Operation Black Sea has achieved fruitful results in the past year.
The embryos were different. Several Greek city-states had already become colonies in the hands of the Song Dynasty.
At the beginning, the people of the Song Dynasty still hoped to live in peace with them. But later they slowly discovered that the Greek colonists who aimed for military expansion always invaded the surrounding land, and they were accustomed to enslaving others, so even when they cultivated the land, they wanted to get something for nothing, so they and the local people There were serious conflicts between the wetland farmers and the Song Dynasty farmers who wanted to obtain these ownerless lands.
The Song Dynasty army learned of this situation soon after. In view of Li Ning's explanation long ago, if there is a conflict between local immigrants and indigenous people or colonists, troops should be sent out immediately to suppress it. Ensure the basic interests of immigrants. Therefore, Pang Ji sorted out the middle-level military attachés with him, and he had already thought about going there to show off his power.
So in the summer, a battle swept across the northern shore of the Black Sea, causing several cities that refused to lurk to become inhabited in an instant. In front of the Greek colonists, they were numerous and well-equipped, and even had a large number of engineering projects. The Song Dynasty army with weapons was simply like a nightmare.
Although the Greeks have mastered many engineering tools, the Song Dynasty army was an engineering profession that had been honed in the Central Plains. In front of the backward Greeks, they had more advantages in terms of self-confidence, equipment and tactical training.
Therefore, after several bloody battles, the remaining cities all chose to surrender to the city, and the right to speak changed from the original Greek colonists to the Song Dynasty army or later residents. This made Pang Ji very happy, because with these Based on the city, they can develop divergently into many surrounding lands, and even launch expeditions to the grasslands in the north.
However, from Li Ning's perspective, the people of the Song Dynasty were still too accustomed to living in closed cities. Without such a structure, I am afraid they would not feel safe. However, the fact is that even with such a structure, it can bring them The security guarantee is very limited. These cities on the northern shore of the Black Sea are still missing a lot compared to the serious cities in mainland Greece and those colonies that were conquered in the early days. Therefore, they cannot be like the city of Tire or anything else. A city can fully protect its residents from attacks from the outside world.
Speaking of the city of Tire, we have to mention Alexander's upcoming southern expedition.
As a monarch whose goal is to conquer Asia and even the world, his actions will certainly not surprise anyone.
However, when Li Ning read Alexander's biography when he was young, he once had a strange question: Why didn't he continue to attack the core of the Persian Empire eastward from the place where he won the battle?
Later, he also struggled with this question for a long time, but he still hasn't got an answer. Originally, he had the opportunity to ask Alexander in person before he set off, which was a wish he had for many years, but in the end he didn't. It succeeded because Alexander was just too fast.
Moreover, the naval fleets in Boston are really uneasy.
Historically, after the Battle of Issus, the Persian admirals tried to save those lands and armies that still had a chance to escape doom. In order to avoid betrayal on the island of Chios, the few remaining Persian admirals went there with 12 triremes and 15,000 mercenaries. But the impact of Memnon's move to Li-Ning and the defeat of Issos was disastrous. Soon after, the Persian allies in Phoenicia and Cyprus showed signs of falling apart, which dealt a more serious blow to the Persian Empire's maritime power than the previous two incidents. When Alexander did not go to the Euphrates as the Persians expected, but began to advance towards Phenicia, the kings of the coastal city-states immediately felt that their rule was threatened, which also greatly weakened their loyalty to Persia. Memnon's huge influence was completely gone.
The Persian fleet left a garrison on the island of Chios, then sent several warships to Kos and Halicarnassus, and finally sailed to the island of Sifnos. King Agis of Sparta, who was still resisting Alexander, tried to persuade the Persian generals to send a fleet to the Peloponnese so that the Spartans could join forces with the Persian fleet and actively raid Macedonian territory. But although Agis had a positive attitude and continued to promote these grand plans, the news of the Persian defeat at Issus prevented all these actions. The Persian generals immediately returned to Chios to avoid a rebellion there, which was now not impossible. Agis only obtained 30 talents of gold and 10 triremes from the Persians, so he had no choice but to send his brother Agesilaus to Crete and other Aegean islands to foment rebellion. Together they went to Halicarnassus with Autophradatis.
