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- Chapter 36
Egypt!
What is Egypt?
The Nile River, the Sahara Desert, the Pyramids, Cleopatra, the Curse of the Pharaoh, before arriving in Egypt, anyone who knows something about Egypt only has these keywords in their mind.
Thousands of years of glory in the wind and sand are the murmured prayers of the pharaohs!
? One civilization replaces another, with war after war, condensed in grave after grave!
One faith replaces another, starting with new temples and ending with new churches and mosques!
A group of people wandered in the scorching desert, while another group of people came over from the other side of the sea, driving boats and riding horses, fighting in the north and south, using blood and fire to write a great epic of conquest and conquest!
This is the prayer of the Sun God, and the call of Allah is over there!
A place where the past may be more exciting than the present. While the people of this country are busy familiarizing themselves with their history, their glory may be buried in the topsoil beneath their feet.
In Egyptian mythology, there is a bird in the vast desert that lives for five hundred years before being burned and then reborn from its ashes. The Egyptians called it the Phoenix, while in China, people called it the Phoenix.
In fact, humans must want to have such regenerative ability. Otherwise, there would be no fabricated myth that the phoenix can be reborn.
The civilization of ancient Egypt was born from the Nile River. It was glorious and dazzling, and then it was destroyed by the invasion of aliens and slowly withered. Now it is time for it to be reborn.
In the eyes of later generations, the pyramid is the most typical symbol of Egypt. Later generations once discovered a stone slab. In a war scene engraved on it, a king-like figure wearing a white crown symbolizing Upper Egypt was holding a power. The staff strikes a kneeling figure, and on the other side is the same king, but on his head is the red crown of Lower Egypt. This tablet dates from 3100 BC and is known as the "Nerman Palette".
A king wearing two crowns means that Egypt at that time was unified under the rule of the same monarch. The history of Egypt began with the unification of ancient Egypt by King Nalman. After more than 3,000 years, 170 kings and pharaohs changed. This is the so-called "Egypt in the Age of the Pharaohs." It was not until the "New King" era that began in 1550 BC that the king took the title "Pharaoh".
In many histories of later generations, archaeologists believe that Nalman, the first king who unified ancient Egypt, may have been Menes. This ruler may have had two names. He founded the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis at the junction of Upper and Lower Egypt in order to better control both the Nile Valley and the Delta. People describe the city of Memphis as a "prosperous world city" at that time. From the large-scale tombs, we can imagine the glory of the city at that time. This period is what people call the "Pyramid Age".
Traveling through the dazzling and extremely glorious civilization, the descendants of the Yan and Huang Dynasties who also come from ancient civilizations may be better able to understand that it is not easy for this kind of civilization to condense.
In the history of ancient Egypt, there was an extremely glorious and powerful period, especially after the rise of Thebes, which worshiped Amun as the "King of the Gods", marking the beginning of the Middle Kingdom.
In the middle of the 14th century BC, during the transitional period between the two glorious eras of the Old Kingdom and the New Kingdom of Egypt, there was once a capital city unparalleled in the world in the middle reaches of the Nile River. This is Thebes, which was called the "City of a Hundred Gates" by Homer, the great ancient Greek poet. Continuous divisions and wars stagnated the social development of ancient Egypt.
From about 2134 BC, the Pharaoh Mensu Haideb of the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt built Thebes as the capital. The prosperity of Thebes is linked to the god Amun. After Pharaoh Mengsu Hadaibu set his capital in Thebes, he began to build a large-scale construction project in Thebes for the god Amun. The important position of Thebes in the history of ancient Egypt was thus established.
Toward the end of the Middle Kingdom, Egypt was invaded by the Hyksos, a Palestinian nation from the north. The Hyksos first used horses and chariots in the war, coupled with superb archery, they conquered most of Egypt, mainly the Nile Delta, and finally settled in Avalis and established the 15th Dynasty and the Sixteenth Dynasty. Thebes experienced its first decline.
