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In the last few days, all sorts of anecdotes about Queen Cleopatra have been coming from the Nile Delta to the north, and into the ears of Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII, and every rumor has been linked to the word "miracle" and has become more and more miraculous—the fire that burned half of Alexandria, the steel monsters that repelled the Roman legions, the grain and the splendid silk that appeared out of thin air, the sharp weapons, the shields that were as transparent as glass but stronger than bronze...... And the Queen's Guard, armed with these things......

Although reason made Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII reluctant to believe these absurd words—as a brother and sister who had grown up together, he had never seen this sister have any magical powers, but the growing rumors in the army were a headache for Pharaoh and his ministers.

The waves of Assassins sent by the Memphis Temple were even more troublesome than flies - although these crappy assassins, hired from nowhere, had so far failed to kill any important people at the rank of Legion, their burnt granaries and ships, scattered horses and herds, and despicable acts of poisoning alcohol had caused great trouble for the assembly and reorganization of the army. Five days earlier, they had successfully set fire to the pharaoh's tent, which had burned the chief eunuch of the court, Potinus, to the ground, and was still lying in bed with a snort...... Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII himself, when the fire broke out, was hunting wild ducks with his second sister, Princess Arsino, in the reeds on the banks of the Nile, and luckily escaped. But. This also made Pharaoh afraid to camp ashore again, and instead retreated to his heavily guarded flagship.

This evening, Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII had just executed more than 20 soldiers who had been spreading rumors in private. Then he grumbled and hid in the cabin to drink. Pharaoh was accompanied by no one but his teacher Theodotus - in fact, after fleeing Alexandria, the only remaining confidants of Pharaoh who could speak were Teodotus and the chief eunuch Potinus. During the days of moving south to Upper Egypt, the entire exiled court was completely under the manipulation and command of the two of them, preparing for a new round of civil war.

However. When the news came that Queen Cleopatra continued to be blessed by the "oracle" and easily defeated the Roman legions in Alexandria, both Theodorus and Pothinus became much more depressed. But the other one was still jumping up and down all day. Looks energetic......

“…… The incarnation of the Nile, the spokesperson of the god of water, the most beautiful goddess in the world, and the most beloved princess of the Egyptian people, Arsinoe. to~"

Accompanied by a maid dragging the tune of the roll call. Another maid struck the deck with a gold enamel cane, and Princess Arsino, the second sister of Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII, stepped into the pharaoh's bedroom on the flagship.

Although she was neither married to the pharaoh nor officially crowned, and is still in a military camp with limited conditions, Princess Arsino, who has been happy to compete with her eldest sister Cleopatra since she was a child, still strictly follows the traditional attire of Egyptian queens. She dressed herself in a bejeweled garment of fine texture, pleated plain white with dark patterns, and a very supple short-sleeved linen jacket over it. This jacket is made of sheer tulle and delicately embroidered with strange patterns with tiny, glittering glass beads.

On her head, however, she wore a gigantic crown of great brilliance, like a jeweled "edifice"—a ring outer crown made of red enamel, a conical inner crown made of white enamel, which looked exaggeratedly high and heavy, a cobra head and a vulture coat of arms carved in front of the crown, and a fountain at the top, all of which were carefully set with gold, enamel, pearls, and precious stones.

As if she didn't have enough of a burden on her body, Princess Arsinoe wore a collar of gold, enamel, and jewels around her neck, at least twenty centimeters wide, and the gold leaves hanging from the collar were enough to cover her breasts. The arms are covered with gold and silver bracelets set with precious stones and coloured enamels, wide and heavy, some in the shape of a cobra, some in the shape of a leopard's head, and some in the shape of a crocodile and an eagle. She also wore glittering gemstone rings on each of her fingers and toes, as well as a pair of gold sandals adorned with pearls on her feet, making Princess Arsino's whole person look like a treasure chest that could walk......

Obviously, such a nouveau riche dress is indeed rich and noble, but it is also too heavy.

“…… Oh, I'm so tired! Wearing this set is heavier than wearing armor! Remove all the bits and pieces for me! ”

As soon as she stepped into the cabin, Princess Arsinoe shouted loudly and kicked off her golden sandals. Then came the heavy, ornate tiara, and the golden collar, which was so large that it looked like a shackle, and then a torrent of crackling earrings and bracelets poured down, and a horde of terrified servants crawled after them, beckoning each other to pack up the priceless jewels, lest something might be stolen.

But the princess Arsino, apparently not insensitive to the servant's hard work, continued to throw away her robe at will, and then leaned in front of the pharaoh and sat down on her own. Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII, who had been disturbed by the tranquility, raised his eyebrows slightly in displeasure, but poured her a glass of wine anyway.