But now the situation has been very different. Not to mention that Alexander has reorganized a fleet. The fleets brought by Li Ning from the Song Dynasty alone are enough to give the Persians a headache. In the original history, there were 8,000 Greeks. After the Battle of Erath, the mercenaries, led by Amytas, the son of Antiochus, fled to the south by boat. However, this time Li Ning sent people to inquire according to the original records, but there was still no trace. It was found that this group of people actually included many Greek mercenaries among his prisoners who were willing to surrender.
Regarding Greek mercenaries, the Song Dynasty had an ambiguous attitude. It had a mature and steady view that it was not appropriate to assign them too important tasks before fully understanding them. Therefore, Li Ning divided them into different groups and photographed different They went to different places to perform different tasks, which was approved by many mature and prudent people. However, the loyalty and decisiveness, hard work and hardship they showed later, and their hard-working qualities quickly conquered many officials of the Song Dynasty. Now the officials of the Song Dynasty are hiring Greeks. The needs of the soldiers have already reached a new level.
Therefore, if Li Ning brings these people back, he will definitely be praised by his colleagues, and at the same time, he will be able to greatly enrich his combat foundation.
However, it was a very good choice for these people to stay and chat with him. They all still lacked understanding of Greece. Until now, Li Ning, who was considered by the Song Dynasty court to know the situation in Greece best, still didn't know why Alexander chose to go south directly instead of Advance into Mesopotamia and capture Babylonia.
During the chat, Li Ning slowly understood Alexander's intentions.
After his victory at Issus, Alexander did not advance directly toward the Euphrates plains and thus into the heart of Persia, but instead headed south into Phoenicia. Because as long as he flattened the city-states in this coastal area, Alexander could eliminate all resistance as far away as Egypt. It had been part of his master plan to secure control of the entire coastline before heading inland.
However, it is now impossible to verify whether these plans were formulated before the king set out from Pella, or whether they were born as he moved deeper into Asia and the problem of sea control became more and more serious. But it is reasonable to suspect that Alexander simply may not have had sufficient geographical intelligence at the beginning of his expedition for him to formulate such a plan.
But no matter what, his entire strategic move was perfect and balanced. As mentioned before, he had sent Parmenio with the Thessalian cavalry across the Eurontis valley to capture Syria and seize the treasures and camp supplies that Darius had left in Damascus before his march to Issus. After making appropriate arrangements for Silesia's affairs, he led his army into Phoenicia.
At this point, Li Ning finally had a proper understanding of Alexander's thoughts. What's even more interesting is that although Alexander's political and legal administration of southern Phoenicia did not involve Li Ning, it brought huge benefits to Li Ning.
Unlike the rest of the Mediterranean coast ruled by the Persian kings, Phoenicia did not completely fall into tyranny. Persia relied heavily on the skills of the Phoenician city-states' sailors and their fleets. At the same time, it was also Persia's most important trading port, which gave them a status similar to that of the later German Free Cities. While their geography doesn't provide the isolation necessary for complete independence, their terrain between Mount Lebanon and the sea is dangerous enough. Many of their cities are built on coastal islands, and some are built in locations that are inaccessible by land or sea. Each city controls a large or small area. Although the large amount of trade and handicrafts in these cities did not decline under Eastern rule like other towns, they have been brought under Persian jurisdiction to the greatest extent possible.
The warships of each Phoenician city-state were serving in the Persian fleet at this time, and most of the commanders of these squadrons were the king himself. But as mentioned above, the result of the Battle of Issus directly shook the foundations of these cities, and the governments left in their hometowns also saw the need to turn to Alexander. If these city-states could unite, they could cause Alexander a lot of trouble. But the estrangement and jealousy between them, coupled with Alexander's clever seduction, prevent this possibility. The capture of Phoenicia was a prerequisite for Alexander's success. As long as Darius maintained control or influence over Phoenicia, even if only in formal partnership with those city-states, he would always have a fleet. And once these city-states are no longer loyal to Persia, the Persian king's most powerful weapon will switch to the opponent's camp.
At this time, Li Ning has leisurely started to collect Angora rabbits on the Asia Minor Peninsula. These rabbits will bring him huge profits in the next time. With Phenicia, a commercial city-state, I believe these profits will be It’s not difficult to convert.
