Insanity Cave
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Chapter 14 – Xenophon (2)
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The crowd couldn't help but cry out: "This is amazing! Xenophon came to Persia by the order of Hades! And Davos have never seen Xenophon before, but he knew him through the oracle! This is Hades blessing us!!" The people began to sing the song of Hades.
Although Davos was surprised, but he thought it was just a coincidence. He pretended to follow everyone's singing, and then said: "Even if there is the blessing of Hades, we also need to exert ourselves in order to pass the test and return to Greece safely."
"Davos, you aren't very confident about whether we can go home smoothly?" Xenophon looked at Davos. Xenophon believes in divine prophesies, omens in dreams, and prediction. It was precisely because he heard that Davos was favored by Hades and so he came over to find out. Because he believed that there must be some mysterious connection between him and Davos through Hades.
"I'm just an ordinary infantry, just like a frog in the well, I don't understand the topmost situation. So it's inevitable that I will be confused." Davos said calmly: "You are a close friend of Proxenus, and the most outstanding student of Socrates. I hope you can tell us what kind of situation we are facing now, in order to relieve our confusion."
Olivos wanted to say something, but Davos stopped him with his gaze.
Xenophon didn't declined and said: "I think this time we should be able to return to Greece smoothly! Why?" Xenophon has a sense of responsibility because he came to Persia under the guidance of 'God'. In the face of this possible disaster and when everyone was panicking, he thought that this was the reason why the gods let him come. Therefore, in the past few days, he was running back and forth in the camp to help Proxenus stabilize his troops.
At this time, he looked at the crowd and patiently said: "First, our hoplite is strong, while the Persian troops are weak. For decades since the Battle of Thermopylae, we have always steadily gained the upper hand in the battles between us Greeks and Persians. It was even more obviously shown in our previous battle against the Persian king, that our fierce attack directly resulted in their collapse. It can be seen that the Persian fear of our hoplite has penetrated into their blood. Although their cavalry is better than ours, but what is the use? The cavalry can only scout and harass, but they dare not fight us head-on, which won't help improve their combat effectiveness.
"Yes, their cavalry are cowards!" Matonis shouted with great approval, and the face of Xenophon was a little embarassed.
"But the Persian cavalry's javelin and arrows caused us a lot of trouble," Hielos reminded.
"But their cavalry, like their infantry, lacks the skill and courage to confront us head-on. It is impossible for them to shake our courage with bows and arrows. As long as we decide to retreat, they will never be able to stop us from leaving." Xenophon confidently said it based on his knowledge of cavalry.
"Secondly, I heard the Persians say that their new king, Artaxerxes, was a gentle and timid guy since he was a child, which is why Cyrus the Younger dared to revolt. I heard that in the regions of Susa[1] and Persepolis, some friends of Cyrus the Younger began to respond and although Artaxerxes had fortunately killed Cyrus the Younger, he would never dare risk fighting us to death while his rear had not calmed down.
Third, our commander, Clearchus, is a very capable person. Although I am an Athenian and he is a Spartan, but I can't deny that during the war between Athens and Sparta, he had caused Athens a lot of trouble, then he defeated the Thracians many times. And several leaders like Proxenus and Meno are also experienced commanders and they have good understanding of Persians due to having dealings with them all year round. The Persian commander-in-chief was Artaxerxes, the Persian king who had just became a king and had never commanded an army, and the general he relied on, Tissaphernes, was even defeated by us, they aren't at all a match against several of our leaders!…"
Davos carefully listened to the story of Xenophon. Through Xenophon, he learned a lot about things that he didn't know before. This time, he sincerely applauded: "What a wonderful speech! You really are worthy to be the disciple of Socrates!"
"Yeah! It is the man that Hades has guided! Your words gave us confidence!" Hielos said sincerely.
In the face of everyone's praise, Xenophon's looked calm, it was a common thing for him to persuade ordinary soldiers, his eyes fell on Davos and seems to want to see the unusualness of the "God's favored" of Hades in the rumors.
"But you still forgot to say one thing." Davos certainly can't let the other person look down on himself, especially in front of his teammates: "Although Persia has a vast territory and has a large population, they can't effectively governed it. Most areas are still autonomous, they have their own culture and religion, obeying the Persian rule requires only two things – paying taxes and serving in the military. The Persians believed only in themselves, so there were very few foreign officials in their army and court. If the foreigners could not integrate into Persia, they would not die for Persia. I think that's one of the reasons why the Persian troops collapsed when they faced us."
Xenophon savored what Davos said and recalled what he had seen along the way, which was very consistent. He was stunned, he apparently isn't as well educated as a 19 year old young man who didn't know a thing about Persia, he can only blame it on something like "God's favored"! Xenophon can only comfort himself in this way: "You're right! This is the illness of the dictatorship of the king! On the contrary, it is the superiority of Greek's democracy, for we are fighting for ourselves!"
Superiority of democracy? Davos seemed to see the face of a country that self-proclaimed itself as the "Global Sheriff" in his previous life. He tried to cast aside his contempt, but was seen by the careful Xenophon: "Davos thinks I am wrong?"
"Xenophon, which period in Athens do you think was the most stable and prosperous in the past centuries?" Davos decided to use his previous life's knowledge to shock this historical celebrity in front of him and impress him so that his name will spread to the top of the mercenary through him.
"The period when Pericles[2] is in power." Xenophon answered without hesitation.
"You forgot to mention the reign of Peisistratos[3]." Davos reminded him: "It was under his rule that Athens had completely owned the Attica region and made the port of Piraeus prospered, and only then did Athens became another powerful city-state in Greece besides Sparta!"
"But…" Xenophon didn't expect that Davos would mention Peisistratos, the Athenians were proud to live in the most democratic Greek city-state, and almost no one would talk about the dictator. He wanted to retort, but for a moment he doesn't know what to say. After all, Xenophon, a highly educated and knowledgeable person, knows that Davos was telling the truth.
Davos seized the opportunity and continue to say: "You want to say, 'But Athens was stronger under Pericles', right? However, there are problems with the statement about Pericles' Reign. How many years did Pericles serve as a strategos[4]? Thirty years! He has never been defeated in thirty years and has been elected as the Polemarchos[5] for many times! All the important domestic and foreign laws and decisions in Athens were proposed and formulated by him, which created the golden age of Athens. Isn't it ironic that in order to prevent an autocratic democracy in Athens, the once a year Ostracism[6] method was invented. Is Peisistratos dictator? Is Pericles democratic?! Pericles is merely a more subtle and gentler than Peisistratos political means.
And what do you think happened to the superiority of democracy without Pericles? Athens with its richer financial resources, stronger navy and more allies than Sparta, has internal strife and struggle with each other, and the people of Athens are often unable to tell the truth and false apart, and are easily incited by the politicians. That's why at the crucial moment of the expedition to Sicily, the most talented strategos of Athens, Alcibiades[7], was forced to defect. The strategoi who had just won a key sea battle in Arginusae[8] but failed to rescue the drowning soldiers in time due to a gale, was easily tried by the masses and even executed…these foolish acts of Athens are not uncommon in this long war with Sparta! This is what Athenians think as the perfect democracy?! It has consumed the strength it accumulated over the past hundred years in the constant internal friction!"
The ancient democratic system of Athens was a key point in the study of Davos in his previous life's party school, because it was the origin of the modern Western political system, Davos still has fresh memories of it.
