Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1306: Crossing the River

Davos had harbored one major concern: how to safely get his army across the wide Euphrates River in the face of a heavy Persian defense. With the retreat of the Persian forces, however, that worry vanished.

Over the past few days, the Engineering Brigade had erected three wooden bridges across the Orontes River just ahead of their camp. One hundred and fifty thousand soldiers crossed the Orontes River in Syria in an orderly manner, marching directly eastward in a massive, sweeping formation.

Six days later, the vanguard forces approached Thapsacus.

Surging forth from the eastern mountain ranges of Asia Minor, the Euphrates River flowed from north to south along the westernmost edge of the Mesopotamian Plain. After merging with multiple tributaries, it formed a series of broad lakes. Upon reaching the vicinity of Thapsacus, the river bent eastward and its surface abruptly narrowed. This made it the optimal crossing point on the upper Euphrates River. The royal road connecting the Persian court to Asia Minor passed right through here, which had brought about the prosperity of the City of Thapsacus.

When the Daionia vanguard reached the western bank of the Euphrates River, they were pleasantly surprised to discover that the Persian army hadn't burned the pontoon bridge during their retreat. Furthermore, the bridge was spacious enough to accommodate ten soldiers walking side by side, sparing the Engineering Brigade the exhausting work of building new ones.

The next day, Davos arrived at the western bank of the Euphrates River alongside the central army. He paused by the pontoon bridge, watching the soldiers. Clad in light tunics and carrying their weapons and armor in bundles, their faces bore a certain sense of longing. With firm steps, they stepped onto the pontoon bridge, crossed the broad Euphrates River, and set foot upon the unfamiliar Mesopotamian Plain...

Ignoring his own fatigue, Davos sat tall on his horse. He pressed his right fist against his left chest, his expression solemn. The Palace Guard following him also began to salute the passing soldiers.

When the soldiers passing the bridgehead saw this scene, they were first surprised, then flooded with excitement. The surging line didn't allow anyone to stop, however, and the heavy bundles on their shoulders left them no free hands. And so, these young soldiers—most of whom had been born in Daionia and raised on tales of its glorious victories—gazed with unparalleled reverence at the kingdom's founder right before their eyes. Staring at the supreme military commander who had forged so many miracles, they shouted with raw emotion, "Victory to His Majesty!"

"Victory to His Majesty! ... Victory to His Majesty!! ... Victory to His Majesty!!!" What started as a scattered cheer soon converged into a single, unified roar that echoed across the bridgehead. The chant rapidly spread to the front and rear of the column. Invigorated by the sound, the soldiers forgot the exhaustion of their long trek and quickened their pace...

"Don't forget, Menon led us as the vanguard of the entire army back then. We were the first to enter the Mesopotamian Plain!" Amyntas, half-lying in his carriage, picked up the conversation with evident pride.

His lower body was paralyzed, leaving him unable to walk. Originally, his servants had carried him on the march in a wooden sedan chair, but the pace was too slow to keep up with the main army. Davos therefore granted him special permission to ride in a small, open-topped carriage. Ever since the massive army had landed in Egypt, his health had suffered from the unaccustomed climate. Yet, once the army set foot on the very route Cyrus the Younger had taken to march on Babylon all those years ago, his spirits had markedly improved.

"Amyntas, I can't believe you have the nerve to say that!" Agasias, who had belonged to another mercenary company, said disdainfully. "Back then, Menon fought to be the vanguard, claiming he wanted to scout the way for the army. But everyone knew he just wanted to be the first to reach the Mesopotamian Plain to plunder it. Cyrus the Younger agreed to his request, but then issued an order to the entire army strictly forbidding any pillaging on the Mesopotamian Plain. Weren't you all pretty disappointed?"

"Why would I be disappointed—" Amyntas was about to retort when he suddenly thought of something. Deliberately raising his voice, he said, "Agasias, who exactly did you mean by 'you all'?! Don't forget, His Majesty was also one of 'us' back then!" As he spoke, he pointed at Davos, who was standing solemnly ahead.

Hearing this, Agasias, who usually kept a low profile among this group of veteran generals, panicked a little. He hastily defended himself, "Don't spout nonsense, I... I—"

"Honestly, the reason we joined the mercenaries and served Cyrus the Younger back then was simply to survive." Hieronymus, who had been the leader of another mercenary company, spoke up just in time to rescue Agasias from his awkwardness. "Actually, to solve his severe military funding issues, Cyrus the Younger allowed us to pillage the Asia Minor region multiple times. The reason he forbade us from plundering Mesopotamia was likely because he believed it would become his core territory once he seized the throne. He couldn't afford to have the local populace harboring grudges against him."

