Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Oliver's face changed, and he immediately realized that he had almost made a big mistake.If I really did this and let His Majesty Daves know about this, I would think that I was taking the lead in embarrassing Croto Kataks, and then I would face His Majesty’s anger...

Therefore, he hurriedly said with a smile: "Haha, drinking is to scare Kitisus. Let’s just eat and chat tonight! You have a good meal! Messenia Bay has been closed before, so the seafood is very delicious. , The oysters are so many, fat and big, you can eat them until you die!"

"Then I have to taste it!" Tiger Tilos hurriedly followed up, and he also realized that he had just said something wrong.

Printors was relieved, and now he couldn't help but glance at Tro Tiras.

…………………………………………

Cloto Catacs and his party came to the camp. No, it should be said that they came to Messene. (After more than a month of joint efforts by Dioyoua soldiers and Messenians, this former Spartan camp has been It can barely be regarded as a city), entered the military tent, and carried out military handover with Leotichides.

"I served as an army commander for the first time, and I don't have much confidence in whether I can fulfill the important tasks assigned by my father and king." Croto Katakstan said sincerely: "General Prosous, you are a kingdom that has experienced many battles. The famous general, who has a deep understanding of Peloponnese, can you give me some pointers?"

Originally, after the handover of military affairs was completed, Leotichides was ready to pack his bags and leave early. He didn't expect Cloto Cataxus to make such a request. He looked at the sincere prince in front of him and looked around. Around: In addition to them, there are Plintors and Mukru in the tent, they are whispering something (Although Leotichides has been transferred, the staff officer Taglu will remain , As a subordinate of Plintors, dealing with trivial military affairs)...

Leotichides hesitated for a moment, and said coldly: "I am the prince of Sparta, my suggestion... will you believe it?"

"My father firmly believes that you will not betray the kingdom, the general, so when he received your first letter, he rejected the proposal of the Military Affairs Department and still let you continue to serve as a commander until he received your second letter. You voluntarily asked to resign from this position. He hesitated for a long time before he chose to agree. He told me,'The reason why people are human is because of their rich emotions. You can't fight against the people of your hometown. This is completely reasonable.'... …And he also sighed and said to me, “Unexpectedly, Proseus looks like a wooden person, but he has such a kind and righteous heart!”...This is the original words of the father. Although I am to the general you I don't understand, but my father believes in you, I have no reason not to believe in you!" Cloto Kataks still said frankly.

After hearing these words, Leotichides felt a little wave in his heart, but he was still indifferent, and then asked: "After defeating the Spartan army, what will your Highness do with Sparta?"

Cloto Kataks solemnly said: "Sparta is the most important city-state in Greece and an important part of all Greek forces. If it is completely eliminated, it will not only make other Greeks resent, but also This caused an imbalance in the power of the entire Greece and the entire Peloponnese. This was not what the father wanted to see, and it was not in the interests of the kingdom!

Therefore, we treat the defeated Sparta as if we dealt with Carthage back then. Sparta will lose its former glory, and its government may have some changes, but it will continue to survive, even Spartan’s. Ordinary people may live better than they are now, because as far as I know, the living conditions of the people in Sparta are worse now..."

After hearing this, Leotichides did not speak, and slowly walked to the main seat, took a wooden chair to sit down, turned around and said: "Mukru, help me get the map of Peloponnese. Come."

The wooden plank map was placed on the table. Leotichides glanced at Cloto Kataks, and then said in a deep voice: "Now we have occupied Messenia, and Sparta is only Mount Tagetos. Separated, but it is not easy to break into their territory.

Two ways!One is that the army took a ship and landed on the coast of Sparta, repeating the way we captured Messenia.But the reason why we were able to win Messenia smoothly was because of the sudden action that made the Spartans too late to defend themselves. After the defeat of the Battle of Leuktra, Sparta's strength significantly weakened. Asia’s military strength is obviously insufficient, which allowed our army to land successfully.But to land on the coast of Sparta, the difficulty is much greater.

First of all, although the number of Spartan fighters may be less than 2,000, this only refers to young and middle-aged citizens. Old people over 50 can still fight in armor, and the combat effectiveness will not be too weak, so that Spartan can temporarily Form a force of nearly 4,000 people.

