Kerithops' good mood continued until Tibron's adjutant came to find him.

"What did you say?! The soldiers ran away?!!" Kerithops was shocked. His first reaction was to think whether Tibron was making trouble.

"No, they all ran away, just those soldiers who participated in the Little Cyrus Expedition! After returning to Ephesus, the troops were stationed outside the city. Tibron had not visited the military camp for the past few days because of... because of investigation..." The adjutant said carefully: "It was not until Kerithops that you asked me to temporarily take over Tibron's position, that I decided to gather the entire army for a lecture to prevent the soldiers from feeling uneasy because of Tibron's transfer. As a result, I found that more than three thousand soldiers were missing..."

More than three thousand soldiers! Kerithops gasped: This is a considerable number! If De Killidas arrived in Ephesus and found that the number of troops he was going to lead had greatly reduced, he would probably blame himself for not handling the matter of Tibron, which led to a fluctuation in the morale of the army.

"Is it because Tibron condoned them to rob and ran away for fear of punishment?" No wonder Kerithops asked this question. He knew very well about the mercenaries who participated in the Little Cyrus Expedition.

"No." The adjutant's answer made him feel a little relieved and curious.

"After I discovered this, I immediately blocked the barracks and launched an investigation. I quickly learned the truth from the mercenaries who participated in the Cyrus Expedition." The adjutant showed a strange expression: "The reason they escaped was because of a rumor!"

"rumor?"

"Yes. Recently, there was a rumor circulating in the city and outside the city, 'It was said that another group of mercenaries who participated in the Persian expedition with these mercenaries went to Great Greece under the leadership of a leader named Davers, defeated the barbarians there, and established a alliance called Tua, and he became the consul of the alliance. The mercenaries who followed him became city-state citizens, and were divided into land, and the team officials became... Well... nobles, all taking office as senior public offices in the city-state...' These simple-minded mercenaries actually thought it was true. Many people wanted to go to Great Greece and share the benefits of their former teammates...' But I heard them say that this man named Davers had only been away from them for more than half a year. How could he do so many things? It was obviously a lie rumor!" After the adjutant said that, he saw Kelithops frowned and fell into deep thought.

"Where did these rumors come from?" he asked seriously.

"It seems like they heard from the port market in Ephesus when they went to buy goods."

"Are those mercenary leaders who went to Persia still there?" Kerithops asked again.

"Except Xenophon, others like Timason, Zantiparis, and Kriano... They all ran away. Some soldiers could stay because Xenophon convinced..."

"Send people to notify the Ephesian Council and ask them to send patrols to block the port immediately, and you also send troops to assist. If you find deserters from the army, please arrest them immediately and escort them back to the barracks! At the same time, notify the city-states with ports nearby and let them take the same measures!" Kerithops made a quick decision.

"What should I do with the captured mercenaries?"

"In front of the entire army, the leading team officers and generals--" Crysops made a beheading gesture with a cold expression.

After seeing off the adjutant, Kerithops' heart was ups and downs, and he couldn't calm down for a long time: the mercenaries had already started a few days ago, and it must be a little too late to take measures now. It seems that while sending Tibron back to Sparta, he also needs to write a letter to the elders' council to take the initiative to explain the situation here. Otherwise, when De Chiridas discovers and asks about this, he will be passive! Alas... Xenophon should have known about this in the morning, why didn't he notify himself!

Kerithops thought again: Xenophon had a good relationship with many generals during his expedition to Persia, especially Davers. He was already very concerned about Sparta's ability to actively persuade the soldiers to stay.

Davers!... After half a year later, when he heard this familiar and somewhat strange name again, a clear image of the extremely young mercenary leader appeared in Kerithops' mind. He had always felt regret for Davers and failed to leave him in Sparta.

He still remembers: When he returned to Sparta to report his previous experience, he met the former naval admiral Anaxis who had left office and asked him Davers, "Who is Davers?" He wanted to slap him twice on the spot, but he forgot everything he repeatedly told him, so that Sparta passed by the Greek military genius he thought. Later, because he helped Tibron to settle in Asia Minor, his affairs were busy.

Forgot this matter for the time being, but I didn't expect that when I heard this name again, this young man who was unforgettable had already made a career in Greece?! If the matter is true, it is really amazing! But it just means that Taklithops did not see the wrong person at the beginning! I just don't know if he has anything to do with this deserter incident. I hope it was not his incitement in it, because the Spartan Elders Council will definitely send someone to investigate it clearly!

