When the news came of Amatya Shishunag successfully building his army across the Himalayas, the entire magadhan countryside arose in revolt. Village after village rose up in armed revolt. This countryside insurrection was most powerful in Vanga, whose people were infamous for their hotblooded and rebellious nature.
Reports were coming out of local officials and military personnel helping these militias in training and arming them. Large bands of rebel militias were making their way on to Pataliputra. Another smaller band of militias in Kuru, hearing the story of the rebel base in Tibet, decided to cross the Himalayas and go there, to join amatya Shishunag's army.
It was said, that King Udayabhadra was so utterly stricken with fear that he had confined himself in the palace dungeons for two whole days hiding from his own officials. He was later found quivering in a corner of a dank cell biting his nails, in a state of delirious paranoia. The king was taken ill and kept in the care of the palace vaid. Taking advantage of his state, Acharya Dhrittiman had taken the sign of the king authorizing him to adopt all duties of the state in the King's absence, he now had the title Councillor Supreme, the first and last time such a title would be used.
Acharya Dhrittiman now had command over three divisions of Kamboja horse archers, the death batallion and many divisions of archers, though his control over the archers in Takshashila were questionable to say the least. To maximize the effectiveness of the forces under his command, the acharya commanded that the armed forces be divided into offensive and defensive forces. The defensive forces comprising of archers would be stationed in the major cities, while the offensive forces would tackle the rebel militias heading West from Bengal and those who had risen up in Kashi. Two divisions of Kamboja mercenary cavalry would form the shock troop of this army which can be deployed rapidly while another would be formed as the fighting division of the army, comprising of the death battalion and one division of Kamboja mercenary cavalry. The former was stationed at Pataliputra, and the latter was stationed in Varanasi.
Before long the first wave of rebellion would see the wrath of this army. The tactical command of the army was still in the hands of the senapati, whose ruthlessness and penchant for torture had won him the name 'Kansa', after the demonic uncle of Lord Krishna who murdered every child born of his own niece to prevent the birth of Lord Krishna.
The rebels however, preempted the loyalist armies, and struck for Pataliputra first. They crossed the Ganga in the dead of night in straw boats. Two thousand militias armed with pitchforks and wooden clubs. They wore no armour, and had no training in warfare. Against these brave young souls, stood the garrison of Pataliputra, and the mercenary shock troops of the King Emperor, all in all they numbered over ten thousand. However, the militias had the element of surprise on their side.
The operation started well. The boats had successfully crossed the river and landed on the South side of the city. The stealthy landing encouraged the rebels, that success may be around the corner. After that, everything that could go wrong, went wrong.
A patrol of around a dozen troops were alerted when the rebels unwittingly disturbed a herd of bulls. They started to panic and run. The troops lit the signal flares alerting their fellow fighters on the walls, the rebels had come! That night the air was filled with the low booming sounds of conch shells and drums as the army of Magadh were awaken to battle. The rebels had no choice left, but to make a rapid dash for the walls and hope to breach it before more troops could come.
Alas! Fate conspired against them. The first few hundred troops were joined with hundreds more, and then a thousand. Fiery arrows rained down on the rebels, even as they raced towards the gates of Pataliputra. The fields across the walls burnt with the incendiary rain as hundreds upon hundreds of fighters marched bravely to their death, martyrs for the rebel cause. For the cause of Justice and vengeance.
The rebels did not have access to iron weapons, so they could not forge armor, they did not have access to horses, so they could not ride. They did not have training, so they could not move in formation. What they had was the fire of rebellion in their hearts, that gave them unnatural bravery. These were sons and brothers of kin who had been killed during Ajatshatru's purges, and many of those who suffered the rule of Udayabhadra. Years of hatred had hardened their hearts which yearned for justice for their fallen kin, and they were willing to fight till death to get it.
"Today we will have justice, or die trying!" shouted their leader, as he rallied the militia on. "न्याय प्रतिशोध रक्त और अग्नि !" Two thousand rebel soldiers cried out before they marched on the walls of Pataliputra.
The night was lit ablaze with the fires of the arrows, and drowned in the blood of two thousand martyrs. Not one of them returned alive in the suicide mission. The sun rose to a bloody field with littered bodies strewn across charred earth. This would only be the first assault that Pataliputra would face.
