Chapter 1150
"Also, send someone to inform Tisia. Ask him to lead the people from Tyndaris to persuade and mobilize as many Black Rogues as possible to help us unload the cargo from the ships …"
Mukruger received the order and left.
Leotychides then said to Adoris, "Go and inform the soldiers of the First Legion to stop pursuing the enemy and to stop marching north. Immediately gather at the Sparta camp and seize the time to expand the camp. Also … where did the Sparta soldiers escape into the mountains? Send two soldiers to take me there. "
Leotychides could roughly guess where the Sparta soldiers might have escaped from, but he still needed to confirm it with his own eyes in order to prepare the defensive arrangements.
… …
Having witnessed the power of the Dionysian Army's ballistae, Dorios realized that even if he retreated to the camp, he would not be able to defend for long. Due to the constant invasion of foreign enemies, the Sparta camp in Messenia was not well-equipped and was rather crude. Therefore, he decisively issued two more orders. First, he handed over the command of the army to his adjutant and ordered him to lead the soldiers to retreat to the Lagonda Pass in the Tegetos Mountains. This was to preserve as much as possible the 400-strong Sparta army of Sparta soldiers. Second, he sent a messenger to the city of Pilos on the west coast to inform the soldiers in the city that the Diónia army had landed in Messenia and ordered them to abandon the small city and retreat to the north as soon as possible.
Dorios, on the other hand, decided to stay. Even if he died at the gate of the camp, he would not want to escape. He knew that although the enemy was strong and retreating was completely reasonable, the loss of Messenia was definitely a big deal for the Sparta people. The resentment and rumors of the people would always surround him. As a former member of the King's Guard and a veteran of more than 20 years, he did not want his honor to be slandered.
Unfortunately, he only managed to kill one Diónia soldier before he was stabbed in the thigh by the enemy and became a captive. Despicable Diónia!
At this moment, he was carried by two soldiers into the tent. Under the candlelight in the tent, he saw a Diónia general in black armor sitting in front of him. He had short hair and no beard. It was said that the Diónia people had a strange habit of not growing their hair. But judging from his appearance, he was not younger than 50 years old … Huh? Eh!
"Sparta, tell me, how many soldiers do you have in Mersenia? How many of them are Sparta warriors? "Leotychides asked coldly.
Dorios didn't answer. He just stared at Leotiides's face and couldn't help but take a few steps forward.
The guards on both sides immediately pulled him back and shouted, "The commander is asking you a question, hurry up and answer!"
Dorios struggled to break free from the soldiers' grip and shouted excitedly, "Leotychides? You are Leotychides! "
Leotychides was shocked. He thought that after leaving Sparta for so many years, he had changed a lot, and most of the Sparta people who were familiar with him had either passed away or retired. They would not be able to recognize him on the battlefield. He did not expect that his identity would be exposed as soon as he set foot on the land of Peloponnesus.
Mukruger immediately shouted, "This is the commander of the Dionysian Army, Prososus. He once led the army to defeat Carthage's army, captured Syracuse, and conquered Gaul. He is the famous and ever-victorious general of the Kingdom of Diónia! Man of Sparta, stop your nonsense and answer the general's questions truthfully. If you perform well, we will consider letting you go back to Sparta! "
"He really is Leotychides, the son of the former King of Sparta, Arcis!" Dorios was still stubbornly pointing at the general of Diónia in front of him and said loudly, "I will never mistake him for someone else! The scar on his chin was left by the alpha wolf when we were sent by our instructor to hunt a wild wolf. If it wasn't for me, he would have been bitten to death by the wolf! "
Dorios' words were so convincing that the others in the tent subconsciously looked at Leotychides. Indeed, Prososus did have a rather obvious slender scar on his chin.
If Leotychides had grown a beard and tied up his hair, Dorios would not be too sure. But now, other than the wrinkles on his face, Leotychides did not look much different from when he was young.
With the continuous reform of the regime in Sparta over the past few decades, the power of the king was almost gone. But other than the right to command the army, there was another right that had never been taken away. That was, the princes did not have to participate in the cruel military training since young. Otherwise, babies like Agesilaus, who was born with a foot problem, would have been thrown into the valley. But Leotychides was one of the few royals who volunteered to participate in Agesilaus's training. Naturally, he received a lot of attention from the other Sparta youths in the military camp. Leotychides, on the other hand, rarely paid attention to other people. It was just that the wolf kiss that almost killed him left a deep impression in his memory. So even though the Sparta man in front of him was dirty and covered in blood, he could roughly guess who he was.
