Chapter 21
While the Devers were busy preparing his field hospital, a messenger from Persia came to the Greek camp. This time, the messenger was none other than the leader of Persia, the governor of Asia Minor, Tisaphnis. He brought the hope of the Greeks' safe return home. He was willing to convey to the king of Persia that the mercenaries did not want to fight and only wanted to return home.
The mercenaries welcomed him with open arms.
After Tisaphnis left, the mercenary leaders saw that there was hope for a peaceful solution and eagerly awaited his return.
After waiting anxiously for two days, Tisaphnis once again came to the Greek camp and read the latest decree of the king of Persia to the leaders. The king had accepted the mercenaries' apology. Although many of his ministers objected, he decided to let Tisaphnis lead the Greek mercenaries back to Greece. He also agreed to provide the Greeks with a market on the way to solve their food shortage. At the same time, the Greeks had to obey the local order along the way and not destroy or loot.
The leaders, of course, were more than happy to hear this. They quickly reached an agreement with Tisaphnis and both sides made an oath in the name of God. Then, Tisaphnis told the leaders to wait patiently. He had to go back to report to the king and make arrangements for the return of the army.
Not long after Tisaphnis left, the news spread throughout the camp and the soldiers cheered.
The Devers still did not let down their guard. After listening to Serophon, he realized that the actual situation in Persia was quite different from what he had guessed based on the history of China.
Just yesterday, Serophon came to visit again. After a few days of buffer, he finally adjusted his mood and wanted to talk to the Devers about the democratic system of the city-states. The Devers did not want to continue on this issue. Instead, they cleverly led the topic to the customs of the Greek city-states.
Most of the time, it was Serophon who talked non-stop and the Devers listened carefully. In the meantime, the Devers asked about Tissaphnis, so Seraphim told them something he had heard from Proxinus about Tissaphnis, which left a deep impression on the Devers.
When Tisaphnis was the governor of Asia Minor, it was during the Peloponnesus War. Tisaphnis chose to form an alliance with Sparta. He hoped to use Sparta's power to attack Athens and restore Persia's rule over the Greek city-states on the Ionian coast. In return for Sparta, he would fund Sparta to build a large fleet capable of resisting Athens. Not long after, he stopped the promised financial support to Sparta, causing the Sparta people to protest to the then King of Persia, Darius II. Darius appointed his second son, Cyrus the Younger, as the military commander of the entire western region of Persia, fully supporting Sparta against Athens.
Tisaphnis was relieved of his military power, but he did not seem to care. He got along well with Cyrus the Younger and soon became the younger's friend. When the new King Artaxerxes ascended the throne, Cyrus the Younger went to the capital to attend his brother's enthronement ceremony. Tisaphnis reported Cyrus the Younger to the new King for plotting a rebellion, which led to Cyrus the Younger being arrested. The Empress Dowager repeatedly pleaded for his release.
After Tisaphnis returned to Asia Minor, he began to oppose Cyrus the Younger in every way. Therefore, when Cyrus the Younger rebelled, the first person Tisaphnis wanted to catch was him. However, he had already escaped and appeared in the king's army. When the left wing of the king's army was defeated by the Greek heavy infantry, Tisaphnis dared to lead his cavalry around the heavy infantry and attack the rear of the Greek army. Although he failed, his courage and decisiveness naturally stood out in a group of defeated soldiers. Therefore, he was able to represent the king as the envoy of Persia to negotiate peace with the Greek army. This was obviously a reward from the king.
What Dyphus had heard of Tisaphne was what Xenophon had heard from Proxinus, and Proxinus had received most of his information from Cyrus the Younger. Whatever his likes or dislikes of Tisaphne, the truth was the truth. Therefore, after analysis, Devers believed that Tisaphnis was a typical politician, used to being two-faced, good at judging the situation, and daring to seize opportunities. It was difficult to expect such a person to keep his promise!
When Devers told Xenophon about this concern, Xenophon sighed and said, "Proxinus and the others are very clear that they will not let down their guard against Tisaphnis. However, if we do not give up the war against the king of Persia, we may not be able to go home. Just the Euphrates and Tigris rivers alone will cause us great trouble. We will not be able to cross such a wide river smoothly in front of the enemy. Another great difficulty is that there is not enough food. Once we 'collect' food, the scattered soldiers will be vulnerable to attack by the enemy …
You see, the king of Persia has such a great advantage. If he really wanted to destroy us, there is no need to give us food and let Tisaphnis swear in the name of the gods on his behalf. Because once he breaks the contract in the future, not only will he be ridiculed by the Persia and Greeks, but he will also be abandoned by the gods of Persia. Does he really want to become a king who has just ascended the throne?! Therefore, we can only trust them and cooperate with them to ensure that we can go home safely! "
Devers saw that Xenophon was saying this to convince himself and sighed secretly. The Greek mercenaries were in a weak position, so even if the other party gave them "poison", they had no choice but to swallow it.
… …
Days passed, and the Devers's field hospital had begun to take shape. After careful care and treatment, seven of the twelve wounded had improved significantly.
In the remaining time, the Devers learned Greek from Xenophon and entrusted Mersisi, who had gone out to buy, to bring back a few bolts of linen. They cut them into slender strips and began experimenting with how to tie their legs. At the same time, he pulled his teammates to practice with him and learn fighting skills, so that his consciousness and physical memory could be unified.
Due to the Asistes's recovery and the Menon's remonstrance, his relationship with Antonios became closer. He visited Antonios many times to ask him for advice on the formation and command of heavy infantry … In order to understand how to use the long-handled reverse-blade knife, he also learned from the light shieldbearers and gained a deeper understanding of the characteristics of this unit.
The success of the field hospital made the Devers's reputation as a "favored one" deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and his humility and eagerness to learn also won everyone's favor. As he walked through the entire Menon barracks, there was almost no one who did not know him.
Day by day, the Persia did not appear, and uneasiness and suspicion gradually enveloped the entire Greek barracks. The Devers used every busy day to dilute the worries in their hearts. They were unable to change the plight of the Greek mercenaries, so they could only change themselves as much as possible to enrich themselves.
… …
After more than twenty days of waiting, Tissaphnis finally arrived with his army. He was accompanied by the governor of Ameria, Orontas, and his army.
The Greek mercenary leaders, who had been waiting anxiously for a long time, led their troops on the return journey home with them without any doubt.
But as soon as the march began, the situation changed. Alreus's army, which had originally huddled together with the Greek mercenaries, began to walk together with the Persia army. Not only did they march together, but they also set up camp together. In the past twenty days, the Persia had not been idle. They had constantly sent relatives and friends of Alreus and other generals in and out of Alreus's barracks, promising that they would not be held accountable for their crimes. Finally, the generals of Cyrus the Younger were convinced.
This undoubtedly increased the suspicions of the Greek mercenaries. They followed far behind the Persia's troops, acted alone, and brought their own guides. When they set up camp at dusk, the Greek army and the Persia army were ten miles away from each other, setting up sentries to guard each other as if they were enemies.
Tissaphnis had indeed kept his promise and provided the Greeks with a market every day. Of course, the mercenaries had to pay for it with their own money.
Menon had also wanted to give Hilos's squad less food to take revenge on the Devers, but unexpectedly, he was opposed by Merses. Previously, Merses had been very reluctant when the Devers asked for two Egyptian slaves.
Comments