"My lord, look there!" The captain shouted in surprise.

It turned out to be an Egyptian herdsman grazing on the tidal flats of the shore with a herd of cattle, but he didn't want a crocodile lurking there and almost bit a calf. The herdsman panicked and tried to drive the crocodile away, but found that the crocodile was not big, so he wanted to hunt it, he drove his hound to harass the crocodile to prevent it from escaping back into the river, and he himself held a wooden stick and cautiously began to attack......

This thrilling scene soon attracted the passing papyrus boats and nearby farmers, who gathered around to watch the excitement with pickaxes, and some people shouted, "Hey, do you need my help?!" But after killing the crocodile, score me a little bit! ”

In the busy and boring work, the farmers rarely have this moment of leisure......

By noon, Ansitanos and they passed through a city, Naucratis.

This is an Egyptian town that has a lot to do with the Greeks.

More than 200 years ago, the Egyptians, with the full support of Greek mercenaries from Ionia and Kalia, overthrew Assyrian rule and gained independence. Pharaoh Psammeticus took in these Greeks and built the Citadel of Daphne in the eastern part of the Nile Delta for Greek soldiers to live in, and issued an edict to open Egyptian trade to the outside world and allow the Greeks to live in Egypt permanently.

So, the people of Miletus built a cargo processing workshop by the Kalobek River. With the arrival of the Greeks, a Greek town gradually sprang up around this workshop area, which was named Nauclatis (and Queen of the Sea).

For a long time, the colonial city was a common port for all Greek merchants, even under the current Persian rule, where Alcibidas used to trade.

Seeing the people of the city's port area dressed in familiar Greek costumes made Ansitanos feel even more familiar, but his boat did not stop here, but continued on its way.

At last at dusk, the boat passed through the Nile Delta and entered the wider Nile, but by this time it was already dark, and the captain was not familiar with the river and did not dare to go any further, so he had to anchor on the shore and at the same time hire a slender man on the shore.

Ansitanos and his subordinates spent the night on the boat, listening to the "whooshing" sound of the Nile and the strange animal calls on the shore or in the river, which was a strange experience for young people, and a lot of torture for Ansitanos, who was already in his 50s. In particular, the bite of the mosquito made him suffer a little, and he fell asleep late at night because of exhaustion.

The next day, he barely bred himself up and continued on his way.

A few hours later, the ship passed through the ancient town of Giza.

Ansitanos was in high spirits as he looked out over the west bank and could vaguely see the outlines of the tall pyramids on the Giza plateau.

By noon, the passenger ship had finally entered Memphis, the capital of Egypt.

The Nile near Memphis is dotted with more boats, but less often with delicate papyrus boats, and more often with a long, narrow, pointed end, canopy in the middle, with numerous oarsmen, ranging in length from a few meters to tens of meters, and of course the occasional tall and spacious large passenger boat.

While on the boat, Ansitanos marveled at the towering outer walls of Memphis, which were nearly 15 meters high, and the buildings inside the city were barely visible from outside the city, except for the towering obelisk and the palace in the center of the city.

As the Pharaoh had been summoned to the Kalabic outpost beforehand, the Dionian passenger ship was allowed to enter the docks of the inner city.

This is a good sign! Ansitanos thought to himself.

Ansitanos went ashore at the dock, and there were already wagons waiting on the shore.

After getting into the carriage, the carriage was driven by the coachman, and it galloped towards the palace.

The inner city was a gathering place for prominent Egyptian officials, high-ranking priests of various temples, wealthy nobles and members of the royal family, so you can see opulent temples, sumptuous mansions and mansions next to each other along the way, showing the grandeur and luxury of the ancient capital.

The carriages traveled along a wide, straight avenue that, according to Ansitanos's eyes, was wide enough for a dozen carriages to travel side by side, and at the end of the avenue stood an even taller wall, where the Egyptian royal palace was located.

As he passed through the majestic gates, Ansitanos made a rough estimate that the walls were more than ten meters thick, which showed that Pharaoh cared about his own safety.

Further afield, you can see dozens of towering golden statues, each about 20 meters tall, that are human bodies but have animal heads. Ansitanos knew that these statues were supposed to be gods revered by the Egyptians.

At the end of these colossal statues, a magnificent, resplendent palace towered majestically, making Ansita Northton, who had stepped out of the carriage and stood in front of the steps, feel insignificant.