During the 40 years of Amenhotep III's reign, he almost never launched a war. Instead, he concentrated on taking the large amounts of wealth and prisoners of war plundered in the war, and began to build spectacular buildings for the god Amun and themselves in East Thebes. The temples and palaces left behind fascinating and rich treasures for future generations of tomb robbers.
Because of this, Egypt almost became the center of international tomb robbers in later generations. Amenhotep III spent so much manpower and material resources that??Are you dizzy or have you received revelation from God? Only he himself knows.
There is also the most famous pharaoh in later generations. He ascended the throne at the age of 9 and died at the age of 18. Although he was unknown during his reign and had no achievements, his tomb was forgotten by tomb robbers and was completely forgotten in modern times. After digging, this young pharaoh became famous all over the world instantly and became the pride of ancient Egyptian civilization. His famous golden mask even became Egypt's national symbol.
After Tutankhamun, a young royal boy, died in infancy, there was no successor to the throne. In order to seize the throne, the queen's grandfather Aya desperately married his granddaughter in a hurry even though he was already in his late teens.
After Aya's death, the throne fell into the hands of a general, Ramesses I, who was powerful in all directions. In the Ramses dynasty, all the pharaohs were good at fighting. The most outstanding warrior among them was Ramses II. This warrior, worshiped by the Egyptians as the omnipotent pharaoh god, was invincible on the battlefield. The huge Abu Simbel Temple, Karnak Hall of Pillars, and the Ramses Temple in Thebes that he built are simply representatives of Egypt in the eyes of the world.
It can be said that Ramses II was a pharaoh with severe architectural fanaticism and exhibitionism. He liked to erect his huge stone statues wherever he could, wherever he could, to demonstrate his power and great achievements. . No other pharaoh could have completed as many civil works on such a large scale as him, and no one could have built as many statues of himself as he did.
During the time of Ramses, the god Amun was also threatened by the God whom the Israelites believed in. Moses, an Israelite who was once part of the royal family of Pharaoh, was exiled to the Sinai Peninsula and accepted God's Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. Later, he returned to Pharaoh's capital and used God's revelation to openly refute the revelation of Amun that Pharaoh Ramesses believed in. It put the Egyptian Pharaoh's faith at an unprecedented threat and led millions of Israelis to successfully leave Egypt.
In the 7th century BC, the last queen of the ancient Egyptian kingdom used poisonous snakes to end her legendary and glamorous life, and at the same time, it also ended the most prosperous empire era in Egypt.
Since then, this kingdom that created the most glorious civilization of mankind began to be ruled by foreigners. It fell into the hands of foreign rulers such as the Assyrians, Greeks, Romans, Turks, French and British, and its resources were plundered. Empty. Even after Egypt later declared itself a sovereign country, such a bad situation did not improve. It was not until the famous victory of the Egyptian Revolution in 1952 that Egypt's history of being ravaged by outsiders completely ended after more than two thousand years.
Now the time seems to be coming forward, and the Egyptians will gain freedom and new life. At least this is what the Tang Dynasty thought. They did not regard themselves as invaders. If they had to define themselves, perhaps the Tang people would be more willing to accept one. The title of conqueror and liberator.
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"Rumble!"
The earth-shattering sound of horse hooves sounded, and the Tang army, one after another, galloped across the dry land, forming a neat military formation. The Tang army was well-trained, moved quickly, and formed very quickly. It didn't take long before huge military formations appeared on the ground. They were arranged in horizontal rows and vertical columns. The formations were thick and cautious, giving people a sense of being unshakable.
Every Tang Army officer is wearing the same bright armor, full of energy, head held high, fighting spirit high, and his eyes shining with an extreme desire to make achievements.
Among them, there are not many people who have experience of serving under Du Rui. The compulsory military service system implemented by the Tang Dynasty after Du Rui's reform is implemented. The general private soldiers only need to serve four years of military service. You can apply for retirement. Sometimes, in order to ensure the youthfulness of the army, the Tang Dynasty military would often disarmament.
