Pivot of the Sky

Chapter 150: Neither life nor death

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Medanzuo controlled the flying shuttle to leave Amon's territory, which was much faster than traveling long distances on horseback. Amon told him to be careful on the road and try to avoid densely populated city-states when flying in the sky. A few days later, the personal guard sent to the Temple of Isis should have returned long ago, but there was no one there, and Amon was a little puzzled.

The highest authority in the Temple of Isis is the saint, and the high priest George is in charge of all the books and documents. Only these two people can deny his request. Is the book really that important? Maria or George disagree Amon to borrow? In public and private, the possibility of this is very small.

Amon was about to send someone to the Temple of Isis to urge him again, but unexpectedly, the envoy from the Temple of Isis arrived at this time. To Amon's surprise, it was the high priest George who delivered the tome to his door. What surprised him even more was that George also brought a message and a person.

The news was about the Kingdom of Baron and the Kingdom of Hatti. There was a war between the two countries not long ago, but the Kingdom of Hatti suddenly withdrew its troops because of the death of King Lucier when it had a huge advantage.

At the same time when Gilgamesh invaded the Eju Empire, the elite Marduk army of the Baron Kingdom and the Kish army, another city-state army, had assembled at the ferry in the middle reaches of the Eudi River. When the Uruk army advanced to the territory of Eju and occupied a large area of the cape city-state, the Marduk army and the Kish army also took advantage of the situation to cross the Yudi River and approach the Duk Plain.

The army of the Kingdom of Baron is stationed in the northeast corner of the Syrian Desert and the southeast corner of the inland lake, and is also waiting for news from the Uruk Legion. If Gilgamesh's strategic intentions were realized, then the Baron army would have no worries. The entire Syrian Desert would be within the control of the Baron Kingdom. If they took advantage of the situation and crossed the inland lake, they would be able to occupy the entire Duk Plain.

Hatti had just reached a peace agreement with the Eju Empire, so he didn't want to fight any more, but with a powerful enemy stalking him, he had to regroup his army and advance to the southwest corner of the inland lake to stand ready.

Hatti's army has not completely withdrawn, and it is convenient to regroup at this time. King Lucier did not go back to the front line, but returned directly to the capital. Before leaving, he wanted to reappoint Ge Lie as the commander-in-chief of the battlefield. Indeed, no one was more suitable than him. But Ge Lie rejected the appointment and recommended Prince Asher to the king.

Prince Asher is Lucille's favorite youngest son. This time he went with the king himself. When Lucille was kidnapped by Amon, Gelie was not in the front camp. He used to act as the general commander of the battlefield, which was quite satisfactory. This prince has experienced the last battle. He followed Zai Gelie and humbly asked for advice. He also got along very well with the generals on the front line. It is very suitable for him to be the commander-in-chief of the battlefield, regardless of his identity, experience, and connections. A rare opportunity to exercise.

Lucille was already a bit afraid of Ge Lie's influence in the country, and this suggestion fit his heart, so he followed suit and appointed Ya as the commander-in-chief of the battlefield. Prince Asher himself was a bit uncertain, and begged Gelie to be the chief priest of the whole army. This is a new position that did not exist before. In fact, it is to assist the prince in commanding the battle on the front line. Gelie nodded in agreement.

Prince Asher is called the commander-in-chief, but he obeys Ge Lie's words. Ge Lie advises him to stand still. Prince Asher keeps watching and is not eager to fight.

The relationship between Eju and Hatti is an alliance, and Ge Lie sends people to the cape city-state every day to obtain the latest battle reports. The soldiers don't need to fight, but there are a group of magicians in the army who are exhausted, driving the shuttle back and forth alternately, without a break all day. And the Baron army over there is also waiting for news from the Uruk Corps. Once the southern front is stabilized, they can take advantage of the situation to march.

Even a great magician, if he maintains enough physical strength so as not to be overly exhausted, under normal circumstances, it would take more than two days to drive a flying shuttle from Hattie's camp to the cape city-state. At the same speed, it would take more than three days to cross the desert from Barun's camp to the rear of the Uruk Corps. That is to say, for a round trip by shuttle, it takes seven days for Barun's army and five days for Hattie's army.

