Negotiation Failure

When they were about to reach the Persian cavalry, Philesius told Davos that the Persians in front were Ariaeus, Artaozus, and Mithridates, the three of them were the most trusted subordinates of Cyrus the Younger. The other Persian in the middle was someone Davos knew, it was Sist, the previous Persian envoy.

The officers stopped about 20 meters away from the Persian cavalry.

"Come closer!" Ariaeus pointed to his horse.

The officers did not move.

Sist couldn't help but say sarcastically, "Are all Greeks so timid?"

"Because the Persians have broken their promise time again so that we no longer dare to trust the Persians!" Xenophon retorted.

"Yes, the Persians are all shameless villains, even gods can be deceived!" Cleanor scolded angrily, and his words resonated with the other officers, which made them curse.

"Please keep quiet! Listen carefully to the king's orders!!" Ariaeus shouted.

"That is your king, not ours. If you want to say it, then say it. If not, then we will go back!" Davos also shouted.

"We Greeks are free, unlike the Persians who are slaves to your king!" Timasion roared with pride and ridicule.

Ariaeus was so angry that his nose was crooked. He turned his head to look at Sist, and Sist nodded at him, then he helplessly unfolded the papyrus in his hand and read it aloud, "Greeks, I, Artaxerxes, the Persian king, the king of all races, have announced that Clearchus has violated the oath of alliance and destroyed the truce, and the gods have punished him. Proxenus, Meno, Archiles, and Socrates, the four leaders, because of his conspiracy, are being treated with great respect by my governor, Tissaphernes! To prevent such a terrible betrayal on the way, and also for safety -" Ariaeus measured it loudly and solemnly said, "Ask all the Greek soldiers to hand over your weapons, because the money to buy these weapons came from Cyrus the Younger, and his money came from the treasury of Persia, which should have belonged to me! I swear to the gods that I will return the weapons!"

"Hahaha!!…" Davos laughed, "The wolves tricked the deer into becoming friends and then ate them. The wolves who have tasted the benefits want to trick all the deer into breaking their horns so that the wolves can enjoy their meat without worry! Hahaha… how stupid must they be to fall into such a trap again, or is your king's head broken?!!"

"How dare you!!" Ariaeus angrily pointed at Davos, "If you insult the king, you will be burned!"

"Enough, Ariaeus, you shameless villain! And the closest comrades of Cyrus the Younger, don't you feel ashamed in front of the gods!" Cleanor pointed at Ariaeus, Artaozus, and Mithridates and angrily said, "You have sworn to the gods together with us to become allies and resist the Persian king, but now you have betrayed us and cooperated with that inhumane villain, Tissaphernes. Not only did you deceive Clearchus and the others, but you also tried to betray us! Even if Cyrus the Younger is in hell, he will curse you once he knows what you have done!"

Ariaeus shrank his neck unnaturally and subconsciously looked at Sist, who was next to him. Sist looked as if he had nothing to do with me, which made him have to say again, "The king wants to send you home safely, because the rebel, Cyrus the Younger, has already received the fairest punishment, and you have only been deceived by him! The king is merciful and doesn't want the land of Persia to suffer unnecessary war again! However, after the report of Proxenus, Clearchus began to plot against Lord Tissaphernes and the Persian army more than ten days ago and spread rumors everywhere in an attempt to alienate the relationship between the Greeks and Persians, so we had to take action against him!"

"Since you said that Proxenus and the others have exposed Clearchus and have received your reward, then please let them come here. In this way, we can naturally resolve the suspicion between us, and as the leader, they can also make better suggestions for the reconciliation between us!" Xenophon was still trying to rescue Proxenus.

"That's right, let our leader come here, and we will believe you!!" The officers shouted.

"Uh… Proxenus and the others have accepted Lord Tissaphernes' invitation… they are already drunk… so…" Ariaeus stammered, and Sist was getting impatient, so he said loudly, "The king has ordered us to hand over your weapons immediately to ensure that you can go home safely. Otherwise, we will no longer provide you with any help!"

"Ares, the Greek warriors will never abandon their weapons and allow themselves to be slaughtered!!" Timasion shouted as he hit the bronze shield with his spear.

"Whoever wants to take our weapons, we will fight them!" Cleanor shouted angrily.

"Proxenus and the others couldn't come, not because they were drunk, but because they were killed by you, right?!" Xenophon also said with grief and indignation. He had made the result so serious because he wanted to force Ariaeus to tell the truth, but he didn't expect that it had aroused the anger of the officers.

"The Persians want to kill us all!"

"Revenge for the leaders!"

…

The infuriated officers gathered around Ariaeus and the others. Seeing that the situation was not good, Sist turned his horse and ran, and then Ariaeus and the others ran back. After running for a while, Sist looked back and saw that he had pulled away from the Greeks, and remembered that he was a Persian aristocrat and a relative of the royal family, but he was scared away by a group of Greek barbarians. He was embarrassed and angry, so he shouted, "Greeks, you have missed the best opportunity, and soon you will regret it!!"

"At that time, I don't know who will regret it!" Xenophon answered firmly.

Watching the Persian cavalry leave, everyone was worried. They were sure that the fate of several mercenary leaders would not be good, and the Persians had already fallen out with them, so what should they do now?

Surrender to the Persians? Even Cyrus the Younger, the brother of the Persian king, had his head and hands cruelly cut off. Most of the officers don't think that their outcome will be any better after surrendering! They will either be killed or become slaves. The officers can't accept this choice, nor can they accept it.

In addition, they can only choose to fight the Persians again in this unfamiliar land! Now, under the leadership of the Persians, they are walking on a marching route that they have never taken before, thousands of miles away from their hometown. Without the help of the Persians, they can only feel their way forward, they don't know how many races and villages are hostile to them, and they also have to guard against the attack of the Persian army. The most distressing thing is that the Persians can't defeat them in a head-on battle, but they can't catch up with the Persians, and once they fail, they may be annihilated. Because of these difficulties, everyone is depressed and doesn't know what to do. When they leave the camp, the soldiers are still energetic, and when they return to the camp, they all sigh and look worried.

When they returned to the camp, when the officers in charge of each camp gathered again, Davos naturally followed Philesius and participated in the discussion. Of course, as a newcomer, he seldom spoke and was mostly observing these officers. In the fierce debate, they are more likely to expose their personality: the bad-tempered Timasion, the shrewd Cleanor, the cautious Xanticles, and Agasias, who has a good relationship with the other officers…

Xenophon was much more active. Not only did he argue fiercely with others many times, but he also excitedly said loudly, "Everyone, Clearchus, and the others have been captured by the Persians. We must immediately elect a new leader from each camp to replace them, and then hold a general assembly to re-establish the determination of the soldiers to fight the Persians and the confidence that we must rely on ourselves to go home. Otherwise, if we allow this chaos to continue, we will all be finished before the Persians attack!"

Davos thought that Xenophon was right. Although he had just entered the military, in his previous life, he had been a village officer and a supervisor of a high-tech development zone. The number of people he had managed far exceeded the more than 10,000 soldiers, so he knew the importance of unifying his thoughts and boosting his confidence in a group.

Timasion seemed to be a bit disgusted by Xenophon's arrogance and did not even look at Xenophon. He then turned to the others and said, "Don't worry, Cheirisophus will be back soon!"