Over the years, there have been no major wars in the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, before them, some soldiers even served in the army for four years and never had the opportunity to serve on the battlefield.
Not being able to go into battle to kill the enemy and make contributions is difficult to accept for the Tang Army soldiers who are eager to serve their country. However, these Tang Army soldiers are lucky now. They have got this opportunity, this opportunity that can make them stand out, even if this opportunity They need to die a hundred times in exchange for a lifetime, and they have no regrets.
What do soldiers do? They protect their families and the country, and expand their territory. Otherwise, why would the country spend so much money every year to support them?
Most of them have no experience in war. Not to mention the longer-term conquest of Tubo, even the closest fight against Dashi. They all just listened to the seniors in the army with envious expressions. Got up.
At that time, they were really full of envy. Now it was finally their turn to achieve fame on the battlefield with one sword and one gun.
Those who are eager to go to warThere are too many soldiers in the army, Liaodong Army, Forbidden Army, Tianzhu Army, Annan Army, Anxi Army, countless soldiers are looking forward to getting this honor, but after all, there are only a few who can personally participate in it. These people were also selected through layers of screening. It can be said that they are all the elites among the elites in the armies of various military regions.
Serving the country and fighting on the battlefield was an opportunity that every Tang army soldier had longed for, especially to fight against the Tang Dynasty's feuding enemy. Yan, the orders are strict, they have already sang loudly.
Dashi, Congling!
These two words are the eternal pain in the heart of every Tang Dynasty soldier. Although afterwards, Du Rui led his army into the Western Regions and rushed to Central Asia, winning four battles and four victories, and annihilated the Dashi army, which was regarded as revenge.
But in the hearts of every soldier of the Tang Dynasty, this hatred could not be wiped away with the lives of cannibals. Hundreds of thousands of loyal souls were buried in the green hills, the mountains and rivers were changed, and the five mountains were turned upside down. This hatred It has been deeply engraved in the souls of Datang soldiers.
kill! kill! kill!
Only when the country is destroyed by killing and eating, and only when there are no more men left after killing and eating, can this hatred be extinguished, and it is still early.
Defeating the Great Eclipse is the dream of the men of the Tang Dynasty. It inspires the men of the Tang Dynasty all the time. Now they are standing on the land of the Great Eclipse. The prelude to their revenge has begun. Everyone is really excited and fighting. He was so excited that he wished he could spread his wings, find all the cannibals he could find, and fight them to the death.
"Got it! Got it!"
The sound of rapid hoofbeats sounded, and Xue Rengui was seen galloping towards him, surrounded by generals. Now, he was only in his thirties, in the prime of life, with a white helmet and white armor, a plain robe hanging from his waist. The sword given by the emperor looks majestic.
Although Xue Rengui's status in the minds of the soldiers was not as high as that of Du Rui, it was still very high. Although he was not the god of war like Du Rui, it was not much different. He conquered Khitan, conquered three Koreas, and crossed the sea to conquer Japan. In recent years, troops have been sent to the north year after year, expanding the territory for more than ten thousand miles. Xue Rengui's reputation has long been famous throughout the world.
When the soldiers saw Xue Rengui arriving, they all raised their chests and raised their heads, their eyes widened, staring at Xue Rengui, waiting for orders.
Arriving in front of the military formation, Xue Rengui pulled the reins of his horse. The horse neighed and stood up, then stopped. Xue Rengui glanced at the military formation and was very satisfied with the fighting spirit of the soldiers and nodded slightly.
"Brothers! Today is a big day!" Xue Rengui began to give pre-war lectures.
This was the signal to go out. As soon as Xue Rengui spoke, the soldiers were all excited. Their eyes were wide open, their chests were high, and they were full of energy. Even if they were facing mountains of swords and seas of fire, they would dare to break through. Even if they were facing ten palaces, Yama, they also dare to kill.
"Today is the day when our army officially marches into Egypt and sweeps across Africa!" Xue Rengui explained.
"The Tang Dynasty is victorious!"
