Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1303: Persian Strategy (1)
Previously on Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece...
Davos was listening intently, quite pleased by the report, when Marigi suddenly dropped heavily to his knees. Guilt written across his face, he said, "Your Majesty... I am actually a Babylonian. I only claimed to be Persian to make myself... appear more noble. Later, I wanted to confess, but I worried that if the kingdom's citizens learned I had lied, it would damage the prestige of the Ministry of Commerce and hinder the execution of our decrees. So I... Please, Your Majesty, forgive my crime of hiding this for so long!"
Davos laughed heartily. Reaching out to pull Marigi up, he said loudly, "It is wonderful that you aren't Persian! I had worried that crushing Persia and making them suffer so miserably might cause you pain. Now I can rest easy! After our decisive battle with the Persian army, I will appoint you as a Daionian envoy to persuade your fellow countrymen to submit to the kingdom, so we can share the fruits of victory together!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Marigi said, bowing deeply with a joyous expression.
...
The next day, King Davos convened a military council. He required all generals at the rank of Legion Commander and above to attend, and also invited retired mercenary veterans such as Alexis, Philesius, Tolmides, Amyntas, and Epithenes. After listening to Izam's detailed report on the Persian forces, they discussed whether to change their current defensive posture and launch an offensive against the Persian army.
At almost the exact same time, inside the City of Thapsacus, the King of Persia, Artaxerxes, convened his own military council. Although his army outnumbered that of Daionia, only a handful of individuals were selected to attend. These included the King of Persia's trusted counselor, Tiribazus; Harpagus, the governor of the Susa region; and Mardonius, the commanding general from Persepolis. Both Harpagus and Mardonius were descendants of the six allies of the great King Darius who had rebuilt Persia, affording them extremely noble status. Also present was Orontes, the governor of Armenia and a son-in-law to the King of Persia, along with Tirtaeus, a young general commanding the Immortals. Tirtaeus was equally noble; born into a distant branch of the Achaemenid royal family, he had married one of Artaxerxes's daughters, keeping his ties to the King of Persia close.
The final attendee was Mactonus, the grand director of the Persian Royal Secret Intelligence Agency. He was currently speaking in a loud voice, detailing intelligence regarding the Daionian Army: "...From the unrest in Egypt last September when the Daionian Army began landing in successive waves, to the arrival of that King of Daonia in Egypt this January, and continuing through their invasion of Canaan, their capture of Phoenicia, and their occupation of Syria—during this period, the banners of the Theonia Legion that our scouts have identified include the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Twelfth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Sixteenth, Seventeenth, Eighteenth, Nineteenth (from the Po River Region, primarily consisting of Gauls), and Twenty-first Legions (from the Africa region, primarily consisting of Phoenicians and Numidian slaves)... Calculated on Daionia's fixed combat roster of 8,000 men per legion, that brings their total to 144,000 men.
"Furthermore, five banners of the First Cavalry Legion have appeared within the Daionian Army, numbering over 10,000... This brings the total strength of the army personally led by the King of Daonia to over 150,000 men. This aligns perfectly with the total size estimates our secret agents made after observing the Daionian Army in Syria for an extended period..." Mactonus spoke with supreme confidence, able to enumerate like family treasures every detail about the Daionian Army. He could gather such remarkably precise intelligence entirely due to the department he directed—the Persian Royal Secret Intelligence Agency.
Cyrus had founded Persia, but it was Darius who truly transformed it into an empire. He perfected Persia's political structure, established a comprehensive bureaucratic hierarchy, reformed the empire's financial and monetary systems, and established Ahura Mazda as the dominant faith of the people. He also constructed a massive road network across the realm, making travel and communication between the central court and the provinces vastly more convenient... Naturally, because Persia possessed such vast territories—some of which remained autonomous—ruling the empire's subjects firmly and preventing another great uprising like the one during Cambyses's reign required a detailed and accurate grasp of local officials and the general populace. This allowed the court to respond to threats immediately. Thus, Darius had established a royal secret intelligence agency specifically to serve the king, predating Daionia's Kingdom Intelligence Department by over a century.
