Davos was listening attentively and feeling happy about it when suddenly Mali Gi knelt down with a "plop," looking guilty, and said, "Your Majesty… actually, I am a Babylonian. I only claimed to be Persian to make myself… appear noble. Later, I wanted to confess, but I felt that if the people of the kingdom knew I had lied, it would damage the prestige of the Ministry of Commerce and hinder the implementation of government orders, so… please forgive me for my long-term concealment!"
Davos laughed heartily, reached out to pull him up, and said loudly, "You're not Persian, that's great! I was worried that defeating Persia so badly would cause you some harm, but now I'm relieved! After the decisive battle with the Persian army, I will appoint you as Daonia's envoy to persuade your compatriots to submit to the kingdom and share the fruits of victory!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Mali Gi bowed deeply to Davos with a look of joy.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
The next day, King Davos convened a military conference, requiring not only the participation of generals above the rank of legion commander, but also inviting retired veteran mercenaries such as Alexis, Philius, Tormides, Amyntas, and Epithenes to attend. After listening to Izam's detailed report on the Persian army, they jointly discussed whether to change the current defensive posture and launch an offensive against the Persian army.
Almost at the same time, Persian King Artaxerxes also convened a military conference in the city of Thapsacus. Although his army outnumbered Daonia's, only a few people attended: Teribazus, the Persian king's confidant advisor; Harpagus, the governor from the Susa region; Mardonius, the commanding general from Persepolis (both of whom were descendants of the six allies of Darius the Great, the great king who rebuilt Persia, and their status was extremely noble); Orontas, the governor of Armenia and also the Persian king's son-in-law; and Tirtaeus, a young general commanding the Immortals, who was also of noble birth, born into the Achaemenid royal family, although a distant branch, but married one of Artaxerxes' daughters and was close to the Persian king.
The last one was Marktonos, the chief of the Royal Secret Service, who was currently speaking loudly about the intelligence regarding the Daonian army: "…From September of last year when the riots occurred in Egypt and the Daonian army gradually landed in Egypt, to January of this year when the Daonian king arrived in Egypt, followed by their invasion of Canaan, occupation of Phoenicia, and seizure of Syria, the so-called 'Daonian Legion' banners that we were able to detect during this period included… First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Twelfth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Sixteenth, Seventeenth, Eighteenth, Nineteenth (Po River region, mainly Gauls), Twenty-first Legion (Africa region, mainly Phoenicians and Numidians)… Based on the fixed combat strength of 8,000 men per Daonian legion, the total is 144,000 men.
In addition, five Daonian cavalry legions have appeared in the Daonian army, with a strength of over 10,000… The total number of this army, personally led by the Daonian king, exceeds 150,000.
This is consistent with the judgment made by our spies in Syria after observing the Daonian army for a long time regarding the total number of Daonian troops…" Marktonos spoke eloquently, knowing the situation of the Daonian army like the back of his hand. He was able to obtain such accurate information thanks to the department he was in charge of—the Persian Royal Secret Service.
Cyrus founded Persia, but Darius truly made Persia an empire. He perfected the Persian political system, established a complete administrative bureaucratic hierarchy, reformed the Persian fiscal and monetary system, and established Ahura Mazda as the dominant belief of the people. He also established a vast road system within the country, making communication between the central government and the regions more convenient… Of course, Persia possessed such a vast territory, and some regions were even autonomous. To more effectively rule the people and prevent another major rebellion like the one during Cambyses' reign, it was necessary to have more detailed and accurate knowledge of the situation of officials and people in various places in order to respond in a timely manner. Therefore, Darius established the Royal Secret Service specifically to serve the king, which was more than 100 years earlier than the Daonian Kingdom's intelligence department.
Although more than 100 years have passed, this intelligence agency has become bloated and inefficient, it is still the most trusted ear and eye of the Persian king, not only monitoring the movements of domestic subjects, but also paying attention to the situation in neighboring regions such as Egypt and Greece. Therefore, as soon as the Daonian army appeared in Egypt and Asia Minor, it immediately became its main focus. After such a long period of time, and within its own territory, the Royal Secret Service's ability to understand the situation of the Daonian army was naturally relatively clear.
"The Daonian army is only 150,000 men. Our army is twice its size, possessing such a huge advantage. I don't understand why we don't take the initiative to attack the Daonians, but instead timidly cower in Thapsacus!" Mardonius said loudly, his tone clearly showing dissatisfaction with Artaxerxes, but he had no scruples. This was not only because his ancestor Gobryas was the closest of the six conspirators of Darius who usurped the Persian throne, and his family had always been trusted by the royal family, but also because he was the first Persian noble to support Artaxerxes in Cyrus the Younger's rebellion, thereby assisting the Persian king in gaining the support of the Persian nobles and overcoming the crisis at the beginning of his reign, which made him highly trusted by Artaxerxes and gave him control of heavy troops to guard Susa, the true capital of Persia.
Artaxerxes was somewhat embarrassed by Mardonius's accusation. Although he had expressed his contempt for the "barbarian country" of Daonia on many public occasions, in fact, the Persian king's military performance during his years on the throne had become a joke among the Persian nobles. The only thing he could boast about was his suppression of the rebellion of Cyrus the Younger, who was quite prestigious among the Persian nobles, at the beginning of his reign. But in fact, he was very clear that in that decisive battle, the army he led outnumbered the opponent, but was at a disadvantage in the battle. If Cyrus the Younger hadn't been foolish enough to personally lead the charge and died in battle, the outcome would probably have been completely different.
Therefore, when the aggressively invasive Daonian kingdom in the western Mediterranean, which had almost never suffered a defeat, launched an attack on Persia, he was somewhat apprehensive. So for more than half a year, he had been staying in Babylon, watching Canaan and Phoenicia being successively captured. It was not until the armies from various regions had gathered, giving him sufficient confidence, that he dared to take action. But when he was about to face the Daonian army, he couldn't help but feel a little flustered. The repeated disastrous war experiences of the past appeared before his eyes, making him afraid to make a rash decision.
As the most honorable King of Kings, Artaxerxes would certainly not reveal his inner timidity in front of his ministers. He glanced at Teribazus beside him.
Teribazus immediately understood and said, "The King had actually wanted to launch an attack on the Daonian army for a long time, but I dissuaded him. Lord Mardonius, although our army is huge, what is its actual combat strength? You have been here for so long, you should have a lot of experience. Those natives and barbarians, who account for more than half of the army, look fierce, but they only know how to charge blindly and recklessly, they don't know how to arrange formations, they don't know how to obey orders, and they don't know how to cooperate with our Persian army. In this state, attacking the Daonian army will only make them a burden to us.
Therefore, we need to spend some time training them, so that they can become our help as soon as possible. Lord Mardonius, you have also directed such training several times, and you should also feel their progress. I believe that before long, they will be able to cooperate with our army and launch an effective attack on the Daonian army."
Mardonius snorted, unable to think of how to refute for a moment.
Harpagus sneered and interjected, "Everyone says that Lord Teribazus is intelligent, but I don't think so! We are wasting time here, just to make those barbarians a little more obedient. But don't forget that the Greek allied forces in Asia Minor are rushing here. Once they join forces with the Daonian army in Syria, the strength of the Daonian army will inevitably increase greatly, and it will not be so easy to defeat them. Therefore, we can no longer waste time and must defeat the Daonian army in front of us as soon as possible!"
"Pharnabazus is making every effort to hinder the Greek allied forces from advancing and has achieved very good results. According to the news we have now, the Greek allied forces have not yet entered the Cilicia region, so we still have enough time to deal with the Daonian army in the Syria region."
