Chapter 1151
Dorius' expression changed drastically when he heard this. After a long time, he squeezed out a sentence, "… We have the support of Persia …"
Leotychides sneered, "What an irony. I remember when we first joined the army for training, our goal was to defeat Athens and Persia. I didn't expect the Sparta warriors to be proud of being a vassal of Persia. "
Dorius' face turned red, and he was speechless.
"Since you saved my life, I'll let you go back to Sparta tomorrow. Tell Agesilaus and the Council of Elders what I said before. Let them understand why Diónia sent troops to Messenia. At the same time, tell Agesilaus —"
Leotychides stood up and said in a powerful voice, "I, Leotychides, will wait for him in Messenia!"
"Guards!"
The guards entered the tent. Dorius was still shouting, "Leotychides, no matter what, you are the prince of Sparta. Your ancestors led the people of Sparta to create the glory of Sparta. Do you really have the heart to destroy the motherland that gave birth to you and raised you?"
Leotychides answered without hesitation, "The current Sparta will only be destroyed under the rule of Agesilaus, the Council of Elders, and the censors. Only under the rule of Diónia will Sparta be reborn!"
After that, Leotychides waved his hand, "Take him away."
After returning to his tent, Mukhru did not rest. The news that Leotychides was most likely a Sparta made him uneasy. Although he had worked with Leotychides for many years and had a deep friendship, after a series of mental struggles, he still decided to report to the military judge.
Just as he was about to leave the tent, the guards came to inform him that Commander Prosos wanted to see him immediately.
Mukhru hurried into the tent. As soon as he saw Leotychides, he asked, "Commander, are you really a Sparta? And a prince of Sparta at that?! "
"That's right. I'm the only son of the former king of Sparta, Agesilaus. My original name is Leotychides." The commander of the Diónia Expeditionary Army looked at Mukhru calmly and said with a serious expression, "After my father died of illness, my uncle Agesilaus used a trick to seize the throne and suppressed me. He even forced my mother to commit suicide. I had no choice but to escape from Sparta and come to Diónia. Considering my special identity, and to avoid being hunted down by Sparta, I decided to hide my identity …"
After accepting this military mission, Leotychides had already considered the possibility of exposing his true identity. He was already mentally prepared for this, which was why he spoke so calmly. Mukhru heaved a sigh of relief, but he was still a little worried. "Commander, Sparta is your mother country after all. When our army fights with Sparta's army, or when we attack Sparta's territory, can you really give orders calmly without any interference?"
Leotychides replied impatiently, "I've already said that I'm a citizen of Diónia. Sparta is now our enemy. I will not show mercy on the battlefield!"
Mukhru nodded, but he was still a little worried. "I'm worried that the morale of the soldiers will be affected if they know about this …"
"I'll need you, the staff officer, to help me out a little more. But you don't have to worry too much. Once I lead my army and fight with Sparta again, all doubts will be eliminated, "said Leotychides meaningfully.
In the past, the Dionysian Army had an adjutant who was responsible for assisting the military commander. In recent years, the Dionysian Army had undergone a new reform. The adjutant was abolished and a new advisor was added. This increase and decrease did not change much in terms of numbers, but there was a significant change in the responsibilities. The advisor was appointed by the Staff Department of the Ministry of Military Affairs. Not only did he have to assist the military commander in handling various military affairs, he also had the right to make suggestions and supervise the military commander. Also, if the military commander was injured or unable to take command due to other reasons, he also had the right to temporarily take command.
"Alright, leave this matter to me," Mukhru replied seriously.
As soon as he finished speaking, the tent was pushed open. Tyltotis barged in and said anxiously, "Father, I heard that you're a citizen of Sparta?! Is this true?! "
Mukhru immediately gave Leotychides a look, which meant, "Look, the news has already spread."
"Where did you hear this news?" asked Leotychides with a serious expression.
"That Sparta prisoner has been shouting loudly, and many soldiers heard it. Is this true?!"
After realizing that Dorios was deliberately trying to disrupt the morale of the army, Leotychides's face darkened. He immediately called the guards and gave an order: beat Dorios up, then gag his mouth.
Seeing that Leotychides was explaining the situation to his son, Mukhru quietly walked out of the tent …
… …
After receiving the news, several commanders, military judges, and Tisias visited Leotychides one after another. They all wanted to ask Leotychides if the rumor was true. Leotychides did not speak as much in the past year as he did in the past two days. Naturally, he was not in a good mood.