But Davers has already taken root in Greater Greece, and obviously will not consider joining Sparta anymore. It's such a pity...

…………………………………………………………

Xenophon actually knew more than Kerithops guessed. He even knew that Timasong went to the Temple of Artenis in Ephesus to meet Agarcia. After receiving his promise, he would return to the barracks and encourage the soldiers to go to the Tuah Alliance.

Xenophon also received an invitation from Agarcia. He was indeed surprised that Davers became the lifelong consul of the two cities of Great Greece. He was also curious about how Davers achieved such dazzling achievements in more than half a year! They are all young people, one is a countryman from the edge of Greek civilization, and the other is an elite cultivated by Athens, the Greek cultural center. Now the "countrymen" have mastered the highest power of the two cities, but the elites are still fighting to survive in foreign countries. To be envious and jealous, Xenophon must have something in his heart, but he refused without hesitation by letting him leave here and go to the strange Great Greece to start a new career.

It was not because of self-esteem, but as an Athenian, Xenophon had always believed that Athens was the center of the world. After experiencing the failure of the Peloponnese War, the expedition of Cyrus of Little Cyrus and the war with the Spartans in Asia, he witnessed the vast territory and political corruption of Persia, the weakness of the Greek city-state in Asia Minor, and the military strength of the Spartans. He had a vague idea: Why can the economically prosperous Athens and the powerful military Spartament no longer join forces to lead the Greek city-state that was divided and quarrel with each other, defeating Persia, which had always been hostile to Greece, looked powerful but actually weak, and created a new era for the Greeks?!

For this ideal, he was willing to continue to fight in this strange land and work closely with the Spartans whom he had long been interested in. Therefore, although he did not report Timasong and the others for more than two years of comrades, he also stopped more soldiers from leaving in time. He also breathed a sigh of relief when he received the news that the Spartan commander was about to be replaced. He also did not think that Tibron was a qualified governor of Asia Minor, although he had been winning battles.

When he recorded the events that happened in the past few days, involving the incident involving Timasong and others leaving the military camp and heading to the Tua Alliance, he hesitated for a while, and decided not to write them down. It was not for confidentiality, but for him, he always adhered to a principle: the Eastern Mediterranean is the focus of his future description of history, and the Western Mediterranean is far from the center of civilization, and it is not worth much attention.

Then he packed up the manuscript and decided to go and have a good talk with Kelithops. He had some ideas and suggestions on how to manage these mercenaries and prevent morale from floating.

………………………………………

After building the La River Fortress (called the fortress, it is an enhanced camp), Philicius left a company to guard and led the rest of the troops of the Third and Seventh Brigades back to Turiyi.

Davers greeted them outside the city and gave enthusiastic speeches to the soldiers. Afterwards, the troops were disbanded and the soldiers returned home. Philicius came to Davers' mansion and told him in detail about the process of seizing Niutum and Rauss, as well as the general situation of Niutum now.

After listening carefully, Davers asked, "Are the soldiers of the 2nd and 3rd brigade 1st companies who have to stay in Niutum and hold on for about ten days?"

"Not yet." Phelisius replied: "Since you have issued a new trophy distribution plan, the left-behind soldiers will get more. I think they are all very happy."

Davers nodded and sighed: "We are not like Persia. We have a country that provides money to support soldiers who are specifically responsible for war. We can perform combat missions for many years. Five days is the limit of Alliance soldiers' voluntary troops. After this time, we have to prepare food for the soldiers, and it will delay their farming and making money over time. We cannot make the citizens who fight bloody for the Alliance poorer and poorer. Therefore, this time the distribution of spoils is not just about dealing with this time! I hope that after you go back, you will negotiate with Melsis to formulate a long-term distribution plan for spoils, and three points should be given priority.

First, the families of soldiers who died in battle must be given preferential treatment; second, the teams and soldiers who performed outstandingly and made military achievements must be given preferential treatment; third, the teams and soldiers who undertake the most difficult combat tasks must be given preferential treatment... Oh, and, in the future, the battle may also involve fighting with the allied troops. Therefore, when formulating a strategic product distribution plan, this must be taken into account and a fair and fair distribution must be achieved!"
Chapter completed!