More than 20 strong men rushed out from both sides and pressed Clearchus and the four leaders to the ground, and immediately tied them with ropes.
The officers and soldiers waiting outside the door were also surrounded by the armed Persians, who then cut down the unarmed Greeks one by one with their swords, spears, and shields.
"Congratulations, lord governor, your scheme has succeeded!" A wanton laughter rang out in the tent.
The candle was lit and the light was restored.
Clearchus saw Tissaphernes, Octavius, and Sist, who were in the center of the tent, laughing proudly and angrily, "Tissaphernes, you despicable and shameless villain! You lied to us, slaughtered my soldiers, and violated the promise made by your supreme god, Ahura Mazda when you signed the contract! Aren't you afraid of the wrath of the gods?! Aren't you afraid that your king will be scolded by thousands?! Aren't you afraid that disaster will fall on your family?!!…"
"Hahaha…" Tissaphernes smiled and took a glass of wine from his attendant, took a sip, and walked to the mercenary leaders, then slowly said, "Clearchus, let me tell you. Our king had already returned to Persepolis the day after Cyrus the Younger died. Of course, he had never given any instructions to 'negotiate peace with you', and that was all made up by me to deceive you… As for whether the gods will punish me, you don't have to worry about it, I don't think so!" He then said in a more serious tone, "Mazda, if you see me capture and kill a group of barbarians who have invaded Persian territory and slaughtered the Persians, you will reward me instead!… Oh, I also want to tell you something, those rumors were spread by my people!"
Seeing their surprised expression of Clearchus, he happily drank the wine in his glass.
Proxenus spat at him and was nimbly dodged.
"Liar! Coward…" Proxenus swore.
Tissaphernes was not angry at all, and instead said proudly, "Liar?! Lying?! No, no, no! I would rather call it wisdom! Unlike you Greek barbarians who only know how to fight, we Persians prefer to use our brains to think of a way, and have a small price in exchange for a greater victory! Just like how I made peace with you at the beginning to numb you. Of course, I know that you will still be vigilant, but once you get used to this peaceful and stable state, you don't want to return to your former tense and hostile state, and you want to work hard to maintain the peace. Therefore, I deliberately sent soldiers to clash with the mercenaries, curse and fight… and then spread rumors, so that you won't doubt me, and who will you doubt?"
Tissaphernes glanced at the captured leaders and said sarcastically, "Let me guess, it's Meno, right?! You see, I know all the dirty things inside you! And I also know that you, Clearchus, are a very responsible leader. The more fierce the conflict between the two armies, the more worried you will be, and you will take the initiative to negotiate with me! Look, not only did you take the initiative to come to me, but you also gave me a big gift!…"
"If you want to kill me, then kill me, don't talk nonsense!" Clearchus roared with a red face.
"Lord Tissaphernes, have mercy! Please spare my life!!…" Meno, who was next to him, struggled and begged, "Even if I become your slave, as long as you forgive me! I will persuade those foolish mercenaries to surrender to you for you! I can also conquer Asia Minor for you! I am willing to do anything for you, but I only ask that you spare my life!!…"
"Anything?" Tissaphernes narrowed his eyes, as if he was interested, "You should learn to bark a few times."
"Woof woof woof!…" Meno tried his best to shout.
"Look, these are the savage Greeks!" The Persians in the tent were overjoyed.
"Meno, shut up!…" Clearchus and the others were ashamed and scolded Meno.
Meno ignored him and simply knelt on the ground and looked at Tissaphernes.
"Very good! Very good!!…" Tissaphernes walked towards Melon with a smile, clapping his hands.
Meno's hands were cut upside down and he squatted on the ground, sticking out his tongue and shouting more happily.
Tissaphernes came to him and gave him a mysterious smile, then quickly drew out his sword and slashed at Meno's neck.
Amidst the screams of the crowd, blood gushed out, and Meno's head, which had rolled on the ground, was still frozen in disbelief.
"Idiot! Do you think that I don't know that you attacked me with all your might in front of Cyrus the Younger and even took the initiative to attack my mansion!" Tissaphernes stepped on Meno's head with his left foot, and his face was stained with blood. He was as cold as a god of death.
The four leaders looked at the headless body on the ground in a daze. Even Clearchus, who had always had a grudge against Menon, had grief on his face, and a kind of grief enveloped them.
"Nitrate this head and immediately escort Persepolis together with these four criminals, and let His Majesty judge them himself!" Tissaphernes ordered.
After the four leaders were taken out, Socrates sighed with regret, "If only we had listened to that young man on the way!…"
Clearchus was expressionless and said nothing.
…
"Milord, Ariaeus requests an audience!"
"Let him in."
Ariaeus walked into the tent and saw a shocking pool of blood on the ground. He slowed down and heard Tissaphernes say, "That's Meno's blood. Just now, I chopped off his head!"
"Lashnu is above (the god who judges good and evil in Persian myths), this is his punishment!" Ariaeus said in a hurry, and seeing Tissaphernes smile playfully, he quickly added, "Lord Governor, I have already sent cavalry to kill all the Greeks wandering outside the camp according to your order."
"Very well, I will report your achievements to His Majesty!" Tissaphernes understood that for the troops of Cyrus the Younger, he had to deter and rope them in. After all, they were nearly 10,000 troops, and he still had to rely on these local Persian nobles to return to Asia Minor.
"Now, the main leaders of the Greek mercenaries have been captured, and the stupid Greeks are probably in a panic and don't know what to do. You and Sist go to the Greek camp and find a way to make these Greeks surrender…"
…
Antonios hoped that the soldiers would escort Davos to Menon's camp because no one dared to touch Davos there.
Davos refused. He went to the camp of Clearchus according to the request of the soldiers. Because it was the vanguard unit, the camp was located in the northernmost area, close to the Persians, so he could get the information as soon as possible. He asked Hielos to call Xenophon, and at the same time, asked Antonios to go back to Menon's camp to be on guard. Then he thought of something and pulled Matonis to whisper to him. Matonis looked at him in surprise and finally nodded.
After watching Hielos and the others leave, Davos suppressed his nervousness and walked to the camp of Clearchus. The soldiers escorting him couldn't help but ask, "Is Clearchus really in danger?"
Davos asked back, "Who is in charge of your camp when Clearchus is not around?"
"Timasion, captain of the first squadron."
"Then you better go and tell him to be ready for defense." As Davos spoke, the guard of the camp pointed to the front and shouted in surprise, "Look, Persian cavalry!!"
Davos and the soldiers collectively looked back and saw countless Persian cavalry galloping back and forth a hundred meters in front of the camp, stirring up the sand and dust in the sky, and screaming from time to time in the dusty fog.
"This is…" The soldiers looked nervously at Davos.
Although his guess was proven, Davos was not happy at all, 'The war is finally coming!' He also felt nervous.
"Quick! Go back to the camp!" He called for the soldiers to quickly enter the camp and closed the gate.
At this time, a soldier came out of the dust in front of him. He held his bleeding abdomen with one hand and stumbled over.
The guard, Davos, and the others rushed forward and brought him back to the camp.
"I… we are on our way to the market… the Persian cavalry… suddenly rushed towards us… many of our brothers are dead… Achilles… go and inform Achilles… there is danger…" The wounded soldier said weakly.