Chapter 26 Diotusos (Part 1)
"When ships collide, you must make up your mind not to stop fighting until you clear the enemy's decks of hoplites." - "Peloponnesian War"
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"Why chase and annihilate them?" Lepidus said, turning the horse's head without stopping the evil smile on his lips, as if it would be the best thing for Eumenes and the others to escape.
Three days later, Lepidus' army arrived at the desert area on the border and used cavalry cannons to blast the tents of several black tribes on the opposite side. Hundreds of blacks, like frightened desert rats, some fled in. Some of the sand dune fortresses in the depths fled to the royal court where Chief Nebamos was, reporting the terrible news of the sudden invasion of the Egyptian border.
The great chief Hertun, the number one warrior in the entire Nebamos tribe, was sitting in the middle of a group of half-naked wives. Next to him sat a child who was not very energetic, wearing a white shirt and a gold necklace around his neck. The collar is none other than the son of Ptolemy the flute, who was also the prince of Egypt.
It turned out that Herton was on good terms with General Dere, who was stationed on the border of Egypt, so when the flute player ran away from Alexandria, he thought that it was uncertain whether he would go to Rome at this time, so he entrusted his son to Dere. He was then sent to the royal court of Heltun and asked to take care of him.
Later, after Beneniki's position was temporarily stabilized, General Dege also transferred to her command and actively planned to extradite the little prince. The chief Herton was a little hesitant. After all, he had the Egyptian prince in his hands. . It is a rare thing to live in. Whether it's sent to Benainiki. Returning it to the flute player, or even delivering it to the hands of Rome, would be a priceless reward.
But the bad thing lies in this moment of hesitation: a man named Lepidus led a group of pheasant legions that appeared from nowhere, and actually went from Cyprus to Perusium, all the way into Alexandria, Benaini Key and Archelaus both died. Now the prince has become a hot potato. No, Lepidus' army has come to investigate.
"How about I send you back?" Helton asked little Ptolemy, exposing his dark belly.
"As far as I know, this Lepidus is my second sister's confidant. If my father had not sent a guard to personally escort me, I am afraid that I would have been mutilated on the way and my body would have been thrown into the smelly swamp." The Egyptian prince fell ill and said With a melancholy expression on his handsome face, he replied softly.
Helten smacked his lips in confusion. He patted his big belly, and then ordered Scud, the fastest runner in the whole clan. First go to Lepidus' camp to stop fighting and sue for peace, and then go to Alexandria to ask for the Pharaoh's order to welcome His Royal Highness back.
The next day, the camp of Lepidus' army had densely surrounded several sand dune fortresses. When the "Scud" came to the camp of the commander with the flag of the Amun sheep skull erected on the other side, the soldiers were driving the cavalry artillery cart and raising brisk cannons. The dust rushed towards the front line, leaving the Scud messenger dumbfounded, not knowing what it was.
"You can ask the Pharaoh to issue an edict to cease fire with Nebamos and escort the prince back. But the trouble has to be done quickly, because if I don't see the prince with my own eyes, or your chief will send the prince into my camp Come, both sides can only continue to acquiesce to the state of war." Li Bida, who was standing in the camp to receive the envoy, asked his men to reward the envoy with a glass of ice water, but his tone was extremely tough.
It was very difficult for the messenger, and he also knew that this was done intentionally by the coach in front of him. If he handed over the prince, he might actually be killed by this guy on the way, and then supported Cleopatra to ascend the throne; if he didn't hand over the prince, If we do, our homeland will be ravaged by this army in vain, and once the enemy forces reach the royal court, the safety of Egypt's little Ptolemy is still not guaranteed. As long as the Romans "accidentally fire" a javelin, the tragedy will be will be molded.
Just when the messenger hesitated, he suddenly heard a thunderous sound, and then felt that the ground under his feet was shaking, and the tent hangings above his head were swinging and jingling wildly. He hurried out to find out, but saw two Fu There is a sand dune fortress somewhere outside the dragon. The shelter and border fortress built by their tribe with mud slabs and sand. Even though it is not as strong as the Roman or Greek fortresses, but - fragments are flying on the walls of the sand dune fortress. , section by section quickly collapsed, and then sank slumped in the shaking and plumes of smoke. The messenger turned his head and realized that it was the very fast artillery carts that had caused all this. After quickly setting up a position, they destroyed the sand dune fortress in half a day.
There is no doubt that most of the defenders and tribesmen inside will be buried alive and die, and few will survive.
Looking back, the alien general had a sarcastic face, and the generals around him were full of murderous intent. He said to himself in a regretful tone, "So, I hope you can really seize the time, otherwise our army will advance too far." Fast."
In the royal court, after receiving the report from the envoy, Hertun was so frightened that he was sweating. He hurriedly recruited four Scuds, gave them enough water and dry food, and took turns running in a relay towards the city of Alexandria, "to surpass the antelopes in the desert." The speed!”
At this time, the flute player was in the side room of the palace, kneeling before the statue of Serapis, begging the army of the governor to win the expedition, bring his son back, marry his daughter, and be the last ruler of Egypt. Pharaoh, who stayed for fifty years before gifting the kingdom to Rome.
At this time, the eunuch Mortanmenis who was accompanying the Pharaoh burst into tears. When the Pharaoh asked him the reason, he just said that he was worried about the safety of His Royal Highness, "But your Majesty, perhaps our worries are cheap and unnecessary, because we live under the swords of the Romans, and we can't protect ourselves. Look at this royal city, there are centurions speaking Latin everywhere, and legion soldiers patrolling the night. They only listen to the orders of the regent vizier."
Hearing this, the flute player also became a little uneasy. He had to admit that some of the eunuch's words did hit the point. Even though the regent Lepidus' attitude was so humble and he was so considerate of the royal family, he was still dependent on others after all. This feeling was completely lingering.
Suddenly, the vanishing cream wine glass fell to the floor. It was the mistake of the court lady who accompanied the sacrifice and the daughter's hairdressing maid Chamion. She heard the eunuch's speech just now, and she was flustered and couldn't hold the plate holding the wine glass.
"Where is my daughter?" The flute player sat on a chair and asked Charmion expressionlessly.
"She was ill and could not attend the sacrificial ceremony. Iras was accompanying her. She seemed to have been infected with fever." Charmion answered with a trembling voice.
The flute player said nothing. His expression was unclear in the dim light. Only the golden crown and hat were still shining. But he raised his chin slightly, which meant that Charmion could leave.
After Charmion bowed and left at the door, the eunuch winked at the chief of the palace guards beside him, Diotusos, who nodded, got up and followed Charmion away. (To be continued...)