Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 169 The Era of Xiaization!
Before the last soldier from the eastern province died,
The Macedonian army retreated.

After all, we came from a long expedition.

Their own military strength was not sufficient.

As a leader, Alexander, after simply accepting the loyalty of the original nobles, focused all his energy on the military.

But even if he marched along the way, he could not make up for the shortage of manpower.

Even if we are not defeated,
Go here.
Everybody is already tired of it.

What's more, after this defeat, even with the surrendered nobles acting as shields in front of them, the Macedonians' losses were enormous.

Therefore,
It's time to return.

They turned away from the eastern provinces.

Alexander, who had hit a wall in the east, finally realized that it was impossible for him to reach the end of the continent.

The enemies he once defeated are still trying to regain their rule.

But the relatively barren east could be abandoned, but the fertile and rich Mesopotamian region must never be lost again.

otherwise,

What was the Macedonian expedition?
So after he returned, the wedding that he had been delaying was finally held.

Alexander originally thought that after completely ruling Persia and completing such a major event as changing the dynasty, he would marry Darius's daughter as a trophy and make her his second queen.

This was to emphasize to the Persians that

He did not inherit the Persian Empire as Darius' son-in-law.
Instead, he first occupied Persia and then married its daughter.

Although during this period,

He has reaped many benefits by virtue of his status as the "princess's fiancé".

……

the other side,
Darius, the king of kings who had "come back from the dead", proudly began to recover his homeland.

Those Persian nobles who had surrendered to Macedonia and managed to survive the battlefield but were left behind during the retreat also became terrified.

They spread the word—

"The Avengers from Hell are heading west!"

"The unspeakable man-eating devil is approaching!"

"The despicable people who shamelessly sold out their country to foreigners have entered Bactra!"

"Darius III has taken the East!"

"The Persian monarch is near Araxia!"

"The Supreme King of Kings has arrived today in his faithful Herat!"

……

"Look, this is the country I rebuilt for you!"

Darius enjoyed the long-lost royal dignity and, with his young wife, felt the charm of Persia in the palace in Herat.

The exquisite colored glaze and embellishments of gold and silver make these buildings look extremely gorgeous. Compared with the simple and solemn style that the Chinese people like, they have a different kind of beauty.

Queen Zhao indeed liked this style.

Or,

She must like this culture and customs that are so different from her hometown.

She wore a Persian crown and Persian clothing. Except for her skin color and features, she looked no different from the Persians.

She even spoke Persian more fluently than the Persian nobles in the eastern provinces!

Many Persians also accepted the new queen who appeared with the "return of the king" Darius III.

After all, in the process of recovering their homeland, the New Xia people had already demonstrated their powerful military force to Persia.

With the support of such a powerful motherland, its bloodline is said to have been passed down for thousands of years and is very noble and ancient. In the farther east, there is a country ruled by the "Zhao family"...

How could they reject it?

The purpose of inbreeding among the Persian royal family is to maintain that noble bloodline!

The soldiers were even more supportive of this foreign queen.

Because many of the soldiers recruited from the east were not Persians either.

Since we already have a king from a foreign race, what's wrong with having a queen from a foreign race?

not to mention,
This queen has been fighting for their interests!
While Darius was immersed in recovering his homeland and the nobles were swearing allegiance to him again, Queen Zhao would bring translators and guards to care about the soldiers.

When she saw the soldiers' exposed wounds, she remained calm and even bandaged them with extremely precious silk.

She preached to the soldiers, "You fought for me and were wounded."

"How can I ignore you?"

When Darius held a celebration banquet, Queen Zhao also forced her useless old man to invite soldiers who had made military achievements, even if the other party was just a lowly slave before.

When rewarding,
Through the pressure from Xinxia,
Allow some soldiers of commoner origin to become nobles through military merit.

then,

As several provinces in eastern Persia were gradually recovered, Queen Zhao gradually gained the support of the army.

At least the lower-level soldiers,

I really admire this heroic and noble queen.

"What a pity, Xinxia is unwilling to support me anymore!" Darius was happy for a moment, but then became upset again.

As the amount of recovered land increases,
The distance from Xinxia mainland is getting farther and farther.

Therefore,
Xinxia decided to stop.

After all, their goal was not to fight to the other side of the sea like the Macedonians.

There are also political considerations.

Suifa privately told Queen Zhao, “Your behavior of winning over soldiers has displeased the nobles of Persia.”

