before running down to Uruk.”
“Even if Eskkar’s horsemen did reach Uruk, they would never be able to take the city. They have no archers. There’s not enough of them to force an attack.”
“True. Unless they rode in from the west unexpectedly and stormed the city at night. Or if Eskkar has more agents in Uruk to open the gates for him. Larsa fell almost as soon as he arrived, remember that.”
That city’s survivors had related the story of men climbing unhindered over the wall.
Razrek licked his lips. The less he heard about Larsa the better. “We should send a warning to Uruk and Nippur, and Lagash, too. Let them know — ”
“It’s too late for that.” Shulgi shook his head. “I should have thought of this earlier. The Akkadian cavalry rode off six days ago. It would take us three days to get a rider to Lagash, and at least two to reach Uruk from here, probably two and a half days. There are two wide rivers to cross, remember. If Eskkar’s cavalry is going to Lagash, they’re already there. If they’re going to Uruk, they’ll be there the day after tomorrow.”
“They’ll be spotted. Lagash will send word down the river to warn the other cities.”
“Unless Eskkar’s horsemen ride deeper into the desert. This Hathor that commands them, they say he came to Akkad across that very desert. That he knows much about desert fighting. And the Tanukhs would be caught off-guard. With the Salibs destroyed, they have no enemies to raid them.”
Razrek grimaced. “Hathor is a renegade Egyptian who begged for his life, and was saved from the torture by Eskkar’s witch-wife. No one knows why. But even if Hathor knows the desert, it still makes for hard traveling. He would need supplies, hay for the horses, food for his men.”
“All of which could have been prepared and stored months ago. Or there’s an even easier way. The villages of the Tanukhs have plenty of food and fodder in them, especially now.”
Even Razrek knew enough to glance around, to make sure no Tanukhs could hear the conversation. The Tanukh horsemen made up almost a third of Razrek’s cavalry. They retained their own leaders, and fought only for gold and the chance to loot their enemies. Razrek had unleashed them on the Akkadian farmlands, but they somehow managed to devastate and pillage almost as many Sumerian farmers in the process. Brutal and cunning, they were like jackals. They struck only when their enemy appeared weak, and stole anything and everything they could get their hands on. Against a strong enemy, they were as likely to turn and run.
“If the Tanukhs think that Akkad has horsemen raiding their lands,” Razrek said, “they’ll race home as fast as they can ride.”
“It might almost be worth it, for all the trouble they’ve caused.”
The Tanukhs had created more problems for Razrek and the rest of the Sumerian army than any other group. Everyone hated them. They had only joined the Sumerian cause because of Shulgi’s gold, and the promise of more loot from Akkad when the city fell.
“If they left, they would keep Eskkar’s cavalry off our backs.”
Shulgi shook his head. “Even if they stayed together, the Tanukhs wouldn’t number much more than the Akkadians. They’d never face Eskkar’s horsemen in battle. Hathor would ride right through them, if they tried to stop him. No, better to keep them here, where they can be useful.”
“Well, what are we going to do?”
“We’re not going to tell anyone about our suspicions of where Eskkar’s cavalry might be. We’re going to need every horseman we have, even the Tanukhs, when we come to grips with the Akkadians.”
“You think Eskkar will stand and fight?”
“When he’s ready, he’ll attack us. He intends to wear us down, weaken us by marching up and down Sumeria, wait until our supplies are low. Then he’ll attack.”
Razrek wasn’t convinced. “You think Eskkar has planned all this out in advance? It would have taken days, months…”
“Yes, I think he has. The barbarian — or perhaps his witch-wife Trella — has prepared for this war for at least a year, maybe longer. We thought we had given him only two choices, to march south and fight us at Kanesh, or wait for us to come to Akkad. Instead, he’s devised another way, and unless we start out-thinking him, Eskkar may end up nailing our hides to Akkad’s gate.”
“But he doesn’t have enough men,” Razrek protested. “He’ll never face us in battle.”
“I underestimated Eskkar once,” Shulgi said. “And now Larsa is gone, along with most of our supplies. I’m not doing it again. We’re going to make him fight us when we’re ready.”
“How will we do that? He’s already proven he can out-march our men, and we don’t have enough horsemen to stop his army.”
“First we have to make sure Isin holds. If he captures that city, he can march in any direction, south toward Sumer or north to Lagash and Nippur. Whichever way we march, he’ll move in the opposite direction.”
“Isin’s been warned. Eskkar won’t be able to take it, not before we can reach him. Naxos is not some merchant who can be brushed aside, like Naran.”
“I’m telling you, Eskkar already has a plan to take the city. Just like he did at Larsa. The best way to stop him is to send all the soldiers and horsemen from Isin back to their city. We’ve got three thousand men from Isin in our ranks, and a third of them are cavalry. Send as many as you can get on horseback at once. They should be able to reach the city before Eskkar’s foot soldiers get there.”
“And if they can’t, if they arrive too late?”
“Tell them to ride the horses to death, whatever it takes to save their city. Send any horsemen from Larsa, too. They’ll understand what losing Isin means. Meanwhile, I’m going to stop these boats that have been resupplying Eskkar’s forces. Without them, he can’t move as fast or as far. If Isin can hold out for a few days, we’ll catch up with him and crush him there.”
“What about our own supplies?”
The mountain of supplies that had been laboriously transported to Kanesh now languished there. Shulgi knew it would take more than a few days to get even a portion of those goods moving south again.
“I’ve already sent word to Sumer. They’ll load every boat they can find and send it upriver to Isin. Your horsemen will have to make sure that we get those supplies, not the Akkadians. And you can do that while you find and finish the Akkadian cavalry. When they’re finished with Lagash, or more likely, Uruk, they’ll head east to rejoin Eskkar. Once they’re reunited, that’s when they’ll be ready for the final battle.”
“And if you’re wrong, if Eskkar marches toward Sumer?”
“Then Sumer will have to hold out. But even if it falls, the barbarian will have no way to escape.”
“You don’t care about your own city, Shulgi?”
“The city can always be rebuilt, Razrek. If Eskkar is dead and his army smashed, we can take Akkad at our leisure, and win the war. A few cities lost along the way are a small price to build an empire. Now get moving, and get those men on their way to Isin. By tomorrow I want them well on their way.”
51
Day 7
Well after dawn, Eskkar and Grond rode to the top of the bluff overlooking the Tigris. Across the river lay the ruins of what had been Larsa, where a few fires still smoldered and sent wisps of smoke into the air. The advance elements of Shulgi’s army had arrived yesterday afternoon and established a camp just beyond the ruined walls. Before long, scouting parties rode north and south, no doubt looking for anything they could use to get men across the river. Today would see the rest of the Sumerians march into view.
Shulgi must have decided to cross here, which meant he wouldn’t waste any time going north toward Akkad or south to defend Sumer. Eskkar hadn’t expected that, and frowned at the implications. “He’s going to stick to our heels.”
“Well, you couldn’t expect Shulgi to keep making mistakes. Sooner or later, he had to do something right.”
The Sumerian king had lost the tactical advantage twice, once when he let the Akkadians slip past him at Kanesh, and again when he let Hathor’s cavalry ride off uncontested. Perhaps even a third time, when he wasted Razrek’s horsemen trying to save Larsa.