Hearing Teribazus mention Pharnabazus, Artaxerxes frowned unconsciously: In fact, through the intelligence of the secret agents, he already knew the real situation of the battle in western Asia Minor. Although he was angry at Pharnabazus's false report, he did not punish Pharnabazus, and even gave him more support, because he knew very well that in such a terrible situation in Asia Minor, only Pharnabazus could support the overall situation. Jason, the scapegoat, was just giving both sides a way out. Of course, he would settle accounts with Pharnabazus for his crime of deceiving the emperor after the war.
At the same time, it was precisely because he knew that Pharnabazus's claim that "Jason's Greek mercenary army rebelled and defected to the enemy" was a lie that he rejected the proposals of some Persian officials and did not vent his anger on the Greek soldiers he had hired. On the contrary, he gained the gratitude of these Greek mercenaries.
"Enough time?" Oroontas said coldly, "I don't think so! Didn't the previous news say that the Daonians had split off part of their army to attack and occupy Issus, Castabala, and other cities, opening up the road from Cilicia to Syria? Pharnabazus is just harassing them; he doesn't dare to directly block the Greek Allied Forces. As long as the Greek Allied Forces pass through the Tauros Mountains, they can smoothly reach Syria and join forces with the Daonian army, which will undoubtedly greatly boost the enemy's strength!"
Speaking of this, Oroontas turned around, respectfully bowed to the Persian king, and then said with a solemn expression: "Your Majesty, the close combat ability of Greek soldiers is very strong, and this time the Daonians have also gathered the most powerful Spartan, Athenian, and Theban armies from the Greek city-states. Although according to Pharnabazus's battle report, the mutiny of the Greek mercenaries led to the failure of the entire battle, it is also possible that the Greek army, led by Spartan, Athenian, and Theban soldiers, first defeated the left wing guarded by our army, which led to the sudden change in the entire battle situation. Therefore, we must defeat the Daonian army in Syria as soon as possible before the Greek Allied Forces arrive, in order to secure the final victory of this war!"
Back then, Oroontas was ordered to intercept the Greek Expeditionary Force, but suffered a crushing defeat. The terrible impact of the Spartan warriors left a deep impression on him. Therefore, this big shot, who had been the governor of Armenia for decades and was like a local emperor, could temporarily abandon the arrogance of the Persian nobility and issue a warning.
His words immediately made Artaxerxes's face turn ugly, because he also had the same memory: in the battle with Cyrus the Younger, he personally witnessed tens of thousands of Greek hoplites rout his left wing with a single charge, which almost plunged him into despair.
As for the other generals present, the fact that the Greek army was able to repel Darius and King Xerxes twice, and maintained an advantage of more wins than losses in the subsequent decades of battles with the Persian army, obviously made them value it more than the Daonian army, which had not yet achieved a brilliant victory against the Persian army alone (in the Battle of Cyprus, the Persian fleet suffered a crushing defeat, but it did not shock the Persian nobles, because naval warfare was not the Persians' strength, and almost no Persians participated in the entire Persian fleet. As for the battle in western Asia Minor, Artaxerxes did not publicize the true situation, so Pharnabazus's battle report led them to make a wrong judgment: the failure of the Persian army mainly came from the betrayal of the Greek mercenaries).
Seeing that everyone in the room was focused on him, Teribazus felt a sense of urgency. He knew very well that from the beginning of today's meeting, Mardonius, Harpagus, and Oroontas had successively questioned the strategies previously adopted by the Persian army, which was actually expressing their dissatisfaction with him.
The conflict between Teribazus and these top Persian nobles had a long history, and the root cause came from jealousy. The Persian king regarded Teribazus as a confidant and listened to him, which was obviously incomparable to the important ministers of the kingdom who were far away from the royal court. Of course, this also involved the conflict between the old Persian nobles and the emerging nobles. Since the armies joined forces, they had repeatedly expressed their dissatisfaction with Teribazus, but with the protection of the Persian king, things eventually came to nothing. However, their joint attack today made Teribazus feel a hint of unease from the way Artaxerxes looked at him: this monarch, who was mediocre in military affairs, was wavering about whether to continue implementing the strategy he had proposed!
Fortunately, he had prepared in advance.
He unhurriedly took out something from his arms and said softly: "This is the Daonian army camp map carefully drawn by Lord Mactonos's most capable subordinates after many explorations and spending a lot of time. I have specially copied a copy for you to take a look at."
As he said this, he unfolded the white cloth and placed it on the open space in the center.
Mactonos, who had been watching from the sidelines, was the first to walk over, looked down at the cloth placed on the ground, and then said: "This is indeed the Daonian camp map drawn by my subordinates."
Mardonius, Oroontas, and Harpagus slowly walked over, casually glanced at it, but soon their faces showed surprised expressions, and they bent down to examine it carefully.
Seeing this situation, Artaxerxes asked the eunuch to bring a table and place the map on it.
While the three were intently examining the map, Teribazus said in a deep voice: "Five years ago, the Daonian army invaded Greece. The Greek city-states united and formed an army of nearly 100,000 people, which originally had a chance to repel the Daonian army. However, the Daonians built a complex defensive camp, luring the Greek army to attack. The number of Greek soldiers was two or three times that of the Daonian soldiers in the defensive camp, but after besieging for more than two months, they did not achieve much results. Instead, the Daonians took advantage of the Greeks' long-term unsuccessful attacks and the emptiness of their rear to send troops to land in Thessaly. In the end, Greece turned to Daonia, alas…"
This sigh seemed to twist in Artaxerxes's heart, causing him to lean back in his chair: If it weren't for the rebellion of the people of Asia Minor, Persia would have been retaken by him long ago, and even with the nearby support of Asia Minor, Greece would not have surrendered so quickly! … …
"This time, the Daonian army wants to repeat the same trick. Look—the two sides of its camp are relying on the mountains, and the rear is a bay. We can only launch an attack from the front, and the width of this front is narrow, which is obviously not conducive to us using our advantage in numbers."
Teribazus gestured on the map and said earnestly: "Look again—they built two layers of wooden walls in the camp. The wooden fence in front is very low, only about one meter high, while the wooden wall behind is as high as 4 meters. The two walls are 30 meters apart, and there is a moat in the middle. Although our secret agents cannot detect the depth of the moat, judging from the defensive operations of the Daonian army in the Peloponnese back then, it is difficult to cross it easily. It will be difficult and time-consuming for our soldiers to reach the wooden wall behind. And look—the towers on the wooden wall behind are dense. The Daonians will inevitably deploy a large number of archers on it to launch a fierce long-range attack on our attacking troops.
In addition, Lord Harpagus's subordinates also mentioned a piece of information that we need to pay attention to. During this period, the Daonian army sent a large number of soldiers to continuously set traps in front of the camp… Based on what we have learned, we can know that the Daonian camp is very heavily defended. Our army may suffer heavy casualties just to attack the real wooden wall of the camp, let alone a long-term siege. Just one or two failed strong attacks may cause those affiliated troops to lose their fighting spirit. Once the well-rested Daonians launch a full-scale counterattack, our army's situation will be very dangerous!"
The three Persian nobles were all long-term commanders and knew military affairs. Looking at this map, they naturally understood that Teribazus's words were not alarmist. Although they hated this person, they did not stiffly refute him, but stared at the map and pondered, hoping to find a way to solve the problem.
After a brief silence, Oroontas asked unwillingly: "Are we going to stay here all the time, doing nothing, just watching the Daonian army and the Greek Allied Forces join forces?!"
Teribazus had been waiting for the other party to ask this question. He calmly replied: "The Daonian army invaded our territory aggressively, continuously occupying Canaan, Phrygia, and Syria. Originally, we thought they would continue to attack eastward into Mesopotamia, so the king personally led the army to Tapsacus. However, the Daonians cunningly stopped advancing suddenly, wanting to consume us through defense while waiting for the Greek Allied Forces to join forces. Of course, we cannot let the Daonians get their wish, so we must force them to leave the camp and take the initiative to attack us. The overall situation will be more favorable to us."