Author's Note 1: Western historians doesn't have a high evaluation of Xenophon. They think that Xenophon only has a shallow knowledge of history and philosophy, and his depth of research and understanding of history is not as deep as Thucydides and Herodotus, and his philosophical attainments aren't as good as his classmate, Plato. Moreover, in his works, he believed in divine prophesies, dream omens and prediction, and often used his political preferences to select historical materials and judge historical facts, which was full of exaggeration. When I read his works, I also experience it. However, in any case, he left a lot of valuable first-hand information, so that the modern people can have a clearer understanding of that era, otherwise there will be no such novel that I have wrote today.
Author's Note 2: After the Arginusae sea battle, among the generals that was tried by the people of Athens was the characters I wrote in my last novel – Pericles the Younger, the only son of Pericles and he also got executed.
[1] Susa was an ancient city of the Proto-Elamite, Elamite, First Persian Empire, Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian empires of Iran, and one of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East.
[2] Pericles was a prominent and influential Greek statesman, orator and general of Athens during its golden age – specifically the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars.
[3] Peisistratos was a ruler of ancient Athens during most of the period between 561 and 527 BC.
[4] Strategos = General.
[5] Polemarchos = Supreme Commander.
[6] Ostracism was a procedure under the Athenian democracy in which any citizen could be expelled from the city-state of Athens for ten years.
[7] Alcibiades was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator, and general. He played a major role in the second half of Peloponnesian War as a strategic advisor, military commander, and politician.
[8] Battle of Arginusae took place in 406 BC during the Peloponnesian War near the city of Canae in the Arginusae islands, east of the island of Lesbos. (interesting fact is that Pericles son, Pericles the Younger, was one of the generals that have been executed.)
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Insanity Cave
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Chapter 15 – Miracle Physician
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After Athens failed in the Peloponnesian War and experienced the brutal rule of the "Thirty Tyrants", the wise men in Athens were more or less aware of the flaws in the system, but there wasn't anyone who had completely denied the Athenian democracy like what Davos did.
This deafening words were like a loud thunder, that made Xenophon not regain his sense for a long time and absentmindedly said "…You mean Sparta… is the best?"
"Sparta?!" Davos sneered: "When they decided to turn its compatriots into Helots[1] (referring to the Messenians), it is destined that it will never be strong! Although the Spartan warriors are very brave, but thousands of Spartan warriors have to suppress slaves ten times their number. Its city-state is like a volcano that will erupt once it meet a great defeat."
"Davos, now Sparta is the most powerful city-state in Greece!" Olivos interrupted.
"Then let's wait and see how powerful it is in a few years!" Davos answered confidently. He vaguely remembered that it wasn't long before another war broke out in Greece, and Sparta got defeated by the rising Thebes and thus fall in decline.
"Is this an oracle?" Several of his teammates were surprised.
Davos laughed but didn't answer.
"So, which city-state has the best system?" Xenophon relunctantly asked.
Davos also responded with a mysterious smile.
At this time, Xenophon seems to have recovered his calmness on the surface, but in fact, his heart is thumping. He didn't made any blunder even though decades of habits and beliefs was smashed by what Davos had said and it is due to Socrates' years of teaching that made him more adept at learning and thinking independently than the average person.
The restless man could not stay any longer and has to go back and think about what Davos had said. So, he bid farewell to Davos.
As he was leaving, Davos seemed to ask a casual question: "Xenophon, have you ever commanded an army before?"
"I served as a cavalry captain." Xenophon hastily answered.
Davos' face became grave as he watched the shadow of Xenophon fade away. As a student of Socrates, Xenophon's insights were clearly beyond those of his teammates. However, as a newly arrived Athenian with a low reputation and without a rich mercenary experience, and currently is still only an adjutant of Proxenus, how did Xenophon manage to lead the retreat?
When he thought how the author of "Anabasis" is Xenophon himself, Davos will inevitably have some doubts: 'Did Xenophon stole other people's credits for himself?'
"Davos, Athens and Sparta are really that bad?" Hielos clearly understood than the others and was more confused.
Davos nodded and sighed: "Both Athens and Sparta will live very well if it is in a period of peace, but this is an era in which you are doomed to perish if you don't struggle!"
Hielos seemed to understand and couldn't help but ask the same question as Xenophon: "So is there a city-state in the Mediterranean that has a better system than Athens and Sparta?"
Davos looked at the curious and eager eyes of Hielos and turned his head. On the horizon, the sunset emits its last afterglow before falling, looking at the red clouds, thinking of the Mediterranean in the future, with frequent wars and powerful countries that have come and gone, until the emergence of a great Emperor and his dazzling light that shined the western world for more than two thousand years…
Davos had a sudden surge of enthusiasm in his heart, this time he did not refuse to answer and said positively: "Not at the moment. But if you and I can live longer, maybe one day you can see it!" (T/N: Most likely talking about Alexander the Great's Macedonian Empire)
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
In the early morning, Davos' mind was in the midst of confusion and heard the voices of people outside.
"Wake up! Wake up! My nephew woke up!!" Antonios ecstatically broke into the room and hugged Davos: "Thank you! Thank you! Asistes, he is alive!!"
Davos wasn't fully awake and confusedly asked: "Really?"
"It's true!" Then Herpus said excitedly: "Asistes is awake! His temperature is not as hot as it was yesterday, although he is still weak, he can already eat porridge made of bread. Davos, the method you taught really works!"
In the face of Herpus admiration, Davos was finally relieved, he suppressed the excitement and said calmly: "Although Asistes is out of danger, you can't relax and need to continue taking care of him with the method I taught before, so that he could get better soon!"
"Yes!" Herpus replied respectfully.
"Davos, there are many people outside that want to see you." Hielos came in and said.
"Oh, it's Kapus. They were surprised when they heard that Asistes woke up. They must have come over to see you and want to get your help." Antonios answered with some shame, Davos have put so much energy into saving his nephew that he might have even prayed to Hades. And he hasn't paid him back yet and brought him another trouble.
"Kapus?" Davos had no impression of the name.
"Another hoplite squadron leader in our camp." Hielos explained.
Davos slightly murmured and immediately stood up: "Let's go out, don't keep them waiting."
He walked out of the house, while being surrounded by people.
"Look, Davos is out!"
"This is Davos? He is too young!"
"Despite his youth, he is really favored by Hades! If not, he would not have been able to save Asistes. You and I have seen that Asistes was in a coma back then."
"Davos, one of my brothers was also injured like Asistes, he is burning and unconscious, I hope I can get your help!"
"I also have one of my men injured…"
"And me…"
In the small yard, crowds of people are desperately waved their arms, shouting like a surging tide, and they are waving higher and higher.
In the face of an out-of-control incident, everyone were slightly nervous, but only Davos' look remain unchanged. As a cadre that was promoted from the bottom in his previous life, no matter if it is in towns, counties and cities, he have seen mass petitions a lot of times. Even when he was the village head, he once held a meeting in the town and was caught up by peasants that have surrounded the town government to discuss the land expropriation, the leaders hid while only he stood up and faced the hoes and sticks in the hands of these passionate peasants, he tried his best to persuade them to withdraw. This small incident in front of him is really hard for him to ignore, besides, it is a good thing for him.
He raised his hand and shouted: "Everyone be quiet!"
