ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 2 The Death of Cyrus the Younger

Clearchus looked at the enemy's phalanx in the center, which was obviously much thicker, and then at the array on the enemy's left wing that was longer than his own.Although he fully supported Cyrus the Younger from the beginning, it did not mean that he would obey orders. He refused bluntly: "Your Highness, I think we should first defeat the enemy's left wing and flank the enemy's center. This is more secure."

"I know Artaxerxes, I know the Persian army, and I know your Greek phalanx! Believe me, friend, your army will easily defeat Artaxerxes's center! Artaxerxes was defeated, and he had No matter how many troops there are, it’s useless!” Young Cyrus advised.

Clearkus shook his head stubbornly: "Sorry, Your Highness! I will not expose the flanks of the phalanx to the enemy army!"

Little Cyrus frowned and stared at Clearchus, but there was no time for him to organize words to convince the other party.As for forcing an order, the other party is a mercenary, not his subordinate.

"Okay, I'll do as you say!" Little Cyrus turned the horse's head.He suddenly pulled the reins and galloped back towards the road.

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

When the two armies were about 500 meters apart, the Greek soldiers began to sing hymns to Ares, the god of war, and marched forward.

By the time the carols were finished, the distance was less than 200 meters.

"Ares!!!" The soldiers shouted in unison and began to jog, running faster and faster... Tens of thousands of Greek hoplites gathered into a "Boom! Boom! Boom!..." The sound of footsteps is like rolling thunder gathering energy to pierce the dark night with lightning!
The Persians on the opposite side seemed to be completely intimidated by the overwhelming torrent of steel in front of them.As the Greek army got closer and closer, except for a few hob carriages that rushed straight into the Greek army's ranks, accompanied by screams, twisted limbs and broken arms, and finally disappeared without a sound, the others forgot to shoot arrows because of fear , Forgot to erect the shield.

When the two armies were still more than ten meters apart, the Persians collapsed and they turned and fled.

The Greeks did not expect that victory would come so quickly, and before their energy could be vented, they pursued the enemy even harder.

At the beginning, team captains like Hilos repeatedly reminded teammates: "Keep the formation, don't run too fast! Keep the formation..."

In the end, the team was completely scattered, and all the Greeks were in the excitement of pursuit.

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

Little Cyrus in the middle did not expect that the victory on the right wing would come so quickly, and he was still in a daze for a moment.

"Long live King Cyrus!!!" The attendants had already begun to wave their spears and shout victory.

"Your Highness, shall we follow in pursuit?" Artapatus asked him for instructions.

He shook his head and stared straight ahead to his left.

He knew very well that only by killing that person could he obtain the supreme crown.

"Send the order! Stop Arireus's left wing and prepare to defend!" Cyrus the Younger immediately gave the order.He knew very well that his most powerful force was the Greek mercenaries. Since the Greeks had repelled the enemy's left wing, there was no need for him to rush to let the left wing, which had significantly fewer troops than the enemy, go head-to-head with the enemy's right wing.If there is a quick defeat, this battle will be in trouble.It is better to delay as much time as possible and wait for the return of the Greek mercenaries who pursued the defeated army, then victory will be certain.

However, while he was patiently waiting for the enemy to approach, the opponent's middle lane stopped moving forward.

Soon, his face changed.

Because the enemy's center began to split into two parts, with the left part turning to the left and rear.

"No! They want to attack the Greeks!!" Artapates shouted beside him.

If the Greek heavy armored infantry, which had been dispersed in pursuit of the defeated army, was attacked by the enemy from the rear, it was likely to fall into chaos, and the tide of the battle would reverse.

"Artaxerxes, how dare you change formations on the battlefield? Do you really think that I have few cavalry and dare not take the initiative to attack!" Little Cyrus sneered and made a quick decision in his heart.He raised his spear and pointed forward: "Order the right wing to speed up! The cavalry will attack with me!!"

