“This is… this is not good at all. Two Kedatuan in less than two weeks!” Heng Piseth paced restlessly in the council room.
Another bad tiding from northern Kedatuan had reached Palembang. The Mongol’s invasion had reached Khmer. In the emergency council meeting that was held, the Maharaja and all four Kumaramatya was present.
Po Nagar rose from her seat. “How many days should we wait for this Narendra?”
Maharaja Sumatrabhumi who was familiar with the sea-travel by warship answered: “It took no longer than 5 days to travel from Singhasari to Palembang—if the message was delivered well, he should arrive tomorrow.”
“Can’t we just send the army we have here today? I’ve heard we already have one hundred war sambau in Musi River’s mouth—with more than five hundred men that are ready to fight. If we wait for another day, how many souls will be lost in the hand of those savages? I don’t even know whether my families are still alive!”
The Khmeri added: “Mine as well. Heck, for all we know, maybe the Mongols are marching to Chaiya right this very second.”
“I’ve learned from my handmaid that every time the Mongols raid a city, they will impregnate every young girl they found!” said the old lady.
The others grimaced. Heng Piseth protested since she had put that thought in his mind as he had three young daughters in Khmer.
Po Nagar went on: “Srivijaya had sworn to protect Champa! I say we send the army today!”
The Maharaja, expressionless, said in a low voice: “I swore if you nag me once again with your insensibility, I’ll have your head sent to Champa by our sambau today instead.”
His words sucked the air out of the council room. Amretasari and Sokei-An looked down. Heng Piseth made a sudden stop. Yet the brave Chams lady stood still staring at the Srivijayan king.
That was Sumatrabhumi nowadays: imperious, arrogant. He might start to channel his father’s way of ruling, the Kumaramatya once concluded when they discussed privately.
“An attack without Senopati Narendra’s host was a half-hearted attack. The three other Senopati are still green. If our defense in Champa and Khmer are no match to the Mongol’s attack, I have no reason to believe we can win against them with an attack that is not the best we got,” said the Maharaja.
“As you wish, Maharaja,” responded the Khmeri while seating himself, in fear of the Maharaja’s annoyance of his pacing. The Chams lady followed suit. Though some of the counselors opposed that strategy, they all knew it was a rational one.
After a moment or two of uncomfortable silence, the council meeting then went on to talk about an incident—a brawl in the city’s market—between the men of Vimala and Anathapindika. Gathering men of high testosterone in a densely populated place like Palembang surely bring about those kinds of racket, the council agreed.
Anathapindika was the first woman Senopati; she was a masterful tactician and an illustrious archer—in spite of her young age. Her most celebrated achievement was the expedition to Malagasy islands in the far west to discuss terms with the Merina kingdom.
The other Senopati was Bayutala, a middle-aged war veteran from Tarumanegara—a skillful warrior in sea battle who once helped Srivijaya to win over multiple Kedatuan in Malayadvipa about twenty years ago. Unlike the other Senopati who had his men causing ruckuses, Bayutala caused ruckus by himself. He was drunk in a local tavern and was reported spewing some insults to the local common folks. Fortunately, no one was harmed.
In a sense, those reckless behaviors were reasonable since they didn’t know who they were going to battle with; unlike, for instance, the Maharatu.