The next day, at first light, the army was urged on its way.
Menon said goodbye to Arius and rushed back to lead his troops. As he rode toward the end of the "long line" of Greek mercenaries, he cursed Clilicus and the others in his mind. He thought that his troops had been made to act as a rearguard because the mercenary chiefs were persecuting him because they were jealous of his close relationship with the Persians.
At the same time, he noticed that the marching soldiers had tired faces and were grumbling. It turned out that last night, because of the march, the rest time was too short, and they also had to guard against the sneak attack of the Persians, basically lying on the ground. In the early morning, and have to rush, the soldiers quickly tired and hungry. However, the supply battalions could not get more food, making the soldiers' morale become low.
Mei Nong thought to himself: the food situation in the other barracks was so bad, wouldn't it be even more miserable for the men who had been oppressed in the past two days because of his absence! Fearing that the soldiers would cause trouble, he urged his horse to hurry all the way until he saw quite a few familiar faces, then he slowed down his horse's speed.
As a result, he was surprised to find: unlike what he expected, the soldiers were in good spirits, and many of them were chewing on a string of black stuff hanging on their chests as they walked. So he curiously called a team officer to inquire.
"This is called a bacon sausage, it fills your stomach and won't go bad if you leave it for a few days." The teamster said, pointing to something on his chest.
Menon cut off a small piece and tasted it, although it was a bit dry, the flavor was okay. Seeing the soldiers of other barracks starving, but his own soldiers were able to eat, his mood became pleasant, "This ... smoked ... meat sausage was made by Melchis?"
"Nope. It's Davos - a 'God's Favorite'!"
"God's favorites?" Menon curiously asked in detail about the situation, his face began to look grim as he listened to the team officer, and he immediately noticed that some of the soldiers did have two extra javelins.
"Where is this Davos?"
"The company he's with has been sent to escort the supply battalion." The teamster, who obviously couldn't read eyes, also asked in a slightly agitated voice, "Are you going to see him?"
The look on the teamster's face dissuaded Menon: was a mere rustic boy from a small village in Thessaly worth making a fuss over? It was completely out of character to rush to meet a soldier, and it was a march, there would be plenty of time for him to meet him later.
...............
From early morning to mid-morning and into the afternoon, the troops marched without rest.
Davos felt like his legs were filled with lead, every step was difficult, his throat was dry and burning, and his shield, bayonet, and javelin were becoming a liability. Where he had been able to talk and laugh with his companions in the morning, he now felt that opening his mouth was a waste of what little strength he had, but he gritted his teeth and held on as his companions around him marched in silence as well.
Finally, the troops stopped. News from the front made the newly relieved men nervous again: Persian cavalry had been spotted!
Soon came word again: it was not cavalry, it was the pack animals of the Persian army grazing.
The procession continued to march.
It was getting dark, and not long into the walk, Davos saw one dense line of cooking smoke after another rising in the distance.
Xellos told him, "That must be the camp of the Persian army."
But the procession was still advancing, without the slightest intention of defense or evasion.
It was late in the day and there was no moonlight. The soldiers relied on torches to advance, and marching became more difficult.
Finally, the order came from the front: camp on the ground and rest.
The terrain was flat and sparsely wooded, plus it was impossible to direct the construction of a camp in the dark. Also there was a fear of attack because of the Persian army nearby. The soldiers shouted the names of their buddies to each other and gathered in groups to figure out how to make camp. The equally exhausted officers were unable to control the order, and the entire rearguard unit shouted in disarray, like a boiling cauldron, making a tremendous amount of noise. Many of the pack animals of the supply battalion were frightened and scurried about in panic, hitting and injuring many people. The screams made the troops even more terrified and in danger of collapsing at any moment.
In a moment of crisis, Clilicus sent the only squad of cavalry in the Greek mercenary army, each carrying a torch, to the rear guard, and loudly announced Clilicus's orders for the soldiers to keep quiet, while ordering the supply battalion to keep an eye on the animals and to punish anyone who let the pack animals go. After arresting a few of the soldiers who were making trouble out of fear, the troops gradually regained their quiet.
