Destiny Only Han

Chapter 835 Liu Ying: I'm not, I'm not, don't talk nonsense!

Alexandria.

When the Roman army was defeated across the board, this large city, [-] kilometers away from the battlefield, was still full of people and very prosperous.

After all, the Nile River is a gift from God to Egypt. In the years without agricultural machinery and modern fertilizers, it can be planted and harvested ten or more. Therefore, there are more than 50 people gathered around Alexandria, paper mills, carpentry workshops, Glass workshops, linen weaving and tailoring workshops, shops and brothels of all kinds abound.

Well, the high urbanization rate of classical Egypt is also related to the unique local geographical environment.

The terrain here is a line along the river and a line along the coast. Other than that, it is all desert and grassland. The population naturally gathers around those two lines, forming large cities.

And this is why ancient Egypt was easily conquered by various foreign invaders.

Without strategic depth, if you can't fight, you can only surrender...

Therefore, when the fleet of the expeditionary force appeared on the sea outside Alexandria, except for the remaining Roman sailors boarding the ship one after another, the Egyptian soldiers stationed in the port turned around and left together with the dock workers and merchants...

Du Dan, the commander of the Han fleet, put down his binoculars and issued instructions one after another. Eleven battleships were immediately lined up, connected end to end, and the large-caliber twelve-pound guns pointed in the direction of Alexandria.

He had inquired before that the library was still far away from the port, so he was not worried about being bombarded by artillery.

Otherwise, he would rather wait two more days, and let those Greek sailors come with him.

Without him, strong soldiers need cannon fodder to seize the city...

But now there is no need for this. When he sinks the Roman warships and annihilates the Roman navy stationed here, the city of Alexandria, which is considered a big city even in the Han Dynasty, will be destroyed. Like those Greek ladies, she spread her legs and begged him to be gentle with a Chinese voice she didn't know where she learned...

So, let the flag wave again.

"fire……"

boom!boom!boom!boom!boom……

Amidst the sawdust flying and the broken arms and limbs, the Roman sailor standing on the ship finally confirmed one thing.

These are enemies!

"Return to the port!"

"All retreat, hurry up..."

In the cries one after another, the benefits of the galley are reflected.

Compared with sailing boats, the main power of the galley comes from paddling, which leads to the fact that the galley can not only move forward quickly, but also retreat quickly!

At this moment, they retreated back to the port at a faster speed than when they came.

For Roman sailors, fighting down-to-earth is better than rushing over with a dull head and fighting the enemy side by side!
They knew very well that although they had no reinforcements in Alexandria, there were ten legions of Roman troops three hundred kilometers away!

Therefore, they guarded the port and sent out messengers. As long as a legion could come back, this large city with a population of several 10, together with the whole of Egypt, would still be under the control of Rome!

Seeing this, Du Dan sneered and waved another flag at the same time.

In an instant, 44 flat-bottomed fast boats with long oars stretched out from behind the Han warships.

centipede ship.

A warship designed for fighting in shallows and robbing ports.

This is the fourth class... well, the third class, the Royal Marines' warship.

When the bombardment started, they were ready to rush out to seize the port under the cover of naval artillery at any time, and prepare to take over the city with arms!

At this moment, the centipede ship came through the waves like an arrow leaving the string, making the Romans who retreated in a hurry tremble with fear.

Enemy ships are faster than their ships!

So the order was passed to the cabin, and the Roman soldiers with whips beat the slave oarsmen in the cabin hard, ordering them not to be lazy and to row hard!

Even the hired civilian oarsmen were not spared!
After all, this is an escape!

Although the enemy's inexplicable long-range attack methods are sharp, but the interval frequency is too high, and the hit rate is not good, but if they are stopped by those small boats that rush towards them like a pack of wolves, then they will become living targets for the enemy?
Well, after all, the Roman sailors were short-sighted, and artillery was a very strange thing to them. If they knew something, they would definitely rush over and get entangled with the Marine Corps' centipede ship, and even initiate a boarding battle...

Although the Royal Marines are third-class people, they have the word "Royal" after all. No matter how crazy the Navy is, they can't use artillery to wipe out the enemy and the Marines together...

Of course, if it was the army, they would be another choice...

On board the flagship of the expeditionary force "God of Wealth Comes Knocking on My Door", Du Dan gave orders again, and the whole army changed from a horizontal formation to a multi-lane column, sailing to a distant port.

After all, this is a large city with a population of several 10, and the Marine Corps alone is not enough to completely control it!