“…… Sister, how about you inspect the army on my behalf today? In three days at most, we're on our way! ”

“…… Alas, it's not so good, and the bunch of garbage is all looking sluggish. There was even a bastard who left the queue without permission and stopped in front of the palanquin and complained to me about the poor food, only coarse bread ......" Princess Arsinoe grunted a large glass of wine, and then burped pleasantly," ...... Hiccup...... What a bunch of guys who don't know what to do! By the time I whipped him, the rest of the people were honest. ”

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Listened to Princess Arsino's "decisive killing" approach. The king's teacher, Theodorus, could not help but smile wryly.

Unlike Queen Cleopatra, who had a logistics line across time and space, Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII's army had to collect grain on the spot.

In the last two years, the water level of the Nile has fallen below the "death limit". The whole of Egypt is suffering from severe hunger.

Unlike the other major agricultural areas on Shijie, Egypt, surrounded by desert, receives very little rain, and all irrigation water comes from the Nile, as well as agricultural fertilizer, which is the "gift of the Nile" and rises on time every July when Sirius rises in the sky. Flooded large swaths of land on both banks, and after three months, the river receded. Everything is back to normal. Moreover, every time the flood waters receded, a thick layer of silt was deposited on the cultivated land along the river, which was so fertile. So much so that the Egyptians simply scattered the seeds into the ground. If you step on it casually, you can sit at home with peace of mind, wait for the crops to grow and then go to harvest, and the yield is definitely not low.

However, the ancient Egyptians had a premise for this leisurely and peaceful pastoral life, which was that the water level of the Nile River had to be at the right level.

Therefore, since ancient times, Egypt has classified the water readings of the Nile into three categories. The first category is the amount of death. The second category is the quantity of abundance, and the third category is the quantity of overflow. Every year's data is tied to the lives and deaths of millions of people - as depicted in the same ancient Egyptian poem: "Ah. I praise thee, Nile, thou hast flowed out of the earth to feed Egypt...... As soon as your water flow decreases, people stop breathing! ”

If you want the water of the Nile to water the fields in the valley, you must reach at least 18 cubits (an Egyptian unit, one cubit is equal to half a meter) at a height of at least 18 cubits. If it falls below this reading, it is "the amount of death" - then the water of the Nile will not be able to flood into the irrigation ditches, the fertile river mud will not be deposited on the land along the riverbank, and the crops along the Nile will die of drought and thus no harvest

If the water level is between 18 and 22 cubits, it is "abundant", when the water of the Nile is high enough to flow into the ditches and water the fields, and the fertile silt can be deposited on the cultivated land, so that the crops on both sides of the Nile are more or less harvested.

But if the depth of the river is more than twenty-two cubits, then a fierce flood will wash away the banks of the river, pour into the valley, sweep away the entire village, sweep away the soil and crops that have been sown, and will not retreat for a long time, thus delaying the harvest for a whole year.

For thousands of years, the Nile's flooding pattern has been steady, and the rare occurrence of droughts or floods has made Egypt the "bread basket of the Mediterranean". However, since the accession of Ptolemy XIII and Cleopatra VII, the waters of the Nile have been "dead" for two years in a row, and the banks have been so shallow that they can barely drown the oars. At the lowest water level last year, the lowest water level in all history was measured since the Egyptian priests established the Nile hydrometer 3,000 years ago - the river was only eight centimeters deep!

In this situation of no water and crops drought, Egypt's local grain production can be imagined.

In order to solve the food crisis, both Ptolemy XIII and Cleopatra VII tried to buy grain from abroad. But the problem is that these two years were the time of the Roman Civil War when Caesar and Pompey were vying for dominance in the Mediterranean, and the entire Mediterranean coast, from Spain to Syria, was full of war, abandoned farmland, and skyrocketing prices...... Not only did the Egyptians not be able to buy food on the international market with their money, but they also had to deal with the extortion of the Romans, donating their own insufficient food reserves and providing them to the Roman army free of charge.

Therefore, after retreating to Upper Egypt, Ptolemy XIII's army was constantly worried about food supplies. Even if they searched every granary and manor, they would not be able to extract much food from the land, which had been suffering from famine for two years in a row.

As the army assembled in Memphis grew, the pharaoh's depot dried up, and the soldiers were offered coarse bread with impurities and terrible-tasting beer, which was made from stale grain that was about to rot and had to be drunk by pinching their noses. There is nothing the soldiers can do to complain.

For this kind of complaint. The delicate Princess Arsinoe is completely ignored. The sane Theodorus, on the other hand, understood the danger but was helpless - after all, even if he had the ability, he would not be able to turn into food. In fact, this was also the time when Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII did not wait for the army to be reorganized. One of the main reasons for the immediate attack on Alexandria was necessary: if it continued like this, there would be no food for more than 30,000 people!

In short, in a slightly tense and oppressive atmosphere, the two royal siblings finished their dinner in the company of Theodorus.

