Chapter 42 - Nostalgia for the Ancient Capital

 When the several chiefs rushed to meet up with Davos in a hurry, when they saw the tragic scene in the canyon, they couldn't help but have their scalps tingling, and the way they looked at Davos, they couldn't help but have a little more awe in their eyes, just as Xenophon said, "... Davos... ...You ... are worthy of being ... Hades ... God's Favorite!"

 Davos was equally upset, and he kept reassuring himself in his mind that this was war! This is war!

 "What is to be done with these Persians?" He asked Kerisopus, suddenly a little softened by the sight of the soldiers collecting the weapons and armor of the descended soldiers.

 Hakri Sopes' reply was unusually cold: "When we're done collecting their weapons and armor, we'll cut off their hamstrings and tendons, all of them, stab their thighs, and put them back for Tissaphernes to get a headache.

 Davos was silent, and he certainly understood the intention of Hakrythopes in doing so: the mercenaries had no extra food, or extra men to watch over them, and with Tissaphernes having to spare men to look after the wounded Persians, the number of soldiers attacking them naturally diminished.

 "Davos, you have done well!" Grissops looked around and said, "I think the Persians will be scared out of their wits when they see the sight here!"

 As Davos led his troops out of the ravine, the soldiers along the way gave the blood-soaked men the greatest cheer, for they knew: it was the young chief who had led a handful of men to block the path of the vastly outnumbered Persians, and who had made it possible for the mercenaries to gain a perfect victory.

 Young Devers won the recognition of all the generals of the army by his practical actions.

 ...............

 It was in the afternoon that Tissaphernes' army arrived in the canyon.

 When Tissaphernes saw the misery in the canyon and the wounded soldiers lying about, struggling and wailing, he hurled his helmet to the ground in anger and then sent a small group of his own troops to deal with the aftermath, while the rest were forbidden to enter the canyon, but instead skirted around the peaks and took other roads.

 Arielus who followed Tissaphernes remained silent, he didn't see the body of Artaozus, but it must be among the uncountable piles of corpses. Within these three days, the two generals who competed with him for power were both killed in battle, but at this moment he did not have a trace of joy, instead he had a feeling that his lips were dead and his teeth were cold ...

 In this battle, the Persians lost more than three thousand dead and three thousand wounded, and none escaped; the casualties on the part of the Greek mercenaries were negligible.

 Perhaps, true to the words of Chrysopus, the Persians were so frightened that they did not reappear for several days at a time. It allowed the Greek mercenaries to plunder and march all the way to Larissa, a city beside the Tigris River, with relative ease.

 It was a large and magnificent city. The lower part of its wall was made of stone, while the upper part was made of earth bricks, and the wall was about thirty meters high and eight meters wide, with a circumference of about ten miles. Such a lofty wall made the Greek mercenaries completely uninterested in raiding it, and the city, compared to the cities they had previously encountered along the Tigris River, had few pedestrians, and most of the fields and villages outside the city were deserted, making it seem a bit desolate.

 "Larissa, which is said to have been formerly called Kara, was first a great city in Assyrian times, and was then taken by the Midi. The great King Cyrus the Great defeated the Midi, but was never able to take the city, and finally it was the sun god Mithra who obscured the light of the city of Kara with a dark cloud, making its day as dark as its night, and the inhabitants of Kara panicked and thought that the gods had forsaken them, and abandoned the city and fled, and it was only when King Cyrus the Great captured the city ... "Marigi said.

 Ever since Davos learned the importance of "knowing the terrain" for a general in charge of an army from Kerisopus, he has accompanied Marigold as his guide. Xenophon, as the adjutant of Hieronymus, was too busy to come to Davos and talk to him as easily as before. As a merchant, Marigold was not only familiar with the surrounding terrain, but also knew some anecdotes about the history of the two river valleys, which added a lot of fun to Davos's tense and tiring marching journey.

 "Hey, you have the Sun God in Persia, and we have Apollo, so who's better?" Martonius, who was in the escort, suddenly said.

 Marigi, who was at Davos' side, glanced backward and said disdainfully, "Mithra is the lord of nature, guaranteeing the abundance of grass and trees, the fertility of the land, and the peace and happiness of the people, and is thus worshipped by all things! It's not something that can be compared to a mere minor god!"

