Chapter 1303
At the same time, the Tyre people also found out that the king of the Devers had personally led more than 100,000 troops. There was also a Greek coalition army of 60,000 to 70,000 people in Asia Minor. In total, the powerful army of more than 200,000 people had defeated the Persia army many times. They were mighty and unstoppable. The Persia army might be more numerous, but in terms of combat effectiveness, it seemed that they were no match for the mighty and unified Dionysian Army. This was the feeling of the Tyre generals who had fought with the Persia army many times.
More importantly, many of the Tyre people became prisoners of Diónia during the battle of Cyprus and were still imprisoned in Cyprus.
The Devers were overjoyed by the surrender of Tyre. He immediately sent messengers to the three legions that had landed in Cyprus and the first and second fleets of Diónia to discuss a military plan to land in the Syrian Gulf and capture the city of Mileandros as soon as possible.
At the same time, the surrender of Tyre also had a huge impact on the other Phoenician city-states. They were not as strong as Tyre, and they did not have cities built in the sea to defend themselves. They did not dare to confront Diónia, so the city-states of Sidon, Aduras, and other city-states quickly surrendered, and the Dionysian Army successfully conquered the Phoenician region.
The Devers did not immediately lead the army north. He waited for the army of Cyprus to successfully land in the Syrian Gulf before he issued the order to go north. However, the route of the march was no longer along the coast, because the Libanus Mountains formed a barrier from the north to the south of the northern Near East coast. The further north they went, the more difficult it was to travel, especially for a large army like Diónia.
The Devers did not choose to go around the Libanus Mountains and go to the edge of the desert in the east. Firstly, the distance was longer, and secondly, the climate was hot. There were few people along the way, and it was difficult to supply food and water. There were no large towns, except for Damascus, which was at the southern end and very close to the Phoenician region.
Perhaps in the future, Damascus would become a battleground in the Near East, but at this time, the Devers did not really care about it. Although it was still a large town, it had no Persia garrison, and it did not show hostility to the Dionysian Army. Instead, it sent messengers to express its willingness to be neutral to the Devers.
Therefore, the Devers did not spend time to capture Damascus. They only asked the Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade to closely monitor the movements in Damascus while they led the army out of the Phoenician region and east into the Libanus Mountains.
In the Amanus Mountains of northern Syria, the snows converged into a single river, the Ourontes, which flowed from north to south through Mount Libanus and finally into the northern part of Phoenicia. Thus, in the middle of the mountains, a relatively wide and narrow plain, the Plain of Amicus, was formed. This was the route of the Dionysian army to the north.
Fearing that the Dionysian Army would be heavily intercepted in the north, the Devers specifically ordered the army in Cyprus to land in Syria first to ensure the smooth movement of the main force north.
But in fact, the Devers were too worried. Not long ago, part of the garrison in the Syrian region had been transferred by the King of Persia to Fanabazos in Asia Minor, leaving the troops here empty. There was no way to intercept the main force of the Diónia, and they could not even provide enough defense for the region.
The Cypriot army easily landed on the coast of Syria and quickly captured the city of Mileandros. Then they quickly moved east and surrounded the town of Sochi at the northern entrance of the Amanus Plains.
By the time the main force of the Diónia arrived near Sochi, the town had already been captured.
After leading the army through Sochi and into the Syrian region, the Devers stopped and began to rest and recuperate.
The camp that was being built stretched from the foot of the Amanus Mountains in the north to the foothills of the Libanus Mountains in the south. It was close to the Eurontes River in the east and the bay in the west, occupying a good defensive position.
The Devers also sent a large number of scouts to cross the Eurontes River and explore the movements of the Persia army eastward.
At the same time, he sent part of the army to attack the coastal pass in the northwest, the Syrian Pass. Once they occupied it, they would continue to attack the west and attack the towns of Issus, Casta Bloom, Philotas, and other cities in order to open up the coastal passage to Asia Minor. Then, they would receive the Greek Coalition Army as soon as possible. When the two armies met up, they would attack the east together. This was the next step of the Devers's plan.
But what the Devers did not know was that the Greek Coalition Army, which had attacked quickly before, had now encountered some trouble.
… …
After the Greek Coalition Army suffered a setback in their attack on Haskarnassus, in order to not waste time and reduce the number of troops, Leotychides decided to leave some troops to surround the city, while the main force of the army continued to advance eastward.