"Your Highness, please put on your helmet!" The attendant hurriedly handed him his helmet. Little Cyrus had already galloped out. The attendants on the left and right hurriedly caught up and quickly guarded him in the center.

More than 800 cavalry formed a wedge formation and galloped straight towards the Persian king's army.

Artaqeses, the commander of the Persian army's center, did not expect that Cyrus would dare to attack at this time, so he hurriedly mobilized his cavalry to attack.However, the team was changing formations at this moment, and the mighty rotating infantry array blocked the path of the cavalry. It was with great difficulty that a thousand cavalry were squeezed out from the gaps in the array. The high-speed cavalry of Little Cyrus was already approaching.

There was a burst of people shouting and horses neighing, and the Persian army's hastily put together cavalry defense line was torn open in an instant.

Then, Cyrus the Younger's cavalry was like a sharp knife piercing the back of the Persian king's army that was turning around.

Young Cyrus was brave and tough, and once hunted a black bear alone.Birds of a feather flock together, and people flock together. His attendants, cavalry, and followers are also warriors. When facing an enemy with their back to them, they don’t even waste their spears (because there were no stirrups at that time. If the advancing cavalry stabs the enemy, it must be immediately Let go, otherwise you will be pushed off the horse by the reaction force), use the power of high-speed charging to break into the array and crush the enemy.

Already affected by the rout of the left wing, and suddenly hit hard, the Persian infantry who bore the brunt began to flee, and Cyrus the Younger's cavalry took advantage of the situation to pursue them.But little Cyrus could vaguely see the carriage of the King of Persia in the dust and fog.It turned out that the main force on the left side of the Persian central army was defeated, forming a large gap, which naturally exposed the Persian king in the rear.

"Left!!" Little Cyrus was so excited that he waved his spear, bypassing the right wing of the Persian center army coming to rescue, and thrust diagonally towards the Queen of Persia's army.Dozens of cavalry followed.

"Quickly form the formation! Protect the king!!" The general of the King of Persia's army, Artageses, shouted, and hurriedly led dozens of cavalry guards around him to meet him first.

Facing the swarming enemy cavalry, little Cyrus showed no fear. He drew out his Greek saber, clamped his legs on the horse's belly, and looking for the right moment, used the spear in his right hand to deflect the long sword stabbed viciously by Artaxes. With the spear and the saber in his left hand stretched out, no force was needed. When the two horses passed by each other, Artaxes' neck was naturally cut open by the Greek saber's forward momentum...

Cyrus the Younger relied on his superb skills and equestrian skills to kill several people in a row.Soon, his cavalry caught up and blocked the other enemy cavalry for him.The only thing between him and King Artaxerxes of Persia was the circle of royal guards around the carriage, and he could even clearly see his brother's frightened face.

Thinking of his imprisonment and of him occupying the throne that should have been his (this was just the imagination of young Cyrus, the old Persian king had never considered passing the throne to him), a rage burned in his chest: " Artaxerxes!" He roared angrily and threw the spear in his hand. In the midst of his exclamation, the spear passed through the gap of the royal guards like lightning and hit the Persian king in the chest.

The King of Persia screamed and fell down on the carriage.

Seeing the King of Persia fall, there was chaos before his eyes.His anger finally vented, and he laughed wantonly, as if he had obtained the Persian crown, but he did not hear the cavalry attendants behind him yelling equally eagerly: "Be careful, Your Highness! Be careful!!..."

The laughter stopped abruptly.A javelin flew out of the chaotic crowd and hit him right in the eye socket.

Without making a sound, he immediately fell off his horse...

　After several years of silence, I finally got the courage to upload my new work.Still the same Greece, still the same Mediterranean, but a different story!I hope you who love history will like it!Tomorrow, I will board the train to Guangxi to visit my elderly parents-in-law.One month later, I will officially start continuous updates, taking you into that distant and strange ancient era!If you have any suggestions during this period of visiting relatives, please leave a message in the comment area!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)