SEMBAH HYANG

THE WAR FLEET

Near the mouth of the Musi River, there were several small villages situated at the coast mostly involved in fishing activities. Most of its inhabitants is still inside the house doing their normal chores. Suddenly, gongs where drummed with loud voices coming from the direction of the shore. 

"Wake up! Javanese Jongs! Run! Run!" 

"We'll be massacred! Get out now!"

Rushing outside their house, they were stunned by the view of hundreds of huge jongs harboring near the shore. 

Reacting quickly, they pack their foods and valuable belongings, grabs the children and evacuates the place. Running as far as they can to the interior part of Palembang, heading towards the city for protection. 

In the palace hall, Maharaja Sri Cudamani Warmadewa was told by an informer that a huge Medang fleet is currently moving westward. A military expedition is currently moving westward towards the realm of Srivijaya. No one would expect a fleet of warships would sail during the monsoon season when the sea is at its most violent form.

"Sending a huge fleet during a storm? What madness is this! When did you saw the fleet? How many ships?" Warmadewa asks .

"Tuanku, I saw the fleet during my visit in Tuban, from what I witnessed, there was at least 800 strong Djongs that are currently moving towards Palembang. Around 50 of them are Jong Besar (a 1200 tons capacity Djong ship), the rest are the normal Jong (400 - 500 tons capacity Djong). As soon as I saw it, I rode my horse to Semarang to inform the army of Tuanku Raja Jayadewa (a ruler of Mataram appointed by Maharaja Sri Cudamani Warmadewa) garrisoned there and set sail to Palembang, I believe the fleet is about two days behind me." The informer answers.

Hearing the news, without wasting a single moment Datuk Ganda Agung the Bendahara (a Malay term for "Prime Minister") of Palembang asked Sri Dalang Indra, his Laksmana (a Malay term for "Admiral") to provide his estimation of  the size of the army the fleet is carrying. 

"Judging from the information, their army would approximately be around 250,000 - 270,000 strong. A fleet that huge is deployed only for two reasons, to decimate a whole kingdom, or to burn down a capital of an empire at least. I would say that an attack towards kedatuan Mataram is unlikely to happen as they can do so by land force, so they decide to attack Palembang instead, believing it to be the capital of Srivijaya. At this rate, their fleet might have reached Tulang Bawang regent, they would probably arrive near the mouth of the Musi River by tomorrow night, and reach this capital by the next morning. My concern is not the Jong Besar as they won't be able to penetrate deep, the river is too shallow, they'll only trap themselves dig their own grave. Our enemy is knowledgeable in term of geography of our plain, they will not make simple mistake. However, the smaller Djongs are the real threat, they may penetrate as deep as Bailangu village or might as well even reach the Ngulak village. Smaller size means they can just slip into through any smaller river channel, deploying their soldiers along the way and caught us from various direction that we may not be aware of." explains Sri Dalang with a concerned face all over him.

The room just went  silent afterwards. It was so silence that even a drop of water can be heard. Controlling the mouth of the Musi River is crucial as it is the fastest way to get to the city. Losing control of it not only give for the enemy the upper hand to surround the city, but also accelerate its destruction. The river that provides life to this city, might as well bring its own death.

The Maharaja is unable to utter a single word let alone come up with a plan. His mind is still processing the fact that in the morning he was poking fun at his wife, in the afternoon, he had to face a war fleet that can slaughter everyone in this including his wife.