Chapter 705: Byzantium can't be counted on for the time being
Chapter 705 Byzantium can’t be counted on for the time being
Last year in Medina, Su Chen made an appointment with the Byzantine envoy. At the end of January this year, the two sides flew separately to attack Dashi from the north and south.
It was now almost late February, and Su Chen finally received news from Byzantium.
"Your Highness! Commander!"
In front of a hanging map, the Byzantine envoy pointed to the Mediterranean coast:
"When the foreign ministers left Syria, our army had already launched an attack on the cannibals from both sea and land lines,"
"According to the scheduled plan, a general attack on Damascus will be launched at the end of this month."
Su Chen looked at the map and smiled: "Homs is only three hundred miles away from Damascus."
"Your army actually needs a month?"
"By the end of this month, our army will land at the mouth of the Karen River."
The Byzantine envoy said: "Commander! More than half of Dashi's elite troops are gathered near Damascus."
"They will not wait for our troops to reach Damascus."
"It's ideal to be able to get to the gates of Damascus in one month."
Su Chen breathed a sigh of relief and said disappointedly: "I thought that when our army landed at the mouth of the Karen River, we would hear the good news that your army had captured Damascus!"
"It seems impossible now. Whether your army can reach Damascus by then will be a question."
Seeing that Su Chen seemed to be disappointed with his own army, the Byzantine envoy was very unconvinced.
"Commander, those gathered near Damascus are the most elite troops of the Great Cannibal. There is no comparison with what you met before, Commander."
"If the defenders of Damascus were as vulnerable as this Bolajan, our army would definitely have recaptured Damascus by now!"
Su Chen smiled: "Isn't this nonsense? If the cannibal elites were like the defenders here, Persia could destroy the country, and how could Byzantium be so embarrassed?"
"I heard that the number of elite troops in Dashi is not large. You have more information. How many elite troops are there in Dashi?
How many are there near Damascus?”
The Byzantine envoy replied: "The specific number is unclear, but it does not exceed one hundred thousand at most."
"About 40,000 people gathered near Damascus."
Su Chen frowned and said, "That means there are still 50,000 to 60,000 Taishi elites near Taixifeng."
The Byzantine envoy nodded: "That's probably it. There is no need to station the elite troops of the Great Cannibal in other places."
"Even the one the Marshal met last time in Medina was not really an elite foodie."
Su Chen said: "I know this, but I would like to see the elite troops of the Great Cannibal as soon as possible, so that they can see the power of the Tang Dynasty as soon as possible."
After hearing the news brought by the Byzantine envoy, Su Chen asked them to go down and rest first.
Li Chengqian said: "It seems that Byzantium has no hope for the time being. They are not sure when they can capture Damascus."
"It is impossible for them to cross the desert and come to the Mesopotamia in a short time!"
Su Chen waved his hand: "I didn't expect them to cross the desert to join us,"
"If they can keep 40,000 of the cannibal elites in Damascus, they have done us a great favor."
Yuchi Baolin said: "Commander, there are fifty or sixty thousand Dashi elites in Taixifeng. With the addition of other troops, it shouldn't be a problem for the Dashi people to gather more than 100,000 troops."
"We have more than 10,000 people, and the Marine Corps currently has less than 6,000. Even if we send some navy soldiers ashore, we will probably only have 8,000 people."
"This battle is impossible to fight!"
Su Chen had a headache and said, "The number of people is indeed very different!"
"We can't fight head-on with more than 100,000 cannibals. Dispersing their forces is what we must do."
Cheng Chubi said: "Aren't we doing this?"
"According to the commander-in-chief's plan, we and the Persians will advance by sea and land. The Persians won't just watch us knock down all the land along the Persian Gulf, right?"
"Besides, Rapupasu and his Persians can help us to some extent share some of the enemy forces!"
Su Chen shook his head: "We can't expect the Persians to be able to help us on the frontal battlefield,"
"Those people have never fought a tough battle. When they see the elite of Dashi, they will definitely collapse at the first touch."
"As for whether the cannibals will watch the loss of large tracts of territory, it's hard to say. After all, the coast of the Persian Gulf is not important to the cannibals now."
After looking at the map carefully, Su Chen said: "Let's stay here for a few more days."
"Ask Khoslu and Rappasu if they are interested in attacking the city of Shiraz."
Liu Jingren said: "Commander, do you still need to ask?
They must have dreamed of it!"
"I heard Rappasu say that it is the central city in southeastern Persia, second only to Ctesiphon in terms of status. It used to be the capital of Persia."
Xue Rengui looked at the map and frowned: "Commander, Shiraz is more than three hundred miles away from here! And it is in a valley, and the road is extremely rugged and difficult to walk..."
Su Chen said helplessly: "I know, but after helping the Persians capture Shiraz, the courage of the Persians to resist the cannibals will be greatly improved,"
"It is estimated that by then the entire southwest of the Zagros Mountains will be full of Persian resistance forces,"
"Although it can't move the main force of the Great Cannibal, it should be able to drag away some of the second-line troops."
"We just put in some time and effort, and it's still a good deal."
As Su Chen said, he turned his attention to the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
"Besides, let's give Byzantium some more time to see how they fare in Damascus."
Although everyone wanted to have a decisive battle with the Great Eater as soon as possible, considering the strength of the Great Eater, they still unanimously felt that it would be better to help the Persians grow bigger first.
When Khoslu and Rappasu heard that Su Chen was willing to help them attack Shiraz, they jumped up with joy!
Immediately prepare animal power for transporting supplies for the Tang army.
Shiraz, as the old capital of Persia and the largest city in southeastern Persia, is of great significance to the Persians in terms of military, economy, and politics.
If they can win there, the strength of Hoslu and Lapu Pasu will definitely double.
Prince Khoslu can basically proclaim himself king and establish a country there!
It's just that Shiraz is too far from the coast and the mountain roads are rugged, so Lapupasu didn't dare to make this request to Su Chen.
Now Su Chen offered to help them attack Shiraz. Why shouldn't they be overjoyed?
Su Chen did make the decision this time, and directly asked Yuchi Baolin and Cheng Chubi to lead 3,000 marines, with a hundred cannons, dozens of hot air balloons and other various supplies.
The formation is almost catching up with the last attack on Medina!
In addition to the 20,000 Persians led by Khosrow and Rappasu,
Shiraz, which had less than 20,000 defenders, could be easily captured.
"I hope the Persians can be of some use then!"
Su Chen looked at the retreating army from the top of the city and muttered in his heart.
