Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Even if there were attacks on both sides, the number and strength of the Carthage civic forces were originally fully confident to block or even counter their attacks, but some civic soldiers could hardly suppress the fear in their hearts. They turned and fled, and their escape was completely taken away With the courage of the whole army, the soldiers suddenly collapsed and fled westward.

When they fled the Pletani River and ran towards the camp, they were shocked to find that the camp was already occupied by the enemy. At this time, they had no courage to recapture the camp, and because the camp blocked them from passing along the coastal road, they fled back. The shortcut to the west of Sicily had no choice but to flee into the mountains not far away, but they forgot that the Sikel people were not far behind them, and the mountains were their freely moving territory.

After occupying the Carthage Battalion, the Dionysian Allied Forces did not stop there. The cavalry, light armour and light infantry, who were still full of strength, continued to pursue the defeated soldiers westward along the road by the sea and were occupied at dusk. The town of Helme stopped the westward movement.

The messenger sent by Leotizides then arrived and ordered the troops to temporarily stay in the small town of Helme to monitor the movement of the enemy on the west.

In the evening, the Dionysian cavalry, light armor, and light infantry took turns to the Calghero valley to enjoy a hot spring bath.

This battle was triggered by the soldiers of the two parties bathing in the river, which eventually evolved into a decisive battle between the armies of the two sides. As a result, the Carthage defeated, and the original army of 46,000 or so lost half of it.Among them, the Holy Corps suffered the most heavy losses. Only 2,000 soldiers of 10,000 troops fled to Serinus, and more than half of the soldiers were either seriously injured or killed; followed by the Carthage Civilian Army, which did not attack the camp. Too much casualties, but during the escape across the mountains, they were continuously attacked by the Sikels. Injuries, disorientation, and surrender became the norm. Finally, less than half of the soldiers fled back to Serinus; again, that 6000 The Numbian army preparing to reinforce the sacred corps, the chaos on the Pletani River became their bitter memories; the least lost were the Numbian cavalry and the Numibian troops who attacked the southern battalion, they only Some losses were encountered during the flight, and most of them fled back to Serinus.

The Dionysian coalition had fewer than 3,000 casualties, of which the Eighth Army and Reserve Forces paid nearly 1,000 casualties, and most of them were seriously injured or killed. Therefore, despite the small casualties, Leotizides still Feeling heartache.

But anyway, this is a brilliant victory!Not only did Leotizides anticipate, but also completely anticipate the Sicilian Confederacy, so after the news spread, it greatly inspired the confidence of the people of the Diocese Sicilian Territory and also the Dionysian Confederacy. At the same time, the confidence of the people of the friendly city-states has also undermined the Carthage’s confidence in the war, and it has also deterred the surrounding hostile forces.

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When the news of "Carthage and Dionysian War" reached the mainland of Greece, the Spartans were most pleased with the matter.

At this time, Sparta had firmly controlled the Peloponnesian peninsula; while in Northern Greece, Macedonia obeyed its fate, and the city-states of Kalkidia, after being taught by Sparta, also became Obediently; it gradually began to increase its control over China and Greece, even the former Spartan enemies—Athens, Argos, Corinth...are rare to keep quiet.

The Spartans thought that they had once again controlled the mainland of Greece, but there was one thing that made them stubborn, that is, the Delphi priest who secretly visited the Kingdom of Dionysia was the person who was close to Sparta by the Delphi priest Quietly revealed to Sparta.

Although the Delphi priests could not make waves, and Dionysia also rejected the Delphi priest’s proposal, it reminded the Spartans to be aware of the involvement of the Kingdom of Dionysia in the affairs of Greece. Under the threat of Dionysia, he was forced to sign a friendly agreement with Dionysia, and then renewed helplessly again. This is a huge shame for the arrogant Spartans. So when I heard that the Kingdom of Dionysia was in full swing, and even went to war with Carthage, whose strength is not weaker than it, the Spartans were certainly overjoyed. Elders, including King Agsilaus, thought it was a A good time to avenge Xue Shao.

