Chapter 414: Cleaning Up the Rubble
A day after the charge which broke Anitla, the fires in and around the city had finally died down. By now, the former battlefield was largely pacified, and safe enough for the king to inspect his new holdings, with protection of course.
Thus, Corco — together with Fadelio and General Scolo, and surrounded by a hundred guards — finally crossed the star-shaped walls of Antila that he had first observed almost three months ago. However, despite their victory, the discussion of the visiting party wasn"t too happy. Rather, the events of the previous day still lingered on.
"Luckily, you weren"t there when that maniac attacked, boss," General Scolo said. "I thought my heart would stop when I saw that Herak rush in, all bloodied up from head to toe and with that monster-like face of his exposed."
"Well, why would I stay in that tent all day in the first place?"
Of course, the careful Corco would never stay that close to the front line unless he had to. He wasn"t suicidal after all. There had been far too many attempts on his life in the past, so he had always been careful. Rather, during the final charge of the southern kingdom"s combined armies, he had been far behind their troop tents, and even behind their medical tents. The logistics unit at the very back of their main camp had always been the most well-guarded part of their defensive setup, so that was exactly where he spent most of his days while he handled administrative work.
This time, his habitual paranoia had really paid off. Maybe Herak had heard from some of his captured Saniya troops that he was staying in that command tent near the front line. At least it would explain why he had been so confident in his suicidal attack. Those captives wouldn"t have lied though, since most soldiers of the southern army thought that their miracle king was staying near the front line to watch over them in battle.
If course, that was just a convenient lie he had told the army. His presence would motivate the troops, or so he had been told, but there was no need to actually be there. So long as the common soldiers believed he was, that was plenty.
Thus, just flying his family banner atop the command tent had been enough to fool his troops, and — quite conveniently — the enemy as well. While it had been a simple safety move for Corco, he had never expected that his careful handling would double as bait and attract one of his greatest headaches.
"I"ll breathe much easier now that Herak"s dead," Corco said. "At least he"ll stop stealing all my ideas from now on. This time as well, the tunnels, and the bombs to destroy the wall, that guy just kept copying me."
There was a good reason Corco was careful with the spread of new technologies, especially when it came to weapons. His opponents would often adopt his innovations quite quickly, thus negating his early advantages. In some cases, their creative use of his technologies would even create unexpected problems for them, just like Herak had done on the last day of the siege.
"On that note, some of the strategies used during the duke"s charge have revealed significant flaws in our military system," Scolo added. "I believe we need to rectify the way our army is organized."
"That"s right, there is certainly a lot of work to be done in that regard," Corco agreed. "Our soldiers are far from invincible, no matter what anyone else thinks."
Although the king talked at ease, he broke out in cold sweat every time he thought back to Herak"s attack. Such a small number of elite warriors, armed with some half-decent weapons and a clever strategy, had been enough to break through almost their entire camp just like that.
"Yes, boss," Scolo agreed. "I have already compiled a few preliminary ideas, and was hoping we could talk about them."
Clearly, their setup was far from perfect, and the army would have to go through a major rectification very soon. However, that would be an issue for another day.
"Not for now," Corco thus disagreed and shook his head. "Talk about military reform will have to wait until the end of the war anyways. Don"t forget that we have still have to take down Port Ulta."
"Of course, boss," Scolo replied, obviously aware that they couldn"t just reform their army while they were still stuck in a war.
For one, changes in their structure would create chaos inside their army, chaos that would be easily to exploit. Apart from strategic concerns, any changes in their military technology had to be weighed carefully as well. It was best to improve their weapons technology and tactics gradually, so they would always stay just one step ahead of their opponents. Otherwise, they would waste their advantages early and would fail to overcome their enemies before they adapted and caught up.
Thus, since the was was still going on, there was no need to consider changes right away. In addition, Corco had no leisure to consider problems that far into the future anyways. Too pressing were the problems of the now all around him. On their walk through the city, they had finally left the almost empty area right around the destroyed walls, and had entered the outer city"s living area for the commoners, or what was left of it.
With distress, the king looked at the misery around him, stunned into silence.
The city of Antila had turned into ruins. Entire rows of buildings had been torn down in the name of defense or transportation. Whatever houses had been left had been occupied by warriors for months. Preoccupied with their partic.i.p.ation in a losing battle, they had shown no regard for the longevity of the buildings. As always in medalan wars, the commoners had been hit hardest in the aftermath.
Poor and desperate people were shuffling around on the streets like walking dead, most now homeless. Compared to the usual adulation that greeted Corco wherever he went, their eyes only looked upon their new ruler with fear and desperation.
"Master, I think it would have been better to move by palanquin," Fadelio said, while he looked around the restless crowd with concern. However, Corco brushed him aside.
"You know I don"t like those things. We have enough guards with us anyways, so no one will be able to touch me. Plus, hiding behind a curtain would just shield me from uncomfortable looks. But I need to see the consequences of my own actions at least once. That way I"ll be more careful in the future."
