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Chapter 1108

In the Western Mediterranean War, the Dionysian Army's ferocity in defending the city gave Hasdrubal a lot of trouble. In the frontal battle, they only fought once, and the Diónia coalition army led by Leotychides was defeated. However, on the right flank of the real Legion of Dionysia, Hasdrubal's Feinu infantry, which he relied heavily on, were beaten back. This made him very interested in the Legion of Dionysia.

The Ministry of Military Affairs was busy building the border army, and the Ministry of Finance was also busy. The new Tax Act had been announced, and it was gradually accepted by the people of the kingdom. Although there were still a few months before the national direct tax was imposed, the new Minister of Finance, Archipedes, had begun to urge the tax offices of the towns to estimate the income of the people under their jurisdiction in advance, and then calculate the possible total tax according to the new tax rate. Based on this figure, a new financial distribution plan was drawn up and submitted to the King of Devers for reference.

… …

The new Immigration Act, the new Tax Act, the formation of new armies, the establishment of new administrative divisions … A series of new measures were being implemented in an orderly manner. It meant that the development of the kingdom had entered a new track. The kingdom's governance was more efficient, its finances were richer, and its military security was more guaranteed.

It was also in this year that the war in Greece entered a new stage. After the Battle of Teixia, the Thebes became famous. They seized the opportunity to drive away the garrisons of Sparta around the Thebes, and gradually united the neighboring cities of Pioscia, which further strengthened their strength. They also sent troops to occupy the northern area of Corinth Bay and the southern area of Pioscia, which supported the Sparta's support, so that they could prevent the Sparta from landing there again and directly threaten the safety of the Thebes from the south.

After receiving this news, Sparta had no choice but to send King Cleombrotus to lead an army to cross the Corinth Bay by boat to help the Thebes to repel the invading army of Thebes.

Just as the two sides began a new round of battle, an emissary from the city-state of Thessaly, Fartharus, arrived in Sparta.

The messenger's name was Polidamas, and he had a high prestige in the city of Pharsalus. Whenever Pharsalus fell into internal strife, the people would unanimously agree to let him manage the citadel and entrust him with the financial revenue and expenditure of the city-state. Whether it was religious affairs or administrative revenues and expenditures, he could act in accordance with the law and arrange everything in an orderly manner. At the end of every year, he would submit a detailed account of the city's finances. If there was a deficit, he would pay out of his own pocket to make up for it. Therefore, not only was he respected by the people of Pharsalus, but he also enjoyed a great reputation throughout Thessaly.

Naturally, when such a person came to Sparta, he was given a grand reception by the Council of Elders, who granted his request and held a special meeting for him.

And in this meeting, Polidamas mentioned one thing.

Thessaly was located in the north of Central Greece. The northern part was separated from the territory of Macedonia by mountains. The Kingdom of Zeus, the Greek revered Mount Olympus, was located in it. The western part was bordered by the mountains of Epirus, the eastern part was bordered by the Aegean Sea, and the southern part was bordered by the Mari region. Hot Springs Pass was one of them.

Geographically, Thessaly was surrounded by mountains. Countless streams flowed down from the mountains, converging into many rivers, carrying the soil in the valleys and alluvial into fertile plains. Therefore, it supported a large population. In addition to the developed agriculture, the many sloping hillsides of Thessaly provided natural high-quality grasslands for raising horses, and the plains at the foot of the mountains provided a vast open space for horses to gallop. Therefore, Thessaly was famous throughout Greece for its horses and cavalry. (Note: In history, Alexander the Great's famous War Horse Bucephalas came from Macedonia. Most of the 5000 cavalry that he brought to Persia also came from Thessaly.)

Although Thessaly had such a good geographical condition, there were many conflicts between the city-states of Thessaly, and there were endless wars. Therefore, it had never become an important force in the whole of Greece.

However, this divided situation began to change in recent years. Philae was the only city-state that had a prosperous port trade in the territory of Thessaly. In addition to its developed agriculture, it was also the wealthiest city-state in the whole of Thessaly.

There was a citizen in the city-state of Philae named Iazon. His father gave him the name of an ancient hero when he was born (Iazon was the main character in the legend of the Golden Fleece), hoping that he would be successful when he grew up. Iazon did not let his father down. After he grew up, he used various means and finally became the overlord of Philae. However, he was not satisfied. He used the wealth of Philae to recruit 6000 mercenaries and gave them strict training. He gave generous rewards to the soldiers who performed bravely in battle, and gave good care and treatment to the injured soldiers. If they died in battle, he would arrange a grand funeral for them. Therefore, the mercenaries were loyal to him and were willing to fight to the death for him.