"Quiet! Quiet!!…" Antonios also helped shout.
People gradually calmed down.
"I am very grateful for everyone's trust!" Davos said with excitement: "We are all comrades who fought together and face death! They are good brothers who are able to entrust their right shoulders to protect their teammates! If any brother is injured, I will take Herpus with me and do our best to save and never abandon any wounded!!"
Herpus was thrilled to hear his name.
Hearing this, the soldiers in the yard were even more grateful.
"This is great! Thank you Hades!!"
"Thank you, Davos, you are our savior!!"
"Davos, you are our best brother! Whatever you want in the future, I will try my best to do it for you!!"
In this era, it is very common for soldiers to be injured and get infected and die, which is also a nightmare that plagues the army, now, Davos gave them hope. And this person is generous and kind, how can they not be moved!
"Davos! Davos!…" Their shouts resounded over the sky of Meno's camp.
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Insanity Cave
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Chapter 16 – Conflict
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When Davos and Herpus were discussing how to treat the wounded more efficiently, a guard of Meno called him over.
As soon as he entered, Meno shouted angrily: "I said, 'If you have a new ideas, let me know first'! and you agreed. But now, you deceived me! You broke your promise!"
"What did I do wrong?" Davos was puzzled.
"You are able to save those comatose soldiers and did it secretly without telling me in advance!"
After Davos heard what he said, he was amused: "Respected leader Meno, the situation was urgent and saving people is important, if I have reported it to you first and then organize people to treat them, Asistes would've died!"
Davos added sarcastically: "Besides, this isn't a new idea, it was a medical skill passed down from my ancestor. I came to be a mercenary and not to be a slave that needs to get your permission to treat people!"
Meno was unable to respond. Just now the soldiers were shouting the name of "Davos", which made him confused by jealousy, and without thinking, angrily called Davos, which resulted in his embarrassment.
He simply said: "I am still lacking a guard here. From now on, you will be responsible for guarding my safety and you can't leave without my orders!" He had a hunch that Davos had to be separated from the soldiers to avoid further influencing them and thus weaken his control over the mercenary.
"I'm sorry, leader Meno. I am better suited to be an ordinary soldier than a guard. Besides, my squad leader won't agree!" Davos guessed Meno's intentions and he certainly would not agree.
Meno laughed with anger due to the unexpected direct refusal: "I am your leader! Who dares to disagree with my orders!"
"I disagree!" With a shout, Antonios entered the living room.
"I also don't agree!" Following him was Kapus, then was followed by several squadron leaders.
Davos was relieved to see Antonios nodding to himself, he is now safe. Of course, he didn't know that when the guard called him threateningly, Hielos felt something wrong and immediately ran to inform Antonios, this is why Antonios and the rest appeared here so soon.
"Who let you in?! Where is my guard?!" Meno was anxious and angry. He felt uneasy with how several of his main squadron leaders came unannounced.
"Leader, the wounded in the camp are still waiting for Davos to treat them and we can't delay!" Antonios listened calmly to the words filled with hidden threat that made Meno heart tremble in fear and the cold gaze of the crowd made Meno feel even more hesitant.
He end up yielding and stutteringly said: "Well…I…am very pleased that Davos used his great medical skill to save the wounded and unconscious soldier. So I called him to come…uhm…I want to appoint him as the camp's physician in order to treat more soldiers."
"I am very willing to heal our wounded brothers! But whether if it is a physician or a guard that you previously mentioned, I won't accept! I just want to be a soldier under Hielos." Davos straightforwardly answered. Although he would be safe being the camp physician, but it doesn't comply to his plan. Moreover, he was unwilling to accept Meno's compromise now that they have torn each other face, and it is hard for him to change his initial understanding of Meno.
Meno was very embarrassed getting rejected by a low-ranking ordinary soldier in front of everyone and he immediately shouted: "DAVOS!"
Just as his words left his mouth, there was a sudden noise outside: "Return Davos to us and give the soldiers a way to live!!"
"Meno, if you don't let Davos come out, we will rush in!!"
It was the yelling of countless soldiers, making Meno tremble with fear.
"Davos, you go back first." Antonios said.
Davos nodded and said loudly: "Everyone, thank you for your help!"
Meno immediately turned his resentful gaze to the squadron leaders after hearing it.
After Davos left, he immediately said: "Antonios, Kapus… are you also starting to go against me?"
"Meno, you are our leader and of course we have to listen to your command. But Davos is favored by Hades and the soldiers have witnessed the many miracles he had created! The gods are watching us in heaven and blessed us so that we can smoothly go home from foreign land, and the least bit of blasphemy isn't allowed." Antonios answered evasively.
Meno certainly heard his implication: 'We all know what you did to Davos. We can follow your command, but when it comes to Davos, we will defend him.' He also wanted to refute in order to preserve his dignity as the leader, but Amintas, who dislike him the most among his officers, shouted: "Listen Meno! Once our mission ends, we don't mind re-electing a new leader if you mess up again! I believe the soldiers won't choose you anymore!"
Amintas' words manage to hit the crucial point of Meno's worries. Mercenaries are a loose military organization. Meno became the leader due to his wide range of connections and being able to receive missions, get money and pay the soldiers. Now the situation is that, after the death of Cyrus the Younger, Meno lost his employer and could no longer get money, nor could he pay the soldiers. The reason why the soldiers still believed in him: Firstly, it's due to their common goal of returning home safely, and they must be united, since a scattered soldiers can't survive on Persian land. The command system of the mercenaries is readily available and effective, and the soldiers were used to it. Secondly, the long years of living as a mercenary, these experienced officers are rarely replaced and most of them had a good relations with Meno, they help him control the whole troops. But now, for the sake of Davos, the officers and soldiers have joined forces against him, indicating that his control of the troops is at stake.
He knew that he has a bad reputation in the hearts of the soldiers. In the past, he didn't care because as long as he have money, he could replace a group of soldiers any time, due to most of the land in Greece are barren and the previous Peloponnesian War causing the livelihood of the people to decline, more young people go out to seek for survival. But it now has become his biggest worry.
After he calmly sent away Antonios and Kapus, he returned to the living room to scream and vent out his depression: "I'M GOING TO KILL THAT KID!!" As soon as he spoke, he realized that something was off and hurriedly went to the entrance, he did not know when the guard at the entrance who had followed him for more than a year had already disappeared.
He was frightened and restless in the living room. He looked at the room which had become a mess due to his anger, he hesitated for a while and finally decided to go to Ariaeus. He heard that many relatives of Ariaeus came to him these two days and with their help, the mercenaries might not have to go back so laboriously…
Meno had an idea after he thought about it. He tidied up his makeup and went to the yard to pull a horse, after clamping hard on the horse belly, he then galloped northward.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
After testing his influence in Meno's camp through this incident, Davos returned to his residence and actively recruited Herpus to discuss the treatment of the wounded.