However, after passing through Caria and entering the region of Lycia, the Greek Coalition Army could no longer advance along the coast. This was because Lycia and the neighboring region of Pisidia were both mountainous areas. The roads were difficult to traverse. The Greek Coalition Army could only bypass Lycia and Pisidia to the north, then pass through the pass of the Taurus Mountains in the region of Cappadocia and enter the fertile region of Silesia. Most of the road they had to trek was a straight road that the Persia court built to govern the empire. Although this road was easier to traverse, they had to enter the interior of Asia Minor.
During this period of time, the military commander of Persia's Asia Minor, Fanabazos, had reorganized part of his defeated army and received some reinforcements from the court. After Fanabazos's report to Artaxerxes, the king of Persia believed that the reason why the battle failed was due to the sudden betrayal of the Persia mercenaries. Therefore, he did not dismiss Fanabazos from his post. Instead, he sent more reinforcements and ordered Fanabazos to do his best to stop the Greek Coalition Army within the borders of Asia Minor. Ironically, this time, Fanabazos did not dare to face the Greek Coalition Army head-on. Instead, he decided to carry out the suggestion of Iazon, whom he had killed, to strengthen the defense and clear the wilderness. At the same time, he sent a small group of troops to harass the Greek Coalition Army's transportation lines.
The governors-general of Asia Minor, who had tasted the strength of the Greek Coalition Army, did not oppose it firmly this time, allowing the strategy to be implemented.
As the Greek Coalition Army failed to capture Halicarnassus, a strategic town with a large port, most of the Greek Coalition Army's grain convoys had to disembark at the port of Miletus. The supply line was stretched, and Fanabazos's defensive tactics posed a great threat to the long supply line. The Greek Coalition Army that entered the interior of Halicarnassus could not collect grain on the spot, and they had to send a large number of troops to protect the supply line, which seriously slowed down their eastward advance.
… …..
In September, the reinforcements sent by the Devers captured Issus, took Casta Broom, and even advanced west to Maras. They were only separated by the Alayne Plain from the rich Silesia.
But the Greek Coalition Army had not even passed through Pisidia and reached the Cappadocia region. The two sides were still far apart.
During this time, the scouts sent to the east reported that they had found a large Persia camp near the city of Thabosakus (which was located on the bank of the Euphrates River, more than two hundred miles from the Eurontes River), and Persia's army was constantly coming from the east.
The Persia's army was finally coming! Both the Devers and the generals under them suddenly became alert. Not only did they order the soldiers to reinforce the camp and strengthen the defense, but the Devers also sent messengers to the Alayne Plain to inform the troops that were preparing to receive the Greek Coalition Army there to return immediately.
Not long after, many Persia cavalry appeared on the east bank of the Eurontes River, trying to cross the river to spy on the Diónia camp.
The Diónia cavalry drove them away, and there were many small-scale battles. But the main forces of both sides stayed in Syria, and the main forces of both sides were stationed near Thabosakus. Both sides did not move, and the confrontation lasted for more than a month.
At dusk, the Devers' tent welcomed a guest.
"Y 'zam, you're finally back! I haven't heard from you for so long, I thought you missed home and didn't want to go back to Diónia, hahaha … "Although the Devers were joking, they were very excited. They stepped forward and gave Y 'zam a strong hug.
"Your Majesty, to be honest, when I return to Dukea and see my brothers speaking the same language, wearing the same clothes, and eating the same food … I always feel scared …" Y 'zam said with a relieved expression, "I'm scared that my experience in Diónia is just a dream! Now that I've seen Your Majesty, I can finally be at ease! "
Then he said with slight guilt, "I found that I can't leave the prosperous life of Diónia, and I can't get used to the poverty of Dukea …"
The Devers comforted him, "When the conditions are right, people are willing to enjoy happiness, and they won't take the initiative to suffer. But the poverty of Dukea is mainly caused by the cruel oppression of the Persia. As long as we defeat Persia, I believe that this terrible situation of the Dukea people will gradually improve! Oh, by the way, you haven't eaten on the way back, right? "
"Your Majesty, I went to see Sir Marigi before I came to see you, and I've eaten a little at his place. This time, if it wasn't for Sir Marigi who found a Persia caravan to cover my movements, I wouldn't have been able to reach Dukea so smoothly! "
The Devers looked at Marigi who had a calm expression next to Y 'zam and smiled, "I'm afraid you don't know, but Marigi used to be the royal merchant of Prince Cyrus, and he has a lot of connections among the merchants in the west of Persia. After defeating Carthage ten years ago, he thought that Persia would become the biggest enemy of the kingdom, so he secretly supported a few trustworthy friends in Persia with the help of the intelligence department. These friends of the kingdom even secretly sold weapons and food to Dukea several times, which were banned by Persia …"
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