NationStates Jolt Archive

http://users.pandora.be/bdc/Tadj/bala1.jpg
1.A new army for the Empire

The recent campaigns against nearby peoples had not only enlarged the Tadjik Empire, they also revealed a problem; the lack of a national indentity! Each ethnic group within the empire still had its own agenda and interests. Whenever there was a war, most fighting was done by a small number of regular Tadjik troops enforced by a much larger portion of provincial forces, often mercenaries and badly trained locals and tribesmen.

The inflexibility of some groups endangered campaign as they refused to go to war with other tribes and groups, and even when there was no infighting, tribesmen were never inclined to stay around if there was no sign of quick victory (unless they were paid).
Emperor Nimruzirim therefore divided the Empire in two parts, over which he kept complete control by appointing his own advisors as consuls. In the North, the emperor entrusted general Corazin with this task. Corazin kept his seat in Dushanbe and from there he raised extra forces. An easy task with 75000 regulars to start with.

In the South, the military leader from the Persian campaign was appointed as consul, Suladan. He in turn received a notorious but highly succesful advisor; Kharid Drozhna.
Suladan was a good tactician and a hero in the eyes of the locals, he has a reputation of a good leader and a strong warrior.
Drozhna was more a politician than a military leader, though he knows enough to lead an army. Drozhna took his task of forming a Southern army seriously and came up with a system that could hardly fail.
From each village, 1 out of 8 was taken and sent to the army, each time to a different unit to ensure that there'd be no ethnic unity. The only thing that united them was the uniform that they wore. To make sure that conspiracies and rebellions within the army remained impossible, Drozhna sent out hundreds of spies and dropped them in each unit, as he had done so in civilian life.

Once he had created the first units, he combined them with a number of mercenaries and destroyed all rebellious element in the Southern region. Drozhna imposed harsh laws, thieves were were hung in cages near the scene of their crime and left to die of starvation. If the criminal commited a serious offense(murder for instance) he was often stoned to death or impaled on a stake. A merchant caught cheating could have his ears severed and displyed above his stall.
All dissidence was crushed with terrible cruelty, and Drozhna became known as 'the Assassin' or 'The Iron Lord'.
Though he was cruel, people(especially Pathans) respected him, for in the Afghan region, only an Iron hand is admired, people who lived their lives correctly and abided the law were left alone and lived a life without crime and chaos.

The new army:
While it was still not entirely formed, a number of troops was ready and had already been used for restoring order in certain zones. Especially the Southern Army had been active.
The Northern army remained much as it had been, except that its numbers were increased while in the South, a whole new army had to built up from scratch.

Drozhna mixed different tribes and made sure they would still cooperate in battle by issueing helmets and masks. This type of clothing also ensured that the soldier remained unrecognizable during an operation against a local tribe(whom would certainly want revenge if they knew their enemy).
The scimitar became the standard blade of the troops with halberds a second weapon. an all metal shield was used as protection next to the soldiers armor. The new army (http://users.pandora.be/bdc/Tadj/easterlings-film.jpg) was born.

In addition to his footsoldiers he recruited thousands of horsemen throughout the Southern region and formed them into Kataphrakts or heavy cavalry with lots of armour for rider and animal(especially the front). Archers, both mounted and on foot, were hired to support their collegues.

The system of hiring and encouraging tribesmen to fight alongside the army was kept as it was an ideal method to increase the army's numbers on campaign, but now the commander could rely fully on regulars alone if the situation became problematic.

Additional: the original Tadjik army
They are commonly called 'footknights', armor on their body, shoulders, legs and a helmet on their head(where else?). Each Footknight is equiped with a sword. But next to this weapon they also have a variety of other weapons.
1.Pikes: Footknights armed with a pike and a sword, nothing special.
2.Warhammer: A 1.4m long slender all metal hammer with a small steel head(with a tip) is well capable of penetrating the armour of a(any) knight, these men may often be equiped with a small shield which is carried on the arm to protect the soldier while he lifts his weapon for a blow.
3.Musket: A small number of Footknights are armed with match lock muskets, when these are fired they rest on a pole axe, also standard equipment of the Musketeer footknight.
4.Spears: several battalions of Footknights have been given one or two spears and a long shield with can be put in the ground while the footknights throws his spears at the enemy.
5.Longbows: In the entire Empire, these are the only ones to be armed with them, 12 battalions or some 6000 men(the longbow is a hunting weapon in the Tadjik region).
6.axes, maces, swords: a number of battalions and troops are armed with these weapons are form the basic infantry.

