Chapter 753
"Your Majesty!" The three trusted aides of the King of Diónia, Head of the Palace Guards Martius, Clerk Henepolis, and Herald Aristiras, were already waiting respectfully in front of the checkpoint.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." The Devers jumped off the War Horse and looked at Martius. "Have the guards of the palace and the mansion been arranged while I'm away?"
"According to the report I gave you last time, half of the soldiers (250) were left behind under the command of Xenophanes to protect the palace and the King's Hill, as well as the safety of the concubines and princes," Martius replied.
The Devers nodded and walked towards Xenophanes, who was standing behind the three men. "I'll leave the safety of my family in your hands!" he said sincerely.
"Rest assured, Your Majesty. I'll complete the task you've given me!" Xenophanes saluted confidently.
The Devers subconsciously glanced at his left hand.
Xenophanes saluted with his left hand. He was a member of the Persia Expeditionary Force, a high-ranking officer of the First Legion, and a good friend of the current Ninth Legion's commander, Tegthenos. More than a decade ago, when the First Legion landed in Sicily and fought against the Allied Forces of Syracuse, his right hand was severely injured and became disabled after treatment failed. Based on this situation, he should have retired from the army, but he strongly expressed his desire to stay in the army. After several twists and turns, the Devers finally selected him to join the Palace Guards as a team officer. After all, the chances of the Palace Guards killing enemies were very low, and he did not need to do it himself. Instead, he needed to bring his rich combat experience and strict military discipline to the Palace Guards. Until now, his performance had been outstanding, which was why the Devers agreed with Martius to give him the responsibility of staying behind.
The Devers patted his shoulder forcefully to show his expectation, then turned and walked towards Aristiras.
Although the Devers stared at him without saying a word, Aristiras understood the king's expectations of him. While he was away, Aristiras would closely monitor the entire kingdom, work closely with the Palace Guards and patrol to ensure the stability of the royal authority and the safety of his family, and report to him immediately if there were any abnormalities.
Aristiras solemnly saluted the Devers again. Everything was said without words.
The Devers finally looked at Heniboris and asked softly, "Heniboris, are you ready to write a wonderful book called Battle Chronicles of Radin?"
"Your Majesty, I've prepared enough papyrus and pens," Heniboris replied cleverly, making the Devers laugh loudly.
"Depart," he said in a deep voice.
"Depart," Heniboris of Soldiers. Dyvers was accompanied by Cloto, Catax, and Heniboris. Under the saluting gazes of Aristiras, Xenophanes, and the rest of the palace guards, they galloped towards the north gate.
"Salute!" the guard at the north gate shouted excitedly.
The sentries hurriedly turned the noose, opened the city gate, and stood straight on both sides.
"Thank you for your hard work, Timias!" The Devers called out the Garrison Officer's name accurately and gave him a proper military salute. This made the Garrison Officer and the sentries very excited.
The Devers had set off so early because most of the Turís had just woken up. There were few pedestrians on the streets of the outskirts of the city, so it was almost unobstructed.
The rumbling of the horses' hooves broke the silence of the outer city. When the curious residents came out to take a look, the cavalrymen had already left.
"It's the palace guards!" The people made an accurate judgment based on the attire of the soldiers. "His Majesty the Devers must be inside!"
"Devers, His Majesty has gone to the barracks so early. Let's not dawdle. Let's quickly finish our breakfast and rush to the barracks to send off the army!"
… …
This time, because there were too many soldiers, it had exceeded the capacity of the Victory Square in the city of Turís, so the final assembly point and departure point of the army was set at the Turís barracks.
At dawn, the Devers arrived at the Turís barracks. At the commander's residence, he gathered several ministers from the Ministry of Military Affairs, as well as Matonis, the Commander of the Second Legion, Olivers, the Commander of the Legio IV, Giogris, the Commander of the Fifth Legion, Trotiras, the Commander of the Legio VI, and Izamu, the Commander of the Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade. He asked them about the enlistment of the troops, the morale of the soldiers, the weapons and equipment they carried, whether they had brought five days' worth of rations, whether the auxiliary troops were full, the maintenance of the siege and defense equipment, and whether the supply teams were sufficient …
While the Devers were discussing with the generals about the expedition, Cloto Catax met with the staff of the Ministry of Military Affairs under the guidance of Tormid. They were all officers who had performed well in their respective armies and were then transferred to the staff office of the Ministry of Military Affairs to study for a year or two. Therefore, they were all around the age of twenty-five or twenty-six. Cloto Catax had been in the Ministry of Military Affairs for more than a year and knew most of them. Although he was a prince, he had an amiable personality and quickly got along with them.
