[Infrastructure] After being mistaken for a god

The Persian army, facing the difficult "hard bone" of Babylon, began a difficult siege.

Cyrus deserves to be considered a genius military strategist. He quickly formulated a careful siege plan for the Persians.

The city of Babylon is impenetrable, and neither storm nor long-term siege will work.Therefore, Cyrus ordered that those troops that were not strong enough to attack should go to dig aqueducts near the Euphrates River when night fell. The level of the water, as a breakthrough, into the city of Babylon.

While the Persians were digging these aqueducts, their companions cut down large trees to make ladders and siege vehicles, giving the Babylonians an illusion that they were really about to attack the city.

Cyrus felt that everything was done seamlessly, but he was completely unaware that every move of the Persians was actually in the eyes of the Babylonians.

On the Tower of Babel, the veiled queen pointed out to her generals defending the army: "They will dig aqueducts to divert the water of the Euphrates River to the low-lying swamps in the north. The water level of the moat of Babylon will thus drop."

"And our attention will be focused on their feints, ignoring the real threat."

"When the time is right, the Persians will send troops through the moat where the water level has dropped sharply, enter the city from several water inlets and outlets of the city, and then find a way to control the city gate, cooperate from inside to outside, and take down the entire city."

The generals of Babylon's defenders thought about it, and they all felt that such a killer move was indeed very difficult to guard against.All of them looked very ugly.

"Have you found out the background of the Babylonians who secretly contacted the Persian army recently?"

Babylon has always arranged spies in the Persian army, but most of Cyrus's side are his cronies who have followed him since Anshan, so it is difficult for spies to get close to Cyrus.

But to find out which Babylonians secretly contacted the Persian army, spies could easily do it.

Immediately, someone reported to Yinan: "People with temples..."

"Temple?" Yi Nan almost laughed.

Since she eradicated Spark, the high priest of the Marduk Temple in 580 BC, the power of the temple faction has never been able to recover.

Obviously, they want to use external force now.Once Cyrus breaks through Babylon, he will establish himself as the king of Babylon, and these temple priests can act as Cyrus' "agents" in Babylon and regain power with the help of Cyrus.

"Besides that, there are... Judaeans."

"A Judean?" Yi Nan was very surprised when he heard this.

Those Judaeans were plundered by Saar and brought to Babylon back then, but Yinan soon exerted influence on Saar, allowing Saar to loosen his control over these Judaeans.The Babylonians even relied heavily on the technical and commercial abilities of these Judean artisans.

It has been nearly 596 years since the "Babylonian captivity" in 50 BC—two generations have passed. Instead of intermingling with the natives of Babylon, the Judaeans have become part of the population at this time. Russ made a request, wanting to use the power of the Persians to return to Jerusalem?

"It was indeed my mistake," Yinan said sincerely, "I ignored them."

She did ignore these Judaeans, because of their language, beliefs, and experiences, instead of being able to integrate into the Babylonian kingdom, they became an independent cultural group, a nation.

"I see." Yi Nan said.

Her generals pleaded for orders one after another: "King, let's go and control the temple and those Judaeans."

Yi Nan shook his head and said, "Don't worry, there will be times when you need to take action."

"However, I need to meet the Persian Emperor first."

"To see the Persian emperor? You?" The Babylonian generals were all dumbfounded.

Even though he occupied the summer palace outside Babylon, Cyrus did not indulge himself and settled in the elegant and comfortable hanging garden.

He still lives in the barracks like an ordinary soldier.

At night, his habit is to first inspect the progress of the excavation of the aqueduct, and then listen to the reports on the military situation from various places.After seeing the general in the army, he would be alone for a while before resting.

Cyrus was never in a hurry to make any decisions. He would announce all military decisions to all his subordinates in the early morning of the next day after a night of precipitation.

It's the same today.Alone, Cyrus thought carefully about every step he had taken since he entered the territory of Babylon.

He didn't think there was any problem.

Just when he untied the armor on his body and was about to rest, someone suddenly came to report: "King, someone is asking to see you!"

The visitor specifically added: "A woman."

Cyrus frowned: "A woman?"

——When did women enter the barracks?

The guard who came in to report immediately looked innocent, and said, "She said that she is the messenger of the Queen of Babylon, and she came to see you late at night for something important."

Although the guard was saying that we didn't dare to stop her when someone said she wanted to see something, but the expression on the guard's face clearly said: King, we can't stop her...

Cyrus nodded and said, "In that case, let's bring people in!"