Xue Rengui's lecture was drowned by the earth-shattering roar. The soldiers could not hide their joy and roared loudly.
"The great cannibals have occupied Egypt for more than ten years. Now it is our turn to take charge of the Tang Dynasty. We will take Egypt from the hands of the great cannibals and plant the flag of the Tang Dynasty in every corner of Egypt!"
"The Tang Dynasty is victorious!"
Starting a war with Dashi is the dream of a man in the Tang Dynasty. He has been looking forward to it for a long time, but he has finally arrived at this moment. Although I have known it for a long time, hearing it from Xue Rengui's mouth still makes people happy and exciting. In the heart of every soldier of the Tang Dynasty, they deeply hate Dashi. As long as they are enemies of Dashi, they will be punished. When the enemy is killed by the opportunity, they will be happy and excited.
"The Tang Dynasty is victorious!"
"Listening to your joy and seeing your excited expressions, I know that you are ready to fight to the death with Dashi and seize Egypt!" Xue Rengui continued to lecture, "Dashi is the mortal enemy of the Tang Dynasty. , for decades, the Great Eater destroyed our Tang Dynasty, and the wolf who enslaved China was ambitious. For this reason, the Great Eater killed our people and captured our caravans. In the battle of Congling, hundreds of thousands of loyal souls were buried in the battlefield. The Great Eater was full of sins. , a mountain of evil deeds.¡±
"Destroy Dashi!" The soldiers roared again. Everyone's eyes were shining with hatred, and the flames of revenge were already burning. In the Tang army, everyone was a brother of Paoze. Dashi killed Dashi. There were hundreds of thousands of people in the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty would kill millions of people.
Since the establishment of the Dashi Empire, with the increasingly frequent contact between the East and the West, the Dashi people have seen the wealth of the East, and their greed has increased. Almost with the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, the Dashi people have become the largest empire in the Tang Dynasty. Threats, driven by interests, generations of people in Dashi embarked on the road of Eastern Expedition, first conquering Central Asia.It then bordered the Tang Dynasty and started a game in Central Asia for many years. Both sides invested a lot of manpower, material and financial resources, killing rivers of blood and mountains of corpses.
Although the Tang Dynasty had the upper hand and repeatedly thwarted the idea of ??the Great Eaters moving eastwards, the Great Eaters Empire was a big country after all, one of the famous great empires in history, with a vast territory, a large population, abundant products, and strong strength. After repeated defeats and battles, although Datang was powerful, it could not defeat Dashi.
In order to make up for the gap with the Tang Dynasty, the Great Cannibals adopted many bloody methods, killing the people of the Tang Dynasty, robbing the caravans of the Tang Dynasty, and coercing the vassal states of the Tang Dynasty. These things happened many times every year, which made the people of the Tang Dynasty extremely angry. Until Emperor Gaozong Li Chengqian couldn't bear it and sent Su Dingfang to conquer the west. As a result, the battle of Congling was defeated, and the Tang Dynasty lost hundreds of thousands of people. If Du Rui hadn't given the order at the critical moment, , I am afraid that the Western Regions will no longer be owned by the Tang Dynasty. Although the two sides have been at peace with each other over the years, the hatred has not been eliminated. On the contrary, it has become deeper and deeper, and it cannot be resolved at all. Xue Rengui used this lecture to inspire the soldiers. The effect of hatred was very obvious, murderous intent emerged in the eyes of the soldiers.
"The most hateful thing is that just a few years ago, the Da Shi people supported the nine surnames of Zhaowu to rebel against the Tang Dynasty and try to get involved in the Western Regions. The late emperor could not bear the humiliation and sent his troops westward. However, he was defeated in the battle of Congling. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers died. Da Shi Hundreds of thousands of troops were sent to invade the Western Regions, besiege the four towns of Anxi, and attempt to march into Hexi and conquer Chang'an. Their ambitions are obvious, and their determination to destroy me will never die!" Xue Rengui's voice turned higher and he said loudly, "Fortunately, Duke Guo of the Song Dynasty was ordered to attack the Western Regions at a critical moment, defeat Dashi, relieve the siege of Anxi Town, regain our Western Regions, cross the Congling Mountains, and rush to Central Asia to avenge this great hatred!"
