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.I like to think our enemies are big enough fools to try, but I don'tthink Dralm has addled their wits that badly."No, father, you can wait for them around here " She tapped the map west ofSouth Mountain nearGettysburg "and be fairly sure they'll come close enough to be found easily.You'll need the dragoons and as much cavalry as we can space since that's inhostile Syriphlon.You'll be able to forage to the south, but it's also onlyPage 109 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlfour days' march from our supply depots in Sashta.You can leave the countrybehind you intact so that if you do find some reason to retreat in a hurry,you can just go back the way you came.In fact, you even can "Ptosphes burst out laughing, then looked up at the ceiling rafters in mockanguish."Dralm, Yirtta, Appalon, Galzar you told me to raise my daughter as awarrior and look what comes of it, she floutsGenerated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlher father at his own Council!"Rylla giggled and Ptosphes laughed again more gently."I sometimes wish Ihadn't had to raise you by myself, little one.You didn't have much of agirlhood."Rylla shrugged inside her tent-like chamber robe."Hostigos was only a poorPrincedom then, Father.Agirlhood for me was something we couldn't afford.Now that I'm a woman, I haveeverything anyone could ask for." She threw Kalvan a look that would have madehim blush if it had been anybody except old friends present.Joking aside, even those who wanted to couldn't find a flaw in Phrames andRylla's logic.SincePtosphes had his case for a cavalry-heavy army, that made the job of dividingthe Hostigi forces a few minutes work with soap stone tablets and pine boardnote pads.Parchment, never plentiful, was guarded like gold ever sinceKalvan's arrival.The Army of the Harph would have most have of the Royal Army's "regulars,"Prince Armanes commanding both his own Nyklosi Army and contingents fromKyblos and Ulthor and an impressive quantity of mercenaries, some eight ornine thousand, many recently arrived from Rathon and the Trygath as well asthe Upper Middle Kingdoms.Word of the war against Styphon's House washousehold news everywhere east of the Great River.Kalvan would command the Army of the Harph in person with Harmakros, Phrames,Armanes andHestophes as his subordinates.The Army of the Besh would have an even more impressive quantity ofmercenaries, half of the Army ofOld Hostigos, the princely armies of Nostor, Beshta, Sashta and Sask.Ptospheswould be commander-in-chief, with Captain-General Chartiphon, Prince Pheblonand what everybody hoped would be more help than hindrance from Balthar ofBeshta and Sarrask of Sask.Each army would have a reinforced company of Mounted Rifles and a few hundredof Harmakros'almost-tame Sastragathi.The grand total Kingdom strength would be somewherearound twenty-six thousand men for Kalvan and twenty-four thousand fivehundred for Ptosphes.Kalvan would have about one-third cavalry; Ptosphesclose to half, since he had the most traveling to do, but not as good and eachwould have roughly half of the sixty-odd field guns, some of them moreantiquated and unusual thanKalvan cared to depend on, but Great Kings with their backs to the wall can'tbe choosy.Since this arrangement meant an absolute minimum of troop-reshuffling, bothArmies could be on the march within ten days, their advance guards evensooner with a little help from Galzar and a little more from Lytris, thehawk-faced Weather Goddess.The two Army commanders would probably find itprudent to hold their own councils of war before they moved, but even theseshouldn't take too much time.The strategy of the campaign was being kept assimple as possible partly because nothing complicated was necessary, partlybecause Kalvan didn't entirely trust Ptosphes and Chartiphon to get grandstrategy right the first time they attempted it.The Army of the Harph would move southeast by whatever route offered theeasiest going for the heavy equipment that also let it rest its right flank onPage 110 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlthe Harph itself for protection and fresh water.It would advance straight atHarphax City until the Harphaxi Army marched out to be fought and smashed.Notjust defeated, but smashed, routed, driven back to the walls of the City andmade useless for the rest of this year and maybe the next.Meanwhile Ptosphes would wait by South Mountain keeping track of thewhereabouts of the Styphoni, Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter,http://www.processtext.com/abclit
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