Chapter 1109
In order to show his sincerity, Iazon also stopped the siege and led the army back to Phyllis.
The Fasalus were faced with a difficult choice. In the end, they decided to make a final effort and send Boridamas to Sparta for help.
At the Sparta Council of Elders, Boridamas told the Sparta elders and prosecutors everything in detail. He also reminded them, "If you Sparta decide to rescue our Thessaly, it is best to send your most elite troops. If you only send an army commanded by ordinary officers and composed mainly of released Herodes to the north, then it is best not to act rashly! Because Iazon not only has a strong army, but he himself is also a smart, capable, and farsighted general. The battle he commanded has never failed, so he will be a strong enemy of Sparta! "
After Boridamas' speech ended, the Sparta people did not immediately make a decision on it, but they obviously attached great importance to it. They sent people to Thessaly to understand the situation, and at the same time, conducted a serious count of the number of troops sent overseas.
In the end, the Council of Elders gave Boridamas a clear answer, "Dear Boridamas, the main forces of our Sparta are either at war with the Athens Navy or with the Thebes, so for the time being, we cannot provide enough reinforcements to Fasalus. However, we hope that the Thessaly Alliance led by Fasalus will not easily surrender to Iazon. As long as you can resist the invasion of the Phyllis army, when our war with the Thebes is over, we will immediately send strong reinforcements to support you! … "
When Boridamas came to Sparta and saw that there were few people in its territory, he had some expectations in his heart. So after receiving the confirmation from the Council of Elders, he did not show any negative emotions such as surprise or disappointment. He calmly thanked the Sparta people for their frankness and then set off for his home country.
As soon as he returned to Fasalus, he asked for an immediate citizens' meeting and told everyone about Sparta's decision.
The disappointed and frustrated citizens of Pharsalus finally made a decision after a heated discussion.
Polidamas once again went to Philae as an emissary to meet Iazon. He stated to him, "As long as Iazon promises not to harm the people of Farsarus, not to invade the land of Farsarus, and not to destroy the citadel of Farsarus, the people of Farsarus are willing to become sincere allies of Iazon and help him establish the rule of Tarkus …"
Iazon was overjoyed after hearing this and immediately made an oath of alliance with Boridamas.
Later, Boridamas even sent his son to Iazon as a hostage.
It did not take long for the people of Farsarus, led by Boridamas, to convince the allies who were close to them. In the spring of 374 BC (the 19th year of the Kingdom of Diónia), the emissaries of the Thessaly city-states gathered in Farsarus and jointly elected Iazon as the Tarkus of the Thessaly people.
After Iazon became Tarkus, he began to unify the city-states of Thessaly. While promising not to interfere with the internal affairs of the other city-states, he also formulated a new Tarkus law: no war was allowed between the city-states, and conflicts and disputes had to be settled by him; no city-state was allowed to sign any agreement or join any alliance with other city-states, and all foreign affairs were decided by him; each city-state had to pay tribute on time every year, and the amount of tribute would be decided by him according to the financial resources of each city-state; each city-state had to provide a certain number of cavalry and heavy infantry, and the specific amount would be decided by him according to the strength of each city-state. During peacetime, he would train these soldiers regularly and lead them into battle during times of war …
In addition, he also adopted Boridamas's opinion and unified and reduced the commercial taxes between the city-states, allowing the free flow of goods. This greatly strengthened the economic ties between the city-states of Thessaly, and allowed the inland trade to gradually become prosperous.
By the end of the year, Iazon had obtained more than 8,000 cavalry and heavy infantry from the entire territory of Thessaly, numbering no less than 20000, and the number of light shieldbearers was the same. After his strength was further enhanced, he immediately issued orders to the various races and tribes in the mountains around Thessaly, requiring them to pay tribute according to the amount determined by Tarkus Scopas of the Thessaly people during the War of Hibo decades ago. If anyone did not pay, they would be attacked by his army.
Some tribes were afraid of Iazon's terrible strength and chose to submit, while some unruly tribes refused his request.
Therefore, Iazon decisively led his army to go on a crusade, thus igniting the flames of war in Northern Greece.
… …
While Iazon was elected as Thessaly's Tarkus, the people of Athens encountered a dilemma. On one hand, they saw that their former enemies, the Thebes, were growing stronger and stronger with their help, but they still refused to pay tribute to help maintain the expenses of the Athens fleet. On the other hand, Athens' own finances were strained because of various military expenses. Of course, even so, the citizens of Athens were unwilling to cut the subsidies for watching the plays.
