Just as Davos was intensively preparing for his field hospital, the Persian messenger came to the Greek army camp. This time the messenger was none other than the Persian general the chiefs were most familiar with—the governor of Asia Minor Thesafonis, who brought him with him. Here came the hope that the Greeks could go home safely: willing to convey to the Persian king that the leaders did not want to fight, but just wanted to go home.
The chiefs welcomed him with pleasure.
After Tisafonis left, the mercenary leaders, seeing hope for a peaceful settlement, were eagerly waiting for him to come again.
After waiting anxiously for two days, Tisafonis came to the Greek barracks again, and read out the latest will of the Persian king to the leaders: the king had accepted the mercenary's apology, although many ministers objected, he still decided to Tisafonis led the Greek mercenaries back to Greece and agreed to provide markets for the Greeks along the way to settle their supplies. At the same time, the Greeks must also obey the local order along the way, and must not destroy and loot...
Of course the leaders could not ask for it, they and Tisafonis quickly reached an agreement, and both sides made an oath in the name of the gods. Tisafonis then admonished the chiefs to be patient as he went back to report to the king and to make arrangements for the return of the army.
Soon after Tisafonis left, the news spread throughout the barracks, and the soldiers cheered.
Davos still did not let his guard down. Although the last time he heard Xerofen's words, he realized that the actual situation in Persia was quite different from his guesses based on Chinese history.
Just yesterday, Xerofen visited again. After a few days of buffering, he finally calmed down and wanted to talk to Davers about the democratic system of the city-state again. Davos, however, was reluctant to continue to dwell on this issue, but subtly led the topic to the customs of the Greek city-states.
Most of the time it was Xerofen gushing about, and Davos listened carefully. In the meantime, Davos asked about Tisafonis, so Serophan said something about Tisafonis that he had heard from Proxinus, and Davos remembered it deeply.
When Tisafonis served as the governor of Asia Minor, it was during the Peloponnesian War. Tisafonis chose to form an alliance with Sparta. He hoped to use the power of Sparta to attack Athens and restore Persia's love for Persia. The rule of the Greek city-states on the coast of Onia, and the reward for Sparta is that he will help Sparta build a large fleet enough to fight against Athens. As a result, it didn't take long for him to stop the financial support promised to Sparta, which caused the Spartans to protest to the then Persian king Darius II, who appointed his second son, Cyrus the younger, to serve as the entire Persian king. Military commander in the west, fully supporting Sparta against Athens.
Tisafonis was relieved of military power, but he didn't seem to care, got along well with little Cyrus, and soon became a friend of little Cyrus. When the new king Artaxerxes came to the throne and the little Cyrus went to the capital to attend the enthronement ceremony of the eldest brother, Tisafonis reported to the new king that little Cyrus wanted to rebel, which led to the arrest of the little Cyrus, and the mother pleaded again and again, to be released.
After Tisafonis returned to Asia Minor, he began to fight against Cyrus the Younger everywhere. Therefore, when little Cyrus rebelled, he was the first one who wanted to catch him, but he had already escaped, and then appeared in the king's crusade. When the left flank of the king's army was crushed by the Greek heavy infantry, Tisafonis dared to lead the cavalry to bypass the heavy infantry phalanx and attack the rear of the Greek army. Although he failed, among a group of remnants of defeated soldiers, his courage and determination were naturally outstanding, so he was able to represent the king as a Persian messenger to negotiate with the Greek army, which was obviously the king's praise for him.
What Davos heard about Tisafonis was what Xenophon heard from Proxinus, who got it mostly from Cyrus the Younger, regardless of his opinion of Tisafonis. How Saffronis likes and dislikes, facts are facts. Therefore, after analysis, Davos believes that Tisafonis is a typical politician, who is accustomed to double-edged swords, who is good at judging the situation and dares to seize opportunities. It is difficult to expect such a man to keep his promise!
