And Davos once had a concern about how to get the army to cross the wide Euphrates smoothly under the heavy defense of the Persians, but because of the retreat of the Persian army, this concern no longer exists.
In the past few days, the engineering battalion has built three wooden bridges on the Orontis River in front of the camp, and 150,000 soldiers crossed the Orontis River in Syria in an orderly manner. going straight east.
Six days later, the vanguard had approached Taposakus.
The Euphrates River rushing out from the mountains in eastern Asia Minor flows from north to south at the westernmost end of the Mesopotamian Plain, and joins many rivers one after another, forming a series of wide lakes, reaching Taposaku When it was near Sri Lanka, it turned eastward, causing its river surface to narrow abruptly, making it the best river crossing in the upper reaches of the Euphrates. The royal road connecting the Persian royal court to Asia Minor passed through here, and it also led to Taposaku. the prosperity of the city.
When the Dionysian vanguard arrived on the west bank of the Euphrates, they were pleasantly surprised to find that the Persian army did not burn down the pontoon bridge on the river when they retreated, and the pontoon bridge was very spacious and could accommodate 10 soldiers to walk side by side, eliminating the need for an engineering battalion. More hard work on the pontoon.
The next day Davos followed the central army and came to the west bank of the Euphrates. He stopped by the pontoon bridge and watched the soldiers in single clothes and wrapped in weapons and armor. With some kind of longing on their faces, they stepped on the pontoon bridge with determination, crossed the wide Euphrates River, and stepped onto the Strange Mesopotamian Plain…
Davos, who was riding on the horse, ignored his fatigue, straightened his upper body, pressed his right fist to his left chest, and looked solemn. The palace guards who followed him also saluted the soldiers.
When the soldiers passing by the bridge saw this scene, they were first surprised and then excited, but the long dragon rolling forward did not allow anyone to stop advancing, and the heavy package on their shoulders prevented them from freeing their hands, so most of them were there. The young soldiers who were born in Dionia and grew up under the influence of countless victories and honors looked at the kingdom's founder and the supreme military commander of the kingdom who created many military miracles with incomparable reverence, and shouted excitedly: " Your Majesty Wansheng!"
"Your Majesty's Wansheng!... Your Majesty's Wansheng!!... Your Majesty's Wansheng!!!..." The various shouts at the beginning quickly converged into one voice, echoing at the bridgehead, and quickly spreading to the front and rear of the team , The soldiers who learned the news seemed to be on a stimulant, forgetting the exhaustion of the long journey, and speeding up the pace of progress...
Looking at this exciting scene, Epithenes couldn't help but sigh: "We were here 30 years ago, and like these little guys, we stepped on this pontoon with hope and entered the fertile Mesopota ahead. The Plains of Mia…”
"Don't forget, Menon led us as the vanguard of the entire army at that time, but it was the first to enter the Mesopotamian plain!" Amintas, who was half lying on the carriage, took the conversation and said proudly. .
He was paralyzed in his lower limbs and could not walk. Originally, his servants used a wooden sedan to carry him to march, but his speed was slow and he could not keep up with the large army. Therefore, Davos allowed him to ride a small open-top carriage. Since the army landed in Egypt, he had been in poor physical condition due to the unacceptable soil and water, but when the army resumed the route of the little Cyrus' march to Babylon, his spirit became better.
"Amintas, you are too embarrassed to say this!" Agarcia, who once belonged to another mercenary team, said disdainfully: "Menon was rushing to be a pioneer, saying that he wanted to explore the way for the army, but Everyone understood 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 to forbid plundering on the Mesopotamian plain. , were you disappointed at the time?"
"What's so disappointing about me—" Amyntas was about to retort, when he suddenly thought of something, he deliberately said loudly: "Heronimus, did you just say 'we'! Don't you forget that back then His Majesty is also one of 'us'!" He also pointed to Davos standing in front of him.
Hearing this, Agarcia, who has always been unremarkable among the veterans, was a little panicked at this time, and eagerly defended: "Don't talk nonsense, I... I-"
"Actually, the reason why we joined the mercenary army and served the little Cyrus was to survive." Hieronymus, who used to be the leader of another mercenary army, spoke in time to resolve Agarcia's embarrassment. "Actually, even Cyrus the Younger allowed us to plunder Asia Minor many times in order to solve the tension of military expenditures. The reason why we were not allowed to plunder Mesopotamia may be that he thought that after he took the throne, Mesopotamia was not allowed to be plundered. Potamia will be the core area under his rule, so there cannot be any resentment against him."
