Narses nodded immediately. His own face was as placid and expressionless as Damodara’s. “Oh yes, Lord. That’s the nature of oaths, you know. They are always very specific.”
Damodara gazed at him in silence. Still, like a Buddha.
“So they are,” he murmured. “Interesting point.”
He looked away, staring at nothing. His eyes seemed quite unfocused.
“We will do nothing, at the moment,” he mused softly. “Your advice is well taken, Narses. Nothing, at the moment. So that, whatever the future brings, Malwa’s best army will be available for—whatever is needed.”
“Nothing,” agreed Narses. “At the moment.”
“Yes. That is the practical course. And I am a practical man.”
Chapter 34
CHARAX
Autumn, 532 a.d.
Belisarius peered between the shields which Anastasius and Gregory were holding up to shelter him. They themselves were crouching far enough below the battlements to be protected from the swarm of incoming arrows, but Belisarius had insisted on observing the siege personally. That meant sticking his head up, despite the unanimous disapproval of his officers.
“You were right, Gregory,” he murmured. “They’ll have their siege guns ready by tomorrow evening. But no sooner. As it is, they’ll have to work through the night. If they try to fire them now, before they’ve laid stone platforms, the recoil will probably spill the guns.”
Gregory refrained from any comment. Maurice, in his place, would have already been uttering sarcastic phrases. I told you so would have had been cheerfully tossed with What? I am blind? and A commanding general has to risk his neck to play scout?
But Maurice had a unique relationship with Belisarius. Gregory did not feel himself in a position to reprove his general. Even if the damned fool did insist on taking needless risks.
Belisarius ducked below the ramparts. Gregory and Anastasius lowered their shields, sighing with relief.
“We could sally,” said Gregory. “Try to spike the guns. Probably couldn’t get close enough, but we might be able to fire the carriages.”
Belisarius shook his head. “It’d be pure suicide. The main body of the Malwa army hasn’t arrived yet, but there are at least thirty thousand men out there. Ye-tai and Kushans, most of them, along with a few Rajput cavalry contingents.”
Belisarius shook his head again. The gesture was almost idle, however. Most of the general’s mind seemed to be concentrated elsewhere.
“Not a chance, Gregory. Not even if we sallied with every man we’ve got. The Malwa know as well as we do that those guns are the key to smashing their way into Charax quickly. That’s why they cannibalized most of their supply ships in order to get them down here as quickly as they could. They probably hope they might retake the city before we destroy it completely.”
Belisarius fell silent. His eyes were now turned completely away from the enemy beyond the walls. He was studying the interior of Charax. The city, like most great ports, was a labyrinth. Other than the docks themselves and the small imperial quarter where, in times past, the Persian viceroys had held court, Charax was a jumbled maze of narrow streets. At one time, from what he could tell, the city had been blessed with a few small squares and plazas. But over the years, the necessities and realities of commerce had made themselves felt. Charax was a city of tenements, warehouses, bazaars, entrepôts, hostels, inns, brothels, and a multitude of other buildings designed for handling sailors and their cargoes. The construction, throughout, was either mud brick or simple fill, plastered with gypsum.
Rubble, in short, just waiting to happen.
“If we can keep it from burning . . .” he mused. His thoughts ranged wide, traversing the centuries which Aide had shown him.
You are thinking of Stalingrad.
Belisarius scratched his chin. Yes, Aide. How long did Chuikov’s men hold out, in the ruins? Before the counteroffensive was finally launched?
Longer than we will need. Fighting street by street is the most difficult combat imaginable, if you are not concerned with saving the city.
Belisarius grinned. The feral expression would have been worthy of Valentinian.
I’m planning to wreck it anyway. I was going to do it all at once, when we left. But there’s no reason not to make a gala affair out of the business. Why settle for an evening ball, when you can hold dances every night? For weeks, if need be.