Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

However, today, the Spartan warriors were surprised to see that the Gulf of Lagnia was filled with densely packed ships, heavily armed Dionian soldiers continued to get off the ship, and the entire coast of Sparta was full of people. How many soldiers are there?!

The shock in their hearts could not be compounded. They had seen the tens of thousands of Dionia's army before, and deeply felt the huge gap in their numbers. They did not expect that this time there would be more Dionia soldiers, and it was by no means a waste of numbers. , Because in the eyes of these battle-tested Spartans, these Dionian soldiers are not only well-equipped, but they are also orderly and disciplined, and they should have certain combat effectiveness.

Among the Spartans who saw this scene is Agsilius. At that moment, his heart suddenly fell to the bottom, and despair drowned it like a tide. His body shook and he was about to fall. , Was held by Xenophon, who was swift and fast.

"Don't worry... there is hope..." Xenophon whispered comfortingly.

Agassilaus looked at the black and crushed coast and was silent for a long time before he heard a hoarse sigh: "I hope Zeus bless..."

Xenophon also looked at the crowded coast. Although he had already seen the prosperity of the center of the Dionian Kingdom, he witnessed the strength of the Dionian army at this moment. His mood was also very uneasy. He suddenly I remembered what Daves said when he parted from him decades ago, "He wants to establish a brand new country in the Western Mediterranean and invite him to join"... Xenophon was disapproving at the time, but now it seems that Dai Firth did fulfill his promise.

At this moment, Xenophon suddenly felt a bit regretful...

The Spartans watched with fear the arrival of the reinforcements of Dionia, while a group of resident generals such as Cloto Catacs and Printoles happily welcomed the reinforcements headed by Patroclus. Spartan City.

After visiting the main scenery of the city, a group of people entered the heavily guarded council hall and held a military meeting.

Croto Kataks originally wanted Patroclus to sit in the first place, because he was the commander-in-chief of the support army appointed by King Daves, and the number of reinforcements far exceeded the number of soldiers stationed in Sparta. Onian army, and they also shoulder an important mission.

Patroclus should be the youngest army commander since the establishment of the Holy Kingdom of Dionian. During the Gallic War, Assistus, the governor of the Roman region, once commented on him in private, saying that he was "brilliant in military. But young and ambitious, it is inevitable to be too arrogant and easy to ignore others."

However, Patroclus, who has been honed in the Po region for several years and the years have passed, is obviously much calmer than when he first took office as the commander of the 14th Army, and after being transferred back to Turrii, he was in bereavement. The painful Cynthia has also solemnly warned him many times, so that he understands that Croto Catacs is no longer a quietly and hard-working middle-level official of the kingdom when he was in Rome, but the heir of King Daves’ attention. , And is trying hard to cultivate his prestige in the army... So he politely rejected Croto Kataks' suggestion and insisted on sitting second.

After everyone was seated, Croto Catacs coughed and said loudly: "First of all, on behalf of the soldiers stationed in Messenia and Laconia, I would like to extend a warm welcome to your arrival! This paragraph Over time, the Greek coalition forces continued to attack us. Although the soldiers held the line of defense firmly, the pressure was still not small. Your arrival has strengthened their confidence!"

Croto Kataks paused, took out a letter from his arms, and said sternly: "Commander Patroclus forwarded me a letter written by your majesty. In your heart, your majesty praised our previous battle. Outstanding performance in China, and being able to conquer Sparta, the overlord of Greece in such a short period of time, is a great feat!"

Hearing this, Plintors, Olivers, Trotiras and others straightened their chests subconsciously.

Cloto Kataks’ gaze swept across their faces, and finally fell on the somewhat absent-minded Katisus, and continued in a gentle voice: "Your Majesty also mentioned,'Although we have achieved the expected goal, The expeditionary army still paid a lot of money, but it was inevitable. After all, we were fighting against the Greek Sparta by force, not the fragile Tarantum. Many soldiers died in the battle. But this is war!'... Your Majesty has gone through all battles and will not blame anyone for it! On the contrary, he encourages us not to have any worries, continue to unite and fight with all strength, and finally achieve the strategic goals set by the kingdom!"

The words of Cloto Kataks greatly relieved the hearts of the garrison generals, especially Cettisus, his face looked much better in an instant.

Cloto Catax saw the effect of what he said, and was also pleased. He was very clear in his heart: Adoris’ death was not only for him, but for the generals who fought in the Peloponnese. The big stone was pressed against his chest, especially Cetius, whose self-blame was on his face almost every day.