On the top of the 100-step steps, on either side of the main entrance of the palace, there is a huge statue of the white sheep, lying on their stomachs, looking down at the visitors outside the palace with their eyes open, making the center of Egypt a little less solemn and mysterious, but also a little more elegant and peaceful.

An official with a team of mighty guards walked down the steps with steady steps: "The messenger from the Kingdom of Dionia, the great pharaoh is waiting in the main hall, please come with me to the audience!" ”

Ansitanos bowed and opened his hands for the guards to check if they were carrying any weapons.

Ansitanos ascended the stairs and walked through the huge columns that required three or four people to hug each other, and entered the main hall.

The four walls, which were extremely flat, were supplemented by smooth plaster and painted with colorful floral ornaments; On the smooth marble floor, vivid lotus aquatic plants, birds, and animals are painted, as if they are in fresh nature; Coupled with all kinds of strange and exquisite gold and silver utensils in the hall, the whole hall looks beautiful.

Pharaoh Nektanib reigned on the throne.

The general-born pharaoh was tall and strong, dark-skinned, and he usually liked to wear a red-striped Nemez headband, which symbolized the status of the pharaoh, which was both simple and elegant. But he clearly valued the reception, so he brought the most orthodox red and white crown to symbolize the unity of powers, and a gold euraas (an Egyptian cobra) adorned his forehead. At the same time, he also wears a fake beard and holds a weight tag in his right hand.

To his left sat the queen, a golden goose-like crown clasped lightly over her head, her open wings pressing down on her straight black hair, letting her long hair hang down to her chest. She wore a precious chest ornament and a gorgeous dress, which made her look graceful and luxurious.

Although Ansitanos learned through the information that women in Egypt had a high social status, especially the queen, and even participated in state affairs. But today, for the first time, I was a little surprised to see a woman appear on a major state occasion. Unbeknownst to him, it was precisely because the queen was not of royal blood that Pharaoh Nektanib made her appear frequently on state occasions to improve her status and consolidate her and her family's rule.

On either side of the main hall stood a number of ministers and generals, all of whom looked at Ansitanos as he walked into the hall with curious eyes.

Ansitanos stood calmly in front of the throne and bowed respectfully. As a Greek scholar who studied historical sources from all over the world, Ansitanus bought Egyptian slaves at a young age and studied Egyptian writing and language carefully, and at this moment he spoke aloud in standard Egyptian: "Your Excellency Lord of Upper and Lower Egypt, I bring a friendly greeting from King Davers of the Kingdom of Dionia, and at the same time a rich gift to express his sincere congratulations!" Congratulations on being favored by the god Amun and becoming the master of Egypt! ”

As soon as Ansitanus had finished speaking, the minister closest to Pharaoh approached him and whispered a few words to Pharaoh.

When Pharaoh Nektanib heard that Dionysa had given him a large number of spears, swords, shields, armor, and even a few three-sculled warships docked at the mouth ......of the river, he was very satisfied: Egypt now lacked food, gold, silver, and jewelry, but more elite weapons and soldiers.

Therefore, he also had a smile on his face: "Thank you very much King Davers from the West for your sincere blessings and generous gifts!" Although Egypt and Dionya were far apart, I had heard many times about the prestige of the Kingdom of Dionya and the bravery of King Davers, and I was glad to be greeted by a king who also had the noble blood of the gods flowing through it (the Egyptians believed that Pharaoh was the embodiment of God, and Pharaoh often openly declared himself to be the son of Ra God). I warmly welcome you, Messenger of Dionia! ”

Pharaoh Nektanib stood up, stretched out his left hand, and made a gesture of welcome.

What he said was not polite, but he did have a little understanding of the Kingdom of Dionia. Although the Egyptians were the most closed and conservative of all the city-states and states along the Mediterranean coast, preferring to work with the land rather than sail to do business, many Egyptian officials are probably unaware that there is an additional kingdom of Dionya in the Mediterranean. But Pharaoh Nektanib was different, and before he became pharaoh, he had been guarding the town of Saïs, which was not far from the city of Naucratis, so he had heard many magical rumors about the kingdom of Dionya from Greek merchants who came to trade with Naucratis.

"Venerable Pharaoh!" Ansitanos took up Netanib's words and continued: "Although Dionya and Egypt are far apart, because of this, the two countries have never had any conflict of interest, on the contrary, they can make up for each other's shortcomings, so King Davers hopes that Dionya can establish more friendly relations with the country ruled by your Pharaoh!" ”