Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

"Your Highness, we can't retreat!" Plintors immediately objected: "Now the Spartan army is about to engage us. If we retreat at this time, not only will the soldiers complain, but also our previous efforts. In vain, let the Spartan army breathe and make other Greek city-states look down upon us, and it may speed up their formation of an alliance with the Spartans and jointly become enemies with us. We want to defeat the Spartan army again. It will undoubtedly become more difficult!

Not only can we not retreat, but we should also speed up the attack on the Spartan army before these Greek city-states are not ready for military use. As long as we can defeat Sparta, the situation will become our advantage!"

After all, Klotokatax was the first to lead the army. He lacked experience and coincided with the bad news. He panicked for a while. Under heavy pressure, he would inevitably choose to be conservative. Plintors reminded him. , He immediately realized: If he did this by himself, it would undoubtedly lead to the prolongation of the war. Not only would it greatly consume national power and increase casualties, but it would also disappoint his father, who had always been determined in the war...

Thinking of this, he cheered up and immediately changed his words and said: "Master Priintoles, you are right. We should step up our attack on the Spartan army, but what should we do?!"

"His Royal Highness, first, we should send a messenger to inform our garrison troops in Messenia, so that they can strengthen their defense on the northern border and be ready to mobilize the Messenians at any time." Plintors suggested patiently. "Secondly, we should separate some scouts and scout soldiers, and explore westward, not only the situation in the Ellis area, but also the movements of the Arcadian Alliance army, just in case.

Then, Your Highness, you have to write to tell Sekelion that we are in a predicament and urge him to attack the coast of Sparta and land as soon as possible.

At the same time, we led the main force into the territory of Taga, and did not take the initiative to attack the Spartan camp, but pretended to build a new camp at the border of Taga and Sparta, forcing the Spartan army to leave the camp with us. In a decisive battle."

"If the Spartan army can't close the camp, and want to unite the Ellis army, then we will have a decisive battle?" Croto Kataks couldn't help asking.

"Then we will really build a camp there to block the Spartans' return home, and then send some soldiers to cooperate with the soldiers of the First Fleet to invade the Spartan territory from the north...I think the Spartans Never want to see such a situation happen." Plintors said calmly.

After listening to Plintors, Cloto Kataks fell into deep thought and did not respond for a long time.

Plintors couldn't help asking: "His Royal Highness, do you think there are any shortcomings in my plan?"

Klotokatax heard that Plintors was a little dissatisfied, and said apologetically: "Master Plintors, your suggestion is very good, I have no objection! I'm sorry, I was a little distracted just now. , Because your plan inspired me and gave me an idea."

Cloto Kataks's active confession not only made Priintoles ridiculous, but also ashamed that he was too small, so he asked seriously: "May I have a good idea?"

"When I was in Turei, I read in detail the past history of the main Greek city-states. The reason why Ellis expressed kindness to us before was because although it was a member of the Peloponnesian League, it was in Peloponnese. In the Pennesian War, because of Liepion’s affiliation, he had enmity with Sparta. Before the Corinthian War, the Spartan army invaded the territory of Ellis and forcibly occupied some of its territories. In the Treaty of the Great King After the signing, Sparta supported Pisa and forcibly transferred the right to host the Olympia Games, which was originally owned by Alice, to Pisa... Since then, the people of Alice have hated Sparta to the bone, so they deserve it. When they knew that our army was going to fight Sparta, they were very happy and sent Ionikos to Messenia with the fleet.

Now Ellis agreed to join the Greek alliance against us, probably because Pisa took the initiative to surrender to it, giving it a chance to finally unify the western part of the Peloponnese.But it has forgotten that if we are really defeated and quit the Peloponnese, once Sparta regains its strength, it will still compete with it for dominance in the western region...

Therefore, we should send the diplomat Carrias to Alice and make a promise to them, "We don’t necessarily ask Alice to support us, but as long as Alice can remain neutral, Dionia will support Alice. Become the leader of the western region of the Peloponnese'... Even if the Ellis people finally disagree with our proposal, they will hesitate and dispute because of this, which will delay the military mobilization against us... Lord Priintoles, how do you feel?"

