Piruz sat in the office of the marzban of Sistan, Javid, who himself sat across the table from him. Javid wanted Piruz to give him some ideas how to prepare the region for possible conflict with the Indians.
"Honourable marzban, I believe you know I just recently arrived. You will have to fill me in on the state of the defences here. That's why I came, after all. Number of guards, soldiers, patrolmen, garrisons of the local forts, caravan guards, I need to know everything before I can begin to form a plan. And I would prefer if you were to tell me yourself."
Javid frowned a bit. He realized there was no way to sweet-talk a man like Piruz.
"Very well then. I have all the required documents here," Said Javid and put a stack of rolled parchments onto the table. Piruz widened his eyes.
"I see you are well prepared. I apologize for doubting you," said Piruz with a smug smile. Javid laughed.
"No need to do that, general. After all, these are my lands that are under threat. I have to be prepared. And cautious."
Piruz took the parchments and began reading through them. Javid added some information.
"Zarang has a population of about 100 000 people. It's quite a large city, one of the main centres of trade on the silk road. Probably the most important city in the east of the Empire. Thousands of traders go through here daily. And as such, we take security here very seriously. Controls at the gate, maintained city walls and well equipped and reinforced city guard, about 10000 men. The walls can withstand every siege weapon imaginable. Plus, if we wished so, we can mobilize another 20000 militiamen. We have several hundred men patrolling around the city, few hundred caravan guards and another 5000 men in garrisons in the surrounding forts and outposts. We also recently established a fire signal system, in which, should an attack come from behind the border, we will be ready."
Piruz listened closely to what Javid said and simultaneously read the documents. The numbers matched. Apparently, Javid was more capable than he looked to be. What only remained now was to check the true state of the city garrison and he could begin creating a defensive plan. He smiled.
"Impressive, sir Javid. I think this state of garrison is close to perfection. I can very much work with this. I believe our Shahanshah, may he be immortal, would be glad to hear this. But, unfortunately, he is in Constantinople right now. But I assure you, when he gets back, I will mention your diligence to him."
"That would be very kind of you, general."
"Well then, that concludes my business here. It's getting late. I will contact you tomorrow, and we can begin our work. Have a nice day, sir Javid."
"Likewise, general."
Piruz left the office. It all seemed to be too perfect. Too good to be true. But it was there. Unless the reality doesn't match, Piruz will simply have to take the fact that Javid is extremely capable administrator. Even if a bit sly.
He walked down the main street onto a square situated around a large Fire Temple and he immediately fell into one of the establishments there. As he entered the pub, he spotted Farrukhzad, sitting at a table with Sam, his loyal servant.
"Good evening, gentlemen. May I join you?" asked Piruz, despite the fact he already sat down. Farrukhzad, already a bit drunk, laughed.
"Took your time. Was it that long?"
"Obviously. But something is strange. Everything seems to be so perfect," said Piruz, while ordering a jug of wine for himself.
"What do you mean?" asked Farrukhzad while Sam was quietly listening, drinking his wine.
"The numbers, state of the garrison, as if security was number one priority here. He even talked about security checks at the gate, yet we didn't have any."
"If I may, general, they can be random. After all, having so many traders go in and out daily, it's impossible to check them all," said Sam, sipping his drink.
"That's the thing. He talks about how everything is perfect, and you simply feel he is lying, but you can't prove it in any way. As if he had it all planned out. As if he made this city a theatre for his own play, but you can't see how it really is behind the curtain. I have no idea what to do," said Piruz, exhausted, pouring a cup of wine from the jug.
"And are you sure he's lying? Can't it simply be true?" asked Farrukhzad.
"If it is true, then that man is a genius. Perhaps not even human. If you talked with him yourself, you would understand. He's a sly man, definitely not a competent governor," answered Piruz. Farrukhzad looked down.
"Then it seems you will have to conduct controls yourself. Check the garrison, city guard, militiamen, everyone personally. Their equipment, the gate checks, everything," said Farrukhzad, unable to contain his amusement.
"I know. That's exactly why I'm so frustrated. I need to find something, some proof that he's just making stuff up. I can't work with imaginary numbers," said Piruz, downing his cup of wine.
"It seems you have a very entertaining day ahead of you," said Farrukhzad, laughing.
"That I do. And it sucks."
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Hello there, dear reader. I would like to ask you to write in the comments, whether you prefer shorter chapters (around 1000 words), but that would be more frequent, or longer, but less frequent chapters (more than 1000 words). Please tell me your preferences in the comments.