"Destroy the big food!"
"The Tang Dynasty is victorious!"
They have naturally known what Xue Rengui said for a long time, but today they still feel very excited and their eyes are shining with reverence.
Xue Rengui then said: "Soldiers! It's our turn now. Although the Great Eaters were defeated by Song Guogong, their ambitions have not died. Now they want to attack our friendly country of the Tang Dynasty, and their intention is still with our Tang Dynasty. Soldiers, Hundreds of thousands of loyal souls in Congling are still alive. They are looking forward to us day and night to defeat the big eaters. Now, I have led you to Egypt to tell those big eaters that we will no longer wait at home. , waiting for them to attack, this Egypt is the first step in Datang¡¯s revenge!¡±
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After listening to Xue Rengui's instructions, the soldiers were all excited and roared loudly, like a tiger roaring, which shook the world.
"The Tang Dynasty will be victorious!" Xue Rengui raised his right arm high and roared loudly.
"The Tang Dynasty is victorious!" The soldiers also burst out with shocking roars. At this moment, they were so heroic and heroic that they soared to the ninth heaven.
Xue Rengui swung the sword in his hand towards the northwest, like thunder and lightning, which was extremely powerful.
Su Xiang raised his hand to Xue Rengui, jumped up on his horse, led the vanguard army and set off on the march. The Tang army marched out one after another, in orderly formation, without any chaos, with shocking momentum and murderous intent. Soon, all the concentrated 30,000 Anxi troops moved out and headed straight to the northwest.
Xue Rengui thought very clearly that sticking to Tour would not be able to contain it at all. Although the Sinai Peninsula was important and connected to Syria, which was crucial to the cannibals, it was indeed impossible for the cannibals to ignore it.
But if it was just in the city of Tours, it would be impossible to scare the cannibals into mobilizing their troops. Since the city of Tours is insignificant in the eyes of the cannibals, what about Syria?
Not only is Su heading this way, but more troops will be following, heading towards the northwest of the Sinai Peninsula from different directions. There is not only Syria, but more importantly, across a bay, there is Arabia. The peninsula is the homeland of the cannibals and the place where they started.
One hundred thousand troops will attack in all directions, creating an illusion for the great cannibals, making them mistakenly believe that the Tang Dynasty landed at Tour and was preparing to attack the Arabian Peninsula.
The plan has been decided, and the next step is to execute it, but the Tang army is also facing an extremely severe test. Their marching route is not a good place, but a desert, and they have to cross it.
Deserts are not uncommon in Egypt. Because northern Africa is located in a zone controlled alternately by the subtropical high pressure and the northeast trade winds. These two atmospheric motion systems are very dry, so large areas of deserts have formed in northern Africa, such as the Sahara Desert. Egypt is located in northern Africa, so tropical deserts are widespread throughout the country, and some deserts even approach the coast.
Only in the bank areas and delta areas where the Nile River flows, due toOnly the irrigation of the Nile River and the fertile silt left after the annual flooding of the Nile River provided the conditions for growing crops and developing agriculture, and provided the material foundation for Egypt's thousands of years of civilization. This is where the Nile River flows out of the tropical desert. oasis flower.
In other words, if there was no Nile River, all of Egypt's land would be desert, and both the Sahara and the Arabian Desert would be connected together. It is the Nile River that divides the vast desert into the Sahara Desert in the west and the Arabian Desert in the east.
The Sinai Peninsula is a triangular peninsula connecting Africa and Asia. It covers an area of ??61,000 square kilometers and is also mostly covered by desert. It is bounded by the Gulf of Suez to the west, the Gulf of Aqaba and the Negev Desert to the east, the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south. The maximum width from east to west is about 210 kilometers, and the maximum length from north to south is about 385 kilometers. The vast dry area on the peninsula is called the Sinai Desert. It is separated from the eastern desert of Egypt by the Gulf of Suez, but it continues into the Negev Desert to the east without significant changes in terrain.