Especially the library requested by the emperor, as well as the scholars responsible for copying books in the library, must not be missed, not one of them is missing!
The imperial power is supreme, and the emperor holds the power of life and death. Whether he, the second generation, can inherit and carry forward the glory of his father's generation, is often a matter of the emperor's words!
Soon, when the marines defeated the Roman sailors and hunted them all over the city, Du Dan led a group of marine soldiers armed with bayonets and fusiliers to the port, and let a hired The Egyptian businessman led the way and headed straight for the library.

As for taking over the city defense and letting the Egyptian king, who has just been weaned not long ago, bow his head and obey his orders, just find any captain to go there.

Pleasing the emperor is the real business!

And Du Dan knew very well that that child might not live long!

....................................

At this moment, the other one who will not live long is the commander of the Roman legion, the inspector Marcus Polchius Cato.

Chong Zhong stood on the other side with a face full of remorse.

He was really extra careful. Ever since he caught the other party, he almost reached into the other party's skin and fumbled for a while, confiscating all the sharp blades...

But what I never expected was that this guy was so determined to die that he was so determined to bite off his tongue and let the pieces of flesh and blood clog his throat. Now his face is purple, and he is about to suffocate to death...

Capturing an enemy general alive is a higher achievement than beheading the general and capturing the flag!

Now, flying...

But Fan Kang didn't think so.

Cato's life or death was unimportant, the important thing was that he was arrested, and the scattered Romans completely lost the will to resist, kneeling on the ground and begging for surrender.

Therefore, except for those cavalry who changed their horses once and continued to chase and kill the fleeing enemy, the remaining infantry tied up the captives in front of them one by one with the ropes they had prepared long ago.

On the other hand, Xu An and Chen Cheng rode around on horseback, ordering the Macedonians and Seleucids not to allow the killing of Roman prisoners of war!
After all, prisoners of war are equivalent to slaves, but a lot of money!
And these "money" have nothing to do with the Seleucids and Macedonians, so it is natural to prevent them from doing things that harm others and benefit themselves.

However, as more and more prisoners of war are captured, how to deal with these prisoners is a problem.

So, Chen Cheng handed over his task to the guards around him, and he ran back in a hurry: "You guys make a price, I want these prisoners of war from the Anman Capital Guard!"

At this moment, he showed the attitude of a rich and powerful nouveau riche.

After all, although the oil stored in the Anman Governor's Mansion is still useless, there are many gold mines that have been proven but cannot be mined due to lack of labor!

You know it's gold!

The hardest and hardest currency in the known civilization world!

Therefore, Chen Cheng naturally behaved as if you slaughtered casually and bargained for my loss...

Dou Guangguo chuckled and shook his head, he had no intention of competing with Chen Cheng.

He has already learned from the chief minister of Egypt who was captured that when Ptolemy IV was still alive, the king's decree could pass through the whole country, so Egypt at that time was every seven years, that is, when the Nile River flooded abnormally. Every year, there will be a national census.

The results of the last census showed that Egypt under the rule of Ptolemy IV had a total of 700 villages and a total population of more than [-] million!

The important thing is that Egypt's agricultural production is extremely dependent on the flooding of the Nile River, coupled with the influence of the Mediterranean climate, farmers here will be in a forced rest period for half a year every year...

In other words, during this period of time, the collection of corvee is not a tyranny, but a benevolent government!

After all, farmers are idle at home and have to consume their own food, but they are hired by the government to work, so they don’t have to worry about eating and drinking...

The pyramids were built one after another in this state.

And limited by the pharaoh's financial resources, the size of the pyramids is also different. There are giants that have been preserved for thousands of years, and some that have completely disappeared after more than a hundred years...

Therefore, this is why Dou Guangguo is too lazy to argue with Chen Cheng.

As long as he can subdue those disobedient provinces, he will have at least a million laborers at his disposal!
If you add the excavators brought by Han, wouldn't it be easy to build a canal that runs through two seas?
But therein lies the crux of the matter.

Compared with the population of Egypt, the number of officials in the Han Dynasty is still too small to complete the mobilization work at the grassroots level!

Therefore, for Dou Guangguo, the biggest headache is how to control this vast land and manage the millions of people!

He shook his head and put the matter aside for the time being.

Because on the other side, a very fierce quarrel broke out.

One side of the quarrel was Chen Cheng, while the other side was Wu She, who had been watching coldly and had a low sense of presence.

"What? You can't sell prisoners of war? Do you want to allow the Romans to give priority to redeeming prisoners of war?"

Chen Cheng opened his eyes and glared at Wu She, with an expression of do you want to hear what kind of shit you are talking about.

After all, he had never listened to Wu She's class, so naturally he would not treat each other with teacher etiquette.

Therefore, Wu She was not angry, but just pulled the tiger's skin as a banner: "This is what His Majesty meant."

"Ok?"

"what?"

"Your Majesty, why..."

