"We have a preliminary treaty with Assyria," put in Herhor.
"A woman might give such an answer, but not a minister of war," said Ramses, with indignation. "What does a treaty mean when there is no army behind it: Today one half of the troops which King Assar commands would crush us."
"Deign to be at rest, holy lord. At the first news of Assyrian treason we should have half a million of warriors."
The pharaoh laughed in his face.
"What? How? Thou art mad, priest! Thou art groping among papyruses, but I have served seven years in the army, and there was almost no day which I did not pass in drill or maneuvers. How couldst Thou have an army of half a million in the course of a few months?"
"All the nobility would rise."
"What is thy nobility? Nobility is not an army. To form an army of half a million, at least a hundred and fifty regiments are needed, and we, as Thou thyself sayest, have forty. How could those men who today are herding cattle, ploughing land, making pots, or drinking and idling on their lands, learn the art of warfare? Egyptians are poor materials for an army. I know that, for I see them daily. A Libyan, a Greek, a Hittite, in boyhood even uses a bow and arrows and a sling; he handles a club perfectly; in a year he learns to march passably. But only in three years will an Egyptian march in some fashion. It is true that he grows accustomed to a sword and a spear in two years, but to cast missiles four years are too short a time for him. So in the course of a few months ye could put out not an army, but half a million of a rabble which the Assyrians would break to pieces in the twinkle of an eye. For, though the Assyrian regiments are poor and badly trained, an Assyrian knows how to hurl stones and shoot arrows; he knows how to cut and thrust, and, above all, he has the onrush of a wild beast, which is lacking in the mild Egyptians altogether. We break the enemy by this, that our trained and drilled regiments are like a battering ram: it is necessary to beat down one-half of our men before the column is injured. But when the column is broken, there is no Egyptian army."
"Thou speakest wisdom," said Herhor to the panting pharaoh. "Only the gods possess such acquaintance with things. I know that the forces of Egypt are too weak; that to create new ones many years of labor are needed. For this very reason I wish to conclude a treaty with Assyria."
"But ye have concluded it already!"
"For the moment. Sargon, in view of the sickness of thy father, and fearing thee, holiness, deferred the conclusion of a regular treaty till Thou shouldst ascend the throne."