For the sake of caution, he didn't forget to cough twice, and immediately ambushed the knives and axes around the king's tent in the barracks to protect his own safety.

In a blink of an eye, this woman has been brought into the king's tent.She didn't salute either, and sat down cross-legged facing Cyrus' direction.

Cyrus still looked behind the woman to make sure that no one was accompanying her.

This is strange - although the woman in front of her is covered with a veil, judging from her slender figure, the occasional snow-white skin, and the faint fragrance, she is a very young woman.

Can a single woman frighten such brave guards as him?

Cyrus suddenly felt that he must have misread the guard's eyes just now.

When he saw the other party come in, he didn't salute, sat down in a big way, and raised his head to face him.Cyrus felt that the other party was very rude and was not happy.But he remained calm, and even asked gently: "Are you a messenger sent by the Queen of Babylon?"

The woman in front of him didn't answer, but reached out her hand and took off the veil on her face, revealing a beautiful young face, facing the Persian emperor in front of her.

Cyrus had just met her eyes, and suddenly his heart shook. He immediately said "Sorry", got up and went behind his tent, and ordered decisively: "All guards, withdraw immediately!"

Once Cyrus had the opportunity to witness the whole picture of the visitor, he was immediately overwhelmed by the kingly temperament in his eyes.

He has seen in his life that there are not many people with such eyes, even the king of Medes, the king of Lydia... the kings he has conquered cannot do this.

When he was young, Cyrus once thought that if Saar, the king of Babylon, was not led away by the gods as in the legend, but stayed in the world, Saar might be an opponent worthy of him.

But I didn't expect to see this kind of look again today outside the city of Babylon, at a woman who came to visit at night.

Cyrus quickly dismissed all the guards, returned to his tent, saluted respectfully, and said, "You are the Queen of Babylon."

The king of Persia now confronts the queen of Babylon—that is, king sees king.

The person who came was of course Yinan. When she saw Cyrus saluting to her, she nodded in satisfaction, slowed down her tone, and said softly, "You have finally grown up."

When Cyrus heard this, he felt a little ridiculous.Not only has he grown up, he is now a man who is nearly forty years old.

But hearing this emotion, Cyrus suddenly understood, raised his head, and asked tentatively, "Aunt...grandmother?"

It's hard to imagine that the person in front of her who looks young enough to be his daughter is so senior.But Cyrus confirmed that he was not mistaken, her eyes proved that she is not a simple person, she has experienced countless ups and downs, but overcome them one by one - her eyes told him that she is never as young as she looks .

Maybe it's just that the other party has a good face.Cyrus didn't find it particularly strange.

Yi Nan raised the corners of his mouth and laughed, nodded and said, "Good eyesight!"

"Although I am not your real aunt and grandmother, I did send someone to protect you back then and passed on a message to you."

Cyrus nodded and said, "Kindness and tolerance—I always remember it."

Inan nodded with satisfaction: she knew very well that Cyrus was different from other "conquerors".

What is special about him is this: he conquers and at the same time he tolerates.

He overthrew his grandfather, Astyages, who had persecuted him back then, and pulled him down from the throne of Medes, but repaid his grievances with virtue, and let the old king stay in his royal court to live his life.

The kingdom of Lydia, which had been his enemy, was finally conquered by him.But the king of Lydia has always been treated as an emperor should, and Cyrus even adopted all the suggestions put forward by the king of Lydia.

His army crosses the border without massacring, massacring, or disturbing the people. He respects the customs and beliefs of the local people. " and was disturbed.

This is what Yi Nan admired most about Cyrus.

Even she sometimes thinks that Saar may not be able to do like Cyrus.

"You are indeed worthy of the title 'Cyrus the Great'." Yi Nan praised him sincerely.

Cyrus raised his head and looked at her with bright eyes, as if a humble junior was unexpectedly praised by his elders.

Unexpectedly, Yi Nan changed his tone: "But, you have to know: Babylonians will never be slaves."

Cyrus frowned slightly: "But the Babylonians actually enslaved many foreign peoples."

Yi Nan smiled: "You mean the Judaeans?"

She didn't think how Babylon "slaved" the Judaeans, but detaining people in Babylon and not allowing them to return home for 50 years, two generations—this is really not good.

"I can release these Judaeans and let them go back to their hometown." Inan said calmly.

Cyrus was overjoyed, then frowned.

