"Let the scholar and the donkey go in the middle."
This was the order given by the hussar general when leaving the port and entering the Eastern Desert.So Chu Shaosun, together with Liu Gengsheng and others, was protected in the middle of the army, riding a donkey, and behind him was a baggage, fresh water, and Egyptian food "bread", which was baked instead of steamed, and tasted similar to naan.The scenery along the way is not monotonous, and you will often encounter ancient ruins, sometimes abandoned castles, tombs destroyed by tomb robbers, or the remains of mines.They also came across a huge ramp consisting of two rows of side-by-side wooden ladders, in the middle of which was an inclined plane for stone to pass through, along which there were numerous rows of post holes."
A ramp to transport boulders."
The Egyptian interpreter Ruida explained it this way, and said that it was at least a thousand years old."
Soft and easy to carve alabaster can be used to make statues, statues of pharaohs and gods, this stone has the power to communicate with the gods, and only people of high status can use it.The hard stone was carried to build the tomb of the pharaoh, and when he passed the city of Memphis, he could see it. ”Chu Shaosun bowed his head and looked at this huge road that had been abandoned for a long time, and he could imagine the scene many years ago, countless Egyptians who had been sunburned and peeled off their backs were naked, pulling boulders and slowly moving westward.Before leaving the Eastern Desert, Chu Shaosun thought that the Ptolemaic Egypt was as arid and barren as the Western Regions, until they arrived near the Nile, a calm river with calm waves, the reflection of the scenery on both sides of the river is very clear, the banks are lush with trees, and the tall date palm trees point to the blue sky.The reeds swayed in the breeze, and the water surface swept by a variety of birds from time to time, including herons and some flocks of pink birds that Chu Shaosun could not name.Boats come and go in the river, some people are fishing by the river, and some children are playing in the water.However, after seeing the appearance of the Han army, the Egyptians were stunned at first, and later found out that it was not the Ptolemaic army, so they all ran away, and were terrified.Since the establishment of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, this area has not been plagued by swords for 300 years.And the direction they fled was a huge city on the west bank of the Nile, the walls were white, and the most striking thing was that there were buildings far above the city walls, and two high white walls similar to the Han Que stood on the east side of the city, under the white walls were huge black stone statues, and the red banner of the Ptolemaic family was floating on the wall.It is now 48 B.C., but the city, which is 3,000 years old, is no longer the capital of Egypt, and all kinds of halos are gradually taken away by Alexandria, but it is still a sacred place and a rich city.There was no army to obstruct it, and it seemed that the main force of the Ptolemaic dynasty was still on the way back to Alexandria from Syria."
What about the friendly welcome that the queen said she would like?
Why do I only see the gates of Memphis closed to me?
”Memphis, which had not been besieged for nearly three hundred years, was in a panic, and although it had long been rumored that the port of Upper Egypt had been attacked by the mysterious Seris from the east, it was too far away from Memphis, and the Ptolemaic army stationed there had only more than a thousand troops to rush up to the walls.At this time, it was not only Ptolemy's army on the city walls, but also the high priest of the temple of Ptah, Paseraputa.Ptah is the god of creation in Memphis, who is in charge of crafts and architecture, and has the divinity to bless the fertility of the land.The Memphis built the magnificent Great Temple of Ptah, where the venerable Sacred Cow of Abys, which is believed to be the embodiment of Ptah, and which is flocked to Memphis every year on the Sacred Cow Day.Dressed in a leopard-skin cloak with a dedication and a portrait of Eulysis, the king of the underworld, Paseraputa leaned against the white wall and looked horrified at the uninvited guests on the east bank of the Nile.A young woman dressed as a temple maid in a white burqa stood beside him, the queen of Egypt, Cleopatra VII had secretly fled here, her identity had not yet been revealed, but her eyes were full of joy when she looked at the Han army, pointed to the army, and said unashamedly: "See?
High Priest, this is the army I have hired!
”"These Serisians, it was the queen who attracted them?
What do they want to do with Memphis?
”The priests were fearful of foreign invaders, and hundreds of years ago, the Assyrians and Persians invaded Egypt and ravaged Memphis, especially the Persians, whose Zoroastrianism was extremely rejective of foreign gods and regarded many of the Egyptian gods as evil gods.The Greeks, on the other hand, were much friendlier, as they had a variety of gods, and it was not at all a problem to add a few Egyptian gods to worship.When Alexander entered Egypt, he even went to the oasis of Siwa to ask for the blessing of the god Amun, which made the Egyptian priesthood more favorable, seeing him as the liberator of the Persians, and also gladly referring to Alexander as "the son of Ra".The main concern of the celebrant is, what kind of attitude will the Seris people enter Memphis?"
It depends on the choice of the High Priest.Cleopatra smiled, acting as if everything was in her plan."
Is it for Memphis to be destroyed by war and looting?
