Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 506 Beneath the Walls of Rome
"This is the Western Sea."

"The locals call it the Mediterranean."

Standing on the coast, Lin Dao gazed at the calm sea and felt great.

"Having traveled ten thousand miles westward, we have already taken ninety-nine steps."

"We are finally about to arrive in Europe."

People from various small groups.

The group included Chu nobles yearning to restore their kingdom, Qin soldiers seeking military merit to elevate their status, pedantic scholars preparing to spread the light of righteousness across Europe, ambitious individuals from all over Qin, criminals, sons-in-law, and so on.

Upon hearing the news, there was a burst of cheers.

After such a long march, we are finally nearing our end.

Not far behind the massive westward-bound caravan was a city shrouded in thick smoke and flames.

This is the last glory of the Seleucid Empire, Tarsus.

Seleucus, who inherited most of Alexander's legacy, was on the journey of the migration group to Middle-earth.

After the fall of Parthia, Seleucus put up a resolute resistance.

But their army was unable to defeat the migrating groups.

The small round shields and spear formations they were so proud of, along with the long spears several meters long, were riddled with holes by the Qin army's powerful crossbows.

The scythe-shaped chariots, which had been given high hopes, were met with the collision and crushing of the 100-ton king.

As for ranged attackers like spearmen, slingers, and archers, they were a joke in front of the fully armored westward expedition.

The defeat in war resulted in the destruction of the nation.

What the Seleucus king found most unacceptable was...

Before he committed suicide, he learned that this was not the regular army of some great Eastern power, but a migrating group!

The Seleucid king was so angered that he died.

Their own country was destroyed by a group of migrating people!
Almost all cities, including Antioch, were subjected to massacres and burning by Xiang Yu.

The reason, of course, was to plunder wealth, capture beauties and artisans, and eliminate potential threats.

Xiang Yu was already in a bloodthirsty frenzy, but Lin Dao ignored him completely, as if he hadn't seen him at all.

"This place faces south."

Lin Dao pointed south, "These are the Ptolemaic cities of Sidon, Damascus, Jerusalem, and others."

"If we march along the coastline, we will eventually reach the heart of the Ptolemaic dynasty, the Nile Delta."

"But they were lucky; this time I'm taking the northern route, not the southern one."

“Once Rome is separated from Rome, you will have to take this seriously.”

The northern route leads directly into Asia Minor, which is the Anatolian Peninsula.

At this time, the land was in complete chaos.

The cities built by Greek colonists, the remnants of Seleucid strongholds here, the pharaoh's armies that continuously crossed the sea northward from Cyprus, the raiders from Pontus and Armenia, and even Thrace and Macedonia across the sea all built their own colonial outposts on this peninsula.

Countless forces fought and clashed with each other, and the flames of war raged on and on.

Then, Lin Dao's westward journey team arrived.

"Don't talk to me, I don't want to hear what you have to say."

"Either surrender~"

"Either you die or you die!"

Along the way, they encountered cities and towns, people, slaves, nobles, or armies.

Regardless of race or kingdom affiliation, those who refused to surrender were all handed over to Xiang Yu for disposal.

Those who surrendered were gathered together with the spoils of war collected along the way and carried them with them.

All these slaves will be distributed upon arrival in Rome.

The westward expedition swept across the Anatolian Peninsula like autumn leaves in the wind.

We traveled northwest until we finally reached the strait.

Across the strait lies Byzantium, now occupied by the Thracians.

"A small strait can hold off large warships."

Lin Dao found the narrowest spot and transported steel structure pontoon bridge modules from the modern world.

The mediocre apprentices directed a large number of slaves to set up the equipment.

Various incidents of people falling into the water, jokes, and accidents naturally occurred one after another.

Fortunately, it was eventually built and extended to the other side of the river.

However, in the final part, they were harassed and obstructed by the Thracians on the other side of the river.

A large number of the working slaves died or were injured.

When the news reached Lin Dao, he drove the armored vehicle to the shore.

The Dardanelles Strait, now known as the Chu River Strait by Lin Dao.

At its narrowest point, it's only a little over a kilometer wide.

The armored vehicles' rapid-fire cannons fired volleys of high-explosive shells that rained down on the opposite bank. Amidst the crackling and booming sounds, the Thracians on the other side, who were shooting arrows and holding shields, were almost entirely enveloped in smoke.

After several rounds of attacks, no Thracians dared to step forward to stop them anymore.

"Xiang Yu~"

Standing on the armored vehicle, he observed the forest path on the opposite bank and lowered his binoculars to look at Xiang Yu not far away.

With a single glance, Xiang Yu immediately understood.

"Crossing the Chu River~"

"Slaughter the city!"

The Byzantine city engulfed in flames was renamed New Leizhou by Lin Dao.

After discussion, recommendation, and voting, a nobleman from the State of Chu was granted this land as his fief.

People also call him ~
Lei Hou~
They then marched westward, sweeping across Macedonia and Thrace.

The land and cities captured along the way were then distributed among the nobles of Chu.

This not only made the Qin soldiers who were traveling with him extremely envious, but also caused the Chu nobles who had not yet been assigned a place to surround Xiang Yu.

You can't massacre the city again!

From now on, this will all be our fiefdom!
They traveled all the way to the foot of the Alps, entering Italy. At this time, the Roman Empire was engaged in a fierce battle with Hannibal.

