Chapter 1308
"That's ridiculous!" Maldonios interrupted Terebasus and rebuked him angrily, "It's shameful enough to retreat without a fight and allow the enemy to occupy our land! You want us to drive the people away and destroy their property? Do you think they don't hate the army enough? Are you trying to provoke them into a riot? "
"Your Majesty, the army of Diónia has invaded our territory, and the situation is tense. Terebasus's ridiculous scheme will only disturb the kingdom and affect the army's performance in battle. I request that he be severely punished!" Halpergos also rebuked Artaxerxes.
Artaxerxes was also displeased, but when he remembered that Terebassus had always been quite resourceful and was also his favorite subject, he suppressed the displeasure in his heart and asked coldly, "Terebassus, why are you doing this?"
Terebasus ignored Maldonios' rebuke and said calmly, "Your Majesty, the King of Diónia is a greedy man. Over the past few decades, he has annexed one city-state after another and controlled the entire western Mediterranean Sea. This time, his invasion of our kingdom is not just to occupy Asia Minor, Syria, Phoenicia, and Canaan. His target must be our entire kingdom. That's why he has transported nearly 200,000 soldiers from thousands of miles away.
However, these 200,000 soldiers consume a lot of resources every day. It is far from enough to rely on the few areas that he has occupied to provide supplies. Furthermore, transporting food and supplies from the western Mediterranean Sea thousands of miles away is too long, and it will consume a lot of time and manpower. Furthermore, once the Dionysian Army continues to advance eastward from Syria, it will be even more difficult to transport supplies. For the Dionysian Army, the best solution is to loot food and supplies on the spot.
Mesopotamia is the wealthiest country in the world, and the people have just completed a harvest of food. It is more than enough to satisfy the needs of the Dionysian Army, but … "Terebasus said in a serious tone," Once we take the measures I mentioned and assume that we are going to defend Babylon, the King of Diónia will be very anxious. He will be worried that his army will not be able to obtain supplies on the spot after they enter Mesopotamia. Babylon is famous for its strong defense, and it is not something that they can conquer in a short period of time. Therefore, in order to avoid such a terrible situation, he will definitely take the initiative and seek a decisive battle with us! "
"Haha, it sounds so simple, but what if the Dionysian Army doesn't fall for it and remains in their camp?" Orontas sneered and questioned.
"Lord Orontas, do you still not understand what I mean?" Terebasus also sneered. "The King of Diónia has traveled thousands of miles to conquer our huge kingdom. He can only win quickly. Maintaining such a large force in Syria for a long time without taking any action will only greatly deplete Diónia's national strength. The King of Diónia will not be so stupid!"
"Perhaps he will wait for the Greek coalition to meet up before attacking east," Halpergus continued to question.
"Then we will have enough time to evacuate all the people west of Babylon, leaving not a single grain of food for the Dionysian Army. In that case, the larger Dionysian Army will have to march more than a thousand miles to Babylon, and they will not be able to obtain supplies on the way. Our powerful cavalry can also bypass the main force of the Dionysian Army and continuously attack their supply convoys. In this way, I am afraid that the Dionysian Army will collapse before it reaches Babylon … The ambitious King of Diónia will definitely not want to see this happen, so I believe that he will definitely lead his army to pursue us!"
