Eagle Byzantium

The advantage of Ghazni over Seljuk is that it always attaches great importance to fleet construction. After conquering the northern part of India, Ghazni Khan won over some princely kings in Sindh and asked them to cut wood and build ships, one for ocean trade, and the other for continuing to conquer India and spread the Koran.

Therefore, when Israel attacked Kerman, he relied on the Sindh fleet for supplies; and after learning that Gawain was blocked in Sistan, he let the main force take the fleet to bypass the land route, which must be said to be a wise move.

The exasperated emperor held up the blueprint, "The port in the Sindh region is Tata. If Israel's main force can land here, he can rescue Ghazni from two routes. One is to cross the Surman Mountains and guard his own royal city through the Iskandar (i.e. Kandahar) fortress; the other is not to cross the mountains, but to cross the entire Five Rivers Region (now Punjab) and then reach the important city of Peshawar. As long as it reaches there, Ghazni City will also have a backup barrier."

With the instructions and analysis of the generals and draftsmen, Gawain fell into one of the few games in his life.

Which route will Ghazni Khan take?

Just when the emperor was anxious, a new herald delivered news, "The barbarians in the Oxus River seem to have new movements-nearly 100,000 people began to cross to the south bank of the Oxus River and gathered in Balakot, seemingly preparing to attack Your Majesty."

"Are there any direct troops of the Great Fair King among them?" The emperor was most concerned about this issue.

"Sorry, I really don't know."

"Then keep finding out until you know!"

Everyone looked at each other. It seemed that the worries beforehand had become a reality: the Roman army that had captured Herat and was preparing to capture Ghazni City would really be under attack from two enemies.

"I set up a table of dishes, and two more tables of guests came." After everyone dispersed, the emperor's eyes were a little dark. It was obvious that he had been ups and downs and worried these days. He walked around the map table with a whip in his hand. "In addition, I don't understand. The great king sent 100,000 people to Balakot. Is there an equal number of troops on the battlefield of Mofu? In that case, my team left there would be quite difficult. Gambling, all gambling. Since I came here, I have become a gambler on all kinds of chess games. I am afraid that I am also a dice in the hands of the devil or God."

"Go to war according to your intuition, Gawain. Don't think too much. The worst case is to enter the Indus River and not be able to return home for a year or two." The saint sister behind him comforted with concern.

But Gawain still seemed unable to let it go. He blinked his eyes and did not comment on the words of the Saint Sister.

Until the tent attendant and the gatekeeper brought letters from Constantinople.

One was written by Anna, and the other was written by the little sunfish grandfather Maglundius.

Gawain could not wait to open his wife's letter under the candlelight. It said that the small unrest on the border of the empire had been quelled under the leadership of Augustus Christopher, and you don't have to worry about it in the East. "Fight to your heart's content according to your own style and ideas, big barbarian. Don't let some existing things confuse your eyes and mind."

Then Maglundius, the mentor, said directly to Gawain, "Your Majesty, your strategic thinking is completely correct. Now you have achieved the great achievements of Alexander the Great in the past, and have also entered the Indus River Basin and fought to the limit known to our world. What regrets do you have? So, you can not bring any rules. If you follow the old battle mode of the empire, you will inevitably be spied on and known by the enemy Huang Song in the dark. They may have studied you for a long time. Instead, you should change your battle ideas - even if you fight like a barbarian in the Syr Darya River or a pirate in Varyag, you should use your wisdom. "

Holding the letters from his smart and beautiful wife and his shrewd mentor, Gawain's eyes gradually brightened. He seemed to hear the clear and exciting sound of the three-stringed harp, and his mind suddenly became open and transparent. Then the emperor strode away from the map table and unveiled the curtain of the imperial camp. Outside, there was a red light, green mountains, and gurgling rivers!

"Iskanda." Finally, the emperor walked back, leaned over the map table, and whispered excitedly to the saint sister.

"Iskanda?"

"Yes, I will lead the army to capture this hub fortress connecting Ghazni, Herat and the southern Sindh region." The emperor clenched his fists.

"If Israel takes the first route."

"Then I will fight him in Iskandar!" Then the emperor spread out his five fingers and covered the location of the Five Rivers on the map. "But my intuition tells me that Israel is most likely to take the second route, because he used the fleet of the Sindh State to retreat from Kerman, and he had to carry his most precious war elephants, so he would not transport all the soldiers out, and might only transport his elite troops to Tata Port. In that case, if Israel hurriedly crossed the Surman Mountains and hurried to Iskandar, it would be just right for me to take advantage of my military strength and For him, it was a dangerous place; but if he went to Peshawar through the land of five rivers, it would be different. The land was flat, the rivers were abundant, and there were a large number of princely soldiers and crescent lords for him to hire along the way, which could make up for the lack of military strength. Then, as long as he returned to Peshawar, Israel could think that he was invincible. He could attack me with the army of Balakt in the north, or he could defend the mountain castles from Ghazni to Peshawar and wait for me to retreat. "

The Saint Sister nodded, indicating that Gawain's analysis made sense, "But after we captured Iskandar, we couldn't interfere with Israel's actions in the Surman Mountains, right?"

Gawain showed a gambler's smile, he grinned and pointed with his long finger between Iskandar and Surman Mountain, "There is a 5,000-foot high pass called Polens..."

"You mean, but this pass is too high!" Saint Sister became worried.

"There is no way, just fight. After crossing the Polens Pass, my army will pass through a river called Nabul between Surman Mountain and Hindu Kush Mountain, so that it can reach the Hydaspes River directly as if by divine help, cutting off the passage between Israel and Peshawar and Ghazni."

A correct version in 16-9-1 book-1 forum!

The Hydaspes River, now the Jhelum River, is a major tributary of the Indus River, dividing the north and the south, and is also the place where Alexander the Great and the Indian king Porus fought famously.

"But you now have nearly 50,000 to 60,000 troops. It is too difficult to cross the Polens Pass."

"So I will capture Iskandar as a springboard, and then cross it with a small army of 10,000 to 20,000. The rest of the troops can monitor the cities of Ghazni and Balakt." Gawain was calm. This kind of military adventure was not the first time for him.

"10,000 to 20,000, and then fight with Islael?" Saint Sister was worried that Islael would definitely recruit a lot of troops when he went to the Five Rivers, and the number of troops would greatly exceed Gawain.

"It's okay. As long as I appear at the Hydaspes River, this game will be a disastrous defeat for Islael." Gawain turned his head, the corners of his mouth under his beard curled up, with confidence, "In the long run, the same is true for the Great Fair King."