Kingslayer by Honor Raconteur Page A

eastern flank and the ports on your western side are the only places that an army can easily invade. Your generals are obviously aware of this—they’ve put all of their energy into protecting that eastern side, making sure that no one can easily pass through the plains. That area is certainly my highest priority. But if I were in command, I’d change tactics at a certain point and circumvent the plains, heading directly for your ports. You have many able sailors and trade ships, My Queen, but you have no navy to speak of.”
    She watched him with unfathomable eyes. “They have never attacked my shores before.”
    “That’s because I was this close,” he held up an index finger and thumb, holding them a scant inch apart, “to conquering you by land. Brindisi is in essence land-locked. They’d have to use the navy of one of their conquered nations to attack you by sea. So of course they’ll avoid that and use it as a last resort.”
    “So the second stage will be to focus on our shores,” she concluded thoughtfully. “Very well, you have made your point. So tell me of the first stage.”
    “King Baros has overextended himself,” he started, wanting her to understand his reasoning. “Because he’s so focused on conquering, like his father, he’s losing his ability to govern what he already has. At the rate he’s going, the Sovran will crumble in another twenty years or so. I saw the signs even before the attack on the capital.”
    He could see by her expression that she didn’t quite believe him. Shaking his head, he rephrased is so that she could understand.
    “My Queen, it’s not just a matter of supplies and fresh troops. Every army has to have unification in order to fight successfully. The reason Brindisi’s armies could fight so fiercely in the beginning is because they were accustomed to fighting with each other. They’re all from the same culture, they speak the same language, and they’re fighting for the same purpose. That solidarity is one of the most important strengths for any fighting force.
    “But Brindisi’s armies now…aren’t Brindisi’s. They’re a hodge-podge collected from every culture and countryside imaginable. Never mind being from the same culture, they don’t even speak a common language! Orders are constantly mistaken, garbled in translation, or even ignored. No one reacts the same way on the battle field, no one can predict what their comrades in arms are going to do, it’s madness. The Sovran will fall for the simple reason that no one can successfully point that army in the right direction.”
    “That’s the hazard that any Sovran faces,” she observed. “I grant you, I can see how it would cause many difficulties. You think you can use this to our favor?”
    He nodded in confirmation. “With an army that haphazard, conquering yet another territory is madness. Even if you won the battle, you could not win the war, for there is no way to maintain control. At this point, just one successful rebellion would undermine the king’s authority and the whole illusion of strength he has will topple overnight.”
    She listened to his words patiently, without expression, until he stopped speaking entirely. Then she nodded thoughtfully. “I see. You do make an excellent point. History has shown us that conquerors often make this mistake.”
    “We’re very close to being conquered, but conversely, we’re also very close to being the one country that prevails against them. It’s largely because the armies fighting us have no unity or strong leadership.” Glad she understood him, he took out the map he had brought with him and knelt on the ground so that he could roll it out for both of them to see. “I need time to build fortifications here, along the mountain passes, and here, along the open plains. To do that, I’m going to employ two tactics that will buy us a little time to work with. First, are you aware that in order to pass through the mountain highways, it