Chapter 1055
Sparta's emissary asked Diónia to make a promise that they would not support Sparta's enemies in the future.
Antares used the words of the Devers's King to reply, but with more anger. "If you can allow the Apulian rebels to return to the Peloponnesus peninsula, why can't we sell some food to the Thebes? Sparta should be thankful that we, Diónia, are only selling food, not anything else! "
The Sparta emissary returned angrily. The Diónia's words made all the Sparta elders and censors vigilant. They realized that the Diónia had always held a grudge against Sparta.
This made them feel even more anxious. But in the spring of the next year (376 BC, the 18th year of the Kingdom of Diónia), Agesilaus was bedridden and unable to go to war. The censors had no choice but to appoint another king of Sparta, Cleombrotus, as the commander-in-chief of the entire army, and continue to attack the Thebes.
When the allied forces had gathered, Cleombrotus decided to take the route that Agesilaus had taken when he first attacked the Thebes. He crossed the Gulf of Corinth by boat, landed in the western part of Pioscia, and met up with the Tespians.
However, the Thebes had already suffered once, so they would not be fooled again. They laid an ambush in the mountains to the south of Tespia, and waited for the Sparta army to pass through the mountain pass before launching a surprise attack and repelling them.
Seeing that the Thebes had occupied the main road, Cleombrotus believed that it was impossible to enter the territory of the Thebes again, so he led his army back to Peloponnesus.
After that, envoys from various allies gathered in Sparta. They were dissatisfied with the fact that Sparta had been conscripting its citizens to fight against the Thebes for years, but there had been no obvious progress. They complained that the citizens were getting more and more lazy about the war, and if it continued like this, they might refuse to fight again.
They made a new suggestion: the Thebes were heavily defended in the south, and it would be difficult to break through. However, the allied warships outnumbered Athens. Why not use a fleet to bypass Athens by sea, land in the north of Central Greece, and join forces with the Phocians to attack the Thebes from the northwest?
In the end, Sparta accepted this suggestion and sent a fleet of 60 three-oared warships. However, when the fleet circled the waters near Athens, they also robbed the ships carrying grain from the Black Sea to Attica.
Athens almost fell into famine, and immediately sent 80 warships to catch up with the Sparta fleet near Naxos (not the city of Naxos in Sicily of the Kingdom of Diónia). The two sides engaged in a fierce battle, and the Sparta fleet was defeated, leading to the failure of the previously planned military campaign.
The people of Athens were encouraged by this victory, and because of the request of the Thebes, they also decided to send a fleet of 50 three-oared warships to circumnavigate the peninsula of Peloponnesus and attack the navy of the Sparta alliance.
The council of Athens appointed Timotheus, the son of Konon, one of the heroes of the revival of Athens, who had served in Persia, as the commander of the fleet.
In 375 BC (the 19th year of the Kingdom of Diónia), Timotheus led his fleet to set sail. Along the way, he did not land on the island of Peloponnesus, but he did something important, which was to land on the island of Kekila. He did not enslave the local residents, nor did he force them to change their political system. As a result, all the city-states on the island were willing to join the maritime alliance of Athens.
The island of Kekila was the closest Greek land to the Kingdom of Diónia, which meant that the maritime power of Athens had extended to the vicinity of the Adria Sea. However, the Kingdom of Diónia did not say anything about this at this time.
As the Athens fleet circled the peninsula of Peloponnesus, the Sparta alliance had to be wary of it, so they did not launch any large-scale attacks on the Thebes. The Thebes seized this opportunity and boldly attacked everywhere, attempting to liberate and conquer the neighboring city-states of Pioscia that were controlled by the Sparta army.
Among them, the most famous military operation was commanded by Perópidas.
When the Thebes received information that the Sparta army that was originally stationed in the city of Olhominos had been transferred away, Perópidas thought that this was a good opportunity to conquer the neighboring northern neighbors (Olhominos and the Thebes were separated by the Copais Lake). So he led 300 infantry and dozens of cavalry hurriedly around the Copais Lake and marched north.
As a result, when he approached the city of Olhominos, he received a depressing news: the Sparta garrison had returned to the city.
Perópidas did not want to attack the city by force, because it would cause more casualties among the soldiers. So, he led the army back without any success.
Unexpectedly, when the army passed through a place called Tiesia, they suddenly encountered a Sparta army from the north.
The haste of the incident was beyond Perópidas's expectations, and the Sparta army outnumbered the soldiers he led.
