Chapter 10 Volume 1 VII

Cyrus passed through Babylon from here, and marched three stations and twelve parasangs.At the third station, Cyrus conducted a review of the Greek and Polish armies on the plain at about midnight, because it was estimated that the king would lead his army to fight in the early morning of the next day.He ordered Clearcus to be commander of the right flank, Menon the left, and himself to lead his own troops.On the morning after the review, at dawn, some defectors from the king came, and they brought Cyrus a report on the condition of his army. At this time, Cyrus summoned the Greek generals and captains together, and not only discussed with them how to fight this battle, but he himself persuaded and encouraged them, saying: "Greek soldiers, I brought you here." Fight for me, not because I don't have enough Persians, but because I believe you are braver and stronger than many Persians, so I bring you too. Be sure you are worthy of your freedom, I congratulate you on this freedom. You can be sure that I will choose freedom, which is a hundred times better than all I have. Now I want to let you know what kind of battle you are going to fight. Our The enemy is many, they will come with a roar, but that is all. However, if you persevere and never waver, I am ashamed to tell you what wretches you will find the people of our country .If you do your job well and if my business succeeds, I will make any of you who want to go home home and be the envy of your friends back home. At the same time, I think I will make many of you choose to stay in the first place Live with me instead of choosing to go home in the first place.”rdquo;

At this time, one of Cyrus' confidant, Golet, the exile from Samos, said: "But, Cyrus, it is said that your promise is important now, because you are at a critical moment-because you are in danger-and Once you have good fortune, you will forget it completely. And it is said that even if you do not forget, and you intend to do it, you will fail to keep all your promises." Hearing this, Cyru The scholar said, "Ah, gentlemen, my father's kingdom is vast, from the uninhabitable tropics in the south to the uninhabitable cold zone in the north. Between these poles my brother's friends rule in provinces. If we win, We will arrange our men to supervise these provinces. Therefore, after success, I am afraid that I will not have enough to give friends, but I am afraid that there will not be enough friends to share. As for you Greek soldiers, I will give you an extra A set of golden wreaths." After hearing this, the officers were even more satisfied, and brought the job to the other Greeks.At this time some soldiers were also coming to Cyrus, to know what they would get in victory.

Cyrus satisfied everyone's hopes before they dispersed.At this time, all who spoke to him urged him to stay in the rear and not to take part in the battle himself.Clearchus took the opportunity to ask Cyrus the following question: "Cyrus, do you think your brother will fight with you?" Cyrus said, "He will, by heaven. If he is a real king The son of Reus and Palisades, my own brother, I cannot win this kingdom without fighting." At this time, when the troops were assembled and ready for order, the Greek army was counted as 10,400 heavy armored infantry and 2,500 light shields, while the Polish army under Cyrus was 100,000 and had about 20 vehicles. Hob chariot.The enemy was reported to number 1,200,000 and 200 hob chariots, and a brigade of 6,000 cavalry, commanded by Artaxes himself, stood before the king.There are four generals in the king's army, each commanding 300,000 troops.They were Abrocomas, Tisafnes, Gobrias, and Abathes.But of these forces only 900,000 and 150 hob chariots took part in the battle, because Abrocomas arrived five days late from Phoenicia and was unable to engage.These are the news brought by those who defected from the king before the war, and the reports made by the prisoners of war after the war are the same.

From here Cyrus advanced one more station, three parasangs, and led all the Greek and Polish armies into battle formation, because he estimated that the king would come to fight on that day.In the middle of this day's journey, there is a deep trench, five feet wide and three feet deep.This trench extends across the plain twelve parasangs ahead, and reaches the Great Wall of Medes.Along the Euphrates there is a narrow channel between the moats, not more than twenty feet wide.This trench was built by the king as a fortification when he learned that Cyrus was attacking him.Cyrus and his army marched through this passage, therefore, inside a ditch.The king did not come to fight that day, but he saw traces of a large number of troops retreating.At this time Cyrus summoned Silanus, his Ambrasian seer, and gave him three thousand darics.Because on the eleventh day before, he told King Cyrus that he would not fight within ten days, and Cyrus said: "If he does not fight within ten days, then he will not fight at all; If your prophecy is true then, I promise you ten talents." Now that the ten days had passed, he paid him the money.

Since the king did not appear in the trenches to prevent the passage of Cyrus' army, Cyrus and others concluded that he had given up fighting.Therefore, Cyrus acted carelessly the next day.Marching on the third day, he sat in a chariot, and only brought a small group of people and horses in front of him, while most of the troops marched in disorder, and many soldiers' weapons and equipment were carried by chariots and pack horses.