Chapter 21 Volume Three II

When these people were selected, the generals held a meeting in the center of the camp, and decided to send out sentries to call soldiers for a meeting.As soon as the personnel arrived, Cherisophus, the Rasidimonian, first stood up and spoke as follows: "Brothers, we are in a very painful situation now; we have lost such generals, captains and soldiers, and our former allies Alireus and his men have also betrayed us. In this case, however, we must raise our spirits as much as we can, and fight bravely, never yielding, but, if possible, liberating ourselves by a glorious victory and never living The earth falls into the hands of the enemy. For then we shall suffer as much as we pray to God for the enemy."

At this moment Cliano the Orcomenian stood up and spoke: "Come, brethren, you have seen the king's infidelity and dishonesty; you have also seen the injustice of Tissaphernes. It is Tissapher Nice says: He is a neighbor of Greece and will do his best to save us.It was he who swore an oath to keep his word; and it was this Tisafonis who swore to deceive and arrest our general.And he didn't even respect Zeus, the host god, but used it as a means of bullying the generals during the banquet of entertaining Clearcus.Even Alireus, who we planned to make him king and exchanged an oath to promise not to betray each other, disregarded the power of the gods, and did not miss the honor of the late Cyrus who respected him, defected to Cyrus' sworn enemy, and Attempt to do harm to our friends of Tulushi.May these guys get the godly punishment they deserve.However, in view of their injustice, we must not be fooled by them again.We must fight like hell to meet whatever fate the gods throw our way. "

At this moment Xenophon stood up, dressed in neat military uniform, and his face was radiant, ready to fight.He thought that if the gods gave victory, it would be most proper to wear the best armor.If he is destined to die in battle, he believes that since he has fulfilled his noble and beautiful duties, he should also pretend to die in battle like this.He began his speech as follows: "Criano has just said about the injustice of these Persians, and I think everyone understands it. So, if we want to make peace with them, we must think of those of us who trust each other. What has happened to the generals, and therefore are very depressed and sad. But if we intend to rely on our force, not only to punish them for what they have done in the past, but to fight them irreconcilably from now on,—God God—we There is good hope of salvation."

While he was saying this, someone sneezed.When the soldiers heard the noise, they all panicked. Note Bow down and pay homage to God in the same way.Xenophon said, "Since Zeus, the savior, showed the sign when we were talking of deliverance, I propose that we take a vow that, once we have reached You, we shall pay thanksgiving to that god for our salvation, and add another vow, to do as much as we can. Sacrifice is also offered to other gods. Raise your hand if you agree with this suggestion. All present raised their hands. Then they swore their vows and sang hymns. After paying respects, Xenophon began to preach again:

"I said just now that our hope of deliverance is good, because, first of all, we have kept our oath to the gods, and the enemy has broken their oath and broken the truce. It should therefore be asserted that the gods stand against them On our side--and the gods are able, by their providence, to quickly weaken the strong and relieve the weak in extreme distress. Next, I remind you of the dangers our ancestors endured, Let you know that not only you should be true warriors, but under the protection of the gods, warriors can even be rescued from extremely terrible dangers. When the Persians and their servants made a big move to destroy Athens, the Athenians dared to fight and dared to fight. At that time, they made a vow to the goddess Artemis, and they would sacrifice a sheep to the goddess every time they killed an enemy, but they couldn't find enough and they decided to sacrifice five hundred sheep a year, and this sacrifice continues to this day. Also, when Zeres summoned that innumerable army against Greece, ours Our ancestors victorious over the ancestors of our enemies by land and sea6. As tokens of these victories we still see memorials of the trophies, but the strongest testimony is the state in which we were born and taught freedom. You never submit to anyone in the world, but only worship the gods. You are descended from such ancestors and grew up.

"I by no means mean to say that you have defiled your ancestors. In fact, not many days ago, you, under the blessing of the gods, set out against the descendants of the Persians who were many times your number, and won. Note, that is only For the throne of Cyrus you acted as warriors. Now that the struggle is for your own safety, it must be more courageous and more zealous. And now you must be more confident against the enemy. At that time you will not Familiar with them, you have seen them numbered in numbers, but bravely attacked them in the spirit of their ancestors. Now you have fought them, and found that although they are many times more numerous than you, they have no heart to fight you. Then what reason do you have to fear them?