There is a Citadel Guard, 2000 of the best footknights that were selected to protect the Emperor, whom resides in the citadel of Dushanbe, They have the best weaponry from the best weaponsmiths. The Citadel Guard are easily recognized by a black cloak and their decorated shirts and armor. They are skilled in archery as well as man to man combat.
Last but not least, the Tadjik army has heavy cavalry of fully armoured knights with maces, flails, morningstars, swords, lances etc.

Their original strength stood at 75,000 but their numbers are growing,

Important notes about the Afghans in particular(includes Ethnic Tajiks, living in Tajikistan and Afghanistan), This is iteresting to everytone since it is real. It may teach you something about the Afghan traditions and lifestyle.

A small group of Afghans clustered around a wood fire, arguing. Two of them were disputing as to who was the bravest. To prove his point, one of them leaned forward and thrust his hand into the fire. He held it there, with the flames eating at his flesh. Despite the excruciating agony he made no sound, only the locked jaw, the screwing up of the eyes and the slight shaking of his arm, indicated the supreme effort of will necessary to conquer his pain. For a few moments he kept it roasting in front of his audience. When he pulled back his hand it was bright red, dripping fluid. The man had established his courage.
Courage, Physical courage is central to the Afghan character. The incident described above actually happened, although it is an extreme example. This man was certainly overcoming fear, which is what courage is all about. but he was demonstrating a special facet of Afghan bravery - the ability to suffer pain stoically, without fuss and silently.It is deemed unmanly for an Afghan to cry out, or scream, if gravely injured. This is incalculated into his character, as a child, as a part of his upbringing. Cuff a five year old Afghan boy and tears will flow as other children, but hit the same child at seven and he will hardly flinch. To be without courage is abhorrent; such a person is despised.
I do not mean to imply the Afghan is never frightened. He knows fear, but not the fear of death. They are, for instance afraid of mines. Their concern was living the life of a cripple, in a society where physical stamina and hardiness are indispensable. How could a man raise his family, tend his sheep, build his house and climb the hills without legs?
The prospect of such a life is infinitly more frightening than death on the battlefield.
The Holy Koran states that a man killed in a Jihad(war against unbelievers or Kaffirs) becomes a Shaheed, a martyr.
Commanders would never report that they had so many killed in an operation, but rather that, 'God be praised, we have five Shaheed', The Afghans willingness to die in battle stems from the promise by Allah that Shaheeds go imediatly to paradise.
No matter how many sinsthey have commited in their lives, to die as a Soldier of god means complete forgiveness. A special placein paradise is assured. Shaheeds are buried as they fall, in the clothes they died in, bodies bloodied and unwashed, and without coffins. They go to Allah exactly as they died for their faith. There is no greater glory for a Muslim warrior.
It is not only the man who dies in battle that is venerated, there is a reward also for those who fight and live. Such a person is called a Ghazi and Islam promises him rich rewards in paraduse. Axccording to the Prophet, the man who spends one night on guard duty has performed equally with the ordinary man who prays for a thousand nights.

Most Afghans try to live up to their code of honour - Pushtunwali. Aside from courage, there are two other aspects of this code - vengeance and hospitality.
Badal is the Pushtu word for vengeance. The need to secure revenge for any slight, any insult has been part of the Afghans life throughout his history. Blood feuds between individuals, between families, and between clans or tribes are endemic. The Afghan will never turn the other cheek, a killing must be avenged by a killing and so it goes on from generation to generation. A family will never forget a bedt of honour. Revenge may not be swift, the injured party may bide its time for years if need be, until the right moment he strikes. A son must kill a father's murderer. in many instances, his mother will insist he does so, otherwise she will disown him and he will be disgraced. If the murderer himself is dead, then his son, or his brother, or his uncle must die. Thus the fued is perpetuated. Even a Jihad cannot stop 'Badal'.