"I'm worried whether you can hold on to this position!"

The ex-husband of Queen Zhao,

They are the descendants of Sui.

Although she had married another man and taken her child with her, out of the friendship between the Zhao, Sui, and Qin families, Suifa was willing to take better care of her.

Queen Zhao was not afraid at all.

"That's why I asked my uncle to ask Persia to promote the soldiers who have made military achievements to nobles or officials."

Persia in terms of bloodline,
It is very strict.

It is so outrageous that they encourage inbreeding for the sake of bloodline purity.

When Queen Zhao first heard about this, she was very surprised, and at the same time she had a better understanding of the barbaric nature of the Persians.

Ordinary soldiers,
It is really difficult to cross the class.

Therefore,
On the one hand, Queen Zhao won over the soldiers and vowed to let them enjoy the "honor that warriors deserve". On the other hand, she took advantage of the fact that Persia still relied on the support of Xinxia and was restricted by others, so she fully implemented this matter and supported a group of new aristocrats who gained power because of her.

She wanted to keep this position.
We need to rely on this new force.

Xinxia wanted to use the marriage to strengthen its control over Persia, and also to ensure that Queen Zhao's position would not be shaken.

"Some time ago, my beloved wrote a letter to the monarch of Malaysia, asking him to return his mother and daughter, and declared that he would not recognize the marriage contract between him and his eldest daughter."

Queen Zhao couldn't help but chuckle when she heard this. "This old man is arrogant when he wins and discouraged when he loses. His personality is just like those barbarians in Sindhu!"

A little advantage,

It floated directly into the sky.
I have absolutely no clear understanding of myself.

Darius was now immersed in the joy of victory, not paying attention to his feet or his surroundings.

When the little prince was less than three years old, and she, the queen, had only just appeared in public, her position was unstable.
To bring back his ex-wife's child and the queen mother who adopted Alexander as her son?
Are you thinking that things are too peaceful around you and you need more storms?

then,

Queen Zhao then requested Xinxia to sound the horn and withdraw the troops.

The influence of Xinxia,

It can only expand to this extent.

If we continue to do so, it will create a serious burden on the country.

The rapid recovery of the homeland was nothing more than accepting the old nobles again, which would only make Persia return to its previous state and would not improve it at all.

It’s better to delay and digest it.

In any case, Queen Zhao must seize the time and build up her own power while the influence of Xinxia on Persia has not yet subsided.

In order to make Xinxia support her better, Queen Zhao also promised that the little prince Zhao Kang, also known as Cambyses III, would stay in Xinxia and be influenced by Xinxia culture until he was five years old.

For this,

Darius knew nothing.

He was still regretting that Xinxia had announced that she would not fight anymore.

The Queen of Zhao comforted him with a normal expression, "There are already many soldiers willing to serve you. With your ability, are you still worried about not being able to recover the western provinces?"

Darius then perked up and felt that what the queen said was absolutely right!

He laughed and continued to appreciate the scenery of the palace with his wife.

……

Soon after,

In response to Darius III's arrogant request, the Macedonians replied:
impossible!
Because the wedding has already taken place!
Moreover, his mother Sisygambis resented Darius for abandoning her and declared to the outside world: "Alexander is my only son", and was unwilling to return to her son.

Darius was very angry and organized thousands of people to attack the western provinces, but was repelled and suffered injuries.

The 55-year-old King of Kings had lost too much vitality after this battle and was no longer able to handle state affairs. He could only entrust the affairs to his intelligent young queen.

The western provinces ruled by the Macedonians were also unable to reconquer the Eastern Persian region, which was supported by Xinxia.

thus,

The Persian Empire entered its own era of division.

For the Achaemenid Empire, which retained half of its territory, the Macedonian forces, which occupied the fertile Mesopotamian basin, and the New Xia, which took the opportunity to expand its influence and further promote the culture of the Xia Dynasty,

Everyone has a bright future!
In the distant Hexi Corridor,
The ghost who has nothing to do with changing history is saying to the dead ghost beside him, "Is my brother Kun powerful?"

　(^ω^) The affairs of New Xia have come to an end for now. I won’t say much about the events that followed after Alexander’s death and the start of the Wars of the Diadochi!
　　*^◎^*It is too late to mourn the premature death of the "Hellenistic Age".

　　Next up is——

　　"The Era of Xiaization" teeth!
　　If the enemy can go, I can go too! ╰_╯

　　
　
(End of this chapter)