Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 243: Towards Cyprus

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The prudent Yalitaka even refused the request of the new military commander of the Western Asia Minor Fana Bazos on the grounds of following the order of the Persian king and guarding the coastal waters. He hoped that the Persian fleet could assist the Asia Minor army, The sea transportation line of the Greek troops landing in Asia Minor was cut off, and in the end, Phanabazos had to let the coastal city-states in western Asia Minor form a new fleet.

Yalitaka’s rejection of Phanabazos was partly selfish: the Phoenicians and the Greeks in Asia Minor competed in business, and historically the two races had a lot of grievances (mainly The Persian fleet composed of Phoenicians helped Darius conquer the Greek city-states in western Asia Minor), so the relationship between the two races is not good today.

But when he heard the news that "the newly formed Asia Minor fleet was ambushed by the Dionian fleet and the entire army was annihilated", although he was fortunate that he did not agree to Fanabazos's request, he also felt that Very disturbed: After the Dionian fleet has taken control of the western waters of Asia Minor, it is very likely that its next target will be the Near East waters!

So he not only intensified patrols in the Near East, but also intensified the training of the entire Persian fleet. For this reason, he also severely punished several Cypriot and Syrian generals who did not obey the orders, and received the King’s Full support.

It didn’t take long for another important news to come from the south that "King Dionian led an army to land in Egypt." Both the Jews and the Phoenicians began to panic because they realized Dio The Nya army is really going to invade Persia from Egypt!

But more than a month later, the Egyptian Dionian army remained silent. The Persian generals stationed in Gaza City sent scouts across the desert to spy on the Egyptian border several times, but there was no news.

In order to avoid losses, the Persian general sent envoys to Cyprus many times, requesting that the Persian fleet be able to send fast boats to the coast of Egypt to spy on the movements of the Dionian army.

Yalitaka agreed and sent fast boats to the Egyptian waters many times, but most of them never returned. The crew who finally escaped reported to him that the Dionians were deployed in the Egyptian waters. Many warships patrolled heavily, and it was difficult for the Clippers to get close to the coast.

In order to avoid losses, Yalitaka no longer sent ships to survey Egypt, but he also strengthened his guard against the southern waters.

During this time, the Phoenicians have been looking forward to the arrival of the Persian army, but according to the news from Babylon, the Persian army has been stationed near Baghdad not far from Babylon, and has not tried to advance west to aid the Near East. Of course, one of the most popular explanations is that the territory of Persia is too large, and the time spent on full-scale military mobilization is too long. The Persian king is still waiting for the elite Persian troops stationed in Persepolis far east. Scythians and Indians with different tactical styles...

Among the many rumors, there is a saying that caused the Phoenicians to be uneasy, "The king of Persia is afraid of the power of the Dionian army, so it takes more time to gather more troops? confrontation".

Yalitaka does not pay attention to these rumors. What he is concerned about is to ensure the safety of the near east seas before the arrival of the Persian king, so he will arrive early every day at the fleet command at the largest naval port in Cyprus? Listen carefully to each other The report of the patrol team? To understand whether there is any abnormality in the entire Near East waters.

The last day of the end of March? Yalitaka came to the Fleet Command as usual. Everything was the same as usual. He thought that today would be a peaceful day again? Who knows when the sky is bright? A patrol ship quickly returned to the military port. The captain hurried into the command post and reported to Yalithaka in a panic: A huge Dionian fleet was found in the southern waters of Cyprus!

Then one after another patrol ships kept rushing back to the military port? Yalitaka combined the information they had discovered? Can’t help being surprised: there are about a hundred troop carriers and cargo ships in a fleet? The escorts of hundreds of Dionian warships? Coming towards Cyprus...

The intention of the Dionians is very obvious? They want to take Cyprus! ……Yalitakar suddenly became nervous? Of course he understood that in order to prevent the Dionian army from landing on the island of Cyprus, or even completely destroy the troop carrier in the sea, he must first defeat the **** fleet. The Dionia fleet, this is bound to be a super large-scale naval battle!

The Cyprus admirals, who were worried about the safety of their motherland, broke into the headquarters before he called the generals? As the two pillars of this Persian fleet-Phoenician and Cyprus admirals are very rare and fast Reached an agreement? Develop a combat plan? Then rush to the naval port where his fleet is anchored as quickly as possible? Urgently ordered the crew to board and leave the port.

