Read Novel Full Chapter 1300: Visitor from Persia
Chapter 1300: Visitor from Persia
At the same time, the Tyrians learned that King Davos was personally leading an army of over 100,000 men. Along with the Greek expeditionary army of 60,000 to 70,000 troops in Asia Minor, this formidable coalition boasted over 200,000 soldiers. They had crushed the Persians time and again in a sweeping, unstoppable advance. The Persian army might have held the advantage in numbers, but their combat strength seemed woefully inadequate against the disciplined, imposing might of the Daionian Army. This was the stark realization of the Tyrian generals who had fought alongside the Persians on numerous occasions.
More importantly, during the naval battle off Cyprus, many Tyrians had been taken captive by Daionia and were still being held on the island.
Tyre's surrender greatly delighted Davos. He immediately dispatched messengers, ordering the three legions that had previously landed on Cyprus to consult with Daionia's 1st and 2nd Fleets. They were to draft a military plan as quickly as possible to land in the Syrian gulf and capture the City of Myriandrus.
Meanwhile, Tyre's surrender sent a massive shockwave through the other Phoenician City-States. They were neither as powerful as Tyre nor did they possess island cities to rely on for defense, much less the courage to stand against Daionia. Consequently, city-states like Sidon and Adulas swiftly capitulated, allowing the Daionian Army to smoothly conquer the Phoenician Region.
Davos did not lead his army north immediately. He waited until the forces stationed on Cyprus had successfully landed in the Syrian gulf before issuing the order to march. However, their route no longer hugged the coast. The Libanus Mountains formed a barrier stretching from north to south along the northern Near East coastline; the further north they pushed, the more treacherous the terrain became—especially for an army as massive as Daionia's.
Davos also opted against bypassing the Libanus Mountains by traveling along the desert fringes to the east. For one, the distance was much greater. For another, the blistering climate and sparsely populated lands along that route made securing food and water exceedingly difficult. There were no major towns to rely on, save for Damascus at the southern end, close to the Phoenician Region.
While Damascus might become a fiercely contested strategic stronghold in the Near East in later history, Davos truly did not consider it a priority at this time. Though it was a sizable town, it lacked a Persian garrison and had shown no hostility toward the Daionian Army. Instead, it had even sent envoys to Davos to declare its neutrality.
Therefore, Davos wasted no time trying to conquer Damascus. He simply tasked the Mountain Scout Corps with keeping a close eye on the town while he led the main army out of the Phoenician Region, marching east into the Libanus Mountains.
In northern Syria, the melting snows of the Amanus Mountains merged into a single waterway: the Orontes River. It flowed from north to south, passing through the Libanus Mountains before emptying into the northern part of the Phoenician Region. Through the heart of the mountain ranges, the river carved out a relatively broad yet elongated stretch of flatland known as the Amik Plain. This was the northern marching route chosen for the Daionian Army.
Concerned that the Persians might amass heavy forces to intercept them in the north, Davos had specifically ordered the Cyprus-based army to land in Syria first to secure a smooth northern advance for the main forces.
In truth, Davos was overly worried. Not long ago, the King of Persia had reassigned a portion of the Syrian Region garrison to Pharnabazus in Asia Minor. This left the area severely depleted of troops, rendering it completely incapable of intercepting Daionia's main forces or even mounting an adequate defense of its own territory.
The Cyprus army easily landed on the Syrian coast and swiftly captured the City of Myriandrus. From there, they advanced rapidly to the east and laid siege to Sochi, a town situated at the northern entrance of the Amik Plain.
By the time the Daionian main forces arrived near Sochi, the town had already fallen.
After leading the grand army through Sochi and into the Syrian Region, Davos halted their advance and ordered the troops to set up camp and rest.
The camp they were constructing stretched from the foot of the Amanus Mountains in the north to the base of the Libanus Mountains in the south. Bordered closely by the Orontes River on the east and backed by the gulf on the west, it occupied an excellent defensive position.
Davos also dispatched numerous cavalry scouts across the Orontes River to probe eastward for any signs of the Persian army.
At the same time, he sent a detachment of troops to attack the coastal pass to the northwest—the Syrian Gates. Once the pass was captured, they would continue their westward offensive, systematically assaulting towns like Issus, Castabulum, and Philotas. This would open up the coastal corridor from Asia Minor, allowing them to rendezvous with the Greek expeditionary army as soon as possible. Only when the two armies joined forces would they push east together. This was Davos's next operational step.
What Davos didn't know, however, was that the previously swift-moving Greek expeditionary army had run into trouble.
...
After the Greek expeditionary army suffered a setback in their siege of Halicarnassus, Leotychides decided not to waste any more time or squander his troops. He left a portion of his men behind to encircle the city while the main army continued its eastern march.