Alexis sighed: "Asia Minor is a part of the Persian land, but neither Cyrus nor Artaxerxes cherished that vast land, but regarded the people there as aliens and asked for anything, Asia Minor. How can people not rebel! How can the people of the rest of Persia be truly loyal to Persia!"
"We should thank the Persians for doing this. It is precisely because they do not regard other races as their own that we have the opportunity to invade this vast country and finally defeat this powerful enemy!" Matonis pointed to the number one who was crossing the river. The soldier of the first legion said proudly: "These little guys are luckier than us. We were only tools in the hands of the Persians, and we died in this strange land in this unfamiliar land for the Persian royal family's struggle for power and profit. Our marching route back then is fighting for themselves and the kingdom, and they will create an unprecedented victory!"
"That's great, Matonis." Amyntas leaned back against the couch of the carriage, and said with a little sarcasm: "Although you were not in the team I commanded back then, I heard about it at that time. You, a strong and brave recruit with a rough temper and a headache for the officers... No one would have thought that you would become an officer commanding tens of thousands of soldiers in the past few decades, and your speech was so orderly..."
"Lord Amintas, I also heard about you back then." Matonis retorted unceremoniously: "Do you know why I didn't want to go to the centurion you commanded back then? Because everyone called you under Menon. A mad dog, although he often leads his team to rush to the front, but he has no tactics to speak of, and every time the casualties are not small... But I am afraid that the mercenaries who followed you and died here will never think that you will be in a few decades. To become an important minister of a powerful kingdom, a famous general praised by the people."
Matonis's harsh words touched the heartstrings of Amintas, he did not refute, but was silent for a moment with a painful expression, and then said in a deep voice: "This time we come to Persia, not only to avenge the king of Persia, to wash away the past. Shame, and more importantly, to find the horrible bones of our comrades back then and bring them home..."
As soon as these words came out, everyone fell into silence, and the atmosphere became a little dignified.
Henipolis, who has been listening to the records and collecting materials for the biography to be written in the future, couldn't help but asked in a low voice, "My lords, you have said so much just now, can you... simply talk about your majesty at that time? He should have been a young recruit at the time, right?"
Alexis, Philisius, Thormid and the others seemed to have not heard Henepolis speak, and began to talk to each other as if no one else was there.
Even Amyntas and Epithenes, who usually speak freely, are afraid of being entangled by the annoying Henepolis, so they simply close their eyes and pretend to sleep.
Matonis, who was in the same team as Davos and was very familiar with him back then, even pulled Geogris and left the crowd on the grounds of "urging the soldiers to speed up their march".
It's not because of the age that they can't remember King Davos's performance here, but they clearly remember: when the mercenaries came to this Euphrates River, the young Davos was caught by this unusually wide river. I was shocked. When I stepped on the pontoon, my legs became weak. Almost the whole process was supported by Matonis to the opposite bank...
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 revisited the old places, looking back on the past, and feeling even more in their hearts: How lucky they are compared to those who died in battle here! Not only did he escape Shengtian under the siege and interception of the Persian army, but he could also fight back in his lifetime, trample the once invincible enemy under his feet, and wash away the shame! All of this is because of the person standing in front of him, it is under his leadership that the impossible becomes possible, creating an unprecedented miracle!
At this moment, they were full of gratitude and admiration for Davos.
I don't know how long it took, Davos turned around and said in high spirits, "Brothers, it's time for us to cross the river!"
Everyone responded loudly in unison: "Yes, Your Majesty!"
… … … … … … … … … …
Davos crossed the Euphrates River and found that the situation was just as the detective said: the original golden fields were burned to black, and there were ruined villages everywhere, the largest of which was the city of Tabosacus. , not only the houses in the city were burnt down, but also the city walls were destroyed, which made the legionnaires who wanted to save the hard work of building the camp, infuriated, and they all scolded the Persians for their cowardice.
Although the surrounding environment has become a bit harsh, Davos still issued an order: the entire army will build a camp near the city of Taposacus.