Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1302: Izam's Suggestion

"...It wasn't until July that the King of Persia finally ordered us to break camp and march west. Because the army was so massive, our marching speed was sluggish. It took us two months to reach Thapsacus. By that time, Your Majesty had already led the army to conquer the Syrian Region, so the Persians commanded us to set up camp right around Thapsacus.

"To make it easier for me to slip away quietly and maintain future contact, the Ksocont Tribe army chose the northern outskirts of Thapsacus for their camp, not far from Mount Amanus. So, one evening half a month ago, I secretly left the camp and slipped north into the mountains. I remained undetected the entire way, making a large detour before finally returning here..."

"Izam, you risked your life this time, venturing deep into the Persian heartland. You successfully contacted the Ksocont Tribe and persuaded them to support Daionia, rendering a great service to the kingdom. On behalf of all the officers and soldiers in the army, I thank you!"

Davos bowed to him with a solemn expression, startling Izam. He quickly stood up, waving his hands repeatedly, not daring to accept the honor. "Your Majesty, as a Daionian Citizen and a Senator of the Senate, this is merely my duty! Moreover, even though I've retired, as a former member of the Mountain Scout Corps, this is my responsibility! I cannot accept such thanks from Your Majesty and the entire army!"

His words were exceedingly proper. Marigi blinked. After all, when Izam first began following Davos, he was a complete barbarian who understood nothing of hierarchy or etiquette. Decades of living in Daionia, especially his life in the few years since his retirement, had completely transformed his temperament.

"Very well. Since you still consider yourself a Daionian soldier, I will follow the military's system of rewards and punishments and record a major merit for you now. You will be rewarded once the war is over." Davos was satisfied with Izam's response, a smile appearing on his face. He then asked, "You stayed over there for so long. Do you know exactly how many men are in the Persian army? How is their military composed? How strong is their combat capability?"

As the former commander of the Mountain Scout Corps, Izam excelled at scouting enemy intelligence. After a moment of thought, he immediately replied, "Your Majesty, based on my observations during this time, the Persians have roughly 350,000 troops stationed at Thapsacus. The Persian army makes up about 200,000 of them. As for the rest... the Ducetian Army has 30,000 men, Taochia has about 10,000, Ameria has around 30,000, Arabia has around 10,000, Scythia has 5,000, Cardan has 10,000, and India has over 10,000... Oh, and they also have more than 20,000 Greek mercenaries.

"Among such a vast host, the 50,000 to 60,000 Persian troops guarding the King of Persia should be the most capable in combat. Aside from the Immortals stationed in Babylon, the rest are from the eastern regions of Susa and Persepolis—"

"Artaxerxes personally led the army to war?!" Davos interrupted, asking in surprise.

"Hmm..." Davos nodded. "Continue."

"Aside from those 50,000 to 60,000 core troops, the Persian army has one advantage over us: a massive cavalry force. If you count the cavalry from their vassal regions, they have about 30,000 horsemen. In addition, they have a staggering number of archers, over 50,000. But they lack strong heavy infantry! This is the Persian army's greatest weakness. However, the infantry from the Ducetian tribal army, the Cardans, and the Greek mercenaries have decent combat strength. The Persians will likely place these units on the front line during battle to face our legionaries.

"Additionally, there are some special unit types in the Persian army that require our attention. One is the Scythed Chariots. Rumor has it that the reason Artaxerxes arrived at Thapsacus so late was because he was preparing more than 200 of these chariots. I saw them from afar. Their axles are fitted with long, sharp double-edged blades. When the chariots move, the blades spin constantly along with the wheels. They are absolutely terrifying when used to break through enemy formations.

"Then there are the war elephants brought by the Indians, numbering over 50. Although I've admired the elephants at the Thurii Zoo many times, this is the first time I've seen anyone use them for war. The Indians place a small wooden tower on the elephant's back. Two men sit in the tower: a mahout and an archer. With their massive bodies, charging them into our ranks should pose a definite threat to our infantry formations.

"There is also Arabia's camel cavalry. Camels are tall but slow. At first, the Arab camp was set up very close to the Amerians, but the Amerian warhorses became restless and agitated because of the camels. So, the Persians had the Arabs move away from the main army and build their own separate camp. However, they don't have many camels, only about 500 or so..."

Izam paused. Seeing Davos remain silent, he quickly added with emphasis, "Your Majesty, although the Persian army is vast, its composition is too diverse. Aside from those tens of thousands of core troops, I noticed that most of the other units lack discipline and fighting spirit. They also lack effective organization. Some units can't even speak the same language, making it very difficult for them to coordinate properly.