Later, Princess Arsinore hummed a little tune and went to the bathroom to soak in the petal bath, while Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII raised his glass with a melancholy face and whispered to his teacher, "...... Teacher. I want to tell you something, but please don't tell anyone - I had a dream last night, a terrible nightmare. I dreamed of the roar of war drums beating through the streets. The crunch of the blades echoed through the sky, the banner of Egypt snapped in the flames, and the dying warrior let out a desolate roar...... Excuse me, does this mean any bad omen? ”

Looking at the young king's eyes full of worry and confusion. Theodorus bowed his head and was silent for a long time. I slowly opened my mouth.

“…… Bixia, brutal wars are never a good thing, and after each war, I don't know how many women will become widows and how many children will become orphans...... Let's be honest! Bixia, I've been gathering intel on Alexandria these days, and Cleopatra does seem to have acquired some sort of incredible liliang. It may be difficult for ordinary people to defeat ...... But we don't have a choice......"

He put his hands on the shoulders of the young pharaoh and, to borrow a quote from Caesar, said word for word: "The dice have been rolled!" ”

Same night. On the other side of the battle line, on the outskirts of Alexandria, there was a bustling scene.

With the fearful worship of countless Egyptians, the burning of incense and prayers, the chanting of monks, and the repeated arguments of the travelers with flashlights on the instructions, a dangling behemoth began to take shape on the open lawn on the outskirts of the city.

-- The huge air sacs, which had been shriveled up, were filled little by little by dozens of high-pressure hydrogen tanks. The "Eye of Horus", temporarily depicted on the airbag, shines brightly under the reflection of the bonfire...... At dawn, when the silver-white cigar-shaped airbag was completely filled, the electric engine and rudder were tested, and the cargo of the ballast was also moved into the pod one after another, Wang Qiu, wearing a flight cap and white gloves, jumped out of the cockpit, bowed slightly to Queen Cleopatra, who had been waiting for a long time, and made a "please" gesture with a smile:

“…… Dear Queen Bixia, please hurry up! A legendary and exciting adventure is about to begin! ”

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Under the rising sun, the sky above the Nile Delta is cloudless, and the blue sky is as pure as a sapphire.

Under this clear sky, a silver-white airship shaped like a cigar smoke is flying along the Nile River to the south.

-- This is a tourist sightseeing soft airship produced by a Chinese private manufacturer, with a high-strength aluminum alloy skeleton and a laminated composite skin, with an unloaded weight of 9.5 tons and a maximum carrying capacity of 3.2 tons, driven by four electric motors, so that it is 85 meters long and 22 meters in diameter cigar-like thick body, like a leisurely dolphin, gliding comfortably in the blue sky at a height of 200 meters above the ground.

In the belly of the soft airship, in the pod about the size of an ordinary minibus, Queen Cleopatra leaned curiously against the aluminum bulkhead, overlooking the scenery under her feet through the sturdy porthole, and at the same time casually opened a small triangular glass window a small slit, and the hot air with Nile moisture suddenly blew in through the window, making a sharp whistling sound.

At this time, the airship was soaring over the westernmost edge of the Nile Delta. To the right of the pod is the endless Sahara Desert, full of sand dunes and craggy rocks, shining under the scorching sun, but there is not a trace of life in sight;

To the left of the pod is the fertile green Nile Delta, a dark green channel that meanders through the fields and nourishes the woods and fields on both sides. Wild ducks and hippos inhabit the dense reeds, ancient megalithic ruins stand under the date palm trees on the bank, and a little white sail sails sail by on the surface of the Nile River.

Green and yellow, moist and thirsty, fertile and barren, life and death, heaven and hell, are so tightly placed that they are only separated by a green dividing line, forming a stark contrast that is absolutely impressive.

After admiring for a long time, the Queen of Egypt turned her gaze back to Wang Qiu, who was piloting the airship, patted him on the shoulder with a smile, and quipped, "...... Qiujun, you are so versatile, you can even drive an airship! By the way, how did you come up with this combat jihua? ”

“…… This one...... Actually, I originally planned to raid the surface boat, just like the gangster shootout scene in Hong Kong. ”

Wang Qiu scratched his hair a little embarrassed, "...... However, those of us who are different from Shijie are not very familiar with the hydrological conditions of the Nile channel of this era, and it is easy to run aground or run aground if we sail on the complicated and tortuous river channel. If you are using a small fixed-wing aircraft, there is no hard runway here. Helicopter piloting is too complicated for us to learn...... So, I thought of the airship ......" (to be continued......)

PS: Recently, the subscription has gone crazy! The number is so small that Lao Lao Wang is so sad, and I ask you to support me.

In addition, the Egyptian roll is coming to an end, and the following is the British roll, and if you want to be a trick, you can sign up quickly.

This time, the characters are basically not very miserable.