4. Expanding Borders

'DIG YOU SCUM!!'
Anand was not so sure any more that was a good idea. Opting to become one of the settler corps had seemed exciting at the time he had signed up, journeying to far off lands where he could own his own farm and make his fortune, but the Indian empire needed roads more than it needed cities. It was in danger of expanding above the capabilities of its own armies. So now settlers had to spend a certain amount of time building roads and irrigating land before they were allowed their own land. Meanwhile cities had stopped churning out settlers and started building archers. The Indian army now boasted 12 archer units, twice as many as the Chinese, and these were travelling to the borders of the empire to secure against barbarian attack. His section of the irrigation completed Anand traveled back to the camp to get some well earned rest.
They marched, they marched like they had never marched before. They had discovered a river which would take them to the mountains. The Aztec legion was nothing if not determined, but being so far from home dampened spirits. No sight of the enemy was also frustrating, there was nothing like a battle to take your mind off your troubles. The second and third Aztec legions were close on their heels but the first was determined to be the first into battle, and so they marched.
The four English cities had flourished, surrounded by irrigation and connected by roads a period of peace had fallen upon the English Empire allowing them to regroup. the English now had 8 archer units, what was better was that their enemies had no idea of their strength. They would keep building archers and phalanx and then the Russians would realize their mistake of not crushing the English while they had the chance. These thoughts echoed inside the mind of queen Elizabeth as she traveled to her new capital. there was a commotion somewhere further ahead, the convoy had stopped? why?.... the Indian 11th archers and the Chinese 6th horsemen had traveled together to investigate rumors of activity, possibly barbarian further south. But what they had encountered was certainly not barbarian. as queen Elizabeth met the envoys a smile touched her lips, maybe English blood need not be shed in the destruction of the Russians??
in the weeks following the arrival of German elephants upon the scene the Zulu right flank had been stopped dead. local commanders were unwilling to leave the shelter of the trees and have to face the nightmarish creatures other Zulu’s had spoken of. With the speed of these new units the Germans could make their way around the Zulu flank and strike at the undefended cities that lay there. unlike in German cities the thought of attack by enemy units was laughed upon. and so Mpondo had ordered reinforcements sent to that flank. Progress on the left flank had continued, but slower, the trap that should have struck like lightning was now closing shut ponderously slowly. Mpondo believed that the Germans had stripped their left (and the Zulu right) flank of defenses for the center, Mpondo's elite units were outnumbered and often forced back with overwhelming numbers, always inflicting casualties upon the enemy but not enough to cripple the enemy. Behind this screen of outdated units Mpondo realized a solid wall of phalanx and archers was being created. Still, if the German elephants ventured too far forward his units would sweep across the right flank and end this campaign the way it should have been ended. And so Mpondo uttered a silent prayer to the gods of war and fate, with those on his side no demons would stand in his way.
'It looks fishy to me sir'
'My thoughts exactly, but what can we do'
Minutes earlier the commanders of the elephants had seen a glint of metal in the trees ahead, but despite careful observation they could not see any more. There was another pass half a mile up the range. the commanders decided to make their way to that one, it would take longer to pass through it but they had time.... George had been charged with being blatant. he had spent time in the trees brandishing mirrors. When the elephants came he was worried but he was one of the elite Zulu archers, retreat was not an option. And so this one man had turned an army. half a mile north the rest of the Zulu archers waited, deep in cover. the German commander had no time to plan his retreat, whilst his forces were strung out along the narrow track the hail of arrows fell, one fateful arrow struck him in the forehead, a spasm shook his body as he fell and was then crushed by the panicked elephant. The German elephants were broken, and now the path to Berlin lay open.
Fritz, commander of the German armies received the news later that evening. immediately troops were re-deployed to meet the multiple new threats posed, but their were still gaps, big enough to exploit, but big enough to push an army through??
Things had been getting increasingly hostile between the Indian & Chinese civilizations. First Indian archers (7th, 11th & 12th) had placed themselves on the border, with no intention of going anywhere. If that was not enough the Indians had announced their alliance with the English before the Chinese had a chance to make their offer of an alliance. Now it appeared the Indians were gearing up for war, they had stopped building the settlers and were now building military units, rumors were that the Indians had developed some new tech. and were building new units, it would be a brave Chinese diplomat who challenged the Indians about this, but Chinese scientists had been slow to deny the possibility of new techs existence, too slow as one member of the diplomatic team was only too quick to point out. Now the Indians were getting all flustered up about this great wall. Chang failed to see why this was so threatening, although he allowed himself some pride at the accomplishments of his kinsmen. A smile touched his face as Chang realized that Sidhu was facing him, he reckoned that he had the measure of the man, although he attempted to dismiss this thought as soon as it entered his mind. Complacency was a luxury he could ill afford.
