Chapter 1134
The Devers just nodded his head, indicating that he understood. He then turned to look at Xenophon and said with a gratified expression, "To be able to become an envoy of Sparta as a guest, it seems that you've been living well in Sparta, Xenophon!"
He patted Xenophon's shoulder again and turned to his throne. At the same time, he asked, "Why did you come to Diónia as an envoy this time? To renew the friendly agreement? I remember it still has a few years before it expires. "
Gaesulus opened his mouth to speak, but Xenophon quickly stopped him, and then said in a measured tone, "Ever since the war between the Thebes and Sparta broke out, it has lasted for several years, causing great damage to both Peloponnesus and Central Greece. In order to restore peace to Greece, Sparta decided to make peace with the Thebes and Athens.
But the two sides have been fighting each other for years, with many casualties and deep hatred. It is not easy to make peace, so it is best to find a powerful country to persuade the two sides to sit down and negotiate — "
"So Sparta chose to come to us, Diónia." The Devers, who had returned to his throne, leaned forward and interjected with interest, "It seems that our friendship of more than 10 years has not been in vain!"
Both Xenophon and Gaesulus looked embarrassed.
Xenophon coughed twice and said in a low voice, "Uh … that … Sparta did consider inviting Diónia as a mediator, but although Diónia is powerful, it has no influence in Greece, and it is difficult to deter the unruly Thebes and Athens. And it just so happened that Sparta found out that Athens and Thebes had sent envoys to Persia one after another …
You also know that Persia played a big role in the last Corinth War being able to stop the war and reach an agreement. In order to prevent Persia from supporting the enemy, Sparta had to send envoys to Persia — "
"Diónia doesn't have much influence in Greece. Isn't it because we strictly abide by the agreement with Sparta? Although it's so close to Greece, we, Diónia, have never interfered with the politics of Greece for more than 10 years. Now, Sparta is complaining that Diónia has no influence in Greece! " Antares, one of the assistant ministers, could not help but interrupt and complain, "On the contrary, Sparta has secretly done some things in the Western Mediterranean during the period of the agreement, adding some trouble to Diónia!"
"I also have a question for the emissary of Sparta. Everyone knew that Sparta had been receiving Persia's support all these years, which was why they signed the Great King's Contract and became the leader of the Greek city-states again. This time, if Sparta wanted to stop the war and negotiate, shouldn't they first seek Persia's support? Why did they let the emissaries of Athens and Thebes beat them to it because they had to consider Diónia first? " Another assistant minister, Cypross, also followed up with his own questions, trying to expose some of the lies in Xenophon's words.
Faced with the questioning of the Diónia ministers, Xenophon could not help but feel a little nervous at the moment even though he was prepared. "This … Diónia's performance in keeping its promise is very respectable to the people of Sparta! And because you've defeated Carthage, you've become stronger … and … and you're very close to Peloponnesus, so Sparta did first think of asking for help from Diónia, but the reality is — "
"Alright, there's no need to explain. Since Sparta has decided to seek support from Persia, why did they send you to Diónia? Did Persia refuse Sparta's request? "The Devers asked with a faint smile.
Xenophon met the deep gaze of the Devers and faintly had an illusion that the king of Diónia had already known the whole story. Suddenly, he was enlightened and did not make any more excuses. He said directly, "Persia promised to support Sparta, but asked Sparta to break off friendly relations with Diónia. Otherwise, they will turn to support Athens and Thebes, and let Sparta taste an unprecedented defeat! So Sparta sent me here as an emissary to … end the friendly agreement that has lasted for more than 10 years with Diónia … "
Xenophon's words caused quite a commotion in the hall.
"In order to get Persia's support, Sparta did not hesitate to break off friendly relations with us, Diónia. Are they not afraid of offending us, Diónia, and causing a new war?!" The military minister, Alexis, asked sternly.
Gaesulus, who had been silent before, could not help but say loudly, "Before I left, King Agesilaus told me that ending the friendly agreement with Diónia this time was indeed a last resort. After the armistice agreement is signed, we, Sparta, will resume our relations with Diónia and sign a new friendly agreement. Please rest assured!"
