ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 1303 Persian Strategy ([-])

Davos was listening carefully and was happy for it, when he suddenly saw Mariji kneel down with a plop and said with a guilty look on his face: "Your Majesty... I am actually a Babylonian, just to make myself... appear Noble, so I always called myself a Persian. Later, I wanted to confess, but I also felt that if the people of the Kingdom knew that I had lied, it would damage the majesty of the Ministry of Commerce and be detrimental to the implementation of government orders, so... please forgive me, Your Majesty. My long-hidden sin!”

Davos laughed, stretched out his hand to pull him up, and said loudly: "You are not Persian, this is great! I am also worried that if Persia is defeated and Persia loses miserably, it will cause some harm to you. , now I am relieved! After the decisive battle with the Persian army, I will appoint you as the envoy of Dionia, go to persuade your compatriots to submit to the kingdom, and share the fruits of victory together! "

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Mariji bowed deeply to Davos with a look of joy on his face.

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The next day King Davos held a military meeting, which not only required the generals above the legion commander to attend, but also invited Alexis, Philisius, Thormids, Amyntas, and Epithenes. Retired former mercenary veterans attended the meeting. After listening to Izam's detailed report on the Persian army, they discussed together whether to change the current defense posture and launch an attack on the Persian army. ,

Almost at the same time, the Persian King Artaxerxes also held a military meeting in Taposaku City. Although his army had more troops than Dionia, there were only a few participants: the Persian king's confidants. Tribassus, the counselor, Harpurgus, the governor from Susa, and Mardonius, the general from Persepolis (both of whom were 6-year-olds of Darius, the great king who rebuilt Persia) (descendant of an ally, extremely distinguished), as well as the governor of Armenia, Orontas, who was also the son-in-law of the King of Persia, and Tyrtaios, a young general who commanded the undead army, also of distinguished status, he was born in Achae Although the Menid royal family is a distant branch, they married a daughter of Artaxerxes and were close to the king of Persia.

The last one is the royal spy chief Marktonos. At this moment, he is speaking loudly about the intelligence about the Dionysian army: "...from the turmoil in Egypt last September and the Dionysian troops landing in Egypt one after another, to this year In January of that year, the king of Dionysia arrived in Egypt, and then they invaded Canaan, captured Phoenicia, and occupied Syria. During this period, the flags of the so-called "Dionysia Legion" that we could detect were... …First, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, No.9, No.1, No.12, No.13, No.14, No. 15, No. 16, No. 17 (Po River region, mainly Gauls), No. 18 First Legion (Africa region, mainly Phoenicians and Numibians)... According to Dio Calculating the fixed combat strength of each legion in Nia at 19, the total is 20.

In addition, the flags of five Dionian cavalry regiments appeared in the Dionian army, with a number of more than 1... The total number of this army led by the Dionian king personally exceeded 15, which is the same as Our spies have been observing the Diorian army in Syria for a long time, and the judgment of the total number of the Diorian army is consistent with the judgment..." Marktonos talked eloquently, and was familiar with the situation of the Diorian army. He Being able to obtain such accurate intelligence was due to the department he was responsible for - the Persian Royal Secret Service.

Cyrus founded Persia, but Darius made Persia truly an empire. He perfected the Persian political system, established a complete administrative and bureaucratic hierarchy, reformed the Persian financial and monetary system, and established Ahura As the leader of people's faith, Mazda also established a huge road system within the country, making communication between the center and the regions more convenient... Of course, Persia has such a vast territory, and even some areas are autonomous. In order to rule the subjects more effectively and prevent the recurrence of the great rebellion during the Cambyses period, it is necessary to have a more detailed and accurate grasp of the situation of officials and people in various places so that they can respond in time. Therefore, Darius established a specialized The royal secret agency serving the king, which preceded the Intelligence Department of the Kingdom of Dionia by more than 100 years.

Although more than 100 years have passed, this intelligence agency has become bloated and inefficient, but it is still the most trustworthy eyes and ears of the Persian king. It not only monitors the movements of domestic subjects, but also pays attention to the situation in neighboring regions such as Egypt and Greece. Therefore, As soon as the Dionian army appeared in Egypt and Asia Minor, it immediately became its focus.After such a long time, and within the borders of one's own country, the ability of the Royal Secret Service will naturally be able to understand the situation of the Dionian army more clearly.

