Disciple of War (Art of the Adept Book 4) by Michael G. Manning

Author:Michael G. Manning [Manning, Michael G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-12-20T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 34

The army didn’t move that day, so instead their focus was entirely on sending foraging parties into the surrounding countryside. Foraging was an important activity, and one that all armies relied on to different degrees depending on the situation and location. In the mountains, they relied mainly on the supply train, but some effort was still spent on obtaining wild game. Unless they were moving at a forced march, some portion of the army was sent out every day to procure extra supplies.

Once they entered more civilized farmlands, foraging continued, though the focus shifted more to obtaining fresh meat and other perishables from local farms and markets. Historically, depending on the war, foraging companies might simply confiscate or steal whatever was needed, or more commonly simply pay a tenth of the market price. Will had insisted that they refrain from outright theft. Given the huge quantities needed, they couldn’t pay market price (especially since that price usually doubled during times of conflict) but they would pay something close to a fair price. Specifically, he instructed them to pay at least three-fourths the ordinary price of the year before.

Naturally, the farmers and merchants were still unhappy about it, but given the alternatives and historical precedents, they knew better than to complain.

Every foraging company went out with an officer empowered to make bargains and sign local contracts, and although Will’s policies were considered excessively lenient, they had an immediate impact on the results. Vastly more goods were located and acquired than they expected.

In hindsight, the reason was simple. Given something close to a fair value, it wasn’t worth the effort or risk for the locals to hide or conceal their livestock and produce. The soldiers from Terabinia maintained professional courtesy and refrained from banditry, so shepherds and ranchers had no need to ‘run for the hills.’

Although the cost to Terabinia was still large, for feeding an army that size was no mean feat, even paying three-fourths of the previous year’s market price saved the nation considerable money, because for every pound of food purchased in Darrow, a pound didn’t need to be moved across the mountains.

Back in Klendon, Commander Bradshaw was able to save costs on what was shipped from home, and more importantly, was able to stockpile the nonperishable items in the event that local supplies dried up in the future. Will’s policy wasn’t popular with most of the senior command, but when all the numbers were totted up someday, the kingdom’s accountants would realize that he had saved Terabinia a massive sum on the price of the war.

It was in the evening two days later when they finally arrived at one of the largest and most central crossroads in Darrow. The road leading from Klendon split at that point, and the southeastern fork followed the River Lymsee upstream and through the hilly central portion of Darrow before reaching the capital of Myrsta. The other fork crossed a massive stone bridge, then followed the same river downstream. Downstream, the river

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