First of all, Cyrus is really happy for these Judeans who are finally free;

The frown frowned, because he felt that there was one less reason to be an enemy of the Babylonians.

"I came here today to discuss with you how to resolve this war."

Cyrus nodded: "I am all ears."

Yinan guessed Cyrus' plan: After conquering Babylon, seal this land as a province of the Persian Empire, assign meritorious ministers here, and at the same time support local forces to consolidate the rule of the Persian Empire here.Then promote exchanges and exchanges within the empire, and build it into a strong and powerful empire.

How similar is this to Sal's thoughts back then?

But Inan's bottom line is that the Kingdom of Babylon could become a "brotherly ally" of the Persian Empire; in the event of a war between the Persian Empire and any country, Babylon would remain neutral.

If the two countries can form an alliance, she will open the border with the Persian Empire, promote the exchanges between the two sides, and the two sides will give each other "best" treatment.

"You knew a little bit about the situation in Medes before. Without Babylon as a trading partner, the kingdom's development would be difficult."

Cyrus understood this very well, and Babylon, which was so rich and oily, was also the reason why he did not hesitate to launch a huge army to invade.

"It would be very embarrassing for me to do so."

In front of Yinan, Cyrus did not need to hide his thoughts at all, because both sides were the kings who ruled the country, and there was no obstacle in the communication between the two of them on how to balance the power in the country.

Cyrus attacked Babylon, and returning without success would make him unable to explain to the Persian military and Persian domestic forces.He needed more than the tangible benefits of trade, he needed the reputation of conquest.

Yi Nan nodded: "I understand."

"So I can cede the throne of Babylon."

After Yinan said these words, Cyrus looked at the "aunt and grandmother" in shock, and was unable to say a word for a long while.

"The Kingdom of Babylon, no longer named 'Babylon', has since been renamed 'Chaldea'①."

"This country no longer uses the 'Kingdom' as its political system. The country will uphold the will of the people, and the two decision-making bodies of the 'Citizens Assembly' and the 'House of Elders' will jointly exercise the power that originally belonged to the king alone..."

The more Cyrus listened, the more shocked he became. He raised his ears and carefully listened to every word Yi Nan said, thinking quickly.

The form of governance mentioned by Inan is not uncommon. Every city-state in Greece, Carthage across the ocean... has a "republic" system governed by the "Senate" as the leader.

But he couldn't figure it out: a monarch who is already in power is willing to hand over the power in his hand and hand it over to the "people".

Cyrus felt that this arrangement was acceptable to him to a certain extent - on the side of the Persian Empire, he could order the imperial literati to publicize that this was a "coalition under the city" to force the other party's queen to abdicate and restructure; he liberated Countless people were enslaved by Babylon, and opened up trade channels with Babylon...

The most important thing is that this war did not cause any loss of military strength or population to either side. The city still stands on the banks of the two rivers, and the people will not be displaced. The forest of the strong.

Although Cyrus thought so, he still wanted to fight for it verbally - extortionate prices and exchanging money on the spot, not only applied in the field of business, but also applicable in politics.

He shook his head slightly, and said to Yinan: "Dear Queen, your suggestion is very touching, but I'm afraid it will still be difficult for me to explain to my subordinates and the Persian people."

Yinan immediately raised the corners of his mouth and smiled.

"How to explain to your subordinates and the people is your business." She said proudly, as if Cyrus only had this choice at present.

Cyrus frowned, not understanding what the other party meant: He was already at the gate of the city, why did the other party still act as if he had the chance to win?What do you mean it's all his business?

Yi Nan stretched out his fingers and scratched lightly on the ground in Cyrus' tent twice.

Cyrus, a famous general of the generation, knew at a glance that these two lines represent the Euphrates River and the Tigris River.

I saw Yi Nan scratching lightly on the ground.Cyrus immediately said: "The Great Wall of Media!"

Yi Nan raised his head, looked at him, nodded, then lowered his head again, and nodded at the bank of the Euphrates River.Cyrus: "Babylon!"

Yi Nan stopped talking, just raised his head and looked at Cyrus with a smile.

Cyrus looked at the extremely simple topographical map on the ground, and while looking at it, he quickly thought about what the other party meant.

To be honest, the three lines on the ground look like a pocket when viewed together.

Cyrus gasped suddenly, raised his head with eyes full of shock, and met the pair of bright eyes of the other party.Yi Nan's beautiful eyes, seeing Cyrus' expression, actually smiled into a crescent shape.

Cyrus fully understood.

