Butcher
“Harrumph! You have to understand, you see, that what the people talk about in the streets is not always, shall we say, strictly correct.”
“No” Joseph cautiously answered the quartermaster, hoping he would go on.
“No, indeed. It’s a little embarrassing indeed. Our beloved ruler has been so keen to see Russia prosper that he has been, shall we say, slightly lacking in maintaining the kind of army we need.”
Joseph was a little worried, he wondered if the quartermaster should really have been telling him this. He kept quiet, to try to avoid upsetting the man.
“No, it’s all very sad, there has been a little backsliding here and there. It sounds like the regulars just can’t quite hold the line south of Odessa.
And as for the Caucuses, well, much of the same. I hear that many of the regiments down there are nothing but Cavalry. Now, that’s all very grand, but as an infantryman myself, I can tell you that they just can’t hold the line like we can.
The navy, now, they are in not too bad shape. My goodness, you would hope so, wouldn’t you? Against a bunch of Musselman Pirates eh?
Oh yes, that’s not the only little ray of light. From what I hear, the Amerussian regiments are making light work of the British settlers out in the Alaskan plane. I should hope so eh? These Brits can’t stand a bit of cold, can they?”
“No” answered Joseph judiciously, wondering when the quartermaster would stop ranting.
“Eh, speaking of the deep south, you’re one of those fellows from down there, aren’t you?”
“Well, yes sir, my..”
The quartermaster interrupted before Joseph could get any further, “Oh yes, I could tell by your skin – dark from the sun. I’m no stranger to you foreign types, oh no.”
“Sir, did you say that things were not going so well down there?”
“Well, it’s not a disaster, since there are few Russians in the area, but from what I hear, some of the armies of the Turk have made it over our border.”
“What into Armenia?”
”Armenia? There’s no such place! The Treaty of Turkmenchaj back in 1828 between our exulted monarch and the evil Ottoman rulers carved up what was, and led to what is; the Armenian Oblast, no more than a province within our great nation. Although I would say, one that has produced the odd fine butcher! Anyway, get along, I don’t have all day to talk, we have a parade to organise.”
Again, dismissed summarily, Joseph shuffled out. Now, he was even more worried. Now he was concerned not just for his cousin, but his whole family back home. Were they even now being terrorised by the troops of the vole Turk? Had their homes been burned to the ground as the battle raged to and fro? There was no way to tell, since the front was many, many miles away, and news was still strictly controlled.