“Prepare the men and tell them they’re marching for a fight at dawn. We’ll keep the main body of the army behind and poke them with light infantry until they give us a fight. We’ll make our army look weak, so they gain confidence. We’ll get them to stretch chasing us and flank with cavalry and the royal guard.”

The czar continued rearranging the pieces on the table.

“The empire keeps its third line in reserve, committing it when they find a soft spot. We’ll have to hit them hard enough for them not to wait.”

He didn’t look up from the map but heard the shuffling of armor over unconvinced bodies. The choir of agreeing voices didn’t have the ring that he expected.

“Sire, I’ll charge into hellfire for you if you say the word, but we’ll be falling right into a trap tomorrow. If their scouts see us…”

“Imperial scouts are useless.”

“We’re basing our whole strategy on the hope that they won’t see our cavalry. We’re hoping for incompetence.”

“We’re basing it on history, general. History knows of a time when a king hid twenty thousand men, and the imperials didn’t see them before they were charging their position. Did that teach them they need to scout and plan their advances better? No, it taught them they’re invincible.”

“Sire, we’re betting on their recklessness.”

“We’re betting on their ego, and I’m willing to gamble on that any day, especially at war. The truth, generals, is that if I’m right and they’re waiting for reinforcements, we might not get a better battle than this.”

“Even if we flank them, we’ll be fighting them on equal odds at best. We’ll need a miracle.”

“If another fifty ships land on our shores in two days, even a miracle won’t suffice. God is with us. Have faith in him if you doubt my intentions. Fill your hearts with ruthlessness and rage, and make sure your men do the same. We fight tomorrow.”

The pieces were set and the generals left the tent. But it’s always the blade you don’t see that hurts you and the czar had another piece in his sleeve. For it to work, it would have to remain unseen even to his own people. They’ll never know what happened. To them, it will be divine intervention that wins the battle tomorrow. Only one man will know the sacrifices made from generation to generation, the creation of myths, the backstabbing, the betrayals, and the suffering that have led to this.

God is with us, he thought. But not the dead one, not the one everyone expects.