Although Davos wasn't a doctor in his previous life, but he has the accumulation of more than 2,000 years of knowledge than the people of this era, which is enough for him to make a more better medical plan than that of this time. Firstly, setting up a medical team with Herpus as the lead, then from the camp, find one or two soldiers who are interested in medicine and serve as a physician. They then need several female slaves from the supply unit to train them as a nurse while they do treatment, he believe that they can adapt fast to their new roles. Secondly, they should open up an area to serve as a wartime hospital, so that they can concentrate on the treatment of the wounded and improve efficiency. Thirdly, the most common thing in the army is getting wounded, by establishing a practical medical system and training the doctors and nurses the concept of sterile hygiene, as long as the infection can be prevented, by virtue of the strong physical condition of the soldiers, most of the mild and moderate injuries can get better. Finally, gathering some of the local remedies from Persians along the way, Mesopotamian civilization is one of the oldest civilizations on earth. For thousands of years, people who live in this land have their own unique means and methods to cope with diseases. After studying it, they will then use modern analytical methods to remove the bad part and it will naturally expand the scope of treatment of Davos' medical team.
Davos intends to develop this medical team into a permanent and essential organization in the camp for the future.
To master the health of the soldiers is to master the mind of the army.
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5 THOUGHTS ON "CHAPTER 16 – CONFLICT"
SHISHI says:
MAY 6, 2020 AT 1:45 PM
This is really good!!! And personally, I think the translation is well written. Thank you very much!
Reply
LUIS says:
AUGUST 3, 2020 AT 8:52 AM
Thank you for the translation, I tried to learn Chinese but its so hard, I cannot imagine trying to translate something like this, thats i beyond the chinese light novels that usually one reads on webnovel or wuxiaworld.
Greetings from Mexico.
Reply
VICTOR KOKADO says:
JANUARY 11, 2021 AT 8:10 AM
I wonder what would happen with the medicine if the MC really existed, after Hippocrates died the medicine advancements stalled for many centuries if someone time traveled to the past what difference we would have
Reply
SUBHAKAR TIKKIREDDY says:
AUGUST 29, 2021 AT 5:06 PM
Dammm, now it's really getting interesting!
Reply
CALLMEOPPA says:
OCTOBER 4, 2021 AT 8:37 AM
Thanks for the chapter!!!!
Reply
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Insanity Cave
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Chapter 17 – Dances with wolves
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Just as Davos started preparing for his field hospital, the Persian envoy came to the Greek camp, this time the envoy was the Persian general that was most familiar to the mercenary leaders, the satrap of Asia Minor, Tissaphernes. He brought with him the hope that the Greeks would be able to return home safely. He was willing to convey to the Persian king that the mercenary leaders were unwilling to fight and just wanted to go home.
The mercenary leaders welcomed him with pleasure.
After Tissaphernes left, the mercenary leaders saw hope for a peaceful settlement and were eagerly awaiting for his return.
After anxiously waiting for two days, Tissaphernes once again came to the Greek camp and read out the latest decree of the Persian king to the mercenary leaders. The king has accepted the apology of the mercenary, despite the opposition of many ministers, he decided to let the Greek mercenary return to Greece under the leadership of Tissaphernes and had agreed to provide a market for the Greeks to solve their problem with supplies on their way home. At the same time, the Greeks must abide by the local order and destruction or looting along the way is not allowed…
The leaders certainly couldn't ask for more. They soon reached an agreement with Tissaphernes and both sides swear an oath in the name of their God. Tissaphernes then warned the leaders to patiently wait, while he report back to the king and to make arrangements for their return.
Soon after Tissaphernes left, the news spread throughout the camp and the soldiers cheered.
Davos still did not relax his vigilance. Although he heard what Xenophon said last time, he realized that there were many differences between the actual situation of Persia and his own guessed based on Chinese history.
Just yesterday, Xenophon visited again and had finally adjusted his mood after a few days, he wanted to talk with Davos about the democracy of city-states. Davos did not want to remain entangled on this issue, and had instead skillfully led the topic to the local customs of the Greek city-states.
Most of the time, it was Xenophon who talk incessantly, while Davos listens attentively. In between, Davos asked about Tissaphernes, so Xenophon said something about Tissaphernes that he had heard from Proxenus, which made Davos remember them deeply.
When Tissaphernes served as the satrap of Asia Minor, it was during the time of the Peloponnesian War. Tissaphernes chose to form an alliance with Sparta and had wanted to use the strength of Sparta against Athens in order to restore Persian rule over the Greek city-state on the Ionian coast, while Sparta would receive funding to build an enormous fleet capable of fighting Athens. It wasn't long after he stopped his promised financial support to Sparta, which cause the Spartans to protest to the then Persian king, Darius II[1], Darius then appointed his second son, Cyrus the Younger, to serve as the military commander throughout the western Persian region and to fully support Sparta against Athens.
Tissaphernes was relieved of his military power, but he seemed to not care. He got along very well with Cyrus the Younger and they soon became friends. But when the new king Artaxerxes came to power and Cyrus the Younger went to the capital to attend the grand ceremony of his big brother's ascension, Tissaphernes told the new king that Cyrus the Younger wanted to rebel, which resulted in the arrest of the Cyrus the Younger, he had only gotten released after the repeated pleading of the Queen Mother.
After Tissaphernes returned to Asia Minor, he started opposing Cyrus the Younger on everything. So when Cyrus the Younger started his rebellion, the first thing he wanted to do was to capture him and as a result, he ran away long ago and showed up in the king's army. When the left wing of the king's army got crushed by the Greek's hoplite, Tissaphernes dared to lead the cavalry around the hoplite and attack the Greek's rear troops. Although he failed, his courage and determination naturally stood out among a group of defeated generals, so he was able to negotiate a truce with the Greek troops as the Persian envoy on behalf of the king, which obviously shown the king's favor of him.
What Davos heard about Tissaphernes was heard by Xenophon from Proxenus, and most of what Proxenus knows came from Cyrus the Younger, regardless of whether he liked or disliked Tissaphernes, but the fact was true. Therefore, after analyzing, Davos believes that Tissaphernes was a typical politician who was accustomed in deception, he is good at judging the situation and daring to grab the opportunity. It is hard to expect such a person to keep his promise!
When Davos told Xenophon about this concern, Xenophon sighed and said: "Proxenus was very clear about it and they won't relax their vigilance against Tissaphernes, but we may not be able to go home unless we gave up fighting the Persian King. Euphrates and Tigris rivers alone can cause us enormous trouble and we can't smoothly cross such a wide river in front of the enemy. Another huge problem is that there isn't enough food. Once we go "collecting" food, the scattered soldiers can be easily attacked by the enemy…
You see, the Persian king has a huge advantage that if he really want to destroy us, it is absolutely unnecessary to give us supplies and let Tissaphernes swear an oath in the name of their God on his behalf, because if he breaks the oath in the future, he won't only be laughed at by Persians and Greeks, but they will get abandoned by the Persian gods, unless he wants to become a king without faith as soon he ascended! Therefore, we can only believe in them and can only cooperate with them to guarantee our safe return home!"
Davos saw that what Xenophon has said is more like persuading himself and sighed. The Greek mercenaries were in a disadvantaged position, so even if they were given "poison", they had to swallow it.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Day by day, Davos' field hospital had begun to take shape, and after they carefully took care and treated the 12 wounded, 7 of them have significantly gotten better.
For most of the time, Davos learned Greek from Xenophon and entrusted Mersis, who had went out to buy, to bring back several pieces of linen and cut it into slender strips and using his legs, began to experiment on how to wrap it. At the same time, he pulled his teammates to train with him and learn combat skills so that he can unify his mind and body memory.
