Chapter 172: The worries of Cheirisophus

Cheirisophus’ good mood continued until Thimbron’s adjutant came to him.

“What are you talking about?! All the soldiers had run away?!!!” Cheirisophus was so surprised that his first reaction was whether Thimbron played a trick.

“Not all of them, just those who had participated in the expedition of Cyrus the younger! After returning to Ephesus, the troops were stationed outside the city, because…because of the investigation of Thimbron, I have not visited the camp these days….” Said the adjutant carefully, “It wasn’t until you asked me to act as Thimbron’s replacement for the time being…that I then decided to gather the whole army for a lecture to prevent the soldiers from feeling uneasy about Thimbron being transferred. As a result, I found that there were more than 3,000 soldiers missing….”

‘More than 3,000 soldiers!’ Cheirisophus took a deep breath, ‘This is not a small amount! Once Dercylidas arrived at Ephesus and found that the number of troops he was going to lead was greatly reduced, then he would probably blame himself for not handling Thimbron well, leading to the fluctuation of the morale of the military.’

“Is it because Thimbron had connived at their plundering and was afraid of getting punished?” It’s no wonder that Cheirisophus had asked this, because he knew so much about the mercenaries that went on the expedition with Cyrus the Younger.

“No.” The adjutant’s reply relieved him a bit and made him curious.

“When I found out about this, I immediately blocked the camp and started an investigation. I quickly learned the truth from the mercenaries who had participated in the expedition with Cyrus the Younger.” The adjutant then showed a strange expression, “They had ran away because of a rumor!”

“Rumor?”

“Yes. Recently, there is a rumor circulating outside the city, it is said that ‘another group of mercenaries who had participated in the Persian expedition together with these mercenaries had gone to Magna Graecia, under the leadership of a leader named Davos. They defeated the barbarians there and established a union there called Thua Union, and had become the archon of the Union, and the mercenaries who had followed him had become the citizens of the city-state, and were given land. While the officers of the mercenary became…uhm…nobles, one after another, and had taken high positions….’ These simple-minded mercenaries thought that this was real. So many of them had wanted to go to Magna Graecia and share the benefits of their former comrades. But I heard them say that this man named Davos, had only split up with them for only less than half a year. How could he have done so many things? This is obviously a lie!” When the adjutant finished speaking, he saw Cheirisophus frowning and was deep in thought.

“Where did these rumors come from?” Cheirisophus asked seriously.

“It seems that it came from the port market in Ephesus, after they had gone to buy some goods.”

“Are the leaders of the mercenaries still there?” Cheirisophus once more asked.

“Besides Xenophon, the other leaders like Timasion, Xanticles, Cleanor…had all run away. Some soldiers had stayed because Xenophon had convinced them….”

“Send someone to the council of Ephesus and ask them to send a patrol to block the port immediately. You can also send some troops to help. If you find any deserters, then arrest them immediately and escort them back to the camp! At the same time, inform the neighboring cities with ports to take the same measures!” Cheirisophus made a quick decision.

“What to do with the mercenaries that have been captured?”

“In front of the whole army, set an example by having the officers and leaders-” Cheirisophus coldly made a gesture of beheading.

After seeing off the adjutant, Cheirisophus’ emotion fluctuated and could not be calmed. The escape of the mercenaries had started a few days ago, and only taking measure now is already a bit late. It seems that while sending Thimbron back to Sparta, he would need to also write a letter to the Gerousia to explain the situation here. Otherwise, when Dercylidas finds out and asks about this matter, he will be passive! ‘Ah…Xenophon should’ve known about this early, why did he not inform me?!’

Cheirisophus then thought about how Xenophon had a good relationship with many of the leaders during their expedition to Persia, especially Davos. He was able to persuade the soldiers to stay was already his consideration to Sparta.

Davos!…half a year later, hearing this familiar and also unfamiliar name again, made a clear image of the extremely young mercenary leader to appear in his mind. For Davos, he had always regretted that he had failed to keep him in Sparta.

He remembered that when he came back to Sparta to report on his previous experience, he met Anaxibius, the former commander of the navy, who had come back from his post. When he had asked him about Davos, Anaxibius asked back blankly, ‘Davos? who?’ He had wished that he could have slapped him on the spot, due to him forgetting all the things that he had repeatedly told him, and had let Sparta to miss this Greek military genius. Later, as he helped Thimbron settle Asia Minor, he had become busier, and so he had forgotten about him temporarily. Unexpectedly, he heard his name again. This unforgettable young man has already made a position in Magna Graecia?! If this is indeed true, then it is amazing! But it also shows that he did not misread the person at all! I just don’t know if he has anything to do with this desertion. I hope that it is not his instigation, else the Gerousia will definitely send someone to investigate it!

