"Commander-in-chief, I don't think we can go north, we don't have so many troops and time to capture Thrace, it doesn't make much sense for us to destroy the Eighth Army, we should cross the strait as soon as possible and kill to the other side, so that there will be no pursuers behind us, and we can expand our army in large numbers." Soros said.

In the battle ahead, there were only more than 4,000 people left in his naval army, and although they had been trained, the casualties were still a little large.

Xu Ding looked at Meng Yu, and Meng Yu said: "We have a verbal agreement with the Thracians to attack the Roman army together, and if we don't go north, we won't be dishonest."

The Thracians will be malicious towards us, and when we return from the killing, the Thracians will not support us, and will even be our enemy.

Moreover, to attack Byzantium (Istanbul), we also need a safe rear, after all, Byzantium is the second largest city in the Roman Empire after the city of Rome.

It has a huge population, a large number of troops, a strong city, and a naval army to assist in defense, so it will be difficult to fight here for a while and a half.

If the province of Thrace were in our hands, we would have been able to attack Byzantium calmly. ”

"Hehe, General Meng, you are a little wrong, the Thracians only recognize money and strength, if we don't have the strength and fight back in the future, they will definitely not pay attention to us, and they will definitely not submit to our dispatch.

If we have the strength and they don't support us, we will fight until they are subdued, and the most important thing is that the Thracians do not talk about any credibility.

We are heading north, and perhaps they will come back in defeat, and their marches and battles are always unpunctual, can you guarantee that they will fight hard against the Roman army in the provinces?

If we have never gone north into Mercia or Dacia, we should not go north, or we will sink deeper. After Soros finished speaking, he looked at Xu Ding.

He thought that Xu Ding had already made up his mind.

Xu Ding said with a smile: "Our goal has never changed, eastward to the east, to Armenia, we want to make these dozen or so provinces of Rome chaotic, the more chaotic the more beneficial it is for us."

Both of you have a point, Byzantium is very difficult to attack, it will take a lot of time, and the Eighth Army of Thrace will certainly not be so easy to fight, and we will not go north to take Mercia and Dacia.

So let's cross the Sea of Marmara, cross to Asia, make a feint for Byzantium for the time being, draw all the Roman navy of Marmara to the Byzantine side, and then we will quietly go south to capture Troy. ”

Instead of Byzantium, switch to Troy? (Troy was destroyed BC, but later the Romans occupied it and rebuilt the new city, the specific name is not found, so it is still used as a landmark)

Soros and Meng Yu hurriedly took a good look at the map in front of the table.

Troy is near the Dardanelles, one of the narrowest straits in the Mediterranean Sea from the Black Sea.

To fight here, the infantry needs to turn a large bay to the south, and the road to the south is not easy to walk, it is far less feasible to go to the Byzantine side with the Roman road.

This is a huge challenge for the logistical pressure on the military.

Moreover, once they moved south into the narrow peninsula area, if they could not cross the strait, they would be locked in the peninsula by the Roman army.

A more important question also appeared in Soros's mind, and he hurriedly said: "Commander, if we cross the strait from here, then all our ships will be abandoned, and we will not be able to bring them into the Black Sea, and our naval army will have no value and meaning of existence." ”

Speaking of this, Soros showed a trace of bitterness on his face.

This navy was pulled up by him with great difficulty, and the boat is the life of the navy, how can their navy live without a boat.

Xu Ding patted him on the shoulder and said: "That's why I want you to just add the battle to destroy Chuanpu, and your navy will be used as an army for a long time, and you need to attack from the land with the foot soldiers, if there is no fierce battle as a preparatory exercise, I think it will be difficult for you to survive." ”

It turned out that the commander-in-chief had already planned to do so.

The First World War eliminated half of the naval army, just to allow the naval army to adapt to land warfare and prepare for the next eastward advance.

"Don't worry, there will be ships, now it's just a temporary abandonment of these ships, in the future we will have bigger ones, to the Black Sea we are seizing, in the reconstruction.

When we came out of the city of Rome, weren't we all poor and nothing?

As long as we can win, we will get everything. Xu Ding said soothingly.

Soros pondered for a long time before he raised his head and replied: "The commander is right, as long as we can win, everything will be fine, and we will build a new one when we reach the Black Sea." ”

Soon shopping on this side received a new order from Xu Ding, in order to preserve his strength, it was not advisable to attack Ju Byzantium, and he would not go north to join the Thracians to attack the Eighth Army.

