Chapter 10 The Siege of Paphos (Part 2)
Yes, Lepidus did ask the entire army to set up camp tomorrow, but he was disrupted by an unexpected situation: Hebrida, with a few leading soldiers, discovered the hidden warehouse in the guardian temple of Salamis, "Seven One thousand talents, seven thousand talents!" Lepidus went there with an excited expression and whispered to himself. He never expected that this huge wealth would be stolen by "Ptolemy's cousin" (this is Lepidus). To show the difference, Ptolemy gave Cyprus a new name) swept away, or hidden in other areas on the island such as Paphos, but never expected that it was actually in this city. Well done Hybrida, you have been a robber and a gangster for so many years. When you look for a warehouse or something, you must get it in place. You must deal with this wealth before Brutus comes. How can you make more money? The more you blackmail, the more you blackmail.
A large group of soldiers, covered in red cloaks, stood at the entrance of the temple basement with great excitement, welcoming the arrival of their commander. Now they were really going to make a fortune. But when Lepidus faced the torch and walked to the door of the bronze basement, he found that something was wrong with the whole atmosphere - the warehouse seemed to be too big and too conspicuous.
When they opened it and took a look, all the soldiers were very disappointed: Where did the gold and silver treasure come from? It seemed that this was just a weapons depot. Lepidus, Hebrida and others checked and found that the weapons hidden were not only huge in number, but also a large number of weapons. And it's well made.
"I should have known that Cyprus is rich in copper, and the Levant on the other side of the ocean is rich in steel. It is also located at the crossroads of Asia Minor, the Levant and Egypt. The previous Ptolemaic dynasty decided to use this place as a relay. Fortress, that's why we forged and stockpiled a large number of weapons in the port of Salamis," Lepidus suddenly realized, raising a sharp Assyrian sword and said.
"We should sell these shields, chariots, bows, arrows and swords in large quantities!" Hebrida shouted, and then Lepidah hit his helmet hard with an Assyrian sword. "Idiot, these things are much more valuable than simple money. "Saab, we must collect all these things to the legion. Since they are not auctioned as military equipment, Gato has no right to seize half of them." Then he saw Sabo using a sword in another warehouse area. Pushing through the clothes-like things stacked on wooden racks, the young man turned around excitedly, held up one of the items, and said, "Look!"
Lepidus pinched his nose, because there was already a slight smell of mold inside the warehouse, and walked into the clothes that Sabo held up. This was a "Kanu white" short shirt often worn by Egyptians, which is very suitable for hot desert areas. Then it was decorated with precise bronze armor pieces, which were picked up by hand. It was absolutely light, but it could also prevent stabs and arrows. Lepidus sighed, "These descendants of Ptolemy, what valuable wealth their ancestors left behind. But their eyes are only focused on the gold that brings disaster. These armors are what we rely on to conquer Egypt. Sabo quickly completed the inventory and handed them all over to the management of our army's baggage team. Before Brutus arrives, do this quickly. good."
Yes, Sabo hurriedly accepted the order.
Three thousand Assyrian compound bows, six thousand Assyrian fighting swords, two thousand axes, thirty light crossbows, five thousand detachable Salisha spears, and eight hundred light spears covered with layers of oxhide. Wooden shields, six thousand pieces of Cnuthian light armor, a thousand heavy armors imitating Corinthian collars, as well as horse bridles, spurs, chariots, long iron nails and many other valuable weapons and supplies, were thus revealed by Ptolemy. Brother abandoned it, or the ruler of Cyprus may have simply forgotten that he still had these things in his hand.
"Our army is bound to win. The whole army will start chasing Ptolemy who fled to Paphos tomorrow." When I thought of Brutus arriving at the city of Salamis out of breath with his luggage and finding that the city was deserted, he had no choice but to fight with him. The funny scene of the several confidential slaves he left behind were fighting for dozens of talents, and Lepidus, who was riding an owl and racing with the attached cavalry, felt the pleasure of playing tricks on others.
Two days later, Dusonville's scouts came to report that Ptolemy's cousin had indeed taken in the defeated soldiers in the Paphos area, spent money to recruit some local troops, and was camping on the Tisza River, preparing to resist us.
There is no doubt about this location, because Paphos is surrounded by the large mountains in the center of Cyprus. It is an area backed by the sea and mountains. If the two sides want to fight, they can only choose the narrow corridor of the Tisza River.
"The enemy actually imitated us and set up a strong camp in the meander of the river." On a high hill, Lepidus took Sabo and others to observe the Cypriot army's camp on the other side of the river, and even praised the opponent, "Chang Qi One hundred and fifty Roman feet, six hundred and twenty Roman feet wide, with a circular trench, a very standard and well-organized camp. Our advantage is that the Tisza River is very shallow and can be crossed by foot and horse. "
"Should we use cavalry artillery to attack first, and then the infantry brigade to follow?" Sabo proposed a plan loudly.
"Well - wait for now, I'll take a look, there seems to be something interesting." Lepidus frowned, and at this time Petheneus also saw the scene, "Their packhorses and war horses seemed to be very uneasy. Many military slaves are leading them around the camp to comfort them."
"I really envy these animals with swaying tail feathers. In winter like this, they will have the urge to mate and reproduce!" Marco Anthony, who was standing behind, yawned and asked whether the commander could adopt Saab's plan. , he can continue to take the lead, destroy the enemy's camp, and then celebrate our victory in the Temple of Love in Paphos.
"No, it's impossible. I'm Spanish and I know the psychology of horses very well." Tagus said slowly with his hands behind his back, "We captured more than a thousand horses in Salamis, and the horses on the other side were very familiar with them, so when they were not far away, they could smell each other's breath, but they were also manic because they couldn't be together. This is probably the reason for this situation." After listening to Tagus's explanation, Lepidus hurriedly looked back at the rear guard and baggage camp. Sure enough, it was a scene of horses jubilant and restless, so he gave birth to a plan in his mind.
At dawn the next day, the Roman army blew a shrill trumpet in the camp. The Cypriots saw through the tall buildings of the camp that they had already formed a battle formation by the river in the pattern of a hundred men. Following the order of the centurion, they were crossing the river bend. The morning light shone diagonally, reflecting their shields and making them sparkle. "The Romans are coming! Show them some color." The Cypriots, who had been frustrated for a long time, extinguished the stove, picked up their weapons, rode on their horses, climbed up the wall ladder with bows and arrows, and relied on the camp and wooden fences to set up a well-arranged defense formation. As long as there were strong fortifications, these invading guys would be defeated! (To be continued.)