Many of the northern cities had already fallen to Hannibal, who had crossed the Alps.

Faced with the sudden arrival of the Eastern army, these northern cities surrendered without much resistance.

From this point onward, there were no more fiefdoms.

This most fertile land was reserved for Xiang Yu.

If they could surrender to Hannibal, they could certainly surrender to an Asian man with black hair as well.

In ancient Europe, black hair was considered the most prestigious.

Those with blond or even brown hair are actually barbarians.

After the Battle of Cannae, Hannibal, who had been on the defensive, took the initiative to visit her.

"We come from the East."

Having confirmed that Hannibal was not a Black, Lindo nodded. "We came to conquer, not to cooperate."

Hannibal's carefully prepared gifts and words were all rendered useless.

Before he could speak, Lin Dao continued, "Our army is about to march south to Rome to engage in a decisive battle with the Roman legions."

"Whether you surrender or not, you can stand by and watch."

"Make your decision after the big battle."

At this time, Rome, having suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Cannae, was gradually recovering its strength by relying on its advantage of fighting on home soil and the continuous replenishment of its citizens.

They had also heard news about people from the East.

After all, the Kingdom of Macedonia, located across the Adriatic Sea, had been destroyed, and its king had fled across the sea to inform them of this.

The Senate and consuls also attempted to send envoys to contact the Easterners to join forces against the despicable Hannibal.

As it turned out, the messenger returned as soon as he went out.

The news that came was that Hannibal had crossed the Rubicon with the people of the East!

Without a doubt, they came for Rome.

The Senate authorized Consul Marcellus to lead a large number of newly formed Roman legions to meet the enemy.

Rome had previously suffered a devastating blow at the Battle of Cannae.

Nearly two hundred veterans, dozens of corps officers, many consuls, and 80,000 troops were almost completely wiped out.

However, relying on their citizenship system, they quickly rebuilt the legion and elected new elders and consuls.

The new consul chose to hand over military power to Scipio Africanus, a young man who had distinguished himself in the war.

Nearly 100,000 Roman legions marched north out of the city to meet the enemy.

Almost all the male citizens of Rome went to war.

When Hannibal, forced to lead the vanguard, dispatched his war elephants, Scipio Africanus ordered the front-line legions to sound their drums and horns, using the loud noise to disturb the elephants.

Hannibal's war elephants were frightened; some stopped advancing, some turned and charged back to their own lines, and others fled after being wounded by Roman javelins.

Scipio Africanus seized this opportune moment, ordering his cavalry to outflank Hannibal's army while simultaneously concentrating the forces of his various legions to launch a frontal assault.

With one burst of energy, they finally achieved victory.

As the Romans cheered, an unprecedentedly large legion appeared in their sight.

The Qin army was well-organized and equipped.

The Chu army was massive in scale and possessed an imposing aura.

Qin and Chu joined forces to fight against the Roman legions.

Scipio Abraham, unaware of the strength of the Easterners, intended to retreat and regroup.

However, he was rejected by the senators of the Senate.

The elders delivered impassioned speeches to the legionary soldiers.

In short, it all boils down to this:
"Citizens, behind you lies the city of Rome!"

The Roman legions, their morale high, marched forward in formation, carrying their eagle banners.

Without a doubt, they were first subjected to the baptism of Qin crossbows.

The Romans' massive shields and armor helped them withstand most of the crossbow bolts.

Once the two sides were close, the Roman tortoise formation found it difficult to get close to the Qin and Chu armies, who were armed with long spears and halberds.

Even those few who managed to get close were blocked by the elite troops of the Qin-Chu allied forces.

Only then did the Roman soldiers realize that the enemy was such an elite force.

As far as the eye could see, everyone was wearing full suits of iron armor!
Their short swords couldn't break through their defenses at all.

As for the javelin, it was still on the opponent and not very useful.

Seeing the battle lines deadlocked, Scipio Africanus was extremely anxious.

He keenly sensed that things were heading in a worse direction.

In a moment of crisis, he dispatched auxiliary cavalry to outflank and encircle Hannibal, attempting to replicate his previous victory over him.

As a result, Xiang Yu, who had been waiting for a long time, personally led his cavalry in a counterattack.

Not only did they decisively defeat the already weak Roman cavalry, but they also seized the opportunity to charge into the main battlefield, cutting off and encircling many Roman legions.

He was a representative figure in the military situation.

Xiang Yu, honed through countless battles, constantly forced the Roman legions' tortoise formation to reveal its weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

He was able to seize the opportunity precisely to rush over, break through these tortoise-shell formations, and then pursue and kill the fleeing soldiers.

The situation took a sharp turn for the worse, and the Roman legions inevitably fell into chaos.

Some wanted to withdraw their troops, some wanted to flee, and some wanted to resist.

As a result, chaos ensued, and it grew increasingly intense.

Xiang Yu was able to seize these opportunities precisely, commanding his cavalry to amplify the enemy's rout and thus cause the collapse of the entire battle line.

When the Roman legions could no longer maintain their tortoise formation, they scattered and fled.

The decisive battle was thus decided.

Driven by a bloodlust, Xiang Yu pursued the enemy all the way to the outskirts of Rome!

(End of this chapter)