The cavalry of Thessaly was well-known, and the heavy infantry here was also quite famous. They were all in his newly formed team. However, Iazon still felt unsatisfied. Over the years, he had paid attention to the Greek War in the south of Thessaly, which made him realize the importance of the light shield soldiers (Ifitrax, the general of Athens, was good at commanding the light shield soldiers in Thessaly and had made many achievements). The mountains around Thessaly were also rich in excellent light shield soldiers.

Therefore, he commanded this well-trained and brave army to conquer the Malachi, the Donopus (the race in the mountains north of Thessaly), and the Epirus in the mountains northwest of Thessaly, thus strengthening his mercenary team.

Under his powerful rule, the strength of Philae grew stronger day by day. Taking advantage of the fact that the Greek overlord, Sparta, was busy dealing with the war between the Thebes and Athens and could not focus on the north, he forced several northern city-states of Thessaly, such as Larissa and Kranon, near Philae, to surrender to him. Then, he set his sights on Pharsalus.

Pharsalus was located in the center of the Thessaly region. It had always been a powerful state in this region. Many Thessaly city-states looked up to it. If he conquered it, he would be able to unify the entire Thessaly region more smoothly.

Therefore, Iazon led tens of thousands of troops and marched towards Pharsalus in the south.

Pharsalus also hurriedly summoned other allied armies to fight against the invading enemy.

After winning the first battle, Iazon did not immediately launch an attack on the city of Pharsalus. Instead, he sent messengers into the city to persuade them to surrender. He also specifically found Bordamas, who was the commander of the allied forces at that time, and brought him a letter personally written by Iazon.

In the letter, Iazon told Bordamas straightforwardly that with the powerful force in his hands, he could completely annihilate Pharsalus and its allies in one fell swoop. The reason why he did not do so was that he hoped that the city-states of Thessaly, led by Pharsalus, would be willing to join the Thessaly Alliance that he had established. So that they would not be ready to conspire and rebel, but would do their best to jointly safeguard the interests of the alliance.

He also hoped that Bordamas would do his best to assist him and help him become the Tagus of all the people of Thessaly (Thessaly's name for the overlord of Thessaly). He would also give Bordamas a generous reward, so that Bordamas would be above everyone else.

In the letter, he also showed Bordamas his ambition: as long as Thessaly was under the rule of a Tagus, the many years of war would be quelled. There would be sufficient food, a large population, well-trained mercenaries … so that he could send an army of 6,000 cavalry and more than 10,000 heavy infantry at any time. He could form an alliance with the city-states of Pioscia headed by the Thebes in the south. If he could liberate them from the control of the Sparta, they would definitely listen to him. At the same time, he could also control Macedonia in the north, because it was here that the people of Athens obtained the wood for shipbuilding. With this, he could build ships far more than those of the Greek city-states in the south, forming a powerful fleet … And his real goal was not the barren land in the south, nor the tiny islands in the Aegean Sea, but Persia on the vast continent in the east. Since the Greek mercenaries in the past and the army of Agesilaus later could kill their way in and out of Persia, and he had a stronger army, he had full confidence to conquer the kingdom of Persia and obtain unprecedented glory and wealth!

Polidamas was astonished by the ambition which he expressed in his letter.

After Bordamas calmed down, he wrote a letter back to Iazon. He thought that the issues mentioned in Iazon's letter were indeed worthy of his consideration, but Pharsalus and other originally allies of Sparta (after Sparta helped the king of Thessaly defeat the Calgidian Alliance, it increased its influence in Central and Northern Greece. Pharsalus and many other Thessaly city-states also formed an alliance with Sparta). Without any excuse, it was immoral to break away from the alliance and turn to their enemies, and this would not be blessed by the gods.

Iazon quickly gave a reply.

In the letter, he praised Bordamas greatly, saying that he was a man who kept his promises, and such a person was more trustworthy.

He also suggested that Bordamas could send an envoy to Sparta and ask for help from Sparta.

At the end of the letter, he said very confidently, "If the gods allow you to persuade Sparta to send an army strong enough to fight me, then I can only wait and see and accept any consequences of this war. But if they can't provide you with enough help, then you'd better do as I asked before. The whole of Thessaly will be united under me, a new Tarkus!"