Chrysops's good mood was maintained until Tiblon's lieutenant came to him. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

"What do you say?! The soldiers all ran away?!! Christopus was taken aback, and his first reaction was to wonder if Tiblon was doing something wrong.

"Not all running, just the soldiers who participated in the expedition of Cyrus the Younger! When he returned to Ephesus, his troops were stationed outside the city, and Tiblon was ...... Because of the investigation, I haven't been to inspect the barracks for the past few days......" The adjutant said cautiously: "Until you asked me to temporarily act as Tiburon's position, Corithorpes, I decided to gather the whole army for a lecture to prevent the soldiers from feeling uneasy about Tiburon's transfer, only to find that there were more than 3,000 soldiers missing......"

More than 3,000 soldiers! Chrysops gasped: That's a lot of money! If Dekyridas arrives at Ephesus and finds that the number of troops he is about to lead has shrunk considerably, he will probably blame himself for not handling Tibroun's affairs properly, which will cause the morale of the army to fluctuate.

"It was because Tiblon connived at them to plunder, and was afraid of being punished, that he ran away?" It was no wonder that Chletopes asked, he knew too well the mercenaries who had joined the expedition of Cyrus the Younger.

"It's not." The adjutant's answer relieved him slightly, and made him curious.

"When I found out about this, I immediately sealed off the barracks and launched an investigation, quickly learning the truth from the mercenaries who had participated in the expedition of Cyrus." The adjutant showed a strange expression: "The reason why they ran away was because of a rumor!" ”

"Rumors?"

"Yes. Recently, a rumor has been circulating in and out of the city, 'that another group of mercenaries who had joined the Persian expedition with these mercenaries went to Great Greece under the leadership of a chief named Davers, defeated the barbarians there, and established a league called Tua, and he became the consul of the alliance, and the mercenaries who followed him became citizens of the city-state, and received a share of the land, and the officers became ...... Well...... The nobles have taken up high-ranking public offices in the city-state...... 'These simple-minded mercenaries actually think it is true, and many of them want to go to Greater Greece and share the benefits of their former teammates...... but I heard them say that this man named Davers has only left them for more than half a year, how can he do so many things, it is obviously a deceptive rumor! After the adjutant finished speaking, he saw that Christopus frowned and fell into deep thought.

"Where did these rumors come from?" He asked solemnly.

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

"Are the mercenary leaders of the expedition to Persia still there?" Chrysops asked again.

"In addition to Xenophon, the others are like Timason, Zantiparis, and Cleano...... They all ran. Some soldiers were able to stay, but they were persuaded by Xenophon......"

"Send to the council of Ephesus and ask them to send a patrol to block the port at once, and you will send troops to help, and if you find any deserters from the army, arrest them immediately and escort them back to the barracks! Also notify the nearby city-states with ports to do the same! Chrysops made a quick decision.

"What about the captured mercenaries?"

"In front of the whole army, take the lead officers and generals—" Chrysops made a gesture of beheading with a cold expression.

Sending off the adjutant, Chrysops's heart fluctuated, and he couldn't calm down for a long time: the mercenary's escape had already started a few days ago, and it was only now that measures were taken, it must be a little late, and it seemed that while sending Tiblom back to Sparta, he also needed to write a letter to the Council of Elders to take the initiative to explain the situation here, otherwise when Dekyridas found out and asked about it, he would be passive! Ay...... Xenophon should have known about this early on, why didn't he inform himself!

Chrysopus thought about it: Xenophon had a good relationship with many generals during his expedition to Persia, especially Davers, and he was able to take the initiative to persuade the soldiers to stay, which was already very much for the sake of Sparta.

Davers! …… Half a year later, hearing this familiar and somewhat unfamiliar name again, the clear image of the extremely young mercenary leader appeared in the mind of Chrysops. For Davers, he always regretted not being able to keep him in Sparta.

He still remembers: when he returned to Sparta to report his previous experience, he met the former Admiral Anaxis, who had returned from his post, and asked him about Davers, but Anaxius asked blankly, 'Who is Davers?' He hated to slap him twice on the spot, to forget all that he had told him so repeatedly, and to let Sparta pass by what he thought was a Greek military genius. Later, because he assisted Tiblon to settle in Asia Minor, he was busy with affairs, and he forgot about it for the time being, but he didn't expect to hear this name again, this young man who made him unforgettable had actually created a career in Great Greece?! If this is true, it is very surprising! But it just shows that he Christopus didn't look at the wrong person at the beginning! I just don't know if he has anything to do with this desertion, I hope it wasn't his incitement, because the Council of Spartan Elders will definitely send someone to investigate clearly!

