While Davos was pressing on with the preparations for his field hospital, a Persian messenger came to the Greek barracks, this time from no other than the Persian general most familiar to the chieftains, Tissaphernes, the governor of Asia Minor, who brought with him the hope that the Greeks would return home in safety: a willingness to convey to the king of Persia the chiefs' unwillingness to engage in war, only wanted to go home.
The chiefs received him gladly.
After Tissafonis' departure, the mercenary chiefs, seeing that there was hope for a peaceful settlement, eagerly awaited his arrival again.
After waiting anxiously for two days, Tissaphernes came to the Greek military camp again and read the latest decree of the Persian king to the chiefs: the king had accepted the apology of the mercenaries, and although a number of ministers objected to it, he decided that Tissaphernes would lead the Greek mercenaries to return to Greece and agreed to provide a marketplace for the Greeks to take care of their sustenance on the way. At the same time, the Greeks were required to observe local order along the way and refrain from vandalism and looting ...
The chiefs, of course, were eager to do so, and they and Tissaphernes soon came to an agreement, and both made a vow in the name of God. Tissaphernes then cautioned the chiefs to be patient, as he had to go back and report to the king, and also to make arrangements for the return of the army.
Soon after Tissafonis left, the news spread throughout the barracks and the soldiers cheered.
Davos' mind still did not let his guard down. Although the last time he listened to Xelophon's words, it made him realize that the actual situation in Persia was quite a bit different from his own guesses based on Chinese history.
Just yesterday, Xylophon visited again, and after a few days of buffering, he finally reconciled his mind and wanted to talk to Davos again about the democratic institutions of the city-states. Davos, however, did not wish to dwell on the subject, but directed the conversation skillfully to the customs of the Greek city-states.
Most of the time it was Xylophon rattling on and Davos listening intently. In between, Davos asked about Tissaphernes, so Xerophon said something about Tissaphernes that he had heard from Proxenus that stuck in Davos' mind.
Tissaphernes was governor of Asia Minor at a time when the Peloponnesian War was underway, and Tissaphernes chose to form an alliance with Sparta in the hope of utilizing Sparta's power against Athens and restoring Persian rule over the Greek city-states on the Ionian coast, in return for which he was to finance the building of a fleet large enough to fight Athens. It didn't take long for him to stop his promised monetary support to Sparta, causing the Spartans to protest to Darius II, then King of Persia, before Darius appointed his second son, Cyrus the Younger, as military commander of all of western Persia, to provide full support to Sparta against Athens.
Tissaphernes was relieved of his military power, but he seemed unconcerned and got along well with Cyrus the Younger, quickly becoming a friend of Cyrus the Younger. When the new king, Artaxerxes, became king, and Cyrus the Younger went to the capital to attend his elder brother's coronation, Tissaphernes denounced Cyrus the Younger to the new king for plotting against the king, which led to Cyrus the Younger being arrested, and only after the queen pleaded for his release was he released.
And when Tissaphernes returned to Asia Minor, he began to oppose Cyrus the Younger at every turn. So when Cyrus the Younger rebelled against the king, he was the first to be captured, but in the end he escaped long ago and appeared in the king's crusading army. When the left flank of the king's army was crushed by a touch of Greek heavy infantry, Tissaphernes dared to lead his cavalry around the heavy infantry square and attack the rear ranks of the Greek army. Though he failed, his courage and determination naturally stood out among a group of defeated soldiers, so it was clearly a tribute from the king that he was able to represent him as a Persian emissary to negotiate peace with the Greek army.
What Davos heard about Tissaphernes was what Xenophon heard from Proxenus, who mostly got his news from Cyrus the Younger, and regardless of his favorable or unfavorable opinion of Tissaphernes, facts are facts. Thus, Davos, after analyzing the situation, concluded that Tissaphernes was a typical politician, accustomed to playing both sides of the fence, a good judge of the times, and a man who dared to seize opportunities. I am afraid it is difficult to expect such a person to keep his word!
