ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 172 Cleethorpes’ Attention
Chrysops' good humor lasted until Tibulon's lieutenant came to see him.

"What did you say?! All the soldiers ran away?!" Cleethorpes was shocked. His first reaction was to think that Tibulon was up to something.

"Not all of them ran away, just those soldiers who participated in the expedition of Cyrus the Younger! After returning to Ephesus, the troops were stationed outside the city. Tiburon did not inspect the military camp in the past few days because...because of the investigation. ..." The adjutant said cautiously: "Until Chrysops asked me to temporarily take over Tibulon's duties, I decided to gather the entire army for training to prevent the soldiers from feeling uneasy because of Tibulon's transfer. Only then did I realize that there were more than 3000 soldiers missing..."

More than 3000 soldiers!Chrysops took a breath: This is a big number!If Deciridas arrives in Ephesus and finds that the number of troops he is to lead has shrunk greatly, he may blame himself for not handling the Tiburon issue well, causing the morale of the army to fluctuate.

"Is it because Tiburon allowed them to plunder and was afraid of being punished, so he ran away?" No wonder Chrysops asked this question. He knew the mercenaries who participated in Cyrus the Younger's expedition very well.

"No." The adjutant's answer made him slightly relieved, but also made him curious.

"After I discovered this situation, I immediately sealed off the military camp and launched an investigation. I quickly learned the truth from the mercenaries who had participated in the Cyrus expedition." The adjutant showed a strange expression: "The reason why they escaped was Because of a rumor!"

"rumor?"

"Yes. Recently there is a rumor circulating outside the city. It is said that another group of mercenaries who participated in the Persian expedition with these mercenaries went to Magna Graecia under the leadership of a leader named Davos and defeated He conquered the barbarians there and established an alliance called Tua. He became the governor of the alliance, and the mercenaries who followed him became citizens of the city-state and were allocated land, and the team officers became...well... ...Nobles have taken up high-level public offices in the city-state...'These simple-minded mercenaries actually think it is true, and many of them want to go to Magna Graecia and share the benefits of their former teammates...' But I heard them say this The man named Davos has only been away from them for more than half a year, how could he have done so many things? It is obviously a lie!" After the adjutant finished speaking, he saw Cleethorpes frowning and deep in thought.

"Where did these rumors come from?" he asked seriously.

"It seems to have been heard from the port market at Ephesus, when they went to buy their goods."

"Are the mercenary leaders who went to Persia still there?" asked Crithorpes again.

"Except for Xenophon, others like Timazon, Xantiparis, and Cleanno... they all ran away. Some soldiers were able to stay because of Xenophon's persuasion..."

"You quickly send someone to notify the Ephesus Council and ask them to immediately send patrols to block the port. You also send troops to assist. If you find any deserters from the army, please arrest them immediately and escort them back to the military camp! At the same time, notify nearby city-states with ports, Let them take the same measures!" Chrysops made a quick decision.

"What to do with the captured mercenaries?"

"In front of the whole army, kill the leading team officers and generals——" Cleethorpes made a beheading gesture with a cold expression.

After seeing off the adjutant, Cleithops' heart was filled with ups and downs, and he could not calm down for a long time: the mercenaries' escape had started a few days ago, and it must be a little too late to take measures now. It seems that before sending Tibulon back to Sri Lanka, At the same time as Bada, you also need to write a letter to the Council of Elders and take the initiative to explain the situation here, otherwise you will be passive when Deciridas discovers and asks about the matter!Hey...Xenophon should have known about this a long time ago, why didn't he inform himself?

Chrysops then thought about it: Xenophon had a good relationship with many generals during the expedition to Persia, especially Davos. He was able to proactively persuade the soldiers to stay, which was already very considerate of Sparta.

Davers! ...After half a year, when he heard this familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar name again, a clear image of the extremely young mercenary leader emerged in Cleethorpes' mind.For Davers, he has always regretted not being able to keep it in Sparta.

He still remembered: after he returned to Sparta to report his previous experience, he met Anaxesus, the former admiral of the navy who had returned from office. When he asked him about Davos, Anaxesus asked blankly, "Davos" Who is Firth? 'He wished he could slap him twice on the spot, but actually forgot all about what he had repeatedly warned, and let Sparta pass by this Greek military genius he considered.Later, because he assisted Tiburon to settle in Asia Minor and was busy with affairs, he temporarily forgot about the matter. Unexpectedly, when he heard this name again, this unforgettable young man had already created a career in Magna Graecia? !If this is true, it would be astonishing indeed!But it also just shows that Keli Thorpes was not wrong about the person at first!I just don’t know if he has anything to do with this desertion incident. I hope he was not the instigator, because the Spartan Council of Elders will definitely send someone to investigate!
It's just that Davos has already taken root in Magna Graecia and obviously will no longer consider joining Sparta. It's such a pity...

