"Mitchell Smith - Kingdom River" - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith Mitchell)

Warm-times had it, and then stays alone in his tent. He plays the banjar very well indeed... and is said to
be suicidally brave in battle.
Phillip Butler, Colonel, commands the Heavy Infantry. An older man, gray-bearded, small, silent,
and eccentric — he always has tiny dogs about him; he puts them in his jacket pockets — Colonel
Butler was the mayor of Tijuana-City before the South invaded. It's said by Monroe's people, certainly
an exaggeration, that Butler has never made a tactical mistake on a battlefield. He is regarded as an
extraordinary soldier, having become, as it were, a Regular among inspired amateurs. His pikemen and
crossbowmen love him, though he can be a harsh commander; they treat him like an irritable old uncle.
Charmian Loomis, Colonel, commands the light Infantry. A tall, thin, awkward-seeming young
woman, with light blue eyes and a bony — and, it seems to me, quite plain — face, she commands the
elite of Monroe's army. ('Elite,' lord, may be found in Copy-Webster's. Bottom shelf on the right as you
enter the library. I believe the word may have been Warm-time Canadian in origin.) ... This officer, a
woman with no family, quite silent, and who appears to offer little in any social situation — I've met her
several times — is by reputation a demonic figure in battle, with quite extraordinary skill in controlling a
force designed after all to be mobile, occasionally fragmented, and self-directing to a considerable
degree. Monroe occasionally calls her 'Joan,' I suspect in reference to some Warm-time figure he has
read of. All others call her 'Colonel.'
In summary, it is my civilian impression that these officers, and those they command, represent
considerable military talent — experienced, highly disciplined, confident, and aggressive. I believe you
would enjoy their company, if matters were otherwise, and would certainly then find them useful to
employ.
As to Sam Monroe. His Second-mother's death — while fighting an outbreak of flea-plague in the
township of Los Palominos three years ago — has left him with no family. (I must add that I mourn that
most tender of physicians still, and deeply regret not seeing her again.)
The Captain-General's occasional women are companions as well as lovers and, I understand, come
and go as tasks and places come and go. He is very generous to them, and to his dose friends and
officers — but only once. An important gift is given — a prosperous farm, or wide sheepland, or large
herd of fine riding-horses — but after that, nothing ever but army wages. So men and women who
continue to serve him, do so because they wish to, expecting no further reward.
His army is relatively small, but as I understand it is a 'balanced force,' composed of five fairly equal
elements: Supply; Light Cavalry; Heavy Cavalry; Light Infantry; Heavy Infantry. Monroe has stated, in
my hearing, that his Light Cavalry, while very good, is not quite a match for the Khanate's, that his Heavy
Cavalry, while excellent, is not quite as formidable as the Empire's best, and that his Heavy Infantry,
though solid, is not quite the instrument that Middle Kingdom fields. His Light Infantry, however — men
and women of the Sierra — Monroe believes to be the finest of our world.
It is the balance of these forces he considers crucial. That, and the strategy and tactics of their use.
I'm told he has said, 'These are the edged tools for fashioning victory, as a carpenter fettles a table.' (For
'fettle,' Great Khan, see my monograph on Warm-time Words Unusual.)
The Captain-General's sigil — and, by adoption, the army's banner — is a black scorpion on a field
of gold. Though a far-south creature, it is appropriately ominous. While the enlisted men among their
prisoners are very well treated, captured enemy officers are invariably beheaded — or, if they are senior,
disemboweled. This, apparently, a brutal remainder of these people's desperate days of revolt against the
Empire.
FORCES, IF AT FULL ESTABLISHMENT:
Supply: Two thousand men and women. Five hundred draft horses. Five hundred pack mules.
Wheeled wagons. Drays. Sledges.
Light Cavalry: Two regiments — each, one thousand men and women. Remounts.
Heavy Cavalry: Two regiments — each, one thousand men and a small number of women.
Remounts.
Light Infantry: Two regiments — each one thousand men and women.