Sometimes hospiatlity clashes with vengeance. To refuse a person shelter or sanctuary is unthinkable to an Afghan. Even if the person seeking hospitality is a bitter enemy he cannot be refused. While in that mans house, he is absolutely safe. His host would fight to protect him, give him the choicest food and threat him as a member of his close family. In an Afghans home, even the poorest one, a guest will receive the best. If this entails killing an only sjheep, so be it; no sacrifice is spared. A stranger particularly a foreigner, sitting down to eat with a group of Afghans from a large communal pot will get the meatiest portions handed to him without hesitation.

Add to the above the Afghans hardy physique, his ability to endure privations, his great resilience and you have the making of a first class soldier.
Like most soldiers the Afghans hates digging. He was decidedly unhappy in a static defensive role. It was alien to his temperament, it restricted his freedom to move and he can seldom be convinced of the need to construct overhead cover. Similarly his fieldcraft is often poor as he is disinclined to crawl, even when close to an enemy position. Walk or crouch perhaps, but crawling was seldom acceptable.

The Afghan can live of the land, or rather from the villages. Even when he takes rations on the march all he needs is 'nan'(flat bread) and tea to sustain him for days on end. The fatty bread is wrapped in blanket or cloth and becomes rotten with age making it the most revolting of meals, never the less, it is eaten.
The Afghan can walk for days, even weeks on the minimum of food; then when the opportunity comes, they will stuff themselves with huge quantities, stocking themselves up like camels for the next journey.
An Afghan man rarely goes unarmed, even in peacetime. To him his rifle is a part of his body, a piece of clothing without which he feels uncomfortable. A weapon to a man is like jewellry to a western women - he is rarely seen without it. It is a symbol of manhood. Afghans buy and sell weapons as Americans do cars. This closeness to arms, means that the Afghan take readily to training on new weapons and usually obtain startingly good results.
To be able to shoot straight is far greater practical value than to be able to write. in their life, the gun is mightier than the pen.

After their weapon, the next most valued possession was his blanket. It is usually greyish-brown colour and is used day and night for a wide number of purposes. He uses it as a cloak, for warmthin winter, against the wind. They crouch under it to conceal themselves from enemy gunships as it blends perfectly with the mud or rocks. they sleep on it, they use it as a sack, they spread it on the ground as a tablecloth,or upon which to display their wares, often it becomes a makeshift stretcher and sometimes it is a rope, several times a day it is their prayer mat.

After establishing relations with several surrounding nations, the High Seneschal considered the situation; he realised that there could be many more nations around, and that Aust could still be looking for allies. Kilani had only narrowly been won round from an Austian entanglement, and that could not be repeated if Incognitians were not present.

To this end a new wave of diplomatic missions had been sent, with remit to range ever further afield, contacting nations and establishing embassies. One such was also trading as the Far West Company, heading for Aust. Another was a party of three vessels headed in that broad direction, but further east.

For some days now they had been seeing more merchant shipping, and now they had sighted land. The easy part was over; now would come the establishment of relations.


OOC: Can you go briefly into your nation's army? I get all the stuff about Afghans, but presumably you're not claiming to have rifles etc?

Why offcourse they have rifles, AK47s and RPGs! lol!
Serious now, No they dont have rifles, this particular text was set up to describe the mujahideen during the war in Afghanistan with the Soviets. Replace 'rifle' by 'sword'(or any other medieval weapon) and you get a more apropriate text.

Look above to see what the troops look like and if you feel ready sail into Karachi. If your ship is truely a merchant ship(or look like), then it would have little trouble docking. Once you are there, best bet is to contact the local commander or governor whom wiill bring you into conatct with my leaders

The India Company's ships (OOC: ignore any colonial overtones of naming it India Company) were three in number. They took the form of large, fast merchantmen, carrying as much armament as small (in Incognitian terms) warships.

