Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

By the time Nectanipos learned of the change in the city and led a furious reinforcement of the gates, the Dionysian army, led by Memphis officials, had stormed the city.

After a day of heavy fighting in the city, the rebels were defeated, Nectanipos was captured, and the Dionysian army moved into Memphis.

Immediately on the 2nd day, Tapirus, the foreign minister who had received instructions from Davos and had followed the army to Egypt, began to meet frequently with Memphis officials and the priests of several temples in the city.

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It was already mid-August, and the news that "the Holy Kingdom of Dionysia had officially declared war on Persia and was forming a Greek alliance for an invasion of Asia Minor" had reached Babylon, shocking Artaxerxes, who had suffered many military defeats and inaction, and wondered when the Persian king had become interested in the far western kingdom, which had suffered even the worst of the war. The kingdom of Dionysia, which any obstruction still managed to win and expand, developed a few fears and went so far as to say in public, "It's finally here! ......"

Then he sprang to his feet and shouted, "Go and fetch Terebassus!"

"Great King, Lord Trebasus has been sent by you to conquer Egypt!" A minister reminded him.

Altaxerxes, then, as if in a dream, stood still for a moment, and asked, "Where is he now?"

"Still gathering troops in the Syrian region."

Altaxerxes sat back down, tugged on his fist, and said after a moment, slightly nervously, "...... the order to attack Egypt is cancelled for now, let him return first, defending against the invasion of the Dionysian army is the most important matter at the moment! ...... Send out all the secret spies to me, and keep a constant watch on the movements of the Greek mainland ...... Also inform the governors of the regions to immediately mobilize the military, and the garrisons of the regions to assemble and await my orders!"

"Yes, my lord!"

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Artaxerxes was self-conscious: although Dionysia had formally declared war on Persia, it would be some time before the Greek alliance was completed and the Persian territory invaded.

But he did not expect that Leonticides had already led the Tenth and Eleventh Legions to Thessaly, and that the Dionysian commander, after knowing the enemy situation on the other side of the Aegean Sea in detail, would decide, after much deliberation, not to wait until the Greek armies were united before attacking Asia Minor, but to send a vanguard force to land in Asia Minor before the Persians had finished their defensive preparations, to occupy a foothold and provide a guarantee for the further landing operations of his successor army.

The tenth captain, Stiveros, the adopted son of the famous Amintas of the Dionysian army, a close friend of Patroclus, and an old subordinate of Leontichides, had a deeper knowledge of his abilities, and therefore entrusted him with this task.

Stiveros, who was in the prime of his life and eager to achieve further glory, took up the task without hesitation, and after consulting with Leontichides, he set the goal of landing on the beaches of the region of Mysia in western Asia Minor.

The reason for choosing this region was simple: the nearest straight line from the port of Philae in Thessaly eastward by ship across the Aegean Sea to western Asia Minor was Mysia, which is now the westernmost region of Persia and where Persian domination is naturally weakest.

Because of the proximity of Mysia to the Greek mainland, there were a number of Greek colonial towns in the region, and Persian rule had always been unstable here, and Mysia was one of them during the great rebellion against Persian rule in Asia Minor. Pay some taxes and have more freedom of religion ...... So most of the Greek city-states in Asia Minor did not participate in that rebellion, nor did they give support to the rebels, but on the contrary gave some cooperation to the advance of the Persian army.

But after the rebellion was over and new governors had been appointed in the western regions of Asia Minor, many of them did not implement the decrees proclaimed by the Persian king, one of them being Theopompus, the governor of Asia Minor, who aroused the discontent of the Greek city-states in his territory. The Persian nobleman from Susa did not expect that the Greeks in his territory would dare to oppose his decision, and the other races, including the Persians, looked on with indifference, and few of them were willing to come to the side of the outsider.

A few days later, the Tenth Dionysian Legion, fully prepared, boarded a troop ship in the port of Philae and, escorted by the Fourth Fleet, sailed straight eastward.

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By September, as soon as the news that "King Davos will attack Persia with his own army" was officially announced to the public, the office of the palace welcomed several guests.

