Chapter 23
"The disaster of the Persia is coming!" Martonis laughed happily, as if the Greeks would really do that.
"It seems that the Persia people really want to send us away!" Hilos said as if he had realized something.
Or maybe that's what Tisafennis wants you to think. Devers thought to himself but did not say it out loud. He always felt that Tisafennis was not a simple person. After all, his way of thinking was different from the Greeks of this era. Based on his in-depth contact with the Greek soldiers, he found that most of these Greeks grew up listening to their parents' stories about how to defeat the Persia. They worshiped strength and liked to fight face-to-face. Even if they used tricks, they were mostly open ones. When it came to dealing with conspiracies, their brains were indeed less flexible than the Persia people.
Devers had always been uneasy because he knew that Tisafennis was a brilliant politician. "Xenophon, do you know our marching route?"
"I'm not sure. It's all decided by Tisafennis, Cleilkus, and Arreus. But it's definitely not the way we came. Because you know — "Xenophon shrugged." Your leader Menon took the lead and collected a lot of good things along the way. The local Persia people hate us … Don't worry, we'll go back! "
Collect? I think it's more like looting! I'm afraid that in the eyes of the Persia people, we're invaders! Robbers! Hearing this, Devers felt a little annoyed. He secretly exhaled and tried to calm down. "Do you know the mountains, rivers, cities, and roads in Persia?"
"Devers, this is also my first time going deep into Persia. Other than knowing a few famous cities from books, such as Babylon, Susa, Persia, and so on, I don't know where they are exactly …" Xenophon raised a stack of papyrus in his hand and said excitedly, "However, I briefly recorded what I saw every day. When I go back, I'll write it out so that the Greeks can understand the situation in Persia!"
Devers smiled bitterly. Well, I know you'll write a book called The Long March in the future, but it can't solve the urgent problem now.
Where can I find someone familiar with Persia's geography? Devers thought in distress …
… …
As time went by, though the Greek mercenaries and the Persian army were not close to each other, when they were fetching water from the river or collecting firewood, the soldiers of the two sides would often meet each other. Often, if there was a disagreement, a fight would break out, and this increased the animosity between the two sides.
A few days later, they arrived at the Feliscus River and met the army led by another brother of the Persia king. He came to help the king, but when he arrived, the war was already over, so he had to lead his troops back.
Afraid of accidents, Kricus ordered the entire army to be fully armed and protected in the center, keeping the battle column moving westward. The Persian army, however, was not surprised by the presence of the Greeks, and, perhaps having been informed by Tisaphnis, continued their march eastward. The distance between the two armies was only a few dozen meters. At a glance, they could even see each other's faces and expressions clearly. One could imagine how tense they were.
However, it also allowed the Devers to see the full picture of the Persia army for the first time. The chariots at the front were two-man chariots and four-man chariots, pulled by two horses and four horses respectively. One of the chariots was the driver, and he was in charge of driving the chariot. The other one or two soldiers were probably in charge of combat. Spears, shields, and bows could be seen on the carriage. There were only a dozen or so chariots, and he didn't see the legendary Long Sickle Chariot (a long sharp blade extending from the wheel axle). However, after thinking about it, he understood that the Long Sickle Chariot could be disassembled. Otherwise, it would be easy for the troops to injure their own people.
Behind the chariot came the cavalry. Most War Horses were about 1.4 meters tall, which was obviously shorter than the horses Devers had seen in the Olympics in his previous life. They had horses' heads, but no saddles, and certainly no stirrups, only a thick blanket over their backs. The cavalry on the horses, some wore helmets, and some only wore soft hats. They didn't wear leather armor or heavy shields, and all wore short robes. They had a variety of weapons in their hands: horse archers were the most common, followed by javelin cavalry, then spear cavalry, and a few with short hammers …
Hundreds of cavalry galloped past, and a huge infantry team appeared in front of them. After watching for a while, Dyvers realized that the Persian infantry's marching formation was mixed. There was a large shield bearer, the shield reached the height of a person's shoulder, and the shield was wide enough to hide a person, followed by a spearman, followed by six or seven archers, and so on.
This was very similar to the battle order of the Persia infantry mentioned by Antonios: when facing the enemy, the big shield bearer would be in the first line, and they would set up a shield wall to protect the formation. The spear bearer would block the incoming enemies to prevent them from breaking through the shield wall. And the archers at the back would use their bows and arrows to kill a large number of enemies. Whether it was the big shield bearer, the spear bearer, or the archers, they all had one thing in common: light armor, or even no armor. Coupled with the cavalry from before, it was easy for the Devers to come to a conclusion: the Persia army was excellent in long-range attacks, and very mobile, but weak in close combat. It was no wonder that they were always defeated by the Greeks in battle, because in a face-to-face battle, their infantry was no match for the Greek heavy infantry. The characteristics of the Persia army were more suitable for long-range attacks and harassment, and even for large-scale mobile attacks.
The two armies passed by each other, and nothing happened. It was a false alarm.
After this little interlude, the troops quickly entered Media. This land once nurtured the fierce Media people, and the Media Kingdom they founded was once the nightmare of the people of the Two Rivers. But after a few hundred years, the glory was gone, and the land under the jurisdiction of the Persia became a little desolate for some reason, and the terrain began to fluctuate.
Due to the reduction in the market supply, when the two armies set up camp, the fighting for resources had also begun to increase …
"Devus, the … leggings … leggings you made are really useful! I've walked for a whole day today. If it was in the past, my calves would be so swollen that I couldn't walk by the afternoon, but now I don't have to worry about this! "Hilos sat in the tent, admiring as he untied the leggings.
"Of course, we Devers are 'God's Chosen'! With the blessing of Pluto, how could the method he came up with not work?! Now, many of our companions from other teams have also begun to learn to use leggings! "Olivers said proudly.
Devers did not speak. He had heard so much praise like this now that he was even a little numb. He knew very well that these little tricks he knew in his previous life were only used to improve the marching conditions of the soldiers and enhance his influence in the Menon Barracks, but it would not change the situation of the entire Greek mercenary army.
"Devers, there have been rumors in the team for the past few days that the Persia people are going to attack us and capture us and offer us to the king of Persia as slaves. Do you think … this is true?!" Giogris's voice came from the corner.
This was the question that Devers had been thinking about just now. Although there had always been suspicions between the two armies, such a rumor could spread quickly in a day or two and become known to everyone. Based on his experience in his previous life, it was impossible for there to be no one behind it.
Was it the Persia people? Or were they themselves? Why did they spread such rumors? Break the agreement with Hippo? Make the Greeks nervous to the point of collapse? Devers had no clue for a moment. Facing everyone's concerned eyes, he smiled bitterly in his heart, but his expression was calm as he said, "There's no need to be so nervous. We just need to stay vigilant. Haven't we passed these days safely?!"
As he said that, a person came into the tent.
"Matonis, you went out to fight again!" Hilos said with slight reproach when he saw the bruises on Matonis's face.
Matonis spat out a mouthful of blood and said excitedly, "Don't look at the Persia people because they can't fight, but they're not weak at fighting. Martius, I, and a dozen others fought against more than 20 of them, and it took us a lot of effort to beat them away!"
As he spoke, he sat down on his bunk, rubbed his cheeks, and pretended to be mysterious as he said, "I didn't just go out to fight. I also heard some news."
"What news?" Hilos asked.
Matonis glanced at everyone and said loudly, "Further ahead is the fief of Little Cyrus and his mother. I heard that there are many villages there, and they are relatively rich!"
"That means we can eat something good!" Olivers shouted happily.
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