It was only then that Menon found Tormid, the leader of the cavalry, known as "the best crier".
"How Krilkus commanded the troops to march! There was almost a camp tsunami! I've been gone just one day and things have gotten so bad! He doesn't even deserve to command the whole army! ..." Menon took the opportunity to disparage Krilkus.
Tormid knowingly said nothing.
"Where is he now?"
Tormid hesitated slightly, "... is in the Vanguard."
Sensing his hesitation, Menon immediately pressed, "Is it like us, no camp to live in?"
Tormid had to be honest: "The Vanguard lives in the village ... Menon, and this is a special time--"
Menon interrupted with a sneer, "Is this what is called fair and just Krilkus? Living in a warm house yourself and making us sleep on the cold and wet ground!!!" Menon also understood that it was inappropriate to irritate the soldiers at this moment, but he still couldn't help but roar angrily.
Fortunately, the soldiers around them had long been exhausted after the previous tossing and turning, and after a few curses, they all fell to the ground and fell asleep.
"Menon! Menon! ..." someone shouted at that moment.
It was Melsius! Menon hurriedly led him over, "How are you doing there? Any damage?" The supply camp was the place he was most concerned about, as all his belongings were kept there, and only with money could he have soldiers.
"No!" A smug grin appeared on Melsis' fat face, "We put the supply wagons in a big circle, bolted the pack animals to the wagons, and everyone slept in them, and it was safe!"
"Aren't those animals kicking and screaming in disarray?" Tormid asked curiously, most of the supply camps he had seen before were in disarray.
"It was Davos who told me to blindfold these animals, and they turned out to be very obedient indeed!" Melsius said excitedly.
It was that Davos again! Menon frowned.
"Menon, this little guy is smart! Why don't you just assign him to the supply wagon battalion, then it will be much easier for me." Melsius requested.
"Later." Menon said faintly. The supply wagon camp was his foundation, and it was only because Melsius was related to him, and was good at money management and administration, and had no ambitions, that he dared to use it with confidence. Letting a stranger into the supply camp, and a smart stranger at that, what if he found out his secret?
............
Early the next morning the herald woke Menon and informed him that the king's messenger had come, and that the chiefs had asked him to come and confer.
Menon mounted his horse and galloped towards the foremost mercenary barracks, and he no longer saw the shadow of the Persian barracks within his field of vision. It turned out that the huge clamor of the mercenaries last night had actually frightened the Persians, who had pulled back their camp ten miles overnight.
When he had almost reached the tent of military council, Memnon saw four brigades of heavy infantry fully loaded and arrayed in front of the camp. Puzzled, he went into the tent and saw that Clearchus, Proxenus, Achilles, Socrates (not the Athenian philosopher), Sosius, and several other chiefs were already waiting in the tent, again all heavily armed.
Seeing Krilkus, Menon grunted and sneered, "Looks like you all had a good night last night, just my soldiers are more pathetic, sleeping on the wet ground all night!"
As a Spartan, Krilkus was blunt and obstinate, and he was equally uncomfortable with Menon and didn't want to talk to him much.
Achilles chuckled, "Yo, since when did Menon care about soldiers?!"
Proxenus rushed out to round up the conversation, "Menon, I heard from Tormid that it was just your supply battalion that didn't have any incidents last night. That's impressive! Teach us a little bit of experience as well."
"Not only the supply battalion! Menon's soldiers also made something ... called bacon sausage. As a result, everyone was starving, but only his soldiers filled their stomachs on this stuff!" Socrates said to the others. His troops were right in front of Meron's group in the marching column, so he had a better understanding of the situation.
"Menon, tell us about these experiences in your camp as well." The pleas of Sosis and a few other chiefs made Menon a bit flustered, and he couldn't help but say, "Even if the circumstances I'm put in are difficult, I'll still be able to figure out a way to solve them. That's why just being able to fight isn't a good chieftain!"
"Well ... let the messenger of the King of Persia come in. Let's all come together and hear what this great king has to offer?" Krilcus interrupted Menon's bragging.
The chiefs began to shake themselves up, and Menon shut his mouth helplessly.