After walking for a few days, Davos saw a huge city wall with a height of more than 20 meters standing in front of it, extending infinitely to the southeast...
"Oh! The Median Wall!! No matter how many times I've seen it, I'm still shocked!!" Xenophon exclaimed loudly. When marching these days, he would go to the queue of Menon's mercenaries and walk with Davos. In his words, 'Talking to Davos helped stimulate his intellectual thinking. ' Davos thought he was bored in marching in the ranks of Proxinus, because he had no common language with others except Proxinus, so he came to show off his knowledge to Davos.
"It is said that this Median wall is more than a hundred miles long and was built by the former Babylonian kingdom to defend against the Medians in the north. But the Babylonian kingdom was destroyed by the Medians..." Xenophon looked up at the tall city wall , sighed with emotion: "The Medes were later destroyed by the Persians. Herodotus has a wonderful description in his "History" book. Just like people have birth, old age, sickness and death, no matter how powerful a kingdom is, there is a time to perish. So Don't look at Persia's vast territory now, and I don't know who will destroy it in the future! I hope I can see that day in my lifetime!"
Davos certainly remembered that Persia was wiped out by the Macedonian king Alexander the Great, who had been admired by Westerners for more than 2,000 years. He could not remember the exact time, but it was probably a few decades later. In his memory, Macedonia is not yet a unified kingdom, and it is still his own "enemy".
Looking at the huge wall made of burnt bricks and asphalt, Davos was also full of emotion: It seems that building the Great Wall to defend against barbarians is not the patent of the Chinese nation. Now China should be in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period...
He turned his head and looked at the east, and stood there for a long time, with unspeakable nostalgia and regret in his eyes: as a Greek in this world, he is thousands of miles away from his homeland, and it is impossible to return...
"Davos! Davos!..." Hearing Hiros' cry, Davos came back to his senses and found that his stay affected the march of the column. He quickened his pace, but he couldn't help but said: "Do you know? Maybe there is a country in the far east, whose territory is even wider than Persia, and it rules more people than Persia. Its customs Habits are completely different from Greek Persia, and its political system is also completely different from Greek Persia, but it is strict and efficient! It has gorgeous costumes, elegant etiquette, magnificent mountains and rivers, and delicious food! The people are wealthy…”
"Davos, you are dreaming. How can there be such a powerful kingdom in the east?" Xenophon interrupted Davos's eloquent remarks and said seriously: "According to Herodotus's records, the Eastern Persian There is India in the face, Arabia in the southeast, Scythians and one-eyed people in the northeast... There should be no such kingdom as you said! Is this a revelation given to you by Hades?"
"Then beyond the races you speak of, what's further east?" Davos asked.
"It should be the ocean." Xenophon said uncertainly.
"This is what Herodotus said again. Has he personally confirmed it?" Davos asked again.
"He... should have listened to someone else... recorded it." Xenophon began to stutter.
"Since it's heard, it can't be true, and it can't be denied that there is no such a country in the far east!" Davos retorted.
Xenophon was speechless for a while, and looked at Davos strangely: "Look at your serious look, it seems that there really is such a country."
Davos laughed and said nothing.
"It would be great if I could go to the far east to take a look one day!" Olivers, who was on the side, was attracted by the scene described by Davos, and suddenly sighed.
"Then you have to pass through the kingdom of Persia first, and then there are the Magsatai, a race of horses that come and go like the wind, who are said to have cut off the head of Cyrus, the great king of Persia... Well, there are terrible The one-eyed man, and the mysterious India... If you are lucky not to be killed or captured as slaves, you can see whether the far east is an ocean, or there is a mighty country..." Xenophon said half-jokingly and half-seriously.
Olivers shrank his neck and said nothing.
Matonis was a little annoyed. Although he didn't like Olivers, he hated this pedantic Athenian even more: "What are you afraid of! If I have a strong army, not to mention going to the far east, I will go anywhere. Dare to go!"
"A powerful army?" Xenophon pointed to the loose marching army in front of him with slight contempt: "Like this one?"
"Of course it's stronger than this!" Matonis exclaimed.
Davos listened to their bickering and narrowed his eyes: a stronger army
… … … … …
Passing through the Median Wall meant that the Greek army had left the Babylonian region. In the next few days, what always appeared in Davos' field of vision were: the plains that were crisscrossed by the straits, the endless golden wheat fields, and the artificially excavated rivers... These artificial rivers led the water of the big river to more small canals , in the ditch, and finally into the farmland...
When Davos saw this, he couldn't help sighing: This should be the oldest irrigation project in the Middle East! The fertile land and abundant water sources have nurtured a large number of people, creating one splendid ancient civilization of the two rivers one after another! …
Further on, you will reach the source of the artificial river: the Tigris River. As another mother river in the Mesopotamian plain, the Tigris River is equally wide. At first glance, it is difficult to reach the opposite bank. The countless sails on the river are swaying. It was the fishing boats that flowed slowly along the water. The songs of the fishermen on the boats and the shouts of the sailors resounded on both sides of the river. Countless water birds chirped and soared over the river, and from time to time there were big fish leaping in the water, creating a beautiful and peaceful river scenery.
There is a large and densely populated city near the river bank, Sitas, and the Greek mercenaries are close to this city and camp. The Persian army and the troops of Arreus crossed the bridge and camped on the other side of the river. That night, because the Persian army was on the other side, the psychological pressure on the Greek soldiers was much less, and Davos and the others rarely slept well.
On the second day, the atmosphere suddenly changed a bit. When Davos and the others crossed the river, they saw heavily armed soldiers guarding both sides of the bridge. After crossing the pontoon bridge, the other side was also guarding soldiers.
What happened
Davos didn't understand the reason until Xenophon came over.
"Last night, a man came from the other side, saying that he was a confidant of Arreus, and he had a message to bring to Clearcus and Proxinus. So several leaders received him, and I followed Proxinus. In the tent, hear the man say, 'Areus reminds Clearchus to be vigilant, because the Persians may attack the Greek mercenaries at night, and also intend to destroy the pontoon and trap you in the Tigris and artificial waterways Between.' Several of the leaders were a little nervous, and I—"
Xenophon said in a slightly serious tone, "After thinking about it, I think this news is unreliable!"
"Oh, what do you think?" Davers asked pretending to be curious.
"Because the Persians came to attack us, either victorious or defeated. If they were defeated and destroyed, wouldn't there be nowhere to run; if they were victorious, we would be in Persian land, and there would be nowhere to go at all? Escape, why destroy another bridge that was not easy to build. Clearkus and the others followed my advice!" Xenophon said with a little self-satisfaction.
"Well, it makes sense!" Davers thought for a while and praised.
"Even you can think that Tisafonis is not a fool, why would he make up such a lie?" Olivers said sarcastically.
"That's because he is really afraid of us destroying the bridge!" Xenophon glanced at him, not wanting to care about this uneducated guy: "You have all seen these days, there are many villages in this area, and the land is fertile, It produces a large amount of food, enough to support our mercenaries for half a year, if we destroy the bridge and don’t leave, and the army of Tisafonis is on the other side again, and can’t make it for a while, then—”