517, January 3.

The Gronn army captured the port city of Paretonian, disbanded its army, and collected weapons and equipment for storage.

Sailors were re-enlisted, and at the price of two silver coins a month, it was agreed that there would be no war, but only to transport the legions across the Nile.

Of the seven legions previously captured, two were native, one archers and one hoplite.

Yamazaki let them go home to say goodbye, with a gold coin for settling.

They will go to the city of Dorseo to change their equipment and then be stationed in West Africa, while six Gothic hoplites will come to East Africa one after another, so that there will be no worries about fighting.

Leaving a legion of crossbowmen to garrison outside the city, telling them to set up more patrols, Yamazaki continued to lead the army forward.

There are many villages around, herdsmen's tents, although it is not to be feared, it is better to be careful, and there is also a coastline, which needs to be protected from the navy of the Eastern Romans. ......

Alexandria, January 5.

After the large catapults of the Gronn army fired two iron oil canisters, one of which was crooked and the other collapsed the city gates, the famous city, which dates back to Alexander the Great 800 years ago, also surrendered to the Gronn army.

Because of the blockade of the port, the people of the city did not run away, and after receiving it, it became known that they had not only set fire to the granaries and many workshops before leaving, but also brought the families of the two captured legionnaires, saying that they were protecting them.

Unfortunately, most of the grain has already been transported, and the grain stored is only enough for one month, and the harvest is at least three or four months away.

Yamazaki gathered the people of the city and told them that the kingdom of Gelong was short of food and could not help them.

There was only one way for them to survive, and that was to help the Gelon army cross the dense network of water in the lower Nile and occupy the entire Nile Delta, otherwise they would have to wait to starve to death.

As a result, the Gelon army had hundreds of thousands of more laborers, and their use was to build raft pontoon bridges to increase the speed of movement of the corps.

Two regiments of engineers swung large trebuchets along the river and fired a tin oil tank to the opposite bank to demonstrate, warning those who wanted to intercept it.

Then, the first, second, third, and three regiments of crossbow cavalry of the Gronn family swam directly across the river and suppressed the opposite bank.

Then, the ship appeared and under the suppression of three regiments of crossbowmen, the trebuchet was safely transported.

In this way, it was necessary to cross eleven rivers to cross the Nile Delta and reach the fortress of Palyuhiam, two hundred kilometers away.

The reason for this stupid method is that there is no confidence in naval warfare.

Yamazaki left seven of the twelve crossbow cavalry legions around him, the first to fourth crossbow cavalry regiments of the Gelong family, and the ninth crossbow cavalry regiment, as well as the sixth and seventh crossbow cavalry regiments of the Gelong Kingdom.

The 9th Ballistatria Regiment was stationed outside Alexandria to supervise the laborers in making rafts, and the 1st to 4th Ballista Regiments of the Gronn were to be smashed into the water network of the Nile Delta.

The eleven rivers formed fifteen enclosed areas, ten of which had a coast and five of which had no coast, and these areas were to be suppressed by troops to prevent the Eastern Roman army.

The garrisons in each area ranged from three hundred to three thousand, and a total of four ballistaries.

In addition, there is the 1st Catapult Engineer Regiment of the Grond family, scattered to six areas with a coast, each with 1,000 men, operating two large trebuchets, and those captured mobile city defense ballistae to defend the coastline.

Their task was to block the mouth of the river, prevent the Eastern Roman navy from moving along the river, and prevent the Eastern Roman army from crossing the river by land.

The 6th and 7th Ballistae Legions of the Kingdom of Gelong, after crossing the Eleventh River, would stay on the east bank to guard the fortress of Paliusiem, while the 2nd Catapult Engineer Regiment of the Gelong family held them on the west bank.

The reinforcements from Eastern Rome were already approaching, and I didn't know if I could catch up, so I simply didn't attack the fortress of Palyusim for the time being, so as not to be careless.

Yamazaki led the remaining five ballista regiments and one catapult engineer regiment to lead the army south along the Nile, and scattered money to order food along the way. ......

On January 6, Yamazaki was at the top of the Nile Delta, leaving the 7th and 8th Crossbow Cavalry Corps of the Gronjia on the west bank of the Nile to keep an eye on the Neo-Babylonian fortress on the opposite bank.

On the same day, the 6th and 7th crossbow cavalry regiments of the Kingdom of Geron crossed the river under the cover of catapults and approached the fortress of Paliśiam, while sea reinforcements from Eastern Rome also entered the fortress.

There were three regiments of naval reinforcements, and with the addition of the region, the navy had a total of four regiments, and the ships were five-rorees, three-oars, and single-deck Dromon patrol boats.

Although the Kingdom of Gelong captured two naval regiments, its morale was low, it had no intention of fighting, and it had no combat power, so it could only be used as a transport team. ......

On January 7, after the Gronn army suppressed the Lake Morris Oasis, the Sixth Crossbow Cavalry Regiment of the Gronn family was stationed in the area of the Lake Morris Oasis to patrol this section of the Nile.

On 8 January, the Gelon army reached the city of Okrigis in the middle and lower reaches of the Nile, and before the Gelon army arrived, the upper echelons of the city had crossed the river with the supplies and men they could take with them, so the gates were wide open.

The food he brought with him was just used to calm people's hearts.

As for the captured soldiers whose families were taken away, Yamazaki promised them that if they could not redeem their families, he would let them go to Eastern Rome.

The Fifth Crossbow Cavalry Regiment of the Gelong family stayed behind, and the Fifth Crossbow Cavalry of the Gelong Kingdom continued to go south with the money, going south along the Nile River to buy grain, and by the way, to suppress the city of Ptolemes Sibaid in the middle and upper reaches, where the upper echelons also abandoned the city and fled.

Yamazaki returned to the delta with the corps of engineers, and land reinforcements from Eastern Rome arrived, entering the fortresses of Paliusiam and Neo-Babylon, respectively.

Twenty-five legions, ten miscellaneous mercenaries, and fifteen all-round hoplite legions, which can shoot bows and arrows when they get on their horses, and can deploy shields when they get off their horses. ......

On 9 January, the Eastern Roman army tried to fight the Gelon army to evaluate the strength of the Gelon army, but the army had tasted the bitterness of the alloy crossbow bolts and died down again.

The navy probed the coast of the Nile Delta and went further afield, only to find that it was impossible to break through on their own.

They can go ashore, but the opponent's crossbow bolts have a long range and great power, and even if all seven of their legions land, they will still be driven down the river in the end, and they will suffer heavy casualties if they are not careful.

During this period, they can only destroy some farmland and kill and injure some slaves, and if they do, it is meaningless, they are here to occupy, not to destroy. ......

On January 10, Yamazaki's Nobuya arrived at the fortress of Setif with an order to reorganize the army.

As mentioned in the previous order, the areas of the city-states participating in the war have priority access to food.

At a time when everyone knew that there was a shortage of food, all the city-states began to build legions, and the Aldava region, which lacked the most food, was actively participated by many people, and fifteen legions were formed.

Yamazaki couldn't help but laugh when he saw it, and hurriedly gave an order after receiving the letter, leaving only those who had experience as soldiers. ......