Although over a century had passed and the intelligence organization had grown bloated and inefficient, it remained the King of Persia's most trusted eyes and ears. It monitored the movements of domestic subjects while keeping a close watch on neighboring regions like Egypt and Greece. Therefore, the moment the Daionian Army appeared in Egypt and Asia Minor, it immediately became their primary target of surveillance. With so much time having passed, and with the Daionians operating within Persian borders, the royal secret intelligence agency naturally possessed the capability to understand the Daionian Army's situation quite clearly."The Daionian Army has a mere 150,000 men. Our great army is twice their size! With such a massive advantage, I do not understand why we don't take the initiative to attack the Theonians, and instead cower timidly here in Thapsacus!" Mardonius declared loudly. His tone carried obvious dissatisfaction with Artaxerxes, but he spoke without hesitation. This was partly because his ancestor Gobryas had been the closest of the six co-conspirators who helped Darius usurp the Persian throne, ensuring his family had always enjoyed the royal family's deep trust. But it was also because, during the rebellion of Cyrus the Younger, Mardonius had been the very first top-tier Persian noble to throw his support behind Artaxerxes. He had assisted the King of Persia in securing the loyalty of the native Persian nobility, helping him survive the crisis immediately following his ascension. This unwavering support had earned him Artaxerxes's absolute trust, placing him in command of massive military forces to guard the true capital of Persia, the Susa region.
Artaxerxes looked somewhat embarrassed in the face of Mardonius's accusations. Although he had publicly expressed his deep contempt for Daionia, the "nation of barbarians," on numerous occasions, the truth was that this King of Persia's military track record throughout his long reign was practically a running joke among the Persian nobility. His sole point of pride was quelling the rebellion of Cyrus the Younger—a figure highly respected by the Persian nobles—right after ascending the throne. But deep down, he knew the truth of that decisive battle: his forces had vastly outnumbered the enemy's, yet he had still been pushed to a severe disadvantage. If Cyrus the Younger hadn't made the foolish mistake of personally leading a charge that resulted in his own death, the outcome would likely have been entirely different.
Therefore, when the Kingdom of Daunia—that highly aggressive state from the western Mediterranean that had practically never suffered a defeat—launched an invasion of Persia, he had felt a deep, lingering insecurity. Because of this, he had remained safely tucked away in Babylon for over half a year, sitting idle as Canaan and Phoenicia were conquered one after another. Only when the armies from every province had fully assembled, giving him a sufficient sense of security, did he finally dare to move. Yet now, on the verge of facing the Daionian Army directly, he couldn't help but feel a surge of panic. Memories of repeated, miserable military failures flashed before his eyes, leaving him terrified of making a rash decision.
As the supremely noble King of Kings, Artaxerxes naturally refused to let his ministers see the cowardice hiding in his heart. Instead, he simply glanced at Tiribazus beside him.
Tiribazus immediately understood and spoke up. "The Great King actually wished to launch an attack against the Daionian Army long ago, but I dissuaded him. Lord Mardonius, our army may be massive, but after spending so much time here, you must be well aware of its true combat strength. The natives and barbarians who make up half of our numbers might look fierce, but they only know how to charge blindly. They do not understand how to hold a formation, they do not obey orders, and they certainly do not know how to coordinate with our Persian army. If we throw them against the Daionian Army in their current state, they will only be a burden.
"Therefore, we must spend some time training them so they can become an asset to us as quickly as possible. Lord Mardonius, you have personally commanded several of these drills, so you must have noticed their progress. I firmly believe that before long, they will be able to coordinate properly with our regular forces and launch an effective offensive against the Daionian Army."
Mardonius snorted, unable to immediately find the words to refute him.
Harpagus sneered, cutting in before anyone else could speak. "Everyone claims Lord Tiribazus possesses extraordinary wisdom, but from what I can see, it is nothing impressive! We have been sitting here wasting time, and it turns out it was just to make those barbarians slightly more obedient. But do not forget—the Greek expeditionary army in Asia Minor is currently marching toward us. If we allow them to merge with the Daionian Army in Syria, the enemy's strength will drastically increase. Defeating them will no longer be an easy task. We cannot afford to waste another moment. We must crush the Daionian Army in front of us immediately!"
"Pharnabazus is doing absolutely everything in his power to stall the Greek expeditionary army's advance, and he has achieved excellent results. According to our latest intelligence, the Greek expeditionary army hasn't even entered Cilicia yet. Therefore, we still have plenty of time to deal with the Daionian Army currently occupying the Syrian Region."
Hearing Tiribazus mention Pharnabazus, Artaxerxes frowned unconsciously. Thanks to the reports from his secret agents, he already knew the truth about that massive battle in western Asia Minor. He was furious that Pharnabazus had lied about the military situation, yet he had refrained from punishing him—he had even sent him further support. Artaxerxes knew perfectly well that given the disastrous state of affairs in Asia Minor, Pharnabazus was the only man capable of holding the region together. Using Jason as a scapegoat simply gave both the king and the general a way to save face. Of course, once the war was over, he fully intended to hold Pharnabazus accountable for the crime of deceiving his sovereign.
Furthermore, precisely because he knew Pharnabazus's claim that "the Greek mercenaries led by Jason had defected to the enemy" was a lie, Artaxerxes had vetoed the proposals of several Persian officials and refused to take his anger out on the Greek soldiers in his employ. As a result, his restraint had actually earned him the gratitude of those Greek mercenaries.