While the Tibian king was surveying Menes's camp, the general himself was currently inside his war tent, dealing with a huge problem of his own.
"General, we only have enough food to last five days. And the next shipment due at least a week away…. possibly two." His adjutant, a large man named Synadus reported with a slightly fearful tone to his voice.
"And that is with rationing?" Menes furrowed his brows as he sought the confirmation.
"Yes," Came the instant answer.
And it made the black man's face turn gloomier.
He knew that when his subordinate said one or two weeks, he solidly meant two and more, not anywhere close to one.
Synadus had only added the one week to console his superior and make it appear the next supply run was closer than it really was.
Which meant the army had to resort to rationing, where the soldiers would be given just one meal a day as opposed to the usual two.
And given that in the army the one thing soldiers most looked forward to was the meal, halving it was not a wise idea.
So Menes first cursed at the man responsible, "Fuckign Heliptos. Useless imbecile. Can't even properly plan this small campaign."
So the reason why this problem had occurred was not at all because of the distance or the long supply chain or enemy sabotage.
But simply because the people in charge of the logistical support had messed up, i.e.- Heliptos and the people under him.
These people, both due to incompetency and also simply lack of manpower as Alexander had a critical shortage of educated men, had failed to properly give out orders pertaining to the proper resupply of the army, meaning they failed to accurately plan for almost everything.
They badly calculated the number of food carts that would be needed in this campaign as instead of using arithmetic functions such as multiplication and division to determine it, they simply winged it using an eyeball estimate.
They also failed to properly divide the food carts into groups so that one group could deliver the food while the other restocked back at Zanzan.
In that same vein, these carts' schedules were also mixed up and not properly coordinated.
And lastly, the route they were to be sent along was badly chosen.
With all this resulting in the army not being properly supplied, as although the food carts were supposed to keep coming to them in a steady stream, in reality, they arrived in staggered stages in large batches.
This happened because these carts either started later than they should have as many even did not know when they were supposed to leave, or many did not have enough horse carts or draft animals necessary to carry the amount of produce intended for them, or they simply got delayed due to bad weather and terrain.
All of which resulted in a logistical disaster, as when the baggage train did not properly come, the soldiers starved.
And when they did arrive, many times two or three contingents would arrive simultaneously, making it a hassle for the army to store all this extra food.
This would also slow down their movement speed to a crawl as they would now be burdened with all this excess food they have no use for yet.
Which ultimately meant that the lean, mean, fast army Alexander envisioned was turned into a malnourished, sluggish force, that struggled to either move or keep itself fed.
And if one wanted to really dig down and point out the culprit for this, surprisingly it would not be necessarily Heliptos, but actually, Alexander, as this had mainly occurred because he had prioritized loyalty over competence when choosing many of his council members.
Now this had its benefits, as Alexander did not have to look over his shoulder every second of the day in fear of a coup, and he could employ many of his policies unchallenged.
But it also meant these men were not very good at their jobs.
And this fight between the human quality of- 'loyalty' and 'competency' was an eternal struggle any king, or dictator or strong man had to always struggle with,
The consequence of which Menes was being made to feel.
Who hearing that food rationing had been implemented said,
"Soldiers get more easily hungry in winter. And a hungry soldier is a rebellious soldier."
"So cancel the rationing and institute regular food servings. And make sure they receive the normal servings."
Menes instructed as such because he did not want the servers to cheat and give the men lower proportions.
And although this was certainly a generous move, its drawback was evident, as expressed by a shocked Synadus,
"But sir! The food…..? What will we do once it's all gone?" as he then subconsciously pointed his finger towards the flaps of the tent and said, "It's already winter and we cannot properly forage."
"Please reconsider!" He at last pleaded.
To which Menes in a very hard, determined voice replied, "The food will not be an issue. We will force a battle within the next two days and finish the snake before that can happen."
"....." Synadus did not repeat the difficulties of attacking across the river and only stood shocked at the bold order.
His mind was currently in turmoil.
According to military law, he was obliged to obey his superior.
But according to any good conscience, he really had a hard time obeying it.
And seeing this hesitation, Menes lightly barked, "What are standing there gawking at? Go! Do what I said."
Before adding, "And bring me the other leaders. I will convince them."
This childing from his superior instantly broke the military man out of his stupor, and with an instant salute and a loud "Yes," Synadus walked out of the tent to adjust the food ratios and inform the other leaders of the meeting.
'Whatever happens, happens to his head' And as the adjutant diligently carried out the orders, he decided to delegate all the blame on Menes's head
While in Menes's tent that morning, the leaders posed unanimously rejected this hasty plan, saying,
"No way! Without Alexander, the army is already low in morale. So forcing a fight through a river in this state is too dangerous. The army might even break at the first hit."
This was said specifically by Melodias, who was quickly joined by Heliptos, who said with large nods, "That's right, that's right. Let us keep tailing them. And once they reach closer to Zanzan, our supply troubles will be solved and then we can attack."
When Menes heard the main culprit of this situation speak about supply troubles so casually, it naturally irked him, and so gritting his teeth he growled, "You have the nerve to talk about supplies. We are in this mess because of you, you idiot!"
"My men are starving because of you. We are all starving because of you."
Mene said this because Alexander had strictly ordered all members of the army, from the lowest soldier to the highest general receive the same food and portions, meaning when the rationing was introduced, the commanders got the same amount of grub as the grassroots soldiers.
And so for a big man such as Menes, this meant a half-empty tummy and an irritated mood.
At Menes's light tirade, Heliptos shrink a bit and lowered his head in shame, as this was not the first time the giant general had lambasted him.
While seeing this, Melodias quickly jumped in to try to keep these two allies together, saying, "Now, now, Lrod Menes, Lord Heliptos did not do it intentionally. This is also his first time managing such a huge army so far out and it is only natural that he would make mistakes." ,
"And besides, he is already suffering from it just as we are."
"Look! He has already gotten so much thinner!"
It was indeed true that Heliptos had never done anything close to this, as when he was in the mercenary, everyone carried their own things at regular times, while in a campaign, it would be the employer's headache to provide them with food and drinks.
So this was really his first rodeo so far from the city, as was everyone else's.
And this reminder made Menes cool off a bit and not say the things he wanted to say, which was,
'We should cut some of his fat off to feed the men'.
Instead, he very boisterously called out, "It is precisely because our morale is low that we should take this bold initiative."
"To inspire the soldiers with a grand victory!"
"To show we are just as capable as Alexander."
"Or do you want us to run back to Zanzan with nothing to show to the young boy?"
This taunt hit its mark, especially with the age thing, and as most of the military leaders were eager for military achievements, they could not openly suggest a defensive posture after this.
It appeared Menes was an adept commander, being able to rally people behind him, as after seeing the other leaders slightly grimace and twitch their lips, the giant man pressed his advantage to say,
"If you want to be meek and passively follow the enemy as they kill, rape, and plunder our lands, then say so."
"But if you do not, then let our soldiers eat their fill the next two days, gain their strength, and attack on the dawn of the third."
It did not take a genius to figure out what option the other leaders ultimately chose.
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