Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

There is an island in the center of this bay called Aegina. It was considered a strong state in Greece more than a hundred years ago, especially in the navy aspect, which caused Athens to suffer a lot, until Dimitocli suggested that Athens should be more than half. After the wealth was used to develop the navy, Athens gradually began to gain the upper hand in the naval battle with Aegina.At last, Athens entered a golden age during the reign of Pericles. Without Sparta's intervention, it finally conquered Aegina and made it the territory of Athens.

The annexation of Aegina, and the island of Salamis not far to the northwest of it also belonged to Athens, so the northern waters of the bay are under the control of Athens.

Although Cyclion made an amazing decision, he did not lose his rationality and did not arrogantly let the fleet of warships break into the northern waters and provoke Athens. This is very likely to drag the neutral Athens at this time. Into the war, adding unnecessary trouble to the kingdom, so he let the fleet of warships sail past the south of Aegina.

This is of course a risky decision, because there are some small islands and reefs in the southern waters of Aegina, and the navigation routes are relatively narrow. The ships of the First Fleet who are not familiar with the sea conditions here can only line up in longer columns. Passing at a slow speed, if a hostile Greek city-state fleet suddenly launches an attack at this time, the first fleet can hardly respond from the beginning to the end, and it will definitely suffer greater losses.

In this area and nearby waters, only Athens has strong naval power. According to the intelligence provided by the Ministry of Military Affairs, Sekerian knew that Aegina had the naval port of Athens and some warships were moored, so Seke Li'an lost the ease before and began to feel nervous.

The 1st Fleet quickly transformed into a two-way column, starting to pass between the islands of Aegina and Methana, and then cautiously around to the south of the islet of Agatistri, after which they moved The speed is gradually increasing...

At this time, the south coast of Aegina was full of the people of Athens. They watched intently at the three-tiered paddle warships passing under their noses endlessly, their faces were all full of astonishment. .

"This... how many warships are there?!"

"I have been counting just now, 205 ships have passed, and there are still so many more to come, it is estimated that at least 400 ships!"

"This should be Dionia's fleet. I heard that when they were fighting the Carthaginians at sea, the total number of warships on both sides reached a thousand. At that time, I thought that the colonial kingdom was willing to degenerate to intimidate the Western Mediterranean. (The drama "Theonians" written by Aristophanes was popular in Athens at the time, making many Athenians believe that the main body of Dionians, the Greeks, ignored their lofty identity and took the initiative to include the indigenous people in their own Kingdom, granting it citizenship and living with it is an expression of self-willingness and depravity), deliberately exaggerating its own power, but now it seems that it may be true!"

"400 warships are nothing great. At one time, our total number of warships in Athens was more than this, and even if we now have far fewer warships than them, with our superb ship handling skills, we can still defeat them in naval battles!"

"Young man, it’s good to have confidence, but don’t belittle the other side blindly. We are all sailors. Take a closer look at their ships and make an evaluation. Dionia’s fleet should be unfamiliar with the sea conditions here, but look at them. The speed of each row of warships is not slow, but the distance between each row of warships and the rear row of warships can always be kept stable...In the narrower place in front, the two warships of each row can turn very freely, and the speed has not How much slower, and there has never been a collision... All these show that Dionia's fleet is well-trained, and their sailors are not low in maneuvering skills. We must pay our attention!"

"Hey! You guys, now that the Dionian fleet has reached our doorstep, you still have leisure to stand here and watch, shouldn't you send out our warship to protect our homeland? !"

"What do you know as a woman! Look at the direction of the Dionian fleet. It doesn't seem to be coming to our Athens. Besides, we haven't received an order from the General Executive Committee to attack. If we attack rashly, it will lead to Athens. If a war breaks out with Dionia, it may be condemned by the citizens' assembly!"

...

Just as the people of Athens stood on the island of Aegina and were talking about it, the vanguard of the First Fleet had quickly approached the port of Cancorrea in the eastern part of the Isthmus in Corinth. The land here was concave inward, forming a small In the bay, the Dionian warship immediately blocked the mouth of the bay to prevent the ship from escaping.

The first fleet came by coincidence. After the five Asian Minor transport ships entered the port of Cancorrea, two more food fleets from Asia Minor arrived near the port of Corinth. The news of "Longwan" made them very panic. They fled to the port in a guilty conscience, causing panic and congestion at the port entrance and causing the port to be unable to close the water gate for a while.

