll suffer catastrophic losses, they will decide to hold a valley entrance and it would be akin to sending our forces into a meat grinder," Dadarsi said, curious about what Inarus could possibly have in mind to affect the current situation.

Turning around, Inarus surveyed the endless columns of troops that stretched dizzily throughout the valley floor. "Do you know something we have that the Chorasmians don't?" Inarus probed.

"Ahuramazda's blessing, sir?" Dadarsi responded, uncertain of the point Inarus was trying to make.

Chuckling at the response, Inarus spoke, "Time. While the Chorasmians must pass through Margiana to reinforce the Liar King, we just simply have to wait." Inarus said confidently, though internally his thoughts were elsewhere. In order to calm his advisors, he gave them some bravado to chew on, when in reality, the resources of the empire were stretched extremely thin, and it wouldn't be long before his army would have to start rationing supplies to stay fed.

Inarus betted on the fact that the Chorasmian's desperation for reinforcing their Bactrian allies would surpass their common sense, and eventually push them onto the offensive. Leading to Inarus using the tight valley chokeholds of Margiana to his advantage.

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-Aerian Highlands, 465 BC-

Artaxerxes listened attentively to his scribes, who were currently reading various reports from the war zones throughout his empire.

"My King, Lord Megabyzus writes:

'By the grace of Ahuramazda and the King's Wisdom, the Gandaran rebels have been swiftly annihilated and sent to Ahriman's sweet embrace.'

Listening to this report, Artaxerxes thought, 'Concise and succinct, as expected of Megabyzus'

Feeling a weight off his shoulders after hearing such good news from his brother-in-law, Artaxerxes asked, "And what of the Egyptian? Does he share a similar report for his King?" Quickly checking his tablet, a scribe speaks, "It appears not my King, Inarus and his forces have been bogged down in Margiana, unable to initiate any sort of battle outside of skirmishes."

Internally dissatisfied by the report, Artaxerxes let none of it show as he turned to his lieutenants and advisors in the command tent. "We have finally arrived at Aeria, what news do we have of the Bactrian force?"

Stepping forward, Ur, Head of Intelligence and Eyes of the King, spoke, " My King, my eyes and ears have managed to discover the Liar King's recent arrival into eastern Aeria. Along with his arrival, he had been reinforced by the 10,000 men the Aerians have managed to raise."

"Mm, this would put our forces at even odds, 60,000 vs 60,000" Artaxerxes said, disliking the numerical comparisons of the two forces. "That is true my King, but I believe that this is no cause for dismay. Soon, Megabyzus' 20,000-strong force will reinforce us, and then the rebels will hardly stand a chance."

The man who spoke this time was Artaxerxes' commander of the royal guard, Themistocles. "I wouldn't be so certain my King. It appears that in order to achieve such a swift victory, Megabyzus sacrificed quite a lot of men. He will have to rest his troops for some time, and as for 20,000 men, I've read in the reports that his forces now barely number 15,000." Ur responded, not wanting the King to be misinformed.

Taking in all the information, Artaxerxes turned to the map of the satrapy of Aeria that lay in the center of the command tent, on it were various markings and tokens symbolizing troop positions and fortresses. Locating the part of the map where Hystaspes armies were currently encamped, Artaxerxes spoke, " Currently, the Liar King believes that we are on equal ground, both equally as reliant on reinforcements so that the other won't make any aggressive moves. Thus, I believe that rather than waiting for the bogged-down Egyptian, or the crippled Megabyzus, we should push the enemy encampment with lightning-quick efficiency and catch them completely off guard."

Hearing this, many of the advisors and generals believed the plan too risky, should a scout or patrol catch wind of the advance Hystaspes would prepare his armies accordingly and be ready to meet them on the battlefield.

This would result in a bloodbath where the victor could only be decided on by the flip of a coin. " A sound strategy my King!" Themistocles spoke, believing from his experience in the Battle of Salamis that decisively capturing an enemy off guard can render any number's advantage useless.

After Themistocles spoke, the others could only parrot in agreement, after all, it was political suicide to doubt the ideas of the King of Kings, especially after its verification by a close advisor.

Thus, with confidence high, Artaxerxes began to plan with his advisors the steps to be taken in order to defeat the Liar King, and etch his name into the annals of history.

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-Eastern Aerian Highlands, 465 BC-

Hystaspes was reading reports of the ongoing war situation, similar to his opposite many miles away. While reading through the several reports, Hystaspes came across one sent by his Gandaran allies.

Reading it internally, it wrote:

'Gandaran forces have been defeated in the Helmand Plains. Expect no reinforcements from Gandara.'

Frowning in frustration, Hysraspes threw the papyrus scroll out the tent door, internally cursing his brother's soul to damnation. 'Bunch of incompetent idiots! How could they be defeated so decisively!' Hystaspes thought, after all, it was relatively rare for barely even 10% of the defeated army to survive the battle.

Had Gandara strategically retreated, perhaps they could still be relied on as a decoy force. Noticing his Kings frustrations, a man in the tent spoke, "My King, there is no need for frustration. We should count this as a blessing, after all, Megabyzus' force will be unable to march any time soon."

Turning to the skinny greasy man who spoke, Hystaspes spoke with gritted teeth, "Is that so Aspamitres? Is losing 10,000 men a blessing? Is losing one of my few remaining allies a blessing!?" By the end of his questions, Hystaspes voice had noticeably begun to shake in rage.

Silence entered the tent, and none with the courage to speak. This was one of the few times they had witnessed their King truly furious.

"Perhaps my King, there is room for an opportunity..." Aspamitres said with a sly grin, his hands cupped together.