...........................

Xenophon actually knew more about the situation than Chrysops guessed. He even knew that Timazon went to the Temple of Arthenis in Ephesus to meet Agalia and got his promise. Will return to the military camp and encourage the soldiers to go to the Tua Alliance.

Xenophon also received an invitation from Agalia. He was really surprised that Davos became the lifelong consul of two cities in Magna Graecia. He was also curious about how Davos managed to do this for more than half a year. Such a dazzling achievement has been achieved in a short period of time!They are both young people, one is a countryman from the fringes of Greek civilization, and the other is an elite cultivated in Athens, the center of Greek culture. Now the "countryside people" have held the highest power in the two cities, while the elites are still in a foreign country. Desperate to survive, Xenophon must have felt envy and jealousy in his heart, but if he was asked to leave here and start a new career in the unfamiliar Magna Greece, he refused without hesitation.

Not because of pride, but as an Athenian, Xenophon had always believed that Athens was the center of the world.After experiencing the failure of the Peloponnesian War, the expedition of Cyrus the Younger, and following the Spartan expeditions in Asia, he saw the vast territory and political corruption of Persia, the weakness of the Greek city-states in Asia Minor, and Sparta. He had a vague idea: why the economically prosperous Athens and the militarily powerful Sparta could no longer join forces to lead the fragmented and conflicting Greek city-states to defeat the Greek city-states that had always been hostile to Greece. , Persia, which looks strong but is actually weak, will usher in a new era for the Greeks? !
For this ideal, he is willing to continue fighting in this strange land and work closely with the Spartans, whom he has long been interested in.Therefore, although he did not report Timasong and the others out of more than two years of comradeship, he also prevented more soldiers from leaving in time.He was also relieved to receive the news that Sparta's commander was about to change. He also did not think Tiburon was a qualified governor of Asia Minor, although he had been winning battles.

He recorded the events that took place in the past few days. When it came to Timasong and others leaving the military camp and heading to the Tua Alliance, he hesitated for a while and decided not to write it down. It was not out of confidentiality, but because he had always Adhering to one principle: the Eastern Mediterranean will be the focus of his future history writing, while the Western Mediterranean is far away from the center of civilization and does not deserve too much attention.

Then, he packed up the manuscript and decided to have a chat with Cleethorpes. He had some ideas and suggestions on how to manage these mercenaries and prevent the morale of the army from drifting.

........................

After building the Lahe Fortress (a fortress, it was a strengthened camp), Felicius left a company to guard it and led the remaining troops of the [-]rd and [-]th Brigades back to Thurii.

Davos met them outside the city and gave a passionate speech to the soldiers.Afterwards, the troops were disbanded and the soldiers were allowed to go home.Felicius came to Davos's mansion and told him in detail the process of capturing Niutum and Laos, as well as the general situation of Niutum now.

Davers listened carefully and asked: "Are the soldiers of the Second Battalion and the First Company of the Third Battalion any dissatisfaction with staying in Niutum and holding on for about ten days?"

"Not yet." Felicius replied: "Since your lord promulgated a new distribution plan for spoils, the remaining soldiers will get more. I think they are very happy."

Davos nodded and sighed: "Unlike Persia, we have soldiers supported by the state and dedicated to fighting, who can perform combat missions for many years. Five days is the limit for Alliance soldiers to send troops to fight. Beyond this time, We have to prepare food for the soldiers, and over time it will delay their farming and earning money. We cannot let the citizens who fought bloody battles for the Alliance become poorer and poorer, so the distribution of spoils this time is not just for this one time! I hope that after you go back, you will discuss with Melthis and formulate a long-term plan for distributing the loot. Three points should be given priority.

First, the families of soldiers who died in battle must be given preferential treatment; second, teams and soldiers who have outstanding performance and made military exploits must be given preferential treatment; third, teams and soldiers who have undertaken the most arduous combat missions must be given preferential treatment... Oh, and also, we will go on military expeditions in the future. It may also involve fighting together with allied armies, so when formulating a strategic goods distribution plan, this must also be taken into consideration, and a fair and equitable distribution must be achieved! "

　Thanks to book friend Long Teng Tian Xia 12 for the reward!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)