Having followed the increasing levels of shipping, they had been led eventually to a major port. Here, they would come into dock. If harbour authorities did not greet them beforehand, they would dock and search out the local authorities.

The guards on the dock had seen the unknown ships dock, not that it was strange to see an unknown ship. It was already hard enough to keep up with regular merchants dropping by, the local authorities saw new faces every day, but these ones were well armed, especially when compared to other ships in the port.

The leader of the patrol decided to check out these newcomers, they seemed friendly so the men waited until the ships docked. After all, enemies would avoid big ports when they wanted to land.

It seemed they would not have to search out the local rulers - a patrol was coming their way.
Earl Maine, the leader of the expedition, made his way to the side of his vessel, making himself obvious to save time and trouble. He only hoped that they could speak Latin
"We are traders and diplomats from Incognitia, South and East of here. We would like both to speak with the local authorities, and to have the opportunity to trade here."

'Huh' the officer muttered 'What kind of language is that? damn foreigners!'
One of the soldiers noted that such ships carried wealthy people, therefore it would be interesting to know what they said. The officer seent his soldier to a government office nearby while he bade the foreigners to wait.
A government official, who spoke different languages, as is required to work in this port, came to the docks and intrigued by the newcomers, ignored the officer completely.
From what the soldier had told him, the official learned that the foreigners spoke latin: 'My name is Hazdrag, I work for the Empire, The Tadjik Empire. Forgive these soldiers for their ignorance, their task is only to fight and patrol. Now where exactly did you come from and what is your motivation for coming here? Are you diplomats?'
The officer, a bit annoyed by the officials behaviour, returned to his duties and marched off with his soldiers.

There appeared to be some form of contretemps between the guard and the official; the substance of it passed them by, as it occurred in the local tongue.
"My name is Earl Maine. I am a diplomat from Incognitia, a land South-East of here. I come to discuss trade and treaties. My companions come to do the trading that I discuss."

'I can help you with the trade, sure, anthing you wish' Hazdrags latin was not perfect but you could understand it 'Treaties on the other hand are government bussiness and should be arranged by someone from the Emperors court, Our consul in Kabul for instance.' Hazdrag explained as he pointed North, 'Shall I send a courier to Kabul? I am certain Lord Drozhna would be willing to meet with you!'

"As my mission is to establish relations with lands we have not encountered before, I would certainly appreciate the chance to meet with Lord Drozhna.
If we can trade in the meantime, we have a selection of goods from Kirisubo, Kilani, Angermanland, as well as our own cloths and arms, and are looking to buy, well, almost anything of good quality at reasonable price.

If there is anything in particular demand here, we shall of course bring it in quantity on our next visit."

'One of the specialties of the Southern provinces is weaponry, but clothes are also available at reasonable prices while the North may provide you with many raw materials such as metals.' Hazdrag said, while he stopped another soldier who happened to pass by.
The soldier had his own work to do, but as Hazdrag mentioned he had an important message for Lord Drozhna, the soldier was quick to accept Hazdrags assignement.
'May I invite you to the governors citadel, where you will receive a room. You can stay in the citadel until Lord Drozhna arrives or sends his guide and escort to pick you up. Lord Drozhna is unpredictable, you never know what he plans, especially his enemies have cursed him for that as they never know where they can attack him.'

"I am in no hurry; I shall happily stay until then. Perhaps in the meantime we can trade down in the docks; and maybe you could tell me a little about your country? It's extent, how it is governed, that sort of thing."

Hazdrag invited his guests to the citadel and took the opportunity to explain a bit more about the nation 'there is not much to be said about the Empire and the way it is governed. The Emperor rules over the whole Empire, but our lord preffers gardening and other hobbies over politics, so leaves the men of his Imperial order to rule the Empire in his stead. People who were trained for these tasks since they were born. Lord Drozhna is one of those,'
'though he is not officially the leader of the Southern region, he is the one you must talk too, The official Leader of the South, Lord Suladan does not possess the military and political power of Drozhna. It is strange but you'll get used too it.'
'The Northern region has only one regional leader, General Corazin, but since its the home of the Emperor, there is no need for a second leading figure'

In the meantime, a courier left the citadel on horseback and brought his message the Bala Hissar in Kabul.