 "What did you say! How dare you insult Apollo!!!" Martonius angrily tried to go up to Marigold and punch him, but was held back by Xylos.

 Marigi ducked behind Davos in fear, but Davos snapped at him, "Martonis' question did not offend you, while you insulted the gods and goddesses we Greeks honor! If you do not apologize immediately, I will not stand in the way of their furious retaliation against you!" The superiority complex that this Persian wasn't bubbling up out of nowhere was giving him a bit of a headache, and it was time to teach him a lesson.

 Marigi turned around to see the angry fire in the eyes of the soldiers, and he knew that if it weren't for Davos, he would have been torn to pieces. As a merchant, it was in his nature to be versed in power, and he quickly bent his head and apologized sincerely, even giving himself a slap on the wrist.

 Seeing that Marigi was forgiven, Davos then asked the question he had been wondering before, "Why does the city look so deserted?"

 Marigi covered his reddened cheeks with one hand and said vaguely, "Because this place is populated mainly by Midi." He closed his mouth after saying that.

 Davos thought about it carefully and came to a realization, "The Persian royal court doesn't pay attention to this area because it was the core area of the former Midian and Assyria, fearing that they would rekindle the old fire and even adopt a policy of suppression, right?"

 Seeing Marigold looking at him in surprise and knowing that he had guessed the gist of it, Davos couldn't help but say with a bit of glee, "Let me guess again what methods have been used. Like regularly drawing people from here to join the army and fight in wars? Imposing higher taxes? ..."

 "Chief Davos, if you really are what you call some kind of God's Favorite, you are indeed completely different from your men who are all muscle and no brains!" Mariji looked up at Davos on his horse with a sigh of admiration, and because of the loss he had just suffered, he whispered, "If you were a Persian and an officer of Persia, you would probably be able to thrive as well!"

 With a smile, Davos said, "Persia, though a great power, is unfortunately not my favorite."

 "Because you're Greek?"

 Davos did not answer, he looked at Larissa, not far away, in a daze: was he a Greek? In addition to this body, his soul, his mind, so far from the bottom of his heart to consider himself a Chinese, Greek tradition and culture can not assimilate a twenty-first century people, and even played no effect on him, only the reality of the helpless and sincere comradeship, so that he identified with this group. Don't look at his usual mouth a "we Greek what what ..." that is to fool these Greeks, to boost morale, highlight his position as the leader, in a word - in order to survive! In a word - to survive! So if Persia was superior to Greece and offered him an olive branch, he would have no hesitation in defecting to it, but he couldn't see Persia because most of the Greek city-states had a political system that was more like that of a 21st century country, and even Athens was more democratic than the modern world, which is naturally congenial to the modern man who prizes freedom ...

 ............... ...

 The next day they marched to Mespora.

 "This is Nineveh, the former capital of the Assyrian kingdom. It is said that Medea, the wife of the last Midian king, used to take refuge in this city after we Persians captured the kingdom of the Midians. The great King Cyrus the Great led his army to lay siege to this city and failed to capture it for a long time as it was the last castle of the Midianites. It was only when Bachram, the god of armies, saw that the Persians had suffered too many deaths and injuries, that he sent a thunderbolt that shook the city, and it was conquered. ... Marigi continues to serve as a guide and "interpreter".

 "Oh, the Persian gods are so nice and help with the fighting." Matonis taunted from behind, and after yesterday's lesson, Marij ignored him.

 Davos looked out from his horse at the city, which was also located on the banks of the Tigris River. This former capital of the Assyrian Kingdom, the foundation of the city wall alone is about seventeen meters high, Kara is already considered to be a majestic city, but it seems to be only one-third of Nineveh, so you can imagine the military-based Assyrian Kingdom swept the western kingdoms of the country's strength and prosperity in those years! At this time the capital city is already deserted and dilapidated, the crazy weeds and countless thorn bushes on the city walls are swaying in the river wind, seemingly telling its current desolation.

 A sense of the vicissitudes of history floating to the heart, so that Divers naturally recalled the song "before not seen, after not seen, think of heaven and earth's long, only Cang however snot down" of the ancient famous line, he sighed: "Even the most powerful countries have to perish time ah!"

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