Because of Asistes recovery and the event where Menon's troops protested, his relationship with Antonios became closer and he visited Antonios many times and asked him about his experience on commanding the hoplite and formation…and in order for him to understand the skill in using a Kopis. He also studied from the Peltast troops to gain an in-depth understanding of the characteristics of this units.
The success of the field hospital made Davos' reputation as "God's favored" deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and his modesty and eagerness to learn also won the favor of everyone. There are only few people who couldn't recognize him anymore as he walk throughout Menon's camp.
As time went by, the Persians haven't appeared, uneasiness and suspicion have gradually enveloped the entire Greek camp. Davos used his busy days to dilute his worries and his inability to change the predicament of the Greek mercenaries, so he could only change himself and enrich his experience as much as possible.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
After more than 20 days of waiting, Tissaphernes finally arrived with his army and accompanied by the satrap of Armenia, Orontes[2] and his army.
The Greek mercenary leaders, who were anxiously waiting for a long time, had led the troops and set foot on their journey home without any suspicion.
But at the beginning of the march, the situation change. The troops of Ariaeus who was originally warm and intimate with the Greek mercenaries, began to march with the Persian army and not only marching together, but they also camp together. Over the past 20 days, the Persians were not idle, they have sent the relatives and friends of Ariaeus and the other generals to Ariaeus camp, and by promising to not held them accountable, they finally manage to persuade the generals of Cyrus the Younger.
This undoubtedly increased the suspicion of the Greek mercenaries, who were far behind the Persian army, they acted alone with their own guides. At dusk, the Greek troops and the Persians were 5 km apart, guarding each other as if they treat each other as their enemy,
Tissaphernes did indeed fulfill his promise to provide markets for the Greeks every day. Of course, the mercenaries have to pay for it themselves.
Menon had also tried to retaliate against Davos by giving Hielos' squad less food, but Mersis opposed it. Previously, Mersis was very reluctant when Davos asked him to leave 2 Egyptian slaves.
Who knew that not long after, Davos gave him a Chinese massage with the trained Egyptian slave and he became addicted to it. He then went to the field hospital every day to ask for a massage and shamelessly said that it was the slave who owed him and they are paying off their debt. He was still hoping that after they return to Greece, he would make Davos teach this unique technique to him and buy * then his brothel will be overcrowded. Therefore, not only will he not offend Davos, but will also try to satisfy most of Davos' demands.
[1] Darius II was king of the Persian Empire from 423 BC to 404 or 405 BC and the father of Artaxerxes II and Cyrus the Younger.
[2] Orontes as an Armenian ruler of the Orontid Dynasty who ruled as satrap of the Achaemenid Empire between 401 BC – 344 BC.
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0 THOUGHTS ON "CHAPTER 17 – DANCES WITH WOLVES"
LURKER KAMEN says:
AUGUST 16, 2020 AT 2:24 AM
–'{@
Ah, massage parlors.
There's less risk for pregnancies
And you can charge more.
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ROHIT JACOB says:
FEBRUARY 4, 2021 AT 7:23 PM
Everything is good but can't the website makers add an function of font plus and minus and dark mode cuz it's really uncomfortable to read through phone….
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REKI says:
FEBRUARY 4, 2021 AT 4:17 PM
Sadly no, we are running a free wordpress site which does not support plugins such as dark mode and stuff
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Chapter 18 – The eastern kingdom of dream
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A few days later, Davos saw a huge wall in front of him, which was more than 20 meters high, and extending infinitely to the southeast…
"Oh! The Median Wall!! I still feel shocked, no matter how many times I see it!!" Xenophon sighed aloud. During these days of marching, he would often run into the troops of Menon and accompany Davos. In his words 'Talking with Davos helps stimulate his knowledge by making him think deeply.' Davos thought that he was bored marching together with the troops of Proxenus, because he had no common language with the others except Proxenus, so he came to show off his knowledge to Davos.
"It was said that this Median wall was more than a hundred miles long, built by the former kingdom of Babylon, in order to defend against the Medes in the north. But the kingdom of Babylon was destroyed by the Media…" Xenophon looked up at the tall walls and sighed, "The Media were later destroyed by the Persians and Herodotus had a wonderful description in his book "The Histories". 'Just as man is born, aged, sick, and die, so is a powerful kingdom.' Therefore, despite the vast territory of Persia, we still don't know who will destroy it in the future! I hope that I could see that day in my lifetime!"
Davos certainly remembers that in the past history, Persia was destroyed by Alexander the Great[1], King of Macedonia, who had been admired by Westerners for more than two thousand years. He couldn't remember the exact timeline, but it is probably several decades later. In his memory, the current Macedonia wasn't a unified kingdom, but also his own "enemy".
Looking at the huge wall made of burnt bricks and bitumen, Davos was equally impressed, It seems that building a Great Wall to defend against the barbarian isn't exclusively belongs to Huaxia[2]. Now China should currently still be in the Spring and Autumn period[3] and the Warring States period[4]…
He turned to look at the East, standing for a long time, with indescribable attachment and regret in his eyes. He is a Greek in this world and thousands of miles away from his native land, it's impossible for him to return…
"Davos! Davos!…" Davos returned to his senses after hearing Hielos calling him, he then found out that he had been standing still which affected the progress of the march. He step up his pace and couldn't help but say, "You know what? Perhaps there is a country in the far east, which governs a much more bigger territory and more people than Persia. Its manners and customs are totally different from Greece and Persia, and its political system is also different from Greece and Persia, which is strict and efficient! It has gorgeous clothes, elegant etiquette, magnificent mountains and rivers and delicious food! It has a strong army and the people are wealthy…"
"Davos, you are dreaming. How can there be such a powerful kingdom in the East?" Xenophon interrupted Davos' speech and said seriously, "According to Herodotus' record, India is to the east of Persia, Arabia is to the southeast, and the Scythians[5] and the Arimaspi[6] are to the northeast… There shouldn't be such a kingdom that you had said! Is this a revelation that Hades has given you?"
"So what is beyond the east of the races you had just mentioned?" Davos asked.
"It should be the ocean." Xenophon uncertainly said.
"This is what Herodotus said. Did he personally confirmed it?" Davos asked again.
"He…it should be what he had heard from other people's recount…and took note of it." Xenophon began to stutter.
"Since he had just heard of it, then we can't be sure that it is true, nor can we deny that there is no such country in the distant East!" Davos retorted.
Xenophon was unable to respond for a moment, and strangely looked at Davos, "Looking at how serious you react, it seems that there really is such a country."
Davos smiled and said nothing.
"How wonderful it would be if one day I can go to the distant east to have a look!" Olivos, was attracted by the scene described by Davos, and he suddenly said it with a sigh.
"Then you have to go through the Persian kingdom first and then there are the Massagetaens[7], who come and go like the wind, and was said to have cut off the head of the Persian king, Cyrus the Great…well, there are also the terrible Arimaspi and the mysterious India…if you are lucky enough to not be killed or be captured as a slave, then you can see whether the distant East is an ocean or a powerful country…" Xenophon said half jokingly and half serious.
Olivos shrank his neck and didn't speak anymore.
Matonis was a little annoyed, although he didn't like Olivos, he even more hated the knowledgeable Athenian, "What are you afraid of? If I have a strong army, not to mention going to the distant east, I would dare go anywhere!"
"Strong army?" Xenophon disdainfully pointed his finger to the loose marching formation ahead, "Like this one?"
"Of course a much more powerful than this one!" Matonis said loudly.