Alexis let out a long sigh. "Asia Minor is part of Persian territory, but neither Cyrus the Younger nor Artaxerxes ever cherished that vast land. Instead, they treated the people there as foreigners, taking whatever they pleased. How could the people of Asia Minor not rebel? And how could the people in other regions of Persia ever be truly loyal to them!"

"We should thank the Persians for acting that way. It's precisely because they don't treat other races as their own people that we have the opportunity to invade this vast territory and ultimately defeat this powerful enemy!" Pointing at the soldiers of the First Legion crossing the river, Matonis said proudly, "These youngsters are luckier than we were. Back then, we were just tools in the hands of the Persians, dying meaninglessly in this unfamiliar land for the Persian royal family's power struggles. Although they are repeating our march from all those years ago, they are fighting for themselves and for the kingdom. They will forge an unprecedented, magnificent victory!"

"Well said, Matonis." Amyntas leaned back against the seat of his carriage, his sigh tinged with a hint of mockery. "Even though you weren't in the unit I commanded back then, I heard about you even then. A strong and ferocious rookie with a violent temper who gave your commanding officer endless headaches... No one would have guessed that decades later, you would actually become a general commanding tens of thousands of soldiers, and speaking with such clear logic..."

"Lord Amyntas, I heard about you back then as well," Matonis shot back unceremoniously. "Do you know why I refused to join the century you commanded? Because everyone called you a mad dog under Menon's command. Even though you often led your men to charge at the very front, you had absolutely no tactics to speak of, and your unit suffered heavy casualties every single time... But I'm afraid the mercenaries who followed you and died here all those years ago would never have imagined that, decades later, you'd become a high official of a powerful kingdom and a famous general praised by the people."

Matonis's biting words struck a chord in Amyntas's heart. He didn't retort. Instead, he fell into a pained silence for a moment before speaking in a deep voice. "We came to Persia this time not just to seek revenge against the King of Persia and wash away the humiliation of the past, but more importantly, to find the bones of our fallen comrades and bring them home..."

The moment those words were spoken, everyone fell silent. The atmosphere turned heavy.

Henipolis, who had been listening and taking notes from the sidelines to gather material for a future biography, couldn't help but ask softly, "My lords, you've shared so much just now. Could you... tell me a little about His Majesty back then? He must have been just a young recruit at the time, right?"

Alexis, Philesius, Tolmides, and the others acted as if they hadn't heard Henipolis at all, casually striking up conversations with each other as if nobody else were there.

Even Amyntas and Epithenes, who normally spoke without any filter, were afraid of being pestered by the annoying Henipolis and simply closed their eyes, pretending to sleep.

Matonis, who had been in the same squad as Davos back in the day and knew him extremely well, grabbed Geogris and left the group altogether, using the excuse that he needed to urge the soldiers to march faster.

It wasn't because too much time had passed for them to remember King Davos's performance here. On the contrary, they remembered it vividly. When the mercenaries had arrived at the banks of the Euphrates, the young Davos had been so overwhelmed by the remarkably wide river that his legs had turned to jelly the moment he stepped onto the pontoon bridge. He had to be supported by Matonis almost the entire way across...

If they honestly recounted these embarrassing stories about Davos, what kind of shock would it cause among the citizens of the kingdom today?! Furthermore, revisiting this old place thirty years later and looking back on the past filled their hearts with deep emotion. Compared to their comrades who had died here, they were incredibly fortunate! Not only had they escaped with their lives while being hunted and intercepted by the Persian army, but they had also been able to fight their way back within their lifetimes. They were going to trample their once invincible enemy underfoot and wash away their humiliation! All of this was because of the man standing up ahead. It was under his leadership that the impossible had become possible, forging unprecedented miracles!

In that moment, their chests swelled with gratitude and reverence for Davos.

An unknown amount of time passed before Davos turned his head. High-spirited and full of vigor, he declared, "Brothers, it's time for us to cross the river!"

Everyone responded loudly in unison, "Yes, Your Majesty!"

........................................................

After Davos crossed the Euphrates River, he found that the situation was exactly as the cavalry scouts had reported: the originally golden fields had been burned black, and ruined villages could be seen everywhere. The largest of these ruins was the City of Thapsacus. Not only had the residences inside the city been burned down, but even the city walls had been completely destroyed. This greatly angered the legion soldiers, who had hoped to be spared the exhausting labor of building a camp. Every one of them cursed the Persians for being as cowardly as mice.

Although the surrounding environment had grown somewhat harsh, Davos still issued his order: the entire army would build their camp near the City of Thapsacus.