Under a pair of questioning eyes, Wu She asked with a smile: "Second and third sons, do you know why there is such a battle?"

Fan Kang and the others looked at each other, while suppressing what they were about to blurt out.

Wu She continued:

"Whether the second or third sons believe it or not, the old man believes what His Majesty said."

"This battle is not for expanding land and borders, not for promoting our country's prestige, not for punishing disobedient ministers, but only for the relief of the people, and only for the common people of the world!"

"Your Majesty said that the so-called Great Harmony refers to the old and the old, and the old of people; the young and the young, and the young of people..."

"Although there is the Egyptian Governor's Mansion, it is only a big man who temporarily controls the country for him. The ownership of this place will one day depend on his own decision..."

"As for the Romans, presumably after this battle, they can also recognize the gap between them and the great man of Huanghuang, and they will definitely not fight again..."

"Therefore, this is why His Majesty wants to establish the Eastern Mediterranean Treaty Organization here to seek development and create a better future with peace-loving people in the world!"

"So, to show my sincerity, Your Majesty said that the Romans can redeem the prisoners..."

After listening to Wu She's words, Chen Cheng still looked unwilling.

Behind him, King Philip V of Macedon, after listening to the translation, shook his head and said, "The emperor of Han is a good man, but he doesn't understand the Romans who are like jackals." ..."

Is a nice guy?This guy is so rude... Fan Fu's face was full of anger.

After all, he has been around Liu Ying since he was a child, and the saying that XXX is a good person is usually used to curse people...

But Philip V didn't know it. After the translator finished his words, he continued:

"After Carthage defeated Rome, it also allowed Rome to redeem prisoners of war captured by Carthage, but the Roman Senate had money to distribute bread to citizens, but it was indifferent to the redemption of citizens..."

"Thus, more than 8000 Roman soldiers were sold by Carthage to the Greeks as slaves. It was not until the Romans completely defeated Carthage that the Greeks finally released these slaves..."

"But at that time, there were less than 8000 prisoners of war left over [-]..."

"So, the Roman Senate will never spend money to redeem these prisoners of war, even if they are rich, very rich!"

Philip V gritted his teeth when it came to money.

After all, the last time he was defeated, the Romans almost emptied his treasury, but only a small part of the compensation was offset, and most of the rest will be paid off in the next ten years!
But immediately, he smiled happily again.

Now that he hugged the thigh of Han Guo, the money he owed would naturally not be repaid!
Therefore, Chen Cheng also became happy.

But Wu She still shook his head and said:
"That being said, these prisoners of war can only be sold after the Roman Senate rejects the ransom!"

After he finished speaking, he asked the translators to take Philip V and other foreigners away, and immediately said in a low voice: "Your Majesty's move is a plan to divide and disintegrate! You must know that tens of thousands of prisoners of war are behind tens of thousands of families. , affecting hundreds of thousands of people..."

"If these 10 people are separated from the Roman Senate... think about it, wouldn't it be easier for a big man to gain a foothold here?"

Chongzhong blinked his eyes: "Then what if he is not fooled and really takes money to redeem him?"

"Sure enough, he has a simple mind and well-developed limbs..." Mrs. Fan sneered, but the sneer quickly turned into a howl of misery: "It hurts, it hurts, it hurts... I'm sorry, I was wrong!"

Chong Zhong let go of him, squinted his eyes and asked murderously, "Then why can't you give me a simple-minded reason?"

Mrs. Fan rubbed her neck: "The attack was so ruthless... Let me ask you, we arrested tens of thousands of people in the first battle. According to the market price here, eight thousand silver coins per person is not too much! You just say Let’s say, tens of thousands of people times the ransom of [-] yuan, how much will it be in the end?”

"Don't say they are reluctant, even if they take it out, do they still have money in their pockets?"

"No money, let's fight a fart!"

"Besides, after Egypt has become our possession, where can they buy cheap food, and it is even difficult for them to feed the gang of uncles who do not work. How can he have the confidence to start a war with us again?"

Chong Zhong scratched his head: "Yes."

He still understands the reason why the soldiers and horses go first before the food and grass are used, especially the Black Sail Knights also raise a large group of delicate and expensive war horses. Let me show you!

So his eyes shifted to Dou Guangguo, his eyes were full of flattery: "Governor, hire me, we promise to help you clean up those disobedient governors!"

"Also, the price can be negotiated..."

Dou Guangguo raised his head indifferently.

There are four overseas knight orders of the empire, so full competition is necessary!

On the other side, Wu She asked with a smile, "Have you thought about what to do? I mean how will you, the governor, manage the land entrusted to you by His Majesty the Emperor?"

Dou Guangguo sighed, "I'm struggling..."