"The Dionysian army is only 15 people. Our army is twice as many as it is. It has such a huge advantage. I don't understand why we don't take the initiative to attack the Dionysians. Instead, we cower in the tower. Posacus!" Mardonius said loudly, with obvious dissatisfaction with Artaxerxes in his tone, but he had no scruples, not only because his ancestor Gobrias usurped the throne of Persia The closest to Darius among the six conspirators, his family has always been trusted by the royal family, and he was the first Persian top nobleman to support Artaxerxes during the rebellion of Cyrus the Younger, and then He helped the Persian king gain the support of the native Persian nobles and survived the crisis when he first took the throne. He also gained the trust of Artaxerxes, allowing him to hold heavy troops to guard the Susa area, the real capital of Persia.

Artaxerxes was a little embarrassed when faced with Mardonius' accusation.Although he has expressed his contempt for the "barbarian country" Dionia in many public occasions, in fact, the Persian king's military performance has almost become a joke among the Persian nobles for so many years in power. The most impressive thing was that when he first came to the throne, he put down the rebellion of Cyrus the Younger, who was quite prestigious among the Persian nobles. But in fact, he knew very well that in that decisive battle, the number of troops he led was greater than that of the opponent. But he was at a disadvantage in the battle. If Cyrus hadn't been stupid and led the charge himself and died in the battle, the outcome would have been completely different.

Therefore, when the Dionian kingdom in the Western Mediterranean, which was very aggressive and had almost never suffered a defeat, launched an attack on Persia, he felt a little guilty, so he stayed in Babylon for most of the year, sitting back and watching Canaan and Phoenicia succeed each other. After being captured, he waited until the armies from all regions gathered together to give him enough confidence before he dared to take action.But when he was about to face the Dionian army, he couldn't help but feel a little panicked. The experience of repeated defeats in the past wars came to mind, making him afraid to make a hasty decision.

As the most noble King of Kings, Artaxerxes certainly would not show his timidity in front of the ministers. He glanced at Trebassus next to him.

Trebasus immediately understood and said: "The king actually wanted to attack the Dionian army a long time ago, but he was dissuaded by me. Lord Mardonius, although our army is large in number, what is its combat effectiveness? You should have a lot of experience after staying here for so long. The indigenous people and barbarians who account for half of the army look fierce, but they only know how to rush and fight blindly, and do not know how to form formations or obey orders. , let alone know how to cooperate with our Persian army, and attack the Dionia army in such a state, they will only become our burden.

So we need to spend some time training them and let them become our support as soon as possible.Mr. Mardonios, you have also directed such training several times, and you should also feel their progress. I believe it will not be long before they can cooperate with our army and launch an effective attack on the Dionia army. "

Mardonios snorted, unable to think of how to refute for a while.

Harpurgus sneered and jumped in first: "They say Lord Trebasus is extremely intelligent, but I think it's nothing more than that! We are wasting time here just to make those barbarians a little more obedient. But Don’t forget that the Greek coalition forces in Asia Minor are rushing here. Once they join the Dionian army in Syria, the strength of the Dionian army will inevitably increase greatly. It will not be so easy to defeat them. Therefore We can’t waste any more time, we must defeat the Dionian army in front of us as soon as possible!”

"Fanabazos is doing his best to block the advance of the Greek coalition forces, and has achieved very good results. According to the information we have now, the Greek coalition forces have not yet entered the Silesia region, so we still have enough time to deal with it. Dionian troops in Syria."

Hearing Tribasus mention Pharnabazus, Artaxerxes frowned unconsciously: In fact, through the intelligence of the spies, he already knew the true situation of the battle in western Asia Minor. Although he was angry with Fanabazus for lying about the military situation, he did not punish Fanabazus and even gave him more support because he knew very well that in such a bad situation in Asia Minor, only Fanabazus could Zoth can support the overall situation, and Jason, the scapegoat, just gives both sides a step down.Of course, he will take care of Fanabazus' crime of deceiving the emperor after the war.

At the same time, it was precisely because he knew that Pharnabazus's claim that "the Greek mercenaries led by Jason had rebelled and surrendered to the enemy" was a lie, that he vetoed the proposals of some Persian officials, and did not express his anger at the Greek soldiers he hired. Therefore, he also received the gratitude of these Greek mercenaries.

(End of this chapter)