Davos looked at these guests and asked, with a sense of apprehension, "What is this fine day for you all to come together to visit me?"

"Your Majesty!" Felicius, who had been retired from the army for many years, replied respectfully, "We heard that you were going to lead an attack on Persia yourself, so we were all excited and made an appointment together to come and see you, hoping that you would allow us to travel with you to the land where we had been born and fought side by side!"

"Yes, Your Majesty! For so many years, I can't forget those comrades who died in the war in Persia, when we were in a hurry to escape and hastily buried their bodies, not even put a coin in their mouths ...... This time to Persia, I must transport their bones back to their hometown for a proper burial, so that their wandering souls in a foreign land can return smoothly. Underworld Prison ...... "Alexis, who has always been more calm, also said emotionally.

"There's also Klierkus, Proxinus, Menon and the others, I've heard that their skulls were sent to Babylon and dumped at random by the Persians in a rubbish heap, even if it took a lot of effort to find them, but ...... it's everyone's common wish to collect their bones and bring them back home! "Immediately afterwards, Hieronymus finished seriously, and Tormid, Agathia, and the others immediately echoed loudly.

"The common wish of all of us?" Davos heard something in the words.

"Sire, we are here to request you on behalf of most of the old mercenaries who are still alive and idle to follow you back to Persia to kill again!" Epithenius said aloud.

Davos's eyes swept across the faces of these gray-haired, wrinkled old men such as Felicius, Alexis, Hieronymus, Tormid, Mariji, Agathea, Epithenius, Martius, and Giorgis ...... and finally landed on Amintas.

This once highly decorated and unusually brave general of Dionysia was now completely unable to stand, and could only sit paralyzed in a wooden wheelchair, pushed into the palace by his trusted slave. Unable to walk on the ground for a long period of time, his strapping body had become so fat that he was snoring with his eyes closed when everyone was talking.

Davos couldn't help but whisper, "Amintas."

"Phew ......"

"Amintas!"

"Eh? ......"

"Are you going with them to Persia as well?"

Amintas finally woke up after being pushed and shoved by his slave, braced himself on the arm of the wooden chair with both hands and did his best to sit up, gasping, "Your Majesty ...... I'll die ...... even if I have to die on the road to Babylon! ......"

Davos looked around at the group again and asked with a look of dignity, "Are you guys thinking the same thing?"

Felicius looked back at the others, and after receiving a nod from them, replied with a serious look, "Your Majesty, we have followed you to countless victories over the decades, and our only regret is that we were ousted like dogs by the Persians in Persia, and this time we want to follow you to make up for that regret, even if we have to die on the way to the conquest, which is our The glory of a lifetime of conquest!"

"Your Majesty, I have one more request!" Epithenius shouted after him, "And if I do die on the way, allow my slave to carry my body into Babylon, so that I can see for myself what the sky gardens that the Babylonians boast of look like!"

Martius immediately complained to him in a disgruntled whisper, "We all discussed this beforehand, and it's outrageous of you to violate the agreement and suddenly make such a request of His Majesty! What else can you see when people are dead, hurry up and apologize to His Majesty and withdraw your unreasonable request!"

"I'm glad, I don't think your majesty will blame me." Epithenius looked like he didn't care, so angry that Maltius tugged at his shirt and tried to punch him.

"All right, all right." Davos waved his hand, looked at everyone, and said squarely, "I could allow you to come with me to Persia, but - you are all veterans of the war who have followed me for many years, and you are all familiar with Dionysian military law, you should understand that this war against Persia will determine the entire Mediterranean, and that the two countries' The rise and fall of the world is not to be taken lightly, so you must have the mindset that you are 'going to fight, not play' and must all obey and follow orders! If someone can't do it, then they better quit now, or else I will show no mercy when someone violates military law!"

"Rest assured, Your Majesty, we will never ruin our reputation at the end of a lifetime of warfare, and we will never let our juniors underestimate us!" Felicius, Alexis, and the others said in unison.