The terrain of the Sinai Peninsula is higher in the south and lower in the north. The north-south distance from Cape Broun to Cape Mohammed is about 400 kilometers. The south is a mountainous plateau with an altitude of 800 to 1,500 meters. The highest peak, Mount Catherine, is 2,637 meters above sea level. There is the Gaa Coastal Plain in the southwest. The north is a flat plateau with rocky deserts and quicksands. The Mediterranean coast is a plain with an altitude of less than 300 meters. It is the land corridor from Port Said to Palestine.
Sinai can be divided into two main areas. One is the high mountain group in the south, including Mount Catherine, Mount Umm Shomar, Mount Tiber and Mount Sinai. The southern area is basically composed of igneous rocks and is cut by a canyon-like deep desert stream. The water of the desert stream flows into the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba. These desolate mountains are separated from the Gulf of Suez to the west by a narrow coastal plain, but their east side rises sharply from the Gulf of Aqaba.
The other area is located on the north side of the mountain, accounting for two-thirds of the entire Sinai. Its topographic features include the vast Arish River plain, some island-like hills, and the broad plains of the western and northern coasts with continuous sand dunes. A distinct ridge forming a horseshoe curve along the southern edge of the Sinai forms three major drainage areas. The northern drainage area is dominated by the Arish River, which flows into the Mediterranean Sea near the town of Arish. Both the eastern drainage area and the western drainage area contain multiple streams. It is estimated that the Sinai Desert absorbs 2 billion cubic meters of local precipitation per year.
Because the Sinai Peninsula is located in the large dry belt that spans North Africa and South Asia, the soil surface is disintegrated, the sand dunes are vast, salinized, and there are many barren streams. Judging from the occasional thick layers of alluvial soil and lacustrine deposits, less dry climate conditions were common in the past. The low-undulating northern Sinai region experiences heavy rainfall in winter and dry and hot summers. In spring and autumn, there are dry winds and occasional heavy rains.
Xue Rengui was not the first to march in the desert. The earliest one was when Du Rui led his army to conquer Gaochang and crossed thousands of miles of sand moraine. In addition, during the Zhenguan period, Su Dingfang also marched in the desert in order to destroy the Western Turks. .
Under the leadership of Su Xiang, the 30,000 Anxi Army entered the desert that day. The desert was vast and vast. The Tang Army lined up in neat formations and advanced hand in hand with a shocking momentum. Wherever the Tang Army passed by, there was a huge crow. This is The dark clouds composed of sand and soil splashed by the Tang army's horse hooves rolled towards the west.
When marching from the desert, there are two main difficulties, one is direction and the other is food and grass.
The desert is vast and there is no reference point. It is easy to get lost when marching in the desert, but this is not difficult for the Tang army. Since the Tang army reached Tour, Xue Rengui ordered to recruit guides from the local people to lead the way for the Tang army, and the local people surrendered. After all, the Dashi Empire has not lasted long, and the people's hearts have not been paid. More importantly, there is nothing in this world that money cannot buy, even loyalty. After paying high rewards, the locals immediately jumped in. Come on, for them, whoever rules here, whether it's the Great Cannibal or the Tang Dynasty, doesn't have much influence at all.
The desert is very vast, and the grain and grass needed by the 30,000-strong army are countless. It is obviously impossible to transport them from the rear. They can only be requisitioned or purchased on the spot.
For this reason, when setting off from Tianzhu Road, the Tang army carried a large amount of tea and silk, which were quite novel items for foreigners, and used these items to buy food from the indigenous residents living in the desert.
Of course, there was no need for the Tang Army to go to such trouble. In fact, everything could be solved with loot. However, Xue Rengui kept Du Rui's advice in mind and treated the locals as much as possible to appease them.