A much larger rebel force was heading from Vanga and camped out in the forests to the East.
Eight thousand militias gathered in the forests, ready to storm the gates of Pataliputra. Under these circumstances, another riot in Pataliputra would be spell certain failure for the loyalists. Even in defeat, the bravery of the rebels inspired sympathy among the people. Acharya Dhrittiman, had to ensure that there would be peace within Pataliputra. The king's sickness proved to be a boon for Dhrittiman's administrative plans. Ever the skillful diplomat he enlisted he support of the Mahabodhi sangh. Their relief efforts were now encouraged by the funds of the state. Taxation was relaxed, and compensation was granted to those who had lost livelihood during the night of long knives.
Acharya Dhrittiman did all he could to improve the image of the rule of King Udayabhadra, but the people of Bharata do not forgive easily. They continued to see the king as the shield behind which the corrupt and incompetent king hid. They blamed him for the terror that was unleashed during the suppression of the night of long knives, and for advising the king against Amatya Shishunag. Acharya Dhrittiman was a burdened man, and the burden of his duty to the king weighed him down that much more. "Serve.. the King.." the words of AtulyaSen continued to haunt him, but there would be no time for reflection. War was upon them!
This time the rebel army would not leverage the element of surprise. In broad daylight the horde revealed itself coming out of the forest. "न्याय प्रतिशोध रक्त और अग्नि !""न्याय प्रतिशोध रक्त और अग्नि !""न्याय प्रतिशोध रक्त और अग्नि !" the men chanted to the rythm of war drums. The divisions of archers who had rained death upon the last rebel attack, could not find it in their hearts to kill their own countrymen in cold blood once again. The 'dirty work' as Senapati Kansa put it, would fall on he shoulders of the Kamboja mercenaries. These hardened blood thirsty horsemen would now show their reputation on the field of battle.
Four thousand of the horsemen rode out to meet the rebel divisions, the rebels as before, ill armed and ill trained, fought relying only on their numbers and their bravery... and on the will of the people of Pataliputra to revolt. The citizens of Pataliputra never revolted. What happened instead, was a fierce battle. The horsemen swooped down on the rebel militias firing volley after volley of arrows, but just as the rebels would run to meet the horsemen, they would flee. A dozen times they rode up and fled back leaving almost a thousand rebels dead on the field. The battle was decided for the day. The mercenaries proved their worth, as efficient killers and won for the king an important victory.
The king's health started to improve upon hearing this news. He was glad about the victories the army inflicted upon the enemy rebels time and time again. In reward he gave the kambojas a gift of jewellery taken from the treasury as well as a choice of one hundred women from the city. The mercenaries celebrated by indulging in the worst profanities imaginable. They would ride through the streets and snatched anyone they fancied. They rode with impunity. The anger of the people peaked when a band of Kamboja horsemen threatened to raid the sangh if they weren't paid ten maunds in gold immediately. It was Acharya Dhrittiman's intervention which saved the sangh, and the city from debacle. That night he was consumed by anger, and righteous indignation at the king. For a moment, he wished death upon this wretch of a man, but Acharya AtulyaSen's words haunted him again "Serve... the King".
The rebel army was no longer advancing, but had fortified itself inside the eastern forest. By the next day, the fighting divisions from Kashi had arrived. The death battalion came with four thousand Kamboja cavalry. "Our axes are thirsty for blood" remarked the captain of the battalion, "Then today will be the day their thirst shall be quenched" assured Senapati Kansa. That day the full force of Magadh would be deployed against the rebels. Seven thousand five hundred archers, Eight thousand horsemen and Three thousand men of the 'death battalion' . Against this force stood six thousand rebel braves.
The songs had fallen silent after the defeat the day before. The rebels were demoralized, they yearned for Amatya Shishunag to come to the plains and lead them. "But where is amatya Shishunag?" the young braves would ask "He will come, have faith, for the gods always favor the just" would come the reply from those who still believed. Amatya Shishunag had not come, but the harbinger of death, yamraj had come in the form of the 'death battalion'. Senapati Kansa would lead the attack personally, riding from atop an elephant.