"So, the Emperor rules but does not govern; the Lords Drozhna, Suladan and Corazin govern the country for him.
In our country the High Seneschal rules. He is advised by his Council, and assisted in ruling by the Consilium, which represents the people.
Am I correct in believing that your nation has a border with the Han Chinese, after their recent expansion?"

Meanwhile in the port, the traders were conducting steady business, selling most easily what they had brought from foreign lands, but also some of their own cloths and weaponry.

Arriving at the citadel, The guards checked Hazdrags papers, warned the governor and allowed them in while Hazdrag continued the conversation with his guests
'That is correct, we share a long border from the sea far into the Himalaya with Han. There are traders whom cross the border from time to time but thats basicly it. There is very little contact our governments.'
'Though we were first to expand when General Corazin led an expedition to punish a Bandit king, thats when we made the first and so far only official contact with Han China.'

The governor came outside to greet his new guests, a fat man with a bald head, completely shaven and a big mustache under his nose(where else?). His expensive clothes and golden necklace revealed that he was a wealthy man who profits greatly from the trade in his city. And as all men here, he carries weaponry in the form of two curved daggers, with golden sheath, decorated with diamonds.
'Welcome to the citadel, I am Governor Gutharic and I will be your host,'

"Thank you Governor. I am Earl Maine. I speak for the land of Terror Incognitia.
We have been sent here to trade and negotiate with your land. I was just discussing your fine country with Hazdrag, for we know very little of your land and people.
One thing that interests me is this; what are your thoughts of the Han? I hear that you have very little contact with them; is this merely because you have no shared interests, or is it an uneasy peace?"

Governor Githaric cared little for politics, his domain was economy and trade, but as a governor, he received enough news to know what was going on in the world, news he could not always ignore in his position: 'There used to be shared interests, General Corazin once planned to invade India but a threat from the West forced him to abandon that idea. The general has already given up on India and Lord Drozhna spent most of his time here building fortresses along the Indus, incase there would ever be an attack. Neither of the Lords ever attempted to contact Han again, probably because they dont see any profit in it.'
'To be honest, I'm quite happy with the current situation, a war or tense relations would only result in less profit for the Empire ... and me.'

"Sensible men have always been more interested in trade than in fighting; there is more profit, and less risk, in it.
However sometimes it is necessary to fight; and I must say that in your position I would feel the weight of Han expansion hanging over me.
No matter; you know your own business I am sure. I think in lines of trade we have already made sufficient arrangement for the few ships we have brought; we shall return with more, having found a worthy trading partner. Is there anything you would particularly desire us to bring?"

Always interested in a good eal Gutharic told the Incognitians that 'All high quality goods are welcome, certain goods such as wood are offcourse a bit more interesting.'
'Are you all going to return home now? Lord Drozhna has been warned of your presence and we expect to hear from him soon. He is more interested in politics and foreign affairs than I am,'

"No, we were not planning to leave just yet; there is always more trading to be done, and without meeting Lord Drozhna we cannot complete the other half of our mission here.
Raw timber we can obtain for you in quantity; we also have access to some highe quality worked wooden goods. We shall bring some next time, so that you can see."

'Ah, that would be excellent! Now let us go inside, your rooms should be ready by now. You will receive everything you may need while you wait for the Lords response, all you have to do is ask.'


Ooc: I dont know how long it takes exactly to get to kabul and back, but i'll assume that it can be done in 1 RL day, I will continue this tomorrow.

OOC: That's ok, but from now until about a week's time, I won't be posting much, cos I'm going to be staying elsewhere, away from my lovely broadband internet connection...
IC: The Incognitians found their rooms comfortable, and settled in to discuss what they had seen and await the Lord's arrival.

OOC: Actually, please post...I still can't guarantee posting til Wednesday, but I will post when I can.