When Davos told Xenophon about this concern, Xenophon sighed and said, "Proxinus and the others are well aware that they will not let their guard down on Tisafonis, but if they do not give up and If the Persian king fights, we may not be able to go home. Just the Euphrates and the Tigris can cause us a huge problem, we can't cross that wide river smoothly in front of the enemy. Another big difficulty is that there is not enough Food. Once we go "gathering" food, the scattered soldiers are again vulnerable to enemy attacks...
You see, the Persian king has such a huge advantage, if he really wants to destroy us, there is absolutely no need to give us a support, and let Tisafonis swear on his behalf in the name of God. Because if he breaks the contract in the future, he will not only be ridiculed by the Persians and Greeks, but also rejected by the Persian gods. Does he really want to become an untrustworthy king right after he ascends the throne? Therefore, we can only trust them, and only by cooperating with them, can we ensure that we return home safely! "
Davos saw Xenophon's remarks, more like convincing himself, and sighed secretly: the Greek mercenaries are in a weak position, so even if the other party gave "poison", they had to swallow it.
… … … …
Day by day, Davos's field hospital has begun to take shape. Twelve wounded have been carefully cared for and treated, and seven of them have improved significantly.
In the rest of the time, Davos learned the Greek script from Xenophon, and entrusted Mersish, who went out to buy, to bring back several linen cloths, cut them into slender strips, and began to experiment with how to wear leggings. At the same time, pull teammates to practice with him, learn fighting skills, so that consciousness and body memory can be unified.
Due to the recovery of Asisters and the incident of Menon's soldier's remonstrance, his relationship with Antonios became close. He visited Antonios many times and asked him for his experience in the formation and command of heavy infantry... In order to understand the long-handled counterblade He also learned from the light shield soldiers in the use of knives, and had a deep understanding of the characteristics of this type of arms.
The success of the battlefield hospital has made Davos's reputation as "God's Blessed One" deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and his modesty and studious have also won everyone's favor. With his footsteps all over the Menon Barracks, there was hardly anyone who didn't know him.
Day by day, the Persians did not appear, and anxiety and suspicion gradually enveloped the entire Greek military camp. Davos used every busy day to dilute his worries. He was unable to change the plight of the Greek mercenaries, so he could only change and enrich himself as much as possible.
… … … … …
After a long wait of more than twenty days, Tisafonis finally arrived with his army, along with the Amelian governor Ojuntas and his army.
The Greek mercenary leaders, who had been waiting anxiously for a long time, led the army with them on their return journey with almost no suspicion.
But as soon as the march started, things changed. The army of Arreus, who was originally warm and intimate with the Greek mercenaries, began to walk together with the Persian army, not only marching together, but also camping together. In the past twenty or so days, the Persians have not been idle. They have been sending Arreus and the relatives and friends of other generals into and out of Arreus' camp, making promises that they will not be held accountable. Cyrus' generals were persuaded.
This undoubtedly increased the suspicion of the Greek mercenaries, who followed far behind the Persians, acting alone and with their own guides. When it was time to set up camp at dusk, the Greek army and the Persians were ten miles apart, and they set up sentries to guard each other, as if they were dealing with the enemy.
Tisafonis has indeed lived up to his promise, providing a market to the Greeks every day. Of course, mercenaries have to pay for it themselves.
Menon also wanted to retaliate against Davos by giving less food to Hiros's team, but he was opposed by Mersis. Before Mersis was asked by Davos to leave two Egyptian female slaves, he was very reluctant.
Who knew that not long after, Davos used a trained Egyptian slave to give him a Chinese massage. As a result, he became addicted. He went to the battlefield hospital every day to ask for a massage, and said in vain that it was for the slaves who owed him. Debt repayment expenses. He also hoped that after returning to Greece, let Davos teach this unique method to the *** he bought, then his brothel would definitely be overcrowded. Therefore, not only will he not offend Davos now, but he will try his best to satisfy most of Davos' requirements.