The guards at the camp gate recognized Davos and Antonios and immediately let them through, blocking Heilos and the others behind them. Davos had no time to pay attention to their shouts as he followed Antonios, running straight north. After quite a distance, he spotted a group of people ahead.
Clearchus was at that moment walking and talking with Sistes, the younger brother of the Persian queen who had come to greet him. Suddenly, they heard shouts from behind: “Stop! Stop! This is a conspiracy! A Persian conspiracy!!…”
The five leaders, over a dozen company commanders, and the two hundred soldiers escorting them—who were also planning to go to the market for supplies—were all startled and immediately stopped, turning back to look.
Davos rushed up to them, gasping for breath, and shouted loudly as he faced their myriad of suspicious stares: “This is a conspiracy!… Tissaphernes intends… intends to trap you all in one net! Without our leaders, we’ll fall into chaos and the whole army will be destroyed!”
Several of the leaders instinctively looked at the Persian messenger Sistes.
Sistes pointed angrily at Davos and roared, “Who is he?! To say such a thing! You were the ones who requested the meeting. Tissaphernes responded to Clearchus’s demand and even entertained him warmly. And now this is how you repay the Persian commander Tissaphernes?! This not only insults him! It insults our Great King!! You go back! I will report this to Tissaphernes and advise him to inform His Majesty, to suggest that His Majesty cancel the agreement with you Greeks!”
The leaders hurriedly stopped his horse, offering repeated apologies.
Davos had not expected that this meeting was requested by Clearchus himself, but he ignored that and said urgently, “Even if there is to be a meeting, not all leaders and officers should go into the Persian camp! Haven’t we always remained on guard against the Persians? Who knows if Tissaphernes’s friendliness over these past days hasn’t been to lull us into carelessness? Have you forgotten his previous acts of treachery?!”
As soon as Davos finished speaking, Menon jumped out and cursed him, venting his pent-up frustration of the past days: “Brazen scoundrel! Shameless liar! Not only do you deceive soldiers in the camp and incite them against me, now you also want to destroy the peace we have with the Persians! Do you want to make sure none of us ever gets home?! Men! Arrest him!!”
But no soldier obeyed his order. First, he had brought only two company commanders and no other attendants. Second, some of the soldiers recognized Davos as the “God-Touched One” from the rumors in Menon’s camp and were muttering among themselves.
Initially, the leaders were somewhat hesitant after hearing Davos’s words, but Menon’s harsh denunciation immediately turned them against Davos. Although Menon’s character was poor, they had worked with him for a long time and knew he was not without ability. An ordinary soldier daring to rebel against his commander was something the leaders could not tolerate.
Clearchus’s thinking was different. He oddly believed that Menon had hired a soldier to put on a show here in order to sabotage this meeting. Because there was another purpose to this meeting: Tissaphernes had promised to point out publicly who was secretly communicating with the Persian army and spreading rumors among the mercenaries.
Clearchus had long suspected it was Menon. From the very start of the march into Persia, Menon had openly competed with him for command of the Greek mercenaries. And now Menon had been staying with Ariaeus, who was already close with Tissaphernes, and had repeatedly met privately with Socrates and Achilles for secret talks—definitely to oppose him. This time, Clearchus was determined to expose Menon’s scheming in public and thereby consolidate his own command. Because he firmly believed that only he had the ability to lead the army back to Greece intact. That was why, despite hating the Persians, he had humiliated himself to negotiate peace with them—and he loathed anyone who harmed the unity of the force.
So he immediately went along with the flow and said, “Since Menon has put it that way, take this clown away, lock him up in the camp, and interrogate him after we return!”
He looked around and declared decisively, “I am going to negotiate with Tissaphernes now! Those who trust me, come with me. Those who don’t, go back!” With that, several soldiers wrestled Davos to the ground. Antonios stepped forward to stop them and was also seized.
Clearchus marched north with long strides. Proxenus and the others hesitated briefly, then followed closely. Menon spat a thick glob of phlegm onto Davos’s face and gloated, “When I get back, you’re dead!!” Then, laughing loudly, he moved on. Most of the soldiers followed their leaders. Only a few who had heard of Davos’s “miracle” stayed where they were.
Davos had no mind to bother with Menon at the moment. Pressed to the ground, his mouth full of dirt, he struggled and shouted insults after the departing leaders: “Clearchus, you idiot! Your stubbornness will not only destroy yourself but the whole army! You will regret this! By then, you won’t even have time to regret!…”
But his curses did not call Clearchus back. The figures of the leaders grew farther and farther, fainter and fainter. Finally, Davos quieted down and sat slumped on the ground. Earlier, he had thought Clearchus was a “renowned general” with a clear mind. He never expected him to be so obstinate, unwilling to listen to any advice. In truth, Davos did not know that most Spartan men were conservative and stubborn by nature; once they made up their minds, they would not turn back until they hit a wall. The most famous example was before the Battle of Plataea in the Persian Wars, when the Greek allied commander ordered a retreat, but a Spartan general believed retreating before the enemy violated Spartan tradition. Despite repeated persuasion, he refused to retreat, dragging the Spartan army behind the rest and nearly causing the battle to fail.
The forward column continued. The soldiers escorting Davos pushed him back. Those who had stayed instead came forward to introduce themselves and console Davos.
At that moment, Antonios finally had a chance to ask, “Davos, will the leaders really be in danger?”
“What good can come of a sheep going to negotiate with a wolf?” Davos sighed. Such deceptions were countless in history, both ancient and modern, East and West. The reason Tissaphernes’s scheme succeeded was mainly because Clearchus and the others still harbored illusions about the peace talks, and the others trusted Clearchus more than they feared for their own safety. It was still a matter of my influence being too weak!
“What do we do?” Antonios was panicking.
What to do? Save ourselves, of course!! Davos suddenly remembered Xenophon. Why in his book did he boast about leading this retreat? Because of this—over twenty mercenary leaders and officers were slaughtered, and the entire leadership of the Greek mercenaries was reshuffled!!
With that thought, he cast off his despair and regained his spirit: “Quick! Let’s get back!”
…
Along the way, Menon embellished the story of Davos’s “misdeeds” to Proxenus and the others, successfully stirring their anger. He secretly rejoiced: this time he could finally get rid of that big trouble completely!
Before reaching the Persian camp, most of the soldiers who were going to the market bid farewell to their leaders.
Upon entering the Persian camp, Clearchus saw nothing different from when he had left yesterday. Some idle Persian soldiers even looked at them curiously, muttering things like, “Why are so many Greek barbarians coming to our camp?” That actually put Clearchus and his men at ease.
When they arrived at Tissaphernes’s great tent, Sistes went in to announce them, then came out and said, “The five leaders may enter. The others will wait outside the tent for now!”
Clearchus entered first. Inside the tent, the light was dim. He narrowed his eyes and discovered that the tent was full of people. Startled, before he could react, he heard a loud shout: “Seize them!!”
Obstruction