In fact, Barron's army did not use the flying shuttle to send messages to Ge Lie so intensively and uninterruptedly. Only a magician who has mastered high-level space magic and air element magic can control the flying shuttle, at least a mana with deep mana The sixth-level magician, how many magicians will be sent to communicate without interruption every day. No one knows how long the current confrontation will last, and this is also a huge consumption of manpower.

Enkidu, the number one warrior in the mainland, fell, and Gilgamesh retreated sadly. Ge Lie got the news at the first time, four days ahead of Barron's army. When he got the news, Ge Lie suggested that the Prince of Assyria march forward immediately and launch an assault before the Baron army could react.

The battle plan was also drawn up by Goret. Prince Asher commanded the three legions of Enlil, Anu, and Nannar. Goret's marching route was not to go straight to Baron's camp, but from the southern part of Syria. The desert pierced directly, and the Nannar Army attacked north.

Of course, this legion could not defeat the Baron army. During the march, Enlil's army turned around and outflanked it, and responded to the retreating Nannar army to block the counterattack of Baron's army. As for the most elite Anu Corps formed by Ge Lie himself, he ignored the disadvantages of the encounter in the rear, broke through the defense line all the way into the territory of Baron, and occupied the ferry on the west bank of the Youdi River.

This tactic of dividing troops to block the enemy and interspersed with raiding the enemy's rear caused the two legions of the Baron Kingdom to be in chaos. The area around the Youdi River Ferry was lost, and their retreat was cut off. Baron's army had won several victories at the beginning, and was about to push Nannar's and Enlil's legions back into the desert. Logistics supplies.

Under Goret's suggestion, Prince Asher divided the Anu Army into two parts. A small part guarded the west bank of the Eudi River to prevent reinforcements from crossing the river in the direction of Baron. Lun army. Barron's army was immediately defeated, and was almost pushed flat into the inland lake. After a series of hard battles, they barely managed to gain a firm foothold by the lake.

The sudden change of situation on the front line also shocked the Kingdom of Baron, and urgently mobilized the Ea Army to come for reinforcements. In terms of national strength, Balun is stronger than Hatti. It has a wider territory, a larger population, fertile land, rich products, and a rich life, but national strength is not entirely equal to military combat effectiveness. Under the command of Prince Asher and Goret, Hatti had an absolute advantage in the battle around the inland lake.

There are two biggest problems for Baron in wanting to reinforce the front line. The AA Legion may not be able to reach the front line in time, and even if they can, they will have to cross the river to attack and seize the position on the west bank of the Youdi River. The ferry on the other side has been lost, and the cost of crossing the river is huge, and it takes a long time. The army waiting for help will most likely not be able to hold on.

Under such circumstances, the Kingdom of Baron ordered reinforcements to speed up the march, and at the same time sent envoys to the Hatt camp to negotiate peace by flying shuttles. The so-called peace is to admit defeat. They are willing to pay a ransom, ask the Hatti army to release the siege, and then return the two corps to the east bank of the Eudi River, and the two countries will cease their troops, so that the losses of both sides can be minimized.

This is an errand that loses power and humiliates the country, but the envoy must have a sufficiently important status, and ordinary ministers are not qualified to talk about it. All the princes and nobles pushed back and forth, and finally the job fell on Prince Feng Niu, who had always been idle and low-key. On the surface, Prince Feng Niu was not interested in the struggle for the throne, but fortunately, he traveled among the people and made friends with various talents, which made King Hammurabi II's other nephews fearful. This time they recommended it collectively so that Feng Niu could take the blame.

Originally, the king wanted to send Princess Xiaoqian as an envoy, but the princess played tricks and pretended to be sick to hide from her health. Several nephews of the king jointly recommended Feng Niu. State affairs are the most important thing, even though he knew it was not a good thing, Prince Feng Niu still took the order to go.

