Chapter 1290
At this time, Melisander asked, "I see on this map that the distance from Egypt to Cyprus seems to be further than the distance from Crete to Cyrenaica. It's such a long distance by sea, and there's no way to stop to rest and replenish food and water. Can the troop transport fleet really reach there smoothly? After our fleet reaches the waters near Cyprus, will we still have the ability to fight? "
Calsidis replied seriously, "I've asked the Greek merchants in Naukratis who often trade with Cyprus. They all told me that there won't be any storms in the Near East at this time of year. As long as we have enough food and water on board, and sail day and night, we can reach Cyprus in three to four days. (One of the reasons why ships travel faster than land troops is because they can sail 24 hours a day without stopping.) We can also hire these Naukratis merchants as guides to guide us.
As for the navy … I still remember that they once attacked Carthage from Sicily and finally defeated the Carthage fleet. They should be very experienced in this area. Of course, we still need them to make a judgment. "
"How is the defense on Cyprus? How many troops do they have? "Martonis was a little moved, and his tone became anxious.
"A few decades ago, Cyprus was only a subsidiary of Persia. The king of Cyprus had allied with the Greek city-states in Asia Minor several times to gain independence. Persia had a hard time suppressing them. Since then, the Persia learned their lesson and abolished the king of Cyprus. They divided Cyprus into many city-states and forbade them from building tall and thick walls. Otherwise, they would be considered disloyal to Persia.
Although I'm not sure how many troops Cyprus can gather to fight against us, it's obvious that their defense is not strong. Their largest city-state, Nicosia, is located in the middle of the plains, so it's easy to attack … Also, just now, you all felt that it's difficult to attack Cyprus from the sea. We all have this thought, and the Cypriots will definitely not think of this. Our surprise attack will definitely be successful! "
After Calsidis finished speaking, the eyes of the commanders lit up.
Devers coughed lightly to attract the attention of the generals. He then said, "Attacking Cyprus from the sea is indeed a good idea, but this is more to gain the dominance of the sea. It is not the main way for us to attack the eastern region of Persia. After all, except for the Issus Gulf, other areas do not have the conditions for a large-scale landing.
According to intelligence, the Persia has gathered a large number of troops in the Two Rivers. Once we capture Cyprus, it will inevitably arouse the Persia's vigilance. They will definitely strengthen their defense on the coast of Issus. If our main forces want to land in the Near East, it will undoubtedly be very risky. Therefore, our attack focus should still be on the land.
So long as we occupy Cyprus and destroy the Persia fleet, the transport fleet will be able to sail boldly along the coast, ready to supply the land troops at any time. Even with the guarantee of sea transportation, our army can completely not attack Gaza, and directly advance north — "
Devers looked down at the small and narrow coastal area north of Gaza City on the map. His expression was somewhat complicated. "Calsidis, do you know anything about the Jerusalem of Canaan?"
"Your Majesty, I have inquired about it. The Jews living in Jerusalem are a weak nation. They were once massacred by the Assyrians and imprisoned the survivors in Babylon. Although the Persians later released them and allowed them to return to their homeland, their numbers are still small after a few decades …" Hao Ren said.
I heard that a few years ago, they sent people to beg the king of Persia, hoping to allocate some money to rebuild their dilapidated temple. The king of Persia agreed to their request, and even appointed his trusted wine officer, Nehemiah, who is also a Jew, as the governor of Jerusalem, in charge of this matter.
As a result, after Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he had a conflict with the governor of Samaria in the east, Samaria, and the conflict continues to this day … Therefore, the weak Jews are unable to stop our army. We can even occupy here — "Calsidis pointed to an icon on the map." The port town of Jaffa in the Jerusalem area — for our fleet to dock … "
"Very good!" Devers moved his gaze away from the map, looked around at the crowd, and said solemnly, "Everyone, I think everyone agrees with Calsidis's suggestion, so next, I will summon Therian, Midolades, and Stefakas as soon as possible for another military meeting to discuss the feasibility of attacking Cyprus and annihilating the main force of Persia's fleet …
Regardless of the outcome of the next military meeting, the attack on Persia will be launched in a short period of time. I only hope that you will use this time to let the legions learn and adapt to marching, camping, and fighting in the desert as soon as possible! "
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Everyone responded in unison.
