When several leaders rushed to meet up with Davos and saw the tragedy in the valley, they couldn't help but feel their scalp go numb. They looked at Davos with a bit more awe, just like what Xenophon had said, "… Davos… you… you are indeed… Hades… God's Favored!"
Davos was also unable to calm down. He kept comforting himself in his heart, 'This is war! This is war!'
"What should we do with these Persians?" He saw that the soldiers were collecting the weapons and armors of the surrendered soldiers, and suddenly his heart softened and he asked Cheirisophus.
Cheirisophus' answer was very cold, "After collecting their weapons and armor, cut off their tendons, feet, and stab their thighs, then put them back to give Tissaphernes a headache.
Davos was silent. Of course, he understood the intention of Cheirisophus. The mercenaries have no extra food and no extra manpower to manage them, and Tissaphernes also had to spare some manpower to look after these wounded Persians, so the number of soldiers attacking them naturally decreased.
"Davos, you have done well!" Cheirisophus looked around and said, "I think that the Persians will be frightened by the sight here!"
When Davos led his troops out of the valley, the soldiers along the way greeted them who were covered in blood, because they knew that it was this young leader who led a few people to block the path of the large number of Persians, which gave the mercenaries a perfect victory.
The young Davos won the recognition of the whole army with his practical actions.
…
In the afternoon, the army of Tissaphernes came to the valley.
When Tissaphernes saw the tragedy in the valley and the wounded soldiers lying on the ground, struggling and wailing, he angrily threw his helmet to the ground and then sent a small number of his trusted troops to deal with the aftermath. The other troops were forbidden to enter the valley, but they went around the mountain and took other paths.
Ariaeus, who was following Tissaphernes, remained silent. He did not see the body of Artaozus, but it must be among the countless corpses. In these three days, the two officers who fought with him for power died in battle one after another, but at this moment, he did not have a trace of joy, and instead, he felt a cold feeling of death…
In this battle, more than 3,000 Persians died and more than 3,000 were injured, and not a single one escaped. The casualties of the Greek mercenaries were negligible.
Perhaps, Cheirisophus was right. The Persians were frightened and did not appear again for several days. This allowed the Greek mercenaries to plunder and march easily to a city by the river Tigris – Larisa.
This is a magnificent city. The bottom half of its city wall is made of stone, while the top half is made of clay bricks. The wall is about 30 meters high, 8 meters wide and 5 kilometers long. Such a majestic city wall made the Greek mercenaries have no interest in conquering it. Moreover, compared with the city they had encountered on the bank of the Tigris river, this city has few pedestrians, and most of the fields and houses outside the city are abandoned, making it look a bit desolate.
"Larissa, it is said that its former name was Calla, and it was originally a large city during the time of Assyria, but it was later taken away by the Medes. The great king of Cyrus defeated the Medes, but he couldn't break through the city. In the end, it was the sun god, Mithra, who covered the light of the city of Calla with dark clouds, which made its day as dark as night. The residents of Calla were terrified and thought that God had abandoned them, so they abandoned the city and fled, and the king of Cyrus seized the city…" said Mariji.
Ever since Davos learned the importance of "understanding the terrain" from Cheirisophus to a strategos, he had taken Marigi as his guide and accompanied him. Xenophon, as the adjutant of Hieronymus, was occupied with many things, and it was impossible for him to come and chat with Davos as easily as before. As a merchant, Marigi was not only familiar with the surrounding terrain, but also had a great understanding of some historical anecdotes of the Two Rivers, which added a lot of fun to Davos' nervous and tired march.
"Hey, you Persians have the sun god, and we also have Apollo. Who is more powerful?" said Matonis, who was in the guard.
Mariji, who was next to Davos, glanced back and said with disdain, "Mithra is the master of nature. He ensures the abundance of plants, fertile land, and the people live in peace and prosperity. Therefore, he is worshipped by all! He is not comparable to a small god!"
