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Anno Domini 828,June-4-9
"Please, afenti. We did what you asked of us. Why are you going to execute those who supported you in this fight?" said one of the Greeks of the city, pleading for the lives of the hundreds of arrested men who were already being lined up for hanging.
"I gave clear orders. I did not want unnecessary deaths. Those were the orders of a strategos of the Empire, backed by the imperial throne. If I order you to stop, you stop," I replied in an icy voice.
"I beg you for mercy, please. Mercy. We have suffered too much under the Sarakenoi, and many could not restrain themselves. My own sister was raped and forced to marry one of them," he said through tears.
"And that is supposed to change something? I gave orders, and you chose to disobey them." I made a gesture with my hand, and one of my men kicked the chair out from under several of the guilty, one by one.
The rope tightened. Some were not fortunate enough to have their necks break instantly and began kicking at the air, struggling against the noose tightened around their necks.
I made sure everyone saw what was happening. I gathered a large portion of the collaborators so they would understand the price of acting without authorization.
When the last of the hanged men stopped moving, I ordered the next group to be brought forward. Unlike the previous group, who had murdered defenseless civilians and raped women, these men had simply disobeyed me in combat by killing surrendered soldiers.
"Do you know why we are hanging them, or did you never understand?" I said from my chair, looking at one of them as the noose was placed around his neck after he was lifted up.
"For giving those Sarakenoi the same treatment," he replied, looking at me defiantly.
"It goes far beyond that. You ignored the order to stop killing them. Do you know how much each one is worth in the market? Ten gold coins per head. You cost the imperial war effort thousands of nomismata just to satisfy your rage." I placed my foot on the chair and made it wobble. The man began to hyperventilate.
I looked at the other fifty who were about to be hanged and did the same to each one, holding the chair steady with my foot while they breathed uncontrollably and squeezed their eyes shut.
"I feel merciful. Your offense was serious, but not as grave as that of the previous group. Take them down. You and the rest will stand as a warning. The next time you ignore me, that will be your fate. My orders are law, unless the Basileus Rhōmaiōn says otherwise," I said, pointing at the hanged men swaying in the wind coming off the sea.
My men obeyed. They cut the ropes and freed the rest. The families of the hanged men removed the bodies to perform their funerary rites. I had no interest in letting them rot and contaminate the area.
"So, what do we do now?" Sigurd asked, visibly satisfied.
"See if we can repeat this elsewhere. They are already condemned. When the Abbasids try to retake the city, they will have to withstand a siege. If they surrender, they will all be put to the knife. We can use this place as a base of operations, both on land and at sea. The more cities we take, the greater the pressure," I replied as we walked toward the harbor.
"You know, my niece distinguished herself in battle. She killed three Sarakenoi in her first real fight," Sigurd said with obvious pride.
"She has proven herself in combat. Let us hope she can keep up and that she is not discovered, because I will not be able to do anything if that happens," I replied without stopping.
When we reached the harbor, I observed a couple of Sarakenoi military ships. Aside from those, only merchant vessels remained, which had already been sent back to Crete to be integrated into my commercial fleet.
I had already begun organizing the loot using some men I had kept in reserve for those tasks, the few who could read and write and who were useful for maintaining control of my loot ledgers.
We spent five full days like that, counting gold and silver, jewels, weapons, fabrics, and the possessions of the Sarakenoi merchants. Since we had been forced to spare much of the city, the loot had not been as substantial as I would have liked, but at least the Varangians seemed satisfied. For them, who had arrived with lower expectations than mine, the expedition had been a success. The jarls, above all, were pleased with the number of prisoners they had managed to capture, since that was what they valued most: labor.
At last, we rested. The heat was suffocating during the day, so we made use of that time while our networks of informants continued to work. Information began to circulate, the idea that we had come to free them from the Sarakenoi yoke spread slowly, and at the same time we prepared shipments of weapons to introduce into other cities. The goal was to infiltrate my trusted officers and coordinate internal attacks when the time came.
"Strategos, an army is at our gates," one of my officers said upon arriving, his voice clearly tense.
"Good. It seems we finally got the attention we wanted," I replied with a faint smile. "Give orders for only a couple hundred men to take the walls. I need them to believe we are few. And tonight, do not light many fires. Share the hearths. I do not want them to be able to count how many we are."
I walked toward the walls as the orders were passed along.
At the news of the enemy army, my men began to move. They prepared arrows and bolts, set out cauldrons of water ready to be boiled if necessary, and began prying stones from the pavements to have missiles to throw if they attempted an assault.
Only a couple hundred men deployed on the walls, just enough to observe.
From there, the enemy's overwhelming numerical superiority was obvious. In open ground, they would have crushed us without difficulty. At a glance, I could tell they outnumbered us at least two to one, perhaps more, and a large part of their force consisted of cavalry.
I ordered an imperial banner to be raised in full view, the double headed eagle, as we watched the Sarakenoi forces deploy before the city. A few minutes passed until at last an emissary approached carrying a white flag, requesting parley.
