Alma 55

This letter made Moroni hopping mad. No way did Ammoron feel so high and mighty, with his “just cause” argument for war.

So now Moroni said, “I’m not dealing with this guy unless he recants his holier-than-thou premise. And since that’s not likely, it’s full on death blows, until he and his people beg for mercy.” Then Moroni ordered a search of his men to find out who might be a descendant of Laman. He found one, whose name was Moroni’s first clue: Laman. This Laman had been a servant of the king Amalickiah murdered. So Moroni sent him with a few comrades to Gid, the city where Nephite prisoners were incarcerated.

When they got there it was night. Laman approached the guards and said, “Don’t be afraid, I’m a Lamanite. We’ve all escaped Nephite prison and brought some of their delicious wine.”

The guards said, “Excellent. Hit us with some of that vintage. We’re dead tired.”

“Hey, let’s wait till the next battle.” Well, that didn’t work.

“We’re tired. This is a good time to drink up. Don’t stiff us.”

“Okay. Whatever.”

And drink up they did. Strong, aromatic wine, bottle after bottle. They got drunk, of course. A classic ploy. You’d think any self-respecting guard would know this one.

When they were all drunk and snoring Laman and his companions went back and told Moroni. He saw this coming and was ready. He sent heavily armed troops, who gave extra weapons to the prisoners themselves, including the women and children. All this was done in a hush, though our boys were quite ready to kill any guards who woke up. (Moroni, despite his history, actually didn’t like overkill. And he didn’t think it was fair to juice people up just to slaughter them.) They all pulled back and surrounded the city, well aware that the prisoners inside were now armed.

When the Lamanite guards came to,

they groggily handed their weapons to the Nephites at the city gates and begged for mercy. This played into Moroni’s hands. He gratefully accepted the extra weapons, set free the incarcerated Nephites, and took prisoners of his own. The newly freed joined his army. The men, anyway. And, as was his custom, he made his Lamanite prisoners strengthen the battlements of Gid. When they were done he took them back to Bountiful and put them under heavy guard.

The Nephite armies seemed invincible. Even when Lamanites tried to circle Nephite cities and pull the old sneak attack at night ploy, the Nephites were ready. And forget about trying to get them drunk. Or poison them. They made the prisoners taste everything first.

When trigger-happiness started to get the better of Moroni, he planned new attacks on Morianton, a Lamanite stronghold, with new recruits (and provisions) showing up every day. Thus ended the twenty-ninth year.