It would have been better if he had not said this. After he finished speaking, the whole hall was like a frying pan. Even Hakkar, who was usually gentle, said coldly, "What does Sparta mean by this? Does Diónia look so easy to bully! If they want to break the agreement, they can break it. If they want to renew it, they can renew it! You have to know that this is the Western Mediterranean Sea, and Diónia is the only king here. All city-states and forces are scrambling to attach themselves to Diónia and take pride in joining the Diónia Alliance!
With the current strength of Diónia, it has rarely signed an equal agreement with other city-states. Since you, Sparta, don't think that this friendly agreement is precious, when this agreement is torn up, you, Sparta, will deeply feel the terrible pressure that you did not feel in the Corinth War and the Thebes War! "
After Gaesulus finished speaking, Xenophon knew that it was going to be bad. Seeing that Gaesulus still wanted to refute, he hurriedly stopped him and subconsciously cast a pleading look at the Devers.
"Enough." The Devers raised his hand and suppressed the anger of the minister. He said seriously, "We, the people of Diónia, regard a promise as our life. Once the agreement is signed, no matter what happens in the future, we will fulfill the agreement. But perhaps for Sparta, an agreement is signed to be torn up. The Peloponnesus War achieved a truce, but a few years later, the Corinth War broke out. Not long after the Great King's Peace Treaty was signed, the Thebes War broke out. Every time, Sparta was the first to break the agreement and start the war. So, we have long been mentally prepared for this friendly agreement to be cancelled by Sparta. It's easy to cancel it, but it's difficult to get it back. You have to know that many people of Tarantum and Carthage still regret it. "
Xenophon listened to the Devers's meaningful words and was shocked.
The Devers emphasized his tone and asked word by word, "I am asking you now, Xenophon. Is Sparta sure that they want to cancel this friendly agreement?!"
Xenophon hurriedly replied, "Yes! In order to reach a truce as soon as possible and restore peace, Sparta has no other choice. But I can guarantee that although the agreement is cancelled, Sparta will still maintain peace with Diónia! "
"This is not up to Sparta." The Devers smiled slightly. "Now it seems that the King of Persia has a deep grudge against Diónia. But for the sake of you, Xenophon, Diónia will not cause trouble for Sparta because of this broken agreement! "
Xenophon was overjoyed and immediately said gratefully, "Thank you, Your Majesty! The people of Sparta will remember your kindness and are willing to always maintain peace with Diónia, and will never be manipulated by the people of Persia! "
The Devers blinked disapprovingly, put his hands on the back of the chair, and said with a smile, "Now that business is done, let's talk about private matters. Tonight, I will be holding a banquet for you in the palace, and I will also invite some of my mercenary friends who fought side by side in Persia to attend, so that we can reminisce about parting. "
Having successfully completed the task given to him by Sparta, Xenophon was now in a relaxed mood, and immediately said, "I am very happy to attend this banquet, and have a good drink with my former comrades, to make up for the regrets of the past."
The Devers smiled at Alexis and the Minister of Commerce, Marigi. "The banquet tonight will not be without the two of you, so I will first extend an invitation to you."
Alexis and Marigi hurriedly expressed their willingness to attend.
After Xenophon and Gaesulus left the palace, Antares, who had long been impatient, immediately asked, "Your Majesty, are we just going to let the matter of Sparta's wanton violation of the agreement go away?!"
"Then what else do you want?" The Devers looked at him and asked calmly, "Declare war on Sparta?"
"We should at least think of a way to punish their rude behavior, or else the other city-states will think that we, Diónia, are weak and easily bullied!" Antares' tone was still unyielding.
The Devers looked at him, and then at the other ministers with different expressions, and said in a low voice, "Just a punishment will not cause much damage to Sparta, but will instead raise their vigilance. The Persia wants to be a mediator, to reunite the war-torn Greek city-states, I am afraid that they want to create trouble for us, Diónia … The Sparta wants to become the leader of the Greek city-states with the support of Persia … They are all thinking too highly, but I am afraid that things will not go as smoothly as they imagine … "
"What do you mean, Your Majesty?" Cypross' heart skipped a beat.
The Devers did not give a direct response, but smiled slightly, "What we need to do now is to closely monitor the development of the war in Greece, and wait for a favorable opportunity to come."
… …
Considering that some of the former mercenary elders were still working elsewhere, the banquet that night was not held, but postponed to two days later. In these two days, the Devers specially sent someone to accompany Xenophon to tour most of the places in the Turií region, so that he had a deeper understanding of the situation in the Kingdom of Diónia.
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