The next day, just before dawn, the army was urged to hurry.
Menon bid farewell to Arreus and rushed back to lead his troops. As he rode his horse to the tail of this "long dragon" of the Greek mercenaries, he cursed Clearchus and the others in his heart. He believed that the reason why his troops acted as guards was because these mercenary leaders hated his close relationship with the Persians and persecuted him.
At the same time, he noticed that the soldiers on the march were tired and complaining. It turned out that because of the march last night, the rest time was too short, and the Persians had to guard against sneak attacks. Basically, they were lying on the ground. In the early morning, the soldiers were soon tired and hungry. However, the baggage battalions could not produce more food, which lowered the morale of the soldiers.
Menon thought to himself: The food situation in other military camps is so bad, isn't it even more miserable for the subordinates who have been oppressed because of their absence in the past two days! He was afraid that the soldiers would make trouble, so he urged the horse to rush all the way, until he saw many familiar faces, he slowed down the horse.
As a result, he was surprised to find that, unlike what he imagined, the mental state of these soldiers was not bad, and many soldiers were chewing a bunch of black things hanging on their chests while walking. So, he was curious and called a team officer to ask.
"This is called bacon sausage. It can fill the stomach and it won't go bad after a few days." The team officer pointed to the thing on his chest and said.
Menon cut off a small piece and tasted it, and though it was a little dry, it tasted okay. Seeing that the soldiers in other barracks were starving, but his own soldiers were full, he became happy: "This... smoked... sausage was made by Mersis?"
"No. It's Davos - a 'Blessed One'!"
"God's favored one?" Menon asked curiously about the situation in detail. After listening to the commander's words, his face became gloomy, and he immediately noticed that some soldiers did indeed have two more javelins.
"Where is this Davers?"
"His company has been sent to guard the baggage battalion." The team officer obviously couldn't wink, and asked a little excitedly, "Are you going to see him?"
The look on the team leader's face made Menon give up his mind: he's just a local boy from the small village of Thessaly. Is it worth making a fuss? Going to see a soldier in a hurry is completely inconsistent with his identity, and now he is on the march, and there will be time for him to come to see him in the future.
… … … …
From early morning to morning to afternoon, the troops marched without rest.
Davos felt like his legs were filled with lead, every step was difficult, his throat was burning, and the shield, the lance and the javelin became a burden. In the morning, he was able to chat and laugh with his companions, but now he felt that opening his mouth was a waste of his little physical strength, but he gritted his teeth and insisted, because the surrounding companions were also marching silently.
Finally, the troops stopped. The news from the front made them nervous again: they found the Persian cavalry!
Soon there was news: it was not a cavalry, but a pack beast of the Persian army grazing.
The team continued on.
The sky was getting dark, and after walking for a long time, Davos saw dense smoke rising in the distance.
Shiros told him, "That must be the Persian camp."
However, the team was still advancing, and there was no intention of being prepared or evading at all.
It was late and there was no moonlight. Soldiers rely on torches to advance, making the march more difficult.
Finally, an order came from the front: camp and rest on the spot.
The terrain here is flat, the trees are sparse, and it is impossible to command the construction of the camp in the dark. At the same time, because there are Persian troops nearby, they are worried about being attacked. The soldiers shouted the names of their friends to each other, and each gathered together to find a way to camp. The equally exhausted officers could not control the order, and the entire rear guard was chaotic, like a boiling cauldron, making a loud noise. Many pack beasts in the transport camp were frightened and ran around in panic, injuring many people. The screams made the troops even more uneasy, and there was a danger of collapse at any time.
At a critical moment, Clearkus sent the only cavalry squad in the Greek mercenary army, all armed with torches, rushed to the rear guard, loudly announced the order of Clearkus, asked the soldiers to remain silent, and ordered the baggage battalion to be optimistic. livestock, and punishes anyone who lets loose pack animals. After capturing a few soldiers who were making trouble out of fear, the troops gradually returned to quiet.