Although the news that "Commander Prosous might be a prince of Sparta" caused a commotion in the army, it did not affect the various departments of the expeditionary army to carry out their work as planned after the occupation of Messenia.
Although Sparta had evacuated from the Messenian plains, a small number of them were hiding in the mountains in the north (the garrison of Pilos decisively retreated to the northern border of Messenia after receiving the news), and some of them were hiding in the pass fortress of Mount Tegetos. Unwilling to accept defeat, they began to raid the Diónia army last night. The three well-trained legions and the 1st Flotilla infantry were well-guarded and did not suffer too many losses.
After another day, Leotychides, who had temporarily gotten rid of the rumor, issued a new order: Legio VI was to go to the northern border, build a defensive camp, and protect the safety of the territory; Legio IV was to build a camp outside the pass of Mount Tegetos to block the shortcut of Sparta to Messenia.
Tisias and other Diónia citizens of Messenia took a small number of soldiers and traveled through the villages of Messenia, killing or capturing Sparta sheriffs and other Sparta people. They constantly announced to the Black Rogues that "the Sparta people have been driven out of Messenia by the Dionysian Army, and they have regained their freedom …" Then they enthusiastically talked about their compatriots, conveyed the goodwill of the Kingdom of Diónia, and encouraged them to bravely rise up and build their own city-state. At the same time, they also distributed food and supplies looted from Sparta to these poor Black Rogues.
Along with this team were the medical personnel of the legion, who took the initiative to treat the sick Black Rogues.
The Black Rogues, who were treated like cattle and sheep by the Sparta people since birth, had never enjoyed such kindness. They were all moved to tears, and the sound of crying could be heard everywhere. They firmly remembered the name "Diónia" in their hearts.
Most of the Black Rogues did not receive any education. They worked in the fields all their lives, and it was impossible for them to participate in the governance of a city-state. However, because of the small population of Sparta, and the frequent wars in the past few decades, there were not enough people to manage Messenia. Therefore, they appointed a few Messenians as the village leaders of each village. Other than paying less taxes and having more freedom, they had no other rights. They were regularly hunted by young Sparta warriors, and their deaths were in vain.
If the harvest of the whole village was not good, and the taxes were insufficient, these village leaders would be severely punished. The lightest punishment would be beatings (Sparta's punishment was famous throughout Greece for being extremely heavy, and there were often people who were beaten to death or maimed. It was the same for their allies, so many Greeks openly said that the Sparta people were cruel and barbaric), and the more serious punishment would be having their hands and feet chopped off. Therefore, they lived in fear. But because of this, they had good management skills.
Tisias gathered them together and invited them to participate in the construction and governance of a new Messenia. They were all overjoyed.
Of course, the future leadership of Messenia would mainly be held by these citizens from Diónia. When the Devers summoned them for negotiations, they specially gave them an order: Those who stayed in Messenia were allowed to retain their citizenship of Diónia.
According to the laws of Diónia, dual nationality was not allowed. The reason why this group of people was made an exception was because the Devers considered that after defeating Sparta and conquering Messenia, they could not incorporate this region into the Kingdom of Diónia for the time being. Otherwise, it would cause the entire Greek population to be united against a common enemy. Therefore, they allowed the Messenians to govern themselves, fully rely on Diónia, and become an important support force for Diónia in Greece. Therefore, this group of people was key. They would become the future pillars of Messenia's leadership, so it was very important to retain their citizenship of Diónia and keep them loyal to the Kingdom of Diónia.
These people, led by Tisias, also knew that time was running out. The news of "Messenia regaining its independence" would soon spread throughout Greece, and the exiles might return here one after another. They had to form a government as soon as possible and create a stable political system so that the latecomers could only follow their lead.
In fact, the system of government of New Messenia had long been formulated in the Royal Palace of Diónia. Diónia citizens of Messenia and the village chiefs of Helaus would form the Messenian Council (a total of 223 people, known as the Council of 300, with 65% of Diónia citizens), which would be responsible for the formulation of laws, diplomacy, war, and other important matters. Then, the council would elect five members from the council every year to form the General Executive Committee, which would be responsible for the internal affairs of the city and leading the troops in battle …
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