Harpagus sneered: "Since the Daonian army can suddenly switch from a smooth offensive posture to defense, it shows that their king is more cautious. If you want him to abandon the camp that has already been built and lead an army that is far smaller than ours to take the initiative to attack us, unless he is a fool, this is simply impossible!"
Teribazus replied confidently: "I have learned in detail about the Daonian king. He is a very confident and bold Greek. He has led armies smaller than the enemy to take the initiative to attack many times, and he has won victories. This is also one of the reasons why Daonia has rapidly expanded and become our opponent in just a few decades. It can be seen that he is not a person who does not dare to take the initiative to attack because the number of troops is small. On the contrary, he loves adventure. It is only because the king led the army to arrive in time and the strength of the two sides is too different that he temporarily adopted a defensive posture to wait for reinforcements. But as long as we pay some price, I believe he will have to give up defense and take the initiative to seek a decisive battle with us!"
"Pay what price?!" Artaxerxes asked eagerly.
Teribazus stared at the Persian king with an extremely serious expression and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the reason why Pharnabazus can hold back the Greek Allied Forces is mainly because he burned and evacuated the villages and towns on the Greek Allied Forces' route of advance, preventing them from collecting any grain and supplies, which led to difficulties in their transportation and supply. Now we can also adopt a similar tactic, evacuate all the people in the area near Tapsacus, and burn the villages and materials that cannot be taken away, turning the area between Tapsacus and Syria into a wasteland—"
"This is absurd!" Mardonios interrupted Terebazus loudly, angrily rebuking him: "Retreating before a battle, allowing the enemy to occupy our land, is shameful enough! And now you want us to drive away the people ourselves, destroying their property? Are you trying to make them hate the army even more, inciting them to riot?!"
"Your Majesty, with the Daonian army invading and the situation tense, Terebazus' ridiculous scheme will only disrupt the kingdom and affect the army's operations. I request that he be severely punished!" Halperges also launched an attack.
Artaxerxes also looked displeased, but remembering that Terebazus was always resourceful and one of his favorite ministers, he suppressed his displeasure and asked coldly: "Terebazus, why do you want to do this?"
Terebazus ignored the accusations of Mardonios and the others, and said calmly: "Your Majesty, the King of Daonia is a greedy man. Over the past few decades, he has annexed one city-state after another, controlling the entire Western Mediterranean. This time he invaded the kingdom, he definitely doesn't just want to occupy Asia Minor, Syria, Phoenicia, and Canaan. His goal must be our entire kingdom, so he transported nearly 200,000 troops from thousands of miles away.
But the daily consumption of these 200,000 troops is enormous. Relying solely on the supplies provided by the occupied territories is far from enough. Transporting food and supplies from the Western Mediterranean thousands of miles away is a long and time-consuming process, requiring a lot of manpower. Moreover, once the Daonian army continues to advance eastward from Syria, transporting supplies will become even more difficult. The best way for the Daonian army is to plunder grain and supplies locally.
Mesopotamia is the richest place in the world, and the people have just completed a good harvest, which can fully meet the needs of the Daonian army, but—" Terebazus emphasized, "Once we take the measures I just mentioned, putting on a scorched-earth defense, retreating to Babylon, that Daonian king will definitely be very anxious, because he will worry that his army will not be able to obtain supplies locally after entering the Mesopotamian plain, and Babylon is a famous fortified city, with heavy troops defending it, which they cannot conquer in a short time. Therefore, to avoid such a terrible situation, he will definitely take the initiative to attack, seeking a decisive battle with us!"
"Heh heh, you make it sound so simple, but what if the Daonian army doesn't take the bait and remains entrenched in the camp!" Orontas sneered, questioning.
"Lord Orontas, haven't you understood what I meant yet?" Terebazus responded with a sneer: "That Daonian king has launched a long-distance expedition, wanting to conquer our vast kingdom. He can only win quickly. Maintaining such a large force in the Syrian region for a long time without taking any action will greatly deplete Daonia's national strength. That Daonian king wouldn't be so stupid!"
"Perhaps he will wait for the Greek coalition to join forces before attacking eastward," Halperges continued to question.
"Then we can have enough time to evacuate all the people west of Babylon, leaving no grain for the Daonian army. Then the even larger Daonian army will have to march more than a thousand miles to Babylon, unable to obtain supplies nearby. Moreover, our powerful cavalry can bypass the main force of the Daonian army and constantly attack their supply convoys. In this way, I am afraid that the Daonian army will collapse before reaching Babylon... That ambitious Daonian king will never want to see this happen, so I think he will definitely lead his troops to pursue us!"
Halperges sneered: "Definitely pursue us?! Terebazus, the Daonians are not your subordinates, who will listen to you so obediently. What you said is just speculation, but the kingdom has to pay such a high price based on your speculations. It's not worth it at all!"
Terebazus retorted unyieldingly: "Lord Halperges has actually begun to care about the people of the Mesopotamian plain. This is really rare! I remember that the army you led had the most disputes with the people in this area, and you have repeatedly refused to mend your ways even after His Majesty issued new military orders."
Halperges became angry and cursed: "What are you, daring to—"
"Enough!" Artaxerxes slammed the chair, sternly shouting: "This is not a place for you to insult each other and display personal grievances! Terebazus, are you sure that the Daonian army will leave the camp and take the initiative to fight us?!"
After that argument, and seeing Mardonios and the other three smirking silently, Terebazus was in a difficult position. He took a deep breath and resolutely said: "As long as the plan I just mentioned is implemented, the Daonian army will definitely come out on their own! We will pay a considerable price, but as long as we can defeat the Daonian army, then Your Majesty will not only be able to recover Syria, Phoenicia, Canaan, western Asia Minor, and Cyprus, but also take the opportunity to recapture Egypt, regain control of Greece, and once again threaten the Daonian mainland... So all of this is worth it!"
Defeat Daonia, recapture Egypt, control Greece, regain hegemony in the Eastern Mediterranean... Terebazus' words moved Artaxerxes. This aging monarch longed for a glorious victory to wash away the failures he had previously suffered, but this decision was, after all, of great importance, and he was still a little hesitant, so he turned his gaze to his trusted aide, who had been silent all along: "Pesithidaes, what do you think?"
Pesithidaes knew his place. Although his status was also considered prominent, he was still far behind these important ministers of the kingdom. Therefore, he did not intend to participate in the quarrel between these great figures, but now, facing the Persian king's inquiry, considering that he and Terebazus were both close ministers of the king, and Terebazus usually took good care of him, he weighed his words and said euphemistically: "Your Majesty, the strength of our army lies in the cavalry and archers. If we attack the Daonian camp, the cavalry will not be able to play any role at all, and the power of the archers will also be greatly reduced. But if we can lure the Daonian army to engage in a battle in Mesopotamia, the vast plains will allow the cavalry to gallop freely, and the arrows can be shot at the enemy without any obstruction. We will be more confident of victory."
Artaxerxes nodded. After pondering for a moment, he finally made up his mind. He looked around at the crowd and suddenly raised his voice, making it a little hoarse: "I have decided—to adopt Terebazus' suggestion to evacuate all the people around Tabosacus and west of it, burn all the villages, destroy the city of Tabosacus, and at the same time, all troops will retreat to Nisephonnia—"
Seeing that Mardonios and the other three wanted to speak, he immediately waved his hand to stop them, and at the same time, he looked sharply at Terebazus and said sternly: "If the Daonian army does not pursue as you said, but continues to entrench itself in the camp, I will not continue to implement such measures, and you—I will never spare you!"