After understanding Xu Ding's strategic intentions, Carbby assigned three of his generals, and then attacked in the northeast, north, and south.

And let them develop their forces freely, sweep all over the country, and grow their prestige.

Firmly attracting the attention of the Romans to eastern Thrace, there was also Byzantium.

Wiped out Chuan Pu and his pursuing army, and in the following days, there was no shadow of the pursuing troops behind Xu Ding.

Even the Roman navy did not appear, and there was calm behind him, but Xu Ding knew that it was just the calm before the storm.

The Romans must have mobilized heavy forces behind them, but they had no way of knowing how many troops would come after them this time, and how determined the city of Rome would be.

The long road is always lonely, and the days without war are very comfortable but also a little boring.

Xu Ding remembered that he should have won three battles and should have completed the task.

So he hurriedly transferred Xiao Wu out.

"Little Five, I should have completed the task, right, what about the reward?"

Xiao Wu replied: "Master, you have completed the task of defeating the Roman army three times, but you have not yet broken through the enemy's encirclement. ”

"I haven't broken through the enemy's encirclement yet, but there is no enemy behind me, the pursuing force led by Chuan Pu was killed by me, and it will take time for the Roman city to mobilize more troops over." Xu Ding was a little dissatisfied.

Xiao Wu explained: "Master, you forgot, there are enemies in front of you, and there are still a large number of Roman troops across the strait, unless you can rush through their defense area, the task will be completed immediately." ”

It may be that Xiao Wu is not easy to say in too much detail, such as the establishment and number of Roman troops on the other side, and so on.

Calculating the time, Xu Ding and the others have been killed from Rome for so long, and they have been delayed in Macedonian Province for more than a month, and the news has already spread to the other side.

The governors of the provinces on the other side of the river, as well as the standing army, must have received orders or something.

It must have strengthened the forces at each level, and he still has to go in this direction, which can be regarded as forming a semi-encirclement indirectly.

After thinking about this, Xu Ding knew that he was wrong to blame Xiao Wu, so he didn't go into this topic in depth, and quickly withdrew from it.

The march was very boring, during which Xu Ding withdrew twice and returned to Dahan to deal with some official documents.

In general, nothing big happened on Weiyuan Island, and everything was going well.

It's just that as the autumn mood is getting stronger, the major princes have also begun to move, especially Yuan Shao's small actions are getting more and more.

This made Xu Ding think about Jizhou while rushing to the strait, and he kept depicting the map of the northern states and counties in his mind, and then making various deductions.

"Commander, here we are?"

The voice of his subordinates pulled Xu Ding back, and Xu Ding looked at the surrounding situation, there was not a castle in front of him.

However, the castle was taken down, and Meng Yu was commanding the battle when he went south, which Xu Ding specially trained him.

Although the southbound battles were all small cities and small forts, because Meng Yu could use fewer troops, it also made him quite brainless.

Therefore, the exercise effect is also very effective.

Coming to the gate of the castle, Xu Ding looked at this castle that still had some characteristics, and Meng Yu said: "The commander of this castle has been on the west bank for more than 500 years, and it has always been the territory of the William family. ”

Xu Ding bowed slightly, such castles were very common in Rome, just like the Great Han Dynasty in the East, there were ancient cities everywhere.

There's nothing too much to say about it.

So Xu Ding looked at the west bank, and then said, "Tell me about the situation nearby?" ”

Meng Yu said: "Commander, let's still talk as we walk, you will see more clearly when you step on the top of the castle." ”

Xu Ding walked into the castle and walked up the spiral ladder one by one.

It has to be said that whether it is Rome or Greece, these ancient cities like to be built on the mountain, especially on the top of the mountain, a road leads down the mountain and out of the city, using the cliff as a natural barrier.

Therefore, the style of the establishment can be imagined, mainly three-dimensional buildings, unless the real population of the city, so the general city is very small and many forts.

It is in stark contrast to the oriental architectural habits of flat extension.

Meng Yu said as he walked: "There is no Roman army nearby, and the people here don't seem to have received news from us, they seem to have forgotten, and when they saw our army coming, they thought it was a standing army of Rome." ”

Speaking of this, Meng Yu couldn't help laughing, because this castle was not built by him, but was taken by someone to open the city and let it in.