The Council of Elders held several days in a row to discuss whether to support the restoration of the nobles of Mesapi and Puchti, as Carthage did (Sparta accommodated some fugitives from these two races ), tearing up the agreement with Dionia, sending troops to land in the Mesapi region, not far from the Peloponnesian peninsula, inciting the independence of the Mesapi, Pucciti, and Dawns, and provoking Dionia The civil strife of the kingdom...

Everyone finally reached an agreement on this issue, but there was a heated debate over the question of "when to send troops".

Some elders, led by King Agassipolis, believed that the army should be dispatched immediately without giving the Dionysians a breathing opportunity.

Other veterans headed by Agsi Laos believed that the war was just beginning, and Sparta should carefully observe the development of the situation and make a decision, otherwise premature intervention would become the attack of the Dionysian army. Focus.

At this moment, a major event in the north shook Sparta, forcing the Spartan elders to stop arguing and focusing their attention on Thebes.

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At night, in the city of Thebes, the clerk Filidas prepared a grand banquet, invited the two military governors elected this year, Azias and Phillips, to come and tell them that they will introduce Some beautiful women of noble origin.

The two military consuls were still single, eager for love, and happily went.

Filidas also invited some friends, so the banquet was very lively and everyone enjoyed drinking.

Halfway through the banquet, a courier came in, holding an official in the city and writing a letter to Azias, saying it was a matter of importance, and he must be asked to take it apart and watch it immediately.

Felidas was disturbed when he heard this, and he made a glance at the friend beside Azias. The man understood and immediately said with dissatisfaction: "There are rare moments of indulgence and joy. Are you upset, Azias?"

Others followed suit.

Azias was not good enough to open the letter immediately, plus he was still looking forward to meeting the beauty, so he waved the messenger away, and said, "I will talk about business tomorrow." The letter was smoothly put on the pillow Next, and then asked slightly drunkenly: "Filidas, where are you talking about the beauty?"

Filidas glanced around with difficulty, and whispered, "They are staying in the next room, but there are too many people here, and they dare not show up until all the guests have left."

Phillips smiled ambiguously: "They still know shy!"

Filidas whispered deliberately, "That is, of course, but they are real, well-trained city-state girls! It's not a woman who was casually found in a brothel!"

After listening to Azias, she felt very itchy and urged to end the banquet.

Dissatisfaction with other guests roared loudly.

After another drink, the guests left one after another, leaving only two drunken military consuls.

At this time, the girls came in. They wore white robes, Xima Chun, and veils, and came to the two consuls in a cautious manner.

When the two consuls could not wait to lift their veil, the "girls" drew their daggers hidden in their waists and pierced their chests, and Azias and Phillips died on the spot.

A "girl" headed took off the veil, it turned out to be Pelopidas.

It turned out that after the exiles of Thebes fled to Athens, they did receive the goodwill support of Athens, allowing them to be stationed on the border and also providing them with food and weapons.

The Thebes exiles decided to study like the famous leader of the Athenian Democrats, Selasiblos, who overthrew the "thirty tyrants of Athens", then quickly organized a force in Athens, and then entered the Piosia area, toward Thebes. Marching, attempting to overthrow the pro-Spartan high-pressure rule and regain independence for the mother state.

But they forgot that Thebes at this time was not the same as the situation in Athens. They faced not only the reactionary army organized by their opponents, but also the Spartan army occupying the Acropolis, and even Several city-states in the Piosia region, such as Pradia, Tespia, etc., are puppets supported by Sparta, so the army was defeated before reaching the city of Thebes.

After that, the Thebes exile organized two more military operations, but they were still defeated.

The exiles paid a lot of casualties, and what was even more terrible was that they lost their confidence. After discussion, they all believed that the current Sparta is too strong and has already controlled the Pioxia area. Their strength is not enough to regain Thebes can only lurking, accumulating strength and waiting for a better time.

Most people agreed. Only the young Pelopidas objected. He firmly believed that he could not expect favorable changes in the external situation, because the future is unpredictable, so he should take the initiative to control his destiny.

Therefore, he also suggested: Do not take public force action, but use tricks to recapture Thebes, such as sending people to assassinate the head of the city’s pro-Spartans, causing them to lose control of the situation in the city, causing chaos. The opportunity for the exiles came.

But his proposal was opposed by many people because they thought it was too risky to be accepted.