First Steps into Power

“To bring our camp brothers back together, we first need to understand the current state of the camp. So, I’d like each of you here to report on the men and supplies under your command.” Davos looked around at the group.

There was a brief silence in the tent. Antonios spoke first, then Capus, followed by Alexis… The baggage camp had the most complex situation, and Mesis was the most long-winded; Davos had to remind him to keep it brief.

Davos listened and took notes. After carefully hearing everyone’s reports, he had a general picture of the Menon camp. Organizing his thoughts, he said: “Based on your reports, our camp has ten heavy infantry companies, totaling one thousand and ninety-four men. Four light infantry companies, totaling four hundred and eighty-seven. That’s a total of one thousand five hundred and eighty-one soldiers, all fully armed and armored, in good physical condition, with no injuries or illnesses.

“The field hospital has three doctors, six female slaves, and two pack animals. But apart from Helpus, who is skilled in wound treatment, the other two doctors cannot yet treat wounded soldiers independently.

“The baggage camp currently has fifty guards, two hundred and seventy-three slaves—one hundred and ninety-eight women and seventy-five men. We have twenty-nine pack horses, eighteen oxen, fifty-six sheep, thirty-seven chickens and ducks, and five hundred and eighty sacks of wheat flour. As for the remaining funds for purchasing supplies, we have one talent of silver, thirty minas, and five drachmas. That’s everything we have.” Davos set down the papyrus roll he had been recording on and looked at the officers. “Does anyone see anything I’ve missed?”

The officers were somewhat surprised. Most mercenaries, including these officers, were uneducated and certainly not used to doing arithmetic or summarizing information on their own.

Mesis clapped his hands. “Davos, that’s incredible! Such quick arithmetic! Much better than me!”

Beside him, Antonios remembered that Davos was illiterate. He quietly glanced at the papyrus roll and saw strange symbols and characters, and was inwardly shocked.

The officers exchanged glances, their recognition of Davos’s abilities slightly increased.

“Since there are no objections, then in a moment Philistos and I will attend the military council of the mercenary leaders. Company commanders, please return and inform your men to check their weapons and equipment and prepare for battle. This afternoon, leave the Tenth Heavy Infantry Company to guard the camp. The other companies will form up in order and march to the assembly ground for the full army meeting. Since there will be many people, you must maintain order and prevent any disturbances.” After speaking, Davos turned to Helpus and asked: “How is the field hospital situation? We’re about to go into battle, and the number of wounded will increase. You need to have a plan. Prepare more clean linen bandages. You’ll need at least double the current number of assistants…”

Helpus frequently sought Davos’s advice on medical matters, such as: Why use fire to sterilize the knives for debridement? Why place cloth soaked in cold water on a feverish patient’s forehead? … Davos’s answers were always peculiar yet thought-provoking, so Helpus regarded Davos as a teacher and maintained a respectful attitude: “Rest assured, I will do my best to prepare when I return. If I encounter any difficulties, I will come to you for help!”

“You are our Asclepius, so of course we will help you wholeheartedly! If you have medical questions, I can discuss them with you; if you lack labor, the company commanders can provide it; if you lack supplies, you can go to Mesis.” Davos smiled.

The others also expressed their willingness to assist the field hospital.

Mesis voluntarily reported to Davos: “Leader, this morning I had the slaves slaughter some sheep and make a lot of smoked sausages. When I go back, I’ll slaughter the remaining sheep, chickens, ducks, and the extra oxen, and turn them into sausages to store food for the upcoming march. What do you think?”

“Mesis, you are our chief steward! We are all very reassured to have you in charge of food supplies, right?” Davos said half-jokingly, half-seriously.

“Right! Mesis manages the baggage camp well!” Antonios chimed in.

“Except that the price of whores is too high!” Epithenis joked.

“Even if we gave you one for free, you wouldn’t be able to do anything with it! You’re only interested in boys!” Mesis shot back.

“Haha…” Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere in the tent relaxed.

“Philistos, do you have anything to add?” Davos asked his adjutant.

Philistos, still a bit awkward facing a leader much younger than himself, coughed twice and said: “I have two points that I hope the leader will take seriously. First, since we are about to go to war with the Persians, will our march route change? If it does, how should we proceed? Second… um… our camp has always been the rearguard of the entire army. Now that battle is imminent, if we remain the rearguard, our camp will suffer too much!”

“Philistos is right. We should no longer be the rearguard!”

“Rest assured, I will raise this at the leaders’ military council and argue strongly for it. As for the march route issue, I think it will be decided quickly at the council because it’s the most pressing problem!” Davos’s confident words left the officers half-believing, half-doubting.

…

The meeting ended. As soon as they left the tent, Epithenis, the first company commander of the peltasts, could not help but exclaim: “I can’t believe this young man is a leader for the first time!”

“Though he’s young, he arranges things not only with great detail but also with good order. He even has authority. None of us, experienced veterans, dared to contradict or challenge him!” Tsipet, another peltast company commander, said admiringly.

“I think this young man is decent. At least the meeting atmosphere was good. He’s not like Menon, who’s a viper—every meeting he would tear into everyone!” Lesimachus, a heavy infantry company commander, said cheerfully.

“If the little fellow performs equally well on the battlefield, then his leadership will be qualified!” Another heavy infantry company commander, Amyntas, reminded them.

“Don’t worry. Although this new leader is young, he’s smart. With Philistos assisting him, there won’t be major problems.” Alexis, a heavy infantry company commander, reassured them.

“We’ll do the fighting, so what’s there to fear? Davos just needs to play his role as the God-Touched One, and we’ll reduce casualties and return home safely!” Tsipet said loudly, and the others agreed.

Behind them, Capus said to Antonios with satisfaction: “It seems Davos has won the initial recognition of the men.”

Antonios was still lost in what he had seen at the meeting, murmuring: “He still needs to prove himself in battle. But I have confidence in him. He will become a great mercenary leader.”

Davos stood at the entrance, calmly watching the men leave. At that moment, he wasn’t thinking about how his debut as a leader had gone, but rather about military management.

The military system of the Greek mercenaries was roughly the same as that of the Greek city-states: the lowest rank of officer was squad leader, commanding ten men; above that was company commander, commanding one hundred to one hundred and twenty men; sometimes a platoon leader was appointed, commanding about fifty men; above that was battalion commander, commanding about a thousand men; and above that was general, whose number of soldiers depended on how many his city-state could field. Logically, Davos’s current rank should be considered battalion commander. However, for a mercenary force, having a thousand soldiers meant it was a large mercenary company, capable of independent combat missions, so he could barely be called a general.

In his previous life, Davos was a law school graduate who had studied management. He knew that the most effective number of people for a leader to directly manage was seven. With fourteen company commanders attending a single military council, wouldn’t it be slow to relay commands through messengers during a major battle? Wouldn’t action become sluggish? If he could reorganize these companies… Davos knew he could only think about it for now. After all, he had just become a leader; rashly reforming the military system might provoke resentment from the officers. He suppressed this thought and turned to Mesis, who was still in the tent. “They’ve all left. What did you want to say?”