Chapter 1131
The one who was the most relaxed was Taimagoras. Not only did he use this opportunity to reach an agreement with the Sparta emissary on certain aspects, he also completed the task that Calistratus had given him before he left. He also obtained a lot of wealth. The initial harvest this time was quite rich, and it would increase his influence among the people of Athens.
However, not long after he returned to Athens, Taimagoras was reported by the people, saying that "he took bribes in Persia, sold the secrets of Athens, and betrayed the city-state …" In addition, there were also many rumors in Athens, mainly saying that "he behaved wretchedly in Babylon, and did not perform as well as Perópidas of the Thebes. He was despised by the people of Persia, and he was a disgrace to the people of Athens."
It did not take long for the government of Athens to put Taimagoras on trial. Although he tried his best to defend himself and hired a good lawyer, the majority of the citizens on the jury still found him guilty. In the end, he was sentenced to death.
After Lutikli returned to Sparta, the tough demands made by the people of Persia also caused a great stir in Sparta.
Agesilaus, who had always paid more attention to Diónia, strongly objected. He reminded loudly, "After Diónia defeated Carthage, their national power became stronger, and they have become a great threat to us, Sparta. Fortunately, there is the existence of the friendly agreement, and this kingdom has always kept its promises. So even though we have done some bad things to them during the period of the agreement, they have always maintained a state of peace with Sparta.
Now, we want to take the initiative to cancel the agreement, giving them an excuse. Once Diónia intervenes in this war, it will inevitably bring disaster to the Sparta army that is fighting against the Thebes! "
Another king of Sparta, Cleombrotus, stood up and firmly supported meeting the demands of the people of Persia. His reasons were equally good. "This war has lasted until now, and it is difficult for us, Sparta, to continue. If we break off relations with Diónia, we will not get the support of Persia. If the king of Persia really turns to support our enemy, the Thebes, as he said, then Sparta will face a great danger of being defeated. If we cancel the friendly agreement with Diónia, we will get the full support of Persia. Then, we will be like the Corinth War. Not only will we end this war quickly, but we will also become the hegemon of Greece again.
At that time, even if Diónia declares war on us, we can gather the forces of the whole of Greece to fight against them. Moreover, judging from the fact that Persia is so eager to threaten us to cut off relations with Diónia, the king of Persia is hostile to Diónia. He will definitely support us in the war against Diónia. We can take advantage of this favorable situation to defeat the people of Diónia and get rid of this hidden danger that has been worrying us for a long time. "
"It is said that Diónia sent 100,000 troops in the war with Carthage. Peloponnesus and Diónia are separated by the narrow Adriatic Sea. Once the friendly agreement is terminated, and Diónia really declares war on us, Sparta, these 100,000 troops are likely to land in Peloponnesus. How should we deal with it then?" Teacher Agesi asked with a serious expression.
Cleombrotus had long lost the fear and naivety he had when he was pushed to the throne in a hurry. He calmly replied, "Don't forget, Dionysius also led 100,000 troops to attack the people of Carthage in western Sicily. But in fact, we all know that his real combat power is the tens of thousands of mercenaries. Do you dare to say that the 100,000 troops of Diónia are all elites?! I don't think so.
On the contrary, after we re-establish the agreement with the Greek city-states, if Diónia really dares to send troops to land in Peloponnesus, we can just call on the Greek city-states to resist the invasion of Diónia. With the help of Persia, we can build an army and defeat them. Not only will we completely solve the hidden worries of Sparta, but we can also increase the influence of Sparta in Greece. "
Agesilaus frowned and reminded, "Since the establishment of Diónia, they have never suffered a defeat in the war they experienced. Even if their army is not all elites, their combat power is definitely not weak. And they are from the army of the same country. Even if we can call on the city-states to build an army, this army will certainly not be as united as them, and it will not be conducive to command — "
"The respectable Agesilaus!" Cleombrotus suddenly sneered, "All these years, we, Sparta, have commanded the coalition of other city-states to fight against the enemy, and we won more than we lost. This is a talent that our Sparta generals must have! More than 10 years ago, you even commanded the people of Asia Minor to fight against Persia. Why are you saying that what we are doing is wrong! "
Without waiting for Agesilaus to respond, Cleombrotus looked around, suddenly raised his voice, and said loudly, "The so-called Dionysian Army is always victorious, that is because they have not encountered us, Sparta! Do you still remember the threats that the king of Diónia said to us before we signed the first friendly agreement with Diónia? All these years, he has been peeping at us like a poisonous snake on the west coast of the Adriatic Sea, causing us to be on tenterhooks and not dare to slack off. Maybe now is the time to solve this problem! Wise elders and inspectors, whether Sparta can overcome this difficulty depends on your decision! "
Agesilaus looked at Cleombrotus, who was giving an impassioned speech in the middle of the hall. For some reason, the scene of him defeating his nephew Leotychides and seizing the throne more than 20 years ago appeared in his mind.