Everyone excitedly talked about their expectations for the war. In such a lively atmosphere, Cloto Catax had completely forgotten that he had planned to visit his brother Adoris at the encampment of the Second Legion before he set off.
But in fact, even if he went, he would not be able to talk to Adoris. At this time, the soldiers in the barracks had already been awakened by the sound of the bugle. After they quickly finished their breakfast, they skillfully wrapped their armor and rations into a bundle and hung it on a special wooden staff. They wore only short-sleeved inner shirts and had short swords tied to their waists. Their shields, spears, and javelins were all handed over to the supply camp of the Legion for transportation. This way, it would be easier for them to cross the mountains in the future.
At dawn, most of the senators of the kingdom's Senate had also arrived at the barracks. Among them, the five Senate chairmen, Cornelus, Cydorum, Vesba, Lysias, and Antares, came to see off the King of Devers and the army. They also came to declare to him that during his expedition, they would do their best to ensure the stability of the kingdom's affairs.
On the other hand, a small number of senators, such as Asistes, Antares, Nicomacus, and Trifias, were preparing to follow the army to Latin. In fact, they could have boarded the large number of grain transport ships that departed from the port yesterday, bypassing the Strait of Messina and heading to Wolsey. But even the most honorable King of Devers had to march with the army. Of course, they could not appear to be afraid of the hardship and leave a bad impression on the ruler of the kingdom. So, they would follow the supply convoy to the north.
At dawn, the Devers faced nearly 40,000 soldiers on the large field of the Turín barracks for a pre-expedition rally. Cloto Catax, who had experienced such a grand and solemn occasion for the first time, listened to his father's speech. After listening to his father's speech, Cloto Catax was also overwhelmed with emotions. Together with the soldiers who were in high spirits, he raised his arms and shouted, "Victory to the King of Devers! Victory to the Kingdom of Diónia! … "
When the army began to leave the barracks, the people of the kingdom, especially the people of Turín, were already waiting on both sides of the road. Just like in the past, they used kind cheers and sincere blessings to send their loved ones off to the battlefield, winning glory and generous rewards for the kingdom. The farewell procession stretched all the way to the town of Mountain Pass. Along the way, the cheers never stopped. There were even petals sprinkling on the ground. It was as if they had returned victorious.
"This is why the kingdom is strong!" The Devers, who rode in the middle of the procession, whispered to his son who was following beside him.
Cloto Catax looked at the cheering people on both sides of the road and nodded with deep emotion.
At the beginning of March, 14th year of the Kingdom of Diónia (379 BC), the King of Devers personally led the Second Legion, Legio IV, Legio V, Legio VI, part of the First Cavalry Legion, and the Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade, a total of 40,000 people. They marched westward through the mountains and arrived at Laos. After that, they boarded the ships in batches and headed for the region of Latin. In fact, this team also included some of the elders and low-ranking officials of the kingdom, about two hundred people, engineers, craftsmen, blacksmiths … a team of about six hundred people made up of the engineers, craftsmen, blacksmiths, and so on. There were also the transport team and the pack team, which were mainly made up of countless preparatory citizens. Therefore, the whole team was huge and bloated.
In addition, the merchants of Turín and Liguim took their own ships, fully loaded with military provisions, and passed through the Strait of Messina. They took a detour to the west coast of Italy and prepared to rendezvous with the army of King of Devers in Latin.
… …
While the Devers' army was marching towards Latin, the Sparta in Greece was gathering troops, planning to regain control of the Thebes. At the same time, the Council of Elders also learned that the people of Athens were directly involved in the riot of the Thebes. This surprised and worried them. After all, if the two powerful states of Central Greece were to unite again, the plan of Sparta to dominate Greece would be greatly hindered.
Therefore, the two censors of Sparta immediately rushed to Athens and questioned the people of Athens in an aggressive manner: "Are you going to tear up the Great King's Peace Treaty and start a war with Sparta?"
Although the people of Athens were dissatisfied with Sparta and secretly helped the people of Thebes to rebel, not only did Sparta recover its strength with the support of Persia, but it also stopped the war in Asia Minor and poured all its power into the struggle for supremacy in Greece. The city-states of Greece felt great pressure. The Peloponnesus peninsula was completely under its control. Even Corinth and Agos were obedient and did not dare to do anything unusual. The city-states of Northern Greece had become its allies, and Central Greece was in a mess because of it. ()
。 m.
Comments