Home Categories world history The Long March

Chapter 38 Volume 5 Ⅵ

The Long March 色诺芬 3430Words 2018-03-21
And so the day ended.The next day the generals convened a general meeting of soldiers and decided to invite the Sinobo people to attend to study the future itinerary.Since they had to travel by land, the Sinobo seemed to be of use to them, since they were familiar with Pafragonia.By sea, they thought, the Sinobo were also needed, since only they could provide enough ships for the army.Then let the envoys come in, and set about conferring with them; and ask them to be as friendly and kind as they are to their own family, and give their best advice. Whereupon Heractonimus rose, first of all, to apologize and explain what he had said to be on good terms with the Paphragonians, saying that he did not mean that his own men should fight against the Greeks, but that , although they had the opportunity to make friends with foreigners, they still had to choose to make friends with the Greek army.But when they asked him to start giving advice, he began to pray to the gods, saying, "May the gods bless me if I give what I think is the best advice; otherwise, the opposite. For man says ' Consulting on the sacred'①, I sincerely should do it.

From now on, if you find that my suggestion is good, everyone will praise me; if it is not good, all of you will blame me.We now know that we shall have far more trouble if we go by sea, since the responsibility for providing the ships will fall upon us.If you go by land, you will inevitably have combat missions.But I will speak what I believe.I know the land and power of Pafragonia.Their country has these two things: the most beautiful plains and the tallest mountains.First, I knew right away where you had to come in—only from the roads with the high peaks on either side.Hold these mountains, and a small group of people can hold the pass; after holding it like this, few people in the world can pass.

All of this I could even point out, if you would send someone to me to see.Second, I know that they have vast fields and all the cavalry that the strangers themselves think are superior to the kings of Persia.Indeed, lately these Paphragonians were not even summoned by the king of Persia, because their ruler was too proud to obey. "To sum it up, if you can not only seize the mountains, but also sneak attack and meet the enemy, and And conquer its cavalry and more than 120,000 infantry on the plain, and you will reach the river.The first river was the Delmon, three platrons wide.I think this river is not easy to cross, especially when there are many enemies in front and behind.The second is the Iris River, also three Platrons wide.The third is the Harris River, no wider than two stadia, and you can't cross it without a boat--and who provides boats there?If you have to cross the Harris River and come to Mount Partinus, it is also difficult to get through.

"I therefore consider the journey to you not only difficult, but quite impossible. But by sea, you can follow the coast from here to Sinobo, and from Sinobo to Heraclea. By Herac There is no difficulty in traveling by land or water, because there are many ships in Heraclea." When he had thus spoken, some of the hearers suspected that he had spoken in favor of Corylas, since he was his official representative at Sinobo.Others thought he even suggested it on purpose to get a gift.Others suspected that the real purpose of his speech was to prevent the Greek army from going overland so as not to harm Sinobo territory.However, in any case, the Greek army decided to go by sea.Afterwards Xenophon said: "Mr. Sinopocho, our army has decided to take the route you suggest. But the thing is this: if there are enough ships so that there will be no one left, we will set sail; but it is my intention to let us Leaving some men behind while others set sail, we do not go aboard. For we know that where we have the upper hand we are safe and well-fed. But as soon as we are at a disadvantage to the enemy, it is obvious that we will Become a slave to the weak." Hearing this, the Sinobo asked them to send messengers.They sent Callimachus the Arcadian, Ariston the Athenian, and Samoras the Achaean.So these people set off.

At this time, Xenophon looked at the mighty group of Greek heavy armored infantry, and also at the large group of light soldiers, archers, stone hands and cavalry; Well, it is impossible here to raise such a large army at any small outlay of money.He thought it would be a good thing to build a city to add more territory and power to Greece.He calculated their own number and the people who lived in the various tribes around the Euxing Sea, and thought that it could become a big city.For this purpose, before speaking to any of the soldiers, he made an offering to the gods, and for this purpose called Silanus the Ambrasian, who had been the soothsayer of Cyrus.But Silanus was afraid that this plan would be realized and the army would settle in a certain place, so he spread the word to the army that Xenophon wanted them to settle so that he could build a city and win fame and power for himself.Silanus himself wished to reach Greece as soon as possible, because he brought safely the three thousand darics obtained from the prophecy of the ten days for the sacrifice of Cyrus.

When the soldiers heard this, some thought it best to settle down, but most of them thought otherwise.Timason the Dardanian and Thorax the Boeotian told some of the merchants of Heraclea and Sinope who were there that if they did not supply the army with silver in order to obtain the There is a danger that the army will detain Pontus when supplies are not available.They went on, "Because Xenophon wanted, and insisted, that as soon as the ships arrived we would suddenly say to the army, 'Brothers, now we see that you cannot get provisions for the voyage home, and There is no way to support your family when you return home. But if you will go ashore at any place you choose around the Euxian Sea—whoever goes back, whoever stays—these are your boats, and can be used anywhere Make a surprise attack on your favorite spot.'”