"I deeply experienced this while following the Ducetian tribal army on the march from Opis to Thapsacus. The various units would march along the route designated by the Persians, but within an hour, they would lose control, mixing together and spreading out across the entire plain... Because of this, the whole Persian army had to halt its march by early afternoon every day. Then each unit would reorganize its own soldiers, which took at least two hours. This included the Ducetian tribal army, and they frequently clashed with other units because of it...

"Such a dispirited, undisciplined, and disjointed Persian army cannot possibly stand against our forces, even if we are at a numerical disadvantage. However, the Persians also realized this. Once the main army gathered at Thapsacus, they began to reorganize all the units—"

"How did the Persians reorganize them?" Davos asked seriously.

"For units with fewer men, like the Cardans and the Arabs, they simply merged them into the Persian army. For the larger forces, like Ducetia and Ameria, they dispatched Persian generals to be stationed within their ranks. On one hand, these generals are responsible for relaying the King of Persia's commands and supervising the execution of those orders. On the other hand, they are tasked with training these units to coordinate with the Persian army... Therefore, the Persian host has been urgently training on the plains near Thapsacus these past few days. Right before I left, I felt that the Persian army's condition was somewhat better than when they first arrived.

"Your Majesty, if we let the Persians continue like this, even if we eventually win, we will pay a heavy price. Therefore—" Izam urged loudly, his expression solemn: "Your Majesty, we must attack as soon as possible, while this Persian army is still relatively loose and hasn't fully integrated!"

Davos pondered, without immediately voicing his stance.

Seeing this, Marigi smoothly shifted the topic. "Izam, you stayed on the Mesopotamian Plain for so long. What is the local people's attitude toward the entire Persian army?"

"It certainly isn't good!" Izam replied with a look of disdain. "The Persian army isn't bound by strict Military Law like our Daionian Army. Their vassal troops come from different regions and different races. Not only is their discipline lax, but some even hold grudges against the Persians. Take the Ducetian tribal army, for example. Upon arriving in a place as wealthy as Mesopotamia, they engaged in daily pillaging, destruction, and even rape and murder. The Persians actually had to organize a sizable Military Law unit specifically to handle these disciplinary violations, and they even clashed heavily with the vassal troops a few times over it.

"But even the Persian soldiers themselves are committing these same disgusting acts. Because of this, the towns along the way immediately shut their gates whenever they heard an army was approaching, refusing to let the soldiers enter. This even applied to the Persian army... I heard rumors that several Mesopotamian nobles intercepted the King of Persia's carriage on the road to lodge complaints against the Persian army, but it seems the King of Persia didn't hand out any punishments..."

Hearing this, Davos asked Marigi with deep interest, "It seems the inhabitants of the Mesopotamian Plain are somewhat dissatisfied with Persian rule?"

"Your Majesty!" Marigi replied, slightly agitated. "Although Persia has ruled the Mesopotamian Plain for over a century and has always managed it as a core territory, Persian residents still do not make up the majority on the plain to this day. The dominant peoples on this plain are still the Babylonians and the Medes. It's just that they have always been submissive to Persia, and Persia treats them almost equally. Outsiders also view them as part of true Persia.

"But in reality, there is still a difference! Especially the Babylonians. Having been ruled by multiple foreign races over the centuries, they have grown accustomed to it. They are entirely apathetic toward the wars between nations. As long as their interests aren't violated, they can accept anyone ruling the Mesopotamian Plain. Thus, when Cyrus the Younger led his army from Asia Minor into the Mesopotamian Plain years ago, he nearly reached Babylon without encountering any resistance along the way. That is likely a major reason.

"I don't know if Artaxerxes ever harbored resentment over this, but information obtained from Mazaeus shows that he clearly places far more trust in the Persian nobles from Susa and Persepolis, who provided him with immense support during that turbulent period. He later granted them greater power and privileges, even rewarding them with lands on the Mesopotamian Plain. These Persian nobles expanded their territories recklessly across Mesopotamia, which temporarily caused intense friction between the Mesopotamian nobles and residents and the Persians. Although Artaxerxes later realized the problem and mediated the conflict, the Mesopotamians' dissatisfaction with the Persians definitely hasn't disappeared.

"Your Majesty, as long as our army refrains from harming the Mesopotamian people after defeating the Persian host, and promises them some benefits, they will undoubtedly view us as the masters of this land. They will eagerly open their city gates to welcome us!..."