Davos listened to their bickering and narrowed his gaze, 'A stronger army?'
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Passing through the Median wall meant that the Greek troops has left Babylon. In the next few days, what always appeared in Davos' sight was, Vast plain, endless golden wheat fields, and rivers that was dug by man… These man-made rivers divert the water from the large rivers into a lot of small canals and ditches and eventually into farmland…
Davos couldn't help but sigh after seeing this, 'This should be the oldest irrigation project in the Middle East! A fertile land and an abundant water that have nurtured a large number of people and created a brilliant ancient civilizations of the two rivers one after another!…'
Further on, the source of those man-made river, the Tigris River. As one of the other mother river in the plains of Mesopotamia, the Tigris river was equally wide and at first glance, it seems to be difficult to reach the opposite side. There were countless sails moving over the river, merchant ships were the ones who move fast with their oars, while the fishing boats sails slowly along the river. The singing of the fishermen and the shouting of the sailors were heard across the river. Numerous aquatic birds were chirping and flying over the river, and there were large fishes leaping in the water from time to time, a beautiful and tranquil view of the river.
Near the river bank there is a large and densely populated city, Sittace, the Greek mercenaries approached the city and set up camp. The Persian army and Ariaeus troops crossed the bridge and camped across the river. That night, Davos and the rest finally manage to have a good sleep, because the Persian army was on the other side, and the psychological pressure on the Greek soldiers was much lesser.
On the second day, the atmosphere suddenly changed slightly. When Davos crossed the river, they saw armed soldiers on both sides of the bridge and there were also vigilant soldiers on the other side after crossing over the pontoon bridge.
What happened?
It wasn't until Xenophon came that Davos understood why.
"Last night, a man came from the other side and said that he was a confidant of Ariaeus, he had brought a message to Clearchus and Proxenus. Therefore, the several leaders met him, I followed Proxenus in the main tent and listed to what the man had to say, 'Ariaeus warned Clearchus to be vigilant because the Persian troops might attack the Greek mercenaries at night and they also intend to destroy the pontoon bridge and trap all of you between the Tigris river and the man-made waterway.' the several leaders and I became nervous—"
Xenophon said with a slightly irritated tone, "After thinking about it, I think that this news is unreliable!"
"Oh, what did you think?" Davos curiously asked.
"Because if the Persians attack us, whether it is victory or failure. If they are defeated and destroyed, there is nowhere for them to escape. If they win, we are on Persian land, there is no place to run at all and so why bother to destroy a bridge that is not easy to build. Therefore, Clearchus listened to my advice!" Xenophon proudly said.
"Well, it makes sense!" Davos thought about it and praised him.
"Since even you can think of it, Tissaphernes certainly is not a fool, so why did he need to make up such a lie?" Olivos sarcastically said.
"That's because he is really afraid of us destroying the bridge!" Xenophon glanced at him, not wanting to argue with this uneducated fellow, "As you can see these days, there are many villages in this area, and the land is fertile, producing a large amount of food, enough to support our mercenaries for half a year and if we destroy the bridge, they can't come for a while since Tissaphernes' troops is on the other side, so—"
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[1] Alexander the Great was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and conquered the Achaemenid empire.
[2] Huaxia – old name of China.
[3] Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 771 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC).
[4] Warring States period was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation.
[5] Scythians were Eurasian nomads and the "classical Scythians" known to ancient Greek historians, agreed to be mainly Iranian in origin, and were located in the northern Black Sea and fore-Caucasus region.
[6] Arimaspi were a legendary tribe of one-eyed people of northern Scythia who lived in the foothills of the Riphean Mountains, variously identified with the Ural Mountains or the Carpathians.
[7] Massagetaens were an ancient Eastern Iranian nomadic tribal confederation, who inhabited the steppes of Central Asia, north-east of the Caspian Sea in modern Turkmenistan, western Uzbekistan, and southern Kazakhstan.
3 THOUGHTS ON "CHAPTER 18 – THE EASTERN KINGDOM OF DREAM"
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Chapter 19 – Suspicion
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"The disaster of the Persian is coming!!" Matonis laughed happily and loudly, as if the Greeks would really do it.
"It seems that the Persians really want to send us away!" Hielos said as he realized it.
Or maybe Tissaphernes wants you to think that way. Davos thought to himself, without saying anything, he always felt that Tissaphernes isn't simple. After all, his ideas were different from the Greeks of this era. According to his deep contact with the Greek soldiers during this time, he found that most of these Greeks grew up listening to their father's stories about how they beat the Persians, they advocated strength and likes to fight head-on. Even if they employ schemes it was mostly tricks, their brains were indeed less inferior than the Persians in dealing with intrigue.
Davos was always worried because he knew that Tissaphernes was a brilliant politician, "Xenophon, do you know our marching route?"
"I'm not quite sure, it was decided by Tissaphernes, Clearchus, and Ariaeus. But it is surely not the way we entered from. Because you know—" Xenophon shrugged, "Your leader, Menon, took the lead and collected a lot of good things along the way, the local Persians hated us…don't worry, we will be able to go back!"
'Collect? You mean pillage! I am afraid that in the Persian's eye, we are the aggressors! A bandit!' After hearing that, Davos was slightly annoyed, so he secretly breathed out to calmed his mood as much as possible, "Do you know about the mountains, rivers, cities and roads in Persia?"
"Davos, this is the first time that I have gone deep into Persia, I don't exactly know where they are, except that I know some famous cities in the book, such as Babylon, Susa, Persepolis, and so on…" Xenophon raised a piece of papyrus in his hand and said excitedly, "However, I kept a brief record of what I saw every day and when I get back, I will write them down, so that the Greeks can understand the situation in Persia!"
Davos smiled, 'Well, I know that you're going to write a book called "Anabasis" in the future, but it won't solve the urgent problem now.'
Where can I find someone who was familiar with the Persian geography? Davos distressedly thought…
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
As time went by, the Greek mercenaries and the Persian army camped near each other, but when they went to the rivers to carry water and collect firewood, the soldiers of both sides would often meet and when they disagree, they would fight, which increased the hatred of both sides.
A few days later, they arrived at Physcus river and met the troops led by another brother of Artaxerxes, king of Persia. He came to help the king, but when he arrived, the war was over and he had to return with his troops.
Clearchus was afraid of an accident and he ordered the entire troops to be fully armed, and to protect the supply units at the center and keep the battle column westward. The Persian troops, were not surprised by the Greeks who appeared here and they may have been informed by Tissaphernes to continue marching eastward. The two troops are only a few tens of meters apart from each other, and at a glance, they can clearly see each other's appearance and expressions. You can imagine how nervous they are.
For the first time, Davos saw the Persian army in its entirety, at the front were two-man chariots and four-man chariots, with 2 horses and 4 horses pulling each chariots respectively. One of them was responsible for controlling the chariot, while the other one or two soldiers for fighting, and he can see spears, shields, and bows in the chariot. There are only a dozen chariots and the legendary Scythed chariot wasn't in-sight, but when he thought about it, he can see that the scythe can certainly be disassembled, otherwise it is very easy to injure its own teammates while marching in peacetime.