Hearing this statement, the merchant envoy took it back to the city.Simultaneously Timason the Dardanian sent Eurymachus the Dardanian and Torax the Boeotian the same news.When the Sinoboes and the Heracles heard of it, they sent to Timason, urged him, paid him, and took the pains to get the army to sail away. He readily agreed.When the soldiers assembled for a meeting, he said to them: "Brothers, you should not plan to stay here, but you should put Greece above all else. But I have heard that people made offerings to the gods without even telling you Now I promise, if you set sail from here, I will give each of you a Sezycus gold coin a month from the first of this month. I will take you to Troa, where I lived in exile. there will take care of you, for they will be glad to receive me. I myself will lead you to places of great wealth at that time. I am acquainted with Aeoles, Phrygia, Troas, and Farnabazus ②The whole province, partly because I come from that region, and partly because I have fought there with Clearcus and Del Surida."

Then Thorax the Boeotian rose to speak, and he and Xenophon were at odds over the leadership of the army.He said that once they got out of the Eukerian Sea, they would have a wonderful and prosperous land called Kersonis.Whoever wants to stay there can live there, and whoever doesn't want to stay can go home.He said that it is absurd to look for a large piece of fertile land in Greece instead of acquiring it in Poland.He went on to say, "I, like Timaju, promise to be well fed until I reach the place." He said these words with full knowledge of the promises made to Timazon by the Heracles and Sinobo to get the army to sail. wishes.Meanwhile Xenophon said nothing.

Then Felicius and Lycon the Achaean rose up, and said that Xenophon secretly had the people settled down, and made sacrifices to the gods for this plan, and that he said nothing openly, and that it was very unbearable.At this moment Xenophon was forced to stand up and speak.He said: "You know, brethren, that I offer my sacrifices to you and to myself, that I may speak, think, and practice what is best for you and me. Now this time I am only offering to ask for instructions. One point: Is it better to begin to explain and carry out this plan to you, or not to mention it at all. Now the diviner Silanus answers me on the main point that the omens are auspicious and beneficial (for he knows that I am not interested in the divination. ignorant, for I have always been present at the sacrifice). But he said that there seemed to be a conspiracy against me in the omens, evidently because he knew that he himself was plotting to slander me before you. He spread rumors, Said I was going to do these things right away without your consent.

Now, if I see that you have no choice, I should try to make a plan for you to own a city. It is stipulated that those who wish to go back immediately can sail back home, and those who do not want to go back immediately can wait until they have accumulated enough wealth to return to their families. Funded by.However, I see that since Hercules and Sinobo are actually going to send you ships to set sail, and people are promising to ship from this month, I think, be safely carried to where we are going. It is a good thing to have a place and get paid to live at the same time.I therefore renounce that one plan of my own, and let all who have come to me say that it should be carried out also renounce it.

"My opinion is: unite as you are now, keep your strength, and you will be respected and provided for; because if you have strength, you will have the opportunity to take everything from the weak. But if you are not united and your strength is scattered, you will not be able to receive living supplies. Nor can it be left safely. So I think, as you have done, that we should set sail for Greece. In case, indeed, any desertion is found before the whole army reaches safety, he should be tried as a culprit. Anyone who agrees with this opinion ,” he went on, “hands up, please.” They all went up. However, Sivinus began to cry out, trying to say that anyone who wanted to leave the army should just leave. But the soldiers did not allow him to speak, and threatened him that they would punish him if they found him fleeing.When the Heracles learned afterward that it had been voted to sail away, and that it was Xenophon himself who had put the question to the vote, they actually sent the ships.But about the money promised to Timasson and Torax, it turned out that they had been cheated.Therefore, the people who promised to pay were greatly surprised, and they became afraid of the army.So they led other generals who had passed the news about the previous actions-that is, all the generals who got rid of the Asinians Ong, Neon, acting as adjutant at that time for Cherisophus who had not yet returned—come to Xenophon, saying that they had changed their minds, and thought it best to sail to the Phasis River, because there were ships nearer, and to capture Facia people territory.The king of the Fasians happened to be the grandson of Aetes.Xenophon replied that he would not say a word about the plan to the army, "but," he continued, "you may gather the soldiers together and tell them yourself if you wish." The Asian man Timasong expressed his opinion, saying that they would not hold a general meeting, but let each general try to persuade his own captain first.So they quit and they started doing it.
Press "Left Key ←" to return to the previous chapter; Press "Right Key →" to enter the next chapter; Press "Space Bar" to scroll down.
Chapters
Chapters
Setting
Setting
Add
Return
Book