ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 51 The Dukyans
Cherrithorpes and the others focused their attention on the man in the middle immediately: Compared with the burly men around him, he was a little thinner, but he wore a short-sleeved leather robe with brighter fur to make up for his weakness. Physical defects.In addition, he should have been wearing a tawny Persian robe underneath, covering the legs that the Dukyan mountain people liked to expose.

When his light brown, dazzling eyes locked on Kelisopus and the others, he raised his right hand and heard the old man of Dukeya shouting: "The great leader of the Dukeyaksokant tribe" The leader greets guests from far away!"

The mountain people hit the wooden shield with hatchets, and said in their mouths: "Oh lah lah..."

The high-pitched beast-like roar made Davos' eardrums uncomfortable.Because the old man spoke in Dukiya, several mercenary leaders were a little confused. Mariji immediately translated in a low voice to them, and soon they regained their composure. Even Davos curiously admired this primitive treatment. The way of guest.

With the consent of the leaders, Marigi also shouted loudly in Dukyan: "The Spartan prosecutor Chrysopus sends friendly greetings to the chief of Comoros!" As soon as he finished speaking, the fifty people behind him fell silent. The Spartan warriors roared together: "Hey! Ho!" Accompanied by the two roars were the uniform stabbings of spears and spears on the ground, the round shields opened and closed, and silence returned immediately.Compared with the noise of the opponent, the Spartan warrior is low-key and restrained, but it gives people an invisible pressure.

Kang Moluo's face changed slightly, and his eyes were fixed on the fifty tall and straight soldiers like pine trees. There was a big "∧" symbol in the center of the round shield held by each of them, and he muttered: "Spa Da..."

For hundreds of years, the prestige of Spartan warriors has spread throughout the Mediterranean, and even people in this remote mountainous area have heard of it.He raised his right hand, and the shouts of the mountain people gradually stopped: "Welcome! Please sit down!" He spoke Persian with a perfect accent.

As a Spartan censor and often dealing with Persia, Chrysops certainly understood, and he replied in Persian: "Please sit down, too!"

Negotiations officially begin...

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To Davers' and the others' surprise, the seemingly barbaric Dukians were quite shrewd in their negotiations, especially Comoros. Their request was simply to use the Greek mercenaries as coolies and thugs. The reason is quite sufficient, "If our tribe becomes an ally of the Greek mercenaries, it will offend the powerful Persia, and at the same time it will be isolated and excluded by other tribes of Dukiya. There must be enough benefits to make the warriors of the entire tribe Agree to sign the covenant. '

The ability of the Greek negotiators is also not weak: Chrysops can be sent by Sparta as a liaison with Cyrus the Younger, and his diplomatic ability is beyond doubt; Davos was the main person in charge of the city's high-tech development zone in his previous life I don’t know how many business negotiations he has participated in; plus Mariji is a businessman who is familiar with Dukeya.

Before coming, the mercenaries had already discussed the bottom line that they must adhere to: that is, the marching route of the Greek mercenaries must be determined by themselves and not be manipulated by outsiders.They deliberately showed that they did not attach much importance to the alliance. When the negotiations were at a stalemate, Crisiano said several times: It doesn't matter if the alliance fails, the soldiers can force their way in.

In this way, the leaders of the Kesuokant tribe felt a headache.After all, they are the first stumbling block in the way of mercenaries going to Armenia. There are obviously benefits to be gained, but they have to choose to fight, and they are the Greeks who have defeated Persia.Of course, they can also choose not to fight head-on, and the mercenaries can't do anything to them, but the cottage cannot be moved away, and the houses and supplies may not be saved. More importantly, this will damage Comoro's prestige. Increase the covetousness of the surrounding tribes towards the Xokant tribe.