Feng Niu brought only two entourages, and took the shuttle controlled by the great magician Jie Kai to the Hardi camp for negotiations. Prince Asher asks Ge Lie what to talk about? Ge Lie's suggestion: The trick to deal with Prince Feng Niu is to "delay", neither rush to negotiate a result nor refuse the negotiation request; deal with Barron's army is "sleepy", neither initiate siege and annihilation, nor let the other party have the slightest respite At the same time, they mobilized heavy troops to strengthen the defense on the west bank of the Youdi River.

The longer the delay, the worse the situation, and the more stable Youdihe's defense, the better the situation for Hatti, and the higher the price that can be negotiated.

That's what Prince Asher did. He negotiated unhurriedly and asked for higher and higher prices. Prince Feng Niu endured the humiliation and agreed to it. It was the first time that the young Prince Asher formally commanded the army and achieved such a brilliant victory, his mentality couldn't help but swell, and finally he made a request.

He asked the Kingdom of Baron to recognize that the large area of land on the west bank of the Eudi River that had been captured by the Hatt army was formally ceded to Hatt, which was the same as Gilgamesh's request to the Eju Empire. How dare Prince Feng Niu agree, no matter how much money and supplies the Hatti Kingdom asks for, they can bear it, but such a request exceeds the low line. Even if the Kingdom of Baron could agree, Prince Fonniu himself would bear the infamy of history.

The usually meek Prince Feng Niu finally got angry, decided not to talk, and said to Prince Asher: "If Your Highness is stubborn, then launch a decisive battle, even if you can wipe out the two legions of Baron and occupy the Eudi River. The land on the west bank will not suffer a small loss. And the Kingdom of Baron will launch a counterattack with the power of the whole country, and no one is worth the loss!"

After saying these words, Prince Feng Niu was ready to leave. Even the various conditions that had been agreed before were voided, and the negotiation officially broke down. Ge Lie was commanding the army on the front line, and Prince Liu Asher was negotiating in the camp. When he heard the news, he immediately rushed back to remind His Highness that his request was indeed too much. A long hostile war of attrition.

Prince Asher also regretted it at this time, and hurriedly retained Prince Feng Niu, withdrawing the previous excessive demands and renegotiating. At this time, the Ea Corps that came to reinforce Baron had reached the east bank of the Eudi River and did not cross the river by force. They were waiting for the outcome of the prince's negotiations. Just at this time, a shocking news came from Hatti King Capital, forcing Prince Asher to quickly end the negotiation and withdraw his troops!

King Lucier died, and died of a sudden illness. According to the official statement, Lucier was frightened when he was hijacked by Amon, and his mental state was not very good all the time. On the way back to the capital, he caught a cold again. Although he was carefully treated by the priests, he never improved.

After returning to the royal capital, the king felt a little relieved and relaxed, and had a banquet in the palace for his officials, but he drank too much alcohol and became ill, and died in the middle of the night. The king's cause of death was suspicious, but all court records were flawless, and no one dared to say anything more. A country cannot be without a king for a day, and the king passed on the eldest son Ennis before his death. While Prince Asher led the army to fight, his eldest brother succeeded to the throne with the support of the royal court officials.

After King Aennis succeeded to the throne, he was about to send a funeral to his father, so he sent an urgent message to the frontline. On the one hand, he notified the news of the king's death and the news of the new king's succession. He ordered Gelie to succeed him as commander-in-chief of the battlefield.

Asher and Ennis were originally contenders for the throne, and they each had power in the country. People have long understood that the new king after Lucier must be one of the two. Letting Asher lead the army this time, with Ge Lie as his assistant, Lucille's intention is already obvious that he wants to be located in Asher. Making contributions is only a foreshadowing, and at the same time, it can also establish Kia's prestige in the army.

But no one thought that Lucille would die so suddenly, the eldest son Ennis took advantage of the situation to ascend the throne, and on the surface, the succession of the new king was a fait accompli. In his capacity as king, he ordered Prince Asher to step down from the position of commander in chief on the battlefield and immediately return to the capital to attend Lucier's funeral. If Asher really surrendered his military power and went back like this, wouldn't it be like sending him to his death

After receiving the news, Asher was shocked and found Gelie to have a long talk all night. The content of the conversation between the two is unknown to outsiders, but Prince Asher came out of Gelie's tent and immediately ordered the messenger from the king's capital to be detained. He got up and was placed under house arrest, and strictly ordered that the news not be leaked, so as not to shake the morale of the army during the war.