Although he broke through the flanks of the Great Wall, he led his army around the impregnable Great Wall of Medes, crossed the two-river plain of Yimapingchuan, and came to the city of Babylon.However, the strength of the Babylonian army was not damaged, and they had been unable to hold out in the cities before, resting and recuperating.

The natural danger is still a natural danger, as long as the diversion canals dug in the upper reaches of the Tigris River are blocked, the Tigris River will immediately become a torrential river that can block the way of the army.

The opponent must have left behind, and the Great Wall of Medes, which was easily discarded to the Persian army, must be easily recaptured.

At that time, two rivers, one Great Wall, this is a pocket, and all 10,000+ Persian troops will be carried in this pocket.

If he wants to conquer and kill - well, Queen of Babylon, let him be conquered and killed.

In an instant, Cyrus felt completely overwhelmed by the pressure from the opponent, and he was in despair.Now he really has no choice but to accept the other party's conditions.

But Cyrus is worthy of being a generation of monarchs, who can afford it and let it go. Since Yi Nan gave him the best solution, he will naturally act according to the best solution Yi Nan gave.

Therefore, he bowed deeply to the other party, and said in a deep voice, "I will obey the elder's order."

Losing at the hands of this aunt and grandmother, he was convinced that he lost, and he didn't regret it at all.

Next, Cyrus immediately recruited his confidant counselors into the account, and together with Inan, the two sides immediately negotiated various details of the peace negotiation, and agreed that Babylon would open the city gate tomorrow to welcome Cyrus into the city to negotiate a peace.

By the time all the details were finalized, it was already dawn.Yi Nan bid farewell and left, she also had countless things to prepare in the city of Babylon.

In front of Cyrus, there were still three dots and deep scratches on the ground.

Cyrus suddenly remembered that his tent...was the hard ground? !

He squatted down and stretched out his fingers to try it. The ground was so hard that he couldn't draw a thin line at all.Cyrus raised his head abruptly: Such a woman not only dared to enter his camp alone, but also had such abilities... Thinking back to her beautiful face like a young girl, even Cyrus had to be moved :

— Could it be that this is a god?

The battle-tested emperor quickly chased him out of the tent.His guards told others that he had left.

Cyrus stood in the faint morning light and couldn't help being lost in thought.

No matter what Inan's identity is, in short, the peace talks between the Persian Empire and the Kingdom of Babylon have been concluded. Cyrus the Great of the Persian Empire was welcomed into the city of Babylon. Greetings from the Babylonians.

He received a friendly but cautious welcome from the Babylonians.

But the Judeans got the queen's pardon, and they are about to return to Zion, the hometown they longed for day and night.The Judaean neighborhood was filled with cheers, tears of relief, and voices of gratitude to Cyrus.

Cyrus thought to himself: Compared with what this queen has done, what he can do is actually far from enough.

"Your Majesty," Yi Nan, who had been standing beside him and wearing a veil, reminded him as if he suddenly remembered something, "I have some relationship with you, so I would like to give you a piece of advice from a wise man from the East."

Cyrus did not dare to neglect, and respectfully expressed his all ears.

"A good rider falls from a horse, a good water drowns, a good drinker gets drunk, and a good fighter dies," Yi Nan said loudly.

When Cyrus heard it, his heart seemed to shake violently, as if he had really realized something.

"In this world, strong military power is no longer the only criterion for judging national power."

"You are a tolerant and benevolent monarch, you are the guardian of civilization, not the destroyer." Yinan's tone turned gentle, "So I hope you can understand that conquest cannot represent everything. You will be remembered by people in the future , not because you conquer, but because you love."

These words sounded like advice from the elders to the younger generation.

Cyrus remembered these words, and led the Persian army to slowly withdraw from Babylon, which later became the Republic of Chaldea.After that, Cyrus never set foot in Babylon's territory again.

Nine years after his peace with Babylon, Cyrus was killed in a war in Central Asia.Legend has it that his enemies threw his head into a wine bag filled with blood, allowing him to fulfill his wish to "drink full blood".

But some people said that this was a rumor that Cyrus was wounded in the battle, and then remembered the teachings of his ancestors in the past, and suddenly retreated, and handed over the command of the army to his heirs.I retreated to the second line, and took care of my life in peace and stability, and died of old age②.

And the Kingdom of Babylon, after the war with the Persian Empire that "turned hostility into friendship", gradually became low-key, no longer regarded itself as a "kingdom", and began to exist in the world under the name of "Chaldea".