Chapter 176
Kerristhorpes' good mood lasted until Tiburon's adjutant came to him.
"What did you say?! The soldiers ran away?!! " Cleethorpes was astonished, and his first instinct was to wonder if Tiburon was at work on him.
"No, they all ran away. It's just the soldiers who participated in the Cyrus the Younger Expedition! After returning to Ephesus, the troops were stationed outside the city. Because of the investigation, Tiburon did not go to inspect the barracks for a few days … "the adjutant said carefully." Until you asked me to temporarily take over Tiburon's duties, Kerristhorpes. I decided to gather the whole army for a lecture to prevent the soldiers from feeling uneasy because of Tiburon's transfer. Only then did I find that more than 3,000 soldiers were missing … "
More than 3,000 soldiers! Chris Thorpes gasped. 'That's a lot of money!' If Degyridas arrived at Ephesus and found that the number of troops he was to lead had been greatly reduced, he was afraid that he would blame himself for not handling the matter of Tiburon well, causing the morale of the army to waver.
"Was it because Tiburon condoned their looting and was afraid of being punished, so they ran away?" It was no wonder that Kerristhorpes asked this. He knew the mercenaries who participated in the Cyrus the Younger Expedition too well.
"No." The adjutant's answer made him slightly relieved, but also made him curious.
"After I discovered this situation, I immediately sealed the barracks and launched an investigation. I soon learned the truth from the mercenaries who participated in the Cyrus the Younger Expedition." The adjutant showed a strange expression. "The reason why they ran away was because of a rumor!"
"Rumor?"
"Yes. Recently, there's a rumor going around the city. 'It's said that another group of mercenaries who participated in the Persia expedition with these mercenaries went to Greece under the leadership of a leader called the Devers, defeated the barbarians there, and established an alliance called Tua. He became the consul of the alliance, and the mercenaries who followed him became citizens of the city and were given land, while the officers became … um … nobles, taking up senior public positions in the city …' These simple-minded mercenaries actually believed it to be true, and many of them wanted to go to Greece to share in the benefits of their former teammates … 'But I heard from them that this talent called the Devers had only left them for a little more than half a year. How could he have done so many things? It's obviously a lie! "After the adjutant finished speaking, he saw that Kelethorpes was frowning, deep in thought.
"Where did these rumors come from?" he asked seriously.
"I think it came from the port market of Ephesus. They heard it when they went to buy goods."
"Are the leaders of the mercenaries from the Persia expedition still there?" Kelethorpes asked again.
"Other than Xenophon, the others like Timason, Zantiparis, Cleano … they've all run away. Some of the soldiers could only stay because Xenophon persuaded them … "
"Quickly send someone to inform the Council of Ephesus and ask them to immediately send patrols to block the port. You also send troops to help. If you find any deserters, arrest them immediately and escort them back to the barracks! At the same time, inform the neighboring city-states with ports to take the same measures! "Kelethorpes quickly made a decision.
"What about the captured mercenaries?"
"In front of the whole army, kill the leading officer and the general —" Kelethorpes' expression was cold as he made a beheading gesture.
After sending off the adjutant, Kelethorpes' heart was in turmoil and could not calm down for a long time. The mercenaries' escape had started a few days ago, and it was definitely a little too late to take measures now. It seemed that while sending Tiburon back to Sparta, he needed to write a letter to the Council of Elders and take the initiative to explain the situation here. Otherwise, when Dechiridas found out and asked about it, he would be in a passive position! Sigh … Xenophon should have known about this a long time ago, why didn't he inform him!
Kelethorpes thought about it again: Xenophon had a good relationship with many generals during the expedition to Persia, especially the Devers. Him taking the initiative to persuade the soldiers to stay was already very considerate of Sparta.
Devers! After half a year, hearing this familiar yet somewhat strange name again, a clear image of the extremely young mercenary leader appeared in Kelethorpes' mind. As for the Devers, he had always felt sorry for not being able to keep them in Sparta.
