Such were the orders he gave; and Ptolemy collected there as many waggons1 as he could from those which had been left behind in the first flight, and placed them athwart, so that there might seem to the fugitives2 in the night to be many difficulties in their way; and as the stockade3 had been knocked down, or had not been firmly fixed4 in the ground, he ordered his men to heap up a mound5 of earth in various places between the lake and the wall. This his soldiers effected in the night. When it was about the fourth watch,707 the barbarians6, just as Alexander had been informed, opened the gates towards 305the lake, and made a run in that direction. However they did not escape the notice of the guards there, nor that of Ptolemy, who had been placed behind them to render aid. But at this moment the buglers gave him the signal, and he advanced against the barbarians with his army fully8 equipped and drawn9 up in battle array. Moreover the waggons and the stockade which had been placed in the intervening space, were an obstruction10 to them. When the bugle7 sounded and Ptolemy attacked them, killing11 the men as they kept on stealing out through the waggons, then indeed they were driven back again into the city; and in their retreat 500 of them were killed. In the meanwhile Porus arrived, bringing with him the elephants that were left to him, and 5,000 Indians. Alexander had constructed his military engines and they were being led up to the wall; but before any of it was battered12 down, the Macedonians took the city by storm, digging under the wall, which was made of brick, and placing scaling ladders against it all round. In the capture 17,000 of the Indians were killed, and above 70,000 were captured, besides 300 chariots and 500 cavalry13. In the whole siege a little less than 100 of Alexander’s army were killed; but the number of the wounded was greater than the proportion of the slain14, being more than 1,200, among whom were Lysimachus, the confidential15 body-guard, and other officers. After burying the dead according to his custom, Alexander sent Eumenes, the secretary,708 with 300 cavalry to the two cities which had joined 306Sangala in revolt, to tell those who held them about the capture of Sangala, and to inform them that they would receive no harsh treatment from Alexander if they stayed there and received him as a friend; for no harm had happened to any of the other independent Indians who had surrendered to him of their own accord. But they had become frightened, and had abandoned the cities and were fleeing; for the news had already reached them that Alexander had taken Sangala by storm. When Alexander was informed of their flight he pursued them with speed; but most of them were too quick for him, and effected their escape, because the pursuit began from a distant starting-place. But all those who were left behind in the retreat from weakness, were seized by the army and killed, to the number of about 500. Then, giving up the design of pursuing the fugitives any further, he returned to Sangala, and razed16 the city to the ground. He added the land to that of the Indians who had formerly17 been independent, but who had then voluntarily submitted to him. He then sent Porus with his forces to the cities which had submitted to him, to introduce garrisons18 into them; whilst he himself, with his army, advanced to the river Hyphasis,709 to subjugate19 the Indians beyond it. Nor did there seem to him any end of the war, so long as anything hostile to him remained.
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1 waggons | |
四轮的运货马车( waggon的名词复数 ); 铁路货车; 小手推车 | |
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2 fugitives | |
n.亡命者,逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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3 stockade | |
n.栅栏,围栏;v.用栅栏防护 | |
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4 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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5 mound | |
n.土墩,堤,小山;v.筑堤,用土堆防卫 | |
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6 barbarians | |
n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 );外国人;粗野的人;无教养的人 | |
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7 bugle | |
n.军号,号角,喇叭;v.吹号,吹号召集 | |
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8 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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9 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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10 obstruction | |
n.阻塞,堵塞;障碍物 | |
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11 killing | |
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财 | |
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12 battered | |
adj.磨损的;v.连续猛击;磨损 | |
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13 cavalry | |
n.骑兵;轻装甲部队 | |
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14 slain | |
杀死,宰杀,杀戮( slay的过去分词 ); (slay的过去分词) | |
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15 confidential | |
adj.秘(机)密的,表示信任的,担任机密工作的 | |
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16 razed | |
v.彻底摧毁,将…夷为平地( raze的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17 formerly | |
adv.从前,以前 | |
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18 garrisons | |
守备部队,卫戍部队( garrison的名词复数 ) | |
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19 subjugate | |
v.征服;抑制 | |
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