On this day, the Persia were not idle either.
After Altauzus' successful attack, he returned to the camp and proudly showed Alreus his victory. He suggested that if Alreus put all the cavalry and archers under his command, he would definitely defeat the Greeks in one fell swoop.
Alreus first congratulated him, then began to find reasons to brush Altauzus off. After all, Cyrus the Younger's army had been defeated in the previous battle with the king of Persia. After he regrouped, there were only about seven thousand soldiers left. If he did as Altauzus said, Alreus would only have about three thousand soldiers left. As the nominal commander of this army, how could he command the entire army when he did not have as many soldiers as he did? Moreover, a Persia army without archers would not be a Persia army. Therefore, the cautious and petty Alreus did not agree to this kind of gambling strategy.
Altauzus was furious when he saw that Alreus did not agree. He thought that Alreus was jealous of him and did not want him to succeed.
Therefore, in a fit of anger, he ran straight to Tisafnese's camp.
… …
"As long as you have enough cavalry and archers, you can defeat the Greeks?!" Tisafnese asked doubtfully.
"Sir Governor, because of Cyrus the Younger, I have been in contact with the Greek mercenaries many times and understand the situation of their army. Most of their soldiers are heavy infantry and are clumsy. As long as we do not engage them in close combat, they will not be able to exert any strength. They have very few archers and are no match for us at all. Therefore, I only brought four hundred cavalry and archers to attack them. We did not lose a single soldier and caused about five hundred casualties to the Greeks (this is obviously an exaggeration). If not for the fact that we ran out of arrows, the Greeks would have suffered even more casualties! " Altauzus said respectfully, "Therefore, I wanted to increase the number of cavalry and archers and increase the long-range attacks on the Greeks to increase their casualties. I hoped to defeat them as soon as possible and get rid of these Greek barbarians for my lord and the king!"
Then, he changed the topic. "But Alreus rejected my proposal, so I could only come to the governor!"
Disafniss did not answer directly. Instead, he said with a pained expression, "I am saddened and shocked by Mithradat's death!"
"At the same time, his death might give confidence to the Greeks who have lost their leader!" Tissavonis' expression turned serious. "I heard that the inspector of Sparta, Kerrisopes, has become the new leader of this army, right?"
"Yes, Lord Governor. That's what the fleeing Greek soldiers said, "Artazus said.
"We can't let him take over the Greek army and gain prestige!" Disafniss' voice was cold and firm. "We must keep attacking them, make them run for their lives, cry for their deaths, and howl for their hunger! Altauzus, since your method is so effective, continue to use this method to attack the Greeks! I'll give you two thousand archers and five hundred cavalry archers. In addition, Alreus — "
Disafniss turned to Thistle and said, "I'll have to trouble you to make a trip there. Since Alreus doesn't dare to fight the Greeks, hand over the soldiers to someone more capable! Otherwise, I don't mind discussing with him what he did during Cyrus the Younger's rebellion! "
Thistle smiled nonchalantly. "Don't be so angry, Lord Governor. I believe that Alreus is a wise man. "
"He better be!" A cold glint flashed in Disafniss' eyes.
"Thank you for your trust, Lord Governor. I'll bring you news of victory!" Artazus said excitedly.
"When you win, you will be my adjutant," Disafniss promised.
Seeing Artazus happily follow Thistle out of the tent, Orontas asked worriedly, "Can this Artazus really succeed?"
"Since he has already won a perfect victory, why can't he have a second one? If he can get rid of the Greeks in one go, I'm willing to bet on it! "Disafniss said firmly.
"I didn't expect Sparta's censor to be in this mercenary army! It seems that Cyrus the Younger's rebellion was supported by Sparta! " Orontas said angrily. As the son-in-law of King Artaxerxes, he was naturally wary of anyone who might be Cyrus the Younger's accomplice.
"The Greeks hate us. They have always hated us for decades. Back then, I opposed funding Sparta to fight against Athens. Unfortunately, His Majesty Darius was deceived by Cyrus the Younger. He removed me from my position and used Cyrus the Younger to support Sparta! "Disafniss said, still brooding." What happened in the end? Sparta supported Cyrus the Younger's rebellion in order to benefit from it! They should have let Sparta and Athens continue to fight instead of helping Sparta win. That's in Persia's interest! "
"You're right, Disafniss! Once this is over, I'll definitely suggest to the King to reconsider our relationship with Sparta. "
"Yes, that's why I want to get rid of these Greeks quickly. Altauzus will bring us good news. He definitely will! "
… …
At dusk, the leaders once again gathered in the main tent for the military conference.
"The stone-throwers have a catapult each. After a day of intensive training, they're adept at using it. They can now fight the enemy!" Cleano reported to everyone. As his troops were the rearguard, they suffered the most losses in yesterday's battle. Therefore, under his strong request, the newly built company was temporarily under his command.
Then, the Devers also reported, "The cavalry should have no problem fighting the enemy." Since most of the cavalry came from his barracks and he was in the flank, the cavalry was temporarily under his command.
The Devers's report was short and concise. After watching the cavalry's training for a day, he had a general understanding of the cavalry's attack methods in this era: charging, thrusting, throwing javelins, and shooting arrows. Since they didn't have stirrups, they didn't dare to run at full speed or fight with all their might. Otherwise, they would easily fall off their horses.
The newly built cavalry was only equipped with one weapon — a spear. Therefore, their best attack method was to chase after the fleeing enemy.
At this time, Cherisops said, "Everyone, today I took a guide out of the camp to scout the route and the surrounding terrain of tomorrow's march —"
"That's too dangerous! Right now, Persia's cavalry is wandering around our camp. If we run into them, we'll be in trouble! "Timason shouted.
"I'm prepared for that. At the same time, with the blessing of Zeus, I didn't run into the Persia." Cherisops nodded at Timason and expressed his gratitude for his concern. "Instead, I made an important discovery."
"What discovery?!" Cleano asked anxiously.
"I found a few tall mountains about four miles ahead. There's only one canyon that we can pass through. Otherwise, we'll have to take a long detour." Cherisops said as he gestured with a stick on the grass. "This canyon can accommodate about twenty people side by side."
"You mean … you're afraid that the Persia will attack us when we pass through the canyon!" Zantiparis asked worriedly.
"That's indeed a problem. But it can be solved. If we set off through the canyon before daybreak, the Persia will definitely not expect that, "Xenophon said, suddenly having an idea.
"That's a good idea! The Persia are afraid of the dark, especially their cavalry. They can't see clearly in the dark, and it's easy for them to fall off their horses. That's why when Cyrus the Younger was here and marched with the Persia, they always waited until daybreak before leaving the camp. The day before yesterday, Mithradat only caught up with us after daybreak. If it were the same tomorrow, we would have passed through the canyon long ago. " Cleano agreed, and the others followed suit. They then looked at Cherisops, who had the final say.
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