ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 1277 Landing in Asia Minor
When Nectanipos learned of the changes in the city and led an angry army to reinforce the city gate, the Dionian army had already rushed into the city under the leadership of Memphis officials.

After a day of fierce fighting in the city, the rebels were defeated, Nectanipos was also captured, and the Dionian army entered the city of Memphis.

Immediately on the second day, Foreign Minister Tapirus, who accepted the instructions of Davos and came to Egypt with the army, began to meet frequently with Memphis officials and priests of several temples in the city.

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It was already mid-August, and the news that "the Holy Kingdom of Dionysia officially declared war on Persia and was forming a Greek coalition to attack Asia Minor" had reached Babylon, shocking Artaxerxes, who had repeatedly military successes. The frustrated and ineffective King of Persia didn’t know when he started to be a little afraid of the Kingdom of Dionia in the far west, which could continue to win and expand even if it encountered any obstacles. He couldn’t help but say in public. He said: "It's finally here!..."

Then he stood up suddenly and shouted: "Go and call Trebasus!"

"Your Majesty, Lord Trebassus has been sent by you to conquer Egypt!" a minister reminded.

Artaxerxes then stood still for a moment as if awakening from a dream, and then asked: "Where is he now?"

"Also called up troops in the Syrian region."

Artaxerxes sat down again, held his fists, pondered for a while, and said slightly nervously: "...the order to attack Egypt has been temporarily canceled. Let him come back first. We are currently preparing for the invasion of the Dionysian army. It is the most important event! ...Send me all the secret spies to monitor the movements in mainland Greece at all times...At the same time, notify the governors of each region to immediately launch military mobilization, and the garrisons in each region are assembled and on standby, waiting for my orders!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

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Artaxerxes realized that although Dionia had officially declared war on Persia, it would still take some time for the Greek coalition to complete its formation and invade Persian territory.

But he did not expect that Leoticides had led the Tenth Legion and the No. 11 Legion to Thessaly, and the Dionysian commander had a detailed understanding of the enemy situation on the other side of the Aegean Sea, and after repeated thinking , made a resolute decision: not to wait for the Greek armies to gather together before attacking Asia Minor, but to take advantage of the fact that the Persians had not completed their defense preparations and send a vanguard force to land in Asia Minor to occupy a foothold for further landing operations of the subsequent army. provide assurance.

The commander of the Tenth Army, Stepros, is the adopted son of Amyntas, a famous figure in the Dionysian army. He is a good friend of Patroclus and an old subordinate of Leoticides. He has a deep understanding of his abilities. , so this task was given to him.

Stepophos, who was in his prime and eager to make another great contribution, took over this important task without hesitation, and after discussing with Leoticides, he targeted the beaches of the Misia region in western Asia Minor.

The reason why we chose this place is very simple: take a boat from Philae Port in Thessaly to the east, across the Aegean Sea, and reach western Asia Minor. The closest straight line distance is Mysia, which is also the westernmost region of Persia today. Naturally, Persian dominance is also weakest here.

Because Mysia is close to mainland Greece, there are many colonial towns established by the Greeks in the area. Persian rule here has always been unstable. During the wave of rebellion in Asia Minor against Persian rule, Mysia was also one of them. One, because Artaxerxes promulgated some laws during the war that were beneficial to the Greek colonial city-states in Asia Minor, such as giving them more autonomy, paying less taxes, and having more freedom in religious belief. ... Therefore, most of the Greek city-states in Asia Minor did not participate in that rebellion, nor did they provide support to the rebels. On the contrary, they provided a certain degree of cooperation with the Persian army's attack.

However, after the rebellion was put down and the new governors of various regions in western Asia Minor took office, many of them did not implement the decrees announced by the Persian king. One of them was Theopompus, the governor of Mysia. This caused a stir in Greece within his territory. The dissatisfaction of the city-state.This Persian nobleman from Susa obviously did not expect that the Greeks under his jurisdiction would dare to oppose his decision. Most of the other local ethnic groups, including the Persians, looked on with cold eyes. Few people were willing to move closer to this outsider, resulting in a dispute. For more than many years, Theopompus's rule over Misia was still very weak, and the political situation in Misia was very disordered.