When people woke up in the early morining they found themselves trapped in their city, or even their own houses as thousands of regulars marched through the streets and blocked every road in and out of the city.
The main road that led to the citadel was the only road open ... and even then anyone trying to use it had to come up with a really good reason.

Then a column of troops moved through the city, cavalry and infantry, all ready for action, parading with their officers leading them. Noone really knew what they were doing here and no high dignitary was to be seen among them.

In reality, it was Lord Drozhna's army that protected him by locking down the city and drawing attention away from their leader. Drozhna entered the city through an alley, guarded by a small party of his best and most loyal men. While everyone watched the troops they secretly slipped into the citadel.

The governor, who knew not that his Lord was coming, was taken by surprise and woken up. Exactly as Drozhna planned it.
Within minutes a breakfast was prepared for Lord Drozhna and his guests from Terror Incognita.

"Lord, I speak for Incognitia. We are a nation to the South and East of here, interested in establishing good relations with your country."

'And I welcome you in my country, please be seated and enjoy the meal that has been prepared for you.'
'And please tell me more about your nation and your interests.'

"Well, our nation is very interested in trade; it is also interested in stability and security. To secure those goals, we are currently at war.
So we are searching for trading partners. We are looking for allies. And we are exploring the world, as in many ways we know very little of what is out there."

OOC: If you want more detail, check out the first post in my thread.

'Our knowledge of this world is limited too, we have to go by what rumours tell us. Our list of allies is currently limited as well, we are a neutral country.'
'I have also heard of the wars in the East and the strange alliances that have formed.'
'If we could establish traderoutes, then we too could learn of this world'

OOC:He's just being polite to his guests

"There are currently two wars in the East. To which are you referring? The invasion of Aust, I doubt would greatly interest your nation. The war against the Han, on the other hand, will affect you as you border them.
To lay all my cards upon the table, we are offering alliance, favourable trading agreements and military assistance, in exchange for you making war on the Han.
We have much to offer you, and if you have any desire to attack the Han, there can be no better time than when they are occupied with all of our alliance.
What say you?"

OOC: That should bring something other than polite, pretended interest.:D

'I am always interested in new trade agreements but how can you assist us militarily if you are already occupied in Aust and against Han yourself?'
'If we go to war, then we would still be outnumbered, how can you assure us that we will be succesful?'

"We can bring you military supplies. We can help to fund your war effort. And, if you allied with us, there would be Ostian troops heading to fight the Han through your nation.
In addition to which, we may instigate a revolt in India, which would occur behind any Han armies facing you, splitting their attention.
And, of course, they will be fighting half a dozen other nations on three or four different fronts. As I say, if you are ever going to have to fight them - since they have shown no sign of limiting their expansion, this seems likely - there will be no better opportunity."

'Excuse me but I do not know that I can trust you in this. We provided the Ostians with ships to get to Aust and according to what I've been told, they now face another enemy in their own region.'
'I also dont understand how foreigners would be able to instigate a revolt in India or bring us supplies you most definitly need for your own wareffort far from here. Why shouldnt I just ally with them instead?'


OOC: never said this was an easy man to negotiate with

OOC: They're fair questions. Whatever you think OOCly, ICly it's fully justified to ask stuff like this; he'd be a fool to ally without answers he's satisfied with.

IC: "Ah, you mean these African pirates. The Ostians are fully capable of defeating them. At worst their trade will suffer from the piracy for a while; it is no threat to the Ostian Empire.
They made good use of the ships you provided, taking forces to Aust which will make our victory there swifter.
As for providing you with war materiel, we are capable of producing more than we can immediately use; and capable of purchasing more again from abroad and transporting it where we choose. Just as we shall be able to provide it to you, so we will also be able to arm Indian rebels, with whom we had contact before the Han invaded India, as we were building a sphere of influence in the south of the country. Many of those leaders, or at least their lieutenants, are still in place even now, part of the Han's network of control yet not reconciled to it. Being able to promise your intervention in the West would bring round still more waverers, triggering a full-scale revolt.
What do you stand to gain from allying with the Han? Territory? Honour? Glory? It would be a safe bet; the course of action I propose carries risks. But it gains you nothing. You are a man of ability, and a man of ambition. Surely you see that to take on the Han, and win, as we are fully capable of doing, gives unrivalled opportunities."

