Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Chapter 27: Negotiations broke down

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When approaching the Persian cavalry, Felixius told Davos: The Persians at the front were Arreus, Artauzus and Mithradat, the three of whom were the most trusted subordinates of Cyrus the Younger. . Another Persian in the middle, whom Davos knew, was the former Persian messenger, Sist.

The officers stopped when they were about twenty meters away from the Persian cavalry.

"Come here, please!" Arreus pointed to the front of his horse.

The officers did not move.

Cister couldn't help but sarcastically said, "Are all Greeks so timid?"

"Because the Persians have broken their promises again and again, we no longer dare to trust the Persians!" Xenophon retorted.

"Yes, Persians are shameless villains, even gods can deceive!" Crianno scolded angrily, his words resonated with the other team officers, and scolded everywhere.

"Please keep quiet! Listen carefully to the king's orders!!" Arreus shouted loudly.

"That's your king, not ours. Say it if you want, or we'll go back if you don't!" Davos also shouted.

"We Greeks are free, unlike Persians who are all slaves of your king!" Timasson roared half proudly and half sarcastically.

Arreus was so angry that his nose crooked, he turned his head to look at Cister, Cister nodded to him, he helplessly unfolded the papyrus in his hand, and read aloud: "You Greeks, I, Artaxerxes The lord of the Persians, the king of the races, declared that Clearchus had broken his oath and broke the truce, and the gods had punished him. Proxinus, Menon, Achilles, Socrates, four The leader is being treated with lofty courtesy by my Governor Thesafonis for reporting his conspiracy! In order to prevent such a terrible betrayal from happening again on the road, and for safety—" Arreus increased his voice and said solemnly: "Ask Hand over your weapons, all the Greek soldiers, because the money for these weapons came from the treacherous Cyrus the Younger, and his money came from the Persian treasury, which should have belonged to me! Hand over the weapons, I swear to Mazda the Most High , to ensure your smooth arrival in Ionia!"

"Hahaha!!..." Davos laughed loudly: "The wolf tricked the deer into being friends, and then ate them. The wolf who had tasted the benefits also wanted to trick all the deer to break their horns, so that the wolf could enjoy it with confidence. Their meat! Hahaha... how stupid would this be to be fooled again, or is your king's head broken?!!"

"Bold!!" Arreus angrily pointed at Davos: "If you insult the king, you will be punished by fire!"

"Enough, Arius, you shameless villain! And some of you little Cyrus' closest comrades in arms, don't you feel ashamed in front of the gods!" Krianno pointed at Arreus, Artauzus and Mithradat scolded: "You once swore to the gods with us to be allies and rebelled against the Persian king, but now you betray us and cooperate with the inhuman villain of Tisafonis, Not only did he deceive Clearcus and the others, but he also tried to betray the rest of us! Even if little Cyrus was in hell, knowing what you did, he would definitely curse you!"

Arreus shrank his neck unnaturally, and subconsciously glanced at Siste next to him, Siste looked like he had nothing to do with me, so he had to say again: "Your Majesty really wants to send you back safely. Home, because the traitor, the little Cyrus, has received the most just punishment, and you are only deceived by him! The king is merciful, and does not want to let the land of Persia suffer any more useless wars! But, after Proxinus, they According to the report, Clearchus began to conspire against Lord Thesavnes and the Persian army more than ten days ago, and spread rumors everywhere in an attempt to divide the relationship between the Greeks and the Persians, we have to take action against him!"

"Since you said that Proxinus and the others exposed Clearkus and got your reward, then please let them come here, which can naturally resolve the suspicion between us, and as leaders, they can also help us both. A better proposal for reconciliation!" Xenophon was still working hard to rescue Proxinus.

"That's right, let our leader come here, we'll trust you!!" The team officers shouted loudly.

"Uh... Proxinus and the others accepted the banquet from Lord Tisafonis... They are already drunk... So..." Arreus said expectantly, Siste was already a little impatient, and he said loudly: "Your Majesty has Order, hand over your weapons immediately so that you can go home safely, otherwise we will no longer provide you with any help!"

"Ares is on top, Greek warriors will never abandon their weapons and let others be slaughtered!!" Timasson roared, hitting the copper shield with his thorn spear.

"Whoever wants to take our weapons, we will fight him!" Crianno shouted angrily.

"Proxinus and the others can't come, they are not drunk, but they have already been killed by you, right?!" Xenophon also said with grief and indignation, he said the result so seriously, he wanted to persecute Arreus They told the truth, but unexpectedly aroused the anger of the team officers.

"The Persians want to kill us all!"

"Avenge the leaders!"

The irritated team officers surrounded Arreus and the others. Seeing that the situation was not good, Cister turned his horse and ran, and then Arreus and the others followed and ran back. After running for a while, Cister turned around and saw that he had distanced himself from the Greeks. He remembered that he was a dignified Persian aristocrat and a royal relative who was scared away by a group of Greek barbarians. He was ashamed and angry, so he shouted sharply: " Greeks, you missed your best chance and soon you will regret it!!"

"I don't know who will regret it by then!" Xenophon replied sternly.

Watching the Persian cavalry leave, everyone was worried, and it was certain that the fate of several mercenary leaders would not be very good, and the Persians had already torn their faces, what should they do now

Surrender to the Persians? Even Cyrus, the brother of the King of Persia, was brutally beheaded and his hands cut off. Most of the team officers did not think that their fate would be better after they surrendered! Either be killed or become a slave. For this choice, the team officials are unacceptable and impossible to accept.

In addition, they can only choose to fight the Persians again in this strange land! Now they are led by the Persians on a marching route that they have never traveled before. They are thousands of miles away from their hometown. Without the help of the Persians, they can only feel their way forward, not knowing how much hostility they will face. races and villages, but also to guard against the attack of the Persian army. The most distressing thing is that the Persians can't fight them head on, but they can't catch up with the Persians, and if they fail, the entire army may be destroyed. It is because of the thought of these difficulties that everyone is frustrated and does not know what to do. When they left the camp, the soldiers still had some energy. When they returned to the camp, they all sighed and looked sad.

Back at the barracks, when the officers in charge of the battalions gathered again, Davos naturally followed Felixius and participated in the discussion. Of course, as a rookie, he seldom speaks, and he mostly observes these team officers. In heated arguments, it is easier for them to reveal their personalities: the grumpy Timasson, the shrewd Krianno, the cautious in speaking Zantiparis, Agarcia, who has a good relationship with other team officers...

Xenophon was much more active. He not only argued fiercely with others many times, but also exclaimed excitedly: "Everyone, Clearchus and the others have been captured by the Persians, and we must immediately elect new leaders of the battalions to replace them. They, then convened a general assembly of the whole army to reassert the soldiers' determination to fight the Persians, and the confidence that we must rely on ourselves to get home, or let this chaos continue, and before the Persians attack, we will be all over !"

Davos thought that Xenophon was right. Although he was just getting started in the military, in his previous life he had been a village official and a leader of a high-tech development zone, and the number of soldiers he had managed far exceeded ten thousand soldiers. , so he is well aware of the importance of unifying thoughts and inspiring confidence to a group.

Timasone seemed to be a little disgusted with Xenophon's over-the-top publicity. He didn't look at Xenophon at all. He turned around and said to the others, "Don't worry, Kerisopes will be back soon!"