… …
The next day, Devers took Asistes and High Priest Amon Hotep to the temple of Ptah and Osiris to offer sacrifices. He was warmly welcomed by the priests of the temple. He also had intimate contact with the sacred bull, Apis, raised by the temple.
The fat bull, whose whole body was black and only had a white star on its forehead, was very friendly to him. It wagged its tail and quickly ate up the fodder that Devers handed over, causing Priest Ptah and Priest Osiris to exclaim loudly (Apis was first regarded as the incarnation of Ptah, and later evolved into the incarnation of Osiris). "Devers, the Pharaoh is indeed the son of Amon. Even the peaceful sacred bull does not dare to slack off!"
Then, Devers went to the temple of the goddess of wisdom and war, Knight, to offer sacrifices. He even promised Amon Hotep that he would find time to go to the Karak Temple of the Thebes to worship, but he refused another suggestion from the Egyptian high priest: to go to the Amon Temple in the Siwa Oasis to obtain the oracle.
The Siwa Oasis was located in the desert of western Egypt. The Amon Temple there was quite old and respected. Its oracle was famous far and wide. Not only did the Egyptians often go to worship, but even the Greeks had many worshipers, especially in Thessaly and Macedonia in Northern Greece.
The reason why Devers refused was not because it was very difficult to go to the Siwa Oasis. Although he remembered that in the history of his previous life, Alexander had gone to the Siwa Oasis to worship after conquering Egypt, and encountered great danger on the way, Amon Hotep repeatedly explained that although the Siwa Oasis was located in the desert, there were often people who went there to worship, so the journey was very safe.
The problem that Devers considered was that many Greeks who went to the Siwa Oasis to worship saw Amon in the temple as the incarnation of Zeus in Egypt. In history, Alexander claimed that he was the child of Zeus, so of course he had to go to worship, but as a descendant of Hades, it was obviously not suitable for the Devers.
… …
At the same time that King Devers arrived in Egypt, the Central Italian Coalition Army, led by Wolsey, Helniki, and Sabin, also landed in Asia Minor. At this point, the Greek Coalition Army under the command of Leotychides had all gathered.
During the time that the Greek Coalition Army arrived, he did not wait quietly. Instead, he had been actively attacking. Not only did he continuously force the cities near the Strait of Hellespont to surrender, but he also used the influence of the naval victory of Samos to lead the main force away from the coastline and deep into the interior of Misia. At the same time, he also sent part of his army south into the territory of Lydia.
Because the Persia army was unable to resist, the Greek Coalition Army was greatly boosted. Not only did the Greek cities along the coast, such as Bosworth and Caius, surrender, but even some of the cities in the interior of Misia and Lydia surrendered.
During this period, something interesting happened. The commander of the Tenth Legion, Stefos, made a request to Leotychides: he hoped that he could lead a troop to the other side of the strait and force Byzantium to surrender.
Thirty years ago, the predecessor of the Dionysian Army, the Persia Mercenary Army, was humiliated by Byzantium, including the King of Devers. Leotychides had heard about this, and he knew that this request was probably not the will of Stefos, but his father, Amyntas. It might even be the collective will of many old generals in the army.
Of course, Leotychides would not refuse. Since there was not much military pressure at the moment, he generously approved that Stefos could lead the entire Tenth Legion to Byzantium.
As soon as Stefos and his troops landed on the beach near Byzantium and set up camp, a messenger from Byzantium arrived. The messenger humbly told Stefos that Byzantium was willing to serve the Holy Kingdom of Diónia!
For the Byzantines, what happened decades ago was already forgotten. However, the Byzantines knew that Athens, Sparta, and even all of Greece were now under the feet of Diónia. In the past, Diónia's power hadn't reached the Star Ocean, so the Byzantines could pretend that they didn't know anything. However, now that the Diónia army was right in front of them, the Byzantines, who always knew how to play by ear, immediately gave in.
Of course, Stefos would not bring up the embarrassing incident that happened decades ago. Instead, he made some harsh requests, such as providing a lot of food, tribute, fleet, labor, and support for the army … … Byzantium accepted all of them.
Since the Byzantines were so tactful, Stefos of course wouldn't make trouble for them. Therefore, he led 8,000 fully armed soldiers and marched around Byzantium. In the end, he asked the Byzantine government to build a memorial pillar at the port, and on top of it, the statue of the King of Devers riding a horse and wielding a sword must be mounted.
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