But after passing through Caria and entering Lycia, the Greek expeditionary army could no longer advance along the coast. Both Lycia and the neighboring region of Pisidia were mountainous territories with treacherous, nearly impassable roads. The grand army had no choice but to detour north, skirting around Lycia and Pisidia, before crossing the mountain passes of the Taurus Mountains in Cappadocia to enter the fertile region of Cilicia. Most of the route they had to traverse was a grand highway built by the Persian royal court to govern the empire, leading straight to western Asia Minor. While the road itself was relatively easy to march on, it forced the army deep into the inland territories of Asia Minor.
During this time, the Persian military commander of Asia Minor, Pharnabazus, managed to rally a portion of his routed troops and received reinforcements sent by the royal court. When Pharnabazus's battle report reached Artaxerxes, the King of Persia believed his claim that the sudden betrayal of their Persian mercenaries had caused the defeat. Rather than stripping Pharnabazus of his command, the king dispatched reinforcements with a strict mandate: he must do everything in his power to stall the Greek expeditionary army within Asia Minor. Though Pharnabazus had recovered some of his strength, ironically, he dared not face the Greek expeditionary army in a pitched battle again. Instead, he decided to implement the very strategy proposed by the man he had murdered, Jason: scorched earth. He ordered small detachments to exploit the terrain, launching relentless guerrilla attacks on the Greek supply lines.
Having already tasted the formidable combat prowess of the Greek expeditionary army, the satraps of Asia Minor offered no fierce opposition this time, allowing the strategy to be set into motion.
Because the Greek expeditionary army had failed to conquer Halicarnassus—a major stronghold with a massive port—their supply ships were largely forced to offload at the port of Miletus. This drastically stretched their supply lines. Pharnabazus's defensive tactics posed a severe threat to these extended routes. Having ventured inland, the Greek forces could not forage effectively on-site and were compelled to allocate heavy escorts to protect their logistics, drastically slowing their eastward advance.
...
In September, the reinforcement troops dispatched by Davos captured Issus, seized Castabulum, and even pushed westward as far as Maras. Only the Aleian Plain separated them from the wealthy region of Cilicia.
However, the Greek expeditionary army had not even cleared Pisidia to reach Cappadocia. The two armies were still worlds apart.
Meanwhile, the cavalry scouts sent eastward continually brought back reports: they had spotted an enormous Persian military camp near the City of Thapsacus—a city situated along the Euphrates river, over two hundred li from the Orontes River. Moreover, fresh Persian troops were steadily pouring in from the east...
The great Persian army was finally coming! Davos and his generals immediately braced themselves. Not only did they order their soldiers to fortify the camp and bolster defenses, but Davos also dispatched messengers sprinting toward the Aleian Plain, ordering the advance forces preparing to rendezvous with the Greek expeditionary army to return at once.
Before long, numbers of Persian cavalry appeared on the eastern banks of the Orontes River, attempting to cross and spy on the Daionian camp.
The Daionian cavalry drove them back, sparking multiple small-scale skirmishes. However, with one main army lingering in Syria and the other stationed near Thapsacus, both sides held their ground, locked in a tense standoff for over a month.
At dusk one evening, a guest was welcomed into Davos's command tent.
"Izam, you've finally returned! It's been so long since I last heard from you, I thought you'd grown homesick and decided never to come back to Daionia! Hahaha..." Though Davos was joking, his heart swelled with genuine excitement. He strode forward and pulled Izam into a firm embrace.
"Your Majesty, truthfully, when I returned to Ducetia and saw my brothers speaking that familiar tongue, wearing those familiar clothes, eating that familiar food... I kept feeling this inexplicable sense of dread," Izam said, his face awash with relief. "I was terrified that the decades I've spent in Daionia were nothing but a dream! Only now, seeing you in person, can I finally put my heart at ease."
He then added with a twinge of guilt, "I've realized that I can no longer part with the prosperous life in Daionia. I am completely unaccustomed to the poverty of Ducetia..."
"When given the choice, any man prefers comfort over willing suffering," Davos comforted him. "But the destitution in Ducetia is largely the result of the Persians' cruel exploitation. As long as we defeat Persia, I believe the dire circumstances of the Ducetians will gradually improve! Oh, by the way, you must not have eaten after rushing all the way back here, have you?"
"Your Majesty, I went to see Lord Marigi before coming to you, so I've already had a bite to eat at his quarters. If Lord Marigi hadn't found a Persian merchant caravan to provide cover for my movements this time, I never would have made it to Ducetia so smoothly!"
Davos glanced at the calmly composed Marigi standing beside Izam and smiled. "You probably don't know this, but Marigi used to be Prince Cyrus's royal merchant. He wields considerable influence among the merchants of western Persia. Over a decade ago, right after we defeated Carthage, he anticipated that Persia would become our kingdom's greatest rival. With the help of the Intelligence Department, he quietly backed a few trustworthy friends operating within Persian borders. These friends of the kingdom have even secretly sold restricted weapons and grain to Ducetia on several occasions..."