There was a strong enemy blocking the way in front, and the city of Olhominos was not far behind. The Sparta garrison in the city could attack at any time, and the Copais Lake was blocking the way on the side. The Thebes army was in a desperate situation and could not escape. Perópidas could only lead the army to fight to the death.
He placed 300 infantry in the middle, and the cavalry was divided into two wings.
As soon as the formation was in place, the Sparta army attacked fiercely. The battle did not last long, and the Thebes cavalry on both wings were defeated.
However, in the middle, the Sparta army, which had more soldiers than their opponents, was in a difficult battle. This was because they were facing the sacred army of the Thebes, which was specially formed by the government of the Thebes and specially trained by Epaminonda.
The 150 pairs of gay Thebes were not afraid in the face of a strong enemy. Not only did they attack fiercely, but they also cooperated very well. They even encouraged each other during the battle, so their morale was always high.
After a period of fierce battle, the Sparta army began to retreat under their attack. To make matters worse, their commander died in the battle, and finally, the Sparta army was defeated.
Due to the dangerous situation, Perópidas did not dare to give the order to pursue. He led the victorious army back to the Thebes in a hurry.
In this battle, the number of people on both sides was less than 1,000. Although the scale was small, it was more significant. Unlike the battle that killed Phoebidas, this time they won in a face-to-face battle. There were many real Sparta warriors in the defeated Sparta army, so the victory shocked the whole of Central Greece, and encouraged many people in Central Greece who were controlled by the Sparta army to rebel. This also made the fledgling sacred army of Thebes famous in Greece.
… …
"Beep! Beep! Beep! Early in the morning, the irritating copper whistle sounded in the Turís slave camp.
Under the urging of the foreman, the slaves quickly got up and washed up, then lined up to the canteen for breakfast.
The cafeteria of the slave camp was similar to the cafeteria of the Tuliyi military camp, but it was smaller. It was a square tetrahedron building, with more than 20 pillars supporting the 4-meter-high flat stone roof. Three sides were open and unobstructed, while the other side was the kitchen. The spacious hall was neatly arranged with tables and benches, enough to accommodate two to three hundred people at a time.
The slaves smelled the aroma of food in the air, but they did not rush to the table. They still lined up in an orderly manner and walked to the steaming display window. In the beginning, these slaves were not so disciplined. They only knew the rules after many severe punishments.
"Uncle, what's good for breakfast today?" A slave stood in front of the display window and handed his wooden plate and jar in. He could not wait to ask.
Most of the chefs and helpers in the slave camp were slaves or freed slaves. Therefore, they often had a good attitude towards the slaves who came to the canteen to eat. Sometimes, they even took extra care of them.
The middle-aged chef with a wooden spoon said with a smile, "You're in luck today! Not only is there bread, oatmeal, and broth for breakfast, but also a piece of smoked beef for everyone. Each piece of bread is smeared with honey! "
"Really?!"
"Do I need to lie to you?!" The chef held the breakfast on a wooden plate and handed it to him. "Take a good look at it yourself."
"Wow, there's really meat!" The slave shouted excitedly.
Hearing his shout, there was a commotion among the slaves at the back.
"What's going on! Quiet! " The foreman's shout immediately made the line return to silence, but every slave's face was full of desire.
"Get your breakfast and leave quickly. Don't block there!" The foreman urged in a stern tone.
The slave bit the honey bread, held the wooden plate, and quickly found a table nearby to sit down.
The chef was a freed slave, so he was not afraid of the fierce foreman at all. Instead, he used a wooden spoon to knock on the copper pot filled with broth and said loudly to the slaves, "Do you know why today's breakfast is so rich? I heard that yesterday, more than 20 slaves fainted at the quarry site, and … a few slaves were injured (actually, 7 slaves died). When the doctors were treating them, they found out that the reason they fainted was because they were too hungry … Later, I don't know how, but His Majesty found out about this and specifically gave instructions to let you eat well and ensure your health.
After Sir Acarus received the order, he did not rest well at night and immediately came to discuss with us. He also urgently sent people to the Turií market to buy food … From now on, not only will your breakfast be rich, but your dinner will also be rich. At noon, the food will also be transported to the construction site for you to eat! "
The slaves immediately cheered, and the whole canteen was boiling.
The foreman's face changed and was about to shout loudly.
The chef shouted loudly, "Let us thank the merciful His Majesty the Devers!"
"Thank the merciful His Majesty the Devers!!!" The canteen was filled with cheers.
More than half of these slaves came from the Western Mediterranean War a few years ago. Each of them had their own race's god, but under the long-term influence of other slaves and the environment in the camp, most of them began to believe in Hades.
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