Of the officers standing around him, Bouzes was the most familiar with Belisarius’ infantry tactics. The general saw dawning comprehension in his face.
“Shit,” muttered the young Thracian. He glanced around the room. “The villa’s not a fortress, when you come down to it. The fortifications we jury-rigged were designed to fend off grenades, not—”
Belisarius finished the thought.
“Not two thousand of the finest foot soldiers anywhere in the world, charging in squads, aiming to push into every door and portal so they can use their swords and spears.”
Cyril scowled. “Let ’em! I don’t care how good they are. We’re not lambs ourselves, general. Our cataphracts can fight on foot—just watch! With us to back up the Syrians, we’ll chop those—”
Belisarius waved his hand.
“That’s not the point, Cyril. I don’t doubt that we’ll beat back the Kushans. But I can guarantee that we won’t be doing it without suffering lots of casualties and without being exhausted ourselves, when the day’s over. I don’t think we’ll be in any shape to be pursuing anybody, tomorrow.”
He rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. “I wonder . . .”
Belisarius stepped back to the window and looked through the telescope again. For a minute, he studied the Kushans taking up their position. Then, pressing himself against the wall to the left of the window, he aimed the telescope at a sharp angle, studying something to the southwest.
“We’ve got no troops stationed at the corrals.” He cast a quick, inquisitive glance at Bouzes. The young Thracian shook his head.
“No, sir.” His tone grew a bit defensive: “I thought about it, but it’s at least half a mile away. There didn’t seem any point to—”
Belisarius smiled crookedly.
“No, there wasn’t. I’m not criticizing your decision, Bouzes. I just wanted to make sure.”
Again, Bouzes shook his head. “We’ve got nobody there, general.”
“Good,” stated Belisarius. He stared through the telescope for another minute, before turning away from the window.
“We’re going to turn everything inside out. Instead of waiting until tomorrow, I’ll have Maurice start the counter-attack at the beginning of the battle.”
He hesitated. “Well, not quite. I don’t think the Kushans will lead the first assault. Unless that Malwa commander’s dumber than a chicken, he won’t want to use his best troops until he’s softened this place up a bit. He’ll let regulars and Ye-tai hammer us with grenades. See what happens. If that doesn’t work, then he’ll send in the Kushans. They’ll head up the second attack. And that’s when I’ll order Maurice to make his charge.”
The look of incomprehension was back on the faces of the general’s subordinates. Belisarius’ own face broke into a cheerful grin. “The trick to dealing with Kushans, I’ve learned, is to exploit their talents.”
“Begging your pardon, sir,” spoke up Cyril, “but I don’t understand what you’re getting at. If Maurice attacks when the Kushans are still fresh—”
“What will the Kushans do?” demanded Belisarius. “Think, Cyril. And remember—they’ll be excellent troops, with good commanders, on foot, suddenly finding themselves caught between a fortified villa and a heavy cavalry charge on their right flank.”
Cyril was still frowning. Belisarius drove on.
“The rest of the Malwa army will be shattering, under that charge. Not to mention—”
He turned to Agathius. “Are your boys up for another bit of lance work? A sally, straight out of the villa?”
Agathius grinned. “After that promenade this morning? Hell, yes. It’ll be a bitch, mind you, getting the horses through all those little gates.”
Belisarius waved the matter off. “I don’t care if the sally’s ragged. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that while Maurice and Kurush are breaking the Malwa in half from the flank, the front lines of their army see a new threat coming at them straight ahead. The Ye-tai’ll go berserk, trying to force the regulars to stand and fight. But the Kushans—”
“Sweet Jesus, yes,” whispered Bouzes. He strode to the window and stared through it at a sharp angle. “They’ll break for the corrals, and the barns and horse pens. Only place around where infantry could fort up and have a chance against heavy cavalry.”
He stared back at Belisarius. “They’ll have to react instantly, general. Are they really that good?”