"What did you say?! How dare you insult Apollo!!" Matonis angrily wanted to go forward and beat Mariji, but was stopped by Hielos.
Mariji was so frightened that he hid behind Davos, but Davos said to him sternly, "Matonis' question did not offend you, but you have insulted the respected gods of us Greeks! If you don't apologize immediately, I won't stop them from taking revenge on you!" The superiority of this Persian had given him a headache, and it was time to teach him a lesson.
Mariji looked back and saw the angry fire in the eyes of the soldiers, and he knew that if it wasn't for Davos, he would have been torn to pieces. As a merchant, it is his nature to change his mind. He quickly bent down and apologized sincerely, and even gave himself a slap.
Seeing that Marigi was forgiven, Davos then asked the question that he had been wondering before, "Why does this city look so desolate?"
Mariji covered his red cheeks with one hand and said vaguely, "Because the residents here are mainly Medians." After that, he kept quiet.
Davos thought about it carefully and suddenly realized, "The Persian royal court doesn't attach importance to this area, because this is the core area of the former Medes and Assyria. They are afraid that their old flames will reignite and even adopt a suppression policy, right?"
When Davos saw Mariji looking at him in surprise, he knew that he had guessed the main point, so he couldn't help but say with a bit of pride, "Let me guess what methods were used. For example, you often mobilize the people here to join the army and fight? And collect higher taxes?…"
"Leader Davos, if you are really the God's Favored that you are talking about, then you are indeed completely different from your subordinates who only have muscles and no brains!" Mariji looked up at Davos on his horse with admiration, because he had just suffered a loss, and said in a low voice, "If you are a Persian and an official of Persia, then I estimate that you can develop well!"
Davos smiled and said, "Although Persia is a big country, unfortunately, I don't like it."
"Because you are Greek?"
Davos did not answer. He looked at Larisa not far away and was lost in thought, 'Is he a Greek? Apart from this body, his soul, his thoughts, and so far, he still thinks that he is a Chinese from the bottom of his heart. The Greek tradition and culture can't assimilate a person from the 21st century, and it doesn't even have much effect on him. It's just that the helplessness and sincere friendship of his comrades in reality made him agree with this group. Don't look at how he usually says "we Greek what…." It's just to fool these Greeks, boost their morale and highlight his position as the leader. In short, it's for survival! Therefore, if Persia is better than Greece and extends an olive branch to him, he will join them without any hesitation, but he doesn't like Persia because most of the political systems of the Greek city-states are more like a 21st century country, and even more so than modern society and democracy in Athens, which has a natural affinity for the modern people….'
…
The next day, they marched to Messapola.
"This is the former capital of the kingdom of Assyria – Nineveh. It is said that Media, the wife of the last king of Medes, had taken refuge in this city after the Persians captured the kingdom of the Medes. The great king of Cyrus led his troops to besiege this city, and because this is the last castle of the Medes, they did not manage to attack it for a long time. Bahram, the god of war among the gods, saw that too many Persians had died, so he let out an earth-shattering thunder that shook the whole city, and was then captured…" Mariji was still the guide and" narrator".
"Hehe, the gods of the Persians are really good, and they even help in the battle." Matonis mocked him from behind, and with the lesson from yesterday, Mariji ignored him.
Davos looked at the city that is also on the bank of the Tigris river. The capital of the former Assyrian kingdom is about 17 meters high just by the wall. Kara is already considered a magnificent city, but it seems that it is only one third of Nineveh. He can imagine the strength and prosperity of the Assyrian kingdom, which was founded by the military, when it swept through the western kingdoms! At this time, the city is already barren and dilapidated, and the wild grass and countless thorn bushes on the city wall are swaying in the river wind, as if telling of its current desolation.
A sense of historical vicissitudes came to his mind, which naturally made Davos recall the ancient saying, "No one in the past, no one in the future." He sighed, "No matter how powerful a country is, there will be times when it will perish!"