The ships of the 1st Fleet seized the opportunity to rush into the harbor, and tried to hit all the ships that could be seen flying the flags of the cities of Asia Minor, even if it had been docked on the dock. In the process, in order to clear the route, it inevitably crashed. Other ships...

There was chaos in the Cancorrea port, and the people on the shore rushed and called in panic... But for a while, the Corinthian officials at the port could not find any effective measures to stop the Dionia from raging in the port.

The strength of the Corinthian navy is not bad among the Greek city-states, but the Saron Bay in the eastern part of the Isthmus has always been dominated by the Athenians, so all the warships are docked at the main port in the western part of the Isthmus, Le Kaeu, and Even if the fleet is in the eastern port this time, they cannot compare with the number of Dionian warships that are constantly pouring into the port.

In addition, more than ten crow warships docked to the pier one after another, and the heavily armed fleet infantry immediately went ashore, but they neither pursued the port people nor seized the port, but lined up in a neat array of nearly 500 people. Holding a shield and sword, standing on the spot, and shouting in unison: "We only attack the cargo ship that transports troops for Sparta, and there is no malice against Corinth!!! We only attack..."

The shouts of the fleet infantry are really absurd, but they have worked in the chaotic situation at this time: the Corinthians hesitated, and based on the deterrence of the Dionian soldiers who landed, they did not use it on the guard tower. The rocket attacked, and there was no way to close the water gate...

Not long after, the trumpet sounded from the first fleet squadron seat, and all the Dionian warships in the port quickly evacuated.

The Corinthian people in the port were a bit calmer, but broken ship boards and shipwrecks were floating on the sea in the port. The crew members who fell into the water were struggling and crying for help. A tragic sight...

The Dionian warship successfully evacuated the port of Corinth, which made Sekerian breathe a sigh of relief. When he was about to give the order of "fleet evacuation from Salong Bay", the watchman at the top of the main mast suddenly shouted: "Northeast A yellow flag has been raised on the Clippers!"

Seceli's heart was shocked. He understood that this meant that there were less than the number of warships approaching the First Fleet, and there was only one city-state in this big bay that dared to make such a move-Athens.

Sekerian became excited, and he shouted: "The sky full of stars rises, and the fleet is heading northeast!"

The captain of the flagship who was ordered rushed to the stern and asked eagerly: "My lord, are you going to go to war with Athens?!"

"Calm down, Ekritus." Sekelian said relievedly: "The Athenians are unknown. I'm just making preparations. If they dare to attack, then we can also counterattack!"

The bugle blew and the black flag was raised. The 500 Dionian warships that were originally gathered outside the port of Corinth quickly unfolded centered on their respective squadrons, and marched toward the northeast together while arranging formations. .

It didn't take long for dozens of Athenian warships to appear in the vision of the captain of the forefront battleship of the 1st Fleet. This did not have any impact on Dionia's warships, and all warships continued to advance at a steady speed.

The same is true for the Athens warship.

Six miles...Five miles...Four miles...The distance between the two sides is getting closer and closer. At this time, the crew of Athens should be able to clearly feel that there is a significant gap between them and the Delonia fleet in terms of numbers, but in the past They have given them courage with their brilliant record of winning more with less. Especially not far from them, a monument of victory was erected on Salamis Island.

Decades ago, it was in this bay. The combined Greek fleet, dominated by Athenian warships, fought against the Persian fleet that had several times the number of warships of its own. In the end it won a glorious victory, created a miracle of war and saved Greece... This legendary story inspired Generations of Athenians.The Athens crew who were ordered to leave the port today had more or less expectations, which offset the tension in their hearts.

As the two sides got closer and closer, even Sekelian couldn't help feeling nervous. He was not afraid of the dozens of Athenian warships ahead. As a senior general of the kingdom of his level, not just himself. It’s fine to play comfortably, and you must also consider how the changes in the Greek situation that were triggered after the defeat of the Athens fleet will affect Dionia’s military plan in the Peloponnese. However, the situation in Greece is complex. It was impossible to predict.

Fortunately, when the distance between the two sides was close to two miles, Sekelian got news: The Athens fleet stopped advancing!

Sekerian hurriedly ordered: the fleet stop advancing!

The warships of the two sides were two miles apart, facing each other quietly.