Prince Asher claimed that he could not believe that his father was dead, and sent an envoy back to the capital to "check it out". He suspected that the envoy was a spy from the Kingdom of Baron, and deliberately pretended to be an envoy from the capital to disturb the hearts of the Hattite army.

This excuse was very reluctant. The news of Lucille's death was absolutely true. Asher was just delaying the time. He wanted to end the war with the Kingdom of Baron before the envoys he sent returned from the capital, and he was eager to complete the negotiations. Prince Feng Niu seemed to have heard some rumors that the situation on the negotiating table was reversed, but Prince Asher was extremely anxious, wishing to send Barron a sum of money, and quickly send Barron's army away.

Prince Feng Niu had originally accepted this drudgery with the reputation of losing power and humiliating the country, but unexpectedly, he picked a big deal. He also accepted it as soon as he saw it, without asking any excessive conditions, and still paid a symbolic ransom, and reached an agreement between the two countries to withdraw their troops from each other.

Of course, Prince Asher hoped that the sooner the better, so Prince Feng Niu did a very beautiful thing. With only two entourages, he passed through the siege of the Hattite army, entered the camp of Baron's army, brought out the two heavily injured and exhausted legions, and brought them back to the safe area on the east bank of the Eude River. Then Hatti's army retreated, and Prince Feng Niu led the reinforcements of the Ea Army to cross the Yudi River again, regaining the lost land on the west bank that had been dominated by war, without bloodshed from the beginning to the end.

This caused a great sensation in the Kingdom of Barron. According to word of mouth among the people, Prince Feng Niu also became a legendary hero. He entered the enemy camp alone and fulfilled his mission. After the fall of Enkidu and the retreat of Gilgamesh, in the hearts of the people of the Kingdom of Baron, a new hero was really needed to restore the deep sense of loss. No one can compare.

His status as a prince, one of the legitimate heirs to the throne, was unmatched by Goret of Hatti or Amon of Ecu.

Not to mention how Prince Fonniu became the hero of the entire Baron Kingdom, Prince Asher of Hatti did not hand over his military power, but he returned to the capital to attend the funeral according to the king's order, but he did not go back by himself, but led the army. An elite charioteer in Hatti's army. The Enlil Legion was originally stationed in the royal capital, and it was justifiable to follow the prince back to the station, and the generals under Prince Feng Niu also brought the elite with them in the name of attending the king's funeral, and galloped all the way to the royal capital of Hattusha .

When George got the news from Memphis, Prince Asher had just set off. It seemed that civil strife in the Hatti Kingdom was inevitable. I heard that Ge Lie also returned to the capital with the prince, so I don't know what effect it would have.

Amon was deeply moved when he heard the news. He once captured the former King of Hatti, Lucier, and kept him by his side for more than half a month. Although the king wasn't considered strong, his body wasn't that weak, and with the help of a great magician accompanying him at any time, he shouldn't have died so quickly.

He is also feeling sorry for Ge Lie. Ge Lie led the main force of the Hatti army, and he commanded the two national wars very well. He should have won a big victory. In the end, both times ended in an unbeatable and undefeated end, which was a hindrance All are King Lucier. The king is dead, and his death is the last and most serious disaster for the country. It is really not a good thing from life to death.

Feeling emotional, he smiled wryly and asked the person beside George: "General John, since your injury is healed, why didn't you go to the An-La Legion to take up the post, but instead came to me with the high priest?"

The "guest" brought by George is John, the former commander of the An-La Legion. Not long ago, Amon recommended him to be the head of the legion, but Pharaoh did not veto it, and only said that he would be appointed after John recovered from his injury. After counting the days, it is time for John to take office, so why would he have the time to visit Amon's territory

When John heard the question, he slapped the table heavily and said, "General, don't mention it! I was fired as soon as I took office, and I was demoted one level!"

