"The general is highly respected and loyal to the Empire. We all respect you and believe in your military prowess.

How to arrange, just command. We will do it. ”

"yes."

"We listen to orders."

Thessarus

"On behalf of the Empire, I thank you for your loyalty. Thank you for believing in me. ”

There was a lot of blood in the temple.

"I put the enemy in, not a cowardly retreat. Instead, we must take the initiative to wait for the opportunity to fight a decisive battle.

Aspgus's troops were too big to lose and lacked flexibility. And our army happens to be mobile and nimble. The great role of the cavalry in the valley could not be played, but in the plain it was doubled.

The Pontus army is hard-standing, and it is like a clenched fist at the pass. So now let's stretch it out, split it into five fingers, and then knock it off one by one.

If, after entering the pass, the enemy army will attack a certain point in a group, then we will surround and disturb it, attack from all sides, and scatter and retreat; The sound of the east striking the west, and the north and the south striking together.

If they split up and take the city, then each of them will be defeated.

In this military struggle, the key to our battle is to be fast. React quickly and act decisively. Each legion must cooperate tacitly, and each legion can take charge of its own affairs.

It is important to be able to adapt to the situation and move in the balance. ”

Good news for Macedonia: two new legions were added from Propontis.

Why should the opponent retreat. The people of Pontus didn't think about it that much. In their opinion, the enemy is naturally unable to withstand it. They also paid a considerable price for this. After entering the customs, the vanguard divided into two routes, one to the north to rescue Sinop, and the other to the west to Ankara. Aspgus didn't care about the remnants of Macedonia now, and he was bent on regaining lost territory, at least gaining a foothold on the peninsula of Asia Minor first.

Replenished with a large number of troops, Thessarus began to implement a new method of warfare: to divide the whole into pieces and fight separately.

Tirsos, the vanguard of the Pontus army, led 10,000 troops and rushed straight to the city of Ankara. On the way, it was intercepted by the Seventh Army. After a round of engagement, the Macedonian Carthaginian army quickly reinforced and crushed the forces of Tilsos in front and back. Towards the end of the battle, the nearest auxiliary regiment also came to help. Then the enemy army was surrounded and annihilated.

Another Pontic vanguard, Saus, was held back in Cappadocia by the Campania Regiment and its auxiliaries.

The course of the battle is roughly as follows.

Saus found a garrison at the western crossing by the Harus River. In fact, this is the 3rd Macedonian Auxiliary Regiment, commanded by the young general Pudolos, not to mention the weak combat effectiveness, and the large army is still reorganized in the city of Masaka. There were only three guards and six stone ballistae by the river, which was almost useless. But coincidentally, there is a forest by the river, and thousands of soldiers can be hidden by sight. This scene captured Saus, and he feared that there was a deception.

Pudolos was barefoot anyway, not afraid of the shoes to let the artillery fire. The enemy came and walked away.

As a result, Saus, who was hesitating, hurriedly retreated. I saw that the three Macedonian youngsters were broken.

Saus retreated for several miles and continued eastward. To quickly cross the bridge from the East Ferry. Unexpectedly, Leocharius has been waiting here for a long time. When the Pontus troops quietly rushed to cross, the Macedonian Third Army was divided into left and right wings to kill, and the momentum was fierce, and it was the half-crossing that attacked it.

Saus was ambushed and his formation was difficult to spread. His subordinates were obviously a strong force but were slaughtered, and he really wanted to cry without tears. Fortunately, he himself had not yet reached the bridge, so he retreated with his guards as soon as possible. Leo Charles was an expert in cavalry warfare and was very good at fighting annihilation battles. The rat-scurrying Saus slipped too fast, but his troops were cleared.

Saus fled along the river and was spotted by Pudolos when he passed through the West Ferry again. The lieutenants Drews and Bedika urged the horses to chase after them, but Pudolos couldn't stop them and followed.

Ransaus was not destined for his life, and he ran wildly for dozens of miles, and was lucky to meet friendly troops head-on. It turned out to be a follow-up team, Opoli's department, which was the main force of the Pontus army. Opoli judged the situation and immediately sent iron cavalry and shutter chariots to meet the attack, and another 1,000 oriental spearmen stepped forward to respond.

The enemy reinforcements caught up, and they were unwilling to see the prey in their hands and run away. Drews urged his horse to linger for a long time, refusing to leave.

Podica:

"Drews, let's get out."

"Bastard, let him run. I don't think the enemy is coming, so let's see what advantage we can get before leaving. Anyway, we are all cavalry and run fast. ”

"Okay, just the chariots. We do a two-sided combo. Eating this team of chariots is not worth the trip, and it is not in vain. ”

"It's settled."

Seeing this, the Pontus charioteers were not busy, pausing for a moment and waiting for the friendly infantry and cavalry to catch up before attacking together.

The situation was obviously unfavorable, but Drews and Podika, who believed in the creed of bravery and honor in the soul of the Macedonian army, were unwilling to turn around and flee in the face of the enemy, so they had to bite the bullet. Pudolos chased after him from behind, and without hesitation, joined the friendly forces in battle.

The Pontic spearmen tightly guarded the right side of the chariot, and the Macedonian heavy cavalry rushed up unable to flank them, but were entangled by the spearmen. Seizing the opportunity, the rolling chariot attacked simultaneously from the left and from the right. The scythes on the sides of the chariot wheels were sharp and strong, breaking into the middle of the cavalry and ramming like chopping melons and vegetables, and the Macedonian cavalry fell like ears of wheat in pieces without being able to fight back. The Macedonian generals Drews and Podika were killed on the spot.

Seeing that the cavalry was basically killed, Pudolos was annoyed, and ran into Opoli to fight, and rode his spear back and forth to parry and resist, and the assassination attack did not matter whether it was won or lost. Turning his head to look back, there was only one guard left around him, and he saw that the rolling chariot was about to rush from behind. Although the battle was killed, the 3rd Macedonian Auxiliary Regiment lost its general.

"A fiasco! The company lost two generals and more than 100 elite cavalry. Heartache.

But you can't lose everything. ”

Thinking of this, Pudolos hurried to retreat! Drive the horse and run away, all the way wild. Successfully withdrew to the city of Masaka. The people of Pontus couldn't catch up and stopped.

The battlefield is divided from an overall battle platform into multiple independent small battlefields, and the degree of combat is not relaxed but more intense. As soon as the Pontus troops entered the pass, the main areas of passage were in full bloom, and sometimes dozens of battles were fought in different areas in a single day. The soldiers of Asia Minor were in a bitter battle. Wins and losses are mixed, and each has its own wins and losses. Aspugus did not care about the losses and continued to increase the investment of troops.

For the Eastern general, victory is everything, and to achieve the end is to do whatever it takes. Moreover, the king sent him new soldiers.

Theszaros silently browsed through the campaign data for the last half month. Pontus began to attack from all sides, fighting for major communication routes, attempting to siege the city, penetrating as far as Bithynia.