Artaxerxes only adopted half of Terebazus' suggestion, which was also out of necessity. The failures of attacking Egypt in recent years, the rebellion in Asia Minor, and the loss of control over Greece had greatly diminished Artaxerxes' prestige and made his subjects dissatisfied. Therefore, this time he only dared to make a small attempt, and did not dare to make the residents of most of the Mesopotamian plain homeless, to avoid completely falling into a passive position.
Although Terebazus was a little disappointed, he also knew the reason why the Persian king did this, so he could only pretend to accept it calmly. And Mardonios and the others seemed to see the tragic end of their political enemy, and they no longer questioned it. The Persian army's high command thus reached a consensus.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
After listening to Izam's detailed introduction of the Persian army's situation, all the Daonian legion commanders in office strongly demanded a decisive battle with the Persian army as soon as possible. Among the retired veterans, apart from Philius and Geogris, who were more cautious and hoped to wait for the Greek coalition to join forces before acting, Alexis, Amyntas, and others also suggested that "we should take advantage of our army's high morale and the Persian army's relatively disorganized state to lead the army eastward as soon as possible to seek opportunities for battle."
The officers were full of fighting spirit, which also strengthened Davos's determination.
The next day, after he issued the order to "prepare to advance eastward," the soldiers of each legion began to pack their luggage, the supply battalions began to load supplies, and the engineering battalion checked various equipment and prepared some wood...
At the same time, Davos also notified Midolades, the commander of the Daonian joint fleet: Lead the fleet to the camp as soon as possible. After the Daonian army leaves, all the fleet infantry will immediately take over the camp to ensure the safety of the rear base.
Although the Daonian army was well-trained, it would take detailed planning and strict organization for such a large army to go to a foreign battlefield and launch an attack on the Persian army. Therefore, it took three or four days for the entire Daonian army to prepare for the eastward advance.
But on the fifth day, when the main force of the army set off, the scouts rushed back to report: The Persian army entrenched near Tabosacus was driving the local people to retreat eastward, and at the same time, they were burning fields and villages, and even destroying the city of Tabosacus...
This news startled Davos, but he did not stop the army's advance or reconvene a military conference to discuss the Persians' intentions.
In his opinion, whether the Persians were choosing a scorched-earth retreat to defend, or using a feigned retreat to lure the Daonian army to advance rashly, it would not change the Daonian army's plan of action, but would instead strengthen the determination to engage in a decisive battle.
Moreover, Davos had once worried about how to get the army safely across the wide Euphrates River while the Persians heavily defended it, but due to the Persian army's retreat, this worry no longer existed.
In the past few days, the engineering corps had already built three wooden bridges over the Orontes River in front of the camp. 150,000 soldiers crossed the Orontes River in Syria in an orderly manner, heading straight east in a mighty procession.
Six days later, the vanguard was approaching Thapsacus.
The Euphrates River, which rushes out of the eastern mountains of Asia Minor, flows from north to south on the westernmost edge of the Mesopotamian Plain, and successively merges into multiple rivers, forming a series of wide lakes. When it reaches the vicinity of Thapsacus, it turns east, causing its river surface to suddenly narrow, thus becoming the best river section for crossing the upper reaches of the Euphrates River. The royal road connecting the Persian court to Asia Minor passes through here, which also led to the prosperity of the city of Thapsacus.
When the Daonian vanguard arrived on the west bank of the Euphrates River, they were pleasantly surprised to find that the Persian army had not burned the pontoon bridge on the river during their retreat, and the pontoon bridge was very spacious, able to accommodate 10 soldiers walking side by side at the same time, saving the engineering corps the hard work of building more pontoon bridges.
The next day, Davos followed the central army and arrived on the west bank of the Euphrates River. He stopped by the pontoon bridge, watching soldiers in single clothes, carrying weapons, armor, and packages. Their faces were filled with anticipation as they stepped firmly onto the pontoon bridge, crossed the wide Euphrates River, and set foot on the unfamiliar Mesopotamian Plain…
Riding on his horse, Davos straightened his upper body despite his fatigue, placing his right fist on his left chest, his expression solemn. His palace guards also saluted the soldiers.
The soldiers passing by the head of the bridge were surprised at first, and then extremely excited, but the rolling forward dragon did not allow anyone to stop, and the heavy packages on their shoulders prevented them from freeing their hands. Therefore, these young soldiers, most of whom were born in Daonia and grew up under the influence of countless victories and glories, gazed with incomparable reverence at the kingdom's creator, the kingdom's supreme military commander who had created many military miracles, and shouted excitedly: "Long live His Majesty!"
"Long live His Majesty! … Long live His Majesty!! … Long live His Majesty!!! …" The scattered shouts at the beginning quickly converged into the same voice, echoing at the head of the bridge, and quickly spreading to the front and rear of the team. The soldiers who learned the news were as if they had been given stimulants, forgetting the fatigue of the long journey, and quickened their pace…
Looking at this exciting scene, Epitenes couldn't help but sigh: "30 years ago, we were here too, just like these little guys, stepping on this pontoon bridge with hope, entering the rich Mesopotamian Plain ahead…"
"Don't forget, Menon led us as the vanguard of the entire army, and was the first to enter the Mesopotamian Plain!" Amyntas, who was half-lying in the carriage, took over the conversation, speaking with considerable pride.
His lower limbs were paralyzed and he couldn't walk. Originally, he had his servants carry him in a wooden sedan chair to march, but the speed was slow and he couldn't keep up with the large army, so Davos specially allowed him to ride in a small convertible carriage. Since the army landed in Egypt, his physical condition had been poor due to acclimatization, but when the army re-embarked on the route that Cyrus the Younger had taken to Babylon, his spirit improved.
"Amyntas, how can you still have the nerve to say that!" Agasia, who once belonged to another mercenary team, said disdainfully: "Menon rushed to be the vanguard back then, saying that he wanted to scout the way for the army, but everyone knew that he just wanted to be the first to rush to the Mesopotamian Plain to plunder, so Cyrus the Younger agreed to his request, and then issued an order to the entire army, prohibiting looting on the Mesopotamian Plain. Didn't you feel very disappointed at that time?"
"What's there for me to be disappointed about—" Amyntas was about to retort, but suddenly thought of something and deliberately said loudly: "Hieronymus, did you just say 'we'! Don't forget, His Majesty was also a member of 'we' back then!" As he said that, he also pointed to Davos, who was standing solemnly in front.
Hearing this, Agasia, who had always been inconspicuous among this group of old generals, panicked a little at this time, and eagerly defended himself: "Don't talk nonsense, I… I—"
"Actually, the reason why we joined the mercenary army back then and served Cyrus the Younger was all for survival." Hieronymus, who was once the leader of another mercenary army, spoke in a timely manner, resolving Agasia's embarrassment: "In fact, even if Cyrus the Younger allowed us to plunder the Asia Minor region many times in order to solve the tension in military expenditure, the reason why he did not allow us to plunder Mesopotamia may be that he believed that Mesopotamia would be the core area under his rule after he won the throne, so he could not allow the people here to resent him."
Alexius sighed: "Asia Minor is a part of Persian territory, but neither Cyrus the Younger nor Artaxerxes cherished that vast land. Instead, they regarded the people there as alien races, taking whatever they wanted. How could the people of Asia Minor not rebel! How could the people of other regions of Persia be truly loyal to Persia!"
"We should thank the Persians for doing this. Because they don't regard other races as their own, we have the opportunity to invade this vast land and eventually defeat this powerful enemy!" Matonis pointed to the soldiers of the First Legion who were crossing the river and said proudly: "These little guys are luckier than us. We were just tools in the hands of the Persians back then, fighting meaninglessly for the Persian royal family's power struggles on this unfamiliar land, but although they are repeating our marching route, they are fighting for themselves and for the kingdom. They will create unprecedented great victories!"