"Why have you rebelled against the rule of our caliph?" the envoy asked in Arabic.
"There has been no rebellion here, Sarakenoi. The city fell under siege while you limited yourselves to watching from afar," I replied in Arabic, deliberately using the Greek term to refer to them.
"Impossible. The request for aid arrived four days ago," the envoy shouted, clearly agitated.
"It becomes possible when you catch guards asleep at their posts and they fail to notice us placing ladders against the walls while they sleep peacefully, just before we slit their throats," I answered with a sarcastic tone.
"Damned infidel," the envoy spat before turning around and returning to his army.
It did not take long for them to begin taking positions for a siege, blocking the gates. However, something caught my attention immediately. Everything seemed rushed. They did not dig trenches or raise palisades. They did not secure the encirclement as experience in sieges dictated, which suggested they were planning something foolish.
For hours we watched the Sarakenoi set up their camp, while at the same time preparing basic siege equipment. Some approached to try to measure the walls, but they only received arrows that forced them to withdraw. Even so, they tried again and again, taking measurements however they could.
Taking advantage of the moment, I sent a message to the strategos of Cyprus. It was likely that the Abbasid fleet would try to blockade the port if given the chance, so I asked him to patrol the area with his ships and prepare in case an opportunity arose for a naval engagement between our fleets and the Abbasid one.
The message was sent aboard a drakkar, so there would be no chance of the ship being intercepted.
Meanwhile, we continued observing the Sarakenoi attempts to prepare battering rams to strike the gates. In response, I gave the order to reinforce the doors and place wooden support beams so they would hold for as long as possible. At the same time, we prepared enormous quantities of arrows on the walls, along with bolts, and left several crossbows ready to be loaded by those not actively fighting on the battlements.
The night passed with relative calm. I left only a few dozen guards on watch, but with several rotations so the watches would be short and fatigue avoided, thus reducing the risk of a night assault.
Apparently, the Abbasids decided not to launch any night attack. They limited themselves to continuing work on their ladders and battering rams, while we began setting up barricades inside the walls, anticipating the possibility that the gates might be breached. Upon inspection, it was clear they did not look particularly solid, and there was not enough time to replace them or install an iron grille as reinforcement. We simply did not have a forge large enough to do that work in such a short time.
Sooner than I would have expected, we noticed the Sarakenoi beginning to form up. They already had ladders and a battering ram ready, which indicated they would attempt an all or nothing assault against one of the gates, though they would likely also press other points to disperse our forces.
We placed pavises on the battlements to improve protection against projectiles and began distributing double rations of food. The battle seemed destined either to be decided quickly or to drag on, depending entirely on the decisions of the Sarakenoi general, especially if he realized we were not the mere hundreds he thought we were.
Before the attack began, a group approached carrying flags of parley.
I watched as they rode forward to a safe distance, and one of them began to shout.
"I offer you an honorable surrender. If you lay down your weapons and armor, I will grant you fair terms, infidels," said the Sarakenoi leader.
"Well… those are very generous terms, truly," I replied, drawing my sword and placing it on the wall. "Come and take it," I shouted back, pointing to it.
"Brave words for a dead man. When this is over, I will have you chained by sunset, infidel," the Sarakenoi leader shouted.
"Whatever you say, Sarakenoi. I wish you luck. You are going to need it," I replied in a sarcastic tone, and after that he returned to his camp.
"Good. The idiot is going to throw his men into a slaughterhouse. Put seawater in the pots and start boiling it. Archers, stay on the stairways of the walls. The moment they get close to the walls, everyone up to defend them," I began issuing orders as we watched the Sarakenoi.
The water quickly began to boil. Most of my men remained hidden while thousands upon thousands of Sarakenoi advanced slowly.
We let them come closer. Apparently, they had not planned mobile defenses and wanted to retake the city at any cost. I assumed it was so they would not look like fools before their caliph, since if word reached their lord that their cities had fallen in a single day due to poor leadership, their heads would likely roll. It had to be that, unless he had some other idea.
The Sarakenoi began to run.
"Now. Come on. To the walls. At the very least we can kill a few hundred," I shouted to my men.
The sound of the drum echoed, and several of my men began climbing to the walls carrying bows or crossbows.
The archers nocked arrows and began firing in loose, uncoordinated volleys, forcing the enemy to keep their shields raised. It was less lethal than a tight volley, but effective at striking legs.
At the first rain of arrows, several Sarakenoi fell to the ground, wounded or dead.
The sound of bowstrings echoed along the walls, mixed with the cries of the Sarakenoi who were beginning to reach the base of the fortifications.
Ladders began to go up.
Instantly, the Sarakenoi tried to climb, but bolts pierced them cleanly from the sides. Rocks split their skulls. The ladders were failing.
"Sigurd, with me," I said as I grabbed one of the ladders that had been set too long.
"Yes," the Varangian replied.
"Now," I shouted.
We shoved with all our strength, and the ladder, with several men still climbing and others holding it, came crashing down. I watched as the Sarakenoi slammed into the ground.
"Let's see how many we can kill," I said with a smile.
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If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
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