Cloto Catax’s suggestion made Priintoles, who only focused on military aspects, his eyes brightened, and he praised sincerely: "Your Highness, your suggestion is really wonderful! I think we should not only let Kari As the ambassador to Ellis, he can also send him to other city-states, thereby disrupting the situation in Greece, which is beginning to be detrimental to us..."

………………………………………………

Klotokatax and Priintoles were rushing to implement their plan, but on the second day they received a message from the scout that the Spartan army was attacking the city of Taga.

The active attack of the Spartan army made Plintors feel that this was a good opportunity to fight the Spartan army, so under his proposal, Cloto Catax left 3,000 soldiers stationed in the camp and led The army went to rescue.

The road to Taigeya is a narrow, undulating mountain road with higher elevations on both sides. The experienced Plintorus did not let Cloto Kataks advance, but suggested first. The mountain reconnaissance team was sent to investigate the surrounding situation, and it was true that Spartan troops were lying in ambush in the mountains.

As a result, Cloto Kataks sent a mixed unit consisting of light armor and light infantry to actively attack the Spartan army ambushing on the hill.

The battle was not fierce. This Spartan army did not have Spartan soldiers. It was mainly mercenaries and no heavy infantry. After its whereabouts were exposed, it faced well-trained Dionian light armour and light infantry. With the tacit attack, he quickly chose to retreat.

But the battle between the mountains delayed time. Seeing that dusk was approaching, the Dionian army had to choose a place to camp and rest.

Early in the morning of the third day, the Dionian army continued to march, but in order to prevent the Spartan army from ambushing and harassment, the marching speed was not fast, and it was not until the morning that the vanguard entered the Taigeya territory.

The Taigea-Mandinia Plain is a rare piece of flat land in Arcadia. It is a long and narrow area running north-south, with rivers crisscrossing it, and the land is relatively fertile. It is the entire Peloponnese. The famous wheat growing area on the peninsula is also the granary of Arcadia.

The soldiers trudged through the mountains and came to the plains with a wide view. They saw the green wheat fields everywhere, undulating in the breeze, and they were all refreshed.

Klotokatax did not have time to enjoy the scenery, because he had received a return from the scout: the Spartan army was attacking the city of Tiger. The battle was very fierce. Depending on the situation, the Tigers had suffered heavy casualties and some Can't resist it anymore.

Prior to his analysis, Plintors and the generals had analyzed that Taga had been under the auspices of the Spartans for a long time. Unlike the Mandinians, they did not build their own walls with great care. Its walls have not been maintained for a long time. There are no trenches and other defense facilities outside the city, but Taigeya is one of the largest states in Arcadia after all, with a large population and should be able to hold on for a period of time.

How could it be so fast?

But the situation reported by the scouts returning one after another was the same: Spartan troops completely surrounded the city of Taga, Spartan soldiers had already attacked the city of Taga several times, and there were corpses everywhere in Taga... …

It seems that there is no doubt that under the strong attack of tens of thousands of soldiers of the Spartan army, the city of Taga is in danger!

Klotokatax and Priintoles must not allow the city of Taga to fall into the hands of the Spartans, because it is only spring now, and the food in the homes of Taga’s people is still sufficient. Greatly alleviated the food shortage of the Spartan army; secondly, Sparta captured the city of Taga in the center of the plain, and established a firm foothold on this plain, and can continue to threaten Mandinia to the north. Obtained a certain strategic initiative.

Therefore, Klotokatax issued an order: "Speed ​​up the march, and move on to Taga City!"

At the same time, the Prince Dionia added an order: "Try not to trample on the wheat fields!"

The city of Tygea is only a dozen miles away from its southwestern edge, and its terrain is flat, and the Dionian army is advancing faster. By noon, the leading troops can already see the outline of the city of Tygea.

At this time, Cloto Kataks received another return from the scouts: most of the Spartan army had been withdrawn, and began to make the soldiers face west and line up.

The Spartans are now preparing for a battle with us!...Klotokatax saw that the goal he was seeking was about to be achieved so soon, he was delighted, and then nervous. After all, the upcoming battle will determine the success or failure of the Dionia army and thousands of soldiers. Life and death.

Of course, Printors was more calm. He suggested that the army should postpone its advancement, and at the same time, he also asked to check the Spartan army's formation at close range.

After hearing this, Croto Kataks also expressed his intention to go, and also used "my father to personally observe in battle" as an excuse to silence the persuaders.