Halpergus sneered. "You think they will come after us? Terebasus, the people of Diónia are not your subordinates. They will not listen to you like this. What you said is just speculation, and the kingdom has to pay such a huge price based on your speculation. It is not worth it! "
Terebasus did not back down. "Lord Halpergus has actually begun to care about the people of Mesopotamia. This is really rare! I remember that the army you lead is the one that has the most disputes with the people of this area. Even after the King issued a new military order, they still refuse to mend their ways. "
Halpergus flew into a rage and cursed, "Who do you think you are? How dare you —"
"Enough!" Artaxerxes slammed the seat and shouted, "This is not a place for you to scold each other and show your personal grudges! Terebasus, are you sure that the Dionysian Army will leave their camp and take the initiative to fight us?! "
After the argument just now, and seeing Maldonios and the other two sneering at him, Terebasus had no way of backing down. He took a deep breath and said resolutely, "As long as we carry out the plan I just mentioned, the Dionysian Army will definitely come out! We will pay a huge price, but as long as we can defeat the Dionysian Army, not only will you be able to recover Syria, Phoenicia, Canaan, western Asia Minor, and Cyprus, but you will also be able to take back Egypt, regain control of Greece, and once again threaten the mainland of Diónia … So it will all be worth it! "
Defeating Diónia, taking back Egypt, controlling Greece, and regaining the hegemony of the Eastern Mediterranean … Artaxerxes was moved by Terebasus' words. The old king longed for a glorious victory to wash away his past failures. But after all, this decision was of great importance. He was still a little hesitant. So he turned his eyes to his trusted aide who had been silent all this while: Pessittidayi. What do you think? "
Pessittidayi knew his place. Although he was a prominent figure, he was still far from being compared to these important ministers of the kingdom. So he did not intend to participate in the quarrel between these important figures. But now, when faced with the question from the king of Persia, considering that he and Terebasus were both close ministers of the king, and that Terebasus had taken good care of him, he considered his words and said tactfully, "Your Majesty, the advantage of our army lies in our cavalry and archers. If we attack the camp of Diónia, the cavalry will not be able to play a role at all, and the power of the archers will be greatly reduced. If we can lure the Dionysian Army to engage in a battle in Mesopotamia, the vast plains will allow the cavalry to gallop freely, and the arrows will be able to hit the enemy without any hindrance. We will have a better chance of winning. "
Artaxerxes nodded. After pondering for a moment, he finally made up his mind. He looked around at the people and suddenly raised his voice, making it a little hoarse, "I have decided to adopt Terebasus' suggestion. We will evacuate all the people around Taposakus and west of it. We will burn all the villages and destroy the city of Taposakus. At the same time, we will retreat all the troops to Nisephonia-"
Seeing that Maldonios and the other two were about to speak, he immediately waved his hand to stop them. At the same time, he looked at Terebasus and said sternly, "If the Dionysian Army does not come after us like you said, and continues to hide in their camp, I will not continue with this measure, and you … I will not let you go easily!"
Artaxerxes only accepted half of Terebasus' suggestion. In the past few years, the failure of the attack on Egypt, the rebellion in Asia Minor, the loss of control over Greece, and a series of failures had caused Artaxerxes' prestige to plummet. Therefore, this time, he only dared to make a small attempt. He did not dare to let more than half of the people on the plains of Mesopotamia become homeless, lest he completely fell into a passive position.
Although Terebasus was a little disappointed, he also knew the reason why the king of Persia did this, so he could only pretend to accept it calmly. As for Maldonios and the others, it was as if they had seen the tragic end of their political enemy, they no longer questioned Artaxerxes. Just like that, the higher-ups of the Persia army reached an agreement.
… …
After listening to Izam's detailed introduction of the situation of the Persia army, all the commanders of the Legion of Dionysia strongly requested for a decisive battle with the Persia army as soon as possible. Among the retired generals, except for Felicius and Giogris, who were more cautious and hoped to wait for the Greek coalition before taking action. Alexis, Amyntas, and the others also suggested that they should take advantage of the fact that their army's morale was still high, and that the Persia army was still relatively disorganized, and lead the army eastward as soon as possible to find an opportunity.
The generals were full of fighting spirit, and this also strengthened the Devers' determination.
On the second day, after he gave the order to "prepare to move eastward", the soldiers of the legions began to pack their luggage, the supply camps began to load their supplies, and the engineering camp inspected all kinds of equipment and prepared some wood …
At the same time, the Devers also informed the commander of the Diónia coalition fleet, Midolades, to lead the fleet to the camp as soon as possible, and after the Dionysian Army left, all the fleet's infantrymen would immediately take over the camp to ensure the safety of the rear base.
Although the Dionysian Army was well-trained, such a large army needed to go to an unfamiliar battlefield, and launch an attack on the Persia army, which required detailed planning and strict operational organization. Therefore, it took a full three to four days before the entire Diónia army was ready to move eastward.
When the main force of the army set off on the fifth day, the cavalry hurriedly rushed back to report: the Persia army entrenched near Tabosakus was driving the local people to retreat eastward, and at the same time, they were burning the fields and villages, and even destroying the city of Tabosakus …
This news came as a shock to the Devers, but he did not stop the entire army's action, nor did he reconvene a military meeting to discuss the intentions of the Persia army.
In his view, whether the Persia army chose to strengthen the defense, retreat, or use a false retreat to lure the Dionysian Army into a rash advance, not only would it not change the Dionysian Army's action plan, but it would also strengthen their determination to fight.
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