He still remembered that when he returned to Sparta to report on his previous experience, he met the former admiral Anacis who had just returned from his post. When he asked him about the Devers, Anacis asked him blankly, "Who are the Devers?" He wanted to slap him on the face on the spot. How could he forget what he had repeatedly told him, and let Sparta miss out on what he thought was a Greek military genius? Later, as he helped Tiburon settle in Asia Minor, he was busy and temporarily forgot about this matter. He did not expect to hear this name again. This unforgettable young man had actually established a career in Greece?! If the matter was true, then it was indeed too shocking! But it also proved that he, Kelethorpes, did not make a wrong choice! He just did not know if he had anything to do with the desertion incident. He hoped that he was not the one who instigated it, because the Sparta Council of Elders would definitely send someone to investigate this!
But the Devers had already taken root in Greece, and obviously would not consider joining Sparta again. What a pity …
… …
Xenophon actually knew more about the situation than Kelethorpes guessed. He even knew that Timason had gone to the Temple of Artenis in Ephesus to meet Agathia, and only returned to the barracks to encourage the soldiers to go to the Tua Alliance after receiving his promise.
Xenophon had also received an invitation from Agathia. He was really surprised that the Devers had become life archons of two cities in Greece. He was also very curious about how the Devers had achieved such dazzling achievements in just over half a year! They were both young men, but one was a country bumpkin from the fringes of Greek civilization, while the other was an elite nurtured by Athens, the center of Greek culture. Now, the "country bumpkin" had already grasped the highest authority in two cities, while the elite was still struggling to survive in a foreign country. Xenophon definitely felt envious and jealous, but he didn't hesitate to reject the idea of leaving this place and starting a new career in the unfamiliar Great Greece.
It was not because of pride, but because, as an Athens man, Xenophon had always thought that Athens was the center of the world. After experiencing the defeat in the War of Peloponnesus, the expedition of Cyrus the Younger, and following the Sparta's campaign in Asia Minor, he saw the vast territory and political corruption of Persia, the weakness of the Greek city-states in Asia Minor, and the military tyranny of Sparta. He had a vague idea: why couldn't the economically prosperous Athens and the militarily powerful Sparta join hands again to lead the divided and warring Greek city-states to defeat Persia, which had always been hostile to Greece, and create a new era for the Greeks?
For this ideal, he was willing to continue fighting in this foreign land and work closely with the Sparta people, whom he had long been interested in. Therefore, even though he did not report Timason and the others out of their friendship of more than two years, he still managed to prevent more soldiers from leaving in time. He was also relieved to hear that the commander of Sparta was about to be changed. He also did not think that Tiburon was a qualified governor of Asia Minor, even though he had been winning battles all this time.
He recorded the events of the past few days. When it came to the departure of Timason and the others from the military camp to the Tua Alliance, he hesitated for a while and decided not to write it down. It was not because of secrecy, but because he had always adhered to a principle: the Eastern Mediterranean would be the focus of his future history. The Western Mediterranean was far from the center of civilization and did not deserve too much attention.
Then, he packed up the manuscript and decided to have a good talk with Kelethorpes. He had some ideas and suggestions on how to manage these mercenaries and prevent the army's morale from wavering.
… …
After the construction of the Ra River Fortress (or a fortress, it was more like a fortified camp), Felicius left a company to guard it and led the rest of the Third and Seventh Brigades back to Turií.
Devers greeted them outside the city and gave a warm speech to the soldiers. After that, the troops were dismissed and the soldiers were allowed to go home. Felicius went to the Devers' residence and told him in detail about the process of capturing Neutum and Laos, as well as the general situation of Neutum.
Devers listened carefully and asked, "Are the soldiers of the Second and Third Brigades and the First Company dissatisfied with having to stay in Neutum for about ten days?"
"Not at the moment," Felicius replied. "Since you announced the new distribution plan of the spoils of war, the soldiers who stayed behind will get a little more. I think they are quite happy."
Devers nodded and sighed. "We are not like Persia, where the state pays for the soldiers to be responsible for fighting and can carry out combat missions all year round. Five days is the limit for the Alliance's soldiers to go to war. Beyond this time, we have to prepare food for the soldiers, and the longer it takes, the longer it will delay their farming and earning money. We cannot let the citizens who fought for the Alliance become poorer. Therefore, the distribution of the spoils of war this time is not just to deal with this one time! I hope that when you go back, you will discuss with Merses and come up with a long-term distribution plan of the spoils of war. Prioritize three points.
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