"That's great, Matonis." Amyntas leaned back on the seat of the carriage, saying with emotion and a hint of sarcasm: "Although you were not in the team under my command back then, I heard about you at that time, a strong and brave but grumpy recruit who gave the team officer a headache… No one would have thought that decades later, you would become a general commanding tens of thousands of soldiers, and speak so logically…"
"Lord Amyntas, I also heard about you back then." Matonis retorted without hesitation: "Do you know why I didn't want to go to the centurion under your command back then? Because everyone called you a mad dog under Menon, although you often led the team to charge at the forefront, you didn't have much tactical skill, and there were always a lot of casualties… But I'm afraid the mercenaries who died with you here back then would never have thought that decades later, you would become an important minister of a powerful kingdom, a famous general praised by the people."
Matonis's harsh words touched Amyntas's heartstrings. He did not refute, but instead fell into painful silence for a moment, and then said in a deep voice: "This time we come to Persia, not only to take revenge on the Persian king and wash away the shame of the past, but more importantly, to find the bones of our comrades who died in battle back then and bring them home…"
As soon as these words came out, everyone fell into silence, and the atmosphere became a little heavy.
Heni Polis, who had been listening and recording all the time to collect information for the biography to be written in the future, couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "My lords, you have said so much just now, can you… simply talk about His Majesty at that time? He should have been a young recruit at that time, right?"
Alexius, Philius, Tolmides and others seemed not to have heard Heni Polis's words, and began to talk to each other as if no one else was around.
Even Amyntas and Epitenes, who usually spoke without taboos, were now afraid of being entangled by the annoying Heni Polis, and simply closed their eyes and pretended to be asleep.
Matonis, who was in the same squad as Davos back then and was very familiar with him, even pulled Georgis away from the crowd on the grounds that "he wanted to urge the soldiers to speed up their march."
It was not because the years had passed and they could not remember Davos's performance here back then. On the contrary, they clearly remembered: When the mercenary army came to the banks of the Euphrates River, the young Davos was shocked by this unusually wide river. When he stepped on the pontoon bridge, his legs went weak, and Matonis almost helped him all the way to the other side…
If they truthfully told these embarrassing things about Davos back then, how much impact would it have on the people of the kingdom today?! What's more, today, 30 years later, they revisit the old place, looking back on the past, and feel even more emotional: Compared to those comrades who died in battle here, how lucky they are! Not only did they escape from the encirclement and interception of the Persian army, but they were also able to kill their way back in their lifetime, trampling the once invincible powerful enemy under their feet and washing away the shame! All of this is because of the person standing in front of them. It was under his leadership that the impossible was turned into possible and unprecedented miracles were created!
At this moment, their hearts were filled with gratitude and respect for Davos.
After an unknown amount of time, Davos turned around and said spiritedly: "Brothers, it's time for us to cross the river!"
Everyone responded in unison: "Yes, Your Majesty!"
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Davos crossed the Euphrates River and found that the situation was as the scouts had said: the original golden fields had been burned into a black expanse, and ruined villages could be seen everywhere. The largest of these ruins was the city of Thapsacus. Not only were the houses in the city burned down, but even the city walls were completely destroyed, causing the legion soldiers, who had originally wanted to save themselves the trouble of building a camp, to be furious, and they all cursed the Persians for being cowardly like rats.
Although the surrounding environment had become a bit harsh, Davos still issued an order: the entire army would build a camp near the city of Thapsacus.
The reason was simple: the Daonian army had to firmly control the pontoon bridge over the Euphrates River to ensure the smooth flow of the transportation route.
When the army began to build the camp, the soldiers discovered a problem: this area was a continuous plain, covered with some withered yellow grass, with clusters of shrubs and reeds visible from time to time, but not a single tree could be seen.
Unable to make wooden fences, the soldiers had to dig more soil to tamp the earthen walls.
Of course, there were also things that made the soldiers happy. For example, the terrain here was exceptionally open, and the camps of the various legions could be completely laid out, unlike in Canaan and Syria, where they had to huddle together due to the narrow terrain, leaving almost no room to maneuver, not to mention Phoenicia.
In addition, there was something else that excited the soldiers, which was that many animals lived on the plains north of the city of Thapsacus. Wild donkeys, antelopes, bustards, and even ostriches roamed in flocks on this vast plain, foraging for food, and even when they saw strangers from afar, they did not panic and run away, because their limbs or wings, which were good at running, were enough to allow them to escape human pursuit.
However, while the Daonian army was building the camp, it sent out the Numidian light cavalry legion, which was the best at hunting on the plains. Thousands of Numidian light cavalry used tactics to encircle and hunt wild donkeys and antelopes, and used bows and arrows to shoot and kill bustards and ostriches in the chase. In just two days, they provided a large amount of fresh meat for the soldiers.
In addition, the cooks in the baggage camp also used fishing nets to catch a lot of large sturgeon in the Euphrates River.
Donkey and mutton were nourishing, bustard meat was tender, and sturgeon was delicious, only ostrich meat was relatively rough. Since leaving Egypt, the Daonian army had been fighting all the way, and the originally reserved dried meat had long been eaten up. Especially after entering the inland, the daily food was drinking hot water and eating bread. The soldiers did not expect to eat such delicacies in the territory of the ruined city of Thapsacus, which not only eliminated fatigue but also gave them energy to work.
Two days later, the Numidian cavalry, who had wiped out the animals near the camp, had to move eastward on a large scale to find new prey.
One of the cavalry teams even entered the territory of Nisaea while chasing wild donkeys, and then they saw with horror that an endless thick cloud of dust was rolling towards them, dimming the entire sky.
The Persian army is coming! … Before they could panic and run back to the camp to report, the scouts had already sent the information back to the king's tent in the camp.
While Davos ordered the legions to be on alert, he also asked the scout team to closely monitor the movements of the Persian army and report back at any time.
In the afternoon, Davos received another message: the Persian army had stopped advancing 20 miles away from the Daonian camp and began to camp and rest.
At the same time, they sent a delegation of fewer than 10 people, wanting to meet the Daonian king.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Teribazus arrived in front of the Daonian camp under the "escort" of the Daonian cavalry. He stopped and stared intently: the Daonian camp in front of him was very simple, with only a long ditch and an earthen wall more than one meter high, which was completely incomparable to the camp in Syria. However, being able to give the camp a preliminary defensive shape in two days showed that the Daonians were indeed very good at building defensive works.
Teribazus secretly rejoiced that his army had arrived in time, and at the same time wondered in his heart how his army should capture this simple camp if the Daonian army still held firm and did not come out?
He walked and thought, and soon came to the camp gate.
Speaking of the camp gate, it was actually just a gap in the earthen wall. Four fully armed palace guards and the scribe Henipolis stood at the gap.
"Welcome to you, Persian envoy," Henipolis said welcome, but there was no enthusiasm on his face, but rather indifference.
Teribazus showed a blank expression, which immediately made Henipolis realize that the other party did not understand Greek. The court scribe, who was proficient in many languages, immediately repeated it in Persian.
Teribazus then understood and replied with his head held high: "I am here on the order of the Great King to meet your king—"
"His Majesty already knows your intention and agrees to see you. Follow me," Henipolis interrupted him directly, waved his hand to make a follow gesture, and turned to walk back.
Teribazus's face twitched a few times, suppressing the unhappiness in his heart, and followed closely into the camp. He immediately concentrated his mind and began to carefully observe his surroundings.
