To Four Thousand Years Later

Not long after, the prophet Nathan rushed over from the door with a long staff in hand.

He called softly: "My king, are you looking for me?"

"Well, something important, Floros."

Solomon said, "Do you still remember what I told you a few days ago?"

"You mean...does Egypt have a problem with Israel?"

Floros frowned: "I have already arranged for people to go to the southwest to guard. Is something wrong?"

"No, it's still the same thing. I have something to tell you... well, and you, Baal. Just listen to it when you come, and this matter is related to you."

Solomon greeted the air behind him.

The flame exploded and condensed into a dark red vortex. Baal's tall figure stepped out of it.

She looked at Solomon with interest: "How did you see me? You didn't make a contract with me, so you shouldn't be able to see me."

"a feeling."

Solomon said seriously, "It's daytime, I think you should be here."

—Actually, it was because the green name was floating around in front of Solomon, and it was hard not to see it.

"First of all, let me briefly mention. Egypt is now vaguely aware of the threat from Israel... At least their merchants have noticed that the use of papyrus in Israel has increased significantly, and they have used this to raise prices. You should all be aware of this."

Solomon paused for a moment when he said this: "Although the Pharaoh Psusennes II is incompetent, disasters are everywhere in Egypt, and there are uprisings...but it is even more dangerous at this time. Once he learns the news, it is very likely that he will take the opportunity to Come to attack Israel, to distract attention and secure the Pharaoh's position."

"Psuscenes II I know. I saw him when he was young."

Baal said: "He was born in the Amon monk of Thebes. After the death of the previous pharaoh Siamun, Amon supported him as the pharaoh. In addition to being very popular with Amon, he did He can only be regarded as the king of the mean...but he is better than Siamun. He may indeed send troops to fight Israel."

"How long will it take for him to die of old age?"

Solomon suddenly asked Baal, "I mean...has his successor been chosen?"

"No. Don't worry."

Baal said affirmatively: "He is loved by Amon. He is in the position of Pharaoh—that is, he still has at least twenty-five years left to live. He is still in his prime. If he really rolled up In the case of war, the most likely scenario is that he goes out in person to secure his position."

"Then everything is clear."

Solomon shrugged: "If Israel continues to prosper, Psuscenes II will come soon."

"I told you, I can hold him for ten years, Solomon."

Baal chuckled and said, "He won't come within ten years."

"That means he will definitely come in ten years' time, right?"

The corner of Solomon's mouth turned up, and he looked at Baal.

Baal was noncommittal: "Probably. But at that time, Israel could not be said to be incapable of fighting."

"certainly."

Solomon said flatly: "I not only want to have the power to fight...I want to penetrate the trade route into the land of Egypt and penetrate my words into Egypt."

"I gave the craftsmen new forging skills, allowing them to create resilient iron weapons. I will give a great gift to the Firstborn Legion in a few years to improve their combat effectiveness."

Having said that, Solomon paused, and looked at Baal: "But I need more wood... high-quality wood that can be used to make bows."

"Do you have an idea about Tire?"

Baal raised his eyebrows, and his tone was surprisingly flat: "I declare in advance, Solomon, if you attack Tire, I will not assist you. Although they have turned their back on me now, I was more or less their patron saint... If I don't help them attack you, I will give you face."

When we talk about wood, we must talk about Tyre.

Tire is built near the sea and has extremely rich fishery resources. At the same time, there are quite high-quality timber and minerals; at the same time, almost all of Tire is fertile land. With abundant rainfall, grapes and olives are abundant.

Although his land area is less than one-sixth of Israel's, the wealth in it is almost more than that of the whole of Israel. At the same time, he is partly on the seashore and partly on the island, which is easy to defend but difficult to attack.

Also because of Tire's wealth, he was constantly beaten by various people. In history, Egypt sent troops to attack Tire at least three times. It was also besieged by King Salmanasar I of Assyria for five years, and then by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon for thirteen years. Finally, the whole city fell into the hands of the Persians.

The famous Alexander the Great, after a seven-month siege, very simply demolished a large number of city walls, paved a cross-sea passage with gravel, and captured Tire. After that, Tire was ruled by Egypt and Rome respectively, and was ruled by the Ottoman Empire for decades before becoming independent under the name of Lebanon today.

For three thousand years, the region around Tire has been in a historical cycle of being attacked, occupied, independent, respite, and attacked again.

This is probably what Baal said, an example of having wealth but not being able to keep it.

Because of this, Baal was not worried that Solomon could easily capture the city of Tire. Rather, with Israel's shipbuilding technology, they may not even be able to go to the island...

After all, Tire is rich in a large amount of high-quality wood, allowing them to make a large number of bows and arrows. Plus looking across the ocean...

According to common sense, if you want to defeat Tire, I am afraid that the only way is to send troops to besiege and cut off food and grass.

But Solomon just chuckled: "No, I don't need your assistance, not even Yastaru. As long as you don't mind my idea of ​​attacking Tyre, there will be no problem..."

Tire is not just a matter of abundance. Half of his borders are in the Mediterranean Sea, and he is very proficient in the techniques of navigation and trade.

Hundreds of years from the time of Solomon, the Phoenicians of Tire circled the Mediterranean Sea and established routes to and from Greece, Sicily, Sardinia, and the Iberian Peninsula, and even crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to Cana. The mining and trading of tin in the Lee Islands can be described as a model of money rather than life. Their trading area was even larger than Babylon's ruling area in its heyday.

Solomon wanted to occupy Tire, not just to seize his timber and minerals...More importantly, he hoped that after the division of Israel, the people of Tire would spread his words to various places.

First cleanse a missionary fanatic into your own religion, and he will be very active in helping you preach everywhere... Solomon's thinking is roughly similar to this situation.

But there is no need to talk about this kind of thing... But it can be written down with a copper plate, and I will bury it first.

As for how to attack Tire... Solomon had other plans in mind.

"Call in Zadok and Benaiah, Nathan."

Solomon said solemnly in a low voice: "It's time for me to tell them something... As for the attack on Tire, keep it a secret. Now is not the time to tell them these things. At least I will not use weapons until the temple is repaired, This will not only destroy the sanctity of the temple, but at the same time, it is tantamount to building a temple for myself... This is undoubtedly a loss to me."

Then Solomon thought for a while, and said to Nathan, "Besides, you go to Baimon. I am writing to the king of Tire tonight."

"yes."

Although Nathan was a little puzzled by Solomon's words, he agreed and went on.