"The place to cross the river is eight miles upstream from our camp, the river is about eighty-five meters wide, the deepest part of the river reaches the waist span, the bottom of the river is rocky sand, which is neither too slippery nor harder, the bank is flat on one side, and there are more rocks on the opposite bank...... "Cletopes succinctly explained the prospecting situation. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

"Looks like it's a good place to cross the river! We immediately gathered our whole army and quickly crossed the river! Timasong said excitedly.

"However, we have to take into account that the troops of Ojuntas will intercept us on the other side of the river and force our way across the river, and the casualties of our soldiers will increase!" Zantiparis said cautiously.

"The Persians would never have imagined that we would be so easy to wade across a river! As long as we rush to the other side of the river as fast as we can, we will definitely be able to give them a surprise attack! Timasong said confidently.

"Don't forget, we have the Dukia behind us! What about our baggage battalions? Moreover, the Persians have more troops than us, they also have the Kaldans, as long as they can withstand our onslaught on the banks of the river for a while, we will be in trouble, who knows how long the sand in the river will support the soldiers! Zantiparis said with a little concern.

Timasong immediately asked, "Then what do you have to do?" ”

Zantiparris said: "So we need to discuss how we can cross the river smoothly and minimize our losses. ”

"I thought you had something to do?" Timason glanced at him.

"I have a suggestion." Xenophon interjected: "We can set aside a part of the soldiers to protect the baggage battalion. When the large army was ready to cross the river, this part of the soldiers led the baggage battalion to pretend to cross the river at the original pontoon bridge, and the Persians must have thought that we were going to cross the river again from here, and attacked them from the rear, so they divided their forces to defend it, and when the large army defeated the enemy on the opposite side, this part of the soldiers crossed the river while escorting the baggage battalion back to the place where the large army fought. This not only disperses the troops, but also protects the baggage battalion, what do you think? Xenophon said with a slight smugness.

I have to say that Xenophon's plan is good, and everyone is in thought. After a while, Criano asked, "The baggage battalion is huge, how many soldiers are you going to divide to protect?" If there are too many, it will affect our time to defeat the Persians, and you have sent the baggage battalions and soldiers back and forth, which will not only easily cause them to be tired, but also vulnerable to the attacks of the Dukias, have you considered this? ”

"This ......" Xenophon was speechless for a moment, and he said squirmingly: "There will inevitably be casualties in a war, as long as the losses can be minimized......

At this time, Davers said, "Inspired by Xenophon, I also came up with a solution. ”

As soon as he spoke, all eyes were on him, for it had been proven many times that the youngest leader had always been a man of his word, and that his words always solved the problem.

"We won't be in the river during the day today." Davers glanced at the leaders, and saw that although they were a little surprised, they continued to listen quietly: "At night, when the Persians have all gone to camp and sleep, we can first send a force across the river and find a place to hide, and when our large army engages the Persians tomorrow, they will suddenly attack the rear of the Persian army, and then they can disrupt the Persian array, so that they can flank the Persians in front and rear, and not only defeat the Persians, but may even annihilate a part of them, so as to weaken the power of the Persians, so that after we enter Armenia, I was able to get to the sea of stars more smoothly......"

Everyone's eyes lit up, and Davers's suggestion was really ingenious and different. In fact, it was the leaders who were trapped in the military tradition of frontal assault that the Greeks had admired for centuries, and Davers's plan to cross the river was inspired by the strategy adopted by the great red army in the previous life when it liberated Hainan, "combining the smuggling of small forces with the frontal forced crossing of large troops".

"Davers, soldiers don't have experience crossing rivers at night. How many people are you going to send to cross the river first? In the unlikely event that they were to make a disturbance out of fear while crossing the river, it could easily lead to drowning and death, or even alarm the Persians and make our operation fail, thus letting the Persians know where we had worked so hard to cross the river! Cleano's tone was much better than he had been with Xenophon, and his worries were an important reason why the mercenaries did not dare to cross at night.

"And how do you hide when you go ashore? When will the attack be launched on the rear of the Persians? I'm afraid all of this has to be taken into account. Timasong reminded.

Without thinking, Davers said, "For a troop, none of the problems you are talking about are problems!" With that, he looked at Chrythops.

Christopes nodded in understanding.

That night, 700 Spartan warriors smuggled across the Kentrite River.

………………………………

Early the next morning, the mercenaries began to set up camp.

The Persians saw it and quickly gathered on the other side.

The mercenaries slaughtered three lambs, and the leaders sacrificed to Okeanos, the god of the oceans and rivers, and the whole army sang an ode reverently.

Ojuntas had a premonition that the Greeks might have to cross the river, and ordered his army to prepare at once.

After the worship was over, the mercenaries began to march downstream along the river bank, and after walking for a few miles, they stopped and rested for a while. Then it turned to march again......

The handsome governor of Armenia, who was deeply trusted by the Persian king, did not understand where the Greeks were going, and thought that they did not dare to cross the river with Persian troops on the other side, and were looking for a way. Seeing them scurrying around like headless flies, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in my heart.

The Persian army continued to follow the march on the opposite bank.

The mercenaries finally reached the place where the crossing was marked by Chrysopes, immediately halted their advance, and then, according to the pre-plan, with the end of the left flank as the axis, the whole column quickly rotated towards the riverbank......

Before Oljuntas could comprehend it, the mercenaries had formed a formation facing the Kentrite River, and the whole group was divided into three parts: the first part was the 7,000 soldiers who were preparing to cross the river to engage the Persian army, standing on the bank in a narrow horizontal and thick column formation (because the section of the river that could be crossed smoothly was not long); the second part was the baggage battalion, which was immediately behind them; The third part consisted of three thousand soldiers, who were located behind the baggage battalion, with their backs to the river bank, to prevent the attacks of the Dukias.

While the Persian army was slowly adjusting its formation, the mercenaries sounded the trumpet of attack, and the seven thousand soldiers did not hesitate to step into the Kentrite River......

Oljuntas's face changed, and he finally understood: the Greeks were preparing to cross the river from here!

Not worrying about the long-range strikes of the mercenary slingers, Ojuntas shouted eagerly: "Quick! Let the infantry block it! Archer! Archers, release their arrows! He roared in the hope that the waters of the Kentrite River would slow down the mercenaries' advance, and that the bow and arrow strikes would cause confusion among the Greeks, which would lead to their drowning in panic and crowding. After that moment of panic, Ojuntas regained his composure, after all, he had personally tried the depth of the river.

Maybe it's my chance to make a big difference! He thought excitedly.

Davers followed the soldiers in front of him in the rear of the right flank of the troops, stepping on the harder river sand and striding forward.

The river water in the early winter was already a bit biting, but at this moment, the soldiers who were in high spirits had no time to feel it, and their hearts were filled with a thought: rush to the opposite bank as fast as possible!