Amon asked in surprise: "What's going on? Could it be that your violent temper flared up again, what happened this time?"

George shook his head aside and said, "The cause and effect of this incident are very complicated, and General John's temper cannot be blamed. Let me explain slowly."

The pharaoh did not refute the face of Amon and the military. When John healed his wounds and returned to the Memphis military office to report, the pharaoh ordered him to be appointed as the commander of the An-Ra legion, and he rushed to the Cape city-state to take up the post today. John, being a straight man, went right away.

Just as John was on his way to the cape city-state, the Pharaoh and the Eju military headquarters far away in the capital received several reports of John's impeachment. It's a long story to say, as early as when Amon was training on the march, he had cleaned up a few priests who were not working hard. At that time, it was John who dragged them out of the army and beat them half to death with his own hands.

One of the priests was seriously injured. I don't know if he pretended it himself or John attacked too hard in his rage. Anyway, this person took the opportunity to leave the army and returned to the rear to recuperate before going into battle. At that time, Amon did not have absolute authority, and the priests were under the jurisdiction of George, and George had no choice but to nod, because this priest was the distant nephew of Ecu Prime Minister Joseph.

This priest may be greedy for life and fear of death and does not want to go to the front line, or he may not be willing to be humiliated like this. But later, Amon made great achievements on the battlefield, and the accompanying priests of the An-La Legion were all rewarded with lofty glory. Of course, the priest did not deserve all the credit. He would always be ridiculed for being despondent all day long, so he especially hated Amon and John.

Amon has made outstanding achievements, and it would be unwise to find fault with him now, so this person focused on John. There are quite a few reasons to arrest John. Some small things can’t move him, but one accusation is very serious. John once publicly reprimanded Pharaoh’s order as farting.

That was after the battle with Hatti's army and just returned to the territory of Eju, the news of the Uruk Corps' surprise attack had not yet come, and the Pharaoh had ordered Amon to be dismissed from the position of the Corps Commander. John happened to meet the messenger on the way. He was very angry when he heard the news, and shouted angrily: "Fart! Amon is a warrior. Is there a more suitable position than the commander of the Imperial Legion? Even if he is appointed as another He can also serve as the commander of the legion as well!"

At that time, John was holding the hilt of his sword, and surrounded by soldiers, he was full of murderous looks, and the faces of those who were frightened turned pale. Just at this time, the great magician Julian came with the second order from Pharaoh, and appointed Amon as the commander in chief of the battlefield, so John didn't continue to lose his temper.

This matter can be big or small, if no one pursues it, it will be over like this, just a general swearing. But if it is really necessary to collect evidence and investigate, get conclusive evidence to make a big fuss, and send a written impeachment report written in divine script to the Eju military department and Pharaoh, the nature of the problem will be serious.

The pharaoh claimed to be the spokesperson of Horus, symbolizing the will of the gods, guarding and controlling the Eju, and his official orders were equivalent to the effectiveness of the oracle. Who dares to say that the oracle is a fart? This is disrespect, it is blasphemy, it is an insult to the dignity of the empire, and it must be severely punished!

A priest might not be able to stir up such a storm, but he went to the imperial prime minister, Joseph, and cried out that the prime minister had secretly intervened, so he got the signed testimony of the envoy at that time, as well as the testimonies of other people present, and then He wrote a letter of impeachment.

The prime minister of the empire had other considerations for intervening in this matter. He also wanted to use this matter to attack the rising military power after the war, especially to weaken the influence of the newly rising Amon. Although Amon surrendered his military power, his prestige in the military still remained, and John was his most important direct descendant. These were more or less following Pharaoh's hints.

Although there is such impeachment and the evidence is solid, it is not easy for meritorious ministers to deal with it casually. The Eju military department is planning to send someone to the cape city-state to confront John face-to-face, asking him if there is such a thing, and if so, what is the reason? This is tantamount to giving John a chance to explain. But at this time another incident happened. The priest who wrote to impeach John was killed, but the murderer was not caught.