Now that he was old and weak, did he really not have the courage to do so? Agesilaus hesitated: Breaking off relations with Diónia and offending Diónia might lead to war; but not breaking off relations would also offend Persia, which would turn to support Thebes. Not only would the current war not stop, but it would also become more difficult … This was a dilemma.
Agesilaus opened his mouth, but in the end, he did not refute.
Then, the 30 elders of Sparta (including the two kings) voted on whether to cancel the friendly agreement with Diónia. These Sparta nobles who were over 60 years old might have rich life experiences, but most of them were conservative and only sought stability in everything. Although Diónia was closer to Peloponnesus, it had never set foot in Greece. On the contrary, Persia, which was thousands of miles away, had always exerted influence on Greece. Whether it was the War of Peloponnesus or the War of Corinth, Persia had helped Sparta greatly. These elders were undoubtedly people who had personally experienced these wars and felt it deeply.
But the final result of the vote was 20: 20. In fact, Agesilaus' influence played a big role in it. Compared to Cleombrotus, who had not performed well in military affairs, many elders were more willing to believe in the wise and prestigious Agesilaus.
Now, the final decision fell on the hands of the five censors.
The censors of Sparta had a lot of power. They could investigate and supervise the king and elders, and were responsible for diplomacy and supervision of the army. However, they were chosen from ordinary civilians. These civilians received arduous military training from a young age and continued to fight when they grew up. They only left collective life at the age of 30. Other than being proficient in military skills, most of them did not know much about politics, diplomacy, and other aspects. There were not many citizens who were as knowledgeable and politically intelligent as Cleombrotus. That was why Sparta had always been tough against outsiders. They would only choose to retreat when they suffered a heavy setback.
But this year, all five censors chose to sever ties with Diónia. The reason was simple. The war with the Thebes had not made any significant progress, and the country was in dire straits. The soldiers were constantly injured, and the people were suffering. The war-weariness was very strong. The choice of the censors reflected the public opinion at this time. The people of Sparta desperately wanted to stop the war and restore peace. As for the possibility that this would lead to a stronger enemy, Diónia, they did not think that far ahead.
This result did not disappoint Agesilaus. Instead, he breathed a sigh of relief. Since the gods had made a choice for Sparta, he did not need to worry about anything else.
Seeing Agesilaus stand up again, Cleombrotus could not help but say proudly, "Now that the resolution to sever ties with Diónia has been passed, it's useless even if you want to refute it."
Agesilaus ignored him and looked around at the crowd. "Even if we have decided to sever ties with Diónia, we should at least send a messenger who can speak and explain to the king of Diónia why we have no choice but to sever ties. If we are sincere enough, I believe that Diónia will not be angered and declare war on us at a critical time when we are negotiating with the Thebes."
"I've said it before, Sparta is not afraid to fight with Diónia. We can use this opportunity to get rid of this big problem!" Cleombrotus reminded with dissatisfaction.
"King Agesilaus is right. If we can reach a peace treaty with the Thebes and Athens, and we can temporarily avoid a war with Diónia, that would be the best." Not only did most of the elders agree with this, even the inspectors did not have any objections. However, they were troubled by the choice of the messenger.
Because from the few times they had dealings with Diónia, the king of Diónia was not a person who was easy to talk to. So sending a messenger who was familiar with him and good at diplomacy to Turií would definitely have a much better effect. However, both Chalisops and Phoebidas had died in battle, and the rest of Sparta was completely unfamiliar with Diónia.
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