Sidhu meanwhile had a different agenda. The leaders of the Indian Empire, in their wisdom, realized that it was going to be increasingly different for the two empires to co-exist. The addition of the English into this equation had led to the creation of a plan, simple, yet requiring exact timing. Formalities over the Chinese began to discuss their complaints with the Indians. As the problems began to unfold the Chinese began to get worried, partly by the coolness of their opposition and partly because of their actions. The Indians were not offering the denials which they expected, nor had they offering conciliation’s, or even hinting at them, something big would happen by the end of this meeting and the Chinese were blind as to what this was.
"Mr. Sidhu, I must insist upon some input by you, you have offered no conciliation’s or explanations?"
"Well Mr. Chang, really we are facing the situation that Rome & Carthage faced in the Punic wars, what will Hannibal do?"
To almost everyone in the room this statement meant nothing but Chang immediately recognized the references to Rome & Carthage, Delhi & Bombay, & Hannibal who was their deep cover operative in Delhi. These words were chosen directly by Mao, and meant nothing to anyone else. Well ahead of its time and the best 'covert operative' training center within either of the two realms China's best resource was 'Valhalla' in Shanghai which had produced Hannibal and others like him. His discovery meant disaster. Chang attempted to determine the best course of action. If Hannibal had talked denial would be useless, but he did not know how much Sidhu knew. On the other hand he had already delayed for a few seconds so Sidhu would know he was on the right track. To admit that these covert operations existed would be a major diplomatic incident. Chang looked into Sidhu's eyes, He had under estimated this man. He had caught Chang off guard, having to switch from attack to defense was very difficult. Oh- what to do?
"Perhaps we could talk in private Mr. Sidhu"
"I think that would be pointless, I think news of our dissolution of the alliance and any treaty between our realms will get out soon, as will our declaration of war"
Stunned silence filled the room, the Indians were in strike positions on the Chinese border with superior numbers, and if rumor was to be believed superior tech.
"Oh, and the English Empire declares war on you too..."
That had been the plan. Should India go to war with China the English would pledge their help, send their archers North. The Chinese would be trapped between the hammer and the anvil, it would probably not even be necessary for the English archers to fight, the panic sown would be enough. Once the Chinese had been defeated, the Indians promised to declare war on the Russians, they would turn their overwhelming forces together onto them, and then the Indians & the English would rule the world together. The Indians left the room leaving the Chinese standing, still in shock. The words had been said and now the soldiers would march to war.
All was quiet on the Chinese border, early a few staff officers had galloped about, sketching maps and determining the best route to pass through. The Chinese Empire would strike first, The first, second, and third horsemen units would be stronger in attack than in defense. Confidence was high. Were they not the feared Chinese army? So numerous and well trained that it would take the combined strength of both the Indian and English militaries to pose a threat to them. Was the Chinese army not undefeated in all of its existence.
As the horsemen turned round the hillock they saw the enemy. A unit had taken defensive places on the hill. They looked like simple warriors from a distance, but as the horsemen were midway through the charge they noticed that these soldiers had short phalanxes. What little it would profit them, the fools. They were the immortal Chinese horsemen in full charge, and nothing could stop them now.
Exactly one hour later, the reinforcements turned up. The pikemen had inflicted crippling casualties to the Chinese horsemen, and as the Indian first knights unit charged the Chinese attack was over, now the counter-attack would begin.
'Excellent' thought Gandhi. The forces which could have damaged his elite knights units had instead attacked and paid highly for that. There was a lot of ground to cover before Indian forces were within strike ranges but the pikemen had taken up defensive positions along the route, guarding the Indian supply lines. These pikemen were virtually immovable to the numerous Chinese horsemen, and any other units the Chinese cared to send towards their doom would be helped along by Indian knights & elephants even now hurrying to their destinations. The English had reported token resistance further South, but that had been swept away, by the time the Chinese realized the force they were facing the war would be over.
