ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 14 Xenophon ([-])
Everyone couldn't help shouting: "This is so amazing! Xenophon came to Persia under the instructions of Hades! And Davos, you have never seen Xenophon, but you know him through the oracle! This is Hades You are protecting us!!" Everyone began to recite Pluto's hymn silently and devoutly.

Although Davos was surprised, he thought it was just a coincidence.He pretended to read the carol after everyone, and then said: "Even with the blessing of Pluto, we still need our own efforts to pass the test and return to Greece safely."

"Davos is not very confident about whether he can go home smoothly?" Xenophon stared at Davos.Xenophon believed in prophecies, dreams, and prophecies. It was precisely because he heard that Davos was the favored one of Hades that he came to find out. Because of Hades, he believed that the relationship between him and Davos was There must be some mysterious connection between them.

"I'm just an ordinary infantryman, like a frog in a well. I don't understand the situation at the top. So I will inevitably be confused." Davos said calmly: "You are a close friend of Proxinus and a Su The most outstanding student of Grates. I hope you can tell us what kind of situation we are facing now, so as to relieve our confusion."

Olivers wanted to say something, but Davos stopped him with his eyes.

Xenophon said without hesitation: "I think our return to Greece should be smoother this time! Why?" Xenophon had a sense of responsibility because he came to Persia under the guidance of the 'gods'.Faced with this possible disaster, when everyone was panicking, he believed that this was exactly why the gods sent him here.Therefore, he has been in the military camp these days, running back and forth to help Proxinus stabilize the morale of the army.

At this time, he looked at the crowd and said patiently: "First, our Greek heavy infantry is strong while the Persian army is weak. In the decades since the Battle of Thermopylae, our Greeks and Persians have always had the upper hand in battles. The previous battle with the Persian king is more illustrative. Our brave impact directly caused them to collapse. It can be seen that the fear of the Greek heavy infantry has been deeply rooted in the blood of the Persians. Although their cavalry is stronger than ours, what is the use? Cavalry only Being able to detect and harass them, but not daring to fight directly, will not help their combat effectiveness.”

"Yes, the cavalry are all cowards!" Matonis shouted in agreement, and Xenophon's face suddenly showed a bit of embarrassment.

"However, the javelins and bows of the Persian cavalry caused us a lot of trouble." Hilos reminded.

"But the cavalry, like their infantry, lacks the skill and courage to confront us head-on. It is impossible to shake our courage with bows and arrows alone. As long as we decide to retreat, there is no way they can stop us from leaving." Based on his understanding of the cavalry, Se Nuofen said with confidence.

"Secondly, I heard from the Persians that their new king Artaxerxes has been a gentle and timid man since he was a child. This is why Cyrus the Younger dared to raise an army to resist. I heard that in the Susa and Persepolis areas, there were Friends of Cyrus the Younger raised troops to respond. Although Artaxerxes was lucky enough to kill Cyrus the Younger, he would never dare to risk his life and fight against the powerful us while the rear area was not yet pacified.

Third, our commander, Clearkus, is a very capable man.Although I am an Athenian and he is a Spartan, I have to admit that during the war between Athens and Sparta, he caused a lot of trouble for Athens. Later, he defeated Thrace many times at Chersonis. people.Several leaders such as Proxenus and Menon were also experienced commanders. They knew the Persians very well after dealing with them all year round.The commander of the Persians was Artaxerxes, the Persian king who had just become king and had never commanded an army. The general he relied on, Tissaphernes, was even easily defeated by us. They were no match for a few leaders! …”

Davos listened carefully to Serofen's story.Through Xenophon, he learned a lot about things that he didn't know before.This time he applauded sincerely: "What a wonderful speech! You are indeed an outstanding disciple of Socrates!"

"Yes! As expected of the person instructed by Hades! Your words give us all confidence!" Hilos said sincerely.

In the face of everyone's praise, Xenophon looked calm. Convincing ordinary soldiers was a very common thing for him. His eyes fell on Davos, as if he wanted to see the rumored "godly favor" of Hades. "What's the difference?"

