“A very strong cripple,” qualified Garmat. “Have to be a bit careful. Still—”
Wahsi had stopped laughing.
“Yes, Empress,” he stated firmly. “We could run the blockade. Penetrate it like water through a fish net, in fact. Not one or two ships, now and then. We could run a Malwa blockade almost at our pleasure.”
He made a little gesture of qualification.
“You understand, I am speaking of a blockade of the entire coast. If they amass enough ships, the Malwa could close off Suppara itself. But I assume there must be other nearby places where we could land a vessel and offload cargo.”
“A multitude of them!” exclaimed Bindusara. All eyes turned toward the sadhu.
“I am familiar with the Malabar coast,” he explained. “With the entire western coast of India, in fact, from Kerala to the Kathiawar.”
Bindusara turned his head eastward, as if studying the nearby shore through the walls of the cabin.
“The Western Ghats run parallel to the coast, from the southernmost tip of India all the way north to the Narmada River. They form the western boundary of the Deccan.” He fluttered his hands. “The Ghats are not tall mountains. Nothing like the Himalayas! Their average height is less than a thousand yards. Even the greatest of them, Anai Mudi in Kerala, is not three thousand yards high. But they are quite rugged. The combination of their ruggedness and low altitude means that the western shore of India boasts a huge number of small rivers, instead of a few mighty ones like the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, as does the east coast.”
“Smugglers’ terrain,” grunted Ezana.
Bindusara smiled. ” ‘Terrain’? Say better—smugglers’ paradise. Don’t forget the climate, Ezana. India’s west coast is the wettest part of our land. Each one of those rivers enters the sea through forests of teak and palms. There are any number of hidden and secluded coves in which a cargo could be unloaded. And the local population would be quite happy to assist in the process. Poor farmers and fishermen they are, mostly, with a great need for extra money and no love for the Malwa.”
Shakuntala, seeing Wahsi nod, stated:
“You could do it, then?”
“Without question, Empress.” The Ethiopian officer ran fingers through his mass of thick, kinky hair, eyeing Shakuntala all the while.
“You want to break the siege of Deogiri by controlling all of southern Majarashtra,” he speculated. “Using Suppara as your logistics base.”
The Empress nodded. “Exactly. I wouldn’t think of trying it if the enemy’s main army wasn’t tied up in Persia. But with only Venandakatra to face, I think it can be done—provided we get access to gunpowder weapons.”
“There are cannons in Suppara,” said the Maratha officer Shahji. “If we take the city, we will take them also.”
“Not enough,” grunted Kungas. “Not by themselves.”
He looked at Holkar. “You have spies in Suppara. If I’m not mistaken, those cannons are fixed siege guns.”
Holkar nodded. “They’re huge bombards. Three of them, positioned to defend the city against seaborne attack.” He grimaced. “I suppose they could be moved, but—”
“Forget it,” interrupted Kungas. “We can use those cannons to defend Suppara against the Malwa fleet, but they’ll be no use to us in a land war against Venandakatra’s army. For that, we need help from the Romans. By now, I’m quite sure Belisarius has developed a Roman capacity to produce gunpowder weapons. If we can establish contact with him, the Ethiopians could smuggle the weapons to us. And keep us supplied with gunpowder.”
Everyone in the cabin exchanged glances.
“We need to send a mission to Rome, then,” said Bindusara.
“Not to Rome,” demurred Dadaji. “To Belisarius. To the Roman government, we are simply bizarre outlanders. Only Belisarius knows us well.”
The peshwa straightened his posture.
“I will go,” he announced. “Our delegation must be led by someone who is both highly placed in the Empress’ government and personally known to Belisarius. I am the obvious choice.”
“Nonsense!” exclaimed Shakuntala. “The idea is utterly mad. You are my peshwa, Dadaji. I need you to remain here.”
Holkar frowned. “But I am the only one who—”
He broke off, casting a startled glance at Kungas.