The axes of the death batallion would taste the first kills of the day, when a disorganized group of militias decide to preempt an attack from them. Why they did it is not known, perhaps they believed they could somehow surprise them and steal their iron weapons to use against them ? What is known is that the plan was sheer folly. The thousand who had attacked the death battalion had died terrible deaths under the blows of the iron axes. Not one of them survived, retreating and wounded soldiers were killed with impunity. It is said, that the men of the death battalion would laugh aloud each time they would inflict a kill. The sound of shrieks had a morbid mix with the laughs of the axemen that day. The other sound was the sound of hoofbeats trampling the grass beneath them.
The remainder of the forces who had braved using the forest as a shield, would be taken down by volleys of arrows from archers and the kamboja cavalry. Just before being raided by the soldiers of the death battalion. The massacre was total. Senapati Kansa however, commanded that there ought to be at least two hundred prisoners of war after this battle was over.
True to his word, two hundred soldiers were taken in as prisoners of war. Acharya Dhrittiman had appreciated this move when he had heard of it, stating that a fair trial before the court of pataliputra would draw a more favorable image of us and people would understand that we can forgive. This was not to be so. Senapati Kansa made an evil grin and said "King's orders. They're to be burnt alive before all the people. To show, what happens if you join the rebels" .
In the meantime, acting on reports from the kingdom of Kuru, the shock force of kamboja horsemen were sent North to foothills near Kuru to deal with rebels hiding out there. The winter had been harsh on the hills, snows had piled up and sealed passes affecting trade and travel. the militia who had mean to use that pass to cross over to Tibet were stranded, just as the main rebel army was inside of Tibet. The Kamboja horsemen felt out of place in this land, it was rugged, with hills and rivers and forests. This was not the wide open plains where their horses could be ridden at full pace. Here they would need to maneuver and adapt. The horses could not adapt to this new terrain quickly, but its locals had. This is where the rebels would strike the most bold victory of the war.
Through the wintery mists and snowfall, the horsemen entered the foothills of Kumaon. Forests, rocks, ice and snow made the journey treacherous. The six thousand horsemen sent from the victorious slaughter at Magadh had dispersed. The rebel leader told his men to use stealth. "Nature is your ally my brothers" he would say. The horsemen grew tired and fatigued, their horses were dying under the cold. As night came, the winter would bring out its murderous cold death. In the chill, under the watchful lights of the full moon, the militias would strike. First a slight shrug from the bushes, then would come war cries, sounds which were all too familiar for anyone from Pataliputra. "न्याय प्रतिशोध रक्त और अग्नि !" The warriors pounded their enemy with clubs, smashing their heads to a pulp. Where or how this death came none of the mercenaries could know. It had just come, striking like a tiger from behind the leaves of the forest.
The quiet moonlit night grew loud to the shrill cries of dying mercenaries. Some had set their horses to fire, almost certainly as an act of vengeance, but also to scatter their horses away. Six burning horses frightened sixty others, and sent whole packs fleeing down the slopes of hills. Many fell to their deaths. Before the kamboja could gather their wits and fight in defense, a thousand of their forces lay dead along the rocky slopes of the hills. The Ganga river below would take in the blood of these unrighteous souls and stand testament to the righteous carnage. When the counter-attack came, a frenzied and undisciplined volley was launched into the trees and into the sky. Some were unlucky enough to be caught in the crossfire, but most warriors were unscathed. More kambojas awoke after hearing the cries of their companions and the fear stricken neighing of their horses. They too fired arrows blindly at the invisible enemy, it was only when they were met with the club that they could see their enemy, their bodies covered with dark fur and brandishing thick wooden clubs which seemed strong enough to break rock, never mind bone.
The fighting was fierce, and many militia did lose their life, but more kambojas died that night than rebels. The horsemen who had known only how to strike fear into others, understood what it means to feel fear.
The kamboja leader was caught fleeing by the rebels, and executed through fire. The burning man would bear witness to the cheers of the victorious rebels chanting "न्याय , प्रतिशोध, रक्त और अग्नि !" Justice, Vengeance, Blood and fire !
) so I opened my tryst with destiny file only now. Before I update it, I'll be PMing each side telling you what I intend to do with the rebellion. Just so I get a confirmation.
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Also, people have choices, like how you have councilors for example, people will be actually into the story. A good story name doesn't hurt either 
Just give yourself time. Don't force popularity and remember it's about having fun not number of views. 