Three days after Su Xiang's vanguard army left Tour City, another Tang army was assembled. This army numbered 30,000. It was the Annan Army under Xue Rengui. They also wanted to march from the desert, all the way to the west. made a gesture of attacking the Arabian Peninsula.
The reason why we chose to set off in three days instead of marching after Su Xiang set off was because Xue Rengui had calculated that marching from the desert would take a longer time. In order to allow the Tang army to suddenly appear in the realization of the cannibalism, it was necessary for Xue Rengui to The great cannibal formed Mount TaiThe deterrent power of the overwhelming force needs to be roughly consistent in time. Only in this way can the maximum deterrent effect be achieved.
Otherwise, if part of the Tang army appears here today and part appears there tomorrow, it will be just a tactic to add fuel to the fire. Not only will it not achieve the purpose of frightening the big cannibals, but it will also make the big cannibals think that those who are here are just a small force of the Tang army. Maybe he won't take it to heart at all.
After careful calculation, Xue Rengui believed that the time difference of three days was probably about the same.
At this moment, Xue Rengui was wearing Mingguang armor, carrying a sword given by the emperor on his waist, and riding a horse. He came to the military formation and glanced at the Tang army. He saw that the Tang army was full of energy, with a rainbow of morale and a high fighting spirit. He couldn't help but be very satisfied.
"Soldiers! Three days ago, the Anxi Army led by General Su set off. Now it's your turn. Whether our army can attract all the forces of the Great Eater in Egypt depends on whether you can do it. You fishermen! I order you to kill all the big eating dogs you see along the way, leaving no grass behind!"
"Kill them all, leaving not a blade of grass!" The soldiers burst out with shocking roars.
Xue Rengui and others had already planned it, not only the Annan Army, but also the Anxi Army that set out three days ago. Xue Rengui asked all the towns they encountered along the way to screen out the cannibals and then execute them all. Although it is a bit cruel, in order to achieve the purpose of luring the enemy, they just want to anger the big cannibals and let them come for revenge.
"Let's go!" Xue Rengui's right hand slashed down toward the west, like thunder and lightning, with extraordinary momentum.
Du Lin, the commander of the Annan Army, handed over to Xue Rengui, took the reins of his horse, and took the lead in heading westward, the first to embark on the journey.
"Rumble!" The 30,000 Annan army followed closely and set off with Du Lin.
At this time, Xue Rengui suddenly noticed that Pienaar, who had been following him, frowned, and seemed to be worried. Even without asking, Xue Rengui could guess what Pienaar was worried about, but even so, Xue Rengui still asked knowingly: " Duke Pinal, is there something on your mind!?"
Of course Pienaar had something on his mind, and as Xue Rengui expected, he had many concerns. After arriving in Tours, Pienaar had learned about some situations in the Byzantine Empire through some channels.
What surprised him was that Justinian II, who even he thought was stupid, actually died, and the one who inherited the throne was not his hungry son, but the Asia Minor herdsman with Syrian ancestry, whose hometown was Marash, In his early years, he assisted Justinian II in his restoration and donated many livestock to the government. He was appreciated and received an official position, and was promoted to the commander of the Anatolian Military Region.
Leo, who was entrusted by Justinian II with the important task of suppressing the rebellion of Philippicus, actually declared independence in Armenia after annihilating the rebels, calling himself Leo III.
Although he proclaimed himself king, Leo III had not actually become the true ruler of Byzantium because Constantinople was still under the rule of Justinian II. Therefore, Leo III colluded with Arab forces and accepted Arab conditions in order to win its support and jointly send troops to capture Constantinople.
Just six months after Pienaar left Constantinople and went to Chang'an to seek help, Leo III led his army into Constantinople, killed Justinian II and his son, and founded the Yi Surya dynasty.
After the founding of the country, Leo III did not fulfill his promise to Arabia, so the Arabs led their troops to attack Constantinople. The Arab army and navy attacked via Asia Minor and the Bosporus respectively. After nearly four months of Arab siege, Leo III borrowed the power of flowing fire to finally defeat the Arab army and temporarily suppress the Arab threat.
