Chapter 75 Follow-up 2
At first, the two queens thought Darius had been killed in the battle and were grieving for their son and husband. Alexander immediately sent Leonardo to assure them that Darius was still alive and that they had nothing to fear from the Macedonians.
True to his words, Alexander not only did not exercise the power that the conquerors had over women at that time, but even forbade others to mention Statila's beauty in front of him - this queen was considered one of the most beautiful women at that time. The two royal women were accompanied by Eastern attendants with whom they were familiar, and were treated like queens, not at all like prisoners.
Perhaps Alexander was the only Greek who would act like this at that time - you must know that ancient Greece at that time was a slave country, and it was a slave country that used military plunder, May Day expansion and means of existence, so he fell into this group Women generally don't end well in human hands, but Alexander is an exception.
Moreover, his restraint and the courtesy he extended to his prisoners would serve him well in future policy. From then on, all opponents were full of praise for Alexander. After appreciating his commanding ability, the Persians discovered that his personality was equally great. In this way, Alexander's job of defeating Darius became more relaxed. The next day, when Alexander and Hephaestion went to visit the two queens together, because Alexander was not more gorgeously dressed than Hephaestion, and the latter was taller, Sisygambis asked Hephaestion to be his wife. Phestion fell at his feet as Alexander. When Sisygambis realized that she had recognized the wrong person and was horrified that the conqueror was going to punish her, Alexander helped her up and said that she was not wrong because Hephaestion was also an "Alexander" ”—Alexander here means protector of men—and then he picked up Darius’s youngest son and loved him very much.
At this time, the child's father was on his way to escape, hurriedly gathering the remnants of the exiled soldiers.
The entire Persian army was destroyed at Issus, except for a small group of Greek mercenaries who had joined Darius at the Euphrates and fled to Egypt. Some of the survivors gathered together and fled back into the interior of Persia, while others fled into the mountains of Silesia. Many people gathered together and wandered for a while before fleeing back to their hometowns.
Although some stragglers fled to Cappadocia, Paphlagonia, Lucania and other places in Asia Minor, whenever they appeared, they were immediately suppressed by the local Macedonian governor and the Song Dynasty army.
Some simply failed to penetrate the defense line formed by Li Ning, while others were lucky enough to sneak into these places, but they were already familiar with the Song Dynasty army fighting with the local landlords' armed forces, and quickly wiped them out.
The end of the war was extremely smooth, leaving Li Ning with nothing to do for a short time, so he began to wander around Syria.
He knew that during the next two years Alexander met not a single step of pursuit. Therefore, this may be the closest place to the Mesopotamia that he can reach in a short period of time.
The landscape of Issus today has been greatly changed due to the accumulation of sediments from the rivers that flowed through the plain. A large part of the coast has been turned into a stretch of swamp, and the Syria Gate is now blocked by landslides and is impassable. Today, the only road that can pass through the Amanus Mountains is the Amanus Gate.
Lamenting the various changes in 2300 years, Li Ning is also imagining what will happen in the future.
After this battle, even the Persians realized that numbers alone could not win the battle. Although this is a commonplace today, in the eyes of the ancients who only knew quantity, it may be difficult for them to recognize this problem. Although Napoleon once said that the gods will side with greater numbers, his own divine calculations can equal the strength of thousands of troops. But when he made these remarks, the training and discipline levels of soldiers from various European countries were comparable. When the numbers are equal, the genius of the commander becomes the decisive factor. The Persian rabble cannot be counted within the scope of Napoleon's motto or theory. Darius had boasted before the battle that he would crush Alexander with his huge army, but whether it was this time or later at the Battle of Arbela where he really had the opportunity to exert his numerical superiority, he himself was always the leader of the entire army. weakness. The Persian king's mistake could also be considered Alexander's good fortune. Generally speaking, the Persians, especially the nobles and generals, were very brave and reliable, but their large armies were still easy to defeat. Darius was not a man of firm nature. When he found that the Greeks, whom he had underestimated, dared to compete with him with only a small number of soldiers, he lost his mind. On the contrary, Alexander's excellent command in the battle showed the highest level. With his keen eyesight, he not only sorted out the entire situation, but also discovered the weaknesses in the opponent's front, and challenged the opponent's huge troops with the same respectable courage and calmness. There is no doubt that it was these qualities displayed by Alexander that finally allowed the goddess of war to deceive Macedonia.
The Battle of Issus was probably the most far-reaching of all Alexander's victories. After this battle, Alexander's name became almost synonymous with the god. As usual, Alexander celebrated his victory with games and sacrificial rites. In commemoration, he also built the city of Alexandria in the passes of Syria. Three huge altars were also erected on the banks of the Pinarus River to commemorate the soldiers who died here. Since Silesia was of the greatest military importance among the conquered regions and must be placed in the hands of the best generals, Alexander chose an aide-de-camp, Balaclus, son of Nicanor, as governor of Silesia. Balaclus was succeeded in the post of aide-de-camp by Menes, and Polyperchon succeeded Ptolemy, son of Seleucus. Menon, the son of Serdemas, became governor of northern Syria, ruling an area limited to the area occupied by Parmenio. Alexander also left him a Greek allied cavalry force to garrison the area under his jurisdiction.
Li Ning, on the other hand, continued its previous restraint and did not make any territorial claims.
But soon after, he suggested that Pang Ji lead his army north to capture the Amanus Gate. However, this was not to pursue Darius III, but to compete for the Sochi Plain and the Caucasus region in the north - the area they should be responsible for according to the previous alliance, and it was also an important step in coordinating the Black Sea operation.
