Chapter 15 Volume Two II

So Phalinus and his companions set off to return.But the messengers of Ariereus arrived--only Procles and Cherisophus, for Menon stayed behind with Ariereus.They reported that Alireus thought that there were many Persians of higher rank than himself, and that they would not make him king. "But," continued the Messenger, "if you wish to go back with him, he tells you to come at once, during the night; otherwise, he says he will start tomorrow morning." "Well, that's all," said Clearcus. Bar: If we come, do as you have promised; if we don't, do as you think best. ’ But he never told them what he was going to do.

Afterwards, when the sun was already sinking in the west, he summoned the general and the captains together, and said: "Gentlemen, when I worship the gods, the omens are not conducive to attacking the king. It is very reasonable that the omens are not good. Now I find out that we Between the King and the Tigris is the Tigris, which is a navigable river, and we cannot cross it without a boat—and we have none. Also, it is impossible for us to stop here, because we have no supplies. But the signs foretell us It will be very advantageous to join the friends of Cyrus. So do this. Go, and eat whatever you have. Pack your bags as soon as the repose trumpet blows; Load up the luggage; follow the vanguard during the third call; keep the pack animals close to the side of the river, and the heavy armored soldiers outside." After hearing this, the generals and captains went to do as Clearkus said.Henceforth Clearcus issued orders and they obeyed them.It was not that they elected him, but that they saw that only he had the talents and wisdom that a general should have, while no one else had experience.

Then, after dark, Myrtosit the Thracian defected to the king with forty cavalry and about three hundred Thracian infantry.But Clearcus himself led the rest of the army in accordance with the previously issued plan, and all followed suit.They came to their first stop, and there they joined Arireus and his army about midnight.At that time, the general and the captains held a meeting with Alireus while they were fully armed and maintaining their lineup.The two parties—the Greek officer and Arireus and his high-ranking retinue—sworn to the gods that they would not betray each other and formed allies.At the same time, the Polish army made another guarantee, faithfully leading the way and never cheating.Solemnly and solemnly, they sacrificed an ox, a pig, and a sheep on the shield; the Greek army used a sword, and the Polish army took a spear, and made an oath of alliance dipped in blood.After making his oath, Clearcus said:

"Arireus, since we are on the same road now, please tell us what route you intend to take - shall we return the same way we came, or do you think there is another better route?" Arireus replied: "If we go back the way we came, we'll all starve to death, because we don't have any supplies now. Even on our way here, we haven't been able to get anything from the local area during the last seventeen stops. Some things we're marching too It was completely exhausted in the midst of it. So now we intend to take another route. This one is certainly longer, but we can have enough supplies. The first few stages of our march must be as long as possible, so that we can get ourselves away from the king. There is a distance of two or three days. He will not be able to overtake us then, because with a small army he will not dare to pursue us, and with a large force he will not be able to march quickly; and he will probably be short of supplies." He said. Say, "That's just my personal opinion."

The plan of the march was almost a plan for a sneaky or swift escape, but luck arranged it better.At daybreak they set out on the road, keeping their right hand side by the sun, and counting their arrival at the village of Babylon at sunset—it would be all right.But still in the afternoon they thought they saw enemy cavalry.At this time, some Greek soldiers who left the ranks quickly rushed to the ranks.Arireus alighted from his chariot because he was wounded, and put on his breastplate; and his attendants did likewise.But while they were arming themselves, the spies sent ahead came back to report that it was not horsemen, but pack animals grazing.Instantly everyone realized that the king was stationed somewhere nearby—indeed, smoke was seen in a village not far away.

Clearcus did not advance towards the enemy, for he knew that his ranks were weary and short of provisions, and that it was getting late; but he was unwilling to turn aside, for he would try to avoid appearing to be fleeing. He led the procession ahead, and at dusk he camped with the vanguard on the nearest village. These villages were looted even their houses and timber by the king's army.These vanguard troops are encamped and arranged In the formation, the soldiers behind had to try their best to camp when they came forward in the dark.They greeted each other so loudly that the enemy heard them.As a result, the nearest enemy abandoned his camp and fled.When I saw it the next day, it was clear at a glance, because I couldn't even see a pack horse.There are neither camps nor smoke in the vicinity.Even the king seemed frightened by the approach of the army.His behavior the next day illustrates this point.But when the night fell, the Greek army also felt a little frightened, a little chaotic and noisy, just like what often happens when an army is frightened.Clearkus immediately assigned the best herald, Tormid of Elis, who was guarding Clearkus as a herald herald at the time. After ordering silence, he announced his notice: "Communication of the headquarters, Whoever reports that the donkey has been released to disturb the armament will be rewarded with a tuft of silver." When this was announced, the soldiers felt that their fears were unfounded and that their commander was safe and sound.At daybreak Clearkus ordered the Greeks to arm themselves and form formations, as they had at the beginning of the war.