The temple was ransacked. ”"Open the gates to the Seris, I, the true pharaoh of Egypt, will protect you and the temple!"
With that, she stretched out her hand and waited for the priest to salute her.But the priest stammered and said that he would go and ask for the sacred cow for a sign from the god Ptah.Cleopatra nodded, the main priest was supported by her after she ascended the throne, and her stupid brother didn't have time to replace him, if he wanted to betray her, he didn't have to wait until now, he did it a few days ago.But she was still angry and impatient in her heart, and after the priest had left, she whispered on the white wall, "You don't plead with the real goddess in front of you, but you want to ask for a cow?"
Is it to discern the revelation of the god Ptah through its dung?
”Cleopatra had seen the black Abbis bull, wearing a sun disc and a relief of the holy serpent, draped in silk and flowers every day, leisurely spreading around the temple's side halls, with more than a dozen cows and cows and wives.Two little maids were also in charge of feeding and bathing it, and the Memphis believed to be the embodiment of the god Ptah, whose strength and health symbolized the fertility of the land.When a sacred cow is on the verge of death, tens of thousands of people in the whole city of Memphis mourn for it, and for a week no alcohol is allowed to drink, no pleasure is allowed, everyone has to wear black clothes, and choose a new sacred cow from among its descendants, which will be passed down from generation to generation."
When my father ascended into the eternal kingdom of heaven on the boat of the sun, he did not see them so sad."
The queen scoffed at this faith, but it did not prevent her from pretending to be religious, and she was expelled from the capital by her brother and ministers, and now continues to be supported by the Egyptians and the priestly class.Ironically, the dynasty of the pharaohs could easily break and perish, but the "dynasty" of the Bull of Apis did not, as in the case of the great temple of Ptah.But only if the new conqueror still respects the faith of Memphis.When Cleopatra looked at the Han army who was erecting the pontoon bridge, her eyes were full of apprehension without the pride and confidence of the priest.It is true that she sent an invitation to General Ren Hong, the co-ruler of Seris, but it was just polite enthusiasm, and if she really came, it would not be a surprise, but a fright.But now, the Seris have become her last hope of regaining power, and the mercenaries organized in Syria have been defeated, and Pompey is busy with Caesar's civil war and ignores her pleas for help, and she has no friendship with Caesar.When the Han army erected the pontoon bridge and arrived at the city of Memphis in a grand manner, the high priest of Ptah also returned."
The god Ptah gave an omen."
The priest bowed to the queen: "Since the Seris are friends invited by the queen, the servants of the god Napta will open the door to the southeast to greet them. ”The queen smiled: "Since it is God's will, no one must object.On the garrison's side, my confidant Apollodorus had also gone to convince a group of guards that they would open the door to the southwest, and I had heard that the Seris were gentle and knew the etiquette, and that Memphis would shed much less blood. ”Cleopatra had madness and determination in her eyes, and a few months before she was the supreme queen, but she fled with nothing overnight.But this is a huge turning point, she must use all her strength to use the Han army outside the city to force the priests of Memphis to stand with her, and then use the prestige of the priests and the grain of Memphis to bargain with General Ren, the co-ruler of Seris.She clenched her fists, and although she was still empty-handed, she would soon win everything back!"
The rest is left to the High Priest and Apollodorus."
Now that the big thing has been decided, and the queen doesn't want to watch the blood stains and fights on the white wall, she yawned lightly: "I'm going to go to sleep, bathe, change clothes, and wait in the garden near the temple to meet General Ren." ”As the southeast and southwest corners of Memphis City slowly opened, no matter how high the white wall in the middle was, it would not help.Suddenly the Ptolemaic army, which was betrayed by his own people, was at a loss, and the Han army Chen Tang and Wang Feng took the opportunity to kill them.Ren Hong was in the rear command, riding on the grandson of the radish radish, the five-flowered horse named "Huaxin Radish" was amazed.Liu Gengsheng said: "The queen really has an internal response in the city. ”Ren Hong shook his head: "The dog ear who lost her family has long been defeated, whether it is a priest or a garrison in the city, I am afraid they will not help her, unless" "The fox is fake and the tiger is mighty!"
”This is what he is best at, Ren Hong probably guessed the strategy of the Queen of Egypt, similar to the joke of "the vice president of the World Bank and the son-in-law of Gates".Obviously empty-handed, but first used the Han army to force the city to open the door, and then used the city of Memphis and the upper and lower Egypt she had long lost to talk to Ren Hong about the conditions, it seems that this is also a master of making something out of nothing, combined with her various fame and legends in history, I don't know if she is beautiful or not, but it must be a long-sleeved and good dancing character.Ren Hong became a little interested, and muttered to himself: "When I enter the city, I have to meet this smart fox in person!"
”PS: Chapter 2 is before 0:00.