Only then did Menon find the leader of the cavalry, Thormid, known as the "Best Herald".
"How did Clearkus command the march! There was almost a screeching! I was gone for a day, and things got so bad! He's not fit to command the whole army!..." Menon took the opportunity to belittle Clearkus.
Thormed said nothing.
"Where is he now?"
Thormid hesitated for a moment: "...In the front guard."
Menon noticed his hesitation and immediately asked: "Is it the same as us, without a camp?"
Thormed had to tell the truth: "The vanguard lives in the village... Menon, these are special times—"
Menon interrupted him with a sneer: "This is the so-called fair and just Clearkus?! I live in a warm house and let us sleep on the cold and damp ground!!" Menon also understood that it was not appropriate to stimulate at this moment Soldier, but he couldn't help roaring.
Fortunately, the surrounding soldiers were already exhausted after the previous tossing, and after scolding a few words, they all fell asleep.
"Menon! Menon!..." At this moment someone shouted.
It's Mersis! Menon hurriedly brought him over: "How is your place? Is there any loss?" The baggage battalion was the place he was most concerned about, because his belongings were all placed there, and only soldiers could have money.
"No!" A smug smile appeared on Mersis' fat face: "We formed a big circle around the carriage, tied the pack animals to the car, and everyone slept in it, it was very safe!"
"Aren't those livestock kicking and barking?" Tormide asked curiously, most of the baggage camps he had seen before were in chaos.
"It was Davos who told me to cover the eyes of these animals, and they turned out to be very obedient!" Mersis said excitedly.
It's that Davers again! Menon frowned.
"Menon, this little guy is very smart! If you just assign him to the baggage camp, then it will be much easier for me." Mersis pleaded.
"We'll talk about it later." Menon said lightly. The transportation camp is his foundation. Mersis is related to him, and he is good at financial management and management, and he has no ambition, so he dares to use it with confidence. Let a stranger into the baggage camp, and he is a smart stranger, what if he finds out his secret
…
Early the next morning, the herald woke Menon and informed him that the king's messenger has come, and the chiefs have asked him to come and consult.
Menon rode on his horse and galloped towards the mercenary barracks at the forefront. There was no shadow of the Persian barracks in his field of vision. It turned out that the loud noise of the mercenaries last night frightened the Persians, and they retreated the camp ten miles overnight.
When it was about time for the military meeting, Menon saw that there were four heavy infantry battalions in front of the camp, all fully loaded and waiting in line. He walked into the tent in confusion, and saw several leaders such as Clearchus, Proxinus, Achilles, Socrates (not the Athenian philosopher), and Sothis were already waiting in the tent. All are fully armed.
Seeing Clearkus, Menon snorted and said sarcastically: "It seems that you all had a good time last night, but my soldiers were poor, and slept on the wet ground all night!"
As a Spartan, Clearkus was blunt and stubborn, and he also disliked Menon and didn't want to talk to him.
Achilles laughed: "Yo, since when did Menon start caring about soldiers?!"
Proxinus hurriedly came out to round the field: "Menon, listen to Thormid, there was no accident in your baggage camp last night. It's amazing! Give us some experience too."
"More than the battalion! Menon's soldiers also made something... called bacon sausages. As a result, everyone was starving, and only his soldiers were fed by this thing!" Socrates told the others said. His troops were just ahead of Meron's line in the marching column, so he knew the situation well.
"Menon, tell us the experience of your camp." The request of Sosis and several other leaders made Melon feel a little overwhelmed, and he couldn't help saying: "Even if the environment arranged for me is difficult, I can still figure out how to fix it. So fighting wars is not a good leader!"
"Okay... Let the messenger of the King of Persia come in. Let's listen together, what new proposal does the king have?" Clearkus interrupted Menon's show.
The chiefs began to cheer up, and Menon reluctantly closed his mouth.