After defeating the Arabs, Leo III, who came from a grassroots background, had a very clear understanding of the shortcomings of the imperial system. For the Byzantine Empire, which was besieged on all sides, strengthening its military strength was obviously a top priority.
After Leo III consolidated his position, just as he had done in history, he began to put into practice the reforms he had been thinking about for many years. He tried his best to rectify tax collection, improve the empire's political participation, strengthen and improve the military zone system, give land and property to the emerging military aristocracy, and give soldiers a stable life. But all this conflicted with the church of the Byzantine Empire at that time and became difficult to move forward.
Four centuries after Christianity gained orthodox status, the power of the church developed at an alarming rate, even to the point of abnormal development. As Asia was conquered by the Arabs, bishops from these areas poured into the interior of the empire, making the abnormal development even more severe. serious.
There is a church scripture that says: "Humanity is divided into two halves, one half is monks, and the other half is laity." Although the actual number of monks is less than half of the population, the land they occupy accounts for almost half of the empire.??And they also have tax exemptions and other privileges. At the same time, the number of landless civilians in the empire was increasing. In order to increase the empire's tax revenue and labor force, and to distribute a large amount of rich land to the emerging military aristocracy, the extremely wealthy church must be attacked. Regardless of Leo III's own religious thoughts, this has become his inevitable choice.
In addition, the Christian church¡¯s shortcomings in religion have also made it a target of attack. Early Christianity emphasized spiritual beliefs and prohibited idol worship. But as it developed, Christianity, like many other religions, gradually embarked on the path of idolatry. Icons and saints' remains were enshrined in monasteries. Ignorant people thought that worshiping icons could help them seek benefits and avoid them. It brought great wealth to the monastery. Moreover, the idol worship of various saints has the danger of leading Christianity to polytheism, which seriously violates the essence of Christianity as a monotheistic religion. There were people within Christianity who were very dissatisfied with this, and Leo III took advantage of these flaws and launched a vigorous "Icon Destroying Movement" to seize power from the church.
Leo III issued the first edict against the worship of icons, treating the worship of icons as idolatry. This was the first declaration of war against the national church. Subsequently, a nationwide campaign of iconoclasm was launched. Then, due to the church's disobedience to the edict, a large amount of land in the monastery was confiscated, and the remaining land had to be taxed. The number of monasteries was greatly reduced, and a large number of monks were returned to secular life and became social workers.
Leo III received the support of most military nobles and court nobles, because they were the biggest beneficiaries of this movement and received a large amount of land and property. Some enlightened monks and Pauline believers also stood on this side. Most senior church leaders represent the opposition.
Because of this policy, Byzantium was already in chaos, but it rained all night. Unwilling to be fooled by Leo III, the Caliph of the Arab Empire Yazid once again entangled an army of 200,000, and searched for 1,800 Battleships surrounded Constantinople, and the Byzantine Empire was in a precarious situation.
Pienaar is also very conflicted now, because the Heraclius dynasty he was loyal to has been destroyed, and the despicable usurper Leo III has become the emperor of the Byzantine Empire. What should he do?
Pledge allegiance to the new emperor?
Or use the power of the Tang Dynasty to overthrow the rule of Leo III?
At this moment, Pienaar seemed to have reached a crossroads in his life. He didn't know how to choose between the two paths, advance or retreat.
And now there is a more serious problem before him. Before his mission, he represented Justinian II, and he was still plenipotentiary, but now the emperor of the Byzantine Empire has become Leo III. , even if he chooses to be loyal to the new emperor, will Leo III agree to the agreement he reached with Du Rui?
Although Pienaar didn¡¯t know much about Leo III and had little contact with him, he knew very well that he was a tough-minded character who never bowed his head.
Leo III could defeat the Arabs once, and he would definitely feel that he could do it a second time. If he really did it, he would find that the province of Egypt, which was once the territory of the Byzantine Empire, had become the territory of the Tang Empire. , what will he do? - Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report
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