Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1284: In Memphis

Amid the cheers of the Egyptian populace, Davos boarded his carriage and rode into the governor's mansion in Naucratis.

The very next day, Davos led the Second and First Legions northward. On the advice of Asistes and Amenhotep, he did not board a Warship. Instead, he traveled by land in a magnificent carriage. Guided by a group of Egyptian priests under Amenhotep, the massive procession advanced grandly along the southern bank of a Nile tributary.

Across the rest of the Mediterranean Sea, it was currently planting season, but in Egypt, the sowing had long since finished. When the flooding Nile receded last August and September, farmers had dug massive temporary reservoirs to prevent the water from draining away too quickly. Those pools were now nearly dry, replaced by green wheat seedlings blanketing both banks of the river. Along with the lush green papyrus growing beside the Nile and its tributaries, the entire Nile Delta looked like a vibrant emerald ocean. Dotted occasionally amidst this refreshing sea of green were small patches of yellow—mud-brick villages built by the Egyptian people.

Yet just beyond this colossal oasis lay the vast, boundless desert, bone-dry and choked with dust.

Sitting in his carriage as it traveled the line between these worlds of yellow and green, Davos felt a deep sense of wonder.

While he marched his army toward Memphis, his speech at the Port of Naucratis had sprouted wings. Spread by those with a vested interest, it quickly echoed up and down both banks of the Nile. The Egyptians gleaned three main points from his words: first, Davos intended to become the new Pharaoh of Egypt; second, the massive Daionian Army stationed there had not come to wage further war on Egyptian soil, but rather to attack Persia and protect Egypt's peace; and third, Daionia would not seize their land—Egypt would still be governed by Egyptians.

The Egyptians knew Daionia had always kept its word. Even while fighting a war on the Greek Mainland, Daionia had still dispatched a sizable army to help Egypt fend off the Persians. Moreover, since this was a public declaration made by the King of Daonia directly to the Egyptian people, the chances of a broken promise were slim.

After quelling the Egyptian rebellion, the Daionian Army had remained within its borders. For the past month, rumors that "Daionia intends to annex Egypt" had circulated wildly. Now that the King of Daonia had personally admitted his intent to become the Pharaoh—and had already secured the backing of the priests from the Temple of Amun—many Egyptian officials and local power brokers felt a complex mix of emotions. At the same time, they breathed a sigh of relief. One after another, they either rushed over in person or dispatched envoys to pay their respects to the new Pharaoh, hoping to leave a favorable impression.

For ordinary Egyptian citizens, land, faith, and peace were what they craved most. Since Davos had made his promises publicly, the vast majority of the populace felt no anger at the prospect of a foreigner becoming their Pharaoh. Instead, they displayed a certain degree of enthusiasm. They were quite eager to see what the king of the Daionian Army—the man who could rival the ferocious Persians—actually looked like.

At Amenhotep's suggestion, Davos had already changed his attire back in the City of Naucratis. He formally donned the Red and White Crown that symbolized dominion over both Upper and Lower Egypt, along with the False Beard that represented the identity of the Pharaoh. Clad in a suit of golden, one-piece armor, he sat in his opulent carriage, maintaining a solemn and stern expression throughout the journey.

The Egyptian people, who had always revered deities and feared absolute power, caught sight of the new Pharaoh shining with golden light high upon his magnificent carriage from afar. Struck with awe, they shouted, "Long live the Pharaoh!" The towns they passed through opened their gates in welcome, their officials scrambling to demonstrate their loyalty.

Davos offered reassurances along the way. The procession's pace was leisurely, even taking the time for a brief tour of the pyramids of Giza. Finally, more than ten days later, they arrived at Memphis.

Memphis was situated south of the Nile Delta and north of Upper Egypt, sitting perfectly on the border between the two regions, which earned it the title of the "Balance of the Two Lands." Egypt's early capital had been Thebes, but from the Middle Kingdom to the present day, most Pharaohs chose Memphis as their capital, as it was much better suited for ruling over both Upper and Lower Egypt.

Upon entering the City of Memphis, Davos immediately understood why Chalcides had been able to so easily capture the rebel-occupied capital of Egypt. Unlike other Mediterranean city-states, Memphis was not entirely enclosed by massive defensive walls. Instead, walls had only been built around three specific locations: the Temple of Memphis, the Temple of Osiris, and the area encompassing the Royal Palace and the noble district. Attempting to fend off a Daionian siege with such confined defensive zones and a severe lack of troops was practically impossible, let alone when the city itself was fraught with internal instability.

