Book 1 · Chapter 3

At Tarsus, Cyrus and his army stopped - for like, twenty days. The soldiers refused to move any further because they seriously suspected the whole expedition was actually against the king. They were like, "We didnn't sign up for this!"

Clearchus tried to force his men to keep marching, but as soon as he started heading up the troops, they started throwing stuff at him and his baggage train. He almost got stoned to death right then and there. Later, realizing force wasn’t going to work, he called a meeting of his own soldiers.

He stood there, crying for ages, while everyone just stared in stunned silence. Finally, he spoke: "Guys, you’re not going to believe how stressed I am about everything going on. Cyrus has been an amazing friend to me."

When I was exiled, he treated me with so much respect and even gave me ten thousand darics. I took the money, but not to keep it for myself - not to blow it on fun stuff. I wanted to use it for you all.

First, I went to war with the Thracians, and with your help, I got revenge on them for Hellas, kicking them out of the Chersonese when they tried to steal land from the Greek people living there.

But as soon as Cyrus called me, I brought you all along, so I could pay him back for all the good he’s done for me... But since you don’t want to keep marching, I’m stuck with two choices: I can ditch you to stay loyal to Cyrus, or I can go with you, even if it means kinda misleading him.

I honestly don’t know if I’m doing the right thing, but I’m choosing you guys. Whatever happens, I’m sticking with you. I swear, no one will ever say that I, who led Greek troops against the foreigners, betrayed the Greeks for a barbarian’s friendship. No way!

Since you’re not listening to me and won’t follow my orders, then I’ll follow you. Whatever happens, I'll share your fate. You’re my country, my friends, my allies - with you, I’ll be respected no matter where I go; without you, I don’t see how I can help a friend or hurt an enemy.

"My decision is made. Wherever you go, I’m going with you."

That's what he said. But the soldiers - not just his own, but all of them - when they heard what he said, and how he's brushed off the idea of going up to the great king's palace, showed their support.

More than two thousand guys ditched Xenias and Pasion, grabbed their gear and supplies, and went to camp with Clearchus. But Cyrus, totally stressed and frustrated by how things were going, sent for Clearchus.

He refused to go; but, without the soldiers knowing, sent a message to Cyrus, telling him to stay positive, because everything would work out okay; and told him to keep asking for him, while he himself kept refusing to go.

"After that, he gathered his own men, along with anyone else who wanted to join him, and spoke like this: "Fellow soldiers, it’s clear that Cyrus’s relationship with us is the same as ours with him.

We’re not his soldiers anymore, since we stopped following him; and he, on his side, isn't paying us anymore. He probably feels like we’ve wronged him; and even though he keeps asking for me, I can’t bring myself to go to him.

There are a couple of reasons for that: mostly, I feel guilty admitting that I totally led him on; but also, I'm worried he’s going to grab me and punish me for what he thinks I’ve done. So, I think now isn’t the time to just chill and forget about ourselves. We need to figure out what to do next.

And as long as we’re staying here, we need to think about how to stay safe; or, if we’re going to leave, what’s the safest way to get out. Plus, we need to figure out how to get supplies, because without them, there’s no point for any soldier, regular or leader.

"The guy we’re dealing with is a good friend to his friends, but a really dangerous enemy to his enemies. And he’s got a huge army of infantry, cavalry, and ships - we all know that, since we’re not exactly far from him. So, if anyone has an idea, now's the time to speak up. He stopped there.

Then a bunch of different guys stood up; some just to share their thoughts; others encouraged by Clearchus to talk about how impossible it would be to stay or go back without Cyrus’s okay.

One of them, pretending to be really worried about starting the journey home without wasting any more time, told them to pick new generals if Clearchus wasn’t willing to lead them back: Let them buy supplies now (the market was right in the middle of the Asiatic camp), let them pack up their gear.

Let them," he added, "go to Cyrus and ask for some ships to get home by sea. If he refuses to give them ships, let them ask him for a guide to lead them back through friendly territory.

"And if he won’t even give them a guide, they should just get in marching order and send a group ahead to take the pass - before Cyrus and the Cilicians, whose stuff," the speaker added, "we’ve been raiding so much, get there first."

That’s what that speaker said; he was followed by Clearchus, who just said: "As for me leading the way right now, don’t even ask: I can see a ton of problems with that. I can definitely follow orders from whoever you choose as your leader - that’s another matter."

"And you’ll see and know that I can do my part, under command, with the best of you."

After Clearchus, another guy stepped up and basically pointed out how simple the speaker's plan was - just asking for ships, like Cyrus was suddenly going to ditch the whole expedition and head home.

"And let me also say," he continued, "it’s pretty clueless to ask a guide from the guy whose plans we’re messing up. If we trust any guide Cyrus might give us, why not just have him secure the pass for us in the first place?"

Honestly, I’d be super wary of any ships he gives us, afraid he’s gonna sink them with his warships. I’d also think twice about following any guide he suggests - he could lead us into a trap we can't escape.

I’d much rather sneak away and get out of here if I’m going against Cyrus's wishes, which, let’s be real, is impossible. But this whole plan is just crazy. My idea is to send a group of qualified people, with Clearchus, to Cyrus. Let them go and ask him: what does he plan to do with us?

If it’s similar to that time he used foreigners before - let’s do it. Let’s show we’re just as good as the people who marched with him then. But if it’s a bigger deal - more work and more danger - then we need him to give us a good reason to follow him, or let us go to a friendly place.

"That way, if we follow him, we’ll do it as friends, fully committed. Or if we go back, we’ll be safe. We’ll get his answer here, and then we’ll decide what to do. They agreed with that plan, and picked a group, including Clearchus, to go to Cyrus.

Cyrus gave them this message: He’d heard that Abrocomas, an enemy of his, was stationed on the Euphrates, about twelve days’ march away. Cyrus wanted to march against him and punish him, "or if he’s run off," the message concluded, "we’ll figure things out there."

The group reported the message to the soldiers. They still suspected Cyrus was leading them against the king, but they figured they should follow him anyway.

They just asked for more money, and Cyrus promised to give them half again what they were getting - a daric and a half a month each, instead of just a daric. Was he really leading them to attack the king? Nobody openly knew for sure, at least not yet.