Spartan Territory still lives with Piriasi people. Before I left Sparta, I remember that the number of Piriasi people is three times that of Spartans. There may be a significant decline now, but a team must be formed. There should be no problem with a team of 5,000 people, and according to the Spartan tradition, as long as there is war, the Piriasi people must provide sufficient soldiers. Spartans have fought frequently in recent years, so the Piriasi people’s combat effectiveness should also be Not weak.

There are still a large number of Black Rolls living in Sparta. The ancestors of these Black Rolls were conquered by Sparta earlier, and Sparta has stricter management of them. Compared with the Messenians, They are more loyal to the Spartans.In my memory, the number of Black Rolls is 7-8 times the number of Spartans. Now even if Messenia is lost, the number of remaining Black Rolls will be at least three times, and a team of 10,000 will be formed temporarily. There should be no major problems.In this way, the Spartans can temporarily set up a reliable army of about 20,000 to defend our landing.

Secondly, the coast of Sparta was much narrower than the coast of Messenia, which made it easier for the Spartans to defend.Also, I got news from the navy that during this time the Spartans put all their strength on the coast and placed countless wooden stakes... In such a situation, we have to forcibly land, even if we eventually win, we will have to pay a lot. The price.

There is one thing...you probably don’t know. Some time ago, the First Fleet occupied Kithira (island in the Gulf of Laconia). Sekelian persuaded me to lead an army to land on the coast of Sparta, but I refused. No, he couldn't help dispatching infantry in the fleet alone, trying to harass the coast of Sparta, but he failed. I heard that hundreds of people died..."

Cloto Kataks looked at Printoles with surprise.

Princeton looked solemn at the time: "The Ministry of Military Affairs has not received any war reports in this regard."

Leotichides said lightly: "Maybe the battle report is still on the way...He is on Kithira now, you can also ask him directly."

Croto Kataks felt a headache: he thought that getting the generals of the expeditionary army to obey would be the biggest problem for him to become a commander, but he actually forgot about the navy, Sekelian-this exploit The father of the navy and the hero of the kingdom are the most difficult ones!

Leotichides didn’t care what the two people in front of him were thinking. He pointed his finger at the map: “The other road is from the north of Messenia through the southern part of Arcadia, thus bypassing Tiger. Toss, into the northern part of the Spartan territory... But whether the Arcadians can allow our troops to enter their territory is the key question.

The Arcadian city-states were once allies of Sparta, but they have recently changed. They formed an Arcadian alliance and wanted to be independent from the Peloponnesian alliance. The threat, if it were not for our arrival, they and Sparta might have been at war.

The Arcadians once sent envoys to Thebes for help. Thebes suggested that they ask us for help, and they also sent envoys to Messenia to intercede for the Arcadians—"

"You mean the Thebes sent messengers?!" Cloto Kataks asked.

"I came three days ago, and the messenger is Ipamirunda." Leotichides paused intentionally.

Sure enough, Croto Kataks asked in surprise: "Is it the military commander Piosha who led the army to defeat the Spartan army at Leuktra?!"

"It's him." Leotichides said calmly, "but I didn't talk to him in detail. I told him that the new commander was about to arrive, so he was willing to stay and wait."

"The Arcadians didn't send messengers?" Priintoles asked, and he and Cloto Kataks had the same doubts: Since Thebes was helping the Arcadian Alliance to intercede, why The messenger of Thebes has arrived, but the Arcadians have not yet come?

"I heard that the messenger of Thebes said that the messenger of the Arcadian Alliance who had followed him had not been able to enter the territory of Messenia, but was suddenly called back because Sparta sent messengers to the Arcadians... …"

Cloto Kataks was taken aback, and then he understood, and couldn't help asking: "Sparta wants to truce with the Arcadians, and then concentrate on fighting us. But the Arcadians oppressed by Sparta Will you agree?!"

"His Royal Highness." Leotichides sat steadily on the wooden chair, pointed his feet, and said in a deep voice: "In the land of Peloponnese, you have to remember one sentence,'Don't worry. Don’t believe any agreement made by any city-state! “Most of the city-states here are still allies today, enemies tomorrow, and peace the day after tomorrow for better survival and interests... This is a common occurrence.

For decades, the Arcadians have been allies of Spartans, but they have been frequently dragged into war by the Spartans over the years, and are dissatisfied with the tyranny of the Spartans. Independent from the alliance.If Sparta voluntarily recognizes the alliance they have established and stops the war against them, it is likely that the relationship between the two sides will return to friendship, and even start to deal with us..."