"But you forgot to say one thing." Of course, Davers couldn't let the other party underestimate him, especially in front of his teammates: "Although Persia has a vast land and a large population, it cannot be governed effectively. Most areas Still autonomous, they have their own culture and religion, and there are only two things to do to obey Persian rule-pay taxes and perform military service. The Persians only believe in themselves, so there are few foreign officials in their army and court. Foreigners If you cannot integrate into Persia, you will naturally not sacrifice your life for him. I think this is one of the reasons why the Persian army collapsed as soon as it encountered us."

Xenophon carefully savored what Davos said and recalled what he saw along the way. It was actually very consistent.He was stunned: He who had received a strict education was not as knowledgeable about Persia as an illiterate 19-year-old youth. This was not a "god's favored one"!Xenophon could only comfort himself: "You are right! This is the shortcoming of the king's dictatorship! On the contrary, it is the advantage of the Greek democratic system. We are fighting for ourselves!"

Advantages of a democratic system?Davos seemed to have seen the face of the country that claimed to be the "world police" in his previous life.He curled his lips in disdain, but the attentive Xenophon saw it: "Davos thinks what I said is wrong?"

"Xenophon, when do you think Athens was the most stable and prosperous period in the past hundred years?" Davos decided to use the knowledge of his previous life to shock the historical celebrity in front of him and leave a deep impression on him, so that through him he could make himself The name can be spread to the top mercenaries.

"The period of Pericles' reign." Xenophon answered without hesitation.

"You forgot to mention the reign of Peisistratus." Davos reminded: "It was under his rule that Athens fully owned the Attica region and prospered the port of Piraeus. Athens became another powerful city-state in Greece besides Sparta!"

"But..." Xenophon did not expect that Davos would mention Peisistratus. Athenians were proud to live in the most democratic Greek city-state, and almost no one wanted to talk about that dictator.He wanted to refute, but for a moment he didn't know how to say it.After all, Xenophon, who was highly educated and knowledgeable, knew that Davos was telling the truth.

Davos seized the opportunity and continued: "You want to say, 'But Athens was stronger when Pericles was in power', right? However, there is a problem with this sentence during Pericles' time. Pericles served as a general How many years? 30 years! He has never lost an election in 30 years, and has been elected chief general many times! All important domestic and external laws and decisions in Athens were proposed and made by him, which created the golden age of Athens! Isn’t this ironic to the Athenian democracy that held elections once a year, invented the banishment law of pottery tablets, and prevented dictatorship? Is Peisistratus a dictatorship? Pericles is democracy?! Pericles is just better than Peisistratus The political methods are more subtle and milder.

And what happens to the democratic system that you think is superior without Pericles?Athens, which had stronger financial resources, a stronger navy, and more allies than Sparta, had internal strife and fights with each other. The people of Athens were often unable to tell the truth from falsehoods and were easily incited by politicians.That’s why at the most critical moment of the expedition to Sicily, you forced away Alcibiades, your most talented general in Athens; who had just won a crucial naval battle on Agnoce Island, but was unable to rescue the fallen soldiers in time due to strong winds. Generals were easily tried and even executed by the people... These stupid actions taken by Athens were not uncommon in this long war with Sparta!Is this what the Athenians thought was the perfect democratic system? !It has consumed all the strength it has accumulated over the past century in constant internal friction! "

The democratic system of ancient Athens was a focus of Daves' studies at the party school in his previous life, because it is the origin of the modern Western political system, and Daves still remembers it fresh.

Note 1: Western historians do not have a high opinion of Xenophon. They believe that he has only dabbled in the fields of history and philosophy. His depth of research and understanding of history is not as good as that of Thucydides and Herodotus, and his attainments in philosophy are not as good as those of Thucydides and Herodotus. He couldn't even keep up with his classmate Plato.Moreover, he believed in divine prophecies, dreams and prophecies in his writings, and often selected historical materials and judged historical facts based on personal political likes and dislikes, which was very exaggerated.I also experienced this when reading his works.However, no matter what, he left behind a lot of precious first-hand information, allowing us modern people to have a clearer understanding of that era, otherwise there would be no novel I am writing today.

Note 2: This is interesting: after the Battle of Agnoce Island, among the generals who were tried by the Athenian people was the character I wrote about in my last novel - Pericles the Younger, the only remaining son of Pericles. In the end, he Also executed.

　I have a friend gathering tonight, so I probably won’t be able to come back on time, so don’t be surprised if I update it early!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)