Behind the chariots were the cavalry. Most of the horses were slightly around 1.4 meters high, which was obviously shorter compared with the horses for racing that Davos saw at the Olympic Games in his previous life. They have bridle but no saddles and not to mention stirrups, they only place a thick blanket on the back of the horse. The riders, wear helmets, while some wear a soft hats, there is no leather armor or shield and they all wear short robes. They have a variety of weapons in their hands, bows are the most, followed by javelin, then spears, and a few with short mace…
Hundreds of cavalry galloped past and a huge infantry unit was on display. After looking at it for a while, Davos found that the the Persian infantry were a mixed troops: A shieldman with a large shield, the shield height is up to the shoulder, while its width is able to hide a person, closely followed by a spearman, then 6-7 archers and it will repeat.
This is very similar to the Persian infantry combat formation mentioned by Antonios, when the enemy arrives, the shieldman were in the first row and the shield walls they erect will protect the formation. The spearman will resist the incoming enemy and prevents them from breaking up the shield wall. The archers in the rear will use their bows and arrows to kill a large numbers of enemy. Whether they are shieldmen, spearmen or achers, they all have a common features, they are wearing light armor and some with no armor. Combined with the cavalry before, Davos can easily make a judgement, the Persian army is a force with excellent long-range lethality, strong mobility, but weak in close combat. No wonder they always get defeated by the Greeks in battle, because in a head-on battle, their infantry wasn't an opponent at all under the impact of the Greek's hoplite. The characteristics of the Persian Army were more suitable for long-range killing and harassment, and even much better with a wide scale mobile outflanking warfare.
The two armies passed each other and nothing happened, just a false alarm.
After this interlude, the troops quickly entered Media. This land once nurtured the fierce Medians and the Median kingdom they founded was a nightmare for the people of Mesopotamia. However, after a hundred years passed, its glory has ceased and for some reasons, this land under the Persian rule has become somewhat desolate and the terrain became uneven.
Due to the decrease of market supply, the fighting between the two armies for resources began to increase whenever they camped.
"Davos, you made this…this…leg bindings it really works! If I have another day's walk today, my calf would have been too swollen for me to move in the afternoon, but now I don't have to worry about that!" Hielos exclaimed while he sat in the tent removing his leg bindings.
"Of course, Davos is 'God's Favored'! He is blessed by Hades, and the ideas that he came up with can't fail! Now, many companions of the other troops begun to learn how to use leg bindings!" Olivos proudly said.
Davos didn't speak, and now that he's hearing so much good things about himself, he even became slightly numb. He knew very well that some of the little things he had known in his previous life were only meant to improve the soldiers' situation and further enhance his influence in Menon's camp, but there would be no change in the situation of the Greek mercenaries as a whole.
"Davos, there's a rumor circulating in the troops these days that the Persians are going to take action against us and give us to the Persian king as slaves after we've been captured. Do you think…this is true?!" The voice of Giorgris came from the corner.
This is exactly what Davos had been thinking. Although the suspicions between the two armies had existed before, such rumors could spread quickly in a day or two, making everyone knows about it and from his past experience it is impossible if no one deliberately spread it.
'Is it the Persian? Or our own? Why do they want to spread such rumors? Let the agreement break down? Making the Greeks nervous and collapse?' Davos had no clue for the moment, faced with the concerned gaze, with a bitter smile in his heart, he calmly said, "We have all been safe these days, so don't be nervous and we all just need to be vigilant!"
Just then, a man went inside the tent.
"Matonis, you are out fighting again!" Hielos saw the bruises on Matonis' face and said with a slight reproach.
Matonis spat a mouthful of blood and said excitedly, "Despite the Persians being weak in battle, but when it comes to fighting, they aren't weak. We have more than a dozen people together with Martius, but it still took a lot of effort beating 20 of them!"
He sat on his bunk, while rubbing his cheeks and pretending to be mysterious, "I did not only fight, but I also heard something."
"What is it?" asked Hielos.
Matonis looked at the crowd and said loudly, "Further on is the territory of Cyrus the Younger and his mother. I heard that there were many villages in there and they are relatively wealthy!"
"So we can finally eat something good!" Olivos cried happily.
The others were also slightly excited, since they haven't eaten well these days.
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0 THOUGHTS ON "CHAPTER 19 – SUSPICION"
TPP says:
NOVEMBER 9, 2019 AT 3:12 PM
4 meters high horses lmao.
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REKI says:
NOVEMBER 13, 2019 AT 3:29 AM
Thanks for pointing it out, and we already fix it.
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Chapter 20 – Bandit
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The next day, a more exciting news came, Tissaphernes announced that the Greek mercenaries could pillage this area for supplies.
Everyone was cheering, but only Davos was silent, 'Pillaging?…this is a revenge against Cyrus the Younger! But what does the people here have to do with Cyrus the Younger's rebellion?…Don' tell me! It is just because they live here that they will suffer this disaster! Tissaphernes is really vicious! And what about the Greeks?…'
In the afternoon, the mercenaries of Menon rushed into a village.
The quiet village was soon filled with screams and crying…
Davos saw it with his own eyes that his comrades who were usually intimate and friendly had now turned into a bandit. They stabbed the Persian men that had attempted to stop them and kicked over the old who were pleading, they then picked up the Persian women who were crying and broke into every house, they snatched the gold and silver, and also took the animals and food…each of them had a mix expression of greed and madness on their faces, which made Davos felt strange.
Davos was like a wandering soul, that weakly wandered through the village, all the soldiers who saw him looked at him in surprise. There were Persians lying on the ground, covered with blood while pointing and shouting at him, there was a limping old man holding him and begging…although he could not understand what they were saying, but deep inside his heart knew they were angry at him. There is nothing he can do, so what are they pleading for?
He tried to avoid it like a plague by running unsteadily to a deserted place, avoiding the angry gazes that made him felt guilt. At the same time, he was trying to comfort himself in his mind, 'This is war. This is war!! I was just forced…'
Just then, a sudden scream awakened the absent-minded man, it was Olivos' voice!
'I fear that Olivos might be in danger!'
Following the sound, he broke into a house quickly. A Persian man had fallen into a pool of blood in the yard. He didn't have the time to think about it and with one foot, kicked the door open: A naked Olivos fell motionless on the bed. There was a woman curled up at the bed and at the bedside stood a girl around 10 years old, trembling while holding a big rock in her hand…
When Davos saw this, he could probably guess what had happened. Obviously, Olivos fancied the beauty of the hostess, he first killed the man, then forcible carried the woman to the bed and ravaged her. Who knew that the daughter that was hiding ran out and smashed his head with a stone, while he was having fun…
Shameless! He cursed in his heart, but he still shouted out of concern to his comrade, "Olivos, are you okay?!"
Olivos didn't reply, but it woke up the little girl. She turned her head quickly and saw another Greek soldier standing at the door, she was greatly stimulated and screamed, "Bandit! Bandit! Die!! Die!!…" She struggled in throwing the rock at Davos and at the same time rushed at him.
Davos subconsciously blocked the stone with his shield, and he naturally revealed the spear held in his right hand.
The girl did not shriek at the shiny spear, nor did she dodge it, and as if she became insane, jumped straight at him.
Davos couldn't evade and only felt that his right hand sunk, and as soon as the girl's hand grabbed his face, she fell on him powerlessly.
The woman on the bed cried out in despair and rushed over nakedly. Davos stepped back powerlessly and let the woman held the girl with a spear in her chest tightly. The heart-tearing cry was like a sharp knife piercing his heart and made him feel like he was going to faint, but someone supported him.