As far as his eyes could see, the camp seemed a little chaotic: the tents were not only built crookedly, but also arranged very untidily, resulting in winding passages between the tents; many soldiers in shirts were wandering between the tents, some even bare-chested, lying on their backs beside the passages to bask in the sun. Even when they saw them arriving, they did not move, and only reluctantly moved away under Henipolis's scolding…
Teribazus could clearly hear them muttering complaints: "I've been building the camp these past few days, I'm exhausted! I finally got a chance to lie down and rest, and you have to come and disturb me, it's so annoying!"
"Isn't he just a small official who writes documents for His Majesty? How dare he yell at me! If he annoys me, I'll slap him to the ground!"
"It's either marching or building camps, endlessly! We've already acquired enough wealth, why are we still advancing east? We should just retreat!"
… …
Yes, Teribazus understood Greek, but he pretended not to, hoping to use this to discover more about the true situation of the Daonian camp. He saw the Daonian officer leading the way become increasingly displeased, yet forced to endure it. In the end, he simply stopped ordering the idle soldiers to make way, which slowed their progress.
Teribazus remained silent, but deliberately wore an impatient expression.
With great difficulty, they passed through a camp, and a burst of noise came from ahead: dozens of soldiers were gathered together, first cursing, then actually starting to fight. Before long, a fully armed patrol arrived, wielding batons to disperse them.
"What happened?" Teribazus asked curiously.
Hennipolis concealed the embarrassment on his face and said perfunctorily, "Nothing, nothing, uh… a group of soldiers were full of energy and held a wrestling match in private, but it got too noisy…"
Teribazus didn't press further, but in fact, he had heard very clearly just now: two teams of soldiers had fought over the prey they had captured.
Finally arriving in front of the Daonian army's main tent, Teribazus heard the sound of arguing coming from inside. He listened carefully: it seemed they were arguing about whether to continue advancing east?
"Your Majesty, the Persian envoy has arrived!" Hennipolis shouted loudly. The noise inside the tent quickly subsided, and a deep, sonorous voice came out: "Bring him in!"
Teribazus walked into the tent. What came into view were twenty or thirty Daonian generals wearing armor and helmets adorned with bright plumes. They turned their fierce gazes towards the tent entrance, while in the center of the tent, sitting high above, was an old man also wearing armor, but with a crown on his head, his expression solemn and majestic.
Teribazus took two steps forward, gave a slight bow, and then raised his head and chest, saying loudly: "The master of Persia, Mesopotamia, Armenia, Asia Minor, Egypt, Arabia, India… the King of Kings, the son of Ahura Mazda, the great Artaxerxes, sends me to you—the honorable King of Daonia—with a personal letter from him, and awaits your reply!"
After Teribazus finished speaking, Hennipolis immediately translated it into Greek.
Davos laughed: "What you just said is wrong. Your king is too self-deceiving. He should know that he is no longer the master of Egypt, and now Canaan, Phoenicia, Syria, including most of Asia Minor, no longer belong to Persia."
After listening to Hennipolis's translation, Teribazus responded calmly: "The war has only just begun, the outcome is not yet certain. Perhaps in the end, King Artaxerxes will become the master of Daonia!"
After hearing the translation, Davos's expression changed slightly.
Before he could speak, a general beside him suddenly stood up and cursed: "Damn Persian, how dare you come here and talk nonsense! Aren't you afraid I'll chop off your head and use it as a ball!"
Davos waved his hand: "Sit down, Matonis! It is tradition not to harm envoys in war. Don't let the Persians laugh at us Daonians for not knowing etiquette."
Matonis didn't listen and continued to glare at Teribazus.
"Sit down quickly!" Davos's expression was a little unsightly. He shouted several times before Matonis reluctantly sat down.
Teribazus took this scene into his eyes.
After a moment, Davos, having calmed down, said unwillingly: "Yes, the war has just begun, and the outcome is undecided. Perhaps in the end, the entire Persia will belong to Daonia! — Where is the letter Artaxerxes wrote to me?"
Teribazus immediately took out the letter from his bosom.
Davos looked around, then smiled disdainfully: "I won't read the letter. Why don't you read it aloud so we can all hear what that Persian king, who is constantly defeated, has to say in the face of our powerful elite army?"
The generals burst into laughter.
Teribazus, after hearing the translation, did not retort. The fierce gaze of the Daonian general just now still made him a little apprehensive. To avoid trouble, he unfolded the letter as if he hadn't heard anything, and read aloud with a serious expression: "The Lord of the Eastern Mediterranean, the King of Kings, to the Daonian King of the Western Mediterranean: Decades ago, Daonia was just a small state, but it has always been brave and warlike, and expansionist by nature, never ceasing to invade other countries. It relies on plundering and annexation to strengthen itself, and threatens and lures to control other states, making the surrounding city-state forces feel insecure.
Persia has always been responsible for maintaining order in the Mediterranean, and has long intended to teach Daonia a lesson and restore peace to the Mediterranean. Unexpectedly, Daonia brazenly invaded Persian territory, occupied our land, and killed our people, causing national panic and divine wrath! Today, I lead a million-strong avenging army, and have laid out a battlefield east of the Tabosacus territory to engage in a decisive battle with you Daonians, in order to completely resolve the grievances between the two countries—do you dare to come?!"
Teribazus emphasized his tone and said the last sentence word by word.
Despite Hynepolis's tactful translation, Davos's eyebrows shot up, and he snorted heavily, saying indignantly, "Go back and tell Artaxerxes that I accept his challenge!"
"Your Majesty!" Alexius interrupted him urgently, "You mustn't agree! The Persians dared to issue a challenge because they must have prepared in advance. We cannot rashly accept it; we must consider it carefully to avoid falling into their trap!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Philius followed up with his advice, "Although the 'million-strong army' mentioned in the letter is certainly an exaggeration, the number of Persian troops does greatly exceed ours. We cannot rashly engage in a decisive battle. We should first defend our camp and then look for opportunities—"
"Nonsense!" Lizalus stood up to retort, "Although the Persian army is numerous, they are timid and afraid of battle. Our army may be small, but we are brave and advance sharply. Therefore, we should take advantage of the soldiers' high morale and engage the Persian army in a decisive battle, rather than simply defend, otherwise, the pressure on logistics will increase…"
"Lizalus is right! We are deep in enemy territory, and only by bravely advancing can we hope to achieve final victory! Hesitation and delay will only plunge the entire army into trouble!…" Matonis also expressed his opinion loudly.
Before long, the entire tent became lively, seemingly no different from what Terebazus had heard outside the tent earlier. Dozens of generals were divided into two factions, supporting or opposing the battle, arguing endlessly and unable to reach an agreement.
Terebazus personally saw the King of Daonia repeatedly try to stop them, but to no avail, until the guards beside him vigorously struck a drum, and the crowd stopped their clamor.
Davos stood up and said loudly, somewhat embarrassed, "Stop arguing, all of you! I have decided! Persian, go back and tell your king that we will have a decisive battle in two days!"
Terebazus's steps were light and his mood relaxed as he walked out of the Daonian camp, because he had not only completed the task assigned by the Persian king and successfully got the King of Daonia to accept the challenge, but he had also learned about the true strength of the Daonian army through this mission: they were not as good at fighting as rumored, the soldiers were tired of war, the generals were arrogant and difficult to control, and the King of Daonia was not as powerful as rumored, he could not even completely subdue and drive his subordinates…
Terebazus felt that these flaws revealed by the Daonian army would greatly increase the chances of victory for the Persian army. He was very pleased that his risky mission to the Daonian camp was very worthwhile.
He eagerly mounted his warhorse, wishing he could immediately return to the garrison and report his findings to the Persian king, completely unaware of the hint of smugness on Hynepolis's face as he stood at the camp gate.
After the Persian envoy left the tent, the tent became lively again.
"How was my performance just now?"
