Eric Flint - Grantville Gazette.Volume XIX

Piccolomini rubbed his jaw for a moment, and the nodded. "Well. You're probably right."

Uriel turned back to von Mercy. "My proposition is simple enough, General. As you may or may not know-and I suspect you do, at least the gist of it-the King of Bohemia has entrusted Don Morris Roth to see to Bohemia's interests to the east. Among those interests-this is at the center of Don Morris' own concerns, as well as my own-is included a reasonable and just resolution of the Jewish issues involved."

Franz managed not to wince. He could think of several possible resolutions to what Abrabanel was very delicately calling "the Jewish issues involved" in the politics of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the sprawling lands and peoples of Ruthenia. But neither "reasonable" nor "just" was likely to be part of them.

A small number of immensely wealthy and powerful Polish and Lithuanian magnates lorded it over vast estates worked by Ruthenian peasants-serfs, to call things by their right name-and used Jews as their absentee managers and rent-collectors. How was anything either reasonable or just supposed to issue from those premises?

But all he said was, "Not so easily done. And if it can be done, it won't be done by cavalry."

Uriel now grinned. "And an honest man, too! No, General, it can't be done by cavalry. In the end, in fact-such is Don Morris' opinion, and I share it-the matter can't be resolved by any sort of military force. But what cavalry can do, as we wrestle with the problem, is keep someone else from imposing their own very unreasonable and unjust solution."

"Possibly. Although it will take more than one regiment of cavalry."

"Quite a bit more, in fact." Abrabanel leaned forward in his chair. "But here's the thing, General. We can train-so we believe, at least-a powerful enough military force out of our own resources."

Franz raised an eyebrow. "From Jews? Meaning no offense, but I find that unlikely."

Abrabanel shrugged. "It was done in another universe. But it won't simply be Jews, in any event. The Brethren are with us also, and-"

"Socinians." That came from Piccolomini, who, for all his cosmopolitanism and sophistication, still had more than a little in the way of straightforward Italian Catholic attitudes. The word was practically sneered. "Heretics who make Lutherans and Calvinists look sane."

"As it may be. But whether they are heretics or not-and as a Jew, I would not presume to judge such Christian matters-I can assure you that they are quite capable of fighting, Octavio. They did very well, actually, against Holk's forces last year."

He turned back to von Mercy. "But here's the thing-as you well know from your own experience. Without the traditions involved, there is no way we can forge a good cavalry force on our own."

After a moment, Franz nodded. At least, this Don Morris and his Abrabanel agent were not so wildly impractical as to imagine they could conjure up good cavalry from the ranks of ghetto-dwellers and rustics.

Infantry… maybe. Perhaps even artillery, if not too much was demanded of it in the way of maneuvering. But cavalrymen, like archers, almost had to be born to it. At the very least, they had to have spent years learning all the necessary skills.

"So. And for that, you seek to hire me. Yes?"

"Exactly."

"And the terms?"

Abrabanel's description was short, clear and to the point. When he was done, von Mercy studied him for a few seconds.

"And all this is going to come from the purse of one man? Who is not even a duke, much less a king. Pardon me, but I find that hard to believe. I'm not a village peasant, who thinks a 'rich Jew' is some sort of devil-summoned creature with bottomless coffers."

Uriel smiled. "You might be surprised, actually, at how rich some of these up-timers have gotten. The Roth fortune derives largely from cut jewelry, of which at the moment they have an effective monopoly and is a rage sweeping Europe. More than one monarch-and any number of dukes-are opening up their coffers to obtain the new gems. And, at that, Don Morris' wealth is small compared to the fortune being amassed by the Stone family with their pharmaceutical and chemical works. Still-"

He waggled fingers in a gesture that simultaneously dismissed the problem and cautioned the need for discretion. "Not all of the funds, of course, will come from Don Morris himself. Probably not even most of them. I said that Wallenstein was not directly involved here. I did not say he was not involved at all."

Von Mercy leaned back in his chair. And felt the tension caused by the Austrian emperor's refusal to hire him begin to ease. It seemed he would be able to keep his regiment intact, after all. Some of those men had been with him for years and would have been very difficult to replace quickly if at all.

In fact, he had heard tales of the wealth of the man Roth in Prague. The intricately-carved new jewelry he and his partners had introduced to Europe was, indeed, all the rage-at least, among those circles who could afford such gems at all. But there were a lot of noblemen in Europe, many of whom were very wealthy themselves-and it seemed as if each and every one of them was bound and determined to acquire one of the dazzling new "Prague jewels," as they were now being called.

And if Wallenstein was also involved, even if only at the level of providing funds through the back door…

Yes. Roth could afford to employ an experience general and a regiment of cavalry, even on the munificent terms he was offering.

"Done," he said. "Where do you want me to take my troops? And by what date, and by what route?"

"As to where, Brno. As to when… there is really no great hurry. Two months from now would be ideal, but three months would be acceptable if you need that much time."

He made a little grimace. "The tricky question is by what route, of course. Given the unfortunate state of hostilities between Austria and Bohemia."

He glanced at Piccolomini.

"I'm afraid not," said the Florentine officer. "To allow Franz and his troops to pass directly from Austria into Bohemia would be just that little too blatant and obvious. So I'm afraid he'll have to take the longer route."

"That's time-consuming but not difficult," said von Mercy. " Provided I'm given free passage through the USE. I'll need to pass through the whole of the Oberpfalz and enter Bohemia at Cheb."

Uriel's good cheer was back in full force. "Not a problem."

Piccolomini and von Mercy both gave him skeptical looks.

"Johan Baner's in command of the USE army in the Oberpfalz," pointed out Piccolomini.

"And he is, by all accounts," added Franz, "choleric to the point of lunacy."

"Baner." Abrabanel spoke the word much the way he might have named an insect. "Merely a general. Meaning no offense. Did I mention that my niece dotes upon me? And she, in turn, is doted upon by her husband?"

After a bit, his grin was met with two smiles.

"Well, then," said Piccolomini. "All seems to be well."

Late summer 1635, Jena

Dr. Phillip Gribbleflotz was at a bit of a loose end. He'd finally concluded that there was something fundamentally wrong with the theory that pyramid power could be used to invigorate the Quinta Essentia of the human spirit, and had regretfully given up on that line of research. He desperately needed something new to work on. Something interesting. Something impressive. Something that would prove to the world that he was in fact the World's Greatest Alchemist.

He sat back in his chair and surveyed his office, looking for inspiration. There was the large portrait photograph of his beautiful young wife, Dina Kastenmayerin, in pride of place over the fireplace. That was certainly inspiring, but not in any direction that would impress the academics at Jena University. On either side of the fireplace were bookshelves. It looked like he was going to have to do a lot more reading to get what Jonathan Fortney called the "killer application" that would forever cement his place in history.