Chapter 24 Volume III V

At this time, the Polish army turned and fled alone, while the Greek army occupied the top of the mountain.The procession of Tisaphornes and Arireus turned the other way and disappeared.Cherisophus marched into the plain with his army, and proceeded to camp in a well-stocked village.There are many other villages on the plain on both sides of the Tigris River, which are also rich in supplies.When it was getting late, the enemy suddenly appeared on the plain and killed several Greek soldiers who were scattered and looting.In fact, many herds had been taken captive on the way to the other side of the river.At this time Tisafonis and his companions attempted to set fire to the village; and some of the Greeks were in great dismay, fearing that if the enemy's attempt succeeded, they would have nowhere to get supplies.At this time, Cherisophus and the soldiers who had gone to rescue the robbers happened to return.Xenophon was already coming down from the top of the mountain, and when he was riding along the procession, he met the rescued Greek army team and said: "Greek brothers, do you see it? They have already recognized this area as ours. Because when they made the treaty they The king's lands are forbidden to be set on fire; and now they themselves are burning everything, as if the country were abandoned. At any rate, if they have stock anywhere for their own use, they'll see us go there too. But Well, Cherisophus, I think we should rush forward to these arsonists as defenders of our own homeland." Cherisophus said, "Well, I don't think so, rather we should do it ourselves. Burn it, and they'll stop quicker."

When they arrived at the camp, the team was busy getting supplies, and the general and the captains were having a meeting. The mood here is extremely low, because they have a very high mountain on one side and a river with no guns on the other.When I was worrying, a Rhodes man came to me and said: "Everyone, I am going to help you cross the river. Four thousand heavy armored soldiers at a time. If you provide me with what I need and pay me a hu remuneration." When asked what he needed, he replied: "I will need two thousand animal skins. I have seen a lot of sheep, goats, livestock, and donkeys; take their skins and blow them, and they will easily become tools for crossing the river." I will also have the girths of your pack animals, with which the hides are fastened together, and the stones attached to the straps, which sink like anchors in the water, to anchor the hides. Then I will put the train of hides Lay them across the river, fasten them at both ends, and pile them with grass and earth. You can rest assured that you will not sink in a while, because each skin can float two people, and the grass and earth will prevent slipping. Fall." After hearing this, the generals thought that this idea was good, but it was difficult to implement.A body of cavalry would at first prevent the advance men from carrying out any part of the plan, for there were obstructions on the other side of the river.

In this case, after burning the immediate village, they marched in the opposite direction all day the next day, returning to the village that was not burned.As a result, the enemy not only did not attack, but just stared at the Greek army, as if wondering where they were going to turn and what their plans were.At the end of the day, others in the army looked for supplies, and the generals had another meeting.At the meeting, they gathered the captured prisoners together and asked about the situation in each area around them.The captives said that the road to the south led to Babylon and Media, the province they had just passed through; the road to the east led to Susa and Ecbatana, where the king was said to spend his summers; To the west of the river is the road to Lydia and Ionia; to the north through the mountains is the road to the land of the Cadukians.It is said that these Kadukyas lived on the hills, were warlike, and were not subject to the king.At one point the king sent an army of 120,000 against them, but because of the ruggedness of the country, none of them survived.But whenever they made a treaty with the governor of the plain, some of the people of the plain had intercourse with them.

After hearing the statements of these men who professed to know the ways of all sides, the generals ordered them to retreat without revealing in the slightest which way they intended to march.But the opinion of these generals was that it was necessary to go through the mountains to the Kadukya land, because the captives said that after passing this land they would reach Armenia.Aurontas was governor of this vast and prosperous province, and it was said that from there it was easy to go in any direction.So the generals sacrificed to the gods, so that they could start marching at the best time ①-because they were afraid that the pass in the mountain would be occupied in advance.They issued an order, and the team had to pack up their belongings and go to rest after eating, and the whole team set off immediately after the order was issued.