A few days later, a total of more than 8000 soldiers of the fully prepared Dionysian Tenth Army boarded a troop transport ship at the port of Philae. Under the escort of the Fourth Fleet, they sailed straight east and successfully landed in Mihai two days later. beaches in western Asia, and at the same time quickly captured Tenedos, an unsuspecting island not far from the landing beach.

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In September, the news that "King Davos will personally lead an army to attack Persia" was officially announced, and the palace office welcomed several guests.

Davos looked at these guests, pretending to be surprised and asked: "What a good day is today for you to come and visit me?"

"Your Majesty!" Felicius, who had retired for many years, replied respectfully: "We heard that you were going to personally lead the army to attack Persia, so everyone was very excited and made an appointment to come to see you. I hope you can allow it. We will go with you to the land where we have fought side by side through life and death!"

"Yes, Your Majesty! Over the years, I can't forget those comrades who died in Persia. We were so anxious to escape that we buried their bodies in a hurry without even putting a copper coin in our mouths... This time When I go to Persia, I must transport their bones back to my hometown and bury them properly, so that their wandering souls can smoothly return to Hades..." Alexis, who has always been relatively calm, also said emotionally.

"There are also Clearchus, Proxenus, and Menon. I heard that their heads were sent to Babylon and randomly discarded in the garbage dump by the Persians. Even if they spend a lot of effort, they may not be able to find them. But... it is everyone's common wish to collect their bones and bring them back to their hometown!" Immediately afterwards, Hieronymus finished speaking seriously, and Tormid, Agarcia and others immediately echoed loudly.

"Everyone's common wish?" Davos heard something from these words.

"Your Majesty, we are here to request you on behalf of the majority of the old mercenaries who are still alive and idle at home, hoping to follow you back to Persia!" Epithenes said loudly.

Davos looked at Felicius, Alexis, Hieronimus, Thormedes, Marigi, Agalia, Epithenes, Martius, Geogris... When the faces of these white-haired and wrinkled old people were swept across, they finally landed on Amyntas.

The Dionian general who once had outstanding military exploits and was extremely brave was now completely unable to stand. He could only sit slumped in a wooden wheelchair and was pushed into the palace by his trusted servants.Due to being unable to walk for a long time, his originally burly body became very puffy. While everyone was talking, he actually closed his eyes and snored.

Davos couldn't help but whispered: "Amintas."

"call……"

"Amintas!"

"Uh?……"

"Are you going to Persia too?"

Under the push of his slaves, Amyntas finally woke up. He supported the armrests of the wooden chair with both hands, tried his best to sit up, and gasped: "Your Majesty... even if I die... I will die before I go there." On the way to Babylon! . . . "

Davos looked around at everyone again and asked solemnly: "Do you have the same idea?"

Felicius looked back at the others, and after receiving their nods, he replied seriously: "Your Majesty, we have followed you and won countless victories in the past few decades. The only regret is that we were defeated by Persia in Persia. People are driven back like dogs. This time we want to follow you to make up for this regret. Even if we die during the battle, it will be the glory of our lifetime!"

"Your Majesty, I have one more request!" Epithenes shouted from behind: "If I really die on the way, please allow my slaves to carry my body into Babylon so that I can see Babylon with my own eyes. What does the hanging garden that people boast about look like!"

Martius immediately complained to him in a low voice with dissatisfaction: "We have all discussed it in advance. You violated the agreement and suddenly made such a request to His Majesty. It is too much! What can you see when people are dead? Hurry up and ask Your Majesty Apologize and take back your unreasonable request!"

"I'm happy, I don't think your Majesty will blame me." Epithenes looked nonchalant, and Martius was so angry that he grabbed his clothes and wanted to beat him.

"Okay, okay." Davos waved his hand, looked at everyone, and said sternly: "I can allow you to go to Persia with me, but - you are all veterans who have fought with me for many years, and you all know Dionysus well. Runner-up, you should understand that this war against Persia will determine the ownership of the entire Mediterranean. It is related to the rise and fall of the two countries and cannot be ignored. Therefore, you must have the mentality of "fighting instead of playing" and must obey all orders. , Follow the command! If someone can't do it, it's better to quit now, otherwise when someone violates military law, I will never show mercy!"

"Your Majesty, please rest assured that we will fight for a lifetime and will never ruin our reputation at the last moment, nor will we let the juniors look down upon us!" Felixius, Alexis and others said in unison.

(End of this chapter)