Again, the king"s delegation walked in silence, maybe contemplating whether their master"s words were too dreary for a victor. Neither of Corco"s subordinates wanted to comment on the current state of the city, nor did they think it would be useful to blame themselves for it. This was war after all, and it was impossible to meet the idealistic standards of their king. However, Corco didn"t care about their concerns. Instead, he would do whatever he could to alleviate the pain of the people, if only to make himself feel better.
"What about the looting, have they stopped?" he asked, towards Fadelio this time. While Scolo had been tasked with the main camp"s defense during the final charge, Fadelio had been sent out with the front line troops, to keep the overenthusiastic General Pahuac in check.
After entering Antila, the southern kingdom"s army looted the city, predictably. This was of course normal in Medalan warfare after all. Still, Corco didn"t like it, especially not when it was done to a city that he intended to incorporate into his kingdom.
"Once our army crossed the walls, they spread throughout the city immediately," Fadelio explained. "There were still many pockets of resistance, so it was impossible to focus on internal rectification straight away. It also seems like General Pahuac tacitly approved the looting that happened throughout the city, though at least he did not partic.i.p.ate himself. For now, the looting has stopped. Most men should have understood their a.s.signments, though I expect some men will still go out to make a killing tonight."
"So what"s the problem?" Corco asked.
"Habit, for the most part. Most warriors are used to a certain type of warfare. Looting a city after conquering it is just part of what they do. They aren"t paid for their services after all, fighting for their masters is their duty. So the only way for them to make money is through looting. In comparison, our soldiers draw a regular wage, and a bonus in times of combat. That makes our local saniyan troops easier to control. In comparison many warriors have ignored their orders and looted anyways. Especially now that they"ll be allowed to own property per our new const.i.tution, they"ll need money more than ever. So I don"t think they"ll stop just because we tell them to."
"What about General Pahuca?" Scolo asked. "He was very eager to raze Antila. Has he not been involved at all?"
"No, when we first entered the city, the general was eager to do additional damage to House Sucopia"s territory, but only until I conferred master"s orders, as instructed. After that, he held back, and none of his direct troops were involved in any more looting either."
"In that case, the problem isn"t big," Corco concluded. "We just have to get the warriors out of the city. If they"re not here, they can"t loot the place. Send them to Port Ulta as an advanced party, send them to protect the medical camp or the supply lines, or disband them to send them home, just make sure they don"t stay here. Scolo, can you do that?"
"Of course. I would have to coordinate with Pahuac and Lord Huaman, but that shouldn"t be a problem. Though I wonder if it won"t make us unpopular with the warriors. We"re effectively taking money out of their pockets, or at least they would see it that way."
"That"s probably not wrong," Corco admitted. This was a problem he had failed to consider. For a few seconds, he tapped his chin as he thought. At the same time he looked past his guards, at the objects of their discussion.
By now, they had entered Antila"s inner city, a place where only warriors were allowed to live. Predictably, this part of the city had survived the siege with minimal damage. Compared to the outer city, the homes of the warrior families behind the city"s inner wall had been almost untouched by the invaders as well as the local defenders.
By now, some of the former enemies were even grouping up. They stood together on the street in small groups and gossiped, as if they hadn"t tried to kill each other just yesterday. Only the unhealthy complexions and unhappy faces of the losing side betrayed their prior allegiance.
This sort of mutual respect was certainly also a part of Medala"s warrior culture. As he observed them, Corco realized just how close the warriors were with each other, even those of different houses. Although modern weapons would eventually make their way of combat irrelevant, for now, they were still a military and political force to be reckoned with. Offending all of them at once would do him no good.
"In that case, we need to reward them separately for their partic.i.p.ation in the war," Corco finally came to a conclusion. Fadelio wanted to complain at first, but the king already raised his hand to preempt his attendant. "I know what you want to say. If our finances can"t afford the extra expenses, then come up with something else. For example, we can offer them discounts if they want to buy land or property in my territory. They can also get a special badge or something once the war is over. Honor is something many warriors value more than gold, so that should alleviate the problem somewhat as well."
"In that case, I think many warriors would be grateful, rather than upset," Fadelio remarked with a smile. "With a discount, many of them will also move to Saniya once they are free to decide where they want to live."
"Yeah, and it puts more pressure on the lords," Corco added. "If they don"t want to disappear, they have to go along with our reforms, since even the warrior cla.s.s they have relied on will turn towards us once we offer enough benefits. And it"s a good idea to pacify all major cla.s.ses anyways. I mean, we"re planning to rule the south, not destroy it in a violent revolution. There"s no point in conquering this place if entire cla.s.ses become our enemies in the process. Those enemies will be part of our population after all, and having that many enemies live in our city sounds pretty dangerous to me."
Again, the king"s two attendants were silent as they digested the king"s words, words which envisioned a future years away. There was much to consider in this regard. After all, Corco"s planned social reforms had no precedent, neither in this life nor any other he remembered. With his extensive experience, the king could make educated guesses and guide society into a productive direction, but he really felt overwhelmed sometimes. No wonder his subordinates — who did not have his otherworldly experience — were struggling sometimes. Corco however didn"t care if they understood his point right now. There would be time for reflections later. Until then, there was still much left to do.