"There is another level. Don't be discouraged because the Arireus gang who were with you in the past have now turned their backs on us. They are more cowardly than our defeated soldiers. They always run away and leave us to find their own countermeasures. Like Soldiers who are good at running away like this had better leave us and run to the enemy's side. "But if any of you are discouraged because we have no cavalry and the enemy has many, consider this. Ten thousand cavalry is but one soldier, for no man has ever been killed or kicked to death by a horse in battle, and in war Everything needs to be done by people. In addition, we are much more solid than the cavalry. They hang on their horses, not only afraid of us, but also afraid of falling; Strike with as much force as you can, and hit whoever you want with greater accuracy. Only a little cavalry is in your favor—it's easier to escape than us. But, perhaps, you have enough confidence in the war, and worry because there is no Theiss anymore. Furness's guides or markets supplied by the king. If so, I beg you to consider: should we have Tisafranis, who is obviously against us, be the guide,

Or should we let our own captives be our guides?The latter will know that their own lives and bodies are involved if anything is done wrong to us.As for supplies, should we buy them from the market provided by these Bo people—the quantity is small and the price is high, and we don’t have any money anymore—or should we use it ourselves when we win, and use as much as we want? "On these points, it can be said that you realize that our current situation is better. However, you will think that these rivers are difficult, and crossing them in the past was a big trick. Then please think about it, don't you This is a real stupid thing done by these Bo people. Because all rivers, even if they are not crossable in the middle and lower reaches, can be crossed without knees when you approach the source of the upstream river.

"Let's say that rivers have no crossings, and men have no guides; even so, let us not be discouraged. We know that the Mycians are no stronger than we are, and they occupy many prosperous and great cities in the kingdom of the king; we know that the Pysidians So also; and as for the Lyconians, we have even seen them take their fortresses in the plain, and reap the crops of the Bo people's land. So I personally think that you don't let it appear that you are starting home , but to act as if he intends to settle here. For I know that the king of the Mycians not only has to provide many guides, but also many hostages, to ensure their safe escort. In fact, he also has to repair them road, even if they were to set off in a four-horse chariot. I am sure he would be redoubled to do the same to us, if he saw that we were prepared to live here. My fear, however, is that if we once get used to idleness and luxury life, and association with these tall, slender, beautiful women and girls of the Medes and Persia, we shall be as happy as the Odyssey who devoured the kale. So I think we should First of all, try to go back to your relatives and friends in Greece, and point out to the Greeks that they are poor because they are willing, because they can bring here the people who are living in poverty in their hometown and see them live in prosperity.

"It is an obvious fact, gentlemen, that all these good things belong to the strong who can get them. I have another point to make, how we can march most safely, and, if war is to be fought, how best to fight it. First," continued Xenophon, "I think that all these vehicles should be burned, so as not to be at the mercy of these beasts, and we may choose whatever route is most convenient for the army.Next, we should also burn our tents, for these things are a burden to carry, and are of no use for fighting or getting supplies. We shall also discard other superfluous baggage, leaving only war or food necessities, so that as many soldiers as possible may be armed and as few as possible may carry the baggage.Because, you know, when a soldier loses a battle, everything they have becomes someone else's; when we win, we can use the enemy as a pack-carrier.

"I will say one more thing that I think is really important. You see, the enemy didn't have the guts to fight until they captured our generals, because they think that as long as we have a commander, the soldiers will obey and we will be able to fight." defeat them; and once we take away our command palace, they think that the dragons without leaders and discipline will destroy us. Therefore, our current commanders must be more vigilant than ever, and the vast number of privates must be more orderly and more organized than before. Obey. We have to pass a resolution: If anyone disobeys. Whoever of you who were there at the time, cooperate with the officers to punish him. Then the enemy will be disappointed, because they will now see more than one , but tens of thousands A Clearcus is not allowed to be a bad soldier.Now is not the time to talk, but the time to act, because perhaps the enemy will be approaching soon.Then, anyone who thinks these proposals are good should pass them quickly so that they can be implemented in action.But if there is any other method that is better than mine, anyone, even a private, is free to suggest it, because everyone's safety is what everyone needs. " Then said Chrysophus: "We may now think what else to do than what Xenophon proposed. But I think we had better vote as soon as possible on what he has proposed. Whoever agrees with these measures, please raise your hand." Everyone raised their hands. At this point Xenophon rose again and spoke: "Listen, gentlemen, I have further proposals. It is obvious that we must go to a place where we can be provided. Some good villages. It is not surprising that the enemy follows us when we retreat. As a cowardly dog ​​pursues a passerby, and bites him if he can; It may be safer for us to form a hollow phalanx with the heavy armor during the march, so that the baggage train and the accompanying personnel can have a safer place. If it is decided immediately who will lead the phalanx to guide the vanguard and who is where On the flank, whoever comes to the rear, then when the enemy comes to attack, we don't have to make impromptu plans, and the soldiers can immediately take their positions and prepare for action. If anyone has a better idea, we will do it; otherwise, I suggest that Chrisoph Stanley leads first, especially since he is a Rasidemonian; these two veterans take care of the wings; for the present, Timasson, the youngest, and I come to the rear. Let us first try this formation, and later We can adopt a better method at any time according to the situation. If anyone sees a better method, please suggest it.” No one expressed any objection, Xenophon said: “Anyone who agrees with these methods please raise your hand.” Resolution pass.He went on to say, "Now we must go back and put things into practice. Anyone who wants to see your friend again, remember to be a brave person, because only in this way can the goal be achieved. In addition, anyone who wants to save their lives whoever wants to be rich must strive to conquer, because the conqueror not only keeps what he has, but also receives what the conqueror has. .”