Race Against Time (II)

The Persians were originally prepared to defend against the attack of the mercenaries, but they gradually found out that the route of the mercenaries was the mountain beside them. They were immediately shocked and realized that they had made a mistake. Then they gathered their troops and rushed to the mountain beside them…

At this time, the army of Tissaphernes had approached the entrance of the mountain path, and the mercenaries were in formation near the entrance. The supply camp and the wounded were concentrated in the rear, and they were very close to the mountain occupied by the Persians. If the Persians were to release their arrows at full force on the mountain, they would be able to reach the edge of their formation. But at this moment, these Persians and Xenophon's troops were rushing from two directions to the top of the mountain…

…

"Raise the shield formation!"

"Get ready!"

"Archers, get ready!"

The leaders looked grave and loudly gave orders to their troops. In front of the mercenary formation, the Persians approached like a tide, and slowly spread out…

…

"Quick! Quick! Brothers, hold on, you are competing for your survival! At this moment, with more strength, we will be able to march more easily in the future and avoid many troublesome battles!" Xenophon led the troops to climb the mountain and cheered them on.

When they reached the mountainside, the soldiers clearly felt sore muscles, shortness of breath, and slow down, but when they saw the Persians on the side of the mountain doing the same thing, a sense of urgency made them not dare to relax.

Although the Persians are closer to the top of the mountain, the mountain road they are on is steep, unlike the mercenaries who are walking on the gentle slope of the mountain.

In the "mountain climbing competition" between the two armies, the Greeks were the last to laugh. They rushed to the top of the mountain and threw javelins and stones at the Persians who were climbing, regardless of fatigue.

The Persians turned around and fled, even abandoning their original position and ran all the way to the foot of the mountain…

…

Tissaphernes' long-range attack was still going on, and despite the increasing casualties of his troops, he still did not give the order to retreat, which made the mercenaries feel a lot of pressure. Just as they were struggling to hold on, the reconnaissance cavalry came to report that Xenophon had sent a message that they had occupied the mountain and driven away the Persians!

"Retreat!" Cheirisophus breathed a sigh of relief.

Therefore, the mercenaries began an orderly retreat…

The Persian army closed in step by step…

When all the mercenaries retreated into the mountain path, and the Persians who were still following entered the attack range of Xenophon's troops, they were hit by the rocks and javelins that were falling down from the top of the mountain, and only then did they blow the retreat horn…

…

After the mercenaries walked through the mountain path, they entered a plain. There were many villages here, and the mercenaries began to camp, treat the wounded, and replenish them in large numbers, because the guides all said that the mountainous region of Tuckeya is just ahead. For this reason, the leaders held an important meeting.

"We Greeks rebelled against Persia, and so did the Carduchians. According to the guides, the Persians had once sent about 100,000 troops to attack the Carduchians, but they returned in defeat. Since we have a grudge against Persia, then we should be able to get along with the Carduchians, and we will only take a passage to Armenia and will not violate the Carduchians in any way. As long as we send envoys to express our desire for peace to them, I believe that they will accept it!…" Xenophon spoke with assurance, and after this period of training, he became more confident.

"Get along with each other? Easy for you to say!" Timasion snorted. He was not used to Xenophon's flamboyance, whether it was Davos or Xenophon, who were both young and outstanding, and their sharpness had aroused the jealousy and dissatisfaction of some of the old mercenaries such as Cleanor and Timasion, "An army of more than ten thousand people entering their own territory, and they have defeated the Persian army many times, so how can the Duchesians not be nervous?! Won't they be afraid?! I don't believe it! Oh… you said that you are only passing through the Duchesne, but if you attack when you pass through the villages and settlements, then the price will be too great. Would the Duchesne dare to take this risk? You should know that the Duchesne are fierce and savage, and even the Persians who have a large territory and surround it are afraid, so how could they agree to our request from thousands of miles away?!"

As soon as Timasion finished speaking, Cleanor continued, "A few days ago, my soldiers captured several Persian slaves, and after asking around, they learned that the 'Carduchians' are just a term used by the Persians to address the mountain people who live in this mountainous area. In fact, there are many tribes and different races in the mountainous area of Duchya, and they often fight and kill each other for the interests of their tribes, and some tribes even have a death grudge. The problem now is that even if we can get the consent of one tribe, we may be attacked by another tribe as soon as we cross a few mountains. If we want a tribe and a tribe to negotiate, we will have to starve if it takes too long. You should know that the mountainous area of Duchya is a barren land with no food!"

"It seems that we can only force our way in!" Hieronymus, who rarely spoke, said with a strong tone, "After we enter Duchya, we will not take the initiative to invade others, but if anyone dares to invade us, then we will have to give them a good beating!"

"At that time, we don't even know who will be the one to show off!" Xanticles said helplessly, "Previously, the Persians occupying the mountain had caused us a lot of trouble, and that was only a few mountains! After entering the Duchya, there are only mountains, and most of us are hoplites and have a lot of supplies. It is difficult to march, let alone fight. The Duchians are familiar with the terrain, and climbing the mountains is their ability since childhood, and we can only rely on our guides. The mountain path is narrow, and I am afraid that our troops can only line up for a long time. The Duchians can come out from anywhere to attack us, but we can't do anything to them…" Xanticles' words made everyone fall into silence.

Xenophon took the opportunity to say, "So we still need to negotiate with the Duchesians?"

Everyone ignored him and looked at Cheirisophus.

Cheirisophus, however, looked at Davos who had been silent in the corner and asked, "Leader Davos, what do you think?"

Davos smiled and slowly said, "After listening to everyone's words just now, there are actually two opinions. The first is to negotiate with the Duchians, the advantage is safety, but the disadvantage is that it will take too much time, and the Duchians may not agree. The second is to force our way in, the advantage is that it will save time, and the disadvantage is that there will be a lot of casualties. So why don't we combine these two opinions into one solution?"

Become an idea? Everyone looked at each other, and Cheirisophus was also dumbfounded.

Philesius, who was next to them, saw their expression and secretly laughed in his heart. In fact, the officers of Davos' camp had discussed this matter last night. When Davos said his method, everyone was surprised by his peculiar idea and had to admit that the possibility of this method being realized was very high. Now that he was facing the leaders, he couldn't help but feel a sense of superiority.

Everyone asked in unison, "How?"

"Find a tribe and cooperate with them, and let them open a path for us!" Davos said something surprising.

Everyone was stunned.

Xenophon was the first to react, "Davos, you mean… to let the Duchians fight the Duchians?! Is that possible?"

"Benefits, as long as there are benefits, anything is possible!" said Davos with certainty.

…

During the three days when the mercenaries were camping, the Persian cavalry had appeared many times, attacking the single soldiers who had separated from the troops, taking away the livestock, and tried to set the village on fire.

After the leaders discussed it, they thought that Tissaphernes was doing his best to prevent the mercenaries from entering Duchya, even burning the territory and people of the Persian king. In order to prevent him from doing more insane things, the army could only enter Duchya in advance.

So on the morning of the fourth day, the mercenaries marched north.

Tissaphernes watched the long line of Greek mercenaries from afar, and gradually became shrouded in the shadow of the mountains…