"Matonis,
I never would have guessed, you could totally be an actor at the Turii Grand Theater!"
"Haha, forget about being an actor, I'm only concerned about whether the Persians will fall for it. After all, we urgently mobilized so many people and spent so much effort to put on this show, it can't be for nothing!"
"I've been observing that Persian envoy, and his expression changed a little every time we spoke. He probably understands Greek, which just proves that he's been paying attention to the situation in our camp."
"So no matter how cunning the Persians are, they can't escape His Majesty's plan!"
…
After the generals discussed enthusiastically for a while, Davos coughed lightly, and the entire tent immediately quieted down, a stark contrast to when the Persian envoy was present.
Davos looked around at the crowd and said in a deep voice, "Everyone, let us now discuss the strategy for the decisive battle with Persia."
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Early morning, November 3rd, 364 BC (30th year of the Daonian Kingdom), "Woooo…" The sharp sound of the military horn suddenly rang out, and the originally quiet Daonian camp quickly became lively.
"Brothers, stop sleeping in, get up quickly!…" Just as the squad leaders were waking up their soldiers, the cooks in the baggage camps of each legion had already begun preparing breakfast for the soldiers.
When the military horn sounded, Davos immediately woke up from his sleep. Seeing the guard entering the tent, his first question was, "What's the weather like outside?"
"Your Majesty, the weather is good, no rain, and no wind."
"It's a good day for battle!" Davos sighed.
After the Daonian army entered the Mesopotamian Plain, the four seasons became somewhat distinct. The early autumn temperature here was a bit low, the air was relatively dry, with more sunny days and fewer rainy days, all of which were beneficial to the Daonian army, which was mainly composed of heavy infantry. The only downside was that it often got windy.
After washing up, the guard brought breakfast: a bowl of thick oatmeal porridge, a bowl of hot bustard and donkey soup, more than half a piece of steamed sturgeon, two pieces of bread with cheese…,
When Hynepolis entered the tent, he saw Davos staring blankly at the plate and immediately said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, the soldiers' breakfast is similar to yours! To meet your requirements, the baggage camp spent a whole day fishing in the Euphrates River yesterday, and the light cavalry ran hundreds of miles north to capture some wild animals…"
"The key to determining the outcome of a battle is meticulous preparation before the battle." Davos picked up a piece of bread and said seriously, "Today's battle will probably be very long, and the soldiers must eat enough food to have enough physical strength to sustain them. Considering that just forming the ranks may last until noon, Philius has already notified the baggage camp yesterday to prepare more bread for the soldiers to carry to the battlefield and have an extra meal before the battle."
"Listening to you, Your Majesty, I am even more confident in winning this battle, because the Persian king cannot possibly prepare such rich food for his huge army like we do." Hynepolis flattered him, then sat down on the wooden chair next to him, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "…I heard that people here are forbidden to catch this kind of fish, saying it is a sacred object and will anger the gods…"
"The more angry the enemy's gods are, the happier the great Hades will be." Davos said calmly, took a big bite of the fish, chewed it a few times, and spat out the fish bones: "Have you finished breakfast?"
"I finished it a long time ago." Hynepolis complained: "Your Majesty, I'm not like you, who can treat even the biggest battle as ordinary. I was so excited that I couldn't sleep all night, and I got up early today. Look at me, I still have dark circles under my eyes."
"You, you…" Davos looked at his comical expression of pointing to his eye sockets and laughed.
After he finished breakfast and chatted with Hynepolis for a while, the captain of the palace guard came in to report: "Your Majesty, the legions have begun to line up to leave the camp."
Only then did Davos put on his armor and walk out of the tent. The guards had already led his warhorse.
This was a strong Lusitanian stallion, fat and strong, with smooth fur, yellowish-brown in color, and unusually tall. It kept pawing the ground with its front hooves and shaking its head and neck, as if it didn't want to be led, but when Davos walked up to it, it immediately calmed down, lowered its head, moved closer to Davos, and hummed softly.
Davos patted its face lightly and said with a smile, "Hi, Niki, you're going to fight with me again."
Niki seemed to understand, nuzzled Davos's hand, then raised its head and neighed happily.
Since coming to this world, this was already the fifth warhorse that Davos had ridden, and most likely the last one.
Davos patted the horse's back with a hint of emotion, then jumped on the horse and, under the protection of 1,000 fully armed palace guards, left the inner camp.
Dozens of people were gathered at the exit. Seeing Davos coming, someone couldn't help but shout, "Your Majesty, we've been waiting for almost half an hour, why are you only coming out now? The soldiers have already left the camp!"
Although the person lying in the carriage spoke a bit impolitely, Davos was not angry and smiled, "Amyntas, your hot temper hasn't changed even in your old age. Don't worry, the battle won't start until we arrive."
"Your Majesty!" Hilonimus, Epitenes, Giogris, Martius, and others immediately stepped forward to greet him.
Davos looked at them and asked, "Brothers, are you ready to fight?"
30 years ago, after Davos became the leader of the mercenaries and completely won the trust of the mercenaries, he would often say such words before the battle. Now, the old generals heard it in their ears but felt mixed emotions. After a moment, they shouted excitedly, "We are ready!!!"
Davos waved his right hand vigorously forward: "Then let's go!"
After joining the old generals, the entire team passed through the wide camp passage and soon left the camp.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
The Daonian army did not gather together and then set off, but each legion, led by its commander, left its own camp and went directly to the designated battlefield. Therefore, more than 20 teams were almost moving eastward side by side.
Because they had just eaten breakfast and to avoid wasting energy, the marching speed of each team was very slow. The soldiers were talking, laughing, and chatting in the team, and the officers did not prohibit it, and even took the initiative to start topics. If people who did not understand the inside story saw it, they would have thought they were going on a picnic instead of going into a life-and-death battle.
More than an hour later, the teams successively walked out of the Tabosacus and surrounding areas that had been burned by the Persians and stepped onto the yellowish-green plains.
After walking for a while, the legion commanders issued an order: "Stop advancing, rest in place!"
"Is this the location of the battle? I don't see anything special about it."
"I heard that the Persian army's camp is 25 miles away from our camp. I just silently calculated that this place is about eleven or twelve miles away from the camp, exactly in the middle, so isn't it the battlefield?"
"But why can't I see a single Persian?"
"I heard those Persians only know how to oppress the subjugated races, and they are all lazy. They are probably sleeping in the camp, haha —"
"Hey, what are you doing?"
The soldiers who were chatting and laughing saw their comrades lying on the grass taking a rest, suddenly turned around one after another, and put their ears to the ground. After a while, they shouted: "The Persians are coming!"
Under the reminder of their teammates, the soldiers were surprised to find that the dry mud under their feet was shaking slightly.
After a while, the Daonian soldiers began to faintly hear a rumbling sound from a very distant place, as if muffled thunder was rolling across the clouds on the horizon, and the sound became clearer and clearer.
Then, at the junction of the sky and the earth, a brownish-yellow cloud appeared, slowly drifting towards the Daonian army, gradually changing from the initial small plume of smoke into a rolling dust storm that covered the sky and the earth and stretched for more than ten miles.
Under the reflection of the morning sun, countless rays of light shone in the gray dust, layer upon layer, like stars in the sky. Moreover, from this huge dust fog that enveloped the entire field, there were shouts of people, neighing of horses, footsteps, the sound of armor and weapons colliding, and even the roar of beasts… All kinds of sounds intertwined, like thousands of big drums beating together, shaking the sky and the earth, making people feel irritable and palpitating…
When the dust got closer, the sharp-eyed Daonian soldiers could already see the situation inside through the flying dust: This is a real sea of people! Tens of millions of soldiers wearing various costumes, holding various weapons, and speaking different languages, densely packed, boundless, like a vast ocean, surging towards them, the pressure of which even made them suffocate and unable to breathe…
Many Daonian soldiers changed their faces.