The Russians phalanx unit on top of the hill was caught off guard. With the sudden arrival of the Aztec legion there was no time even to fortify themselves, they approached the ridge piecemeal and out of formation. Considered a quiet sector the troops that came here had little or no fighting experience. Then, suddenly they were in combat with one of the most advanced units in the world, comprising of elite soldiers, with more battles under their belts than the Russians had military units. Despite the Aztec advantages the phalanx line held for a few minutes whilst the Aztecs contemplated the best way to strike at the men behind the long spears. Then the Aztecs charged, a few were impaled, but most made their way through, where they were rewarded with a chance to strike at the enemy. The Russian commander called for the Russians to form a second line a few yards back, but no second line was formed, the hilltop now belonged to the Aztecs, and with it, the path to the heart of the Russian empire.
The Zulu’s charged. The Germans were assailed from all sides,  but still they fought. This was their land, and they would die before they saw it fall into the hands of these barbarians. The German archers were on a hill. They had fortified themselves in it. Large wooden stakes stuck out, breaking enemy charges and making the Zulu’s shudder with expectations of death. The Germans had split themselves into three groups. 1 group held wooden stakes, they were fending off Zulu’s at range, and were death to any approaching horsemen. The second group held swords, they fought the Zulu’s off the spearmen, protecting their comrades. They were not trained in hand to hand combat, and so did not use the thrust techniques which had recently been proven best, but used wild slashing strokes. However, these strokes had their advantages, they mutilated their enemies, and drew horrible screams from Zulu’s as they died. The third group poured volley after volley into any approaching Zulu’s with their bows and arrows.
The Germans here were now veterans. They had adapted their fighting style to suit their environment and had made 'adaptations' to the force they were fighting. They had collected shields from the dead Zulu warriors and used them to shield themselves from any approaching Zulu’s. The arrows that the Zulu’s fired were collected, and were stuck into the ground surrounding their positions, making the defenses even more formidable. There were also barriers of Zulu dead, not only for its psychological effect, but because it earned them precious seconds. Seconds which could be used to pour volley after volley of arrow into the densely packed Zulu ranks.
Now however, the fighting was harder than it had been all morning, as more and more Zulu units were committed to the attack, the higher the stakes went. If the German line held now, no more Zulu’s would climb that hill today, but if the Zulu’s broke through the Germans could not expect anything more than total annihilation.
The Zulu eight chariot unit on the left was charging, then reforming, arrow ridden chariots made their way through the spear points, only to be faced with a wall of shields, and a German brandishing a sword. On the left it was the Zulu Ninth archers who had attacked, firing arrows as they ran towards the entrenched positions. Then they engaged in hand to hand fighting. In the center the Zulu first and second warriors had attacked. They used out dated technology but had the experience other Zulu's lacked. The battlefield stunk of blood, and already the stench of rotting flesh made both commanders wonder why they were at this place. They were soldiers, they were surrounded by horror, but never in their lives had they seen anything like this. Death personified.
One Zulu chariot had smashed through the line of German shields. The Germans were too slow  to fill the gap, wearied by the days fighting. The Zulu chariots saw the German archers ahead drop their bows, was the fight over? No, the Germans at the top of the hill drew their short swords, they were very low on arrows anyway. They charged down the hill. They had seen to much horror to feel attached to their bodies and they realized they would die, but they knew what the Zulu’s did to their prisoners, and that knowledge turned to hate, and then to frenzy. They had the courage of martyrs whilst the slope gave them speed. Stumbling across the rocky terrain they hit the Zulu’s as they were beginning their own charge. The Zulu’s were far better in hand to hand combat, and whilst they were astonished by the ferocity of this attack after a day of fighting, superior numbers of chariots waited to be unleashed behind them. The Zulu’s scented victory. Then the tone of the battle change. Suddenly the retreat was ordered, out of the corner of their eye they saw movement. The Germans in other positions were charging towards them. But how?? Where was the rest of the Zulu army which was supposed to be tying this force down? A hail of arrows was their answer, the German fifth archers had arrived. The Zulu commander surveyed the odds from his chariot. He realized he was outnumbered, and his force would never capture this hill. He must retreat. In a voice which momentarily silenced the living and shook the death the order was given- "CHARGE!!"
Once again the decisive break through had not occurred. The German archers had held off vastly superior forces, they had taken a casualty rate unparalleled in the annals of history for a victorious force. Things had gone much better on the flanks. The noose had been tightened today, but every day they waited gave the Germans more time to organize their defense and plug gaps. Even now Mpondo knew the Germans would be making a series of night marches to face him with a new set of problems tomorrow, but if the flanks did as well tomorrow as they had done today they would not even need a breakthrough in the center.
