A Shocking change

Twenty or so strong men rushed out from both sides, pinned Clearchus and the four leaders to the ground, and immediately bound them with ropes.

The officers and soldiers waiting outside the tent were also surrounded by fully armed Persians, who cut down the unarmed Greeks one by one with sharp swords, long spears, and large shields.

"Congratulations, Your Excellency the Satrap! Your plan has succeeded!" Loud laughter erupted inside the tent.

Candles were lit, and light was restored.

Clearchus saw Tissaphernes, Orontas, and Sistes in the center of the tent laughing triumphantly. His eyes blazed with fury, nearly splitting. "Tissaphernes, you despicable, shameless wretch! You deceived us with lies, slaughtered my soldiers, and broke the oath you swore before your supreme god Ahura Mazda when we signed the treaty! Are you not afraid of the gods' wrath?! Afraid that your king will be cursed by ten thousand people?! Afraid that disaster will strike your family?!! ……"

"Heh heh heh …" Tissaphernes smiled, took a cup of wine from an attendant, sipped it, and walked slowly to the mercenary leaders. "Clearchus, let me tell you. Our Great King returned to Persepolis the day after Cyrus the Younger died. Of course, he never gave any order to 'negotiate peace with you'—that was all my fabrication to trick you… As for whether the gods will punish me, don't worry. I think they won't!" He emphasized, "By Mazda above, seeing me capture and kill these barbarians who invade Persian territory and slaughter Persian people, He will reward me instead! … Oh, I'll tell you one more thing: I sent men to spread those rumors!"

Seeing Clearchus's stunned expression, he happily drained his cup.

Proxenus spat at him fiercely, but he dodged nimbly.

"Liar! Coward …" Proxenus cursed loudly.

Tissaphernes was not angry; instead, he said smugly, "Liar?! Deceiver?! No, no, no! I prefer to call it wisdom! Unlike you Greek brutes who only know how to fight with reckless courage, we Persians prefer to use our brains to find ways to achieve greater victory at a smaller cost! For instance, I initially negotiated peace with you to lull you into complacency. Of course, I knew you would remain vigilant, but once you got used to this peaceful, stable state, you didn't want to return to the previous tension and hostility. You wanted to maintain peace. So I deliberately sent soldiers to provoke conflicts with the mercenaries—cursing, fighting… then spreading rumors. Instead of suspecting me, who would you suspect?"

Tissaphernes's gaze swept over the captured leaders, sneering. "Let me guess—Menon, right?! You see, I know all the dirty secrets within your ranks! And I also know that Clearchus, you are a very responsible leader. The more intense the conflict between the two armies, the more worried you become, and the more likely you are to come to me for negotiations! Look, not only did you come willingly, but you also brought me a great gift! …"

"Just kill me and stop yapping!" Clearchus roared, his face red.

"Lord Tissaphernes, have mercy! Please spare my life!! …" Beside him, Menon struggled and begged, "Even if I become your slave, just spare me! I will go and persuade those foolish mercenaries to surrender to you! I can even conquer Asia Minor for you! I am willing to do anything for you, just spare my life!! ……"

"Anything?" Tissaphernes squinted, seeming interested. "First, bark like a dog a few times."

"Woof! Woof! Woof! …" Menon actually barked with effort.

"Look, such are the barbaric Greeks!" The Persians in the tent were overjoyed.

"Menon, shut up! …" Clearchus and the others shamefully cursed Menon.

Menon ignored them, falling to his knees and looking up at Tissaphernes with fawning eyes.

"Very good! Excellent!! ……" Tissaphernes smiled, clapping his hands as he walked toward Menon.

Menon, with his hands bound behind his back, crouched on the ground, sticking out his tongue and barking even louder.

Tissaphernes approached him, gave him a cryptic smile, quickly drew his sword, and swung it downward with force toward Menon's neck.

Amid the startled cries of the crowd, blood sprayed out. Menon's head rolled to the ground, his face frozen in disbelief.

"You fool! Do you think I didn't know how you viciously attacked me before Cyrus the Younger and even led troops to storm my residence!" Tissaphernes stepped on Menon's head with his left foot, his face spattered with blood. He was as冷酷 as a death god.

The four leaders stared blankly at the headless corpse. Even Clearchus, who had always been at odds with Menon, showed sorrow. A sense of mourning at the fall of one's kind enveloped them.

"Have this head preserved and send it, along with these four criminals, immediately to Persepolis for the King's judgment!" Tissaphernes ordered.

After the four leaders were taken away, Clearchus sighed regretfully, "If only I had listened to that young man's advice on the road! …"

Clearchus remained expressionless, silent.

…

"My lord, Ariaeus requests an audience!"

"Let him in."

Ariaeus entered the tent and saw the shocking pool of blood on the ground. He slowed his steps as Tissaphernes said, "That's Menon's blood. I just cut off his head with one stroke!"

"By Rashnu (the Persian god of judgment), that is the punishment he deserved!" Ariaeus said hastily. Seeing Tissaphernes's amused smile, he quickly added, "Your Excellency, I have followed your orders and sent cavalry to intercept and kill all Greeks wandering outside the camp."

"Very good. I will report your merits to the King!" Tissaphernes understood that he needed both to intimidate and to win over Cyrus the Younger's troops, as they were nearly ten thousand men, and he would still need the support of these local Persian nobles when they returned to Asia Minor.

"Now that the main leaders of the Greek mercenaries have been captured, the foolish Greeks are probably panicking and don't know what to do. You and Sistes go to the Greek camp and find a way to make them surrender…"

Antonios wanted the soldiers to escort Davos to Menon's camp, because there, no one would dare to harm Davos.

Davos refused. He complied with the soldiers' request and went to Clearchus's camp. Since it was the advance guard, the camp was located farthest north, close to the Persians, making it easier to receive news immediately. He asked Heilos to fetch Xenophon, and at the same time told Antonios to return to Menon's camp and prepare for defense. Then he thought of something, pulled Matonis aside, and whispered to him. Matonis looked at him in surprise, but finally nodded.

Watching Heilos and the others leave, Davos suppressed his nervousness and headed toward Clearchus's camp. The soldiers escorting him couldn't help asking, "Is Clearchus really in danger?"

Davos countered, "When Clearchus is away, who is in charge of your camp?"

"Timasion, the commander of the first company."

"Then you'd better go tell him to prepare for defense." As Davos said this, a guard at the camp pointed ahead in shock and shouted, "Look, Persian cavalry!!"

Davos and the soldiers turned around together. A hundred meters in front of the camp, countless Persian cavalry were galloping back and forth, stirring up a sky full of dust. Amid the spreading haze, occasional screams could be heard.

"This is …" The soldiers looked at Davos nervously.

Although his speculation was confirmed, Davos felt no joy: War has finally come! He too felt tense.

"Quick! Back to camp!" He called to the accompanying soldiers to hurry into the camp and close the gates.

Just then, a soldier emerged from the dust ahead. He stumbled over, clutching his bloody abdomen.

The guards and Davos rushed forward and helped him back into the camp.

"We … on the way to the market … Persian cavalry … suddenly charged at us … many brothers are dead … Achilles … go notify Achilles … danger …" The wounded soldier said weakly.