It is just that Davos has now taken root in Magna Graecia and he obviously won’t consider joining Sparta anymore. What a pity….

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

Xenophon actually knew more than what Cheirisophus had guessed. He even knew that Timasion went to the temple of Artemis in Ephesus to meet Agasias, and only after receiving his promise did he return to the camp and encourage the soldiers to go to Thua Union.

Xenophon had also received the invitation of Agasias. He was really surprised by the fact that Davos had become the archon for life of two city-states in Magna Graecia. He was also curious about how Davos achieved such a brilliant achievement in just half a year! Both of them are young men, one is a rural man from the edge of Greek civilization, while the other is an elite trained by Athens, the center of Greek culture. Now, the “rural man” had already mastered the supreme power of two city-states, but the elite was still fighting for survival in a foreign land. To say that he was envious and jealous, Xenophon must have it in his heart. But he refused to leave here just to start a new life in the unfamiliar Magna Graecia.

It wasn’t because of his self-esteem, but as an Athenian, Xenophon had always believed that Athens was the center of the world. After experiencing defeat in the Peloponnesian War, the expedition of Cyrus the Younger and the battle with Sparta in Asia Minor, seeing the vast territory and political corruption of Persia, the weakness of Greek city-states in Asia Minor and the military tyranny of the Spartans. Why couldn’t an economically prosperous Athens and a military powerful Sparta join hands to lead the divided and struggling Greek city-states to defeat Persia, which has always been hostile to Greece, and create a new era for the Greeks?!

For this ideal, he was willing to continue to fight in this unfamiliar land and cooperate closely with the Spartans who he had long been interested in. Therefore, although he did not report Timasion because of their relationship as comrades for more than two years, he had also prevented more soldiers from leaving. He was also relieved to learn that the Spartan commander was about to change, because he also thinks that Thimbron was not a qualified harmost of Asia Minor, even though he had kept winning battles.

He wrote down the events that happened in the past few days. But the event when Timasion and the others left the military camp and went to Thua Union, he hesitated for a moment, but he still decided not to write it down. It was not out of confidentiality, but he always adhered to his principle that the eastern Mediterranean is the focus of his work. And the western Mediterranean is far away from the center of civilization, so it is not worth much attention.

After that, he packed up his drafts and decided to go to Cheirisophus to have a good discussion. He had some ideas and suggestions on how to manage these mercenaries and prevent their morale from drifting.

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

After the construction of the fortress (The fortress is an enhanced version of a military camp), Philesius left a centuria to guard it and then led the rest of the third and seventh brigade back to Thurii.

Davos went to meet them outside the city and delivered a passionate speech to the soldiers. After that, the troops were disbanded, and the soldiers went home. On the other hand, Philesius came to the house of Davos and told him in detail the process of capturing Nerulum and Laos, as well as the general situation of Nerulum.

After listening carefully, Davos asked, “Do the soldiers of the first centuria of the second and third brigade have any dissatisfaction with staying in Nerulum for about ten days?”

“Not for the time being.” Replied Philesius, “Since you, Milord, have promulgated a new plan for the distribution of spoils, with having the soldiers that remained to get more. I think they are very happy.”

Davos nodded and sighed, “We are not like Persia that have their soldiers supported by their state and are especially responsible for fighting and can carry out combat tasks for a long time. Five days is the limit of our Union soldiers in a volunteer battle. If it exceeds this time, we will have to prepare food for the soldiers. Moreover, if the time is too long, it will delay their farming and earning money. And we can’t let the citizens who fought for our Union to get poorer and poorer. Therefore, the distribution of spoils is not only for this time! I hope that after you get back to work, you and Mersis can discuss a long-term plan for the distribution of spoils, with having three priorities.

First, the families of the soldiers who are killed in the war must be given preferential treatment. Second, the troops and soldiers who have made outstanding achievements in the war must be given preferential treatment. Third, the troops and soldiers who undertake the most arduous combat mission must be given preferential treatment….what is more, in future campaigns, we may also involve our allied forces for a joint operation. Therefore, this must be taken into consideration when formulating strategic distribution plans, and a fair and equitable distribution must be achieved!”