After all, the equipment of the rebels was captured from the Roman army, whether it was weapons or armor.

In addition, Xu Ding carefully selected soldiers, strict discipline, and regular ranks, which looked more Roman than the Roman army.

"In that case, there is no threat nearby, and the people here don't know the situation on the east coast of the strait opposite!" Xu Ding and Meng Yuyi walked to the top of the castle, where they could indeed see farther and the entire strait clearer.

However, the width of the strait is only very narrow compared to the sea, but it is too wide for the inland river, so you can't see the other side at all.

In the vast strait, you can only faintly see the mountains on the opposite shore.

Meng Yu said: "Childe, this is not the narrowest place in the strait, it is difficult to find out what the situation on the other side is, and you have to climb the cliff downstream to see the appearance and terrain of the opposite bank."

The city of Troy is on the opposite bank, a relatively flat area downstream. ”

Xu Dingjiao nodded, and said, "Have you brought someone over to see it?" ”

Meng Yu said: "I've seen it, I can only see the prototype of Troy City, Soros's naval army hasn't attacked it yet, it may not have arrived yet, or he is about to arrive." ”

Calculating the time, the navy should have arrived earlier than the army, after all, the navy walked in a straight line, while the army walked an inverted triangle, the distance was more than three or four times more, and it was not easy to walk in addition.

Even if the naval warship goes slowly, it should have arrived.

Meng Yu is still worried that Soros will slip away, he is the leader of the navy, the original pirate leader, and the warship is their lifeblood.

Xu Ding's strategy made the navy lose its warship, and if it was a step, would it run away blindly from Soros, Meng Yu was not sure.

Xu Dingdao: "Soros should have his own way of thinking, after all, there should be a coastal city under Troy City, and he may first capture an east coast city as a foothold."

Or will he send someone to the Peninsula, and if I'm not mistaken, we haven't reached the southernmost tip of the peninsula yet, right? ”

"There are still some gathering places to the south, but it is fifty miles away, and there is no road, so the army cannot go south, and if it gathers troops there, I am afraid that it will be extremely unfavorable to the Merchants." Meng Yu explained.

The infantry could still open the mountain and cut down trees and advance with difficulty, but the cavalry was not easy to walk, so Meng Yu just reminded Xu Ding in a different way.

Xu Dingdao: "Then send a detachment of troops to the south, and if you are idle, you will attack if you can capture it, and you can't say that the naval army will also gain a foothold there, so that you can get in touch with us, otherwise they won't know where we are going." ”

The lack of information is like this, Xu Ding can still know the recent situation of Soros through the circle of friends, and Soros is not so easy.

In this era when there are no maps, it is really difficult for you to meet people at the agreed place.

Two days later, Meng Yu's troops captured the southernmost gathering place, and sure enough, not long after they captured, a small group of spies from the navy also went ashore to search for information.

Then a small misunderstanding broke out between the two sides, and finally the sailors were captured alive.

Fortunately, Meng Yu got Xu Ding's explanation, and he also intended to observe and pay attention to the navy, so there was no dead person, and after a search, he understood that it was his own person.

It's really the water army that hides too deeply, and the makeup is too much like the fishermen nearby.

The misunderstanding was solved, and soon Meng Yu came back to report in person.

"Childe, Soros still didn't disappoint, he really came, and he captured Gokche Island as a base, in case we failed to attack Troy, we can retreat to this island." Meng Yu said: "Soros is just like what you said, he wants to attack the downstream city first, gain a foothold on the east bank, and take Troy in the north, I heard that Troy is a strong city, and it is extremely difficult to defeat it head-on, so he wants to play the role of a pirate to surround the downstream city and transfer out the defenders of Troy." ”

There is no need for Meng Yu to continue with the rest of the words, Xu Ding also knows Soros's plan.

Encircle the point to send reinforcements, take the city without assistance, and if there is reinforcement, take Troy directly.

It's really a good way to do it.

It seems that Soros has come from Naples all the way, and he has a lot of experience and experience in how to capture the city.

Xu Ding smiled slightly: "Then inform Dao Cargo that you can lead the army south, I don't think there will be good news from Soros in a few days." ”