OOC: Go on, you know you want to :)

Indeed ... Ambition, the power that drives me ... There is still enough territory for the Empire to conquer to the West and North, while Han's focus is on its Eastern borders. Furthermore, if the Chinese dare to invade us they will suffer greatly and be defeated by the fierce warriors that inhabit these mountainous lands. I do not fear my neighbours and an alliance with them assures me that my flank remains safe.'
'I am also doubtful of your claim that you can provide us with warmaterials. If things do not go as expected, you may be forced to send unguarded transports... easy prey to pirates and Han warships. The Tadjik navy, small as it is, will already have its hands full near these coasts.'

'I will think about this proposal, but still preffer to see those claims realised. If you succeed in starting a rebellion on the Indian peninsula, then I might be inclined to join your side... granted that you are succesful and this does not become an isolated usprising in some distant city.'

"In that case we shall begin proving them. We shall start by bringing war materials here to sell. These materials would be available at reduced rates, or entirely free, were you to ally with us; until then we shall sell them in your marketplaces. Guns, powder, shot, swords, armour, ship's stores, victuals, all the necessaries of war. And we shall bring them in quantity.
As for the revolt, that will take time, but we shall stay in contact with you, so that we can notify you immediately it begins, and you can take full advantage.
Your caution is understandable, but I warn you that if you wait too long, especially when the rising begins, the opportunity may be lost."

'The Emperor will be notified of the current situation and should your attempts to make India revolt, prove succesful, we may decide to go to war. Though I believe our troops could be succesful in a war, I still doubt the possibility of such and undertaking.'
'In any case, our ports will be open to all weaponry that you wish to sell here, I am certain our people will be happy with the high quality equipment that you offer them.'

"In that case, our trading here is, I believe, complete; we will leave one vessel here to maintain contact; the other two shall return home. Soon after that, military stores, sufficient to prove our point, will arrive for sale. Soon after that, you wil recieve word of the revolt in India. And if you do not act then, you are no friend of ours."

'I will most definitly prepare my troops, but whether they will march to war or just defend their border is a question that we have not yet answerred.
'I do not think my Emperor will be pleased to hear that you give us little choice but the option to go to war.'

"We give you every choice. However, if you do not take this opportunity, with alliances with us and all our allies, extensive trading deals, the chance to conquer much of India while the Han are distracted, and the offer of access to our military technology, I am uncertain as to what more my nation can offer to win the friendship of yours, and so while we would happily coexist with you, and would not prevent trade with you, we would not be your friend or your ally under any circumstances."

Lord Kharid Drozhna was an excentric man, few could predict his moves. But when he said he'd do something, it would happen. Drozhna sent out couriers to Kabul and Dushanbe, to warn the Emperor of his plans and mobilize as many troops as were available.

The result was that thousands of soldiers soon marched off to the Indus and word spread of these troopconcentrations. Many thousands of tribesmen took up their weapons and gathered their kinsmen, together they departed to the border. If there was going to be any fighting, the tribesmen would be present to take their part of the loot.

None of the tribesmen had certainty that he'd go to war, as there were no plans to invade China, but such large numbers of troops were not called upon for nothing. The tribal leaders could only hope that the army was preparing for war.

In Kabul, Lord Suladan led a host of some 70.000 men while roughly 50.000 came from different garrison throughout the Southern region. The Emperor, as far as defending the Indus went, agreed with Lord Drozhna and freed up 35.000 of his own regulars to go South while the remainder, some 90.000, strengthened the borders in the Himalayan area. The total number of troops in the South would obviously be much larger, the North was easily defendable with some forts, the region was mountainous and did not allow for large troopmovements anyway.
In the South, together with the en Drozhna had brought to Karachi, there would soon be an army of nearly 200.000 regulars while another 100.000 were kept in reserve throughout the South.
The number of Tribesmen remained unknown, but there must be many thousands.