When Davos told Xenophon of this concern, Xenophon sighed and said, "Proxenus and the others are well aware that they will not let their guard down against Tissaphernes, but we may not be able to return home if we do not give up our campaign against the Persian king. The Euphrates and the Tigris alone would give us great trouble, and we could not cross so wide a river without difficulty before the enemy. Another great difficulty was not having enough food. Once we went to "gather" food, the dispersed soldiers were vulnerable to enemy attack. ...
You see, the king of Persia has such great advantages that if he really wanted to destroy us, there was absolutely no need for him to give us gifts of sustenance again, and for Tissaphernes to swear on his behalf in the name of the gods. For once he breaks the covenant in the future, he will not only be laughed at by the Persians and the Greeks, but he will also be rejected by the gods of Persia, and does he really want to become a faithless king just after his accession to the throne! Therefore, we can only trust them, and only by cooperating with them can we be assured of a safe return home!"
Davos could see that Xenophon's words were more like convincing himself, and sighed: the Greek mercenaries were in a weak position, so even if the other side gave them "poison", they had to swallow it.
...............
As the days passed, Davos's field hospital was taking shape, and seven of the twelve wounded men had made a marked improvement after careful care and treatment.
For the remainder of his time, Davos learned Greek writing from Xenophon and commissioned Melsisch, who was out shopping, to bring back a couple of linen cloths, which he cut into thin strips and began experimenting with how to tie them. At the same time, his teammates were pulled to spar with him, learning combat techniques so that consciousness and body memory could be unified.
Due to the healing of Acistus and the incident of Menon's military advice, his relationship with Antonios became close, and he visited Antonios several times to ask him for advice on the formation and command experience of the heavy infantry ... In order to figure out the technique of using the long-handled reverse-bladed sword, he also learned from the light shield soldiers to gain a deeper understanding of the characteristics of this type of soldier.
The success of the field hospital made Davos's reputation as a "man of God's favor" widespread, and his modesty and goodwill won him the favor of everyone. As he traveled throughout the Menon Barracks, there was hardly anyone who didn't recognize him.
Time passed day by day, the Persians never showed up, uneasiness and suspicion gradually enveloped the entire Greek military camp again. Davos used every busy day to wash away the worries in his heart, no ability to change the plight of the Greek mercenaries, prompting him to only change as much as possible to enrich themselves.
............... ...
After a long wait of more than twenty days, Tissaphernes came at last at the head of his army, accompanied by Ojontas, the governor of Amelia, and his troops.
The Greek mercenary chiefs, who had been waiting anxiously for a long time, led their troops with them on their homeward journey with little suspicion.
But as soon as they began to march, things changed. The army of Arrizos, which had been holding together with the Greek mercenaries in a close group, began to walk together with the Persian army, not only marching together, but also camping together. During the past twenty days or so, the Persians were not idle; they kept sending relatives and friends of Arius and other generals in and out of Arius's barracks, promising not to hold him accountable for his crimes, which finally convinced the generals of Cyrus the Younger.
This undoubtedly increased the suspicion of the Greek mercenaries, who followed far behind the Persian party, moving alone and with guides of their own. By the time they camped at dusk, the Greek army and the Persians were ten miles apart, setting up guards against each other as if they were enemies.
Tissaphernes did fulfill his promise as well, providing the Greeks with a market every day. Of course, the mercenaries had to pay for their own pickups.
Menon had also tried to get back at Davos by giving out less food to Hylos's squad, who had been opposed by Melsis. Previously, Melsis had been asked by Davos to take away two Egyptian slave girls, and he had been very reluctant to do so.
Who knows that soon after, Davos used a trained Egyptian slave girl to give him a Chinese massage, as a result, he became addicted, and went to the war hospital every day to ask for a massage, and also deadpan that it was to pay off the debt for the slave fees owed to him. He also expected in his heart that when he returned to Greece, he would let Davos teach this unique technique to the **** he purchased then his brothel would definitely be overcrowded. So, not only would he not offend Davos now, but he tried to fulfill most of Davos' requests as much as possible.
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