It's just that Davers has already taken root in Greater Greece and obviously won't think about joining Sparta anymore, which is a pity......

………………………

Xenophon actually knew more than Chrysopus had guessed, and he even knew that Timason had gone to the temple of Artenes in Ephesus to meet Agacia and had received his promise to return to the barracks and encourage the soldiers to go to the Tua League.

Xenophon also received an invitation from Agacia, and he was indeed surprised that Davers had become a lifelong consul of two cities in Great Greece, and he was also curious about how Davers had achieved such a dazzling achievement in just over half a year! The same are young people, one is a countryman from the edge of Greek civilization, the other is the elite cultivated in Athens, the center of Greek culture, now the "countryman" has held the highest power in the two cities, and the elite is still desperate to survive in a foreign land, to say envy and jealousy, Xenophon must have it in his heart, but let him leave here and go to the strange big Greece to start a new business, he did not hesitate to refuse.

Not because of self-esteem, but as an Athenian, Xenophon had always thought that Athens was the center of the world. After the defeat of the Peloponnesian War, the expedition of Cyrus the Younger, and the conquest of Asia with the Spartans, seeing the vast territory and political corruption of Persia, the weakness of the Greek city-states in Asia Minor, and the military superiority of the Spartans, he had a vague idea: why could the economically prosperous Athens and the militarily powerful Sparta no longer join forces to lead the divided and divided Greek city-states to defeat the seemingly strong but in fact weak Persia, which had always been hostile to Greece. What about a new era for the Greeks?!

For the sake of this ideal, he was willing to continue his conquest in this strange land, working closely with the Spartans, whom he had long been interested in. Therefore, although he did not report to Timasong and them out of more than two years of comradeship, he also prevented more soldiers from leaving in time. He was also relieved to hear that the commander of Sparta was about to change, and he also did not consider Tiblon to be a worthy governor of Asia Minor, despite the fact that he had been winning battles.

He hesitated for a moment when he recorded the events of the past few days, when it came to the departure of Timasong and others from the barracks to the Tuafan Alliance, but he decided not to write it down, not out of secrecy, but because he had always adhered to the principle that the Eastern Mediterranean was the center of his future history, and that the Western Mediterranean, far from the center of civilization, did not deserve much attention.

Then, he packed up his manuscript and decided to talk to Curithorpes, where he had some ideas and suggestions on how to manage the mercenaries and prevent them from drifting.

……………………

After building the fortress of the La River (a fortified version of the camp), Phellisius left a company to defend it and led the rest of the 3rd and 7th Brigades back to Turiyi.

Davers greeted them outside the city and gave an impassioned address to the soldiers. After that, the troops were disbanded and the soldiers were sent home. Philicus went to Davers's mansion and told him in detail about the capture of Niutum and Laos, as well as the general situation of Niutum now.

Davers listened carefully and asked, "Are the soldiers of the first company of the second and third brigades dissatisfied with staying in Niutum for about ten days?" ”

"Not yet." Pherisius replied, "Since you have promulgated a new plan for the distribution of the spoils, I see that the soldiers who remain behind will get a little more, and I think they are very happy. ”

Davers nodded and sighed: "We are not like Persia, where there are soldiers who are paid by the state and are specially responsible for fighting wars, and they can carry out combat missions for many years. Five days is the limit of the Alliance's soldiers to send troops to fight, beyond this time, we have to prepare food for the soldiers, and the long time will also delay their farming and earning money, we can't let the citizens who fought for the Alliance's bloody battles become poorer and poorer, so this distribution of loot is not just to deal with this time! I hope that you will consult with Mersis when you return to work out a long-term plan for the distribution of the spoils, with three priorities in mind.

First, the families of soldiers who died in battle must be treated preferentially; Second, the teams and soldiers who have performed well and made meritorious contributions must be given preferential treatment; Third, the contingent and soldiers who undertake the most arduous combat tasks must be treated preferentially...... Oh, and also, future expeditions may also involve fighting with allied armies, so when formulating a plan for the distribution of strategic goods, this must also be taken into account, and the distribution must be fair and equitable! ”