At this moment, Mathonis, the commander of the First Legion, laughed loudly: "The Persian army is still the same as before. Don't look at their large number of soldiers, but they are actually useless! Back then, when we helped the Persian prince Cyrus the Younger to fight for the throne, we fought a battle with the Persian army at Cunaxa, hundreds of miles ahead. At that time, the commander of the Persian army was the current Persian king, and their number of soldiers was similar to today, far exceeding the army of Cyrus the Younger.
But at the beginning of the battle, the right wing composed of our Greek hoplites defeated the left wing of the Persian army with one charge. If Cyrus the Younger hadn't been reckless and rushed into the formation and was killed, the throne of Persia would have changed hands long ago.
Today, our number of soldiers far exceeds that of Cyrus the Younger's army at that time, our army is more well-trained than the Greek mercenaries at that time, our arms are more complete than the Greek mercenaries at that time, and our tactics are more advanced than the Greek mercenaries at that time… We will definitely be able to easily defeat this seemingly powerful but actually weak Persian army!"
Mathonis's words greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers of the First Legion.
At the same time, Tlotilas and other old generals in the army were also giving similar speeches to their soldiers.
Seeing that the soldiers had returned to normal, the legion commanders successively issued orders: "Gather the teams and prepare to form a formation!"
When Davos arrived, the Daonian army was also covered in dust and mist.
"Your Majesty!" Alexis, Mathonis, Lizalu, Philius, and Tolmides rushed over on horseback.
Davos looked at the legions in front of him, which were still in marching column formation, returned the salute, and asked: "Has the formation not started yet?"
Alexis replied: "The Persian army is very large, but it is too chaotic. If we want to wait for the Persian army to take a rudimentary shape, it will probably take a long time. Therefore, after we discussed it, we decided to let the soldiers rest first. According to the slow speed of the Persians, it is completely possible to start forming a formation after determining where their central army is located."
Davos nodded slowly, and was about to speak when Amyntas behind him shouted: "Since the Persian army is large and chaotic, why not take this opportunity to launch an attack?!"
Davos coughed heavily and said in a deep voice: "The world is watching this battle. If we attack before the opponent has formed a formation, even if we win, we will be ridiculed by the people of other countries. I need a fair and glorious victory to subdue the Persians! Moreover, I need to severely damage the main force of the Persians in this battle, so that the Persians will be unable to resist us afterwards. If we launch an attack in advance, it will only allow the Persians to retreat in advance, but we will not be able to achieve great results!"
Amyntas was embarrassed and speechless.
Davos had no intention of taking care of Amyntas's mood at the moment. He continued: "Go, let's go to the front and take a look!"
After saying that, he drove his horse forward, and the palace guards immediately stepped forward to surround him in the center. Alexis, Philius, Mathonis, Lizalu, and Tolmides were unable to stop him, so they had to follow. Amyntas, Hilonimus, and others could only stay where they were because they no longer had military duties.
Davos rode his horse through the gaps between the legions and came to the front of the team. Looking east, the Persian army was stationed less than a mile away. Although the dust was still flying, the flat and vast plain was unobstructed, and he could see the situation inside more clearly, and even hear the shouting of the Persian generals.
The Persian army stretched for more than ten miles from north to south. In order to have a more comprehensive understanding of the Persian army's formation, Davos rode his horse along the front line of the Daonian army from south to north, observing the situation of the enemy army on the opposite side as he walked.
However, when the Daonian soldiers saw their beloved king passing by in front, they were all extremely excited and shouted: "Long live Your Majesty!!! Long live Your Majesty!!!…"
The news quickly spread throughout the army, and the sound waves increased even more, like bursts of winter thunder, completely drowning out the noise coming from the opposite side, making Davos have to turn a reconnaissance of the enemy's situation into a pre-war military review, which also aroused the curiosity of the Persians.
"What happened?" Artaxerxes, the Persian king in the rear of the army, heard the thunderous roar and couldn't help but ask Persitida, the commander of the Immortals in front.
Soon the scout sent back the news: "Reporting to the Great King, the King of Daonia is reviewing the army."
"The outcome of a battle is not determined by the strength of the sound." Artaxerxes said in a strange tone. In fact, he knew very well that if he were to review the Persian army, it would be difficult to obtain such sustained cheers, not only because of those subordinate armies, but also because his prestige among the Persian soldiers was insufficient. It was because of this jealousy that he impatiently said to Teribazus next to him: "Urge the various troops to complete the formation as soon as possible, defeat the enemy as soon as possible, and end this noise as soon as possible!"
The Persian army was more than ten miles long from north to south. Although the Daonian army was not deployed, the legions were almost evenly distributed within the range of more than ten miles. In order to save horsepower, Davos had to smile and wave to the soldiers while controlling his horse to walk slowly.
More than half an hour later, he began to return from north to south.
"Your Majesty, look! That should be Artaxerxes!" Alexis suddenly pointed to the east and said loudly.
I saw a magnificent carriage in the Persian army on the opposite side, pulled by four pure white steeds, and a person standing on the carriage, wearing gorgeous clothes, reflecting the sunlight, was particularly dazzling.
Davos reined in his horse, a little curious and wanting to take a closer look at what this opponent, who claimed to be the King of Kings, looked like.
Artaxerxes was also staring intently at the King of Daonia wearing a crown in front.
The two sides looked at each other for a while, separated by a distance of more than a mile, and Davos shifted his gaze to the front of the Persian king: dense formations, thick round shields, helmets that completely covered their cheeks… It was actually Greek hoplites!
Davos was not too surprised, because he had learned from Leotichides's Asia Minor battle report that there were a considerable number of Greek mercenaries in the Persian army.
He also carefully observed that spears and halberds were erected in front of the Persian king's chariot, like a dense forest, indicating that the infantry columns were quite thick, and behind those erected spears, there were longer spears. Through the shaking gap of the Greek hoplites, he saw soldiers with long beards wearing robes, covered with golden armor, and holding long spears and large shields. Corresponding to the information he had learned, he understood in his heart: the Persian Immortals.
He immediately pointed to the Persian king's chariot and said firmly: "The central army of the Persian army is there!"
In fact, without Davos saying much, Alexis himself had already made the same judgment, so when Davos returned to the rear of the team, the entire Daonian army began to deploy.
The staff officer of the First Legion rushed to the front of the First Legion's team and said to the legion flag bearer: "Lead the troops to the position where the First Legion is deployed."
Upon hearing this, the flag bearer waved the flag, and the soldiers of the First Legion who were resting immediately stood up and quickly lined up.
Under the leadership of the staff officer, 6,000 hoplites of the First Legion bypassed several brother troops and came to the position directly opposite the Persian king's chariot.
"Arrange in a scattered formation!" As soon as the staff officer in front finished shouting, the six hoplite battalion commanders directed their respective battalions to spread out in a formation of three battalions horizontally and two battalions vertically, and each increased the spacing. Then, the company commanders directed their soldiers to quickly form square formations, and then the squad leaders divided them into four small square formations, arranged in staggered front and rear…
In less than 10 minutes, the soldiers of the First Legion completed the formation. Mathonis did not personally command because in this battle, he was not only the commander of the First Legion, but also appointed by Davos as the commander of the central route. He also needed to issue orders to other legions.
With the First Legion as the base point of the entire formation, all the legions began to move. The generals and officers did not command the soldiers by shouting like the Persians, but used semaphore to guide them. The soldiers also strictly followed the orders, and did not talk and laugh casually during the formation process. The only sounds coming from the churning dust were the "swishing" footsteps and the clashing of armor and weapons, with almost no noisy human voices.