Frederick wanted to put a curse on the elephant unit for their untimely deaths. His flanks were collapsing, and he knew the strains placed on his center would only get worse. He should march out the two phalanx units to the right flank as this was where most danger was posed, but that would only buy him a day, with the next unit not scheduled to be ready for at least a weak he knew he was clutching at straws.
The Indians old units had all been posted South, to guard against the English, and by posing as weaker than they were the Indians hoped to have the upper hand should diplomatic negotiations break down. For this reason it was new knight units which patrolled the area North East of the Indian Empire. Later that day they had stumbled across a road. They had decided to follow it, whilst always remaining on guard. Their envoy was most excited, the diplomats who had worked out the alliance with the English were regarded as heroes in some circles. It was as he had hoped, a new civilization, but something was wrong. The envoy facing him was hostile, even the Indian knights could sense it as they become more alert, looking out for any signs of enemy soldiers. The Zulu, as he was known, insisted that tribute be paid before they could enter the kingdom. The Indian Empire had never paid tribute to anyone, and were not about to start now, 5 minutes later, the empires were at war. Zulu archers, thinking they were facing horsemen and not highly trained knights approached nonchalantly. The Indians training had been so intense that by the time they saw combat they were already the equivalent of veterans. This was all part of Gandhi's program. The Indian empire actually had less citizens than the Chinese at the moment, although it had more cities, this was partly due to the fact that the Indians had spent such a great deal of effort modernizing their army, Gandhi had foreseen trouble with the Chinese in the future. Now the knights displayed the result of India's technological lead, and training schemes, as they wheeled & charged, always in formation seemingly effortlessly. The Zulu archers broke after only a few seconds. They saw their arrows rebuffed by the armor the knights wore, and whilst they were killing horses, that would only unleash an un-mounted beast. Within three hours the city of Ulundi was theirs.
The events of the last few hours were more like a dream than anything else. First had come rumors about a new empire, with new technologies at war with the Zulu’s. Then Mpondo had asked Frederick for a cease fire. Frederick had insisted upon a peace treaty and reparations (although the sum of 50 gold was more a gesture than anything useful). Frederick had little choice but to make the peace treaty. Whilst he had several defensive units these were committed to defending his cities. Meanwhile he had no attacking units except for 2 archer units, still holding the center. What if this new civilization attacked him too? Although whatever it was that had made Mpondo react so quickly must have been pretty scary he had fought the Zulu's and knew the skill and numbers of their troops, surely there was no empire more powerful then them. If there was, he had to react quickly. This could be the chance of a lifetime.
Shanghai had fallen. The Chinese defense had been split, half to head towards the rapidly opposing English archer units, whilst some more Chinese defenders had been ordered North to make sure the Chinese capital, Peking, was under no danger. Finally a small force was left to defend the city, although it was considered more than adequate to deal with the scouting units the Indians would send. They could not get a force there so quickly. 'They' had been wrong. The Indian first, second, third, and fourth Knights unit had poured out of the hills, ripping apart the two archer units send to fend them off. Then the third knight unit had attacked the city, destroying the ancient band of warriors stationed there. It had been left to the fourth to occupy the city. Instead of regrouping for a counter-attack many of the units that came from Shanghai had given up. They had returned to Shanghai as farmers. The Indians had not attempted to enforce martial law, and had begun to hand out food etc to placate the locals.  Having lived in a despotism all of their lives they were in awe of the technological advances the Indians had brought, they also realized that they had more freedom now than ever before. Better yet, the Indians were paying for their goods, and some of them were very rich. Some Chinese remarked as to how the Indian economy could survive, not understanding the complexities of the situation. A new day dawned and the Chinese went to work, like they always did, although now it was under a new banner.