"Are you okay?!" Davos who was absent-minded, heard the voice of Hielos.
"I'm fine." He pushed Hielos and slowly walked into the yard.
Hielos had discovered Davos behaving strangely, and so he followed him all this time. At this moment, although he was worried about Davos, he was even more worried about the safety of Olivos who was inside the house, thus he quickly entered inside…
When he came out of the house, he found Davos sitting on the side of the road, leaning against the wall, while looking at the sky and not moving, he wondered what Davos was thinking…
Hielos wanted to pull him up, but he felt it inappropriate, after thinking about it, he just simply sat with Davos…
He didn't know how long it took, when Davos suddenly stood up and repeatedly scream strange speech loudly, while tears run down his cheeks.
After a while, he calmed down and asked, "What about the woman?"
"She went insane." Hielos sighed.
Davos was silent for a long time, and said, "Her husband and daughter died, perhaps going insane might be the best relief for her…"
"Yeah." Hielos felt the grief in his words and said, "Olivos is fine, he was just knocked unconscious. He woke up and is currently resting in the house."
Davos didn't speak, and Hielos shivered when he saw the cold gleam in his gaze.
"Now, we need to ask the people of this village whether there is someone who knows the Persian geography best." Davos then stood up.
Hielos hesitated, "We had just pillaged them, I am afraid they won't tell us."
"There's a way to make them to speak." Davos' faint comment made Hielos feel a chill. The current Davos seems to be different from his previous self. Hielos doesn't know whether the change was good or bad…
At dusk, the mercenaries threw down the weeping villagers all over the place, and returned fully loaded. Davos also found the man he wanted — a Persian merchant. In order to make him speak, Davos also asked Hielos to capture his wife and daughter. Although Tissaphernes made it clear that it was not allowed to capture any Persian as a slave, but the troops of Menon ignored what Davos had done and even covered for him.
Davos succeeded in bringing the people back to the camp.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
"You mean that our team has been moving northwest?" Davos looked at the Persian merchant, Marigi, and asked. The interpreter next to him repeated Davos' words in Persian.
The tall and slightly chubby Persian, who claimed to be a small merchant, cautiously looked at Davos and quickly lowered his head and stroked the grass with a branch, "According to what you had said before, you are going back to Ionia. Ionia is in the Aegean Sea to the west. You passed through Babylon, Opis, and now you are here…if you keep going west, not only will it be a long way, but it's also difficult to cross the Taurus Mountains and you will need to take a detour…"
He once more looked up at Davos, and when he saw that he was listening carefully, he raised his voice, "So you are obviously heading northwest along the Tigris River through the mountains of the Carduchian, then to Armenia and eventually to the Black Sea by boat to go back to Ionia…"
"Oh, it turned out to be like this! It seems that Tissaphernes' route is still reasonable." Olivos suddenly thought about it and shouted.
Davos found that when Marigi heard this, his body slightly shook. He immediately glare at Olivos.
"Shut up!" Matonis scolded in a low voice. Olivos, who likes to argue with Matonis, stop talking.
Davos looked at the sketch drawn on the ground and looked at it carefully for a while, and then asked, "Which place do you think it would give us a lot of trouble when marching on our future routes?"
Marigi said without hesitation, "The mountain area of the Carduchian! There lived the savage and ferocious Carduchians, who won't easily let strangers pass through their lands, but—" He glanced at Olivos and said quickly. "Your troops are huge, and you have the Persians leading the way, so you should be able to easily get through."
"How do you know that we have a huge troops?" Davos asked immediately.
"Because…because before I came in, I saw your camps one after another…" Marigi began to tremble.
Davos patted him on the shoulder and smiled, "Don't be afraid, you have a good observation. Do you know Tissaphernes?"
Marigi immediately shook his head, and suddenly thought of something and began to nod his head hard, His voice trembled even more, "I just heard that…because he used to…to accuse our lord, Cyrus, of rebellion…he was almost beheaded…"
Davos looked at him, and he was avoiding Davos' gaze with guilt.
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8 THOUGHTS ON "CHAPTER 20 – BANDIT"
BUWEH says:
MAY 3, 2020 AT 9:56 AM
After killing a child he became a psychopath. Watch out for further bloodshed and useless excuses like 'This is war. This is war!! I was just forced…' lol. Davos the Psychopath, child killer.
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MOONCR1T says:
OCTOBER 25, 2020 AT 6:28 AM
As a modern man no matter what time he should be he should at least act differently. A child defending her mothet from being rape and he just watch the kid stabbed by a spear. No matter what even if youre in a war humanity should remain. Kinda disappointed how the MC handled the situation as if he has no family in previous life. Now im on the edge of dropping this. I prefer reading novels with good mc with sense of humanity.
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MUSPON says:
MARCH 30, 2022 AT 4:41 AM
she literally ran straight first is the spear the mc was shell shocked about what he just witnessed and so couldn't do anything
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MAHO says:
JULY 21, 2021 AT 5:09 AM
I seriously wonder if the the other two commenters are illiterate retards?
It is clear that he was shocked by the whole situation and didn't have the mind to move his spear away from the insane girls' path, not that he was fine with killing her.
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UNDERCOPER says:
SEPTEMBER 8, 2021 AT 11:08 PM
it is shocking how the first and second comment blatantly ignore the MC state that happen to be written by the author
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DARKRAIN says:
SEPTEMBER 16, 2021 AT 3:49 AM
I am in agreement with Maho and Undercoper. How stupid are the first two commentators. It's a goddamn war in 401 BC there is no humanity. The man is shocked from witnessing soldiers pillage and rape it's not like he took part in anything. The child literally charged headfirst into his spear what was he to do?
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ACONCERNEDREADER says:
MARCH 1, 2022 AT 7:34 PM
why would the author even write such a thing??
the real problem isn't with the mc but the author!
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YEEZUS says:
MARCH 22, 2022 AT 12:04 PM
@ACONCERNEDREADER
You're an idiot bruh. This was such a great piece of writing. It showed that the world isn't black and white. The Greeks aren't "good people" and the Persians aren't "evil people."
This chapter showed that just as the Persian soldiers probably pillaged Greek villages in the past, Greek soldiers are now pillaging Persian villages.
Giving the opportunity, both Persians and Greeks are capable to performing similar acts of cruelty. It's just a matter of opportunity.
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CAGEDBIRD says:
NOVEMBER 24, 2021 AT 6:46 PM
lol hearing the mc's description of Ancient China makes me think that the author knows a lot more about Ancient Greece than Ancient China. Although many schools of thought first came to be during that time, saying that "the people are wealthy" is honestly just an insult to the many peasants that were forcefully conscripted to fight in pointless wars. I'm not trying to say that that Ancient Greece was any better, but I feel like the author had to be looking through some insanely rose-tinted glasses when he was writing about Ancient China.
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PAEL says:
MAY 2, 2022 AT 3:10 PM
Yah, every single dynasty there's famine here famine there even at the end of yuan dynasty there's plague like how the hell did black plague get there
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WELLINTHEFROG says:
MAY 4, 2022 AT 9:17 AM
Lol author's just a step away from inserting bigotry of China no. 1 when they're trying to describe Ancient China.
Wonder if he use the term strict and efficient on ancient Greece and Persia or Ancient China, hopefully it's the former otherwise that'll be such a joke.
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