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The first and second fleets are guarding the Dionian troop transport fleet. When starting from Egypt, the first fleet will guard the entire fleet on the right side, and the second fleet will be on the left? Almost the troop transport fleet will be guarded. In the middle, they are arranged into a tighter mixed array of more than one mile wide and three or four miles long.

A few hours after the departure of the First and Second Fleets, the Third Fleet, as the reserve force, was also escorting the heavy-duty fleet from the port of Naukratis, heading for Cyprus.

But after several days of continuous voyages, the huge array of ships composed of the first and second fleets and troop carriers is no longer as neat as it was when they first set off. Although there was no storm during the voyage, it was the previous day. The strong south wind also caused more than a dozen raven warships and troop carriers to capsize, and the entire array was blown away, and it took most of a day to gather together again.

In the early hours of this morning, due to the heavy fog on the sea and the changeable sea breeze, it was only when the daylight was bright that Sekrian got the news: the entire fleet was dispersed again, and the first fleet was the first in the first fleet. The first and second squadrons, most of the third squadron of the second squadron, part of the fourth squadron, and nearly 100 troop carriers are still gathered together, while the other ships have disappeared.

Sekrian, who has always been energetic, has been a bit tired after wandering at sea these days, and didn't even want to complain. He just reluctantly issued an order: send out the clippers in all directions, search for other ships, and notify them as soon as possible. Move closer.

For this, he went on to give an order: the ship on which it is located slows down and asks the guide to determine the approximate location of the fleet as soon as possible.

There is no reference in the vast sea, not to mention the constellations in the daytime and the sky is invisible. No matter how experienced guides are, they can’t determine where they are. They can only judge that the entire fleet is still based on the rising sun. It is heading to the northeast.

However, Sekrian's distress did not last long. He received a message from the Clippers watcher who was in the front of the fleet: A small warship was found ahead, and it quickly turned around and left.

A patrol ship of the Persian fleet? ! ...Secrian was not surprised and rejoiced: I found traces of Persian ships here, which does not mean that the Persian military port is nearby! Maybe the island of Cyprus is not far ahead? !

He made a decisive decision and sent two more clippers to explore the direction where the Persian warship disappeared.

While waiting for the news, several small Persian warships appeared one after another near the fleet, and then quickly left.

The situation is very obvious. There must be a Persian military port nearby. After these Persian patrol ships return to report, it is very likely that a Persian fleet will come to intercept. However, at this time, the number of Dionian warships is more than half. It is likely to be at a disadvantage when facing the enemy head-on, and the situation is a bit grim! ... But after a moment of contemplation, Sekrian gave a decisive order: all ships raised their sails and accelerated toward the northeast.

At the same time, he left two clippers, staying there waiting for the clippers searching for the remaining fleet to return, and then rushed to the island of Cyprus with the fleet and fleet that he found.

Secrian’s decision can be said to be quite risky, but because of his prestige in the navy, none of the admirals and shipowners present dared to express objections, so the entire fleet had to speed up northward.

About twenty minutes later, they encountered the Clippers who had gone to explore the way and returned. When they learned that the island of Cyprus was 15 miles away, both the crew and the soldiers were suddenly refreshed.

With the help of the not-so-strong south wind, the fleet approached the island of Cyprus after forty minutes.

The soldiers on the troop carrier cheered and began to actively organize their packages and weapons, and the crew's oars became more vigorous.

Under the guidance of the guide, the fleet sailed around the western waters of the island of Cyprus towards the beach where it could land. All the warships were guarding the outer edge of the troop carrier, and the watchmen climbed up the masts and watched the movement of the open sea with wide eyes.

Learning that there is no enemy defending on the landing beach, and that there is no Persian fleet in the surrounding waters, Sekerian exhales, knowing that his adventure has succeeded: although the fleet is being attacked by Persian patrol boats I found out, but because the incident happened suddenly and the fleet moved quickly, even if it was the Persian fleet or the enemy forces on the island of Cyprus, even if they got the news, they obviously did not have enough time to prepare for a counterattack.

But Sekrian did not dare to take it lightly. He knew that the Persian fleet could appear at any time, so he ordered the crew and soldiers of the fleet to hurry up, replenish water, and regain strength.

More than 4,000 soldiers from the Dionian regiment finally landed on the beach and began to unload the cargo ships in batches.

Seeing this situation, the flagship captain of the First Fleet immediately asked Secorian for instructions: "My lord, our mission of covering and landing has been completed. Do you want to return to meet the second and third fleets first, and then return? Come here, looking for a decisive battle with the Persian fleet?"