Kalcan put his hands behind his head and stretched expansively. “They really were dim-witted.”
“Maybe so,” Akuyun said, “but it was at this point two years ago that the five of us came to Caedellium. The threat of our backing the Preddi cooled the fervor of the other two clans, and a three-way truce was well brokered by Administrator Tuzere.”
“Thank you for the compliment, General Akuyun, but it wasn’t all that difficult. Neither of the other two clans resisted once their hetmen got a look at our men in formation and the artillery demonstrations.”
“Thank Narth, they didn’t know the condition of our men.” Zulfa slapped the tabletop. “Besides being the dregs of our army, they could hardly stand on their feet after months of being crammed in troop ships.”
“Then maybe Administrator Tuzere does deserve credit for brokering a cessation of fighting based on a bluff,” Akuyun said.
The other three nodded in agreement.
Tuzere opened both palms, accepting the praise.
Akuyun cleared his throat. “Naturally, the Preddi expected most of our troops to withdraw. The hetman wasn’t happy when I informed him there was still too much uncertainty, and the troops would remain to protect Narthani citizens. Without bothering to inform the Preddi hetman, we then filtered additional military and civilian personnel into our enclave. Once the Preddi realized what we were doing and protested, we gave up any pretense and brought our totals up to four thousand troops and three thousand civilians.”
Zulfa shook his head. “I’m just glad they didn’t come to their senses earlier.”
Akuyun raised his eyebrows. “Don’t forget, Colonel, that during these months, although you mercilessly worked our men into better physical and fighting condition, it was mainly out of sight of the Preddi. Finally, the Preddi Hetman and other clan leaders realized they were losing control. After increasing acrimony in our meetings and small clashes between our men and the Preddi, the hetmen led an attack on our enclave, one we were prepared for. The Preddi ineptitude at organization and security, along with our paid Caedelli agents, combined to keep us apprised of their every move. When they attacked, we stayed in our enclave until they amassed their fighting men outside our defenses, then we landed another two thousand men behind the Preddi. In the ensuing battle, we crushed them between our two forces and took control of the Preddi Province. Any leaders who survived the initial fighting were hunted down and killed, and their families shipped off as slaves to Narthon. Fighting erupted within Preddi City and some of the smaller towns, but we put an end to any significant resistance within a month.”
“An amazing result in so short a time,” Admiral Kalcan remarked. “I remember wondering back then why we didn’t move on to the rest of the island if taking down the Preddi Clan was so easy.”
Zulfa frowned. “But—”
Kalcan raised a hand. “No, no, Zulfa. I don’t mean to pass judgment on army strategies. I was just thinking from the deck of my flagship offshore and not on the ground. It was a fleeting thought.”
Zulfa grunted. “It wasn’t that the Preddi weren’t brave enough, at least at first. In several fights, they continued even after losing over half their men. They simply had no concept of coordination, tactics, picking their ground, of strategic withdrawal. It was charge straight in. By the time we’d killed enough of their older leaders and younger, more flexible-thinking leaders emerged, it was too late.”
“Zulfa’s right.” Akuyun steepled his fingers. “It wasn’t so much their fighting spirit as inexperience in warfare. However, the result gave us our foothold on Caedellium. Narthani casualties were less than two hundred dead, compared with destroying the Preddi Clan and almost a thousand dead each for Eywell and Selfcell during previous years of fighting. At a minimal cost, we absorbed one of the Caedellium clan provinces, and two other clans were about to be co-opted as allies.
“The Selfcell and Eywell clans were shocked at the suddenness of the Preddi destruction and belatedly understood their own danger. At separate meetings with the two clan hetmen, I explained that although we had ‘inadvertently’ gotten involved in Caedellium affairs, the die was cast. The trade had proven lucrative to us, and we intended a further increase. However, to justify the investment, we required confidence that our trade center, which now comprised the entire Preddi Province, would never again be threatened. Yet even an entire province did not provide enough ‘security,’ and we needed assurances of the friendly status of their two clans by means of formal alliances with them.
“As an inducement, we offered to aid them in eventually annexing major territory of their immediate neighbors, lands belonging to the Gwillamer and Moreland clans for Eywell, and more of Moreland and the Stent Clan for Selfcell. We’d already reached an agreement with the Eywell hetman, unbeknownst to Selfcell. Administrator Tuzere had identified the Eywell leader as the more gullible hetman and also dangled the possibility of adding half of Caedellium to Eywell control, but only if they were our ally.
“The Selfcell hetman was less interested, evidently having no inherent desire to carve up neighboring clans. However, he saw his province enclosed by our navy on one side, our army that he couldn’t defeat to his south, and the Eywellese to his west. We know he appealed to the other clans for help and was refused. He decided he had no option but to agree to our terms.”
Akuyun’s summary passed over the calamitous details for the Preddi Clan. In the two years after crushing the Preddi, the Narthani undertook a massive settlement and development program. All living Preddi males who were part of the Preddi fighting forces or were deemed potentially part of any resistance were deported as slaves back to Narthon—more than 4,000 men between the ages of fourteen and fifty. Another 12,000 clan noncombatants had died as collateral damage during the fighting or the following chaos; 10,000 more fled to other clan provinces; and 16,000 older men, women, and children were eventually shipped off to slave markets. The remaining 20,000 Preddi were spared for their specific skills after convincing their new Narthani masters they had switched loyalties, or they were converted to slaves when they could fill specific needs on Caedellium. This latter included 900 Preddi women taken as concubines by Narthani officers and officials or used to fill troop brothels.
The Preddi, as a clan, ceased to exist. Narthani immigrants slid into existing farms, mines, fishing, and trade shops, then expanded the cultivated acreage and established new farms on lands the Caedelli had not yet developed. On the day of the present meeting to formally initiate Phase Three, the sixth anniversary of the first Narthani trading house establishment, there were 12,000 Narthani troops and 100,000 civilians on Caedellium. Of the civilians, two-thirds were Narthani officials, craftsmen, farmers, overseers, and their families. The other third were slaves or indentured servants from conquered peoples within the Narthon Empire.
Akuyun cleared his throat after concluding the history summary. “Up to this point, we’ve scrupulously confined military action to the three original provinces. We now need to decide if it’s time for that to change.” He looked at each man in turn. “You’ve all been asked to give a formal report on your areas of responsibility. Colonel Zulfa, start off with the status of our troops.”
Colonel Zulfa straightened in his chair. “The newest troops are still getting their land legs back after the long voyage from Narthon.” Zulfa’s tenor conveyed satisfaction, as did the smile on his dark, handsome face. “It will take several sixdays before I can start whipping them into shape.” He settled his tall frame back in the chair and ran a finger and thumb over his dashing mustache. “As expected, these men include both new recruits and a fair number of trash and troublemakers that commanders in Narthon wanted to be rid of.”