Mrs. Fan leaned over to him and murmured in a low voice, "If there's something you're unhappy about, just tell us to make everyone happy..."

I understand why everyone shouted and beat this brat in Chang'an... Dou Guangguo rolled his eyes invisibly:

"According to what the royal minister said, there are more than 3 villages in Egypt today, and each village has a village chief and a clerk. That's more than 6 officials!"

"This place is divided into forty nomes, and each nome also has officials of the corresponding level. Including low-level officials like pavilion soldiers and postmen, there will be at least another 2 people!"

"With a population of 700 million, but more than [-] officials have to be fed, and the royal family and the army suck the bones, how can the Egyptians not be poor?"

"This is what His Majesty said about relieving the people from hanging upside down, which is also the reason for what we did in Suez City that day."

"But as His Majesty said, water can carry a boat and it can also capsize it."

"We are outsiders after all. If one day, people here point the finger at us, what should we do?"

"So my entanglement is between using the old system and starting the new system!"

"The so-called food for the king is to worry about the king's worries. Your Majesty, I will take full responsibility for all matters here. Naturally, I will leave an iron bucket for the big man!"

After listening to Dou Guangguo's words, even Mrs. Fan lost the contemptuous smile on her face.

After all, nepotism has always been despised by others, even if he himself got a position through this kind of relationship, he still despises people who also have such a relationship, and at the same time despises himself. This is why many people with this experience try to make some achievements reason.

Of course, some people succeeded, such as Feng Lang Juxu and Le Shi Yanran, some people rushed to the street...

But Wu She laughed out loud:

"You, you always think too far ahead!"

"Your Majesty said that things in the world are not finished yet, and they will eventually be left behind... Therefore, the things for future generations are left to future generations to do. You and I can just do the things in front of us!"

"Besides, do you think there are only six to seven million people on this land, is it too much or too little?"

Dou Guangguo thought for a while: "Less."

Wu She asked: "Why?"

Dou Guangguo said with a smile:

"Why do you need to ask, sir?"

"The taxes here are extremely heavy, and a large amount of grain must be sold at a low price every year. As a result, there is no clothing and no food to eat. The fact that there are so many people is the result of the unique advantages of this place!"

Wu She continued to ask: "Then what do you think is the appropriate population for this place?"

Dou Guangguo calculated again: "1000 million! At least 1000 million, if the weather is good, and with the blessing of my big man's agricultural technology, and our officials are diligent and loving, then 2000 million, 3000 million is not impossible!"

Wu She smiled: "Then do you think that with the arable area of ​​the land here, it can feed the tens of millions of people?"

"No!" Dou Guangguo said without hesitation, "Therefore, we need to buy food from outside to maintain the food demand of the breeding population!"

With an inexplicable look on Wu She's face, he lowered his voice and asked:
"Do you still remember the words His Majesty said? Whoever controls oil controls all countries; whoever controls food controls all human beings; whoever controls the right to issue currency controls the world! "

"So, are you still worried that this place will be separated from the big man?"

Dou Guangguo was silent for a moment, overjoyed: "So, I can let go and do it?"

"Of course." The corner of Wu She's mouth raised: "However, we must strictly follow what your Majesty said. In the first stage, only the chief villain should be eliminated, and the subordinates should not be pursued. In the second and third stages, our Han second officials will arrive one after another. It’s not too late to wash slowly!”

....................................

Seleucus, Antigonus, the palace.

It was getting late at night, but the palace located in a corner of the palace was brightly lit.

In the flickering candlelight, a tall girl with brown hair could be seen.

The girl covered her face with tulle, revealing a pair of charming, deep sunken eyes. Through the white gauze pasted on her face, she could vaguely see a tall nose bridge, and her rosy lips.

This is the gift given to Liu Ying by the Seleucid King Antiochus IV, the jewel of the Eastern Mediterranean, the stunning beauty who is more beautiful than Helen, the Seleucid Princess Cleopatra.

At this moment, the girl who was given to someone else for the second time did not have the humiliation and struggle of the last time on her face.

On the contrary, the girl's face is full of spring.

Today's Antigonus City is full of Han merchants, and the girl has already learned from those people what kind of person her future master is.

A poet who fights wine, a scholar who has learned from ancient and modern times, an invincible general, and a master craftsman with exquisite craftsmanship...

Such different attributes, contradictory and united!

The most important thing is that there is no second place in the sky and on the earth, the emperor who is alone in the sky, rules the world, and is the king of kings!
But what Cleopatra likes most is the sentence summed up by the Han envoy.

Capable of writing and martial arts, very handsome...

ps: The population and village data of Rome also come from "Exploring the Bureaucratic System of Ptolemaic Egypt".

(End of this chapter)