Memphis's handicraft and metalworking industries were renowned throughout Egypt, with half of the city's urban area taken up by artisanal workshops and their residential quarters. As a result, Ptah and Osiris—the patron gods of these two trades—were highly revered here. The populace did not merely worship the Memphite Triad of Ptah, Sekhmet, and Nefertem; they also venerated Osiris, the god of the underworld. The priests even enshrined the Apis bull as a sacred relic within the temples.

In truth, Davos had considered proposing Osiris as the Egyptian incarnation of Hades, replacing Amun as the supreme faith of all the Egyptian people, but that would clearly require a very long and drawn-out process.

The welcoming delegation of officials naturally included the priests of the Temple of Memphis and the Temple of Osiris. Davos promised them that he would make time to offer sacrifices, which allowed them to depart satisfied.

After reassuring the officials of Memphis, Davos did not head to the Royal Palace immediately. Instead, he went to the Daionian military camp outside the city to check on his soldiers. For this visit, he purposely removed the False Beard and the Red and White Crown, putting on a Golden Crown to enter the camp in his capacity as the King of Daonia.

It was dusk by the time his carriage entered the Royal Palace in Memphis. The Palace Guard swiftly took over the palace's security, while Henipolis assumed control of all internal affairs, instructing the royal chefs who had traveled with them to prepare a safe and delicious banquet.

Davos invited Asistes, Tapirus, Chalcides, and the various Legion Commanders who had subsequently arrived in Egypt with their troops, thanking them for all their hard work during this period.

The atmosphere of the banquet was not overly boisterous, as Davos did not allow any alcohol to be served.

Once the banquet concluded, Davos had them stay behind and convened a meeting.

"Our forces have now fully entered Egypt," Davos began, immediately bringing up his most pressing concern. "With such a massive number of soldiers, relying solely on long-distance logistical support from the kingdom's mainland will likely be insufficient. Does Egypt have the capacity to provide long-term, adequate logistical supplies for the army? Asistes, you have been in charge of Egypt's administrative affairs for the past few months, so you should have a thorough understanding of the situation here. What is your assessment?" After all, his true objective in leading the army here personally was to defeat Persia; annexing Egypt was just something done in passing.

"Your Majesty," Asistes replied earnestly, having prepared for this exact question. "If we rely purely on the grain reserves in the Nile Delta, it will indeed be difficult to meet the needs of the entire army. You must realize that simply supplying military rations to the forces led by Commander Chalcides recently has already emptied the granaries in every town across the Nile Delta. And right now, we are still two or three months away from the harvest—"

"Isn't Egypt hailed as the granary of the Mediterranean Sea? Don't they have more grain than they could ever eat?!" interrupted First Legion Commander Matonis.

"That is because Nectanebos launched a rebellion a few months ago, throwing Lower Egypt into turmoil," Asistes explained, taking the opportunity to casually praise Chalcides. As the top Daionian military and administrative leaders in Egypt, the two had cooperated seamlessly over the past few months. "To protect themselves, the various towns had no choice but to hastily recruit troops, which caused a massive spike in grain consumption everywhere. Had Commander Chalcides not acted swiftly to quell the unrest in Egypt in such a short amount of time, I fear the armies arriving afterward would have had to rely entirely on the kingdom's logistical supply."

Chalcides smiled and nodded at Asistes in a gesture of gratitude.

Observing this, Davos felt no great aversion to the display. He had always emphasized that when fighting abroad, victory could only be achieved through unity. His expression remained calm as he asked, "Asistes, even though you make it sound quite difficult, you don't seem the least bit nervous. It seems you must have a way to resolve the military ration issue."

"Your Majesty is wise!" Asistes smiled, speaking at an unhurried pace. "Egypt has always been primarily agrarian, so they place immense importance on planting and storing crops. Much like our kingdom, they have granaries built in major towns to store the grain they collect as taxes. This is reserved for famine years—what the Egyptians consider a famine year is when the Nile's flooding in June and July is too low, resulting in a significantly reduced area of arable land once the waters recede, which drastically cuts the crop yield—or it is saved until grain prices rise across the Mediterranean Sea, at which point it is sold off..."

"Beyond that, there is another faction in Egypt hoarding massive quantities of grain: the temples. The priests of the various Egyptian temples own vast tracts of land and an enormous number of servants, particularly in Upper Egypt. These priests shoulder no administrative duties; they only bring out a small amount of grain to share with their followers during temple festivals. As a result, their grain reserves far exceed those of the town granaries..."

"It was precisely because the Egyptian priests were too wealthy and held too much power that Tachos enacted decrees to suppress their authority back when he was in power." Even though Asistes had been forced to collaborate with the Egyptian priests led by Amenhotep to ensure Daionia's smooth annexation of Egypt, as an administrative official, he truly despised seeing these priests throw their weight around in the country, and he couldn't help but add that final remark.