The Aztecs had swarmed over the hill. All of the units that had been sent North awaiting the arrival of the Aztecs had been cut off, as 5 Aztec legions swarmed over to the Russian city of St Petersburg Lenin puzzled over the reports he had been getting. He was no closer to working out exactly where the English cities were but a spy had managed to escape. She had told of the fact that the English had managed to find and trade knowledge with several civilizations known as the Chinese & the Indians. There were new reports of even more civilizations, Zulu, the word being used which the Indians may be at war with. Luckily the Indians & Chinese seemed to be attacking each other which was good since it meant that neither of them could attack him in the near future. Other reports had said that the English were involved in the war, on whose side nobody knew. An alliance between a new powerful civilization and the English was all he needed right now. The Aztec legions were too close for comfort. It looked like three archers and four horsemen had been cut off, another 3 chariot units were on exploring missions and too far away to be of any help. 2 more chariot units were hurrying back, but would only be of help if they could hold off the Aztecs for a long time. Apart from the city defenders that left him with the sixth archer unit, the third and fourth horsemen, and the eighth and ninth chariot units. His units were mostly mobile which would allow him to separate the Aztecs and try and destroy them piece by piece. With any luck he would not even need the help of other units.
Having achieved their strategic objective, the Aztecs performed the strategic maneuver commonly known as the 'stop'. The settlers who had accompanied the legions stopped, and settled in the hills, next to the gold mines. The Aztecs had wanted this position from the start of the campaign. The legions were doomed to be destroyed on the flat plains ahead, and could not survive on the mountains behind. Here they would be in a position to strike when/if they got reinforcements. Meanwhile it would be almost impossible for the Russians to shift them from these hills, meanwhile they would build, and mine the gold, the ball was back in the Russians court, for all the good it would do them.
Mao left most of his military decisions to his generals. He rarely ventured into the state room. But this was a time of crisis, he needed to make decisions quickly, and cut through the politicking.
"This latest thrust had cut our empire in half, with the loss of Shanghai, and more importantly the great wall"
"We must get them back", said Mao
"More difficult than you would think, the people are warming to the Indians, they have the cities very strongly defended, with units beyond our comprehension"
"In which case we must choose one city at a time to attack"
"We have lost 3 cities in total, the biggest and most important of which is Shanghai"
"Then we must fight there, and win"
6 chariot units, 5 archers, and 3 horsemen, making up almost all of the Chinese attacking strength went towards the city. They were nervous. Was it true that Indian units had never lost a battle? So many rumors. But this was a very large force. The horsemen were outriders, making sure that the Indians did not conduct one of their lightning strikes which had cost the Chinese so dearly. The entire convoy had to move relatively slowly because of the presence of the un-mounted archers, but all units preferred it this way. When they finally fought they would be mentally and physically 'up for it'. Their first contact with the enemy came when they were only a days walk from Shanghai. An Indian explorer detachment was on top of a cliff, looking down at the Chinese passing by. The Chinese archers did not even attempt to dislodge them, they were causing them no harm, but now the Indians would be ready for the assault when it came. Who knew what tomorrow would bring.
The people of Shanghai had rejected the Indians at first, but the Indian soldiers had a great deal of money, and this money soon overcame any taboos they had about contact with the enemy. The Indians had allowed the people their freedom. A riot was organized in which Chinese students shouted at the Indian soldiers to leave, unfortunately no Indian soldiers were anywhere near the square, and without combatants the crowd soon dispersed for more exciting endeavors. The Indians had been ferrying more and more soldiers into Shanghai, once again the city walls were manned. These soldiers would be on garrison duty here, and so they soon settled in. The Chinese welcomed yet more money, the economy was thriving, the restaurants alive with buzz of Indian and Chinese songs. Then one night the Indians were not on the streets. Word was spreading, the Chinese army was coming, people did not know whom they wanted to win, they were Chinese, but their brief encounter with the Indians had been most favorable. The Indians had achieved neutrality among the populace, and it would prove to be a most valuable commodity.
Anand had eventually left the settler core. Although the work was not particularly difficult he had not enjoyed it. Now he was a soldier, the amount of money being poured into the military meant that its soldiers were well paid. He had enjoyed garrison duty, it promised to be a relatively easy year, before he, like everyone else was transferred to another post. Today however, Anands unit, the third Indian pikemen was needed. They were ordered to man the great wall that the Chinese had built. The Chinese would have to cross it before they reached Shanghai. A cloud of dust showed the progress of the Chinese army, it was close, mighty close.
Mpondo had received more intelligence than he could handle. An advanced civilization, at war with several other civilizations was at war with him as well. They had a larger and more powerful army, which although split was most potent. They also had alliances with other powerful civilizations, who were approximately equal in technology. What worried Mpondo most was this 'Great Wall'. They had the time and the technology to create structures such as this. Mpondo would have to ask for peace, he needed time, lots of time.

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