After several confrontations, a covenant was finally reached:

Article [-]: The Greek mercenaries formed an alliance with the Xokant tribe of Dukia, and the two sides lived in friendship and did not invade each other;

Article [-]: The Greek mercenaries decide their own marching routes. The tribes near the route are attacked by the mercenaries and the Xokant tribe. The mercenaries receive [-]% of the materials and wealth obtained, and the Xokant tribe receives [-]%. , and the captured enemies will be handed over to the Xokant tribe. Without the consent of the Xokant tribe, mercenaries are not allowed to kill or loot indiscriminately;
Article [-]: During the battle, Chrysops and Comoros will coordinate the command. If any differences cannot be resolved, the battle will be cancelled. (This article was originally added by Chrysopus in fear that Comoro would adopt some tactics that would be unfavorable to the mercenaries for the benefit of the tribe, regardless of the lives of the mercenaries. In fact, this article was not implemented until the end , because Comoro was afraid that the mercenaries would cancel the attack plan after he had tasted the sweetness for the first time, so if the mercenaries had any objections, he would take the initiative to negotiate with Cherrithorpes.);

Article [-]: If the Xokant tribe has a special target that needs to be attacked and it is not near the mercenary march route, it can hire Greeks to attack it, but it needs to be discussed with the leaders and the consent of the mercenary soldiers is required (this article Mainly at the request of Comorro, while Chrysops, Davos
After deliberation, they thought that if the cooperation between the two parties went smoothly, as long as the target to be attacked was relatively close, mercenaries would be acceptable to hire. After all, since the death of Cyrus the Younger, the soldiers had no pay anymore. )...The covenant was put into effect that day and ended when the Greek mercenaries left Ducia. "

The last step in reaching a covenant is sacrifice.Chelithorpes had been prepared for this, and he ordered the slaughter of the three white lambs he had brought, and placed the fresh blood on the tree stump. The Xokonte tribe also slaughtered a deer.

Then both parties inserted wooden sticks around the stump and lit a fire. Then both parties read aloud the terms of the covenant written in Persian on two animal skins.There were no priests among the mercenaries, so Chrysops had to do it for them.On Dukiya's side, there was the strangely dressed wizard to perform the task.

When the sacrifice was completed and the two sides began to discuss the next step, a gust of mountain wind blew up the fallen leaves and blew out the torches around the tree stump. Everyone present changed their expressions.The Greeks, including the silent Spartan warriors, respectfully shouted the name of the god "Zeus", while the Dukians knelt down one after another to worship the mountain god they worshiped. Apparently everyone believed that the god had appeared and appeared. Approved this alliance.

As a result, the attitudes of both parties became much more positive.Comorro even sent one of his sons to serve as a guide among the mercenaries.

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After 20 days, the mercenaries left the Dukiya mountains and entered the plains.

In the past 20 days, the mercenaries cooperated with the Kesokante tribe to break through four mountain strongholds and defeat a joint attack by the Dukeya tribe. The casualties in the battle were not small, but a lot of supplies were seized. During the long march in the mountains, , supplies were maintained.The gains of the Xokant tribe were even greater. Except for the stubborn ones, most of the captured mountain people were forced to join the Xokant tribe.They don’t know how far the population of the Xokant tribe has expanded, but it is obvious that Comoros is satisfied. From the moment they parted, he sincerely gave a good white wolf skin to Kirithops. see.

One afternoon after several days of marching in the plains, the mercenaries discovered some villages.As a result, the mercenaries happily stopped advancing and began to drive away the villagers, plunder supplies, and camp in the village. They could finally have a good sleep without worrying about snake bites.

The next morning, the mercenaries marched to the Kentrite River, which is the junction river between Amelia and Dukja. The river surface is about 60 meters wide.

The troops followed the guide's guidance to the location of the pontoon bridge and found that the pontoon bridge had been burned.

The leaders looked at the burnt marks on the bridge piles on the shore, and their hearts sank: the Persians were nearby!
Chrysosops immediately asked his commander to order Ledes's cavalry team to investigate the surrounding area (after entering the mountainous area, the cavalry team lost a lot of horses, with only five or six intact horses left), and at the same time asked the soldiers to go down to the river to explore. Find out the depth of the water.

After receiving the order, several soldiers who were good at swimming took off their armor and walked into the river. By the time they reached the middle of the river with a few shaking steps, the water had reached their chests.

At this time, someone shouted: "Persians!"

There was an immediate commotion in the team.I saw a lot of Persian cavalry appearing on a hill on the opposite bank, and Persian infantry arrayed in battle formations appeared on the plain below the hill, raising dust and mist all over the sky, marching towards the river bank...

(End of this chapter)