Klotokatax had no resentment, only sympathy for Cettisus: at the time of the sudden change in the situation, he was panicked as the coach, and Cettisus was able to take the correct response in a relatively timely manner to ensure The First Army was not defeated by the Spartans, laying the foundation for the final victory of the battle.For this reason, he once talked to Katisus in private, but the effect was not obvious.

Fortunately, Daves wrote this letter in time. Although the letter did not directly mention Adoris’s name, it also made Cettisus feel his understanding and encouragement, so Cettisus’ whole mental state All changed for it.

Patroclus watched the scene in front of him silently. When he heard the news of Adoris' death in battle, he was indeed shocked and sad, but it was far from the grief of his wife. After all, the relationship between him and Adoris The relationship is not very good, Adoris has an inexplicable hostility towards him, so the two have less contact.

At this moment, what surprised him was the changes of Croto Catacs. During his tenure as the legionary in Rome a few years ago, he had close contacts with Croto Catacs, and he remembered this young prince. He has a gentle, serious, diligent, and friendly personality, but when I saw him again today, there was a bit of majesty between his words and behavior.

"Commander Patroclus." Croto Kataks looked at his brother-in-law and said loudly: "Next, please tell us about the follow-up military plan that your Majesty and the Ministry of Military Affairs negotiated and formulated!"

Patroclus returned to his senses, looked around, and said loudly: "Everyone who has been fighting here for more than three months, according to the latest military plan drawn up by your majesty, you still need to stand alone here for a period of time, because my leadership This army is not here to reinforce you—"

"What?!" Hearing this, the generals such as Oliver and Tigtinos were surprised, but Plintors was thoughtful.

Without waiting for them to inquire, Patroclus went on to say: "The Ministry of Military Affairs once did a deduction. The Peloponnese is small but there are many mountains. If we face the enemy in Messiania and Laconia, In combat, the superior forces cannot be fully deployed. Although they can be repelled, they cannot be annihilated better. On the contrary, the defeated Greek coalition forces retreat to their own city-states, which will inevitably greatly extend the time for us to conquer Greece.

Our army wants to land on the side of the Greek coalition forces and flanking them. Only Ellis is suitable for large-scale landing operations, because our previous conquests of islands such as Zakynthos and Kelaronia have already used They have strengthened their defenses on the coast, and the Greek coalition forces are just south of Alice, and they can rush for reinforcements at any time. Landing operations there will undoubtedly cost us a lot and may not be successful.

In addition, the Ministry of Military Affairs has also received intelligence that the Greek coalition forces have strengthened their defenses on the coasts of Attica and Piosha...but they are useless. Your Majesty has already set the target of our raid.

With a look of admiration, Patroclus said in a more accented tone: "That's Thessaly! It is reported that in the Greek coalition forces, Thessaly's soldiers accounted for more than half, and the combat effectiveness is also the strongest, the Greek coalition forces. We must take advantage of the emptiness behind and send a large army to quickly raid and occupy the whole territory of Thessaly. Then the Thessaly army who is still fighting here will inevitably collapse without fighting, and the Thessaly will retreat. The Greek coalition forces will naturally collapse..."

Olivers and other generals suddenly realized.

Priintoles showed a clear look, and cautiously reminded: "The Greek coalition forces know that they are strengthening the defense against the coast in Central Greece and should not ignore Thessaly."

"Master Printoles is right. The Ministry of Military Affairs has received news from Philae. Jason has indeed sent troops to strengthen the defense against Philae's south coast." Patroclus, the chief of staff of the Ministry of Military Affairs, did not dare to underestimate him. He seriously explained: "However, our main landing site is not in the east of Thessaly, but in Peleus, the Macedonian Territory to the north, and Rafa Mia.

Although Macedonia did not join the Greek Alliance, it had successively loaned troops to Sparta and Athens (in fact, for hire), and was also our enemy of Dionia.The Lamia region was forced to adhere to Jason not long ago. Peleus is far from the center of Thessaly. They are not strong and have little loyalty to Jason, and they have not been found to strengthen the coast. Defense..."

While listening, Plintors thought about the geography and sea area of ​​the main eastern coast of Greece. After a while, he asked: "How many soldiers are involved in the landing operation?"

"There are the Second, Third, Fifth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth, Thirteenth, Second and Third Cavalry Corps, and Gaul Corps (including 6,000 Gaul fighters and 2,000 Gaul cavalry), 2,000 Balearic slingers... 80,000 soldiers will directly land and fight." Patroclus said, suddenly remembering something: "Right. Counting the infantry of the three fleets escorting us, there are nearly 100,000 combat soldiers in total!"

After Patroclus finished speaking, the generals present widened their eyes: 100,000 soldiers were dispatched at a time, what a grand scene would be!