'This world is so small!' Leotychides sighed in his heart. Then, he said in a deep voice, "Leave this captive. All of you are dismissed."
Mukelu stared at Leotychides. Seeing his calm and determined expression, he opened his mouth but did not say anything in the end. Instead, he turned around and left the tent.
Two guards were a little hesitant. "Commander, it's too dangerous to leave this Sparta man alone in the tent!"
"Do you think I'm afraid of an injured Sparta man? Get out!" Leotychides said firmly.
The guards obediently left, leaving only Leotychides and Dorios in the tent.
The two looked at each other. After a while, Leotychides broke the silence. He pointed at the wooden stool beside him and said, "Have a seat.
Dorios did not hesitate. He dragged his injured left leg and sat on the stool.
"I didn't expect to meet you here, Dorios," Leotychides said slowly.
"I also didn't expect that the prince of Sparta would become the general of Diónia!" Dorios sighed with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"Why not? Agesilaus became the king. If I didn't escape from Sparta, would I want to stay in Sparta and be constantly accused of being a bastard? Then, like my mother … like my mother, suffer injustice and commit suicide?!" Leotychides's voice was trembling. He was emotional, which was rare for him. "At that time, other than Diónia, which dared to oppose Sparta, the other city-states were either allies of Sparta or subordinates of Sparta. I didn't have many choices … But now, it seems that my choice was right. That's why I'm here today."
"You've made the right choice?!" Dorios heard this and immediately became angry. "Without a declaration of war, Diónia attacked the precious property left to us by our ancestors, Messenia. This is completely untrustworthy! Do you know how much trouble Sparta will suffer if we lose Messenia?! How many people will lose their noble citizenship and become lowly people after losing Messenia?! Just because you have a grudge against King Agesilaus, you are willing to harm all the people of Sparta. Don't forget that you are also a citizen of Sparta! "
Leotychides knocked on the table with his hand and said calmly, "I am now a citizen of Diónia. The decision to attack Messenia was not made by me. It was an order from His Majesty the Devers. Besides, it was Sparta that did not keep its word. It was you who ended the peace treaty early, so that Thebes could have the chance to ally with us, Diónia. Now, you have violated the Kalias Treaty and led troops to attack Thebes again. Of course, Diónia has to honor the treaty … "
"But Thebes have signed a truce with us, Sparta!" Dorios roared.
"There have been rumors of this in Diónia, but Thebes did not send any messengers to inform us. Moreover, Diónia is so far away from Greece that it is impossible to confirm whether the rumors are true or not. So, the plan of attack has not changed.
Besides, there are some citizens of Diónia who were born in Messenia. His Majesty the Devers had promised them that he would 'restore Messenia's independence'. Today, he has fulfilled his promise … "Leotychides said casually.
"So, Diónia has decided to become the enemy of Sparta?!" Dorios said fiercely. "Don't think that just because Diónia is the ruler of the Western Mediterranean that it is invincible. It is only because of your undeclared war that we were unprepared, that you were lucky enough to succeed! But soon, we, Sparta, will gather our army and recapture Messenia. When that time comes, I am afraid that it will be the soldiers of Diónia who will become prisoners of Sparta! "
"If Sparta really sends an army to fight for Messenia, that would be the best." Leotychides's tone was heavy. His eyes flashed with a strange light as he looked at Dorios. "In fact, even if you don't say it, we are well aware of the current situation of Sparta. There are no more than 500 Sparta warriors stationed in Messenia, and all the Sparta warriors add up to less than 2,000. Therefore, these elders passed a resolution to grant some Piriaci and a few Black Rogues as Sparta citizens, but they are not given any land. In fact, their status is still low, and they do not have a strong desire to fight. They even have conflicts with the Sparta warriors …
Also, the years of non-stop fighting have made many Sparta warriors unable to supervise the work of their Black Rogues, and thus unable to pay enough taxes. Thus, they are deprived of the right to eat public meals. In fact, they have become lowly people. They must have deep resentment in their hearts. I think the current situation of Sparta is probably worse than when they hunted down Geandun … "
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