Therefore, under the proposal of Chief General Callisstratus and others, the Assembly passed a resolution: to negotiate with Sparta alone.
Soon, Athens sent an envoy to Sparta.
This was exactly what Sparta wanted. For the past few years, their army had been fighting in the territory of Pioscia. Although they had achieved some small victories, they had never been able to defeat the Thebes. Instead, the Thebes had become stronger and stronger, and Sparta's prestige had declined year by year. Now, it was getting more and more difficult to fight against them. The navy of Athens was an even bigger headache for Sparta. Not only could they not fight against them, but they also could not stop the navy of Athens from cruising the waters of Peloponnesus as if they were strolling in their own backyard. They wantonly attacked Sparta's allies, which seriously threatened the safety of Sparta's rear.
Therefore, the armistice agreement between Sparta and Athens was quickly signed.
After Admiral Timotheus of Athens, who was fighting outside, received a notice from the Executive Committee of the Generals, he prepared to lead the fleet back to Athens. However, on the way back, he landed on the island of Zakynthos without permission, took control of the city-state on the island, and announced that the exiled city-state would be allowed to return to their homeland. (After Zakynthos became an ally of Sparta, it received the support of Sparta to expel the democrats).
When Sparta heard this news, they thought that Athens had violated the armistice agreement. Therefore, they called on their allies to jointly fund and build a fleet to protect the rights and interests of all the allies in the sea.
At the same time, Sparta also asked the new commander to lead this fleet to launch an expedition against Kekira.
The Kekira people who were under attack immediately asked for help from Athens.
Athens could not allow Kekira, who had just joined the maritime alliance, to be bullied by Sparta. Otherwise, as the leader of the maritime alliance, Athens would inevitably lose the trust of the other allies. Moreover, Kekira's geographical location was unique. It controlled the Bay of Corinth and various city-states along the southern coast of Kekira Island. It was the best base to launch an invasion against Peloponnesus from the west. At the same time, it was also an important trading route between the western and eastern Mediterranean Sea, so it could not be abandoned.
For various reasons, this time, the citizens of Athens did not elect Timotheus as the commander of the fleet. Instead, they elected Iphicrates, one of the generals of Athens.
Therefore, the armistice agreement between Athens and Sparta lasted for less than a few months before war broke out again.
… …
The eastern side of the Adriatic Sea was constantly at war, while the western side was a scene of peace and prosperity.
In September, after the people of Diónia enjoyed the joy of the harvest, they were looking forward to the upcoming Hades Celebration. Every day, thousands of people poured into Turií, the largest city in the western Mediterranean Sea. Every day, the center of the Kingdom of Diónia was bustling with excitement and joy.
It was in such a lively and suffocating atmosphere that Okridon entered the inner city of Turií.
Since the war in the western Mediterranean Sea, he had not been to Diónia. This time, he came to Turií because Diónia had sent an invitation, requesting that Carthage send an envoy to attend. The Hanoverian faction had important matters to discuss with Diónia, so they forcibly appointed Okridon, who was somewhat familiar with Diónia, to attend the Hades Celebration.
Although Okridon had represented Carthage in negotiations with Diónia many times in the past, he had never actually been to Turií. This big city of hundreds of thousands of people gave him a greater shock than when Hakkar first came to Turií. After all, during the celebration, the floating population in the city was much greater than usual.
He stood at the bow of the ship and looked at the countless busy docks on both sides of the Krati River. He could not help but think: if Carthage had won that war, would the city of Carthage be the same?!
But the facts cannot be changed. Thinking too much would only add to his worries. The more prosperous Turií was, the more the strength of the Kingdom of Diónia would be. This would undoubtedly increase the difficulty of the subsequent negotiations … Okridon frowned and fell into deep thought.
The ship sailed into the inner city of Turií, but stopped outside the docks. Because there were already many ships docked at the docks and were busy unloading goods, there were no extra trestles for the time being. Therefore, there were still some passenger ships waiting outside the docks, and Carthage's ship was the last to arrive.
Okridon's attendant took a small boat and went ashore to investigate. When he came back, he reported, "My lord, I've found out that the ships that are now unloading goods are the Etruscan fleet. They have 20 ships, and I heard that most of the ships are loaded with bronze utensils, blankets, cloth, gold and silver products, olive oil, wine, and other goods. I heard a few Iberian sailors bragging at the docks that their alliance had even forged a golden crown for the King of Diónia, inlaid with many gems …"
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